Pig Iron
Location 09
Date: early 1900's
Owner: Todd Wilson
Pig Iron (noun) also known as crude iron, is the intermediate product of the iron industry first obtained from a smelting furnace in the form of oblong blocks. "East Toledo has always been a blue-collar community, an area of sturdy backs and strong muscles. Heavy industry on the East Side began naturally along the river, which led to residential neighborhoods developing nearby. When the Malleable Castings factory opened in 1890 on Front Street near Consaul, soon followed by National Milling, Interlake Iron, shipbuilding and refineries, the Birmingham neighborhood sprang to life almost overnight. By the turn of the century it was a fully-populated community, largely made up of Hungarian immigrants who flocked to the new world for the jobs offered in these industries. The Birmingham name ironically comes from Birmingham, England because it was one of that country's most industrialized cities.” 1 One Hungarian family in the Birmingham neighborhood in the early 1900's were my maternal grandparents John and Helen Takacs. Their home was located behind St Stephens Church, at the very end of Magyar Street where they raised six children; John Jr., Vera, Evelyn, Marilyn, Eileen and Joe. This cast iron pig that says "Toledo” on one side of the base and "Pig Iron" on the other side, is thought to be from Interlake Iron. Perhaps a company souvenir or an advertising promotion, it made it's way into the Takacs home where all of the children fondly remembered it as a doorstop, propping the kitchen door open to let the breeze in on a hot summer day, or to cool down the kitchen when mother baked her delicious Hungarian pastries. Over a century later this piece of Toledo history, and a family treasure, is in my own home in East Toledo. No longer on doorstop duty, I keep it on a shelf with other favorite keepsakes. Submitted by Todd Wilson (son of Eileen Takacs East) 1. Michaels, Larry R. and Ronald J. Mauter. East Toledo at Work, A History of Business & Industry of East Toledo (Bihl House Publishing 2006)