SAY GOODBYE TO THE PUNCHCARD ERA-With the last of the punchcard
operations now being phased out, an era is ending that began back in 1890.
Operator above is using the original key punch machine called the
pantograph designed by Herman Hollerith. The questionnaire is rotated on
the cylinder, and the appropriate punch corresponding to data on the
questionnaire is made on the punchcard placed on the templete. The
wooden work unit is at the operator's left hand. From the September 13, 1974 issue of The SESA Inquirer:

Please Do Not Tear, Spindle, or Mutilate
Back in 1950 the Census Bureau led the Nation to the peak of the punchcard era-an era the Census Bureau itself had created. In order to take the 1950 census, 14 billion cards were processed on 3,000 machines resulting in 150,000 pages. In those days the hallways and corridors of the Federal Buildings here at Suitland were lined and stacked with box loads of punchcards. However efficient the punchcards may have been, they took up a lot of room. That scene has long since vanished for the last census taken on punchcards was the 1967 Economic Census. Currently, the last of the punchcard operations in the Bureau are now being phased out.

The history of punchcards dates back to 1890 when Dr. Herman Hollerith, an employee of the Census Bureau patented the first punchcard machine. Before 1890, statistics were recorded by hand until the rapid growth of the Nation soon produced a volume of statistics too massive to be manually recorded. With the arrival of the punchcard machine, the operator need only read the data documents and then make an appropriate punch on the punchcard.

THE USE OF ELECTRICITY for census operations also began around
1890. Above left is an electrical tabulating machine with an electrical
sorting machine on its right. Both machines were battery operated.
The two machines were used to sort and arrange prepared punchcards
to produce data fields for tables. The punchcard system established a close relationship among questionnaire, punchcard, tabulator, and table. A card was made up from the data submitted by each individual-a name was not placed on the card-and the card served as a memory or fixed record. The punchcards were then sorted out into parameters according to selected characteristics. As the cards were processed, the data sources produced the boxhead information for a table while a tabulator produced the data field. The entire electro-mechanical system was pioneered, developed, and designed by the Census Development Lab which is an office still in operation today.

FROM MANUAL TO MECHANICAL BY 1920-By simply
pressing a button, the machine above punched a card and
advanced it. The mechanical key punch was also designed
by Hollerith and was used primarily for the censuses of
population and agriculture. The Bureau gained a world-wide reputation because of its punchcard system and was quickly recognized as the world's largest statistical gatherer. In the area of age research alone, the Bureau had 100 million cards on file in 1940. Eventually in 1911 Hollerith merged with CTR, which in 1924 became IBM, and that action spurred the growth of a world·wide industry in data processing. As late as 1950 machines developed by Anthony Berlinsky (ENG), at the Census Bureau were copied by private industry. Punchcards are still a big business since it is cheaper to use punchcards for small operations than computers. The Census Bureau, however, has been phasing out punchcard operations since 1969 when the Census of Agriculture was converted to a key-to-tape operation.

During the heyday of the punchcard era here at the Census Bureau, a work unit module was developed in order to manage the bulk of the punchcards. This module was a wooden box containing 2,000 punchcards housing 100 cards per inch. Now that the Bureau is laying to rest the last of the punchcard operations, any of those wooden boxes left could make nice office souvenirs.

Apologies on the poor quality of the last two photos. The first was taken from the Census History website but I wasn't able to find suitable substitutes for the others.

INSIDE BULLETIN: No one at Bureau headquarters could recall an event like it.
The 52 Freed Americans would be passing by Suitland and Bureau workers
were caught up in the emotional fervor of welcoming them home. By the
thousands they cheered the return of the former hostages, and on pages 6 and 7
are featured some of the scenes from that historic day.From the March/April 1981 issue of Census Bulletin:

For 52 Freed Americans, A Sea of Yellow Ribbons and Love

Yellow ribbons, worn
in the hair, or also
on the shirt or
blouse, as seen
above, were the
style for the day. Yellow ribbons were everywhere, along with banners, streamers, flags, and placards saying "We Love You."

That's the way Bureau workers from Census headquarters cheered the homecoming of the 52 Freed Americans as they traveled down nearby Suitland Parkway from Andrews Air Force Base in a motorcade to meet with President Reagan in the White House.

In the crowds that covered the grassy slopes of the Parkway and lined the shoulders of the road, census employees and workers from other installations on the Suitland Federal Center, mixed with local residents - all sharing in the patriotic fervor of this historic occasion. Featured on these pages are some scenes from that emotion-filled day.

Thousands showed their
love for the Freed Americans
with cheers and flags.
Others wrote out their feelings
Motorcade on the way
to meet with President Reagan.

When I first found this article, I was surprised. Prior to this, I thought it was something new. Apparently it's been around for at least 30 years. Does anyone remember getting the vaccination? I definitely don't. 

From the October 1976 issue of Census Bulletin:

Swine Flu Shots Available Soon
The Bureau will participate in the National Immunization Program by providing free swine flu innoculations to Census employees, it was announced by George M. Bowden, Chief, Personnel Division.

The Department of Health, Education and Welfare has provided the Bureau with revised immunization guidelines and recommendations which are based on the results compiled from clinical trials conducted in various parts of the Nation.

These trials showed that adults 25 years and older can safely and effectively be immunized against swine flu with a single dose of vaccine. Those 18 to 24 years old also showed adequate, immediate response to one dose. Trials are continuing, however, to determine if this younger group will require a booster shoot.

Following an extensive analysis of the early field trial data, the National Influenza Immunization Program in consultation with their advisory groups have developed the following recommendations:

Adult Vaccinations-Persons 18 years of age and older will be offered a single dose of Monovalent vaccine containing A/New jersey/76 (Swine Flu Vaccine). High risk persons - the chronically ill with a history of heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, or kidney disease, and those over 65, will be offered a single dose of combined (bivalent) influenza vaccine. (These are a combination of A/New jersey/76 Swine Flu and A/Victoria/75 vaccine.)

Normal Children and Young Adults Recommendations with respect to vaccine dosages and schedules for children and young adults less than 18 years of age must await the final data analysis of on-going clinical trials.

High-Risk Children - Children considered to be at high risk of serious illness or complications from influenza include those with (1) chronic lung disease, such as asthma and cystic fibrosis; (2) heart disease; (3) kidney disease; (4) diabetes and other chronic metabolic disorders; (5) chronic neuromuscular disorders; and (6) malignancies and immuno-deficient states.

These high-risk children and young adults between ages 3-18 should receive two intramuscular injections of bivalent vaccine given 4 weeks apart, i.e., an initial dose followed by a "booster" shot 4 weeks later.

Egg Allergy - Because the virus used in making the vaccine is grown in eggs, people who are highly allergic to eggs should not take the vaccine. Although those with a history of allergy to eggs will be excluded from the mass immunization program, they may be injected at the discretion of private physician after appropriate skin testing with small doses of vaccine.

Fever - Persons with pre-existing fevers should not be vaccinated until their fever has subsided.

Pregnancy - Many people ask questions about flu vaccination during pregnancy. An advisory committee of the U.S. Public Health Service examined this question and reported that there are no data specifically to make the vaccination inadvisable during pregnancy. Women who are pregnant should be considered as having essentially the same balance of benefits and risks regarding influenza vaccination as the general population. However, if risks and benefits are not clearly understood, pregnant women should consult with their personal physician before taking the swine flu vaccine.

Informed Consent - Persons taking the swine influenza inoculation will be required to sign an Informed Consent Statment. This Statement provides you with an explanation of the normal risks and the expected benefits from taking the vaccination. This Statement must be signed by each person to indicate that they have read and understand the risks and benefits from taking the vaccination. Signature constitutes authorization to be vaccinated.

Questions concerning the swine influenza program may be called to the Health Unit.

The Census Bureau has had a newsletter published since the 1940s except for a brief span in the 1980s when the Department of Commerce published a newsletter serving all of its bureaus. In honor of all the children returning to schools across the country, here's a little history lesson.

From the June 1987 issue of Commerce People:

Commerce Served as the Catalyst That Drew the States Together to Write the U.S. Constitution
Did you know...the Commerce Department was the catalyst that drew the states together to write the Constitution?

Following acceptance of the Articles of the Confederation, each of the states considered itself sovereign. Laws were passed, in some states money was coined, and more importantly, restrictions were placed on commerce into and out of each state's borders. The sharp reduction in trade with England had already hurt the colonists.

To facilitate commerce on their shared waterway, Virginia and Maryland held a meeting and worked out a cooperative arrangement. The success of this first meeting led Madison to propose that all the states get together to resolve their trade problems and a meeting was planned in Annapolis, Md.

Although poorly attended, both Madison and Hamilton saw common interest in resolving trade problems as the key vehicle for bringing state delegates together. They proposed a third meeting in Philadelphia and it was as suggested that the only way to really resolve the problems with trade and commerce that the states were having might necessitate some restructuring of the government.

The Constitution of the United States was the "restructuring."

Following its acceptance by a majority, the two last states to join the union were said to be impelled at least in part by the threat of having their commerce treated as that of foreign nations by the other states.

So it was the common interest in promoting and developing trade that brought the states together for the writing of the Constitution and it was the common interest in promoting and developing trade that led to its final acceptance by each of the states.

In 1824 in a Supreme Court decision, the Court stated: "If there is  any object riding over the every other in the adoption of the Constitution, it was to keep commercial intercourse among the states free from all invidious and particular restraints."

--Helen Bowers

A taste of government-style pranks...from the January 1977 issue of Census Bulletin:

Prankster (?) Returns 1909 Form
You could tell the envelope was old when it came in the mail the other day: it was yellow with age and carried the return address of a government agency that had not been in existence since 1913-the Department of Commerce and Labor. Its printed address was simple: "The Director of the Census, Washington, D.C."

Inside the envelope was an equally yellowed, one-page Census Bureau questionnaire for the Census of Manufactures. But the date on the questionnaire caught Acting Director Robert L. Hagan by surprise. It was 1909. The questionnaire had been signed in facsimile by E. Dana Durand who served as Director from 1909-1913.

Had the Postal Service taken 67 years to deliver the letter? Or, as Hagan mused, had someone in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, "deliberated a long time
before making a decision" to return it?

On closer examination, the form appears to have been filled out with a ball-point pen, hardly a writing instrument in use in 1909. (Science is a spoil-sport, taking the fun out of legends. British scientists recently tested King Arthur's roundtable and found it is not old enough.)

Someone apparently discovered the old form in a musty file and filled it out to confound those bureaucrats at the Census Bureau. That should bring a trace of a smile to the face of New Hampshire's Old Stone Face.