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The family of Richard M. Calvaruso all drive GM vehicles
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LORDSTOWN
Richard M. Calvaruso was 3 when he and five other children of General Motors Lordstown employees rode in a 1969 Chevrolet Impala – the 400,000th Chevrolet to roll off the line at the huge plant that was idled Wednesday.
He said he doesn’t remember anything about that day, but to this day he has never owned any vehicle other than a GM product, including a Chevrolet Cruze.
“We all drive GM vehicles,” said Calvaruso’s father, Richard V. Calvaruso of Canfield, who was one of the first people hired at GM Lordstown and worked there 40 years before retiring in 2005.
GM LORDSTOWN THE LAST DAY
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The final Cruze rolled off the assembly line at GM Lordstown today. Workers gathered for a rally outside the plant.
Last day at Lordstown
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“I loved the work and loved the people. I have good memories of GM. It was a good place to work,” said Richard V.
“I was able to put two kids through college” – Richard M. of Louisville, Ky., and Mark of Liberty – and enable his wife, Marlene, to get a college degree.
“We all drive GM vehicles. We’re still loyal. I feel bad about what is happening, but people have to think about it. There is still the pension, and we want GM to do well,” said Richard V.
Richard M., the kid in the Impala, is carrying on the family’s GM tradition.
He recently purchased a 1966 Impala two-door with about 80,000 miles that he said is “in pretty good shape.”
The kids in the 400,000th Chevrolet were chosen because they were born near the time production started in March 1966, said Richard V.
Richard M. said he has followed what is going on at the Lordstown plant.
“I work in manufacturing and I’ve always been a car guy. It’s pretty upsetting,” said Richard M., who graduated in 1984 from Austintown Fitch High School and in 1989 from Youngstown State University. He and his wife, the former Diane Wilhelm, also a Fitch graduate, have three children and two grandchildren.
Richard M. is also loyal to the Mahoning Valley.
“I live in Louisville, which is a nice community. But when people ask me where I’m from, I always tell them I’m from Youngstown. I’m proud of that,” he said.