Come Sail A
J
im Flaherty was born and raised in Pittston. He met his wife, Sheila Redding, in kindergarten. Jim graduated from St. John’s High School, Pittston, and later, from Penn State University, Scranton, with a degree in mechanical engineering. He began working at Chamberlain Manufacturing in July 1963. “I like to keep things simple; I have had one job and one 10
wife,” he quipped. Eventually, Jim became the president of Chamberlain. When the corporation was sold to General Dynamics, he stayed on as general manager for four years, retiring in 2010. As a family in Northeast PA, the Flahertys always had a fondness for water. They spent vacations at the shore and had a motorboat which they enjoyed at places like Lake Wallenpaupack and Harvey’s Lake. HappeningsPA.com
“Just before I was transferred to Massachusetts, my wife and I were out in the San Francisco Bay. My wife looked at me and said, ‘Whatever you do, when we relocate to Massachusetts, do not get a sailboat; they all look like they are going to tip over!’” So Jim bought a powerboat and used it for their first New England summer. One day his neighbor told him that he needed someone to crew for one of his upcoming sailboat races. Jim responded that he had never been on a sailboat July 2021
