USS Caliente (AO-53) Association PIPELINE Jun
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USS Caliente (AO-53) Association PIPELINE Jun. Jul. Aug. 2013 Presidentʼs Korner Summer 2013 By Jack Hughes Hello again everyone! This is the second issue of the Pipeline that I have had the pleasure of writing my column. Where did spring go? It seems like we went from winter right into summer. At least that’s the way the weather has been here in Maryland. We went from cold and freezing temperatures straight into the 80s and 90s. I can’t complain though, as we have had several years of very mild winters. I can remember when they were not so mild, some years ago though. I remember the blizzard of February 1958, when I was in Radioman “A” School in Bainbridge, Maryland. It snowed for three days and when it was all over and they had cleared the roads enough for us to leave the base, I couldn’t find my car in the parking lot adjacent to the Main Gate! We had received over 40 inches of snow and you could not see one car in the lot. We had to wait several more days until the snow melted enough to be able to find our cars. It was just terrible. We’ve had a few snowstorms since then, but certainly nothing of that magnitude that I can remember. Our “Shipmate Spotlight” this issue will be on none other than our former president, Pat Hurton. I haven’t seen his write up, but I’m sure it will be as entertaining as Pat is in real life. As we all know, Pat is never at a loss for words. So, tune in to the “Shipmate Spotlight” column for Pat’s turn at the helm. My reincarnation of the Caliente Website hasn’t been going well at all. In fact, I’m at the point of possibly giving up on it. The problem that I am having is not with coding the Website, it’s trying to satisfy the requirements of all of the various Web browsers that are in use today by everyone. Many people use Microsoft Internet Explorer, which is probably the de facto standard of the industry. However, there are many people that use Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and a myriad of other browsers. Each one of these has its own idiosyncrasies and trying to satisfy them all at the same time is almost impossible. What looks good in one browser may look terrible in another and vice versa. You have no idea how disappointing it is when you think you have a good looking page, then you look at it in another browser and it looks like someone took a hatchet to it. At some point all of the current pages will have to be replaced because the coding will become obsolete. I perish the thought of that. I sometimes think that this old sailor is also becoming obsolete. And now for the news that I dread passing on to everyone and news that I had hoped I would never have to tell you. Our Baltimore reunion for 2013 is officially canceled. We waited as long as we could before making this decision, but it had to be made. As with any association or organization, they grow old, just as we humans do, and ours is no exception. We have an extremely mature association, albeit still fairly active. However, we do not Pipeline Jun Jul Aug 2013 page 2 have the numbers to conduct reunions it appears. If you look at the numbers, they tell a lot. We decommissioned the Cal 40 years ago this year. If you were 20 years old at that time, the average age for a young sailor, you would be 60 years old now. We have members from the Vietnam era, Korean era and World War II. Some of these folks are in their late 80s and early 90s and we can’t expect them to be traveling around to be at our reunions. I’m from the Vietnam era and I’m 73, so this gives you a picture of what makes up our membership. We were hoping to make this a memorable reunion for everyone, it being the 70th anniversary of the Cal’s commissioning and the 40th anniversary of her decommissioning. And where better to have the reunion than in Baltimore where she was first struck back in 1943. Alas, it was not to be. We just could not muster up enough members to make it even a break even situation. Herb Dorsey was able to negotiate a major reduction in the cancellation fee contained in our contract with the hotel. His success prevented a devastating blow to Association finances. I have already informed VADM Sagerholm that we have canceled. He was disappointed, as we are that he could not address our members at the banquet. So, I’m so very sorry that we had to do this, but it was a necessary thing. No one could be more disappointed than I am because it happened on my watch as your president and it has never happened before. As an association, we, the members, are going to have to sit down and really think things through for determining the future and direction of the Caliente Association. For those who sent money to Pat, we will be returning it. For those who made non-refundable airline reservations, you will need to contact Pat directly to see how we can help out. Those who have already made reservations at the Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore Hotel will have to contact the hotel individually to cancel your reservations. Thank you for your comradeship, your loyalty and your patience. So, folks, as I close this column for this issue, I want to wish that all of you will have a great summer and enjoy yourself. Stay safe and please stay in good health. None of us are getting any younger. May God bless those crew members or their spouses that we lost this past year. And remember, we need your support if we are going to keep things going. Additionally, if you have articles that may want to have published in the Pipeline, please send them to our editor Karl Seitz. I’m sure he would love your inputs. So long for now. Taps We are sorry to note the passing of four shipmates, one of their wives and the widow of a fifth. James B. Arbogast died Nov 9, 2012 at age 82 at his home in Sun City, AZ, with his wife, Ellen, and daughter, Zola, at his side. He served on the Cal from 1965 to 1968 as a LT. He was the engineering officer. James Coope died Dec. 18, 2012, at age 84 in Florida. He served on the Cal from 1946 to 1947 as a Seaman First Class. He is survived by wife, Dora, children, James J. Coope, Gregg Vassari, Margaret Guglielmo, Patti Ann Coope, Diane Ward and Doreen Yagasits, 11 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Pipeline Jun Jul Aug 2013 page 3 Honorary Life Member Carol Heckadon of Willamina, Ore., died at age 81 on Jan. 13, 2013. Widow of Charles Heckadon who served on the Cal 1952 to 1956 as a SN, she is survived by daughters Linda Carol Scott and Ellen Lou Mathis, both of Willamina, brother Donald Cox, six grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Jerry G. Spedowski died at age 69 at his home in Big Rapids, Mich. He served on the Cal from 1962 to 1965 as a CS3. After his naval service, he returned to Michigan where he owned and/or operated restaurants and other small businesses. He retired from Ferris State University where he worked in dining services. Diagnosed with ALS in 2011, he volunteered to be in a clinical research program. He is survived by wife, Nancy; daughter Dena (Steve) Gebrowsky, son Danilo Spedowski and their mother Evangeline Spedowski; step-daughters Michelle (Scott) Lyon, Kristi (Jeff) Wyman and Jeni (Jeremy) Sauve; brothers Joseph (Nancy), Jeffry (Barbara) and Jordan (Jackie) Spedowski and 11 grandchildren. We have belated been notified of the deaths of Harvey W. Turnage Jr. and his wife, Gloria. Harvey died at age 74 on Jan. 20, 2011 in Kinston, NC. Gloria died at age 75 on April 12, 2011 in Kinston. Harvey served on the Cal from June 1956 to Sept. 1957 as a BT3. He was a retired mechanic with DuPont. The couple is survived by daughters Karen (Don) Stec and Gail (A.J.) Outlaw and five grandchildren USS Caliente Association President: Jack Hughes Vice President: vacant Treasurer: Pat Hurton Pipeline Editor: Karl Seitz The Pipeline is the official quarterly newsletter of the USS Caliente Association. It is a place to share your memories and pictures. Please send them via e-mail to [email protected] or by regular mail to Karl Seitz, 1212 30th St. South, Birmingham, AL 35205-1910. Association dues are $10 per year due Jan. 1, payable by Jan. 15. Checks should be made out to The USS Caliente Association and mailed to treasurer Pat Hurton, 156 Greenfield Drive, Chico, CA 95973-0185. Jack Hughes can be reached at 44041 Fieldstone Way, California, MD 20619-2097 or [email protected] Masthead picture of USS Caliente (AO-53) used with permission of Dan Davis. Pipeline Jun Jul Aug 2013 page 4 Back From the Dead! By Jack Hughes We have a real human interest story to pass on to everyone. I received a phone call from Tom Dotson a few months back. Tom does not have a computer, but a friend told him that he was listed in the Caliente roster as “Deceased.” He has been deceased in our roster for quite some time and it is unknown where we got that obviously erroneous information.