Ronald C. Wornick an Oral History
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Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Ronald C. Wornick An Oral History Interviews conducted by Richard Cándida Smith in 2011 Copyright © 2013 by The Regents of the University of California ii Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Ronald C. Wornick, dated March 6, 2012. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Excerpts up to 1000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non-commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to The Bancroft Library, Head of Public Services, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should follow instructions available online at http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/collections/cite.html It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Ronald C. Wornick, “An Oral History” conducted by Richard Cándida Smith in 2011, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2013. iii Ronald Wornick, 2012 iv v Table of Contents—Ronald C. Wornick Interview 1: July 1, 2011 [Audiofile 1]— 1 Birth in 1932 in Malden, MA—carpenter father’s union involvement— Americanized, high-school educated mother from Lowell, MA—grandfather “zaida” worked as a door to door fruit peddler—mother’s orthodox, patriarchal upbringing and the lasting emotional impact on family members—father’s adaptability, arrival in America in 1917 or 1918 from Kobrin, Belarus—father’s prisoner of war escape—Kobrin’s Jewish community before WWII—travel to old Eastern European Jewish communities in 1980s—discovery of the Kobrin yiskor book, work with Rabbi Joel Neuberg to translate—father’s connection to family remaining in Kobrin—father’s extended family’s emigration to America— parents’ generation’s ambivalence toward Judaism—father’s return to Judaism in old age—Wornick’s coming to embrace Jewish identity—preparing for a bar mitzvah—older and younger sisters—family culture and class mobility, life in the shadow of the Depression—sense of not fitting into the family. [Audiofile 2] 14 Schooling—Malden’s outstanding public schools—sense of order and discipline lacking in today’s schools—happy memories of schooling—pivotal events in the 7th grade: interest in girls, respiratory problems and taking up the trumpet, developing a rebellious streak and doing poorly in school—playing trumpet in dance bands in high school—studying classical music, playing jazz, bebop—first job at age 13: “I was never, from that moment on, without at least one, sometimes two, extra income employments.”—need to be occupied inherited from father— sense of Jewish identity but no experiences of overt anti-Semitism—Roosevelt’s death in 1945—formation of Israel in 1948—meeting future wife Anita in high school through the band: “In those days, trumpet players were almost as popular as guitar players are today.”—dating in the 1940s—high school graduation in 1950, half a year at Northeastern University, transfer to Tufts. Interview 2: July 8, 2011 [Audiofile 3] 26 Summer high school work as a musician and waiter at Workmen’s Circle Camp resort in Framingham—college summers waiting tables and playing music at the Berkshire Country Club in Wingdale, NY—learning about American Jewish life from Workmen’s Circle and Arbeiter Ring, father’s anti-socialist leanings— college years: “experimenting and finding my way” vs father’s hope for the medical profession—graduation from Tufts in 1954, one more summer at the Berkshire Country Club then move to New York City with two Berkshire friends—job at fats and oils factory in South Kearny, New Jersey—December vi 1954 volunteering for the army—boot camp at Fort Dix and Fort Bragg— prospering in basic training, considering a military career—transfer to Eighty- second Army Band and then to Eightieth Army Band in Fort Stewart, Georgia— playing trumpet in Emma Kelly’s band—returning to Malden on leave, meeting Anita again, marrying Christmas Day 1955—Anita returns to Fort Stewart with Wornick—meeting Emma Kelly 30 years later in San Francisco—transfer to First Army Area Medical Laboratory in NYC then to a food laboratory under Colonoel Kingdom—beginning a career in food science—early married life in NY, Anita’s work at Prudential Insurance Company, birth of first child, Kenneth, in 1957— Army discharge, return to Malden, applying for graduate school—admission to MIT—Anita’s family background. [Audiofile 4] 39 MIT graduate work with Dr. Prescott, Bernard Proctor, Sam Goldblith—learning about preserving food with gamma radiation, freeze drying—Dr. Robert Decareau from Raytheon—colleagues Zeki Berk, Norbert Wiener—Professor John Theodore Roosevelt Nickerson—librarian job at United Fruit Company— developing thesis project to determine oxidative changes in frozen vegetables and effect of antioxidant BHTA—challenges of being a young parent and full-time student. Interview 3: July 14, 2011 [Audiofile 5] 48 United Fruit Company’s background—1958 starting part time job at the end of third semester at MIT—research on Panama disease which threatened company’s banana crops—work in library as an “abstractor of abstracts” assisting research scientists—Fusarium oxysporum cubense—research into using microwave heat to kill fungus while sparing banana roots—vice president of research Jesse Hobson offers Wornick full time work at United Fruit—geneticist Louis Roth genetically engineers fungus-resistant banana plants—transfer to venture team and move to Boston’s Prudential Tower with mentor Pete Harris, work on freeze dehydration—1960 or 1961 move to McAllen, TX with family to manage freeze- dried shrimp plant in San Carlos—return to Boston two years later, chance meeting with company president Jack Fox, expressing doubts over the profitability of large scale freeze-drying—replacing Pete Harris as manager of the shrimp plant in 1967—appointing Tom McCaffrey as manager—move to director of corporate development—Eli Black and AMK take over United Fruit Company—1970 resignation with plans to buy the shrimp freeze-drying plant. [Audiofile 6] 61 Raising $300,000 to purchase shrimp plant—May 1971 offer from Bill Reilly at Citibank New York—permanent move to McAllen, TX—enjoying life in McAllen in spite of family’s initial reluctance to leave Boston—taking on the vii responsibility for running a business—staying close to product development while transitioning from scientist to manager—more on freeze-drying, freeze-dried ice cream—freeze-drying taste standards, niche market—debt to Pete Harris— cultural differences between large and small companies—changes in business ethics over the last 50 years: “The world has collapsed somehow around the ethics of business.”—Thomas Sunderland, Thomas McCann—Eli Black’s suicide thre or four years after acquiring United Fruit Company—international travel to research freeze-dry plants abroad. Interview 4: July 21, 2011 [Audiofile 7] 71 1968: idyllic life in Sharon, MA—Eli Black’s leveraged buyout of United Fruit causes change in career plans—disengaging from life in Massachusetts, raising money to buy Right Away plant, move to McAllen, TX—hospitality and lifestyle in South Texas—business culture—improving the business, membership in the IFMA—labor disputes and union strike shortly after purchase of plant—call from Robert Shetterly from Clorox in Oakland, CA—the Clorox vs. Proctor and Gamble rivalry—Shetterly’s proposed stock swap—Shetterly’s plan to diversify Clorox by acquiring food brands—convincing Anita to move to San Francisco, going to work for Clorox—finding friends through the Jewish community— involvement in the Jewish Community Federation—work at Clorox developing a strategy for handling newly-acquired companies—building relationships with McDonald’s—working with Bob Cowan—converting McDonald’s cash registers to real-information computers to keep track of inventory—more on work with McDonald’s supplier Martin Brower, increasing efficiency and consistency— achieving greater French fry uniformity—managing, delegating. [Audiofile 8] 84 The challenges of assimilating acquisitions into one-of-a-kind product companies like Clorox and United Fruit—Henkel