My grandfather, Hugh A. Howes was a Millwright. Unfortunately, I do not recall if he worked for Ford Motor Company. I want to say he did, however, I cannot be sure. He belonged to Local 245, Region 1-A of the International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, (UAW).
His wife, my grandmother Olive A. Howes (Roll), kept a few mementos of Hugh’s time with the UAW. She kept the photo of the conference attendees from the December 1956 Chicago UAW Trades Conference. I could easily find my grandfather in the picture. Along with the photo, she retained his conference ID card.
After my grandmother passed, my mother brought home some of Olive’s belongings. I managed to snag Hugh’s UAW Journeyman Card and a UAW mechanical pencil for my collection.
The journeyman card is signed by Hugh A. Howes. Issued in September 1959, it was probably his last union card. My grandfather became ill around that time, passing way in 1961. The handwriting looks more like my grandmothers. I can’t really be sure if the handwriting is his. I will need to compare the signature to items that Olive signed.
The question now is who will take possession of the memorabilia as I prepare to minimalize possessions.
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