Wow!! Thats an awesome write up and I greatly appreciate the sharing
of it! (in fact I am putting that in a safe place for future
reference).

Funny how I draw a blank when I now can ask anything!
Lets see:

Is Genny a real (singular) person or just a name for any person in
support at the time, she has been great for YEARS.

You said your dad worked on the .44, would that mean he worked to
design the large frame DW which covers many calibers, or is the .44 a
different beast?

We have been seeing posts about special DW's lately, some seem to be
aftermarket adaptations "action cup". Can he shed light on these?

Let me preface my next question, that I personally haven't seen
any "lower quality" guns from DW, but there seem to be some years
that are reputedly of lower quality - any insight into that?

Once tahnks for the history and the offer to add to the knowledge of
the group and therefore I would suggest the world at large.
Frank Acree

--- In danwesson@yahoogroups.com, "sheehanm58" <sheehanm58@...> wrote:
>
> I'm the son of John(Joe) and Joyce Sheehan, both part of the
> management structure at DW in the 80's / 90's for the separate
> corporate entities of Dan Wesson Arms and Wesson Firearms. Both are
> alive and kickin, and I write these words with their permission, but
> without editorial constraint.
>
>
>
> My father was hired by Dick Rosenfeld as plant/production manager to
> launch the .44 mag, a task which he engrossed himself in, as he had
> all other precision manufacturing endeavors he nursed in his career.
> His experience's at P&W Aircraft along with his successes as an
> aftermarket motorcycle accessory manufacturer made him the logical
> choice for hire.
> Dad has always been a focused manager, sometimes viewed as cold or
> curt by subordinates, non-deferring to superiors, and having worked
> with him directly during his cycle fab days I can see where the
> perception is valid. When he's in the shop, he owns it, and treats
it
> as such. For his efforts, he was awarded and presented an engraved,
> dove gray DW .44 mag bearing a desirable serial number,.... a piece
> which he owns to this day. He stayed with the company from 1980 to
> 1990. Painfully aware of the circumstances of the company's demise,
he
> sometimes laments on what "could have been". He finds a great deal
of
> beauty in the design of the .44, and once in a while he, myself and
> brothers will take his presentation piece out and pass it around,
> admiring it, critiquing, remembering.
> After Rosenfeld's partner Bob MacWilliams bought him out, Dad's
> influence in the company was overshadowed by petty background noises
> not uncommon to smaller company structures. That's as eloquently as
I
> can express that subject at this time. He and most others `in the
> know' believed Dan Wesson Arms would have fared well under
Rosenfeld.
> Dismissed by MacWilliams in 1990, he later joined the restructured
> "Wesson Firearms" under Seth and Carol Wesson and Ed Arventes , not
as
> management, but under the title of "tool grinder"….great euphemism
for
> a manufacturing guru, but hey…Pops was always in it for the
challenge…
>
> Mom recalls being hired in 1985 as a part time parts clerk and
didn't
> stop working until the doors closed. Through 2 corporations and all
> the expected positive and negative dynamics, Mom is a trooper.
> Always task capable and meticulous, she quickly advanced to filling
> the full time slot. No stopping Ma from there, and her talents were
> applied to several administrative staff positions to include
materials
> procurement and vendor accounts. She was also contracted by Bob
Serva
> to identify, ship and catalog the parts inventory he acquired when
he
> purchased the company. My folks went to NY and met with Serva on the
> backside of this activity to make the transition of property as
smooth
> as possible. They left NY satisfied that the Dan Wesson legacy that
> once was, would be again. Prior to the CZ acquisition, I'd hit the
DW
> website….report to my folks what was going on with the company….they
> were always pleased.
>
> Mom and Dad are open to fill in any blanks that they can on the
> subjective history of the company during their employment. If you
> have any questions, feel free to ask……..
>
> Mike Sheehan
> Springfield, MA
>