Originally posted in 2008 and titled “A Glimpse of Connecticut 1960s,” this YouTube video can accurately be summed up as “President Trump’s entire movement in one short film and the responses it gets.”
The film was created by the Connecticut Development Commission. Yes, it’s meant to be viewed through rose-tinted glasses, and, yes, it ignores the severe pollution problems that came from many of these industrial plants. But the good overwhelms all that. Watching it, one feels a distant yet real connection to a thriving, workingman’s world teeming with a fascinating variety of quality manufacturing.
Narrator: “The Knox Glass company’s branch plant in Dayville manufactures glass containers from Connecticut silica sand and limestone. This is the only glass container plant in New England and it has expanded continually to meet the requirements of this regional market.”
Willimantic is “a city often referred to as the thread capital of the United States.”
Just as riveting as the video, if not more, are the hundreds of comments it has received. They mainly come from current or ex-Connecticuters who know what has been taken from them. Some are sad, others angry. Several are politically charged. Many are rather informative.
Here are just a few (lightly edited for clarity):
“95 percent of the industry listed no longer exists here.”
“I worked at Avco, Remington Arms, Carpenter Steel, Huyck Metals and Brunswick Corporation. All located in and around Bridgeport Connecticut. Every one of them closed or moved out of state. In the 60’s and 70’s you could find a new job in about 15 minutes. I bought a new house in Shelton for $38,000 and my property taxes were $600 per year. I moved to Florida for work in 1977. I couldn’t afford to live in Connecticut anymore and I certainly couldn’t find a job.”
“I love this historic footage. Sadly manufacturing took a nosedive in the late ’60s-’80s and a lot of these cities like New Britain, Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport, New Haven turned into urban blight. All the factories were moved to the South because labor was cheaper and now they’re located in China, India, and Mexico! The America that once was … ahhh … I think I’ll rewind and play it again.”
“Wow, the ’60s in Ct. No wonder my parents made home here in 1957. Dad was returning from the Navy in Korea and opportunities for a man to support a family of 7 awaited.”
“I grew up in Connecticut … how the Democrats have destroyed! Sanctuary cities and 10s of thousands of illegals have destroyed CT schools. Manufacturing and most insurance companies are gone for good! Makes me angry and very sad!”
“We can thank vulture capitalism for the empty and torn-down manufacturing plants and the outsourcing of Connecticut jobs. While they sit presiding over the stored wealth in their tax haven bank accounts. I’m going to apply for an economic grant to open a guillotine factory, I predict a rapid growth in this industry.”
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Read more from Joe Schaeffer.
