Line workers everywhere

[LeoH]

I spoke to a fender man today who worked at South Bend from the 40s to 51. He said there were well over a dozen of his family members at any one time working on the Studebaker line as their family was from the area. He got his start there after discharge from the Marines and came back home.

He is recovering at a facility where my wife works and she helps take care of him. She mentioned we were looking for a Studebaker and he said he worked for them. I went in today to ask him about his time there and how he ended up here in Reno.

Very nice guy.

[rockne10]

Didn't happen to record your conversation did you? If so, post a link.

[Welcome]

I spoke to a fender man today who worked at South Bend from the 40s to 51. He said there were well over a dozen of his family members at any one time working on the Studebaker line as their family was from the area. He got his start there after discharge from the Marines and came back home. He is recovering at a facility where my wife works and she helps take care of him. She mentioned we were looking for a Studebaker and he said he worked for them. I went in today to ask him about his time there and how he ended up here in Reno. Very nice guy.

There were many families like that that went back 3 generations or more in South Bend at Studebakers.
BTW, is his last name BOKON?

[57pack]

Studebaker used a lot of familys in their advertisements during the 1940's and 50's.
Maybe your friend's family appeared in one of those adds?

[LeoH]

I'm pretty sure not 57pack, he's more than capable of letting me know that happened to his family.
I took some notes:

Frank Mollendar or Mollenda(sp. I'll work on that). He worked at South Bend for 5 years, from '46 to '51. His first Stude he had was a '47 Starlight coupe that he mentioned being tested on the track by a racer who worked for Studebaker, but whose name escapes me now(didn't say I was a great note taker). I'll know it if I hear it. He mentioned how the car could be tuned for high end or low end and he said he was just married so he had his engine set up for fuel economy.

He worked initially in the metal finishing section, taking fenders out of the Bondorizer and sending them to the sanding stations. He worked with Champions and Commanders. He was capable enough of doing more than just that and after a short while his supervisor offered to send him to other parts of the line. He next went to the station to machine the exhaust manifolds, but eventually worked almost everywhere on the line and became someone who was used for relief wherever needed on the line.

At one time there were some 16 members of his family who worked on the line for Studebaker. He apparently became fascinated with Disneyland and left South Bend to work in S. California for Disney. I gathered his pay on the line wasn't attractive enough for him to reconsider moving. He picked up his last check from Joe Studebaker who asked him if he was going to take the rest of his family with him from the factory line.

He didn't, but he did take his mother and sister-in-law. I didn't take more notes, but I did ask how he ended up from So Cal in Reno.

Is there a place the forum saves those .wav files?

[studegary]

I am more familiar with Disneyworld than Disneyland. Isn't 1951 too early for Disneyland? I seem to remember about 1957 for the opening.

[Bob Bryant]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but this is kind of related. Last evening we went to dinner with some friends. Glenn was talking about one of his favorite cars which his dad had owned. It was 1958 Packard hardtop which he said was a gorgeous car. His dad loved Studebakers and so does Glenn. His father worked for Knight Studebaker in Bangor, Maine and then they moved to Connecticut and his father worked for Lathrop Studebaker in New London. Glenn mentioned that among the cars his dad owned was a Scotsman and a 1960 Lark station wagon. Glenn has been a mechanic all of his lfe and he loves to put a wrench on the Avanti...and I am thankful.

[Corvanti]

I am more familiar with Disneyworld than Disneyland. Isn't 1951 too early for Disneyland? I seem to remember about 1957 for the opening.

July '54 for start of construction of Disneyland. opening in July '55. http://www.designingdisney.com/conte...ion-disneyland

living in so-cal, i spent a lot of a my summertimes there after i got my driver's license ('71) - along with Knott's Berry Farm and later, Magic Mountain. my favorite was "POP" (Pacific Ocean Park) in Santa Monica when i was younger. also went to "Nu-Pike" in Long Beach before the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose made it there. it was a little "seedy" due to the Navy Base nearby - according to Dad (a WWII Army vet) ...

[studegary]

Glenn was talking about one of his favorite cars which his dad had owned. It was 1958 Packard hardtop which he said was a gorgeous car. His dad loved Studebakers and so does Glenn. His father worked for Knight Studebaker in Bangor, Maine and then they moved to Connecticut and his father worked for Lathrop Studebaker in New London. Glenn mentioned that among the cars his dad owned was a Scotsman and a 1960 Lark station wagon. Glenn has been a mechanic all of his lfe and he loves to put a wrench on the Avanti...and I am thankful.

Small world of Studebakers - the Studebaker dealership in Wappingers Falls, NY was Knight's Garage. They also had parts for and worked on Knight sleeve valve engines. I do not remember/know if they were a Knight dealer prior to Studebaker. They were a Studebaker dealer from about 1946 to the end in 1966. The mother of the Knight brothers, that owned the Knight's Garage, also had a 1958 Packard hardtop for many years.

[studegary]

July '54 for start of construction of Disneyland. opening in July '55. http://www.designingdisney.com/conte...ion-disneyland

)...

Thak you! My memory was close. Your data supports my position that 1951 would have been too early to leave Studebaker for employment at Disneyland.

[LeoH]

I'll work on the timeline and the last name spelling. It could easily be a mistake in my note taking, I really just jotted things down for me to reflect on.

[Welcome]

Leo,

When I read your post #5, I was thinking he might have said MOLNAR. Could that be his last name???

They were huge MOLNAR families at Studebakers & in South Bend.
I knew and worked with many of them, some were former Studebaker employees and members of our SDC Michiana (South Bend) Chapter. Even some are on this very Forum and the Stude Truck Farmers as well.
http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/8148572.html

[bosshoss61]

Would you let Mr. Bokon that my thoughts are with him. Let him know a fellow Marine is thinking about him...Tell him Semper Fi for me,,,he will know what I mean. Thanks

[LeoH]

Leo,

When I read your post #5, I was thinking he might have said MOLNAR. Could that be his last name???

They were huge MOLNAR families at Studebakers & in South Bend.
I knew and worked with many of them, some were former Studebaker employees and members of our SDC Michiana (South Bend) Chapter. Even some are on this very Forum and the Stude Truck Farmers as well.
http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/8148572.html

No. My wife said his name is Francis Molenda and she was told by him also that at one point there were 16 or 17 of his family members working on the line. I will ask or ask my wife to ask if he knew of any of the Molnars though.

[t walgamuth]

Hi this is a fun thread.

My Dad worked at Studeys from about 47 to 54, also my maternal grandfather and a maternal uncle. Grandpa worked in the upholstery shop. Dad did different things including relief (any job that the person was ill from). He said you got something like ten minutes to learn the job so you had to be versital to do it. He also worked the Doll up shop at the end of the line where they did quick repairs to body work damaged on the line. If it took more than something like fifteen minutes there was a more comprehensive body shop it went to.

Dad got laid off in 54 and went into the Insurance business. He continued to drive studeys until they were no longer available. He bought a new one in 47 and 51, then bought used a 53 lowey coupe v8, a 57 four door and a 59 lark wagon with the six and od. Then he switched to Mopar until the volare he bought rusted out in a year. He then switched to volvos for the rest of his life. He loved those simple, rugged volvos.

I have my Grandpa's fifteen, twenty and 25 year studey pins.