Bob Haldeman Interview (11)

ASSISTANT GENERAL MINE FOREMAN, 1951 
Far-Reachine Effects of Plane Crash in Canada. 1949 

Swent: You were assistant mine foreman in 1951. 

Haldeman: Yes, I was being considered for that. In 1950 comes another act 
of the fairy of fate. Kennecott's Mr. Stannard, who I met when 
I first came down, plus two of the key executives were getting 
along in years, and the board of directors said, "You have to 
replace yourselves with younger people." 

Haldeman: At that time Kennecott had acquired controlling interest in a 
mining company in Canada, Quebec Iron and Titanium. 

Swent: You were working for Braden Copper Company, which was a 
subsidiary of Kennecott, so it was natural for them to turn 
here--? 

Haldeman: Yes. They had a reorganization policy that the board had 
insisted on that they get some younger people in the top 
positions. The incoming executives, with the outgoing 
executives, took a plane to fly up to Canada. On that plane was 
the wife of a postman who was fed up with her, and she was going 
up to visit some relatives in Quebec. He put a bomb in her 
suitcase. 

Swent: Oh, I didn't know that caused the crash. 

Haldeman: They all went down--the wife and all of the outgoing and 
incoming executives; Stannard was one of the outgoing and Frost 
was one of the incoming. Kennecott was absolutely decimated; 
they had nobody to run it. 




Swent: To this day most mining companies don't send all of their 
executives in the same plane. 

Haldeman: That's exactly the reason; that started the policy.
 
Swent: It was a terrible thing. When was that? 
Haldeman: It was 1950. 

Charles Cox was taken from a steel company; I don't know if 
it was U.S. Steel or not. He was a financial man, and he was 
brought in as president. I think a year later he picked up 
Frank Milliken from New Jersey Zinc and put him in as number two 
man. 

Index to Haldeman Interview