If you are a former Digital Equipment Corporation Springfield (SPO) Facility employee and worked at any of these sites: Digital Springfield, Warwick Street Warehouse, Cottage Street Warehouse or West Springfield, we invite you to join the family at a reunion celebration honoring Digital Springfield’s 50th anniversary.
Whether you attend the evening festivities or not, all former Digital Springfield employees are invited to join us for a group photo scheduled for Saturday, April 29, 2023 in front of Building 111. Check events page for time.
The event will be held Saturday, April 29, 2023, from 6:00-10:00 p.m., at Mill 1 Open Square, Holyoke, MA. The cost is $50 per person. For planning purposes, pre-registration is requested. Ticket purchase and celebration details can be found by accessing: https://myevent.com/DECSPO50.
This event page will be updated as new information becomes available regarding suggested hotels and planned activities. You can also help to make this reunion a great success by sharing this information with former colleagues in your personal network.
For those who are not familiar with the impact Springfield Digital Equipment Corporation had on our community and technology as we know it today, let us give you a quick overview.
Prior to the advent of the home personal computer, if you used a computer at school, at work, and in a research setting, chances are the computing solutions were based on the initial research and designs developed by Digital Equipment Corporation. Texting and e-mail were born from the innovation of Digital in the form of VAX computing design. VAX operating system technology allowed working from the workplace and/or home and communicating in real time with another user logged into the VAX Network. Digital Equipment Corporation no longer exists. Compaq (1997-2002) and Hewlett Packard (2002-2015) secured Digital Equipment Corporation trademarks, products, and assets.
Digital Equipment Corporation was formed in 1957 with a start-up capital of $70k by MIT engineers Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson. The company continued to grow and became the number two leader for computers on the Fortune 500, slightly behind IBM.
Anyone who worked at Digital enjoyed the family workplace atmosphere. Digital pioneered employee appreciation and education focusing on equality, open communication, innovation and team building.
E. Leroy Saylor served as the first plant manager. Under his leadership and vision, an inner-city manufacturing plant was proposed and came to fruition in 1972 with Springfield being chosen as the first inner-city Digital Equipment Corporation manufacturing plant.
Digital Springfield manufactured storage device technology for 20 years and grew to over 1,000 employees necessitating their expansion to three additional satellite locations (West Springfield, Warwick Street Warehouse and Cottage Street Warehouse). Successor Springfield Digital Plant Managers included: Ron Payne, Henry Burnett, Carl Redfield, Al Tervalon, Willie Deese and Tony Dolphin. Digital Springfield closed its doors in April 1993. The location where Digital was housed is now known as Technology Park and currently houses various small businesses. ■
