Connie James:
CLASS OF 1965
Central Junior High SchoolClass of 1965
Newark, OH
Newark High SchoolClass of 1965
Newark, OH
Licking Valley High SchoolClass of 1965
Newark, OH
Union SchoolClass of 1961
Granville, OH
Connie's Story
Life
After graduation I worked at State Farm Insurance for 11 1/2 years then I married the most wonderful man in the world. We just celebrated our 30th anniversary Feburary 12, 2007. George has been employed by Bechtel Power Corp since graduating from Clarkson University. We have three children and five grandchildren. Our point of origin is Henrietta, NY. We have lived in 14 states and two of those states we have lived in twice. Being the wife of an engineer that loves the field work has given me the chance to not only see the United States, but to live in the different areas and to really get to know the locals. We are currently in Fort Worth until the end of April and then it is Phoenix for a six month job. Who knows after that.
Along the way I homeschooled the children, who recieved academic scholarships and have now graduated from college. I was a stay at home mom until they graduated from high school then I returned to the work force staying in New York for about five years while George traveled coming home once a week or once a month. In April of 2003 he figured with the kids out of college and two of them married that he wanted me to quit and travel with him. How could I say no, he was going to be in Williamsburg, VA for 6 months. So I started out with a 6 month vacation in Williamsburg. I would recommend this to anyone. Our daughter and her husband now take care of our home while we are on the road.
The hardest part is being away from the kids and grandchildren. However. I can always hop on a plane and be home in a few hours.
Never dreamed I would live this type of live. The one question that people ask over and over again is, "How do you stand moving all the time?" It is just something that comes with the job, I always made it an adventure for the children so even now that it is just George and myself I make it an adventure. This is an oppurtunity that not everyone gets. I am thankful that he has never taken an overseas project because I don't think I would enjoy being that far from the kids.
Sometimes I miss the small town feel, but again I just take a trip home to visit Mom and my family. There are things about Newark that are just unique to Newark that will always make Newark dear.
Nov 2008
Just returned from a wonderful trip to Hawaii. We celebrated our y...Expand for more
oungest daughter's birthday on the Island of Molokai. She was impressed that on her birthday we watched the sunrise over the ocean from the front porch of our cottage and then ended the day on the west side of the Island watching the sun set over the ocean. It was truly a trip of a life time. Molokai is the most Hawaiian Island that you can visit. Here you will slow down. It takes an hour to travel 27 miles from the airport to the cottage at Pu'u O Hoku (Hill of the Stars). At the 20 mile marker the road becomes one lane going around hairpin curves with the Ocean on one side and hills and fields on the other. Fabulous!!!
We hiked, enjoyed the beaches which were mostly empty, swam at the lodges pool and again it was just the three of us, visited the coffee plantation, macadamia nut farm, Halawa valley, Kalaupapa, did the Molokai midnight bread run, learned what Humuhumu-Nukunuku-Aprua'a were, and just got the R&R that we needed.This is one place that we hope to visit again. Our other two children are wanting to know when we will be taking them to the Hill of the Stars. Oh, we were watching the stars over the ocean at the 23 mile beach and I mentioned how beautiful the stars sparkled. Ginger said, "I thought it was just me seeing the stars twinkle." We laughed asking her what she thought the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star meant. She had never seen the stars twinkle before - that moment made the entire trip worth the long flight over the ocean. This was amazing because she is a star watcher, but I must say that that was the most beautiful night sky I had ever seen. Ever morning we would get up to watch the sunrise and every evening we star gazed lisening to the barking dear (Axis deer); we had to be careful not to get into the Nene poop!! I could go on and on about the beauty of this Island, the friendly people, and the wonderful time that we had.
The day that we spend in Honolulu we visited Pearl Harbor, and spent a fortune on transportation and tips.
Two states left and I'll have visited all 50. We had thought that after we retired we would do the traveling, but we have done so much of it that when we retire I would like to stay home for a while.
We are expecting our seventh grandchild!! Four girls and three boys! What a wonderful joy our grandchildren are to us. Aloha
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