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Orwin, Isabell (audio interview #3 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the last of three interviews with Isabell Orwin conducted in the front room of her old-style bungalow home. The dark paneled living room is filled with momentos of her Lockheed years, which she enjoyed showing off. Orwin still sported the reddish hair seen in many of her photographs, and dressed up for the interviews. A very cordial person, she greatly enjoyed the interview and was very forthcoming. 1/21/1981
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- 2021-01-25
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- SUBJECT BIO - Isabell Orwin applied for a job at Lockheed even before Pearl Harbor, but was called to work only after the attack. The first of three children born in Park City, Utah, Orwin completed the ninth or tenth grade in Salt Lake City. After her father's death in a mining accident, the family moved first to Wyoming and then to Nevada, following her step-father's work. She attended school in Nevada for a while until the family moved to Los Angeles in 1923. She held a variety of jobs until 1929, when she went to work at Packard Bell and Gilphelan Radios. Because of her eleven year electrical assembly work and the skills she had acquired, she was confident that she would be hired at Lockheed. As a forty-one year old single woman at war's end, she made herself a "key" person and was not laid off. She worked at Lockheed until her retirement in 1972, working her way up to lead position. Even after retirement, Lockheed remained an important element in her life and she regularly participated in functions sponsored by both the union and Lockheed Employees Recreation Club. TOPICS - postwar production responsibilities; job progression from 1945 until retirement; production during Korean War; lead and supervisory positions; stock room work; hours; training school at the plant; changes at Lockhesocial life before retiring; attitude about retiring; camaraderie among co-workers; retirement celebration; retirement activities; attitude towards marriage; family life; reflections on life; and future expectation
- *** File: rrriorwin8.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-5:40)... Orwin remained at Lockheed after the war because she was considered a key person. Her skills went beyond electrical wiring because she knew how to set up an area, which included cutting, numbering, and bundling wires, and organizing the stock room where parts were stored. She describes her various job responsibilities, tracing her progress from bench assembly to mockup, which was the highest job classification in the electrical department as well as her assignment when she worked in the field. After working in mockup, she was promoted to a supervisory position. She worked at Lockheed for thirty-one years. (5:40-7:34)... When she was lead during the war, Orwin supervised approximately 150 people in electrical assembly. She was promoted to supervisory position in the postwar period, but doesn't recall the year. She talks about postwar production of the L1011 at Lockheed's Palmdale plant, indicating that she was not interested in transferring to another plant after the war. (7:34-9:57)... During the Korean War, additional people were hired at the plant to handle new contracts. To accommodate the plant's production needs, a three-shift schedule was reinstated. Orwin worked on several different planes during the war, and she kept track of her work in a "bird" book. These records were useful to her because she was able to prove that she was not responsible for mistakes discovered by her leadman. However, she thinks that he came to her because he knew that she was capable of fixing the problems. (9:57-14:15)... Orwin was promoted to another lead position during the postwar period. Occasionally, she supervised crews on her own, for instance when both her foreman and supervisor went on vacation. She received a commendation for managing the crew during this period. Her last year or two at Lockheed, she helped organize a stock room in one of the sections of the electrical department. She was so efficient at her job that her supervisor left her in charge while he went on vacation for three weeks. When he was upgraded to a better job, she took over his supervisory position in the stock room. (14:15-16:07)... After the war ended, Orwin was transferred to the day shift, where she remained until she retired. Occasionally, she worked the graveyard shift in order to help get an airplane out on time. She worked an eight-hour shifts and believes that Lockheed had to get permission whenever they wanted women to work overtime. (16:07-18:56)... Note: there is an interruption in this segment when Orwin answers the telephone. By the time of the Korean conflict when more people were hired, Lockheed had opened a training school and people were trained before starting to work at the plant. Throughout her years at Lockheed, she took training courses to learn new electrical skills. She also had to familiarize herself with the new and improved electrical materials that were introduced at Lockheed over the years. Orwin believes that women were more suited to electrical work than men because their hands are smaller and it was much easier for them to maneuver the small electrical wires and parts. (18:56-20:38)... Orwin traces the changes at Lockheed over the thirty years she worked there. When she first started, there were very few, if any, minorities, and those who were in the plant worked in maintenance jobs. More minorities were hired at Lockheed in the postwar period. During her last couple of years at the plant, Japanese people were hired and she thought they were good workers. (20:38-24:24)... Although Orwin socialized with her co-workers outside of work, most of their activities revolved around company functions or events organized by the Lockheed Recreation Center. During the war, she lost track of some of her friends who did not work at Lockheed because they either moved away after they married or their lives went in different directions. Orwin never thought about getting married because she did not have time and comments: "I still don't!" (24:24-29:09)... Orwin talks about her social activities and the various clubs and organizations she joined over the years. [Note: she shows the interviewer photographs and other materials depicting her activities and travels after she retired.] End of tape. *** File: rrriorwin9.mp3 (0:07-4:56)... Orwin talks about her retirement activities and shows the interviewer more mementos. Her social life was less active before she retired because she was busy working all week. Most of her social activities during that period took place over the weekends, and as her friends got married, she acquired new friends who also were single. (4:56-8:09)... Orwin retired from Lockheed when she was sixty-eight years old. Just before she left, there was a plant-wide search to find a replacement with the same job classification and seniority. The woman who took over her position lasted for only three months, at which time the department was moved and the supervisor was terminated. Orwin liked to joke with her co-workers that the company would crumble after she left. She was close with everyone she worked with and considered them family. (8:09-10:21)... Orwin talks about her feelings after she retired from Lockheed in 1972. Her co-workers presented her with gifts and she discusses a large placard that was signed by her co-workers. (10:21-11:32)... Before she retired, one of Orwin's favorite activities was to go square dancing every Friday night., but she hasn't continued going since retirement. There was a church in her neighborhood that organized a square dancing club. (11:32-12:09)... After Orwin went to work at Lockheed, her dating life seemed to vanish and all of the men she had dated married other women. She is happy that she never married because she has nothing to tie her down and can come and go as she pleases. She has two mottos displayed in her home that she lives by: "Happiness is Being Single" and "Never Give Up." (12:09-14:47)... Orwin discusses her relationship with her family during the war years. They did not support her decision to work at Lockheed, but she is happy she continued. Her youngest brother went into the service during the war and eventually settled in Texas with his wife. The brother closest to her in age remained in California and she got together with him and his family on special occasions. (14:47-15:12)... She mentions her work on the election board. (15:12-16:11)... If she was a young woman today, Orwin thinks she probably would get married and have children. When she was a young woman, she talked about having ten children, which probably scared off many of her suitors. However, she always was too busy to pursue that path. Looking back, she would not do anything differently if she had a chance to live her life over again. (16:11-16:48)... Orwin is not knowledgeable about the ERA and the women's movement. In general, she thinks that women have a far superior work ethic than men and also are more accurate with their work. She would rather work with women than men any day. However, she never had problems working with or managing the men on her crews when she was employed at Lockheed. (16:48-17:32)... Orwin comments on youth today and how she would raise a daughter in today's society. She cannot understand why young people abuse substances, noting that she never smoke or drank caffeine when she was a young woman. (17:32-19:12)... Orwin's retirement years have been the happiest time in her life. The most unhappy period in her life began after her mother re-married and they moved around a lot for her stepfather's work. The places they lived were desolate and not very stimulating for young children. To pass the time, her mother taught her how to sew and do different types of handwork. Her mother was sick a lot during this period and Orwin had to take care of her and handle the household responsibilities. (19:12-19:47)... Orwin does not have any plans for the future because she prefers to live day to day. She feels that she has been blessed in her life and hopes that she can continue to live for a long time. End of tape.
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