Robert Burkett

Colorado continued 1961 to 1971

I started at Ball Brothers Research in 1963 and stayed until September of 1966. The work was interesting and I think I learned a lot while there. My friend Bob and I decided we would take up golf. Neither of us had ever played but how hard can it be, right? There was a 9 hole course in Westminster  we decide to honor with our presence at 104th. It kind of wandered back and forth and we had to cross a pond several times. I know you know where this is going. Let's just say the golf ball manufacturers should have encouraged us to play more.

In case there is any question about my problem with autos, I will share another episode. We purchased a Ford Falcon, which is kind of a prelude to small autos for Ford. It was a column shift 3 speed and had a little trouble between 2nd and 3rd, especially if not shifted in a smooth action. Of course Ellen drove it more than I did as the 2 children fit better. Well, she had trouble shifting so I told her to "shift with authority" which she did, breaking the shift lever off at the column. So, here we go again to the mechanic. As I am a slow learner I shopped for a "cheap" solution. When we finally had the Ford returned it was a nightmare of a job. The horn blew when the lights were turned on. The windshield wipers worked anything other than wipers*****well, you get the picture. I don't think it was ever right again.

One of the experiments I worked on was for NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). It was a device to measure the Zodiacal lights above the atmosphere, As such we launched a missile at White Sands, New Mexico. Ellen and the children were able to go with me to Las Cruces and we stayed at a motel there while I worked, mostly nights. I heard we were a success in capturing the lights but I don't know how!  I thought the missile would shake the device to pieces. The whole thing took about 15 minutes after we worked over 2 years building..

I am going to mention another bad decision I made but I have no intention of dragging it out. Sometime in 1965 I decided I was unhappy and left Ellen and the 2 children. It doesn't matter why but it was a terrible mistake. I don't remember how long I was gone, maybe 2 months, but Ellen took me back. Shortly after that we found out she was pregnant with our 3rd child!

After the NCAR experiment I was put in charge of the instrument lab. I researched and purchased instruments for the lab (I didn't pay, Ball did thank goodness). It was there that I met a fellow who would remain my best friend until he died, Milton Schurig (he liked to be called Mike). He was working for a Manufacturer's rep called Barnhill Associates and was trying to sell us various instruments. In summer of 1966 he asked me if I would consider joining Barnhill as a sales associate. I kind of poopooed the notion as I knew nothing about sales, but he said, "what can it hurt?"  So I had an interview with the owner and Mike with Ellen who was VERY pregnant, We went to a restaurant called The Top Of The Rockies which was in a downtown hotel and had a revolving floor. I don't think we had ever been so enthralled . When finished Sam asked me if I would take the position. His offer was 2x my Ball salary and he would include a company car (a 1965 Mustang). That made the decision very easy for me!. So, now I am going into electronic sales, no more engineering. My job was to do component sales in Colorado and Utah. My job called on me to sell little parts to big companies. I knocked on every door of any company that ever purchased a resistor, switch or transistor. FUN!!

In October of 1966 our third child, Robert Anthony, was born in Denver, Colorado. I still can't figure out how this happens!! His father is a little more mature but still kind of clueless. We have never called him anything but Tony and he is a fine person in spite of his Dad.

My next auto escapade was really frustrating. We retired all the autos (other than the company car) and purchased a brand new VW Beetle. Well, VW had a 12 month 12000 mile warranty. At 12 months and 2 or 3 days the VW started leaking oil. It turns out the seal between the 2 halves of the engine was defective. VW took no responsibility for this so here we are. Finally rid ourselves of that car and it was quite a while before I could tolerate even looking at a VW.

Of course that isn't all the auto problems, One morning on the way to the office as traffic was stopped on the freeway, a big car hit my Mustang and crumpled it to the driver door. Our insurance repaired the auto (why?) Not too long  after another driver got me. Another repair but I felt jinxed at that point. The company only kept cars 2 years, thank goodness, so I turned in the Mustang for a Plymouth Fury, not my choice but Barnhill's.

We had our little VA house in Thornton but I felt flush enough to upgrade (my friend Mike encouraged me). We signed a contract to have a new home built in an area called Kings Ridge, Littleton Colorado. I think we were both excited and I felt things were looking up for us. When finished the house was 2600 sq ft with an unfinished basement. This was in 1966,We were 30 years old and had a lot in our future. I was fortunate at work and landed 2 contracts at HP Loveland and HP Colorado Springs. One of the products was called a field effect transistor, manufactured by a company called Siliconix. The founders of this company came from Texas Instruments. I met another good friend through this, a fellow named Bill Jumper. He was Western Regional Manager for Siliconix. Bill and I remained friends until his death. He was probably the best marketing mind I ever met. While training at Barnhill I travelled to places not familiar to me before. 

My friend Mike introduced me to wine. I had a few drinks before meeting he and his wife but we started getting together regularly for cards and wine. If I remember correctly the wine of choice was called Napa Sonoma Mendocino (3 California wine counties). We loved our new home and it seemed everything was going to be great. Never assume anything!

I will finish this time in Colorado in my next chapter. I have to stop and refresh my memory again, maybe with a glass of wine!!

1965 Mustang