CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Although he's been retired for nearly 24 years, Ed Ballard said the friendships he developed as an employee at Union Carbide never died.

That's why he and Frank D'Abreo, another former Carbide employee and Charleston resident, are planning a reunion that aims to bring in every employee who ever worked for the company.

"Carbide used to be a big part of the Valley," said D'Abreo, who worked as a project manager and oversaw the construction and automation of new plants all over the world. "A lot of us still live here, so we decided we should have a reunion because there are so many of us."

Ballard, an assistant manager at the South Charleston plant, said retirees have met often in Florida for the past several years because many of them live there. At one of these reunions, someone suggested having a similar event in Charleston.

"Charleston is a place that a lot of Carbide people have been through," Ballard said. "A lot of us are still here, but a lot of folks have come to Charleston, worked here, and gone on."

The reunion will take place Oct. 1 and 2 at the Embassy Suites hotel in Charleston. Several activities are planned, including a mixer, health fair, benefits seminar and banquet.

Those who want to attend the reunion can visit the Carbide Retiree Corps website (http://www.crc-inc.org) for a list of activities. Another feature of the site is a list of people who plan to attend the event. Ballard said the site allows people to see who is coming so they can reconnect with old friends.

"The main attraction is coming back, seeing old familiar places and old friends," he said. "It gives a reason for people to come back."

D'Abreo, who worked at Carbide locations all over the world, said many employees worked at the South Charleston plant sometime during their careers.

"It was a global network," he said. "Most of us would have traveled to Texas or Connecticut some time during our career. Most of us did a circuit. Charleston was an important site on the circuit."

Ballard said no matter where a person's career ended, they still had ties to people in the Charleston area in some way.

"The significant thing is that there are a lot of people who have worked here but have worked at many other Carbide locations," he said. "It's a web of friends that have woven over a period of your career." 

Long years with the company resulted in deep relationships with co-workers, D'Abreo said

"Many of us have worked side by side for 15 or 20 years. We've seen each other's kids grow up," he said. "We come from an age where most of us have 20, 30 years with a company. I've had 35. It's a very deep relationship."

Reach Whitney Burdette at whitney.burde...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5100.