Thursday, February 17, 2011

Your Town: New Vienna Ohio: Wells Mfg. (Part 4 of 5)

New Vienna, Once Buzzard's Glory Prospers Anew in Clinton County
A full page spread in the Cincinnati Times-Star, February 26, 1957 (p.16)  by Mayo Mohs [Part 4 of 5]

Ancient Game of Jacks is Town's Young Industry:

For children all over the world, the game of jacks, in one form or another has been a favorite since civilization began.  

In the streets of early Egypt, they played jacks with animal bones; in other places they played the game with pebbles, thus the name "jackstones."

Now, of course, almost everybody uses the familiar six-pointed metal jacks, and it is these that provide New Vienna with an industry.

The Wells Manufacturing Co., a New Vienna landmark since 1945, today sends jacks to all parts of the country and the globe.  Because of such a tremendous international use, and understandably for economy, the jacks are mass-produced like most other products of the modern world.  

Hot from the casting machine, the zinc alloy jacks come in waffle-like sheets, at the rate of several hundred a minute, are trimmed, weighed and sometimes colored in ensuing processes.
Picture captioned: City Solicitor for New Vienna, Harold Uible doubles as vice president of the Wells Manufacturing Co.  Here he checks over a pile of jacks before they are packaged.  Mrs. Ernest [Ocie] Wilson, New Vienna, left and Mrs. Mason Parr, in rear, keep busy at their packing jobs.  The company employs some 12 persons.  President of the concern is C.J. Uible, father of Harold.
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This is the fourth of five posts from New Vienna, Once Buzzard's Glory Prospers Anew in Clinton County. Other posts can be found at these links:
Part 1 History
Part 2 New Vienna in 1957
Part 3 Southern Ohio Tool & Die
Part 4 Wells Mfg.
Part 5 Aerial Photo


2 comments:

Mary Uible Crowson said...

Very interesting article/picture---hopefully the folks saved an original? I would think it would be very difficult to find a an original...unless you're well connected!

Catherine Uible Morgan said...

Mary, I have the original. Dad adds that Mrs. Wilson's first name is Ocie, her husband also worked at Wells. They were long time custodians at the UMC and they lived in a house on the West side of 73 that was later demolished to make room for a Wells addition.

Items from Uible photo album