I was born Don S. Schaal in Sheridan, Wyoming March 23, 1930, the first child of Donald G. and Margaret E. Schaal. My father was a ranger in the United States Forest Service. As a requirement of his profession in those days, the three of us moved a lot during my years in grades one thru 12 (no kindergarten then). Throughout those formative years, we lived in Wyoming, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, California and Mississippi. I somehow managed to cope and graduated from high school in 1948 without having to repeat a grade despite the fact I went to four different high schools in four years!
My first sibling did not come along until 1943 when I was of baby-sitting age. It was brother David, the first of three California-born new family members. Then along came sister Marguerite in 1945 and brother Steven in 1948, the year I moved away from home and went on to junior college.
I graduated from Fresno State College in 1954 as a radio broadcasting/speech major. However, a career in broadcasting was not to be in my future. Instead, I ended up in the technical writing profession and stayed with it in various capacities and companies until 1968, with the exception of a three-year stint as news editor on a Western Colorado bi-weekly newspaper.
Just prior to going to work for the newspaper, I married Barbara Brown of Evergreen, Colorado. We had two children, Debra Dee Ann (adopted) and Melanie Anne. Unfortunately, after 31 years of marriage, Barbara died at the early age of 52 from a stroke in 1995.
In early 1968, we moved to Minnesota so I could go to work for computer mainframe giant Control Data until the company shrank to the point where I was offered a mandatory retirement in lieu of layoff in 1989 after 21 years of service, along with 60 other people in our department. It was the last time I worked for a large corporation.
After three years struggling as a freelancer starting in 1989 doing desktop publishing, resume writing and whatever else came along, I started driving a school bus in 1992. I ended up not only driving a bus, but training other bus drivers. I left that profession in 1998 to move back to California to be closer to immediate family. There was nothing left for me in Minnesota.
I moved to my present Willits location in August of 1998. Almost immediately, I got a job in the newspaper business after almost 40 years. I remained with that for almost a year, then drove a "Meals on Wheels" truck for six months. Now, I am back in the freelance business - which I really never left - and working as Mendocino County Field Operations Assistant for the Green Thumb organization. I also did two stints at a private school teaching disadvantaged persons computer repair.
I have had enough interesting experiences over my lifetime to write a book, which I may yet do someday. In the meantime, suffice it to say I am happy to be living in Northern California attempting to succeed at what I think I do best.