These are all the guestbook messages for 2003. Thank you to all who left messages, memories, and thanks.
JUST A HELLO TO ALL MY FOLLOW CO WORKERS FROM BETHPAGE & CALVERTON, I'M IN MY FORTY + YEARS WITH GRUMMAN NOW NORTHROP GRUMMAN. I GREATLY MISS WORKING IN PLANT 6 & 7 THOSE WERE THE GOOD YEARS WITH GRUMMAN. THIS NEW COMPANY IS ALL BUSINESS, TIMES CHANGE I GUESS I'M STILL IN QUALITY IN MELBOURNE FL. I VISITED THE MEMORIAL PARK IN JUNE 2002. IT LOOKS GREAT, IT WAS SAD TO SEE THE HANGERS & FLIGHT LINE EMPTY, BUT SEEING THE OLD PLACE BROUGHT BACK SOME GREAT MEMORIES,F14,A6.EA6B,EF111 & E2C'S WOULD LIKE TO HERE FROM OLD CO WORKERS (321)951-6818
My Dad, Carl Geisbert worked at Grumman in Calverton from the early 60's to late 80's. Worked mostly on A-6A, EA-6A....I remember the picnics! Talk around the dinner table was about fixing "crabs". I work on computers and the dinner table is were I learned my troubleshooting skills! Carl is living in Maryland...on a sad note he has ALS or Lou Gerig's disease... anyone who remembers Carl send their thoughts to me via email.
Great - Never realized the Memorial Park existed. I worked for Grumman Aerospace and Grumman Data Systems for over 20 years and loved every minute of it. Thanks.
Found a wonderful way to help recall some great GAEC history in this site. My parents worked at Grumman for over 64 years combined; my wife, Carolyn over 19 and, as a " freakin' college kid", I spent 3 summers cleaning out sumps and working in the plant 3 tool crib when I wasn't goofing off reading sports magazines in the hangars.
Yep, went to all the annual picnics in the 50's and remember the fellas throwing packs of cigarettes and crackerjack-like candy into the open windows of our car as we entered the grounds...my folks insisted the smokes were not for my brothers and me! During my summer job period I played some lunchtime softball and was used as 'weight' when they needed to test flight the Gulfstream. I went from $1.50/hr in '64 all the way to $1.80 in '66; would visit my Mom, Jay, or Dad, Phil, just about anytime they could spare the time and wouldn't have traded a minute of it for any job for any amount of money.
With my summers at Bethpage I felt as though I had become a true member of the Grumman family and bonded with many second and some third generation Grummanites as I strolled about the facility whacking weeds from off the runway or setting up picnic tables for the after-hours barbeques that various departments would throw. Sure, the really old-timers can say that towards the end the company changed and became less family oriented. But, in order to survive I guess it had to become that way. With the scrutiny of the military and NASA getting greater and greater, with the old guard of Jake, Mr. Grumman and the rest no longer around, what should one expect: there couldn't be the 'open door policy', g-jobs or once-in-a-while Yankees tickets for the blue collar guys. Even with all the belt-tightening and no nonsense approach, Grumman still didn't survive on its own...but its reputation and name live on. As a famous civilian military-entertainer used to say: thanks, Grumman, for the memories!
You have placed a warm feeling in my heart, and you will be getting a brick timely brick order when I have had a chance to share this opportunity with the other family members. My father Ralph Donnell was killed on that field April 21, 1967. To have a memorial there will help him live forever in more than just our hearts. Thank you for all you are doing.
Bruce Donnell
Spent 1990 through 1992 as the Navy Operations Officer at Calverton performing flight acceptance on the F-14D program. Never had a more enjoyable 2 years in my life. The flying, the job, the people, the area...everything was super. I've seen a few familiar names (Sharon Bobal, Tom Gwynne, Ed Flanagan, etc) throughout the guestbook - would love to hear from anyone - wpaisley@comcast.net. Live in DC area now working for NAVSEA on their aircraft carrier programs. I'm still active in the reserves as a CDR, and could be getting a bit of sea pay (since my days of flight pay are over!) in the next few months. Hope to stop by up there soon - need to see the Memorial Park and show daughter Sarah her birthplace (she's 10 already!) Take care all.
I spent a good part of my working years with Grumman. In Bethpage, KSC, and Calverton until my retirement in 1987. I'm very proud to have contributed to both helping land the first man on the moon and in the first flight inspection of some of the best aircraft ever built. Having this monument at least lets us all know that our contribution to aviation history will live on forever.
Stephen Petrokiewicz
For about a year I went to the same bar every Friday night (Oh, I still go every Friday) In Melbourne, FL. Well this one guy with his wife looked familiar, so we got to talking, his name George Zoll he and I worked at Grumman PLT 7 Dept 1063 F-14 Avionics. I worked there from 1972 to 1979. I would like to hear from some of the guys and what is going on. The best job and the best group of guys that I have ever worked with. I found this page from a friend I ran into in a bar here in Florida. He and I worked together from April 1972 to March 1979. He still works for Northrop Grumman. I would like to hear from the guys that worked in Plt 7 Dept 1063.
This looks to be a wonderful way to capture the Grumman legacy. It began as a small, and seemingly, insignificant company, then WWII--much growth, and an influential future! Thanks for your efforts, they're very much appreciated. I'm a daughter of a man who made his life-career at Grumman.
My thanks to all who made, and continue to make, this website possible. I was employed by Grumman from March 1961 through March 1995, just missing earning my 35 year pin which I would have worn proudly, along with all of the others. I had different jobs (all associated with the avionics) beginning with the A2F-1 (A-6A), LEM (LM), EA-6A, EA-6B and finally the EF-111. My hat is off the Airframe community who produced these enduring machines. Those in the Navy that I worked closely with often said that I was employed by the "Grumman Ironworks". This expression is not the stuff of myth. More than one Naval Flight Officer said that flying a Grumman Airplane was a lot like driving their own car, they never were concerned with whether either would get them home. This concept ('your safe in a Grumman flying machine') was poignantly demonstrated by the 'lifeboat' Aquarius ( Apollo Mission 13).
A beautiful tribute to the Grumman family. Yeah that's what we called it. My best memories are with Grumman. In the early 1970's the men weren't used to woman and used to change on the floor. They had to stop ha. What great pride we had when our aircraft went up. I crawled in fuel tanks with fluids and you named it and loved every moment of it. Yeah we cried we love our country and proud to be Grummanites. I installed the windshields on the aircrafts and scraped old sealer silk-screened did it all. God bless you all long island. God bless you Grumman.
I worked for Grumman Aerospace Corp for almost 10 years (1976-1985) with the ISD group. Jim Egan hired me (Jim left the company and was killed in a helicopter crash) and Larry Graham was my boss when I left (I believe he still works for the company in FL). I have may fond memories of years with the company and the experience serves me well in supporting the Navy. I am a Navy civilian in the Director of Naval Education and Training in Washington.
I wish the best to all my old Grumman friends and coworkers.
I started at Grumman on May 20 1940, in Experimental, working for Emilio Ghiosso. I retired in December of 1978. Grumman was a wonderful place to work and they valued their employees. The last 25 years of my service was as a Field Service Representative, and I was always proud of being associated with Grumman. In addition we built fine aircraft and that also was a reason to be proud. Thanks to Grumman I have had a fine life!
My name is Bill Tydeman. My permanent number is 2440. I retired in 1977 from Pl #1. I started working for the company in 1941 and after returning from the service I had continuous employment and worked on most of the programs. Grumman family was good to all of us and it was a great place to work .
I have a nice slide show that I have produced for the Grumman F-14 Tomcat for all to see! At http://www.all4video.com/f-14.html (Link no longer valid). My father worked for Grumman in Bethpage in the 60s and 70s God bless! You Will like the slide show trust me. Make sure you have your sound speakers on.
Hi. Grumman has done so much for Long Island and the United States in general. My Grandmother works there and has for 20 years. She has been there since the Challenger was made. Although it is not Grumman and is Northrop Grumman and the big blue ball is gone everyone who has contributed is a part of that family.
What a Great site. My first job out of High School in 1964 was working at Grumman in Calverton on the A6A. My brother-in-law worked at Bethpage as a machinist on the LEM project.
I was hired by Grumman and worked at Calverton in 1972 on the F-14 flight Test Program. When the flight test program moved to NATC Patuxent River, MD I went with it. I later went to Iran in 1976 to train Imperial Iranian Air Force personnel on the F-14 Egress System. Later I went to Egypt to train their mechanics on the niceties of maintaining the Hawkeye. I am working at NAWS Patuxent, MD again, this time on the E-2C Flight Test Program. I would like to hear from any and all former or presently employed Grumman/ Northrop Grumman who were on any of these programs.
Grumman's hey-day came long before I was born, but as a young historian and expert in force and diplomacy, I greatly respect the men and women who achieved such grandiose accomplishments. I know I take every opportunity to tout Grumman and Long Island and our accomplishments together. The skies are empty without you...
Rode by Bethpage yesterday, June 6, 2003, on the LIRR on my way to NYC and what I saw was a real shock. It had been 5 years since I had taken the LIRR into NYC.
Almost everything that I remember about the Bethpage Complex is either gone completely, severely changed or appears to be in serious need of repair.
Gone are the athletic fields on which I spent many happy hours involved in softball, soccer, basketball and other after work activities. Thank God I have the memories of those good times.
Severely changed is the old Grumman Central Receiving area which lies mute. The now deserted long rows of once constantly busy warehouses give stark testimony to what was and to what will never be again. The warehouses lie empty and forgotten. This was the area from which all the great and exciting Projects and Programs were supplied with the material and goods required by us Grummanites to deliver the finished end item. Today, only the memories of yesterday haunt these buildings.
Plant 1, as always, appears to be in need of repair. The landscaping, what there is of it, looks tired and used up. The once large parking field is now but a parking patch. The exciting memories I have of Plant 1 in the days of the F-14, the A-6, the OV-1 and so many other Programs eases the pain of seeing this tired "Old Lady" in her present state.
As the train crossed over South Oyster Bay Road and Grumman Bethpage began to be left behind, it came to me that there are probably a lot of us Grummanites looking back at what was once the prime focus of our efforts and saying, "Bethpage, you were GREAT and now you've earned your rest."
If any of you were to visit Bethpage, you too would probably find your own "Gray Ghosts" along for the visit. I know that I found mine and what a great group they are.
Thanks for the memories Grumman and God bless!
My dad, Charles Freeley was an QC inspector for Grumman. He retired in 1992. I have wanted to honor him by surprising him with a brick at the Memorial site for his birthday. I don't really know the projects that he worked on.. I believe it was the A6, F111 and I know the LEM but I want to include the information on the brick. If anyone worked with him please e-mail me. Grumman was such a big part of my childhood. I have fond memories of all company picnics and the air shows! When my mother past away the Grumman family was very supportive and helped my dad a great deal. I know my dad sure does miss it! e-mail k8freeley@aol.com
Hello! I am an old Grumman Aerospace employee with 28 + years most of them in Bethpage plant 5. I think this site is great! I left Grumman in New York July 1998, I took a Job transfer to NAS Oceana in Virginia. It was a great move for me! I am presently employed with Northrop Grumman to this day. I would like to here from some of my old co-workers back in New York; or where ever they may be currently located. Thank you! You can Email me at tip19@cox.net
Was clicking TV channels today and happened to see a little bit about the memorial park. I moved back to Long Island 2 years ago and am getting in my car today to drive out there. My husband, John Arola, was a 34 year employee and my father-in-law Ed Arola is a Grumman retiree living in California. My husband worked in Bethpage, Point Mugu, and the GTSI program at Vandenberg AFB. John's dad worked in Bethpage, Calverton and Point Mugu. Yeah Grumman family - so glad to see this site.
Although I don't know anyone that worked for Grumman I would just like to say thanks for all of the work that Grumman employees did over the years to ensure our freedom.
I check in every so often and enjoy reading the comments of what will never be forgotten...."the good ole Grumman days back when". On a sad note, for those who worked with her in Plant 5 in the early 60's, late 70's, Jo Hubert has passed away after retiring many moons ago to Florida. She lived for 93 glorious years and never forgot her roots at Grumman. I shall miss her dearly and am forever reminded of the wonderful workplace where we met.
Dear Uncle Lou,
Thank you for being so good to me while I was growing up. Thank you for teaching me so much about Grumman and it history. I still have all the photos you had given me of Grumman Jets. Every time I see something related to Grumman I will think of you. You were a great person and a terrific Godfather to me. You will be missed very much. Rest in peace. God bless you.
Your nephew and Godson,
John M Rosalia
Looking for some e-mail addresses for anyone who worked flight test instrumentation 06-032 Calverton. Miss everyone so much nothing but good times and great people. Matt...
My wife and I just visited the park to find out about a brick in memory of my Dad, Ed "Bud" Seeley, who was a Grummanite for 38 years. He passed away last November. I'd love to hear from anyone who knew him, his favorite time at Grumman was when he worked on the LEM at the cape, but most of his time he worked at Plant 6. My email is bowsboss@aol.com. Thanks, Tim Seeley
Great web site! Very informative.
I've only been with Northrop Grumman for 3 years, but I do remember the picnics at Calverton when I was a kid. My friends grandfather worked for Grumman at the time. The endless hot dogs and ice cream... and the rides! To a child that was all that mattered.
I even remember the commercials that WALK radio used to have. It always ended with "...A Grumman Corporation."
As a former Grumman employee (Badge #134644) and a member of a "Grumman Family", I am happy to see your efforts to keep the name GRUMMAN alive on Long Island! Keep up the good work!
Nice site.
Attending the NY air Show as a volunteer at Calverton After spending 30 of my 36 years as a Grummanite there, was quite an experience. To see air craft flying and the thousands of people there to see the show made me smile Especially the kids who were wide eyed with the performance of the pilots and their Aircraft. Of course a carnival midway on the flight line did not sit that well with me, but I guess it had to be. Let us hope the developers keep the runway and find a way to keep a small airport to coexist with the surrounding community. I heard that around 50,000 people attended. Let us hope it can be an annual event.
Bert Moller
I would like you to know I have really enjoyed looking at your website. It is truly amazing. I really enjoyed the video of the F-14 return to Calverton.
My father, Anthony Rizzi worked for Grumman for over 30 years, at Plant 6 in Calverton and I remember when the F-14 was being built. We went to the Grumman Picnics every year with the entire family, at least 50 of us every year. My father really loved working for Grumman and the people he worked with. Unfortunately, he passed away last October 11, but I still have his Grumman pin and a small model of the F-14.
I don't know if he ever got to see this website, but I'm sure he would have been very proud of all the sites and would have really enjoyed it as I have.
Sincerely,
Cathy Santamaria
I can't believe how fast time goes by. The last time I visited this site and left a comment was in 1999. I am still in Lake Charles on the J-stars program. Although, we are working on the last of the Production planes (P-17). We are hoping for the next generation formally called the MC2A. Now known as the E10A. The platform for that program will be Boeing's 767. I am now in my 26th year and looking forward to reaching my 35th at which time I may likely bid a fond farewell. I enjoyed my years when it was Grumman in Bethpage, Calverton and Stuart Florida. But I must say Northrop has also been good to me and I have enjoyed my time since 1994 when the two companies merged. I will leave my e-mail address in case anyone who remembers me can drop a line. reesede@cox-internet.com
I spent a good part of my working years with Grumman. In Bethpage, KSC, and Calverton until my retirement in 1987. I'm very proud to have contributed to both helping land the first man on the moon and in the first flight inspection of some of the best aircraft ever built. Having this monument at least lets us all know that our contribution to aviation history will live on forever. I'm 82 and still kickin' and would like to hear from anyone who worked with me over those years. You can contact me at Steelersfootball@aol.com
Stephen Petrokiewicz
I just want to say that I think that it is really good that you have this memorial for everyone to see and appreciate. I hope to be getting out there to see it soon.
In Case The previous url was wrong here is the new one that I know works please have your speakers on for the slide show and Enjoy! It's for the men and woman who worked on the F-14 at Grumman and all involved with the Grumman Memorial park and is in memory of my Foster Father Peter J Brenna instrumental engineer. God Bless you all.
http://www.all4video.com/f-14.html (Link no longer available)
I was at Calverton Plt 7 Dept. 1063 from April 1972 to March 1979. This a great site keep up the good work. I would like to hear from those who remember me. prbttn@aol.com
Just stumbled on your site and can't resist some comments. I was a Navy "airdale nosepicker (avation machinist mate)" in the early '50s. I was associated with the F6F-5,F8F-2,TBM-3E,F9F-3&5,and F9F-8.I would like to congratulate everyone who participated in the development of these machines. They were the best built A/C in their time. It was common knowledge that a "Grumman will always bring you home" if any thing will. The F9F Series were always a "lady" during deck handling. As I was not a flight person, I believe that's about the highest praise I am qualified to give. So, thanks Grumman, from me and thousands of Naval and Marine people for the fine memories of a very fine company and some very fine "Cats"
I worked for Grumman for over 15 years '73-88 at both Bethpage (Plt.2) and Calverton (Tool & Die Shop). Your website is great, it's good to see that the traditions and memories of Grumman still lives on. Hello to all of my co-workers, Kenny D., Tom, Al, Eddie, Ray, Frank, Leroy and Peter, hope all is well.
Grumman was my first choice when I graduated The Academy of Aeronautics in the summer of 1959. I became a member of the Instrumentation Design group in the Flight Test Department where I spent most of my years. I was surprised to find that the Grumman spirit I heard about was quite real. My co-workers were like family. Forty four years have passed since we first met and many of us still keep in close contact. When we can we meet for lunch and talk about the 'Old days at the Big G.'
I had the opportunity to work on many major projects including the A6, Mohawk, F-14, E2C, AOA, Echo canaster, LEM, Gulfstream and the X-29. After leaving Grumman in 1994 as a retiree, I re-entered the work force in 1996 as an engineering consultant in the Equipment Lines group but the new company (Northrop Grumman) was very different than the company I left behind in 1994. I left in 1997 and did not accept any other offers to return since.
I was left with many fond memories of the people, the rewarding work and the great company. The Grumman Family will always be part of my life.