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>> This is an oral history interview with John C'sornyn class of 1951 conducted by Marilyn summers on the dusty 14th day of December 995 and Mr Stern exhaust us in Georgia the subject of this interview with didn't like the Georgia Tech is just 30 thank you so much for allowing us to come here today my pleasure we're anxious to hear your story and I'll ask you to began at the beginning.

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Well I come from a small town in Florida upon a gourd of sin Charlie candy at the time I grew up there the candy had about 10000 people in it the town about 1800 I guess. It was a great place to grow up. Wanting fishing. Small high school like there was only one No no that was only one high school in the county that we had 32 in our graduating class and things have changed an awful as you can imagine this is located in the lower with coast of Florida.

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Just before Myers about 100 miles south of Tampa. But as I said it was just a great place to grow up. But they had love to fish and that instilled in me a love of the outdoors also which I have tried to pass on to my 3 boys but you know with them growing up in Atlanta you don't have as many.

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Specially 100 around here. We try to do our share of fishing and we still have my folks' house down in Florida. That we use as a base to do that with. As to why I came to Georgia to take well there was another friend of mine who was in the war scales with me his name was Kelly day.

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And Caylee was attending Georgia Tech. At the time I graduated from high school and there were 2 of us in the high school class that were. Thinking about coming up here we considered the University of Florida and so on but Kelly said well you just just really need to give some thought to Georgia to is just a great place to be and so on and so Bob Davis and I came up here and.

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And we came up together we were roommates here at Take did you come up to stay to school before you were around. I believe we did and now we're going back a long way but I'm sure that my parents drove me up here and you know it's about a 2 day drive back and without expressways and spend the night on the way somewhere and it was a long 600 mile drive so I'm sure we did but you must of like what you saw.

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I think so yes I'm sure the it well you know I was overwhelmed by the size of things because rolling up in a small town environment and there were a lot of changes. So someone came with you my folks I'm sure did when you enrolled in school mother and father I'm sure they did both of them right I have a sister and a brother both younger my brothers deceased now.

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And so here you were at Georgia Tech your big city exactly. Overwhelmed as a. But you know I made a lot of friends here it just it was just a great place to go to school and I would give anything for the for the number of friends that I made and that I still have a wonderful thing about it.

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What Donna talking to Dan Brown dormitory room number 2 for us still remembered I could go exactly to it right now show you know and revisit that room. So I'm conflicted you think it's cool or I were you prepared for the academics. Well I don't think I was as prepared as a shoot a band from a study standpoint.

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You know I should have taken that study more seriously I'm sure. Going through high school and all even though you made good grades in high school you. Just didn't have to study is hard. Is was really required to. To hang on it take. Did you know you wanted to be an engineer right from the beginning.

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Obviously I had some. Thoughts about you know what was our best suited to go into. I guess I was headed this way probably but my dad more than anything else he operated a garage machine shop in that small town and I worked there summers and holidays and and so on which really helped me a lot in.

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The courses I took take in and also in the work that I'm doing now in this firm because. In his shop obviously. Being a grudge machine shop I got exposed to working on vehicles. Of learning to be a welder a machinist. Things of that nature which by having that background from say about 14 or 15 on.

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I felt more comfortable in some of the labs that we had in the m.e. Department for instance and I don't think there was there was any other. Curriculum that I really considered beyond mechanical engineering. And I'm glad I did because I think it really prepares you for so many other areas it's such a broad based.

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Curriculum that they have in the m.e. school. And. Things have changed a lot of course in the book an extension in school because you don't have these labs that we had when when I 1st attended in. I think in some respects a shame. And I'll talk to Bill Webb for over there and others in the new department about this and they understand what I'm talking about to you know I think it's good to have a hands on experience which is what we really got in these in these labs.

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We had patterns. We had metallurgy welding a layer. Of we put together these pieces of equipment we built an electric motor for instance. General brass Carolyn brainy a professor said sure. But they were good teacher they were Paul Weber was the head of the department and we were all in great fear of him.

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You know he would go down the rows checking homework and if you didn't have your homework you knew you had a book open and he was going to put a little check in there and you were in bad trouble if you didn't have that homework that. There was a professor trotter for machine designs.

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Bill Hinton heating ventilating air conditioning. Bob Allen was. Well thought of professor in the department in the New You taught automotive aspects of diesel and gasoline engines and so on I didn't really have Bob for classes but I worked with him later on at the George you take engineering experiment station.

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You know we've done a lot of all of those professors What else did you do besides study for live and homework you am a camp Well we were always interested in where their previous girls were located and Dan and the mostly that happen to be a proper long.

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Hospital the nurses we dated nurses more than any other group ideas and of course I guess God was not too far away so you found time for dating You know what about some of the sports activities that are available to you. Tell us about like you've got I think there well from the very start of course a freshman to what was called p.t. physical training.

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That included gymnastics swimming and track ability for the freshman year and that's where our 1st became acquainted with Coach Wales or Wales or who was coach of the g.m. team is just a fine fellow. Later on I guess about my junior year I decided to go out for the g.m. team.

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And. It was a good experience I was one of the worst ones on the team I'm sure people like John Pippin who you've talked to John was really a good gymnast I remember he was on the parallel bars and I think the high bar anyway. And I fooled around with the rope climb in the flying ranges and.

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Came out of there without killing myself anyway but it was a lot of fun with that a competitive thing did you did you compete against other schools just we did so did you travel or did yes we did we travelled we travelled by a car. Took a lot of time this year again I don't want to cave we travel by train we caught a train Union Station and I can't remember where we were going I think it was somewhere up in the Carolinas.

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Or Duke University in North Carolina for a meet. And in travel by train and I was just a great experience for me and I remember on that train one time the rest of them had already they were eating a meal on the train and they had already seated themselves at tables and I got in there a little late and I had to sit by myself Well shortly after he came East 3 good looking college girls him and said that that 2nd boy.

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Was sort of over went on you know and be on the show that I was. We didn't have a whole lot of going back and forth and finally. Farrel who is a tumbler and trapped trampoline a stoma team got up from where he was sitting and he came back and he said I want you young ladies and waiter do see the chalk surfing sitting up with.

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That you know it got us all laughing and got the conversation get on notice that you weren't doing a good job here right now I wasn't. Chuck was a fine fellow to he's now deceased too but he was. He was a cheerleader for pick also. But we really had some good times on that was Jim trips Jim and did talk older own in those caves and well we were not the best in the world.

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For est was the outstanding Jim team at that time I think book go on occasion. We could be Duke. North Carolina Le see who else we played or rather head meets against. I don't think Georgia had a Jimmy team at that time. And did you know at the same time that you were on the gen team we lost on this Money Team No that was just a freshman year I see that was Jim came after this for me right there was just a freshman year and that was I'll tell you a little bit about that to the swimming coach at that time was.

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Too much trying to think of you know who is defending right. And the question then a real experience he was another fine fellow. Her McCully was the assistant coach I don't know if you know her we're not. Her was a tremendous athlete and he still has. He swims in the in the master swimming program right now.

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I'm sure he's 70 years old or more somewhere about that but he has set national records I think or come close to it for his age range master swimming. But. During one of the p.t. courses. Swimming we were involved in the pool and swimming and doing the various things at fairly that Fred I didn't know who was the best to do and he came to me and asked me then and I really I have to say it was a thrill he caved to me and I have to if I'd like to try for the freshman.

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Have an idea that I never did but to I just went with that one year and really did. Creating a great. Director didn't do very well at all but at least it was it was an honor for an asked me to try out in swim a few freshman meet with he still conducting his drown 1st think yes he will at that time how did you do it was thoroughly enjoyed it did you really write surety of course I we had a swimming team.

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And Florida a little high school that we had course growing up down there you have your in the water half a year anyway I think there were some folks that did think great with you on that it is a joy to watch you know a lot of people they didn't take the water as well as you might like you say you were well suited to that because you were from flowing.

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Right we learned swam Wheeler early in. One incident that I can remember had to do with my roommate Bob Davis you had to jump in and it went into the pool and I think without pushing off you had to swim 2 lengths of the pool underwater and that was 75 feet one way and 75 feet back and I believe is I think Bob stayed up late maybe carousing around a little too much before.

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He made it as he touched the wall on his return trip Egypt blacked out there and. Didn't you didn't come up the well we had to jump in and help him about the water. But Bob was a good athlete. And. The after flying over 100 missions in North Vietnam.

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Soon after he came back to this country he was killed in an automobile accident which was tragic but he was a good friend. Well besides swimming in the challenge of crates trying to keep up your grades in a lab says that you were you were an even the girls you were pretty busy you found tech time for very busy girl and you with the band also the football band tell us about that and what instrument achieved by tenor saxophone I played the band and in the band in high school and we had a good director band Logan Sisk I don't know that name comes to mind but.

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He was a good director. And we had some good trips there as I recall we marched in the. Tampa Florida on one occasion the the gas grill a parade that they had down there. If you cut around quite a bit. Well for us my home boy you were ill rather low childlike very exciting feeling there really was really was a great time and joined a fraternity it tick.

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I don't regret that a bit because it's just a process. And again you know you make friends there that just the last 3 or lifetime. And the homecoming this year. Buckets fraternity house for instance you know I saw a lot of guys I hadn't seen since we left Tech.

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And I still correspond with a number of them. But it was just a again it was a good experience did you ever live at the fraternity house or did you listen to Madonna live in there one quarter only. And the rest the time she stayed in the residence Well I wish I could say that I did the rest of the time not know this was another thing that I think was unfortunate.

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For sophomores it take. As as a as a freshman Of course I had a state brown dormitory at the end of that time because of such a shortage of rooms on the campus. We had to go find our own housing. And. That sophomore year. I went into a boarding house with about 3 or 4 other kick people it was on the.

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Let's see Virginia us think it was right across the street from Grady stadium Well that's really an entirely different environment away from the campus which I think was unfortunate and it didn't help my grades really and. It's too bad that it had to happen but it happened to many soft more to take and to make room for the incoming freshman who just didn't have enough dormitory rooms so you really could feel the impact Well I didn't have a car you know we just didn't we didn't have automobiles on the campus.

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Of his underclassman I did I did have my my last year to date have a car in 141 Ford but I had to go back and forth to the campus on public bus transportation. And you can imagine how long that. Runs last that's one of the unfortunate things and I remember.

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That it's too bad that that was the situation really. Was it affordable could you manage it financially. D.s. that wasn't the cost of it it was just that you lost the proximity to the camp campus that you needed. That's true and the time that it took to get back and forth and not being.

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There was with other friends that you have and so on later on I did go back into the dormitory is a. I'm trying to think of what the proper word is of a dorm. Not really a councillor but I like a residence hall manager I write. A little to get back on campus that the last couple of years I did write and that was better for us it was.

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Did you ever participate in they're attending a football game since they know you might be 5 when you were in the band that you kept that up throughout the years then right and with the band of course the 1st year or 2 we as we attended a number of out of town games and it was always by Bush.

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Those were good trios But again it took me away from most. Of what were you lucky to graduate off like I was really. How did you do really well I just suck challenge right I did I did. But again. I don't regret it all going into mechanical engineering and I like it it's one of the better curriculums to take and the.

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Background that I had in my dad's shop helped a lot did you win them for your graduation. You graduated right on time yes yes that was I think we graduated right there at the Grant field so you must a had good enough grades good enough a bad way.

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And that was the bottom line did your folks come up to graduate Sure absolutely. And then what happened. Then of course the Korean War was going on. And. Everyone was in everyone it was able I guess it was an hour o.t.c. at the time including you write and see it's not like it is today.

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You know I have a lot of. Huge percentage of the students in our o.t.c. and. Most all of us were and they told us our senior year they said every one of you going to get called active duty because of the Korean war going on in and we were I was called active duty right away and reported in August of 51.

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To. Fort Bliss Texas. For 3 months of training and I was in the aircraft artillery. So when in this very green. Second Lieutenant. And then they shipped to a permanent. Outfit. In Savannah and from there they shipped this overseas. After being in Savannah 2 or 3 months fort.

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Stewart We called it Camp Stewart back then or swamp Stewart since it was so close to the open Ok. So here you were just a few months on school with a fresh degree. Commission. In what country where you live really we were lucky enough to get shipped over to Europe and out to Korea.

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And it was really a great experience being over there. Because here I was in a position of some authority that I'd really never had before and. Being that young and let me go back to take a minute to about the age difference I was thrown in a take of course with the the veterans coming back from World War 2 And it was.

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Really we were thrown in with some quite older people I mean. Fine people of course and they do anything to help you too like in the fraternity of many of them were most of them were quite a bit older I mean some were maybe 10 years older than I was and you can imagine a huge difference.

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Now I know that they had all been at in the war and they were very mature for their absolute right they came to school to learn they really didn't so that's what you were up against in the classroom you know it helps a little more of a challenge for you.

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But you held your own. Tried to impress graduated with the parents you're right there were less of students like you that were there for just an income for work and see free still learning still growing up the majority really were returning veterans one thing they really were. So they set some high standards that they did absolutely.

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But you got out of it up bright I'll mention another thing too about the. Travel back and forth the. Growth like as I said before we you know the students the underclassmen generally didn't have automobiles on the campus so you know if I wanted to go home. As a long 600 mile trip.

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It was either take a bus or or hitchhike and we really did a lot of hitchhiking back him back and forth with you don't you don't see that whole what about it. But the thing that helped me catch a ride back then through all 4 years of Georgia Tech was wearing that red cap right there even as a as a junior and senior I'd stand on the side of the road not but that red cap on.

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And off you get wiped down already nearly doing it it didn't mean to you you had to wear it the 1st year 2nd right and after that you didn't have to wear that we didn't have to wear. It seems pretty ragged shape right now but. As you could see what we what we would do have to hold it up for the Ok Are you sure what this thing looks like a this is pretty ragged but of course you've got your name and your home town on the on the front here the name Red up above and and then on the top are.

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Various football scores take a pretty good football team that year. Lost Alabama $14.00 to $7.00 when when you played the Georgia probably would be Georgia. So it was beat Auburn 21 to 7 No 27 the one in the. Firmament 51 denies and while the Citadel 38 in the same.

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Be Tennessee 27 in the end and beat Duke 7 of those and the 20 denies and 2 lane 20 to nothing was a good team. Last Alabama. Some were back years of Georgia score 7 and beat Navy $16.00 to $14.00 or less nicotine so you've got along the back you've got the worries one hell of an engineer and then various girls' names scattered around the tip off to make it more interesting but I'm just bringing that red cap out just to say that it really helped me get those rides back and forth it's interesting because Georgia Tech students were perceived as.

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A plus size a safe individual to pick up you generalist 50 years. While you were able to hit the road and go home with your hat or ride you know we could go home want to we can I mean you had to have several days of Christmas holiday or whatever.

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But it would often take. Quite a while to make that trip I would say I mean whether you're traveling by bus or hitchhiking and sometimes you could beat the bus but the. Bus stops at every little wet spot in the road but. Hitchhiking you know it it might take you a day and I have to hitchhike down there that was still pretty good down pretty good.

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With Atlanta like in those days it was a big city to you know the from a small town but it wasn't like it is now what did you did you find places to go to our movies to go to or what was life like we did we went to movies Another thing I enjoyed on the to the campus were the.

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Dances they would have at the y.m.c.a.. Well they had dance right that was kind of like a student run where the alumni association houses now you know when they play records or write they play records and of course a fraternity dances we would have last band. So even into the into the late forty's and early fifty's they were doing the inner for Terri dances Yes I was very popular where were they held.

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Did you go to hotels or to children somewhere on campus. School dances would be held probably at the old g.m.. Otherwise fraternity dances would be at various hotels I think enough I can't recall where to save my life you just know you like to go. Where that was it was a fun thing to do right.

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Mr Stanley when we look back at your experience your early experience it back whether any of it as stories you might have about the usual characters like Bobby died and George Kaufman and the comments you want to make about any of them well I never really. Knew either of those fellows well but.

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They were very personable. And really beloved by the students at that time are are I remember a of a bonfire that we had before probably the Georgia game as a freshman Bobby Dodd and. Came out on on the field and all the freshmen were there and gave a talk and introduced several players one of which I remember was Bob Davis who was an all-American player we got to beat him.

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But my roommate's name was Bob Davis and so we want to have been introduced Bob Davis to Bob Davis you know about. But. Flicka coach dog was was well liked by everyone was he approachable is easy for you to talk to yes he seemed to be an end in the later years when I was on my.

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Reunion Committee. I had some telephone conversations with him about talking to our class at a reunion in he was very approachable about that. Then another famous gentleman that I had a brief conversation with as a student was coach Alex. It went to it one time I was practicing the rope climb in the gym.

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Which. Was a very boring thing to do as you can imagine sitting on the floor you disco hand-over hand up the rope touch this disc up there and you're supposed to do it is short of time as possible we had others on the team that could that could do it in about a 20 foot rope climb probably in no one listened 5 seconds and it took me.

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You know 5 or 6 or 6 or 7 or or so to do it myself I was not one of the better rock climbers but coach Alex was he came into the gym and he sat there and one of the seats next to me and and just watched a while and he said was obviously just keep at it and it just takes practice you just just keep.

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Appreciate it is words of encouragement anyway. So me being Griffin of course was so well liked. I remember him coming in and return to the house one time I was. It already been discharged from the military after my 2 years there and I had come back to take and I think I was spending the night there in route to go home or whatever and he came in and he was looking for someone and asked me about myself and how am I doing and I told him I had just got discharged.

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From the military and he said well I'm just flabbergasted that that you youngsters are already here still it's very trite. Maybe take it a little odd that you're already through with your military service and so on. Fred Ajax is another name that comes to mind of. Pretty Jack's which was well liked by everyone in the course he headed up to the Georgia Tech placement center at that time his son is a well known attorney here in town.

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Fred had the unusual call physical disability of. Riley was talking and he could give a fine talk to a group but but you see it was always going going like this as if he was. One of the scratches Chan on his shoulder or something like that it is it would always be thrown from one side to the other you really could control it but he was a fine gentleman and he would do anything for you too and helping you get a job with some company as would be great if.

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They were really good sources they really were people on campus right and in other professors that come to mind with Professor angle and in the English department I remember him as being a fine now Professor. My English professor in English 101 I believe with Mr Dickson one thing I can recall that he did which I think was it was really a good idea and I bet they don't do it anymore and he asked all the freshmen in that class to stand up give their name and their home town where they from.

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I just tell a little bit about themselves and I just wonder if they do that anymore that was really interesting to know that you thought that was a great idea. To remember wearing that red cap my freshman year passing somebody you know on the campus and you saw the name on a go to Florida on the front of it and I eat commented loud enough for me to hear to this fellow he was with he said Good gosh there's somebody up here from particle or for.

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That we have running from the very fact. That our way not today standard is true then it seemed. The other. Thing that I can recall had to do with Colonel black man the Lear who was present at the time and on this occasion and I believe it was just before the Christmas holidays and we were gathered up around the post office which is a favorite gathering place of course and.

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He came up and he had some papers in his hand and he came up to a couple of his in the said. I've got something I want to show you fellows. And any showed up to us and it was his dollars grades from Vanderbilt and it looked like they were all A's and he said ideas want you to know how proud I am.

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Is it Vanderbilt you know is it and I hope you fellows do a **** can do about as well or something of that nature. But that inspirational wheel ride. That was made he wanted to share that with India. Did you ever have opportunities to interact with him or was that a rare case that was it I really did rare case Gary remember when he passed away we were on the campus at that time.

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1956. And you graduated in 56 but maybe I would have been. Working full time at the Georgia taken during experimentation at that time and it up because I'm just finishing up. The graduate degree and through management I think I recall that the paper. Well after you went away to the Korean War to the conflict there you came back to Georgia Tech to get a master's degree why well I really came back to work at the Experiment Station getting that master's degree was was just an afterthought that developed after that so that came 1st with the opportunity for the work right and how did that come up after I was discharged.

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I took employment it. Waukegan area for a brief period of time but I was on a drafting table. And I really didn't I hated what I was doing it was very boring and I said there's got to be some better way for me to enjoy work than than what I'm doing here and after 3 months of.

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Well I had heard about an opening it take it Research Station this friend of mine help Graham who was working it at the station and. He said you know there's that there's a job opening here for an Emmy Why don't you apply for work. If you'd like to and I can tell you a little bit about what they're looking for which you didn't and so I did apply for that and was interviewed by Bob Goodman and Searcy Hollis and and Maurice loaned.

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I still see Bob Goodman in Mari's occasionally and just think very highly of them I haven't seen Searcy in a long time but I did get hired on the to campus and. At the station is as a research engineer and I. Worked there about 12 years with some very fine people.

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And while you were there the opportunity came up to go back to school he is right to get a Master's Degree in and I just decided to go ahead and do that going to school evenings and. Maybe an hour or so during the day I could take off and go to a class to so that worked out very well it is bright are you happy to have extra training.

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Yes I have to say that it helped out especially from the standpoint of interacting with with other people and an operation of a firm and so on that didn't give you a whole lot of additional in the way of engineering of course. It was I am industrial me right.

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So there you were you had your to a degree thing you were working for George pac. Bright and the work that I was doing was. Mechanical engineering related work on government sponsored projects primarily associated with prototype radar systems. So again that was a real learning experience too. Working with some.

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Top notch people. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The entire time I was there has you married by then yes again married 156 when that happened to you had a degree and you got married right so you were living where. And last summer I. Proved that I rented from families for instance primarily and I was going to go pick up another professor that.

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Head. During the I Am work and that's Professor Freddy when. Who I thought an awful lot of too is his classes were just a joy to attain and you know. Felt so much about him that they named a building after him on the campus. Discourse had to do with the.

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Business cycles as I recall but he made it very interesting. And on occasion had the whole class out to his house and you know I wonder professors do that again. This time of year out I doubt that they do. But there was more interaction I think personally interaction between the students and the professors probably so someone were to say to you that talk was a very cold sterile environment you would disagree it would say you were you were nurtured while you were there and.

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I was in some instances there where there were some conus. Of for instance you know as a freshman knowing where to go who to turn to for. Advice if you had some problems. Who are on the campus could you talk to to try to work things out I don't think I know who knew who those folks were I mean I had some friends that we would talk about our problems with.

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Did go to Dean or more one time he was dean of students and. My roommate and I were trying to decide about fraternities and of course as a freshman we. Learned about fraternities really for the 1st time I. Learned the fork in the Georgia to. Do we were this other friend of ours from our hometown had joined one fraternity.

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And he was really pushing us to join the same fraternity he was in well there were a couple of other fraternities that had rushed us. And so we went to Dean or more and ask him what he thought about these 3 fraternities. And he said you just can't go wrong with beta Seita pond so we Bob Davis and I both joined the blade as we found out later Dean or more was a basis to.

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Live in a little bit friended or I hope I did turn out to be the right choice though it worked out. Because you know you have to be here so some of it was goes with still some of those friends. Or what happened during the 12 years you were there.

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It continued to do research right mechanical engineering design and development work and testing work you began your family right began our family I met my wife for it Emory on a blind date at Emory bright. She at the time was a mercenary she was from South Carolina from Clinton South Carolina.

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And she went to Erskine college in due west South Carolina. And then decided to go into Merce and. Came to Emory and got her nursing degree and she was employed on the campus as a nurse at the time the denominator on a blind date. And things just went on from there.

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So we got married $956.00. And. I stayed on at the experiment station at that time our 3 boys were born. We now have 2 grand babies how did you make the decision to leave the experiment station it was a tough decision to make but prompted. Another friend of mine that I was working with there Alan ivy.

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He's the Ivy in the farm and of course as you can imagine. Alan left he and I had worked together on various projects at the station and Alan left and. Went to work with the general Adjustment Bureau is there a Southeastern engineer involved in the investigation the engineering investigation of losses.

[00:42:57]
Looking into machinery failures for instance. Fires explosions collapses accidents. Just a wide range of areas and it was very interesting doing so on occasions. He had the need to call and various other people for consulting help. Maybe a chemical engineer to be up in that with a problem Allen who is an enemy is is I am.

[00:43:28]
Maybe an electrical engineer to to look into that type of aspect on a lot and I would work with Allen too on the side the engineering experiment station would it would allow us to do some consulting on the side which I was grateful for. So. Finally. There came out of a question of well why don't we see if we could go out together in do this type of work on the side is engineering consulting work.

[00:44:00]
And concentrate on. Failure Analysis and loss of this to gauge and and also maybe some machine design product and equipment to design and testing and so on so. We decided to do it. So I. Have taken and Alan left. The general Adjustment Bureau and we opened up a 2 man office on the response to Liam right across from I guess with bottling in because it's on the west side of.

[00:44:36]
Peachtree. Just behind the Fox Theatre we ran into an office there and that would have been. At the end of the 1966 really officially starting August January 1967 he's still stay put because to George you know we did we did because you know we had people on the take campus that we would go on to help us to.

[00:45:00]
And using their. Special backgrounds in certain areas. And we were also involved in. Plans of basketball to tell you the truth with these guys it tick we've been doing that already and it was a way to try to keep in shape and it was a fun thing to do during the noon hour.

[00:45:21]
So as we had time during the noon hour we would take off and meet with these guys that it's a gym and just have it 5 on 5 full court whoever showed up but divided teams of equally and you know that still going on over there at the student athlete complex you've got all ages that still meet over there.

[00:45:46]
From La To Live On 30 on it and it's just a great thing to do it is just a lot less boring and running around the track. Or swimming laps or whatever and accomplishes the same purpose where we hope so. It's still very well on occasion I have been.

[00:46:04]
Out trying to keep up with it but. Back in the movie. I was over there playing basketball and I had a mild heart attack on the court. And I felt this coming on. It wasn't severe but I just felt. Tired. And I had some tingling in my upper arms and.

[00:46:34]
A little tightness across the chest No just thing or anything to us said Well you know I want to sit this thing out is. Maybe this will go away and it didn't go away so I showered drift and decided to go to the doctor check me out it's all about my car and drove to his office had to stop get gas on the way.

[00:46:56]
While all this was going on. Anyway I got there and it. He said Will. You have an hour a day can we gotta do something about there right now so they put me in the hospital and. Then. An angioplasty which you know I don't want to bore everybody with all this background but that didn't work so they did do a single bypass.

[00:47:23]
2 and a half months ago which is why I haven't been playing. With it yet well a little late that for future right so you've you were lucky to get in once one and you know that you had time to make some corrections because that mid-course corrections can continue I guess we do right it was a wake up call that I will never.

[00:47:46]
Ever What have you done with the company what's happened to well we for life for other people Allan our former firm the 1st of 967. And to start with it was just the 2 of us in the secretary part time and then it slowly grew and we moved to a from that location to a small building that we bought on and your revenue just behind a big Sears store this on Ponce de Leon again we're not too far from Georgia to.

[00:48:14]
Stay there a few years and then moved out here to this buildings and quest a lot of Georgia Tech is live down here to get your head 1st to technology park and everything out here right so we have. I think 10 full time employees. And we're still involved in the same type of work on the problem early failure analysis products and materials testing.

[00:48:42]
We do testing for the manufactured housing industry for instance. For sections of all sections. Fasteners systems but we look we do a lot of safety related work too we were involved in vehicle accident reconstruction. The investigation of fires explosions collapses machinery breakdowns and. We have. In our testing lab the capability to.

[00:49:15]
Test specimens we have a tensile test machine scanning electron microscope and. Other tools of that nature to help us in the work that we're we're doing to to analyze failures why a piece of material broke and what was its mode of failure. Was it related to abuse of a poor choice of materials fatigue.

[00:49:42]
Overloads or do what it's been said that Georgia Tech uniqueness is that it teaches people to solve problems s. true and that's just exactly what you do it makes you think it really does if you get nothing else out of the course I think so you're living proof here that you will make a living out of what you do it will it's really been interesting at the type of work that we're doing I think is among the most interesting engineering were it that I've ever done anyway the payoff because there's something new with every job that we get.

[00:50:18]
If you ever think way back when you were in Pensacola. About some of the big cities that were all that you were never going to go back there permanently that was all going to come to when it came to a really good one I'm sure about the hope that I'd come back there and help run the show them that.

[00:50:37]
No way you could have gone back to that after learning all these things in the Big City own way. You know I've still got all this Florida sand in my shoes. I have to go down your periodic Lee and see how the fishing is in the. High school reunions and things like that and we still have as I mentioned before the house that my folks had down there which is.

[00:51:02]
Nice to take our boys down to and and let them get exposed to but going onto going to Georgia Tech was the right thing for me it was a great experience it really was it really was I guess I just didn't know what to expect. Hardly ever having been out of the county much for the past 17 years or so leading up to that point.

[00:51:25]
But it was the right thing to do. It really was. It was a great experience. Would give anything for the for the friends of the maid and still have of course everything else you'd like to share with them about their chance or any story. Or openness have been too boring that I was going to today on this tape have them point for you to live it has no it really hasn't.

[00:51:56]
Of our 3 boys so I think that they fail to engineers were overworked and underpaid and so they didn't really go into engineering. I wish they would have but one of them did graduate from to apply biology as the oldest one. Was on a dual degree program with her 2nd college.

[00:52:18]
Finished up in the 2nd boy Paul. Finished his undergraduate work it again interested college which is where my wife went in and then he went to Emory and got his degree in medicine and he's in his. Of 3rd year of residency prior to going into family practice full time which was is what he wanted to do and the youngest boy Mark went to the University of North Carolina he delivered his mark and Kimberly was our 1st grandchild little one and a half year old girl getting suitably spoiled by are grandparents of course.

[00:52:57]
So we have 2 little girls now and then there's a 3rd a 3rd one on the way I understand. So the thirty's are expanding and moving aren't right it sounds like your wonderful situation where we really it has been a wonderful life I've tried to keep up with what's going on a tick.

[00:53:20]
But you know things are moving so fast over there too and they have answers for so long all these new buildings that keep popping up all over the place and of course the Olympics coming on which is. Just a wonderful thing for take. Well we thank you very much for taking the time thank you Maryland they share with us and probably joy that.

[00:53:44]
As we have. Thank you very much Crikey thank you very much.