1974 2005
Eisenhower High School, Rialto, CA., (1971-1974) graduated 1974.
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA (attended spring 1976).
Cal Poly, Pomona, CA., B.S. Agronomy, (1974-1978) graduated 1978.
Following high school I attended Cal Poly, Pomona. I became a Christian in 1975. Spent one quarter studying at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in spring of 1976. Loved S.L.O., but would have lost too many units in the transfer, so I reluctantly decided to returned to Pomona in the fall. That summer I worked as a migrant field-worker in California's Central Valley, where I drove tractors for a tomato harvesting operation. It gave me an appreciation of the migrant workers who harvest our food. They were truly treated miserably by many, but not all, of the farmers. I quickly discovered that how our group of workers was treated changed dramatically if I took off my hat to make my blond hair visible! After my eye-opening summer, I returned to school with a changed perspective.
I met Julie James at Grace Brethren Church in LaVerne, and we married in 1977. In 1978 I graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in Agronomy (agriculture, crop science). We moved to Fresno, CA where I worked as an Irrigation Foreman for a large citrus ranch. I had a nice title, but the job was little different from my summer as a migrant worker. The only difference was I made less money, since I was on salary rather than hourly pay! After a few months, I switched to a job as an Irrigation Designer for a wholesale irrigation supply store in Fresno. I had an extensive background in irrigation from school, and this job gave me the experience I needed to flesh-out the book knowledge. In 1979 I became a father with the birth of our son Nathan.
My job at the irrigation supply company came to an end when the company decided to get out of the irrigation design business. So in 1980 Julie and I started an irrigation consulting firm under the name Oasis Irrigation Design. Our office was in the detached 1 car garage of our house. It was small, cold, and damp, but it was ours. Business was slow at first, and we struggled to make ends meet, but it slowly picked up as we made more contacts and expanded our services. Later we changed the name of the company to Jess Stryker and Associates. A local landscape architect, Richard Bigler, took an interest in me and got me interested in landscape architecture. He apprenticed me in landscape architecture, and after a lot of late-night study, I obtained my landscape architect license in 1987. Julie and I then expanded the irrigation design business to provide full landscape architecture services. The business continued to grow and shrink with the economy over the next 10 years, but never really flourished. In 1995 I began writing a irrigation design tutorial, sometime around then (I honestly am not sure exactly when) I decided to put it on the Internet, and IrrigationTutorials.com was born.
After our son Nathan graduated from high school in 1997, we packed up and moved to a rental house near Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard, California. The move to the more robust economy of the Southern California area made a huge difference. We suddenly had more work than we could handle. In 1999 we purchased a home in Ventura, California, which is where we currently live. Recently I began helping another landscape architect who is starting his own firm and am feeding him work in much the same way that I was introduced into the business many years earlier. What goes around, comes around!
I'm still happily married to Julie. (30 years together in 2007!) Our son, Nathan, is married to Lisa, and they have given us two wonderful grandchildren, Johanna and Quinn. I am owner/principal of Jess Stryker & Associates, a small landscape architectural firm located in Ventura, CA, that specializes in commercial/retail landscape design. Julie assists me with the business as Executive Assistant. I spend my spare time hiking, cross-country skiing, writing, visiting National Parks, exploring old hotels, and working on home-improvement projects.
Julie and I are members of Community Presbyterian Church in Ventura, where we "shepherd" the Parents of Older Teens and Young Adults Class. If you're in town, drop in some Sunday morning and visit us, 9:15 AM!
My websites are:
Hiking to Castro Peak in Malibu, CA. July 2008.
We took my pink-haired granddaughter Johanna snow boarding, March 2008
If you are looking for answers to irrigation or landscape questions, please try the suggestions for finding help at this page. You will probably find an answer much quicker there. I make my living from my irrigation and landscape knowledge. While giving it away would be nice, it doesn't pay the bills! Thank you!