‘Family’ Gives Thanks for MIF

Eva Vidow may not have been on the list of 50 people who worked at MIF – formally known as Malleable Iron Fittings – for more than 50 years, but she had the proof with her.

She was one of 150 or so people who reminisced about the venerable old Branford factory at the Stony Creek Brewery, which recently hosted a family day for former employees and their relatives. The family day occasion followed the unveiling of a new granite monument honoring MIF employees last month.

Retired police chief Robert Gill, along with Brewery owner Ed Crowley, Jr. and Bouley and Bill O’Brien, was instrumental in creating a monument honoring MIF workers; it was dedicated Oct. 29. Gill was also at the pre- ​“Thanksgiving” event. The Stony Creek Brewery occupies a portion of the MIF property.

Vidow, who was Eva Blahovatny when she worked in assembly there, displayed a tin case with several cast metal parts nestled inside. ​“I made these,” she said, holding up a part. She said she earned 75 cents an hour. Vidow worked at MIF for a couple of years in the 1950s before moving to Foxon and had to quit her job. ​“I didn’t have transportation,” she said.

Vidow later worked at Echlin/Dana, another Branford mainstay, for 26 years.

Everyone had a story and many brought memorabilia, including photographs, spec sheets, and catalogs, which were scanned non-stop by Town Historian Jane Bouley (pictured).

A slide show featured scenes from the factory floor, photographs of the founders and various employers and exterior shots of the buildings over the years. The factory closed in 1970.

Here is an Assembly line.

And a woman wearing a kerchief and working with various parts.

And the pouring operation.

Some of the parts manufactured by the company were on display.

Many of the stories revolved around parents and grandparents who had worked at the factory.

Audrey Hanniford said they’d talk among themselves, calling the jobs at MIF ​“going to college.” Her grandfather, John Hanniford, grew up in Branford, worked at MIF, and went into the Marines, and her father, Timothy, worked there, too. ​“I think it’s fantastic what they’ve done here,” she said.

Jane Bouley’s great-grandfathers worked at MIF. Her mother, Eva Peterson, was there.

Tricia Cyr said both her father and grandfather worked there. She said her father learned to weld at MIF, working from 1959 to 1965. Her grandfather, Anthony Vuksinic, drove the electric train that ran through the factory for 40 years.

Forty years may sound like a long time for employment at one place by today’s standard. However, there was a list of 50 employees on display who had worked at MIF for more than 50 years.

Among them was Paul Robinson’s grandfather, Oswin Robinson, a 54-year employee. His father and uncle worked there as well, and Paul worked at Echlin/Dana before it closed. Paul Robinson (left) and Tom Lehtonen (2nd from right)

Tom Lehtonen’s grandfather, Nestor, a foreman, was another long-time employee at 51 years.

MIF was incorporated in 1864, although its history dates back to 1841. Joseph Nason and James C. Walworth took over the former Totoket Company. However, it was the Hammer family that is recognized for the company’s subsequent success.

A descendant of the Hammer family, Mark Fouser, was at the celebration. He said his complete name is Mark Christian Hammer Fouser (pictured), and that his grandfather, Forrester L. Hammer, designed and invented the Branford Oil Burner, which was in use from the 1930s on. It’s a full-circle connection since Nason is known as ​“the father of steam heating” through his invention of the ​“radiator,” which he named.

An event like this highlights Branford’s historic roots. Indeed, people may come and go, but there’s a core of longtime residents, who can easily reach back and ​“remember when….” The rich history of MIF is being diligently preserved and will be acknowledged every time someone raises a glass at the Stony Creek Brewery.

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