25 years after Bethlehem Steel’s last cast: ‘It was proud and sad … done with great dignity and pride.’

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel's Basic Oxygen Furnace was demolished in a matter of seconds Saturday, Jan. 31, 1998, on East Fourth Street near Lynn Avenue in South Bethlehem. For the previous two months, workers cut portions of the building's supports to prepare for demolition. Then front-end loaders pulled down the pillars one by one with chains until the building collapsed, while a crowd of about 100 gathered to watch the final fall of a Steel landmark.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Here's what Bethlehem Steel's Basic Oxygen Furnace on East Fourth Street near Lynn Avenue in South Bethlehem looked like before it was demolished in January 1998.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The former Bethlehem Steel property is seen from the Minsi Trail Bridge, looking west, on Wednesday, October 13, 2004.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

The Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion took place on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Nine Check brothers gathered for this photo from the 1950s or '60s at Bethlehem Steel where they worked. They are, from left, John, Bartholomew, Steve, Andrew, George, Mike, Emil, Frank and Richie. They, along with their dad, sister and two sons worked a total of 441 years in the Bethlehem plant.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

The Morning Call archives

May 1, 2003: Bethlehem Steel ceases to exist with the sale of its assets to International Steel Group.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Looking east from the top of the D blast furnace, the No. 2 Machine Shop, once the largest machine shop in the world (right center) along with the trestle that carried cars with raw materials are seen in this 1999 photo.

The Morning Call archives

Oct. 16, 2001: Morning Call coverage of Bethlehem Steel filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a day earlier.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details the rise of organized labor at the plant.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details how World War II made the company's executives very rich.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Bethlehem Steel Chairman Emeritus Curtis H. "Hank" Barnette delivers remarks at the Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

The Morning Call archives

Nov. 18, 1995: About 800 workers to lose jobs with furnace closings.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Workers heat up the label that will be used to pour molten steel into the medallion molds at the Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Steam billows into the sky from the Bethlehem Steel Coke Ovens looking west.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details how Bethlehem Steel boomed in the age of armaments and building starting with World War I.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces under late-day sunlight.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details efforts to preserve Bethlehem Steel's history.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

An undated photo of the empty Bethlehem Steel plant.

The Morning Call archives

Oct. 16, 2001: Morning Call coverage of Bethlehem Steel filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a day earlier.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

The Morning Call archives

March 28, 1998: The last of Bethlehem Steel's Lehigh Valley blue collar work force shut down with the closing of the Coke Works a day earlier.

Morning Call File Photo

The former Bethlehem Steel property is seen from the Minsi Trail Bridge, looking west, on Wednesday, October 13, 2004.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

A recycled sprocket that was once part of machines used by Bethlehem Steel Corp. to produce steel is now being used as works of art. The sprockets line the streets along the old Bethlehem Steel site.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The interior of No. 2 Machine Shop which once manufactured battleship gun is now empty on the abandoned site of Bethlehem Steel in South Bethlehem. A portion of the building will become part of National Museum of Industrial History.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The power generating plant at Bethlehem Steel.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Coke burns in the small blast furnace at the Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

An undated photo inside the Bethlehem Steel plant.

HISTORIC BETHLEHEM PARTNERSHIP / TMC

The Bethlehem Steel main office building, circa 1950s.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The Morning Call archives

April 23, 2003: Morning Call coverage of a bankruptcy judge approving the sale of Bethlehem Steel's assets to International Steel Group.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Mike Piersa, museum historian operates the train engine used to haul steel beams at the Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Joe Cerquiera opens a gate to let the iron flow in the blast furnace at Bethlehem Steel.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Fire shoots out of the small blast furnace as it heats up before melting steel for pouring into the molds of the commemorative medallion at t he Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Looking through a gigantic forging, a part of the lengthy No. 2 Machine Shop in the Bethlehem Steel plant, the western most entrance is seen. This was once the largest machine shop in the world.

The Morning Call archives

Nov. 18, 1995: About 800 workers to lose jobs with furnace closings.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The former Bethlehem Steel property is seen from the Minsi Trail Bridge, looking west, on Wednesday, October 13, 2004.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The phrase "10-20-95 LAST DAY" was written on what is believed to be a section of the steam generator in the 48-inch rolling mills at Bethlehem Steel. This mill was known as "The mill that made America" since it revolutionized the high-rise building trade.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Ron Hoppy, an environmental foreman for the Bethlehem Steel Coke Works, sits in the office at the Saucon plant.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details how women kept Bethlehem Steel rolling during World War II.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Workers split wood to be used in the small coke furnace used to melt the steel for the commemorative medallions at the Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Looking due east from the field just west of the western most blast furnace at the Bethlehem Steel plant. Two large metal pipes accumulate rust as an unused stairwell is seen between them.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The sun sets behind the blast furnaces of Bethlehem Steel, on Monday October 15, 2001, as Bethlehem Steel announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

HISTORIC BETHLEHEM PARTNERSHIP / TMC

Press forge inside of steel mill building.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details the beginning of the company's demise starting in the 1970s.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details how World War II made the company's executives very rich.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

The Morning Call archives

The cover of a Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995.

courtesyHist.Beth. Partnership / TMC

Pa. State Constabulary officers on horseback on the New Street Bridge during the Bethlehem Steel strike in 1910. They were called in by Bethlehem Steel to intimidate the strikers.

The Morning Call archives

May 1, 2003: Bethlehem Steel ceases to exist with the sale of its assets to International Steel Group.

courtesyHist.Beth. Partnership / TMC

Pa. State Constabulary officers on horseback during the Bethlehem Steel strike in 1910. They were called in by Bethlehem Steel to intimidate the strikers.

HISTORIC BETHLEHEM PARTNERSHIP / TMC

Train with workers at Bethlehem Steel, circa 1950.

Morning Call File Photo

The former Bethlehem Steel property is seen from the Minsi Trail Bridge, looking west, on Wednesday, October 13, 2004.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details the beginnings of Bethlehem Steel.

MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO

Al Check (from left) worked in the foundry 42 years, George Check worked in the blast furnace 40 years, Frank Check, worked in the blast furnace 42 years and Richie Check worked as a rigger for 43 years, five months and 15 days. Four of the nine Check brothers gather in front of Blast Funace E, where their photo with the other five brothers who have since died was taken some 50 years ago.

courtesyHist.Beth. Partnership / TMC

Steel workers on the picket lines surround a convertible during the Bethlehem Steel strike in March 1941. The sign on lower right says "END RAT PLAN".

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

The Morning Call archives

March 29, 1998: A special report on the closing of the Coke Works at Bethlehem Steel two days earlier.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The reflection of Bethlehem Steel on the Lehigh River as evening falls on Wednesday, April 30, 2003.

Morning Call File Photo

The former Bethlehem Steel property is seen from the Minsi Trail Bridge, looking west, on Wednesday, October 13, 2004.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Workers finish another sand mold for the commemorative Medallion at the Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

HARRY FISHER, MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO

A unique view of a blast furnace can be seen through the vantage of a large mechanical gear on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel company in south Bethlehem in 2005. The furnace, which was used in the manufacturing of steel, was in active use until November 1995.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details the early plans for redeveloping the property.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The former Bethlehem Steel plant in 2011.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

BethSteel/Martin T. Gearhart / TMC

1969, Room 689 West: Typists working on machines.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

An undated photo of the Bethlehem Steel plant.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

An employee of Bethlehem Steel's Coke Works shovels some remaining coke into an open oven. Coke is a fuel used in steelmaking processes.

Tom Volk/The Morning Call file photo

Workers from the last shift of Bethlehem Steel's Blast Furnace gather on the furnace's landing as the final molten iron pours into a submarine rail car November 18th, 1995. For the first time since 1873, steel would not be made in the Lehigh Valley.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details the impact on surrounding businesses.

The Morning Call archives

March 28, 1998: The last of Bethlehem Steel's Lehigh Valley blue collar work force shut down with the closing of the Coke Works a day earlier.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

An undated photo of the empty Bethlehem Steel plant.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Retiree Eric Quimby, directs the train engine at the Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. Quimby worked for the company from 1774-1988. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

HISTORIC BETHLEHEM PARTNERSHIP / TMC

Building of Minsi Trail Bridge, circa 1915. Due to the enormous growth of Bethlehem Steel in the early years of the 20th century, problems arose involving the housing and transporting all of these new workers. To help alleviate these problems bridges were built across the Lehigh at Freemansburg (1897), and Minsi Trail (1915).

MICHAEL KUBEL, MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO

Colored lights flood the blast furnaces of the former Bethlehem Steel.

The Morning Call archives

Oct. 16, 2001: Morning Call coverage of Bethlehem Steel filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a day earlier.

Chuck Zovko / TMC

Blast Furnace B, seen between the arches of the old Bethlehem Steel cruciform building, where steel was first made in Bethlehem.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

A worker cleans up after the coke was pushed from a stove at Bethlehem Steel's Coke Works.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details the early plans for redeveloping the property.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Molds for the commemorative medallion in honor of the Last Cast 25th Anniversary are ready for use at the demo area on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Baskets used to store personal belongings hang in the Riggers Welfare Room of Bethlehem Steel. Workers changed clothes in the Riggers Welfare Room, which will become part of National Museum of Industrial History. Photo taken Thursday, January 12, 2005.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Bill McCarthy puts coke into the small blast furnace at the Last Cast 25 steelworker reunion Saturday morning at the National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

An undated photo of the Bethlehem plant.

MICHAEL KUBEL, MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO

A 2008 view from Daly Avenue, Bethlehem, as workers take down the former Steel Foundry next to the No. 2 Machine Shop in the area where the Bethlehem Sands Casino Resort and ArtsQuest complex stand today.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Mold sit idle on a rack on the fourth floor pattern shop warehouse at Bethlehem Steel.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details how Bethlehem Steel boomed in the age of armaments and building starting with World War I.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 included this photo collage.

MICHAEL KUBEL, MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO

A back view of the set of 'Transformers 2' at the former Bethlehem Steel site in Bethlehem in 2008.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

A worker prepares another mold of sand for the commemorative Medallion at the Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

A large forge that made the hulls for many battle ships is seen in this building that was later demolished.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Sunset light reflects on the many windows of the No. 2 Machine Shop at the Bethlehem Steel plant. This was once the largest machine shop in the world.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The Bethlehem Steel blat furnaces are framed by a window from one of the original Foundry buildings from the late 1800s on Wednesday, December 5, 2001.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The Bethlehem Steel plant on Monday October 15, 2001.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The Riggers Welfare Room on the Bethlehem Steel site in South Bethlehem will become part of the National Museum of Industrial History. Photo taken Thursday, January 12, 2005.

HARRY FISHER, MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO

The former No. 8 Hammer Shop of the Bethlehem Steel plant in south Bethlehem in 2009. ArtsQuest's SteelStacks performing arts center and PBS39 now grace that property.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Ernie Greenawalt and Ralph Berrien at the Bethlehem Steel plant in this undated photo.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

The Morning Call archives

March 28, 1998: The last of Bethlehem Steel's Lehigh Valley blue collar work force shut down with the closing of the Coke Works a day earlier.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details 'the good life' that Bethlehem Steel provided generations of workers.

MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO

Aerial view of Steel Stacks campus in South Bethlehem on the former Bethlehem Steel site.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Bethlehem City Council Member J. William Reynolds delivers remarks at the Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

A worker stands above the coke batteries at Bethlehem Steel's Coke Works.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The No. 2 Machine Shop at Bethlehem Steel in South Bethlehem will become part of the National Museum of Industrial History. Photo taken Thursday, January 12, 2005.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Trains carry molten iron to other parts of the Bethlehem Steel plant.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Carrying protective clothing, Ralph Berrien climbs the stairs to the blast furnace at the Bethlehem Steel plant.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The view from inside the No. 2 Machine Shop located near the blast furnace at Bethlehem Steel.

The Morning Call archives

Nov. 19, 1995: A final blast of molten ore, then quiet.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

A once booming Bethlehem Steel mill, now sees very little traffic. Here, a lone stray cat walks down a path.

The Morning Call archives

April 23, 2003: Morning Call coverage of a bankruptcy judge approving the sale of Bethlehem Steel's assets to International Steel Group.

courtesyMartin T. Gearhart / TMC

Telegraph room 153, April 1930. Rear (left to right): Sarah Pfleugler, John Heklar, Anna Mellon; Middle: Olga Balson, Mary Moravek, Front:Mary Heyt, Grace Brown. (Photo:courtesy:Martin T. Gearhart/Bethlehem Steel)

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

A rainbow can be seen as workers take down the former Steel Foundry next to the No. 2 Machine Shop on the Bethlehem Steel property in January 2008.

HARRY FISHER, MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO

This view from the Minsi Trail Bridge in Bethlehem shows a large number of former Bethlehem Steel buildings, including the Welment complex behind the train in foreground, which were going to be demolished to make way for the Sands-BethWorks casino in 2007.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

An undated photo of the empty Bethlehem Steel plant.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Former Bethlehem Steel workers (left to right) Frank Donnangelo, of Bethlehem, Tom Gonda, of Bethlehem Township, and Lamar Leiser, of Bethlehem, talk in the No. 2 Machine Shop of the former Bethlehem Steel plant on Thursday November 17, 2005.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Steel production was halted at Bethlehem Steel's home plant in Bethlehem on Nov. 18, 1995.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

This is the view from inside the No. 2 Machine Shop located near the blast furnace at Bethlehem Steel.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Carl Wetzel of Saucon Valley, who troubleshooted for problems in the screening station of the Coke Works, looks over the area near where the Coke is loaded at the Bethlehem Steel Coke Plant.

The Morning Call archives

March 29, 1998: A special report on the closing of the Coke Works at Bethlehem Steel two days earlier.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

An undated photo of the empty Bethlehem Steel plant.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 included this photo collage.

The Morning Call archives

Oct. 16, 2001: Morning Call coverage of Bethlehem Steel filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a day earlier.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details the impact on surrounding businesses.

FILE PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL

Bethlehem Steel main plant

courtesyHist.Beth. Partnership / TMC

Pa. State Constabulary officers on horseback in front of the Scott House during the Bethlehem Steel strike in 1910. They were called in by Bethlehem Steel to intimidate the strikers.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure delivers remarks at the Last Cast 25 Steelworker Reunion on Saturday morning in Bethlehem at the National Museum of Industrial History. The Last Cast 25 is a commemoration of the last day of steelmaking at Bethlehem Steel?s South Bethlehem plant on November 18, 1995.

The Morning Call archives

Nov. 18, 2020: Steelmaking will end today in Bethlehem.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The mill that made America: The 48-inch mill, the mill that made high-rise construction possible, is seen sitting idle.

BethSteel/Martin T. Gearhart / TMC

March 15, 1944: Women at desk positions, floor position, and switchboard positions in Room 493. (Photo-courtesy Martin T. Gearhart)

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

An undated photo of the Bethlehem Steel plant.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Mike Piersa, a historian at the National Museum of Industrial History in south Bethlehem, operates the train engine used to haul steel beams at the Last Cast 25 steelworker reunion Saturday. The museum hosted Last Cast 25, with exhibits and features that brought the plant's final days to life.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Joe Cerqueira, first helper in the Bethlehem Steel blast furnace, as liquid iron flows from the furnace after a tapping.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

An undated photo inside the Bethlehem Steel plant.

The Morning Call archives

March 28, 1998: The last of Bethlehem Steel's Lehigh Valley blue collar work force shut down with the closing of the Coke Works a day earlier.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

An ingot mold was left half-buried in the dust inside the electric furnace melt shop at Bethlehem Steel. Much of the home plant's valuable equipment was salvaged and sent to other Bethlehem Steel plants. The melt shop used smaller electric furnaces to melt scrap steel, which then was poured into ingots and sent to the plant's forges.

The Morning Call archives

Nov. 19, 1995: Jobless steel workers think about their future

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details how Bethlehem Steel turned a profit for the first time in years in the first half of that year.

SHARON K. MERKEL / Special to The Morning Call

Retiree Eric Quimby takes a break from working at the Last Cast 25 steelworker reunion Saturday morning at the National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem. Quimby worked for the company from 1974-1988. The reunion had exhibits and features that brought the plant's final days to life.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The massive ladle that poured molten iron into the furnace that turns it into steel.

The Morning Call archives

A Morning Call special report on the end of steelmaking in Bethlehem from November 1995 details the beginning of the company's demise starting in the 1970s.

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

This is the view from inside the No. 2 Machine Shop located near the blast furnace at Bethlehem Steel.

Don Young still vividly recalls the day 25 years ago when he rode the Philadelphia Bethlehem & New England Railroad engine to take molten iron from Bethlehem Steel’s final operating blast furnace to the basic oxygen furnace where it would be refined into steel.

It was Nov. 18, 1995, the last day of steel making, or “last cast” at Bethlehem Steel’s furnaces, which still stand as a now-silent icon, the backdrop for some of the city’s biggest events, from concerts at Musikfest to holiday shopping at Christkindlmarkt.

Young remembers the 2,700-degree heat from the furnaces sending a blast of hot air into his face, while chilly air from a November updraft was at his back.

“I’m amazed at the number of people around 25 years later who still remember it,” said Young, now 83 and a Bethlehem Steel historian.

The process involved pouring the steel into molds where it hardened into big blocks called ingots. The ingots were then transported to soaking pits, where water would cool them before they were rolled into steel beams.

When the South Side plant poured its last cast 25 years ago, the event was part funeral, part retirement party and part media spectacle, with TV camera crews lined up at the front gates to catch a glimpse of the final scene.

“It was sad. We knew the end was coming,” Young said.

Bethlehem Steel had notified employees that February that a shutdown would be coming in November.

“There was lots of crying, gnashing of teeth and swearing,” Young said. “For the most part, most of the guys took it as, ‘Well, it’s inevitable. We may as well go out with our heads held high.’ “

Former Bethlehem Steel Division President Tim Lewis, 82, remembers a big American flag hanging from a crane outside the plant, and a co-worker whistling a somber tune over the loudspeaker the day Bethlehem Steel Corp. turned off the final operating blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace within which iron ore, limestone and coke became iron and then steel.

A Morning Call story from that day described the scene: As workers opened the side of the blast furnace for the last time and iron began to flow, everything fell silent while steelworker Herman Stengl whistled “Amazing Grace” over a speaker system on the furnace floor.

About 500 people would go on to lose their jobs, according to The Morning Call archives.

“It was a very emotional day for the crew of the blast furnace and all of us who were involved. It was a monumental historic moment for the plant, and the area, really,” Lewis said. “It wasn’t a mean and bitter event. It was proud and sad. … I thought it was done with great dignity and pride.”

Roger Malitzki Sr., 78, said Bethlehem Steel provided a good living and the ability for him and his wife, Sandra, to raise four sons. But the job was also very dangerous. Malitzki was burned when hot slag dripped out of the furnace and down his back.

Despite the extreme heat, workers had to wear heavy suits and long underwear to keep their own sweat from causing steam burns on their bodies. Sometimes workers died. Malitzski remembers two deaths during his 31 years there.

“I thank Bethlehem Steel for allowing me to make a living,” said Malitzski, a South Side native whose grandfather, father and father-in-law all worked at the plant. “I miss seeing the guys I worked with. It becomes part of your life.”

Despite the grueling nature of the job, some really liked it. Jim Kresley, 74, was an office worker before starting at the ingot mold foundry in 1974, a job he preferred to having bosses on him all the time.

“When I worked at the ingot mold foundry, I’d take the wheelbarrow and fill it with sand,” he said. “I enjoyed doing it. The guys I worked with were really good.”

When Kresley found out the plant was closing, he said, it was like “taking away a piece of me.”

“Can you imagine working at a place, you really enjoy it, and then they say, ‘Hey, don’t come back. We’re closed. There won’t be anymore Bethlehem Steel?’ ” Kresley said.

Many former steelworkers are like Kresley, recalling their time at the plant fondly. They speak of lasting friendships forged at a steady job with good benefits.

Every year, former employees hold a reunion, but the meetings have gotten smaller as the years have worn on. They started with about 150 former employees. There were 89 at last year’s reunion, Malitzski said. But they will continue to keep the memories alive.

Some do it informally, sharing stories with their grandchildren. Others, such as Young, have made it more of a mission. He continues to speak to local school groups about Bethlehem Steel’s history and is a guide at the National Museum of Industrial History.

Last weekend, the museum hosted Last Cast 25, with exhibits and features that brought the plant’s final days to life. The event was a joint project with the Bethlehem Area Public Library, Historic Bethlehem Museum and Sites, Lehigh Valley Public Media, Steelworkers’ Archives, Wind Creek Resort and ArtsQuest.

The plant operated as Bethlehem Steel from 1904 until 1995, but its roots date to the Bethlehem Iron Co., which opened 60 years earlier. For many years, it competed with U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh as the largest structural steel plants in the United States.

Lewis said it’s a credit to the community that memories of Bethlehem Steel live on, and even more so that the once-scorched industrial site became a vibrant tourist site with concertgoers and families enjoying many activities.

“The area is thriving. People are moving here because of our jobs and wonderful educational opportunities,” Lewis said. “It’s too bad Bethlehem Steel is no longer part of it, but that’s the way it is.”

Morning Call reporter Christina Tatu can be reached at 610-820-6583 or [email protected].

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25 years after Bethlehem Steel’s last cast: ‘It was proud and sad … done with great dignity and pride.’