[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 82 (Thursday, May 17, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1092-E1093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CONGRATULATING CLYDE TIDWELL ON HIS RETIREMENT

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                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2007

  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, in this day and age, it is very unusual 
for a person to work in a company for 40 or 50 years.

[[Page E1093]]

  For someone to work for the same company for 66 years is truly 
incredible.
  One of my constituents, Clyde Tidwell, recently retired from the 
Alcoa Company, where he worked since May 16, 1941.
  I want to congratulate him on his well-deserved retirement.
  I also want to salute him for his contributions to our Country and 
its economy.
  This Nation is a better place because of Clyde Tidwell, who I believe 
can accurately be called a great American.
  I would like to include the following article about Mr. Tidwell that 
ran in the Knoxville News-Sentinel on May 16, 2007 and call it to the 
attention of my colleagues and the other readers of the Record.

            [From the Knoxville News-Sentinel, May 16, 2007]

   It's Tiger's Turn: After 66 years at Alcoa, Tidwell's Job Is done

                          (By Michael Silence)

       Clyde ``Tiger'' Tidwell today hangs up the hard hat after 
     working 66 years at Alcoa Tennessee.
       At 87, and with his son having retired three years ago, 
     Tidwell figures it's time to put away the safety goggles and 
     the earplugs.
       When he began May 16, 1941, he made 55 cents an hour, and a 
     meal cost 25 cents. Tidwell was 21.
       He felt fortunate because the week he started, pay 
     increased by 10 cents an hour.
       ``That was pretty good'' for that time, the Blount County 
     resident said Tuesday.
       Tidwell is believed to be Alcoa Inc.'s longest active 
     employee. The company is hosting a reception for him today.
       While he describes himself as timid, Tidwell said he 
     appreciates the gesture and he will have family and friends 
     at the reception.
       He took a break from work in 1944 to serve as a paratrooper 
     with the 82nd Airborne in World War II.
       The overhead crane operator and machinist attributes his 
     longevity to a good job and working with good people.
       ``I enjoyed the work and the people,'' he said in an 
     interview at Alcoa's North Plant.
       Pittsburg-based Alcoa Inc.'s Blount County operation, which 
     produces aluminum used for beverage cans, and its primary 
     metals and materials management office in Knoxville employ 
     about 1,850 workers.
       Tidwell said the biggest change at Alcoa during his years 
     with the company were the safety measures. When he started in 
     1941, the plant didn't have such things as safety belts and a 
     sprinkler system, which it now does.
       And, he added, there's one building in the factory now that 
     if a gate is opened the mill shuts down.
       Tidwell served in the Army several months in 1944. During 
     that time his daughter, Judy Lynn Carter of Knoxville, was 
     born while he was at sea headed to Europe. It was seven 
     months before he learned of her birth.
       Tidwell said during the 66 years he's worked for Alcoa 
     there have been some ``not too rosy'' events. Two thirds of 
     the people he started work with have died.
       Tidwell himself has had two heart surgeries, but on Monday, 
     he visited the doctor and got ``a clean bill of health.''
       Now that he has some time on this hands, Tidwell said he 
     might get back into some farming. He used to raise tobacco 
     but has no crops now.
       He never thought of retirement, but Alcoa came along with 
     an attractive incentive plan, so he took it.
       And he said it's probably time to retire. His son, Clyde 
     Eugene Tidwell, retired from TVA three years ago.
       As much as their health allows, Tidwell and his wife, Floy, 
     want to do some traveling and spend some time at their 
     boathouse on Fort Loudon Lake.
       ``We haven't loafed around a lot,'' he said of those years.
       And he added, ``Life has been good to me.''
       Looking back--Other events of 1941, the year Clyde 
     ``Tiger'' Tidwell started working for Alcoa Inc.: Japanese 
     attack Pearl Harbor; Cheerios introduced by General Mills as 
     CheeriOats; Orson Welles' film Citizen Kane premieres; Joe 
     DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak; and Joan Baez and Vice 
     President Dick Cheney were born.

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