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I am a retiree of the now defunct Bethlehem Steel Corporation, who in my opinion, committed legal suicide the last 10 or 15 years of it's existence. When Bethlehem filed for debt relief they sold to International Steel Group (ISG). Bethlehem was then able to dump us retirees to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. I now have a reduced retirement and had to go back to work for the Indiana Toll Road as a building maintenance tech, then a supervisor, to get my insurance. I then moved on from there to another job since the Mitch Daniels leased the road to a consortium and the new people have eliminated my department. I also teach HVAC classes at Ivy Tech State College in Valparaiso, IN. I did a quick 5 weeks working for the state still at the Westville Correctional Center as an electrician. I believe that Bethlehem, with the aid of the bankruptcy courts, committed highway robbery and acted totally immoral. I had 30 years with BSC when I retired. Fortunately I took courses at Ivy Tech college and earned an associates degree in industrial maintenance. I have since then moved on to a better paying job at the hospital in La Porte as an electrician for 1 and 1/2 years. I recently took a job there in the Biomedical department which is a huge deviation from anything I have ever done.
I was working for myself as a heating/cooling refrigeration-installer service company for the short time I was actually semi-retired. When they reduced my benefit, I was still ok, but when they dumped my insurance they forced me to go back to work to get the insurance coverage one needs today, if you own anything. I am one of the lucky ones, as there are some retirees out there that have health problems and are unable to work. I am sure there are some terrible horror stories out there. If you are one of those stories and would like to send me an e-mail, I would be glad to converse with you about it.
Some of my hobbies are: amateur radio, flying, hunting and fishing.
Neil at a ham radio volunteer examiners session
Danielle is the mother of our children who are all grown and gone. We had 3 daughters and 2 have given us grandkids ranging from 1 year old to 11 years old. She is currently an office manager for H&R Block in La Porte, Indiana. She has 22 years at Block. She started in the accounting department for the Michigan City district. Before Block she worked for the La Porte hospital in the collections department. When I was laid off from the mill in the late 70's-early 80's, she supported us with that job for almost a year. She loves to play bingo and go camping with our daughters.
A picture of Danielle at the bingo hall
Now suffering with the empty nest syndrome, we have a replacement child. I think the luckiest dog is the one who made it in right after all the kids leave. Her favorite hobby is playing with other dogs and chasing birds, rabbits, squirrels and deer out of the yard. Her name is Siren (so named after the sirens of lore because she stole our affection). She is just a mutt, part Labrador/ Samoyed-Chow mix, but still our new spoiled child.
Siren
And there you have it! That is everybody here at the house in La Porte, IN.
This page was last updated on 04/17/11.
