Dick Steinfeldt

(posted June 12, 2008, updated July 12, 2010)

 

I taught HS physics for 28 years, then finished with 5 years as technology coordinator, retiring in June, 1999. Barb was the director of the Erie-Catt Teacher Center at E2CC BOCES for 16 years, and retired in 2002.

Barb and I are still in Fredonia, at the same Straight Road address (2834 Straight Road) where many of you gathered on cold, snowy December evenings for the annual "Sing Along with Steiny" Christmas parties. Our email is richst@steinfeldt.com and the phone is 716-673-1682. We considered heading south after retirement, but my dad was living at One Temple Square at the time, so we decided to make some improvements to the house which might make coping with winter a bit more pleasant. We added a 30 x 30 garage, and a 16 x 16 "spa" which contains an abundance of tropical plants and a large hot tub from which we can enjoy the glory of lake effect squalls without having to venture outdoors. We also gutted and completely remodeled the kitchen. As luck would have it, my dad passed away 2 weeks after we began construction, but we're happy we stayed in Fredonia.

You may remember that our deck ran the full length of the house. Two years ago, we had a sunroom built on half of the deck (see picture below) and we find that we live in that room about 10 months of the year.

Our son, Kurt, is now senior sales manager for park and event sales at Disneyworld. He lives in Orlando, with his wife, Libby, who is a speech pathologist specializing in swallowing problems, and their 12-year-old son, David. (Picture below is them with us--we're the older couple--at Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks in 2008.)

Our daughter, Kirsten, lives in Albany where she is a special ed teacher in the Guilderland school district. Her husband, Joe Ippolito, is a social worker with Albany Hospice. Their two sons are Nick (age 8) and Andy (age 6).Picture below is Kirsten and her two boys (2008).

Here's one of us all together in July, 2004...

 

We were lucky enough to get everyone in Fredonia for Christmas, 2009. (It was the first snow experience for our Florida grandson!) Here's a picture from that event (Kurt & family on right, Kirsten and family on left. I'm sure you can figure out where Barb and I are in the picture!)

We make the "grand tour" to Florida an average of twice a year. Not only do we visit the kids in Orlando--where it's neat to be able to walk backstage BEHIND the various country's pavilions in Epcot--but we also visit Barb's mom in Port Charlotte and her brother in Naples. Our daughter-in-law Libby is a born southerner, and can't understand how we can put up with the "horrible weather" in Fredonia. I remind her of the comment made by Paul McGuire, football broadcaster and former punter for the Buffalo Bills. "Sure it snows in Buffalo," he said, "but do you know what happens then? It melts, and flowers grow!" We always like to add, "and your house is still there in the morning!" I think she really got the point during hurricane season a couple of years ago when several storms made it to Orlando--which the kids had assured us was inland and thus "hurricane-proof." I got a call one day asking me to go to Wal-Mart, buy every big tarp I could get my hands on and FedEx them to Orlando because another storm was on the way and there were no tarps to be had anywhere in central Florida.

Since retiring, I have become a "professional" landscape and nature photographer. (The quotes are because the IRS sees me as a pro conducting a business, but I'm not about to give up my teaching pension. Selling any type of artwork is a tough business.) If you're interested in seeing some of my work, head to my website www.steinfeldt.com and wander around. Last year, Barb "suggested" that I might want to submit a photo or two to PARADE Magazine's "Beautiful America" photo contest. I wasn't enthuiastic, but she said something about my sleeping alone for the rest of my life if I didn't, so... At any rate, I was one of the 18 prize winners--out of 62,000 submissions--published in the Dec. 2, 2007 issue. The photo is below. It was taken in October on a back road in the town of Arkwright.

Since retiring, we've done some traveling, but certainly less than many other retirees. The big splurge was our 40th anniversary gift to ourselves in 2006 when we spent 3 days in Seattle before heading to Alaska for a cruise (picture below is Margarie glacier "calving" in Glacier Bay National Park), followed by 3 days in Vancouver, BC. We got so many questions from folks who were interested in going to Alaska that we created a "day-by-day" log of the trip, complete with photos and tips. The feedback is uniformly positive, so if you'd like to take a look, click on this link www.steinfeldt.com/alaskatrip.

In 2007, after Labor Day, we headed to Michigan, going up the east coast of the" mitten" and then to the upper penninsula, where we crossed over into Ontario at Sault St. Marie. From there we hopped a train for the 300-mile trip through back woods to Hearst, the "moose capitol of the world." Spectacular views along the route (see picture below--it's 300 feet down from the trestle, but the Canadians maintain their system better than Amtrak). The area we passed through is only accessible by train or float plane. Hunters or fisherman board the train, putting the aluminum boats, outboards motors, etc. into the baggage car, with the aid of the conductor. They let the conductor know where they want to leave the train, and he helps them unload their gear. The train stops to pick up anyone standing by the track who flags down the train. (The train makes the 300-mile trip north one day, then turns around and comes south the next.) Basically, the train operates as a "bus" into and out of the wilderness! Here's a link to the train line www.agawacanyontourtrain.com.

When making our "grand tour" to Florida, we sometimes carve out a side trip. It's worth the effort to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway (photo below). Parkway info is at www.blueridgeparkway.org/

Another time, we made the Florida trip via the Great Smoky Mountains, and Pisgah National Forest (photo below). Park info is at www.nps.gov/grsm/, Pisgah Natl Forest info at ncnatural.com/NCUSFS/Pisgah/.

One other great trip was a week in the Florida Keys. Amazingly, we discovered that many of our Florida relatives have never visited the keys. (To be fair, we never rode the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls until we took our Florida grandson four years ago.) Life in the keys is VERY laid-back and relaxed. Key West is fun to visit(photo below shows the famous sunset as viewed from Mallory Square), but don't miss the rest of the keys. The drive from Miami is filled with spectacular views! Florida keys info at www.floridakeys.com/.

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