VOLUME 10-11 NOVEMBER NO. 2 HONORARY PRESIDENT P.O. Box 325, Port Clyde ME 04855 Dr. Charles Swithinbank WWW.ANTARCTICAN.ORG PRESIDENT Charles Lagerbom CONTENTS 16 Peacedale Dr. Northport, ME 04849 BRASH ICE ……………………....… cover THE LONGEST WINTER ………..……….…. 6 [email protected] CENTENNIAL MEDAl ……....….…...… 3 DEEP FREEZE …....................................….…. 7 VICE PRESIDENT PRESIDENT SPEAKS ………………....... 3 DOG AND PONY SHOW .….…..………...…. 8 Dr. Anthony J. Gow CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE ...….. 4 EREBUS TRAGEDY ……………….……....... 9 117 Poverty Lane Lebanon, NH 03766 COLIN BULL ………………….……..…. 4 ADELIE PENGUIN ………….…..................… 9 [email protected] AUCTION…………………….......….…... 6 MCMURDO SOUND ECOLOGY ……… ....... 9 TREASURER SCOTCH AT CAPE ROYDS ….…………… 10 Paul C. Dalrymple Box 325 Port Clyde, ME 04855 Phone: (207) 372-6523 BRASH ICE. This is being put to bed in the height of the rescue of the Chilean Miners, [email protected] which CNN covered so magnificently, with occasional references being made to similarities in Antarctica and the people living there. But my Antarctic experience could SECRETARY in no way be comparable to the hardships that the 33 miners must have experienced. But John F. Splettstoesser 433 Fifth St. Apt. 316 the euphoria of being liberated from a stalag in Germany was certainly comparable to Waconia, MN 55387 the thrill of the miners coming back into civilization. I have no idea at all how hard the [email protected] miners must work when they are performing their regular duties, but I do have a slight idea how hard it was to mine snow in the 90-foot pit at the South Pole. The Siple family WEBMASTER Thomas Henderson thought that Paul’s efforts in working so hard in the mine at the South Pole in 1957 was 520 Normanskill Place the beginning of the deterioration of his health. They may have had a valid point. Slingerlands, NY 12159 [email protected] I could not help laughing at the miner coming back up to two women, one his wife, one his mistress. But that was nothing compared to an Antarctican who was stranded at a BOARD OF DIRECTORS foreign station who had three women awaiting his return. This man was completing his Robert Allen second year at the station, and found himself facing a third consecutive year there when Dr. Harold Borns Dr. Arthur B. Ford ice conditions were so severe that they could not resupply the station. Meanwhile his Guy G. Guthridge wife, his fiancée, and his mistress were all bugging Washington to get him back home. Katy Jensen His wife wanted to divorce him, his fiancée wanted to marry him, and his mistress Dr. David Marchant Jerry Marty wanted him back as a lover. It just happened that Bert Crary, who was a wheel in the Dr. Michelle Raney polar office, who knew the guy personally, was in a South American city where he could Dr. Warren Zapol contact the American by phone. And he said to him, “Hey, there are a bunch of women back in the states who want you back pretty badly, but it would cost us a fortune to fly a plane over there to get you. What would you say if we left you there for a third year?”Without a second’s hesitation he responded, ”That’s okay, Bert, just leave me here, no problem.” Who is a typical Antarctican, is there a prototype? I have had several Antarctic Gatherings at my home in the past four summers, and the amazing thing to me is how similar the new crowd is to the old folks. Thanks to the Logans, Drew and Diana, who We hope that all of you are using our web site live here in Maine, we have been blessed by to keep abreast of all of the great things that them introducing us to people who have Tom Henderson is doing as our webmaster. It wintered over in recent years. But take Ed is a continuing labor of love for Tom, and one Flowers, a meteorologist at the South Pole, of his most recent changes is a simplification who passed away in the past month. I knew of his Time Trek program. He initiated this Ed back in 1956 before he went to the ice and I very recently with an update on Charles knew him after he went to the ice. Swithinbank. Be on the lookout for more of your favorite Antarcticans. Meanwhile, our But he was what I would call an atypical president, Charles Lagerbom, continues his Antarctican, yet a couple of years later he went wonderful free slide-scanning program for back to the South Pole to winter over again, he Society members. What a team, join us in was married, dead-pan serious, and a making your own contributions, helping to professional all the way--trained in build our Society even more. meteorology. About twenty-five years after the IGY, a bunch of us South Pole veterans We are pleased to note that many of you from that era decided to have a composite IGY responded to the item in the previous reunion from both IGY years, including both newsletter about the need for Ed Stump to sandcrabs and swabees. We actually had a come up with what is known as a great turnout, but one exception was this ‗subvention‘ by the publisher of his book fellow Ed Flowers who responded, ―If I am manuscript, ―Exploring Deep Field going to spend that kind of money traveling, I Antarctica,‖ a very thorough coverage of the am going to go see my grandchildren, not geology of the Transantarctic Mountains by going back to see you guys‖. Well, Ed is gone means of spectacular photographs and text at now, and I doubt if his last thoughts were the level of semi-technical readers. The about the Antarctic. But when I go, which publisher specified a necessary dollar amount won‘t be too far away – I‘m 87 in November--I in order to go further with its publication, and think my last thoughts will be flying up the Ed has informed us that the amount has been Beardmore in an R4D with Gus Shinn in the reached through the generous donations of pilot seat. What a thrill that was to me. members and others. His next step is to do final editing to bring it to the publisher‘s We are also thinking of streamlining our requirements, and a book is expected in 2011. Society‘s Newsletter, especially making it Good fortune, Ed! more interesting to the younger people, also our newer members. If you have a desire to Time is running out on your opportunity to write an Antarctic story of interest, send it to extend your membership at our current low our secretary, John Splettstoesser, and he will price of $15.00 per year – memberships go up put it into the bin for the next Newsletter. His to $20.00 per year on January 1, 2011. Many email address and postal address are on the of you have extended your membership five to cover page. As our Honorary President, ten years downstream, which certainly helps Charles Swithinbank, recently wrote, ―We do the paper work of your treasurer. We hope to need a broader net sweeping in more get a supplemental shipment of the 2011 contributors from our membership, especially Hedgehog Antarctic calendars, but this will be the younger people who will be our heirs.‖ it. So if you want one of these special We should probably limit obituaries to one, calendars, send a check for $15.00, made out book reviews to no more than two, and as to the Antarctican Society, to us in Port Clyde, many recent news happenings on the ice that Maine. No guarantees honoring orders after we can muster the first of December. 2 SOCIETY’S CENTENNIAL MEDAL South Pole, plus the same for Robert Falcon HONORING AMUNDSEN-SCOTT. Just Scott. prior to this Newsletter going to press, our Vice-President, Tony Gow, and our Treasurer, OUR PRESIDENT SPEAKS (Charles Paul Dalrymple, visited an artist by the name Lagerbom) There will be a celebration for of Jack Chase in Jericho, Vermont, on an Captain Robert Scott in Plymouth, England exploratory visit about Jack designing for our next June 4-5-6, 2011. It will be one of many Society a Centennial Medal honoring the 100th festivities of a much larger, year-long anniversary of Amundsen and Scott arriving at recognition of his expedition that reached the the South Pole in December 1911 and January South Pole in January 1912. I have made 1912. Jack is a very accredited sculptor, being tentative plans to visit and take part in the one of the finalists for the design of the Viet celebrations, my small role being a short talk Nam Memorial. Look him up on the internet. about Henry Bowers of Scott‘s polar party. We have been thinking about the upcoming Centennial for some time, and came before So I checked in with some of my Antarctic Jack with several of our own suggestions. buddies from our fieldwork days in the Dry Then Jack showed us what he thought that he Valleys to see if they might want to come could design and which would be most along as well. Why not use this occasion to appropriate for the occasion, and at a price that gather? These were the guys who made my we felt would be in the range of our member‘s Antarctic experience all the more memorable. pockets. We were the S-156 field party from high up in the cirques of Upper Wright Valley, the grunts, We wanted a design that would be relevant to the beakers, whatever you wanted to call us.