Lockportian Profiles

Casey Moyer, Of Pine Street Fame

He was born on May 22, 1977 in Oahu, Hawaii and moved with my parents, Ronald and Christine Moyer, to Lockport in 1983.  He grew up on Pine Street and is still known around here by almost everyone.  He graduated from Lockport High School, ask the teachers I know they remember him! In 1995, Casey enlisted into the U.S. Navy.    He caught onto what was
taught there very quickly and made a pretty big impact.  He became a SAR, Search And Rescue. student and took it from there.  The Navy was where he also met his wife, Diana McGloughlon(Moyer), who is also in the Navy.  Casey now makes his residence in Portland, Oregon.  He is soon to be enlisted in the University of San Diego where his wife and he will settle until her years are finished in the Navy. He also plans on making Lockport his home again. I enjoyed telling you of my brother's life and hope you found it interesting.


Mike "Mikala" Moyer
11/15

Recalling Role Lockportians Had In
Man-On-Moon Mission

Most Lockportians are aware of William Gregory, the Lockport High graduate who went on to become a NASA astronaut.  Fewer may be aware, however, of two Lockportians who played a key role in making space travel, such as the mission to the moon 30 years ago, possible through work in the then local aerospace industry.  Lockport's Donald J. (Jack) Stoll tells his story of what went on behind the scenes,  "a long time ago."

    Over thirty years ago a fantastic thing happened. Neil Armstrong stepped on to the Moon. I sometimes wonder if many realize that a WNY company then called Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory played a major part in that accomplishment.Cornell is no more. It is now Veridian Engineering after many spin-offs through Calspan etc.

     Two Lockport residents were deeply involved in Research and Development at Cornell in the early sixties and were among Scientists, Engineers and Technicians that enabled the launching of the S1-C booster that started the trip to outer space and to the Moon. Ralph D. Kahle, now a resident of Fairport and myself, Donald J. (Jack) Stoll (still in Lockport) were the two
Lockportians.

     The Cornell task was to develop the proper heat shielding to enable an enormous Rocket to depart from this earth and not burn itself to molten metal at blastoff. This was done by repetitive testing and hardware design changes of heat shielding using a 1/45th scale Model of the Saturn Rocket exposed to many static and wind tunnel tests at Cornell and at the Lewis Research Center of NASA in Cleveland Ohio.

    Heat Transfer gauges and pressure transducers, designed and fabricated at Cornell were used to measure Base temperatures and pressures, eventually resulting in a sound design and Construction of the full scale real powerhouse which was more than adequate to accomplish the perfect Lift-off in 1965.

Photo and info from:  Jack Stoll, jack1645@localnet.com

As you'll find out, Mike has seen the world.  His comments on Lockport and the Niagara Frontier and comparison with other destinations are therefore especially welcome.  We asked him to tell us about himself and his travels around the world.  Here is his story and profile...in his own words:

I was born in Lockport back in 1961. My parents are J. Scott and Renate Donaldson, and I have one sister named Cindy. I have lived at quite a few places in the Lockport area including, Vine St., Park Ave., Lindhurst Dr., and out on Slayton Settlement Rd.

I worked at Super Duper (remember that place?) and at Pontillos Pizzaria for a few years. I also played in a few bands as a drummer. After graduating from LSHS in 1979, I raised my hand to be sworn into the Air Force. From that moment on, my life became a blur of travel and experiences – some of it beyond words, but, if written would read like a novel.

I have been stationed in Germany, Colorado, Nebraska, Montana, Alaska, and now in Florida. I have been to 49 of the 50 states (Rhode Island is next on my list) and 19 foreign countries, including, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Azores, Slovenia, Mexico, and nearly every country in Europe. My eyes were opened to the real world during those 3 years living in Germany. It is there that I experienced terrorist action first-hand -- the bombing of both our base headquarters building and the Octoberfest in Munich. It was there that I witnessed the Iranian hostages come home and seen all the yellow ribbons tied to the trees around the hospital where they stayed. It was also there that I learned how quickly lives can be swept away -- after watching a C-130 cargo plane crash after takeoff only 30 minutes after just talking to the flight crew before their flight one early morning. I had the honor of helping out the very first female Air Force crash investigator with the investigation of that mishap, and perhaps the major reason I have such a high interest in
making Aircraft Crash Investigation a career.

I became an Aircraft Crew Chief back in 1983, and worked my way up the "military career ladder" to where I am now the Flight Safety NCO at my base in Tampa, FL. I’ve been involved with 4 military operations -- operations you’ve heard mentioned on CNN – including Operation Southern Watch and Provide Hope. I even flew over Croatia while air-refueling NATO jets during Operation Deny Flight. I eventually obtained my Airframe & Powerplant license, and just recently graduated with my Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I am also in the process of getting my Private Pilots license and getting myself set up for retirement, where I can start the next exciting chapter of my life.

Of course, the best thing to happen to me while in Germany was meeting my future bride (and that’s a romantic novel of a story in itself). Connie and I were married back in May 1983 and have 3 very handsome sons now – Matthew, Nathan, and Aaron.

I started a very serious hobby in photography back in Germany too. I am self-taught and have shot photos in nearly every country and state I have visited. Most of my work has been scenic and wildlife photography, and without a doubt, my favorite place that I’ve shot photos was in Alaska. I have photographed breaching humpback whales near Juneau, bald eagles soaring and diving for trout in pristine waters near Haines, interior grizzly’s foraging roots and berries up in the Brooks Range, and giant bull moose surrounded by the colors of fall in Denali National Park.

This is only the very tip of the iceberg of what I have fully experienced up in Alaska. I have also photographed the deserts of Arizona, the forest, mountains, and rivers of Montana, the natural rock arches of Utah, and the splendor of Canada during a trip from Fairbanks to Niagara Falls.

Beside my drumming and photography, my other hobbies include playing my guitars and writing songs, hiking, camping, and drawing my copyrighted cartoon character named YRAH. I would be happy to share some of my other photos I have taken to anyone who e-mails me…I just enjoy showing them off to anyone who wants to see them.