The author was born in Hankinson, North Dakota on April 22, 1923. After graduation from high school he enter military service as a World War ll Paratrooper and was discharged in December 1945. He married in June 1946 and enrolled in Civil Engineering at North Dakota State University October 1946 and graduated in August 1949. He spent 35 years in government service working on design and construction of dams, power facilities and irrigation systems. He has two sons born in 1949 and 1952. His first wife died in January 1996 and he remarried in December 2000. He lived in Bismarck, North Dakota for 52 years and then moved to Fargo, North Dakota in 2001. He has been retired for 31 years and is involved in various volunteer services.