Page 61 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

Norman Sr.’s position. With Diver’s help, Norman Sr. finally relented and agreed to install the crane beams on Pier 5, a decision that would change the course of Rukert Terminals. McLean Contracting Company was awarded the contract to lengthen
the pier at Pier 5 on September 13, 1979, and construction began on December 15. This 450-foot pier extension (to a total length of 850 feet) could accommodate Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels and a future modern bulk crane. This project was financed by a $1 million industrial revenue bond arranged by Mayor Schaefer and the Maryland National Bank.
In January 1980, the Interstate Division for Baltimore City agreed to pay Rukert Terminals
$3.1 million as compensation for the loss of the Lazaretto Terminal. This loss came with a silver lining thanks to Mayor Schaefer, a steady ally during this period. The original plan, which had called for Rukert Terminals to lose Lazaretto permanently
for a larger sum of money, could have doomed the business. Luckily, Mayor Schaefer, who would go
on to be Governor, considered Rukert Terminals a valuable mainstay in the port and worked to help
the company get the terminal back once the tunnel was completed. Through skilled negotiations with the state and federal government, Norman Sr. and Mayor Schaefer were successful in not only getting the property back within five years, but they also arranged for the “A” berth to be rebuilt over the new tunnel. This became a watershed moment in the history of Rukert Terminals. While Cap had been known as being forceful and tenacious, Norman Sr. had a different type of leadership that allowed him to form and leverage strong relationships with city and state officials. The partnership between Norman Sr. and Mayor Schaefer kept Cap’s vision for Lazaretto alive and saved the company he had worked so hard to establish and protect.
PART I THE RUKERT STORY
FEDERAL HILL: A BALTIMORE NATIONAL HISTORIC DISTRICT
THE THIRD IN NORMAN RUKERT SR.’S SERIES OF BOOKS, FEDERAL HILL: A BALTIMORE NATIONAL HISTORIC DISTRICT, WAS PUBLISHED
IN LATE 1980. Rukert explores the legends and traditions of this unique Baltimore neighborhood with sweeping views of downtown and the Inner Harbor. The illustrated book provides a lively picture of early maritime and commercial enterprise in Federal Hill, especially in the glass, canning, packing and shipbuilding industries. And in the same vein as his two previous neighborhood histories, Federal Hill includes a number of charming tales and memories of long-time residents.
In his foreword to the book, Carleton Jones of The Baltimore Sun wrote that “the real Federal Hill emerges...the day-to-day and the person-to-person things that have
shaped this all too
little-known East Coast landmark.” Jones cited the book as proof
that accounts of local history “when treated in depth, can have rich meanings and, indeed, be mirrors of the American experience over three centuries.”
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