Recently, the Atlas Cement Company Memorial Museum hosted some very interesting visitors. Sisters Alice, Joan, Dee and Marcia Drauch presented a piece of folk art remembering their father, William Drauch Sr., and their brother, William Drauch Jr., who were dedicated cement workers at the Whitehall and Keystone cement companies.

William Sr. was born in Cementon and resided in a Whitehall Cement Company home in Homepark. Do our loyal readers know where it is? It is between Cementon and Egypt, off Route 329. The sisters have fond memories of their village home.

They “remember” living in a company home, where the rent was $6 a month. The road in front of the home was just plain dirt. Chickens could be seen roaming the neighborhood. The village was like a United Nations - many nationalities lived here.

The house had running water but no bathroom. A bath was with hot water heated in the kitchen, in a large zinc tub. The bathroom was an outhouse.

Their father drove an old Ford with a rumble seat.

One of the sisters recalls, “One day we drove to Allentown, and while there, for some reason, we put a handful of chicken scratch feed in the gas tank. Well, the car stalled on the way home, and our father used a hose to blow the line out. We were lucky he did not realize we were the culprits.”

I asked about life in Homepark.

“There were no vacations. We played in the neighborhood,” a sister said. “We had a radio, and a favorite show that our father listened to was ‘The Shadow.’ Christmas gifts usually were a sock with candy and an orange. A treat was when the ice cream truck drove through Homepark, and a large 10-cent cone of tasty ice cream was a treat. A weekly visitor was a huckster who sold eggs and produce.”

“Our happy years ended when the Whitehall Cement Company faced a slow-down and father was laid off,” one said. “We moved to Salisbury Township. Our father was fortunate to find employment at the Keystone Cement Company. He would work there for 40 years and make many friends. He loved his job as a cement worker.”

Another said, “A great memory was when the Keystone had an open house, and he took us for a ride in a giant Enclid Quarry truck down to the depths of the quarry.”

William would retire from the plant and pass away at age 94. Even at an advanced age, his eyes would brighten when the Keystone and the name of one of his co-workers would be mentioned to him.

The framed folk art that was presented to the museum by the family was created on canvas with paint and newsprint adhered to the surface, depicting an image of the Keystone Cement Plant.

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In two weeks, father and son at Keystone. See you then!