“We were making parts for John Deere, tractor parts, manifold parts. That’s when International Harvester had…remember the Scout? And they had Cub Cadet. So basically, in the foundry, it’s hot metal, you know, and we would do these molds. You add all these components to make the manifold. Once it goes down to the line, it goes down to the pour section. And then you got these guys that are basically pushing a dolly. It’s like a scooter, and it has a ladle. It’s got a ladle full of molten metal.”
Tag: Kentucky Black History
Nardie’s Education Continues at Now-Defunct Black Trade School
We pick up Nardie’s story as he graduates from Shawnee High School in 1970 (“which was 75% white” at the time, he said). He capitalized on a phenomenal scholarship opportunity to go to the West Kentucky Technical College in Paducah, where he lived in a dorm with around 500 other students.