Early Employees of Collins Radio Company

We can trace the beginnings of the Collins Radio Company back to 1931 when a young Arthur Collins began building and selling amateur radio transmitters in the basement of his home at 1720 6th Ave., Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This small home business gradually expanded until Arthur decided to incorporate the Collins Radio Company which formally took place on September 9, 1933.

The early Collins products have been documented with several articles written about them. But who were the early employees who helped make it happen? This paper attempts to identify these early employees, the dates they joined, and the references used to piece this record together. I have included the call signs of the licensed amateur radio operators after their names because the products that launched the company were first for the amateur radio market and later for the broadcast market.

A time-line of recorded employment events follows:

November 17, 1931

Arthur has two part-time employees: Leo Hruska, 9BBH and Roy Harrington, (call sign unknown) both fellow amateur radio operators. He called his enterprise “Radio Laboratories, Inc.” – though no evidence of incorporation has been found. [I]

January – October 1932

Another, apparently part-time, employee was Ralph T. Ackerman, draftsman, who created most of the design drawings in this time period. [ii]

June 1932

Clair Miller, W9KFA, was hired as the first full-time employee (see photo 1). Arthur now calls his enterprise “Collins Radio Transmitters”. [iii]

June 1932

The following chart probably lists only the full-time employees: [iv]

“On a Saturday in 1933”

President Arthur Collins phoned Arlo Goodyear and offered him two weeks work if he was willing to work on Sundays. Out of work for months and with a wife and baby, Goodyear jumped at the chance. Today [May 1953] (and he has never left) he heads… “When Arlo reported for work, he found that he comprised the factory of the business, the other three employees being President, Vice-president and Superintendent.” [v]

Early 1933

perhaps on April 7, 1933” – John ‘Slim’ Dayhoff (Sheet Metal), and Ted Saxon (Machinist) were hired (see photo 4). Then Gerald ‘Jiggs’ Ozburn, W9ARW. Charles Boegel, WØCVU came when there were only six employees. [vi]

September 9, 1933

Arthur Collins incorporates the Collins Radio Company with eight employees at the time. The wording indicates that perhaps the company consisted of Arthur Collins and 8 additional. Thus the employees listed in order of joining the company becomes:

October 3, 1933

Kathryn Horsfall joins the company and later becomes the first employee to achieve 40 years with the company on October 3, 1973. [ix]

January 1, 1934

Collins Radio Company has grown considerably in one year to 14 employees. [x]

April 1, 1934

Roy Olson, Electrical Engineer, is hired.

May 1934

Emma Haas, Rose Kucera (Emma’s Sister) and Lloyd Haas (Emma’s Husband) were employed as Janitorial staff (bargaining unit). [xi]

July 1934

Mike ‘Milo’ Soukup was hired after High School Graduation as a “Mechanical Assembly Helper”

1934

A publicity photo (photo 5) was taken of the production assembly area of 2920 First Ave. People who normally did not work on the assembly line were included to make the company look larger than it really was. A Collins 20B transmitter is the large black cabinet at the far left. On the workbenches are small transmitters which were used on the Goodyear Blimp “Enterprise”.

January 1, 1935

The following employment roster for Collins Radio Company shows 49 employees plus the New York Office: W. J. Barkley joined in 1935: [xii]

June 20, 1936

The Collins Radio Company Roster showed 78 employees: [xiii]

References:
i. Arthur Collins – Radio Wizard, by Ben Stearns
ii. Early Collins Drawings made between January & October 1932 record this name as draftsman
iii. The Collins Story by Arlo C. Goodyear, October 14, 1954
iv. Cedar Rapids City Directory, January 1, 1933
v. Collins Column, May 1953 back cover
vi. Cedar Rapids City Directory November 18, 1956
vii. Ozburn joined June 1, 1933 per page 5, June 1953 Collins Column
viii. Dayhoff joined after June 1933 per page 24, June 1953 Collins Column
ix. Article in company news October 1973
x. Cedar Rapids City Directory January 1, 1934
xi. Collins Column, July 1953 back cover
xii. Cedar Rapids City Directory January 1, 1935
xiii. McCoy Directories Listing June 20, 1936