Frank's family lived in the Normal Heights area of San Diego when he was born in 1931. Not long after his birth, the family moved to La Mesa and then to Alpine in 1937. Frank started school in Alpine and went through high school at Grossmont High. In 1951, Frank went to Salt Lake City, Utah, to attend college. After that, the only time spent in Alpine was on trips to visit family. Frank went into the army in 1955 and retired from the military in 1957. He married Josephine Lombardo in 1959 and, after living in a few temporary homes, moved to Lemon Grove in 1966. The Ball family still resides in the same house where they raised their two daughters, Leata and Vincetta.

Frank's working career started at Electro Instruments in San Diego in 1958 as an electronic technician. The bulk of his working career was at Wavetek in San Diego as an electronics engineer. When Wavetek crumbled in the 1980s, Frank was unemployed until he and his wife got contracts to work in Antarctica during the winter of 1992. The winter here is the summer there. They worked as station mechanic and cook at the National Science Foundation station at the South Pole for four summer seasons; then returned in 1996 for a winter season at Palmer Station, Antarctica.

First Car

The Disguised Drgon

Fastest Farmall

The Eucalyptus Fence

A Submarine Incident