Month: May 2004

by Anita DeWeese

FORT MYERS – Shell Point resident Laymon Miller was recently asked by the Acoustical Society of America to give a Distinguished Lecture speech to commemorate their 75th anniversary. The invitation to give the speech – aptly entitled, “Noise: My 62 Years of It” – was just one of the honors that have been bestowed on Miller, who has been a member of the Society since 1943.

For 62 years, sound has been Laymon Miller’s area of expertise. (Photo by Paul Schmidt, courtesy of Charlotte Sun-Herald.)
Born and raised in Texas, Laymon has been challenged by a variety of jobs relating to his beloved profession as an acoustician. An acoustician is a salesman who sells acoustic ceiling tile, right? Wrong! An acoustician is an acoustic engineer. Acoustics is the branch of physics that deals with sound and sound waves, while sound control is control of the sound you want to hear; and noise control is control of the sound you don’t want to hear.
In his forty-one years on the job, Laymon has dealt with noise control in relation to torpedoes, heating, ventilating and air conditioning acoustics; noise and vibrations in auditoriums, railroads and subways; and industrial noise in power plants, aircraft and airports.

Continue reading “Noise: My 62 Years of It!”

Colonel Warren Schilling Remembers the Battlefield

FORT MYERS – Many of the residents at Shell Point share a common experience – they have served in one of the branches of America’s armed forces. In recognition of Memorial Day, read this resident’s account of his time during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

A young Warren Schilling on the front lines.

Shell Point resident Warren Schilling was born and raised in Miami, Florida. Having scraped together enough cash to go to college, he attended the University of Florida for about a year before he was drafted into the Army in 1943. Because of his education and performance on intelligence tests, he was sent to a special program at Baylor University in Texas, training to become an engineer. But those plans were drastically changed when the program was canceled and Warren was sent to join the 99th Infantry Division during World War II.

“It was a noble thing to talk about, going into combat,” said Warren, “but no one was exactly volunteering to go to the front lines. But as it turns out, that’s exactly where I ended up.”

Continue reading “Military Man Shares His War Stories”

At age 102, Everett Hosack’s competitive juices are still flowing

FORT MYERS – All eyes focused on him. They shouted, “Go for it, Everett! You can make it!” The crowds leapt to their feet and clapped, cheering him on to victory. After he won the gold medal, people came up to him and congratulated his accomplishment. “That gentleman is an inspiration to me,” remarked one woman.

This is not a normal reception for an athlete who finishes fifth in a race with five competitors. But at 102, Shell Point resident Everett Hosack is not your average athlete.

Everett Hosack, age 102, won 3 gold medals at a recent track meet.

“I attended the University of Florida and ran the high and low hurdles for their track team,” says Everett. The year was 1923. “It was the first year they actually had competition with other colleges. There wasn’t anyone who could beat me.”

Later Everett ran on a track team sponsored by his employer, New York Central Railroad. But when the Depression came, competition fell by the wayside.

Continue reading “No One Can Compete With This Athlete”

One Family Gives 175 Years of Service

FORT MYERS – Shell Point resident Dr. John Taylor, and his wife, Pearl, shared a special story of love and faith. The couple first met in 1954, when John was teaching at Nyack College and Pearl, a recent graduate, served as his secretary for two years before going out into the mission field. Their lives went in separate directions, but both continued in full service to the C&MA.

The Taylor family (John, Phyllis and Kenneth) then and now.

John continued teaching at Nyack College and was later promoted to Vice President of the college. Following 10 years of missionary service, Pearl returned to the United States and worked as a secretary to Vice President Gordon Cathey (now also a Shell Point resident), and an administrative assistant to three of the C&MA’s presidents, Dr. Louis King, Dr. David Rambo and Dr. Paul Bubna. With almost 40 years of service to the C&MA, Pearl retired to Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1968.

Later she moved to Shell Point where she was surprised to find her old friend, John Taylor. “We ran into each other outside the bank one day,” said John with a twinkle in his eye. “My heart definitely went bumpity-bump!” The two friends spent hours getting caught up and quickly developed a wonderful relationship, which resulted in their marriage in June 2000.

But John and Pearl were not the only ones in the Taylor family who had given years of service. When Pearl passed away in spring of 2004, John’s brothers and sisters all came to Shell Point for a memorial service in her honor.

Continue reading “A Heart for the C&MA”