Danbury, CT

Arriving in Connecticut, we settled in Danbury. Although my new base of operations, (the local Picker X-Ray office), was in New Haven, my work area would be principally in Fairfield county in Connecticut and Westchester county in New York. We found a nice apartment in a complex called the Fairview apartments on West Wooster Street. Our next door neighbor introduced herself to us while we were moving in. Her name was Christienne Schultz. She offered us coffee and I quickly discovered from her accent that she was French, (actually, she was Belgian) so I began talking to her in French. She was so thrilled to be able to speak to someone in French, her English was rather poor at the time and there were few people locally with whom she could talk. Of course, her English gradually improved, while my French gradually went the other way. She and her husband Louis had only recently arrived in the US from Belgium, so their English was rather limited. Although Louis was also Belgian, he was of German origin, but spoke French, a better English, as well as German.

Louis had been in the Belgian army serving in the Congo, then known as the Belgian Congo, when the Congolese revolted against the colonial Belgian authority, seeking their independence. Christienne and her two boys, Alain and Patrick, had to leave the Congo in the middle of the night with just what they could carry. They were flown to Belgium and were later joined by Louis. Louis had to stay behind to help break down the army facilities and return to Belgium.

The sudden influx of refugees from the Congo left many with no jobs and with too many looking for new work. Louis was able to leave Belgium with his family and relocate to the US where a benefactor hired him as a master toolmaker. Louis eventually opened up his own factory and did quite well. Through the years, we remained very close friends.

Claire, Roger, Raymond and Robert enrolled at Saint Peter's School and for the most part enjoyed living in the Danbury area. They now lived close to their grandparents, their aunts and uncles, cousins, etc and they could enjoy a more satisfying family life.

I enjoyed my work for Picker X-Ray in New Haven. I enjoyed having the freedom to go out to different medical centers and fixing their radiological problems. One day, I was summoned to the office, where I was told that I was through. It seemed that the Cleveland office learned that they had paid for my move to CT under false pretenses. They had believed that the Boston office actually recruited me to work for them but wouldn't pay for the move; consequently, the Cleveland office took it upon themselves to pay for the move. Now, they felt betrayed, and wanted me removed from the company. Truth is, I never asked them to pay for the move, they insisted, and I was bound to not reveal the circumstances. I was caught in the Catch-22 situation. I couldn't refuse and I couldn't talk. Naturally, I also lost the company car.

So, reminiscent of when I left the Army, I was again out of a job. Where to look?

Actually, it didn't take too long to find another job. I saw an ad in the newspaper from a company on Route 7, in Wilton for an electronic technician. I applied for the job and got it. The name of the company was Trak Electronics. In the early 1960's transistors were just starting to make a breakthrough and this company was way out in front. This company would prepare me for the rest of my career, what turned out to be a good move.