Tom teaches at York College of Pennsylvania in the Communications Department and is the Chief Engineer and Faculty Advisor for WVYC FM, the York College Radio Station. His work telephone number is 717.846.7788 and the FAX# is 717 815-1937. Check the York College link for additional telephone information.

 

He also supervises the Distance Learning Center and the Telecommunications Department. The Telecommunications Department is the head end of the 500 channel campus Cable TV system. We also provide world wide, fully interactive teleconferencing facilities by C and Ku band satellite, microwave, ITFS bands (between channels 13 and 14), and on the Internet. Tom is a long time member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and is a past officer of the Central Pennsylvania Chapter #41. 

 Tom is an active Amateur Radio operator with the call sign WA3HWY.  Licensed by the FCC for almost 50  years and holding an Advanced Class License, he is the President and Trustee of WB3DGR, the Camp Shohola Amateur Radio Club. WB3DGR is the first and oldest summer camp Amateur Radio Club in the U.S.A. and has licensed more than 240 "HAM" radio operators. He is also a long time member and past officer of W3EDU, The York Amateur Radio Club in York, PA, one of the oldest clubs in the country.  Here is a list of accomplishments.

an organization of more than 1000 educational radio stations from around the world. He holds an FCC, First Class Commercial Radio License and has assisted more than 300 stations in their quest to upgrade facilities or get on the air, including three stations in Australia and New Zealand. All College, University, and School stations are eligible for membership.

He served as the District Commissioner for the City of York and was the founder and advisor of Boy Scout Venturing Crew 99 meeting at York College.  He was also an active leader in Boy Scout Troop 23 and Cub Scout Pack 23, meeting at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, in York, Pa.

Tom was recently awarded the First Capital District Award of Merit, the highest recognition an adult scout can receive in the district.  He has been active in scouting for almost than twenty five years. Tom has previously received the Cub Scouter Award, the Cubmaster Award, the Commissioner Key Award and the Distinguished Commissioner Service Award. Additionally, he is a fully qualified instructor of adult leaders.  Tom has served more than twenty years as an adult leader and more than eight years as a youth in the Boy Scouts of America.

  Tom is a life member of the VFW, United States Veterans of Foreign Wars. 
He served in the U. S. Navy in the late 1960's and 1970's, in Viet Nam and the Mediterranean Sea, on the USS John King and the USS Sioux. Time was also served at the Naval Air Development Center in Warminster, PA. and the Naval Training Center at San Diego, CA. He has been on every continent except Antarctica and has visited 37 countries. Tom was on the USS Day, DE-225, while on fire and sinking after being bombed.  With headphones on and not hearing the call to abandon ship, Tom was manning the radio room until the last moment, and escaped just minutes before the Day sunk 20,000 feet into the darkness of the Pacific Ocean. As an E-5 non-commissioned officer, he was a communications supervisor or instructor at most commands.

 His other grandfather, Frank Watson Knowlton, of Albany N.Y. assisted with the adaptation of the Strowger step-by-step switching systems of the day (1918-1924) by adding the "G" relay, which recognized a line in use and returned the familiar busy tone.
Frank Watson Knowlton, his father Frank A. Knowlton and Grandfather John Watson Knowlton, are of the family of the famous Thomas A. Watson, trusted assistant and partner of Alexander Graham Bell. He was the person who received the first telephone message "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you," spoken by Bell on the morning of March 10, 1876.

Tom has a fully operational Strowger telephone switching system, similar to the one at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., parts of which are more than 100 years old. The system continues to handle more than 60,000 calls per year.

Tom's Genealogy goes way back to the colonial days in America.  He obviously has a significant interest in Colonial America, as can be seen from the picture at the top of the page.  Follow the links for more family information. Please write or E-Mail if you have corrections, additional information, or you have found a relationship with your family.

The colonial Knowlton family genealogy begins with William Knowlton emigrating from England in 1632 and the Swett family in 1623.
The colonial Gibson family genealogy begins with John Gibson emigrating to the from Scotland in 1632 and the Cushman family in 1620 on the Mayflower.

The family tree lists almost 200,000 individuals in more than 65,000 families with many entries dating back more than 2000 years.  
There are more than 1000 family lines of European and Mediterranean Royalty with over 120 going through Charlemagne alone.  
This is not unusual as Charles the Great, King of Franks, "The Grandfather of Our Country", is an ancestor to almost every American of European descent.  
If you are a member or are willing to create a free account, you may view the complete family tree on Ancestry.com.  

Tom is a weather, transportation and history enthusiast and president of the Pennsylvania Industrial Heritage Society.  He has an avid interest in the Gravity Railroads of northeastern Pennsylvania, the Delaware & Hudson Canal, and Horace Greeley's Lost Colony, the Sylvania Association.  He has a keen interest in Shohola Township history in general, including the Great Shohola Train wreck, The Old Shohola Glen Amusement Park  and finally, Camp Shohola history including background on the Greeley Lumber Company.

Two favorite songs are 'Vincent' by Don McLean and 'Sub Rosa Subway' by KLAATU.

Tom recently celebrated his 60th birthday.

Tom obviously also has a keen interest in electronics, computers and the Internet and has created and maintains hundreds of web pages, including many of the links from this page.
 

 

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