Bob Kolkka's personal interests and info.

A brief personal history:

Young Bob

I was born in Chicopee Falls, Mass., and then subsquently moved to northern Maine, where my Dad was stationed at USAF bases in Caribou and Bangor until 1958, at which point, he retired from the USAF and got a job as a meteorologist for American Airlines. We then moved to Valley Stream, N.Y. where I grew up. Valley Stream is a suburb of NYC a couple of miles from JFK airport. In fact a favorite pastime was to sneak out on the fields at the edge of the runways, and watch the planes land. They were less than 100 ft. over our heads, quite the experience. Can't do that anymore.

Upon graduating from Valley Stream South High school in 1972, I attended college at Rutgers University , in New Brunswick, N.J., where I lived for four years. While at Rutgers, I was in the marching band, joined the Kappa Sigma fraternity, spent two years in AFROTC, ate a lot of cheese steaks,and got an A.B. in Applied Mathematics, specializing in engineering mechanics.

After graduating from Rutgers, I decided to go to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for my graduate degrees in mechanics. A very nice place, especially after having lived in the wasteland of NJ for four years. At Lehigh, I received a master's and PhD degrees in "Applied Mechanics", spent a lot of time at my fraternity house,and played a lot of intramural sports.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was my first position after Lehigh. It is located in upstate NY in the town of Troy, which is a little dump of a town on the Hudson river. The school was one of the best run institutions that I've been at. After my one year post doctoral positon there, I got a one year position at Purdue U. and Indiana U. so they have no competition from the major metropolis in Indiana. The traffic scene in Indianapolis is a nightmare, they destroyed my beautiful 1980 Toyota Celica that I bought upon graduating from Lehigh.

Following my year in Indiana, I received a "tenure-track" position from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula. I have stayed here, and currently live in Lake Linden, Mich.



My Spitfire



Sports:

My favorite sport is Ice Hockey, I have been a Goaltender since I was 15. I have been playing in the Mich Tech intramurals in recent years. This past season, I played for an expansion team called "Exposure" in B(everything goes except hitting) league, we finished 1-4 in a six team league, and I allowed 39 goals

I used to play softball, but retired from that because it got too political.

And I swim as part of my daily routine



Pets:

I currently have a 4.5 yr. old Brittany Spaniel,named BD(Big Dummy), and a 14 yr. old half Siamese cat, named Herby. Not counting the squirrel that lives in the attic, and the weasel that lives in the basement.

Siblings:

I have a younger(4.5yrs.)sister,Maureen, who is a working Civil engineer, and is currently working and living in north Chicago.

Parents:

My Dad, Richard, just retired from American Airlines , and my Mom, Mabel, works in religious education in a local Catholic church. They are currently residing in the grand state of Texas, in the city of Arlington.

The U.S. Civil War:

My primary interest is in the history of the U.S. Civil War. As a
teacher(preacher) of mathematics, I've always told my students the
best way to learn math is to *do* it, and that is in part why I *do*
Civil War reenacting. I am a member of the following units.


Private in the 10th Tennessee Infantry Company D,
Army of Tennessee( Capt.Charles (Chuck) Larscheid,
commanding, Wisconsin reenactors,HQ: Green Bay,Wisc.)


2nd Lt.(C.O.) in the 4th Texas Volunteers(Hood's division), Company A
,2nd Platoon, Army of Northern Virginia( Upper Peninsula reenactors
, HQ: Lake Linden, Mich.)

25 infantry, one dog mascot



Preussen Gloria Intro The 1860's European Wars, Austria/Prussia vs. Denmark 1864, Austria vs. Prussia 1866, The Main Campaign 1866, and the Franco-Prussian War 1870-71:

Major (C.O.) of the Kaiser Alexander Garde grenadier infantry, 1st Kompangie, Prussian Army The Kaiser Alexander Garde reenacts the 1860's wars that Prussia participated in which ultimatley lead to the Unification of Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm I in 1871. 16 infantry, 2 medical, one dog mascot.






2nd Lt.(C.O.) in the 27th Michigan Infantry, Company B, Army of the
Cumberland( Upper Peninsula reenactors, HQ: Houghton,Mich.)

6 infantry, 2 dog mascots, Just starting
If you're interested in Civil War history the best available home page is
The U.S. Civil War Center