Browse Items (25 total)

A worker is cutting a length of cord at an angle or on the bias. Tire cord had to be cut at a 45 degree angle because the fabric threads were woven at this angle. This angle weave of the cord proved to be more durable than a square weave.

The company doctor is treating a hand injury of an employee while the nurse assists him. The management of the Fisk Tire Company were proud that their company had an emergency hospital staffed by a full-time doctor and nurse.

A worker presses his hand on a stack of molds while he waits for the cover to be lowered onto the vulcanizer. When the cover is secure, heat and steam will be piped into the vulcanizer, causing the rubber to harden and expand against the molds. This…

Four wrapped tires are sitting atop the wrapping machine. Because Fisk Tire Company had retail stores in forty states, tires were wrapped before they were shipped to these stores. The wrapping prevented dust from collecting on the tires and preserved…

Workers near the conveyer wait for tires in molds which are destined for the vulcanizers on their right. As these molds arrive, these workers will place one mold on top of another until they fill the vulcanizer.

Two workers from the shipping department of the Fisk Tire Company inspect tires before they are put into the warehouse storage area. On the right, their supervisor is inspecting a stack of finished tires ready for storage. In the 1920s, this…

This five-story building was the main production facility of the tire company. Founded in 1896, as one building and known as the Spalding & Pepper Rubber Company, it grew to be one of the nation's largest tire making facilities.

The managers of the Fisk Tire Company are seated at a table with their secretary to the right. Meetings were held in the administration building which faced Grove Street in Chicopee Falls. On the wall to the left is a framed, enlarged photograph of…

A worker operates a machine which winds cord around the rim of a metal core. For cord tires, the circumference of the core was smaller than the inside of the tire because these tires expanded when they were put into the vulcanizing machines.

A group of workers standing on each side of a conveyer lower the top half of a mold over an unfinished tire which has been placed by other workers into a bottom mold. Molds which were made of metal resembled halves of a giant hollowed out donut.

Inside the emergency hospital at the plant, there are counters with medical supplies against the back wall. Two sinks stand on each side of these counters. The room also contains a portable hospital bed and dispensary table and chair.

Two workers standing on opposite sides of the conveyer remove the harness which was used to lower the upper mold onto a tire encased by a bottom mold. Removal of the harness was the final procedure before a tire was placed for curing into the…

Tire cord wound on spools is piled in a bin. This cord made from a specially designed fabric was used in the manufacture of tires. In the 1920's three different factories were making tire cord for the Fisk Tire Company.

The safety bulletin in the display case has the following slogan on top: Safety saves sickness, suffering, sadness. On the bottom, it shows a series of health cartoons about the dangers of spreading infection and warns, "Don't spit!" Just several…

Inside the safety bulletin case, management of the plant has placed a poster which shows and describes how a worker injured his finger while placing his hand on a tire hanging from the overhead track; the worker next to him pushed a tire which…

Two workers in the shipping department are inspecting finished tires which they are holding upright on a table. Nearby on wooden pallets, tires of various tread design are stacked and bundled.

A tire with a visible inner tube leans against a stack of nearby tires. The invention of the pneumatic tire, i.e., a vulcanized tire with an inflatable inner tube gave passengers in automobiles a smooth, comfortable ride. By the 1920s, the Fisk Tire…

Workers near the conveyer wait for tires in molds which are destined for the vulcanizers on their right. As these molds arrive, these workers will place one mold on top of another until they fill the vulcanizer.

Cord tires awaiting vulcanization are dangling from metal hooks attached to pulleys. These pulleys ran on an overhead circular track. Because of this round shape, workers at the Fisk Tire Company referred to this section of the vulcanizing room as…

Ten trucks parked at the loading dock are getting ready to make shipments of finished tires. These tires will be delivered to dealers and the 130 branch stores operated by the Fisk Tire Company. The shipping department was always very busy in the…

A worker carefully looks at tire cord stretched out on the table. This cotton fabric constituted twenty five percent of every cord tire built by the Fisk Tire Company. The durability of a Fisk tire depended on the careful handling of the fabric by…

Two workers with large knives are cutting bundled sheets of rubber. On the left the worker is carefully looking at his scale in order to determine the weight of his cut.

Two workers on each side of a conveyor belt are removing unfinished tires from hooks attached to an overhead track. Each unfinished tire was then placed on the conveyor belt where it traveled to the mold room.

Workers are applying the special rubber stripe which will be the sidewall of the cord tire. This sidewall rubber was made by a special machine at the plant. When the sidewalls were built up, the tires were now ready to be shipped to the vulcanizing…

Two employees are working on a machine which wraps finished tires. To their left a stack of tires is waiting to be wrapped. On the right Fisk non-skid tires are wrapped and piled neatly on a pallet.