Aerial View of the New Departure Plant

In 1990, Thomas Root took this aerial view of Delco Moraine, New Departure Hyatt (Division of General Motors) located at the southwest corner of Perkins and Hayes Avenue in Perkins Township, Erie County. Dozens of automobiles dot the parking lot of the plant, while a semi and other cars travel southbound along Hayes Avenue. On the left side of the picture is Foster Chevrolet. Across the street from Delco Moraine, New Departure Hyatt, you can see Mr. Hero, Berardi’s Family Kitchen, the AFL CIO Union Hall, and other businesses. At the very right of the picture you can see a portion of Strobel Field, now Strobel Field at Cedar Point Stadium.

General Motors established the New Departure plant in Perkins Township in 1946. In 1965 New Departure was merged with another GM Division, Hyatt Bearings, to form the New Departure Hyatt Bearings Division and Sandusky was selected as the divisional headquarters site.  In 1989 New Departure Hyatt merged with another GM division, Delco Moraine, to become Delco Moraine NDH.  In 1991 Delco Moraine NDH merged with Delco Products to become Delco Chassis Division.  Delco Chassis Division became Delphi Chassis Systems in 1995.  Delphi Automotive Systems spun off from parent company GM in 1999, and then changed its name to Delphi Corporation in 2002. KBI (Kyklos Bearing International) now occupies the site of the former New Departure/Delco Moraine/Delphi facility.

Christmas in Sandusky in 1950

A series of pictures featuring holiday decorations in Sandusky’s Washington Park in 1950 is found in the historical collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The Industrial Nut Corporation sponsored this Santa Claus decoration.      

A large group of singing carolers is seen here in front of faux stained glass windows.

Hinde and Dauch sponsored this candy cane display.

Rudolph and a sleigh full of gifts were sponsored by the Lyman Boat Company.

You can see the Ohio Edison office in the Odd Fellows building behind this large candle display in Washington Park.

The New Departure Division of General Motors sponsored this display of singers.

 Looking through microfilmed issues of the Sandusky Register Star News from 1950, we learn that at the Sears store in downtown Sandusky, shoppers could purchase a recording of their child’s conversation with the store’s Santa Claus. An ad from Cooper Chevrolet on Cleveland Avenue stated that the new 1951 Chevrolet was “America’s largest and finest low-priced car.” The Jaycees encouraged everyone to put a light in every window for the holiday season. Bing’s Furniture sold a wide variety of small and large appliances for the holiday season. The Frankel’s store offered a lay-away service, offering to “keep secrets safe” until the week of Christmas, and the J.C. Penney store in downtown Sandusky was selling men’s bomber jackets for $8.90. Herman’s Furniture advertised Lane hope chests for “a gift that starts the home.”  

Obituaries of Employees of New Departure-Hyatt/Delphi

A former employee of New Departure-Hyatt, later known as Delphi, donated a collection of obituaries of former employees of the General Motors plant here in Sandusky. The years span 1996 through 2009. (GM sold Sandusky’s Delphi plant to Kyklos Bearings International in 2008.) Over 400 names are included in the notebook. An index at the front of the notebook provides easy access to the obituaries.

A great deal of personal history can be gleaned by browsing through these articles. Most obituaries of U. S. Veterans include the name of the unit with which they served. One lengthy obituary includes information about the former employee’s experience as an Eagle Scout, and as a combat pilot in the Pacific Theatre in World War Two. Hobbies, church affiliation, and club memberships are mentioned in most of the obituaries. An obituary for a Mr. Graziani, who passed away in 2008, provides his birth date and birthplace, which was in San Marino (within Italy) in 1929. Family connections can also be found, as the maiden names of wives are included, as well as the married names of daughters.

Following the obituaries is a collection of news articles related to New Departure-Hyatt from the Sandusky Register and company newsletters.

The last section of the notebook of Obituaries of Employees of New Departure-Hyatt/Delphi is a section of news articles about the wedding anniversaries of New Departure-Hyatt/Delphi employees. Almost every article includes a photograph of the couple.

While the notebook of Obituaries of Employees of New Departure-Hyatt/Delphi records information about a relatively small group of people for a limited number of years, virtually everyone who has lived in Erie County for any length of time will know someone whose name appears in this valuable resource. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to browse through the compilation of obituaries and anniversary articles of former auto workers in Sandusky.