Editor’s note: The following is a press release from the Monroe County History Center. Bloom has republished it here with minor edits for style and clarity.
Once known as the “television capital of the world,” Bloomington was home to manufacturing operations for the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), employing thousands of Hoosiers.
Coming to Bloomington this winter, The RCA Bloomington Plant: An Illustrated History shares the history of the legendary plant through photos and memorabilia from the Monroe County History Center collection.
The book is co-authored by former plant employees Gib Apple and Alexandra “Sandy” Lynch. Lynch edited the weekly employee newsletter for RCA during her employment from 1977 to 1983. Apple retired as plant manager in 1992 after serving RCA for 32 years.
“[The book] started with the 2018 exhibit at the Monroe County History Center, The Women of RCA,” Lynch says. “Inspired by the exhibit, I contacted Gib and proposed a book about the plant. ‘I’ve started it,’ was his reply.”
Photos depicting local employees working on the assembly line and attending events and dinners, give readers the opportunity to look for familiar faces as they turn the pages.
“All of us with the History Center were so happy to partner with Gib and Sandy to create this book,” says MCHC Director Susan Dyar. “This is such a wonderful way to showcase our local history.”
Copies of The RCA Bloomington Plant: An Illustrated History are available for purchase at the Monroe County History Center in the Dunn Museum Store for $15. Located on the corner of 6th and Washington streets, the center is open by appointment Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
