Edward Baker:
CLASS OF 1976
Mt. Olive High SchoolClass of 1976
Flanders, NJ
Edward's Story
Well let'Âs see, where should I begin. After High school I went to college for a year wanting to be a commercial artist and technical illustrator but ran out of money. I Joined the Army because I figure to do a couple of years and let Uncle Sam pay for the rest of my college with the G.I. Bill. Got sent to Korea were I partied my ass off and got interested in helicopters. Passed a bunch of tests that showed I was smarter than the average bear so the Army sent me to flight school for helicopters. Found my true calling and eventually ended up flying Cobra and Apache Gunships. During this time I met my first wife, Rhonda, got married had a son and found out that marrage didn't agree with her. Got divorced and got custody of my son for the price of a car she wanted, pretty good deal I thought. Got out of the active duty Army after eight years and came back home and joined the National Guard. Got a job at a small company called Realtronix owned by a friend I knew before I went into the service and worked there for a year as a PC board designer and production manager. Got fired for showing my displeasure and went back to school with the GI Bill to learn Aviation Maintenance Technologies in the career field that I truly wanted. I then got a job at Paramount Aviation flying helicopters for corporate charter where I met my second wife, Addie, who worked in their accounting dept. Watched as the owner of that company ran it into ruin and got laid off. Soon found a job flying a traffic helicopter for WCBS News Radio 88 in NYC. Did that for 8 fun filled years during which time Addie and I had a daughter. Then I was recruited by Aerial Films to fly the NBC news helicopter in NYC. Until the boss figured out I was real good with all the electronic news gathering equipment that Aerial films manufactured. I became their Director of Maintenance and then I spent more time away from home installing and integrating camera systems on news helicopters all over the county. It was fun when it started but as my work time started averaging 80 hours a week it began to suck big time! Addie and I did find enough time in my schedule to have another chi...Expand for more
ld. Did this for 2 years when a friend who worked for Helicopters Inc. recruited me to be the Lead Pilot on the CBS TV news contract in NYC. I saw the events of 911 up close and personal since I was flying that day. After the FAA grounded everyone that afternoon I was called into my National Guard unit and spent the following month flying FBI evidence recovery specialists around the NYC area for their investigations. After 10 years of flying for CBS the higher ups changed my work schedule to something that would be good for them but would negatively impact my homelife so after 10 years and two Emmy Awards with CBS I left and got a job flying a Medevac Helicopter for Lehigh Valley Hospital based at the Stroudsburg Airport about 5 miles from my house. I have been with them for seven years now and have been the base manager for six of those. It is by far the most rewarding flying I have ever done. There is no greater satisfaction than saving lives. My oldest is 30 and recently received his degree in electronics technologies and is looking for a position at the Tobyhanna Army Depot. He has a child, my Grandaughter Abby. My daughter is now in her twenties and after a failed attempt at college is still trying to figure out what she wants to do and be in life. My youngest child, Joseph's life revolves around video games, girls and cars, in that order. He wants to be an auto customizer but shows only minimal aptitude in actually working on cars, which by the way we do a lot of around hear considering todays economy! He and his most recent girlfriend did find time to produce a grandson for me, cute little fellow, also named Joseph. Lately my interests, besides aviation, have leaned back towards motorcycles of which I have accumulated six over my 40 plus years involvement with them and outdoor recreation of all types. Hunting, fishing, camping canoeing, kayaking, shooting sports, etc., etc. yadda yadda....hey its all about the fun now! We ain't getting any younger!
Well there you have it, my first novel, was it a good read? A Readers Digest autobiography sort of. What a long strange trip it's been! And the journey continues....
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