Conference 7.286::maynard

    When I first moved to Maynard (I used to be in Software Services
    in New York), I spent many lunch breaks wandering around and exploring
    the Mill.  On the day I happened to be in building 8, the door to
    the clock tower was open.  There was no sign or anything to indicate 
    that it was off limits, so I went in.
    
    I haven't seen it unlocked since then.

    
   	Used to frequent the place on lunchtime, (second shift)
    	I was expecting a large mechanisim, the whole works is
    	smaller than my desk, it looks like an oversized sewing machine
    	with four long poles extending to the hands.
    
    	One night the bell rang at 6:00 and at 6:15 
    	Never have seen it open since then . . .
    
    	Maybee they need volunteers to wind it.

Been there twice myself, again, each time the door was ajar and there was
nothing stating "keep out".  There's graffiti from the 30's (and earlier I
think).  It seems so much higher from inside than looking at it from the
outside. The door is above the stairway in Bldg. 8A.

This conference is a good idea - I was tempted to start a MILLRATS conference
myself, but this is a better idea.

Now, how many millrats here know where Egor's Room [sic] is? 

-Mike 

I've been in the clock tower.  Just happened to be there when a 
maintenance man was in the storage room next to the door.  Several 
people were with man and I said "Boy would I like to see what it looks 
like inside".  The gentleman that was in the storage room asked if I 
would like to go, and we all went up and checked it out.

I guess the bottom line is:  You have to be at the right place at the 
right time!

Donna Fuller

	Every time  I  see  an  image of the Clock Tower, whether it be a
	photo or a  drawing, there is a different time on the face of the
	clock tower.  Don't  you  time  there  should  be a policy in the
	policies and procedures guide or  a  standard  in  the  DEC STD's
	guide proclaiming just what is Digital Standard Time?

	What time do you think should be Digital Standard Time?

    Would you believe Digital Standard Time would be 19:57?

    
    How about Lunch_Time ? ? ?

    How about ten minutes late?  (That's when all meetings start ;-)
    

    
    	The official MAYNARD time for the clock is 12:10 p.m.  That's
    	when the whistles blow at the fire department.  I know because
        that's the time on the clock on my M.H.S. class ring!
    

    Re: .3 (Egor's Room)
    
    Located off of MLO5-B!

Re: .9, I guess ten minutes late is a Maynard tradition.  I always
wondered why the nootime whistle was always late.  I guess they didn't
want it to interfere with the mill clock bell.

Personally, I think DEC STD time should be Atlantic Standard Time, all
year round, with no daylight savings time.  We could call it "fiscal time".

Re:  the noon whistle.  It's not to tell time by -- it's to 
test the fire alarm system.

It's tested at 10 after noon on days when it hasn't had to be used 
to signal a fire.  By not blowing at exactly noon, no one can complain 
on days when it gets used at an earlier time and doesn't have to be
tested.
 
< Note 6.11 by GWEN::LOMICKAJ "Jeff Lomicka" >
                     -< Why does the year start in July? >-

Re: .9, I guess ten minutes late is a Maynard tradition.  I always
wondered why the nootime whistle was always late.  I guess they didn't
want it to interfere with the mill clock bell.

Personally, I think DEC STD time should be Atlantic Standard Time, all
year round, with no daylight savings time.  We could call it "fiscal time".

    
    Who is Egor?

Got me.

-Mike

    Igor's room is located off of a storage area in 5-B.  There used
    to be a furnace that powered an electrical generator.  The generator
    is still in place, in what is now a room used by a amatuer radio
    club.  
    
    I guess the name Igor's room, describes this area.  It is dark,
    dirty, full of cobwebs and has a lot of loose planking on the floor.
    Needless to say, this spot is not included on tours of the Mill.

I called the place Egor's Room since someone scrawled that on the entrance
[including typo].  Yes, the name describes the area well, as .-1 says, the
place is dank, dark, dirty, and almost spooky.

-Mike

    Don't know I think your confused, there never was a furnace in there
    the steam to run the generator came over-head in an insulated pipe
    from the boiler house. There use to be a very large generator in
    where the loading dock is today. The small generators were just
    a "back-up" for the big one. If you stand down by the boiler house
    and look up at the end of building 5 you can see where they bricked
    up a piece of pipe.
    
    Regards
    Stu Covey
    

    I just discovered this conference so this note is probably outdated.
    
    The first summer I worked at DEC was the summer of '74.  My job was in
    Plant Engineering as a vacation fill-in.  I had a wide variety of jobs. 
    Two jobs which took up the majority of my time, and now 16 years later
    I can proudly speak of them was, elevator operator, and CLOCK WINDER.
    
    Yes for one whole summer, I climbed those stairs once a week, to wind
    the weights from the basement of building 8 up to the tower.  It was a
    strenuous job, but someone had to do it.  I also added my name to the
    illustrious pile of grafitti, which dated back to the turn of the
    century.  This will be my claim to fame when I retire from this
    company.
    
    Also, I was told that the fire whistles at 12:10 were to alert the
    workers of the American Woolen company that there was five minutes left
    to their lunch hour.  
    
    RTG
    

    Tracy, we have similar Mill roots.  My second job in the Mill was
    in Plant Engineering in 1968 ( my first two summers/vacations in
    1966 to 68 were in Technical Publications in 12-3 working for
    Tim McInnerny and Gertrude Lloynd in the Literature Stockroom).
    
    In 1968 to 70 I worked for the late John Culkins (Digital's first
    janitor if you don't count Ken Olsen who also swept up the place).
    I had "charge" of 5-5 for one summer and had the choice of sweeping
    for four hours and dumping baskets for four or vice versa.
    After that experience (paper tape poop was impossible to sweep up
    on those sweaty wood floors), I was promoted to general rover, and
    filled in for John Andrade on the main elevator at the crossroad of
    Buildings 3/4 during his lunch, as well as maintained the trash 
    dock on 5-1 and 3 and cleaned St. Bridget's.  With a crew of 12 
    other summer kids we set up offices, moved equipment to shipping and
    cleaned out new Digital areas in the Mill when we acquired the rest
    of Building 5 and conquered Building 1.  I have previously mentioned
    the highlight of my summer career, which was cleaning out Building 
    21, which was occupied by pigeons before Digital took it in 1969.
    
    As for the Clock, although some of us managed to sneak up the tower
    by crawling along an attic in an adjacent building, the Clock was 
    the property of Maynard Industries in the late 60's and early 70's 
    and we were not responsible for the winding.
    
    If you dig deep enough, you'll find that the town used 12:10 as a
    test-the-whistle time so as not to interfere with the Mill noon
    whistle.
    
    Those were the good ol' days weren't they?  Ever get to play pitch
    near the paint booth with the regulars from Plant Engineering at
    lunch?  It was quite an honor to get a chair with that crowd!!
    
    Frank  

    Frank,  Thanks for clearing up the 12:10 mystery.
    
    My summer help experience was one not to be forgotten.  I got smart
    during my second summer, and convinced Dick Rader to keep me on as a
    swing shift person.  I worked my senior year in high school, late
    afternoons and early evenings.  This was great since the regulars all
    left at 3:30.  Myself and one other guy had the job of collecting all
    the recyclable paper throughout the mill.  Although that was many years
    ago, I still know the mill inside and out because of that job.
    
    As for the pitch games, the closest I ever got was spectator.  Each
    night for dinner we would get a large order of O-rings from Mr.
    Take-out, and eat them on the trestle with the town drunks.  It's too
    bad the days of the summer help employee are gone.  I too had some
    other classic jobs like being in charge of a floor.  That was your
    status symbol.  4 hours of sleeping (I mean sweeping) and 4 of trash
    pick-up.  I also had to sweep the building 5 stairways once a week. 
    Window washer for all of building 5 (the job I hated the most). 
    Bathroom painter for all of buildings 1&5.  There were many more.
    
    What memories!  BTW, Is that you buying the van in the Great Rd Dodge
    commercial I see on TV?  
    
    Tracy

    Tracy, what a keen eye!!  That's me and my family in the Great
    Road Dodge Commercial.  Believe it or not, it took two hours of
    filming to get that 30 second commercial!  It was great fun for
    my kids who are now seen on MTV every night!!
    
    I think working as a summer help employee was the most fun and
    experience of my life.  The Digital of those days was a real team
    effort, and the friendships that I established in those long hot
    summers have remained for nearly 25 years.  I still bump into an
    old Mill Rat now and then, like Stan Baker, Ray Stone, Lee Marchand,
    George Silva, etc.  Like you, I still know every nook and cranny of
    the Mill after years of being away.  
    
    I must tell you of an experience I had last year.  My group was 
    planning it's quarterly group meeting for 100 employees.  I 
    suggested the new Auditorium in Building 4, and arranged for a
    Mill tour with Bill Hughes.  Wow, the memories that the tour brought
    back to me.  I ran into so many old friends and also friends of my
    late father, who worked in Plant Engineering from 1970 to 83.  What
    impressed me most was how spotless the Mill is today, from the 
    tunnels to the clock tower. 
    
    While we're bringing up old memories, I remember that in 1968 and
    1969, I did such a good job cleaning 5-5, that I was rewarded with
    a Saturday morning job of stripping and buffing 12-1 including 
    Ken's area and the long gone demo area.  Talk about bragging rights!
    
    When I worked summers, the "Summer Army" was over 100 strong, and 
    most of the major moves and projects were planned around the use of
    us summer helpers.
    
    I wish we could use this system today.  I became a loyal employee 
    due to my summer experiences and never lost the spirit!! Sounds like
    it molded you too.  We should never let the present doom and gloom 
    affect that spirit.  
    
    As a final point, if push comes to shove, give me a broom, I'll 
    gladly go back to 5-5 for Digital!
    
    Regards,
    Frank 

    Just back from vacation.  Frank, thanks for reliving those memories.  I
    have often referred to my "summer" experience as the good ole days.  I
    could go on with the stories forever.  As for that commercial, I hope
    the royalties are good.
    
    Tracy

    When my children were small the tower clock was their guideline for
    coming home on time.  12:10 for lunch and 5:00 p.m. for supper.  Look
    out if you were too late.
    
    Pat
    

    I live about a mile from the clock tower. In the summer, when the
    windows are open and it's quiet, I can hear the bell ringing very
    clearly. It's especially evident at midnight when there are 12 bongs.
    My bedroom actually faces away from the tower and I can still hear it
    very well.
    
    Since I'm so far away, it's really not a problem. It doesn't wake me
    up. However, I don't think I'd care to have it any louder. Surely this
    must be a problem for light sleepers who live downtown. Does anyone
    have any data on this?

    I lived just up from downtown as a kid and remember on those summer
    nights when I had to go to bed but wasn't tired enough to sleep - we
    could hear the clock EVERY HOUR!  I think after awhile I had to LISTEN
    to hear the clock!  It kind of becomes background noise after awhile.
    
    Personally, I liked it.  My clock did not have a "glow in the dark"
    face and that's the only way I knew what time it was.
    
    -sandy (formerly of Maple St.)
    

I once lived about a quarter mile from it, and didn't bother me after a
while.

-Mike

Funny that I should see this note today.  Last night was a difficult night's 
sleep.  We live on Waltham Street, right near the May Ling and the clock tower's
tolling on the hour kept us awake all night long.  For some reason it seemed
much louder than usual last night.  Either that or the insomnia was worse 
than usual...

Keith

    Well, the ringing at midnight last night really got my attention and
    made me enter the first note. I, too, thought it was louder than usual
    but figured it must be my imagination. I'll try to remember to pay
    attention tonight.

    I would say the loudness could sometime come from the wind direction. 
    I grew up just over the line in Stow, and on evenings when the wind was
    coming in from the East, we could hear those bells loud and clear.
    
    Tracy (former clock winder from the mid 70's)

    I live 1.5 block from the Mill use get use to the bells after a while
    and you don't hear. They do make get alarm clocks. When the air is cool
    like last night the bells a are louds. I think it someting to do with
    sound traveling on cool night vs warm air.
    
    art

The clock was wrong this morning.    Is there a problem?  

Hey, I'm only a year late to enter this but I just discovered this conference.

In regard to note 6.27...I was reading about how Keith was saying the clock 
seemed louder than usual..well, when I looked at the date of the note I nearly
died! Keith while you were tossing and a turning, I was at Emerson giving birth
to my first child!

BTW, Hi Trace! I never knew you thought that S.H. rock was an eyesore??? Don't
forget, that's MY backyard too!!!  :>)

MM

Some traditions need to be continued...


- dave