2006 Hall of Fame
Mathias Klein
Mathias Klein, German immigrant and the founder of Klein Tools, set up shop in downtown Chicago in 1857. The very first Klein tool, a pair of pliers, was constructed one half at a time as a repair for a telegraph lineman. Mathias prospered following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 as one of the few forges available to meet the demand for wrought-iron fixtures and decorations as the city rebuilt. The company, then Mathias Klein & Sons, turned its attention to hand tool manufacturing in the 1890's. In1900 they were listed in the Chicago phone book as a manufacturer of linemen's tools. That same year, they saw the production of the company's first catalog, and Klein has continued to grow alongside the telephone and electrical industries ever since.
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. A prolific inventor, holding over 1,000 US patents, Edison patented a system for electricity distribution in 1880 and founded the first investor-owned electric utility in 1882. Edison's inventions and businesses, spanning more than 50 years, helped lay the groundwork for modern electrically powered industrialization.
Floyd Pike
Floyd Pike's strong entrepreneurial spirit helped him overcome the difficulties following WWII, including a lack of equipment that drove him to salvage his first trust from the bottom of an inland waterway near Beaufort, NC, served him well when he founded the Pike Electrical Contractors in 1945. By 1953, Pike's company was incorporated with a solid customer base including Duke Power and Appalachian Power Company. Pike's spirit and fortitude has lived on in his company, which continues to be a leading Energy Solutions Company today.
Henry Miller
Henry Miller became president of the St. Louis based AFL Federal Labor Union 5221. After a failed mailing campaign to encourage colleagues to unionize, Miller went cross country at his own expense and established unions in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and Wisconsin. This groundwork allowed the St. Louis Union to put out a call for a national convention in September of 1891. Miller's personal commitment of time and resources helped make the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers the international organization it is today.
James "Chick" Herrin
James "Chick" Herrin became a journeyman lineman in 1966, and has lent his experience and dedication to the industry for over 40 years. More than 20 years of that dedicated service has been spent as a vital member of Bryan Texas Utilities where he has been a driving force in advancing training programs, communication between line construction and line designers, and raising standards of workmanship and safety. Chick embraced the electrical deregulation movement and in the process helped to establish the Texas Linemen's Rodeo event and helped see the Statewide Texas Electric Cooperative become a self supporting non-profit organization.
Andy Anderson
O.G. "Andy" Anderson started as a lineman in the 1930's with Alabama Power. In 1938, he joined A. B. Chance Company as the first Chance live line tool demonstrator, traveling to train linemen across the country and throughout the world. Andy also brought ideas back from the field to work with Chance engineers to spearhead the development of new tools and techniques still used today. Even after his retirement in 1975, the legend of Andy lives on through stories still circulated within the industry more than 30 years later.
