MONROE - Greg Hendrickson has always loved technology and flying. After feeling a little lost after high school, he soon found his way and managed to make a career while doing the things he loved. Today, he's still finding ways to enjoy, participate and find meaning back in his hometown of Monroe, the place to which he always planned to return.
Hendrickson was born in Madison, but spent his childhood in Monroe. His days were spent alongside his three younger brothers, who he says often drove each other crazy, most likely because of the space between them.
As young as 7, Hendrickson had a fascination with flying and outer space. He built model rockets regularly and eventually moved up to model airplanes that could fly. He loved electronics and technology and built a short-wave radio at age 15.
He's not sure where his fascination with science came from. But instead of looking at comic books like most boys his age, he says he was simply drawn to books about flying and science.
He could often be found taking apart old TVs, crank phones and walkie talkies before they were tossed away. Hendrickson says he enjoyed his childhood and recalls spending time at Recreation Park. He even recalls the day Twining Park opened in 1957, where he entered the model plane contest.
"I finally got my dad to take me to the airport to watch the planes take off," he recalled. "I loved it."
At Monroe High School, he was an average student; he was shy and finally branched out when he got involved with a student exchange program.
"I forced myself to do something different," he said.
Hendrickson welcomed Joe, an outgoing Italian student from New York who was his complete opposite. Despite his discomfort while he went back with Joe to visit Long Island, Hendrickson wouldn't forget the experience.
"It was fascinating to see a different lifestyle," he said. "It gave me a different outlook on things."
After graduating in 1967, Hendrickson planned to attend University of Wisconsin-Madison for a science degree and eventually get into meteorology. But his interests required calculus, and he decided to change gears.
After two years, he left school, which he says was a blessing in disguise.
Hendrickson began working at Triangle Cheese Corp. in Monroe. The job paid well for someone without a college education -$2 an hour, which was above minimum wage. Despite the good pay and friendly people, he wanted more and knew he wouldn't stay forever.
It was his father, in early 1970, who suggested he go to the Monroe Airport and ask Wendell Brunkow to give him flying lessons.
"It was love at first flight," Hendrickson said. Brunkow taught him for six months, and he says he never felt more at home than he felt in the sky.
"I was never scared," Hendrickson said. "I was just so comfortable up there. I went up solo after two weeks. It just felt natural."
That November he took the tests and received his pilot's license.
Shortly after, his father made another suggestion that would change his life: He brought a brochure home from the Army, which was looking for helicopter pilots.
The Army paying him to fly sounded like a dream come true, he said. Hendrickson took the physical that July and headed out for basic training in November.
"It was a nightmare," Hendrickson recalls of his first experiences there. The training was inside what was referred to as the "pressure cooker" where they experienced high-stress, intense situation environments.
Hendrickson felt relief after several months when they were able to train in actual helicopters.
When he finished, he had 200 hours of helicopter time under his belt and finished 12th in the class of 32. The top six people were sent to Vietnam, he recalls. Hendrickson went to Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he learned to fly several different types of helicopters.
While on leave in the summer of 1973, Hendrickson asked a girl named Mary Jo out while he was in town. He rented a plane, flew her around and even made a grand gesture of writing their names on the top of his father's roof. She threw up - and after a few months, the romance fizzled.
Although he enjoyed it, he knew he wouldn't make the Army his career.
He left the Army in 1975 and needed a job. He thought of becoming an air traffic controller. He passed the tests and was hired that year, working for the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center in Aurora, Illinois.
He still flew for friends and took on other small flying jobs on the side and joined the Army Reserve, where he was able to fly once or twice a month.
He'll never forget the year he was able to land in Monroe for the Cheese Days parade that brought a big crowd.
"I still remember flying right by the steeple at St. Victor's Church," he said.
He left the high-stress job in Aurora after two years and went to Quincy, Illinois, and spent 14 months there as an air traffic controller. It was too small for his liking, and he then moved to Decatur, a place he stayed for 10 years. He also joined the Illinois National Guard, flying helicopters for them.
He has memorable moments as an air traffic controller - including Aug. 3, 1981, when 11,000 controllers went on strike. Although his union wasn't striking, he was caught up with trying to help, working up to 17 days in a row without a day off and losing friends.
He also recalls 9/11 well and says he was working the day the planes crashed and a Nationwide Ground Stop was placed.
"I'd never seen anything like it in 25 years," he said. "I got cold chills."
Hendrickson's love life sparked up again in 1991 after his first marriage didn't work out. He says his mother suggested he call up Mary Jo - the girl he had dated almost 20 years earlier and taken on a flight while back in town. He gathered up the courage to ask her out and the couple married five months later.
They lived in Kankakee, Illinois, while Hendrickson worked as an air traffic controller there until his retirement in 2004. After doing the same job for three decades, he says he was ready.
"It was a great job," he said. "I always liked my work, but I was tired of it. And Mary Jo and I knew where we wanted to go - Monroe."
Three days after retirement, the couple returned to their hometown.
"I've lived in a lot of locations and none of them stacked up to Monroe," he said. "You see what you miss when you have it taken away for a while."
Hendrickson still loves technology. He was one of the first people to ever have a home computer and when the rest of the world caught up, his nickname became 1-800-ASK GREG. He got increasingly involved and spent the early 1990s helping others. He even developed and taught a course at his workplace.
That nickname didn't quit, and Hendrickson still finds himself helping people with their Mac products.
But he also takes time to enjoy life. He loves to bike and puts on about 2,000 miles each year. He also loves to read and travel, and the couple loves theater, both locally and away.
"Even though I'm retired I never seem to have free time," he said, laughing.
Hendrickson went back to school while working and earned his associate degree in history, graduating as the first in his class of 800 people. Although he no longer flies, he says he feels fortunate for the time he had as a pilot.
Flying will always stay in his heart.
"You never get tired of looking out the window. Seeing the moon bounce off of the top of the clouds is remarkable," Hendrickson said.
He often lives by words he learned while in the Army - he says joining young taught him about priorities and plans, which helped him focus.
"If you've got something that has to be done, do it now," Hendrickson said. "Don't put it off."
Hendrickson was born in Madison, but spent his childhood in Monroe. His days were spent alongside his three younger brothers, who he says often drove each other crazy, most likely because of the space between them.
As young as 7, Hendrickson had a fascination with flying and outer space. He built model rockets regularly and eventually moved up to model airplanes that could fly. He loved electronics and technology and built a short-wave radio at age 15.
He's not sure where his fascination with science came from. But instead of looking at comic books like most boys his age, he says he was simply drawn to books about flying and science.
He could often be found taking apart old TVs, crank phones and walkie talkies before they were tossed away. Hendrickson says he enjoyed his childhood and recalls spending time at Recreation Park. He even recalls the day Twining Park opened in 1957, where he entered the model plane contest.
"I finally got my dad to take me to the airport to watch the planes take off," he recalled. "I loved it."
At Monroe High School, he was an average student; he was shy and finally branched out when he got involved with a student exchange program.
"I forced myself to do something different," he said.
Hendrickson welcomed Joe, an outgoing Italian student from New York who was his complete opposite. Despite his discomfort while he went back with Joe to visit Long Island, Hendrickson wouldn't forget the experience.
"It was fascinating to see a different lifestyle," he said. "It gave me a different outlook on things."
After graduating in 1967, Hendrickson planned to attend University of Wisconsin-Madison for a science degree and eventually get into meteorology. But his interests required calculus, and he decided to change gears.
After two years, he left school, which he says was a blessing in disguise.
Hendrickson began working at Triangle Cheese Corp. in Monroe. The job paid well for someone without a college education -$2 an hour, which was above minimum wage. Despite the good pay and friendly people, he wanted more and knew he wouldn't stay forever.
It was his father, in early 1970, who suggested he go to the Monroe Airport and ask Wendell Brunkow to give him flying lessons.
"It was love at first flight," Hendrickson said. Brunkow taught him for six months, and he says he never felt more at home than he felt in the sky.
"I was never scared," Hendrickson said. "I was just so comfortable up there. I went up solo after two weeks. It just felt natural."
That November he took the tests and received his pilot's license.
Shortly after, his father made another suggestion that would change his life: He brought a brochure home from the Army, which was looking for helicopter pilots.
The Army paying him to fly sounded like a dream come true, he said. Hendrickson took the physical that July and headed out for basic training in November.
"It was a nightmare," Hendrickson recalls of his first experiences there. The training was inside what was referred to as the "pressure cooker" where they experienced high-stress, intense situation environments.
Hendrickson felt relief after several months when they were able to train in actual helicopters.
When he finished, he had 200 hours of helicopter time under his belt and finished 12th in the class of 32. The top six people were sent to Vietnam, he recalls. Hendrickson went to Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he learned to fly several different types of helicopters.
While on leave in the summer of 1973, Hendrickson asked a girl named Mary Jo out while he was in town. He rented a plane, flew her around and even made a grand gesture of writing their names on the top of his father's roof. She threw up - and after a few months, the romance fizzled.
Although he enjoyed it, he knew he wouldn't make the Army his career.
He left the Army in 1975 and needed a job. He thought of becoming an air traffic controller. He passed the tests and was hired that year, working for the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center in Aurora, Illinois.
He still flew for friends and took on other small flying jobs on the side and joined the Army Reserve, where he was able to fly once or twice a month.
He'll never forget the year he was able to land in Monroe for the Cheese Days parade that brought a big crowd.
"I still remember flying right by the steeple at St. Victor's Church," he said.
He left the high-stress job in Aurora after two years and went to Quincy, Illinois, and spent 14 months there as an air traffic controller. It was too small for his liking, and he then moved to Decatur, a place he stayed for 10 years. He also joined the Illinois National Guard, flying helicopters for them.
He has memorable moments as an air traffic controller - including Aug. 3, 1981, when 11,000 controllers went on strike. Although his union wasn't striking, he was caught up with trying to help, working up to 17 days in a row without a day off and losing friends.
He also recalls 9/11 well and says he was working the day the planes crashed and a Nationwide Ground Stop was placed.
"I'd never seen anything like it in 25 years," he said. "I got cold chills."
Hendrickson's love life sparked up again in 1991 after his first marriage didn't work out. He says his mother suggested he call up Mary Jo - the girl he had dated almost 20 years earlier and taken on a flight while back in town. He gathered up the courage to ask her out and the couple married five months later.
They lived in Kankakee, Illinois, while Hendrickson worked as an air traffic controller there until his retirement in 2004. After doing the same job for three decades, he says he was ready.
"It was a great job," he said. "I always liked my work, but I was tired of it. And Mary Jo and I knew where we wanted to go - Monroe."
Three days after retirement, the couple returned to their hometown.
"I've lived in a lot of locations and none of them stacked up to Monroe," he said. "You see what you miss when you have it taken away for a while."
Hendrickson still loves technology. He was one of the first people to ever have a home computer and when the rest of the world caught up, his nickname became 1-800-ASK GREG. He got increasingly involved and spent the early 1990s helping others. He even developed and taught a course at his workplace.
That nickname didn't quit, and Hendrickson still finds himself helping people with their Mac products.
But he also takes time to enjoy life. He loves to bike and puts on about 2,000 miles each year. He also loves to read and travel, and the couple loves theater, both locally and away.
"Even though I'm retired I never seem to have free time," he said, laughing.
Hendrickson went back to school while working and earned his associate degree in history, graduating as the first in his class of 800 people. Although he no longer flies, he says he feels fortunate for the time he had as a pilot.
Flying will always stay in his heart.
"You never get tired of looking out the window. Seeing the moon bounce off of the top of the clouds is remarkable," Hendrickson said.
He often lives by words he learned while in the Army - he says joining young taught him about priorities and plans, which helped him focus.
"If you've got something that has to be done, do it now," Hendrickson said. "Don't put it off."