Question: These iron gates are readily visible on a well-traveled street. Are you aware of their location? Many years ago they were moved from their original site, where they were also within easy view of passersby. Do you know their story?
Last week’s answer: Identification badges like the one shown last week were worn by the many workers who were employed at the New York Ordnance Works on land that is now Radisson. Right after Pearl Harbor the government took all of the land by eminent domain. All of the residents had to get off their land within 30 days.
By January 1943, less than a year after construction began the plant was in operation. The plant was under heavy security. Ten miles of chain link fencing with elevated guard towers at distances of not greater than 1,500 feet along the entire periphery protected it. At night, floodlights played on all perimeter areas. Inside were 88 main buildings and more than 20 miles of roads. Eight thousand men and women worked here. They made, processed and shipped dinitrochlorobenzene, more familiarly known as “Explosive D.” It was used in armor piercing shells, and it and its processing were deadly business.
“Explosive D” was made, basically, from a peaceful enough coal tar derivative used for dye making. But, by the time the Works got through treating it with nitric and sulfuric acids, boiling it and cooling it and, finally, shipping it, it was anything but peaceful. It was stored in concrete magazines located in the area of what is now the game management preserve.
Operations were highly regulated. Everyone who entered through the guard gates wore an identification badge. The badge in the photo was worn by Tony Peach when he worked there. He and all others who were employed there had to follow a strict set of rules. They had two means of ID — a picture and a circular badge. If they were injured they had to report it immediately and go directly to the medical center. They also had to take special attention to their personal care — daily baths and care of spills on the skin. In fact if that happened they had to immediately take a shower and change clothes. They had to wear special safety footwear and special clothing. Employees were searched daily — no matches, lighters, automatic pencils or pens, or any device or material which were declared to be contraband could be carried into the plant. They were constantly reminded to watch out for suspicious action on the part of anyone in or near the plant and to report it at once, being reminded always that “sabotage can destroy you, your job and the plant.” The safety manual emphasized: “Remember this: dinitrophenol, picric acid and ammonium picrate are potentially explosive when dry. This condition is aggravated when the dry product is exposed to heat. For this reason, any accumulation of these products on floors, walls, ceiling, on pieces of equipment or wherever is to be avoided.”
A year and two months after production began, it was stopped. Following the war, the property was declared surplus, and the Works were abandoned and little used until the UDC took it over to build a new planned community — and that’s another story.
Audrey Peach identified the badge as belonging to her husband, Tony Peach, who was a mail clerk for the New York Ordnance Works.
Another reader, Jim Merrifield, also recognized the Ordnance Works, where his grandfather worked. Jim emailed us a bonus photo (below) to accompany his answer.
“My grandfather, Mitchell Merrifield, was a sergeant in the facilities police force. I have attached a picture of his helmet, that appears to be WWI surplus. I also have his nightstick and semaphore flags somewhere in my home,” Jim wrote. “I remember my father, Bob, telling me about a snow storm blew in one day and he had to go out Sixty Rd. and rescue one of the guards’ dogs, as the guard had gotten stuck when he went out on patrol. The German shepherd spent two days at my grandparents’ house after my father coaxed it out of the guard shack using a whole pack of spearmint gum.”
Jim added, “If you use Google Maps you can just barely see the five ‘runs’ where the highly explosive product was made.”
Email your guess to [email protected] or leave a message at 315-434-8889 ext. 310 with your guess by noon Friday. If you are the first person to correctly identify an element in the photo before the deadline, your name and guess will appear in next week’s newspaper, along with another History Mystery feature. History Mystery is a joint project of the Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse and the Baldwinsville Public Library.
