Page 317 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

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A few years later when Peterson enrolled
him in Cat’s Electrical Systems class, he
knew he was in for the same problem. “So I did what I’d done in the army. I memorized the color-coded charts and schematics. Instead of going out at night drinking beer with the guys, I stayed home and memorized all the circuits.” He did the same thing for each Cat class he attended to compensate for his color-blindness. “I didn’t want to screw up because in those days if you failed a course, they kicked you out and wouldn’t send you to any more classes. So I had to be an A student to prove to Peterson that their investment in me was justified. And I kept my color-blindness secret so I could keep on attending classes.”
The training center at 800 Davis Street where Fierro took his classes originally housed Caterpillar’s executive offices (1926 to late 1950s) and their diesel fuel systems assembly plant. “It was the old factory from the 1920s,” says Fierro. It was the same property Daniel Best bought in 1888 to build his steam traction harvesters and combines, and where his son C.L. Best later built his gas-driven track-layers. “When I was there, it still had the old, wooden-block floors, the old-fashioned cranes, and the machinery was powered by mechanical drive belts. Two Cat instructors ran the training center—Joe Bloom and Jim McCollum.” When Cat shut down their San Leandro training center in 1970, they offered to relocate Bloom back to Peoria. He wasn’t interested. Instead, he took up Howard Peterson’s offer and became Peterson’s first official trainer.
In 1985, Cat’s original facility4 at 800 Davis Street was demolished. Today, the property houses F.H. Dailey Chevrolet’s main offices and showroom. Caterpillar’s second San Leandro facility was located at 1933 Davis Street about a mile west of the original plant. Caterpillar bought the former International Truck plant at 1933 Davis Street sometime in the 1970s and moved its fuel systems production there. And in the mid-80s, that facility was sold and turned into the current Westgate Shopping Center.
4 The original front entrance archway still stands today, with a commemorative plaque, but you have to look hard to find it.
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