Frank E. Masland Iii

Frank E. Masland III, born Aug. 21, 1921, in the family home on Conway Street in Carlisle, died Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011, in Carlisle. He was a son of the late Frank E. Masland Jr. and Virginia Sharp Masland.
Throughout his life, he was known to most as “Mike,” a nickname given him by his uncle at birth mostly due to the fact that two other “Franks,” his father and grandfather, were quite enough. The family moved to “Fallen Arches” farm in South Middleton Township when Mike and his younger brother, David, were in their early years. The farm was so named because the roof of the home had fallen into the basement and the young boys and their parents slept in the straw mound in the barn while the home was being repaired.
That was the start of Mike’s love for the country life, which he and his brother fervently shared. Hunting, fishing, camping and farm work filled their days. While in grade school, the two brothers often slept outdoors on the back porch of the farm year-round. They would rise well before daybreak to go out and check their skunk traps, which provided a small but thriving pelt business for their allowances.
Mike attended Carlisle High School and graduated in the class of 1939. While in school, he loved sports such as football and baseball and was active in school plays. His participation in theater prepared him well for his career in business, in which he was called upon regularly to speak before large audiences. He was often known as “the life of the party.”
After graduating from Carlisle High, he spent a year at The Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J., to prepare him for entry into the class of ’44 at Princeton University. At Princeton he was active in sports. He swam for the varsity swimming team and was known for his speed in the freestyle. His love of swimming was lifelong, as he spent many hours in the pool at his father’s home and later his own. He was also a frequent lap swimmer at the YMCA pool, which he helped finance, as well as the Carlisle Industrial Pool.
While Mike was at Princeton, he enrolled in the Army ROTC program and was eager to serve his country in World War II. At Princeton he also met his sweetheart, Marie Perry, from Washington, Conn., on a blind date on March 6, 1943. They fell in love, announced their engagement April 17 and were married a month later on May 22, 1943. Mike and Marie were happily married for almost 61 years until her death in 2004.
Mike graduated from Princeton on May 29, 1943, only seven days after his wedding and a year early due to the war. His degree in economics prepared him for his eventual entry into the family business.
Because of World War II, Marie and Mike’s first year of marriage was anything but conventional. During that year they found themselves sleeping in 37 different places as the military moved them around. Mike attended Officer’s Candidate School at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and then moved with his young bride to Fort Bragg, N.C. From there they soon moved to Fort Benning, Ga., back to Fort Sill, back to Fort Benning, then to Fort Knox, Ky. Eventually, in the fall of 1944, Mike was transferred to Camp Barkley in Abilene, Texas, with the 12th Armored Division. From there, he was dispatched to Europe to join the war. Marie moved back to Carlisle to live with Mike’s parents at “Fallen Arches” in a small home on the farm built specially for her, christened “Chez Marie.”
During World War II, as a lieutenant in the Field Artillery, Mike went overseas in October 1944, serving with the 12th Armored Division under Gen. Patton. Shortly after arrival, he was asked if he had ever been in a tank, to which he replied, “No.” His commanding officer pointed to a Sherman tank similar to the one on display at AHEC just beside Interstate 81. The officer said, “That one is yours.” His job was to be a forward observer to catch sight of the location of enemy lines, a dangerous task indeed. He fought throughout the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe. On one occasion, he was blown out of his tank when it was hit by German fire. He was not wounded, but his driver was killed. Stunned, Mike was soon picked up by troops in an open Jeep to take him back to the military hospital. As they sped through the town of Speyer, they spotted a Nazi convoy approaching, and a rapid U-turn was in order. Unfortunately he was thrown from the open vehicle to the ground as the Jeep sped away. He found his way to a farmhouse and was fortunately greeted by an older French couple who were not Nazi sympathizers. Later, after the Nazis left town, he was picked up and taken to camp. For his service he was awarded the Bronze Star.
After the conflict subsided he served in the occupation of Germany and was subsequently sent to Greece in March 1946 as a member of AMFOGE (Allied Mission For Observing Greek Elections) composed of 100 British, 100 American, and 50 French officers.
He came home in June 1946, rejoined Marie and moved to Boston, living in a fifth-floor apartment while he attended Harvard Business School. After receiving his MBA, he joined the firm of C.H. Masland & Sons, Rugs & Carpets in March 1948. Throughout his career he held several key positions.
Mike worked at and led C. H. Masland & Sons until 1986, when the company was purchased by Burlington Industries. During his tenure he served as vice president, president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of trustees. He helped shepherd the company from a predominately family-run business to a multi-national corporation. He was instrumental in going public with the company when it was listed on the American Stock Exchange. He also helped develop the automobile mat division into the largest supplier of automobile carpet in the United States.
For all of his accomplishments at the company, he remained a regular guy in many ways. He bowled on the company bowling team and played in the softball league and was never absent from a clambake or Hershey Park outing. To his fellow workers and his secretary of many years, Betty Mullen, he was just “Mike.”
While his primary focus was the carpet business, over the years he had numerous opportunities to participate in industry and civic ventures. He was director and president of the Carpet and Rug Institute, director and chairman of the American Carpet Institute, director of Masland Duraleather Company, director of Galaxy Carpet Company and served on the board of The National Association of Manufacturers.
Outside the carpet industry, he was on the boards of many other companies and organizations, such as Dauphin Deposit Bank, Harsco Corporation and Grove City College, to name just a few.
His great passion outside of the business world was the YMCA, which he supported for many years along with Marie. His “Y” work included chairman of the Carlisle YMCA, chairman of the South Central YMCA, chairman of the Pennsylvania State YMCA, president of the National Council of the YMCA, trustee of the National YMCA Board, National YMCA Retirement Committee, and delegate to four World Council meetings in the following locations: Geneva, Switzerland; Nottingham, England; Rio de Janiero, Brazil; and Tuzanzo, Japan.
He also was devoted to the United Way and served in a range of philanthropic causes, aiding the Carlisle Hospital and other institutions.
He was a devoted member of the Carlisle Rotary for more than six decades and was honored for 60 years of service.
He was a man of many and varied interests. He owned and operated a single-engine plane for several years, which he kept at the Carlisle airport. He was an avid golfer and participated in many industry-sponsored tournaments over his career, where he got to play with many pros and celebrities. One of his favorites was the time he played with Mickey Mantle and his rounds with Chi-Chi Rodriguez. He asked Chi-Chi, “What is the hardest shot in golf?” Chi-Chi replied, “A 4-foot putt with 50,000 people watching and $50,000 riding on it.” Mike loved to tell that story.
Mike and Marie traveled extensively, covering all the continents except Africa and Antarctica. At heart, however, he was a “country boy” who loved the farm in South Middleton on which he was raised and where he built his home, known as “Pizen Patch.” He was often seen riding into Carlisle in his Lincoln with his beloved large Mastiff, Babe, at his side. In later years he delighted in making balloon animals for every child he would see, a skill he attributed to the lung power he built up while swimming at Princeton.
He is survived by his brother, David S. Masland, of Carlisle. He had three children, a daughter, Ellen Colcord Masland, who died in 2000; a son, Frank Masland IV, who lives in Carlisle; and a son, Jonathan Masland, who lives in Lafayette, Calif.
He is survived by 10 grandchildren, Nick Anderson, Ingrid Clark, Michael Masland, Charlotte Masland, Christopher Masland, Catherine Masland, Elizabeth Masland, Dexter Masland, Tracy Masland and Trevor Masland.
He is also survived by five great-grandchildren, Frank Clark, Ian Clark, Rebecca Schrader, Emily Schrader and Nathaniel Schrader
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Allison United Methodist Church, Carlisle, with the Rev. Paul Herring officiating.
Memorial contributions may be made to Carlisle Family YMCA, 311 S. West St., Carlisle PA, 17013.
Hoffman-Roth Funeral Home and Crematory, 219 N. Hanover St., Carlisle, is handling the arrangements.