Engineering graduate James Washington is a lifelong learner
By Kelvin Childs
Lifelong learning is a value James Washington, Jr. (B.A., ’58) follows aggressively in his nine decades on Earth. The retired paratrooper came to Howard on the advice of an Army buddy who told him, “It’ll be a decision you’ll never regret.” And with a degree in mechanical engineering from what today is the College of Engineering and Architecture, Washington has lived a colorful life, taking up flying in his 40s and motorcycling in his 80s.
Through it all, he is a believer in the benefits of a Howard education and giving to Alma Mater. “Yes, I donate to the University when I can. I think it is a good thing,” Washington said. Donations “create a better learning environment for the students as well as the faculty.”
Washington served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1949 as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, 505th Airborne Infantry Regiment. Sometime after that, he enrolled in college but a conversation with one of his Army friends — a Howard student — made him change course. “We talked about my ambitions and his ambitions, and he started to talk about Howard, about campus life and cultural activities, speakers and things like that, and at the end of the conversation, he suggested I come to Howard.” So, he did.
After graduating, he got married and worked for Curtiss-Wright Corp. in New Jersey and later Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Pennsylvania. However, his late wife Virginia spurred him to move. “My wife couldn’t stand the hills. She hated those hills in Pittsburgh, so I had to do something,” he said. Washington attended a career job fair and made a contact with a recruiter from the Eastman Kodak Co.
“The agent from Kodak, we really hit it off. He invited me to dinner afterward. We sat down and talked. He said, ‘You’ll hear from me.’ A few weeks later, I did hear from him, making an offer, a pretty good offer, except I threw it in the wastebasket and I didn't let my wife see it; she grabbed it.
“A month later, I received another offer, too good to turn down,” he said. So, he accepted, and the couple relocated to Rochester, New York.
Over time, Washington took an interest in flying, joined a club, and became part-owner of a single-engine Cessna airplane. “We used to fly all over Rochester and every other place with it. We had a great time,” he said.
However, after a visit with friends in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1974, Washington encountered difficulty returning home and made an emergency landing near Little Falls, New York. “I didn't have the training to travel in bad weather, so I landed on the [New York State] Thruway. It was the safest thing to do at the time,” he said.
After he landed, “the cops came about, and we talked and they were pretty nice about it, though, but they wouldn't allow me to take off again. I wanted to take off again because the weather was clearing up. No way. They wouldn’t allow me to take off. They wanted a professional to take off. So, I hopped a bus and headed back home,” Washington said. He arranged for a professional pilot from the flying club to retrieve the plane. “They charged me about 50 bucks for it.”
The motorcycling came when he turned 81. He said he liked “the freedom that it involves. It’s about as close to a bird as you’re going to get.” His family wasn’t that thrilled about it, but “they didn’t know about it until it happened.”
Through it all, Washington is a staunch supporter of Howard. “It’s not just about money. It’s about investment in the future. You have to make an education more accessible for the people who can’t afford it.”