A word for you on '62
About the time turkeys begin to wonder how soon the ax will fall, the Xmas card recap becomes order of the day, it always seems that you never realize how much has gone on in the past 12 months until you start to knit the loose ends together.
Some years Les seems to travel more than others, this was one such year. Early in January he started with a trip to Chicago, a final conference on the book about library fire protection which he co-authored. Its publication by the American Library Association has been delayed several times, but there's still a good chance the 'Protecting Library Resources" may be rolling off the presses before the year closes.
In May, a two-week assignment took him back to Regina, Saskatchewan, with a swing over to Winnipeg on the way home. The stay was long enough to justify taking the car, so the little Valiant had its first taste of Canada. Consulting firms have their ups and downs. Like all other businesses and in July this unfortunate economic fact caught up with Les. Some contracts didn't materialize as hoped, so job hunting had to substitute for engineering as an essential activity. As the result of many letters back and forth, plus two trips to the West Coast (via military aircraft, naturally!), it looked for a while as if California might have another settler, but that land of smog and taxation wound up in second place. In September, Les accepted a position as Senior Research Engineer in the Fire technology Section of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
It wasn't easy to Leave Kansas City. It's a wonderful place to live. The decision came after school arrangements for the year had been set up, so the family is staying in Kansas City to finish school. Les set up a Texas bachelor apartment for the interim period. So far, he has resisted the urge to go native and buy him a ten-gallon hat and cowboy boots! In San Antonio the research projects proved to be most engrossing. One concerned the supersonic commercial transport to fly in 1970-75, the other covered a study of conflagrations by using small scale models. There are high hopes that a useful invention may result from the model project. The idea looks good if it can successfully be demonstrated as feasible. The trips continued - Washington and New York in October; New York, Boston and Washington in November; San Francisco, Seattle and Portland in December. They make a good way to get back to Kansas City for unexpected weekends there. Two weeks of active duty in March in Kansas City were followed by a two-weeks electronics refresher at Keesler AFB, BiLoxi, Mississippi, On July 1, that long-awaited silver leaf arrived! It's nice to be a Lt. Col. Once again, in August, the uniform was donned for a two-week unit encampment of the 8581st Recovery Group. So Uncle Sam's Air Force got its share of attention in 1962 - a full six weeks in uniform. As communications officer, there was an implied obligation to acquire practical knowledge in the field. After many hours of code practice, Les got up to 13 words per minute, passed an Amateur General License and received the call signal WA0BRC. This was in March. A kit type transmitter was purchased but many obstacles slowed down progress, so not until September in San Antonio did WA0BRC get on the air. Les operates single sideband phone, mostly 40 meters when he can find time. Contacts have been made all over the country. The rig really gets
out.
Larry had a frustrating year, and probably wishes 1962 could be erased from the calendar. The nervous trouble that plagued him at Gettysburg in 1958 and forced his withdrawal, put him on the skids at Missouri so that in February, history repeated itself. Again he had to abandon the
student way of Life. Larry knows his way around an organ, though, and was offered a lump sum contract to remove an organ in sad repair from one building, recondition it and install it in a Columbia church. It should have been a quick job. It wasn't. delay after delay dragged it out until in May a phone call from his roommate at Columbia said Larry was mighty sick. Mononucleosis was the diagnosis and it was quite a while before he was strong enough to go back to finish up the organ job. By then it was late in the year. Decisions had to be made as to the future. In these days, military service is something you can't disregard in your planning. It's an obligation. Draft Boards don't argue if you happen to be selected. So, taking the bull by the horns, Larry enlisted in the Army, going to Ft. Leonard Wood on November 8. After 2 months of basic, it is expected that he will move to Ft. Sam Houston (San Antonio) for medical Technician Training. It seems there is to be a "pill roller" in the family! Anybody need shots?
Ed never does anything spectacular. He just plugs along, tackles jobs as they come, and handles them in a competent manner. When Pappy got his ham license, Ed squeezed a little time from his studies at Missouri Valley, learned enough code to pass a test at 5 words per minute and received his Novice License, with call WN0CXH. He's had lots of distractions. So far as is known, he isn't on the air yet. We are sure he will be though. Ed gets things done! In the spring he got impatient with the smalltown atmosphere of Missouri Valley College, and began to look around a bit. Eventually he made up his mind on Drury College at Springfield, Missouri, and since his grades were good, the transfer with full credit was no problem. Compared with Marshall, Springfield is a big city! That's where Ed is now. Originally, he'd planned on engineering at Missouri School of Mines, but already he's investigating the Texas universities. They'll be closer to his new home next year. During the summer, Ed wasn't home very much. He operated the Commissary Warehouse for the Kansas City Recreation Department camps in Swope Park, Living on the job. Working Long hours, dashing here and there in a green panel truck, Ed moved groceries by the ton, keeping the cooks supplied. As you might guess, he ate well! The cooks knew who was their friend.
Dan carried on his studies at Pem Day school, hitting his books regularly, and the work he did showed up in his grades. In the school musical groups, he warbled most energetically, and got in some rewarding contacts and trips, He was in a winning octet in the Statewide competitions. Also he was made Glee Club Historian. Sports? Football manager, naturally. That's a fancy title for those who do all the necessary unglamorous chores needed to field and support a team. This year his football team had a good season. Dan, for his hard work was awarded a minor letter. Dan is having his headaches. As the only man Left at home, Dan no longer can avoid some of the maintenance chores that his brothers did for so long. Learning to be Mr. Fix-it is part of growing up. Incidentally, he took Driver's Education in June, and soon afterward, got his driver's license. That piece of paper seems to be a status symbol in this day and age! With the men folk dashing hither and yon, somebody had to keep home base occupied.
Polly took many short musical jaunts here and there playing the piano. In the fall, she and the boys took a camping vacation trip out to New Mexico and Colorado, In her spare time, she attended an evening course at Rockhurst College on Estate Management. Her household cares increased greatly when the move to San Antonio was decided upon. Even though it was not planned for the immediate future, the process of weeding out the junk possessions that we all accumulate had to be started. All of us are "pack rats" to some extent. Throwing out stuff can be hard to do. In November, the roof fell in! Not literally, but almost. Coming back after a trip to school to pick up Dan, Polly found the heating system had gone berserk. boiling water all over the second floor, dripping everywhere down through the ceiling, furniture soaked, the basement like a Turkish bath, the house was a thorough mess! fortunately the damage, which was considerable, was covered by insurance. We all hope that the repairs can be completed and livable conditions restored by Christmas.
Pixie is as black as ever and Peter is fat and friendly after having been stand-offish for her 7 years. Cats are difficult to understand. All in all, 1962 has been an eventful year. Had we gazed into a crystal ball last year and foreseen the future, we wouldn't have believed it. But the unexpected always seems to happen, so now with 1963 ahead, we wonder. Will we have as many wild yarns for the past 12 months as in the past? For an answer, tune in again on this soap opera scenario Late in 1963!
The Egglestons
