Westinghouse - Chapter 34 - A People Person

Описание: (NARRATOR)

In a twist of irony, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers honored George Westinghouse for his tenacious work
in establishing the alternating-current system by awarding him the Edison Medal.

He was offered and accepted the presidency of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1910. Westinghouse received many other honors, including a spot in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.

(COPE)

Having been a teacher, Edison is played up in every major American-history textbook. He's still that touchstone inventor that we think about. Westinghouse gets the mention, but not the due course that he should.

(SKRABEC)

Westinghouse was a people person. I mean, he loved to have family picnics. He loved to have Christmas parties for his employees. He loved to walk through the plant, talk to his employees. He got involved with them personally when they needed help.

(DELEY)

And one interesting story that I can tell you while I was on the trade was, I was working with an older fella in the lathe group.

His name was Harry, who, by the way, when he was in his teens or my age, he was doing the same thing. Running a lathe in East Pittsburgh.
Poor Harry, one day, was having problems making a part, so he kind of got upset and, in his anxiety, threw a hammer on the floor in disgust. Unfortunately, when he looked up, George Westinghouse was walking down the aisle and saw Harry with this problem.

George come over to Harry and says, "How are you doing? What's up? What's the problem?" Harry told him, showed him the blueprint, that he was having trouble making a part.

George looked at it and said, "Move over." Took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, put down his briefcase and helped Harry make the part, then put his jacket back on and said, "I'll see you later," and left.

Harry told me that story when he was in his 60s and I was 17, and I'll never forget that story as long as I live.

(TERBO)

Among the things that Tesla found most interesting in Westinghouse was his patents on air brake -- the railroad business.

Because he recognized from his background in Europe, in which the trains were doing the same as they were in this country.

Their trains were running together at all sorts of times and not stopping properly. That he saw that George Westinghouse was a consummate inventor himself.

(SKRABEC)

He had such a following of his own employees.
Very rarely do you see that.

When he was even in trouble in 1907 and he couldn't get money from the bank, his employees tried to chip in.

They didn't have enough.

(SUTHERLAND)

People who are in the Westinghouse Air-Brake and Westinghouse Electric and Union Switch and Signal Companies are very loyal to the spirit of George Westinghouse that filled their companies.
That spirit was something that you could not purchase. It was a gift.