Lord High Engineer

In short, in matters vegetable, animal and mineral, He is the very model of a modern Major-General.

--The Pirates of Penzance

On the runway at Ohio's Akron-Canton airport one day this week stood a bright yellow, converted C87 that was once used by General Alexander A. Vandegrift, commandant of the U.S. Marines. Waiting for the take-off was a tall, sad-eyed man who was indeed the very model of a modern full-blown general, or admiral--or at least something mineral. His milky-blue uniform with brass buttons and bright gold stars & bars suggested considerable rank, if an indeterminate branch of service. But there was nothing indeterminate about the man inside the uniform. He was Samuel Floyd Keener, 61, who owns and runs Canton's Salem Engineering Co.

A onetime cowboy, who left school after the sixth grade, Keener picked up his basic engineering in survey work for the Colorado Power Co., in 1934 founded his own company. From one employee, it grew during World War II, when Keener built ammunition plants, to 800 men, has netted Keener a tidy personal fortune.

Last year, Keener decided to take a trip to Europe and see if he could land some reconstruction contracts abroad. His offer: to build complete industrial installations (e.g., steel plants, sugar mills, gas manufacturing plants) anywhere in the world. Before he left, a friend warned him: "Sam, if you're going to Europe, wear some kind of uniform. It'll get you any place and you'll get no place without it." Sam designed his own outfit and found it worked like a charm, cowing officious customs men and clearing the way through red tape to top men. Once he was even saluted by the commander of a British jet-plane field near London.

Keener came home with more than salutes; he also had $2,000,000 worth of contracts in his pocket. This week, starting a second jaunt, Sam Keener was looking forward to more salutes during his stopovers in the world's principal cities. Out of it, Keener hopes to snag additional millions in new business.

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