---

BillP49: BillP49, BBillP49

 
 
 
                     THE BIO OF A BILLP49 
  
     What?, you ask is a BillP49.  Well read on. 
     BillP49 was born on a Tuesday afternoon on 3 December 1935 
in Omaha, Nebraska.  Those were different times than some of us 
live in now.  He grew up in a neighborhood dominated by relatives 
and long time family friends.  An aunt lived across the street 
and up two houses, another aunt lived in the next block.  He had 
one father, one mother, and one brother.  He went to the same 
elementary school that his mother had, his eighth grade teacher 
had been his mother's seventh grade teacher. 
     After graduation from high school he enrolled at the 
University of Omaha, lived at home and paid all of his college 
expenses by working part time.  In 1957 he received his B.A. 
(major, Chemistry).  It was time for graduate school so off he 
went to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.  Since he 
was a teaching assistant and could only take courses half time it 
was two years before he received his M.S. (major, Physical 
Chemistry, title of thesis - An Electron Diffraction 
Investigation of the Molecular Structure of Trichloroaceto- 
nitrile, which led to his one published paper - American Chemical 
Society. Journal v.82(1960):5048-5051).  The arduous pursuit of a 
PhD did not appeal to him so it was off to the Army.  During this 
period the draft was in effect and his number was about to be up 
so as not to end up in the infantry he enlisted for three years. 
He spent the twelve months of 1960 at the Army Language School in 
Monterey California studying Russian six hours a day with no 
other duties.  A hard assignment  :)   . 
     After graduation from the ALS he was assigned to an Army 
Security Agency post in Bad Aibling Germany about 30 miles south 
east of Munich.  This was a small post in the Bavarian 
countryside and had been a small Luftwaffe airstrip in former 
times. 
     After separation from the Army in July 1962 he was off to 
the Graduate School of Librarianship at the University of Denver 
from which he received an M.A. in 1963. 
     His first position in the library world was at Clarkson 
College of Technology in Potsdam New York, a land of 30 degrees 
below zero in the winter with much snow.  After three years there 
it was time for greener pastures so he accepted an appointment as 
Head of the Science and Technology Library at Drexel University 
in Philadelphia in 1966.  He became Associate Dean of Library Services 
in 1990. From July 1995 until August 1997 he served as Acting Dean
of Library services and retired on August 31, 1997 after 31 years
and two months at Drexel.
     In 1966 he met STEW91 and they began to share an apartment 
in 1967.  Unfortunately their apartment building went condominium 
in 1981 and not feeling like paying $140,000 for their apartment 
and $380 a month real estate tax to the City of Philadelphia they 
bought a townhouse in Philadelphia suburban New Jersey. 
     Many and varied were their activities before the advent of 
the Trivia Club: yard work, bicycle riding (BillP49 used to do a 
thousand miles on his bicycle during the summer months), 
collectibles, work on the fish tanks (at one time these comprised 
four 10 gallon tanks, six 29 gallon tanks, and a 55 gallon tank; 
however several years ago the 10 gallon tanks and two of the 29 
gallon tanks were replaced by a day bed there in the "fish 
bedroom".  When someone says he has been to BillP49's house and 
slept with the fishes you now know what they mean. 
     In 1990 BillP49 became BillP49 when STEW91 became STEW91 
when he acquired a computer and joined PC-Link, one of the 
precursors of AOL.  Late in 1990 the Trivia Club became a major 
interest in BillP49's life and has remained so ever since.  When 
the AOL club was disestablished in May 1993 he helped port the 
idea of the Club to Delphi, where he had an account since 
July 1991, and has been active there since. 




STEW91 and BillP49 on the Great American Scream Machine


BillP49 in 1998


BillP49 in 2000


BillP49, STEW91's sister Muriel, mother Marian, sister Margaret at Newhope PA