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Interview wth Bob Schon

General Introduction:
To initiate this project I contact the local American Association of Retired Peoples President John Hagman who identified two of the local members Doug Davis and Bob Schon who were interested in participating.

Prior to meeting with Doug and Bob, I identified five broad topics to discuss.

These topics included:
1) Spirituality and religion
2) Personal expression and personal involvement in arts
3) Work and professional life
4) Family
5) Health and physical well-being

I asked Doug and Bob to discuss any or all of these topics in relation to their lives before and after the age of 40. Both men gave me permission to publish their interviews on my web site.

 

Summary of the Interview:

Saturday, October 21st, 12pm
Bob Schon, Age 70
Interviewed in his home in Robinsdale, MN

Bob was born to Catholic parents in Robinsdale, Minnesota on 10.20.30, a date that is easy to remember. He attended a Catholic school through the eighth grade after which he began attending a public high school. His family was relatively poor and Bob had to work for any of his own spending money. He picked potatoes and got paid by the bushel and worked as a pin setter, hand setting bowling pins at a local bowling alley (a job my grandfather also did as a youth). Upon leaving high school, Bob took a battery of skills tests to help determine his future direction. Test results showed that his mechanic skills were extremely limited, so Bob began considering work as a schoolteacher, minister or businessman. Soon afterwards, he decided to pursue a degree in business.

It was in high school that he met his wife Shirley, a Lutheran. Up until the time Bob became interested in marrying Shirley he had considered himself to be Catholic. This quickly changed when the Priest told Bob that he would not marry Bob and Shirley because she was not Catholic. Bob and Shirley married in 1951 in a Lutheran church. For the next 3 or 4 years they did not attend any church. About 1955 they joined and began regularly attending a Presbyterian Church. The church served as a social vehicle for Bob and Shirley during this time.

After graduating with a degree in business from the University of Minnesota Bob began working really hard initially at IDS. He started as an analyst and supervisor and went on to work in the computer punch card tab room, managing reams of cards containing financial programs. Later he worked in the "board room" hard wiring computer circuits on a program by program basis. He was then promoted to work in the mortgage department and before long was managing a group of 50 "girls" doing general accounting. Soon he was spending his day trading securities over the phone. This work was grueling, eight hours straight on phone without even a lunch break. He left IDS soon after, feeling too confined. During this time, Bob and Shirley built their house in Robinsdale and have lived there ever since.

In 1958, at the age of 28, Bob went to work for Northwest Airlines. He was put in charge of food operations, something he knew very little about. His job was to convert their catering, airport restaurants and flight kitchens into profitable parts of the company. Over the next eight years he spent a great deal of time in Billings, Montana and Anchorage, Alaska managing the food operations there. In 1966 a major earthquake destroyed the entire Alaskan operation and he had to temporarily move it to a church in a nearby airforce base. By this time, Bob had succeeded in turning a good profit for the airlines. He convinced Northwest to build a million-dollar facility to replace the one destroyed in Anchorage. They followed through in building the food service/restaurant complex which was sold six years later for over 13 million.

Bob was promoted to Chairman of the Airline Postal Affairs Committee to focus on identifying and initiating new ways of generating revenue for Northwest primarily from their US Postage Service and Military contracts. At this point Bob began traveling the world, meeting with Military officials and the Postmaster General. Over time he increased Northwest's revenue by over 200 million dollars. He was working six days a week, 12 hours a day and was traveling constantly. Shirley was very supportive of Bob throughout this entire period, traveling with him whenever it was feasible. During this period Bob was spending a lot of time, upwards of 26 trips a year, in Washington, DC meeting with the Military Generals, the Postmaster General and testifying in Congress. Bob was accomplishing a lot, living a good life and working very hard.

Things changed in 1981. That year, at the age of 51, Bob suffered a major heart attack while on a business trip in Hawaii. At this time, Bob was smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day, not eating well, and getting very little exercise. Prior to the heart attack he felt tired a lot, particularly after walking up steps or performing minor physical activity. In hindsight, Bob sees his physical exhaustion as a warning sign he tried to attribute to his work schedule rather than his health. Shirley knew better and had tried to warn him. Luckily for everyone, Bob survived. Today he walks five miles at least five days a week, doesn't smoke and works out at a gym every morning for over an hour. He only eats fruits, vegetables and fish, and believes the key to a healthy life is a positive attitude.

On the day he retired Bob smiled all the way out of the Northwest Airlines parking lot and never looked back. Even though he must travel stand-by, he has free first class air passes for life as a result of all his work for Northwest. He and Shirley have traveled to the Holy Land, Russia, Paris and many other destinations.

Prior to having open-heart surgery including five heart bypasses, a pastor visited Bob in the hospital and prayed with him. At that moment, Bob put himself in God's hands and began to take his faith much more seriously. A new pastor who took Bob under his wing got him more involved in the church. Soon afterwards, Bob became an ordained elder. While Bob actively participates in the church, he has felt that God has led him to the community. He and Shirley began to dedicate a great deal of time to a number of community organizations including hospitals, schools and community centers.

Bob and Shirley never had children. They enjoy a wonderful extended family through Bob's brother and his children, having the whole family over for Mother's Day each year and spending the Christmas Holidays together. Bob and Shirley tutor four children at Middle Lake Elementary School.

Since his retirement in 1990 at the age of 60, Bob has enjoyed conducting story theaters with Robinsdale Story Theater, reading stories with expression to students at public schools and other venues like Courage Center. He attends the Guthrie Theater and Minnesota Orchestra regularly. Bob recently performed Martin Luther King's speech I Have a Dream at Cooper High School, to the accolades of many students. This past year Bob worked with two members of his church who perform in the Minnesota Orchestra. He and Shirley put on a concert for an audience of 400-500 and then put on a dinner for 200 people. It was such a success that Bob and Shirley are looking forward to organizing more concerts in future years.

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