Page 73 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

PART II BRINGING THE WORLD TO BALTIMORE
SON of the WATERFRONT
LIKE HIS FATHER, NORMAN G. RUKERT SR. WAS A RESPECTED MARITIME BUSINESSMAN. In the final decade of his
53-year career, Norman Sr. doubled in brass as an author and historian. His series of five
books and operation of a maritime museum sparked a renewed interest in the historical and
economic importance of the port and its surrounding neighborhoods.
W. Theodore Durr at the University of Baltimore noted that “without the efforts of historians and tellers of tales, the heroic deeds of men and women of yesterday would fade and be forgotten. Norman Sr., in his books about the communities which ring the Inner Harbor, has contributed to the immortality of the people who fought, lived, and worked in our port city.”
Norman G. Rukert Sr.’s dual accomplishments as a port leader and preservationist earned him the following awards and civic achievements:
Association of Commerce
Bell Award for outstanding contributions to the maritime industry
1st recipient of the William Fell Public Service Award for leadership and community service
1977 1979
1980 1983
Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Baltimore
Traffic Club Man of the Year for outstanding contributions to the transportation industry
1988
Posthumously inducted into the Central Maryland Business Hall of Fame
Mayor’s Award
1976
8th Annual Port Man of the Year by the Baltimore Junior
Baltimore Heritage Inc.’s annual Preservation Award
Mayor Schaefer designated December 7, 1983, Norman G. Rukert Sr. Day in Baltimore
ABOVE: Three generations of Rukerts: Norm Jr., Shaun and Norman Sr. (1980) at Brown’s Wharf Museum
The Port: Pride of Baltimore. After the publication of his fifth and final book, Fort McHenry: Home of the Brave, his next project was to rebuild the Lazaretto Lighthouse, a lost harbor landmark that stood on the site of the Lazaretto Terminal for nearly a century. Sadly, Norman G. Rukert Sr. was diagnosed with cancer in 1983 and died in June of 1984, at the age of 68. He left a double legacy: five books that captured the color and vibrancy of his beloved city and a business that continued to add economic muscle to Baltimore’s working port. During his 53-year tenure, Rukert Terminals grew into one of the largest private marine terminals on the East Coast. As he followed in his father’s footsteps, Norman Sr.’s unwavering commitment to the success of the family business spilled far beyond the immediate boundaries of Rukert Terminals and ultimately benefited the entire port community. The accomplishments of this true “son of the waterfront” resonate to this day.
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