In the nineteen fifties and sixties, and maybe later, the Portland Public School system closed schools for one day and required teachers to tour local businesses. This was to give them a better understanding of where their education was being applied and hopefully give them more insight into how to help prepare their students for after high school.

While I still worked at ConMet in Portland, I arranged for a small group of teachers, including my dad, to tour our facilities. I was the tour guide. Somewhere I have a photo taken of the group in the foundry. 

At Benson High School the student body would go on one industry field trip each year. I remember two of them. One time we toured the Freightliner Truck manufacturing plant on Swan Island in north Portland. The other time was a tour of the paper making plant in Camas, Washington. It was amazing to watch a 10” to 16” diameter log disappear down a hole in the floor and nothing but wood chips falling out of a chute underneath. The noise was deafening.

Ken Kaiyala
4-7-2024