Gary Jackson:  

Life My legal name is Gerhardt John Jackson and I was named after my grandfather, Gerhardt John Schoenbohm. His father, Gerhard (no “T”) John Schoenbohm was born July 6, 1871 in Bremen, Germany and landed at Indianola, Texas with his parents on November 1, 1878. Gerhard later married Carrie Matilde Gilpen Valls on April 18, 1892 in St. Francis de Paula Catholic Church in San Diego, Texas. Carrie was born in Old Nuecestown, Texas in 1875 and was the daughter of Andrew Ralph Valls and Grace Linn. Grace was the daughter of Edward Linn (born April 28, 1809) and Evaline Patton (born July 19, 1833) of which they were married on November 12, 1850 in Victoria, Texas. You may have heard of Edward Linn and one of his brothers; John, also known as “Juan” Linn, if you are familiar with the history of Victoria. As an early teenager, I would ride my bicycle through Port Lavaca with my rifle over my shoulder, to hike along the shore, north of town, and shoot at cans along the way. I often stopped and read a historical monument that commemorated the site of Linnville. It was a small town for merchant shipping that was established by the brothers and later was pillaged and burned by a Comanche Indian raid. Well, enough about my ancestry in this brief bio and on to my history. I achieved an Amateur radio license and built a Heathkit radio transmitter by the age of 13. I was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout around the time of graduating from Calhoun High in 1978. I attended Texas State Technical Institute in Waco and received 2 Associate of Applied Science degrees, Electronic Technology and Instrumentation Technology. While there, I also participated in the radio and TV repair program towards a certificate. After graduating, enough I thought, my career started with work for Schlumberger in McAllen, Texas. I transferred to Ventura, California for work with Flopetrol Johnson Schlumberger and then back to Alice, Texas for Dowell Schlumberger. After all of the...Expand for more