Box 1 – Subject Files 1986-2000

1/1   “A” Miscellaneous Folder

[Alves] 11/11/96
Ruth Alves, Roseville site’s picnic chairperson sent WRH a photo of the site picnic with cut-outs of Packard and WRH greeting employees

[Arthur] 6/6/96
Grant Bentley sent WRH a copy of the Jim Arthur Retirement video and words to song “We’ve Lost that Arthur Feeling”

[Asen] 12/9/93
Bob Asen passed away 10/29/93 following a six-week illness; he was a principal of RMC, HP’s former representative company for New York and New Jersey

[Avondale] 10/1/91
WRH to Avondale Site congratulating the Gas Chromatography Product Line which has exceeded 50,000 unit sales of the HP 5890 GC (Rainbow): “I find it hard to believe that we have sold over 50,000 HP 5890 gas chromatographs over any period of time.  It’s hard for me to realize when we first purchased F & M that it would have a growth of this nature, let along produce one of the top ten products.”

[Aviation] 9/10/89
Marilyn Matthews on the death by suicide of her husband, Floyd “Matt” Matthews, chief pilot in Corporate Aviation for more than 14 years.  WRH asks for Jack Brigham’s and Ralph Lee’s opinions on Mrs. Matthews view that her husband was treated poorly

[Affirmative Action]
ca. 1984 “Affirmative Action at Hewlett-Packard,” a pamphlet with WRH’s 1972 quote:  “Only through the combined efforts of all of us, both on and off the job, can we expect to see any meaningful gains made in overcoming the inequalities of our time”

1/2   HP – Advertising 1991, 1997

WRH has “concerns about the ‘mower’ advertisement and its impact on HP’s image”; he is unhappy with TV ad for HP printers 1997

1/3   HP Archives 1986-98

Listing of 26 awards transferred from WRH’s house for Archives 11/7/94

Listing of WRH memorabilia donated to the HP Archives:
13 plaques/awards/resolutions; 4 desk paper weights, and 3 miscellaneous items including HP tape S-1059 of “President’s Club ‘88” and HP “Your Orlando Family”/Edgewood Ranch, 12/90

The International Calculator Collector, Vol. 1, No. 2, Summer 1993 with an announcement of the First Annual Meeting of the International Association of Calculator Collectors in Anaheim, summer 1994

2/26/92
Barry Taylor, Santa Rosa, sent WRH an old navy AF Signal Generator which WRH donated to the HP Archives

2/27/86
Timothy Coogan, Data System Division, sent WRH one of his original RC Oscillators which was being ‘excessed’ from a display case in the Crothers Memorial dormitory for engineers at Stanford.  “Although it bears no serial number or logo, the placard which came with the instrument stated that it is your original RC Oscillator…has two broken wires inside, and the rubber on the power cord has also deteriorated.”   WRH donated it to Vernon Andrews, historian in the HP Public Relations Dept. to become part of HP Archives

1/4   “B” Miscellaneous Folder

[Beckett] 10/18/97
obit in Palo Alto Daily News for John Beckett, “first government relations manager” at HP, according to Gary Fazzino

[Bowdle] 2/25/97
Ray Bowdle to WRH: “I had an experience with you 49 years ago.  I was a summer student-employee and for several months shared a cubicle in the quonset hut with you.  You were putting the finishing touches on the 400C and I was building some prototype signal generators under the direction of Jack Petrack.”

[Battjes] 10/30/94
Carl R. Battjes to WRH enclosing a book chapter “about the large variety of uses of T-coil sections, described from a personal and a Tektronix oscilloscope design historical viewpoint….I have, over the years, developed a realization of the value of your classic 1948 paper on distributed amplifiers…”  WRH responds 1/11/95: “Thanks for your comments on my 1948 article on Distributed Amplification.  I think you will be able to find others who know more about the history of the use of these amplifiers in oscilloscopes than I do.”

[Beauvillain] 12/93
Kleber Beauvillain to WRH asking to meet with him in Palo Alto as he wants “to thank you for the 35 years I spent already with HP in Europe, France, Italy and France again.  I never thought before of a so great opportunity to work for, and, with so wonderful company and so friendly people.  I refer so often to your style of management and, its always helping me but also people working close to me as well as customer.  After 35 year I wanted to say that to you.  I hope you are recovering very fast and, well and you could be soon enjoy sport again.”  WRH responds 1/18/94: “Thank you …I get first hand reports on how we’re doing in France…You deserve a great deal of credit for this.  I can’t believe that you have worked for the company 35 years.  I am glad to report that I am recovering fairly well and am getting around with a cane.  I expect to throw that away in the near future.”

[Brunner] 9/1890
Bob Brunner to WRH and Packard with his thoughts on today’s HP, mainly negative with “chasing market share” instead of “long term profitable growth,” “our dividend policy doesn’t seem right,” “grandiose corporate game plans instead of allowing future managers to develop their skills,” “HP Labs…don’t [have] the kind of fervor of wonderment that used to prevail,” and finally second generation managers seem to be “custodians of what their mentors had accomplished” rather than to “tackle extensive growth in the broader fields of computers, systems, software,” etc.   He suggests that the solution is “to go back to the fundamentals on which the company was built and that may necessarily include attention to the human sensitivities that seem also to have suffered in recent years.”  WRH responds 10/4/90: “…You probably have seen by now the reorganization that John [Young] has instituted in the Company.  I think the new organizational structure will do much to help with some of the problems…it’s John’s plan to push responsibility down further into the organization, rather than concentrating at the top…I don’t think anyone felt that the new management was custodial.  I think the problems arose from a combination of minor difficulties which were compounded fully because of real problems.  We are, I think, trying to go back to the fundamentals on which the Company was built.”

[Bradford] 7/16/92
WRH to Lee T. Bradford, a friend who wrote about his troubles with the HP printer: “I share your views in two respects–one, it’s a great instrument, and two, its instruction book is ‘for the birds.’”

1/5   Birnbaum, Joel – Retirement 2/99
[became special advisor to Carly Fiorina after this]

112/11/98
letter from Lew Platt on Birnbaum’s retirement: “We came to California at about the same time.  I transferred from HP’s medical products business in Boston and Joel came to HP from IBM after a 15-year career where he last served as director of computer sciences at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York.”  Walter Hewlett is to write his father’s page for the Birnbaum “memory book”; not given here

1/6   Bagley, Al – Oral History Interview 8/90

A transcription of Bagley’s oral history interview with Bob Grimm was sent to WRH and Packard by Dave Kirby, head of the department which includes the HP Archives: “Since there is so much interesting and nostalgic stuff in the Bagley interview, I thought you’d like to have a copy.”  incomplete copy, only to p. 58.  Original in HP Archives

1/7   HP Board of Directors 1985-98

Photograph of Board 7/18/96 with WRH in front row middle
Mainly lists of board members with contact info, committee assignments
Agenda for special meeting 2/15/94
Up-date on activities of the Organization Review and Nominating Committee 8/3/94
Lew Platt to Board 4/19/94

1/8   “C” Miscellaneous Folder

[Colorado Springs]
Colorado Springs shut-down yearbook 1983

[Coleman]
10/29/92 WRH to Jay Coleman, Editor, Measure Magazine: “I have been away the greater part of this summer and hence, have been very tardy in thanking you for the great job you did on the article about my wildflower hobby…delighted at the wonderful photo reproductions.”

[Coombs] 7/9/91
Clyde Coombs to WRH reporting that he is working on a new edition of Basic Electronic Instrument Handbook and would like WRH to talk to him about how the electronic instrument and instrumentation field “has changed over the last few years.  Fred Terman gave me similar advice on the first edition.”

[Cutler] 11/27/89
Frank Carrubba to WRH announcing “that Len Cutler, director of the Superconductivity lab, has been named to the newly created position of Distinguished Contributor, Technical Staff of HP Labs, effective immediately…”

[computer technology]
Measure, Sept.-Oct. 1991 article “HP’s biggest little gamble” by Gordon Brown about HP’s first computer HP 2116A in 1966 and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, HP’s first computer customer.  The HP2116A was introduced at the Fall Joint Computer conference in 11/66.

[Coleman] 7/31/89
Jay Coleman to WRH asking him to review a proposed Measure article on Bill Stancil’s role in the audio oscillator sale to Disney.  Stancil had written WRH from Santa Ana 1/18/89 with his reminiscence: “George Downs hurried to my house in Studio city to tell me about a terrific oscillator he had seen the day before in San Francisco, I believe it was during the 1938 IEEE Convention.  George was a great admirer of Dr. Terman and that connection brought him to you and the oscillator.  I had been working as a ‘sound man’ for M.G.M. and Goldwyn Studios but had left the studio work to establish a little development lab at home.  In the early 30’s, George and I became close friends through Jim Lansing for whom George was chief engineer.  Anyway, George drew a schematic of the oscillator and with his usual enthusiasm was ecstatic about your design.  He thought I should get together with Norm Neely (who at that time was a factory rep for Lansing speakers).  He also said Johnny Hawkins, a mutual friend, had been discussing the problem of finding audio oscillators to generate stable frequencies for the Disney film ‘Fantasia’ – Johnny was a consultant to Disney.  George felt your oscillator would meet the requirements and he was certain if I could demonstrate to the Disney people there would be an order for nine oscillators if you had them in production.  Neely came out to the house and I made the deal to work for Norm and he would be a rep for the new H.P. – I do not remember whether you and Dave knew Neely yet or whether George got you together.  As planned, I got the order from Hawkins and the rest is history…

WRH responds 3/30/89:
“What a nice letter of reminiscence!  The story I like about George was that he arrived late at a cocktail party and was greeted by some of Norm’s people with the comment, ‘George, you certainly must have been drunk to miss your chin and shave your head instead.’  I kind of lost track of many of these people, but it was nice to hear about Al Everest.  I always enjoyed him and his book.”

1/9   Company Cars & Planes 1985-97

Documents about choice of car as well as income tax policies for personal uses

1/10   HP – Complaints, Employee and Customer 1991-2000

6/16/00
Paul Jemison, HP Benefits Director, in response to complaint that a retiree is now ineligible for a discount for a product that he helped create.  “Hewlett-Packard and Agilent used the organization from which an employee retired as the determining factor to assign retirees to one company or the other…Agilent has decided to not offer its employees or retirees an Employee Purchase Plan and Hewlett-Packard has decided to not provide discounts to either active or retired Agilent employees. Both the split of the retirees and the decisions to not offer an Employee Purchase Plan were carefully reviewed and both Hewlett-Packard and Agilent are within their legal rights in making these decisions.”

10/17/91
J. W. Adams, Supervisor, Purchasing for Monsanto, complaining about inadequate service: “The amount of business that Monsanto does with Hewlett Packard should warrant at least one HP location and phone number for us to place orders.”

Individual complaints about treatment with manager’s response including one in 1993 alleging “sexual harassment and other improper conduct” on the part of her manager

1/11   HP Corporate Grants Program 1991-97

Mainly requests to WRH from individuals asking for free computers or organizations seeking sponsorship or both asking for financial assistance

1995 Philanthropy Annual Report
1992 Philanthropy Annual Report
1995 General Manager’s Guide for Making Discretionary Grants
11/10/95 letter awarding HP equipment gift to Business Against Drunk Drivers, valued at $3,394
Forms for HP’s matching program for employees gifts in support of education
June 1984 “Hewlett-Packard Philanthropic Grants”

1/12   HP Corporate Objectives 1980-97

Pamphlets: 11/80, 10/86, 7/89, undated ca 7/97

11/17/87
WRH in response to questions about an article in Electronic News 3/2/87: “…you asked the question – from where did we get the philosophy that people will do a good job if they know what’s expected?  I think this came from the very early days of the company when we worked with our employees and got to know them as friends and not just employees.  Your second question had to do with corporate objectives…Our objectives are a statement to guide managers (and employees) in their day-to-day work.  They are not just a monetary challenge.  They are pretty well understood within the corporation, and if a manager is not living up to them, it is quickly brought to our attention.  As a matter of fact, the deepest reservoir of these traditions is amongst the employees themselves.”  In response to the question of what his current title is: “I am simply a Director Emeritus of the corporation after I retired earlier this year.”

3/8/89
Brad Whitworth to WRH, etc. on “Revising Objectives” with seven proposed changes and the rationale for them.  WRH note: “called to say O.K. 3/15/89″

Measure Nov.-Dec. 1986 article “Corporate objectives turn 30″

11/11/86
John Young to General Managers announcing an up-date of the corporate objectives which “have served us well over the years and have required few revisions since they were originally written in 1957….The last major revision occurred in 1981, prompted by a need to place more emphasis on HP quality, and to underscore the importance of effective interaction among our operating units.  Recently, following a review of the objectives, we decided that a further updating was desirable.  This was prompted primarily by the need to up-date the fifth objective (Our People) to reflect our work-force balancing efforts and to clarify the concept of ‘employment security.’  In the course of making this revision, we also made some minor modifications to the objectives relating to profit, customers, and fields of interest…”

8/19/86
Dave Kirby to top management with revision suggestions to objectives

1/13   Corvallis Division re Calculators 1988

5/2/88
Dan Allen, Cupertino, to WRH with his history of HP products from the HP-25 to HP-28S.  He suggested that HP build a portable machine with all the unique abilities of HP-12C, HP-15C, HP-16C, HP-18S, HP-71B, and HP-75C.  Then he listed the portable computational device he wants: Math, Log, Trig, Matrices, Calculus, Statistics, Finance, Time.  “This list is just calculator features, and does not even get into language issues.  Yet no HP product ever made has had these basic features listed above.  Someone really should be fired.  Perhaps the whole worthless Corvallis division should be fired!”

WRH found this “a wonderful letter” and forwarded it to the GM in Corvallis, Dan Terpack, 5/19/88: “This is a remarkable letter, and I think he did a great job of summing up the history of our calculator program.  In the early days of the HP35, HP45, etc., we spent a great deal of time coming out with new calculators, some of which barely deserved the effort put into them.  Meanwhile, TI was trying to decide what their strategy would be.  When they finally brought out their calculator, it was evident that they had spent a great deal of thought on cost reduction while we had spent our time on technical frills – time we should have spent on reducing the production costs of our best models.  Had we done that, it would have been very difficult for TI to catch us.  And Allen points out that we then had a remarkable period of really significant contributions.  Within the last couple of years, I share Allen’s view in the rather retrograde progress we have made.  Completely aside from the question of discarding RPN (of which I think poorly), I feel we have brought out new calculators primarily for the purpose of having new calculators.  As in the past, I feel that it would have been much better had we selected the best of the then available products and spent an equivalent amount of time reducing their costs and, where possible, their reliability.  You can’t go on inventing new calculators forever, but you can design out costs and thus maintain your competitive position.”

6/1/88
Dan Terpack to WRH with response to Allen’s letter:  “During the period surrounding the invention of the personal computer, the focus of the calculator program was diluted somewhat on the handheld and personal computers as these seemed like the appropriate opportunity areas.  As a result our calculator program suffered.  Beginning in late 1985, we started a new initiative to re-establish our position in the calculator market by providing premium quality calculators at a competitive price.  These calculators (the Pioneer project) will be introduced to the market throughout FY88 and FY89…The HP-28S which features symbolic mathematics has won two design awards including the OMNI Magazine Award for most innovative personal electronic product of the year…We have introduced algebraic products and menu systems…We will offer RPN products designed with power and programming efficiency in mind, and algebraic calculators designed for people wanting HP quality and innovation in an algebraic environment…The Series 10 products which were originally priced from $120 to $150 are now priced from $50 to $80.  Our goal is to provide high quality premium products at a price 20 percent higher than our competition.  By the beginning of FY89 we will meet and, in many cases, exceed this goal.  This is a major goal of our new Pioneer products.  HP is now the only supplier of calculators that manufactures in the United States.  HP calculators were one of six HP products recognized in the Fortune article ‘What America Makes Best.’…”

6/3/88
Corvallis Division Business Plan; WRH’s copy #46

1/14   HP Duck Club 1997

5/1/97
Pete Peterson, Senior Vice President Personnel, announced that HP “intends to sell the property and facilities in Los Banos….While a number of factors influenced our decision, the primary reason is financial…Financially speaking, the Duck Club is a very expensive activity for HP to subsidize for comparatively few users–especially when compared with other HP-sponsored recreational activities….based on the 1996 season, 20 users represented 60% of the ‘hunter days’ at the facility…HP will continue to keep the Duck Club open through the coming fall 1997 season.  We will give members until September 1, 1997 to form a group to either purchase the property or purchase an option to buy…”

4/7/97
Peterson to WRH added other concerns such as “environmental concerns” as it is not considered ‘politically correct’ to hunt and kill ducks any more, as more and more employees point out and “diversity issue,” meaning that the perception is that it is only a white, male-oriented club and not used for the entire family as a sport.  It is thought that WRH and Packard originally owed the property and then deeded it to HP for employee use.

1/15   “D” Miscellaneous Folder

[Disney] 3/7/89
WRH to Frank Taylor, oral historian on Walt Disney for University of Southern California: “A number of years ago, on the occasion of Hewlett-Packard’s 15^th Anniversary, our Public Relations Department worked out a plan with the same department at Disney Studios whereby I would present a miniature oscillator to Mr. Disney.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when I got into Mr. Disney’s outer office and saw the magnificent presents on display from  people like the king of Siam, I realized I was in trouble.  I met with Mr. Disney and he didn’t know me from Adam’s off ox.  He felt the oscillator was cute and thought his children might enjoy it.  I left with my tail between my legs.”

[Dimmitt] 12/11/96
Louis Dimmitt to Jay Coleman with a story he heard when he first began working for HP in July 1972: “This story was told to me by Bob Shuffler, who at that time was the Service Manager of Loveland Instrument Division.  Bob originally was a Sales Rep. who sold HP equipment in the Texas area before being bought out by Hewlett-Packard.  One day after being at HP for approximately 2 months, I noticed that the break bell at the Loveland site was a series of notes that appeared to come from a door chime.  Bob then told the story of the door chimes.

When HP was started in the garage Mrs. Hewlett [sic] would bring break items to the people.  She would like the employees to know that she was coming.  The result was to install in the garage the door chimes that were in her house.  She would ring the chimes in the garage and then bring the break items.  When HP opened their plant in Loveland these same chimes were used as the break bell.  I was doubtful of this story.  Bob then proceeded to take me to the old PBX phone switching room and show me the actual door chimes.  They worked by a small microphone being turned on, the chimes rang and then the microphone turned off. Several other maintenance facility employees proceeded to back up the story.  This is just another example of how you and Dave were concerned for the people.”  Judy Arluck 11/13/96: “I checked with Mr. Hewlett and a couple of other sources, who were unable to verify this.”

[Davidson] 1/7/97
Bob Davidson, HP Physicist, giving WRH a copy of his dissertation “Vector Preisach Hysteresis Models for Simulation of Recording Media” at Carnegie Mellon May 1996 with this note: “Thanks for instilling the spirit of investing in the employee’s education at HP.  I’ve benefited greatly and want to let you know that.  Attached is a coy of my Ph.D. dissertation.  We are using the results in HP’s tape operation to design new products.”  He thanks WRH and Packard “for pioneering the ‘HP Way’”

[domestic partner benefits]
Some letters condemning this policy 6/96.  A set of overheads to be used in Platt’s coffee talks 5/21/96 including this HP Timeline of past actions to remove barriers for gay and lesbian employees:

1992    Added sexual orientation to HP’s non-discrimination and harassment policies
1993    approved guidelines for employee network groups, including the Gay and Lesbian Employee Network (GLEN)
1994    Included Sexual Orientation module in Managing Diversity training
1995    Revised funeral leave policy to include domestic partners; revised beneficiary designation to allow for inclusion of domestic partners
Health benefits are to be available as early as possible in 1997

[deaths]
announcements of HP deaths: Cheryl Dwyer 10/31/94; Earl Davis 6/2/94, one of the old gang; Pete Dawson, HP’s most senior employee 9/28/94

[DATAFILE]
copies of DATAFILE, the journal of the Handheld and Portable Computer Club, the independent group for the users of Hewlett Packard Handheld and Portable Computers.  4 vols: December V10N8, July/August V11N5, June/July V12N4, Memberpack 1992.  Address: HPCC, Geggs Lodge, Hempton Road, Deddington, Banbury, Oxford

[dress]
Article in West 3/31/91 “Friday Dress” noting the custom in Silicon Valley to dress down on Fridays.  “Roy Verley, director of public relations for Hewlett-Packard, explains how the custom got started: ‘In the old days, which for us was some 50 years ago, this was a decision Bill and Dave made, Bill and Dave being Bill Hewlett and David Packard, that Monday through Thursday we would receive customers, and dress in business attire, jackets and ties, dresses for women, but Friday was the day to get products out the door.  We didn’t have a shipping department.  People made themselves available.  Anybody could be asked to chip in and do whatever needed to be done.”  WRH’s handwritten note: “News to me”

1/16   HP – Dividend Policy; Repurchase of Stock 1991, 1994, 1997

10/2/91
Bob Brunner to WRH and Packard: “…express discontent with the Hewlett Packard dividend policy, but the issue boils up in my mind every time accumulated cash gets used for purposes that do not appear to contribute to significant and profitable growth…Seems to me that profit can, and should be, returned to the business in the form of increased R&D, new facilities, and innovative ventures; but only to the extent that these can be expected to produce more profit…I view Hewlett Packard no longer as a budding young West Coast electronic company, but as a major high technology industrial with a lot more breadth, maturity, and resources than most of the companies with whom we are compared on Wall Street and in the press.  An appropriate dividend rate would support that view.”  WRH responds 10/9/91: “Why don’t you stop by and have a visit about this–there is much truth in what you say.”

1/17   HP – Drug Testing 1991, 1993

10/12/93
Newsgram: “Starting in 1994, Hewlett-Packard will test all applicants who receive a job offer at one of its U.S. facilities…HP will test for five classes of drugs: marijuana, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP) and amphetamines.”

1991
More than a dozen letters from HP employees protesting the new policy of testing new hires for illegal drug uses; many of these are addressed to WRH and Packard

1/18   “E” Miscellaneous Folder

[Egan] 4/13/98
Catherine Egan to WRH: “I am writing to say thank you for inspiring me. About fourteen years ago, when I was 10, I wrote you a letter telling you how much I wanted to work for HP when I grew up.  You took the time to write me back and encourage me to follow my dreams.  I still have that letter.  I have been with HP for a little over a year now…Thank you again for all of the inspiration you have given me.”

[Environment]
copy of “Hewlett-Packard’s Commitment to the Environment” 1994

[Economic]
Copies of Economic Review, from HP Corporate Development May 1994, May 1995.  Charts on HP orders.

[El Camino Real] 2/3/94
Don Summers to WRH and Packard with the final settlement of the issue concerning remediation access to Animal Hospital, 2951 El Camino Real and 470 Olive, Palo Alto, owed by Dr. Robert Agramonte and Dr. Cecil D. Behunin

[Eldon] 12/3/94
Charles A. (Bud) Eldon to WRH thanking him “for the opportunity to work 38 years for a company managed in every way with absolute integrity and caring.”  He met WRH as a graduate student at Stanford.  “My direct introduction to HP was through Cort Van Rensselaer, who was a fraternity brother, and I was hired by Ed Porter…Several times you gave me SF symphony tickets….you joined me and George Kan, Jack Petrak and others in tennis matches…the assignment to IRE resulted ultimately (with continuous support from HP) in my election as IEEE President…”

1/19   Ehrlich-Rominger Architects – Bldg. 26; 1989 Earthquake

4/2/90
Frank Pedraza, HP Senior Attorney, to Joseph Ehrlich, Ehrlich-Rominger Architects, informing him that HP is “assessing its legal claims against your firm for the damages which Hewlett-Packard suffered during the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989″ and attaching a list of damage and a claim for 50% to be paid by the architects, amounting to $405,500.  Ehrlich responded to WRH, Packard, and John Young 4/17/90: “Because my relationship with you gentlemen and with Hewlett-Packard now spans over three decades, I feel impelled to write to you at this time…As professionals who have done work for Hewlett-Packard consistently and conscientiously for over 35 years to be suddenly accused of providing less than a reasonable standard of care seems ludicrous…”  Attached is a “Brief Summary of Joe Ehrlich’s and Clarence Rinne’s Long-term Relationships with the Hewlett-Packard Company,” April 17, 1990.  David Packard responded 4/18/90: “Thank you for bringing the letter dated April 2 and signed by Frank Pedraza to my attention.  Please ignore it.  It is a gross violation of the basic principles on which Bill Hewlett and I have built this company over the past fifty years.”  John Young responded 4/24/90: “We owe you an apology for the recent letter you received from a member of our legal staff.  This kind of approach is certainly not the way we want to conduct business at Hewlett-Packard…I was quite startled when I returned from a trip and found the correspondence on my desk…I find that there are a number of people at Hewlett-Packard that believe there were design problems in the original building that contributed to the extensive damage.  However, they have been unable to resolve the issue despite a number of discussions with your people.  I understand from Jack Brigham that you and he will be getting together to review the situation…”

1/20   HP Employee Letters 1990-2000
– Most of these letters are answered by Mollie Yoshizumi who often began with something like  “Mr. Hewlett, being retired for many years,  no longer comes into the office, but I did have an opportunity to share your note with him and he has asked me to respond on his behalf.”  This is a folder more than one-inch thick so most items are not indexed.  The great majority of the letters refer to The HP Way.  [The archivist preparing this descriptive guide remembers Mary Anne Easley in PR drafting many of these.]

1/26/96
employee wrote about termination after 19 years and “false accusations of sexual and racial harassment.”  This is one of several similar cases

11/23/94
IND Personnel Manager responded to employee who “feels the HP Way slipping away,” especially pointing to the elimination of the “hand shake at profit sharing time.”  Just one of many notes concerning the loss of the HP Way

12/3/90
Dave Packard wrote to John Young after reading an employee’s complaint: “This is a hell of a way to run a company.”  Note sent to WRH by Margaret

9/13/90
Dave Packard wrote to John Young, etc.: “There is absolutely no excuse for such a stupid thing to happen.”  This is in response to an employee pointing out “the useless printed material” sent from HP.  Packard writes: “You can be sure this will receive my personal attention.”

8/22/90
EDD employees wrote WRH and Packard concerning closing EDD

Several letters enthusiastic about the site visits by WRH and Packard in 1990

1/21   HP – General Correspondence 1989-93

12/31/92
“The Hewlett-Packard Europhysics Award for Outstanding Achievement in Solid State Physics” by Martin Peter in Geneva.  Award established in 1974 and the awardees are listed

4/9/93
WRH to Ray Wilbur, Jr.: “I have learned that after 29 years of service you are retiring from the Company Employee Scholarship Organization’s Board of Directors.  I know that you have played an important part in this organization throughout the years.  5500 kids is not bad.  I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate all you have done for Hewlett-Packard and of which this is one example.”

7/10/93
Invitation to WRH to celebrate 20 years of HP at the Boise site.  Nice exhibit piece.  WRH declined due to fishing trip at same time

10/25/90
Bian Ee Tan to WRH and John Young.: “After 20 years as chief Minister of Penang, Dr Lim Chong Eu lost his state assembly seat to the leader of the opposition party…With his defeat, Dr Lim (aged 71 yrs) has announce his retirement from Malaysian politics.  I felt it is important that you should be made aware of this event, because of the very cordial relationship between HP Corporation and Dr. Lim.  More importantly, Dr Lim is a close friend of both of you.”  WRH wrote to Dr. Lim Chong Eu: “I was so sorry to learn that you are planning to retire from Malaysian politics.  Penang will simply not be the same with you absent from the Rumah Tetamu.  I can remember so well when Hewlett-Packard first went to Penang and how helpful you were in getting our small operation started.  It has since grown to 2,500 people and plays a very important role in the HP Family.”  Chong Eu responded 11/10/90 sending “warmest regards” and assurances that the new government “will always sustain my personal interest in the H.P. family in Penang.”

1/21/91
Colorado Springs Division, The HP Way Award flyer

Many letters thanking WRH for the Educational Assistance Program
1/16/91
San Jose Mercury News with an article on “America’s best goes to war for Iraq,” reporting sale of HP equipment to Iraq

12/16/92
Dr. Robert D. Ballard, Jason Project, thanking him for HP help “to ensure the continuation of our educational program for young students”

8/12/90
WRH to an employee from Spokane thanking WRH “for helping to create a place where people can work and make dreams come true.”  WRH responded 8/20/90: “I am glad to know that the HP Way is very much alive despite our rapid growth.  I believe it was much easier to implement in the early days when the company was small.”

11/16/89
WRH to Dean Morton: “I was looking over one of the recent Desk messages that made reference to a Software Center in Australia.  You are probably ahead of me on this, but one of the few areas that (East) Indians excel in is mathematics.  Have you ever thought of putting up a Software Center somewhere in India to capitalize on these abilities?”

10/19/89
Wen Ko, GM at HP Taiwan, to WRH, etc. announcing his leaving the company as of 1/15/90 after 13 years “and many good times shared with my friends in HP” to start “my own venture capital firm.”  Ho-Ming Huang is successor

7/31/90
WRH to John Moll congratulating him on appointment to the position of “Distinguished Contributor, Technical Staff of HP Labs.”  Bio included

1/5/90
Bruce D. Badger, President, Maptech, Inc. to WRH on behalf of “a small group of us who formerly worked with the now closed Civil Engineering Division at the Loveland, CO facility.  We all started in 1970-1972 and stayed until the doors were closed in 1983.  After a short term with Wild Heerbrugg, who was a competitor of CED, we decided to keep things going and form our own company. We are even helping to keep the old 3820A (Bear) alive with our own field data collection device.  Although the Civil Engineering Division was relatively short-lived, thousands of land surveyors still identify with the products that came out of that small Loveland division, and still occasionally call Maptech for support…We seem to have stalled at about $1.6 million/year in sales (the last 3 years)…What actions were actually planned which made a major difference in the growth of Hewlett-Packard Co. in the early stages?  What mistakes were made that hindered its growth?”  WRH responded 3/1/90: “I was very sorry when HP felt it had to drop out of the civil engineering field.  We had a great product.  I have a unit which Dave and I share occasionally and really know how good it was.  However, that’s water over the dam.  You asked if I had any suggestions having to do with the growth of Maptech, based on HP Company experience.  It’s hard to think of mistakes–goodness knows, we’ve had enough of them, but somehow, we have the ability to forget what we did wrong.

I think if there’s any one area that caused trouble, it was trying to be spread over too large an area of interests.  One of the great contributions that Noel Eldred made was forcing us into a recognition that we were in the instrument business with a big-enough field to keep us occupied.  Don’t go looking for more areas in which to dissipate your energies.  I feel that some of the good decisions we made had to do with the emphasis on product development as the key to growth and the belief that you should base your growth on internally generated earnings and not on debt.  And finally, we based our organization on people.”

2/1/90
letter from Signal Analysis Division, Rohnert Park, thanking WRH for 1/17 visit, includes a snapshot of WRH and Packard with the 8 men in the group

1/22  HP Employees – Anniversaries 1994

11/8/94 WRH congratulating Ron Dopke, Rolling Meadows Sales, on 35^th anniversary with HP; his manager, Frank Fitzgerald, “found him to be a fine example of practicing the HP Way”

1/23   HP – Ethics 1985, 1989

Copy of HP’s Standards of Business Conduct 7/89

7/3/85
(Rev.) Oliver F. Williams to WRH asking about “a research project on communications between multinationals and host governments,” particularly Mexico and Korea.  WRH sent letter to Dick Alberding 7/15/85: “Father Williams is very interested in questions of business ethics.  I know him reasonably well, and I would certainly hope that we could cooperate with him on this subject.”

1/24   HP Europhysics Awards 1994-97

WRH wrote congratulatory letters to winner europhysics news, vol. 24, Sept. 1993 “The Hewlett-Packard Europhysics Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Solid-State Physics” by Martin Peter, p. 131: “The establishment of the Hewlett-Packard Europhysics Prize (H-PEP) dates back to 1974 when the Hewlett-Packard company from Palo Alto in California, which had set up its first European manufacturing plant in 1959, was enjoying a period of rapid expansion.  As a member of the Board of Hewlett-Packard (Europe) SA., the European subsidiary, I was present when the President of the Board, Richard Alberding, announced that the company wishes to contribute to the life of Geneva, home of the European headquarters, by providing occasional help to some of the Canton’s many international organizations.  The EPS was a logical choice: the importance of European physics was unquestioned and the young society had proven to be vigorous and viable.  It was also one of the few societies which joined together both eastern and western Europe.  There existed, of course, venerable international awards in physics, and various countries had national prizes, but a European prize was an innovation…”  The Prize’s Charter states:

“The Award shall be given in recognition of recent work by one or more individuals in the area of physics of condensed matter, specifically works leading to advances in the fields of electronic, electrical and materials engineering which, in the opinion of the Society’s Selection Committee, represents scientific excellence.  ‘Recent work’ is defined to mean completed within five years prior to the Award.  The Award may be given for either pure or applied research at the discretion of the Society.”

2-column article

5/5/94
Harry Kroto to WRH thanking HP for the prize and reporting that he could not have been successful without the HP microwave spectrometer which he used to do the lab work on “carbon molecules which led to their discovery in space and to the questions I was asking in the early ‘80s about the chemistry in the atmospheres of carbon stars…”

1/25   “F” Miscellaneous Folder

[Flyfishers Club] 8/21/95
Bill Berwanger, Roseville, to WRH and Packard inviting them to join the HP Flyfishers Club in Roseville, started eight months ago with the purpose “to bring traditional aspects of the sport to all interested parties.”   Actual HP Flyfishers’ patch included

[Fong] 6/30/94
Arthur Fong received Distinguished Engineering Alumnus for 1994 from College of Engineering, UC, Berkeley

[Finnerty]
Rosemary Finnerty sent him a copy of the Palo Alto Weekly 11/3/93 with article on “The man who won the coin toss” [WRH]

1/26   Finch, Nate – Autobiography of HP’s First Attorney 11/90

2 copies of Finch’s autobiography, 41 pages, sent 11/12/90 to WRH by Dave Kirby

1/27   HP – Fabrication Shops 1993

12/7/92
Dick Anderson to WRH and Packard re the need for less work at the fabrication shop at the lower Page Mill site and proposing three alternatives; favors selling the business to an outside firm

6/25/93 Dick Anderson to WRH, Packard, Barnholt, and Platt reporting that on 6/4/93 HP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Computer Cabinet Corporation to purchase the HP Palo Alto Fabrication Center sheetmetal business.  The 85 employees impacted may receive offers from the new company and those who chose not to accept will be offered placement within HP or termination from HP with payout from the Voluntary Severance Incentive program.  WRH responded 7/12/93: “OK with me”