5 Utica Jobs That No Longer Exist
Utica has been a bustling hub of commerce for over 150 years. We've seen businesses come and go over the years. The area has remade itself first as a halfway stop on the Erie Canal then textile and manufacturing. Now we are a hotbed of financial and insurance industries. Through our booms and busts, we take a look a 5 classic Utica jobs that no longer exist.
General Electric Plant Worker
Utica was once known as the 'Radio Capitol of the World' as GE, based nearby in Schenectady, had their radio manufacturing in Utica. The plant in East Utica is long shuttered and long gone are the jobs, which GE moved overseas in the 1960s.
Kewpee Waitress and Cook
"Hamburg -Pickle on Top- Makes Your Heart Go Flippity-Flop." If you know that jingle than you remember one of Utica's cherished restaurants, the Kewpee. The Kewpee had a prime location on Oneida Square serving classic fare like burgers and malts. The chain shriveled and exists now only in a few Midwest locations.
Textile Mill Worker
The Erie Canal opened Central New York to a whole new world of commerce and trade. A very strong textile industry grew here with dozens of mills. The jobs left by mid 20th Century but many of the hulking mills remain. This era in our history also gave many CNY places their name including New York Mills and Washington Mills.
Newspaper Printer
The Utica Observer-Dispatch recently moved their printing operations to the facility used by the Press & Sun-Bulletin of Binghamton. Their former printing press at Oriskany Plaza downtown was idled in 2011.
Griffiss Military Job
Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome was, at its peak, the top employer in Oneida County. The base, and many of its jobs, fell victim to the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure study. The site famously hosted Woodstock '99 and is now a corporate business park. Although some of the military infrastructure remains including an Air Force Lab and the North East Air Defense sector of NORAD.