Oh my… maybe President Obama was right!

Early view of casting shop
(click on photos to enlarge)

I have seen the reports in the media how President Obama stated ‘you didn’t build that business by yourself’.  You know, he might have a valid point.  The other day my Mom and I were discussing some of the first employees of HAHN INDUSTRIES.  I asked her to make a list of who helped over the past fifty-three years in building our business.

For those of you in the Cullom area, look below.  Either your name is listed, a relative’s name, or someone you know.  <Anyone who is aware of someone we’ve missed, please let us know.>

As I look over the names, I think about the first car a teenager was able to purchase, a house payment made, school clothes bought,  help with college tuition, a paid electric or gas bill, a supplement to a farm income,  someone’s first job, or someone’s last job before retiring.  I see many good hard working people.  I also see many unforgettable characters, but I’ll keep those stories to myself.

Casting area

Everyone below knows what it’s like to work with their hands and get them dirty.  They know what it felt like to have a backache at night from lifting too much during the day. When you worked at HAHN INDUSTRIES you know what fresh cement smells like, you even know what it tastes like, and you can recall the distinct smell of the oil coated on the inside of a metal mold.  Many days you felt like you had just as much cement on your clothes, under your fingernails, and in your hair as the statues you were working on.  If you were a football player in high school, you didn’t have to go to a gym to beef-up, your strength training was dipping five gallon buckets into wet cement and lifting them out of the tub during the summers.  You can still hear the snap as wire was cut with bolt cutters, rods being cut with the electric saw, signaling along with the annoying sound of the mixer the next pour was about to begin.

Cement mixer

Each and everyone listed helped my parents build this business.  Of course, they would not have been able to do it by themselves.  As I said, many good people have helped them over the years. In some cases, I see more than one generation of a family.

However… I do not see anywhere a government agency listed below.  So, President Obama… It’s people who build businesses, not the government; you should rethink your position!

Later… Barbara

These people helped build HAHN INDUSTRIES

Anderson, Kathryn			Hahn, Derek			Moss, Ryan
Baker, Chad			Hahn, Jan			Murphy, Brenda
Bauerle, Bill			Hahn, Jeanette			Murphy, Ronnie
Bauerle, Milton			Hahn, Jeff			Nantista,  Sharon
Beneke, Fred			Hahn, Joey			Nettlingham, Jamie
Billerbeck, Patsy			Hahn, Lester			Nydma, Ian
Birch, Charles			Hahn, Louis			Ommen, William
Boma, Dorothy			Hahn, Pearl			Page, Dick
Bowen, Richard			Hamilton, Jordan			Paquette, Audra
Bracken, Danny			Hamilton, Kate			Parsons, Gene
Bradley, Nathaniel			Harder, James			Perring, Bill
Brenda,  Quinn			Haren, Brian			Perring, Jamie
Bushey, James			Haren, Galen			Perring, Phyllis
Chamness, Oletha			Haren, Leslie			Polizzi, Dustin
Clark, Betty			Haren, Philip			Polizzi, Joyce
Clark, Gabe			Harms, Alan			Polizzi, Kerry
Claussen, Clinton			Harms, John			Polizzi, Kevin
Clifton, Dale			Harms, Kim			Polizzi, Kirk
Clifton, David			Harms, Theresa			Read, Jeff
Clifton, Debbie			Harwbaker, Evan			Read, Jerry
Clifton, Vera			Hayes, Michael			Read, Tom
Coash, Elmo			Haysalette, Edna			Redenius, Melzine
Coash, Larry			Heald, Justin			Rogers, Pat
Coclasure, Brenda			Hensley, Dan			Rogers, Tim
Colehouser, Amy			Heylin, Charlie			Rork, Andrew
Cook, Dan			Hills, Margie			Roush, Pam
DeMattia, James			Horn, Richard			Saathoff, Junior
Demierre, Ronald			Jenkins, Andrea			Satterfield, Dough
Diebel, Kurt			Jensen, Jeff			Satterfield, Marve
Dietz, Rosie			Johns, Viv			Schade, Brian
Dohman, Marcia			Kane, Paul			Schiflet, Mike
Drajin, Cathy			Kerrins, Bill			Schoop, Ray
Drendel, Fred			Koerner, Beth Ann			Schramm, Jon
Earing, Kim			Kubiack, Nick			Shearer, John
Earing, Linda			Kurtenbach, Amanda			Shelby, Larry
Earing, Margaret			Lang, Cammie			Smolkovich, Barbara
Edwards, Hollis			Lang, Tom			Spray, Scott
Edwards, Jayne			Larrigin, Linda			Sterrenberg, Kae
Edwards, Marilyn			Lee, Kenny			Sterrenberg, Paul
Edwards, Tom			Longmire, Terry			Swearingen, Lynn
Emling, Tom			Looney, Mac			Taylor, Claudia
Falter, Matt			Looney, Richard			Thiele, Ron
Faust, Pat			McCarlen, Jay			Torbett, Collen
Feazel, Teri			McCaughey, Francis			Torbett, Nathaniel
Flessner, Eva			McDermott, Bill			Torbett, Rachael
Flessner, Terry			McDowell, Gerry			Ulitzh, John
Floyd, Michael			Melvin, Jackie			Wahls, Janet
Frantz, Evonne			Melvin, Ray			Wallette, John
Gash, Travis			Meredith, David			Wallrich, Angie
George, Betty			Meredith, Debra			Wallrich, Dallas
Gerdes, (not sure)			Meredith, Josha			Warren, Terry
Giasson, Cory			Mill, Dick			Wascher, David
Graham, Larry			Mill, James			Watton, Steve
Groskreutz, Tina			Mills, Amy			Wheeler, Paula
Haag, Jess			Mills, Jan			Williams, Barbara
Hack, Nicole			Mills, John			York, Alvin
Hahn, Barbara			Mills, Rita
Hahn, Beryl			Moore, Arica
Hahn, Chelsey			Moore, Rick
Hahn, Danny			Morrisette, Peggy