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I first met Cal in January 1977, when I arrived on the Hillview Acres Children's Home campus, in Chino, CA. Having a paint brush in his hand, I thought he was a maintenance man. As the days unfolded, I learned he was a "maintenance man," but for the children and staff in need. When things weren't going well, staff were encouraged to, "Take the youngsters to Cal's office!" He had dependable low-key demeanor, that wasn't explosive, but measured and openly honest. Youngsters, who'd been abused, had to process the whole situation; waiting to be 'punished, ' lectured, deprived of food or isolated. I imagine that those who knew him during their long-ago placements at the children's home, could even today, without hesitation, recall their times playing chess with him-as does a young man I know today-who's more than 50 years old.
Having been a sailor-trained to work in the engineering spaces of a big ship, Cal understood the 'workings' of the ship's boilers. Years later, in the children's home setting, he possessed the inherent capacity to help children keep from 'boiling' over, or exploding with rage.
Cal was also, a minister of Christ-leaning upon the love of God-helping children to come to some degree of belief in the hope of spiritual redemption. Not only did he become a safe haven for the kids-many co-workers sought out his wisdom and being a safe haven for them as well.
Cal had a vision for using computers in tracking a wide range of client data. His vision led to the development of a real-time computer program tracking the behavioral growth of children in placement. Learning how to display the day-to-day development of a child's progress using a computer program became a national model for child welfare.
Cal was a key component in my professional and personal life as I spent the next 20 years as CEO of Hillview Acres-he is still a friend.
Corky KindsvaterSeptember, 2017
