This is a living history interview with Chip Robert class of 1960, conducted by Maryland's summers on October the 23rd of the year 2001. We're at his office in Atlanta, Georgia. In the subject of the interview today is his life in general, his experiences at Georgia Tech. Mr. 

Robert, thank you so much for letting us come visit you here at Robert and company today, we're in downtown Atlanta. And this is where the story began. That's correct. Start right here. I'm Lana, Georgia. I mean, you were born I was born on February the 18th, 1937 in Atlanta. Old St. Joseph's Hospital when it was downtown on Cortland street, just a few blocks from where we are. That's right within walking distance. 

So alright. This place and here you are. Right? 

Now. You were born to you before? 

Yes. Yes, ma'am. Born to a whole series of LW. Robert Jackson was everybody called chip? 

Everybody was no. No, everybody was not called chip. The way it worked was my grandfather, my great-grandfather, excuse me, captain. 

Captain they referred to him as Captain Robert was LW Robert Senior and I would as our middle name and he was called wood. And so when my grandfather was born, they started calling him Chip chip off the old block. 

Then when my father elder be robert the third was born in 1912, he was started out being called Splinter, but it didn't take and he reverted to chip. And then when I came along in 1937, I kind of picked up the name chip when I was in in college. Prior to that, I had a family nickname of Bud and brother. And so I didn't particularly want to carry that on into college. 

So more fun, Jeopardy whole lot, lot more on all those. Fill my sister and some of my family members still refer to me as bud. Right. 

So you were the firstborn in your family? 

No. No. My sister was born in 192 years, 2.5 years prior to me in 1934. Okay. Alright. 

And then I have a half-brother now, David Robert, who is about a little over ten years younger than I am. It lives in North Carolina and my sister lives in Chicago. She is married. Unfortunately, our husband passed away a number of years ago. 

She has eight children, 88 children, five boys and three girls or which two of the boys went to Georgia Tech here in Atlanta. And let's see, 123 of them actually live in Atlanta. My goodness, but not last name is not Robert. Last name is shingle as CHE and DL. Lots of family. Oh, yeah. Okay. 

Now let's go back to the early okay. Tell me a little bit about Captain. 

Well, I don't know much about him because he passed away when I was still very little boy. Although I do have one picture of all four verse taken together. Just when World War II was breaking out. When Captain Robert, my grandfather, my father and I were standing in the middle. 

So we had all four at one time. 

But as I recall and because of this about I think for some reason they just called him captain. 

He worked for the railroad Here in Georgia and I think that maybe he was in this I don't I'm not sure of. 

I think maybe he was known as the captain of the team and that's how he got to be known as Captain Robert. 

And he worked for Robert and company when my grandfather of warm the company in 1917, he worked here at Robin company also. 

But he was a Georgia native? 

Yes. 

As far as I know, he was a Georgia native from Monticello, Georgia because my grandfather was born in Monticello, Georgia. He was one of three children, two other sons, perish Robert. Robert. Your grandfather's the first one to come to Georgia Tech? 

Yes, ma'am. Graduate, I believe at night. He graduated in two in two different years in 19081909. It, but it was an interesting way that he came to Georgia Tech. He was actually on his way to attend Cornell University up north. 

And the only way to get to Cornell at that time was the contract Lana change trains or get on another train and go and go north while he came on a weekend and he bumped in with one of his friends at Georgia Tech prior to when the train was going leave, I guess on a Monday or Tuesday too. To up north and he liked Georgia Tech so much that he decided to stay. 

So just from that little bit of a little bit of exposure, he stayed and graduated in 19081909. And he earned, he was quite a sportsman. 

He he earned, as I recall, a number of letters and was a captain of the football team, the baseball team, and the track team. And I think that was all in the same year. My word we have is wonderful letter sweater that you were so kind to yes. At the Alumni Association. Alright. 

Let us whether or not Don't tell me how they wore those things back in those days because I don't want Hecuba so heavy. 

And of course he had the, I'm going to call it unique distinction of playing for Heisman, right? 

Right. Actually your granddaddy and Heisman came at same time. Oh, that's right. That's right. I grew up with him. And of course, he was very, very active. He was a big Georgia Tech. 

Georgia Tech was one of the one of his things that he took where ever he went prior to well, he traveled extensively, especially after World War II. And he went around the world 17 times. 

When going around the world was quite a few people didn't, and he did, He accomplished all that prior to the mid 1960s. And wherever he went, he knew people. He is a very outgoing, very gregarious type person, and he knew people all over the world. 

But there's one thing he always carried with him was Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech was number one for him. He was number one the day he graduated. Number one, the day that he passed away. 

So he never gave up on Georgia Tech. He was always there. He was big football fan. He went to all the games. I remember going into the games with him back. Oh, yes. 

Your memory? 

Well, you know, I remember back when, you know, in the day, early college days, I would go with him to Georgia Tech. He had a ticker o tickets right there in front of the presence box. 

And I remember one person that he always used to have from down in Georgia to keratin somewhere over in keratin, Georgia. Susan Hayward and her husband would come to the games and I remember meeting her and number of times. And he used to have back when the games were always on at one o'clock. I believe it was one o'clock in the afternoon. 

And you could depend on being at that time, he used to have a football brunch all the time over for the home games over it. The drive and club and quite a few interesting people would always come to that branch. And that's one of my memories about the football side of Georgia Tech. He was very social, social party. He got to be real good friends of President Roosevelt during the 30s. 

And because of that, when Roosevelt was elected president United States, he chose my grandfather to be assistant secretary treasurer under his administration. And so he went to Washington in 1933 and was that for until he I believe it was 1939. 

So he worked for Roosevelt during those years and he made good friends with Mr. Farley, Jim Farley, who was at the time Postmaster General. 

And my grandfather was assistant secretary, treasurer for construction and working for a foreign Bell and all those post offices during the Depression Era, They got to be real good friends. 

And after they both left, left the actual working for the government, they far he became the Chairman of the Democratic Party and my grandfather became it, as I recall, either the secretary of the treasurer of the party. And it's very interesting, I got to know Mr. Farley, myself and I lived in New York. Yes. In later years. And I'll never forget that. I was out one evening. My grandfather passed away in June 76. You need passed away. 

And at the time, my wife and I had to go to a dinner party and we came back home and caught the news and following Mr. Ferrari, he had passed away. And it was very interesting that my wife would call Mr. 

Ferrari that afternoon and let him know that my grandfather chip, Robert, had passed away and they discussed talked about old times and all the various things that they've done. And they were both 88 years old in both died on the same day. 

And I'm telling you they probably took a lot of interesting things to the gray with them because who knows what went on back in those days? 

They were flamboyant. One could absolutely, absolutely. By the time you were born and we're cognizant of your grandfather, he was a celebrity. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Yes. Not only in Atlanta, but all over the country, all over. Like I say, there was no one, not anyone that he was not friends with. He was just so everybody knew him. 

So growing up in the light of somebody like that could be very exciting. I imagine. 

It also could be, well, it's, it's, it's, it's a bittersweet type of thing because you don't really see them that much because they always off going somewhere, doing something, always traveling. 

But when you see them and they are exciting to be around. 

So really and truly, I, when I was growing up, I didn't really see that much of him but, you know, on your model well, tell me about your dad. Father was born in 1912. He went to Georgia Tech, also graduated, I believe in 1934, I think is the year he graduated. And he went to work for the Coca-Cola Company. Didn't go with no, he did not go in the family business. He went with the Coca-Cola Company. 

And then of course, when World War II came along, he went into the army and was a paratroopers in the army, led our Division of people are, you know, accompany that people are major during the Battle of the Bulge and then came back to Atlanta after the war ended in the mid forties. And then went back to work for the Coca-Cola company. 

So he never he never did worked for Robert and company. He was worth the Coca-Cola Company until his death in 1962. Let's go back to your childhood. Where did you go to elementary school? 

You can go and get me all my schools. I went to Sacred Heart School. Here, where Sacred Heart Church is. Close to downtown that alright. Alright. 

Just to set the score here is that I am Catholic, my mother being an Italian, mother and father won't Allianz. Of course, I was raised as a Catholic with my sister. 

So I went to Sacred Heart School first three years. 

And then after World War Two, we went out to Christ the King School, which is out on Peachtree at West Westley. And then after that, we moved to Chicago and I went to a parochial school in Chicago, Saint Nicholas. How old were you when you moved to Chicago? 

I'll say that was 1950. I was 12 years old. 

So you had to have a traumatic move, right? 

So my father was Chicago follows working in Chicago and we went moved up there. And at the end of the summer of 1950. And I want you to parochial school there. And it was very interested in school seventh, eighth grade. It was called Saint Nicholas. And I worked up there. I was delivered papers and really enjoyed that, you know, got it normally. Alright. Alright. 

How did you handle the bad weather? 

Well, the thing I remember most is in the wintertime when I'd come home after delivering papers, my hands would be so cold. I put them under the Cold War. It felt like hot water. 

But it wasn't all that bad. 

But in the fall of the next year, my father had been transferred to England with the Coca-Cola Company and the Export Cooperation. 

And he was on a very bad, serious automobile accident, which hospital allows for about four months, where he broke all both his legs and it's cut up pretty bad and my mother left to be with him. And then my sister and myself, I went to live with my grandmother. My sister went to the boarding school that she was going to school at in Chicago. 

So I moved back to Atlanta to live with my grandmother, went to marriage when it was still downtown. Bacteria and back to Atlanta. 

So then my grandfather and his wife had died a number of years prior. Inside, we go along, go back to Italy for the summer. 

So my mother meets us in Italy. 

And so we, you know, my sister, myself and my grandfather, and my aunt, his, you know, his other daughter. We all drive the big Cadillac up to New York and get on the boat and go to Genoa. 

Get off and Genoa and we tour all through, you know, go back to the old homestead up about a 100 miles north of Venice. And we drive all up and down. It'll leave for the summer. And then my mother takes my sister and myself on the Orient Express to Paris to meet my father. And I'm thinking all this time I want to go back to America. I've got my return ticket. 

Well, my mother and father decide to keep my sister and I in Europe. And so we go to London and we set up shop in London. 

So, um, let now I'm living in living in London. You're a teenager by now? 

Oh, yes. I'm 14 years old. 

So I go to the American school there, the the Air Force School. And at this time, my mother decides that it's about time you went off to a boarding school. 

So she goes to the local priests at the church. We go to and say, what's a good school to send my son to. 

So she they get one called Mount St. Mary's and sprinkle England. 

So at January off I go to boarding school or something I particularly wanted to do. Imagine that you wanted to. 

But I went tried to run away the first night, but in the end of this long driveway and it was so it was pitch black, dark out in the middle of nowhere. And I said, Well, I guess I better head on head on back, which I did. 

And I really enjoyed the school after I got to know some people there it was, I was the only American in the school. 

And then when I came back to London that next, that next summer, my mother had gone back to United States and my father was still there. 

Convinced him into letting me stay in London and go into a tutorial school, which I did, which would be what, a tutorial school day because well, it's, you know, you work as fast as you want, are slow as you want. One-on-one. One-on-one. It's one-on-one, which I did for a year. 

And then when I came back to the United States, Georgia, at this time you're 15 or 161616 or 17, somewhere around. 

So when I come back, Georgia Tech will take me as a pre freshmen. 

But I chose not to accept that. I chose to go on one more year high school. Had I gone to refresh them, I would skip two years of high school. 

So I went back to Chicago where my mother and sister, because she was going through the Loyola University in Chicago. 

And I went to Loyola prep school, which was right on the lake for one year and gradually and finished up at Laila Academy. Is that a good experience? 

Yes. Yes, it was probably right. 

I think if I'd gone on to Georgia Tech as a pre fresh, I would really want to enter the school with everybody else. I didn't want to become out-of-sync, so to speak. 

So is there any question about you're going to Georgia Tech? 

I mean, you know, it was as far as I was concerned, I always wanted to go to Georgia Tech. There was no other school that I wanted to go to. Is that because you Thank you, Your granddaddy and your daddy? 

I guess. I mean, I've just grown up in a family of Georgia Tech and they were just really no other school. 

In fact, when I was at Royal Academy, they were suggesting and what don't you want to apply for this girl and this girl. And I said, No, I'm only going into one school. 

Isn't that interesting that was ingrained in your mind, right? 

She had been at Atlanta football game, yeah. Oh, yeah. That a lot of football games have a lot of lot of attachment to the school. 

So if I go in the fall to Georgia Tech and started out as a civil engineer. 

But then after I found out, I gotta go off to up in North Georgia for three months and survey the side of a mountain. I said, wait a minute. 

Is that really what I wanted to do? 

And I also work in here at the company in the summertime and one of the vice-presidents That was under his wing that, you know, you really ought to transfer to industrial engineering because that will give you a good sampling of all the engineering disciplines. 

And then if you decide you want a really, really, really focus on a particular engineering discipline, then go to grind your scope. 

So that was good advice and I chose that and transport industrial engineering and that the first year. 

Now I did that the second year, you got your core classes and then went right. Alright. 

So I graduated high school in 1960. 

Now let's talk about the whole experience. It was 195055. I went in 1955. Stars 55. 

Georgia Tech at that time had lots and lots of Korean veterans and had come back from the Korean War II. The GI Bill was yes. Yes. That's correct. 

As well as kid in fact, the attorney I was in, which was kind of Phi the president for a couple of years was a former, you know, as I recall, Air Force retired. I mean, not everybody but had been in the Air Force and there were older kids around. We were still operating on a six day week? 

Yes. Yes. I had to I had to go out on Saturday classes, which I didn't particularly care for. Now. Especially if there's a football game on that weekend and there was a party on Friday night. It kinda made it it kinda cramped, hostile a little bit. 

Tell me how did you choose cafe or a rush right now, my father was a car five, although he didn't he certainly didn't try to know because of the paternity is change. 

So I want, you know, and I had a lot of friends that work on files and I went to all of them and I just like coffee and that's the reason I went there. 

Now, when you say you had lots of friends where these friends from the Atlanta area that you had made living here from Chicago and the difference. All right. 

Well, last I knew a few friends, but, you know, it it was one year. Your high school career was so rich, so varied. Gosh, I went to so many different schools. I went to 12 different schools. 

When you think about all the different high school, she had been burned, all the people you've met and the advantages that would give you having been in Europe, traveled, and you are more than just Atlanta, there were a lot of kids coming into school that had only, like I said, bittersweet because you don't have the attachment any one place. I mean, you haven't to make friends every everywhere you go. And like with my own children, they have basically gone to the same school. You lacked the stability when you were growing up. And I and I've given it to my children because I think it's extremely important. I think transferring around from place to place every every year. Pretty much. It really doesn't give you much of attachment. Although I had made an attachment to To close friends here, which I still see all their mark. 

One of them is the attorney for the company here, and the other one has just retired and living back in Atlanta. 

And I've known them since the fourth-grade in touch and kept it kept in touch and that we see each other. We have lunch every week. And it's important to have those connections to absolutely keep those early. Absolutely. 

So here you are in yet another environment, but this environment was more familiar because your father and your grandfather both had made you very aware of what life at door check? 

Oh, yes. Very much so. 

And you know, how prepared for you for the academics? 

I was prepared well, good education because I had no I had to get education from especially from the tutorial school. Are they able to move along? 

It was a stroke of genius. 

Wasn't, I don't know why I chose that, although I really didn't want to particularly go back to the boarding school. Desolate. For instance. On boarding schools back in those days, you got one bath a week. You got one clean shirt a week, things like that. 

But it really was, and it was still rationing back in those days in England. And we had the same thing for lunch every day. Alright. 

So no wonder you didn't want to instance there at Mount St. Mary's. 

That is interesting is that first of all, I had all my friends send me sugar and jams and things like that and I used to share him with our table. 

But you were popular so as poverty. And also I had someone send me a subscription to The Saturday Evening Post. And they would not let the school will not let me have it. They thought it was too risque. Oh, here. 

So I never got to see my Saturday Evening Post. Granddaddy was probably in it. Scott. 

Well, I found articles about. All right, thanks. 

Well, they wouldn't let you know. You wonder, wondering. You're looking at it in a very positive light. It wasn't experience. Experience and one that was good. And I do that. I you know, I I enjoyed right back to Tech now. Firstly, there. Did you pledge the first year? 

Yes. Okay. How caught up in fraternity life did you get your first year? 

Not too much. I mean, well, I mean, I enjoyed it. I was doing alright and school. I probably got a little bit too caught up in it. 

The second year. Too many parties, too many girls. I'd fallen. I'd say I'd I'd have I'd fall in love every other weeks. 

So I probably got a little bit too caught up in the party scene. I did. Integrate suffered. Yes, they did. They did. And suffered a little bit too much. In my junior year. 

I remember my mother would get the mail and she would, you know, that's back when they would send the grades home to the parents. 

And she would she had a bad habit of picking up the mail out of the mailbox and put it in a pocketbook and never opening it. I was kinda on on a border line situation on one or two courses. And I said, Hey mom, yeah, she have any. Finally, I found it in their pocket book. And I add any open. 

And how bad? 

Awhile I had to do a little quick talking with somebody at the head of the, you know, the, you know, in the administration of the school to keep everything going. And the next year, the next quarter, I made all A's and B's. 

So it was never a question of just a question of taking taken the time to sit down and do it. The dean at that time. Griffin still around? 

Oh, yes. I knew I knew Dean Griffin well, railway fell. He was great friends. We were great friends. Do your grants, you and your dad and everything. 

So it must have been keeping an eye on yes, he was. And it wasn't aware of it. I'm sure he went. Yeah. I enjoyed talking with Dean Griffin. I used to go by and see him from time to time even after I finish goo. 

But while you were in school, then I went in ROTC at Georgia Tech. 

So that's four yes, four years. 

So you had ROTC? 

Navy? 

Navy and senior between the junior and senior year, had to do a mid ship and Cruz, which we went to California. 

And some I forget what it was, something acted up and they wouldn't let us, the midshipman go out on the ships because they didn't know if they won't come back. 

So we ended up really not doing anything. 

So going out there and having a good time. Having a good time here too, so hard, I'm getting a picture. 

Then when I graduated, when we go back to the second year, you changed your major, you decided to go for IE as we've talked about. Alright. Was that good advice? 

That was very good advice. That was that was some of the best advice I've gotten. 

When you think back of the instructors of that time, does anyone come to mind? 

Did you have did you feel like you had good instructors? 

Oh, yes. You had you had a basis to compare because you had been to so many schools. 

There was 11 Instructure instructor in electrical engineering, which we had to take a feudal courses or courses in electrical engineering. Although I never did particularly well on them because they are very, very, very difficult. I'll never forget what one of the professors said to me. He said, Gentlemen, I won't give you one piece of advice. He says, raise up on your hind legs and get as much education as you possibly can. Because remember, once you get it, no one absolutely no one can ever take it away from you. I always remember that and I pass that advice long term. Lot of different people, nobody can take that and I can put you in jail. 

I can beat you like Nutella want, but there's one thing they can't take away from you, and that's your education. 

So that was good advice. 

So that's something I remember. 

Do you have any special favorite classes? 

Are special favorite teachers or anyone that you remember. 

So long, so long ago, it's hard to remember. I remember a vector analysis course I enjoyed in higher algebra that was very interesting. I can't remember the professor's name, but it was just a fun course. That's interesting. Like that was fun while you were there at a time when women would just hit, just touched on. And when you talk about falling elevator the week one, when women that we're going to take it oh, no. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Agnes Scott girls and what have you yeah. 

So did you encounter any woman in any of your classes at all? 

Were there enough of them there for you to even be aware of? 

I do not remember any women in my classes at always so few. 

But we had plenty of women on campus as far as, you know, the port and, you know, everybody had dates. Back in the day is when I went to Georgia Tech. They did not allow did not permit drinking on campus. That was the rule. That was a rules. 

And when you had a party, the fraternity council members would come by the party and just see what was going on in go to all the various fraternity houses to see everything was going okay. Yeah. We never got caught. Never God, we never got caught. We you know, we were able to disguise it pretty good. 

But we did get caught one time and it wasn't my color. Were having a party. We had a basement at the coffee house and Or a cooler downs down there. And also we made a room for a big keg of beer to be put down there in the ballroom. And for twenty-five cents, you could get a big varsity cup of draft beer and telling it like it. And so they got wind of this and I'm the closest down. I forgot how long they close it down, maybe a month or two months or something. 

But they actually we had to close the house. Alright. 

It was because we were the second largest, we were the second largest beer distributor for Budweiser and the city of Atlanta competing with commercial. Oh, I forgot who, who is the biggest at the time, but we were selling a good bit of beer. Anyhow we got caught and we pay that penalty in. 

But those were some of them memories of the some of the things we did that what not right. I understand. 

Now, you can drink on campus and responsibly. Responsibly. 

We never had anything happened that was that I take it back, you know, during initiation we did have one bad thing happened as, I mean, not bad as far as somebody getting hurt, but initiation was go down to Lagrange, Georgia and take a swim in the in the the pond down there in the center of the square. As I recall, our man got caught by the police and he shall we say, not very well clothed. 

If you get the drift. And then something happened to me. 

Also in initiation, I forgot about this started me and another guy named by the name of Harvey N Low, who had a tragic death got run over by a speed boat at Lake Lanier. Um, we hadn't take this bucket of stuff with little teaspoons and go downtown. And with the tea spoons, throw this bucket of junk up on to the Henry Grady monument. Was I initiation? 

Henry Grady ship. Got it. Okay. I had just had a claim about a month or so prior to that, the police came by and chorus. 

So off we go down to the police station. Of course, we don't have any of that invocation. We call a fraternity house. They finally get us out. 

My grandmother gets worse when she calls everybody in the city of Atlanta saying my grandson, my grandson, he's been put in jail for throwing stuff up on an integrated monitoring. 

So she got me to the lawyer who used to be the lawyer for Billy stroller, who represented the o the Reynolds guy and all his devices. He goes to court with us. And of course they were charged with malicious mischief. And this followed me later in the Navy, by the way. And he drops the charges and dismisses them, tells us to be good boys, which we say yes, we will. Later on this comes back to haunt me. 

When going in the Navy, I fill out all these four and then I asked my commanding officer at the school that I said, should I tell them about this malicious mischief? 

He said no, as long as it's charge would drop, forget it, which I did. Here I am on my Historia floating along in the Atlantic Ocean. And the captain calls me to his quarters that chip, I think you've got a problem here. Really. 

My background check and everything, they find out that I have a record of of, you know, being charged with malicious mischief. 

So I have to explain to him what he's getting a big lab, but I have to send an amended thing into the Navy personnel office. 

So I was telling them why had been charged with malicious mischief. Even though it was dismissed. Right? 

I see they do fingerprints on it. They can find out things even with o van a lot with your fingerprints. That was a fraternity trick that went wrong way while they wasn't all that bad. 

But anyhow, that's ever scared during that whole thing? 

No. No. 

You knew it was going that far, right? 

Well, I mean, how many, you know, I I didn't really know those, you know, how it would all turn out, but I couldn't think that it was going to be something really bad because when we weren't really doing anything really that bad. I mean, there's certainly two of you doing yes to all of us. Sometimes whole game. Right. It's got to tell you that. 

So that's what we had to do. It's a nice memory now. Yes, you can laugh about it. 

And, um, did you stay with the love for the football games you we're still going to games with your grandfather after where? 

We are out of college, right. 

While I'm gone, I'm going into games pretty much with all the students, right? 

I don't, I don't go on the other side and the West and until after college? 

Yeah. 

So you had your own separate lines, your grade, right. Did he ever tell you he was pleased you went to Georgia Tech? 

Oh, yes. I mean I mean I mean, he he let you know. Oh, yes, absolutely. 

Well, that's somebody that didn't accept the word as oh, no. That was not in his blood capillary. When he you know. Yeah. You didn't know. 

So he was pleased she went to high school and he kept track of what was going on. Alright. And it did behoove you to do well? 

Yes. Yes, because you would have been held accountable hedge, alright. Alright. I think problem sharing. 

So I guess Let's start right. Okay. Mr. Robert, Here we come towards the end of We'd been there 55, so we get to 59. Alright. You're on track to graduate? 

That's correct. I mean, what was happening in your life? 

Okay. 

Due to my little bit of my partying activities, I had to go to 11 year summer school and I chose to do it, you know, at the end of my senior year rather than in my junior year. 

So I went junior year, I went my midshipman crews. 

And then when summer school in the summer of 55, now, excuse me, some 59 graduated and in September, thereabouts. And of course, back in those days, Georgia Tech only had one graduation a year. 

So I graduated in August, September of 59. 

But actually the graduation wouldn't take place until June of 1960. 

So the school gave me an option of either being in the class of 59 and the class of 60. And for some reason I just chose 1960. 

And so when I was in the Navy, after I graduated and in September, I got my mid ship, became an instrument, the US Navy, the commissioner mentioned, and then I went in the Navy and I was actually aboard ship board the USS to cater D19 36 when I received my diploma in the mail. 

So that's that's, you know, at the time you were getting ready to graduate, you knew you had two years of military? 

Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. 

So your commission, once you have that, what happened? 

Let's talk about your military. Okay. I went in the Navy. Where did they send? 

Oh, okay. 

Well, first of all, when I was at Georgia Tech, I selected the supply option and the 1.5th, 23 months I had to go Athens, Georgia to the US supply course school in Athens and graduated from there and well, something like four months later and got assigned to be in a spiral. 

So aboard the USS to cater a destroyer out out of out of Newport, Rhode Island. 

I went up there right after Christmas to that port and went aboard ship and took charge or the supply function. 

So that ship that ship was out of his home port, roughly 85. It's time. We went quite a few interesting spots. When all up and down the eastern coast, went to the Caribbean, went up to Canada. 

Then we went through the mad, when one of the first ships to go through the, you know, after it was reopened through the Suez Canal, Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean where all that oil is now. And then Karachi. I'll never forget I was in Karachi, Pakistan. We will go into to a potty somebody who was given for the navy officers downtown. And three, we'll taxes that they have only take two people that can't take three. 

So as odd man out, so I was by myself and one of these things, another thing gives out of gas halfway there. And here we are in the middle of the best places in town. And here I am in my dress whites, pushing this thing to the next gas station with the cab driver. Luckily, we made it to the hotel where they had this party. I enjoyed the Navy quite a bit. We travel quite a bit in the Navy. I was stationed in Newport and when we were in port, I would go down to New York a good bit. And it was just a fun time. Okay. Time. And probably I should probably should've stayed in longer than two years was really not that much. They give you an option to stay. You can stay as long as you're on a career out of it if I wanted to. And maybe who knows, maybe that would have been a good career. A Road Not Taken. 

Alright, Road Not Taken. 

But I had the opportunity to get out. And I knew I can go on to graduate school. I had already applied a number of places, but I got out too late to enter the fall class. 

I got up in October and I was driving down back home down through Charlottesville and I just stopped off at the school and this is probably something I should have done but I didn't do. The school had been in session, I think two weeks. They said, Do you want to come right now? 

University of Virginia? 

Yeah, the gradient school. And I chose not to. And I went on to Atlanta and got married in December, and then went the next fall. 

So did you come work at Robert company? 

No. No. 

Not worked for First National Bank of Atlanta and worked there from time I got back and tell the time I left to come to go to graduate school, grad school for one year or two. 

So two-year program, 606263 and graduated in 64. Right. All right. 

Is that a nice school to go to? 

O so beautiful school? 

I mean, I was one of 5050 students in the school. And the school it was well, early on when it was just getting ready started as lot larger today. 

It's interesting they ended up being serendipitous just like your granddaddy staff at Georgia Tech, you were just starting. I probably should have probably should have done that. 

But I didn't see it happen that way. 

There you were armed with a brand new MBA, right? 

And what did you do with that? 

Well, I didn't know what to do. I really did. And the bank had worked for here, had made me an offer. I decided to go back to work for them. That was first name first and I shoveled Atlanta. I started out in the commercial side of the bank, But then, you know, my love was investment side. And I went to work in the investment department. 

I got to where I was managing the portfolio of the bank and head outside, you know, I just picked up sticks one day and said, If I never go to New York from Wall Street, I'll always regret it. 

So I went up there, I interviewed five different firms. 

All of them gave me an offer and my hardest job was deciding which one I really wanted to go to work for. And I chose first boston cooperation. 

So you went to work? 

Relocate it yourself. I'm relocating my wife and I this is my first wife. We are relocated and we moved to New York liberal right in the city. She's a career person. 

She worked for a rockfall center and I worked for First Boston cooperation cavity or I became a New Yorker and I always like New York. And I didn't think, you know, you know, I was in investments. 

I was in the US government security side of the business and covered the Southeast for for the company I work for. And then my grandfather passed away in 1976. 

So you had already been up there several? 

Yes. I'd been up there since 69. Alright. And then like you said, 88 years old? 

Yeah. 

So I mean, he wasn't really active in the business. I mean, although he came down the author, Mr. 

Robert, so he, you know, so Moran Roberts, who was then the chairman and president, called me one day. 

Well, I knew I knew. 

Marianne said, Would you like to come back and be calm present around one company? 

And I said, Well, I don't know, That's interesting. I'll be down there next weekend and we'll talk about it. I came down and he made me this offer and I say, well, okay, that's interesting challenge. And I always kind of tucked back in my brain wanting to come to work here. I did have an engineering degree. I'm not a professional engineers for as you know, registered. 

So I said, Okay, I'll do that. And came here. Wow, that was a big To me, when I was I was kinda, you know, it was a good time to do it. 

So you left him, you are moved? 

I moved back. My wife my previous wife did not want to move back, so she stayed in New York. She didn't know she didn't wanna move back. 

So that even more of a loose so I did I didn't know you were coming home. Yeah. And so I came back and started my my time here. Yeah. Robert and Company was engaged in mega-projects all over the world? 

That's correct. The early history of the company it was built? 

That's correct. Strong strong ties to Georgia Tech is how many buildings away with quite a few. 

But it Elana was expanding at such a rapid rate. 

And we had declined to do some work as being a sub two a contractor doing the design design-build, basically what it is. We Robin company was losing it's losing its edge. By the time you came? 

Yes. And a lot of older people were left here. Allow the younger people had gone. 

So it was a challenge. 

It was it was it was a real challenge because he had all these older people who my grandfather had, you know, had given them stock and they now own the company. And a lot of more getting ready to retire and so on, I came back. My job was how in the heck am I going to pay off all these people? 

There was a large number. Yeah. Yeah. 

So my first ten years here basically was really going through trying to pay off the debt. Also keep enough work coming in to keep everything going. 

So it was a real struggle there at first, and of course knew if you remember back in the early eighties, inflation was at 12. I mean, **** was inflation rate was CEO was really up and bank loans prime rate got up 21%. 

So it was, it was becoming going to be a real difficult job, but fingers crossed and everything else. We got lucky. I had a fellow here who helped me out off the Bruce. He made it really worked for me. 

Keep in mind that I was not really professional engineer, so I didn't know how to do any of the engineering work or any of the architectural work. I will more or less a money manager as opposed to engineering manager. 

But we were successful enough to keep getting enough work to keep everything going. And I've now gotten back a long, long story. I got to where I own practically the whole company. After everybody else retard. 

I knew that first of all, I can't be the only guy that owns the company because nobody's going to pay me off. And secondly, it's not healthy. 

So you had to diversify that? 

I have to diversify. 

So I did I did on stock issue where if you buy stock now, we selected the people would offer those two. 

If you buy stock now, we'll show you a like amount five years from now at a penny a share. In effect that it's a gift. 

But you had to stay five years. And it wasn't people that we wanted to stay five years. And that was successful. 

And so then made like clots, who's now the president and chairman of Robert and Company, which is the operating company. He runs. I did this about 1010 years ago. He runs the company on a day-to-day basis. 

I don't really, you know, for reasons that, you know, the fact that I'm not registered it, I had to go off or Robert and company because of some bylaw things that rather stay at Georgia, things that you can only have so many people that are not registered on your on your board. And we really didn't want to increase the board. 

So I said, Well, yeah, they started paying me off about six or seven years ago. 

So that, you know, by the time I retire, which I'm planning on retiring when my youngest child is out of high school, which will be in 1968, then they will have a much smaller amount of money to have to pay me out as opposed to had I waited say you set it up so that it's far more feasible. Oh, yes. Yes. 

So when you came back, Robert company took on some interesting challenges with Steve Atlanta and whatever that comes to mind. 

Alright, we were asked to interview for the zoo from a planning standpoint. First of all, I remember to this day go on to the interview. 

I was one of the hours in the interview procedure and we were the ones selected to do the planning stage, Jim Catherine efforts. 

And from that it, Terry maple, who's at Georgia Tech professor and a great fan of mine, had this idea of doing redoing the Atlanta zoo, which was probably the United States worse to do and wanting to make it the United States best zoo. I think he's done that. 

He's done a lot of innovative things of which we were fortunate enough to work for the architects that he chose to do all the engineering work. And there's quite a bit of engineering where because of all those walls and everything. 

So that is what got us involved in Zoo Atlanta. And we still work as Zoo Atlanta. Yes. That's a very proud so she's very proud of that job. 

When I came with, you know, when I first came with Robert and company, we had a quite a presence in Washington DC, as you know, my grandfather worked in Washington and maintain a home or are you lived at you know, for some reason you always lived in hotels. He had an apartment in the Mayflower Hotel and apartment at the Biltmore. And so we did a quite a bit of work in Washington. 

And we, you know, at the time that I came on board and 77, we were had been chosen to do with Frankie paid and Connell out of New York to do the west front extension of the US Capitol. Prior to that, which we're still working on. We're working with swanky Hayden carnal on the Library of Congress, which is a very big, big project. 

So when I came on, we started the west front extension and completed the, the Library of Congress. 

I say well, out of the house monkey, who is also a graduate of Georgia Tech, he passed away a few years ago, but real fan of mine. I said, we've been doing these things and joint venture all the time. 

Why don't we form a partnership so we spawn, affirmed by the name of swanky and Robert, and we did a quite a few other projects in and around Washington. Together. We do the engineering. They do the architecture, which is kind of the way we were doing things. In fact, we even did embassy work over in Pakistan and insulin mom. And we kept that joint venture going for a number of years. Then after our retired from his firm, his partners kinda wanted to go go it alone. And so it was a question of ethos behind them out. Or we are then buy us out. 

Well, we chose to let them buy us out. And so that was n frankly. 

But over the years we did a ton of work in Washington. And the work the way you got work changed. We did the west front, we did the east front. We did the Library of Congress. We do the little subway between the House and the Senate. We did some parking garages and then a whole bunch of other stuff we're striking, Robert. Really, really remarkable. Yes. Yes. 

And then started doing you mentioned Islamabad and then Saudi Arabia, right? 

Work over there too? 

Yes, we've done the work in Saudi. We had a joint venture with Stevenson, Wilkinson and other prominent firm here in Atlanta architects. 

And we teamed up and formed a corporation known as A&E International, which we own half and they own half of which would go out to projects where we will do the engineering, they do the architecture. 

And we landed a big project in Saudi and Riyadh doing a, a command post center for the Navy, which had a complete underground blast proof facility. 

So that was a very interesting project. 

Did you ever find yourself wondering, what am I doing back here? 

We're going to wrap it in New York once or twice. 

Although I was ready for a change, it was always a never really wanted to live in New York the rest of my life. It was meant just came back. 

You know, my wife and I at the time had a base pair friendly divorce and they know all she knows my children now and wife now. And so, you know, we just kinda went different ways. And when you got married, Susan Susan I met Susan through my attorney here when I came back. We dated for awhile and then in 1982 we got married and had the two girls. Okay. We had Georgia in 1984. 

Grandmother named her after my mom, my sister who had all of those children never named anybody after after my mom. 

So I said, Well, wow, well, so she's named Georgia. And then two years later. In fact, every time I'd go to Europe with tech Susan over there on a little vacation. I'll come back with excess baggage. And that's where we got Georgia in Paris and we got we got Bernie, my second child in Florence. And her name is her name is Bernie. No, it's a surname named after Alice bernie, the founder of the PTA. And she's named after my aunt Bernie. Bernie Robert, my grandfather's daughter by second marriage. And her name is Bernie Lauren's. Some other ones, Georgia Gibson. Wonderful family names. Thank carrying about George Gordon, excuse me. Named after their kids. You'll be in trouble. 

Her shirt and after we married and after we had Joe or my my wife was attorney and she wanted to go to the line of College of Art and take some extra courses yesterday for our purposes, I said, Well, Susan, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll send your ego and see if you can go spin due credit courses. And I'll let you go and do two courses a semester, and then you graduate. 

And so six years later she graduated Atlanta College right? 

Now she's a board member of the school and in a full-fledged artist. She has our studio downstairs. Yeah. She paints. And she loves to paint as a whole second career. Oh, yeah. Big Sinaloa Hudson galleries here in Atlanta represent her. That's a wonderful lawyer to the oddest. What's his name? 

Break a complete different side of the brain. How wonderful the girls go to school here in Atlanta, Georgia. They both, we entered on both the Christ the King or I went and money, they stayed and they stayed. Georgia was getting ready to having to transfer out to go to high school. And we applied her to Marist out on Asheville, done Woody, who she got into. And we decided why not go ahead and change out Bernie also. And we applaud her to Potidaea oval on ponce de Leon. And she Luckily caught in which it's the only, the only accepted two students at a time. And so she got in. 

So she's sophomore per day at Georgia is a senior at malnourished. That's wonderful. You are busy keeping up with them. 

And they know, do we talk about Georgia Tech with the girls? 

Know, they they're just not inclined towards that, you know, and so I didn't want to push that. 

They just, you know, like Georgia, this is quite an accomplished piano player concert, right? 

And so she's applying to schools that have, you know, find music schools. Bernie is more in the arts side. 

So neither one of them really. And I already haven't you? 

No, I don't, you know. 

Now, it's not a feel I really would particularly want now if I had had a son, That'd be had I been in that situation, please. I'm sorry. 

Do you go to football games? 

Sometime? 

Like it used to bottle like it used to be more primarily because they keep changing all the time. 

So it's dictated by television. Hello, My girls went last week. 

It's interesting you mentioned that you could count out a one o'clock game, right? 

But old days, you can't anymore. 

So you can't you can't have a pot and you can't plan a party, nothing happens until you get them. 

Then the last change at the last minute change to two days before and say, Well, it's no longer one o'clock lame, It's not going to be at 430 game. 

So what do you do? 

You call off a part of it has its upsides and downsides as well. And that was one way we used to entertain Hill was half football branches. 

But when you can't call the time, it's hard to call the party. Yeah, that's right. That's right. 

But I still go some and it's great fun. When you look back at it was a good decision to go to Georgia Tech for you. Best decision I ever made. I have no regrets. It was and I really deep down and wanted to come back here to work. And I did. I was able to keep this company alive at a time when it could have completely gone the other way. 

So I have to migrate sense to have great satisfaction. I've got it in great hands right now. You know, they do all the work now. I'll do very little now. And it's going to be their company. And they want to keep it, you know, privately owned. Like I wanted to keep it probably on. 

So as far as I'm concerned, I've kept something going. 

So you can see that it'll be healthy, right? 

I'm pleased, that pleased, you know, win-win situation. 

So inland its own way. 

So I have no regrets whatsoever. 

I would, you know, and see some of the things that the work that we do now is not as much Atlanta oriented as it used to be. We specialize in aviation work as one of my big specialties. And that money which carries us all of the world. We're doing work now in Guam. 

Course we did some work in Guam right after World War II, also would do work and we're doing a big job in Poland right now. We've worked in Saudi. We've worked in what's the name of that island? 

Brunei. We're working in Japan. This is very much an international right. We are done the San Francisco Airport fueling work. 

We've been working in Chicago now for the last 15 years at O'Hare, Huntsville off and on, we used to be there, you know, the city's client, but we're not right now. I mean, they've changed some things. 

We do a lot of work for DOD, Department of Defense, all did a big job in Ascension Island there halfway between South America and Africa. 

Well, we we it's a niche, right? 

We don't, you don't read about us very much in the newspaper and then we choose not to be read about in the newspaper. Steady, steady style. And that's what you will do, right? 

Right. 

So you should have a great sense of accomplishment. Yes, I feel I really feel good about it. And what's going to happen when you retire. This is only three years after three years down the road. I l back in 89. 

Well, was prior to that rarely. Susan wondered maybe by us by I live in Ansley Park, in a townhouse. It Westchester square. It's a good size time. It's got three bedrooms, about 4 thousand square feet, so it's not small. 

But she said Now, when we go out to and buy a house and Druid hills or somebody, I said, All right, I'll give you a choice. We can either go out and buy a money pit or we can go out in the country and by a country place. And we chose to do the country place. 

So we looked for about four years off and on up in highlands, north Carolina. It couldn't be any more than three hours away. And we have many friends at halfway up there. And we found this place that we just fell in love with and bought it double its size and 96. And that's where I'm going to be spending most of my time. She she does perennial gardens, about 2.53 acres worth a perennial flowers throughout. And we just love it up there. And I have I have Tartuffe as a hobby. You do. 

So both of you have a very arts. 

So when you retire, you'll have time to time and we'll do a little traveling, you know, keep the place here and spend most of the time up there. 

So you don't plan to suffer from empty nest syndrome when the girls know, it's gonna be just fine. 

Well, I grew up too much of, you know, being separated so it might hurt my ball the horse on, but it won't it won't bother me. You'll do just fine. 

Well, it's an interesting story. This story Robert company itself is interesting. And the fact that you came back to put it on its feet, It's a great it's a great tribute to you. 

Well, I've had, you know, right? 

Yeah. He was a great person. Somebody that people still love to be bright people, people that still room. And I say I'm the only grandson that had any relationship, you know, close relationship. And I used to when I was at the bank or would always combine with chat for awhile. I'll never forget the first time I told him I was going to get married. He said, I'll tell you what all do obscenity around the world for a year. I said No, I'm going to get married. That's right. Attack if it gets interesting. You were old enough. Yeah. He probably wants you to finish school. It's not already finished good. I'd come back after the Navy. 

Didn't know you're going to go to graduate school though? 

Yeah, he knew I was some kind of he wanted you to wait a little longer and he said, No, I'll send you around the world for you. I said no, no, he had already been enough place. Alright. Alright. 

But you could say no to him by that time. Yeah. I did. You were already growing. I said No. All right. 

Well, thank you so much for taking my pleasure. Great. Hearing the story. Family from the captain all the way to the last. Wow, we don't have anymore because I'm the I'm the end of the line unless my brother has a son. Let me about amalgam beanie anymore, row by errors, so to speak. 

But plenty of other matter if their name is Robert or not. A company is in Group fine hands and one, you know, Mike clubs who, you know, is thanks. A lot like God do he will maintain a good situation here. Thank you so much for sharing with us. It's been a real pleasure. Thank you.