COLORADO 1961 to 1971
I started my job as technical writer in June of 1961 at Stearns Rogers. One of the main reasons I was hired was due to my experience with the Atlas F missile. The reasoning was faulty because Stearns Rogers was a mechanical engineering and construction firm so they designed the framework to hold the missile and had nothing to do with the missile as such. All of my experience was on the missile. I knew nothing about the structure holding the missile. Oh well, we were writing for 6th grade education. I realized when I started this was a short term job but I was grateful to be working and the pay was not bad. I was considered salaried but was paid overtime if I received any.
We found an apartment close to University Hospital on Cherry Street. It was small for the 4 of us and as luck would have it, we fell into an opportunity just built for us. A couple of artists were going to Mexico for 18 months to study and needed someone to care for their place south of Denver. Their house was an old ranch house that was kept after selling off the rest of the ranch. It consisted of a huge old house, a barn converted to a huge garage, a bunk house and 2 well houses. At first they were reluctant to rent to us because we were so young (23) and they weren't sure we could stand up to the isolation (1 mile to nearest neighbor). Once we explained our background we were accepted with open arms. Our landlady on Cherry Street was not too happy with us but once we explained our situation she released us from our lease and we moved in happily. We needed no furniture as it was fully furnished and our landlords paid all the utilities. With two small children it was ideal! I'm sorry I don't have photos of the place. I think my daughter has the only one in existence. The house and the retaining wall were made of stone, a great deal of which was petrified wood. It was an amazing place and we would have stayed forever if we were allowed to do so. Oh well, it was a nice chapter.
My job at Stearns ran out at the end of summer so I was searching again. I had no trouble finding a job, so I started at Stanley Aviation located at Stapleton Airport in Denver. Bob Stanley was one of the original test pilots to break the speed of sound (not sure what jet he flew). Apparently this gave him some pull with the defense department. He managed to get a contract to build an ejection capsule for the B58 bomber ( Not sure of his qualifications). I didn't work on the capsule very much as I was in what was called the "experiment lab". We spent a great deal of time trying to build a missed distance targeting system. The idea was to have a radioactive source and a detector to "count the beeps" when the source came close to the target . We made it work but were shutdown because someone came to the realization that radioactivity could be dangerous. Imagine that!
Because of our rural lifestyle, Ellen had a chance to learn to drive an automobile. We bought an old Pontiac and she practiced in the cornfield, children in tow! She road a bus to get her learner's permit, took the test with 2 toddlers in tow, and passed! Later she was mailed a driver's license, not a learner's permit. I think somebody felt sorry for her with the ordeal and didn't want to be in the car while she drove. Maybe not, but it makes a good story. In any case she was able to drive which was a good thing as we were several miles from any stores (we lived on Parker Road which was gravel. It is now called Lincoln Ave).
Bob Stanley took a personal dislike to me for what I thought was none of his business. All employees were approached and asked to contribute to charity. I refused for my own reasons and I was called into the office and informed I was keeping the company from being "100%" I didn't see that as my problem. If they wanted 100%% the could have put the money in my name. Don't know if that would be legal, but doesn't seem less so than coercion! Anyway, right after that I was put on midnight shift, assigned to the B58 testing line. I'm not sure how long I was left there but eventually someone convinced Mr Stanley I might be more useful in the lab. Not too long after that Mr Stanley brought into the lab an old radio from which he had ripped the wires. He set the radio on my desk and said something to the effect " You are an electronics wizard. Fix this radio". Not one to be intimidated I worked on the stupid radio for a week or so and repaired it enough that it worked. I took it to Mr Stanley's office and he promptly threw it in the trash. I was disappointed he didn't at least fire it up!
I met a fellow at Stanley who became a very good friend. I won't mention his complete name but he was another Bob. Our children were at a similar age and we became very good friends More about his family later.
I was employed by Stanley for almost 3 years. At the end of that time I was approached by the Vice President who informed me he was going to start his own company, Frost Engineering, and manufacture digital volt meters. He asked me if I wanted to run the assembly line. I said sure; any excuse to get away from where I was employed. I liked Frost as he was real gentleman even though he was also a retired jet jockey. The problem was the product he was building was obsolete from the beginning. His design was a 4 digit display and HP was already out with a 5 digit before Frost built much more than 100 units. Mr Frost came to me and said he had to close production "temporarily" and would I mind taking 3 weeks without pay. That certainly would not have worked for us as we had just moved back to town as our lease on the farmhouse was up and we had car payments among other things so I declined. Again, unemployed but found a job right away at Ball Brothers Research Corp (now Ball Aerospace) in Boulder, Colorado. Again though, there is that space until the first payday, so we had to move, again!
We moved in with our friends with whom I worked at Stanley until after I collected enogh money for a down payment on an apartment. Of course there is a little drama there also. The electricity at our new apartment wasn't on and we decided (Bob and Bob) that we could bypass the meter and hot wire the apartment and move in. I may have neglected to mention that my friend was an alcoholic and had a few too many that evening. Anyway some how we managed to cross wire the meter and melted the input service back to the transformer. We hightailed it out of there after the transformer fuse blew and never heard a word about our escapade. (We did move in a few days later). Bob and I eventually had a falling out over drinking and our friendship fell apart. I heard he eventually quit drinking and has been sober for quite a few years. We certainly had some good times as families and I deeply regretted the loss. If you have ever tried to live with a person addicted you know how hard it is.
This old Florida boy was learning to drive in the snow!. On Labor Day in 1961 we decided we would take a trip to the ranch to see Ellen's family. Mind you, this is the first week of September. When we left Denver it was warm and partly cloudy. By the time we came to Berthoud Pass it was snowing briskly. I was not too worried as I had been through this before. Right? By the time we arrived in Steamboat Springs the snow was 12" and still coming down. We were almost at the ranch when we drove (make that I drove) into a snow drift. I told Ellen that was no problem, all we had to do was rock the VW until it broke loose. It turns out that drift was 4 or 5 feet deep. No amount of rocking would work! I walked into the ranch (about a mile or so). When I entered the house Ellen's dad said, "what the h** are you doing here" and I lamely said, "we came to see you". He pulled out the old John Deere and hauled us to the ranch. It was a stressful 3 days to say the least. When we left we were literally plowing snow with the front of the VW (but never were stuck again)! More Next blog!
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