The goal of this page is to reflect upon the
personal side of our membership. A
“stay-in-touch” effort with particular
emphasis on tracking those who have retired
and hopefully are enjoying the good times
beyond their efforts to build and enhance
the automatic identification industry.
August
4, 2008
Ed Andersson
970-259-4294
edandersson@aol.com
Nice reading about you guys! Zap, Silverton
had prodigious amounts of snow last
winter... c'mon back! Angie and I are
eyeballing a new trailerable Hunter is
coming out. If we pop for one, we plan to
get up your way to cruise the San Juans.
Rick, some guys just can't stay "retired"!
We'll definitely look you guys up if our
travels take us in your direction...
Zapper...interesting coincidence that you
noted vis-a-vis who responded.
Warm regards, Ed
August
3,
2008
Peter Hicks
44-1869-351155
ggt47@dial.pipex.com
I feel very guilty whenever I get any of
your excellent emails. I feel that I should
be contributing more. The problem seems to
be that as I get older and older I am
working harder and harder to keep up with
myself, though luckily Jenny and I are still
enjoying ourselves. This is a picture of
our 16th century farmhouse which we share
with a staff of 40 in the outlying barns.
As
far as we are concerned the barcode business
is still fascinating and our enjoyment comes
from our many friends all over the world
especially of course from Paul Bergé and the
Wrights. We have just had a symposium in
Shanghai which was enjoyable as our friends
in the Far East stay loyal to us and they
now send their sons along.
Here
in the UK I am Chairman of the village
Parish Council and am busy fighting off a
development of thousands of houses which
would destroy this beautiful part of
Oxfordshire. We still have an apartment in
Cape Town where we plan to celebrate my 82nd
in October. A visit there is always
enjoyable as the pic shows.
We have an office in Pretoria where we have
developed an RFID system called Oretrak
which is proving a success in improving
performance in Gold Mines..........as for
sailing, still a little each year in the
Bacardi Cup in Miami... and as for skiing I
have to keep going because once you are past
70 the ski pass is free and I am determined
to get my money back.
Best wishes, Peter
August 2, 2008
Rick McDonald
707-937-5452
rickmcd@mcn.org
Hi Ed and Zap
It was great to hear from you and I'm really
glad your lives are going so well. I have
been trying to get back to see Chet and Hack
for two years and haven't made it yet.
Wouldn't it be fun to turn one of the AIDC
100 meetings into a full fledged reunion?
We worked hard and played hard and built a
life-time of memories. I am looking forward
to my 50th college reunion in KY this year
and 35th Harvard reunion in Switzerland next
year. Rick
August 1, 2008
Rick McDonald
707-937-5452
rickmcd@mcn.org
I retired on 9/9/99 and moved from the San
Francisco area to the Mendocino Coast about
150 miles north. My new bride, LaDonna,
and I built a house on a 67 acre redwood
timber property about two miles from the
Pacific.
For the last six years, we “unretired” and
ran a restaurant and banquet facility in
Mendocino. The restaurant was called
“Rick’s of Mendocino” located in the Hill
House Inn. You all have probably seen the
Hill House in the TV series, “Murder She
Wrote” where it was called Hill House of
Cabot Cove. Running a restaurant is a
thankless, 24/7, experience. Thanks to LaDonna, we were much better at the banquet
side of things. We hosted over 300 weddings
and thousands of banquets in our tenure. We
like to think we made a difference to many
employees, customers, brides, and non-profit
organizations.
Typical of most people in small-town
America, we got involved in many local
organizations. The first few years we were
here, I joined the Board of the local fire
district and helped them write a long range
plan and then pass a tax to support the
volunteer fire department. LaDonna joined
the board of the local Habitat for Humanity
and the Mendocino Rotary club (where she was
Rotarian of the Year - twice). I was
treasurer of the Mendocino Presbyterian
Church for six years and a member of the
board of the Mendocino Coast Chamber of
Commerce for several years.
Now we are down to few responsibilities and
committed to travel and rebuilding
relationships from the past. For example,
we are planning a “Great American Road Trip”
in September and October and will be driving
from California to South Carolina and back
with only a few known stops – including my
50th reunion at the University of
Kentucky. We would love to say hello to AIDC 100 friends as we pass their areas.
July 30, 2008
Dave (Zap) Czaplicki
425-562-0854
zapjillski@comcast.net
I like the idea of an area on the web site
where folks can provide some insight about
what they are doing. Every once and
awhile, I see something that makes me
reflect on the years when I was heavily
involved in the Auto ID industry. I have
fond memories of those years and all of the
wonderful folks I worked with.
As for me, I retired in April 2001. I was
part owner of Systems Technical Sales, a
systems integrator, in Bellevue/Seattle,
WA. We were purchased by Sato Corp., and
after a few years they began divesting their
interests. I chose to retire while my
partner chose to stay with the new owners.
As many of my old business associates knew,
I had, and still have, a passion for snow
skiing and salmon fishing. My wife, Jill,
is also retired and very active. We usually
downhill and ski mountaineer about 120 days
per year and ski all over the western US and
Canada, plus down in Argentina and Chile. I'm also involved in avalanche awareness
training for a mountaineering organization. We have 5 grandsons who are enrolled in the
'Grandpa Zap Sherpa Training School".
Above is a photo taken in June 2008 of Jill
and I skiing with Mt. Rainier in the
background. It's a sickness but still
legal. :)
We have a 1977 19 foot power boat that we
have motored in all the way to Glacier Bay,
Alaska and all around British Columbia. We
fish for salmon, halibut and crab in the
waters around Puget Sound.
We also have a 20 foot camper van that we
use to travel around North America. During
the winter, we chase the snow and live in
the camper van.
We are still relatively active and healthy.
Best regards to all. David "Zap" Czaplicki
July 30, 2008
Ed Andersson
970-259-4294
edandersson@aol.com
Ed in CO here. Nice thought...it'd be great
to hear what old colleagues are up to.
I keep up with the AIDC emails and scan the
roster updates. It's sad to see the growing
number of deceased members, many of whom I
knew and worked with. So, I think your
thought is very timely...we need to take
time to stay in touch with old friends.
As Will Rogers said, "Durango is an out of
the way place and that's how the locals like
it." But, some travelers actually do find
this place...about 250K visitors/year. Among
them was ole pal, Zap (and Jill). Aside from
some gray hair and less on top, he hasn't
changed one bit. We always enjoy his company
and stories of his many adventures. We met
up with old boss/mentor/friend David Collins
(and Joanie) in Hawaii a few years back
(before Dave's famous "hole-in-one"). We
also meet up each year with former CI close
friend, Sam Desai, at his place at Snowbird
and during the Indian Market in Santa Fe.
Otherwise, we don't see many AIDC/AIM-ers
here or in our travels.
We spend most of our time these days between
6500-11000 feet above sea level.
Recreational pursuits include skiing
(Purgatory is 20 minutes "up the hill"),
sailing on our 25-ft sailboat on Vallecito
Lake (8300' above sea level), playing golf,
and dabbling in other activities as energy
and time permits. I'm an independent real
estate broker here in Durango (www.DurangoABR.com),
working primarily as a buyer's agent for
out-of-town/state clients looking for
retirement, vacation, or investment
property. We also do some modest real estate
investments through Andersson Investments
LLC.
Lovely wife, Angie, is the big bread winner
these days. She's sales manager and
assistant project manager for a major
developer. They specialize in planned unit
developments (50 to 100 units) and high-end
custom homes. She's currently working on a
townhome project in partnership with the
Southern Ute Tribe, the country's wealthiest
with assets of $2B+ earned through their
natural gas and oil resources.
Angie and I both would like to "retire" and
travel more, but, our 17-yr. old son, Erik,
is heading off to college next year and none
are cheap. He's a multi-talented thespian
(act, sing, dance) who has worked
professionally for the last 4 summers as a
player in the Diamond Circle Theatre
Melodrama and Vaudeville Review---a popular
Durango attraction for the last 47 years. (www.DiamondCircleMelodrama.com)
He's already earned the rank of
International Honor Thespian in high school
playing such diverse roles as Moonin' champ
Roger in
Grease to Prospero in
The Tempest.
He has one goal, professional actor in live
theatre.
Volunteer work and veterans affairs has
consumed much of my time. I'm a volunteer
ski instructor and former board member of
the Durango Adaptive Sports Association. We
work with adults/kids with physical or
cognitive disabilities. I'm active in
veterans affairs, particularly wit h the
Marine Corps League here in Colorado,
serving two terms as state commandant
(2003-04), and clocking thousands of miles
traveling around the state. I also served a
term as Asst. National Vice Commandant for
the Rocky Mt. Division (CO, UT, NM,
UT). Locally, I ran the Marine Toys for
Tots program here for two years. I'm
currently heading a fund-raising committee
for the Durango Arts Center. My goal now is
to do less volunteering and more
recreating...
Finally, I have the fondest memories of the
AIDC's developmental era. In retrospect, the
things we attempted and accomplished, and
how companies and individuals banded
together for a common cause, is a remarkable
story in itself. We came up with some bold
ideas, and, through the dedication and
determination of countless people and
organizations, pulled most of them
off. Along the way, we really had some fun
and made some lasting friendships!
In closing, Angie and I would be pleased to
offer our hospitality to anyone visiting
Durango or southwest Colorado. (Even Oprah
came here last year!) Mesa Verde National
Park, the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge RR,
a well-preserved western town, and lots of
outdoor activities are among the attractions
here.
I'd love to hear from or about any old
friends/colleagues...
Good luck with your October event in
Massachusetts!
Best
regards, Ed Andersson
