Page 41 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

PART I THE RUKERT STORY
“Bring it to Baltimore because we can, and we will handle it.” — “Cap” Rukert
company, first as a clerk, and as it grew, guarding the finances as if they were her own. At the time of her retirement, she sat on the Board of Directors of both Rukert Marine and Rukert Terminals.
According to family lore, Cap took his very first vacation in August of 1958 to celebrate his
50th wedding anniversary. In what must have been
a slow news cycle, The Baltimore Sun reported that Cap and Mrs. Rukert would cruise aboard the S/S Santa Paula to the west coast of South America. As if Cap’s absence had offended the gods, the roof of “G” building at Lazaretto caught fire the week after he left—pressure from the infamous bagged fishmeal stored there had built up and caused the blaze. To add insult to injury, the water used to put the fire out mixed with the fishmeal, causing a stench that lasted
for the next five years. When Cap returned from his well-earned vacation, he was greeted at the train station by his grandson Norman (Norm) Rukert Jr., who was spending his summer at the family business. Norm made the mistake of telling Cap about the
fire and damage to “G” building while in a moving car! Cap immediately yelled “stop the car.” He pulled Norm out of the driver’s seat and flew down to Lazaretto like a madman. Cap swore he would never take another vacation.
In January 1959, Helen Bentley, who was
now maritime editor of The Baltimore Sun, wrote a profile of Cap, naming him the “Port’s must rugged individual.” By that point, Cap and Helen had developed a mutual affinity for one another and a bond that went beyond business.
BELOW: (left to right) Cap and his wife Blanche on a cruise in 1958. Norman Sr. in 1960, at about 45 years old.
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