by John S.
During the war
years, my grandfather, Frank J. Stankis, managed the Glenn L. Martin sheet metal
plant in Baltimore, Maryland. Family albums show my grandmother and grandfather
seated with Mr. Martin and Minta Martin at important company functions. Even
before I went to work for Martin Marietta in 1980, I as keenly aware of the
Martin Company. My father once said, “It’s
been awhile since Dad worked for Mr. Martin, but perhaps someday you’ll see a
ghost.”
That day arrived. In 1983, I
received a telephone call from Dabby Dabkowski. Dabby, retiring after 47 years
with Martin Marietta, asked me if I knew that Stankis was a famous name in the
company’s history. I replied that I did know. Dabby then recounted that my
grandfather had given him his first job on the Mars program, molding sheet metal. I
always enjoy telling this story.
It was wartime
and jobs were scarce. Dabby spoke of an exchange he had with my grandfather. Dabby
remembered, “One day, I was hammering away
and I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that Frank was watching me. I was
nervous, but I didn’t miss a stroke. In those days, if you messed up, you were
immediately replaced. There was no time to break even for a Coca-Cola."
My grandfather
asked, “How are you doing, son?” Dabby
replied that he was fine. Granddad said, “Good,
but I want to see more light between you and the workbench.”
Yes, it was a
glimpse of the ghost my father had talked about!
