Jack Sterling: Jack Sterling: 
Architectural & Editorial Photographer (retired) Graphics Designer (semi-retired but still tinkering) Computer Junkie (just can't seem to quit the habit)
The Early Years: Jack
Sterling started out in 1926 about normal in size for a newborn and
grew rapidly to 6 foot 2.5 inches. Along the way he went to several
schools, nine in all. Actually, one of these, a two room country school
in Bayard, Ohio, he attended for at least 7 years. In addition to
school, he also fed the hogs, the chickens, weeded the garden, trapped
for muskrats, hunted deer, rabbits and squirrels, helped make hay, and
swam in a lot of muddy creeks. It was the depression, you see. His
father was one of those who seemed to feel paying the rent was the
right thing to do so he moved around a lot in search of work... and
places to rent.
The War Years : Jack
left high school in Clairton, Pennsylvania, to join the U.S. Navy in
1943 and was off to fight in the big one. Like his attendance of many
schools he served on more than one ship... 20 in all. He attained the
rank of QM/3c before his naval career (2 yrs, 10 mos, and 26 days) was
prematurely shortened by VJ Day leaving Jack to find other means to
while away his years. He went home to Canton, Ohio, where his parents
had moved about the same time he turned in his blues and flat hat. He
opted for a new uniform: bluejeans, engineer's boots, goggles, and a
Harley Davidson and set out to make his mark. It took a few years of
doing this and that and traveling hither and yon but what the heck, he
had lots of time.
The Formative Years:
Looking back at his life he sees himself as a tugboat crewman on the
Intracoastal Waterway in Texas and Louisiana, a bricklayer's helper at
Timken Roller Bearing Company's steel mill, a newspaper truck driver
for the Canton Repository, a Harley Davidson motorcycle mechanic, an
employee in the electro-plating department of the Hoover Company, a
spot welder and grinder for Republic Steel at the Berger Manufacturing
Division, a construction worker in a brick yard, and a traveler by way
of a couple of crossings (East to West/North to South) of the U. S. on
his Harley. As he recalls, it was while digging a ditch in 20 below
temperatures in the brick yard, he decided there must be an easier way
to make a living. So, he bought a camera and that was it... an artist
was born.
The Struggling Years:
Next came ten years as the staff photographer for a trade association
of brick manufacturers. On-the-job-training so to speak. Traveling
around the eastern half of the U.S. photographing brick buildings.
Being a motion picture producer, technical director, lighting director,
real director, cinematographer, carpenter, electrician, grip, best boy,
caterer, and gofor on a plethora of brick-making documentary films was
included. Note: It was during this movie portion of his career (circa
1955) that he heard someone say, "Some day we'll be doing this with
magnetic tape." Hah! he thought. Well, look at us now. Who'da thunk it?
Not only have we gone through the magnetic tape era but now we record history, instantly, on a digital sensor or a computer hard drive with color accuracy not dreamed of with tape. How fast the world has evolved technically in the last forty years. Film may not be around for our grandchildren to know.
The Moving on Years: He
left the comfortable employ of Structural Clay Products Institute and
after having been successfully self-employed for over 20 years, Jack
moved to Naples, Florida. He was. still is, a romantic and likes
sunshine, blue skies, palm trees, tropical breezes, and tropical
libations like Mai Tais, Planters Punch, Scorpions and whatever else
might include rum, or rhum if you prefer, white or dark. He arrived in
late March of 1972 and the photo of the birds returning to roost at
sunset in Rookery Bay was the first assignment. That assignment was
followed, during the next 16 years, by many others for a few choice
clients including a favorite type, banking firms. They included the
original First National Bank of Naples, Southeast Bank of Naples, the
old, the original, the one and only Naples Federal Savings & Loan,
and one year a series of photos for Sun Bank's calendar. He liked banks
as clients you see because they have all the money and pay their bills
very promptly.
An Enlightenment: During
the years in Canton, Ohio, he had counted Diebold Incorporated as a
principal client and after moving to Naples he continued to do location
assignments for Diebold. Diebold was a pioneer in the manufacture and
installation of Automatic Teller Machines or ATMs as we know them
today. While shooting these ATM installations across the South he was
introduced to, and became intrigued with, computers.
Unsaddled... The Golden Years:
Jack Sterling "hung up" his cameras in 1988 and is now a computer
junkie. It began when he bought a used TRS-80 Model III -
affectionately known to many as a Trash 80 - in 1982 to do bookkeeping
for his photography business. After another TRS-80, a Model 4 (Gee!
Look Ma, disk drives!), three Kaypros - Models 2x, 4, 10... anyone know
where he can get a hard drive for the 10? Then he decided to jump the
fence and test the waters in the PC area and bought an ITT-Xtra 286/12,
a no-name 386/DX25, and an AST Pentium/75, an AST Pentium/166, and
currently under his desk a 400 Celeron and the latest, an AMD 950Mhz
running WIN2K and WIN XP-PRO. His latest toy, a PII 366 IBM Thinkpad
also living on WIN2K and WIN XP-PRO is a wonderful reservoir for the
Kodak DC4800 Digital camera which brings him full circle to photography
once again. And yes, the collection also includes some older stuff,
hidden in the closet but not forgotten, like a Tandy Model 100, an NEC
8500 CP/M laptop, and an AMPRO Series 100. That latter is also a CP/M
machine. If you've never seen the AMPRO, it was an amazing little box -
in fact it is dubbed The Little Box. Almost enough junque here to start
a museum.
The Truth Revealed: So,
if you haven't figured it out by now, Jack is an outlaw, a mustang, one
who marches to a different drummer. He used DR DOS in preference to MS
for years and, after having been introduced to OS/2 via Warp 3.0, tried
Warp Version 4.0 for a spell. He really liked it for accessing the Net
but found it difficult to find a decent variety/scope of software - in
his estimation the reason the system never really went anywhere. Oh
yes, it is the choice of many banking institutions worldwide but that,
friends, takes a lot of technical know-how to put online and run.
More Truths Revealed: At present Jack spends his time in other endeavors; Jack Sterling's Design1
- a graphic design and desktop publishing effort which helps pay for
the toys. He also did some part-time duty for the Collier County
Information Technology Department. And then there is the Naples
Free-Net which took over his life for the two years of its conception,
birthing, and early days of trials and tribulations... feeding and
burping so to speak.
A Very Short History Of The Naples Free-Net: Some Bragging;
Jack was one of the founding members. A half dozen interested people
first met at the Collier County (FL) library in June of 1993. From this
nucleus the Organizing Committee was formed and spent two years growing
in number while soliciting funds to buy equipment, educate the local
phone company about the existence of the Internet and make all the
other preparations necessary for connecting to it and going online.
Jack was also a member of the Executive Committee and chaired the
Publicity Committee. A fun two years of weekly - sometimes daily -
committee meetings, public meetings, producing newsletters, building
and maintaining data bases, writing press releases, participating in
group demonstrations. But look what it produced; we're all pretty proud
of it.
Note: unlike many of the Free-Nets, it is still growing in
numbers of members (having at times served over 5000) and while many of the original
Free-Nets have gone by the wayside, it continues its innovative ways.
It was the first Free-Net to be a pure World Wide Web site and has
added WebMail, and more recently, DSL connectivity, to its list of
goodies. It began life with a mere handful of modems (12 to be exact)
and now has over 200. And, it is financially healthy due to the
multitude of hours spent by an all volunteer staff.
For its eighth birthday the Naples Free-Net left the confines of International College - our housing provider for the first eight years - and purchased it's own office; a condominium suite in the Falls Professional Center on Tamiami Trail South in Naples. For the first time the Free-Net has adequate facilities for the ever increasing number of servers and telephone gear as well as helpdesk facilities, a training room with 12 work stations, and a well appointed walk-in office for registrations.
The Naples Free-Net will celebrate its twelfth birthday on July 1, 2007
Recent additions and updates:
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