By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
After 4 1/2 decades with Rudy's, Sundstrand, Modine and National Copper Products, Ron First retires Jan. 1.
He left once in 1985 to accept a position in Louisiana, but returned after about six months.
Otherwise, First spent his working lifetime in the cavernous plant, which in its heyday employed 1,200 people to lead Cass County.
When he started Jan. 6, 1960, he was an 18-year-old 1959 Eau Claire High School graduate.
Actually, his first job out of high school was at Jessup Door in October, but he got laid off Jan. 5 when it stopped making cabinets for Electrovoice.
Although Sundstrand shipped that coil division and jobs associated with it south of the border, First was in charge of the mill.
Summoned to the office once again, he was promoted to manager for maintenance as well as engineering.
First guessed that there are about 150 union workers, plus 25 office personnel, from foremen to clerks. In maintenance, Bill Behnke and Ed Waldschmidt have been around since Rudy's, but First is the last member of its management team.
First looks forward to some more traveling. He was sent all over, including to Europe three times - twice for his company and another trip consulting in Spain.
Sundstrand flew its own airplanes. “That was the way to travel,” First said. “We did a project up in Ontario and flew up there all the time. We'd go from here to Toronto and go through customs. One of the biggest thrills of my life was when we'd go over Niagara Falls, then follow the St. Lawrence Seaway down, with all the big homes and castles in the thousand-island chain. It was mind-boggling!”
He made one such trip with the late Jim Sweedyk, the chief applications engineer for research and development, when snow idled them in their hotel for three days.
His wife, Diane, whom he met at Eau Claire High School, retired about three years ago from the Dowagiac Union Schools.
She worked in the high school guidance office for many years.
Now, “I'm just kind of hanging around, seeing what needs to be done and doing a couple of projects for Tom Fox. My maintenance foreman (Bobby Wright), who started with me in 1972, is retiring the same day. When I left for Lennox I wasn't looking for a job, but I knew people through copper associations. A guy in Huntsville, Ala., tried to get me to work for him and, just at that time, Tom Fox, who owns us now, was buying that company. I wasn't looking and I was leery of a company turning over. But when I went out to Lennox, I could see myself being a hero there. They were doing everything wrong, but my wife hated it in Bozier City, La. I started there the day after my birthday on Oct. 1. We were back by spring. They didn't have anybody who knew the extrusion press, which had been my baby since the day it was put in and they kept trying to get me to come back because they were having a lot of trouble. There's a big Air Force base there. We used to sit in our apartment and watch the bombers take off.”
Ron was born in Benton Harbor, grew up at Sister Lakes, but attended Eau Claire High School.
The Firsts, who live in the Creekview subdivision, have a daughter, a son and six grandchildren. Jody, a registered nurse in Paw Paw, has four children. Jamie, who works for Nate Wines, has two children. Tyler, Jamie's oldest, turned 16 Dec. 8. Jody's oldest is 22. The two youngest are 12.
First enjoys golfing in his spare time, though the sport he's most associated with in Dowagiac lore is baseball, which he coached at DUHS with Dean Hagen. In 1991, First earned Assistant Coach of the Year from the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
The factory is so huge that it's not unusual to see people zip past on bicycles or golf carts. Several businesses rent storage space, and there is also a machine shop that is a tenant.