"Is there life after high school?"

At the end of January 1955, the GI Vet. benefits (housing, schooling, etc.) were to run out. In the previous months while still in high school, I attempted to join one of the services (starting in February after graduation) but found that I could but would have to sign a 4 year commitment to make the dead line. I backed away from that and decided to volunteer for the draft-a 2 year stint in the Army (and of course, didn't get the benefits. At that time, I didn't know what to do with the rest of my life (college prep was not something thought about or encouraged in my family). I was drafted at the end of March of 1955 and ended up being trained as an auto mechanic (my father was an auto mechanic and I spent most of my earlier life working on cars), and was assigned to a MP Company in Fort Hood, Texas. Interesting sidelight, I took part in the 1st Atomic warfare field exercises in Texas at the end of 1955. The 2nd year in the Army, I became an MP (Military Policeman).

During my time in Army, I took several college courses and did very well (surprise!), which motivated me think about additional education. I moved back to Southern California after the Army (March of 1957) to live at my family home in Burbank, to work in Hollywood at my father's garage and start summer courses at Valley Junior College. I continued full time at Valley for the next 2 years and part time after that. In September of 1958, I married a Burroughs girl (Yvonne King from the class of 1956) and we moved into an apartment on Hollywood Way near Riverside Drive. The marriage only lasted five years and produced two children (Alan and Janet). In 1959, because of the growing family, I took a job with an elevator company as an estimator while continuing night school courses and working part time on weekends. In 1962, I jumped at the opportunity of taking a field position with the same elevator company in order to learn the ins and outs (actually ups and downs) of the Elevator business. Eventually, I became a card carrying member of the International Elevator Constructors Union (of course, making more money). We moved into larger apartment near the Verdugo Park swimming pool.

After the divorce in 1963, I lived in a smaller apartment near Burbank High. In attempting to get my life back into line and finding that the GI Education Bill was giving money away for schooling, I took a leave of absence from working on the elevators to try to complete the AA Engineering program at Valley Junior College. To supplement my income during that period, I tutored Math to students recommended by the Burbank Board of Education. After one year, I ran out of money and decided to work part time for another national elevator company who needed someone to estimate and sell equipment. Their offices were in one of the highrise buildings on Century Boulevard near LAX airport. I was by then in another apartment in Burbank, near Pass Avenue (close to the Toluca Lake Bob's Big Boy).

I chose to work full time in 1965 with the elevator company and with the gained field background, became the service manager, controlling a department with 30 field men working on elevators and escalators in the greater LA area. I moved to Long Beach in 1967 to be closer to the office, which had moved to Gardenia. I continued to take Mechanical Engineering courses at Long Beach State College at night.

We get away in our motor home as much as possible but are tied down some with baby sitting our two grandchildren. We have gone to Lake Shasta, in northern CA. almost every year since 1958. We have gone to Lake Powell about 8 or 9 times over the years and have taken a trip across the US in 76 with our kids in our motor home and then took the kids and motor home to Alaska in 78. We have enjoyed an Alaska 12 day cruise with Cal and Barbara Roe on their 25 th. anniversary.

Life continued at a very fast pace for the 7 ˝ years I was divorced. 1971 was a very big and challenging year for me as well as my future family. While working as the service manager for the elevator company, we had the large earthquake (I bet everyone remembers it) in the south land. I was living in Long Beach at the time and the early-in-the-morning quake threw me out of bed. Our company had some 150 elevators knocked out of service, with people in many. We spent a month cleaning, repairing and just checking the equipment to assure they were all safe to use. Early that spring, the company asked me to take a sales manager position in Seattle which I accepted after visiting there for two weeks in April. I had been seeing my future wife (Joanne) for some 4 years by then, proposed to her immediately (she accepted) and we moved to the North West over the 4th of July week. Her two children moved with us-my children were living in North Hollywood with mother at that time and remained there.

Joanne gave up 12 years of teaching in the Los Angeles School District and she decided to continue teaching in Seattle. However, because of the poor timing of the cancellation of the SST program, Boeing layoffs in Seattle, Joanne was unable to find a full time teaching job (everyone whom had lost their job was leaving Seattle). With our children's higher education expenses a short couple of years ahead, we decided that it would be Joanne's turn to go back to school. We again went down to one salary for the next two years, while she worked on and secured her MBA at the University of Washington. I became the mother and father of the family during this period (remember the gas crisis-We would send our daughter out after school to sit in gas lines to try and keep the tanks full).

When Joanne graduated in 1975, she found that the market place wasn't interested in a middle aged woman and it took a while to acquire a position. She did accept a job with the Frank Russell Company (stock market Russell index) in Tacoma Washington, some 50 miles away from our North Seattle home. She started to work at the same time her daughter began her college courses (GOOD PLANNING). With Joanne's job secured it was now my time to move on—either to finish college or find another position in Seattle (we wanted to live there the rest of our lives at that time). The elevator company that had moved us from California, had been wanting to move me to another area (Salt Lake City, Portland, etc.) during the period that Joanne was in school. These opportunities were turned down and the rumor was there would be no more offers coming. I gave notice and eventually (after 60 days) moved to a small NW elevator firm to become a salesman (making more money). We then moved into a new home close to Tacoma in Federal Way (South of Seattle). Joanne's son began his studies at the University of Washington and my son in California, began his studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, shortly after the move. (Three children in college at the same time- it was very nice to have the two salaries).

By 1982, the company that I was working for, had been bought out by a large national manufacturing elevator company and it was obvious that this new company would eventually want me to move to another area in the U.S. (Here we go again!)

Joanne, in the mean time, was traveling around the country for her firm and was offered many positions. In 1985, she took a position with Banker's Trust Bank in New York City after weighing the pros and cons. I left my Seattle job and started looking for a position in Northeast, while living in Manhattan for 10 weeks (during a very hot humid summer) in a high rise apartment building on the upper east side. I spent the summer refining the resume and interviewing with various elevator companies (a frustrating time in deed) while trying to sell the Seattle house in a down market and trying to figure out where we wanted to live in the NE. We decided to rent a home for a short period in New Jersey while looking for a home (in an up market place). I secured a job with a small elevator consulting firm in Livingston, New Jersey and Joanne and I moved into a fairly new large (5 bedroom and 3 baths) home in Denville, New Jersey, a few months later (I am still here). I have a commute of 11 miles c to the oficfe but some 30 miles (via the car, train and subways) into Manhattan 2-3 times a week.

I still work for the same consulting company except is it now has some 50 employees (up from 6 in 1985). My job is a challenging and rewarding one which has me inspecting and analyzing older elevators and escalators to ascertain the whys, the hows and the what can be done to improve their service. Lots of reports and preparation of specifications, which wasn't something I was prepared for in high school (for that matter, in college courses). Some of my major clients that some of you might know include: Port Authority Bus and Subway Terminals, Grand Central Station, World Trade Center, Federal Office Buildings in the NE and Puerto Rico, New School University, Yeshiva University, NJIT, Seton Hall University, New York University, etc.

My wife Joanne, was dianogized with a brain tumor early in 1999 and although it was removed, she was given 9 months to live. She died on Super Bowl Day of 2000. It was a trying time for us during that period and I really wondered if I could go on without her. She was wife, mother, companion, lover and good friend to me. She had 3 businesses and a complete office, which I had to close down. I have been gradually selling off and/or giving away the computers and office machines and furniture since her death. I am still living in this large home (which was 2 years old in 1985), still working full time, and remain single (it is still hard to tell someone that I am widowed as our master plan indicated that she would out live me). All of these issues might change at the end of this year starting with my retirement, although no plans are set in concrete yet.

My current hobbies include Photography (I have some 250,000 images in various forms that I have taken over the last 45 years), computers (a user, not a builder), SCUBA diving (for over 22 years), boating (I have had two boats at one time but have had the present one-20 foot inboard run-about for 22 years), traveling (a couple of trips a year) and mountain biking. I am on my 3rd digital camera, the latest being a top end SLR Nikon type which can be put into a SEA & SEA housing for underwater use when diving.

My children live in various parts of the West Coast. Two live in the Seattle area and two live in Southern California (Saugus and San Marcos). It has been some time since I have seen them and their families but will in the next couple of months.

Life has been good to me. I had a wonderful partner/wife/lover for some 29 years, have done some challenging things (still plan to do some more), found a job which has kept me interested and paid me well (provided me with a company car), have had good health, have children who have graduated from college and established their own lifes and given me a total of 7 grandchildren (two are in junior college in Saugus). My journey has been unusual, long and certainly has had some major set backs, but it has been challenging and rewarding. Hopefully, the rest of the trip will be as challenging and fun.

Hal Crosthwaite
Winter Class of 1955