Jim Slater
Hello everyone,
I am not sure everyone will remember me since I was not raised in Naperville and only went to NCHS for three years. After high school I attended Parks College to get my Airframe and Powerplant mechanic's license. I was an aircraft mechanic for a few years before getting a draft notice in 1963. Not wanting to be in the infantry, I enlisted for four years in the Army Security Agency, serving in the Phillipines and Viet Nam.
I went back to aviation for a few years after I got out, but then worked at the Hinsdale Camera Center in Hinsdale where I did see a few classmates and a couple of our teachers. After HCC, I went to work as an estimator at a Sheet Metal Fabrication shop in Elk Grove Village owned by one of my customers from the camera store. I retired from that position at the end of March 2008.
I have been married twice and have three children - Tom, from the first marriage; Nina and Jimmy from the second marriage. I have four grandchildren: Matthew and Kayla are Tom's; Tristan and Ryenne are Nina's. Jimmy is married and in the Army (infantry) and will be going to Afghanistan soon.
I have been living in Elgin, IL since 1992.
Here are some photos---
| Me, taken this fall | Tom, my oldest boy (going to be 39 in Jan) |
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| Jimmy and Nina - Oct 2007 | All four grandchildren Matthew - age 7, Kayla - age 6, Tristan, - age 6 and Ryenne - 3 months |
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Created on ... November 02, 2008
Class of '59 Questionnaire
Personal:
1. Distance traveled to reunion. About 30 miles; I live in Elgin, IL.
2. Number of grandchildren. Four. My daughter Nina has two: Ryenne just turned one and her brother, Tristan just turned six. My oldest son, Tom has two: Kayla just turned six and Matthew just turned eight.
3 Working or retired. I retired at the end of March 2008, but I am working part-time in a store.
5. Athletic accomplishments. I have never been much of an athlete, but last year I took up bicycling (my doctor said to get some exercise) and managed to do 750 miles over the summer.
6. Traveler. The longest vacation trip I took was in 1994 when I took my children out west to a dinosaur camp in Colorado. That was an interesting trip and I did get to help excavate real dinosaur bones. I combined the vacation with a business trip to Phoenix AZ and we got to stop at the meteor crater in Winslow AZ, the Grand Canyon, and Arches National Park.
7. Published, recorded, or exhibited. I had a photograph published in the Chicago Tribune twice, some commercial photos published in model airplane magazines in seven countries, and numerous other photos in various model magazines and trade journals. I also wrote software manuals for the company where I worked, had one article in a trade magazine, and two articles in the Popular Mechanics Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedia.
9 War Veteran. I served in the US Army for four years in Army Security Agency. I served one tour in Viet Nam in 1965-66.
10. Volunteer / pet causes. I was a scout leader when my youngest son was in scouts. I was a Den Leader and Cub Master in Cub Scouts and a Merit Badge Counselor and Unit Commissioner in Boy Scouts.
12. Looking back on Naperville years, what words come to mind. I really don't have many memories of my years spent in Naperville. I just remember how small the town was then; no public transportation, no dial telephones. We moved to Naperville from Aurora and I was used to taking a bus anywhere I wanted to go.
14. Title of my autobiography. I have often thought about writing an autobiography just for my children and grandchildren. If more people did this, future generation of their families would have a better idea of their ancestor's lives and accomplishments. Actually, I have started writing down some information so someday I can put it into a document that I can pass on. I have not thought of a title yet.
17. Stayed local. I lived in Naperville from 1956-1961 then I moved to Springfield IL. I moved back in 1962, but went into the Army in 1963. My parents sold the house in 1965 and moved to Griffith IN where they bought another Ben Franklin store. They closed the store in Griffith in 1967 and moved back to Naperville at the same time I got out of the Army . I lived with them in a rented house until fall of 1968 when I bought a townhouse in Bolingbrook. I lived there for seven years and then moved back to Naperville until 1980 when I moved to West Chicago. So, I spent a number of years in Naperville, but it was spread out over 15 years.
Memories:
2. Naperville store I would like to visit again. B&F Sport and Hobby — I spent a lot of time and money there on model airplanes.
3. What high school teacher was memorable or influential to me? There were four, Mr. Hill, Mr. Williams, Mr. Stevens, and Miss Scroggins.
8. Favorite place to eat during those years. I really don't remember going out to dinner much back then. My parents would not eat pizza, so that is out. We did go the Sweden House a few times. I can't think of any other places.
9. What did you do on Sundays? We went to church and then just did stuff with friends, and once a month or so would visit relatives in Kenosha WI (or they would visit us).
10. Cafeteria meals. I always took my lunch as the cafeteria was not very good. Remember the boycott?
11. Favorite movie/song/musical group from that time. I had a lot of favorite movies, mostly anything having to do with aviation or science fiction. I can't pick just one; there were too many.
14. First job. I could not get a job in Naperville when I was in high school. I tried, but was turned down because, as I was told that I didn't need a job because my father owned a business in town and that the jobs were for those who needed them. So, in the summer I mowed lawns for $2.00 each, and still got my $2.00 / week allowance. I did manage to get a job at Amlings during Christmas selling trees, but that was only for a month. One of my neighbors owned a Clark forklift dealership in Aurora and I did the inventory for the parts department twice each year for a couple of years.
15. Favorite TV program. Anything having to do with science, science fiction, or aviation and the one hour comedy/variety shows like Jackie Gleason, etc.
17. Famous people that I admired at that time. Chuck Yeager, the best pilot in the world. He is still my hero — one of the few people I would like to meet. I did meet Bob Hoover, Yeager's best friend and the chase pilot on that famous flight when Yeager broke the sound barrier.
19. Any special memories from activities such as sports, dances, clubs. In my junior year I got in all the home football games for free because I helped Tom Moch film the games for the coach. I did not go to any of the dances. Clubs — I was a member of the camera club; I don't remember any others.
20. I didn't attend elementary school in Naperville; I went to many different schools before attending NCHS — seven in all just to get through 9th grade.
21. Growing up in Naperville in the summer — how I' spent my time. Cutting lawns, photography, and flying model airplanes about sums it up.
Personal:
1. Distance traveled to reunion. About 30 miles; I live in Elgin, IL.
2. Number of grandchildren. Four. My daughter Nina has two: Ryenne just turned one and her brother, Tristan just turned six. My oldest son, Tom has two: Kayla just turned six and Matthew just turned eight.
3 Working or retired. I retired at the end of March 2008, but I am working part-time in a store.
5. Athletic accomplishments. I have never been much of an athlete, but last year I took up bicycling (my doctor said to get some exercise) and managed to do 750 miles over the summer.
6. Traveler. The longest vacation trip I took was in 1994 when I took my children out west to a dinosaur camp in Colorado. That was an interesting trip and I did get to help excavate real dinosaur bones. I combined the vacation with a business trip to Phoenix AZ and we got to stop at the meteor crater in Winslow AZ, the Grand Canyon, and Arches National Park.
7. Published, recorded, or exhibited. I had a photograph published in the Chicago Tribune twice, some commercial photos published in model airplane magazines in seven countries, and numerous other photos in various model magazines and trade journals. I also wrote software manuals for the company where I worked, had one article in a trade magazine, and two articles in the Popular Mechanics Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedia.
9 War Veteran. I served in the US Army for four years in Army Security Agency. I served one tour in Viet Nam in 1965-66.
10. Volunteer / pet causes. I was a scout leader when my youngest son was in scouts. I was a Den Leader and Cub Master in Cub Scouts and a Merit Badge Counselor and Unit Commissioner in Boy Scouts.
12. Looking back on Naperville years, what words come to mind. I really don't have many memories of my years spent in Naperville. I just remember how small the town was then; no public transportation, no dial telephones. We moved to Naperville from Aurora and I was used to taking a bus anywhere I wanted to go.
14. Title of my autobiography. I have often thought about writing an autobiography just for my children and grandchildren. If more people did this, future generation of their families would have a better idea of their ancestor's lives and accomplishments. Actually, I have started writing down some information so someday I can put it into a document that I can pass on. I have not thought of a title yet.
17. Stayed local. I lived in Naperville from 1956-1961 then I moved to Springfield IL. I moved back in 1962, but went into the Army in 1963. My parents sold the house in 1965 and moved to Griffith IN where they bought another Ben Franklin store. They closed the store in Griffith in 1967 and moved back to Naperville at the same time I got out of the Army . I lived with them in a rented house until fall of 1968 when I bought a townhouse in Bolingbrook. I lived there for seven years and then moved back to Naperville until 1980 when I moved to West Chicago. So, I spent a number of years in Naperville, but it was spread out over 15 years.
Memories:
2. Naperville store I would like to visit again. B&F Sport and Hobby — I spent a lot of time and money there on model airplanes.
3. What high school teacher was memorable or influential to me? There were four, Mr. Hill, Mr. Williams, Mr. Stevens, and Miss Scroggins.
8. Favorite place to eat during those years. I really don't remember going out to dinner much back then. My parents would not eat pizza, so that is out. We did go the Sweden House a few times. I can't think of any other places.
9. What did you do on Sundays? We went to church and then just did stuff with friends, and once a month or so would visit relatives in Kenosha WI (or they would visit us).
10. Cafeteria meals. I always took my lunch as the cafeteria was not very good. Remember the boycott?
11. Favorite movie/song/musical group from that time. I had a lot of favorite movies, mostly anything having to do with aviation or science fiction. I can't pick just one; there were too many.
14. First job. I could not get a job in Naperville when I was in high school. I tried, but was turned down because, as I was told that I didn't need a job because my father owned a business in town and that the jobs were for those who needed them. So, in the summer I mowed lawns for $2.00 each, and still got my $2.00 / week allowance. I did manage to get a job at Amlings during Christmas selling trees, but that was only for a month. One of my neighbors owned a Clark forklift dealership in Aurora and I did the inventory for the parts department twice each year for a couple of years.
15. Favorite TV program. Anything having to do with science, science fiction, or aviation and the one hour comedy/variety shows like Jackie Gleason, etc.
17. Famous people that I admired at that time. Chuck Yeager, the best pilot in the world. He is still my hero — one of the few people I would like to meet. I did meet Bob Hoover, Yeager's best friend and the chase pilot on that famous flight when Yeager broke the sound barrier.
19. Any special memories from activities such as sports, dances, clubs. In my junior year I got in all the home football games for free because I helped Tom Moch film the games for the coach. I did not go to any of the dances. Clubs — I was a member of the camera club; I don't remember any others.
20. I didn't attend elementary school in Naperville; I went to many different schools before attending NCHS — seven in all just to get through 9th grade.
21. Growing up in Naperville in the summer — how I' spent my time. Cutting lawns, photography, and flying model airplanes about sums it up.