Page 35 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

Post-War Development
PART I THE RUKERT STORY
FACING PAGE:
Images of Jackson’s Wharf and Brown’s Wharf in Fells Point, around 1950
BELOW:
Lazaretto after completion of the new pier in 1954
[1946-1960]
F ueled by ambition, Cap bought Brown’s Wharf in
Fells Point in 1946 from the
Western Maryland Railway for $149,000 to take care of his increased demand
for dry storage of cargoes like canned goods. The Brown’s Wharf facility at 1617 Thames Street included an integrated group of seven warehouses, totaling 82,520 square feet of storage space. Though Harry Routson Jr. and Norman had by now returned from military service, the company needed additional operational help to cover its expanding terminals. In 1946, Charles Butz, husband of Cap’s second daughter Catherine, joined Rukert Marine Corporation, after wartime service in the Army. In April of 1948, Willis B. (Whitey) Hedges joined the company to handle the fumigation facility at Pier 5, which was now working 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The 1950s proved to be one of the most produc- tive periods for Rukert Terminals, both in terms of business and physical expansion. In Fells Point, the White Star fleet of the United Fruit Company (now known as Chiquita) began using the Jackson’s Wharf terminal to load its ships with supplies for the banana plantations in Central America. In Canton, as promised, the Pennsylvania Railroad sold Lazaretto Depot to Rukert Terminals for $151,713.12 on July 5, 1951. This property would become a bedrock of operations for the next 70 years and counting!
Transforming the Lazaretto Depot into the modern marine terminal that Cap envisioned required significant financing. One day in early March of 1953, Cap called his son at the Canton
office and told him to pick him up, as they were going to see Stanley Trott, President of the Maryland Trust Company. As they were ushered into the executive’s office, Cap said: “Stanley, I want to borrow $1 million (actually, he wanted about
half of that) and I want it immediately!” After recovering from the initial shock, Mr. Trott replied: “Cap, for a loan like that, you know we must have a board meeting.” “Have it tomorrow,” his customer snapped. After a few minutes everything became cordial and businesslike. As usual, Maryland Trust came through with the loan and the McLean Contracting Company started the construction of “A” berth at Lazaretto that summer. The 525-foot
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