This page contains the latest thoughts.  If you wish to read previous thoughts please click on the archive link above

Free Press Editorial 

Greetings!  Jon Brake has been gracious enough to permit me space in the Free Press to share some thoughts with you from time to time. Thank you, Jon!

This first article is an introduction so you will know where I am coming from.

Jenny and I first came to Manhattan in 1973 while I was serving a military tour at Ft Riley. These Flint Hills and the people here captivated our hearts, so we adopted Kansas as our home state and purchased a “homestead” on Tuttle Creek Lake.

Ok, that’s how we became Kansans. Now some family history. I am one of six children born to Harry and Zelia Miller in the Appalachian foothills. Harry was a self-educated schoolteacher, electrician and circuit rider preacher. Zelia personified the profession of homemaker keeping her children well fed and clean with meager income and a two-acre garden. They sacrificially provided the opportunity and encouragement for all six children to attend college. We qualified for welfare but Dad refused. I remember vividly the day a young man came to sign Dad up. I hid under the porch to listen. I remember Dad’s answer when asked to sign the papers “Young man, I thank you for coming, but I won’t be needing your help. Now git!” I worked in the university cafeteria, the steel mills during the summer and enrolled in the senior ROTC program to help with college expenses. I graduated with a BSEE from West Virginia University as a Distinguished Military Graduate and received a Regular Army commission in the Field Artillery.

Jenny is one of three daughters born to Hayward and Julie Lamp. Hayward was a driller in the West Virginia gas and oil fields, Julia raised the girls, and a fine gob she did! Jenny and I just celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary. Greg, our first-born was killed at age 18 in an accident in Germany. Our daughter, Deb, and her husband Tod are both counselors living in Sisters, OR, with Anson and Tate. Our son, Doug, and his wife Connie (Sylvester of Leonardville, KS) and Luke, Logan and Levi are moving to Travis Air Force Base, CA, where Doug will fly the C-5 cargo plane for the US Air Force. My military assignments included troop command in Korea, Germany, Vietnam, and various military installations in the United States. Alternately, I served as an engineer in research and development (R&D) assignments designing and testing leading edge equipment for the US Army and maintaining the infrastructure at major military facilities.

After retiring from the Army in 1981 we returned to the Flint Hills to serve the Kansas State University community as an Energy Research Assistant and later as an Electrical Engineer for Facilities. Our first house, a passive solar, earth integrated structure, was also our research project. The empirical data exceeded design specifications. I also assisted Dr. Johnson in Wind Energy Research.

In 1988 we reluctantly took a leave of absence from Kansas so I could join an Architecture and Engineering firm in Oklahoma to assist the owners in expanding their company. Within five years, my team grew the company from 60 employees at one location to a nation-wide, multi-faceted engineering and service company with more than 550 employees

Then in 1998 we sold our house, stored our furniture, moved into a 40-foot fifth wheel RV and spent two exciting years touring America. We returned to our beloved Flint Hills in 2000 and built our present home on another piece of our homestead. Our intent was to be active but low key and to get my patent pending invention tested and on the market. However, it became obvious the restless desire in both of us would not be quieted and Jenny and I are now excited about a new adventure: My goal is to represent the people of the 67th District in the Kansas House of Representatives. I will share my views on government and other issues in later articles.