In my teens, when my family was spending our summers in Ocean Beach at the Jersey shore I hung out with a bunch of kids whose families also had summer houses in the same small town. One of my friends was a young guy named Bob McGonagall. Bob was a stocky athletic kid with aContinue reading “That Guy’s Famous! He’s a Crazy SOB…”
Category Archives: Part 2 – The Family Story
College Interest – How It Started
The Model Steam Engine My Grandfather built two model steam engines which I inherited from my Dad. When I was a pre-teen these engines were a source of endless fascination for me. One is a two-cylinder vertical engine for a model boat he built and the other is a stationary one-cylinder single action horizontal engine.Continue reading “College Interest – How It Started”
The Jersey Shore – Learning to Sail
The Jersey Shore – A great experience, the beach, the girls, the boats, the sailing, all good stuff for a growing boy This Is How It Started When I was about fourteen my folks bought a summer home at the Jersey shore. It was in a small beach community called Ocean Beach (in Lavalette, NJ)Continue reading “The Jersey Shore – Learning to Sail”
My Cars
During my senior year in high school after I had turned eighteen, I took the driver’s education course in school and finally got my automobile drivers license and also purchased my first car. When I was looking for the first car, two of my friends, Tom and his older brother Don Demscack, both car enthusiasts,Continue reading “My Cars”
Lunch Money – The Protection Racket Shakedown
I can’t remember his actual first name, but “Baby” Wade was a small cocky little bastard with a huge attitude. His buddy, Roy Woodton, was a physically big more mature guy built like a fireplug. Between them they devised a scheme to intimidate usually the smaller shy white kids to hand over their lunch moneyContinue reading “Lunch Money – The Protection Racket Shakedown”
Desegregation In Union
Junior High School – Seventh Grade – A unique mostly toxic experience NOTE – from Jill Gunardson-Johnston: Please note that after a lot of consideration, I have decided to post several blog posts with regards to my dad’s writings regarding race. From my perspective, his views were that of his experience and took a pragmaticContinue reading “Desegregation In Union”
1953 Fire Engine Red Harley Hardtail, “Suicide” Shift
At seventeen I had a part time job after school at the local A&P supermarket collecting shopping carts and pushing them back to the storefront. Sounded like an easy job. However, the site was on a hill that sloped from the front to the rear of the store. Collecting the carts, which always seemed toContinue reading “1953 Fire Engine Red Harley Hardtail, “Suicide” Shift”
Trash Stash and the Motor Bike
As I said before, my father accumulated a lot of miscellaneous stuff in the basement. Tools, woodworking and metal working machinery, an industrial air compressor, bits and pieces of wood and metal, old car parts and what not were all part of the trash stash. When I was about fourteen, my Dad and I participatedContinue reading “Trash Stash and the Motor Bike”
Outdoor Fun and Mischief – The Bow and Arrow
For some mysterious reason, my folks bought me a bow and arrows when I was about twelve years old. For all their concern about my safety it was a rather odd gift. Nevertheless, I loved the bow and eventually became a reasonably good shot. A few years later they bought me second more powerful bow,Continue reading “Outdoor Fun and Mischief – The Bow and Arrow”
On Art and the Art of Building Stuff in the Basement
The chemistry set, no matches allowed (how I devised a way around that problem) I received a favorite Christmas gift when I was about ten years old. It was a Gilbert Chemistry set. It was the biggest most complete set available at the time. It came with a wide variety of chemicals as well asContinue reading “On Art and the Art of Building Stuff in the Basement”
Long Story Short: A Collection of Stories by Hal Gunardson 