ET "C" School, Computers

All good things, good and bad, sooner or later, come to an end. I graduated from another school. This finished my formal education in the Navy and signaled my introduction into the fast moving portion of the Navy's education...the "hands on" portion.  Our complete graduating class and my original class, were put on track for more technical education, and eventual duty aboard ENTERPRISE upon it's Commissioning. She was still under construction in Newport News, Virginia and wouldn't be completed for yet another year. To continue our education, we were directed to pick up and move to Great Lakes, Illinois to attend Computer school (US Navy Class "C" School) in order that we might fulfill our destiny of being a wise old Al!!!

We headed east on US 50 with our camping equipment, prepared to camp nightly for a couple of weeks on the way east. We were planning on traveling about 300 miles per day and camp each night in a National Forest campground or state park along the way. We had our itinerary all mapped out. On the day we left, we left early so we could breakfast in the high Sierras. We headed east on US 50.

Our first stop after leaving Pleasanton was breakfast on a high promontory jutting out into Emerald Bay on the south shore of Lake Tahoe. It was probably 250-500 feet above the lakes' surface, giving us an excellent view. We unpacked the Coleman stove and everything else needed, and Ann cooked a breakfast that I will never forget. It was one the most memorable meals I have ever eaten and I have eaten a few. That breakfast alone paid the purchase price of all the camping equipment we had purchased for the trip. Of course, we were hungry, but the beauty of the site, amidst towering ponderosa pines with the Sierras jutting up to our west and the azure blue beauty of Lake Tahoe below us, was incomparable.

 We finally finished the meal, repacked everything, and departed for Carson City and points east. We stopped for gas in Carson City, and then decided to take a sidetrip to visit Silver City and Virginia City, just a few miles north of US 50. We spent several of hours prowling around Virginia City, walking the same sidewalks and visiting the same saloons that such notables as Samuel Clemens and other, perhaps more nefarious, gentlemen, seeing with our own eyes what we had read and seen so often in the movies. Some of the saloons were spectacular in that the bars were long, and some were covered with old silver one dollar coins. It was a memorable excursion.

 Our first night was spent at a campground alongside US 50 just east of Austin, Nevada. It was mainly a roadside park, out on the desert, but it was provided by the Forest Service so we pitched camp and spent the night. After an early breakfast the next morning, we continued on, heading for Utah and the Ponderosa forest camp in the Uinta National Forest northeast of Nephi, Utah. We had the camp ground all to ourselves. We camped alongside a small stream, pitched camp, played with the children, ate and went to bed. We were always up pretty early in order to cook breakfast, clean the dishes, break camp, load up and get going. It usually took a couple of hours to get going from the time we got up, but we were usually on the road prior to 0800.

On the third day of travel, we crossed the barren, but beautiful terrain of eastern Utah. That part of Utah, in which Canyonlands National Park is located, is a conglomeration of shale mesas, buttes, and canyons, with cliff faces of all colors. The area in east central Utah east of Price and Green River is mainly uninhabited, with long stretches between habitation.

We crossed into Colorado, heading for our campsite on the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction. We arrived in plenty of time to establish camp during the daylight hours. Since it was a National Monument, it had better facilities than the Forest campsites of the two previous nights. As soon as we parked, the kids began their personal inspection of the facilities. This was common practice with them at all our campground stops. The first thing they always did was go to the potty. This time, Laura outdid herself. She came running back to the campground yelling, "Mommy, mommy, the potties don't have holes in the ground!!!". No, these were real potties, not outhouses as was common in National Forest campgrounds. The National Monument is located on a mesa probably 1000 feet elevation overlooking Grand Junction, Colorado and the Colorado River. We had real potties and a real shower, and we made full use of the facilities.

 Our next day's destination included a stop over to view the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River. It was a National Monument, consisting of a canyon about a 1000 feet deep and only about a 100 feet wide at the top. It is a tremendous gash in the ground, gouged out by the cascading waters of the Gunnison river as it falls off the western slope of the Rockies. After looking with awe and taking pictures of the kids on the edge of the precipice, scaring Ann half to death, we loaded up and headed for the Almont Forest camp ground on the Gunnison River just north of Gunnison, Colorado.

We got there in plenty of time for me to wet a line and fish the Gunnison River. We spent two nights camping in the Gunnison National Forest, alongside the Gunnison River, which is one of the best trout rivers in the country. I was lucky enough to catch a couple of trout. We headed east again on US 50 and crossed the Great Divide at Monarch Pass, we ran alongside the Arkansas River all the way down. It is a spectacular river, falling 3 or 4,000 feet in the space of a few miles. We stopped several times to fish, but had no luck. We missed seeing the Royal Gorge just west of Canon City, but we had a longer way to go and couldn't afford the time.

We drove through Pueblo, and headed east onto the high desert again, heading for Kansas. We were off the mountain, and we were to find out one great reason for loving the west. No Mosquitos! We stopped to cook our trout at a roadside park, and we were swarmed by mosquitos. I did manage to get it cooked, but we ate it in the car, on the run. Wow, but it was terrible.

We kept going, heading for Kansas and Meade Co. State Park. Meade County is just south of Dodge City. We had to head south while still 16 miles west of Dodge City, so failed to see Matt Dillon's stompin' grounds. We finally made it to Lake Meade after dark, set up camp, and ate. We were terribly disappointed with the facilities there, plus the mosquitos were terrible. We left out early next morning, continuing south heading for Oklahoma.

We took Kansas Rte. 23 south into Oklahoma and turned east on US 4 heading for Boiling Springs State Park at Woodward, Oklahoma. It was a nice place compared to Meade Co. State Park. It had regular bath houses. But we had one problem. When Ann went to the women's bath house, she beat a hasty retreat to tell me that there was something in there that shouldn't be there. While she stood guard, I went in to check it out. It was swarming with BATS!

We reported it to the Park Rangers, and they finally got them cleaned out. That is another incident that will always be discussed wherever we might pitch our tent!!! That was the end of the excitement for the day so after a good nights sleep and a leisurely breakfast, we departed heading east to Lake Tenkiller State Park located just east of Muskogee, Oklahoma. We intended to fish a couple of days, but commenced raining and it was fun no longer, plus we were getting tired. We bundled up after one day there and headed non-stop for mom's in Cullman.

We crossed the Great River on a ferry at Helena, Arkansas. There is a bridge there now, but in 1960, you rode a ferry, and they inspected your car for any raw cotton you might have in it. The inspector kind. He gave us some parched peanuts to nibble on. We got on Mississippi Route 6 and ran it right across the state through Oxford, Tupelo and onto US 78, thence to US 278 in Alabama right through Jones Chapel to Cullman. Needless to say, all the folks were glad to see us and we..well we looked forward to sleeping in a bed again! After a few nights at each of our mom's homes, we cranked up and headed north to our second rendezvous with Great Lakes.

We were going back to an old familiar place again. Ann and I looked forward to renewing acquaintances again with the Johnsons and Haas'es, and to eating some more of Buzzy's famous steaks!! I had decided to move Ann to Akron, and I would come home on week ends when I could. We installed her, Laura and Chuck in an old, historic house on a beautiful lakeside estate at 2252 Waterloo Road. When I, say old house, I mean like 150 years or older. Ann couldn't drive and she was dependent on Dad to drive her wherever she wanted to go. In retrospect, I don't know what ever caused me to separate us like that.

After much discussion, we decided that things could only be better in Great Lakes, no matter what the living conditions. Since we would only be there a few months, no one would rent us a house, so I finally found a small 32 foot trailer to rent. We lived in it a month or so until one day we received notification that it was being repossessed and we had 10 days to get out! Luckily for us, the trailer park manager just happened to have a fantastic 60 ft. long 3 bedroom trailer. To us, it was a castle. A 50 room mansion couldn't have suited us any better and we were so proud to get it.

Route 2 Box 512, North Chicago, Ill, the address of our new trailer, turned out to be one of the coziest places we ever lived. We loved it, and spent a very enjoyable and close 1960 Christmas season there. We had snow, we had all the accouterments of Christmas again, this time share with two youngsters (with a third in the hopper). We made snow men, played in the snow to our hearts content, played trains all winter long and loved each other tremendously.

In school, I was studying basic Computers in the same class room I had studied Sonar in 4 years earlier. It seemed to be more calculus than computers, and I have yet to see the purpose of all that, when we should have been taught maintenance procedures on generalized computers. But sometimes the Navy acts in mysterious ways, their missions to perform.

One notable thing happened, among all the other notable things which I shall never forget....During the World Series that October, Don Larsen of the Yankees pitched his perfect "no hit, no run, no batter on base" game in the World Series.

During noon hours, we had one of the best PINOCHLE games going on anywhere in the US Navy.  Between Bev Dudley, Boyce Baker, John Fabris and me, we had four of the best pinochle players anywhere. We were so good that we could remember all the cards in a double deck pinochle game, and that is 80 cards. We played at least 20 points meld to open, and penny a point, and dollar or so a game. It was a wild and wicked game, and we loved it. Sometimes, we could play all night and never miss a lick, except for coffee breaks, and of course, the inevitable trips to the john.

I remember one session in particular that is noteworthy. During graduation week, between graduation and departure for next duty station at Hughes Aircraft Co, Fullerton, California, four of us spent all night playing. I recall that Ann woke up once after retiring for the evening to make a fresh pot of coffee for us. When she got up the next morning, we were still at it, but getting groggy. She made another pot of coffee, and the guys left for chow. I think I went to bed, though I'm not positive of that, in that I could stay up all night and still do my job back in those glorious days.

I graduated from ET "C-1" Computers school 10 February, 1961. I mentioned earlier that Ann was pregnant with Janet. She was due to be born at about the time I graduated, But just like all the rest of our kids, Janet didn't want to show up. I reckon Ann enjoyed the anticipation of giving birth, and strung it out for all it was worth! She was about a month late with Charles, and now here the same problem with Janet. There would have been no problem had I not a definite schedule to meet. We had about 4 weeks time in between schools, So I hung around Great Lakes, biding my time, waiting for Ann to start having birthing pains. I requested and received permission to delay my departure for two weeks, hoping Janet would be born by then. Finally the day came, and in early March, JANET came to stay with us and be our third bundle of joy! Luckily, she came in time for her to go with her daddy to California, the land of milk and honey   A few days after Ann brought her home, we swaddled her into her basket that she had inherited from her elder siblings, tucked her between us on the front seat, and headed west on ROUTE 66.  This picture is of Jan 3 days old and ready to roll to CA.  She rode most of the way in this basket.  Of course, this was in the days when people had freedom on the road.