School Story:
[Update after 60th Reunion...]
ED. NOTE: Tragically, Chuck died a few short months after submitting the update below - go to the In Memory page to read his obituary.
My first stop after graduation from Hermon was Cornell University. My senior year I married my hometown sweetheart Peggy Baxter and lived in Ithaca for two years as Engineering was a five year program back then. While we were at Cornell, we had our first child, Molly who loved attending Psi U fraternity parties.
Following graduation, we moved to Hartsdale, a suburb of New York City to work for Turner Construction Company where I worked on The New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, and in the home office cost department. After working for Turner for a couple of years, I returned home to work for Streeter Associates. I spent 39 years working for Streeters, loved every minute of it, and proudly left behind many commercial buildings.
During that period, we adopted a son Jeff and a daughter Julie both of whom are the loves of our lives, are successfully married and together have five exemplary grandchildren. Molly our oldest, has three children and her eldest daughter graduated from Duke this Spring.
In 1975 friends, Tom and Ann Hanewald, asked us to travel to Italy. We had such a wonderful time together we spent the next fifteen years traveling through Europe. Peggy and I found we absolutely loved traveling so when Tom and Ann had had enough we teamed up with another Elmira couple, Tom and Margaret Morse, and kept right on trucking. Tom was in international business so we began seeing the rest of the world, and have visited all seven continents.
One of the other passions we have is a cottage we built in 1980 on Seneca Lake, 30 miles North of Elmira. We usually spend from mid May to mid October there. It was great fun when the kids were with us and recently we enjoy cocktails at five and watching the world go by. There’s something special living right on the water.
The end of the year 2002 I retired from Streeters and turned the company over to son Jeff who has taken the company to a new level, and I’m extremely proud of him and his success.
A couple of years ago, Peggy and I built our dream house in Elmira. The living area is on one floor and it has a beautiful view of the country side.
Unfortunately, shortly after starting the house, my barber discovered I had a very rare incurable scalp cancer, angio sarcoma which I have been battling to this day. It’s been a rough journey but I am optimistic I have a few more good years ahead of me.
We feel blessed to have led rather straight forward lives and wouldn’t trade a minute of it for anything.
[From 50th Reunion Yearbook...]
Retired General Building Contractor
Cornell University, Bachelor of Civil Engineering
Turner Construction Company and Streeter Associates, Inc.
Wife Peggy; children Molly, Jeff and Julie
My three years at Mt Hermon were very important in shaping who I am as a person. And to think I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go away to school. The biggest single influence at Hermon was my roommate of two years, Dick Tolsdorf. Dick had it all together and helped get me pointed in the right direction before I had developed too many bad habits. I also thought athletics played an important part at Hermon and in my life in general. I wasn’t particularly good at any sport but felt the experience taught me the value of sportsmanship and teamwork. We were a great class at Hermon and I want to thank all of you for electing me as a class officer. It has always meant a great deal to me to have helped lead such a wonderful group of guys. The more experiences I have had to compare to my years at Hermon, the more I have come to appreciate and value my time there.
I was accepted by Cornell University and with a lot of hard work graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree. Cornell provided me with a very good education and was very instrumental in helping me obtain a job with Turner Construction Co. a premier building construction company in New York City. Cornell also provided a wonderful place to begin married life. Peggy Baxter, my childhood sweetheart, and I convinced our parents that we should get married my senior year.
History has proven this to be the best decision in my life. We have been very happily married for forty-six years, and have three wonderful kids, and eight grandchildren.
In 1964, we returned to Elmira, NY, our hometown, and for the next 38 years I helped run Streeter Associates Inc., a general construction company. I loved the tangible nature of the business. Our buildings are a constant reminder of a very satisfying career.
Four years ago, I retired and turned the company over to our son Jeff who is now running the business possibly even better than his old man did. Work was very rewarding but I think I was born to retire. I finally have the luxury to do the things I never took time to do when I was working. Travel is a high priority for Peggy and me. We recently took a trip to Antarctica but our favorite location remains Italy. We plan to keep on trucking as long as our health holds up. I am also heavily involved as a director of our local bank and as the Secretary of the Arctic League an organization that was founded in 1918 to insure that no child in our area will go without gifts for Christmas. For the past year, I have been spending some time trying to make sure we all have a great 50th Reunion.
Mount Hermon taught me that if a person pursues life with integrity and perseverance, it is likely that his life will be a rewarding one. For this, I will always be grateful to Mount Hermon.
We asked Chuck: Since you are still our class president, you must still be pretty popular. What would be your advice to a young person who wants to be popular all his life?
I am still class president because no one else wanted to be and because Dave Williams keeps promoting me. At least I’m still popular with one person. Popularity is a curious phenomenon. Some people work to attain it and others couldn’t care less about it. For reasons I can’t explain, it has always been important to me to be liked. If you are one of these peculiar souls who seeks popularity and want my advice on how to perpetuate it I would suggest you always be yourself and try to be as diplomatic with others as possible. Nobody is drawn to a person who tries to be someone he isn’t and who says whatever comes to mind with little thought of how it will be received.
