jjohnston001

So, what do your friends call you?

My nickname from the time I started kindergarten until I graduated from college was Skip. The best joke I ever heard about the nick name Skippy was told by a TV comedian. He said he met a girl named Jane and when she asked him his name, he said it was ‘Skippy’. She responded, “OhContinue reading “So, what do your friends call you?”

Reading Early and Reading Often

Ages Three to Seven: I can’t remember much from ages three to seven, except it was a very pleasant childhood. Mom, contrary to conventional wisdom, taught me to read well before I entered kindergarten and always provided me with an ample supply of books. Professional educators in those days discouraged the practice, but it wasContinue reading “Reading Early and Reading Often”

The Family Farm….in Clemons, New York

The Family Farm at Clemons New York According to family lore my Grandfather Gunardson and Great Uncle Charley were very close and when both families immigrated to the United States, my Grandfather and Uncle Charley renovated an old farm in upstate NY where Charley and his wife Jenny settled and spent the remainder of theirContinue reading “The Family Farm….in Clemons, New York”

Cars….Lots of Old Cars

Dad and His Cars My Dad was a car enthusiast. As an auto mechanic, he not only worked on them but enjoyed everything about them and as I was growing up, I recall several great automobiles he owned. I never saw my Dad’s first car since he owned it long before my time. But familyContinue reading “Cars….Lots of Old Cars”

My Dad’s Vocation….and NJIT

My father, Harold, was an automobile mechanic, an expert in both gasoline and diesel engines. He worked for Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G), a utility company in New Jersey that produced and distributed electrical power throughout the state. His job involved maintenance of the fleet of company cars and trucks. He started as aContinue reading “My Dad’s Vocation….and NJIT”

The Family Story….or so it goes…

Family tree – Link to the Gunardson Family Tree in Ancestry.com The Gunardson branch of the family has been and continues to be a relatively small and ever dwindling group. For several reasons, a lot of the family history is shrouded in mystery. My Grandfather, Charles Johan Gunardson (1879-1940), passed away before I was bornContinue reading “The Family Story….or so it goes…”

Prologue – 2017

Although I’m not planning on checking out anytime soon, following quadruple bypass surgery I’ve begun to seriously contemplate my own mortality. And so, before the final chapter is closed I decided to write this autobiography particularly for my children, Jill and Jim. But expressly for Jill since over the past several years she’s developed aContinue reading “Prologue – 2017”

Hal Gunardson – In His Own Words

Who is Harold Henry Gunardson? At the age of seventy two after more than a decade in retirement, I can look back in retrospect over the past seven decades and say it’s been a pretty good run. The poet laureate of Key West, Jimmy Buffett, summed it up pretty well; “Some of its magic andContinue reading “Hal Gunardson – In His Own Words”

Seoul, Korea: May 18-19, 1991

May 19, 1991 … Tens of thousands of protesters poured into streets in cities across South Korea again today Mr. K.S. Kim, VP KIG, sat in on part of the presentation. During the break, we were introduced and Mr. Kim invited me to go to lunch with CK Kim and himself. Lunchtime arrived and we met in K.S. Kim’sContinue reading “Seoul, Korea: May 18-19, 1991”

Who am I? And why should you care?

Jill Marie Gunardson-Johnston — Medford, NJ Many of you might have known that my dad, Hal Gunardson, was quite a story teller. But you might not have known that prior to his passing last November, he wrote a collection of stories about his life experiences. A few years ago while he was recovering from a medicalContinue reading “Who am I? And why should you care?”