The Reality of A dream

Feb 12, 2002
The Reality of A Dream
    Every young child holds some kind of dream in their pocket. Whether they dream of becoming a super hero, an astronaut, or a millionaire, their dreams are what they live for.  As a young boy, Earl Robinson had a dream.  Like many others, his dream was to become a millionaire.  This seemed likely to be a pretty elusive dream and one not apt to become a reality for a poor farm boy.  Many times throughout the years, Earl was told that he would never amount to anything.  His life became a struggle to reach his dream and to prove to himself and others that he could achieve what he wanted.
Earl lived with his mother and stepfather on a sharecropper farm in a small Mississippi town.  He ran way from home by the age of 14 and left school before he could complete the seventh grade.  He found work on a nearby farm for fifty cents a day plus room and board.  Knowing where he was and that he was okay, his mother did not attempt to bring him back home.  He and his stepfather did not get along, and his mother had younger children to raise. 
Earl lied about his age to enlist in the Navy during World War II.  He served in the Navy for almost three years as a welder.  When discharged, he and a thousand others went to the Houston, Texas shipyards in search of a welding career.  Because of the tremendous number of young men looking for welding jobs, available jobs were swept up rapidly, and most of the recently released naval men found themselves standing in the unemployment lines wondering where and if they would find work.
    Earl later said in an interview for a Lewisville newspaper, “ It was obvious I could have starved while waiting for a job as a welder.”  He soon found a job cutting window screens for sixty-six cents an hour.  He knew he could have gotten more money from unemployment than with his screen job, but by getting a job, Earl was on the road to the realization of his dream. 
Shortly after he started working for the screen business, a friend asked Earl how much money it would take to start up a screen business of his own.   Earl thought two thousand dollars would be enough; so his friend loaned him the money.  The company did well, and Earl was able to repay his friend the original loan plus an additional eight hundred dollars within only a few months.  His screen business grew rapidly, and Earl made the choice to sell it and move his family to San Antonio where he felt a better opportunity was available for him. 
    San Antonio turned out to be simply a stepping stone in Earl's career.  He and his family spent only one year there.  During that time, Earl met and quickly became friends with Joe Fotasjek of Skotty Aluminum Products in Irving, Texas.  In 1960, Earl moved his family to Irving and worked with Joe for a few years.  However, even though their companies were basically rivals, Earl and Joe remained good friends until Earl's death.
In 1964, Earl opened another aluminum window and screen business in Lewisville, Texas.  His business, known as Krestmark Industries, was opened with a silent partner.  Roger Laubach was supportive of the business with money, but he left all business decisions strictly in Earl's hands.  The two partners had an agreement that if either of them wanted to sell their share of the business, the other partner would have first chance to make the purchase. 
    Krestmark started out small like the first screen business in Houston had, but it grew rapidly over the passing years.  Because of Krestmark's success, its partners were approached by Michigan General Corporation to purchase the business.  Earl was not interested in selling the business, but the money offered by Michigan General was too tempting for Roger, and he sold them his half of Krestmark.  Due to the partners' previous agreement, Earl took the matter to court where he won the right to have the entire business.
    Michigan General Corporation still wanted to own Krestmark.  Earl made the decision to sell Krestmark with the agreement that he be allowed total control running the business as its President, and he would receive a hefty salary plus business expenses.  The Board of Directors of Michigan General Corporation was not pleased about the agreement, but it was their only way of acquiring Krestmark.  It was a purchase they were anxious to make, and as it turned out, it was a good decision on their part since Krestmark's growth and stability provided them with a strong corporation even though many of their other companies were not making money.
    Personally, Earl purchased ten acres of land across the street from the overly crowded Krestmark building and built a new building on it that took up five of the ten acres.  As President of Krestmark, he moved the business into his building and charged Krestmark approximately $36,000 rent per month.  Krestmark was also responsible for maintenance and all property taxes on the building.  
Earl also owned his own airplane and rented it to Krestmark to be used to transport him on business trips.  As the company continued to expand, his original plane was sold and a larger one purchased.  His last plane required a more experienced pilot than Earl; so Krestmark hired one, but the plane continued to be used exclusively by Earl. 
Planning to retire in the future, Earl purchased a nine thousand acre ranch in Brackettville, Texas.  He enjoyed entertaining business associates there and was able to bill Krestmark for the cost of his entertaining.  At this point in his life, Earl was living his dream of being a millionaire, and he had assets in the multimillion-dollar range.
     Earl helped Michigan General Corporation out financially in a personal way also.  When the corporation needed a bank loan, the board of directors approached the bank that Earl had been using for years but were denied the loan they applied for.  The bank agreed to the huge loan amount only if Earl was willing to cosign as a guarantee that the bank would be repaid.  Although the loan was accepted on the bank's terms, the college educated men who made up the board of directors were highly offended that an uneducated man such as Earl could get a loan easier than any of them could.         
    Prior to his death in October of 1978, Earl re-negotiated his contract with Michigan General Corporation.  In his last contract with them, it was agreed that they would continue to pay him for advice about running the company even after he retired.  This once poor farm boy had never quit dreaming.  He constantly looked toward the future and kept dreaming.  He was able to live his life in a way that he saw the reality of his dream to become a millionaire.  His tombstone reads, "He loved doing what others said he couldn't."
This Man is My Grandfather.