Meet the employees: 1925

It all started when…

At the time of its creation, the 1925 group photo must have felt like just another snapshot of life, an interruption or perhaps a welcome break from the routine of the day. The men squat with hats in hand, some looking at the camera, others not. The women sit or stand in the second and third rows, some wearing coats, most sporting the fashionable bob of the day. Records indicate the photographer made the images in March and the area underfoot had either been cleared of snow or much of it had melted already.

The personalities behind the faces may shine with a smile or lurk with a grimace, but they all existed as real people. Some left traces of themselves at the history center through personal items, photos, yearbooks, or even 1939 damage records from a tornado. Others left merely a headstone, a name in the census, or a listing in a city directory. A couple simply faded into the past. Whatever their story and path through life, this small group of individuals ushered in thousands more employees to work the factory floor, administrative desks, and punch the time clock at the FCC plant in Anoka.