Number 50 The newsletter of the South Jersey Kite Flyers Volume #3 - 2004 him; he had two grandchildren, Christopher and Empty Place in the Sky ––– Ed Sarah. Spencer By Betty Hirschmann Each of us who knew Ed will have our own memories of him, and will deal with his passing in our own manner and time. If you get the chance, fly a kite and release it into the wind so On April 9, 2004, five days short of his 73 rd birthday, Ed that Ed can enjoy the experience too. Spencer passed away in his sleep. His son Scott and I were at a Good Friday Kite Fly in Lewes, DE, waiting for Ed to arrive. For those of you who wish to get in touch with Nancy, she is at When we got home that night (about the Manorcare Nursing Home Room #153, 1412 Marlton Pike 10:00 pm) there was a message on our – Rte 70, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034. answering machine asking that Scott call his sister Ellen. When Scott called, he ============================================ learned of the death of his father. Ed touched many people, in many ways. What I remember is that he could be Creative Design found out on the flying field with a smile by Dave Ciotti on his face and a chuckle in his heart. It seemed that he had no problems, at least What you are reading is the second draft of this narrative. This that’s the face he tried to show most of article was originally written at the 2004 the time, but life was not always what it MIKE in Ocean City, Maryland, at the appeared to be. In spite of this he was insistence of Mike and Cel Dallmer. The willing to help fellow kite fliers, and especially novice kite Kite Loft had a 10 foot Number 2 Pencil fliers to enjoy the world of kiting. Kite on sale and there was room in my kite bag. So one small signature later I At the memorial service for Ed, which was held at the had a nice Joel K Scholz signature kite Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial from Go Fly a Kite added to my Cemetery in Arneytown, New Jersey, the family passed out a collection. What I didn’t realize was that remembrance message for those he left behind. I had just purchased a magical kite. I would like to share with you some of the message: When I put it in the sky, the 25 foot black tail attached to this kite started writing this article. Ed touched so many people’s lives with his love of The words flowed from the kite, life, sense of humor, romantic nature, caregiver, Santa being formed momentarily in the Claus, kite flying devotee, Boy Scout Leader, sky by the long black tail. This custodian, pickle man, tire man, insurance man, and story unfolded as if being written bread man. by a seasoned journalist. The symmetry, the preciseness, the rd He was a corporal in the Army, 83 3 ORD CO readability was incredible. Supply Depot serving in Korea from October 1952 – Unfortunately nobody was writing September 1954. the story down, so what you have to read is my flawed recollection His loving wife of 52 years Nancy, as well as his son of the poetry I saw on the beach Scott, and two daughters Tracy and Ellen survive above Ocean City. Continued on page 2 Page 2 WindWriters # 50 Creative Design, continued In February 2004 Dr. Pat Hutchinson asked me to give a lecture to In Memory: her Creative Design classes at The College of New Jersey on Kite George Edward Spencer making. I told Pat that I had never built a kite myself but I would be glad to show her students what kites were available for sale and what Born April 14, 1931 they looked like both up close and in the sky. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania So I broke out my 8mm tapes of the Belmar and Wildwood and Memorialized April 14, 2004 Ocean City and Newport and Mercer 7A and Smithsonian flying Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial fields, and produced a 20 minute video of the tethered aviation that Cemetery impressed me most. About 20 gigabytes of hard disk space and 10 Arneytown, New Jersey hours later I had something that would explain to college kids what about kite flying is so addictive. Nancy Spencer loving wife of Ed for 52 years would like thank everyone for coming today, On March 1 and March 3 I filled Armstrong Hall Room 133 with along with their children, single and dual line kites and presented my outdoor passion to her Tracey Peak, Scott E. two Creative Design classes. On display was a 12 foot delta, the Spencer and Ellen Schneider. Tulsa Points Prototype, an Eagle of Paradox, an Aerodrome Stripes, a Their grandchildren, Wren, a Hot Chili Pepper and several other small kites. Then the fun began, as each class was divided up into 5 groups each to investigate Christopher and Sarah Peak kite design. Each group did research on either Eddy, Rokkaku, Delta, and their son-in-laws, Ed Box, or Foil kite designs and the groups from each class made Peak and John Schneider. presentations to their classmates. Ed touched so many people’s Then the classes were divided into groups of two and the kite designs lives with his love of life, began. Each pair had to come up with a Company name, logo and sense of humor, romantic slogan and pick out a kite design and produce a prototype. Each nature, caregiver, Santa Claus, prototype had to come with packaging, a price estimate and be Kite flying devotee, Boy and assembled on the field and flown for 30 seconds. The theme of all the Girl Scout leader, custodian, kites is the Sesquicentennial of The College of New Jersey which is pickle man, tire man, coming up this September. insurance man, and bread man, On Monday April 19 the first session of Pat’s class flew their kites on He was a Corporal in the Army, 83 3rd ORD CO Supply Depot the lawn in front of Green Hall on the campus. The field is small and serving in Korea from October, 1952 - September, 1954. obstructed on three sides by buildings but that didn’t matter because there was no wind whatsoever! Thankfully the kite makers were all in their teens or early 20’s and capable of making their own wind. What He held his dear boyhood friend Raymond Belko and his wife a glorious site to see 10 brand new one of a kind kites in the sky and Kate in the highest regard through the 55 years that they were 10 students running like mad trying to keep them up for 30 seconds. I "double dating.” The good memories of fun times will continue tried to explain to the class how much easier it was to pull the string to be told in great stories. and stand still and they tried to explain to me how much more fun it was to run around in circles in front of Green Hall. Ed also held a special place in his heart for our Cousin Sharen, Katie, Ray, Tim, Brian, Ann, John, Stephen, Mary and Michael Several more test flights and many bridle adjustments later I am Belkos. happy to report that all the kites look wonderful in the sky. Several of the kites will have mass production capabilities investigated. So the Irish Blessing next time you are searching for your next must have purchase, and May the road rise up to meet you, you see a kite from The College of New Jersey give it a good look. May the wind always be at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The final chapter of this epic took place in Belmar last Saturday. The And the rain fall soft upon your fields. Hutchinson’s hosted a cookout on the beach for all the students. Not many showed up because of their pending Final Exams but the ones Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. that did were treated to glorious winds and a very impressive array of kites above the Jersey shore. Look for some TCNJ kites the next time In your own private time of reflection we would like you to fly a you are in a kite store. kite and let it be released into the wind to meet Ed. I have compiled a CD containing the video I presented to the classes, Scott E. Spencer a short video of my presentation to the class a short video of the kites 1st Vice President, South Jersey Kite Flyers in the sky and the student's PowerPoint presentations. If you are interested email [email protected] . Editors Note: Though at times Ed was a pain in the _ _ _, he will be sorely missed! ================================================= WindWriters #50 Page 3 Presidential Report By Ron Jakubowicz Hi everyone! National Kite Month just ended and Region 2 came in first for holding the most events. What a great job Region 2 did for Todd Little. I also hear that SJKF was second in holding the most events. Let’s pat ourselves on the back, and think about doing better next year. Just a few more events and we would have been number one. Liberty High Spirits of 14B is number one for posting the most events. Way to go LHSO14B! Although I did not get to go to what may have been Core Creek’s last year, I heard that we had a good turnout to support the event.