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MORE ABOUT ME
I grew up in a farm family, in a close-knit Mennonite community, in southeast Iowa. I lived with my parents and three brothers,
although my  oldest
brother was killed in a silo accident before my youngest brother was born. It was a
typical mid-western family farm. We raised corn, oats and hay, and livestock – dairy
cows, sheep, hogs and beef cattle. We worked hard on the farm. Mother tells me we had the
reputation of being one of the hardest working families in the community. My brothers and
I (and dad, of course) would chore every morning and evening, and work all day Saturday.
Summers were devoted to more of the same, but usually we took a vacation in August,
sometimes an extended family vacation "out west" or even to Alaska.
My cultural legacy is Mennonite first, and Swiss-German second. Ancestors from both my
father and mother immigrated to the U.S. from Switzerland and Germany around 1830.
Gingerich
is a longstanding Mennonite name, along with Eash, Yoder and Swartzendruber,
all important lines in my family geneology. Mennonites trace their origin to the Protestant Reformation in Europe in the early
sixteenth century. Distinguishing beliefs of the Mennonites, or anabaptists as they were
originally called, include: (1) the separation of church and state, (2) adult baptism, and
(3) pacifism (non-participation in war). The Amish are a more conservative sect of
Mennonites, believing that Mennonites had become too worldly.
My experiences growing up in a Mennonite community had a strong impact on me
personally and professionally. Principles such as the separation of church and state,
peaceful resolution of disputes, and living out one’s beliefs in daily life remain
important to me. Once I attended graduate school and began my social work career I was no
longer able to participate in a Mennonite community. Few urban areas had established
communities at the time.
Web resources related to Mennonites can be found at:
MY FAMILY
 Here is a
picture of my family when everyone was home for Christmas 1998. Clockwise from the top
left is my son Geoff, his partner Tom, Maria (Chris' wife), and Chris, my other son. In
the front is Elaine, my wonderful wife of 38+ years, and me. More pictures
below...
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Chris and Maria
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Tom and Geoff
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MY INTERESTS
My current interests include collecting fountain pens and inks, biking and golf, and
amateur radio. I am also an enthusiastic PalmPilot user. If you don't know what that is,
be sure to check out the links below.
 Fountain Pens - the way writing was meant to be
 Palm - the one that started the PDA craze
 Amateur Radio
I have been a ham radio operator (General Class) since my early high school days.
My call sign is KØVBA. My current rig is a Drake TR7
transceiver, and I use a broadband folded dipole antenna.
Here are several guides to shortwave broadcasts and links to shortwave listening (SWL).
Recently I purchased a SONY ICF-2010 portable shortwave receiver - a
classic among SWLs.
Bicycling
- IHPVA - International Human Powered
Vehicle Ass'n; good FAQ
- Recumbents.com - lots
of links for recumbents and other HPVs
- Jim Dettwiler
- informative personal site on recumbents
Men's Health
 Cleveland
Other Interesting Sites...
MY CATS 
 Here is
Puffy, one of my two cats. Puffy is my prototypical case study of a single-subject
multiple intervention time-series design. It all happened when as a kitten he had a
food allergy (i.e., runny "poop"), and it took us a while to find an
"intervention" that would solve the problem. We're still not sure which
intervention did it, but at least the problem is solved!
 Smokey is
Puffy's sidekick and best friend. Smokey is on the shy side, but once he gets to know you,
he'll be your best friend.
MY FAVORITE LEISURE ACTIVITY: Watching the sun set on Lake Erie...
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Shortwave Radio
