Biography of Richard (Rich) Bergeron
Richard Bergeron grew up all over the U.S.A., but primarily in Rock Island, Illinois. In 1960, he joined the Navy at age 19 and stayed in for ten years. After boot camp at Great Lakes, he went to schools for a year to study Basic Electricity & Electronics, Fire Control Technician Class “A” curriculum and Mark 37 Gunfire Control System Class “C” curriculum. Then he went to sea for five and a half years. He was assigned to destroyers USS Laffey (DD-724) and USS Meredith (DD-890), the special guided missile testing ship USS Norton Sound (AVM-1), and destroyer USS Cony (DD-508), with two months of temporary duty on the destroyer tender USS Sierra (AD-18). His final assignment was as an weapons control equipment maintenance instructor at the Fleet Training Center, Newport, Rhode Island.
He married his wife Barbara in 1968. They have three sons. After his discharge from the service, Rich moved to Minnesota, where he worked at Control Data Corporation for twenty years as a computer technician, instructor, PLATO educational system programmer, and courseware designer. He spent six months at Red School House in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as a curriculum designer. Then came nine years as a curriculum designer/education specialist for Minnesota Educational Computer Corporation (MECC, the “Oregon Trail” people). His final formal job was with August Technology Corporation as a technical writer and instructor. Finally he served with AmeriCorps for two years at the Minnesota Human Rights Department and a year as a VISTA Leader with the Minneapolis Public School system. Bergeron used his G.I Bill to get a Bachelor of Elected Studies degree, summa cum laude, with a major in American History and a minor in American Indian Studies. His minor led to an involvement with the Native American people in Minnesota. He became a traditional dancer (in full regalia) and wound up getting adopted as a member of a Dakota family. He and Barbara served for eleven seasons on the Minneapolis Juneteenth Committee to help put on the African American celebration commemorating the end of enslavement. Now retired, Rich is finally able to do two things he has always wanted to do: teach American Indian Studies, which he does with Minneapolis Public Schools’ Community Education Program, and write books. Rich has been writing since he was in 7th Grade, when he tried to make up a story of his father in World War II. He has gone beyond that effort as an adult. He helped create a writing group on the USS Norton Sound for potential writers to share their ideas and short stories. Later, he wrote extensively at every civilian job he had. He wrote a number of articles for Control Data corporate publications in addition to the writing necessary to do his job. Some of his college papers were published in general systems and futures studies peer-reviewed journals. He has a (not-self) published book of poetry called Where Did the Sunrise Go, and a number of poems published in Guild Press anthologies. He is also working on a second volume of poetry. He published Three Acadian Generations concerning his French Acadian ancestors. This was initially published by Yvon Cyr on his Acadian Genealogy website. He wants to expand this 90 page document into a full book. He is also researching the history of First Americans (Indians) in North America before Columbus. His novel, Needle on the Haystack, is his first published fiction. He is presently working on the second book in the OCI Series, titled Operation Medusa. Click on the "Wayawatipi" button below to see some of Rich's work in the area of American Indian Studies. |