Where we live: My, how the times changed
They say as you get older, time passes a lot faster. So for people my age, 30 years ago doesn’t seem so distant.
Thirty years ago, companies like Amazon, Facebook and Uber weren’t in existence.
Among the major firms that have gone under since then are Bethlehem Steel, TWA (Trans World Airlines), Interstate Dress Carriers and Roadway Express.
I’ve come across a financial report involving a local borough, and of the top major employers in Carbon County in 1990, only three would still make the list.
They are County of Carbon, Ametek Westchester Plastics and The Times News.
Pencor Services was listed separately from The Times News in that report.
Here’s the list of major employers as per that report:
1. Kovatch Industries, 600 employees.
Kovatch Corporation still exists, but its firetruck division, KME, was sold to the REV Group, a manufacturer of emergency apparatus and recreational vehicles with plants scattered throughout the United States. The Nesquehoning facility which was the main operation of the Kovatch Corporation is being closed by the REV Group in April. The Kovatch Corporation still exists with a used car sales lot, an auto body shop and other subsidiaries.
2. Gnaden Huetten Hospital, 545 employees.
Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital has become a part of the St. Luke’s University Hospital Health Network and has opened a regional hospital in Franklin Township.
3 County of Carbon, 535 employees.
4. Zinc Corporation of America, 300 employees.
5. Scotty’s Fashions, 237 employees.
Scotty’s was the largest garment manufacturer at the time. It’s one of four textile mills on the list.
6. Kai-Jay Pants Company, 185 employees.
7 Wagner Division, 150 employees.
8. Ametek Westchest Plastics, 120 employees.
9. Fernbrook & Company, 90 employees.
10. The Times News, 80 employees.
Of the Top 10 employers in Lehighton borough at the time, less than half remain.
That list includes:
1. Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital.
2. Scotty’s Fashions.
3. Blue Ridge Pressure Castings (still an employer).
4. Lehighton Area School District (still an employer).
5. Bar-Sew.
6. Tom’s Sportswear.
7. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (still an employer).
8. Pencor Services (Note, Pencor was listed separate from the Times News. The Times News didn’t make the Lehighton list because its print facilities moved to Mahoning Township in 1983. The Times News moved the rest of its operations to Mahoning in 2002.)
9. Wood Management.
10. Rasal Sportswear.
Incidentally, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor, these were Carbon County’s top employers in the second quarter of 2021:
1. St. Luke’s Hospital.
2. Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp
3. Walmart Associates Inc.
4. Carbon County
5. State government
6. Blue Mountain Resort
7. Jim Thorpe Area School District
8. Lehighton Area School District
9. Palmerton Area School District
10. Blue Ridge Cable Technologies Inc.
11. PenTeleData Limited Partnership
12. Pocono Whitewater
13. Behavioral Health Associates Inc.
14. Panther Valley School District
15. Giant Food Stores LLC