Endicott Johnson Shoe Factory had major impacts on the tri-cities area made it the way it is today. The company was a leader in providing benefits for its workers.
I grew up in Endicott and my father worked for EJ for 41 years. One of the pictures shows my fathers building and exactly where his office was. What a trip down memory lane. It really is a shame that Binghamton, Endicott and JC has not done a very good job celebrating and keeping its history alive. Most of these and other buildings were left to ruin or razed and there is just no cultural uniqueness that was there in the 70's and 80's when i was growing up. I now live out of state in an area where there are lot's of opportunities, refurbishment of older buildings, shops, clubs, restaurants etc....in these older buildings.....but going back to the tri-cities is a mixture of nostalgia and sadness. It's terrible what it has become....vs what it could be. Great area.....that deserves a great turnaround.
@ davesnothereman7250 Binghamton and the surrounding area are improving. SUNY Binghamton has made a massive investment in the city. Some of the factories are being refurbished into apartments/condos. Also, some manufacturing has returned. However, even if American industries re-introduce manufacturing in USA; it won't be like the type of employment of the 1800's and early 1900's (i.e. uneducated, unskilled, formerly rural workers) For sure, China is not going to let American corporations remove the machines from the Chinese-owned manufacturing plants! So the corporations are going to take a huge hit (i.e. loss) if they try to move away from China.
I grew up in the Triple Cities . I weep 😭 profoundly for what has happened to this once beautiful place . I rode the carousels, swam in the pool and played in the parks . Bygone era . 😑
My grandfather worked at Endicott Johnson, in the office. In 1952, he suffered a massive heart attack in the parking lot during his lunch hour, and sadly passed away. I regret that I never got to meet him. I love seeing this video!
I was born at Binghamton General. I lived my formative years on Custard Ave in Johnson City. I remember the sweet smell from the Fair Play Caramel factory as I made my way to study at Lincoln Elementary. I was among the first 8th grade class to graduate from the newly renovated C. Fred Johnson Jr. High School in 1978. It seems like a lifetime ago. Because it was, Johnson City was a different town, it was a different world, and I was a boy not yet a man. There were many challenges for the young me back then, integration was new and I was likely the first to test those waters in this small community. My experience here seemed to have prepared me for the life before me and I would not change many things. Thank you for the memories. Just one thought about the videos content, the video depicts Endicott and the Johnson Brothers as philanthropic industrialists. Whom built not only a grand business but a grand community as well and I suppose that on the surface all of that may seem true. But it could be easily argued that they were simply anti-union owners who offered accessible housing, affordable recreation, and work security to their employees. Whom in return agreed not to unionize or bargain for collective agreements. This allowed EJs to control wages, working hours, working conditions, and control most if not all of the political decisions that governed the lives of their workers and the town that they lived in. Is that a square deal? Thanks for the video.
@@benkelly9399 First let me say that I appreciate your response. I'm always amazed when I hear Americans today who willfully think and vote against their own self interests. Those unions that you mentioned all have competitive wages, member agreed upon working conditions, and pension plans, none of which were provided to EJ employees during their heydays. No they don't have picnics, parks, or carousels. Yet they have a wage that allows their members to afford and chose where they want to live rather than the work - finance - housing programs that gave the Johnsons complete autonomy over the lives and livelihood of their employees. The Southern Tier has always maintained a large influx of immigrants and EJ's capitalized on those workers. Picture a sweat shop like those we see today in southeast Asia, and you'll be viewing the EJ's of the 1940s. Sweat shops filled with poisonous chemicals, dyes, fumes, cutting machinery that often cut limbs and removed fingers. A place where workers had no say in the length of their work day and consequentially 14 hour days were normal. Of course medical was low cost or free, you can't work if you aren't health and absenteeism wasn't tolerated. The Johnsons created a cult of personality with monuments of themselves distributed throughout Endicott, Johnson City, and Binghamton. I remember going to the Johnson City Library and then reading the George F statue outside... "BE NOT WEARY IN WELL DOING." Many people new to America, grateful to be Americans, living in a community built by the Johnson brothers and being reminded daily of the greatness of those Johnson men with statues, parks, streets, and schools all bearing their names... As a kid I walked those streets, visited those parks, and rode those carousels I enjoyed those simple days. Still with remembrances of the Johnsons everywhere they had zero direct effect on my life. The factories had been closed by the time that I was old enough to read the fading paint on the buildings. The humble neighborhoods created by the "Square Deal" were now housing the poorest residences, in decay, and no one worked for EJs anymore. How was it possible that EJs was in full decline during the height of the post-war economy, all but dead by 1970, and they accomplished this without having a union? This is your ideal company? A "great" company should be forward thinking, create an environment and culture that develops and profits both their business and their most important resource, their people. Endicott-Johnson's failed business model was that of a sharecropper system with morale builders and cult enhancements. Its wasn't a great place to work in 1940 and it most certainly is not the model for business today.
@@binaryperspective9946 14 hour days were normal and are still normal in many industries like Ag, construction, and anybody that's self employed, at least for peak season. I'm sure it was filthy, loud and hazardous but such a vibrent community popped up as a result. Gave people a chance to get out of the fields and into manufacturing. From any old timers ive heard from working in the area it WAS a good place to work for the time. Imagine modern safety and pollution controls? That said I'm sure like any good sized business it had its dark spots
@@binaryperspective9946 >" How was it possible that EJs was in full decline during the height of the post-war economy, all but dead by 1970, and they accomplished this without having a union?"< *Why? Because the management did not switch to a marketing model and remained with the sales model of selling* Many older American corporations *that were NOT on the cutting edge of technology* foundered and failed during the post-war period for the same reason! Some struggled along until the late 1960's / 1970's when there was corporate raiding and ever-enlarging conglomerates. The corporations that were no longer making a good profit were spun-off to foreign corporations off-shore. Note: It didn't matter if the corporations paid high wages or low wages with benefits. Either way those with or without a union, no or many benefits paying both low and high wages being purchased and the machinery being off-shored to places like Malaysia, China and Mexico with very low wages as well as very low environmental and work-safety standards. *EJ would have had to spend millions of dollars on re-tooling including automation that would require the loss of* *many unskilled jobs to compete with the new factories being built in Europe and Asia* (post-WW2) In addition, those countries in Europe and Asia had government-supported health care and retirement .... But the taxes are very high for the workers to pay for those goodies. These countries have become semi-socialistic (This worked really well for Germany ... Until ... The tax burden became so high that people stopped having enough children to replace themselves to provide workers to pay for Mon and Dad's retirement! Europe tried to fix the problem by importing uneducated, unskilled people with a different value system -- This is not working well! Germany (in particular) has a highly educated, high-skilled workforce that is about to retire! Those newcomers cost the state money .... Some have already lived on the dole for 3 generations ... Turks in Germany and Africans in France both imported after WW2! Of course this has also happened here because government programs (paid for by the taxpayer) need people who contribute to the system to keep it going! All I can say is Duh! Because in the process of off-shoring and printing money the value of the USD is going down. which translates into inflation and stagflation of the money supply.
Remember President Reagan when he came to Endicott, " Which way EJ?" Referring to many immigrants getting off ships asking the direction to find EJ shoes to work there.
I had no idea how awesome George F. Johnson was. I remember learning about him in the 3rd Grade (early 90s), "The Square New Deal" and the famous Johnson City Arch.
Grew up wearing EJ shoes and going to the shoe store to get new leather school shoes that lasted forever. And who can forget the smell of rubber and glue that filled the town!?!?
One correction to your excellent video. The "price of admission" to the carousels is one piece of litter. Help keep the parks clean and teach the children good habits!
@@workingcountry1776 EJ and other American industries would send recruiters to places like Ukraine, Italy, Greece and recruit all of the young men from a group of villages -- Most of the time the recruiter also managed to get the villages to send clergy for these men. The clergyman was supposed to more or less "take charge". Once in America he was expected to raise funds among the immigrants to build a church. One could not enter the USA after Ellis Island (and other similar facilities) were built; unless: 1.) One had the guarantee of a job or a relative/sponsor (or a legal representative of the relative/sponsor) who came to Ellis Island and signed up to be responsible for the immigrant (Back then no work = no eat) 2.) The immigrants also had to have a certain amount of money per person to enter the country. This was also true of Americans coming home; even if they were let off the ship before it arrived at Ellis Island. I can't remember the exact amount but I think in 1900 it was $10 in US currency per person (Ellis Island had money exchangers) 3.) Unaccompanied minors were not allowed to enter the country. Provisions had to be made for and unaccompanied child BEFORE boarding the boat. Steamship companies hired nannies to accompany these children -- For a price. (Usually it was easier and cheaper to pay for an adult relative to accompany the child/children). 4.) In addition, known "Anarchists" and criminals were not allowed entry. You had to sign an affidavit that you were not an anarchist (communist) or a convicted criminal 5.) Those who were sick, mentally incapcitated or insane were sent back to the country of origin at the expense of the steamboat companies. After a while, these companies did their own screening before anyone got on the boat! *The days of wide-open immigration had ended by the late 1800's and the closing of the Frontier.* (Why the morons in D.C.and the business community decided to re-open the gates is beyond me!)
Around 1986 the Endicott Assembly of God bought & moved to a school up in Vestal Center. What was the location of the old church in Endicott ? I recall there was a Philadelphia Sales store right near it, if that helps. Thank you.
Oven Philly sales. Wasn't sure what their deal was. Thinking it was like Norman's grocery. Run by mafia using heisted goods😂 Philly is where I got my high top nylon kangaroos. Wasn't a rich zipper head kid to afford the Nike or converse.😂
I managed a Father & Son Shoes for several years in Kokomo, IN. The parent company was Endicott Johnson. It was nice to see the history on EJ on your video. Thanks!
Shame free trade killed all the companies that one treated their workers well. Still a nice area but scars of 10s of thousands of good jobs leaving EJ and IBM are all over
Yep .... If America ever reshores jobs it will be with high-tech/value-added processes. Uneducated/ unskilled workers need not apply. Those people will have to compete with the thousands of uneducated/unskilled people coming across the border!
I grew up in Endicott and my father worked for EJ for 41 years. One of the pictures shows my fathers building and exactly where his office was. What a trip down memory lane. It really is a shame that Binghamton, Endicott and JC has not done a very good job celebrating and keeping its history alive. Most of these and other buildings were left to ruin or razed and there is just no cultural uniqueness that was there in the 70's and 80's when i was growing up. I now live out of state in an area where there are lot's of opportunities, refurbishment of older buildings, shops, clubs, restaurants etc....in these older buildings.....but going back to the tri-cities is a mixture of nostalgia and sadness. It's terrible what it has become....vs what it could be. Great area.....that deserves a great turnaround.
NY political system is among the worst in the country if not, the "free world"
@ davesnothereman7250
Binghamton and the surrounding area are improving. SUNY Binghamton has made a massive investment in the city.
Some of the factories are being refurbished into apartments/condos. Also, some manufacturing has returned.
However, even if American industries re-introduce manufacturing in USA; it won't be like the type of employment of
the 1800's and early 1900's (i.e. uneducated, unskilled, formerly rural workers)
For sure, China is not going to let American corporations remove the machines from the Chinese-owned manufacturing
plants! So the corporations are going to take a huge hit (i.e. loss) if they try to move away from China.
I grew up in the Triple Cities . I weep 😭 profoundly for what has happened to this once beautiful place .
I rode the carousels, swam in the pool and played in the parks . Bygone era . 😑
Nice job Dean. My Grandparents worked in those factories for decades.
My grandfather worked at Endicott Johnson, in the office. In 1952, he suffered a massive heart attack in the parking lot during his lunch hour, and sadly passed away. I regret that I never got to meet him. I love seeing this video!
I was born at Binghamton General. I lived my formative years on Custard Ave in Johnson City. I remember the sweet smell from the Fair Play Caramel factory as I made my way to study at Lincoln Elementary. I was among the first 8th grade class to graduate from the newly renovated C. Fred Johnson Jr. High School in 1978. It seems like a lifetime ago. Because it was, Johnson City was a different town, it was a different world, and I was a boy not yet a man. There were many challenges for the young me back then, integration was new and I was likely the first to test those waters in this small community. My experience here seemed to have prepared me for the life before me and I would not change many things.
Thank you for the memories.
Just one thought about the videos content, the video depicts Endicott and the Johnson Brothers as philanthropic industrialists. Whom built not only a grand business but a grand community as well and I suppose that on the surface all of that may seem true. But it could be easily argued that they were simply anti-union owners who offered accessible housing, affordable recreation, and work security to their employees. Whom in return agreed not to unionize or bargain for collective agreements. This allowed EJs to control wages, working hours, working conditions, and control most if not all of the political decisions that governed the lives of their workers and the town that they lived in. Is that a square deal?
Thanks for the video.
@@benkelly9399 First let me say that I appreciate your response.
I'm always amazed when I hear Americans today who willfully think and vote against their own self interests. Those unions that you mentioned all have competitive wages, member agreed upon working conditions, and pension plans, none of which were provided to EJ employees during their heydays. No they don't have picnics, parks, or carousels. Yet they have a wage that allows their members to afford and chose where they want to live rather than the work - finance - housing programs that gave the Johnsons complete autonomy over the lives and livelihood of their employees.
The Southern Tier has always maintained a large influx of immigrants and EJ's capitalized on those workers. Picture a sweat shop like those we see today in southeast Asia, and you'll be viewing the EJ's of the 1940s. Sweat shops filled with poisonous chemicals, dyes, fumes, cutting machinery that often cut limbs and removed fingers. A place where workers had no say in the length of their work day and consequentially 14 hour days were normal. Of course medical was low cost or free, you can't work if you aren't health and absenteeism wasn't tolerated. The Johnsons created a cult of personality with monuments of themselves distributed throughout Endicott, Johnson City, and Binghamton. I remember going to the Johnson City Library and then reading the George F statue outside... "BE NOT WEARY IN WELL DOING."
Many people new to America, grateful to be Americans, living in a community built by the Johnson brothers and being reminded daily of the greatness of those Johnson men with statues, parks, streets, and schools all bearing their names... As a kid I walked those streets, visited those parks, and rode those carousels I enjoyed those simple days. Still with remembrances of the Johnsons everywhere they had zero direct effect on my life. The factories had been closed by the time that I was old enough to read the fading paint on the buildings. The humble neighborhoods created by the "Square Deal" were now housing the poorest residences, in decay, and no one worked for EJs anymore. How was it possible that EJs was in full decline during the height of the post-war economy, all but dead by 1970, and they accomplished this without having a union? This is your ideal company? A "great" company should be forward thinking, create an environment and culture that develops and profits both their business and their most important resource, their people. Endicott-Johnson's failed business model was that of a sharecropper system with morale builders and cult enhancements. Its wasn't a great place to work in 1940 and it most certainly is not the model for business today.
@@binaryperspective9946 14 hour days were normal and are still normal in many industries like Ag, construction, and anybody that's self employed, at least for peak season. I'm sure it was filthy, loud and hazardous but such a vibrent community popped up as a result. Gave people a chance to get out of the fields and into manufacturing. From any old timers ive heard from working in the area it WAS a good place to work for the time. Imagine modern safety and pollution controls?
That said I'm sure like any good sized business it had its dark spots
@@binaryperspective9946
>" How was it possible that EJs was in full decline during the height of the post-war economy, all but dead by 1970,
and they accomplished this without having a union?"<
*Why? Because the management did not switch to a marketing model and remained with the sales model of selling*
Many older American corporations *that were NOT on the cutting edge of technology* foundered and failed during the
post-war period for the same reason! Some struggled along until the late 1960's / 1970's when there was corporate raiding and ever-enlarging conglomerates. The corporations that were no longer making a good profit were spun-off to foreign
corporations off-shore.
Note: It didn't matter if the corporations paid high wages or low wages with benefits. Either way those with
or without a union, no or many benefits paying both low and high wages being purchased and the machinery
being off-shored to places like Malaysia, China and Mexico with very low wages as well as very low environmental
and work-safety standards.
*EJ would have had to spend millions of dollars on re-tooling including automation that would require the loss of*
*many unskilled jobs to compete with the new factories being built in Europe and Asia* (post-WW2) In addition,
those countries in Europe and Asia had government-supported health care and retirement .... But the taxes are
very high for the workers to pay for those goodies. These countries have become semi-socialistic
(This worked really well for Germany ... Until ... The tax burden became so high that people stopped having enough
children to replace themselves to provide workers to pay for Mon and Dad's retirement!
Europe tried to fix the problem by importing uneducated, unskilled people with a different value system --
This is not working well! Germany (in particular) has a highly educated, high-skilled workforce that is about
to retire! Those newcomers cost the state money .... Some have already lived on the dole for 3 generations
... Turks in Germany and Africans in France both imported after WW2!
Of course this has also happened here because government programs (paid for by the taxpayer) need people
who contribute to the system to keep it going! All I can say is Duh! Because in the process of off-shoring
and printing money the value of the USD is going down. which translates into inflation and stagflation of
the money supply.
Thank you, for posting these videos. My grandfather and dad both worked at EJ plus more of my family. I'm proud of the history that EJ started.
Gary Wilson is the King of Endicott.
Anybody run into Jesse Evans in the 1940’s. He was my grandfather. My father went to Johnson City HS. and joined the Army Air Corps in 1939.
Remember President Reagan when he came to Endicott, " Which way EJ?" Referring to many immigrants getting off ships asking the direction to find EJ shoes to work there.
The Johnson City factory has been rebuilt into Binghamton's nursing/physical therapy school.
I had no idea how awesome George F. Johnson was. I remember learning about him in the 3rd Grade (early 90s), "The Square New Deal" and the famous Johnson City Arch.
Live in Endicott. Thanks for the upload.
Same this place is just go torn down 11 months ago or sum like that
Grew up wearing EJ shoes and going to the shoe store to get new leather school shoes that lasted forever. And who can forget the smell of rubber and glue that filled the town!?!?
One correction to your excellent video. The "price of admission" to the carousels is one piece of litter. Help keep the parks clean and teach the children good habits!
I definately remember the litter thing.
well done video boss.
Can you cover the tunnels below IBM?
Great video
Today’s wealthy and their money benefit so few, with a few exceptions.
Ej shoes, which way
EJ
🤔
@@Mullikiaat the dock Italians would say "which way ej?" From hearing of the opportunity from family and friends
@@workingcountry1776
EJ and other American industries would send recruiters to places like Ukraine, Italy, Greece and recruit
all of the young men from a group of villages -- Most of the time the recruiter also managed to get the
villages to send clergy for these men. The clergyman was supposed to more or less "take charge".
Once in America he was expected to raise funds among the immigrants to build a church.
One could not enter the USA after Ellis Island (and other similar facilities) were built; unless:
1.) One had the guarantee of a job or a relative/sponsor (or a legal representative of the relative/sponsor)
who came to Ellis Island and signed up to be responsible for the immigrant (Back then no work = no eat)
2.) The immigrants also had to have a certain amount of money per person to enter the country.
This was also true of Americans coming home; even if they were let off the ship before it
arrived at Ellis Island. I can't remember the exact amount but I think in 1900 it was $10 in US
currency per person (Ellis Island had money exchangers)
3.) Unaccompanied minors were not allowed to enter the country. Provisions had to be made for
and unaccompanied child BEFORE boarding the boat. Steamship companies hired nannies to
accompany these children -- For a price. (Usually it was easier and cheaper to pay for an adult
relative to accompany the child/children).
4.) In addition, known "Anarchists" and criminals were not allowed entry. You had to sign an
affidavit that you were not an anarchist (communist) or a convicted criminal
5.) Those who were sick, mentally incapcitated or insane were sent back to the country of origin at the
expense of the steamboat companies. After a while, these companies did their own screening before
anyone got on the boat!
*The days of wide-open immigration had ended by the late 1800's and the closing of the Frontier.*
(Why the morons in D.C.and the business community decided to re-open the gates is beyond me!)
Around 1986 the Endicott Assembly of God bought & moved to a school up in Vestal Center. What was the location of the old church in Endicott ? I recall there was a Philadelphia Sales store right near it, if that helps. Thank you.
Philly Sales was on Nanticoke Ave. Down the street from Mitchell's Ice Cream.
@@peterzenewicz329 Thank you Peter, I’m off work this week ~ maybe I’ll try to find it.
Oven Philly sales. Wasn't sure what their deal was. Thinking it was like Norman's grocery. Run by mafia using heisted goods😂 Philly is where I got my high top nylon kangaroos. Wasn't a rich zipper head kid to afford the Nike or converse.😂
I managed a Father & Son Shoes for several years in Kokomo, IN. The parent company was Endicott Johnson. It was nice to see the history on EJ on your video. Thanks!
Shame free trade killed all the companies that one treated their workers well. Still a nice area but scars of 10s of thousands of good jobs leaving EJ and IBM are all over
Yep .... If America ever reshores jobs it will be with high-tech/value-added processes. Uneducated/ unskilled workers need
not apply. Those people will have to compete with the thousands of uneducated/unskilled people coming across the border!
Great video boss. 🖒🖒🖒