Tina Lewis Rowe

John Mollison Interviews Old Guys and Draws Their Planes

Lt. Col. Don Bryan, an Ace with the famous 352nd Fighter Group and John Mollison, Writer and Draw-er

The North American A-36 Apache. This was flown by Col. William T. "Bill" Creech, who flew 302 combat missions in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. He wrote a book about all of that and more: The 3rd Greatest Fighter Pilot. It's available through authorhouse.com.

Eugene "Red" James flew the F4U-42 Corsair on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. "Red" flew 136 combat missions in WWII and Korea. See the art on the nose of the plane? That signifiies being in the elite group, "The Checkerboarders."

Making Every Day A Memorial Day

A  few months back I met (by email) John Mollison, who had read an article I posted about the Burma Road. John is a a military historian and a tremendously gifted artist who uses that gift in an equally tremendous way. He draws, in meticulous detail, the planes of WW II pilots and gives them as thank you gifts for allowing him to interview them. 

John’s website is one of those that can take you days to fully explore–and you’ll go back for more.  John is modest and insists there are artists who draw in much more detail than he does–and he may be correct. But you can feel the caring in his work and I like that.  Check out the website here. 

I also found a neat article in a Pensacola newspaper about one of the subjects John interviewed, Eugene “Red” James. You can read it here.  

 On Memorial Day we honor our departed loved ones and we give special honor to all those who served in the United States Armed Forces. John Mollison honors our living WWII and Korean Conflict heroes and learns from them as well. On his website he says:

A question most-often asked is, “What’s the big thing you get out of all these interviews?”

For one, it’s a deep appreciation and looking-forward to growing old.   When I was born, the men I’ve interviewed were older than I am now. To put another way, they have an entire lifetime of wisdom and learning over me…and it shows.

Yet, these men are lively, vibrant, students of learning, humble and, in a few cases, could probably kick my butt if push came to shove.

 I look forward to aging like they have- strong, sharp and alive.

 And hopefully, the study of History will become more valued.  Living in the past is silly, but you have to admit that it points in fairly reliable directions.

I enjoy all of John Mollison’s website, but especially enjoy the photos of him and some of the pilots he has interviewed. You can check that page here. They look like people I would love to meet myself, so I envy John. I not only envy him his talent, I envy the creativity and thoughtfulness he has shown by using his talent to enrich the lives of others. He makes every day a Memorial Day. That is a good idea for all of us.

May 26th, 2010 Posted by TLR | Life and Work, Training, Technology, Blogs, A/V etc. | 14 comments

Office History Museums On the Internet–Fascinating!

      Everything about Old Offices and Office Equipment

I am always fascinated by historic photos and by stories about the development of everyday objects. I also am very interested in photos that feature people in business settings in the early to mid-twentieth century. Thus, I was thrilled to find several websites that provide tremendously interesting photos and historic tidbits. I’ll list them and let you look for yourself. Each opens in a new window, so you can come back here.

1. The Office Museum is a great resource for photos of old offices and office machines. I can browse there for hours. Put these links in your favorites so you can check them out when you have more time.

2. Another interesting site involves a collection by Prof. Christian-M. Hamann, Ph.D., whose doctorate is in Engineering. His tremendously interesting site is devoted just to antique adding machines and slide rules. I wrote to Dr. Hamann and he graciously responded to give me persmission to put a link here. Check it out, and be grateful for the calculator on your phone or PDA! Also be grateful for people like Dr. Hamann who make photos of these remarkable antique items available to the rest of us.

3. Chuck and Rich’s Typewriter Museum is also interesting. This site has several photos of office staff. I wondered about the individuals who were photographed and what life was like for them.

Alright, that will get you started! I am very grateful for my computer, keyboard, mouse, solar calculator and everything else that makes work easier. One day someone will display holographic images of our computers, printers and phones, and some little furturistic twirp will laugh at how antiquated the items appear. (And, the same little twirp will make fun of your clothes and hair style.) Take a photo of you in your office and make sure your family saves it–you might be in a virtual museum one day!

January 7th, 2009 Posted by TLR | Life and Work | 5 comments