Carbon Fiber

Carbon fiber was just invented. That means big changes in the factory. Now my factory is producing carbon fiber instead of steel. Carbon fiber has a very high strength to weight ratio. It's extremely strong but incredibly light weight. It seems to be the new future for cars and other light weight vehicles that need to be strong. It doesn't make my job too much harder. There are just a couple extra steps I need to do. I don't get paid any more than I did before though, which is depressing. Good thing my factory jumped on this new opportunity quickly or we would be going out of business. Carbon fiber is the new future! I'm glad we got a jump on it.

High Ways

I guess I'm just a really angry person but I can't take this new highway business. Maybe it's the fact that I don't have a car but I personally thought the roads were fine as they were. Now we have the government spending gratuitous amounts of money on these interstate highways, and one is going right near my house! Construction is so loud right now I think I might loose it. I can't wait to hear all of the cars traveling down it soon too! I just don't know about this. I think it's too much money being spent on something that was fine before, but again, I still don't have a car yet.

World's Fair

I went to the 1939 World's Fair today. It wasn't anything too special. I saw some really cool new car designs though. I didn't spend as much money as they expected. Everything was really expensive. I don't really know how they thought they would make money with everything that expensive. The time capsule was pretty cool, but the things they put in it were sort of lame. I wish they put some more interesting things in there but, what can you do?

Model T's are EVERYWHERE

Everyone and their mother has a Model T and it's killing me. I just can't afford one yet but honestly every twenty minutes when I'm home I hear a Model T roll by. I don't know if it would be worth it though. I'm still trying to get out of the factory so I can start my own farm but the Model T would make transportation to the factory really easy and transporting goods from my farm once I start it up. It would be practical I guess but its gonna be really hard to save up. Its a good goal for me though!

Strike V2

Finally that darned strike is over! I can finally relax a little bit. The strikers just sort of gave up. They didn't win anything, corporate wouldn't budge. Most of them couldn't stand not having the pay so they gave up. They just couldn't handle it. I'm glad though, because now my work schedule can go back to normal and I don't have to kill myself over work.

Strike

I'm really irritated right now. Some workers at the factory I work at decided to organize a strike. They say it's so that they can try to get better benefits for us but I think we are just fine as it is. As you can probably tell I am not part of this strike. I'm even more irritated because my employer is forcing the rest of us to not let production fall. I'm doing triple the work for the same pay because my fellow workers are being selfish. We were fine before. There was no need for this.

Model T's

I saw my first model T roll down my street today. It was really odd as I live really far out in the frontier so it was odd to see someone with wealth come down the street. Maybe they were coming for a scenic drive but nonetheless I hate them. I could never in a million year afford one of those cars. I wish I could work for Ford and get paid $5 a day so that I could but I can't leave the security of my job. I was even tempted to steal the car but I couldn't live with the consequences if I had. My first experience with Model T's was filled with anger but I guess I'll get over it. Maybe the price will drop soon.

Scientific Management Theories

My new job at the steel mill is employing new scientific management theories to our work. Now we no longer need to be skilled in the steel industry. The jobs are broken up for us so that they are easy to learn and we don't have to learn the entire skill. This is incredibly helpful as I don't have too much skill with steel. Incentives are also offered for completing work. If we do enough work in a month the company will give us a paid day off. This will definitely increase production and is a good tactic on their part. I don't plan on being a slacker anyway because that's just not who I am. I'm really looking forward to this new management system.

Andrew Carnegie Steel Mill

I just found out that a new steel mill is being put in place nearby! This is great news for me. I feel as though this new steel mill will be a better job for me. I am going to quit my current factory job for the new steel job. I can work with my hands pretty well now that I've tried practicing some things on my own. Now with this new skill I hope to make a better pay than before however I'm not expecting much. It is only a mill after all. I hope this will turn out as good as I hope! It should definitely be a great economic boost to the area and we could really use it.

Reform Movements

I'm thinking about joining the work reform movement. Conditions is factories are horrible. They are poorly ventilated and dirty. I feel as if I'm starting to become sick from working there. I feel that factories are detrimental to our health and we need to set standards for them. Above the fact that the conditions are bad the pay is bad too. I barely make enough to live and I work 14 hours a day. The conditions are poor, the pay is low, the shifts are long. It's time for change. I can't stand working like this.

Reaction to the Erie Canal

Today I found out that the Erie Canal was finally completed. I feel as though this doesn't affect me all that much. I work in a factory so I have no real use for the canal itself. The only thing it may do is help my factory ship out its goods faster. That isn't even a good thing for me as I will probably have to increase my production which will be tough. It offers job opportunities however, the job requires skilled personal. I am by no means a skilled worker. I do see this as an opportunity for me to start up my own farm though. Now with the Erie Canal I could ship my crops out more efficiently and definitely more cost effectively. I see this as a possibility but as it stand right now, I am too poor to begin a risky venture like this. If my farm fails I will have nothing and I am not willing to take that risk. At the moment, although the Erie Canal is a great achievement in America, I can't see a way that it will affect me in my current state of being.

Bio

My name is Johan Noon and I am 22 years old. I'm a white male and I live out in Williamstown, Massachusetts out on the frontier. My family was not well off in any sense. I was extremely poor as a child so my education is very minimal. I completed 2 years of school before I had to tend to my families farm. I currently work in a factory out of North Adams, Massachusetts. I barely have enough money to survive, let alone provide for a family which is why I have decided to not start one as of now. I feel I need a good financial backing before I start a family which at the rate I'm going at probably won't happen. I hope to at least get out of the factory soon and work on my own farm. The factory is so much work and too little pay.