Jack Sheldon:  

After one year, I'm going to let my Classmates.com subscription expire. See me at FACEBOOK. Look for "Jack Sheldon Jr" or search for me using my email address KN7Y at cox.net -- see you there. Originally from a small home town of Owosso, Michigan, my folks moved our family to the Mesa, Arizona area in 1971 to care for my grandmother, Nellie (Page) Sheldon Nolan (1890 - 1973). For those friends in Arizona, home town Owosso, Michigan is a small community located between Lansing and Flint. The town still has a special place in my heart because of the deep roots of our ancestors, turning seasons, the quaint atmosphere, and reunions with my cousins. Memorable sights of my home town include Curwood Castle built by James Oliver Curwood, author and conservationist, on the bank of the Shiawassee River not far from where we lived. Three generations of my ancestors are in Henderson (near Owosso) (surnames Shuster, McCarthy, and Overpack), Clinton County where I was born (Mead, Austin, Sherman, Page), and Eaton County (Sheldon, Johnson, Crandall, Mains, Raymond), all in Michigan -- some migrating to the state as early as the early-1800's. Ancestor Silas Overpack, a wagon maker, invented the Michigan Big Wheels which were used to haul logs through muddy terrain in the 1800's (Manistee). During the 1960's, among all the events of the time (and if you are curious as to what those times were like, just watch the movie Forest Gump), I focused on playing drums, mowing lawns, ice skating at Memorial Park (now known as Adams Park), sledding, and shoveling snow. My dad was a TV repairman and among all the things he did, he installed many of the TV antenna towers in Owosso. He also taught Morse code and amateur "ham" radio theory to local friends, as well as to 4 of the 6 of us kids. My dad was K8WWK in Michigan, now KG7X in Arizona. The rest of us stuck with the hobby and we are K7WK (Neil), K7NL (Dave), AB7FO (Linda Marie), and I am KN7Y. What most of you probably don't know about me is that I knew Morse code as a youngster, and earned my first FCC radio license at about age 11 in Owosso... Ham radio is a life-long hobby and my favorite mode of operating is still by Morse code. "Working DX" -- that is making contacts with stations of foreign countries -- is my favorite part of radio, and we are "emergency prepared" one of the purposes of the Amateur Radio privlege. That means I can set up a station and be on the air in less than a half-an-hour using auxiliary power. In Owosso, my mother was the executive director of the local Owosso YWCA as well as a girlscout and 4-H leader. How many of you remember when the YWCA was on Water and Oliver Streets (now a parking lot) before moving to the Bently house across the street from Central School? In Arizona she worked for many years at the ASU library in neighboring Tempe, AZ before retiring. OK, mom, it's alright if you worked at the rival Sun Devil campus. Currently both of my parents are doing well for being in their 80's, and they live their retirement days in their home just 2 doors north of my home in Arizona. I'm not sure whether I keep track of them, or if we live close so they can keep track of me. The day we moved from Owosso in October 1971, I remember seeing the gasoline prices on signs as we drove by Main Street at $0.279 per gallon. We arrived in Mesa, AZ on Halloween 1971, when Neal Young's "Heart of Gold" was a top 40 hit. For those in Michigan who may remember me, I attended grade school at Central, and then 7th Grade and the early part of 8th Grade at Owosso Jr. High School on Water Street. In Arizona I finished 8th Grade at Carson Jr. High School in Mesa, and then when my folks bought their first Arizona home, I attended Kino Jr. High for 9th Grade. In Michigan 9th through 12th grades are High School years, but in Arizona only 10th through 12th are High School. You may notice that I attended 5 schools in 5 years, which was a little difficult, but I finally settled in by the 10th grade. From 1973 to 1976, I attended Westwood High School in Mesa, AZ, and enjoyed the experience and friends. While at Westwood my "part time" job was delivering the Arizona Republic newspaper at 4 am for 4 years until...Expand for more