Life at the DeKalb Wurlitzer Plant During World War II, a group research paper by Char Henn, Estella Metcalfe, Denyse Clifford Cunningham, Kelly Crimmins, Terence Buckaloo, and John Roberts, circa 1989,  1990

INTRODUCTION “Workers at Wurlitzer During World War II” is an oral history project undertaken by a class in oral history methodology at Northern Illinois University. Interviewing took place between October and December of 1989. The instructor, six graduate students, and one undergraduate interviewed sixteen people employed at Wurlitzer during the Second World War. Narrators volunteered or were found through city directories and talking to other former employees. Each narrator received a copy of the interview tape to keep. Property rights in the series belong to the Regional History Center; literary rights are dedicated to the public. There are no restrictions on access to these materials. DESCRIPTION Topics discussed in this collection include: education; working conditions; production, including the change over from pianos to airplanes, production during the war, and the transition to peacetime production after the war; security; unionization; organization of workers; employee relations; company-sponsored employee activities; propaganda and motivation; changes in attitudes resulting from the war; family life; and concerns of female employees. The sample of male workers is biased in favor of management. Half of the narrators were women, one of whom was considered management. The majority of the narrators are well past retirement age and are comfortably situated. Many of the narrators left Wurlitzer for other jobs after the war and are comparing the two situations, perhaps subconsciously. In spite of the limitations listed above, the collection can be informative. The narrators were taken from various departments, and some taken from the same department can be compared. The desire to produce as much as possible comes through, along with some of the difficulties arising from shortages and/or conflicts. Especially interesting is how different people remember the same event and the testimony on changes in attitudes.