Thomas T. Fetters

Mr. Thomas Fetters earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Clemson University in 1961. He came to prominence early on in his career as a research scientist for Continental Can Co. in Chicago, IL. He remained in this position for 19 years until 1980 when he took on an opportunity to serve as the manager of gasketing at White Cap Company. From there, Mr. Fetters became the manager of crown research and, finally, director of packing research. Highly regarded for his expertise and professionalism, he shared his insights along the way through his consultancy, Lustron Research, which he established in 1987.

Mr. Fetters is an accomplished author who shares his research and knowledge of historic events through the written word. Some of his publications include “Piedmont and Northern,” “Palmetto Traction,” “Logging Railroads of South Carolina,” “Lustron Home: the History of a Post-War Prefabricated Housing Experiment,” “Bears, Balds, and Sidewinders,” “The Charleston & Hamburg: A South Carolina Railroad & an American Legacy,” “Logging Railroads of the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains Volume 1, Cold Mountain, Black Mountain and White Top,” “Logging Railroads of the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains Volume 2, Tallulah Falls, Anna Ruby Falls and Jeffrey’s Hell,” “Phosphate Mining In South Carolina” and others. In recognition of his professional excellence, Mr. Fetters was the recipient of an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, a South Carolina House of Representatives Commendation, and an American Merit Scholarship. To remain at the top of his field, he affiliated with several industry organizations including DuPage County Genealogical Society, the Electric Railroaders Association, the Central Electrical Railfan Association, the Society of Soft Drink Technology, the American Society of Brewing Chemists, the International Society of Beverage Technologists, and Mensa. As he looks ahead to the future, Mr. Fetters intends to continue in his writing projects while enjoying his well-deserved retirement. He still spends time documenting Lustron’s across the USA along with his daughter.

SIDELIGHTS:

Thomas T. Fetters told CA: "The primary motivation for my work has always been to write material that I want to read. I begin by collecting as much historical information as I can and then building a network of people who share the same interest and provide additional information from areas I am unable to reach.

I have written manuscript material on every one of the South Carolina railroads, including main lines, short lines, logging lines, industrial railways, and others. As publishers show interest, I can convert a manuscript into a working and more complete article or book. My inspiration was the complete lack of interest in the railroad history of South Carolina by the public, and my own intense interest in finding where all the track ran and who had built it.

"The Lustron book was inspired by my daughter's high school history fair project back in 1988. She worked on the thirty-six Lustron houses of Lombard, Illinois, and I went on to find 2,200 of the 2,500 houses that were built in a short two-year period of postwar America. The book has become the definitive history of the corporation, how it began, and how it failed. A list in the appendix cites each of the houses I found by town, address, model, and color, as well as the serial number where that is known."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice, June, 2002, O. L. Paradis, review of The Lustron Home: The History of a Postwar Prefabricated Housing Experiment, p. 1790.

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