Hardware For Hitler ATC and WWII Lititz PA - Scott Dahms Book

How could a small trap manufacturing company in rural Pennsylvania have an impact on World War II and provide essential war products to the war effort? To understand this, a person has to look at the family leading the company and the members ultimately being forged in the fire of World War I along with survival of the Great Depression.

The Animal Trap Company of America (ATC) had its manufacturing peak during World War II shown by the number of employees working to provide the essential war products. The main product was armor piercing bullet cores for the US and British military. The manufacturing capabilities were adjusted to make these crucial items in the space usually meant for trap production.

ATC’s history can easily be divided into three components - pre-World War II domination of steel trap production, World War II, and post-World War II diversification into outdoor products. Without the period of domination in the world of steel traps, the Animal Trap Company of America would not have learned how to quickly develop manufacturing techniques or take techniques from other companies and quickly assimilate them for production. This was their biggest strength for the production of war materials.

One example of this was using the same emery belt that finished lathe-turned wood decoys to polish the noses of incendiary bombs. ATC was the first company in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to manufacture products for the Armed Forces, army cots in 1940, and through the following war years thirty-eight different items of which bullet cores provided the largest quantity, three hundred million of them.

Many employees also served in World War II, 154 total. Six employees were killed while serving in the United States Armed Services. ATC provided a great source of morale to troops serving overseas with the ATCO News, a company newspaper sent to all employees. Sources of morale for those who supported from home included War Bond drives, Health programs, and Victory Gardens, to name a few.

Since the story of ATC cannot be told without including the Woolworth family, I will refer to them by their first names throughout the book to reduce confusion about which Woolworth is doing what – Felix, Chester, and Richard. Richard is a recurring name in the Woolworth family, but the Richard that will be focused on in this book is the son of Chester. He will be referred to as Dick.