July 12, 2023 • 27 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, escaping the horrors of World War II in Croatia, Tony Maglica's flashlights are proudly made in America—and his dreams were too.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib, and this is our American stories.
In nineteen ninety six, The Wall Street Journal referred to
the mag Light flashlight as the Cadillac of flashlights.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
The creator of.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
This flashlight that sold millions, Tony Maglica, founder of mag Industries. Today,
our own Mount Montgomery brings us the story of this
Croatian immigrant who started with nothing and ended up with something.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Tony Magnica was born in New York City in November
of nineteen thirty, but with the Great Depression of full
Swain and his family moved back to his mother's native
island in Croatia.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Nineteen doido. My mom went to back to Europe. My
father say here they thought things going to blow up
in no time. So things are going to be good
right away, you know so. But he said he didn't
have no money, he didn't have no jobs. My father
(01:10):
didn't even have the money to send my mom back.
He had to borrow money on the future a job
that he gets and paid it back. So I went
over there with my mom and we're supposed to go
back in a couple of years. So they said about
(01:33):
to say a little more money and this and that,
and we are quite caught in the war World War two,
and that wasn't very pleasant to anyone. It was very
difficult to live on the Mussellini. They if they suspected
(01:54):
that you are a communist or you are on the side,
whatever side it out it is, they simply torture you
and kill you. One of the tortures there was by
riching the oil Castro and they will put a tube
(02:21):
in your truck and they will give you maybe a
quard or so. It's this oil and you die. I
mean it's just simply not immediately, but you know, it's
just it's a horrible way to die. There was no
(02:42):
freedom to leave the town. We have no income. Then
when the Italian gots defeated, they got involved with with Germans.
When the German comes in in the town, he was
so frightening because they run that all the people in
(03:08):
the town to come down to a to the town
and they put entirely down in the semi circle against
a bigger wall with the three machine guns, one here,
(03:29):
one there, and one in the center. And I was
just a young man, had remember better. My mom was
there standing up who was right in the center. So
(03:50):
I went down to my mom's skirt. This guy was
really upset. Tell us to come out, They tell us
to we exposed somebody. They s said that they know
that we killed somebody in time to dispose the person
(04:13):
who have committed his crime. Well, there was no one
to commit a crime. And we no, no if somebody
commit a crime, said, if you don't say, we're gonna
kill it a all of you. So what are you
what are you gonna do just to point the finger
on the innercent person And and the people that I am,
(04:39):
even if their life wasn't the lion, they won't do it.
They won't lie. There was a priest there and he
was begging there hand that these people are never to
commit to any kind of crime. And mm he has
the pre say you have a power to kill us whole.
(05:01):
I understand that. But if we tell you that this
person could commit the crime, we don't know that anybody
commit the crime. And in this stnge never been pursuing
in jail, there's never been anyone compete they you know,
they they believe in God by doing crime like that.
(05:25):
So anyway, on the end of about four hours they're
standing up and you don't know that one they gonna
pull the trigger. It's almost like being dead anyway, you
don't know any second that they gonna turn around start
switter shitting. So m my mom was terrified, and of
(05:46):
course I was terrified. I mean, we're all they hold town.
Was terrified. Then they let us go. He wasn't senteen
everywhere in the country, you know, or that Tom you
know they put people against the wall.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Just shut up and you're listening to the voice of
Tony Magliica and he's telling the story of his life
in Croatia around World War Two and letting folks know
what real totalitarianism looks and feels like to a small
village where he had set up until these grand inquisitions
(06:29):
and interrogations by well by the Nazis, that there had
never been a person in jail in his town. And
yet they were looking for a murder, a murder suspect
and make one up. We don't care when we come back.
The story of Tony Maglica continues from nothing to something,
(06:50):
a part of our American Dreamers story here on our
American Story. Liehabibe here the host of all American stories.
(07:34):
Every day on this show, we're bringing inspiring stories from
across this great country, stories from our big cities and
small towns. But we truly can't do the show without you.
Our stories are free to listen to, but they're not
free to make. If you love what you hear, go
to Alamerican Stories dot com and click the donate button.
Give a little, give a lot. Go to Alamerican Stories
(07:56):
dot com and give and we continue with our American
stories and the story of Tony Maglica. When we last
left off, Tony was telling the harrowing story of living
(08:18):
under both Italian and German occupation in war torn Croatia
during World War Two. But if there was anything positive
about this time in Tony's life, it was his mother.
Here's Tony telling the story of what she did to
help the family during this traumatic time.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
On anything. What she did. We sold it, everything that
we brought it from us, We sold it, blancs, the cops,
this boom, the plays, whatever we have tread it For
a corn, my mom will have will say of the
corn and the various seats of various grout, various beans,
(09:05):
and stuff like that. And I learned something from it.
No matter how hungry we was, my mom would go
to the pillowcass and she will take a cup wheat.
And I tell you it's hard for me even talk
about it. There is no one like the mother.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
By nineteen fifty, Tony had had enough of living in
war term Croatia and made the decision to come back
to the United States.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Well, there was a vault that a war board personnel
board big ship, and they got it. The England got
it for the damage that they did. I guess they
had to pay, so they took the vault and so
they used that to transport the people I know other
(09:58):
words like them. There was making a tourism outher So
you have a two three classes on that boat. The
toy class. It was just a shelve like like a
shelf with your store, your cans. There was a six
beds in this little closet. So I was myself, five
(10:23):
other people. So I have a tough but there's other
people have it even tougher than I am. Family was torture,
the member of the defendant has got killed. All these things.
You have to have a desire to survive. You have
(10:44):
to have a desire to accomplish something.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
And Tony would accomplish something, but for right now he
was just one of many immigrants arriving in New York,
speaking very little English and with no money. So his
first task was work.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
When I come into New York, I went to work
in a sewing company to make him clothes. So make
a collar of sleeves or whatever. Fifty five cents an hour.
I was a lot of money then, at least for
me was anyway. I didn't know anything in the interest.
(11:23):
You know, metric, So I said, I want to learn
how to do it. So the guy says, to me,
go to school. There's trade school. So I went to
trade school. I was there one week. The guy said, look, fella,
you need to go get a job. You don't need
to go to school for this, and you can teach
the other guys how to do that. I couldn't speak English,
(11:48):
now can I teach anybody? So I went to Denver, Colorado,
got a job in machine shop.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
But before Tony was hired at the shop he would
work at. He faced some adversion there because of his
lack of English, and.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
They said, you can't how can you do this job?
You can't work. I said, give me a job. If
I can't do it, don't have to pay me anything.
I want for free. Said, oh, we had a union
here and stuff. We can't do that. And the guy says,
over there was speaking Italian. So my Italian was not
(12:22):
really good, but I was the only thing I have.
And nobody speak orations or the guy that told to
me and Italian, and he said, you really think you
can do the other way? He said yeah. So the
guy said that the guy, why don't you give a
guy opportunity to give him a chance. The guy said, well,
come on in the office. It won't like that that
way doing it. He said, look, nobody knows anything, you know,
(12:45):
why don't you just maybe you can get a big
laugh out of it. The guy give it to me.
You give me a machine that wasn't running for ears.
I cleaned that machine, made a slide move, turned the
machine on, and I may the parts in one week,
just as good as the people was doing. Now another
(13:06):
machine that was costing that time probably maybe eight thousand dollars.
I've worked there for a year or something. But then
these people says, you know, Tony, once you go to California,
it's a nice weather and you can make it three
dollars an hour, three dollars an hour of God. You
(13:28):
know that has a lot of money. Three dollars an hour,
more than three times one may now. And I bought
it nineteen forty seven Surrey Backer, and I was at peace.
I'll tell you the guy that I worked and they
give me a dollar and a quarter an hour, he
(13:49):
give me Heath Carter Drive. That's the first tst of
me in this country. At people pleasant that wanted me
help want to help me. I felt so guilty that
I have to leave by. I said, I gotta get it,
I gotta get ahead. So anyway, I only made it
(14:11):
about ten miles away from the Denver my car overheated.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Nevertheless, Tony made it to California, where he would eventually
find work at the Aosmith Company, a manufacturer of everything
from car bodies to water heaters.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
It was really good job. I was making over three.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Dollars now, but there was a downside.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
We have a norm that you have to produce leaves
that much to keep your pay rate. And so I
will make that. I will even give it some parts
to the people next to me will make it the
same parts. Remember the inspector who will say this is
not your part, this is this is Tony part to
(14:56):
the other guy. So the guy who would you know,
let it go? You know. But the one thing that
didn't like. They didn't want me to make so many parts,
didn't want me to shop my own tool. Very strict union.
The guy said, look, you don't have to make that
(15:19):
many parts. I said, but look at how many people
on the line waiting to get a tool shot. I said,
I can do it in five minutes, and I ain't
back to work. The guy said, Tony, if you're going
to do that, you're going to get in trouble. And
it was right I did. The people when I go
(15:41):
out to the bathroom, they over there saw me down
everywhere I can.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
They messed with Tony's machine and bring his ability to produce.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I said, my god, I was thinking by my mom
telling me you work hard and do a good job.
Why this? Why do people do stuff like that? I
was read is sick of my stomach.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Tired of spending his days at a company where he
was being held back, Tony decided to use one hundred
and twenty five dollars he had saved up to make
a down payment on his own machine. Soon he was
able to rent a garage in South Elmonte, California, and
would pick up some contract jobs, initially working for his
supervisor AO Smith Company, who would offer him some advice.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
He said, Tony, I heard you had a lady at home,
and he said, what about making these chots for an
And I said, sure, Here, you're telling me what you
can do. The guy gives me that. He said, Tony,
you know you're doing a good job, but I need
the thousandths of the sports, not just fifty or one hundred.
(16:52):
Why don't you just quit a job and do this
in your garage. You can make more money than you're
making here. I said, that was my goal, but I
didn't know where to get to work.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
And you're listening to Tony Maglica tell the story of
his journey from Croatia through Europe to the United States,
from New York City to Denver and ultimately to California
where he was looking for that three dollars a day job,
but in the end fellow workers were holding him back
from his potential and what he could do with his
(17:25):
life and what happens next. Well, you'll hear more of
Tony Maglica's story our American Dreamers here here on our
American story, and we continue with our American stories and
(18:11):
the story of Tony Maglica. When we last left off,
Tony had just been given a bit of advice. He
was told that he could make more money being his
own boss. So in nineteen fifty five Tony founded mag Instrument.
Let's pick up where we last left off.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
I was doing the work for Jance Bonner Clard and
I was doing also the business for Cloudy Multifler. Then
used to be a calculator by division and multiplication, you know. Anyway,
they did a government job, so I was doing some
job from them, and I was doing all different kind
(18:54):
of stuff. The twenty millimeter projectile my way, so infuse bomb.
And it was a very competitive job. For one penny.
You can lose the job even if you run it
now and it's job shop is very competitive. Business people
don't know how competitive that is. Anyway, I was doing
(19:17):
the different job shop work, all kinds of job shop work,
including a component. Then actually took the satellite, first satellite
up in space. I was making parts for everybody. Then
there's a company by an a Bankei company, and they
made an aluminum light. So I told the guy, you know,
(19:42):
I can make a light better than anything that you
guys have. So when I develop an a showment, he said, no,
we want to make our own life. We don't want
your life.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
But despite the setback, others were still interested in Tony's flashlight,
including Neil Perkins, founder of Safari Land, who was looking
to make a new flashlight specifically designed for law enforcement.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
And he said, I heard that you have a flat flight.
How about let me sell your flat flights? Okay, how
many you can sell last year? Will sell several thousand
for the whole year? Yeah, he said that part of
it a week. Couldn't get it. I said, well, if
(20:30):
I'm going to make it for you, I wanted fifteen
thousand a month. He said, twenty fifteen thousand a month.
It's crazy. Well, I said, I know I can make it.
I can sell it. I can make it, and I
can make it in production. I can make economic point
(20:52):
off and be able to sell it. He said, I'm
sorry telling it about the cowds. I wish you changed
your If you change your mind, if it doesn't work,
please come back.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
So it determined, Tony took his flashlight to a trade show.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
We sold for a show thousands.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
You heard right. Tony had far exceeded expectations at his
first trade show, and Magniic wasn't just popular with law enforcement.
With the introduction of Mini mag, it became popular with
the average consumer as well. Tony was making a lot
of flashlights.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
I read you thousands so day all the flashlight combined.
Not just MANI mine, but many not. We sold him millions.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Tony Magliica, who came back to his birth country, speaking
no English and with very little money, it become a
self made millionaire. Tony didn't settle down, though, and now
in his nineties he's still working and making Magli's in America,
nowhere else.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
I got to work every day. I never missed the day.
I work from Monday through Saturday. Saturday. I spend not
quite full day, but during the week I try to
be here before eight, and I never leave before six,
(22:28):
maybe seven sometime when it's nice, when the light is on,
I don't go home till nine. Then when I come home,
I eat the dinner. I go right on the drawing
board upstairs. People said, why are you doing. Don't you
made enough money? Yes, I hadn't made enough money. I
(22:49):
want the mag to continue I want my children to continue.
I want the people that are here that been with
me from beginning to continue. So what do I do now?
Just kick him in a butt and say go home.
You can't do that. My conscience want to let me.
(23:10):
When you make enough money for yourself and your family
are secure and if you can do a good thing,
good deed, there is not the biggest pleasure in the world.
They're doing that. My really go it. This is some
day to have this company before I leave the serf
that I can get a good people give him a
(23:35):
little slice of that pie.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
For Tony. His mission is to keep his business in
the country that made it possible to exist in the
first place, and to continue to help the people that
open their arms to him. It's the least you can do.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
People retire, or people call me and tell me that
they thank me. They tank me what I've done for them.
One guy, I have it. I didn't have it very
much money or they all was really struggling there, and
the doctor told me he's got a s fit working.
(24:11):
The guy comes se him in my office and he's crying.
I said, John, what's the matter? I have to leave
my job? This job, I said but that's the end
of the world. No, he said, I have a heart problem.
(24:32):
The doctor wants me to retire. Stop working, said John,
it's O care. You know I didn't have that much money.
I wrote him a check over one hundred thousand dollars,
send them around the world. I felt good to know
that I was able to do that for him. I
(24:52):
invest in equipment, I inst invest on the people, and
I didn't want to go through not to make it.
I can run through her there to try to make it.
I mean to multibidion error. Why this is the only
place in the world they can do what I did,
(25:14):
And everybody has a data opportunity. There is no place
in the world that you can have what you opportunity
that you have here. I will give up all my business,
everything for this country. I will give my life for
this country. You're free to do whatever you want, slung
as you say, we can the law. The best day
(25:37):
I have. I think when I landed in New York,
it was land of freedom. You don't understand what that is.
Nobody understand what the freedom is. Nobody understand what we
got here. They don't understand that our constitution, Like there's
(26:00):
something horrible, saying they think they want to change it.
Why do they want to change it? What it's perfect?
Don't try to fix something that is now broken, that
is compared with all the world. To find the place
that you can think you would rather be than hear it.
(26:21):
I don't care who you are, I don't care what
you are. God bless you be what you want to be.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
And you've been listening to the voice of Tony Magliica.
And this may be as good a story as we've told,
not just about him, but about the country that adopted
him and the country he adopted, because it's a two
way street. In my goodness, did he adopt this country
and does he love it? From Croatia, across Europe and
across America, from New York to Denver to California. And
(26:56):
when he finally becomes his own boss and brings his
maglighte to a trade show, two hundred and fifty thousand ordered,
and yet he didn't cash out. He didn't make his
Maglite in China. He wanted to keep it here in
appreciation of the country that he so loves. The Story
of Tony Maglika, the story of American entrepreneurialism, and the
(27:19):
American heart. This is our American stories.
This is Lee Habib, and this is our American stories.
In nineteen ninety six, The Wall Street Journal referred to
the mag Light flashlight as the Cadillac of flashlights.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
The creator of.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
This flashlight that sold millions, Tony Maglica, founder of mag Industries. Today,
our own Mount Montgomery brings us the story of this
Croatian immigrant who started with nothing and ended up with something.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Tony Magnica was born in New York City in November
of nineteen thirty, but with the Great Depression of full
Swain and his family moved back to his mother's native
island in Croatia.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Nineteen doido. My mom went to back to Europe. My
father say here they thought things going to blow up
in no time. So things are going to be good
right away, you know so. But he said he didn't
have no money, he didn't have no jobs. My father
(01:10):
didn't even have the money to send my mom back.
He had to borrow money on the future a job
that he gets and paid it back. So I went
over there with my mom and we're supposed to go
back in a couple of years. So they said about
(01:33):
to say a little more money and this and that,
and we are quite caught in the war World War two,
and that wasn't very pleasant to anyone. It was very
difficult to live on the Mussellini. They if they suspected
(01:54):
that you are a communist or you are on the side,
whatever side it out it is, they simply torture you
and kill you. One of the tortures there was by
riching the oil Castro and they will put a tube
(02:21):
in your truck and they will give you maybe a
quard or so. It's this oil and you die. I
mean it's just simply not immediately, but you know, it's
just it's a horrible way to die. There was no
(02:42):
freedom to leave the town. We have no income. Then
when the Italian gots defeated, they got involved with with Germans.
When the German comes in in the town, he was
so frightening because they run that all the people in
(03:08):
the town to come down to a to the town
and they put entirely down in the semi circle against
a bigger wall with the three machine guns, one here,
(03:29):
one there, and one in the center. And I was
just a young man, had remember better. My mom was
there standing up who was right in the center. So
(03:50):
I went down to my mom's skirt. This guy was
really upset. Tell us to come out, They tell us
to we exposed somebody. They s said that they know
that we killed somebody in time to dispose the person
(04:13):
who have committed his crime. Well, there was no one
to commit a crime. And we no, no if somebody
commit a crime, said, if you don't say, we're gonna
kill it a all of you. So what are you
what are you gonna do just to point the finger
on the innercent person And and the people that I am,
(04:39):
even if their life wasn't the lion, they won't do it.
They won't lie. There was a priest there and he
was begging there hand that these people are never to
commit to any kind of crime. And mm he has
the pre say you have a power to kill us whole.
(05:01):
I understand that. But if we tell you that this
person could commit the crime, we don't know that anybody
commit the crime. And in this stnge never been pursuing
in jail, there's never been anyone compete they you know,
they they believe in God by doing crime like that.
(05:25):
So anyway, on the end of about four hours they're
standing up and you don't know that one they gonna
pull the trigger. It's almost like being dead anyway, you
don't know any second that they gonna turn around start
switter shitting. So m my mom was terrified, and of
(05:46):
course I was terrified. I mean, we're all they hold town.
Was terrified. Then they let us go. He wasn't senteen
everywhere in the country, you know, or that Tom you
know they put people against the wall.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Just shut up and you're listening to the voice of
Tony Magliica and he's telling the story of his life
in Croatia around World War Two and letting folks know
what real totalitarianism looks and feels like to a small
village where he had set up until these grand inquisitions
(06:29):
and interrogations by well by the Nazis, that there had
never been a person in jail in his town. And
yet they were looking for a murder, a murder suspect
and make one up. We don't care when we come back.
The story of Tony Maglica continues from nothing to something,
(06:50):
a part of our American Dreamers story here on our
American Story. Liehabibe here the host of all American stories.
(07:34):
Every day on this show, we're bringing inspiring stories from
across this great country, stories from our big cities and
small towns. But we truly can't do the show without you.
Our stories are free to listen to, but they're not
free to make. If you love what you hear, go
to Alamerican Stories dot com and click the donate button.
Give a little, give a lot. Go to Alamerican Stories
(07:56):
dot com and give and we continue with our American
stories and the story of Tony Maglica. When we last
left off, Tony was telling the harrowing story of living
(08:18):
under both Italian and German occupation in war torn Croatia
during World War Two. But if there was anything positive
about this time in Tony's life, it was his mother.
Here's Tony telling the story of what she did to
help the family during this traumatic time.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
On anything. What she did. We sold it, everything that
we brought it from us, We sold it, blancs, the cops,
this boom, the plays, whatever we have tread it For
a corn, my mom will have will say of the
corn and the various seats of various grout, various beans,
(09:05):
and stuff like that. And I learned something from it.
No matter how hungry we was, my mom would go
to the pillowcass and she will take a cup wheat.
And I tell you it's hard for me even talk
about it. There is no one like the mother.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
By nineteen fifty, Tony had had enough of living in
war term Croatia and made the decision to come back
to the United States.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Well, there was a vault that a war board personnel
board big ship, and they got it. The England got
it for the damage that they did. I guess they
had to pay, so they took the vault and so
they used that to transport the people I know other
(09:58):
words like them. There was making a tourism outher So
you have a two three classes on that boat. The
toy class. It was just a shelve like like a
shelf with your store, your cans. There was a six
beds in this little closet. So I was myself, five
(10:23):
other people. So I have a tough but there's other
people have it even tougher than I am. Family was torture,
the member of the defendant has got killed. All these things.
You have to have a desire to survive. You have
(10:44):
to have a desire to accomplish something.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
And Tony would accomplish something, but for right now he
was just one of many immigrants arriving in New York,
speaking very little English and with no money. So his
first task was work.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
When I come into New York, I went to work
in a sewing company to make him clothes. So make
a collar of sleeves or whatever. Fifty five cents an hour.
I was a lot of money then, at least for
me was anyway. I didn't know anything in the interest.
(11:23):
You know, metric, So I said, I want to learn
how to do it. So the guy says, to me,
go to school. There's trade school. So I went to
trade school. I was there one week. The guy said, look, fella,
you need to go get a job. You don't need
to go to school for this, and you can teach
the other guys how to do that. I couldn't speak English,
(11:48):
now can I teach anybody? So I went to Denver, Colorado,
got a job in machine shop.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
But before Tony was hired at the shop he would
work at. He faced some adversion there because of his
lack of English, and.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
They said, you can't how can you do this job?
You can't work. I said, give me a job. If
I can't do it, don't have to pay me anything.
I want for free. Said, oh, we had a union
here and stuff. We can't do that. And the guy says,
over there was speaking Italian. So my Italian was not
(12:22):
really good, but I was the only thing I have.
And nobody speak orations or the guy that told to
me and Italian, and he said, you really think you
can do the other way? He said yeah. So the
guy said that the guy, why don't you give a
guy opportunity to give him a chance. The guy said, well,
come on in the office. It won't like that that
way doing it. He said, look, nobody knows anything, you know,
(12:45):
why don't you just maybe you can get a big
laugh out of it. The guy give it to me.
You give me a machine that wasn't running for ears.
I cleaned that machine, made a slide move, turned the
machine on, and I may the parts in one week,
just as good as the people was doing. Now another
(13:06):
machine that was costing that time probably maybe eight thousand dollars.
I've worked there for a year or something. But then
these people says, you know, Tony, once you go to California,
it's a nice weather and you can make it three
dollars an hour, three dollars an hour of God. You
(13:28):
know that has a lot of money. Three dollars an hour,
more than three times one may now. And I bought
it nineteen forty seven Surrey Backer, and I was at peace.
I'll tell you the guy that I worked and they
give me a dollar and a quarter an hour, he
(13:49):
give me Heath Carter Drive. That's the first tst of
me in this country. At people pleasant that wanted me
help want to help me. I felt so guilty that
I have to leave by. I said, I gotta get it,
I gotta get ahead. So anyway, I only made it
(14:11):
about ten miles away from the Denver my car overheated.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Nevertheless, Tony made it to California, where he would eventually
find work at the Aosmith Company, a manufacturer of everything
from car bodies to water heaters.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
It was really good job. I was making over three.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Dollars now, but there was a downside.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
We have a norm that you have to produce leaves
that much to keep your pay rate. And so I
will make that. I will even give it some parts
to the people next to me will make it the
same parts. Remember the inspector who will say this is
not your part, this is this is Tony part to
(14:56):
the other guy. So the guy who would you know,
let it go? You know. But the one thing that
didn't like. They didn't want me to make so many parts,
didn't want me to shop my own tool. Very strict union.
The guy said, look, you don't have to make that
(15:19):
many parts. I said, but look at how many people
on the line waiting to get a tool shot. I said,
I can do it in five minutes, and I ain't
back to work. The guy said, Tony, if you're going
to do that, you're going to get in trouble. And
it was right I did. The people when I go
(15:41):
out to the bathroom, they over there saw me down
everywhere I can.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
They messed with Tony's machine and bring his ability to produce.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I said, my god, I was thinking by my mom
telling me you work hard and do a good job.
Why this? Why do people do stuff like that? I
was read is sick of my stomach.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Tired of spending his days at a company where he
was being held back, Tony decided to use one hundred
and twenty five dollars he had saved up to make
a down payment on his own machine. Soon he was
able to rent a garage in South Elmonte, California, and
would pick up some contract jobs, initially working for his
supervisor AO Smith Company, who would offer him some advice.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
He said, Tony, I heard you had a lady at home,
and he said, what about making these chots for an
And I said, sure, Here, you're telling me what you
can do. The guy gives me that. He said, Tony,
you know you're doing a good job, but I need
the thousandths of the sports, not just fifty or one hundred.
(16:52):
Why don't you just quit a job and do this
in your garage. You can make more money than you're
making here. I said, that was my goal, but I
didn't know where to get to work.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
And you're listening to Tony Maglica tell the story of
his journey from Croatia through Europe to the United States,
from New York City to Denver and ultimately to California
where he was looking for that three dollars a day job,
but in the end fellow workers were holding him back
from his potential and what he could do with his
(17:25):
life and what happens next. Well, you'll hear more of
Tony Maglica's story our American Dreamers here here on our
American story, and we continue with our American stories and
(18:11):
the story of Tony Maglica. When we last left off,
Tony had just been given a bit of advice. He
was told that he could make more money being his
own boss. So in nineteen fifty five Tony founded mag Instrument.
Let's pick up where we last left off.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
I was doing the work for Jance Bonner Clard and
I was doing also the business for Cloudy Multifler. Then
used to be a calculator by division and multiplication, you know. Anyway,
they did a government job, so I was doing some
job from them, and I was doing all different kind
(18:54):
of stuff. The twenty millimeter projectile my way, so infuse bomb.
And it was a very competitive job. For one penny.
You can lose the job even if you run it
now and it's job shop is very competitive. Business people
don't know how competitive that is. Anyway, I was doing
(19:17):
the different job shop work, all kinds of job shop work,
including a component. Then actually took the satellite, first satellite
up in space. I was making parts for everybody. Then
there's a company by an a Bankei company, and they
made an aluminum light. So I told the guy, you know,
(19:42):
I can make a light better than anything that you
guys have. So when I develop an a showment, he said, no,
we want to make our own life. We don't want
your life.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
But despite the setback, others were still interested in Tony's flashlight,
including Neil Perkins, founder of Safari Land, who was looking
to make a new flashlight specifically designed for law enforcement.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
And he said, I heard that you have a flat flight.
How about let me sell your flat flights? Okay, how
many you can sell last year? Will sell several thousand
for the whole year? Yeah, he said that part of
it a week. Couldn't get it. I said, well, if
(20:30):
I'm going to make it for you, I wanted fifteen
thousand a month. He said, twenty fifteen thousand a month.
It's crazy. Well, I said, I know I can make it.
I can sell it. I can make it, and I
can make it in production. I can make economic point
(20:52):
off and be able to sell it. He said, I'm
sorry telling it about the cowds. I wish you changed
your If you change your mind, if it doesn't work,
please come back.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
So it determined, Tony took his flashlight to a trade show.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
We sold for a show thousands.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
You heard right. Tony had far exceeded expectations at his
first trade show, and Magniic wasn't just popular with law enforcement.
With the introduction of Mini mag, it became popular with
the average consumer as well. Tony was making a lot
of flashlights.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
I read you thousands so day all the flashlight combined.
Not just MANI mine, but many not. We sold him millions.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Tony Magliica, who came back to his birth country, speaking
no English and with very little money, it become a
self made millionaire. Tony didn't settle down, though, and now
in his nineties he's still working and making Magli's in America,
nowhere else.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
I got to work every day. I never missed the day.
I work from Monday through Saturday. Saturday. I spend not
quite full day, but during the week I try to
be here before eight, and I never leave before six,
(22:28):
maybe seven sometime when it's nice, when the light is on,
I don't go home till nine. Then when I come home,
I eat the dinner. I go right on the drawing
board upstairs. People said, why are you doing. Don't you
made enough money? Yes, I hadn't made enough money. I
(22:49):
want the mag to continue I want my children to continue.
I want the people that are here that been with
me from beginning to continue. So what do I do now?
Just kick him in a butt and say go home.
You can't do that. My conscience want to let me.
(23:10):
When you make enough money for yourself and your family
are secure and if you can do a good thing,
good deed, there is not the biggest pleasure in the world.
They're doing that. My really go it. This is some
day to have this company before I leave the serf
that I can get a good people give him a
(23:35):
little slice of that pie.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
For Tony. His mission is to keep his business in
the country that made it possible to exist in the
first place, and to continue to help the people that
open their arms to him. It's the least you can do.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
People retire, or people call me and tell me that
they thank me. They tank me what I've done for them.
One guy, I have it. I didn't have it very
much money or they all was really struggling there, and
the doctor told me he's got a s fit working.
(24:11):
The guy comes se him in my office and he's crying.
I said, John, what's the matter? I have to leave
my job? This job, I said but that's the end
of the world. No, he said, I have a heart problem.
(24:32):
The doctor wants me to retire. Stop working, said John,
it's O care. You know I didn't have that much money.
I wrote him a check over one hundred thousand dollars,
send them around the world. I felt good to know
that I was able to do that for him. I
(24:52):
invest in equipment, I inst invest on the people, and
I didn't want to go through not to make it.
I can run through her there to try to make it.
I mean to multibidion error. Why this is the only
place in the world they can do what I did,
(25:14):
And everybody has a data opportunity. There is no place
in the world that you can have what you opportunity
that you have here. I will give up all my business,
everything for this country. I will give my life for
this country. You're free to do whatever you want, slung
as you say, we can the law. The best day
(25:37):
I have. I think when I landed in New York,
it was land of freedom. You don't understand what that is.
Nobody understand what the freedom is. Nobody understand what we
got here. They don't understand that our constitution, Like there's
(26:00):
something horrible, saying they think they want to change it.
Why do they want to change it? What it's perfect?
Don't try to fix something that is now broken, that
is compared with all the world. To find the place
that you can think you would rather be than hear it.
(26:21):
I don't care who you are, I don't care what
you are. God bless you be what you want to be.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
And you've been listening to the voice of Tony Magliica.
And this may be as good a story as we've told,
not just about him, but about the country that adopted
him and the country he adopted, because it's a two
way street. In my goodness, did he adopt this country
and does he love it? From Croatia, across Europe and
across America, from New York to Denver to California. And
(26:56):
when he finally becomes his own boss and brings his
maglighte to a trade show, two hundred and fifty thousand ordered,
and yet he didn't cash out. He didn't make his
Maglite in China. He wanted to keep it here in
appreciation of the country that he so loves. The Story
of Tony Maglika, the story of American entrepreneurialism, and the
(27:19):
American heart. This is our American stories.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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