05/25/08
Ray Hayne

Jerry Yelch (left) & Ray Hayne (right). This note and photo received from Ray Hayne 03/30/08:
My wife is a genealogy buff and during her searching found the Macs Old Team site. After reviewing the site it brought back a rush of memories of my time (39 years) at MDC.
I retired from MDC in March 1996 from the F-18 E/F Program and moved to our present residence in Clarksville, Va the next month. We had been doing extensive traveling in Europe and once to China when my wife came down with breast cancer. She is now a five and a half year survivor. I see that I missed the Old Timers List and after being under Joe Deans tutelage, in the instrumentation group, on ASSET, BGRV, RVTO and Harpoon, I feel I became old before my time. Noticed that Jerry Yelch didn't make the list either.

I started my career in aircraft ('57) on the F101 program in flight simulation working in BLDG 27 (loft) on pitch up problems on the iron bird , with Jim Hendrix, in the evening while attending SLU. We were also AEX fraternity brothers. After school I transferred to Flight Test and was assigned to the GAM 72 program in Alamogordo, New Mexico. I followed the GAM 72 to the Missile Division and went to Eglin AFB for the follow on program ('61). On my second assignment to Eglin AFB I met the likes of Joe Klausner (program manager) and became second banana to his infamous jacket trick. I also had the pleasure of working with Jerry Brooks and John Hendren. Sorry to see the passing of so many that I had the pleasure of working with in the early days. Bob Wuerz and I shared the same birthday in September.
Upon return to STL I was briefly assigned to Gemini and again worked with Jim Hendrix. I moved to the ASSET program and became the Destruct and Recovery Engineer, under Joe Dean, on team #2. You may have seen Ken Smith and I floating weather balloons in the Bldg 32 Pool. We were running experiments for a backup recovery device that Joe Dean designed after we lost track of the first Asset during recovery. Those were the fun days. I was assigned to Herb Cairnes' ASSET (2ND) launch team and worked with Bill Dolan, John Krah, Ralph Spillman, to name a few that comes to mind. I remember when I left the Cape the doors were not yet mounted on the Shuttle assembly building. My wife and I went to the Cape a few years back to see the Endeavor launched and also went on the old tour to see the Asset launch site. It's A MUSEUM! She was surprised to see that we were launching from so close a distance to the gantry. I told her we didn't have five mile technology back in those days. I showed her the room where the launch racks were housed and pointed out to her that the same information could be placed on my thumbnail. We did get to have lunch with

05/16/08
Don Nash

12/19/07
Harry Tripp

07/02/07
Harold Ege provides news about fellow teammates Charlie Headley and Glenn Salisbury

07/02/07
Charlie Headley sent this note:

05/31/07
Lawrence E. "Larry" Merritt retires 1 June 2007

04/29/07
Roy DeBellis

04/23/07

Jim Durbin

04/15/07

Jack Bryant

04/13/07
George Scism
A note about George Scism provided by Richard Ampleman:

(George and Monica Scism in photo on left. George with Richard and Mary Lou Ampleman in photo above.)
Mary Lou and I just returned from a 28 day cruise from Buenos Airees to Acapulco and on the 2nd day of the cruise who got on the same elevator with me but George Scism. He and his wife Monica were on an extended cruise which started in New Orleans and will end in San Francisco, including a 3 week stop in Buenos Aires. George now lives in Branson -, Mo. but spends about 180 days a year traveling. He is involved with his son in designing and building fast speed boats. George's new address is 2164 Yandell Cove Rd. Kirbyville, Mo, 65679. Email address edjune@hotmail.com

03/18/07

Roe Snyder tells about one of his hobbies --Solar Energy
I just thought you might like to pass on info to our teammates about my project that I've been working on for the last couple of years. (Roe's SOLARSHED). (I guess I've been interested in solar projects since 1975, starting with my solar hotdog cooker.) The 'shed' dimensions are 16'x18'. I built it myself. The four large solar P/V's, (PHOTOVOLTAIC's), are 64watt UNI-SOLAR panels. The smaller P/V's are 15watt panels, from HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS of Calif. They come in a 'kit' comprised of, three 15watt P/V's, a Charge Regulater, (Controller), with 3v, 6v, 9v, three 12vD.C. outputs, an output for charging a 12v Deep Cycle Marine battery, two compact flourescent 12vD.C lights and sockets, wiring accessories, a steel mounting frame that holds the P/V's at the proper angle for solar energy collection. The 'kit' from Harbor Freight cost's $199.99 plus $10.00s&h. This comes to just a little more than $2.00 a watt!, when you subtract all the accessories. Cheap! Cheap!


If anyone has lost U.E power, the kit, can be used to charge a 12v Marine battery for emergency use, to run a fan or whatever. Three 15watt panels can be used to put a charge into a battery. Or, put a charge into three or four batteries, by hooking up a battery each day, then another, then another etc., keep them in reserve. An 12volt D.C. to 110volt A.C. Inverter can be obtained from Wal-Mart, Lowes, or HomeDepot. They are used to convert the 12volt D.C. battery output to 110volt A.C. household current to run whatever is needed, (except large appliances, unless a person has a large enough field of P/V's, and a large enough bank of batteries and inverters.)
The batteries I use are 75Amp, Everstart 24DC-6 DeepCycle Marine Batteries from Wal-Mart. Cost, $42.27 plus a couple of small fees. With power outages like the St.Louis area has had the last few weeks, I thought you might like to pass this info on to the retirees.
If anyone wants more info, such as detailed hook-ups, construction ideas, etc. etc, they are welcome to contact me at, roeone@accessus.net or they can call me at 636-937-6432.

Have a good day to all,
Roe Snyder

03/03/07

Nelson O. Weber
In July 2004 Nelson provided this description about his life in retirement.
Retirement has been great!! Work was always a lot of fun, but I think retirement is more fun. Fortunately I've been blessed with good health and have been very active. I retired in 1994. I started at McDonnell Aircraft in 1957 working in the shop on final assembly on the F-101 Voo Doo. Went to college for BSME, and then was an ' Mackanical Injuneer'. Retired in 1994, then did steady consultant work at McDonnell Douglas, and other companies till 1998. Did two consultant jobs in Israel, one of them was requested and funded by the Ministry of Defense Office in Israel. Did another consultant job in Malaysia. Since 1998 I've done part-time consultant work, one of those jobs at Boeing netted me a patent. The patent was issued to me in Dec 2003, my first patent received at age 65. (So guys and girls, remember it is never too late in life to do all kinds of accomplishments. And I know from our luncheon meetings that a lot of you all are very active.

I like motor vehicles, been working with 'collector cars', taking them to car shows, and winning trophies. In the last 5 years I've entered a 'Show Car' in 63 car shows and have won 51 trophies. We have 5 collector cars, (I say 'we' because one of them, a '68 Dodge Charger is my wife Carol's car). They range from a 40 horsepower 1930 Model A Ford to a 875 horsepower 1968 Chrysler 300. I also have my Harley which I ride regularly. Have ridden motorcycles since 1960.

This spring I ran for, and got elected for School Board Director.. Term is three years. I'm in Northwest R-1 school district. The district has 7300 students, 806 employees, and a $59M budget (next years approved budget). This is also enjoyable work - a lot of work, but enjoyable. Have completed training to get my 'Certified Board Member' training certificate, am working on my 'Advanced' training certificate, and after that will go for the 'Master Board Member' certificate.

I've written my Autobiography "My Life & Experiences", a 300 page paperback book. That 'hobby' took three years to complete. I have a couple of chapters in there on my work at McDonnell Douglas. If anyone wants one of these, they are $10 plus $3 for mailing costs, or I can bring copy to our luncheons if you are interested (noweber@juno.com)

I'm very fortunate to have my family, my wife Carol, our 22 year old son Cory that works full time and lives with us yet. He realizes how good he has it at home, he is in no hurry to move out. I also have son Steve, and daughter Vicki, and their families - I have 4 grandchildren - they all live in Arkansas - we visit several times a year. Also my mother is still in good health at age 100, I spend one day a week with her.

I enjoy the 'luncheons' to see and visit with retired coworkers.

Nelson Weber

03/03/07

BUT THERE IS MORE ABOUT NELSON WEBER:
Nelson Weber, the retired Mac's Old Teammate, aerospace engineer has many other passions, one of which is the history, research and preservation of the old steamboat MONTANA Here is Nelson's story about his work researching the history of the MONTANA Riverboat that sank in the Missouri river near St. Charles, Missouri in 1884.
--------------------
Summary - My 2005/2006 Study Of The MONTANA Riverboat

By Nelson O. Weber

The MONTANA was built in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania yards in the winter of 1878/1879, and sank in the Missouri River at St. Charles, Missouri in 1884. Although it sank well over a century ago, its legend is still very much alive. Local curiosity seekers, out-of-town curiosity seekers, riverboat enthusiasts, news media, archeologists, and others continue to keep the legend of the MONTANA alive. It is interesting to note that the MONTANA is the only sunken riverboat in the St. Louis, Missouri area that gets this kind of attention. The MONTANA’s continuing popularity is probably due to the location of where it sank and because its skeleton always re-emerges and exposes itself when the Missouri River water level drops to low levels. The MONTANA was popular and still is popular because it was the first riverboat of its large size to navigate the Missouri River. Its longest trip was northwest to Fort Benton, Montana delivering a record load of 600 tons of cargo. It had ‘luxury’ appointments for carrying passengers. It had ill timing of being built when the riverboat trade was declining due to railroads replacing the riverboats to move cargo westward. And it had an unfortunate demise by crashing into a railroad bridge pier at St. Charles, Missouri.

I first visited the MONTANA Riverboat wreckage site in 1967 after reading a newspaper article about a person(s) doing some digging for the MONTANA’s ‘buried treasures’. I didn’t find any ‘buried treasures’ I took some loose boards at that time and sawed them into plaques about 8 inches long by 4 inches high by 1 inch thick. I put a brass plate on the plaques with some information about the MONTANA, and attached a brass chain to hang the plaque on a wall. I sold these plaques at craft shows and via consignments to shops/stores. I placed an ad in House & Garden magazine in September 1967 – the ad cost $410 for a one-inch high ad.

Over the years since 1967 I always kept track of any activity with the MONTANA; there was very, very little activity. Missouri River water level is the main contributing factor to seeing the MONTANA’s wreckage; the water level needs to be very low to see her remaining wreckage. There were many years when the river water level never got low enough to see any part of the MONTANA. There is not much literature or photos available about the MONTANA. There is an absolute void of any photos from the time she sank in 1884 until the early 1960’s. This is because the river changed course a little and buried the MONTANA’s wreckage totally in silt for over seventy years. She didn’t start to become visible again until the early 1960’s.
In 2002 a team of archeologists led by Annalies Corbin spent 10 days or more doing an archeological site survey. In 2005/2006 I did an ‘engineering study’ of the MONTANA. I made over 25 visits to her, spending over 80 hours, doing a detailed study of the remaining structure. This involved taking many dimensional measurements of the remaining structure with a tape measure and angular measurements with an inclinometer, in addition to taking hundreds of photographs to document everything that remains of this wreckage. I wrote a book titled ‘The Legendary MONTANA – A 2005/2006 Engineering Study Performed By Nelson O. Weber’. I have this book on sale at multiple places. I also prepared a ‘Powerpoint Presentation’ about the MONTANA Riverboat. I’ve just started giving the presentations - gave 2 presentations in 2006, have more presentations scheduled for 2007. Studying and documenting the MONTANA has become a ‘passion’ for me (my wife says it has become an ‘obsession’) Whatever you want to call it – it is fun.

This study resulted in several ‘Discoveries’. They are:
1) Two paddlewheel dimensions (diameter & width) are considerably larger than previously published information,
2) My study determined that the ‘splitting-in-half theory’ showed repeatedly in a History Channel video is in error.
The video is titled “Skeleton In The Sand – The MONTANA”. The video aired on TV in 2003. My study shows absolute proof that she did not split in half.
3) The MONTANA may totally wash away in the near future, due to recent erosion trends of the silt on the ‘riverbank’ side of the MONTANA’s wreckage. The river is ‘surrounding’ the wreckage site.
All that remains in 2006 of the MONTANA’s wreckage is part of the hull floor, rudders, cylinder timbers, some paddlewheel structure, and part of the main deck. All of the boat’s above –the- hull structure has long been gone; most of it was salvaged shortly after it sank in 1884. Whatever remained of the above-the-hull structure has gone downstream, or deteriorated, and it is gone for good. The biggest enemies are the river current and the large floating logs and trees that will slowly and persistently carry the remaining structure of the MONTANA downstream board by board, and section by section.
The MONTANA was technologically a state-of-the-art riverboat, its extraordinary size, it’s flat bottom shallow draft, built for the Missouri River with its luxury appointments, and costing twice what its predecessors cost to build. These were features that made her an impressive legend.

Handling and Maneuverability – It must have been a challenge to the riverboat captains and crew to navigate the Missouri River with this large riverboat. They always had to deal with Mother Nature’s issues - the river current, rising and lowering water, river bends, river debris (floating and submerged), crosswinds, sandbars, rain, storms, low visibility - and all of these were constantly changing, so the only thing that was constant on the Missouri River was ‘change’. It seems like all the characteristics needed for stability and effective control for a riverboat of this size were missing, or marginal at the best. If anyone has ever done a float trip on a canoe or raft, one knows that where the water is shallow it is swift, and where the water is deep the current is slow, and there are logs and gravel bars – navigating is a challenge.
The MONTANA’s lightweight and flat bottom hull features were great for a ‘shallow draft’ riverboat design. However, these features had an inherent weakness, the riverboat was not very impact resistant for a single point impact. The hull and hull wall did not have much ‘crush resistance’. It would break (crush) quite easily for a ‘point impact’. There is no evidence of hull bulkheads to keep water from filling the complete hull if she developed a severe leak from any hull wall breakage. I’m sure this lack of bulkheads contributed to her demise.
I’m an advocate of preserving what is left of the MONTANA. The only way to do this is to salvage what remains and put that into a museum for future generations to visually enjoy and learn about the riverboat era. Only 42% of the hull floor is still remaining and this will get less every year. Over the 8 months of this study from August 2005 to March 2006 there were some parts of the hull that have washed away. It will require a commitment from a person or organization to get MONTANA’s remaining wreckage into a museum setting. Even though St. Louis was a ‘Riverboat Hub’ and recognized as the ‘Gateway To The West’ and the ‘Waterway To The West’ during the 19th century, unfortunately there seems to be no community interest or motivation in preserving any of this rich riverboat heritage

Trivia - Did You Know?

• Over 500 Riverboats sank in the Missouri River in the 1800’s (Boiler Explosions, Crashes, Fires, Snags, Stumps, Weather).
• The average life of a Riverboat on the Missouri River was 3 to 5 years.
• The worst maritime disaster happened on Mississippi River 300 miles south of St. Louis, Mo.
- (On April 27, 1865 the ‘SULTANA Riverboat’ had a boiler explosion a few miles north of Memphis with a loss of 1700 lives – these were Union POW’s returning north after the Civil War). The SULTANA was severely overcrowded with 2300 people aboard, it was legally registered to carry 376 people).
- St. Louis was the homeport for the SULTANA.

By Comparison:
-Titanic sank in 1912 - Loss of 1517 lives of 2208 passengers & crew (Hit Iceberg).
-Lusitania sank in 1915 - Loss of 1198 lives of 1257 people aboard (Hit by Torpedo).


Contact Nelson O. Weber For:
• More Information About The MONTANA.
• Presentations About The Montana.
• Purchasing The New 2006 Book Titled ‘The Legendary MONTANA Riverboat’.
• Purchasing A Print Of The New 2006 Oil Painting Titled – ‘Steamboat MONTANA (1879-1884)’.
Contact Info: Phone: 314-740-2729 Email: noweber@juno.com

01/03/06

Charles F. Marschner
Charlie is the final survivor of "Mr. Mac's" original (pre-1940) team. "Mr. Mac" had 13 employees including himself at this time.
We are delighted to receive several notes written by Charlie Marschner and passed on to us by Skip Lauer. Charlie's viewpoints are very special, interesting, and fits right in to the main theme of Mac's Old Team website ----to keep in touch with our old teammate friends, and keep ever mindful about the history of the "good old days" at McDonnell Aircraft, McDonnell Douglas, and the opportunities we had there. Charlie Marschner is one of Mr. Mac's original team of 13 back in 1939, and we understand he is the final survivor of this "original team".

Following is a summary of the info. received thus far:
From Skip Lauer:
Charlie Marschner lives in Baytree Country Club, FL with his beautiful wife of 60 years, Dottie. Charlie is 92 years young and still has a brilliant mind and lots of great stories about Mac's early years. He was one of the original master minds in 1939.

Sept 3, 2005 Charlie writes:
Dear Skip-
I believe I am the final Survivor of the pre-1940 MAC (McDonnell Aircraft Corp.) employee. See list attached.
I am sending this to you as you will know how to enter it into the records. I still recall the MAC formation by James S. McDonnell vividly including when I signed up Sept. 5, 1939. In retrospect it was historic. Only Mac's indomitable will made MAC survive.
Charlie Marschner
Charlie's list of Mr. Mac's original team follows:
Pre-1940 (Late 1939) Employees of McDonnell Aircraft Corp. (MAC)
1. James S. McDonnell (Mac), Pres. July 1, 1939. Incorp Co. (MAC) 1st week July.
2. Louis (Lou) Ritter, Adm. Asst. July 1, 1939
3. Garrett (Gary) Covington, Stress Eng. & Asst. Chief Eng. Aug. ?, 1939
4. Ivan Driggs*, Ch. Eng. Sept. 5, 1939
5. George Bussiere*, Arms Inst. Eng. Sept. 5, 1939
6. Lyle Farver*, Gen'l Des. Eng. Sept. 5, 1939
7. Earl (Bud)Fisher*, Power Plant Inst. Eng. Sept. 5, 1939
8. Charles (Charlie) Marschner* Production Des. Eng. Sept. 5, 1939
9. Lawrence (Larry) Waite* Aerodynamics & Asst. Ch. Eng. Sept. 5, 1939
10. Milton (Milt) Bergey, Airframe Des. Eng. Sept. ? 1939
11. Geroge Hineman, Landing Gear Des., Sept. ? 1939
12. Albert (Al) Utsch, Airframe Des. Eng. Nov. ?, 1939
13. Joseph (Joe) Beerer, Aerodynamics Eng. Nov. ?, 1939

The first 11 persons reported for work Mon. Oct. 2, 1939; Al and Joe about Thanksgiving Week. Those noted * signed 1 year employment contracts with Mac the evening of Sept. 5, 1939. "Original" employees could buy 1 share of MAC common stock for each dollar of monthly salary for 5 cents a share. Par was set at one dollar.
James S. McDonnell (Mac), Ivan Driggs, Lyle Farver, and Lawrence Waite (Larry) were all genius class as evidenced by their work and conceptual contribution.
I was the youngest of the Engineers except for Joe Beerer (#13 above). I was indeed fortunate to work with such an experienced and knowledgeable group of men. They willingly shared their wisdom.
After the one year contracts ran out and Mac's future looked bleak, all but Ritter, Covington, Driggs, Farver, Marschner and Hineman left the co. Driggs left later.
The first 1000 "clock" numbers were assigned about 2 years after the company was formed with Engineering getting Nos. 901 thru 1000. The newly hired head bean counter was sure there would never be a 1000 employees or over as many as 100 Engineers! So first 1000#s are meaningless.
C. F. Marschner


Oct 3, 2005 from Charlie Marschner
Subject: Big Bang & Creation

The Big Bang is generally accepted as "In The Beginning".

I recall how fascinated I was when I looked at the Periodic Table on the wall in chem. and physics classes. The order shown defines how atoms and their components are used by The Creator to make all materials in the known Universe. Fragments of atoms are merely testimony to the violence of the Big Bang. The recognition of the periodic table began about 150 years ago by a Russian, as I recall, closely followed by a German.

But the origin of life was not explained for nearly 100 years. Then DNA was recognized as the orderly, complex pattern for life of all kinds. J. S. McDonnell made note of DNA importance in his acceptance of the Collier Trophy in the early 1950s.

The PT & DNA, to me, confirm absolutely the existence of a Creator. Otherwise all would be chaos.

Regards, Charlie M.
----------------
CHARLIE, keep 'em coming! We really enjoy hearing from you! Send us some MAC memorabilia any time you wish. We will put it on the Old Mac's Team website for all to enjoy.

08/24/05

Skip Lauer
Skip (Altemeyer) Lauer, is a retired teammate. Skip is also the wife of our friend and teammate Ed Lauer who passed away 1998. Skip was a teammate at MAC in St. Louis until she and Ed moved to Florida (Titusville plant) in the early 1950's. Skip was a Sky Queen in 1946.
Following information provided by Skip who lives in Florida:
Here is a little about Ed and I. Ed began his career with MAC in 1944. He was in the Propulsion Division in the early days and worked on experimental projects. He came to Florida for "secret shots" before the capsules in the late 1940's and 50's. We moved to Florida to stay in 1967. Ed worked in a small building on the TiCo Airport until the TiCo plant was finished in the late 1960's.
Ed had a can-do attitude "if you can think it, you can do it" which inspired everyone around him. He later developed cancer from secondary smoke. Another attribute was his sense of humor. When the doctors couldn't stop the air leak in the remaining part of his lung, he and some of his teammates were thinking up fixes such as duct tape and gum. Ed retired August 1988, and passed away February 9, 1998, 6 days before our 51st anniversary. He lived an exciting life and loved every minute of it -- his jobs, his family, his friends and teammates, and he thought Mr. Mac could walk on water. He was part of an elite group that helped to create a lot of firsts for our country and the world and for that his family is very proud and grateful.
I was transferred to the Headquarter Division in the Ambassador Bldg downtown [St. Louis] as a receptionist. Ed and I met on the basketball court!! We both played in the Industrial League for MAC. The men practiced where the women played their games.
I was Sky Queen in 1946 which was an exciting experience for a little country girl. Ed and I were married February 15, 1947 and our son, Steve was born May 15, 1952. I was a stay-at-home mom until Steve graduated from law school then I got my real estate license and sold real estate for 27 years. I finally retired in 2004. Steve is an attorney in Vero Beach, Fla. He and his wife Margareth have 2 daughters Eva and Anne, only an hour away.
Skip Lauer"

01/30/04

Ray Brown
I was recently talking to Jan Longshore and she was telling me about the MAC's Old Team and gave me the web address. Please add me to the member list.
I retired in the big retirement of February 1987. I traveled for three years before I was called and asked to come back as a Contract Engineer. Since then I have been working off and on for the last fourteen years as a Contract Engineer for various projects at McDonnell Douglas/Boeing. I have worked about six and a half years since 1990. In the off years, some by my self retirement to go traveling, my wife Rose and I have traveled pretty extensively. We have a Motor Home and have visited Alaska twice for a total of about seven months going there and back. We have been on two Motor Home Tours to Mexico and have spent about five months going there and back. We have spent about three months on Motor Home trips to The Canadian Provinces and we have traveled extensively throughout the USA, mostly in our motor home. We also have spent about three weeks in Hawaii, five weeks in Australia and four weeks in New Zealand. Actually going back to work between trips has almost been a relief as well as replenishing our travel budget funds. It has been very nice to remember all of you that I have worked with and are part of the Old Team but I am shocked at number of old friends that have passed on. I hope to be able to come to one of the lunches when I can work it into my busy schedule as I have just recently started back to work on the Future Combat Systems program at Boeing. Feel free to email me a give a call.

A. Ray Brown
618-235-2174 (home)
rrb1949@hughes.net (home)

03/24/02

Lloyd "Bud" Schultz
Over the years, Bobbye and I have done a bit of traveling. We have bicycled in all the countries of western Europe, but this year we were in Switzerland in the winter for some cross-country skiing. We're beginning to feel our age, because one Olympic cross-country ski race was 50 KM and was completed in a little over 2 hours, but it took us 2 weeks to do the same distance.

We spent one week in Zermat, and finally saw the Matterhorn on a clear day. Then one week in Davos, with many downhill runs and about 75KM of cross-country trails.
The trains in Switzerland are so punctual that if you arrive at the RR station at 12:03 and your train is scheduled to leave at 12:02, you've missed it. You can literally set your watch by when the train begins to move. The train rides in the Alps are as beautiful as the picture of a Swiss village on a Christmas card.
One can also wax poetic about the Swiss Pastries and breads. It must be the air at altitude.
Regards----Bud Schultz

04/01/02

Guenter Wendt
You will probably remember Guenter Wendt as the McDonnell Aircraft Launch Pad Chief at the Cape.
He and Russell Still have written a book called The Unbroken Chain. A book review found at Amazon.com states the following:
"American astronauts may have lived the dream of seeing space, but they never would have made it without Guenter Wendt. In The Unbroken Chain, this unsung hero tells his story, and he's got the right stuff. Wendt, who immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1949, got a job as a mechanical engineer for McDonnell Aircraft that launched his space career. He eventually became the man who supervised preparations for every mission from the Mercury program through the early shuttle flights. He was the last person the astronauts would see before they closed the hatch, and he became something of a legend at NASA. The Unbroken Chain features Wendt's accounts of his career highlights, good and bad, as well as behind-the scenes revelations about missions and personalities. Three sections of great photos accompany the text, and best of all, the accompanying CD-ROM features a tour of Cape Canaveral hosted by Wendt himself."
Wayne Lowe reports that Guenter will be at the Kansas Cosmosphere Space Center in late April for a talk and book signing. We wish Guenter success with his book , and hope he and his family are enjoying retirement in good health. Wayne, when you see Guenter, tell him many of his old teammate friends here in St. Louis have great memories of him, and hope he will send a note to the MAC's Old Team website and tell us a little about what he is doing in retirement.

04/17/02

Clarence Howard
I retired a year ago from our operation in Houston, and have been corresponding with a few of the old geezers that I grew up, and old with in St. Louis. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I saw Bill Geissler who also lives in Houston. We still live in the Houston metropolitan area, but actually on the far north side about 40 miles from the city center and about 60 miles from Clear Lake where we lived until retirement. My wife and I are in good shape, healthwise, and are really enjoying our grandkids and the retirement experience. Our Email address is: choward784@aol.com

I have enjoyed the MAC's Old Team website, but I am amazed at the number of people who have passed away! We still get to St. Louis a couple of times a year, and I will attempt to phase a trip to enable me to get to a meeting.

Thanks for the good work,
Clarence Howard

06/10/04

Clarence Howard update on 06/10/04
I have spent too much of the just past 6 months with the doctors at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center here in Houston. It all started in December when, almost by accident, it was discovered that I had a tumor inside of my right kidney which turned out to be Renal Cell Carcinoma. I had absolutely no symptoms. A partial nephrectomy was performed February 10th, which removed the tumor from the kidney with clean margins, i.e., no cancer at the removal incision boundary, and I still have a functioning right kidney. I had some complications after the surgery when some small arteries within the kidney which were sealed off as a part of the tumor removal decided to open up. The bleeding was stopped with plugs inserted into these small blood vessels via a catheter inserted into my femoral artery. This was done in two separate procedures. The bleeding was pretty severe as I had to have a total of 9 units of blood. I have recovered from all of this kidney repair and I am thankful that I still have 2 working kidneys. There was no need for any follow up radiation or chemo.

Just prior to the time we stumbled onto this kidney thing, a different tumor was found on my right Parotid gland (salivary gland in front of and below the ear). My local ENT here in the Woodlands did a fine needle biopsy and the pathology indicated that it was a non malignant tumor, so I postponed its removal after we discovered the Renal Cell tumor. After I recovered from the kidney surgery, I decided to have the M. D. Anderson guys remove the Parotid tumor, and part of the their workup was another biopsy. They used ultrasound to assist in getting the needle in the right place and found that this tumor was a rare, but low grade malignancy called Acinic Cell Carcinoma, and I had it removed May 24th, along with 10 lymph nodes in the immediate area. The pathology was good in that there were clear margins and the lymph nodes were clear. However, this tumor type tends to return if only surgery is used. So, I'll have to have a fairly long course of radiation to kill off any residual cancer cells. The radiation lowers the recurrence probability to around 10%.

So, I'm in good shape for the shape that I'm in. I'm also very fortunate to be located in a city with the best cancer center with most knowledgeable doctors and the best equipment in the world, and together we'll watch for any recurrence so we can get it early.

Best regards,
Clarence Howard

06/06/06

Hulen H. "Luge" Luetgen
The summer 2002 edition of the MSM-UMR ALUMNUS features a piece on page 37 about the recently published autobiography of H. H. Luetjen. The title of the book is Before Mercury Rose: The Half-life of an Ex-Spaceman.
I thought that some of the teammates who knew or worked with Luge might be interested.
Paul Raidt
-----------
(Earl Robb note) I took this June 2006 photo of "Luge" when I discovered him standing on the corner in Sedalia Missouri, obviously having a good time watching the annual Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival parade. I chatted with him a bit and learned that after Luge retired from his job of managing launch operations for MDC at the Cape and later as Director at the Titusville Production Facility, he returned to live at the family farm in Smithton, MO, near Sedalia.
Luge, how about sending us the story of your life in retirement. That will give you the opportunity to fix any errors I may have made.

09/26/02

Ron Rau
Saw Hans Vetter at Investment event and he mentioned subject retiree "club"....Read with keen interest the links to your web-site and thought I'd like to participate in one of your luncheons....Then I realized that I am away from St Louis about 5 months of year - @ FL home, traveling with recently retired wife, or visiting family scattered throughout our great land - and when here seem to be "tied-up" often....Nonetheless I will keep-in-touch via your web-site and hope to spot luncheons that I could attend...As I retired all my hairpieces and ties when my body retired, I have the misfortune of being unrecognizable to many teammates.

I retired in 7/89 and consider "active retirement" the best phase of my life....Adult Diabetic health issues (leg vascular disease led to many operations) have hindered the last few years but am now able to move around with a modicum of vigor....Still fortunate enough to enjoy golfing...Considerable volunteer work was satisfying; I "retired" from that about 2 years ago...Most volunteer work was helping budding entrepreneurs start or continue a small business, via the umbrella organization called SCORE ( Service Corp of Retired Executives)....Lots of help opportunities encountered in that decade of consulting....Multi-month Rockwood School District and Church Strategic Planning exercises were fun and challenging.

Along-time friend and teammate, Mert Walker. passed on a few months ago....I believe Mert was one of the charter members of the Missile Engineering Division, one of or the predecessor of the Astronautics Company....Great guy.
Saw a bunch of familiar names on your "roster", hello to all and
Best-2U, Ron Rau

03/22/05

Wayne Lowe
General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talked at our lectures series Feb 24. He and his wife grew up in Kansas and are graduates of Kansas State Univ. He arrived in a gov`t Gulf Stream with a plane-load of security.

Our Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Museum loaned Tom Hanks the full scale Lunar Lander and Lunar Rover exhibits for a new space movie that his company is producing. The museum I-MAX has been equipped to show full length movies. The first will be Apollo 13, appropriate since the Apollo 13 spacecraft and Jim Lovell`s spacesuit on that mission are prized exhibits here.

I saw the landing of the Global Flyer on return of its` round-the-world flight March 3 at Salina, KS, an hour North of Hutchinson. Didn`t go to the take-off, since it was delayed several hours and the weather was cold.

Much unrest in Wichita with the sale of Boeing commercial facilities to Onex. Then, the big surprise was the resignation of Stonecipher.

Best regards to team mates,
Wayne Lowe
---------------
on 12/09/02 Wayne wrote:

Polly and I spent an interesting evening at the Cosmosphere, our space museum, last night hearing a talk by Jeff Ashby, a nephew of good friends here, who was Commander of Shuttle Mission #112 about 6 weeks ago. Jeff grew up in Colorado, but spend many summers here in Hutchinson, KS. He is a Navy captain, a graduate of the Navy`s Top Gun Test Pilot School, flew F-18s on 45 combat missions in Desert Storm, has over 7000 flight hours and over 1000 carrier landings.

He joined the Astronaut Corp in 1995 and has had 3 shuttle missions. The second as pilot and this last as commander. They took up a big truss for the space station and exchanged the crew that had been up for 6 months with a new one.

He had slides, video, and comments of the mission - launch, docking, station work, and return. As commander, he made the landing at 240mph in Florida.

I asked how he liked the F-18 and if he had carried Harpoons? He thinks the F-18 is the best fighter in the world and fired a number of SLAMs, the Harpoon land attack version.

Wish you all could have heard him.

Merry Christmas to all!
Wayne Lowe.

04/01/03

Carl Trautmann
Dear old time MAC friends and colleagues,
I read with great interest the news from and about former teammates and the events of the group. Congratulations to Norm and Earl for the outstanding web site with in-depth content. It certainly is newsworthy and informative. In addition, it was good to reminisce about former times and remember the exciting events we all were privileged to participate in. Thanks to Dave Shean, I am reconnected to the web site again. The April luncheon conflicts with another activity, yet I am trying to reschedule.
Working at MAC has been a life fulfilling experience allowing participation in the development projects that are changing the world. Many of the skills my teammates instilled in me have created opportunities now in retirement.
It was self rewarding to dig into my archives to find some Mercury and Gemini materials and donate them to the St. Louis Science Center during the time Gus Grissom's craft was brought back for display. At this time, I visited with my former GAM72 project leader, Wayne Lowe, at the Kansas space facility. Since I retired in February 1987, I have been very active in volunteering to small businesses, the arts and programs dealing with young people. Since early 1988, I have volunteered with for the SCORE Association. (Several other teammates were/are also volunteers.) At the present time, I am Chairman of the Board of Directors of the national organization consisting of about 11,000 volunteers nationwide who consult, counsel and educate entrepreneurs. We are "America's Counselors to Small Business."
In 1994, some of my SCORE volunteer work was published as a dictionary (glossary) of small business terms. This information is now available free to anyone anywhere on the web site www.small-business-dictionary.org. By the way this web site was programmed in Siberia by a Russian colleague and post-perestroika entrepreneur. I volunteer with the musical theater group, Stages St. Louis. Stages is in the early phases of moving from the Kirkwood Civic Center to Chesterfield. A new beautiful theater building will be constructed on the Chesterfield Mall property at the intersection of Chesterfield Parkway and Chesterfield Airport Road. About 5 times each year I am host to international young people through the World Affairs Council in Clayton and Webster University. These young people come to St. Louis to learn about America - mostly about starting a small business and entrepreneurship. I provide housing, meals and visiting local attractions.
It is a good feeling for me to give back in these ways. If you would like to consider these type volunteer activities, please contact me.
Best regards,
Carl Trautmann

04/10/04

Joe & Ruth Trammel

(Note: Both Joe & Ruth are MDC teammates and friends to many. Joe worked in Manufacturing at MAC on the Mercury, Gemini, Harpoon, Skylab, Tomahawk, and Advanced Cruise Missile programs. He is a true "MAC's Old Teammate", and a valued friend of all who had the pleasure of working with him at both the St. Louis and Titusville facilities.
Prior to retiring, he was Manufacturing Senior Manager on the Advanced Cruise Missile at Titusville. Now in retirement, Joe and Ruth have moved back to St. Ann, MO. Joe now is and Alsheimer's patient, but would enjoy hearing from friends and old teammates.)
The picture on the left is at a Mac's Old Team lunch meeting April 10 2004, and the picture on the right is Joe & Ruth at the "First Space "Pioneers" Reunion in 43 Years", April 16, 2005. It was was hosted by Joe & Ruth at their home in St. Ann, MO. This reunion was a very great experience for all of us who attended. It was Joe who wanted to get with his friends who he worked with on Mercury and subsequent space programs. And, it was Ruth who worked so hard and made it all happen. Thanks, for such a wonderful experience!!
--------Following is Joe's letter written Oct 2003, before he and Ruth moved back to St. Ann (about 2004)---------

Hello to all, Joe asked me to help him write a letter to his many friends and family. He said he knew what he wanted to say but did not know how to put it into the right words. We mailed some letters, but decided to send the rest by e-mail and cut down on the stamps. Joe is accepting his condition fairly well at this time, although, we are both believing that 'if' it be God's will, that he will receive a miracle healing. We will be moving back to St. Louis in March to be closer to all our children. When that time comes I will let you know our new address and e-mail.
I copied and pasted the letter in case not everyone has Microsoft Office on their computers.
God bless you all!
Ruth and Joe
------------
October 8, 2003

My Dear Family and Friends:

My physician has informed me that I have a neurological disorder whose symptoms are consistent with Alzheimer’s disease. So---I wanted to prepare a few words for you now, because if or when the time comes, I may not be able to.

For now, I’m not changing anything. I’ll insist on my independence, doing the best I can to perform my duties to my wife, my home and lending a helping hand to our church, friends or anyone that I can help; the doctors will insist on ‘rest” when I must. If you see a little less spring in my step, if your name fails to leap to my lips, you’ll know why. And if I tell you a funny story for the second time, please laugh anyway.

I’m neither giving up nor giving in. I believe I’m a fighter same as Charlton Heston, Ronald Reagan and many others were and are. But it’s a fight I must someday call a draw unless God has other plans for me. I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure. Please feel no sympathy for me. I don’t. I just may be a little less accessible to you, despite my wishes.

I also want you to know that I’m grateful beyond measure. My life has been blessed in many ways. I’m grateful that I was born in America that cradle of freedom and opportunity, where an Okie from Oklahoma could work hard and make a good living. I’m grateful for my wonderful friends that have given me an ‘unconditional’ love. I’m grateful for the gift of the greatest words ever written…my Bible.

Above all, I’m proud of my family --- my wife Ruth, the Queen of my heart, my children, David, Debra, Chris and their Mother, Sue, which shared some of my happiest moments bringing our children into my life. They’re my biggest fans, my toughest critics and my proudest achievement. Through them, I can touch immortality. I am proud and thankful for my stepchildren, Kathy, Ric, Tom, Roger and Jim, all my Step-Grandchildren, Becky, Chrissy, Wendy, Mandy, Kelly, Erica, Melissa, Melanie, TJ, Tim, Jimmie, Ana, Trinity and my one Step Great-Granddaughter Haley, whom have all accepted me into their family with a loving and respectful heart.

Finally, I’m confident about the future of America. I believe strongly in God. I know the future of our country, our culture and our children are in God’s hands. I know you will continue to meet adversity with strength and resilience, as our ancestors did, and will come through by God’s wonderful love and grace. And you will come through with flying colors ….. Like the ones on Old Glory.

I will leave you with these words; I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and committed my life to him. He is my Savior, my first love, my Comforter, my Friend, the Rock I stand on, and my Redeemer. He promises not to give me more than I can handle and that He will never leave me or forsake me. “Greater is He that lives in me, than he that lives in the world. 1st John 4:4.” When the time comes for me to say my last good-bye, please smile and be happy for me. For my next journey will be to God’s Kingdom with a ‘perfected’ body and mind, and I will walk the streets of gold with my brother, Jesus Christ---PRAISE GOD!

I PRAY WE WILL ALL MEET THERE!

12/13/03

George Kohout
George retired from BAC on 1 Aug 2003. George and his wife have taken up residence in Phoenix, AZ because it doesn't snow in the winter and there is no requirement to shovel snow in the 110 deg. summer heat. George can be reached at roosterg@att.net and welcomes news from his many ex-teammates.
George, welcome to the great retiree group "MAC's Old Team", and keep in touch.

04/01/04

Harold Lankford
After 35 years at the same address, we are moving to Springfield, MO. We will be at the new address after the 15th of April. We have sold our home on Hollyridge and have bought one there.
It is difficult to go off and leave all of our friends, church and neighbors!!
Our new address is:
1164 W. Rockhill St.
Springfield, MO. 65810
Phone 417-887-6744
Our Cell Phone 314-503-6661 and e-mail lankfordhp@aol.com will remain for a while.

We plan on the truck packing on 12 th, Load on 13 th, drive to Springfield and unload on the 15 Th.
Our new diggs are located in south central Springfield, called Quail Creek and is just off of James River Freeway. We scaled down ? to a house larger than this one but has no basement, all brick, just 8 years old and in a lovely area.
We ask for your prayers for this new adventure in our life at this age
Harold and Pauline Lankford

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Norman Beckel