One of my ‘mentors’.
Oh, the stories.
In 1942 or 43, a staff general came to ask if there was enough Nevada electricity to melt aluminum into bomb bay doors. Frank woke at 3AM and answered positively by 3PM.
In 1944 or 45, believing we wouldn’t need aluminum after the war, a staff general came to ask if there was another way increase jobs. Then, aircraft was the only important use of aluminum.
Frank invited 50 officers to watch a P-59 jet try to blow down his new Kawneer aluminum wall, and later proved aluminum at Colorado’s impressive Air Force Academy.
Frank helped erect more than 1,500 aluminum and glass shopping centers across the USA.
When he reached 97, I asked if he wanted his work known beyond a handful that called him the ‘grandfather of the shopping center’. He answered, “It’s just factors. It’s just seeing what’s needed and putting it there. Nobody needs to learn that more than once.”
Humble but proud of one thing, Frank said he was the only American to own a share of the Laphroaig Distillery.