The Sanford Tales

About the Book

When I interviewed for the job, Keith Beal, the Research and Development Director, and my immediate supervisor, gave me a tour of the manufacturing area and made it a point to stop at a small table. There were about three or four assemblers at the table manually placing Sharpie “reservoirs” into Sharpie “barrels”, fitting the “ferrule” (top half of the pen) into place, spin welding the assembly, adding the ink with a foot-operated syringe, setting the tip and cap in place, and then placing the finished marker in a box that was partitioned to hold twelve rows of twelve—one gross of product. “This,” Keith told me, “Is the Sharpie Marker.” All Bill wanted as he interviewed for the job of chemist at Sanford Ink Company in Bellwood, Illinois was a way to support his young family. He could worry about making his mark in the world after his family had a place to sleep, a used car to drive, and food in the refrigerator. Furniture for the apartment could come later. What happened next is today a piece of Americana.

About the Author

William Green is retired and lives in Albuquerque, NM with Ginny, his wife of 59 years. They have 3 children, 7 very loving grandchildren, and growing list of great grandchildren. Bill worked as an analytical chemist, a R & D Chemist, a Vice President of R & D for an electronics manufacturer, and then started his own company to manufacturer electronic products produced with his own patents. He finished his career and an Environmental Scientist for the State of New Mexico.