Tuesday, August 4, 2020

#166) BREAKING NEWS! ;-) “2019 Librascope Reunion Photos Are Now On YouTube”.


On October 12th last year a special Librascope Reunion was held at the request of 92 year old Bonnie Granger, Supervisor of Circuit Board  Assembly, who retired in 1992. Normally, Librascope reunions are held every two years, but Bonnie explained to Georgine Archer that she was getting old and missed seeing her old friends. 

About three dozen people attended the "special" reunion, which was again held at The Federal Bar in North Hollywood. It was Librascope’s 12th Reunion since Lockheed Martin announced the closing of the Glendale Operation in 1997. 

In retrospect, it was good that the reunion was held a year early, since it currently seems unlikely there will be a 2020 reunion. All during the get together, Georgine and my wife, Gloria, took lots of candid photographs. Unfortunately, the lighting was poor, but fortunately we were able to retouch most of the photos and publish them as a short video slideshow on YouTube. To view the 4 minute video, CLICK HERE.

An index to the people appearing in each photo follows:


Monday, February 17, 2020

#165) Librascope Balance Computer on ebay for $875.00

A rare Librascope Model LC-1 Balance Computer has just been listed on ebay for $875.00! A detailed writeup of this seller's same Balance Computer was first posted July 31, 2013 on Blog Post #86: Click Here
to read. Note, the seller's contact information is at the bottom of the post.

A copy of the current description on ebay follows:

"1943 Librascope Balance Computer for the Glenn L. Martin PBM-3C Mariner Series Flying Boat. Model LC-1, S/N 662. Missing the original wooden fabric covered case, but otherwise complete and functional. Extremely rare mechanical computer. Very few were manufactured and fewer yet survive today.

Just one of a complete collection of Load Adjusters I am selling for the Martin PBM and P5M series seaplanes from 1937 to 1967.
"

You may view the complete ebay posting at "Click Here". Bids close next Monday, February 23rd.


Saturday, February 15, 2020

#164) Att'n: All LibraVets Who Retired Around 1995.

It has come to our attention that the small group of LibraVets who retired around 1995 and received a special severance/pension package, probably received an incorrect Lockheed-Martin (L-M) 2019 “non-qualified” W2 recently. L-M’s Pension Department is aware of the problem, so those LibraVets affected may soon receive a corrected W2. Unfortunately, L-M would not provide us with the names of all those affected due to privacy concerns, so we’re having to post this notice on our Blog for “All Libravets” to read. If you are in this group, and you do not soon receive a corrected W2, you should contact L-M’s Pension Department before filing your 2019 tax returns.

For information on how best to contact L-M’s Pension Department, whether you soon receive a corrected W2 or not, please contact Ralph Simon ASAP. This small group of LibraVet retirees has experienced many L-M pension payment related problems in the past, and some of those problems may repeat in the future. Ralph has offered to share his past pension problem experiences, and any new information he has learned, with all those who contact him. It's important though to contact him now.

Ralph’s e-mail address is: ralph3222@gmail.com

Good luck,
Carl

Sunday, October 20, 2019

#163) This News Blog Is Now 9 Years Old!


2010 to 2019 - 163 Posts of Librascope Memories...

9 years ago this month this Librascope Memories - News Blog published its first post, announcing that, so far, there were over 100 reservations for the 2010 Reunion. The new Blog's purpose was to provide a free platform for communicating news of interest to Librascope's many retirees on a timely basis. A Blog format was chosen, because it's easier and quicker to publish the news, compared to a conventional website. BTW, our Librascope Memories website celebrated its 10 year anniversary earlier this year (See Post #160).

Since 2009 there have been over 96,500 pageviews of this Blog from all over the world, including Korea, Canada, Taiwan, Germany, Mexico, France, China, India, Australia, and a few others! During this time, we've covered many subjects, including Librascope Reunions, Librascope surplus equipment sought or for sale, "Has Beens" get togethers, announcements of new additions to the Librascope Memories website, and sadly the Passing of many Libravets. Recent examples of other interesting posts include #145) Moving a Canadian Oberon Class "O" Boat, #143) Stanford Destroys $300,000 Disk Memory, #137) Don Tubbs and His Team's Plan to Go 300+ MPH, #109) My review of Disney's new book about a Libravet, and many, many other posts.

I'm planning to publish (post) a list of all 163+ subjects, with an active ("clickable") link to each one. Meanwhile, stay tuned for a post of some photos from our 2019 Reunion held a couple weeks ago.

Enjoy,
Carl

Monday, September 23, 2019

#162) Photos of the 2018 Reunion are (finally) on YouTube!!!


On October 13, 2018 several Libravets and their guests gathered for Librascope's eleventh bi-annual employee reunion since Lockheed Martin announced Librascope's closing and the relocation of its business to Manassas, Virginia in the late 1990's.

The Reunion was held at The Federal Bar in North Hollywood, and included a delicious buffet luncheon. As always, it was an opportunity to renew old friendships, drink some beer, and reminisce for hours.

Throughout the day, Georgine Archer took several photos, and they were all published on YouTube yesterday. To view the two minute video slideshow, simply CLICK HERE. Please click the "thumbs up" symbol immediately below the YouTube video if you enjoyed it. Thank you!

A list of all the Libravets attending, plus an index to those in the video follows:



Sunday, September 15, 2019

#161) Breaking News: Next Librascope Reunion is October 12th!

The following invitation to a special 2019 Librascope Reunion was just issued by Georgine Archer. Note, this is a year earlier than normal.

Dear Libravets,

At the very special request of Bonnie Granger (Supervisor Circuit Board Assembly from 1986 to 1992), who said that she is getting older at the age of 92 and misses companionship with her Libravet friends, I have planned another Libravet reunion. Ralph Simon recommended that we hold it again this year at The Federal Bar in North Hollywood and has set up the arrangements for October 12, 2019. A copy of your invitation is provided below. 

I have sent this message to all Libravets who attended the past two reunions. You may also receive an invitation from Carl's “Librascope Memories – News Blog” that is normally sent to a much wider email distribution list.

I hope you will be able to join us. As we are all getting older, your attendance will make this a very special reunion. Please respond to me by email ASAP so that I can include you in our reservation list.

Georgine
.............................................................................................................................

You are all invited to a special 2019 Librascope Employee Reunion October 12th

--- A time to greet and enjoy your Librascope friends and colleagues

--- View Librascope memorabilia and share unique retirement hobbies**

                              Saturday - October 12, 2019

                                     10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.


The Federal Bar - NoHo
5303 Lankershim Boulevard
North Hollywood, CA                                  
(818) 980-2555  
www.thefederalnoho.com

--- Located across the street from the North Hollywood Stations for the Metro Red Line and Orange Line. 

--- $5.00 Valet parking available in lot behind building. Ample free street parking. Enter building on Weddington Street.

--- Buffet Luncheon - $30.00 per person. Self serve coffee, tea, soft drinks and No Host Bar at 10:00 a.m. Lunch at 12:30 p.m.

Please RSVP to Georgine Archer by October 5, 2019 
--- By E-mail: geoarcher@netzero.net 
--- By phone: (818) 848-5664
--- With confirmation by check payable to and sent to: 

             Georgine Archer
             509 Andover Drive 
             Burbank, CA 91504

--- No refunds after October 5, 2019.

NOTE, WIVES, HUSBANDS, CAREGIVERS, and SIGNIFICANT OTHERS ARE ALSO INVITED.

Former associates of Librascope are, of course, welcome too! Please help us spread the word to all former Librascope employees and their guests.

Enjoy over 300 scanned and searchable Librazettes from 1940 to 1999, past Reunion photos, videos, and many other Librascope documents at www.librascopememories.com

**Video projection is available to share your hobby at the reunion; please contact Georgine Archer.

Saturday, May 11, 2019

#160) Happy 10th Anniversary “Librascope Memories”.

10 years ago, on April 28th 2009, the Librascope Memories web-site was published on the Internet at https://librascopememories.com using the iWeb program on my, new at the time, 2008 MacBook. The initial goal was to make the 300+ Librazettes, issued by the Company since 1942, available for anyone to view and/or search. Over the past ten years, numerous other Librascope memorabilia have also been added to the “new” web-site, including:

1) Photo Albums (14) with many (445) photos taken at the Librascope Reunions since 1999. Note, the 2016 and 2018 reunion photos are yet to be added. The 2016 Reunion photos, however, are now viewable from Blog Post #144 (which links to a video slideshow on YouTube).
2) Various Librascope “Videos” (9), including two Librascope Promo’s, the 1992 and 1996 Christmas Parties, and two Retirements.
3) 47 photos of several “Librascope Products” from the past.
4) Copies of 69 “Librascope Literature” sheets since 1938!
5) A photo album that includes an odd assortment of “Libravet Personnel” photos (56).
6) Ten “Sea Stories” written by Libravets about their various Librascope experiences.
7) Misc. “Librascope Brochures” (22), including several from the 1950’s and 1960’s.
8) 38 “News Items” covering Librascope’s history from 1937 to 1995.
9) An album including 22 photos of various Librascope “Places”.
10) Last, a slideshow video with 366 photos of the Libravets receiving Service Awards from 1980 to 1989.

There are many other interesting items too, including the web-site’s Welcome and About pages.

Finally, I want to thank the many Libravets that helped me make this web-site possible, especially my good friend Ray Hand (1938-2018) who helped by scanning most of the 300+ Librazettes. I also wish to acknowledge the several Companies that also made this web-site possible, including: Apple, Evernote, Dropbox, Fujitsu's ScanSnap, and RageSW who has hosted the Librascope Memories web-site since the beginning.

Cheers,
Carl Sorensen -
A Libravet since 1958

Sunday, March 3, 2019

#159) Mini-Reunion for All Local Libravets on March 14th


John Good (and Sharon Neelands Good) is planning the following mini-reunion for former Libravet software/systems engineering employees.  He said that others who might like to come are welcome.

PLACE:                  Fuddrucker’s
ADDRESS:            221 N. San Fernando Blvd, Burbank, CA
DATE:                    Thursday, March 14, 2019
TIME:                    5:00 PM

If you live near Burbank and want to join them, please send an email message to John.  His email address is john@thevine.net.  His cell is 818-359-8041 (cell or text)

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

#158) The Names of Many Libravets Are Now On Mars!


Thanks to JPL and Lockheed Martin, the "Mars InSight Lander" landed successfully yesterday on the surface of Mars! In addition to all its scientific instrumentation, it carried the engraved names of the many Librascope Memories - News Blog readers who signed up last year. See Blog Post #152 dated October 10, 2017. 

A brief 2+ minute JPL video describing the purpose of the mission is available at https://www.space.com/40067-mars-insight-lander.html. Note, the video will start immediately following a brief 30 second commercial. Also note that there are provisions for displaying the video full screen on your computer.

Friday, October 26, 2018

#157) Jay Wilcox - A Voice from the Past


As presidents go, I was a blip on the proud 60+ year history of Librascope. It was late 1992, the Cold War was over, defense was consolidating, and I was sent on my first CEO assignment - to guide you into the Loral family. Instead, you brought me into the Librascope family. While I remember some buzz words of the day like BSY-2 and MICAD, I most remember the talented and warm people I got to know in Glendale - technical, operational, and management alike.

About two days before your October 13th reunion, I jumped online and found I could get there in time from my Ohio home, but getting back would involve an all-nighter. No big deal in 1993, but my now 70-year-old body just doesn’t do red-eyes the way it used to. So, I’m sorry I missed the reunion, but trust you all had a great time reminiscing.

After leaving Glendale in 1993, I stayed with Loral in Akron, Ohio and moved on to Eagan, Minnesota after the Loral merger with Lockheed. In late 2000, I joined the former Loral executive team at L-3 Communications. I served as president of divisions in Philadelphia and Leesburg, Virginia before retiring in 2011. My bride of 20 years, Barbara, and I are enjoying retirement in Columbus, Ohio with our children and grandchildren nearby. With some better planning, perhaps we can both join you for your next reunion. Meanwhile, we toast all of you proud Libravets!

Sincerely,

Jay Wilcox