Peter Kern was asked to fill in as a last minute speaker at the Palmerton Area Historical Society when Brian Snyder was unable to provide the program on Indians that was scheduled.

There may not have been Polaroid cameras except that the Zinc Company learned to make the battery packs that were needed. That was only one of the many products Kern talked about that were made outside the Palmerton area.Zinc oxide was used in paint for undercoating cars and zinc dust was used for the batteries. The batteries were the most technically difficult to produce.In the 1940s a new pigment, titanium dioxide was developed. Since Zinc had so much experience with paint, the company looked for titanium dioxide. Titanium was difficult to separate from iron oxide. Kennecott owned a mine and promised Zinc a one-third interest. The company made 500 tons of iron a day, but had no use for the slag, Kern said.A plant in Gloucester, N.J., used it to produce titanium dioxide, but didn't know what to do with the iron. They took iron powder with a thin layer of copper and heated it. The iron powder was used in differential gears.A new plant was built to create the iron powder which is still being made. The titanium dioxide was the whitest white available for paint. There was a big ore body in Brazil which considered the titanium waste. It wanted the phosphate rock that was underneath.Kern went to Brazil and showed them a plane made with titanium. The company wanted to sell planes to the United States. It is now the third largest airplane manufacturer in the world."It was nice to be there and see the start up," Kern said.Titanium dioxide was used in a paper plant built at Ashtabula, Ohio.Two hundred tons of sulfuric acid was being dumped into a creek that fed into the Delaware River from the Gloucester plant. The Environmental Protection Agency liked Zinc's plan to recover the acid by using chlorine gas.Indium is a soft metal with a low melting point. Kern had samples that could be twisted by hand.A mine at Gilman, Colo., had .04 percent indium in its ore which was eight ounces per ton of ore. When refining lead Zinc had 3 to 4 percent indium or 80 pounds per ton of ore. Since it sold for $24,000 a ton Zinc started to recover it. In a room the size of the Knights' Gallery at the Palmerton Library one-half million tons a year were made. The indium is used in electronics.Kern would pack the boxes in his car and take it to Binghamton, N.Y.Indium oxide would make a great defroster for car windows but is too expensive, he said. The indium process was licensed to a plant in Marseille, France.In other business: Plans are for work at the Little White Church which has had structural reinforcement in the basement with more work needed. Repointing, a new awning and new rail will be done at the Heritage Center in spring. The garage in the back needs immediate attention.It was reported that it was a wonderful weekend at the Community Festival with many sales.George Ashman reported acquisitions from Bill Smelas, Jane Borbe, himself and Larry Yeakel.The audience was asked how many had connections to the New Jersey Zinc. All but two had someone in the extended family employed there.Forty people attended the annual picnic and Bert Holczman was thanked for his hospitality.New Jersey Zinc will be featured at the Heritage Center. For the holidays there will be an antique doll exhibit.October will be scarecrow month sponsored by the Concourse Club and Chamber of Commerce. There will be a special scarecrow at the Heritage Center.There will be a maximum of 25 lighted trees for the Trees in the Park. Others may be added but unlit. On Saturday, Dec. 7, the oldest person in Palmerton will flip the switch. There will be activities in the park that afternoon.