Guide to the Snyder Electric Company Records 1890-1990
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Snyder Electric Company Records
- Creator
- Snyder Electric Company. Battery Services of Pittsurgh.
- Collection Number
- MSS 0765
- Extent
- 3.5 linear feet (4 boxes)
- Date
- 1890-1990
- Abstract
- Snyder Electric Company, which repaired motors and small electric tools, was located on Pittsburgh's North Side. The company provided individual support as well as service to various types of local businesses, including school districts, Allegheny County mechanical shops, and steel mills. The Snyder Electric Company Records primarily consist of financial ledgers which contain records of clients, sales, and payroll. There are also photographs of the company building and shop.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This collection has been made accessible as part of an NHPRC-funded Basic Processing grant.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
Snyder Electric Company, which was located on 1500 Chateau Street in Pittsburgh's North Side, was known as Battery Services of Pittsburgh prior to C.E. Snyder's purchase of the company. Changing the name to Snyder Electric Company, he and his wife Olive Snyder operated the shop until 1956, when Albert Kirschman Sr. (1916-2011) bought the company. Kirschman had been involved in the electrical profession from the age of 21. He was the youngest of 11 children born to Frederick and Rose (Boeltz) Kirschman, and was raised on Liverpool Street in Pittsburgh's North Side. Kirschman and his wife Rita (Celender) had three children; Albert Jr., Helen, and Leslie.
Snyder Electric Company repaired motors and small electric tools. They provided individual support as well as service to various types of local businesses, including school districts, Allegheny County mechanical shops, and steel mills. At the height of business in the 1960s and 1970s, Snyder Electric Company employed 21 people. When it closed in 2004, there were only two employees.
Steel mill motors were either repaired on site or at the Snyder shop, while larger motors were trucked in to the shop. The mills operated 24 hours a day, and Kirschman was often called in the middle of the night to various mills to inspect motors that needed immediate service. In time, machine motors became easier to replace rather than fully repair, and Snyder Electric began focusing more on electric tool repair. They serviced many tool lines, including Black and Decker, Milwaukee, and Stanley, while also retailing some power tools themselves. However, these electric tools became mostly plastic and needed less regular service. The shrinking market for tool repair combined with the demise of the steel industry lead to the decline in Snyder's business. The shop closed in 2004.
Scope and Content Notes
The Snyder Electric Company Records primarily consist of financial ledgers which contain records of clients, sales, and payroll. There are also photographs of Albert Kirschman and the company shop. Boxes one, two, and three all contain financial ledgers which document cash sales, receivables, expenses for services, labor charges, and costs of supplies. There are also ledger sheets for customers like the Allegheny County garage, Carnegie Illinois Steel Company, Jones and Laughlin Steel, and Pittsburgh Coke and Chemical Company. Box four contains accounting papers, board and stockholder meeting minutes, and indentures all from the Battery Services of Pittsburgh business prior to its change to Snyder Electric Company. Also included are Snyder Electric Company employee timesheets, and photographs of Albert Kirschman at work as well as other employees working in the company shop.
Conditions Governing Access
None
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Kirschman, Sr. Albert in 2006.
Archives accession # 2006.0015
Preferred Citation
Snyder Electric Company Records, 1890-1990, MSS 0765 , Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
Preliminary processing by Alex J. Toner on 04/05/2012. An inventory was created by Library and Archives staff in 2006.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Separated Materials
The Museum maintains one white hardhat labeled "Snyder Electric - A.K. Kirschman" on the front and "Snyder Electric Co. - 412-231-3100" on the back.
Subjects
- Snyder Electric Company. Battery Services of Pittsurgh.
- Battery Services of Pittsurgh.
- Snyder, C.E.
- Kirschman Sr., Albert
- Pittsburgh (Pa.)
- Machine--Tools--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.