Intermet Havana Foundry

I don't know why but i've been thinking of Havana latley and how I kind of

miss it.  Yeah I actually miss it what is wrong with me? I worked there for 

about a year and a half. My father worked there ten years up until the day it

closed in 2004. He got me hired when i was eighteen and it was my first job.

Most teenager's first jobs are fast food joints mine was an $8 an hour foundry

job as a core setter.  The job was non stop and repeat  you had to load a 

conveyor belt with cores where the person at the machine would load them 

into it.  This would send the core into the mold and make the break pad.

The disa Machine ran the entire thing and the mold line.  Hot iron would be 

poured into the mold.  The bad thing is they didn't have any protection 

between the core machine and the mold.  Once a mold crumbled and hot iron

came spilling out and I got burned.  It wasn't bad and someone put out the fire 

on my shirt but i wasn't happy about it and blasted my boss.  Luckily it was

one of the nicer bosses and not the dick ones or i'd probably get canned for

running my mouth in anger. We also had to dodge wet charges too on top of

the other dangers in that place. The air was full of smoke and dirt from the

molds plus sand.  It was hot all times of the year as well.

Why do I miss it?  Sure the hell wasn't for the place itself or the tiring job oh 

hell no. You couldn't pay me enough to set my hands on another 147 core. I'd

probably beam someone upside the head with one now.  I'm old and I'm cranky

damn it. Also don't miss being decked out in a jacket ( after the fire incident had

to start wearing those in the machine) and it made it hotter than blazes as if 

wearing a hard hat, glasses, ear plugs, gloves and these heavy steel toed boots

weren't hot and uncomfortable enough. My boots i called clod hoppers. I

always wore a size or two bigger to give my feet some room to wiggle about 

freely.  On my job you probably went through 3 or 4 pairs of gloves a day

because the cores would put holes in the gloves.  I miss it for some of the 

people.  This was fifteen years ago and can still remember names and faces.

I give the dump credit my relationship with my Dad improved since we sort

of just bonded over the dysfunctional crap there and could relate to each 

other better.  One night Dad did something so sweet for me I'll never forget.

I had worked two or three days straight of twelve hour shifts and i was expected

another since they were short on Core setters. Dad walks up to me while I was

feeding the machine and said go home get some sleep I'll take the rest of my

shift. I didn't complain I own it I was dead beat so took him up on that even

though the politer thing to do was just suck it up since i was young and he was

in his 50's and just worked those last four hours.  I'll never forget that though.

I hope i thanked him a billion times.  I went home, showered, shoved a quick meal

down my throat and crashed.  That was nice of him. I don't miss those stretches

of twelves they got old after a while and you could have no life what so ever other

than go home and sleep. I tried dating while there it didn't last long and i couldn't

devote much to it because i was always working or sleeping and you only had one

day off some weeks. Once in a while you got a full weekend but that was rare.

To use as example of how dangerous the place was they would have wet charges

from time to time.  If someone dumped a hopper of steel that had anything wet

in it into the furnace the damn thing would explode sending steel and iron flying

everywhere.  I witnessed like four in my time there only one being really major

but luckily no one was hurt or worse killed. The really major one Dad was on a 

weeks vacation but i was working and on the end of the conveyor belt putting cores

onto it off a pallet while the person upfront in the box loaded the machine.

Anyways Buckley not knowing the steel was wet from rain...you'd think they would

check but nope guess not dumped the hopper into the furnace and I heard a huge 

boom.  My big butt went under the conveyor belt so fast to cover myself because

I instantly knew what just happened having the misfortune of witnessing them 

before.  Buckley's big ass took off running off his fork lift.  Bellesses the converter

operators big ass ran out the side door as fast as his butt could carry him.  I don't

blame him.  I darted under a conveyor belt so  what am I talking about. LOL.

So many bosses came running out of  the break room and other doors.  I never

seen people run so fast.  The whole production department got shut down for hours

because of that and we all had to clean up.  Steel was all over the floor even up by

the core line and the floor was pitch black in silt.  The room was smokey for a while.

It literally looked like a huge disaster zone.  We're all lucky no one got hurt or killed

because that would certainly do it.  The worst injury i seen there was someone split

their hand open which was gross. I won't lie i got grossed out by it but we all just got

the person the help they needed and didn't dwell on it.  I got over being grossed out

by such stuff when I cut my left hand under the thumb open at another job a few

years later.  I didn't even shed a tear and looked down to see my hand filling up with

blood.  I nailed myself with a box cutter and had to have stitches. Intermet was also

a very filthy place with the air contaminated with lots of smoke, dirt and sand.

Dad ended up with breathing problems so did a few others and I ended up with it.

We would all cough up this black crap and had black crap in our noses daily. 

Before Intermet I didn't get Bronchitis but afterwards I started getting it on and off.

It was so bad one time at Intermet had to take a week off  doctors said to take

anti biotics and to recover.  I wouldn't be shocked if my Trach issues Intermet

didn't have some part in my airway getting so narrowed. Maybe i don't know.

Now that I discussed the negative side of Intermet it wasn't all that bad I did

enjoy socializing on breaks with friends there. I enjoyed relaxing on breaks 

outside and we would watch coal trains at night go to the Havana Power plant

which wasn't too far away.  I enjoyed third shift the most.  Dad made me go to

First after six months which i could see his point to see each other but i had friends

on third shift and I enjoyed working third.  I'm a night owl and a creature of the

night. Not so much now the older i get now i go to bed around midnight or one.

Third shift wasn't chaotic and was quit. The bosses were cooler, laid back and nice.

It was cooler in the summer and i really think if i stayed on third I would have stuck

it out at Intermet longer than i did.   I always had anxiety problems so moving to first

made my anxiety jump high with lots of people around, bosses looking over your back 

to be dicks, more fork lifts driving around and both  core lines a going instead of

just the one. It was louder and more annoying. I have never liked first shift I prefer

evening or nights.  I didn't want to go to first because i didn't want to part from my 

best friend there Marcia. Dad kept nagging though so i went but not happily.

Marcia and I bonded over the job and what we hated about it or people we hated.

Funny how that works when people bond over disliking others.  God I miss her. I

wish i stayed in touch.  I had her number too but dropped off the face of the earth

after i got another job and didn't find time. That was my fault so no one is to blame

but me. We would sit out or stand out at night on breaks watching the stars, people from

other shifts come in and watch the coal trains.  We were part of a prank  on someone

not many liked.  We just stood back and watched but we didn't  exactly not participate

since we were laughing and showing approval.  Two guys wrapped a condom on this

guys jeep antenna and the guy drove off with it on.  We about died in laughter. It

makes me wonder why was someone carrying around a condom to Intermet of all

places....scratch that I don't really want to know. lol. One time  for shits and giggles

waltzed into the door into the break room where everyone was at wearing a tierra like 

a queen would with a pink feathery wrap around my neck or the time i came in wearing

a hockey mask because you guessed it bored. I drove to work in a hockey and a scream

mask once to greet Dad after he got off his shift. I had yet to go to mine since it was

hours later.  Dad was a sand hog and dug out the basements and sand tower.  I kept

writing in the dirt on the walls in the basement curse words and other stupid 

stuff and did it for quite a while til my Dad busted us.  I got owned since he made

me clean the walls. I also had to help him dig out the deep part of the basement too

for that one.  It wasn't easy you had to walk  with little room between the belt that

ran under the plant and the wall.  You had to walk so far down underground with

little light it wasn't funny.  I helped him but felt like some coal miner deep in the

mines.  You came out of there just as filthy as one so you might as well be one.

Dad taught me how to drive a fork lift there which i'd get certified at another place

years later. I got some lessons from him there in life and  other stuff. I guess some

good came out of it. I didn't enjoy the  Union stuff that went on down there. 

Dad was the leader in wanting to get the UAW Union at Intermet which i wanted

little to do with remembering the harrassment people got when Cat went on strike.

I wasn't against the Union by all means I just didn't want harrassed by people for

it either. I wanted to stay out of it but being the Union leader's daughter that was

impossible.  I went to a few meetings and signed their petitions.  Intermet did need

something they didn't treat their employees well.  I just wanted to avoid people's

fighting and not get too involved.  I quit the joint before they had their vote and it

failed to pass.  Then a few years later when Intermet announced they were closing

and laying off several people went to my dad wanting a union.  He said you had your

chance and blew them off.  Dad was one of the very last people to leave that place

when they did close.  I was long gone by then. I guess i should have stuck it out since

they would have closed three years later. Oh well.  I do miss watching Don Buckley

flip quarters in the break room or talk shit and heckle people. I miss the coffee cups

with poker cards on them people would match and seen who had the better hand and

sometimes had small bets. I miss how a few of us would howl like a wolf everytime

one of us would walk passed and we'd return it right back.  Bosses probably thought

we were crazy.

I miss  watching barges at the river before shift at the riverfront and once in a while

grabbing  a bite to eat at a gas station or mcdonald's.  While Dad was down there

he started a tradition I have continued.  He'd take us to Havana every fourth of

July and watch Fireworks. I have continued this after his passing and probably 

only missed one year. Shaun doesn't get that or why.  It's to remember my Dad and

to keep a part of him alive plus i like Havana.  I quit on July 31, 2001.  I'll admit

was hung over, depressed and angry.  I walked in with my bag of  gear after cleaning

out my locker, walked in the office and shot off my mouth, quit and walked out the

door. A guy i was dating and I decided it was a wonderful idea to get loaded on

Southern Comfort in Peoria at his house the night before so yeah that went well.

My stupidity though so I made my own bed with that place. Pity i didn't think it 

out I was making nine dollars an hour when I quit. My jobs after that didn't make 

that much and regretted it. I miss the clearing 500 or 600 a week but I don't miss

the twelve hour shifts that came along with it to clear that much mainly  due to

extreme exhaustion.  You were literally a living zombie. Still I'd rather deal with 

Intermet anyday than the creature i ended up marrying.  Can i go back to Intermet?

Pretty please?  It's less hellish. Haha.  Intermet didn't care if you like trains, had

hobbies, made friends and socialized or sought out counsoling.  They were less

controlling. Can i go back? I kid I kid.  While there is some things I miss I don't

think I could mentally deal with it and I know i sure the hell couldn't physically

deal with it today what with the breathing problems and such.  The hernia i had

this year would probably bust again.  Rofl.  

Production part of the plant:  ( side i worked on...most is gone now):

Processing side ( I hated working on that side a few times no one from production did):

Random Havana places I'd go to hang while still working there on off the clock time:

These tracks at the crossing in the picture would sometimes get stuck waiting on

coal trains.  I always left Canton an hour early to get there a half hour before shift 

started so it didn't matter so it was a pleasant surprise to get stuck on a train. I'd 

also take the road on the right to work to change scenery on my way into work.