Hello Class of 66'ers from Jamie Steele, as we approach the 50 mark. I remember when my Dad went to his 50th HS reunion, and I thought 'how old' they all were when I saw the reunion picture. Well, that is now US. My Doc says I am pretty much OK, could lose 10+lbs. , but most of us should. No major body problems, and I recently strapped on my old tree climbing gear, and did some major tree trimming that pretty well impressed my 32 yr old neighbor, who is fond of calling me Mr. Wilson, as his 6 yr old is definitely a Dennis.
My last communication to our site was likely about getting re-married in '05, and her job taking us to the 1,000 Islands, more specifically, Morristown, near Ogdensburg. I did a summer job on the last wooden, tour boat on the river for three years, and saw a lot of huge ocean going ships up real close. I created an exhibit at the local museum of some of my WWII collection, and restored the 1840's stone house, and grounds. I rather took a job break after 25 years of restoring houses in Syracuse, and ending up a landlord, having to deal with the four letter word; tenant. I had helped her and her two daughters finish advanced degrees, so it was a fair trade, but I was always busy. I also bought and sold antiques. Greg Wells helped me on the house restoration, as he did in Syracuse.
A late life diagnosis of MS hit my wife, but she kept her job, however, it pretty much ended our dreams of hiking, canoeing, and huge gardens. Later, a near death illness, due to the MS, made her decide to live on her own, and dedicate herself to her children and grandkids. So, I had to sell the house, and move. Unfortunately, two plus years later the house remains unsold, it is really depressed in the north country.
After a few difficult years, I ended up in Dansville, NY, an hour south of Rochester, with the sole purpose of being more active with the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo. About the time I made the move, they were preparing to fly our C-47 (civilian DC-3) back to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Reason being that our plane was the lead plane of the 2nd wave, the night of D-Day, and dropped 82nd Airborne troops into France. We did it. Look up Whiskey 7, or Return to Normandy, National Warplane Museum, and you can read all about it.
As those paratroopers jumped feet first into France, I jumped into the museum with my rather extensive WWII collection of wings, pins, uniforms, home front, and other related items. They had no one to fill those shoes, so I was suddenly the display and collections manager, as it was never a place with exhibits, just piles of airplane parts, but they needed to be a real museum, and fast. It is all volunteer, but I just love it. I am often the only person there, in charge of the entire facility, and millions of dollars of historic airplanes. Yes, like most volunteer groups, only a few do most of the work.
My pay off came with a ride in our W-7 on June 5th. We were to leave Geneseo around 7PM to do some fly overs for land events, and leave the plane in Rochester. Well, weather was the enemy for my trip, and we did not get airborne until 9PM. I did the math; add 5 hours to get to French time, made it June 6th, 2AM, exactly the day, and time our plane was spilling 82nd Troopers out the back door, 71 years prior. I looked at that door, and a chill overcame me. Our people found one man who jumped that day, and we took him up again in France. However, our folks also found four graves in Normandy of young men who jumped out that very door I was looking at, and did not survive the week. The pay back, bonus flight for me became a memorial flight, and I shall never forget it, or the men, our Fathers and Mothers, who saved our free world. If you find yourself near Geneseo, call me, and I'll give you the full tour.
In the middle of all this transformation, my son, Andrew, and his wife, mostly his wife, gave the world Adelaide Braelyn Steele. They never talked about having kids, but here she is, nearly two now, and of course, very cute. She is so beautiful I told my son to give the mailman an extra twenty this year. Actually, she looks totally like his mom's family, and besides, he says his letter carrier is a lady. Both of them are social workers, and Andy works with our own Nancy Martin (White).
My daughter, Elizabeth, was forced to leave her vet tech job due to back problems. She is now deep into a specialized radiology program, and will graduate soon. Kids these days really do have to adapt to the ever changing job market, and more education is the only way. Both my kids still live in the Syracuse area. Sadly, both my parents are gone.
So, here I am in a small town, rarely lock my doors, and love it. I have a huge garden, as I always have had, and keep busy with yet another old house. Greg Wells, again, has been here several times to help me do the fine tuning. He came down last winter from Old Forge just to stare at someone else's snow. We drank a lot of beer, toured around, and did more stuff on the house. He is the most skilled, and intelligent person I have ever known, he just doesn't look like it, (sorry Greg). We have great time. He fishes, I drink beer. I fuss with old uniforms, and he drinks beer. Perfect.
I expect to see Terry Euston next week, and my door is open to any 66er who needs a place to stay in the west country. It is really beautiful here, and my dog is very friendly. If you have WWII stuff you don't need, bring it to the reunion, or call me. See you for the 50th (we all hope) Jamie Steele, jrs127@hotmail.com, 315-375-8516.
