Welcome to Manville, N.J. Circa Late 1930s

I plan to present History through many writing styles. Please enjoy reading this change of pace as much as I have enjoyed creating it.

Let’s set the scene. For this Blog, I have created a husband and wife named George and Frances Kowalski who work and live with their two children, Lou age 12 and Betty age 7, during July 1939 in that great and wonderful Borough of Manville, New Jersey. The characters are my personal combination of various people arising from the book of interviews with the Manville residents published in 1987 entitled “Ellis Island, the Coal Mines, to the Asbestos Capital of the World”. The narrative will be first person by George.

Let us begin.

BOROUGH OF MANVILLE

I love living in Manville, New Jersey. Moving my family here last year from the western Pennsylvania coal mines was the best thing that Frances and I could have done for us and our children’s future. Mind you, no one would ever mistake Manville and its rough and tumble bars for Pleasantville, but the move has gotten us out of the coal mines and the constant health affects from Black Lung Disease and the deep coal mining. After 15 years of breaking my back in those mines and Frances having to shake out and wash the coal dust off my clothes, I can’t imagine going back or breathing that junk ever again.

Besides, I have found my place in the world in Manville. Most of the laborers started out like us in Eastern Europe, emigrated to the Pennsylvania coal mines, started suffering from Black Lung Disease, and then moved to Manville in order to protect their lungs and improve their health. Some of us were pretty desperate as good jobs are tough to come by. The Johns-Manville factory is a wonderful employer and citizen of the community. As an example, every couple of weeks they open up their dump and let us pick up anything for free. It is really a sight to see! Everybody comes to Main Street with wheel barrows, bicycles pulling little wagons, or home made carts. Adults, kids, dogs, it doesn’t really matter as the whole town turns out. We then stand at the entrance to the dump awaiting the signal to open the gate. At the signal, we all rush in and grab whatever we can. There is extra transite pipe, asbestos wall board, and so much more. There is also wood for the fireplace as many people cannot afford coal. Frances and I pile it on our cart while the kids are collecting as much as they can. We then tie it with rope and march the “good stuff” back home.

Although some people have actually built their homes from this material, we have used it for essentials such as to build our tool shed, chicken house, and a little barn. Remember, we are in a depression with many friends out of work. Everything we do and everything we have must be stretched to last as long as possible. Frances is really good with that around the house and with the food. She buys a pound of thinly sliced bologna called Plate for about 20 cents and stretches it to last all week. I bring my lunch in my standard issue black lunch pail that we guys all use. We raise chickens and geese, have a nice garden, and buy milk from the neighbor next door when their cow has a little extra.

One of the stranger sites of living in Manville is that it snows in July and August. Yep, that is asbestos snow blowing out the factory vents and covering the yards at the north end of town. It is quite the sight to see. Rumor has it that the factory will be installing scrubbers next year and then our snow will be gone. Truth be told, I sort of like it. Management tells us that the asbestos isn’t dangerous although about 10 years ago some dozen or so of our employees filed a lawsuit claiming that their lungs were hurt because of Asbestosis. I heard that those lawsuits were dismissed and that their attorneys are not accepting any more cases. Given the Black Lung Disease we faced in Pennsylvania, I can’t imagine that the snow (even when it has a blue tint) can be that harmful.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a fan of management and some of their work rules. However, there is a depression out there and I am lucky to have a job that puts a roof over our heads and food on the table. As importantly, I just don’t think that they would put us at risk especially with the President of the Company Mr. Lewis Brown just being named a couple of months ago by Time Magazine as the public relations success of the year. I went out and bought that April 3, 1939 edition and read all about his looking out for us employees including forming our Quarter Century Club, appointing a Company Director to represent the public, and his expanding the Company’s involvement in community relations. Also, the Company looks out for us employees such as running a field day once a year for our families which includes more food and entertainment than you can imagine. In the factory, they provide masks and ear protection. It just seems that if such a man thought that we employees had a problem, he would address it.

Now, you may be wondering about my job at the Johns-Manville factory. I make just over $5.50 per day. I work in the H Building where we make asbestos ridged shingles that are used on roofs or as siding. My job is to put scrap into the wagon and then dump it into the grinder. This is tough sweaty work, but I am a believer in hard work, God, and patriotism. I was lucky to be picked for this job a couple of years ago by the hiring agent when he came out to the yard and said “who wants to work today?” and then looked all of us over. Getting a job is tough and I will do anything necessary to keep it. The job with Johns-Manville is the only thing between us and losing the house.

Frances keeps the home fires burning while I put in the long hours at the factory. I don’t know how I would ever get the time to scrub the dirt, sweat, and asbestos off my work clothes without her. Of course, Lou and Betty help with the laundry and cleaning after finishing their school work. Lou is now old enough to deserve a piece of the thinly cut bologna from the stew as we prepare him to join me in the factory, while Betty still just gets the broth and the vegetables. I so hope for a better life for them.

Well, time for me to get back to work. We all walk as there aren’t many cars on the dirt roads here in Manville. With a good job, a home and family, and enough food to eat, we are certainly blessed. I am certainly blessed.

EPILOG

I hope that you enjoyed my first attempt at this writing style. Let me know what you think of it and whether you would be interested in more historical writing of that type.

Back to George. What George did not know in July 1939 is that Johns-Manville in general, and its President Lewis Brown in particular, fully understood that asbestos in the Manville, N.J. facility could be dangerous. Those dozen lawsuits filed 10 years earlier and then dismissed? Lewis Brown led the discussion at the Board of Directors meeting in 1933 that settled those cases for $30,000 with the contingency of both confidentiality and with the Plaintiff attorney agreeing never to handle any more asbestos cases against the Company. In summary, the cases were gone and no more would be filed, giving the impression that they were worthless as no hazard existed.

Let’s take a step back to see how easy it would have been to change history. Imagine if, in fact, Lewis Brown was the person he was made out to be in Time Magazine, and that he identified and handled the asbestos related health issues before they turned into a crisis? What if Johns-Manville under his leadership was transparent about the fiber risk and marshalled such knowledge to mitigate the risk with the other asbestos related mining and manufacturing companies in the 1930s and into World War II? How the world could be different. How one person could have made the world different.

In this fictional account developed from the book, either George or Frances, or both, would likely have developed serious lung related diseases such as Asbestosis or a form of cancer. In addition, many of such people would continue to support the Company and not sue or make any claims because even with the disease, they believed that their life was better having had the Johns-Manville job than having to face unemployment, the loss of their homes during the depression, and possibly returning to work in the Pennsvylania coal mines. Those stubborn Eastern European immigrants were made of sturdy stock and were grateful even to those who didn’t earn their gratitude. That being said, who am I to judge.

How about you? Let me know at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com what you think.