1947-1996: The Oilman

    I haven't written much about my grandfather's life after they immigrated to the US. (TLDR: he became a well-known petroleum engineer).  

Arthur Lubinski (2nd from right), somewhere in the
American Southwest on a drilling platform.
Late 1940s or early 1950s (based on the car in the background).

    After graduating with his engineering degree in Belgium, Arthur worked for a number of years as the foreman at a manufacturing plant, overseeing 150 workers. Among other things, they manufactured defensive munitions such as tank traps, galvanized items, fuel tanks, and davits (a specialized crane used to get lifeboats into the water when a ship is listing).  He also worked on a fuel technology called "coal liquefaction," which essentially created a synthetic fuel from coal. Eastern Europe is rich in coal and not oil, so it was an essential fuel source for running everything from motorcars to panzer tanks.  When the Nazis occupied Belgium, I think he mostly stopped working on CLT, having no wish to benefit the occupiers.  

    Once Belgium became unsafe for him, he and my grandmother escaped to France, where he worked as a farmhand during the war. After the war, he worked for the French government, putting his engineering skills to work helping to rebuild the war-torn country, and he was offered French citizenship (a rare honor) both for fighting in the Maquis and then his efforts toward reconstruction. Still, he wasn't working in a field that interested him or that took full advantage of his education and training, so in 1947, he immigrated to the United States, where he settled in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his brother-in-law was already working in the petroleum industry.

    The Lubinskis' first few years were difficult. They came here with two suitcases, two daughters, and the equivalent of three months' salary, so while they weren't broke, they had little money. Initially, they lived with my grandmother's brother, but the little house was quite cramped with four additional people, so they found their own place to live as soon as they could.  

    Grandpa's first job was driving from oil well to oil well, doing inspections, and reporting back what was needed. It also put him face-to-face with the actual workers who had hands-on experience, something he found valuable. However, that took him away from his family for weeks at a time, something he wasn't happy with. He also participated in a weekly lunch/think tank with his brother-in-law, where they bounced around ideas for technological advancement. Eventually, he wrote a paper, which led to better jobs closer to home, something he was grateful for, as his youngest daughter was born in Tulsa in 1949. 

    He, my grandmother, and their two older daughters (including my mom) became citizens in 1952, and by 1955 or so, they had attained enough success that they could afford to stop renting, and build a house in Tulsa.  I suppose they lived the American Dream. While it's true that they came here with very little, and did manage to succeed, Grandpa didn't come here with nothing.  He had that rare combination of valuable skills, education, genius, and drive. He had also started over from nothing once before (when they escaped Belgium with just what he could carry) and he knew he could do it again.

    By the time I woke up, he had retired but worked out of his home as an independent contractor (he was ahead of his time, working remotely decades before it was even called that). He flew to Houston every month to turn over his work. By his late 70s, he decided he was too old to continue the monthly trips, so he told his employers that he was happy to keep working for them, but they needed to send his colleagues to Tulsa to meet with him, and they did.  By the time he died in 1996, he had several patents, and many would say he revolutionized the industry. 

Here are a few links for further reading:

• Arthur Lubinski OTC Best Paper Award - a yearly engineering award named for my grandfather. I've seen the award called "a Lubinski." As in, "he has won a Lubinski."
• Engineering and Technology History Wiki - Arthur Lubinski
• National Academies Press Memorial Tribute - Arthur Lubinski