Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: Summer 2004 Volume 41 Number 3, Page 107

NOTES AND COMMENTS

Page 107

Century-Old Company Celebrates

From its Tredyffrin headquarters, CertainTeed, manufacturer of roofing, siding, windows, insulation, and pipe and plastics, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The company dates back to 1904 when George M. Brown started the General Roofing Manufacturing Company in East St. Louis, Illinois. In 1917, the company changed its name to CertainTeed to emphasize its tag line: "Quality made certain. Satisfaction guaranteed." The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1918. Last year it reported sales of $2.3 billion, with 70,000 employees company-wide.

CertainTeed moved its headquarters from Ardmore to 750 East Swedesford Road in Tredyffrin in the early 1970s. The architecture of the new headquarters campus, with an atrium of striking Moorish arches designed by architect D. Hughes Cauffman, can be seen from Route 202. Paris-based Saint-Gobain-Pont-a-Mousson acquired a majority of CertainTeed stock in 1976.

New General Motors Design Chief Has Berwyn Roots

Ed Welburn, Jr., a 1968 graduate of Conestoga High School and of Howard University in 1972, recently received national recognition as the new Vice President of Design for General Motors Corporation—the world 's largest automaker. He is only the sixth person to hold this title in GM's 95-year history.

As the son of Ed and Evelyn Welburn, Ed grew up around his dad's auto-repair shop on Walnut Avenue in Berwyn. He was fascinated by automobile design and reportedly, at age 11, wrote to GM declaring his intention to work there as a car designer. To Ed's amazement, GM wrote back with a suggested course of study (sculpture and fine arts) and a brochure on its summer internship program, which he entered a decade later as a student at Howard University.

They Changed the Music of America

It was in New York on April 12, 1954—50 years ago—that Bill Haley and the Comets recorded "Rock Around the Clock," the song that launched the music form of Rock 'n' Roll. Haley died in 1981, at the age of 55, long overshadowed by such rock superstars as Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles. The Decca recording was at the top of the music charts for 24 weeks and became No. 1 on Your Hit Parade. Actually "Rock Around the Clock" was the B side of the record; the A side was the little-known "Thirteen Women."

One measure of the Comets' success was their appearance on Tuesday night, July 27, 1954, as the on-stage attraction at the annual Berwyn Fire Company Fair held on the athletic field behind the Berwyn Elementary School. Claude Thornhill's big band appeared the night before and the Charlie Spivak orchestra performed the following night. In those days proceeds from the annual fair financed fire fighting operations for the entire year. Times changed, however, and the last fair was held in 1961.