HISTORY OF

AUGUST 2003

Submitted By:

WICHITA CHAPTER Historian (2003-2004)

Based on Leadership Recall Interview Guidelines

WICHITA CHAPTER [076] ASHRAE

The one term that comes up when reviewing Eric’s history is that he is a survivor. Meshed with his talents and perseverance, he has emerged through his association with the Wichita Chapter of ASHVE (now ASHRAE) and the industry (HVAC & R) as a "Limey" with integrity, commitment and trust. His amazing experiences transcend the HVAC & R industry and this brief expose^~ doesn’t do justice to his accomplishments or is it intended to do so. His memoirs would be more enlightening and significantly more interesting than some recent books published by national political figures.

Eric W. Juneman is a Life Member of ASHRAE. He served as the 21^st Chapter President of the Wichita Chapter of ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.). His leadership and wit have emblazoned a hallmark that has continued to provide guidance to the association and others in the HVAC&R industry. The realm of historical events presented in this brief report was mainly taken from an interview held on 6 August 2003.

He was born in London, England on August 11, 1925. His schooling at Christ Church School in London was completed when he was twelve. He volunteered for the English Navy to support WWII efforts against Nazi Germany. He survived the London Blitz. He survived D-day and crossings to Sword Beach (Extreme Left Hand Ship). He survived the German mines and D-day plus 19 when his ship was impacted with a nasty explosion(s). His ship chased convoys and attacked U-Boats. The sinking of a U-Boat and subsequent information gathering is material for another historical endeavor. During a convoy to Murmansk, Russia another fellow radio operator, who remained calm in facing terminal danger, was recalled as a bravest man.

Eric was married in April 1950 to his lovely wife Marianne. A faxed copy of a recent photo is shown below (picture taken at their 50^th wedding anniversary). They have two

daughters and a grandson. They followed Bob Hope from England (actually over forty years later) to America after WWII was over. After eight days, with just the clothes they wore and one suitcase, they arrived in the United States on 17 January 1951. They were sponsored by Marianne’s Uncle from Kansas (noted to be a champion wrestler ranked #3 in the world in1903) and transported directly to Wichita (20 January 1951).

Naturally, Eric’s favorite books and movies involve naval history and WWII classics. A beef, bread and cheese man, he enjoys a good brew and conversation. His motto has always been one to develop trust (with a friendly English Accent that carries a wit that rivals Bob Hope). As will be evident in this report, Eric’s ASHRAE mentors were Orville Strahm and Alvin Newton.

To survive, as a young married man, work was a priority. After a four-day vocation spot-welding for Coleman Company, work was acquired at a heating and air-conditioning warehouse owned by J. M. O’Connor Company. Mr. Orville Strahm came to the warehouse to get an Aquastat and he wanted to have a means to control temperature. Eric overheard the conversation and knew the model (409B), where to find it and how to convert the device to function the way Orville desired. This started a friendship that continued with ASHVE and throughout the years. Orville, being good at controls, was impressed with young Eric and would go directly to him for needed equipment and parts. This was noticed at the company and helped to promote the lad to higher positions.

This initial beginning is how Eric became involved in the HVAC&R business. His knowledge of controls and his mental attributes for using "common sense" have made him very valuable for any project. His value to the O’Connor Co. moved him from "Driving-The-Goose" (machine that lifts up a boiler section) to office parts and direct sales. He advanced to the "Office Environment" to deal directly with the customers. At this time his association with Orville Strahm fostered his involvement with ASHVE (later ASHRAE) and he attended practically all the monthly meetings.

Mr. Alvin B. Newton, a new man from the York Company, moved to Wichita and became associated with Eric. Mr. Newton developed numerous patents. He became the 5^th Wichita Chapter President (1955-56). Alvin made many presentations to various chapters; e.g., one on Thermo-Electric AC (at Montreal) drew quite a response from the attendees.

The first Wichita Chapter President (1951-52), Ray Bauer, hired Eric on 15 March 1954 for his talent with "Inside Sales." On 15 September 1962 Eric formed a partnership with Ed Blood. Eric handled the air movement (ventilation) business and Ed the compressor/unit heaters. This partnership continued until 1971. In 1971, Eric became self-employed and formed Juneman Sales Company. His business activity manifested itself and continued until his retirement in 1989. Noteworthy, Juneman Sales Co. was a successful one-man business operation. Except for a brief time that his daughter served as a liaison while Eric was across the "pond" (during a business lull in the Fall of 1975), Eric did everything from A to Z.

What contributed to Eric’s success in the HVAC&R Industry? Besides his ability and knowledge to apply "common sense", he acknowledges a key to his "survival" and presence was that he was the only "Limey" in the business in Wichita. He is gifted with a quick English accent that has a sharply muted sense of humor (often a subtle undercurrent). A "sharp memory" basically developed from his WWII radio-man days in critical activities. He is a very social individual that has always developed a "trust" through dependable, hard work on projects.

An initial challenging job occurred with the Wichita Plaza Hotel while he worked with R. Bauer. Ray had a coronary and the project dropped into Eric’s lap. The engineer (H. Beck of Dallas) specified 1100 rpm pumps (when 1750 & 3500 rpm was the norm) and initially designed around Carrier. Trane got the HVAC for the project and their condenser didn’t match the pressure drop. The outcome was to go to larger pumps to match the design requirements. Eric served as the fulcrum between the big companies while his boss was in the hospital. The trust and commitment developed from his work with the companies came into play and gave a "boost" to his career.

Another unique project involved Barber-Colman Co. which pioneered a Heat-O-Light Diffuser that was to do away with heating. This project was for the KG&E Building at First and Market that had a building full of lights that provided heating. Air movement was with a giant American Blower. A 250 ton plus chiller was used to provide cooling. The challenge was to provide air-conditioning to all the six floors of the building.

One of the biggest projects was the Fourth National Bank. A quadrant system concept was used in the design. Several miles of slot diffusers were utilized in this design. Several Carrier unit air-handlers in each corner of each floor and a few mixing boxes were used. Note that the old timers used the language of mixing boxes rather than "terminal" boxes.

A unique project in the 1973-74 timeframe involved a Boeing warehouse. It was one of the first applications that used a helicopter to lift air-handlers to the roof. It used some of the largest fans (25) that were eight-foot (with 7½ hp motor) across made of spun aluminum.

A double duct, high velocity design was used on the City Building Project many years ago. Several other projects included a Safeway plant, a Hutchinson plant and several high schools. These provided some challenging opportunities and were met with success. An essential ingredient was that business performance contributed to survival in the HVAC&R Industry.

Eric became ASHRAE president by acclamation during a busy time in his career. As his new business developed he had enough on his plate. It was a classic example of the position seeking the most qualified individual. The elected person moved to Kansas City and the chapter "needed" Eric. Herb Speyer (1968-69 President) spearheaded the effort noting that Eric was already a consistent leader who participated in the monthly meetings.

A highlight of this presidency was the awarding of the Chapter Trophy to Wichita at the South Dakota CRC Meeting. The trophy was so big it was not able to fit out-of-the-way on the airplane. Eric rode Shotgun on the trophy and safely transported it to the Wichita Chapter.

Eric has been involved with the Wichita Chapter of ASHRAE from its inception to the present. A span of over 53 years, he has served as chapter historian and on several committees. He recently helped Wichita celebrate its 50^th Anniversary at the highly successful 2001 Region IX CRC held in Wichita. Those in attendance got a flavor of his British "humour" and sharp memory recounting many episodes from past chapter events.

He noted that the chapter has held meetings in many locations around Wichita. Some of the "old time" locations were: Brown’s Grill (east), Angelo’s Pizza, LakeShore Club, Broadview Hotel, Wolff’s Cafeteria and Innes Tea Room. The meeting of "greatest attendance" (over 200 plus attendees) was presented by Westinghouse Electric on Thermal Refrigeration at the old Innes Tea Room in Downtown Wichita.

Eric supports ASHRAE and embodies its association with professional members of the industry. He would recommend the HVAC&R business to young people and is proof of the adage that many opportunities still exist to merit success. He recalled that the first window units ($551 for about ½ hp unit) in Wichita brought attention and comments. A notable gentleman from St. Louis said it just "wouldn’t work" and didn’t have faith in it. Guess window units are still selling at a low price throughout the country.

He mentioned that as a radio-man in WWII he observed that about 50 years of progress happened in the seven years of the war. For example, from the large (frequency) tubes to compact units the electronics evolved. But, still the sharp man on the radio was the key that saved many a lad.

Interesting is the metals and ribbons he received from the war were mailed to him from England. Yes, mailed to him. No ceremony like we see today on the news in the US. Like it was the expected, yet acknowledged, part of an English lad’s role in war.

One suggestion that Eric would make to ASHRAE Society Headquarters would be to include a box on the renewal form to mark for some Retired Life Members: