IBM history on full display in Endicott
ENDICOTT – The Endicott History and Heritage Center had special holiday hours on Saturday, giving local residents, visiting family members and students on break from school a chance to learn more about how an information technology giant got its start in Broome County.
The first floor of the center, at 40 Washington Ave., details more than 100 years of IBM history. The center has a range of historical items, from a Bundy Manufacturing Co. time recorder that dates back to the 1880s to a 1964 IBM System 360 that had a memory of 40,000 words.
The center, located in the former Burt's department store, is typically open from noon to 4 p.m. on Thursdays, but decided to open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday because of the holidays.
About 10 to 12 people visit the center on an average Thursday. But by 11:45 a.m. Saturday, more than 30 people had already walked through the door.
"It's kind of a trial, and it looks pretty good so far," said Ted Warner, president of the Old Village of Union Historical Society.
The historical society runs the Endicott History and Heritage Center, which first opened in June 2013 with 49 exhibits ranging from manual data collectors to boxes the size of refrigerators filled with circuitry.
The exhibits were previously housed by IBM in the Huron Campus, accessible only to employees, retirees or students visiting for class trips. Now, the vast collection of IBM technology is accessible to the public on the first floor of a 94-year-old building the museum shares with Rent-A-Center.
In addition to preserving IBM's legacy, Warner said the historical society is hoping to open the center's second floor around March 1. That floor will include, among other topics, a history of Endicott Johnson Shoe Co., Union-Endicott schools and the Village of Endicott.
Putnam County resident Joe Higham visited the museum with his mother and daughter late Saturday morning. Higham grew up in Vestal and worked at IBM at the Glendale Technology Lab from 1983 to 1993 as an engineer designing chips.
Higham said he learned more about IBM on Saturday by participating in a group tour led by Joe Titti, a volunteer tour guide at the center and IBM retiree.
Titti, a 75-year-old Endicott resident, worked at IBM from 1959 to 1992. While he started as a technician testing transistors, Titti retired as a programmer testing development systems.
Throughout the tour, Titti's eyes lit up and his arms excitedly thrashed through the air as he described each IBM product.
"This is my passion," Titti said. "I want to preserve the heritage of IBM in Endicott."
Follow Jon Harris on Twitter @PSBJonHarris.
A brief history of IBM
•In June 1911, Charles R. Flint announced the merger of three companies to form Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co.
•In 1924, C-T-R Co. was renamed International Business Machines.
•At its peak in the mid-1980s, IBM employed more than 11,000 at its Endicott campus and nearby Glendale Technology Lab.
•In February, at least 10 people were laid off at IBM in Endicott. The Binghamton-based Alliance@IBM, CWA Local 1701, at the time estimated there were only 720 local IBM employees left following the cuts.