Ron Gray:
CLASS OF 1973
Lakeland Regional High SchoolClass of 1973
Wanaque, NJ
Ron's Story
March 2019 update: Tractor's long-since done and we're getting a lot of use out of it. Monte Carlo's back in paint, waiting for warm weather to put the vinyl top on, got engine and firewall stuff strewn about everywhere in the meantime, hoping to have it running though by no means finished by summer. Our poor old beloved dog Will Henry died last month and left us heartbroken. Sold the 40 acres at the other end of the state and paid off the mortgages so now we're debt-free 'til we buy somethin'.
Last year's post - Hung around Jersey a couple years - went to Fairleigh Dickinson for a year - saw a lot of Eustace and Tilly Doerseln there - got good grades but quit 'cause I had no direction. Was a Good Humor man for one summer then worked at Cooper Labs a couple years, going to Ramapo at night. Split for Pennsylvania St. Patrick's Day '76 and went to Allegheny College. Majored in environmental science, built pole barns in the summer, painted and plastered for work-study, flipped burgers at Dog'N'Suds. Graduated and caught a job in mineral exploration - lived in Wyoming a while, then Kentucky a while, then of all things, back to Meadville PA where I'd gone to college. Caught jobs in 38 states, 3 provinces of Canada and two states of Mexico. Bo...Expand for more
ttom fell out of the business, I had 3 companies go broke out from under me, one of them twice, and was down to slogging around the oil patch on a frac crew, so I took a civil service test and snagged a job with the state air pollution control program. Worked there 29 years. Married Sharon in '85, bought 40 acres and an old old house in '86, worked on it for 18 years, still have it. Played utility guitar, harmonica and some bass in a few bands, wrote a lot of songs. Took a transfer to central office in 2005, bought 5 1/2 acres on a mountain ridge 20 miles from Harrisburg, built a cool house, ascended to the lofty pain-in-the-butt of chief of division of compliance and enforcement, which was a pressure cooker but enabled me to retire in 2015 at the age of 59. Since then life is great. First day of retirement's the best day since the last day before kindergarten. I get out in the woods a lot; heck we live in it. Restoring a '72 Monte Carlo and a '39 9N tractor at present. You have no idea how many parts are on a car til you take them all off and try to fix them and put them back together. More than halfway done. Gardening fanatic.
'Til I was 50 I lived within my means. My post-50 strategy is: Get what you want, die in debt, beat the game.
Register for Free to view all details!
Reunions
Register for Free to view all events!
Photos
