For Jim Pilkington, being one of the first employees at IBM Boulder was the most exciting experience of his life.
“When we were first putting the plant together, the morale was sky high. You couldn’t keep people away from work,” said the former IBM manager and trainer. “I never hesitated getting up in the morning and going to work.”
At 29, Pilkington left his job as a teacher in Loveland and seized an opportunity to work at a company just opening up in Boulder. With personnel experience gained in the Marines, he was chosen by IBM to help hire thousands more.
“In 1965 and 1966, we worked seven days a week. Sunday was a short day; I only worked eight hours,” said Pilkington, 69, who lives today in nearby Longmont. “We had to hire so many people. We had a product to get out.”
Phil Smith was a scientist for IBM in Kingston, N.Y., and said he was “really looking forward to seeing the Boulder Dam” when he moved to Boulder in 1966.
“Then I realized I was in the wrong state, but for me it was so interesting, after six months I realized I’d never leave this place,” he said. “It was a working environment like you couldn’t imagine.”
Back then, working for IBM Boulder was similar to being part of a close-knit family, retirees say. There are roughly 3,500 IBM retirees living in Colorado. Several, including Smith and Pilkington, are members of the Quarter Century Club, a national group for retirees with more than 25 years with IBM.
Smith, 63, worked for IBM for 29 years, retiring as a senior scientist in 1994. In his primary role developing educational technologies for children, IBM patented more than 10 of his inventions.
“They gave me license to do what I wanted to do,” he said. “IBM was always looking for creative ideas and creative people. If you’re always pursuing creativity, you cannot lose.”
Pilkington stayed at IBM for 26 years, serving as a recruiter, manager and training manager. He and Smith watched the company transition from punchcards to terminals to desktop computers.
Being part of a new venture and creating successful, unique products inspired the workforce, Pilkington said.
“It was just an unbelievable feeling; I don’t think I ever knew anybody at that time who had a sour disposition about their job,” he said. “Every manager of any kind of business can only hope for the kind of morale we had out here.”
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
