I grabbed the next series of Rexford’s letters and smiled because it reminded me of something I read yesterday — but since it felt a bit odd to bring in, I chose not to include it in this letter.
For today’s episode, it was dated January 20, 1969, featuring the Inauguration of Richard M. Nixon, who is 37th President of the United States of America.
This envelope was addressed to a certain individual, a Plant Engineer, Chemical Division of UniRoyal, Inc.
It seems on the first section Rexford has mentioned the atmosphere after the Presidential Election campaign is relatively quiet — quiet for those who saw their candidate win, but chaotic and noisy for those whose candidates didn’t win. It was also a reflecting moment for all of on this generation, because the current President will be moving out of the White House soon, and to be replace by the incoming President, which old policies probably were replaces by the new ones, which is, I considered, re-evaluation. This practice is I observed in my generation as well.
On next section, Rexford mentioned well wishes towards Nixon, which was a good show of sportsmanship, which still exist to this day. One thing I wish he mentioned was how people who voted the other candidates reacted — I would like to find out if people his generation were much different from my generation. My generation, based on what I been observing, is full of hatred wishing ill feeling with the President, and what i meant by that, I am not naming anyone, past or present, President. It almost like people lost their mind, because the one they aim to run the White House didn’t win.
On the third section, he mentioned Foxboro’s letterhead, which was changed, and I looked at it, and yes, he was right. My previous story, the company’s letterhead was covered with faded yellow and turned gray, while this one, it became simple, as featured above. He mentioned being outgrown, and I agree, as in general, there is always room for improvement, not just a company, but human habits and behavior.
In the letter he also mentioned, “Sixty years ago, when Foxboro was founded, the USA was our solo market.” This brought awareness of discovery for me, because that means the company started way back in 1909, and wow, that was very impressive, as moving towards to 2026, it is now called Foxboro by Schneider Electric. The original company was acquired by Invensys in the late 1990s, which was subsequently purchased by Schneider Electric in 2014. The Foxboro brand name continues to be used for their industrial automation and control systems.
When he stated, “Today, the whole world knows and uses Foxboro’s instruments,” the company’s representatives, which that time was in 43 countries, their manufacturing were in 7 foreign lands, and, based on what I found, that number has grown even more by 2026.
Reading this, I felt the proudness in Rexford’s words, even though he was only the treasurer, while his brother Benjamin served as President.
Because of my curiosity, I ended up browsing more articles online, and I found this website that shared a longer history of Foxboro, and it also shared how the company evolved. And, come to think about it, the business existed in World War 1 and 2, with their ability to navigate their business afloat through its ups and downs, throughout that era.
There is a strong resilience to the name FOXBORO, and finding these letters, while Rexford is the historian of these letters, I am becoming his voice. I truly believe these letters were destined for me to find them, because I love history and writing by default.
I am the right person Rexford choose to take care good care of his letters, because if this went to someone else, even his relatives, they will remain sitting and forgotten in a box. But with me, it is a breathing and being share to those who are interested. So, thank you Rexford.
