Don Petersen


Job Title - Folksinger
Current Location - Belgrade Lakes, ME
Telephone -

 contact

Update 9/5/2012 - I had forgotten that they misspelled my name in the yearbook. It should be Petersen.   I was at Radford from '60 to '63. Had to leave when my dad was transferred back to the mainland in summer of '63. I was on the same ship as Sue Coleman and saw her on and off during the trip back to the mainland. Don't know where she ended up. I haven't gotten on Facebook, yet, but am coming to realize that I probably should. In the meantime, I'll summarize what I've been up to over the last 49 years. I've attached a couple of pictures taken earlier this year. The '63 Class Officer picture should do well for the "then" shot.

Don's Saga

After Hawaii, the family returned to northern Virginia where I finished high school. Proceeded to Lynchburg College where I graduated with a BA in history. Went into the Navy flight program in 1968 as a Naval Flight Officer and ended up chasing submarines as the tactical coordinator on P3 Orion aircraft flying out of Brunswick, Maine. Once off active duty in 1972, I stayed in the reserves while working for a company doing oceanographic research for the Navy.

It was in Maine that I met and married my wife, Linda, in 1976. We have a daughter who lives in Portland, ME, and a son who lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife and our granddaughter.

Also in 1976, I left the research business and started in sales and marketing for companies producing everything from toothpicks and metal buttons to guitars and keyboards. These companies took us from Maine to Connecticut to New York and back to Maine. I ended up retiring from the Naval Reserves in 1992 and from my civilian job in 2010.

Don't know who might remember, but while at Radford, I played guitar and sang with the CambridgeTrio63Cambridge Trio, a folk group comprised of Mike Gipson, Skip Curley (and sometimes his brother, Bill) and me. I've continued playing and singing ever since. Don StrummingCurrently, I perform around central Maine and run a '60s-style coffeehouse in Belgrade Lakes for acoustic performers from northern New England. It's amazing how many folks like to come out to hear the folk standards that were popular when we were in high school. Retirement agrees with both Linda and me. We built a place on Great Pond in Belgrade Lakes, ME, in 2002, as a vacation and retirement home. Ended up moving here full time in 2004 as we worked toward retirement. Now we're here about 9 months out of the year with breaks in spring and fall Campingfor travel trailer trips around the country. So far, we've covered the northeast, mid-west, southwest, and parts of the southeast. We might be gone more, but we don't want to miss any of summer (boating, swimming, fishing, lounging) or winter (skiing, ice fishing, snowshoeing) on the lake.

Our fall trip this year is planned around a reunion of 6 guys who hung out together at McGrew Point military housing in Aiea. My brother, Dave, and I, John and Don Moore, Mike Hulten (Punahou), and Pat Tierney (also Punahou, I think) will get together at John's home in North Carolina. Haven't seen Mike or Pat since Hawaii. Should be fun.

Our spring trip (Feb - Mar) will be to Hawaii for about 3 weeks - Oahu, Maui and Kauai. I haven't been back since 1973 and my wife has never been there. I'm really looking forward to revisiting the places I remember from the good ol' days. Hope a few of them are still there.

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