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Today's Featured Biography

 
David Hall

Revised and updated 9-21-10

The first ten years of my life after high school seem like a blur to me now. The years seemed to blend together. In a nutshell, my life consisted of the following; attending college for seven years, working that fireworks business that I started while I was in high school, thrill seeking, cross country skiing, hiking, biking, making silly things, and looking for love in all the wrong places. I was in a rut and needed a major change of pace.

In 1994 I packed up my things, got out of the fireworks business, and moved to Honolulu Hawaii to study fire science. I thoroughly enjoyed the two summers I had spent volunteering at the Houston (AK) Volunteer Fire Department, and had decided to make a career out of fighting fires. I sped through the University of Hawaii Fire Science program in two semesters. In Oahu I spent most of my time sea kayaking, mountain biking and hiking.
No day has impacted my life more than March 12, 1995. On this day I was walking along Waikiki Beach (O.K., I was girl watching) and met Joan. I fell in love with her that very day and am still absolutely mad about her. Joan is from Ohio and has degrees in architecture, interior design, and science, and is every bit the nut that I am. We always seem to be working on a project together and make a great team.
We decided that Hawaii was not a practical place to live or raise a family, as the cost of living is extremely high and wages are low. Camping out of a VW Rabbit convertible, we spent the last 4 months of 1995 traveling around the S/W U.S. looking at different cities to live. After settling in Colorado Springs, Joan got a job in architecture and I decided to work as a substitute teacher so that I could travel and take fire department tests. Joan and I had an engagement party in Alaska and were married in September of 96 (in Ohio). While working as a substitute teacher however, I determined that teaching was my real calling. A year after entering graduate school I was hired to teach first grade at a high-risk public school (Mark Twain Elementary School in Colorado Springs). I had never considered primary education and didn’t have more than a clue where to begin. I enjoyed teaching the little ones how to read and write and marveled at their enthusiasm. Within 3 years however, I felt that I was burnt out on teaching.
In 1999, Joan and I had our first child, Svea. Svea is among the funniest, smartest and most entertaining people I have ever met.
We decided that our child (and soon to be children) needed to be closer to their grandparents, so in 2001 we packed up, sold our home, and moved to Ohio. Four days after arriving in Ohio, Brigitta was born. She is turning out to every bit as amazing as her big sister. I just love being their dad.
In the fall of 2001 I decided to give education another shot, and looked for a job as opposite from my old one as I could find. I now teach computers (K-8) at a 425 student Catholic school in Cuyahoga Falls, and enjoy it. I started my job with very little computer knowledge and have learned quite a bit over the past few years.
Next to being a husband and dad, my hobbies have revolved around my lifelong interest in WWII aviation history. Since 1986 I have spent much of my time playing online WWII flight simulators (Warbirds, and now Aces High), and participating in a variety of living history groups. We manage to make our way to Alaska every summer to visit family, friends and mountains.

Recently Joan and I have purchased her childhood home. Joan’s parents live with us, but believe it or not, this is a very good thing. Bill and Harriette are in their 80’s, are both in very good health, and are the ideal in-laws. They say that girls often marry men that are just like their fathers. In our case, this is very true. Bill and I are much alike and we spend a lot of time together building things, going to garage sales and discussing history. The icing on the cake is that Bill was a fighter pilot in WWII, so I never tire of his stories. Our daughters are literally being raised in a four parent multigenerational household and receive plenty of love and attention. I can’t imagine how traditional two parent families get by.

Joan and I were expecting our third baby in May of 2005. In February, however, Joan’s water broke and she went into labor. Joan was admitted to the hospital and put on bed rest. She and the baby held out for a month in which our baby grew and bettered its odds of survival and decreased its odds of suffering from a significant disability. Annika Ingrid Hall was born 11 weeks premature. She weighed just 2 pounds 11 ounces at birth. She spent seven weeks in the NICU at Akron Children’s Hospital and came home on a heart monitor and oxygen. In spite of the rough beginning, she is doing very well. Annika has been developing normally and shows no signs of ever having been a preemie.

I’ve taken up rowing in our family sized rowboat and my wife and daughters and I kayak regularly. I groom a trail around my house for cross country skate skiing. Lately bicycling has become my favorite outdoor activity. We manage to make our way to Alaska nearly every other summer to visit family, friends and mountains.

Schools Attended:
Linfield College (OR) Fall 1984
UAF Spring 1985
UAA 1985 – 91 (Earned Bachelors in Art – Photography)
University of Hawaii (HCC) 1994 - 95 (Earned Associate of Science / Fire Science)
Regis University Graduate School (Denver, CO) – 1996 - 97 (Certified to teach, elementary ed.)

Work History:
Gorilla Fireworks 1983 – 94
Colorado Springs SD-11 1996 (Substitute teacher)
Colorado Springs SD-11 1997 – 2000 (First grade teacher)
Cuyahoga Falls / Immaculate Heart of Mary School (DOC) 2002 – present (Computer teacher, K-8)

Places Lived:
McMinnville OR 1984 (fall semester.)
Fairbanks 1985 (spring semester.)
Anchorage / Wasilla / Houston (AK) 1985 –94
Honolulu, HI 1994 – 95
Colorado Springs, CO 1995 – 97
Woodland Park, CO 1997 – 1999
Colorado Springs, CO 1999 – 01
Tallmadge, OH Dec. 2001 to present

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