News From Fort Schuyler
April 14, 2001 - Volume 5, No. 14
EBB TIDE - News of the death of ROBERT P. LUCAS, Class of 1957, has been
received from ANDY FOSINA, Class of 1965. Andy wrote: " Bob passed away on
April 9, 2001 in Virginia Beach. Bob was a native New Yorker and he served
31 years in the US Navy, retiring as a Captain. He shipped out after Navy
retirement and worked for Maersk Lines as a project manager." Bob was also
at Fort Schuyler as an Associate Professor from 1992 - 1994 and served as
Chairman of the Marine Transportation Department during part of that time.
Andy concludes, "Bob is survived by his wife Joan, a daughter, two sons, and
eight grandchildren. He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The
family has asked that memorial donations be made to Memorial Sloan-
Kettering Center, Box E, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021." [A full
obituary appears in the April 12 Virginia Pilot at
http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw0412obt.html ]
IS IT OR ISN'T IT ? "Permit me to make a comment that l-o-n-g and serious
research done by very reliable sources indicates it's St. Marys WITHOUT an
apostrophe, when it refers to the ship, pentagon, etc., etc.," faxes JOE
GERSON, Class of 1947. Joe, maritime historian, bon vivant, and the leading
cheerleader for Fort Schuyler in the Midwest, continues: "The song as
written and sung as it relates to the church may well be with an
apostrophe....but the 'salute' to the ship and the ship itself correctly
reads NO apostrophes." [The NFFS editor, no model of consistency, tends to
sprinkle commas and apostrophes about generously. It should be noted for the
record, however, that documents in the Luce Library archives, dating back to
1853, consistently refer to the ship as the ST. MARY'S.] Joe - is this one
of those newfangled traditions ?
ITS MURDER - At 2000 on Tuesday, April 17, America's foremost pop historian
of serial murder, HAROLD G. SCHECHTER, will be speaking on the subject of
crime in the 19th century: "The Boy Fiend: Juvenile Crime and Media
Hysteria," in the S&E Lecture Hall. This free event, which follows right
along with the Film Noir Festival, is the final Library Lecture Program of
the term. It is co-sponsored by Prof. JOHN ROCCO of the Humanities
Department, impresario of this semester's "Groundbreaking Films Festival:
Film Noir, the Cold War, Zombies, and Heists." Dr.Schechter, a prolific
author who is renowned for his true-crime writings, is Professor of English
at Queens College where he teaches courses in American literature and
culture.
BELLES OF ST MARYS - A response from JUAN H. STAGG, Class of 1979, about
updating the alma mater to be more inclusive: "I would suggest the
following: CURRENTLY: 'The old lads, and the new lads who have gone to sea.'
PROPOSED: 'For all lads and lassies who have gone out to sea.' This could be
sung keeping the music's cadence unchanged. Maybe other members of the
community would like to propose other changes. Let's start on this
endeavor."
UPSTATE v. DOWNSTATE - The newest book about Empire State local and state
politics, "New York Politics: A Tale of Two States" is co-authored by JOHN
BRIAN MURTAUGH, Class of 1960. Brian was a member of the New York State
Assembly for many years. More information about this book, which was
published in February, can be found at: http://www.mesharpe.com/65600641.htm
MODERN ENTREPRENEUR - West Coast alumnus BILL BARTSCH, Class of 1984, "..was
piloting a cable laying ship last month out of San Diego and met BOB
SPIEGELTHAL, Class of 1978, who had just chartered the vessel for a few
months to lay many miles of fiber optic cable off the California coast. He
is Director, Systems Integration, for a company named Global Photon
www.globalphoton.com ) that hopes to lease the use of these new cables to
the major communications providers like ATT and MCI. It is all on spec and a
bold adventure for another brave Domer. We swapped a few legendary LESTER
DUTCHER [Class of 1949] stories and I gave him the hard sell on finally
joining the Alumni Association."
CALL THE CHIROPRACTOR - As the June retirement date nears, many NFFS
readers are sending nice notes. "I'm guessing that you will miss lots of
things when you leave," writes KEN MURPHY, Class of 1961. "In my mind, I
loved to look out on the ever changing water. The Fort itself, I miss. I
remember spending hours in the "tombs" in the old library. A small desk, a
little light, the smell of books, and a gun port to look out on the water.
And, little by little, learning all those engineering subjects." Ken can be
found at his Shallow Water Sailor website:
www.trailersailor.com/sws/index.html
This note from DICK EVANS, Class of 1965: "Back in 1990-91 I was
stationed in Newport, RI, for a year on the staff of the Commander, Naval
Undersea Warfare Center. On a summer weekend, I picked up my sister and we
drove down to the Fort for a look-see. We had a terrible time getting there
as so much had changed since I graduated. This was my first time back, and
upon arriving, I was overwhelmed by the new buildings; already well-worn,
and at the changes since I had last been there. I had an overwhelming sense
of loss. It was no longer 'my Fort Schuyler.' After wandering the grounds
for a bit, we eventually ended up in the library and there you were. We
reintroduced ourselves and you provided a copy of the 1965 yearbook, and
instantly, it was wonderful to be back."
"I guess what I am trying to say, and poorly, is that you and your weekly
newsletter have become an invaluable link to the college. I have made
donations to the college that I might not have made, and it had been great
to keep up to date on what is going on....I hope that the newsletter will
not whither up and blow away with your departure.":
Finally, this from an anonymous 3/C cadet: "I enjoy reading [NFFS] on a
regular basis. It lets me know what is going on in the alumni realm of the
school and gives me cool facts to brag about my college. Thanks." Without
all you readers, of course, there wouldn't be an NFFS. [Why the chiropractor?
Because of all this back slapping !]
|
