Bethlehem Steel Legacy Community Collection

This 1983 article from the "Bethlehem Review" describes Bethlehem Steel's Readiness program, an attempt to improve relations between management and the union. Charlie Conklin, featured in this article, recalls: "I do think that the Readiness program did change my life, not only at Sparrows Point but the rest of my life." Images courtesy of Charlie Conklin.

Happy International Women's Day! Pictured is Rita Hamlet, who was among the first women to work at Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point mill after the consent decree of 1974 opened pathways to employment for women and African American workers. She remained there for nearly 30 years. Read more about Rita and other on our blog: https://www.thebmi.org/rita-hamlet/

Charlie Conklin shared this memory: "This photo is the Loop Class of 1959 taken in Bethlehem, PA before we all were sent to the plant of our choosing. I selected Sparrows Point because it was the largest steel plant in the world, as I remember. Sad to say that it was the longest Steelworkers Strike in its history (116 days), so the mill was not operating when I arrived at Sparrows Point. We toured the plant, from coke ovens all the way to the finishing mills - flat rolled products to the pipe mill and rod mills. Impressive but still!! One thing that I remember when I moved into a row house in Dundalk was the happiness shared about the mill being down from the women there - Why. Because they could hang out their laundry to dry on clothes line outside and not get orange soot on them as when the mill was operating. Yes - when the mill did start back up, I had to clean off my front car windows from the orange soot. That was life."