About Jay Reynolds
Jay Reynolds
was born in Dallas, Texas during the summer of 1955, and spent
his childhood there. During that time, he developed a love of
reading and observation. From an early age, he worked in the family
business building municipal water systems and industrial buildings,
and a working knowledge of many trades. His parents instilled
in him a strong work ethic and moral values, and he became fluent
in the Spanish language.
He attended the Texas Maritime Academy
of Texas A&M University at Galveston, TX, graduating in 1977
with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Engineering. During
that time, he was able to travel worldwide and qualified to become
a Third Assistant Ship's Engineer, Steam/Diesel, Unlimited Horsepower.
His studies at the University included all engineering disciplines,
with heavy emphasis on power generation and marine propulsion
systems, and also oceanography, meteorology, and navigation.
After graduation, he received further
training and became a Field Service Engineer for the General Electric
Corporation, working on the Texas gulf coast providing technical
direction in both construction and maintenance of large steam
and gas turbines and shipboard engines. He also traveled widely
in Central America. In 1979, seeking further opportunity, he moved
to the island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and joined the
Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corporation, where he was employed as
a Gas Turbine Engineer and supervised maintenance of nine gas
turbine power generators with waste heat recovery boilers at one
of the world's largest oil refineries.
On St. Croix, and in subsequent travels
around the Caribbean, he became an accomplished diver, spearfisherman,
and sailor, and immersed himself in West Indian culture. Eventually,
a home garden grew to become a full-time enterprise which was
called "Blue Chips Farm", a farm which produced organically
grown tropical fruits and vegetables. This operation, with the
able assistance of his beautiful wife, Karen, was expanded when
he developed a cannery operation to create gourmet quality preserves
and sauces, which were marketed to the tourist trade. Blue Chips
consistently won prizes at local fairs and their products were
sold throughout the islands and by mail-order.
In 1989, Blue Chips was featured in Organic Gardening magazine
for it's innovative system of alternating crop beds with permanent
mulch generating strips thus supplying organic matter, mulch,
reducing erosion, and slowing evapotranspiration. During off seasons,
Jay continued his engineering work off the farm as Port Engineer
for General Offshore Corporation, which performed quality control
testing of U.S. Navy antisubmarine detection devices.
On September 19, 1989, St.Croix was
devastated by Hurricane Hugo, a powerful category 5 hurricane
that completely devastated the island. The damage was further
accomplished by widespread looting in the aftermath. After total
destruction of the farm and the island's economy, Jay was asked
to return to the Hess Oil refinery during their rebuilding, this
time working as Fired Boiler Supervising Engineer, where he continued
for the next two years.
In 1992, the Reynolds repatriated to
the United States mainland and purchased property to begin development
of a self-sufficient homestead in the midwest. They have restored
a 120 year old log cabin and built barns and outbuildings. Current
efforts are nearing completion of a super-insulated Victorian
style home built using native stone and the slip-form method.
Soil is being built up using large amounts of organic matter and
legume crops, and orchard trees have been planted. Their family
now includes two children, some small animals, and a secure location
to live, with timber, bottomland, a creek, and a free-flowing
spring.
Upon returning from 12 years offshore,
Jay was astonished at the changes he found in his nation. The
loss of American rights, the submersion of sovereignty, lowering
of educational achievement, and the decline of America's preeminence
in manufacturing were especially troubling. Seeking answers and
solutions, he allied with William Cooper, a great American who
has been documenting these changes and their possible outcomes.
Jay's research has helped in the production of a newspaper, VERITAS,
the Harvest-Trust website, and Mr. Cooper's nightly broadcast
"The Hour of the Time". His writing has been featured
on several websites and newspapers, and he hopes to provide the
best information possible, fully documented and verifiable by
any reader. He is willing to listen to all viewpoints and strives
to establish reality based on factual information and logical
analysis. His work has been completely without remuneration and
is for the benefit of all.
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