Who else could tell us but people who worked on the line in the factories; sold goods behind the counter at a department store; taught children in the local schools; ran a travel agency, organized for a union, drove a truck, or ran one of the many other prosperous businesses that helped Bridgeport grow and develop.  Explore their stories and much more here!

United Electrical (UE) strikes succeed at shutting down every General Electric and Westinghouse plant in the United States and Canada convinces companies to change their attitudes towards unions.

Columbia Records originally began as the American Graphophone Company as a producer of early wax cylinder recordings and an inexpensive, accessible version of the graphophone used to play them.
By 1900, Columbia manufactured flat disc recordings made from hard rubber and in 1904 the company produced the first double-faced disc recordings, thereby providing customers with "twice the music."

William Frisbie started a small pie baking operation at 147 Kossuth Street in 1871. He and his partner, Charles Eckler, established a large delivery route in the Bridgeport area on which they eventually sold over 300 pies a day.

Frisbie's son, Joseph, took over the operation after his father's death in 1903, and greatly expanded the company.

Skilled and unskilled workers at the American Tube and Stamping Company during two strikes bring workers together in solidarity. On May 18, 75 machinists, supported by 17 unskilled workers, strike for ½ day, successfully demanding a shorter work day (9 hours) with no decrease in wages. On July 16, 900 iron and steel workers, joined initially by at least 80 machinists, strike for a month, demand increased wages and the return of an alternating schedule. The unskilled workers are members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and a majority are Hungarian.