Visit----Lackland Air Force Base

My recent Commission as a Kentucky Colonel
-Kentucky Colonel-

A biographical Overview of my Life

I was born at Billys Fork in Lee County Kentucky 11-5-1930 on the Lee County side of the Estill/Lee County line. The nearest post office was Crystal Kentucky about a mile down the creek on state route 52.

I had a great childhood growing up in the mountains where I was free to hunt, trap, fish and explore the beautiful mountainous area.

I attended the old Donnelly school about 100 yards from our house through the 8th grade. I then went to Lee County High for about 2 years until we sold the farm and moved to Irvine Kentucky. I loved school but we did'nt have much money and I was tired of not being able to afford to participate in any of the high school functions.
Due to the absense of any kind of organized sports in the rural areas I had no chance at competing with city kids that had been exposed to organized sports since childhood.

I hung around the local pool halls, and became a pretty good pool player, I worked at several different jobs for a couple of years then in the fall of 1947 my Uncle was vacationing from Dayton Ohio and when he was preparing to return to Dayton a family friend Olin (Hood) Howell asked if i would like to return with them. I asked my mother, she said ok, I packed a bag, I was off and never looked back.

I got a job two days later at Sunshine Biscuit Company, and 1 year later on 10-8-1948 I joined the USAF and was off to Lackland AFB in San Antonio Texas. I spent 13 weeks there taking basic training. Following graduation I was assigned to Nellis AFB in Las Vegas Nevada. When I got off the train in Las Vegas in February 1949 it was snowing and the view down Fremont street at all the Casino lights is a sight I have never forgot.

I was assigned to the Air Weather Service, and spent 1 year in Vegas, then went to school 4 months at Chanute AFB in Rantoul Illinois, then went back to Vegas, I was shipped to Alaska 1 month later. I spent 18 months in Alaska, then returned to Tucson Arizona where I finished my military career on 9-7-1952.

I returned to Dayton Ohio and subsequently went back to my old job at Sunshine Biscuits (Big mistake) where I almost starved working a full time job. I was'nt making enough money to live on and I could'nt afford to miss a days work to look for another job, but one day I bit the bullet and went to National Cash Register Co. and applied for a job and they hired me on the spot, where I was ultimately trained as a Machinist.

I got married along here (June 1953).

I worked at NCR until 12-15-1960 at which time I sold my home and moved to Burbank California. I worked for several small machine shops until March 1963 when I went to work for Lockheed Aircraft.

I was assigned to work in the secret area of Lockheed called the Skunk Works where I worked on the U2, and SR71 projects as a Machinist.

I attended a Computer Programmer class sponsored by IBM and Lockheed in 1967-68 and in 1969 was transferred into the Computer Department as an Associate Programmer. I was later promoted to Data Processing Coordinator and remained in that position until I left the company in July 1978.

I then moved to Weatherford Oklahoma where I had some in-laws living and started look for a job. I applied for a job at the Local 3m company and was hired there as a Systems Analyst in September 1978.

I remained in that position until I retired June 1, 1996.

I took a real estate course at Southwestern Oklahoma University in 1996 and got my real estate license in February 1997. I started at Jack Sanders Century 21 Real Estate in Weatherford, and two years later I moved to Kurtz Real Estate where I am Today.

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Visitors since 10/6/98