Larry Thomas:  

I transferred to Washington Rural High School in the fall of '54, after attending ( and playing Sophomore football) at Wyandotte High School in KCK . We moved to the "country" and my brother Jerry and I began our life there as passengers on Bus #5 after bicycling 5 miles to enroll in our new school. I thought I knew no one, but discovered that my old friend from Northwest Junior High School ( Ed Doughty) was a popular athlete at Washington, and made sure that I was welcomed to his lunch table with the other guys...what a blessing! My best guy friends were Gary Sturtridge and Ed Doughty, while gal friends were Janice Tolman, Barbara Young, and Edris Story. After graduation, I worked for a year at Phillips 66 refinery in Kansas City ( as a maintenance yardman in the plant) so I could enter college, then I attended KCK Junior College for two years (along with my brother Jerry, who graduated from Washington in '57), in a Pre-Engineering program. The math proved to be a major stumbling block, so after graduation from KCKJC, I enrolled in an Industrial Design program at Kansas University (no math!), graduating with a BFA in Industrial Design/Commercial Art in January of 1963. One highlight of that experience was the design of a truly unique "dome tent" as part of a 4 man team from the senior class design majors for a commercial product. The rights to manufacture it were sold to Coleman for $200! (That's now the standard tent everywhere and is sold in every sporting goods store in this country.) Prior to that I had married Norma Barnhill in 1962, who also attended KU, majoring in Education. We met in our Sunday School class at Grandview Baptist in KCK. For a month after graduation I worked for TWA at the Jack Frye Training Center in KCMO, in the graphics department, but the draft was imminent, so I enlisted, hoping for a better assignment. That didn't happen!. I enlisted in the Army, and after basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, was sent to Aberdeen Proving Grounds (Maryland) working in the Ordnance School Training Aids Section as an Illustrator, Norma and I enjoyed sight seeing in Maryland and she began using her teaching degree as a teacher in the local school, which catered to children from military families. I then got orders to Fort Bragg (North Carolina) for Psychological Warfare training. After 8 weeks of rigorous training, in February of 1964 I was ordered from there to Okinawa, Japan assigned to the 14th Psychological Warfare Battalion at Machinato. My assignments included leaflet dropping from fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, and distribution by balloon launches, as well as illustration and design of propaganda materials. I also worked with the Special Forces at the Matsuda Testing Range in the Northern part of the island as a technical assistant...a great assignment. Norma joined me on Okinawa in May 1964, but after two deployments to Vietnam (in August 1964 to work for the Military Assistance Command-VietNam at USIS in SaiGon, then in May 1965 with a 24 man Rapid Reaction Team attached to the 173rd Airborne Brigade to Bien Hoa, Republic of Viet Nam.) Norma was evacuated back to the states while I completed my service there with the 20th Psy Ops Detachment (Advisory), being awarded a Bronze Star and Army Commendation medals as a specialist sergeant for my service. After my discharge in February 1966 I worked mostly in Advertising, Graphic Design and management for 40 years, first with Didde Glaser ( Advertising Manager for that printing press manufacturer in Emporia, Kansas) David C. Cook ( as Advertising Manger, then Executive Art Director at that Christian publishing company in Elgin, Illinois ) running my own Advertising/Illustration/Design Agency for 12 years, then 9 years as Plant Manager for American Slide Chart in Wheaton, Illinois prior to retiring in 2003. During those years I also illustrated 2 children's books, and did nearly 100 cartoons and illustrations for many Christian magazines and curriculum materials for Christian Publishers. I also taught Commercial Art courses in the night program at Emporia State University as a contr...Expand for more