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General Electric Company (DeKalb)

 Collection
Identifier: RHC-RC-341

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of the papers from the General Electric Company located in DeKalb, Illinois. The collection contains materials from 1891 to 2015, with the bulk of the material ranging from 1946 to 2015. The collection includes newsletters, club records, photographs, historical files, minutes, and artifacts. The material documents the activities and events of employees, the company, the DeKalb area. There are also records about the interior and exterior of the building as well as the products manufactured at the company. The newsletters comprise most of the collection: DeKalb Plant News (1946-1951)/General Electric News (1951- 1961) and the 3-D DeKalb Daily Digest (1953-1977)/DeKalb Daily Digest (1977-1978)/DeKalb Digest (1979-1988)/DeKalb News (1989-2001). They document company and employee activity as well as happenings in the local area. Present in the collection are also Quarter Century Club records, the GE DeKalb chapter, including minutes and other administrative records. Photographs range in subject matter documenting the history of the GE DeKalb plant and the local area. The photographs in box 2 were taken by staff in 2015 as they were given a tour of the closed plant by GE Human Resource Manager Virginia Guzman. The purpose of these photos are to document the physical building, with particular attention to the layout of the plant with regard to staff areas and the manufacturing of products. Artifacts preserved in the collection are three motors manufactured by the GE DeKalb plant. Also contained in the collection are 191 digital photographs and 17 videos of the closed plant. The images were captured by Center staff during a tour of the plant by Virginia Guzman, GE Human Resource Manager, in the summer of 2015. The digital photos and videos may be accessed in the Center's reading room. Prints made from the digital photos are in box 2.

Dates

  • created: 1891-2015
  • Other: Majority of material found in 1946-2015
  • Other: Date acquired: 03/17/2015

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on access to materials in the collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights in the collection belong to the Regional History Center; literary rights are dedicated to the public.

Biographical or Historical Information

The General Electric company developed a plant in DeKalb, Illinois in 1946 after the building was firstly used for airplane/aircraft wartime material during War World II. The plant produced various house appliances and motors for U.S. consumers. Ever-present in the historical records is the value of employees and DeKalb County to GE. The plant closed in January 2015.

Note written by

Extent

14.75 Linear Feet

211 digital files (505 GB) other_unmapped

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement Note

The collection is organized into five series and two subseries arranged by material type: (1) Historical Files; (2) Photographs and Slides; (3) Newsletters: (Subseries A) DeKalb Plant News/General Electric News and (B) 3-D DeKalb Daily Digest/DeKalb Daily Digest/DeKalb Digest/DeKalb News; (4) Quarter Century Club Records; and (5) Artifacts. The majority of the collection is composed of newsletters. The subseries consist of GE DeKalb plant newsletters that were published every two weeks from 1947 to 1961 and daily plant newsletters from 1953 to 2001. Arrangement within series is chronological and alphabetical when date is not discernible.

Technical Access Requirements

Digital images and videos may be accessed on the computer in the Center’s reading room.

Source of Acquisition

Daniel J. Olson, Operation Manager of the General Electric Company

Method of Acquisition

The donation was solicited after learning the plant was closing. The first donation was receieved on March 17, 2015.

Accruals and Additions

Two additions to the colection were given in May.

Title
Archon Finding Aid Title
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Northern Illinois University Repository

Contact:
Founders Memorial Library
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb IL 60115 US
815-753-9392