Tuesday, April 3, 2012

When our dads worked for U.S. Rubber


Dave took this picture with his Iphone camera. The picture is in a memory box with many other memorabilia that my folks were given by friends and relatives on their 50th wedding anniversary. I think this picture of an article in the "Synthetic Rubber Beacon" was given to my folks by Eddie and Lamora Magdaleno as a reminder of when Eddie and my dad worked together at U.S. Rubber. This was an issue of the company newsletter for U.S. Rubber published around 1944. My dad, John Dumas, Sr., and Eddie Magdaleno went to work for the company at the same time. I think they mostly worked the swing shift or the graveyard shift. I remember my dad brought home a big hunk of synthetic rubber to show us. Eddie is mentioned in the article as having particular attributes that made him suitable for the job he was given. I don't recall what my dad did at U.S. Rubber.

Our Dads had to work for a company that produced materiel for or in some way supported the war effort (WWII). The draft board had gotten to the point where they were drafting men who had 3 children or more into the Army. My dad had 4 children and Eddie had 3 children. Working for U.S. Rubber was a way for our dads to serve the country without being in one of the services. My dad quit U.S. Rubber after about a year and started his own garment factory in downtown L.A. The factory produced uniform clothing for the armed services thereby qualifying his company as supporting the war effort and keeping him out of the draft. After the war the factory produced women's coats.

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