Most people have met or know someone who has made a huge
influence in their life. It could be something that they said
at a given moment or things they did over a period of time.
I've known several people like that in my life. One
was Henry E. Applen, former President of the United Plant Guard
Workers of America (UPGWA), now called the Security, Police, Fire
Professionals of America (SPFPA). Henry retired from the UPGWA in 1990.
About ten years ago Henry called me long distance from his
home in Carol Stream, Illinois and told me that his health
was such that he wanted to make plans for his funeral. Then he asked me
if I would officiate at it when the time came. My immediate
response was, “Henry, you’re going to out
live all of us!” He then said in a firm tone of voice, "Art
I'm very serious about this and I want to prepare for it in advance" and so I agreed to his
request but I thought he would forget about it when his health improved. I was wrong because a few years later I ran
into him at the  50th
Anniversary of the UPGWA and he reminded me again of our agreement.
Henry
became ill on Sunday, September 3, 2006 and on Labor Day, September 4th
he was taken to the Hospital. The next few days his condition became
worse and on September 8, 2006 in Carol Stream, IL, Henry died of a
Heart attack at the age of 85. His wife tried to contact me but the
telephone number she used had been disconnected and therefore I was
unable to attend Henry’s Funeral. About
three weeks later, Rita, Henry’s wife found my address and
sent me a letter with a card from Henry's funeral and a short note
which read, “Henry always said, if anything happens
to me, let Art Mirek know. He is a good friend of mine. I
tried calling but could not get through. Sincerely, Rita”
I called her home and we spoke for about 20 minutes.
She told me what a wonderful man Henry was as her husband and
how he enjoyed talking about the Union. She said the week he
had not been feeling well before he checked into the Hospital and was
unable to sleep. They did everything they could for him but
Henry's heart just gave out.
She
told me that SPFPA's Financial Secretary, Dennis Eck, was
contacted and that all the other Officers of the Union were at a
conference in Florida. Mr. Eck drove down from Roseville,
Michigan to Carol Stream, IL for the Funeral. Rita and the
Applen family were very appreciative of that. I'm personally
glad that Dennis had taken the time to do that because he was
the only one available. Henry would have the same thing back
in his day and I know that he appreciated something like that.
I'm
featuring Henry in this debut of FELLOWSHIP. I feel very bad
that I was not able to honor Henry’s request
to officiate at his funeral but this Web Site and story will
enable me to tell the World what a great person he was.
I’ve been told that the International Union, SPFPA has also
made an announcement and that too would have made Henry very happy for
he put forth a lot of sweat and tears into his years with the United
Plant Guard Workers of America.
Henry
E. Applen was born on July 29, 1921 in Cave City, AR. After
graduation from High School in 1942 he enlisted in the Navy. He was
assigned to the USS Pontius, a P.T. Boat tender of the Seventh Fleet in
the South Pacific. He received an honorable discharge in
October of 1945.
In
1947 he was hired as a Security Guard for Caterpillar, Inc. and in
1952, with Henry’s active support, the Security Guards and
fire marshals were organized by the United Plant Guard Workers of
America. That same year Henry was elected as a Steward.
Henry
gained a reputation for being a very good Negotiator. He was
able to put all the pieces together and come up with easy solutions to
complex problems. He was very successful in convincing management to
agree to his solutions. By the early 1960’s the
late James C. McGahey, President of the International Union, took
notice of Henry’s abilities and brought him into
the International Union. By 1965 Henry E. Applen was elected
Vice President of the International Union.
I
first met Henry as a Delegate to the International Union’s
Convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1975. I had been
impressed over the years by his articles about Unionism in
the Union's newspaper, “The Guard News”.
It was so good that he was given a regular column
called “Comments”. Henry's descriptions
and reports of his activities on behalf of the Union were always
informative and upbeat. He put you right into the story and made you
proud that somebody was making your life on the job a bit easier. He
was always concerned about Security employees' working
conditions. He helped to bring them better salaries
and benefits We discussed some of his articles when I became President
of Local 114, UPGWA in 1976. We became good friends
from that time forward and I enjoyed the advice and encouragement he
bestowed on me.
I could write volumes on Henry
Applen and they would all reveal that he was first and foremost a true
Unionist. He fought just as hard for the simple Grievances as
he did for the hard Grievances. His dedication to the members
of the Union was legendary. I recall a meeting he chaired
where two Union officers were having a political dispute. In
no uncertain terms Henry
told both of them that they BOTH had a responsibility
to represent the Members and that they must work together to
make that happen. They did and are friends to this
day. Henry was that rare person who put everyone else first!
On
May 31, 1990, Henry E. Applen retired as President of the International
Union, UPGWA and over the years I would hear from him when he made
visits to Southeast Michigan and speak to him by telephone on other
occasions. He kept in touch with the International Union and
attended many of their events over the years. The last time I heard
from him he talked about some health problem but he still had an upbeat
attitude about himself and his family.
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ always stressed that we
should help those in need by doing good deeds. Henry
did just that in his lifetime. I'm certain when he arrived in Heaven God said to him, "Welcome Henry, My good and faithful
servant!"
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