By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
Buffalo News Reporter Mike Beebe visited with the 150 families as they “started over down South”; that is, moved from Western New York to Shreveport, La. The men were all looking for work after being laid off from the General Motors foundry in Tonawanda.
Beebe wrote a five-part series, several installments of which are spotlighted here:
News series to follow workers from GM foundry to Sun Belt (April 27, 1984)
“What would it be like in a new job in a new part of the country? How easy would it be to pull up your roots and transplant them to the Sun Belt? Would Buffalonians … be welcome in Louisiana? These are the questions that News Reporter Mike Beebe will attempt to answer in a human and often touching series calling ‘Starting Over Down South.’ “
Transplanted GM employees pick up pieces of a new life (April 29, 1984)
“‘We’ll give the place a try,’ says Mary Zulewski, who traveled to Shreveport last week from Hamburg to visit her husband, Tom, and look for a new house. ‘We’ve known all our lives — our home, our friends, and our family back home — but we’re going to give it a try.’ “
Culture shock, loneliness are facts of Shreveport life (April 30, 1984)
” ‘This is a lot cleaner, you’re not always breathing foundry dust. … But there are a lot of guys down here, willing to breathe that dust and grime to be home with their families.’
