Strolling Down Memory Lane, About 65 Years!

STROLLING DOWN MEMORY LANE, ABOUT 65 YEARS!  ~  Beautiful memories have a way of popping up when least expected.  Over the years I have noticed that either my arms are getting shorter or my legs are getting longer - for I have to strain to put on my shoes and socks now.

Solution?  I have a shoeshine box which has been in my dressing area for many decades, and I use it to shine my shoes.  Hmmm!  Why not use it to reach my socks?  Wow, what a genius thought - and it works beautifully.

So how did this shoeshine box come to be setting in my dressing area all these decades?  That is the beautiful memory I mentioned earlier.  June 1958 I left the Air Force, in July I joined Burroughs Corporation in their mainframe computer division Electrodata, and in August 1958 I began working in their Sierra Madre (Pasadena) B-220 Computer System Test department. 

In 1959 I transferred into their Field Engineering department and was assigned as a Field Engineer at the Norfolk Naval Supply Depot.  Nine months later I was transferred to work out of the Burroughs Washington DC office.

And that is when my family and I leased the tri-level townhouse in the photo below.  We lived in the unit on the right and a family with two young boys about 9-10 years old lived in the other unit.  The father worked in a government office in DC and the mother worked in an office in Alexandria, Virginia. 

The owner of my unit had decided that when his son went away to college, he did not need all that space - and that is when my family and I responded to his ad.

How well I remember, we had just moved up from Norfolk, were staying in a motel in Virginia searching the want ads, and the day we called the owner it was raining.  But we braved the rain, met with the owner in Alexandria, and had a new home.  God works miracles, large and even small ones like helping us find that nice new home.

Both townhouses had a basement level with a door opening into the back yard - and in my unit the owner had made it a nicely done recreation room with a ping-pong table.  In the back was a work bench which I found useful.  I really enjoyed the company of the two boys and one day we decided to do a project.  With spare lumber available we decided to make a shoe shine box.  And what you see below is that 1961 finished project, which in my more mature years also functions as a short arm solution.

Looking back to July 1958, I arrived in Los Angeles on my 21st birthday, July 23, 1958.  America was just coming out of a bad two year recession and just starting to hire again - my timing for leaving the Air Force and joining Burroughs was perfect, for if I had not taken an early out of the Air Force and had stayed in until my full four years was up in 1959, I would have missed this opportunity at Burroughs.  Personally I believe that was God working in my behalf.

I started work at Burroughs on Monday, August 4th.  To get the job I interviewed with Chuck Hill, Test Department Manager.  When I went to Personnel to do all my paperwork, the lady processing me told me, "Chuck must have really liked you, for he has not given anyone else that high a starting pay."   Are you ready for this?  That top pay was $2.15 an hour! 

Today "May I take your order?" young people get $15 an hour and in California that will soon be $20 an hour!  And that is why so many stores are closing or moving out of California!  Recently our son took Dory and me to Carl's Jr. for lunch.  We each had just a regular one patty cheeseburger, small fries, and a drink.  The bill came to $43!  Can you believe that?

Back to my main thought.  During the nine months I was assigned to Norfolk Naval Supply Depot as part of the Burroughs support team (4 Field Engineers, 2 Programmers) - Chuck Hill came to the Washington DC office as our new District Field Service Manager.  Once again he was my boss.

In 1961-62 I was lead Field Engineer on several systems in the Washington DC/Virginia area.  Our Burroughs Field Engineering team in Washington DC was like a close family.  Chuck Hill was our boss, but he was more like one of the guys - and just about every Friday we all gathered at the large home of Dave & Judy Lowther in Virginia for a "big family party."

Believe it or not, at that time I actually missed California.  Of course that was the California of the 1960s, not the Woke Liberal Left "dark blue" California of this 2020 decade.  And at times in our office conversations I mentioned that I did miss California.  Hard to believe today, but that was a different California.

Late in 1962 our townhouse owner notified us that he would need his unit again for his son was coming home from college - so we had to find another place to call home.  That very week, Wednesday, I was in our district office and Chuck Hill told me, "Bill, they need someone in the Los Angeles office.  Do you want the position?"

I told him, "Let me talk with my wife."  Thursday I went to the office and told Chuck, "Yes, the timing is perfect and if we need to find a new home, it might as well be in Southern California."  Friday the company had an expense check for my travel expenses, Saturday Bekins movers picked up our furniture, and Sunday we were driving back to Los Angeles!"

The previous Sunday we had no idea of moving to California, or anywhere else. All that happened in just one week!

I called my mom in Alabama and told her we were moving back to California.  She told me, "Come home for a visit first."  And I had to tell her, "Mom, too late, we are already driving toward Los Angeles."  Yes, it all happened that fast.  How is that for expediency?

Back in Los Angeles I was assigned to a B-220 system in the downtown area.  About two months later I got a phone call from Chuck Hill.  He had left Burroughs and accepted a position with Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation in Canoga Park, California.  His job was to organize a Test Department for R-W's new milspec minicomputer, the AN/UYK-1, a computer designed to be used in submarines and other sea-going vessels. 

And Chuck wanted me to join him in this new venture.  It took me about five seconds, or less, to say, "YES!"  So in my first three jobs after leaving the Air Force, Chuck Hill was my boss.

Burroughs threatened to sue Chuck and me, saying that we had arranged all this just to have Burroughs foot the bill for transferring me back to California.  Which was not true, for after almost three years on the East Coast, I was ready for California.  And of course, Burroughs never went through with that threat.

But thinking about it in later years, it did seem very convenient that Burroughs needed a Field Engineer in Los Angeles - and out of so many qualified people all across America, probably some already in Los Angeles - why was the job offered to me, way out in Washington DC? 

Did Chuck really arrange all this just so he could hire me in Los Angeles?  I suppose I will never know, but it does kind of make my chest protrude a wee bit, thinking that Chuck respected my abilities that much, if he actually did make these very convenient arrangements.

And that is the tale of how Bill Gray solved his short arm problem!

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill

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A Day In The Life Of A Computer Field Engineer - 1958-62 Style!

A Day In The Life Of A Computer Field Engineer - 1958-62 Style!  ~  I call it "a day" but actually it was a short period of time in the beginning of my life as a Computer Field Engineer.  That period began in 1959, after a year of what might be called "apprenticeship" at Burroughs Electrodata in Pasadena, California.  

August 1958, fresh out of the Air Force, I joined Burroughs Corporation, Electrodata Division as a Computer Test Technician on their new B220 computer system.

After a couple of months in Unit Test, I was promoted to Systems Test.  I will never forget the first system I was to test.  The computer console showed a failed test - and I just sat there looking at the blinking lights, buttons, and switches on the console (see the young lady at the console in my composite photo below) - with no idea what to do next.  

A senior test tech came over and asked what was wrong.  Then seeing that I was lost, he began flipping switches, pressing buttons, and all the lights were flashing on the console for about a minute.  Then he pointed to the lights and told me, "It is failing in the adder."  I was amazed and in awe!  How could he be so smart - and me so dumb?

But, believe it or not, in a few weeks - I, too, was flipping switches, pressing buttons, and reading the lights like a champ.  About six months later I was testing a B220 system scheduled to be shipped to Norfolk Naval Supply Depot, and the lead Field Engineer for that system, Jim Mann, came to California to be part of the final testing of the system since he would be responsible for maintaining once it once it shipped. 

We worked together for a month and then Jim asked me, "Bill, would you like to go into Field Engineering and come to Norfolk to work with me?"   He did not have to ask twice, for I jumped at the opportunity.

Once I switched to Field Engineering, I was assigned to attend a B220 Training Class - and the only two things I remember about that two-month class was first, our distinguished fellow student, Charles Ray from CalTech University, who was the only customer in my class.  In 1959 Burroughs Training had a strict rule:  white shirts and ties will be worn in the training class. 

Charles Ray come to class in his casual clothes.  The head of the Training Department called him into his office and told Charles Ray, "It is mandatory that all in the class wear a white shirt and tie."   Charles Ray just looked at him and said, "I will not - and if you insist, I can just skip your class."

Folks, remember this was a million dollar computer system - so that was the end of that discussion.  Charles Ray continued in the class wearing his casuals, while we less important ones wore the uniform.  In the 1970s, when I was in Computer Sales, I called on Charles Ray at CalTech and had fun reminding him of that time.

The second thing I remember about that time in the Burroughs Training Class - was Carol.  Carol was a tall, beautiful, and very well built blonde, who worked in the Training Department, I guess as a secretary.  And the 1950s being the time of Hollywood sweater girls, Carol could have beat them all.  Everyday she wore a sweater to work - and every time she came into a classroom or walked past, all eyes went "eyes right!"  Discussions stopped and hearts began to flutter.

For many years, when two ex-Burroughs Field Engineers would meet in other jobs - the first thing said was, "Do you remember Carol?"  And I have to admit that I was guilty of that also.  It seemed that Carol was the one thing we all could remember.

Although Burroughs was my beginning in the relatively new and exciting computer industry, those memories were only the first of many to come over the years   When one spends nearly 50 years in a fast growing field like the computer industry, there will be many exciting experiences.

But this blog is to speak of my years with Burroughs.  And it was inspired by photos I received in my daily Pinterest (image sharing and social media service) e-mails showing magnetic tape and disk storage systems.  That rang my deja vu bell and started me walking down memory lane again.  First I created the composite image below showing a day in the life of a large mainframe computer system from the bygone days.  So let me continue with my memories.

During the nine months I spent at the Norfolk Naval Supply Depot, my knowledge and confidence grew by leaps and bounds. The computer personnel for the Naval Supply team consisted of programmers and computer operators.  The lead computer operator was a very nice lady named Regina, and after a couple of months, even though my boss, Jim Mann, was a much more experienced Field Engineer, whenever Regina had a problem - the first person she would call was me.  I suppose my confidence showed.

Nine months later I was transferred to the Burroughs Washington DC office.  At first I was the lead Field Engineer on the B220 system at Atlantic Research Corporation in Virginia.  That is where I was on the day, April 12, 1961, when Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, became the first human to journey into outer space.  Traveling in the Vostok 1 capsule, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth in 1 hour and 29 minutes, landing safely in Russia.  Someone at Atlantic Research brought a small television into the computer room and we all gathered around to watch.

That first jump into space by the Soviets spurred faster development of America's space program - for we had be the first nation to put a man on the moon.  After all, President Kennedy, in his "We Choose To Go To The Moon" speech at Rice University on September 12, 1962, challenged all America to put a man on the moon in before 1970 - and we did it.

Later I was assigned to test and install a Burroughs B220 computer which was part of much larger Melpar Corporation system to be installed at the Air Force SAC Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. 

When I first joined the team of Burroughs Field Engineers working at Melpar, Dave Lowther and Don (forgot his last name) - we were told that the Magnetic Tape System had a problem.  When Melpar programmers were writing to a tape drive, at times the tape would just take off and run all the way to the end of the reel.  So far no one had solved their problem - and it began to be a sensitive issue. 

Don and I decided to tackle the problem.  We worked all day and into the evening before we sensed a breakthrough.  One of the items in our tool kit was a can of VisaMag, a liquid containing magnetic metal material.  We would dip a section of the magnetic tape into the liquid and that allowed us to visually view the bits of information, or blocks of information, recorded on the magnetic tape.

The B220 magnetic tape subsystem used a 3/4-inch tape on 3500-foot reels.  The B220 wrote on the magnetic tape in two separate tracks that could be written and read in blocks of data.  Our test program would switch back and forth between the two tracks of data. 

A typical customer program might write five blocks of data on one track, then switch to the other track to write additional blocks of data.  Or switch to the other track and search back to find the blocks written on the other track.  It could write blocks on that track and then switch again.  By writing two tracks on the same physical tape - that could make the 3500-foot reel appear to be doubled.

In a perfect world, if the computer wrote five blocks of data on one track, then switch and wrote the same five blocks of data on the other track all down the physical tape - the two tracks of data blocks should always be the same exact length side by side.  And that is what the computer was looking for, two tracks exactly the same length no matter how many blocks of data were written on both tracks.  But we were not in a perfect world of technology. 

What was happening was that as the written blocks of data on both tracks moved further down the tape - one track eventually became longer than the other track.  So when the computer wrote five blocks on that track and then switched to the other track, it saw no data blocks to search, only blank tape - and the tape ran to the end of the reel searching for a data block.  Problem discovered, now we need a fix.

Don and I were elated!  Since it was already early morning we decided to have breakfast, then go to the Washington DC district office and place a conference call back to home office in Pasadena.  When we got a programming guru on the line and explained what we had found - we were blown away by his response.  He told us, "We know about the problem.  But we were waiting to see if anyone in the field found it."   Oh, the urge to kill!  Luckily he was in Pasadena and we were in Washington DC.

The Melpar / SAC Headquarters System also had two Datafile multi-tape mass storage units. Since this was 1961 and no large disk storage unit was available, Burroughs had a unit we called the Datafile.  It was a unit about the size of the old home freezers.  Earlier funny incident:  When one was shipped to the Norfolk Naval Supply Depot, the shipping/receiving folks thought it was a freezer and put it in the "ship overseas" area of the warehouse.  Luckily we found it before they shipped it to Japan. 

The URL file below is an article which appeared in ElectronicDesign magazine, June 21, 1961 issue:

Strategic Air Command Gets $15-Million Data Processor
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/displays/article/21772724/strategic-air-command-gets-15million-data-processor?fbclid=IwAR0g09w5iflHKvDvdD9x1wZBofBW5YtzSOeEonbHpb8dIDijOy-p-Hj-KpM

The Datafile was in a cabinet of similar height as the Burroughs tape drives, but much wider.  It is shown in my composite.  The unit had 50 270-foot 3/4-inch tapes which fell into parallel bins on both sides of the unit instead of reels.  A read/write head moved to the different free-fall tapes to search and read or write blocks of data.  The carriage could position the read/write head to any one of the tape strips within 1 1/2 seconds and drive that strip forward or backward.

Except for their shorter length, the tapes, tape format and recording characteristics, and tape operations were identical to those for the free-standing units.  Like the reel type drives, the DataFile magnetic tape format had two tracks for data which made it look as if it had tape storage of 100 tracks. The DataFile was the Burroughs venture into mass storage, acting like a disk drive instead of a tape unit.

When the Melpar system shipped, we knew that one of the two DataFiles had a problem, but decided to fix it at SAC Omaha so that we could stay on schedule.  As the Burroughs Field Engineer at SAC Headquarters, I inherited the problem. I had to find and fix the problem of a movable read/write head which occasionally hung up and the unit just stopped.  Working one evening, I found that the unit with the problem had a slightly shorter cable attached to the read/write head which would occasionally bind and was causing it to hang up and stop the head movement.  I gave it more cable and Voila, the problem went away. 

The next day I told the Denver District Service manager that it was fixed and what I had done.  He did not believe it was fixed and I told him, "The damn thing works now and I am going home." 

In late 1962 Burroughs transferred me back to Los Angeles and when driving back, I arrived at my in-laws' home in Denver, to find there was a phone call for me.   Surprise, who knew I was stopping in Denver?  It was the same Denver District Service Manager who in Omaha had not believed me.  But when he had a problem with a Datafile storage unit at the headquarters of the Denver-Rio Grande Railroad in downtown Denver - who did he call to solve his problem?  Me!

When he called the Washington DC office looking for me, he found out that I had left and was on way back to California.  He had his people pull my security clearance records, found my in-laws' name and address in Denver, assumed I would be stopping there, and called me for help. 

He told me he had a problem with the Datafile unit at the Denver-Rio Grande headquarters - and felt I was the one to fix it.  I guess he did believe me in Omaha after all.  I was able to find their problem and then we drove on to Los Angeles.  But as a bonus, my wife and girls were able to spend another week with the grandparents.

I feel so blessed to have had this exciting career.  In 1967 the Fall Joint Computer Convention was held in Anaheim - and someone from Electrodata organized a hospitality suite party for ex-Electrodata employees.  I went to the party because my joining Burroughs Electrodata Division was in 1958 and that was pretty close to the time that it became Burroughs. 

That was a fun evening as I mingled with people I had known in other companies over the years, but did not know they had also worked for Burroughs Electrodata.  The most common thing I heard and said during the evening was, "I didn't know you were at Electrodata!"

At times my wife, Dory, asked jokingly (I hope), "You have worked with so many successful people in your career, why aren't you rich?" 

That is when I tell her, and anyone else who asks, "Even though I have known, worked with, or rubbed shoulders with many successful and interesting people over the years - folks who have amassed great fortunes - I am richer than all of them.  I have been a Christian believer for 35 years and counting - and everyone in my immediate family are also believers.  That means that everyone in my family will spend eternity with me in the presence of Jesus Christ.  That is true riches!"

Thank you for joining me on this excursion down memory lane.  That is another great blessing from God - that I do have all those memories which He helps me bring to the surface when my deja vu bell is rung.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

 

Right click on the image to enlarge:

THE YEAR WAS ABOUT 1969 - MEMORIES OF MY FRIEND, DILLARD CRUME

 THE YEAR WAS ABOUT 1969, the dwindling days of the 60s Decadent Decade in America.  My girlfriend and I had just moved back to Southern California from a year working in Huntsville.  And at that time I was still living in the Decadent Decade, a path I would follow for almost another 20 years before Jesus Christ would come front and center into my life.

She and I had toyed with the fascination of the swinging lifestyle, and when we got settled back in Southern California there was a new movie which had become sort of an anthem for that lifestyle.  That movie was "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" and starred Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, and Dyan Cannon.  It was about two Southern California couples, good friends, who decided to walk on the wild side by trying the swinging lifestyle.

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (November 19, 1968) Cast interview on the Tonight Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TnplvKM4IY

We did venture into the packed Hollywood theater, found the movie interesting, and went home.  A few weeks later we met a couple, nice people, friendly - and the husband said, "We saw you at the movie a couple of weeks ago, what did you think of it?"  By "the movie" I knew exactly which movie he meant, and I replied, "It was an interesting view of the lifestyle, nice cast, and had some pretty good comedy in it also."

Because they were so outgoing and friendly, we became friends and they invited us to go with them to a night club in Studio City called The Swing, interesting name, describing the atmosphere within the club.  It was a very nice club owned by a man, Greg McClure, and his wife. 

McClure was known for the movie he starred in - The Great John L - the story of John L. Sullivan, a late 1880s American heavyweight boxing champion.  Greg had other parts in movies, but that was his one shining moment.  Matter of fact, I remember well seeing that 1945 movie as a kid - and then when my brother Bob and I would box, I called myself the Great John L. - except I always lost to Bob.

That made the club all the more interesting, and we found it to be full of nice looking couples and it had great music, a handsome lead singer/guitarist, who reminded me of Sidney Poitier, named Dillard Crume, who provided some of the best music of any club we had visited.  And he turned out to be a very nice, humble man who was very easy to like as a person.  He was not like many rock style lead singers who strut around in latex pants.  He was a perfect gentleman - and my girl friend and I took an immediate liking to him.  Matter of fact, I think she had a crush on Dillard, not that I would have blamed her.

Another interesting fact about The Swing, almost every weekend, the well known actor (westerns, war movies, crime, etc.), Leo Gordon, would come in, and sit by himself at the bar.  He never bothered anyone, never talked with anyone that I noticed, just seemed to enjoy the music and atmosphere - and he most likely was a friend of Greg McClure, since they both were actors.  About 10 years ago I became friends with Leo Gordon's daughter on Facebook when she shared a post about her dad.  I shared with her how he was always a quiet gentleman.

During our first year back in Southern California, we lived in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley.  And during that year The Swing was our go-to night club, several times a week.  We were drawn to two other couples, as well as the couple who had invited us to the club originally - and most nights we four couples would sit together.  Dillard took a liking to our group and during his breaks, he would come over and sit with us.  We all highly respected him, mainly because, as talented as he was, he was humble - not seeking to be admired as a rock star, but as a friend with friends where he could relax and be himself.

After a year my girlfriend and I moved to Orange County because of my work and did not get to The Swing very often.  After a while she and I decided to go our own ways, so we split and I got busy with my life, working for an East Coast computer company.  My long time friend, Larry Lummis, and I split the Southern California area, he taking the northern half and me taking the southern half, with our office near LAX airport.

Our office consisted of Larry, Roy our field engineer, Jan our secretary, and me.  Jan was the nicest, sweetest lady anywhere.  One day we were talking.  She had known and liked my ex-girlfriend, so we talked about some of the night spots we had frequented.  Since it was Friday, I suggested, "Would you like to see some of them?"

So that evening we started visiting some of the night clubs from my previous life with my ex.  I think The Swing was maybe the second club we visited.  When we walked in, Dillard was still playing a set.  And I did not know he noticed us at the table.  But as soon as the set finished, he walked straight to our table and joined us.  We chatted for a while, then Dillard surprised me when he said, "Bill, this lady does not belong here."

I looked at Jan, realizing what a sweet, naive lady she was - and immediately agreed with my friend Dillard.  We left and as I understand it, not too much longer after that Dillard also left.  From what I have read, Dillard turned down an offer from Greg McClure to buy into the club.  Yes, he was that good an entertainer and could draw a crowd into the club most every night.

I was always convinced that, to Dillard the gig at The Swing was just that - a job.  His agent booked him into the club, it was steady work with an audience which loved his music and liked him - so he stayed, I think for a couple of years.

One of the songs which Dillard sang often was "Amen" from the movie "Lilies of the Field."  It was a Gospel song written for the film by Jester Hairston.  When Dillard sang it at the night club and people were dancing, I often wondered, "Do they know they are dancing to a Christian Gospel song?"   But that gave me a hint about Dillard's background.

After that night when Jan and I visited The Swing, I never saw Dillard again, and often wondered what had happened with him.  About 15 years ago, I began to google his name - and was so happy when I found that he had gone back to his roots and was recording Christian music. 

Then maybe 8 years ago, I saw a Facebook post advertising Gospel Concerts by his daughter, Melanie Crume.  I immediately messaged her and we became Friends.  That is when I learned that my Friend, Dillard Crume, had gone all the way back to his roots and was part of the Soul Stirrers, a Gospel music family with his brothers. 

God has a way of bringing us full circle, so it was no surprise that the last part of Dillard Crume's music career was with the Soul Stirrers singing Gospel music. The Soul Stirrers were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.  And that he was promoted into the presence of our Lord in 2008.

For a long time I have intended to put my memories of my friend, Dillard Crume, into writing.  Today I sat down and took a walk down memory lane.  The most rewarding thought today is that, since I became a Christian believer in 1987 - one day I will see my Friend/Christian brother, Dillard, again and he will still be singing praises to our Lord.  Thank you, Lord, and Melanie Crume for the inspiration to write these memories, Bill

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