For those who do not know this my father worked many years in the trade. First Honeywell Microswitch in Freeport, IL as a tool and die maker (where he earned his Journeymanss card), then McCurdy Tool and Die in Caledonia (as a tool and die maker), then Industrial Molds in Rockford, IL. (He started out as a moldmaker, then ultimately turned Director of Advanced Technology, followed by United Plastics Group, then now, just like me...into self employment. Just reflecting this morning having a nice chat with my dad, talking about one of many instances when he took us to the shop. In this case, we were on the topic of Cub Scouts (Since I am a Den Leader now). Way back when I was a scout, my dad was a Den Leader for a period of time and had designed and programmed a pear shaped cutting board which he then cut in a CNC machine. He says us kids were there in the shop and pressing the button, but I do not remember. I think he probably made them late at night in the shop, or what we used to call government work. I remember in the late 80s, early 90s when ProEngineer was making its debut, my dad somehow convinced Jack Peterson and Bim Brandel (owners of IM) to purchase a Silicon Graphics workstation.....IRIS. Then later there was the IRIS II, then the Indigo, Indigo II.....each time my dad would bring the workstation home and teach himself ProE and showoff ProE to us kids.....like a little school kid in a candy shop...he was giddy and all impressed with himself, it was cute. I remember was S-video came out in the late 90s and my dad had an S-video hookup on our TV. He brought home an SGI O2 and was spinning around part models on our 27 TV....it was pretty cool stuff 17 years ago. Betchya didnt know this, in January of 1996, two months before graduating from ITT, my dad paid for me to attend ProEngineer basic training. I was 20 years old and this was a year and a half before I started at Industrial molds, and probably two years before I even started using ProE with any sort of consistency.....So thank you dad for sucking me into this god-awful trade which nobody seems to understand when I try to explain it. I remember when I was a kid and teenager going to the shop (Industrial Molds) multiple times. I remember everyone always thinking highly of my dad....not that he was funny, or a nice guy, and not that he was a pleasure to be around (though Im sure he was), but the consensus was that he really knew his shit and was a very intelligent man. One designer, Rick Law, made it a point to tell me he always appreciated how my dad never let anything get to him or ruffle his feathers. Apparently Rick was a high strung fella. This was before I even got into the trade. Imagine the pressure I felt once my first job out of school turned out to be dead-end and I went to my dad to complain and he told me I should put my resume in at Industrial Molds. I was skeptical for many reasons. I didnt want to follow in his footsteps really, I felt I could establish myself without working with my dad directly or getting any favors from him. Then to have Bob Morton for a dad and have people have a high expectation for what I might be able to accomplish. So I did it, I quit a placed called Mastergear, put my resume in over at Industrial Molds and the rest is another story. Point is, thanks dad....following in your footsteps, makin ya proud!
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 20:33:02 +0000
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