RES News - Rochester History
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A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society. 1897 - 1974 by Lee M. Loomis
Continuing with the historical sampling of the earlier writings on behalf of the Rochester Engineering Society, the years following "The Great War", into and through the “Great Depression”, continued to be a time of reaching out for the maturing Society, both locally and nationally. The meeting minutes describe a series of technical discussions and presentations intended to broaden the technical horizons of the membership (especially the CE's, ME's and EE's). The RES affiliated itself with a number of National technical societies, adopted local Affiliated Societies, frequently held joint meetings with them and continued taking action on a growing list of public matters. Certain issues of standardization, some crucial to public safety, became the responsibility of the RES and its affiliates. In the pervasive economic downturn of the “Great Depression”, the magazine offered classified advertising for unemployed engineers, technicians and draftsmen and took other steps to try to deal with the crisis. Still, it continued its effort to shape the function, focus and infrastructure of the City of Rochester, and beyond. World War, again affected the Society, taking away many of its leaders while providing opportunities for others to step forward to fill these vacancies. In an effort to provide even greater perspective on the happenings and concerns of the day, a synopsis, featuring selected items from "The Rochester Engineer" has become an integral part of this series. The Second World War and the Korean Conflict are now history, and the Vietnam War has recently become a focal point. These experiences have changed the face and, no doubt, the future of the community. The Rochester municipal leadership and the industrial community have become immersed in the cold-war, growth economy.
September 25, 1974 (Board Meeting, Chamber of Commerce) The Board approved four applications for
Regular Membership and one for Junior Membership. The Board heard arguments for hiring a local advertising and public relations firm to make improvements to the RES membership brochure and to increase advertising in “The Rochester Engineer”. It was agreed that a vote should be taken on such an action at the next BoD meeting. Ramesh Khona of the MPES reported that more than 160 people had signed up for the upcoming joint (with the RES) tour of the Kodak Riverwood Marketing Education Center. Responding to an inquiry about how to avoid scheduled meeting conflicts, RES Executive Director, Ed Stevens, invited all RES Affiliates to contact him, each mid-month, to learn of scheduled meetings in the next two succeeding months by RES Affiliates. John Robertson announced that the RES now has 529 paid-up members. RES Engineers Joint Dinner Committee Chair, Lee Loomis, announced that since it was not possible to obtain Art Buchwald as principal dinner speaker, his committee was considering Ms. Gloria Steinem, Editor of Ms. Magazine and Richard O. Simpson, Director of the recently established US Consumer Product Safety Commission. He asked the Board for input on these choices, and received assurance that it would be, “up to the Committee to make a choice and present a recommendation to the RES Board.” Roger Kober, RES Education Committee Chair, reported that his committee was considering the use of a video presentation, “Engineering”, for use in persuading high school students to consider this as a career choice. President Richard Kenyon requested, and received, Board approval for a letter of endorsement to the City of Rochester urging the establishment of an “Environmental Management Commission”, just had already been done by all the Towns in Monroe County.
“The Rochester Engineer” (September 1974)
In this issue, new RES Executive Director, Ed Stevens, presented an article, “Science and Technology and the White House”, in which he described how, during the Nixon
8 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER NOVEMBER 2021
administration, science and technology had not been well served. (Editor’s note: A reminder…President Nixon had just resigned the US Presidency, on August 8, 1974). Citing examples of actions President Nixon had taken during his term, to subjugate the influence of established science and technology advisors on the decision-making processes of the Federal Government, Mr. Stevens expressed the hope that under a Gerald Ford administration, science and technology advisory machinery would be restored. In an “Open Letter to the RES Membership”, RES Member, Ron Salzman, urged other RES Members to contact City of Rochester to urge the establishment of a “City of Rochester Environmental Commission”, identical to those being formed by Monroe County’s Towns. Using “Operation Resource” as an example, he went on to suggest that the RES could become a valuable asset to such a City Commission. This issue also featured letters on proposed solutions to the Monroe County solid waste problem, one from County Legislature Minority Leader, John D. Perry, and an opposing response from John R. Hoff, the Legislature’s Majority Leader. With the publication of these letters, comments were invited to the RES office.
October 23, 1974 (Board Meeting, Chamber of Commerce) Frederick Jennings of Remington-Stockdale,
a local advertising and public relations firm, presented a proposal to the Board on updating the RES brochure and preparing advertising promotion materials for increasing revenue for the RES magazine. The Board requested that the Executive Committee receive a proposal letter for their consideration and response. Stuart Cohen, Chair of the RES Membership Committee, said that he would be writing a letter of endorsement for this proposal to the Executive Committee. The Board approved three Regular Membership applications and one Junior Membership application. RES Affiliates were encouraged to contact Lee Loomis, RES Engineers' Joint Dinner Chair, regarding their plans to provide displays for National Engineers Week. Loomis also announced that Richard O. Simpson, Chair of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, had agreed to be the main speaker at the 1975 Engineers Joint Dinner. President Kenyon reported that after a long and tumultuous debate, the Monroe County Legislature had authorized Raytheon Corporation to develop plans and bid specifications for construction of a refuse recycling plant, at a site yet to be determined, on the West side of the City. (Editor’s note: This is what the RES Project, “Operation Resource” had recommended in its recent report.) Subsequent articles in this series will describe the RES' continuing outreach to other technical societies as it considered its role in this and the larger community, along with more of the activities of the RES as it moved to be of greater service to its membership, especially those suffering from current economic crises, and adopted a greater role in shaping the future of the City and its environs. Noted also, will be the contributions made by RES members in the struggle to meet the challenges coming out of World War II and the Korean Conflict, as well as a hoped-for period of post-war growth and prosperity. These articles will also feature an impressive array of RES activities in support of post-war re-emergence of Rochester area industry, and the ensuing prosperity of the second half of the 20th Century. We welcome your questions and comments on this series.
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