Archive for August, 2026

My First Day at Work in Huntsville

August 25, 2026

I arrived in Huntsville, Alabama during a temperature inversion in early June 1975. I had been working for a subsidiary of Science Applications Incorporated at Wallops Island, Virginia before being transferred to the office on Clinton to work with the main company on Clinton Avenue. One of my earliest memories of that first day at work was sitting down at the keypunch machine, an IBM 029, I believe, to punch cards for a computer program. On the wall directly above the machine was a card with a photo of Dolly Parton in profile. It was probably from a concert promotion. Above is the closest thing I have found to what I remember. Rest in peace, Dolly.