If you remember my (lack of) athletic prowess, you will be surprised to know I played ice hockey 8 years at Case. It was a club sport so graduate students could play. We weren't very good but we had a good time. I eventually got involved with a lot of fun things at Case – played the cymbals in the marching band, helped run the 1964 Mock Political Convention, played intramural softball, took up long distance running – plus the required research and academic work.

Cousin Christine Hecock Yochem introduced me to Bonnie Brown in 1965 and we were married in 1967. Chris and Bonnie taught together at Eastwood Elementary School in Oberlin. Bonnie's father worked for the FAA, and they moved from Pittsburgh to Oberlin in 1963 when the new FAA air traffic control center opened. Our fathers are both deceased but our mothers still live in Oberlin and we get back several times every year.

In 1969 I joined General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Tex. I worked in their Integrated Circuits Lab developing microelectronic technology and fabricating various microelectronic devices. Our first son, Rob, was born there about 2 months after we arrived, David was born in 1972 and Scott in 1977 two weeks before we moved to Massachusetts, so they're all Texans! We made many friends in Texas, both through work and through our church. we got active in church affairs at a rather large (2200 members) church – we taught a 7th grade Sunday School class, participated in an adult class, and tutored kids at an African-American church. Bonnie sang in the choir, directed the children's choir, and played in the bell choir. I played softball, taught an adult course on Genesis, served on the church council, and was Lay Leader when we left. We also took a church-sponsored trip to Europe (England, France, Germany, The Netherlands) in 1975 with our pastor and other members of our church, including Bonnie's sister, Kristine, and her husband who had moved to Ft. Worth (and still live in Hurst, Tex.).

I started running weekends with the brother of the founder of Runner's World magazine, joined the local runners club, and eventually ran the Dallas marathon and other area distance races.

After 8 years at the same job I was looking for something new. One thing led to another and I transferred from Fort Worth to run the General Dynamics corporate field office in Lexington, Mass. We moved to Westford, Mass., in 1977 where we've lived ever since. I moved from a technical position to a marketing job (so much for being a metallurgist!), and have been doing marketing and business development in the high-tech community ever since. In 1982 I left GD, worked five years for a small system engineering company, and joined BBN Technologies in Cambridge, Mass., in 1987.

BBN (founded in 1948 as Bolt Beranek & Newman Inc.) was originally an acoustics consulting company (first job was the architectural acoustics for the UN General Assembly hall) but soon branched into a number of other computer-related technologies. In 1969 BBN implemented the first wide-area packet-switched network, the ARPAnet – essentially the birth of the Internet – so we've been in the internetworking business from the beginning. I'm currently supporting an information security department that does R&D in advanced networking security technologies. BBN has been a fun place to work and an exciting learning environment. In 1997 GTE bought BBN to provide the internetworking piece of their total communications offering.

Our boys are all in the area. Rob is married and has a 4-year old son, Robbie, so we're proud grandparents. Robbie certainly brings a lot of joy to our lives. They live in Maynard about 20 minutes from us. David just graduated from Suffolk Univ. Law School in Boston, lives in Boston and is studying for the bar exam. Scott graduated from Bryant College in R.I. a year ago and works for a firm in Boston but wants to move to Phoenix. As the boys grew up, they were active in sports, music, and Boy Scouts so we were active in sports, music, and Boy Scouts. We joined a small, typical New England church (built in 1870) of about 200 members when we moved here; quite a contrast from our old church. Bonnie's been the choir director for 22 years, and has done a wonderful job. The choir has grown from 6 to about 25 members and is excellent (my unbiased opinion!). The church membership has also grown and we are beginning a major building expansion program. I've been active as achurch council member and occasional adult class teacher. I've been co-chair of our mission's committee the past 4 years, serve on the building committee, and also serve as the treasurer of the Greater Lowell Cluster (of churches in the Lowell area). Over the past year I've become the church historian and archivist, writing a monthly historical article for the church newsletter and collecting and preserving our early church records.

Bonnie returned to teaching in an elementary school after the boys were in junior & senior high school. She teaches Reading Recovery and first grade, which keeps her busy. She collects antiques, plays the piano and sings, so has the talent in the family. I spend most of my spare time now doing genealogical and historical research. I started working on my family tree when I was in college so have been at it for awhile. I enjoy the research – learning about my ancestors and the historical context of their lives. My daughter-in-law is of Italian ancestry, and I've enjoyed looking at 19th century Italian vital records (obtained on microfilm through the Mormon church), learning some Italian vocabulary, and learning how to decipher old Italian handwriting. I've been active in various genealogy societies, teach genealogy courses, and travel around New England doing research. We've also taken vacations to Scotland and to Co. Down, Northern Ireland, where I was able to visit the derelict cottages of my ggg grandparents.

I used to play golf a bit and used to run a lot, but do little of either anymore. Bonnie and I took ballroom dancing lessons for three years (remember Lois Gremore's dance classes?). I got my amateur radio license (N1JSI) in 1992 and talk to my uncle Cal Davidson in Oberlin on Sundays (although my antenna is down now) and was active in the local ham radio club. I'm just starting to participate in an English-as-a-second-language one-on-one tutoring program sponsored by our local library.

In 1999 I was appointed to the Westford Historical Commission, and I enjoy helping educate the community about our history and preserving what we can of it. Westford was incorporated in 1729 so has a lot of interesting history. I've been working on a Walking Tour of Westford Center, focusing on the history and architecture of our town's center, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. I am just completing a transcription and essay on the 1870 Federal Census of Westford, which should be published soon, at least for local consumption. The commission is working on nominations to have Graniteville and Forge Village, two villages in Westford, placed on the National Register, and we also spend a good deal of time administering Westford's demolition delay bylaw.

We enjoy living in New England. Each season here is beautiful in its own way. The ocean and the mountains are each about an hour away, and there are many historical sites that I particularly enjoy. I drive the Battle Road (of April 19, 1775) between Lexington & Concord every day. I've found that I have many ancestors from colonial Mass. & Conn., so enjoy visiting where they lived. I read quite a bit, mostly non-fiction, and listen to full-length books on tape on the 40-minute drive to/from work. …