Genealogy Treasure Trove for employees of New Castle Products, Inc 1968

In 2009, my mother Elizabeth (Betsy) passed away. Among her pile of stuff was a scrapbook that had been presented to my great grandfather Henry D Oberdorfer upon his retirement from New Castle Products, Inc in 1968. This scrapbook is full of photos circa 1967 of not only employees, but their families as well and of some retirees from the firm. According to my grandfather and grandmother, the employees loved my great grandfather and great grandmother very much.

A brief history of New Castle Products, Inc from inception to Henry's retirement in 1968.

1925 - Circle A Company begins to build wood folding doors, wooden office partitions and the first pre- fabricated classroom and church buildings

1930 - Henry Oberdorfer, General Manager at Circle A, buys out its assets, and New Castle Products is founded. The company adds large folding partition for gymnasiums to its product line.

1932 - A St. Louis -based architect specifies several large fabric folding door projects. New Castle Products receives contract and the first production "accordion" door is born.

1939 - Chicago World's Fair introduces the Modernfold accordion door in 14 of the 29 homes featured in its "Town of the Future".

1941 - 1945 - New Castle Products converts production to support the war effort. The company manufactures large tents for the Navy, aircraft hanger doors for the Army Air Corps, and produces engine covers for every bomber in World War II.

1946 - The company is incorporated.

1947 - New Castle Products, Canada, founded

1950 - Despite new competition, New Castle Products keeps lead in the market through the foresight of its nationwide distribution system, and by moving into the commercial construction marketplace.

1960's -  Modernfold sees the expansion of products and the acquisition of several companies: Peabody Seating Co.; Mutschler Cabinets; Force Control, Pyro Electro, and Laminating Surfaces. During this era, the company changes its name from New Castle Products to Modernfold Industries.

1963 - The Acousti-Seal® operable wall is introduced, and the Soundmaster® accordion door was launched.

1964 - Coil Wall partitions of Dyersville, Iowa is acquired.

1969 - Mr. Oberdorfer, Modernfold's founder, retires and sells the company to American Standard Corp. Modernfold becomes part of the Building Specialties Group.

You can even take a peek at an ad from 1958 ModernFold Ad

Because there are so many photos it may take some time for me to get all of them uploaded, marked, indexed and ready for searching. If you are doing a bit of genealogy and you stumble upon a photo of one of your relatives, then this was all worth it.

Check back often for updates.