1958 IBM Owego Postcard

I have a variety of IBM-related things around the house. One of them was this postcard. It was a special thing done for the then-new plant’s big Open House in 1958. My grandparents had not yet moved to Owego, and my grandfather was commuting from Johnson City (about 15 miles away) to Owego daily. Today that trip takes about 15 minutes, but at that time the expressway (NY 17, now known as I-86) was still about 10 years away from reality. And even the bridge near the plant was not built until 1968. So his path most likely went from Johnson City towards Vestal, then over the bridge in Vestal to Endicott, then down what is now 17C (then it was 17) to Owego. It probably took 30-35 minutes daily. This is why you moved close to where you worked.

I think I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, this IBM facility was sold to Loral Corp in the mid-1990s, and eventually became (and still is) a facility for Lockheed Martin now. It employs about 2,700 people, down from a peak of around 4,000, but is still a key part of the Owego community.

 

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