Donald Grant

I did not graduate with my class. I wasn't the best student, and after cutting 16 gym classes with Doug Patterson my best friend, we were suspended my Deke Walters (sic?) it was near the end of Nov 1958 and he suggest we try to find job's, and see just how hard it was without a High School diploma. Then we would be welcomed back in January.

He was right, no jobs, and Doug & I made plans to join the Air Force on January 2 1959, the Air Force kept putting us off we wanted to go immediately... on Feb 16 1959 I found a great job at the North Shore Gas Co. thanks to Mechanical Drawing course's that I had taken (Walter Hammerburg sic?) ... I worked there for 8.5 years as dispatcher...and I kept the great atlas each page 3 foot high by 2 foot wide all the pipe that was ever laid by the NSGC up to date.

I changed careers in August of 1967 to trucking driving, retiring in 2012, but not before I made all 49 states on this Continent, and 6 Canadian Providences, a total of 3 million miles in a semi and another one million is smaller trucks. I've have had a 75 foot semi in Time Square Marriott Convention Center... and a semi 7.5 miles into a salt mine in Kansas City and every other major city except Fairbanks, and Seattle... never had a accident after the first 6 months of learning by trial and error... in all I never felt like I worked a day in my life

I was in Mr. Kindig (sic?) home room when I left school, and later through a program that the NSGC had, I got a GED, and if I remember right some how I got a Highland Park High School diploma or it might have been some kind of endorsement on it ?



I'm on/in classmates, and I found my picture in the year book in the homeroom class picture... I'm not sure just where the diploma is, or what the record might show, but I was there... and if Mark Panther is sill with us... I sure he can vouch for me...on a first name basis, just ask him if he knew Don

Why did we cut all those gym classes? We would drive to Fort Sheridan air strip as we knew a soldier who worked on air craft engines, and we found this fascinating, the hanger was so clean you could eat off the floors...the engines the same, and all the tools to do the job right...next period was lunch so we could get back unnoticed... we figured we get a pass the next day, and the next...but every day was the same... we go back and hope to get a pass the next day to cover our AWOL, with time running out, pretty soon Mrs Laswell (sic) attendance office caught us, she sent us to see Deke Walter as Mr Panther was not there that day... we told him we had cut a few gym classes to go to Fort Sheridan and why... he gives us a pass to return to class....what a stroke of luck.... but first we had to go clear it with the attendances office... Mrs Laswell couldn't believe it... so she marches us back up to The principle's office and ask Deke what did these boys tell you, his answer... they cut a few classes cut DID NOT match hers(16) that's when "he suggested" we try to find job's,and see how hard it was, without a High School diploma and the rest is history