VOLUME 08‐09 DECEMBER NO. 2 PRESIDENT WWW.ANTARCTICAN.ORG Dr. Arthur B. Ford 400 Ringwood Avenue Menlo Park, CA CONTENTS (650) 323-3652 [email protected] BRASH ICE ……………………… cover BLACK MEN IN EARLY ANTARCTICA…..…. 5 VICE PRESIDENT Robert B. Flint, Jr. ANTARCTIC CALENDARS ………… 2 ICE IS WHERE YOU FIND IT ………..…….…. 5 185 Bear Gulch Road Woodside, CA 94062 WEBSITE UPDATE .…………………. 2 JOE FLETCHER ……………………………..…. 6 (650) 851-1532 [email protected] ARCHIVING ………………………….. 2 MARTIN POMERANTZ …............................…. 8 TREASURER Paul C. Dalrymple ICE SHELF LEAVING …………….…. 4 EAGLE ON ICE ………………………...……… 8 Box 325 Port Clyde, ME 04855 WIND POWER AT MCMURDO …..… 4 STUART KLIPPER …………………………...… 9 Phone: (207) 372-6523 [email protected] FAMILY BUSINESS ………………… 5 ANTARCTIC TOURISM ……………………...…10 SECRETARY Charles Lagerbom 83 Achorn Road Belfast, ME 04915 BRASH ICE. We had looked forward to this Newsletter as an end to my 30-year era of putting (207) 548-0923 [email protected] these Newsletters together and out on the street. I am really ready to call it quits, as something which was once a great pleasure and delight to do has now become a frustrating ordeal. When I WEBMASTER th Thomas Henderson was physically located in the Washington, DC area, when NSF was on 18 Street, when the 520 Normanskill Place Polar Research Board was in Foggy Bottom, when Ed Todd and Peter Wilkniss were in charge Slingerlands, NY 12159 [email protected] of the Office of Polar Programs, when Louie deGoes and Tim Hushen were heading up PRB, and when we had use of rooms at NSF and at the National Academy of Sciences for meetings, it was PAST PRESIDENTS all so easy. And it all was a cakewalk with Ruth Siple not only providing a home for our Dr. Carl R. Eklund 1959-61 Society, but she made it all work so smoothly and harmoniously. It was a two-person operation, Dr. Paul A. Siple 1961-62 Mr. Gordon D. Cartwright 1962-63 and Newsletters were written, edited, and mailed within a few days, unencumbered by numbers RADM David M. Tyree (Ret.) 1963-64 of people and computers. It is no longer fun, believe you me. Mr. George R. Toney 1964-65 Mr. Morton J. Rubin 1965-66 Dr. Albert P. Crary 1966-68 It all happened for Ruth Siple and me back in the fall of 1978 when we more or less took over Dr. Henry M. Dater 1968-70 Dr. George A. Doumani 1970-71 the Antarctican Society, lock, stock and barrel. We took over its treasury, its membership, its Dr. William J. L. Sladen 1971-73 Mr. Peter F. Bermel 1973-75 secretarial responsibilities, and we started publishing Newsletters on a regular basis. And it all Dr. Kenneth J. Bertrand 1975-77 worked, even though I governed with a hard hand, as Ruth Siple fully supported me and calmed Mrs. Paul A. Siple 1977-78 Dr. Paul C. Dalrymple 1978-80 the waters whenever I created waves. Nobody wanted to cross Ruth, she was truly the Dr. Meredith F. Burrill 1980-82 Dr. Mort D. Turner 1982-84 Sweetheart of the Antarctican Society. We lasted as a team for approximately twenty years, but Dr. Edward P. Todd 198486 Mr. Robert H. T. Dodson 1986-88 then I sought refuge in the peacefulness and quietude of mid-coastal Maine where an aging Dr. Robert H. Rutford 1988-90 mother needed caring. At the same time, NSF moved to Ballston, and it all became another ball Mr. Guy G. Guthridge 1990-92 Dr. Polly A. Penhale 1992-94 game. Mr. Tony K. Meunier 1994-96 Mr. Ron Naveen 1996-98 Dr. Paul C. Dalrymple 1998-00 Ms. Kristin Larson 2000-02 As I sit here in front of this silly computer, I have seen 169 Newsletters produced, a total of 1664 Mr. John Splettstoesser 2002-04 pages. The Society is doing quite well, thank you, mainly because when Ruth Siple was active, Dr. Robert B. Flint, Jr. 2004-07 we banked a lot of monies because she did all the work gratis. Now we try and break even annually. We are the longest continuous Antarctic society in the states. The American Polar Society under the guise of the very dedicated August Howard had a continuous stretch of some fifty years, but soon afterwards it went underground for seven years after August died. It’s a good time for me to think about you move your cursor over them. A major phasing out of the Society. I wanted to stay improvement is the removal of a separate active for thirty years. That I have done. I log-in for the Society Forums. That annoying had hoped to see all the Newsletters requirement was a result of using an open assembled as one. I never really expected to source bulletin board application as the basis see this happen, but Tom Henderson brought for our Forums. That application was my fondest dream to a reality. I had hoped to intended to be stand-alone and public-facing, see the library at the new elevated station at hence the complicated log-in. The log-in and the South Pole named after Ruth Siple, but authorization code was deeply imbedded so it when I was told to “cool it”, I thought my took some time and careful programming wheels were spinning in granular snow. surgery to make sure that removing it did not However, Jerry Marty never lost faith in our cause unintended consequences. Now, mission, and it finally became a reality this anyone who logs into the main website is year. Now I can truly retire proudly. But one automatically authorized to access the thing remains, I wanted to see the Society Forums for posting and responding to regain its rightful tax-exemption status messages. My intention is to encourage originally granted in the early 1960s. Thanks more of you to make use of it. This is a quick to the efforts of our Vice President, Rob and easy way to post your observations, Flint, this all may become a reality in the opinions and questions for other members to next year. see and respond to. Take advantage of it! I feel that our Society is on the threshold of a We will have an updated version of Time new era, one where my old cronies are fast Trek on the website within the next two fading out, where new, young blood will months. Google still has not released the open the gates to a more exciting future. stable production version of its new Google This has already started under the direction Earth plug-in (Version 4.3), so we have not of Tom Henderson, who is doing new and integrated it into Time Trek as yet. That new wonderful things each month on the website, version will support multiple browsers where we hope to see more active including IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera and participation by members. Check out the others, so it is definitely worth waiting for. website to see what it offers -- We will, however, upgrade Time Trek to www.antarctican.org. provide users with a better console interface and a more logical display of the event CALENDARS. As we go to press we still descriptions and user-provided information have a FEW Antarctic Hedgehog (New about events. Zealand) calendars. We will mail them out toute suite, so if you want one, get your order Another major improvement that will be in now. Send a check for $15 each to finished by the end of this year is better Antarctican Society, Box 325, Port Clyde, access to information about our members. ME 04855. Currently, only a list of member names is available in the password-protected Members WEBSITE UPDATE (by Tom Henderson) area. The new page will feature not only the Most of my time since the last newsletter has list of names but will also allow members to been directed toward improving the click on any name and see information about mechanics and structure of our website, and that member in a form displayed on the same that will be the case for the remainder of this page. The plan at this point is to show only year. Some improvements are subtle, such as the member address unless the owner of that the centering of the website pages in the information chooses not to show it. browser window, the addition of a Therefore, if you do not want your address background image behind the pages and the available to other members, send me an highlighting of all links in the website when email at [email protected] or a 2 letter to my address shown on the front Time Trek event descriptions, with credit page. Remember, this information will only given in each case. This will be a great help be available to persons who have logged into in making Time Trek a useful reference. the website and will not be shown to the Eventually, descriptions of historic stations public. Other information on each member, will be added as well. Finally, we expect to such as telephone number, email address, have video files of historic information professional affiliation and biographical available on the website early next year. information will only be available by the owner’s choice. That can be done directly by So visit often to see the changes in your the owner because if you click on your own website as they occur. Our goal – with your name, the form that displays all of your help – is to make the website better and information will change to give you editing better ….