Very few people working today will spend 20-30 years with the same company. Longevity is just not possible with the volatility present today in industries big and small. Those working today, myself included, feel lucky to get 5-7 years at a company before some inside or outside force induces a change. In addition, companies rarely put up permanent structural roots, with the moving of office space as frequent as the change over in employee base.
It was not always this way. Fresh faces from college would walk into the doors of a building for their first day on the job, and walk out 35 years later having lived their entire lives within the same corporate walls. My father spent his entire career with Kodak. 32 Years. Kodak brought him and my mother to Rochester from Maine to start their lives. All I have ever known is being a Kodak family. For 29 of his 32 years, my father was in Kodak bldgs 65 or 69. Starting in the Color Print Processing division of bldg 65, he was one of the first 4 people to move into bldg 69 when it opened in 1968. Beginning with bldg 69s Photographic Technology group, and ending with Marketing Technical Support, my father spent time on 7 out of 8 floors in bldg 69 throughout his career. Kodak was his employer, but bldg 69 was a trusted co-worker.
As with many industries these days, Kodak is changing. No more the film and photopaper giant, they are transforming into a Digital provider. With this change, comes the shedding of assets, both human, and physical. To dispose of some of their largest physical assets, Kodak has spent this summer imploding buildings around Kodak Park that are now vacant due to the downsizing and elimination of film and paper production. This morning, at 7:30am, I joined my father to watch buildings 65 and 69 come down.
Istood by my fathers side as he gathered with past co-workers to reminisce about their years in bldg 69. I heard the people around us discussing their offices, their favorite floors, how many years they spent in the building, and who was missing from the gathering. I was picturing all of the times growing when I would visit my father in his office. The semi-circle entrance drive. The guard station in the lobby. The marble floors, and the elevator ride up to his floor. The pictures on the walls. The table I would sit at in his office. Those who sat around him. I couldn't help but think that I will never know a co-worker as long and as well as my father knew bldg 69.
Then, with 8 quick bangs, my fathers buildings were gone. A trusted co-worker said good-bye, leaving all of us standing there with only our memories. My father has 29 years worth as one of the first and last in the history of bldg 69. And I have mine. From my days growing up, and of today and the experience I got to share with my father. Times change. Corporations change. And the Rochester skyline is again changed forever.
1 comment:
Wow Charlie - what a great post. My grandfather worked at Kodak as an electrician his whole adult life, moving to Rochester with his young family to start a new life, like your Dad did. He worked all over Kodak Park, I think. I remember a few things - he told a story once about how his shirt got caught on something and he got swept up 100s of feet in the air, hanging by threads...lucky to have lived! After what - 40 years - they gave him a plaque for all his years of service. It was a wooden plaque with gold lettering and it had a pair of electrical pliers on it. My grandfather was a man of few words...I knew him best as an old man after he retired. His job at Kodak provided the foundation for all of us to get where we are today. Amazing legacy.
You're so right that none of us will have that kind of connection with the same company. But we do sometimes have that continuity with individuals. I work now with a woman who is a good friend and colleague. We've worked together through 5 different companies. It's not the companies that remain the same...it's us.
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