May 19, 1992
Hobbies I've never had hobbies in the usual sense and they never were an addiction. I did have an interest in model trains for awhile and built a lot of equipment and some layouts. I also did a little with photography but never had an interest in expensive equipment and hours spent in the dark room. The nearest thing to a real hobby was the period when I was making miniature reproductions of furniture. I did this for quite awhile and sold quite a few pieces. These were all made from scratch, no kits, and very carefully made with all of the joints and detail of the full size original. Computers could be considered my present hobby. I never was much for sports and considered fishing and golf "make work projects". I guess my interest in sailing was the closest I ever came to sports. I have had some unusual experiences. I witnessed the Johnstown Flood in '36, several hurricanes, an earthquake in California, worked underground in a coal mine, spent a weekend on a snorkel type submarine, have flown in small planes, have built a house, and have tried many graft projects. As far back as I can remember, it seems, I have been more interested in building, repairing, or dissecting things. I have never been timid about doing anything with my hands. I've painted cars, upholstered and refinished furniture, and have always done the maintenance and improvements on the houses and cars. Along the way I got involved with a few Rohm and Haas friends on a project to build a house in our spare (?) time. It is a project I'd like to forget since I sprained my back, it was tough on Mary Liz, and I got peanuts for my efforts. Collections Like hobbies, I was never interested in collecting coins, stamps, art, etc. But I always have been a scrounger. I cannibalize everything for parts, never throw anything away, and as a result have accumulated a large collection of tools and items for just about any craft or device. Now that I'm slowing down, I'm concerned about how I'm going to dispose of everything if we ever have to make a move. I never was a collector in the popular sense. I never collected stamps, coins, or other of the usual things. However, from the earliest days I collected what I considered Treasures, Bargins, or Must Haves. Unfortunately now that I am older and am trying to get rid of "stuff" I find that my collections are all called "Junk". My interests have covered a broad field including electrical and electronic projects, automobile and household improvements (?) or repairs, and now a little in the computer line. I also have a bad habit of never throwing anything out and as a result, in my storage areas, the shelves and boxes are filled with "things". I'm sure some of these things go back to early high school days when I was friendly with an older Atwater Kent employee and we did experiments together. I remember that we built spark gap radio transmitters and made capacitors out of sheets of glass and tin foil. I think it was around this time that I connected 110volts to a Ford spark coil and received a shock that threw me across the room. The spark coil is in one of the boxes. All these things bring back memories. I have always been close to the salvage departments where I worked. At Philco I remenber getting used phono records at a nickel each and buying the competition's radios for a buck of two after Philco finishing their examination. The salvage department also had drums of floor sweepings that they sold as scrap. The shop employees could help themselves. After the war there was much surplus. I don't recall that there were flee markets until recently but I do remember going to houses where people had their living room or porch filled with electronic or other war surplus that was for sale. Various stores and outlets sold the surplus just like any other merchandize. I remember two in particular. One at 10th and Arch, Radio Electric Service; and the other H & R on Erie Ave. These and the other spots had bargins that one couldn't pass up. Rohm and Haas had a good salvage operation for the employees. Used plate glass could be bought for 10 cents a square foot. It was the source for some of the windows in our house. Scrap cost 2 cents a pound and you could buy motors and just about anything for five bucks. Finally the employees spoiled a good thing and everything went to the junk dealer.
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