Greendale

After High School I attended the Milwaukee School of Engineering(MSOE), for two years, taking a
refrigeration service course, and afterwards, getting an associate degree in air-conditioning
technology.
During the MSOE time, I was in the Navy Reserves, with Don Kayne and Jerry Olsen. Don and I
went to boot camp, together, at the Great Lakes Navy Base. Later, Don and Jerry decided to enlist
with the Air Force and I, still in the reserves, went on active duty in 1956. I was assigned to a mine
sweeper, the USS Gallant, MSO 489, out of Long Beach, CA, an ocean going ship, 175 feet long, and
mostly constructed of wood, aluminum and other non-magnetic materials. They called it the
"non-magnet S.O.B", and supposedly wouldn't set off magnetic mines, while sweeping, although they
sank one in Haiphong Harbor, in Vietnam, in . Aboard the Ship I was the lone Interior
Communications Electrician (ICII), responsible for phones, Gyro Compass, Steering gear, etc. We
went on several training cruises around Long Beach, and a dry dock, in San Diego. That was 1956.
Later that year, we left on a 6 month, tour of duty, to Japan by way of Pearl Harbor and Midway
Island. We made some practice sweeping, maneuvers and went to ports in Sasebo, Kobe, and
Yakuska Japan, as well as Shin Hey, Korea, Hong Kong and a couple of ports in Formosa. This ship
was one of over 100 constructed in several shipyards in the U.S. and it is, also, one of only two, still
in service- sold to the Taiwanese Navy, now the Yung Ku (M 1308), along with our sister ship the
USS Conquest. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Gallant_(MSO-489). All the rest have been
decommissioned, and scrapped. We had a great time, and learned a lot.

In 1958, after my stint in the reserves (2 years active duty) I went to work for Allen Bradley Co,
in Milwaukee, working as an electrical technician. I worked in their Control Lab, testing the reliability
of switches and contactors, for a couple of years, until 1961. Jim Breitzman worked there, also, as
a machinist, and I remember that he made the hands for the clock on the new, larger, clock tower,
that exists today.

During the Allen Bradley period, I met my future wife, Ginger Braatz, who was going through nurses
training at Deaconess Hospital. She was from Greenwood, WI, a farmer's daughter. I met her
through GHS classmate Jerry Olsen. Ginger was a friend of Murnell Knutson, a fellow student. In
1959, Murnell married Jerry Olsen, and a year later, Ginger and I were married. We moved into an
apartment at 51rst and Howard, in Milwaukee. In 1962, I went back to MSOE, and we moved into a
duplex on 44th and Wright St, where our son Mike was born. Ginger supported us, then, as a nurse
and, later, as a public health nurse, on the South side of Milwaukee. She had graduated from the
Deaconess Hospital Nursing School, and later, at Marquette University as a public health nurse.
I graduated from MSOE in '65 and we moved to Illinois, where I took a job as a design engineer
for General Kinematics Corp. GKC was a small company, in Barrington then, and they are now the
largest manufacturer of vibratory process equipment in the country. Most of the products we
produced were Vibratory process equipment like vibrating conveyors and feeders for foundries,
power plants, food companies, coal mines etc. We started out living in nearby Lake Zurich and six
months later, moved to Crystal Lake, IL, about 10 miles west of Barrington. A month before we
moved from Lake Zurich, a powerful tornado hit Crystal Lake, and several people were killed. After
we moved to Crystal Lake, the next year, another powerful tornado hit Lake Zurich. God was really
looking after us, we missed them both.

In Crystal Lake, we had three more children, Steve, Jenifer, and Jim. All four, eventually, graduated
from Crystal Lake South High School. The three boys played youth hockey, and later played on the
high t school hockey eam. Jeni was a figure skater, and was a member on a precision drill team, in
Barrington. Her team participated in the national championships, in Dallas, in 1995. Now, Mike, and
Steve are school teachers, in the Crystal Lake area, and Jeni a nurse, also works in Crystal Lake.
Jim, the youngest, is a geologist, working for the Arizona Department of Water Resources, and lives
in Laveen, AZ.

While at General Kinematics, I was fortunate to develop several new products, and travel around
the country, at equipment start-up time, for troubleshooting. I retired from GKC in 2002, and miss
the work and people. Two years ago we sold our Crystal Lake house to my daughter and son-in-law
and moved to our cottage in Eagle River, WI. This is a house which we inherited, after my folks
passed away, and we had used it for summer vacations. We plan to sell it this summer, and become
"snow birds"- summer, IL and winter, Arizona, (see below) as long as our IRA holds up, and the
dollar's value holds within reason.

We bought a two week time share in on the Big Island of Hawaii, several years ago, and have taken
all the kids there, some more than once, and have been to all the main islands now, except Molokai.
We went with Jerry and Murnell Olsen a couple of times, also. I'm not sure when we will go back,
the price of flights have gone up so much.

In 2007 we bought a condo, in a new development across the street from to my daughter and
son-in-law, in Crystal Lake. Although our permanent address, for the time being, is in Eagle River.
For the last three years, we have been staying at a 55+ retirement trailer park (Val Vista Village-
Jerry and Murnell Olsen are in the same park), in Mesa, AZ and this spring, we decided to buy a 3
bedroom home in Laveen, AZ, where Jim, lives. The builder started construction June 9th, and we
have put the Eagle River House up for sale.

We see Don Kayne, and his wife Jan quite often, and have had several reciprocal visits. He lives in
East Troy, Wisconsin. I miss the old days, chasing and catching rabbits and pheasants around
Greendale, with Don. He had quick hands- miss Greendale too.

Health: Prostate augured two years ago, have marginal diabetes II, Gastro reflux disease, a little
arthritis, high blood pressure, and all corrected by medication. I am feeling the age though.

Grand children: Mike has Kera, 21, a junior at Illinois State, in Bloomington, and Mike Jr (Mikey) 13,
a 7th grader at Hanna Beardsley Junior High. Jeni has two children, Aiden 4 and Breanne 2.