Unfortunately I have another commitment and won’t be at the upcoming reunion.

Since I wasn’t at the last reunion I’ll dispense with the ‘last 10 years theme’ and give a general outline of what I’ve been up to the last 50 years. Does that sound ominous or what? 50 years is a half century. It can’t be possible.

I left FW immediately after graduation for Colorado. I applied at the U. of CO. in Boulder, CO. The cost, being an out-of-state resident, was well beyond what I or my family could afford. The truth was that I didn’t want to go to college at that time anyway. That came later.  I wanted to see something of the world.

I joined the Coast Guard in Oct ’60.  29 years after joining I retired from the CG in Baltimore, MD and we came back to my home town of Port Angeles, WA.  In those 29 years I saw about 20 different duty stations. It was a very rewarding career and I’d do it all over again if given the opportunity. I spent the first half of my CG career as a radio telegrapher (Morse operator) both at sea and shore stations. It was a job I would have done for free. The latter half was in the officer corps and a lot of hard work but very fulfilling. Through the CG I went to Sonoma State Univ. in N. CA. majoring in computer science.

I married my wife Martha in 1964. We have two children, 3 grand children and 2 great grand children. After retiring from the CG, and in Port Angeles, I went to work for our local college in the computer/datacoms/telecoms arena. After working there for 13 years I retired for good in ’03.

We have a house on a few acres and I spend a lot of time maintaining that as well as amateur radio and fly fishing.  Also Mr. Kuhn, our history teacher in high school, had a profound affect on me. He instilled in me an interest in our country’s history. Of which I have been an avid reader since high school. Because of a lot of good planning, hard work, the Grace of God and a great deal of luck, we are doing very well. Even in these difficult times our family is thriving and healthy. As an old Chief Warrant Officer once said to me when asked “how are you doing?” He stated  “I’ve never had a bad day”. That pretty much sums up my feelings too.

Finally, since my father was CG before me, and subject to transfer, I attended 3 different high schools but my favorite was FW. I was only there from Dec. 1958 until June 9, 1960. I had some terrific friends and had a great time. I’m very sorry to see some of those people are no longer with us. Recently I was perusing our high school annual. Many names, faces and notes bring a smile to my face. So, here’s wishing you and yours the very best. Fred

O’yeah, my apologies to Mr. Williams for any spelling or grammatical errors.

The photo is of Martha and I and our great grandson Lucas who is fully armed with an ice cream cake (stand back)