It’s known as the birthplace of IBM, and it’s stood as a source of pride for those living in Endicott and the Southern Tier. But over the years, as the company slowly pulled out of the village, many of those memories were lost.

Now, a group of retired "IBM-ers" are working to restore that history.

“It’s got hydraulics, it’s got mechanics, it’s got motors, sensors," said Jack Westermann, an IBM contractor.

For Westermann, it’s all about preserving the past. Once a week, he and a group of retired IBM employees gather to restore some of the same technology they used decades ago.

"It was pretty impressive. There was a lot of things that we had to do in order to make this work,” said Westermann.

Their latest project: an early 60’s model IBM 1403. The accounting, payroll and data machine was revolutionary for its time, a time Fred Petras remembers.

"To us here who worked there, it's quite important, and I think most people enjoy seeing it," said Fred Petras, himself a former IBM employee.

Restoring the artifacts is becoming even more important in recent years, as Endicott and the Southern Tier works to preserve their rich history as the birthplace of IBM.

For retired workers like Petras, it was the golden age of a community.

"For the older people, which there's fewer and fewer, it was a great place to work. They contributed a lot to our country and our society,” said Petras.

At one time, more than 10,000 IBM employees called Endicott home, inspiring their community and the world to “Think.” It was a booming period in time, and one many believe inspired the future of technology.

Today, old tech is meeting new tech.

“We can make it do some amazing things,” said Westermann.

It’s just the beginning of what these men hope to do in the future.

“It was pretty impressive when we got it to work. It was kind of amazing. I didn’t think we’d get that far,” said Westermann.

TechWorks in Binghamton is the home of the IBM restoration project. Crews are working to restore even more technology, with the goal of welcoming the community to celebrate the history.