Crazy day, way back when .... Nov. 10, 1995. Had been working all week (in addition to my actual job -- Director, Consolidated Public Affairs Office, Marine Corps Base, Hawai'i) on this new thing .... called a "web page."
I had started out dialing in, via a phone modem, to "bulletin Boards." Text only. Then you could use "hyper links" to find other bulletin boards without having to dial in to them specifically ...
And then ...we could embed images and graphics ... have colors and do things with text ... and everything changed.
So there I was, wrapping up an initial layout -- my very first "Web Page" (A single page only) to plant a flag, as it were, in this new promised land called the "World Wide Web."
We also had to get ready for the Marine Corps Birthday Ball that evening, which was a big deal. We were stationed at Kaneohe Bay, HI and the Marine Forces Pacific Birthday Ball was huge. Approximately 10,000 Marines and guests in the Pacific Ballroom of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. And I was the narrator of the event. I'd narrated birthday balls and other events before, but never one *this* huge.
So I made sure all the HTML (such as it was) was in order and hit "UpLoad" to Aloha.net (our first internet host). Briefly paused to make sure it was on line ... it was ... shut the computer down and got ready for the Ball. And by "getting ready" I don't mean just hopping in the shower briefly, slipping into my dress uniform, diving into the car and heading over to Whacky Whacky ... oh no. With a wife and two teenaged girls ... and I had been over to the ball room earlier in the day for the final run through of the event with the MARFORPAC band, the cake escorts, the side boys, the CO of troops, the distinguished guest escorts ... it wasn't just about logistics, it was ALL about logistics. How I managed to get in a little online time inbetween all that ... I actually don't recall. But I did.
And THAT was the birth of Stovebolt.com.
And we all lived happily ever after.
So ... Happy Birthday, 'Bolters! I may have started it, but YOU have made it great. Thanks for all y'all do to support and grow this community!
John and Peggy
Thanks for allowing and encouraging me to be part of this family.
