xmas2005

Season's Greetings from Snohomish and Hansville

Volume XXVIII December 2005

Happy New Year from the rainy Northwest! This year's newsletter, I believe, sets a record for being late. I notice I've given late excuses the past few years, so my story is getting a little old, but I'm stickin' to it! We are well, albeit another year older, and as busy - or busier - than ever. I'll try to make it snappy.

2005 was a year of many milestones. July saw two. I celebrated 10 years since I retired from Boeing (where does the time go?),

and Dot and I celebrated our 35th Anniversery. We thought about going back to Soledad, as we did for our 25th, but things just got in the way.

Thirty Five! I guess there's no backing out now!

September 2004 saw the family celebrating Dad's 91st birthday. Still at home after almost 50 years; still driving his 2 cars. December saw a marked deterioration in his health, and his condition declined rapidly, until he passed away in March. He lead a long and good life, and is doubtless happier now with Mom.

Click on the photos for details

His 91st Birthday Party can be seen here

A brief history in photos

Mom and Dad

His death was one of many -- too many -- involving family and close friends in 2005.

You can see and connect a bit with some of them here.

Our remodelling and repair activities continue unabated. This year, I think I'll spare most of the details. From sewing machines, to computers (all), to cars (both), to furnace breakdowns (both places), water line breaks (both places), and a car accident, we keep hitting the pitches the man upstairs throws our way. Major activities centered on the garage where I built a large hoisting frame structure (mostly for the truck canopy), --

new shelves, lights, and a major rewiring, and moved most of my stuff from the farm. One major acquisition was a riding mower I bought from a departing neighbor in Hansville, that allows me to scoot through that lawn mowing chore (in Hansville) with much greater ease.

I also created a major website centered on Ukraine for a non-profit genealogy group I belong to. You can get a sample by clicking here.

My own website, although in need of much work and updating, still has been very successful. I have had about 2 million "hits" over the past 2 years from people all over the world, including one memorable day when 15,000 people visited! It can be found at http://rbogash.com/

This (Family section) is the 'private side' of my website, not visible to the public.

My ham radio activities were also very robust and I made about 1200 contacts with other hams all over the world. As Hurricane Katrina demonstrated, when all else fails, Hams always get through!

Click here if you really want the details.

My Museum airplane activities are consuming an enormous amount of time. During the summer, I gave a talk on my "baby", the very first 737, at the main Museum, followed by a tour of the airplane. About 75 people showed up. In October, we finished removing most of the parts from a donated FedEx 727 we have been working on for the past 18 months. We then cut off the nose - which went to a new Museum just completed at Paine Field, repainted in its original Eastern Air Lines colors.

In September I acquired yet another 727, a -200 model, that was used to fly professional sports teams around.

We cut the cockpit out for the museum

These two extra airplanes, along with another two 727s we have access to, are being used for parts to support the restoration to flying status of our Museum 727 - the Number One airplane, or Prototype. Basically, we're building one airplane out of the parts from 4 others.

Chiba helping his 'old man' work on his airplanes

The main thing I wanted from the newly acquired 727 was the engines. Unfortunately, that conflicted with another project I have going - the acquisition of a 50 year old Lockheed Super G Constellation. Money and budget problems forced me to sell the 727 engines to buy the Connie. C'est la vie! As I write this, I spent a week in Toronto (where the Connie is located), to help disassemble it, get it repainted into its original Trans-Canada Airlines colors (thanks to the President of Air Canada), and then truck it back to Seattle. And, tomorrow I head back up there for another week of reacquainting myself with winter - Canadian style! This will be the end of a four year journey, and a one year near-full-time exercise in frustration for me. And, there are still roadblocks in our way. But, it will be worth it when she is safely reassembled in a place of honor at the Museum! You can see the details here.

Dot spent a week in Quebec City and Montreal in May visiting family, and also visited with her sister Marie Anna and nieces Elisabeth and Lucie in B.C. Her sister Martha came and spent several days visiting us here in Hansville in September.

Martha, second from left at that counter

Our resident deer mama's, had several sets of fawns to entertain us during the summer, and our barn swallows had 10 chicks in two batches, and are now in Argentina, no doubt contemplating their 10,000 mile return flight back to Hansville.

We apologize for the lateness of this year's newsletter, and wish our family and friends, a Happy and Joyous New Year, and leave you with this wonderful view of Mt. Baker, taken from our deck on January 4, 2006. Peace..........

Bob and Dot