Remember When --Bridgeport Was a Factory Town

IT'S sad to say ,but the factories of the past are indeed gone forever.IF we travel through some parts of BRIDGEPORT ,it is evident that factories -now abandoned are part of our great cities'history.

Where do we place the blame ??Was it politics?,high taxes?,labor costs?,economics?or a better deal elsewhere? Perhaps not enough skilled labor available or the unions help destroy these large companies.Whatever forced the closings ,these once thriving factories have left an imprint upon our fine city.

IT wasn't just a loss of taxes as the factories closed that hurt us but a loss of our sense of community.The city once was once a large manufacturing sector.Jobs were plentiful and times were good.Many factories operated three shifts ,and factory workers worked overtime.

The economy certainly had a bright outlook -not a grim outlook that we face at times today.Many laborers were machinists.That was all they ever did to make a decent living.They were skilled professionals and in great demand by companies.Numerous products were produced here ,from cars to soap.Then gradually ,but surely ,we lost the manufacturing plants one by one.

The factories started closing and jobs disappeared,causing our economy to falter.AS this history may have been gradual it still had contributed to our cities'current economic climate.The changes were gradual but it left its' mark behind.

Some of these buildings still stand today as evidence of days gone forever.Some are boarded up ,or the main gates are chained up.Others such as GENERAL ELECTRIC were cleared to build a new high school.Some of these old buildings like REMINGTON ARMS stand in ruins like a war zone.Who could ever imagine major players such as GENERAL ELECTRIC ,BRIDGEPORT-BRASS,CARPENTER STEEL,Remington Arms,Remington Rand,Overland fabrics and UNDERWOOD would close their doors forever.This hurt our economy and we had workers with unemployment.

This is not something people thought about as they reported to work on a daily basis.No one expected the manufacturing downturn.But eventually the good times were gone and the local economy took a economic hit.While we still talk about todays' economy ,we also should ask why did we allow this to happen?Perhaps some of it could have been prevented by our government intervention by using better business practices .But now its'to late for the factories of the past .They are gone forever and never again will our city be known for its' manufacturing.All that is left are buildings and lots of memories of days gone by.

AUTHOR RICHARD SATTANNI-A BRIDGEPORT RESIDENT

Reach RICHARD at rsauthor00@gmail.com