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Sunday June 6, 1999 Oakville Beaver Weekend 13 TORONTO FRENCH SCHOOL E x p lo re o u r g lo b a l a lte rn a t iv e a t w w w .t f s .o n .c a Weekend Focus Photo by Barrie Erskine Walter Sultana is calling it a career at Ford after working for the automak­ er for 47 years but he'd just as soon stay on the job. Last Ford worker from original Oakville plant leaves after 47 years By Sandra Omand SPECIAL TO TH E BEAVER " t is with great reluctance that Walter Sultana is retiring from Ford of Canada this week after 47.4 years with the auto lufacturer. While most 65 year-olds are planning their retirement and looking forward to enjoying their new found freedom, Sultana is bemoaning the end of his days as a Ford worker. If he had his way he would never leave the company. "I hate to go," said Sultana, the last of the origi­ nal Oakville Ford plant employees. "My heart is still with them, I've been there so long it's like my second home." Sultana started working for Ford in Windsor as a glazer when he was just 17 years old, six months after emigrating from Malta in 1951. It was the fulfillment of a dream that saw him following in the footsteps of his father and uncle who both worked for Ford in the United States. His father, however, lived alone in the United States. He returned to Malta during layoffs because Sultana's mother would not leave her home. During those visits his father would regale his sons with tales of Ford, cars and the United States. The Ford Company assumed mythical propor­ tions in the mind of Sultana and his five brothers. It is no small wonder, therefore, that all of them, including Sultana, followed their father to the North America to work for Ford as soon as they were able. Sultana recalled his father, who worked in the assembly line at the original Ford Plant in Rouge River, Detroit, describing how they would have to push the cars every five feet to get them to the next assembly station. His father even met Henry Ford, the man who revolutionized car manufacturing, three or four times while working at the Detroit plant Out of the six brothers, three went to the United States, one of whom now works for General Motors. The other three, including Sultana, came to Canada. Terry Sultana works for Ford in Windsor, Ontario while Valintino retired from Ford in Oakville five years ago after 35 years with the company. Sultana said he originally intended to join his father and brothers working in the United States, but his father would not let him. The Korean War was on and Sultana's father feared his son would be drafted if he came to the States. Consequendy, Sultana worked just across from them in Windsor. When Ford opened the Oakville plant in 1953, Sultana applied for a transfer and never looked back. He worked for 35 years as a quality control inspector on fin­ ished vehicles and spent his last nine years in General Stores. "I've seen a lot of people coming and going." He has also seen a lot of changes. When the plant in Oakville was first built, Sultana said there was nothing but farm­ ers' fields surrounding the complex. It took him 18 years to persuade his wife to leave Toronto and move to what Tessie Sultana termed "the country". Now, 25 years after the move from Toronto, the farmers' fields have long since gone and houses and businesses have sprung up around the Sultana family home in Clarkson. Sultana credits the growth of Oakville and the surrounding areas to Ford. He is adamant that with­ out Ford the Oakville of today would not exist. Sultana has also witnessed many changes during his 44 years at the Ford plant in Oakville. "We were making four cars a day in the begin­ ning," said Sultana. "Now we make around 65 cars an hour or more." The plant also used to employ many more peo­ ple, he said. At one time there were 6,000 people working for Ford, the number is about half that now. The decline in personnel is due to modem technol­ ogy and the use of robotics, said Sultana. At the same time, technology has made the employees'job easier and it improves the quality of the final product, said Sultana. Sultana said because Ford was such a great com­ pany he loved getting up every morning and going to work. He actually looked forward to it "I never hated it for one day in my life." Meanwhile the family tradition of cars and working for Ford did not stop with Sultana Both sons, Raymond, 40, and Frank, 37, worked at Ford when they were students. Raymond went on to work for GM as a general manager at Addison Motors in Toronto (his wife is also an executive with GM) while Frank now owns his own business. Their daughter Mary Jane, 35, is a sales representa­ tive for a computer company. When asked how he would feel if one or more of his four grandchildren were to work for Ford one day Sultana replied. 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