60 years on job and going strong

He signed on at Packard right out of high school. Sixty years later, he's still at it, with no retirement plans in sight.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WARREN -- Some people don't know when to quit. Others can't get enough of a good thing.
You might say Julius Lesniak fits both descriptions.
At 78, Lesniak still gets up at 5 a.m. every weekday and drives to work at Delphi Packard Electric System's Dana Street plant.
"He starts at 7, but he gets here early," said Peggy Hess, supervisor of the longtime employee. "He's a fantastic employee, and he loves his job."
It's been a routine since Lesniak graduated from Warren Harding High School in 1942, and even after 60 years, he says he still loves the work too much to even think of retirement.
Lesniak is Delphi Packard Electric's most senior employee, said Mary Beth Cunningham, global director of production control. "He's a faithful employee. He's only missed 10 days in 60 years," she said.
To hear Lesniak tell it, his workday is one nonstop party.
He starts off at the plant's central materials warehouse, called "the crib," where he loads up a four-wheeled push cart with office supplies and heads off on foot.
"I deliver the parts. Everybody treats me so nice, especially the ladies. They feed me all the time," he said with a broad grin, describing birthday and anniversary cakes, cookies, candies and other treats.
He's made friends all over the massive, 750,000-square-foot plant. "Everybody loves him. It's like working with your grandpa," Hess said.
How career began
Lesniak was 18 when he first applied for a job at the company, then known as Packard Electric Corp. There were no openings, so he reluctantly took a train to Indiana to ask his uncle for a job at a plant he managed.
His mother wasn't happy about her son's moving out of state, so when Packard called with a job offer, she telephoned Lesniak and told him to hurry back home.
"Holy Christmas! I took a train back and went right over. I didn't even have time to change my clothes," he said, laughing at the memory. He was hired on the spot and ordered to start the next day, July 4, 1942.
Lesniak was later drafted into the Army, serving in its field artillery in World War II. When he returned, he thought about applying at Thomas Steel. "I knew the pay was good."
Once again his parents intervened. "My Dad said, 'You go back to Packard Electric.' So I did. It was the best move I ever made."
Lesniak has three children and seven grandchildren. His wife is deceased. His son, Raymond, also is a Delphi Packard employee.
Even after eight-hour days on his feet, Lesniak says he loves to tend to the yard and garden at his Howland home after work. He plants spring bulbs in the fall and hundreds of flowering annuals in the spring. "I spend $300 or $400 every year on my yard," he quipped. "That's why I've gotta work."
vinarsky@vindy.com