Acme Steel Coke Oven Division New Employee Orientation Video (1995)

Coke was produced at 11236 S. Torrence in Chicago for almost 100 years until the plant closed in 2001. While the property was stripped in 2007, many buildings remain intact to this day.

As of May 2022, I have visited the plant 40 times. Through documents and artifacts I have recovered from the site, I have researched the history of the plant, the work done there, and the many people who made the plant a part of their life. I have chronicled this work at my website, http://www.acmecoke.com

This video was produced in 1995 by Pro Comm Media of Crown Point Indiana. The cost was $3500 ($6040 in 2021). https://acmecoke.com/wp-content/uploa...

After months of recovering documents and artifacts from the plant, I located this tape, buried under debris, in the coal bunker SE office (area manager ovens office).

I found the correspondence in early December 2020 but did not find the tape itself until March 13th 2021. It was in bad shape but after disassembly, cleaning and transplanting the reels to a new cartridge it plays pretty well. The tape was 26 years old when I found it, and had been rotting in an abandoned building for 20. That it still plays can only be considered a miracle.

An amazing piece of history that I am very proud to have found. Enjoy and please check out my site http://www.acmecoke.com

00:00 intro
00:41 TQI/mission statement
02:18 pusher machine operator
03:58 door machine operator
05:02 larry car operator
06:20 quench car operator
07:10 lidman
09:44 pusher side door cleaner
11:29 coke side door cleaner
12:28 heater/heater helper
13:14 patcher