Out & About with Our Members

July 15, 2017

March, 2021

 

 

 

Mar 6 Ban Capron sent a few links to another of his past travels that you might like. The image reflects his skill as a photographer, the video the fun he has in exploring these great places. This one is Antelope Slot Canyon, Arizona.

 

February, 2021

Feb 17 A very significant post: Johnson Controls Joins The Climate Pledge, co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism to Support Accelerated Net-Zero Carbon Ambition  Signing aligns with Johnson Controls’ commitment to bring forward net-zero carbon emissions from 2050 to 2040.

Feb 13 Here’s a note sent in by two people who should know, Dave Bigler and Ban Capron. The building in the article: “Johnson Controls to Close Carrollton Plant “ is the former SECD building. More recently it has apparently been the site of a Ruskin Rooftop Systems manufacturing plant.

Dave & Ban, thanks for passing along the note.

 

Feb 11 Our favorite photographer and traveler, Ban Capron, sent in this suggestion for seeing the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

This is the way we travel now. I’m registered for all future events and have watched all the previous events. Just watched Rick’s Valentine’s event (scan down to February 8). I typically register and don’t show up. Rick sends a missed you email and I watch when convenient. BAN

Rick Steves Monday Night Travel

Thanks for the suggestion Ban. Best wishes to you and your family.

January, 2021

Jan 03 Steve Jones liked this post on LinkedIn. It’s a note from Theodore Brewton, U Conn Facilities — a long time JCI customer. I think the real story is in Theodore’s comment about the senior techs offering their help. That was certainly my experience at the Milwaukee Branch Office, a great experience thanks to all of the mechanics, techs, sales, and staff who helped the new guy.

This post is dedicated to the techs that have retired. Yet left a part of themselves in each building. As I started in the trade I would ask our senior techs lots of questions, on how the pneumatic systems worked and why. I figured if I knew and understood the past it would help moving forward with challenges ahead. I was lucky they shared their knowledge and lots of things that you wouldn’t find in books.

Theodore Brewton Assistant Automation Supervisor, Uconn Facilities on LinkedIn

 

Jan 02 Happy New Year everyone!

Our good friend Ban has been thinking about us. He passed along his good wishes, and this video of a trip taken in a year more suited to travel.

By now you know I work pretty hard to find and take the perfect picture. You also know I enjoy planning a trip and mapping out the pictures in advance.

This trip is a perfect example. Jan & I just watched this again just after watching a Rick Steves video. She said she liked this better (of course one of her daughters are in it). I’ve often thought if I could live life over I want to be a Rick Steves.

Anyway this video has some fabulous pictures of Prague and the start and Budapest at the end plus interesting places in between. … Ban

Thanks Ban, our best wishes to you, Jan and your family,

December, 2020

Dec 23 The temperature is going to plummet tonight! You might like to checkout the latest on Dennis Miller’s blog: WondersOfNature/ Winter Mix: Hawks, Geese, Frost. We’ve not had much snow in the Milwaukee area so far this year, so Dennis’ pictures the wildlife enjoying the water and remnants of Fall. Dennis does make his morning walk interesting!

Dec 19: Best holiday wishes from the Capron Family — Ban sent the link form his 2018 video, “12 Days of Christmas at the Dallas Arboretum”

Thanks Ban, and our best wishes to you, your family, and all of our members.

(To view, click on the play triangle, and that box in the lower right to go to full screen)

November, 2020

Nov 18: I’ve been derelict in updating the Out & About activities. I really need to go back to this summer for this one, July! Rich Nabholz was cleaning up and found some really interesting memorabilia. The SIP Calculator you know about. Then came an issue of the Johnsonite, Fall 1962 issue. It was in his desk when he started at the branch office in 1973.

 

Then, there was this promotional record, “Performance, that’s us.” Do you remember it? I do, but I don’t recall the date. I do know that this was one in a series of promotions created by George Huhnke. George did some great work. This one was just fun for all of us.

 

October, 2020

Oct 13: Wow, what a Spring and Summer! Well, it’s already Fall, time to get back at it while we all face the next set of life’s challenges.

How about this for a great restart?

Our good friend Dennis Miller has continued to share his creative side with us. Remember his demonstration on robots a few years back? Well, Covid-19 has caused him to pivot his activities to share his experiences via a blog called Wonders of Nature. He found these frosted roses in Whitnall Park on Oct 5th, our first frost of the year. Check out Dennis’ blog by clicking on the link Wonders of Nature. I think you’ll enjoy his experiences as he shares them with us.

Note: You can click on the image to get a full screen version that really pops.

June, 2020

Jun 25: What did we do before “there’s an app for that”?

Rich Nabholz found his Savings and Investment (401K) Plan Calculator (dated 1988) and sent it along to share. It’s always good to hear from Rich — he has a wealth of information on Johnson Controls and great experiences to share.

Make sure to click on the image to get the readable view. There had to be some special expertise in creating these cardboard calculators. There were a good number of technical calculators intended for use by the field team. (If any of you have one to share, send in a picture.)

Of course, there were limits imposed by the medium for these — note that the maximum Annual Pay on the Plan Calculator is $50,000.

Thanks for sending the calculator Rich.

Jun 19: We received several notes from members expressing their appreciation for the Newsletter distribution via email — Greg and Erica did a great job. Tom Parris and Barb Helgesen included notes updating their status:

After 14 years being snowbirds, we moved full-time back to Greendale WI. We were legal residents in Arizona. We sold our Arizona in March. We are in great physical shape (for a 83 guy). It is a mess changing documents. I spent 1 1/2 hours in line then another 2 1/2 hours in line getting my drivers license changed from Arizona. Now I’m good thru 2028!!!!!  … Tom Parris

Thanks for the Newsletter…We just got back from Alabama where we were “shut in” because of the Virus and now being back we are again “shut in” for the 14 days and then we can play golf in New Berlin Hills G.C. until the end of September when we return to Orange Beach, AL.
Hope the Retiree’s are all well and safe during this Virus Time…  Barbara Helgesen

Welcome back to both of you — stay safe everyone.

 

January, 2020

Jan 11: A stint in Russia was part of Ban Capron’s career with Johnson Controls.  As you might expect, he took his camera along. Ban recently sent a link to a video he composed using his favorite pictures from his Russia collection. Here’s how he introduces the video on his YouTube Channel:

Pictures of Moscow, St. Basil’s, Red Square, The Kremlin, St. Petersburg, Pushkin, Peterhof, Kizhi Island, Suzdal, Rostov the Great, Volgograd (Stalingrad), Rostov, Perm, Siberia, taken 1992-1997 & 2010. Music Moscow Nights.

Thanks for sharing your memories Ban, the video is great.

 

December, 2019

Dec 28: We received Christmas wishes from Tom & Ronni Parris that we thought you all would like to see. Merry Christmas to you and your family Tom & Ronni, it looks like every one had a great time.

Merry Christmas. We ate on Friday evening
December 20th in Wisconsin. We sent a photo.

Our kids arrived from in LA and NYC on Dec 19th.
They will depart in Saturday Dec. 28th.

From the left: Jennifer Dubis (daughter), Ronni, Tom,
Madison Dubis (10), Alexander Parris (Ace 6).

From the left (from the center): Abbey Parris, Andrew
Parris (son), Brian Dubis, and Bridget Parris (daughter).
Amanda Dubis (20, a student) was not photographed.
She was working at the local hospital.

Merry Christmas,

 

 

Dec 9: Our favorite travelling photographer Ban Capron sent his latest video to share, “Prague to Budapest Danube River Trip“. On his YouTube Channel, Ban included an introduction and a listing of all of the musical pieces he used. Here’s his introduction and the video:

Photography is one of my main goals. I plan ahead knowing my big photo goals and then add enough pictures in between to capture the essence of the trip. The 2 big goals were Prague’s Charles Bridge at sunrise before the crowds and Budapest’s Parliament Building at night from Castle Hill. The riverboat captain gave us the gift of cruising the Danube by the sights in Budapest at night.

 

 

Dec 7: Pat Cronin and I met to catchup over lunch yesterday. He’s doing well with his consulting practice, Anam Consulting, LLC and continues to support the job search organization he founded. The need for the service continues at a regular pace, even with current low unemployment numbers. The unemployment number is an overall statistic, while real people face the reality of their individual situation. Pat mentioned that he and Rick Schuster joined forces on a recent project. It’s my personal experience that Pat and Rick make a very powerful duo! Best wishes to both of you.

 

Dec 6: You may be aware that after his career at Controls, our colleague, Jim Bohn became Dr. Jim Bohn. “The Blue Collar Scholar.”  Jim shared his experiences at our Reunion 2014. Since then our favorite scholar has continued to thrive. He has recently released his second book, “If Your Water Cooler Could Talk: Organizational Engagement, Getting Beyond Employee Engagement.”

 

Jim’s book Architect’s of Change is available on Amazon.

Congratulations on your continued success Jim.

 

Dec 1: Thanksgiving is past, time to continue family bonding and good wishes to all with a Christmas video from our friends, Ban and Jan Capron. Ban added a note that the pictures here were taken during the seasons 2016 and 2018.

Merry Christmas to you Ban, Jan and your family. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

August, 2019

Aug 19: This is the latest from Ban Capron and his family camera — Ban, thanks for sharing your experiences and fantastic pictures!

 

 

Great little circle car trip out of San Francisco. A beautiful part of the USA.

San Francisco, Point Lobos, Highway 1, Carmel, 17 Mile Drive, Monterey Aquarium, Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Tuolumne Grove Sequoia Trees, Placerville Hog Wild Bar BQ, Wine Country, Alfred Hitchcock The Birds Bodega, Muir Woods Red Woods Trees, Chinatown. Submitted By Ban Capron

July, 2019

Jul 22nd: Here’s another video in Ban Capron’s series of fantastic travel videos.

England in a Rental Car

My goal is to take several fabulous pictures for my Best Picture album. My other goal is to see some interesting places and spend time with my daughter. This video captures the trip and is interspersed with several pictures that made it into my Best Picture album. I encourage you to create your own Best Picture album for a screensaver. You might also consider making a slideshow like this for a lasting memory. — Submitted by Ban Capron

 

 

February, 2019

Feb 25th: Ban Capron periodically passes along  videos of his family travels. They are all fantastic for the photography, music, and, of course, Ban’s story.

This one is a video of a trip through Norway complete with music Grieg, Norway’s most famous composer, in the later part of the video.

To view the video, just click on the arrow in the center, and then on the box in the lower right corner to expand it to full screen.

Thanks for sharing the experience Ban.

Feb 20th: This week I’ve been reading “The Age of Agile” by Stephen Denning. It’s about a new paradigm for operating companies in a ‘volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous’ world. Denning identifies three rules:

• The Law of Small Teams — all work is done by small teams with short timeframes
• The Law of the Customer — business exists to create and retain customers
• The Law of the Network — those small teams work collaboratively in a network of teams.

This all sounds very good to me, and I plan to use it in my work mentoring startup companies.

While I was thinking just how I would use it, I received an email passed along by Sue Perko and Audrey Fayne. Both of them, in their work in the Milwaukee Branch Office, were excellent examples of working for customers first.

Then I read this in the email from Jarrod Lofgren, Strategic Account Sales Manager in the Branch:

“Team,

It is my unfortunate duty to let you all know that on Friday, February 15th, 2019, Mark Prioletta passed away at his home.

While taking the chance to mourn his passing is appropriate, I think it is equally important to celebrate his unique contribution to this company. Mark worked for Johnson Controls for 45 years, and developed incredible relationships with his customers, many of whom took time out of their work schedules to visit him before his passing.

Mark’s commitment to this branch and this company were displayed until his last days as he worked with customers to close work that he had been working on prior to his leave. … “

That’s beyond exceptional! The relationship between Mark and his customers is the kind of thing that makes work rewarding and allows businesses to thrive. Mark must indeed have been an exceptional person. It’s a big loss to lose people like him. Our condolences to his family, and indeed, we can all recognize and celebrate Mark’s contribution.

Submitted by:
Jude Anders, Editor

November, 2018

We heard from Steve Frey, former technician with the Dayton, Ohio Branch Office. During his career, Steve was one of the leading contributors to the Bulletin Board operated by Dick Bobincheck of Field Engineering managed by Gene Strehlow. The Bulletin Board enabled field technicians to share problems and solutions using their dial-up modem connection to an array of re-used IBM PCs — the little one that admins abandoned —  running a text-based bulletin board application.  There were about 28 technicians who regularly posted answers to help other technicians solve their problems.

This was great! The equipment was all used, old, out of date, located in the former ‘class room’ test area on the roof at 507, and it was a key element in helping technicians across the country solve customer problems. Dick did a great job in maintaining the system. Steve was one of those 28 technicians who enjoyed helping others solve problems. This is how motivated teams of people get stuff done for customers!

 

The story continues. With his application for membership, Steve asked that we put out a call for anyone who might have a copy of the schematics for a Mod Comp I (aka JCI J1) computer and schematics for the Com-Tran Ten Computer Trainer.

 

 

He must have his personal lab up and going. A quick search of the web resulted in a link to bickleywest.com the source for the images shown here — unfortunately they are of the Mod Comp II. I expect that Steve has done the web search.

Hope you enjoyed the recall moment of technology-past. If you can help Steve, let us know and we’ll pass it along to him.

In any case Steve, good luck with your re-hab project.

September, 2018

Reunion 2018 was a great time to reconnect with friends from Johnson Controls and make some new friends to boot.

 

 

 

 

I met Mara and Jim Beaumont for the first time. Mara works in Customer Service, one of our in-career members. She later helped get us connected to the JCI Involvement Event to raise awareness of the WSJ Society among current JCI employees – thanks Mara.

 

 

Paula and I shared a table at the JCI event with Roy and Billie Cloudsdale. Roy started his career in the UK leading the service operation there. I first met Roy when he was with World Services in Atlanta after a stint in Milwaukee. I often promoted World Services to customers. The World Services teams really knew how to use technology to run buildings better. It was good to reconnect with Roy and meet Billie. Roy is retired now. He and Billie live in Sharpsburg, Georgia, on their horse farm. How’s that for an interesting encore career for both of them?

 

Lou and Jackie Davit came to the reunion with long time friends, Dom and Michele Limpens. Dom came to JCI in Milwaukee from Brussels, Belgium in the 70’s to learn the sales and service business. His father, a friend of Fred Brengel, had a large HVAC business in Belgium. Dom and Lou met over tennis in Milwaukee. That started the relationship. Lou is Godfather to Dom and Michele’s daughter, Noelle. The families have visited each other several times over the years after Dom and Michele’s return to Belgium. It was our good fortune to have them here for our Reunion 2018.

I was able to reconnect with many friends who I met in my time with JCI, at the Branch Office and 507.  Paula and I have come to know former colleagues and their spouses; and made many new friendships in the the WSJ Society.

Who might you have met? Check out the photos taken at Reunion 2018 in the Photo Gallery on WSJSociety.com.

It would be great to see you at the next reunion! … or maybe sooner at a luncheon …

Submitted by:
Jude Anders, Editor

June, 2018

The news about the loss of Chris Goodale came from his friend, John Enright. The story is about a celebration of Chris’ life, so it belongs here in ‘Out and About’. Thanks for the note John and sharing this story with us.

Chris Goodale died early this morning, June 14, 2018

Chris, and Dave Anderson, and I jointly acquired a 19 foot sailboat which we sailed for about six years out of a slip at McKinley Marina. It was small and not impressive until Dave spent an unaccountable amount of money on the best boat paint every known.—and then it looked good!

With varying knowledge of classical Latin and better knowledge of Pig Latin, we settled on the great name the Chris had created: Carpe Ventum. We still think it means “Seize the Wind!”. We actually had hats crafted with the name of the sailboat.

We took a number of across-Lake-Michigan sails on Captain Ron Caffrey’s 37 foot sailing yacht, “Jupiter” and we rented some 30 footers in other ports. Chris was willing to work in the galley, and in almost every voyage, he set the galley on fire. I recall Dave Anderson saying, in an adhortative voice, “fill this bucket half full of water and give it back to me”. Chris had set the galley on fire again. The way to put out an alcohol stove fire is with water.

Chris was heavy but athletic. He dragged me to they YMCA pool in Brown Deer, and I tried to follow his conquest of the Australian crawl, lap after lap, but could not keep up. Besides that, he jogged. Chris was athletic but didn’t look it. At Toastmasters, In the introduction of himself came the memorable line, “So, beneath all this blubber lies a veritable washboard of muscle.” The best line ever.

Our sincere sympathy to his wife of four years, Nanette Granze. I was honored to be part of their wedding party.

Chris reached age 70 on Jan 17 of this year. He had lung cancer and the doctors did not do surgery. Ann and I knew from that that the prognosis was not good.

When he first went to the ICU at St Mary’s Ozaukee with a diagnosis of lung cancer, on news of his sickness, I was not allowed to visit him because, if he talked, it aggravated his lung condition. On the way there, the balloon store had only one “get well” balloon. So I purchased that one and another. Just so Chris and Nanette could get a well-deserved chuckle, the second balloon said, “It’s a Girl!” The hospital put it at the doorway of this 70 year-old male’s ICU room.

Chris recently, was silent about his health condition, but we knew what the message was.

Sailors always wish one another a favorable wind. I put on Facebook today, as a comment on Dave Anderson’s post, “Seize the wind now, oh best of friends, Chris. You are deserving now, as always, of the most favorable breeze. We know the last chapter of your life was the toughest. Now enjoy the Bliss. John and Ann

John Enright

{We shared my house in Cedarburg in the mid-1980’s. We both had the same divorce attorney. We threw a wild pool party where Dave Anderson brought liver paté and a case of champagne. When I asked Chris, he told me I should marry Ann. He said “Do it, John”. I didn’t ask anyone else; that marriage has lasted a great 33 years—a good recommendation, Chris. Thanks, Chris.}

April, 2018 in

Here’s the latest from our favorite photographer, Ban Capron. His description places it in a location well known to many of our Wisconsin members:

“Wisconsin – Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, Peninsula State Park – Door County (2008)
Photography comment: I really enjoy running across old pictures in my computer and trying to improve them with software. The key is your initial composition. Note the fence in the foreground and the trees framing the subject. If you work on composition you can often make your photo a nice picture one way or another.”

How about that? It looks like a painting doesn’t it? Thanks for sharing your work Ban.

 

March, 2018

Ban & Jan Capron will be celebrating their 63rd anniversary on April 1st. Congratulations to both of you and our best wishes for many more.

This picture is from their recent visit to the Dallas Arboretum, highly recommended by the Capron family for an enjoyable visit any time! (click on the photo for a better view)

 

 

July, 2017

Ban Capron is a serious photographer and apparently enjoying every minute of it!

Ban has been a contributor in the past and he recently submitted some photos from his time in several Johnson Controls Branch Offices. Check them out in the Who do you Know? collection of the Photo Gallery. Here is Ban’s description of the pictures from his email:

I appreciate the way you Milwaukee folks stay together and communicate well. I actually clicked on several Monitoring the Field issues. Some fabulous pictures.

Although I’m a very serious photographer now and have over 26,000 pictures in my computer that all happened since JCI. I did find a few old pictures I scanned in.

There is a bit of history for the files like old Branch Office pictures since all the Branches I was in are long gone. The Dallas Branch office is still there. The picture is breaking ground around 1985/6. The pictures were taken during the period I was there. Grand Rapids 60-65, NYC 65-73, Houston 73-81, SWRO/Dallas 81-88. The Managers meeting in San Antonio was around 1982 and the 2 Niagara Falls meeting was 1984.

Now, bringing things up do date, Ban sent an update on his current activities as a photographer, covering the world. Here is the email he sent to explain his work process. This is really great …

Adding You to the Mailing List
Background/Wallpaper Of The Week Club

For many years I’ve been sending pictures (now over 1,200) to about 200+ friends around the world. Folks are generally on this list due to an interest in photography, travel, or just seeing interesting pictures. Friends have used the pictures as Wallpaper/Background, creating Screensavers, planning trips, sharing with friends, or simply viewing and deleting. I’m adding you to the mailing (your simple request will remove you).

So far we have sent pictures out from all over the USA, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Bora Bora, Tahiti, Fiji, Costa Rica, Thailand, Mexico, Czech Republic, Brazil, Argentina, Switzerland, France, Scotland, England, Germany, Austria, Poland, China, Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, and on a sailboat in the Caribbean. If you are interested in pictures missed some of my favorites can be found in my Facebook albums. (Note: Click on the link to see the albums on Ban’s Facebook page.)

This is a sample picture from the Grand Teton in Wyoming, USA. When appropriate I provide photography hints to encourage your picture taking. These particular hints are more extensive than normal which it is why I’m sending it to you as a sample.

Grand Teton picture.

Over the past years I’ve talked a lot about taking great pictures. This picture summarizes quite a few points previously mentioned.

1. Plan where you will be at sunrise & sunset. I drove by this place the day before and determined it was a sunrise picture. Later in the day the barn would not be lit up like it is. I carry a compass in my camera bag.
2. The center of interest is not in the middle making the picture more interesting. Generally the center of interest should be roughly at the 1/3 point (both horizontally and vertically).
3. The horizon should normally be in the upper or lower 1/3 of the picture as well and make sure it is level horizontally.
4. Often use a polarizer filter. That is what makes the sky bluer. A polarizer also makes clouds whiter.
5. Frame the picture. Note the tree branches in both upper corners. Just plain blank sky can be boring. Before you press the button look in each corner of the picture make sure everything is just right. Don’t just point and shoot. I used a tripod and took my time for this picture. If there were clouds you might replace one corner’s tree with clouds.
6. Be patient. You might get lucky and a buffalo shows up. Note even the buffalo is posed right before the barn.
7. Great pictures generally just don’t happen. Take your time.

 

Current pictures being sent are from England, unless I get sidetracked. When you join the mailing you may get several pictures shortly, but normally you will receive one or two each week. Note this happens to be a trip with my daughter last a month ago so you will see a few family type pictures.

The e-mail would be addressed without listing everyone’s name and e-mail address (except when I forget).

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences and expertise with us Ban … our best wishes to you and your family.

May, 2017

Paul Froehling, a regular source for good news, gave us an alert to this story in the May 3rd Journal Sentinel.

Stingl: Young boy, small pins combine for a 300 game of bowling

Well, that ‘young boy’ is the grandson of Gerry and Tekla Kubiak, members of the WSJ Society.

How about that smirk on grandpa’s face? I think he’s enjoying the event and ice cream as much as his grandson. But, that is what grandpa’s do isn’t it?

The picture is from the Journal Sentinel story. Click on the title to read the entire story. It’s a good one.

Thanks Paul for keeping an eye out for news of interest to our members.

 

March, 2017

A note from Vesna Stemwell (BE 1979 – ’97) with her application for membership — Welcome Vesna & Kevin …

My husband Kevin (also a JCI’r) and I moved to the Twin Cities area in 2005. Throughout the years I’ve enjoyed getting software to jump through hoops. I spent the last 10 years as a Software Engineer at the National Marrow Donor Program. In December I decided to retire early to work on my crafts and hobbies, plus jump-start my online business — freelancing in Microsoft Access if I get lonely for IT. I look forward to reconnecting with my former colleagues and friends.

And this one from Joe Bartoletti (BE) …

Look forward to receiving the Newsletter but it would be much more pleasurable reading about what the retirees are doing with all their new found time. In the past we’ve heard about refinishing old cars, sky diving, really exotic travel by their own sailing boat, tours to faraway places. Have heard about nightly searching the skies with his telescope, starting new businesses, and gratifying volunteer work.

It’s uplifting to read that there are so diverse things being done at this time of life and by people we share past work experience, many times people we know.

Editor’s note: Vesna and Joe, thanks for the notes!

To accommodate new visitors to the website, I’m testing a new approach. I’ll manage this as a running post, adding each new update to the top of the list. That way you can catch up anytime.

Members, please send us an update on your activities. Let’s make this a very long post!

 

May, 2016

Touched base with Steve Thomas at the Spring Luncheon. He’s enjoying his retirement as a volunteer at the East Troy Electric Railroad. Steve is the Marketing Chair of this volunteer organization, dedicated to “…preservation of the the rail heritage of Wisconsin and America.”

That sounds great, but check out their website, www.easttroyrr.org. I think they are all having a great time playing with trains while creating fantastic experiences for all who find there way to the East Troy Depot at 2002 E. Church St, East Troy, WI.

Oh, and check the list of Officers and Directors of the organization. There’s several familiar names from days past at Johnson Controls.

Don Odegard sent a note with a few stories about the Tyco Merger from the St Petersburg, FL paper. Don is an investor and really interested.

Don also added a bit of his story with Johnson Controls:

“I started at Johnson Service 1948.1986 except for 4 years in Navy and 1 year in my Mobil Service Station, Green Bay. I started in the Compressor Dept. for Ed Jurazinski in the old Whiskey Building, then transferred to the Maintenance Dept after a year for Gus Dalli. Enjoyed my employment very much at JC. I retired in 1986 at age 55 and moved to St Pete’s Fl.”

(Did I read that right? “Whiskey Building” part of the Johnson Controls campus?)

Don attached a picture looking into his garage at a classic Ford and just a glimpse of a Harley. On the back was a note… “if I worked longer, I could afford a newer car.” It looks like Don has been enjoying Florida on his Harley, or with the top down on that Ford.

Talking about Florida, John Enright sent this email about his travels earlier this year…

“Spent some weeks recently at St Augustine Beach Florida, just south of Jacksonville on the Atlantic Ocean. My three long walks every day were along the “shoreline”, where the ocean meets the sand in the surf. It was just marvelous. The beach was 200 yards wide. St Augustine is the oldest continually occupied city in the USA and replete with history.”

Knowing John, one walk a day would not do it. He’s always had the energy for at least three walks a day!

Our thanks to Steve, Don and John for sharing their experiences with us.

Let us know what you’re doing, mail, phone, or email we’ll pass it along here in the Newsletter and online at WSJSociety.com.

Jude Anders
WSJSociety.com Editor