ANACONDA IN HASTINGS, 1929 to 1975

Our exhibit "Anaconda in Hastings, 1929 to 1975" explored the riverfront cable manufacturing company that shaped Hastings' economic and social life for nearly half a century.

The exhibit included nearly a hundred photographs and dozens of artifacts, among them

- a picture gallery of Anaconda workers,
- a guide to the factory buildings,
- a step-by-step depiction of how copper cable was made,
- a round-up of company social events that included its baseball and bowling teams,
- a photo-essay on Anaconda's landmark water tower, and
- a look into the High Energy Laboratory with its lightning-making machine.

The exhibit also displayed the company's old employee suggestion box (built to resemble one of the most distinctive factory buildings), models of laboratory equipment, cable samples, and a Lionel Train flatcar carrying Anaconda cable reels. Also included was a regular showing of a 1950s Anaconda promotional film made to showcase the Hastings plant. The exhibit ended with a look at the dramatic events that accompanied the plant's closing in 1975.

Suggestion Award winners from the Reel Shop at Anaconda Wire & Cable Company. Photograph shows, left to right, front row: Bill Newell, Ed Burke, John Neely; back row: Chris Addorisio, Joe Shulik, Tony Marsh, Harold Hadley, and Louis Phigler.

Steve Sutor working machinery at Anaconda Wire & Cable Company. Title at the bottom right reads: "Stranding copper cable. Hastings-on-Hudson."