John (Jack) Van Natta:  

After graduating, which was still a surprise to my parents :>), Rod Yeakel and I joined the Coast Guard. We both were assigned to a large ship (cutter), the BARATARIA out of Portland, ME. We had an apartment that was the bachelor pad of the 60's it seemed...The ship went to Vietnam in early 1968, I left for a school in Groton, CT in Nov 1967, so missed it. Upon grad I went to Boston, MA and seems I spent more time partying in an even better pad in downtown Kenmore Square and going to the Impossible Dream Red Sox games then working....Met my wife there & were married in Jan 1968 & immediately shipped off to Cape Cod, MA to another ship, the HORNBEAM for about the full year, where we had our first child, Kristen. The Coast Guard liked me so much they shipped me off again in Dec to the Recruiting Office in Manchester, NH. During that time had no problems recruiting young men into the Coast Guard as they all wanted to beat the draft, unknowing that they still could end up in Vietnam with the Guard, but being the top service to get into (mental exam & background stuff most failed and had to be redirected down the hall to the other services). Promoted to E-6 and shipped off to my fourth independent duty (without supervision, just know it and do it type), at Group St. Petersburg, FL in Dec 1970. A year later our son Scott was born and has been forever cold outside of Florida wx. Requested to be assigned as an instructor at my specialty school out in Petaluma, CA and was shipped off again in Nov 1973. Ended up teaching the first group of female students on active duty since WWII in the Coast Guard (small service & very selective back then and really couldn't accomodate them), in early 1974. That truly was an experience with the changes, etc., etc. Made Chief Petty Officer in Jan 1976 and was promoted to School Chief in charge of all the other instructors, the curriculum and of course the 150 or so students. Later in '76 they asked me if I wanted to see Hawaii, so yeah, why not, shipped off again to Honolulu to a ship, the Cutter JARVIS, the largest class in the Coast Guard at the time, where I was in charge of the Administrative & Personnel Office, albiet, only 5 guys. Spent more time on fishery patrols & Law Enforcement in the Bering Sea of Alaska then in Hawaii inport. Ever watch DEADLIEST CATCH on Discovery Channel? Well this type ship along with the Helicopter we carried with us, were out there rescuing those guys along with the myraid of other fishing boats from Russia, Japan, Korea, etc., that they don't show, plus boarding all of them to check on their catches along with possible contraband and other illegal stuff. After two years basically underway at 2-3 months at a time, in our homeport of Honolulu for 2-3 weeks, then out again (the wife and kids loved it however, they never had to go off to Alaska), we were transferred to the Eleventh District Office in Long Beach, CA. In charge of the Administrative and Reserve Office of a staff of 15 where I was promoted to Senior Chief Petty Officer and Chief Warrant Officer on the same day so had to decide which, which also would have another transfer attahced to it if I elected to become an officer and gentlemen, which I did. Off to Governor's Island, NY, kinda like Staten Island, except it was all Coast Guard personnel and their families after they assumed duties of the island from the Army a bit before. So off we went to the East Coast, finally, closer to home, but to the bad wx after stints in Florida, California twice (northern & southern), Hawaii. So in July 1979 I was in charge of over 1000 housing units for officer and enlisted families on Governor's Island and Staten Island, with duties and responsibilities too numerous to list. Let's just say, they didn't allow the Housing Officer (my billet) to remain in that position more than 2 years. So in 1981 it was off to another duty station, this time at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, again as the Housing Officer, and again with a myraid of duties and responsibilities where we bought our final house (had a couple others along the way, with most times being in what is call Government Housing, not owned by us, but leased to us for a set amount of $$. Retired in Nov 1985, still as an officer and gentlemen, surprisingly.....During all the above, was very active in forming various sports teams for the men and women assigned with me to the various units, always managing/coaching and playing on all (basketball, flag football, baseball, softball), winning many championships along the way, with a lot of playoffs and tournaments and even a couple all-star stints, luckily. After being so active, basically retired from that also and concentrated mostly on the kids and grandkids sports since, plus a darn herniated disc that developed almost immediately after I retired from military precluded alot of that type physical activity. Boy this is getting long and only halfway....bet no one else wrote a story this long huh? Well, you asked for it.....After retirement, not really planning what the heck I really wanted to do or was qualified to do after alot of prestigious jobs and leaving on a bad note due to a couple senior officers that should've been drummed out of the service years before. Anyway, took a job as a Loan Officer of a new Bank Mortgage Company at a time when everyone was refinancing their homes and properties. Did that fairly successfully for a year, then took an interview with CNA insurance in Farmington, CT (near Hartford) for a General Services Supervisor position that was alot more (about twice actually), what I was paid the last year in service. Not knowing anything at all about how a big Insurance office operated, the big guy hired me due to my supervising experience and potential to learn the business I guess. I was in charge of the Building Maintenance Dept, Accountng, Supply, Mail & Shipping, Records Maintenance, Communications and one other that slips my memory, but with 7 supervisors that were accountable to me with their 150 employees, it was no small task. Unfortunately, the person that hired me left to another company and was replaced by a young lady who didn't like my military supervisory techniques, and the combined travel time daily spelled the end after a year. Took off for about six months and took a real estate course and then a job at a new real estate office that specialized in commercial real estate and management rather then the other stuff. While there I found my dream, a Sports Card and Memorabillia store (I had continued collecting everything and I do mean everything, while in the service, in fact had to pay extra sometimes for the service to ship my personal effects cause it was just so much and heavy). Anyway, the guy was moving to Florida, so I offered to buy, etc., and here I became a Small Business Owner of what many customers called the largest of it's kind on the East Coast (doubtful, but it always sounded nice). Opened that in March of 1988 and closed the doors in March 2002. Great years from 1988 to about 1996, but strugged from then on due to the massive quantities of stuff put out there to buy, just could't keep buying and taking all the chances, so finally gave up my dream job and have been unloading inventory online (ebay) since. That takes us up to 2009 as far as work. Both daughter Kristen and son Scott still live in the area, Scott about 5 minutes away, not yet married (according to a survey they did of all the males who graduated with him in 1988 I think, over 70% are still not married. So not holding much hope there, though the girls love him and he does take after the old man, just won't settle down. Kristen is about 20 minuties away so both still kinda under our thumb, yeah, right! She did give us two GREAT, of course, grandchildren so we see them just about whenever we want, sometimes more than we want, as we kinda are like their second parents being so darn close, sometimes I feel I missed being a grandfather and just continued the father bit no matter how hard I try not to and they both feel it too sometimes, but they are really great, the girl, Jessica is now 15 going on 25 and is and has been the brainy high honors type student, heck since pre-school where her teacher would rely on her to help the others, and that has continued into the 6th, now 10th grade. She's a motherly hen type, very carrying, etc., also a high school cheerleader & cheer/dance competitions, not an athlete, though that stuff is now considered athletic, had injuries to her wrists, arm, ankles a couple times each along with a pretty severe concussion in 2010, but loves cheering and helps teaching the younger cheerleaders on the youth teams. The little boy, Jacob (Jake) is 11 and yeah, I know, all of our kids and grandkids are all star this and all star that and as George Carlin said, no one gives a rat llll about your kids or grandkids, sometimes not even the relatives, so......, but anyway, he is an athlete, literally the star on everyone of his Soccer teams since 4 1/2 when allowed, his T-Ball team, then his Little League Team Minors and now his Major League Team where he was the first draft pick going from one league to the next both times and was one of only 6 nine year olds brought up to play with the 9-12 year olds, but had his troubles this year facing those older 12 & sometimes 13 year old pitchers, in fact got hit by the oldest, best, and fastest pitcher in the league and had the imprint of the baseball on his upper arm for a week. He was also the quarterback on his flag football team, decided not to go out last two years due to soccer, but played last year when he was 8, Fullback and Linebacker. Of course his BeBe (me) is his personal instructor (found my niche), but even though it seems most times he hates listening to me and doesn't seem to be paying attention, he certainly does retain something. OK, enough bragging, but th...Expand for more