Our 90^th Anniversary celebration last month was special for many reasons. One of them being that we were able to celebrate the 90^th and 93^rd birthdays of two Lathem retirees, Kathleen Eidson and Francis “Blackie” Black.
 
Blackie (born May 12, 1916) said farewell to us on October 3^rd and we wanted to honor him by quickly telling how our company found him and how he contributed to our growth.
 
As World War II was coming to an end in 1946, sailors stationed at Naval Air Station in Atlanta were starting to think about their lives after the war. Among them was a squadron of mechanics. Blackie was the Chief Aviation Machinist Mate. Amongst his crew was Harrison Hooper who had recently applied for a job at Lathem.
 
Blackie had returned home to Portland, Maine with his wife, the late Frankie Vivian McClendon Black (a Georgia native). Soon a letter arrived in the mail from Hooper asking Blackie if he’d be interested in moving back south. Lathem, under Hooper’s manufacturing leadership, was outlining the mass production of time recorders and he knew he had a qualified comrade in Blackie. The invitation was accepted. The Blacks packed up and returned to Atlanta.
 
Over the years, he held different positions but was chiefly the right-hand man to Hooper and with their passion for all things mechanical, helped launch our company into a phase of industry defining growth. He ultimately became Vice President of Purchasing.
 
Mr. Bill Lathem; “When I started here after graduating from Auburn, Mr. Black was the head of purchasing and controlled every part in the building.  He was a short, tough guy with a lot of wisdom. I had a lot of respect for the man. We are fortunate that he left a son (Sam Black) who learned from his teaching to become an equally important contributor to our ongoing success.  I appreciate Sam and Blackie for being part of our family business for so many years.”
 
Blackie, you will be missed.