News from Richard Kiiski

Richard "Dick" Kiiski

 

SAUSALITO, CA -- Richard "Dick" Kiiski is alive and well, living with his beautiful wife, Terry, and their amazing, orange-and-white tabby, LeRoi, on a palatial "floating home" on picturesque Richardson Bay, a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, in Marvelous Marin County.

After graduating from GHS, Kiiski served three years in the Marine Corps -- in South Carolina, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, North Carolina, Okinawa, and North Carolina, again. Along the way, he picked up a trace of a Southern drawl, prompting his buds to call him "Sagebrush."

Discharged in '63, Kiiski returned to Gardner for a couple of months, drank a lot of beer at the PACC and the bar at the Colonial Hotel, then migrated out to the Cal Coast Empire; first to Los Angeles, then to the S. F. Bay Area, where he's holed-up most of the time ever since.

In '69, he earned a B. A. in English Lit (with a minor in Journalism) from San Francisco State. (He also covered the "black and brown student" strike for Newsweek.) He next enrolled in the Graduate School of Creative Writing, but bowed out after one semester, having decided that a little more "life experience" might be in order before attempting to chronicle the world, its inhabitants, and their various and sundry tales.

Followed next a string of "colorful" employment opportunities in a variety of positions, in a host of industries, lasting anywhere from one day (garbage collector) to ten years (bartender). At one time or another, under one circumstance or another, Kiiski made a living (or something closely approximating it) in the following fields of endeavor (listed here, for organizational purposes, in ascending alpha order):

Advertising copywriter, bookkeeper, carpenter, delivery truck driver, dishwasher, executive-assistant, exhibit-space salesman, graphic artist, house-husband, housepainter, laborer, logger and mill hand, marathon canoe racer, office temp, operations manager, reporter and photographer, secret shopper, stock clerk, web designer ... and one or two others that, he claims, he's not at liberty to discuss at this time.

Over the years, Kiiski has been blessed with a number of fascinating relationships, with a number of delightful, interesting women. His latest, with Terry, has by far been the best and even holds the all-time record -- 25 years and counting, as of last May.

 

 

Terry

 

The celebrity artist Andy Warhol once famously said that everyone gets his/her "15 minutes of fame." Here's Kiiski's, the short version:

In November, '76, armed with double-bladed kayak paddles, two 50-cent compasses and a pint of Old Crow, he and John Baker, a guy he'd met in L.A., navigated a decked-over 18-foot "AuSable Guide Special" racing canoe across the widest part of Lake Michigan -- from Manitowoc, WI, to Big Sable Point, MI -- 60 miles of open, wind-swept water, the mid-west equivalent of boating on the High Seas.

The trip itself took a little over 18 hours. It included a major storm, a failed air-sea rescue operation by the Coast Guard and a near-fatal 10 P.M. collision with a coastal freighter -- all before the duo finally landed on the Michigan shore later that evening and found a place in the headlands to camp out until the following noon, when a Coast Guard boat "found them" -- back on the water, paddling South.

The story of the crossing hit the front page of all the major newspapers in the greater Milwaukee-Chicago area.

According to regional scribes, it was the first time Lake Michigan had been "successfully crossed in a canoe since the French and Indian Wars.”

It almost goes without saying that, since the Big Lake Trip, Kiiski has dialed back the adventurism a few clicks.

For the past 13 years, he and Terry have run a home-based business, providing Classical, light-Classical and popular string music for weddings, parties and corporate events throughout the Bay Area. A professional cellist with an extensive background in chamber music, musical theater, movie and video game recording, Terry talks to the clients, deals with the agents, hires the musicians and plays the gigs.

Kiiski provides behind-the-scenes artistic, clerical, bookkeeping, managerial and technical support -- and plays with the kitty!

Kiiski's current interests include: reading, writing, photography, playing the trumpet, talking politics, sharpening his "wilderness survival" skills ("because, well, you just never know ... ") and telling "sea stories" -- as well as investigating whatever else happens to spark his interest.

Together, he and Terry enjoy listening to Classical music, cooking, eating out, laughing a lot, staying in shape, hiking in the nearby hills, kayaking on the Bay, taking long road trips ... Oh, and hanging out on the dock with their dearly beloved, frequently quirky neighbors.

The next "Big Project" on the horizon for Kiiski and Terry: "Figure out what [they] want to do when [they] grow up!"

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Remembering Ernest LeBlanc



Ernest A. “Ernie” LeBlanc, 70, of 200 Springs Road, Bedford, formerly of 360 Park Street, Gardner, died peacefully Wednesday, September 19, 2012 in Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. He was the son of the late Emile J. and M. Alice (Cormier) LeBlanc. Ernest was Vice President of Modern Contract Furniture Company of Gardner for 38 years, retiring in 2000.

He was a member of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church, Gardner, a member of the Napoleon Club in Gardner and the V.F.W. Post 8164 of Tewksbury, MA. Ernest was a United States Air Force Vietnam War Veteran and received the Air Force Longevity Service Award and the Air Force Good Conduct Medal.
He enjoyed playing golf, traveling and watching sports on television. His greatest enjoyment came from spending time with his family.

You can read details of Ernest's life at the site of the Boucher Funeral Home in Gardner, MA.
Click on www.boucherfuneral.com

Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Massachusetts Chapter, 311 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA 02472.

John Oinonen: First Person, Singular

The following is a a reflection on military service written by  GHS Class of 1960 classmate John Oinonen, pictured above in 1964.

"I was in the United States Navy from August 1961 through August 1965 serving as a USN Air Crewman flying in P2V's for VP-17 out of Whidby Island, Washington for the last three years.  The first year was spent in Attack Squadron 44 based in NAS Jacksonville, followed by "A" school for Aviation Ordnance at NAS JAX, followed by Air Crewman Training in San Diego, CA.

Things got interesting once in Whidby Island.  We were sent to Kodiak, Alaska for the first of three five month deployments over the next three years, so I got to see Alaska during the Summer, Spring and Winter (Brrr!).  I saw Salmon runs so thick you thought you could walk across the river on their backs, got within a hundred feet of a Kodiak bear (we were on bikes and got the hell out of there fast), and endured constant earthquakes (they were mild quakes, so when your coffee cup started walking off the table you just grabbed it and waited).  We also bombed the Yukon River ice dams when requested with 500 pounders, and flew through the valley of 10,000 Smokes at about 200 feet altitude.  We would also go in the the town of Kodiak and buy King Crabs off the boats, and have a big party in the hanger bay.

P2V's were World War II vintage Anti-Submarine planes relying on Magnetic Air Detection gear in the fiberglass tail (they would pick up the distortion the steel of the sub caused in the earth's magnetic field) and we would drop sonobuoys and small depth charges to track it.  So naturally, every six months or so we would have to go to Hawaii for "Hunt and Track" exercises to try to catch the Nuclear Subs passing through the Hawaiian Chain.  Although I loved Hawaii, I finally paid someone to take my place after the seventh trip.

The most interesting deployment was to Okinawa.  I got to see the Ginza in Tokyo, take a Japanese bath and massage, and have my first Kobe steak (melts in your mouth). We'd fly down through the Straits between Taiwan and China, watch the Red Chinese jets launch (on our radar) to come after us, drop down to the deck and head for Taiwan while the China Nationals counter launched to go after the Reds.  Also saw innumerable waterspouts and logged a brand new volcanic island emerging from the sea still steaming. 

We then deployed to Saigon where we flew out of Tan Son Nut, trying to avoid the mortar attacks the Viet Kong were inflicting on it by obstacle takeoffs and landings (yes, pretty much as straight up and down as the plane could take us).  Then came the Tonkin Gulf Incident.  I loaded a small nuke in the left bomb-bay and a large submarine killing depth charge in the other, high explosive incendiary five inch rockets on the wings and we flew air cover over the hair raising action down below for a chilling 48 hours (with one break to resupply in Manila).  Our reward for this trying time was a week R&R in Hong Kong.  What a place this was before it reverted to Chinese control!

Got out of the service just as we were training to drop mines from low level night time flights (I read this as Hai Phong harbor), so was very glad to dodge that possible bullet). Wound up taking thirty days to drive home from Washington State.  Dave DeForest, a friend I made while in Attack Squadron 44 wound up in VP-17, and he and I knew we were getting out the same day, so we planned a slow cross-country trip.  Spent a week on the Gallatin River, just South of Bozeman, Montana  camping out and exploring Yellowstone Park. We both had Volkswagons, and by this time I could do almost all maintainence and repairs (short of engine replacement) myself, so we had a ball.

Dave stopped in Mount Vernon, NY.  When I got home, I drove into the yard with thirty cents left in my pocket.  I'd say that was pretty good planning!

Bottom Line:  My service time was a complete mix of joy (flying over the Golden Gate bridge in glorious sunlight, nightlife in the Barbary Coast of San Francisco when Carol Doda would descend out of the ceiling topless on a piano), sudden terror (trying to land in the fog at Kodiak with a 45 mph cross wind and not enough gas for a wave-off), boredom (standing in chow lines), humor (dropping box lunch refuse on the Russian whaling ships that were turning the sea red for thirty miles with the scope of their slaughter, and opportunity (travel with paid meals and lodging and the knowledge that the GI Bill and college were waiting).  Would I do it all again?  You bet!

The above is more than you wanted or need, I'm sure, but I don't get to go down memory lane like this very often (and you wouldn't believe the 98% I left out!)."

John and his wife, Lorna live in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Robert Coffin - No Toy Soldier

Robert Hunter Coffin, Jr.

Bob graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1964, where he participated in the ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) program and received a commission as 2^nd Lieutenant.  His father pinned on his gold bars.  Bob got a student deferment for two years so he could attend graduate school at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.  He was called to active duty in the Fall of 1966, and was sent to Infantry Officer Basic School at Fort Benning, GA, then Fort Holabird in Baltimore, MD for Basic Intelligence School. He was then to Fort Snelling, MN where he ran Background Investigations and Counterintelligence Operations (including a special team assignment to Chicago during the Martin Luther King Jr. riots, where he drew his first hostile combat fire). Following Minnesota, Bob was sent to Vietnam, where he ran a Human Intelligence unit in the Mekong Delta and Saigon.

After Vietnam (1969-1970), Bob went to Advanced Intelligence School, and was then assigned as part of the Army’s liaison team to the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, MD.  In 1973 he was sent to Fort Lewis, WA commanding an Intelligence Field Office and later transferring to the 9^th Inf  Div as a Tactical Intelligence Officer.

Bob was reassigned to the Pentagon in Washington, DC in 1978 to serve in the National Intelligence Alert Center as a North Asia specialist. There, he prepared intelligence briefings for high ranking generals and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was a key player in developing the Indications & Warning (of impending conflict) System.

Bob’s last assignment was a four year tour in Korea working for the Joint Intelligence Staff of U.S. Forces Korea. The work involved monitoring North Korean activity, overseeing daily briefings, developing Indicators and Warnings of overt military action, and coordinating Psychological Warfare operations.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hunter Coffin, Jr. retired from the United States Army in 1986.  He adds that, “somewhere along the way I became designated as a Korean Foreign Area Officer… a role I continued to play with the CIA and [other agencies] for some time.  Bob took up a second career as a history teacher, doing his best Hervey Bowden imitation in area high schools.  He retired from his second career in June of 2012.

Bob and his wife Sheila live in Fairfax, VA with three Poodles (Bob has his “standards”…) and four of five children living in the state.

Editor’s note: Our Hubbardston classmate Bob Coffin has been described as a "drink from a fire hose." He is a gregarious, garrulous, generous, and gifted gourmet. The fruits and vegetables of his gardens are served up in an amazing range of compotes, condiments, preserves, and salsas.