Jeff Riley:  

Life My family moved east to Pittsburgh in the summer following my Junior year, and I stayed to attend college at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) in the School of Architecture. I practised Architecture in Pittsburgh until 1994, when I packed up & moved to Bainbridge Island WA, just across Puget Sound from Seattle. I was heavily involved with a number of prominent projects in Pittsburgh, including the WQED TV studios, where Mr. Rogers was produced. Yes, I knew Mr. Rogers, & he was just like his TV persona. I was also project architect for the renovation of the Pittsburgh airport in the early 1970s & a large number of residential and commercial projects. I went to work with the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority in 1978, where was involved with major housing programs, historic preservation and the building of Phillip Johnson's PPG headquarters. In 1989, I returned to Carnegie Mellon as Senior Project Architect involved with a major campus expansion. During these times, I was also maintaining a small practice doing housing & commercial projects. When we moved west in 1994, I was in my 50's & found little interest in my skills. I concentrated on my writing (I have published 4 books), started a design/build firm producing log homes and purchased a pizza restaurant. I am now retired, but driving a paratransit taxi 2 days a week in what amounts to "Hooterville", & continuing to write. Outside of work, I became involved with the showing and breeding of Bulldogs, did a lot of back packing and canoeing in West Virginia and Ontario. This led to a renewed interest in railroads, since many of the trails were old logging railroad grades. I began model building & model railroading, which led to Life Membership in the National Model Railroad Association & earned the award Master Model Railroader (#97) in 1982. I served as an NMRA officer for many years, retiring from the National Board of Directors as Executive VP in 1993. That railroad interest l...Expand for more