Remembering James "Jim" M. Callihan born in Byesville, Guernsey County, Ohio who worked with my father for many years at the General Industries Company in Elyria, Ohio

Remembering Mr. James "Jim" M. Callihan today on this Veterans Day, November 11, 2022.  Jim was honorably discharged from the Army Air Corps in 1947. 

It was my pleasure to meet Jim and Ruth Callihan on October 20, 2012 at their lovely home in Elyria, Ohio.  

Thanks to the Internet, I was able to make a connection to them and exchange information about the General Industries Company where Jim had worked starting in 1952 as a sales manager and general sales manager retiring in 1990.  However, he stayed on serving as a consultant with the company through 2003.  

My father, Harry Limes, worked at General Industries from 1934 retiring from a position of foreman in the Plastics Division.  

My mother, Virginia (Zagorsky) Limes, worked at General Industries as well as a molder from 1940 to 1947 following the shutdown of her first employer, Central Glass Works in Wheeling, West Virginia that occurred in1939.  My father was my mother's boss. They were married on December 7, 1944. 

Thus, the General Industries Company has held special significance in my life because my parents met there. My father died in 1988, and my mother died in 1995.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sharing an excerpt from a letter to me from James Callihan: 

"I came to GI from Cambridge, Ohio (130 Miles south) and was hired by Allan Fritzsche in July 1952 as Sales Manager of the Plastics Div. when I was but age 26 where for many years I worked and developed friendships with many co-workers including Harry.  

In the photo you sent, it included Bill Foster who was the son-in-law of Fritsche who owned the company at that time.  Bill Foster was to become the President for 23 years to his retirement in 1980.  We both kept in close touch throughout our retirement years and he died in Florida at age 86.  I talked with him 6 months prior to his death.

I later became General Sales Manager then Vice President of Sales & Marketing of both Plastics and Motors Divisions and upon retirement was Senior Vice President of the Company which as your know burned down a few years ago.

 I have many wonderful memories of my years with GI and there are only a few of us still alive of the management group.  Milan Bendik who was V.P. of Personnel lives close by.

  I noted a 1948 picture of the GI league bowling team I'll send you of which included your dad and Joe Ursem who was a compression molder. Joe's daughter, Joanie, was secretary to Bill Foster and  myself for several years.

Below is a group photograph of the November 1947Bowling team at the General Industries in Elyria.: 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I finally succeeded in a plant wide clean-up effort but it took about 5 years to get there!! The first time I walked thru the plant at GI, I was walking thru water due to steam line leaks and it looked and felt like I was walking on boardwalks in the old west!!

Orlo Marsh who was then V.P. was the first GI Exec. to interview me and tour plant in Cambridge and he was astounded at how clean it was and it opened his eyes to what GI had to do to become more competitive and produce less scrap due to contamination of bakelite dust flying all around. First thing we did at GI was build enclosures around every one of the molding presses in the first 6 months after I arrived!

Following that we fixed all the water line leaks, removed all the wooden planks on the floor that were deteriorating due to the water."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Truly, Jim Callihan was the proverbial "walking Encyclopedia" recalling memory after memory from his tenure at General Industries including the company's extensive history. 

Eagerly I "soaked in" all of the details no matter how small, but for me were so significant, as he moved along sharing them with me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The photograph below is a colorized birds eye view of the General Industries Co. plant in Elyria, Ohio (circa 1930s) which sadly burned down to the ground in 2008. 

Fortunately my parents weren't alive to know about its demise.

Mr. Callihan took a moment out from our conversation to show me some of the video of the fire he had saved on his computer.  I could see how sad it was for him to view some of it.:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Below - left is my bakelite bomb fuse and to the right is my lucite bomb fuse made at the General Industries Co. in Elyria during WWII.  These might have been "seconds".  My mother told me she helped to make these for the war effort.    

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Below is another example of Lucite with a religious medal encased in it made probably by my mother.: 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thankfully, Mr. Callihan donated all of his "GI" collection to the Lorain County Historical Society ensuring the material will be available for viewing and study by researchers seeking to learn more about the company. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Below is Mr. James "Jim" Callihan in 2016 in Colorado where he relocated following the death of his wife in 2015.: 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rest in eternal peace, Jim.  

Thank you for touching my life in such a memorable way!

Sharing this news story: "Elyria Cemeteries May see changes for Headstones"

This feature story centers around the increasing costs of conducting indigent burials in Elyria (Lorain County) Ohio.

 Excerpt:

"The proposal presented at the committee meeting is asking for those who have indigent burials and intend to purchase a headstone to pay a $350 fee for a plot and the footer fee for the headstone."

 

Elyria has three cemeteries.  Ridgelawn Cemetery, being its most historic cemetery; Brookdal Cemetery which is also known as the Elyria City Cemetery, and North Murray Ridge Cemetery which is a smaller pioneer cemetery with some more recent burials.  

Ohio Revised Code 5121.11 :

"Burial or cremation of indigent patient or resident"

"The state shall bear the expense of the burial or cremation of an indigent resident who dies in a state institution operated by the department of developmental disabilities under section 5123.03 of the Revised Code or in a state correctional institution if the body is not claimed for interment or cremation at the expense of friends or relatives or is not delivered for anatomical purposes or for the study of embalming in accordance with section 1713.34 of the Revised Code. 

The managing officer of the institution shall provide at the grave of the person or, if the person's cremated remains are buried, at the grave of the person's cremated remains, a metal, stone, or concrete marker on which shall be inscribed the name and age of the person and the date of death.

Amended by 128th General Assembly 

ch.29, SB 79, §1, eff. 10/6/2009.

Effective Date: 08-05-1998; 01-01-2006"

 

"Indigent Funeral Guidelines for Ohio"

Excerpt:
"The state laws of Ohio are explicitly clear about the guidelines of indigent funerals. 

The rising cost of funerals means families faced with unexpected deaths may not be able to afford a funeral for their loved ones. 

Prior to 2001, the state of Ohio paid $750 for the funeral of an indigent person claimed by the family. The law was repealed and the cost, as of 2011, falls upon the cities and municipalities of the state."

 

Section 9.15 

"Burial or cremation of body at expense of township or municipal corporation."

"As used in this section, "legal residence" means a permanent place of abode used or occupied as living quarters at the time of a person's death, including a nursing home, hospital, or other care facility.

When the body of a dead person is found in a township or municipal corporation, and such person was not an inmate of a correctional, benevolent, or charitable institution of this state, and the body is not claimed by any person for private interment or cremation at the person's own expense, or delivered for the purpose of medical or surgical study or dissection in accordance with section 1713.34 of the Revised Code, it shall be disposed of as follows:

(A) If the person was a legal resident of the county, the proper officers of the township or municipal corporation in which the person's body was found shall cause it to be buried or cremated at the expense of the township or municipal corporation in which the person had a legal residence at the time of death. 

(B) If the person had a legal residence in any other county of the state at the time of death, the superintendent of the county home of the county in which such body was found shall cause it to be buried or cremated at the expense of the township or municipal corporation in which the person had a legal residence at the time of death. 

(C) If the person was an inmate of a correctional institution of the county or a patient or resident of a benevolent institution of the county, the person had no legal residence in the state, or the person's legal residence is unknown, the superintendent shall cause the person to be buried or cremated at the expense of the county. 

Such officials shall provide, at the grave of the person or, if the person's cremated remains are buried, at the grave of the person's cremated remains, a metal, stone, or concrete marker on which the person's name and age, if known, and date of death shall be inscribed.

A political subdivision is not relieved of its duty to bury or cremate a person at its expense under this section when the body is claimed by an indigent person. As used in this section, "indigent person" means a person whose income does not exceed one hundred fifty per cent of the federal poverty line, as revised annually by the United States department of health and human services in accordance with section 673(2) of the "Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981," 95 Stat. 511, 42 U.S.C. 9902, as amended, for a family size equal to the size of the person's family."

~*~*~*~*~

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 240, §1, eff. 8/31/2016.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 25, HB 59, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2013.

Effective Date: 2007 HB119 09-29-2007 

  

Further updates to come:

"Through the 19th of this month, we had nine burials and four were indigent. 

The money we put out just this month is very costly to us.”

Council could start to discuss the issue Feb. 3.

 

 

Spotlighting the Ridgelawn Cemetery in Elyria (Lorain County) Ohio

The photographs below are from my October 17, 2017 visit to Ridgelawn Cemetery in Elyria, Ohio. 

 It was my first visit, and one that was much overdue.  These are just a small sampling of the historic gravestones and monuments to be found at this early Ohio cemetery.  

The earliest burial that I found belongs to Nathaniel Porter who died in June (13th?) 1822.

  His "Find A Grave" memorial contains an extensive biographical write-up.  He was re-interred from another cemetery, however.  Links to memorials for his spouse and children are included with his memorial.  

A visitor can spend several splendid hours exploring Ridgelawn Cemetery in Elyria and easily become immersed in its landscape of amazing variety of trees among towering military monuments. One is topped with a soaring Eagle while another has a life-size Civil War soldier painted in appropriate Union Regimental colors. 

The 1820s - 1840s delicately carved grave markers there are indeed remarkable in their simplicity and not to be missed before you leave.  Several impressive mausoleums include those that are reminiscent of small sandstone houses! 

A visitor cannot help but be drawn to the grand wrought iron gated family plot of Heman Ely and his descendants.  

Ridgelawn Cemetery is a sacred place  where pioneer history awaits visitors who are fortunate enough to come and walk its grounds. 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharing a Story about the Veterans Memorial's Completion at Brookdale Cemetery - Elyria, Ohio

Sharing a July 9, 2017 news story from the Elyria "Chronicle-Telegram" by Lisa Roberson entitled:

"Brookdale Cemetery completes veterans memorial"

Learn from this news story how local Home Depot employees can make a difference in their locales with their volunteer contributions!

On "Find A Grave" there are 

5,570 interment memorials

 listed for Brookdale Cemetery.

Spotlighting North Murray Ridge Cemetery, Elyria, Ohio

Spotlighting the North Murray Ridge Cemetery this afternoon.  Sharing photographs taken on June 1, 2016.  

**********************

#ThisPlaceMatters!