James McMillan:
CLASS OF 1971
Poquoson High SchoolClass of 1971
Poquoson, VA
James's Story
I shall try to give you the short version. Graduation was a Friday night, Saturday morning went and took the college entrance exam and Monday morning started working at NASA and entered the first class of Co-op education with Thomas Nelson CC. Went thru 3 years of Co-op got a degree in Mechanical Technology and worked half the time. Two more years of apprenticeship at NASA during which time I got my degree in Drafting and Design.
'76 married my high school sweet heart. Debbie Luthie (Billy (Bobo) Luthie's sister). That lasted until '85. No kids. Bought a customized 76 Chevy Van and joined the Blue Water Van Club. Eventually became the first 2-time president of the club.
I had a couple of motorcycles and in '82 bought a Honda Gold Wing Aspencade. Joined a local motorcycle club, and a national Gold Wing club (Gold Wing Road Riders Association). Started a chapter in Hampton/N.N area. Eventually became the State director for GWRRA.
In '86 I took a little ride on my Gold Wing. I took off for 31 days, covered 11,575 miles, 34 states and 4 Canadian Providences. Coast (Atlantic) to Coast (Gulf of Mexico) to Coast (Pacific). Met a girl (Patti) in California at one of the two rallies I attended on the trip. She was in charge of a Ride For Liberty, raising money in the name of motorcyclist for the remodel of the Statue of Liberty. When I got home I had won a chance to ride with the group as they came across the country. I met them west of Richmond (in Dumfries), and ending up riding on to Battery Park in NY, NY with them. This woman was in charge of the ride. We exchanged phone numbers and started talking, she lived in Up-state NY. Met up with her again 2 weeks later, in Hot Springs, AR. Turned out she worked for the Americade Motorcycle Rally in Lake George NY. We hooked up and flew back and forth between NY and VA about every 5-6 weeks one or the other of us.
In the fall of '87 Patti moved to VA and we got an apartment in NN. Lived there until '90 and She and I started contracting to Americade full time. I resigned from NASA in the fall of '90. Moved to Glens Falls, NY. She and I became the management team for the Tour Expo show in Lake George setting up a convention center in an empty 6-acre lot with over 200 vendors and about 50,000 people coming through for a week long event. We also managed the e...Expand for more
ntire event for the promoter in Estes Park, CO. Managing included about 100 volunteers and running the entire event. We married in '91.
Later we tried to get out of the motorcycle promotions and American Honda came along with an offer we could not refuse, to organize the rallies for their newly Formed Honda Riders Club. We put on an event in Avon, Colorado, two in Marysville, OH (at the Honda Plant) and did the first Honda Hoot in Ashville, NC. That was in '94.
We had moved from NY to Colorado in '93 and a year later we bought the Trading Post in Red Feather Lakes, CO, a small mountain town with only about 500 year round residents and two other general store. The Trading Post includes groceries, hardware, fishing stuff, hunting stuff, automotive, snack foods, video rentals, fuel, and a liquor store. We now sell fishing/hunting licenses and Colorado Lottery.
From the time that we bought the store in '94 until 2001 we had not taken a vacation. Finally I talked Patti into a vacation in '01. We went to Tahiti for a week. Loved it and since we can only go in the winter when it is slower, we normally go to warmer climates. Our next trip was a 2-week vacation in Maui and the Big Island.
The following year I went back with my Family to Maui for my Mothers 90th B-day. We took her to Hawaii because that was the only State she had not been in, so we called it the 50at90 trip.
Then the following Spring Patti and I went back to Kauai. In '08 we went to LaPaz, MX for a week. Then this past spring we went to Orlando for a week with Patti's family (Patti's mother, Jean, lives with us). Then I flew my mother down to Orlando and we left out of Miami to St. Maarten for a week with both mothers.
We probably will not go anywhere for a while since we just spent a lot on an 80kw automatic generator for the building (building includes living quarters attached to the store). Our commute is about 45 feet and that includes a walk down a flight of stairs.
Neither Patti nor I have any children. I have left that to my siblings. My one brother and two sisters have 10 kids between them. They have 20 kids among them, with one more in the next generation. Patti has a little trouble keeping them all straight since both her parents were only children and neither of her siblings (one brother, one sister) have any children.
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