Title
Interview with Howard Reiche
Date of Interview
8-9-2001
Duration of Audio File
audio file 1: 1:10:57; audio file 2 00:10:02
Interviewee
Howard Reiche
Residence
Harpswell Island, Maine
Occupation/ Work History
Production Manager at S.D. Warren 1954-1988; Mill manager from 1970 - 1988
Mill or Principal Employer
S. D. Warren; Scott Paper Company (after Scott purchased S.D. Warren in 1967
Mill Location
Westbrook, Maine 04092
Keywords
Paper mills - Maine, Sappi Paper - History, S.D.Warren - Maine
Abstract
Reiche's far ranging interview includes oral memory of S.D. Warren Company back to the early 20th century, S.D. Warren's business prowess, and the antiquated shop floor management system and its reliance on heavily paternalistic practices
Document Type
Interview
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Howard Reiche, interview by Michael Hillard, August 9, 2001, Stories of Maine's Paper Plantation, Digital Maine, Maine's Economic Improvement Fund, Digital Commons, University of Southern Maine
Comments
This is perhaps the most important interview of the author's project on S.D. Warren Company. He tells the story of company's travails in the early 20th century, a takeover by professional managers from descendants of the founder in the 1920s, how the business thrived thereafter, and how its success was built on generous but backwards paternalism that had mill leaders and community leaders extending a heavy if typically helpful hand into all aspects of their workers' lives. Describes its pitfalls, the abuse of nepotism at all levels, and how this led to the company's unionization in the 1960s. He describes running the mill during its last strong years into the 1980s.