News From Fort Schuyler

January 15, 1999 - Volume 3, No. 4

AN ACCIDENTAL MEETING - "I met JIM HUVANE [see NFFS 1/2/98] my freshman year due to an accident," writes BOB WHITE, Class of 1966. "We were living on the ship (the new dorms weren't finished until 1963), and sleeping in bunk beds near the mess hall. One day I had just finished getting a drink from the drinking fountain, and straightened up quickly. BANG! My head exploded, and I fell on the floor clutching the back of my head in pain. I had hit my head on the corner external seam of a large square air duct. I was bleeding, though not profusely, and a medical corpsman was called. The corpsman (Jim Huvane) expertly shaved around the wound and applied a butterfly bandage. I felt like I had been treated in a way that DOC GOLDIN would have been proud of.

Jim and I became friends, and I visited him after he left Fort Schuyler. After graduation and my marriage, my wife and I had a very pleasant visit with him at Maryknoll Seminary. Then we lost touch, as he was in China on missionary work."

THOSE LA-DE-DA TINKERS AND TAILORS - That, according to BOB PRESTON, Class of 1947, was GEORGE RISER’s description of the Class of 1947. Riser, ‘Planetary Chief Seamanship Training Officer and Maker Of Men From Mugs,’ was also the person who first referred to this famous class of overachievers as ‘scissorbills.’ According to their newsletter, Scissorbill Log, the sobriquet came about when: "..the battalion, in dress blue uniform, leggings of this weight canvas, with rifles and bayonets is mustering in the Inner Gorge. Our beloved role model, George Riser, is reviewing the formation. What he observed were cadets in ranks lolly-gagging, gawking, turning around, and talking in ranks. Obviously, this group of la-de-dah sailors would have great difficulty marching in step. To correct his problem, George issues (or growls) the order: ‘Stand fast in ranks, you farmers! You look like a flock of damned scissorbills.’ The scissorbill, more properly known as the Black Skimmer, is the only bird with a lower mandible (or bill) longer than the upper. When disturbed, their barking cries of ‘Kak, Kak, Kak’ sounds more like a pack of hounds than a flock of birds. Does this sound like anyone we know?" (Source: Scissorbill Log 1:1, October 8, 1993)

BASKETBALL BLUES - In a somewhat plaintive response to the item about the success of Fort Schuyler basketball teams in the fifties, MIKE BURKE, Class of 1986, writes: "...I can tell you that recently the tides have changed. I was a 4 year basketball player at Maritime from 82 - 85 and we never beat KP in that time. I have been going to most of the games since, making friends with some of their players. It seems that they have our number these days. When I was interested in Maritime in high school, I was quickly contacted by the KP basketball coach who recruited me very heavily. They have no tuition, which is tough to turn down..." [01/30/99 would be a good time for an upset.]

READING ROOM - "My wife recently brought home a book that was being discarded by our library," reports BOB WHITE. "She is President of the "Friends of the Library" group that sorts donated books and library discards (about 20,000 per year) for use in our annual book sale. She thought I might like the book. (We both love children's books and know each other's tastes well).

I read the entire book and loved it. It is ‘The Man Who Stole the Atlantic Ocean’ by LOUIS PHILLIPS. It is a quirky tale about a 6-year old who saves the Atlantic and all of its occupants, after a man steals it all and hides it in the basement of his clubhouse in Trenton, NJ.

After I finished it, I read the inside jacket cover about the author. ‘Now I know why you picked this out for me,’ I said to my wife as I showed her. ‘No,’ she said. She hadn't read that part. The author .’is a novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, photographer, and film-maker. Currently [1971] he is teaching English and Humanities at the State University of New York Maritime College. [This] is his first children's book.’ I rushed to look up in my 1966 yearbook, but he was not on the faculty at that time. What a wonderful little book!" [Editors’ s note - Professor Phillips taught at the Maritime College for six years starting in the late 60's. He is now on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. The Luce Library has over thirty titles written by this talented author and teacher.]

GOOD OLLY/BAD OLLY - According to MIKE QUINTO, Class of 1964, "There was no question that Captain Olivet preferred deckies over engineers ... good AND bad. He was more human to us, but also expected more of us and was in our path more ..... it evened out. I remember an article we wrote in the 1964 PERISCOPE ... the underwater Porthole ... complaining of how tough Captain Olivet was ... that the punishment often didn't fit the crime, but that there USUALLY was a crime when he started giving out demerits ... unlike some of the other staff officers. The Captain was consistent ... consistently tough."

MOM, I’D LIKE YOU TO MEET SOMEONE - The lively tale recounted by ED DANGLER about his port time in France, elicited many responses. For example, AUSTIN DOOLEY, Class of 1968, writes: "Ed Dangler's story is what the Fort Schuyler education is all about - life! What a great story!" This comment and question from HUGO POLANCO, Class of 1987: "I also met my wife while on cruise - in Alicante, Spain in 1985. I've always wondered if there were any other Domers who met their spouses while on cruise in a foreign country? " Were Ed and Hugo the ONLY lucky ones?

CAREER NOTES: DAN WINTERS, Class of 1986, is now Director of Corporate Sales, Milne Travel/American Express (516-874-2873). JIM ZARIFIS, Class of 1984, is looking for Fort Schuyler and maritime-related images for his new computer products web-site which is now under construction. Go to http://www.zarifis.com/index.html and click on the "beyond" icon.