'Stark Men of Steel' film honors workers and history of local mills with Canton premiere
CANTON − Janis Salas drove back to Stark County after retiring from her job in New Jersey and found a vacant lot where a steel mill once stood.
This caught the Perry Township High School graduate by surprise. After all, she grew up as a daughter of a local steelworker. So did many of her friends.
"I looked around one day and said, 'Where are the steel mills?'" Salas said about that experience in 2012.
She wondered why she hadn't heard more about the decline of the steel industry in her hometown. Why no national headlines? Why no national radio and television reports? That inspired Salas, who now lives in Jackson Township, to investigate and research the subject. She became so immersed and intrigued with the topic that she decided to embark on a documentary, "Stark Men of Steel."
"I wanted the steelworkers to say, 'Someone finally sees us, they see our contribution,'" she said. "And I think they want to be proud of it, and they are proud of it."
Packed with interviews from steelworkers, vintage photos, archived images and extensive research, the film debuts at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Canton Palace Theatre, 605 Market Ave. N.
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A story of steel in Stark County
Passion and a desire to tell a story have fueled Salas' project, which started in 2016.
She had zero filmmaking experience. A friend who works in film suggested how to get started, including what type of equipment she would need.
Her friend's biggest piece of advice was simple: "Just start going around and start filming." So she began by interviewing workers who were picketing during a lockout at Allegheny Technologies Inc. in Stark County in 2016.
Scores of other interviews followed, many of them with former and retired steelworkers. The Massillon Museum and its archivist Mandy Altimus Stahl have been an important resource. Massillon historian Rudy Turkal also has been interviewed.
Salas also talked with industry leaders and union representatives.
Released under Bestfriend Productions, "Stark Men of Steel" is written and directed by Salas. Also involved are Kurt R. Gamertsfelder, narrator; Mark A. Wright, music producer; and Joyce DeParis, script editor.
"It's been a long road," said Salas, who formerly worked in information technology.
"I feel it's a privilege to be able to tell this story," she said. "Somehow I have fallen into a story that is a great privilege; it's an important story, it's packed with human emotion."
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The 93-minute film goes beyond molten steel and beams and girders; it's also a testament to the brotherhood and sisterhood of those who worked at the mills and factories.
Jobs that paid good wages to buy homes and start families while establishing a strong middle class. Work that helped build and shape the country. And work that was critical to winning World War II.
Conditions could be brutally hot. Labor was demanding, sometimes dangerous.
From those mills came sports teams and summer picnics and company newsletters. A world within a world. Immigrants also worked at steel plants, assimilating into the company with English-speaking classes.
The man who closed the gate at Republic Steel in Massillon
Les Moor, who worked for more than 30 years at Republic Steel in Massillon, is among those interviewed for the documentary.
Two days after he turned 18, he started his job in 1966 − one that would lead to promotions. Moor was even the last person to close the gate when Republic shut down in 2002.
Voice cracking, he recounted those days.
"The men and women that worked there were so dedicated to that plant," Moor, 75, said of Republic Steel. "Every one of them, and they kept that plant running for all of those years. That, to me, is the story of the Massillon plant, and that is why to me the film is so important."
"Even as the mill was being shut down, they were so dedicated that they wanted to get the steel out to customers," he said. "And that was the kind of workers at the Massillon plant, and the pride they had in the work they did."
Moor is looking forward to watching the film.
"My daughter and her husband and my wife and my son and his wife are all going to be there," he said. "They lived with me going to the steel mill every day, and coming home with the stories and everything, so they feel as much a part of Massillon Republic steel as much as I was, because I was there so much of my life, and they would come and visit me there and everything."
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Turkal said the impact of the steel industry in Stark County can't be overstated.
Stainless steel from Enduro in Massillon was used in the construction of the Chrysler Building in New York City. Metal trays and canteens were made at a local plant for soldiers during World War II. Hercules Engine in Canton produced wartime motors for jeeps, trucks and boats. Enterprise Aluminum made the Drip-o-Lator coffee pot. Other plants manufactured metal bed pans for hospitals. Another factory produced parts for boilers and for the U.S. Navy, said Turkal, who worked at Canton Drop Forge in the 1960s.
"Because you made a product, when it went out the door, you made something even though as dirty and grungy as you are, you're part of a team that designed it and built it and sold it and shipped it," said the 79-year-old Turkal. "You were just part of that process, and it felt good to be part of a manufacturing situation."
More than 4,000 hours went into making 'Stark Men of Steel'
Time, money and vacations have been sacrificed to create the film. Salas stopped logging hours after reaching 4,000. Volunteers also helped with filming.
"I went into my retirement funds," she said. "At that point, I thought, I'm really doing this, and I need to have something to show for it, or people would think I'm a lunatic."
Salas was driven to both honor and share the story of the Stark County steel industry. The film also chronicles its rise and downturn.
"What I found from the stories of the steelworkers and their families is Stark County had an incredible steelmaking contribution to this country," she said.
'That history is rich in this county.'
John Capeta, 63, of Plain Township, said he appreciates being part of Stark County's steel story.
He worked for Timken as a mechanical millwright from 1984 to 2020. Shifts included days and midnights, often seven days in a row. Weekend shifts also were frequent. Like many steelworkers, he often missed sports and school activities for his children as a result.
"This county had a lot of industry over the years," the GlenOak High School graduate said. "All the way back to the second World War and later. And lot of that is gone now, and those were good-paying jobs, and it's kind of hard to see them go, but time moves on and technology moves on, but you still have to have steel and you need the guys who made it.
"And that history is rich in this county," said Capeta, whose father immigrated from Romania and worked at Stark County mills. "And it's kind of neat that someone put together that history, and (Salas is) taking the time and energy to do it."
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If you go
What: The debut of "Stark Men of Steel," a documentary looking at the history of steelmaking in Stark County.
Where: Canton Palace Theatre, 605 Market Ave. N, Canton
When: Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Friday and seating is general admission. The documentary begins at 5:30 p.m.
Cost: Tickets are $6 and can be purchased in advance at www.starkmenofsteel.com or for $8 at the door.
More details: For those who can't make it, the self-funded film will be available beginning in April on a pay-per-view basis via streaming at www.starkmenofsteel.com. Additionally, a copy of the film will be donated to the Massillon Museum for its archive with plans to show the documentary at special events.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: 'Stark Men of Steel' tells story of Canton steel mills, steelworkers
