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Nick Hourigan - 1961
After high school I went to college and worked full time as a busboy and then as a file clerk with the State of California. I received a two year degree, finally, after five years in drafting and went to work for the Army Corps of Engineers as a draftsman. I kept going to college and received a degree in Economics in 1975. I stayed with the Corps and worked as an Economist evaluating flood control projects until I retired in 2000 with 33 years of federal service. I now work two days a week in a bicycle shop. My wife calls this my hobby job. My wife hopes to retire in five or six years. She is a Nurse Practitioner at the local university cancer center. We both ride bicycles a lot and enjoy many miles and hours on our tandem. Our first blind date was a tandem ride with friends. My wife and I both ride to work. I rode to work the whole time I worked at the Corps. I truly think it kept me sane all those years. I also get out at least two to three days a week and ride with the local bicycle club. My oldest grandson and I will be going to Oregon for a week in June to do the club bicycle tour. He fits great on our tandem and can use some of Helen's bicycle clothing.
2) Something about your origin; why, when and
how you wound up in Columbia and where you came
from if not born in Columbia. I was born in Columbia at good old Boone County
Hospital. 3) What did you do
immediately after you left high school in 1963 and where did you go if you
left Columbia?
I left Columbia in July of 1961 before my
Junior year at Hickman and moved to Sacramento California
and
graduated from Encina High School in 1963. 4) Tell me about
your education and what your profession is or how you acquired your
occupation and something about it.
After high school I went to a two year college
in Sacramento and in only five years received a degree in drafting.
This got me a job with the Army Corps
of Engineers as a draftsman.
I kept going to school and finally,
after 12 years, obtained a degree in Economics from the local state
college.
The Corps then kept me on as an
Economist doing flood control analyst.
I retired in August of 2000 with 33
years of Federal Government service. 5) Are you still
working and if so what are you doing?
After I retired from the federal
government I worked in a bicycle shop
two day a week and still work in a bicycle shop maybe two days a month.
My wife and I still enjoy a lot of
bicycling in and around Sacramento and California. 6) Are you retired
and what are you doing/have done since you retired? How long have you been
retired? See Q 4 and 5 above. 7) Are you
married? Who are you married to? Who are you divorced from? How did you meet your
spouse or partner; where and when? How long have you been married?
I married my high school sweetheart, Jan,
during my last year of high school and divorced 19 years later.
We are still friends.
I met my current wife, Helen, on a
bicycling blind date and have now been married 21 years. 8) How many
children do you have? When was your first child born? When was your last child
born? How many grandchildren do you have and when was the oldest one born? I have one daughter, Patrice, from my first
marriage. She was born in Sacramento in 1963.
I have two grandsons, Nick and Tim.
They were both born in Sacramento.
Nick, the oldest was born in 1989.
9)What countries
have you spent time in other than on business? What countries have you
lived in outside the US?
I have been to Canada and Mexico and to Europe
twice.
I visited England, France, Italy,
Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Switzerland, The
Netherlands. I have only lived in Columbia and Sacramento. 10) Tell me what's
on your 'Bucket List' and tell what you have and haven't done so far. I want to visit and see more of the eastern
United States and visit more State and National Parks. I do want to see Columbia again. 11) Are you a
veteran and if so where and when you served our country?
I have not been in the service.
I was very lucky to be able to register
3A(Married with child)
for
the draft during the Vietnam War.
12) What is the
most vivid memory you have from Hickman High School? What is worst memory? What
is your best memory?
I only went to Hickman for my sophomore year
and I only remember good things.
I remember the beanies the sophomore’s
had to wear and then try to avoid the seniors hazing.
The cruzing through Big Boy Drive In
was always great fun.
Sacramento had Harvey’s Drive in during
the sixties. 13) What was your
favorite place to go after school or on weekends in Columbia when
attending Hickman?
I remember Big Boy and one other Drive In to
cruz and also going down to Booches
Pool
Hall for Pool and a really good burger.
14) Who was your
favorite teacher at Hickman? Who would you like to see the most from the
Hickman faculty? I can’t remember any of Hickman’s teachers. 15) What person
from our class have you stayed in closest contact with since you left Hickman?
I have visited Jim Atkinson when I have been
in town for the 25th
Reunion, but not lately.
I had kept in contact with Judi
Hourigan, my sister-in-law, who has now passed.
I
have kept up to date with the Class of 1963 thanks to Charlie Blackmore,
thanks Charley! 16) Are you still
in touch with 6 or more of our classmates and if so give me their name and
their email, address and phone number? See Q 15 above. 17) Tell me
something that you have told one of your children or grandchildren that
was something you learned or did at Hickman?
I think that I showed my daughter, Patrice,
Hickman in past visits years ago. 18) Share any
memory you have of your earliest recollections of places, people or things
in Columbia? I remember good old West Boulevard Grade School
and Jefferson Jr. High and of course Barth Clothing Co, Hullens Lake,
Stephens Lake and Columbia Country Club. 19) What was your
biggest accomplishment before you graduated from Hickman High School and
what has been your biggest accomplishment since you graduated from
Hickman until now?
Before I graduated from Encina High School, in
Sacramento would have to be having a daughter, Patrice.
After high school probably graduating
from college with a degree in Economics after 12 years. 20) What do you
think classmates will remember the most about you the at the 50th reunion? I don’t know.
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