>> GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO "CONNECTING POINT," I'M JIM
MADIGAN.
TONIGHT WE BEGIN OUR LOOK AT SOME OF THE UNIQUE AND SOMETIMES
LITTLE KNOWN MUSEUMS IN OUR REGION.
LOCATED IN THE OLDEST MILL BUILDING IN GREENFIELD THE
MUSEUM OF OUR INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE PROMOTES THE HERITAGE
OF INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING IN THE FRANKLIN COUNTY AND THE
PIONEER VALLEY.
PRODUCER TONY DUNNE AND VIDEOGRAPHER MARK LANGEVIN TAKE
US ON A GUIDED TOUR.
>> WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
THIS BUILDING WE'RE IN IS FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE NEWELL
SNOW FACTORY.
HE BUILT THIS BUILDING FOR THE WELLS BROTHERS WHO WERE STARTING
THEIR OWN VERSION OF THE CAP AND DIE INDUSTRY.
WE'RE ON THE GREEN RIVER HERE.
AND THE FIRST INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY HERE WAS AROUND 1700,
THE FIRST GRAIN MILLS WERE ESTABLISHED HERE.
UP TO THE PRESENT DAY THERE'S BEEN A SERIES OF MANUFACTURING
CONTINUOUSLY HERE.
WE'RE PART OF A LARGER REGIONAL STORY IN THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.
CERTAINLY THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY IS KNOWN FOR THE ORIGINS OF
METAL WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES.
ONCE YOU START SEEING HOW MUCH ACTIVITY IS HERE, YOU HAVE TO
ASK WHY.
ESPECIALLY IN SUCH A FAIRLY RURAL AREA.
ONE THING FOR CERTAIN IS THE WATERPOWER.
YOU HAD THE CONNECTICUT RIVER, SO EVEN BEFORE THE RAILROADS YOU
HAD A WAY THAT THESE PRODUCTS COULD BE DELIVERED ALL OVER THE
WORLD.
>> ONE THING THAT WE'RE WELL WELL-KNOWN FOR HERE IN
GREENFIELD IS THE FAMOUS GREEN RIVER KNIFE MADE IT WOULD JOHN
RUSSELL COMPANY IN THE 1800s.
THIS WAS THE TOOL OF CHOICE, IT WAS REALLY A MULTIUSE TOOL FOR
THE FRONTIERSMAN AND EVEN NATIVE AMERICANS COUGH VETTED THESE,
INDISPENSABLE TOOL OUT IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE UNITED
STATES AS IT WAS BEING DEVELOPED.
OVER 720,000 OF THESE KNIVES WERE MANUFACTURED HERE IN THE
1840s AND 50s, ALL SHIPPED OUT ON THE RIVER TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEM.
>> INDUSTRY REALLY STARTED UP IN THE HILL TOWNS.
MUCH OF THE HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY WE FIND IN THE SMALLER
TOWNS.
CONWAY WAS A MAJOR TEXTILE PRODUCER.
IT WAS A VERY LARGE INDUSTRIAL TOWN FOR QUITE A WHILE, IN FACT,
IT RIVALED DEERFIELD FOR THE COUNTY SEAT FOR A WHILE.
THEY HAD THEIR OWN HYDROELECTRIC DAM AND POWER SYSTEMS, BASED ON
THE TROLLEYS DOWN TO THE RAILROAD TRACKS, VERY BUSY
PLACE.
AND GREENFIELD PLAYED ITS ROLE AS DID SEVERAL OTHER CITIES UP
AND DOWN THE VALLEY OVER THE TIME.
>> SINCE THE TAP AND DIE STRIP INDUSTRY WAS SUCH A PROMINENT
INDUSTRY, WE TRIED TO COLLECT EXAMPLES OF ALL THE DIFFERENT
COMPANIES.
THERE WERE ABOUT 20 DIFFERENT COMPANIES ESTABLISHED HERE.
>> IT'S NOT SO MUCH ABOUT INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTS HERE AS
MEDICINES AND MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES THAT WERE DEVELOPED
HERE, PROCESSES.
SO WHAT WE'RE MOST NOTED FOR IS THE ABILITY TO SOLVE PROBLEMS IN
MANUFACTURING, MASS PRODUCTION METHODS.
THIS IS WHAT A GREAT DEAL OF THE STORY IS WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT ANY
INDIVIDUAL COMPANIES.
>> LEK TRONGS COMPANY CALLED WING MANUFACTURING WAS THE FIRST
COMPANY TO MAKE TWO-WAY POLICE RADIOS HERE IN GREENFIELD.
AND ALSO DURING WORLD WAR II THAT COMPANY HELPED DEVELOP THE
FIRST ARREARS.
SOME VERY IMPORTANT WORK WAS DONE HERE, SOME CLASSIFIED WORK
THAT LED TO DEVELOPMENTS THAT DRAMATICALLY CHANGED THE WAR IN
OUR FAVOR.
>> WE'RE HERE IN OUR HANDS-ON AREA AT THE MUSEUM.
WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A MINITABLE TOP COMPLETE
MACHINE SHOP THAT YOU COULD BUY THROUGH A LOCAL COMPANY, GOODEL
PRATT.
WE USE IT TO DEMONSTRATE SOME POWER CONCEPTS, POWER
TRANSMISSION.
>> I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO OUR WELL-BEING AND SECURITY TO KEEP
THIS TRADITION GOING.
IT'S A LONG TRADITION, IT GOES BACK TO THE ROOT OF OUR COUNTRY,
THE UNIQUE WAY WE MANUFACTURE HERE.
IN FACT, THE WORLD HAS ADOPTED THE MEDICINES FOR MANUFACTURING
THAT WERE DEVELOPED HERE.
AND I REALLY THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP THIS LEGACY
GOING. ¶