(Dad drew the figures on the left and right in color, unusual for his work at the time. He had done portrait sketches  which was mostly B&W pen and ink. Time was 1947. Like most of the young men of his time, the healthy ones, anyway, he had spent his time in uniform. Mom had a chance to get out of the little Ohio River town where she was raised).

There are notes from Mom about how it worked- a blind date arranged by a friend resulted in marriage to the artists. When released from active duty in the Navy, Dad had returned to New Jersey and wound up at the Kenyon Instrument Company. Uncle Jim had worked there in 1944 on a contract to develop the workings of a turret for the Grumman Corporation, so we assume those connections were the ones Dad used to get started.

We don’t know who the proud figure on the left might be. We assume it was a professor or a supervisor, but sadly that information did not make it across the generations. The color did. Around the same time, he drew a picture of himself- the one on the right- and sent it to one of his two older sisters. We note it here as part of the transition the whole nation was undergoing at the time.

The ‘GI Bill’ was part of it, and part of the challenge. From Kenyon, he enrolled at Pratt Institute to study a new discipline. It was called “industrial design.” He was almost done with his degree when a pal was hired at Ford’s company out in Detroit. Bob Veryzer sent word back that the company was hiring to meet the pent-up demand for sleek cars and bright colors.

We think the electric car at the upper left would be an attractive if flamboyant answer to renewable autos. Or not. Leaving Pratt before graduation led to another exciting episode in family life- as he climbed the ranks of industry, the lack of his college degree was emerging as an issue, and resulted in a wild summer of activity in 1967 after working hours at Wayne State University downtown in the Motor City.

But a little confusion was common in the post-war world they built. Just look at the Boomer generation they raised!

Copyright 2022 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com