Fred Larson:
CLASS OF 1960
Rim of the World High SchoolClass of 1960
Lake arrowhead, CA
Fred's Story
Well, Howdy
I dropped out of Cal Poly and enrolled in Forestry School at Northern Arizona University. Decided I didn't want to spend my live going to work in the same building every day wearing shinny shoes and a white shirt with a pocket protector. Picinic lunch in the woods, different locations, Levi's and work boots sounded far better.
Worked for the US Forest Service for 36 years, 16 in Arizona and 22 in Alaska. Ended up getting a BA and MA degrees from NAU and a PhD from Colorado State University. The Forest Service sent me to CSU to learn how to build computer simulation models for projecting forest growth, regeneration and mortality with the ability to manipulate forest stand to determine best management practices. The FS paid all my college expenses, gave me $7.50 a day for renting an apartment away from Arizona and kept me on full salary. Who could ask for a better deal. My degrees without a doubt prove my theory, a degree isn't a measure of intelligence, it's a measure of persistence!
I retired in 2000 and moved to Hawaii where I picked up a job teaching mathematics at Hawaii Pacific University for 11 years. Then we came to Florida and ag...Expand for more
ain I taught math at Miami-Dade college for two mor years.
I have had several things going on the side, bought Northern Arizona Aviation when it was going bankrupt, turned it around to making a profit then sold it for $10,000 more than I paid. Picked up a few jobs as a consulting forester on the side as well, advising Southwest Forest Industries, one for evaluating the value of the natural resources on the Joint Use Lands shared by the Navajo and Hopi Indians, and one for developing an international cooperation with the Mexico State of Sonora, The US Forest Service, and the University of Arizona.
While living in Alaska I would fly my wife and daughter out to Eskimo and Athabascan Indian villages and we would buy their artwork, (ivory and whale bone carvings, doll, skin sewing, baskets, etc.) and wholesale it to gift shops, cruise ships, museums, and at trade shows and collectors. In Hawaii, we had a bread and breakfast. Now I just sit around and play the stock market. It has been a great and interesting life. I have faced down grizzle bears, mountain lion, and mad moose, but I am still kicking, how about you?
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