Code,913059 Subject,Allen Ford Date,10/27/16 Interviewer,Molly Schnoke Abstract,"Allen Ford's family has been in the area since the early 1800s. He is connected, therefore, to many of the buildings in downtown Cleveland and provides quick histories of many of those places. He worked for Pickands Mather and Standad Oil. He covers various topics that focus on energy sources including OPEC and fracking. He explains the importance for Cleveland to embrace and encourage technologically advanced businesses to come to the city to promote growth. " Tags,"Case College, Western Reserve College, Lakeside Hospital, industrialization, Pickands Mather Company, Standard Oil, fracking, OPEC, deindustrialization, unionization, local government, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, UCI, Williamson Building" Special Notes,The sound quality is excellent. A rumble in the background at minute 42 distracts from the interview. minutes:, 0,"Introductions are made and Allen Ford notes that he was born at University Hospitals in Cleveland on July 29, 1928. " 1,"Growing up his parents had a house in Cleveland Heights, but the family soon moved to Shaker Heights. He lived in Shaker Heights until he married and then moved to Moreland Hills. He lists the different educational institutions he attended. " 2,He also got a degree from Case before it merged with Western Reserve. He lists two of the first jobs he had. He then provides a brief history of Case. 3,Ford continues to provide a history of Case. He mentions the fence that separated Case and Western Reserve. 4,He describes the location of the fence that separated the two schools and the location of the two schools. He also mentions the locations of the Ford Family Farm. 5,One side of his lineage arrived in Cleveland in 1803. His mother's side arrived in Cleveland in the 1820s and the Ford side of the family arrived in 1843. He mentions why his ancestors settled in the area. 6,"During World War II he worked in the lunchroom of Lakeside Hospital, which became University Hospitals. He took the Rapid and the bus to get to the hospital. Near the hospital a barn from the orignal Ford homestead still stood unused. " 7,Ford describes what is duties were while working at the hospital. Most of peers did not work like he did at this time. 8,He had two older brothers that served in World War II. 9,Ford lists all of the different places his second eldest brother traveled while being a volunter ambulance driver in WWII. Ford served in the Korean War. 10,He continues on providing a brief history of the early history of Cleveland. He notes the importance of the iron and steel industries. After the Civil War there was an explosion of industry in Cleveland. 11,Ford lists the places were raw resources came from that fed Cleveland's industrial manufacturing plants. He continues to mention the rise of the automobile industry in Cleveland. 12,Ford further provides a sketch of Cleveland businesses. 13,"During World War II, Ford mentions, that Cleveland was involved in wartime manufacturing. Ford worked from the Pickands Mather Company, which started as a trading company." 14,He went to Ottawa by assignment from Pickands Mather. He quickly describes what mining was like in the first half of the twentieth century. 15,Ford continues to describe the mining business and segways into a discussion on the process of making iron ore pellets. 16,Later in his life he was committed to helping Cleveland become more involved in technologically advanced businesses. He went to Toledo just for a year to gain better insight into how the blast furnace operated. He describes how the blast furnaces worked. 17,He concludes that at the height of the steel industry was World War II. He further discusses what integrated steel means. 18,"Upon his return to Cleveland he continued to work for Pickands Mather. Pickands Mather merged with the Diamond Alkali, a chemical company. He then went to work for Standard Oil. " 19,Ford discusses the breaking up of the Standard Oil monopoly and mentions the emergence of British Petroleum into the United States oil business. 20,BP took over Standard Oil of Ohio during Ford's tenure. He was the CFO of Standard Oil of Ohio. He mentions fracking. 21,He emphasizes that the oil business is driven by advancements in technology. He then describes the fracking process. 22,Ohio has lost most of the coal business because energy companies are finding cleaner alternatives. He was with Standard Oil until 1986. 23,"Ford continues on to discuss OPEC, The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. " 24,He talks about the relationship between Standard Oil of Ohio and OPEC. 25,Ford gives a breif history of the discovery of oil in the Middle East. 26,For talks about the capitalist economy which depends on competition. He emphasizes that when discoveries are made some companies cannot stay relavent. 27,He provides an example of plastic manufacturing companies. He states that these companies were able to adapt to new discoveries and thus stayed relavent. 28,"He does comment, however, that all manufacturing in the United States is threatened by outsourcing. " 29,"In the 1970s and 1980s when Cleveland manufacturing plants left the city. He mentions what he was doing during Cleveland's decline. He mentions the growth of unions in the automotive, machine tools and the commodity industries. " 30,Ford continues to discuss the unionizing of labor especially during World War II. He discusses the problems that the middle-class faces. 31,Ford suggests that Cleveland was not plagued with social tensions in comparison to other cities. He also suggests that the Hough Riots were economically driven. 32,He dicusses the National Republican Convention and explains why there were no riots. He suggests that Cleveland has embraced the changes in industry better than other cities. 33,"Although Mayor Carl Stokes made a lot of mistakes, Ford suggests, the heads of Cleveland businesses decided that they needed to help make him successful. " 34,He lists of some of the former mayors of Cleveland and evaluates their successes and disappointments. He again mentions the RNC and what winning professional sports teams do for a city. 35,"Ford continues to suggets why Cleveland is uniting, growing and advancing as a major city. " 36,The medical field is so important because people are living longer. 37,Ford mentions ObamaCare and explains why the program has failed. 38,"He explains that University Circle and Cleveland in general has a very interesting history. The people on the coasts and in Chicago have looked down on Cleveland, but that is starting to change. " 39,Ford mentions the Cleveland Public School system and explains why it is a failure. 40,"He discusses the differences between suburban and urban school systems. Ford notes how the suburban communities are changing, which effects the suburban schools. He emphasizes the role of parent involvement in the schools and in the students' lives. " 41,Ford notes the importance of Cleveland State University in offering education to city students of all ages. He took a night course at Fenn College before it was absorbed by Cleveland State. 42,He is amazed by the number of international students that attend Cleveland State and Case. 43,Ford discusses the issue of public school busing. He highlights the role UCI (University Circle Inc.) has played in providing funding toward school busing. 44,"Ford applauds the success of Eric Gordon in setting up a relationship between Cleveland museums and the public schools, the Executive Officer of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District." 45,He continues to note the importance of exposing young school chidlren in cultural hertiage sites. He also mentions the importance of the community colleges. 46,The trade schools and practical degrees are very important in Ford's estimation. 47,The University Circle neighborhood has dramatically changed over the years and explains why. His grandfather owned the Williamson Building. 48,Ford gives a brief history of the Williamson Building. He was instrumental in negotiating the sale of the building and land surrounding. 49,"Ford discusses how his grandfather acquired the Williamson land and eventually the Williamson building. In 1846, Public Square was a farm. " 50,He remarks on the importance of the Williamson Building. One of ancestors on his mother's side served in the Civil War and his name is inscribed on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. 51,Ford lists some of the accomplishments of one of his relatives. He then explains how the relative was involved in the Civil War. 52,He further explains how the relative was involved in the Civil War and the spread of disease. 53,As a young child he went to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument once. More recently he went to the monument with the new trustees of the families foundation. 54,"He was able to meet only one of his grandparents, Granny Brooks. She died during World War II and she lived in Cleveland Heights. " 55,In Ford's estimation Cleveland has a great deal of ups and downs. Cleveland has been effected by depressions and the multiple wars the nation has been involved. 56,He argues that Cleveland embraces change and technological advancements. He also asserts the important role Cleveland plays in the medical field. 57,"Ford mentions that he had dinner with the President of the South Korean School of Medicine, who is in Clevealnd to observe the Case School of Medicine. The interview abruptly ends. " 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83,