Jim Moses' Content

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JIM MOSES

  • Name (as you like it): James R. Moses, but I go by Jim Moses.
  • Where were you from when you joined the PC: I lived in Portland, MI at the time, but was a student at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI, where I signed up with my roommate (who went to Ethiopia).
  • PC group: Micro XI
  • Training location: We were headquartered in Pepeekeo, HI (at the sugar cane plantation school there) and most of our training was there, but our specialty training was in nearby Honomu, HI.
  • Location where you served:  service on Saipan September 15 - October 2, 1971, service on Tinian October 2, 1971 - June 17, 1973 at Tinian School, and service on Saipan from August 16, 1973 - July 24, 1974 at Oleai School. After that, Contract employee on Saipan
  • Years served: 3 - from 1971 - 1974
  • Work assignment: On Tinian my main assignment was junior high science and math, with Social Studies, English, typing, agriculture, and anything else necessary for the day, from grade 1 through grade 9. On Saipan I taught Social Studies from grades 4 through 7.
  • Additional projects/events: collecting legends and stories, and doing archaeology surveys and excavations
  • Host family and/or adoptive family: On Tinian I lived by myself, but Tan Victoria King was my landlady (she was also the local siruana). On Saipan I lived with Mr and Mrs Dionicio and Mercedes Torres and family in Chalan Kanoa (at the same time, one of their daughters lived with my family back in Michigan).
  • NMI travel: Tinian, Saipan, Rota
  • Micronesian travel: Yap, Palau, Truk, Ponape.
  • Other work in NMI/Micronesia after PC:  Contract Employee Aug 1974 until the end of February 1979.  Was Northern Mariana Islands Social Studies Specialist, where I wrote texts, taught demonstration classes, started a project to collect legends, stories, and other folklore of the islands (based on the Foxfire Project), and also taught Northern Marianas prehistory and geography classes on Saipan for the University of  Guam and the Community College of Micronesia. I participated on several archaeological excavations and surveys on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, and was named Acting Historic Preservation Officer for a time (because they needed someone in that position and they hadn't hired Dr. Tom King yet to fill the slot, so I had the job because I had more archaeological experience than anyone else in the area at that time).
  • Other life activities: I married Mirla Gamboa (from the Philippines) on Saipan, and started a family which eventually consisted of four children and, currently (March 2022), eight grandchildren. After returning to Michigan I built my own house, worked in a factory, then for a construction company, and then was in sales before getting a degree in IT and making that my career, from which I retired a few years ago. My outside-of-work passions have included mineral collecting, genealogy, and writing. I have taught genealogy and religion classes for more than 20 years, and I have written more than 500 genealogy articles, mostly for the Sentinel-Standard newspaper in Ionia, MI. In addition, there are several short stories (a few of which are published) and a murder mystery based on Saipan with (you guessed it) a Peace Corps Volunteer as the good guy. Several other murder mysteries are in the works. I'm also active in the Sons of the American Revolution and have done several events (meet-and-greets, information sessions, etc.) with the Peace Corps office at Michigan State University.

Picture/Slide Album​