Col. Deeds' letter on the occasion of NCR's 50th Anniversary
A special issue of the NCR News was printed for the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first factory building. Col. Edward Deeds wrote a special letter to the workers for the occasion, and the various departments of the factory were featured.
Looking through an old NCR, I found an editorial which Mr. Patterson wrote just fifty years ago. As I read it, I could almost see him writing it. Little did he realize then, that--half a century later--it would reappear and a feature article in a Golden Anniversary number of the "NCR Factory News."
If, in contemplation, one attempts to look forward fifty years, it seems a long way off. However, if one looks back over fifty years of experience and happenings, it seems but a very short time.
How true this is when applied to the history of The N. C. R. Company. Of the 115 employees who moved fifty years ago this month from the old Callahan Power Building out to the new factory on the old Patterson Farm, 28 are still living, and 67 of them are still active members of the N. C. R. Organization.
One of the most interesting events since the opening of the Horseshoe Room was the luncheon given there on May 13 in honor of the employees of 1888. Twenty members honored us with their presence. It was an impressive occasion. Listening to their reminiscences made the road over which we had traveled seem short, and brought out in strong relief the proud traditions of the past.
It awakened in us a fuller realization of the splendid heritage which is ours--a heritage which should inspire us to greater accomplishments as we build for a future that will extend far beyond our lifetime.
By being faithful to our trust, and permitting nothing to divert our attention and energy from our objective, our Company should make greater progress during the half century ahead than was made during the seemingly short fifty years just behind us--years we are now commemorating.
With what pride and satisfaction the employees of '88 prepared for the dedication of their new factory, we can only conjecture. However, of this we are certain--they were men and women of integrity, ability, and industry. This we know, by the progress the Company has made, because it is the men and women back of any business who make it what it is. You can organize a Company, give it a name and turn out a good product, but, unless the right sort of folks have their hearts in it, it will get nowhere.
To many of us, the earlier years bring to mind in pleasant memory, the names of John H. and Frank J. Patterson. It was my rare and cherished privilege to have known them both intimately--one a great leader, and other a great counselor. Without either one of them, The National Cash Register Company would not have been. Together, they built this business. And in building it, they laid deep in the foundations--principles and policies which have stood the acid test of time for half a century. On these foundations, we and our successors can build with confidence during the next fifty years.
A comparison of the factory of that year with the one of today provides some measure of our progress over the past five decades. No person can see fifty years ahead; but some of us have a hazy, dreamlike vision of what this business may be in 1988. However, we do have a more accurate picture of how we canfidently expect the plant to look long before that time, unless something entirely beyond our control impedes our progress. This picture is published now for the first time, and it is most appropriate that it should appear in this edition of the "NCR Factory News."
In looking at the picture on the center spread, the first thing you will notice is the marked change in the landscape to the westward. Our back yard has become our front yard.
Plans for the improvement of Patterson Boulevard have been in preparation for a long time. It was recently announced that work will bein on it this fall. This improvement contemplates two roadways 22 feet wide, with a 22-foot parked area between. When completed, with its boulevard lighting, it will amek an appropriate, impressive approach to Dayton from the south. This is a combined State and Federal project, and will be of the high standard which is always characteristic of their work.
The extension of the nine-foot storm sewer form the old canal to the river is a joint City and W. P. A. project which had been postponed for several years because of lack of City funds. It is now nearing completion.
The Company has given the rights of way through its property for Patterson Boulevard, and the extension of the storm sewer. It is also giving the earth for the necessary fills in connection with all thsi new construction work.
In keeping with these improvements, the Company is co-operating by cleaning up its new front yard. The weeks and underbrush are being cleared out of the wooded areas. The muck and debris in the old abandoned river beds are being removed. The open areas are being leveled and seeded. When this work is all finished, no longer will any of us have reason to apologize for the appearance of our new front yard. On the contrary, I am sure we will all be proud of it. We know of no factory anywhere with such an unusual opportunity for the economical development of such diversified recreational facilities as are to be found right on our own property.
Nature has provided beautiful groves of trees for picnic grounds. The old river during centuries past, excavated hundreds of thousands of yards for the lagoons. A borrow pit, now presenting a scar on the landscape, is ready to be made into an attractive, two-acre swimming pool. A plentiful supply of pure well water is available without cost.
The water supply will come from the power house. When the factory is running, 4,000 gallons per minute of pure well water are discharged from the condensers into the river. Even when the factory is down, 1,500 gallons per minute are available. This will flow into the new swimming pool, and overflow into the 24 acres of lagoons.
Thus by making intelligent use of everything nature and circumstances have given us, all under the expert direction of Olmsted Brothers, world-famous landscape architects, a good beginning is being made toward the creation of a beautiful and practical park, at minimum cost. We will begin to use it, in the rough, next year. By adding improvements from time to time, as we can afford them, we shall see what is now only an artist's sketch gradually become a beautiful reality. The name of the new 207-acre park is "Old River." It includes all the land south of the filed ground used for parking automobiles, and between the river and the canal, extending all the way down to the Milers Ford power plant. It will be open only to N C R employees and their families.
When I first joined the organization 39 years ago, Mr. John H. Patterson had just acquired Far Hills. Some old buildings were torn down and the underbrush cut out. This beautiful wooded area was used by N C R employees as picnic grounds before, and for considerable time after, his residence was built. Many years later, I rode horseback with him over the countryside south of Dayton, assisting in the selecting of the farms to be purchased and consolidated into Hills and Dales. This was open almost exclusively to N C R employees and their families until that part known as the Community Club was given to the city for a public park. Having played a very minor part in both the "Far Hills" and the "Hills and Dales" chapters, I am especially happy to be in on the last chapter--"Old River." Being owned by the Company, it becomes permanently available to the organization for recreational purposes.
A closer view of the picture will reveal extensive proposed future additions to the present factory buildings. This is of interest to every employee. It visibly indicates that the Company has a determined forward-looking policy. The rapidity with which this part of the picture is completed will depend almost entirely upon the amount of evergy and effort we put into the business day after day and year after year.
However, it is the well-being of the men and women of the organization, not additions to its buildings or improvements to its grounds, in which the Company is most interested. If the business is kept moving forwards, this problem, and a very personal one it is to each of us, will be largely solved. Whatever our position in the organization, our greatest concern is about continuous employment. Our anxiety is relieved just in proportion as we feel assured of steady work. Of all the burdens of responsibility we of the Management carry, we regard this as one of the heaviest. We will continue constantly to do all within our power and ability to keep the wheels turning.
No person can see far enough ahead with sufficient clearness to give definite assurance of an uninterrupted high level of employment for years to come. But this we will say, which is a repetition of what we said in our New Year's letter: "If the recession in business and industry continues, the N C R will, through research, engineering, education, and imporved selling methods, overcome as much of this disadvantage as is humanly possible. In factory language, this means we will come nearer to working on a full-time basis than the great majority of American industries."
Never during the fifty years of the Company's history has there been greater intensity of effort or singleness of purpose. Never has its course been more clearly charted. Never did its future look brighter. Though it is small when compared with its possibilities, it is a great business. I am enthusiastic about it. It is more than a business. Over eighteen thousand men and women throughout the world are the living, pulsating part of it. They, with their calm devotion to duty, undistrubed by outside distractions, constitute the impelling force that is driving us forward.
As we stand together on the high vantage point which we have reached after fifty years of continual progress, we pause for a moment and look with pride and satisfaction back upon the road over which we have traveled.
With this as an inspiration, we look forward in a spirit of eagerness, courage, and confidence to doing our part in broadening the base upon which the next fifty years of steady and sure advancement of The National Cash Register Company will be made.
(signed) E. A. Deeds
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Latest update December 15, 2008