EPISODE 719 PICTURE OF THE LAKEVIEW SMALL ARMS PLANT EMPLOYEES ABOUT 1945
alan skeoch
January 2023
These are the employees of the Lakeview small arms plant circa 1945.
One reader objected to my use of the word ‘girls’ . I was trying to underscore the fact that many
of the operators of the various metal lathes were very young…young enough to form a Small Arms
Workers Baseball Team.
Scan the faces. Just take a guess at how many faces look young….i.e. around 20 or younger. Statistics gathered
said that 64% of the workers were women. I think (just a guess) a majority were young. What do
you think. No big deal. How many look like baseball players? Relax/ This is not scientific…not
an M.A. thesis.
Perhaps Cliff F. knows better since his dad worked there and married one of the females and still lives in one of
the company houses provided. “Cliff, how young were the workers?” Sure there must be a record somewhere
but I do nor have time to research so just try the face scan. About 25 years ago I wrote a paper about the workers
…wish I kept it.
What happened to all those machines. Metal lathes. Skilled workers required. How is a gun barrel made?
Along with most readers I dislike guns. Do not own one. If this was 1942 or 1943, would my attitude be
different? Suppose I was living in Ukraine today, would the horrific battle scene change my attitude?
The attitude we have towards guns seems flexible…Guns seem to divide us all
Will we ever reach a point where weapons “are turned into plow shares?” The study of history does not
help answer that question.
Let’s not travel that path. Let’s just count the faces of potential baseball players in the photo.
alan