Decades ago, advertisements in Better Homes & Gardens glowed with warmly lit scenes like the one gracing the cover of a new history of Armstrong World Industries just published by the Lancaster County Historical Society.
A cozy eat-in kitchen has pots cooking on a sleek black stove. A child's school books and ball rest on the floor beside an oak chair, which is pulled up to a trestle table. There, a homey soup bowl (spoon inserted) shares space with $100 worth of fresh tulips in a crockery vase.
The main focus on this stage for domestic bliss is the vinyl flooring in the foreground, in all its imitation Colonial cobblestone splendor.
Today, Armstrong's golden era is past. And for the word picture that is
"How Armstrong Floored America: The People Who Made It Happen, 1945-1995," focus has shifted from the foreground to the background.
The history halts before the diminution of the once-great company, before employees, retirees and stockholders started pointing fingers at presiding executives.
Author
C. Eugene Moore of Lancaster tells an interesting version of the company's story, much of it gleaned by talking to former employees, in 190 pages. Moore knows the story well, having spent more than 37 years in Armstrong's advertising and public relations office before retiring as director in 1994.
He writes in a clear, conversational style, and the book offers some amusing out-takes:
• Former President James H. Binns addressed the New York Society of Security Analysts and, according to the transcript, seemed to have a lot to say about the Brazilian flooring industry. It seems the transcriptionist was unfamiliar with the term "resilient flooring."
• An unnamed production manager, trying to show the plant manager the new Place 'n Press Excelon Tile really did stick, accidentally dropped it, adhesive side down, on his desk, where it had to be chiseled off later.
• The Philadelphia Zoo required assurance the company's durable new Rhino line of flooring was safe for their rhinoceros, Billy, to eat before allowing the company to install it in his cage and take a picture of Billy on it.
The book has three parts. Part I is "The Early Years: An Ethical Base of Build On," which gives the back story of the company (1860) and includes "The launching of linoleum from Lancaster" (1907) as well as the interruptions of the war years.
Part II is "The Postwar Period: The Hive Starts to Hum" and includes both "A product breakthrough, and homemakers rejoice, 1970-1995" (the no-wax Solarian floor) and "A slow, subtle slide begins" (Moore notes "products added to the line tended to be quotidian" by the late 1990s.).
Part III, "The People Who Worked the Magic: Their Stories in Their Words," is the longest part.
Though the view is mainly that of the executives and the managers, also included are perspectives of several longtime hourly employees, a few with several generations of employment with the company, such as Sunday News part-timer David Hill Byrne.
To a reader without a technical or business background, the research, engineering, production and corporate contributions are a bit dry. More engaging are stories from styling, advertising and marketing departments, whose business was reaching the consumer.
While this isn't a pictorial history, it seems remiss not to have photos of the book's "characters." A photo insert in the center depicts only decorator showrooms and tile samples, with one aerial shot of the floor plant from 1974. Not even a tiny photo of the author can be found on the back cover.
• In the book's foreword, historical society President Thomas R. Ryan credits George F. Johnston, Armstrong's former general sales manager and vice president, with coming up with the idea for the book.
Nearly two years ago, Johnston assembled 40-plus retired Armstrong executives at the historical society and convinced them to share their experiences in building the company's floor operations.
Johnston and Moore interviewed 55 people, whose perspectives Moore originally planned to write as an article for the historical society's journal.
The retired executives contributed not just their stories to the project, but their money. Printing and distribution were made possible by support of the Richard C. von Hess Foundation.
The paperback book is available at the Historian's Gift Shop and Bookstore for $12.95.
Moore will also talk about the book 4:30-5:30 p.m. at a colloquium Oct. 12 at the historical society, 230 N. President Ave.
Jo-Ann Greene is editor of the Books section. Her email address is jgreene@lnpnews.com.
