Isabelle French & Elaine Pitts Oral History
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Dublin Core
Title
Isabelle French & Elaine Pitts Oral History
Description
The daughter of a contractor, Isabelle French became interested in engineering at a young age. She graduated in 1944 from Tri-State College with a degree in radio engineering, the first woman at Tri-State to do so. She received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater in 1966.
French began her career in 1944 working on the engineering and development of radar tubes at Sylvania in Massachusetts. She remained there until 1952 and held held a similar position at Capehart-Farnsworth in Indiana for another two years. In 1954 she joined Bell Telephone Laboratories in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she remained until her retirement more than 40 years later.
French has been an active member of the Society of Women Engineers since 1951 and has attended nearly every national conference. In addition to serving as SWE President from 1964-1966, she has also served as the chairman or president of several sections, national secretary and treasurer, and has sat on the national executive committee. French was elected to the SWE College of Fellows in 1981.
After studying industrial engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology and studying design at the Art Institute in Chicago, in 1943 Elaine Pitts applied to be a “secretary willing to be trained as a packaging engineer” at Aldens, Inc. in Chicago.
In 1945 Pitts joined Spiegel, Inc. in Chicago as a senior packaging engineer, where she remained until 1952. The following year she began a long career at the Sperry and Hutchinson Company, where she organized and installed its packaging department. In 1970 she was appointed the Vice President of Corporate Relations. Nine years later she and a friend moved to California to open their own packaging company, Dalton/ Pitts Associates.
A member of the Society of Women Engineers since 1964, Pitts has served on its Executive Board and was elected to the College of Fellows in 1981. She is a past president of the American Women in Radio and Television and of Women Executives in Public Relations. A Fellow of the Society of Packaging and Handling Engineers, she was the first woman to serve as that organization's Chairman of the Board.
French began her career in 1944 working on the engineering and development of radar tubes at Sylvania in Massachusetts. She remained there until 1952 and held held a similar position at Capehart-Farnsworth in Indiana for another two years. In 1954 she joined Bell Telephone Laboratories in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she remained until her retirement more than 40 years later.
French has been an active member of the Society of Women Engineers since 1951 and has attended nearly every national conference. In addition to serving as SWE President from 1964-1966, she has also served as the chairman or president of several sections, national secretary and treasurer, and has sat on the national executive committee. French was elected to the SWE College of Fellows in 1981.
After studying industrial engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology and studying design at the Art Institute in Chicago, in 1943 Elaine Pitts applied to be a “secretary willing to be trained as a packaging engineer” at Aldens, Inc. in Chicago.
In 1945 Pitts joined Spiegel, Inc. in Chicago as a senior packaging engineer, where she remained until 1952. The following year she began a long career at the Sperry and Hutchinson Company, where she organized and installed its packaging department. In 1970 she was appointed the Vice President of Corporate Relations. Nine years later she and a friend moved to California to open their own packaging company, Dalton/ Pitts Associates.
A member of the Society of Women Engineers since 1964, Pitts has served on its Executive Board and was elected to the College of Fellows in 1981. She is a past president of the American Women in Radio and Television and of Women Executives in Public Relations. A Fellow of the Society of Packaging and Handling Engineers, she was the first woman to serve as that organization's Chairman of the Board.
Oral History Item
Interviewer
Lauren Kata
Interviewee
French, Isabelle; Pitts, Elaine
Date Recorded
2001-06-29
Coverage
1930’s-present
Citation
“Isabelle French & Elaine Pitts Oral History,” Michigan Oral History Database, accessed December 26, 2024, http://www.database.michiganoha.org/items/show/298.