Page 72 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

Around the office, the tendency to turn potential disasters into opportunities for success is called
“Rukert luck.”
FORT MCHENRY: HOME OF THE BRAVE
IN HIS FINAL BOOK, FINISHED SHORTLY BEFORE HIS DEATH, NORMAN RUKERT SR. CHRONICLES THE HISTORY OF FORT MCHENRY, GUARDIAN OF BALTIMORE CITY. The book begins with the first settlers’ arrival in 1661 and concludes with the 50th anniversary of the fort’s recognition as a National Monument in 1983. In between, nothing is missed — especially the crucial, gripping stories of the Battle of Baltimore and
the writing of our country’s national anthem, “The Star- Spangled Banner.”
potential disasters into opportunities for success is called “Rukert luck.” The late great Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, once
said, “There is no such thing as luck. Luck is where preparation and opportunity meet.” Norman Sr.’s gutsy decision to expand, followed by Norm and Bud’s timely preparation to invest in a pier and crane, paid off. Whether aided by luck or a guiding light, Cap’s son and grandsons did not bend to adversity. Instead, they capitalized on it, spurring decades of unprecedented growth. The versatile and efficient PECO transformed Rukert Terminals into a fully self-contained leading bulk and break-bulk facility on the East Coast.
Expansion continued in Canton with the purchase of two acres of land on the east side of South Clinton Street, adjacent to the Pier 5 complex. Still needing additional storage space for bulk commodities, the company added another large warehouse of 22,500 square feet, Building #14, in 1984. The following year, the McLean Company rebuilt a 125-foot section of the old wooden pier at Pier 5, allowing the PECO to serve larger vessels.
Rukert Terminals’ nearly decade-long redevel- opment of the Canton waterfront rendered its facili- ties in Fells Point obsolete. In 1983, Jackson’s Wharf was sold for commercial development, after 56 years in service. Wilkens Player, who had worked his way up from Warehouseman to Foreman of Jackson’s Wharf, and his crew were transferred to Canton. Jackson’s Wharf was the first of only a few properties ever sold in the history of Rukert Terminals.
Now well-known in Baltimore as a port histo- rian, Norman Sr. remained committed to celebrating and preserving Baltimore’s maritime heritage.
After moving to Chairman of the Board in 1980,
he continued to write and work, with no intention
of retiring. In 1982, he published his fourth book,
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