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When I came to Ras Tanura he was Principal of the American school
there. He was a slack administrator one of the teachers was teaching
Catholic catechism during regular school hours! The company brought
two Professors from Colombia Teachers College in New York to put on
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seminar was conducted in Dhahran and teachers and principals from all
three districts were to attend. On the second day, I received a call asking
why Sam Whipple wasnt in attendance. I called out to the school and
Sam answered the phone. I expressed surprise that he was not attending
the seminar. He indicated that he didnt think it was worth his time to
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New York to put on a professional seminar for our educators, I thought
he should attend both from the standpoint of his professional develop-
ment and as an example to his faculty. Sam allowed that perhaps, under
the circumstances he should resign. I told him, Resignation accepted.
We had a couple of satisfactory principals after Sam, but when we pro-
moted George Larson to be principal our problems there ended. George
had experience as a teacher and principal in Michigan and came to Ara-
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job.
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within the Ras Tanura industrial relations department, we made great
progress. I attended annual executive development reviews in Dhahran
in 1957 and thereafter. By then our industrial relations department was
recognized as the best in Aramco. Im extremely proud of the quantity
and quality of the work they did. Putting the right leaders in place was
the key to our success.
In 1955, Jean took the four kids to Salt Lake for three months be-
fore I could leave on Long Vacation. She rented a house, bought a Ford
sedan, and spent the summer visiting her relatives and buying clothing
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in September, so she sent Richard to live with Uncle Gords family in
Berkeley; Janet went to live with Uncle Sams family in Kensington.
After I arrived in Salt Lake in mid-September, we visited with family
and friends in Salt Lake, then drove with the two little girls to Berkeley.
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