A good guyKate Gawlik
The year was 1969. John Gooding had returned from Cam Ranh Bay,
Vietnam, where he spent 9 1/2 months as a replacement depot
processing clerk. Gooding soon immersed himself in running the
family business with his father, Fred. But Gooding's return to the
United States was not easy. The local roofers union—Local 30
in Philadelphia—wanted to put Gooding, Simpson & Mackes
out of business.
Gooding, chairman of the board of Gooding, Simpson & Mackes,
Ephrata, Pa., explains: "The business was being threatened by the
Philadelphia roofers union to the point it was trying to destroy
us. By 1974, the union threats escalated. A union representative
would call me saying: ‘I know where your son is. I know where
your wife is.' I was within three days or four days of moving my
family. Then, the FBI got involved."
For two years, Gooding carried a pistol with him to protect
himself, his family and his workers. One Saturday, union people
shot at Gooding, Simpson & Mackes roofing workers at a
commercial job site. The project was stopped, but Gooding was
determined to finish it.
John Gooding, chairman of the board of Gooding,
Simpson & Mackes, Ephrata, Pa., is...
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