Former Corning Workers Meet to Reminisce

Blair Dixon is one of many former Corning workers who meet regularly on the second Wednesday of each month at Sunset West in Pleasant Gap. They come from Jersey Shore, Philipsburg, State College, Gallitzin, Port Matilda and beyond, with 35 to 45 of them present sometimes.

Dixon spent 35 years working at the Corning factory in State College, which closed in June 2003. Management laid off all 1,000 employees at the facility, which made glass typically used in conventional television sets through a partnership with Asahi Glass Co. of Tokyo.

“I started in the warehouse, then worked the production floor. Later I was a finishing line operator, then an EOLA operator and spent 10 years in security. I stayed on through the two years it took to sell the equipment, so that helped me earn my pension,” said Dixon.

The equipment was sold to an entity in China. A couple of months before the sale date, visitors from China came to the State College plant and studied every aspect of the production they planned to duplicate in their facility. Shortly after that, employees were informed by a voice mail message that production would cease at the local plant. It was a blow to the workers, and the State College community, too.

Former employees decided to organize a reunion, which was attended by more than 300 people. This year, the 15th reunion will be held at the Pleasant Gap Carnival Grounds bingo hall at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11. Adler’s Catering, of Phillipsburg, will provide the food. Cost for a meal is $11.

Dixon has planned something special for the 15th reunion. T-shirts will commemorate the event. Cost is $15 for the shirt and a meal, or $6 for just a T-shirt.

According to Dixon, it should be a casual, relaxed day. He will welcome people and ask for suggestions for future gatherings and remember those who have died in the past year. No formal program is planned.

More information will be available in the coming months.