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Table of Contents
Published in The Oak Ridger
Published in The Oak Ridge Observer
Published in Y-Source
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Jack Case – Working up through the ranks
This fourth installment in the history of Jack Case - namesake for the Jack Case Center - will feature a reprint of the news article on Page 4 of The Oak Ridger published Friday, January 29, 1982 on the actual date of his retirement. The last article highlighted many comments from his peers and co-workers. This article will reflect the community’s perspective of Jack Case the person known locally and nationally as “Mr. Y-12.”
"The people who work for him would almost rather have his word than a written contract.”
That's the way one of his closer associates sums up the feelings about Jack Case, whose retirement at the Y-12 plant becomes official today.
Case’s official job description in more recent years has been plant superintendent. But he likely would have had no objection, and perhaps might have even preferred, had he been listed as “machinist” or more precisely “toolmaker.”
Jack Case, like few other people in Carbide management here, or industrial management anywhere, truly came up through the ranks. He was – is – a machinist, or more precisely a toolmaker, and proud of it. And this fact has made him one of the best-liked, most-respected and most credible Carbide managers in Oak Ridge’s now nearly 40-year history.
“He’s got a lot of manufacturing intelligence.”
“His ability to get along with other is unsurpassed.”
“No matter what sort of oddball thing they wanted us to build out here (at Y-12) he could look at the proposal and steer us in the right direction.”
“He would lay out the fine points and give us a goal and then give us a lot of room. Sure, he pushed us if we got bogged down.”
“Working with him was like taking a graduate course in the humanities.”
These are some of the other things that those closest to him say.
The Y-12 plant is the local facility that is always most difficult to describe. This is because it is the plant that is least understood by Oak Ridgers themselves. For although it is the plant geographically closest to the community, because of its major weapons role it is also the plant area that is least accessible to visitors.
But the best description is that it is probably the world’s largest, most sophisticated, most innovative machine shop.
For out of the original need of the Manhattan Project for not only devices and equipment never before manufactured, but also never before conceived – parts, gadgets as small as a pin (and likely smaller) and as large as a battleship (well almost) – has come into being this unique facility and its unique staff of workmen and craftsmen and superintendents like Case who can, literally, do, make most anything. And thy have made most anything, for the nuclear project’s military missions, of course, but also for its more recent and much broader and more positive missions as well. And for many other federal programs too, most especially the space program.
And Case has been the key person in Y-12’s accomplishments since the plants very origins in 1944 – first as a craft foreman, then as a general foreman, general foreman for shops, maintenance department superintendent, maintenance division head, mechanical operations superintendent, assistant plant superintendent, deputy plant superintendent and , since 1969, plant superintendent.
That is working one’s way up through the ranks. There is the basis for the kind of confidence and affection that Case has earned from his fellow workers. It is entirely appropriate that they honor him tonight at what promises to be one of the most genuinely warm and personal, if hugely attended, retirement parties in this community that has said in more recent years to have made retirement parties its second largest industry.
May we join in the congratulations and best wishes to Jack Case, toolmaker virtually without peer, for long and fulfilling years ahead.
In the next installment of the Jack Case history series we will look at some letters he received from friends near and far at the time of his retirement.
Ray Smith
1/16/06
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