James Knowles:
CLASS OF 1977
West High SchoolClass of 1977
Minneapolis, MN
James's Story
Okay, here it goes. I left West High early in 12th grade and joined the United States Coast Guard where I remained until 1988 when an injury during a search and rescue operation finally took its toll and forced me out of the military. I went to college and while there took a job with the Army Corps of Engineers as an environmental project manager. I stayed with the Corps of Engineers for ten years then took a shot at owning and managing an environmental consulting company. Things went well until the economy crashed and the work dried up. Hence, I returned to the Army where I now work. I am coming up on 29 years military service. In my current job I am the lead environmental program manager for the Army Reserve. It is a great job and I love the work.
After completing my first degree (I have three), I applied to the Superintendent of Minneapolis Public schools for issuance of my high school diploma (I had to take my GED to join the military while in high school) based upon my college degree completion asking if those classes could account for the ones I left behind when I joined the military. And to my surprise, Mrs. Brown issued me my high school diploma. How cool was that. I now have a GES, a hihg school diploma, an AAS degree from Inver Hills Community College, a BA from Concordia University, and MS from Concordia University, and I am half way through a PhD. I love to learn.
If only I had applied myself more while at West instead of holding keg parties in the Brynmar woods or on the hill top by the old Dunwoody house. I also through a heck of a party in my apartment at the corner of 24th and Dupont. I lived there with two roommates while I attended 11th and 12th grade.
Some might remember me as the tall skinny long haired kid with glasses that worked at Zapatas on Lake Street which later was changed to Zantigos. I drove a big red truck with an eighth track tape player and Led Zepplin screaming out the windows. My high school friends were Mike Teimann, Steve Beyers, and Kieth Boike. Oh and I liked hanging out with Roxanne and Blair, Joey, Leo, Roger, and many others. I ha...Expand for more
d such great keg parties.
I have been to such exotic places as the Arctic, central and south America, Kuwait, and Afghanistan. I mapped wetlands in the Rocky Mountains, sailed all the Great Lakes, and did search and rescue off the south coast of Long Island. However, none of that compares to raising my daughter or the joy of being part of my grand children's lives..
I first became a Dad when I was jut 19 years old. Most guys that age would often run in the other direction but not me. Where my Dad did just that, I was not going to run out on my little girl. And for the next 21 years we traveled as a family all over the country. She learned how to swim in a back water bay of the Atlantic Ocean and how to fish for Salmon on Lake Michigan. As a little girl we often lived in small towns while I served in the Coast Guard. This meant that we would periodically take trips to big city and while there we made it a point to stop at the bookstore. She would go to the kids mystery book section as I and my wife would look for the latest cookbook on the shelf. All that reading paid off as she has two college degrees and is working on her second masters degree. For me, spending time with my wife and daughter was and continues to be the best time of my day.
Now at 37 years old my daughter has twins (boy and girl) and I am their overgrown playmate. They were born while I was in Afghanistan. And my daughter named my grandson after my middle name. My daughter said that she chose that name for my grandson because she always liked the name Byron, but I think it was her way of keeping her Dad close just I didn't make it home.
I did of course and these days we tromp through the woods looking for wildflowers; play on the swings, wrestle in the living room, and make homemade pancakes together. They are four years old and filled with more energy and joy than any two kids I have ever seen. I was there the first time they walked and just a few weeks ago when they got their first bike. You can bet I had the video camera out as they rode up and down the alleyway behind their house on Christmas morning.
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