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April 3, 2010

Carbon Black Worker

Sunray 1942

Click for larger view



From Library of Congress

Not the original; I cropped a bit out. Shorpy has a clearer, altered version.



I remember a joke about two Yankees who came to Texas to find work at one of the many carbon black plants that used to surround Pampa. A few days later they were back home up north and their friends asked them why they had not stayed to work.

"No need." they replied. "The plant had burned up".

A joke isn't funny if you have to explain it, but the gist of the joke was the men had thought the coating of carbon black on the plant meant it had caught on fire.

One of my first jobs was at the Cabot Machine shop just outside of town; the lady personnel mgr. told me the carbon black plant paid nearly a dollar an hour more and that's the job I wanted, but she told me I probably wouldn't like it. I probably wouldn't have because I didn't like the machine shop, either.

1 comment:

sharintexas said...

I always think of the stories Grandma would tell about trying to hang clothes out on the line and hoping the wind wouldn't switch from the direction of the carbon black plant. When it did the clothes would all end up black and nasty. It sure would have been nice to have a dryer back then!