The picture shows a view of both sides of this 1964 Western Electric Bell System Safety Advertising Key Chain Fob. It appears to be made of brass or bronze. There is a charm loop at the top to hang is on a keychain. It is in the shape of a bell and it is marked on the two sides as follows: MERRIMACK VALLEY WORKS WESTERN ELECTRIC CO. INC. REGIONAL SAFETY ADVISORS MEETING DECEMBER 1964 NO JOB IS SO IMPORTANT AND NO SERVICE IS SO URGENT THAT WE CAN NOT TAKE TIME TO PERFORM OUR WORK SAFELY. BELL SYSTEM Not counting the extra loop at the top, the safety fob or charm measures 1-1/4'' x 1-7/16''. It appears to be in near mint to mint condition as pictured. Below here is some additional reference background information that was found: ''North Andover, Massachusetts Former Western Electric Merrimack Valley Works at 1600 Osgood Street. One of Western Electric's largest manufacturing facilities, the Merrimack Valley Works was built in 1956 and later expanded to employ more than 12,000 workers at the height of its production. Merrimack Valley Works researched and manufactured transmission equipment for AT&T and its regional operating companies. Research and manufacturing of technology and equipment was conducted here for TD and TH microwave systems, L-series coaxial lines and T1 digital lines. Merrimack Velley Works became a Bell Labs facility after the 1984 AT&T divestiture and later became Lucent Technologies. Lucent's presence in North Andover faded after 2000 and in 2005 Lucent sold the plant to private developers for reuse as a multi-tenant medical R&D facility.'' |