Adventurers` Club News Mar 1981 - The Adventurers` Club of Los

ADVENTURERS CLUB
NEWS
Beauty is the beast
• 1t
MARCH 1981
IN THIS ISSUE
' In The Library with John Boden
I Adventurer of the Week - Jack Cameron, Volmer Jensen
' January 8, 1981 Special Business Meeting
/ "The Cargo Cults" "Psychic Discovery in Alexandria" The Christmas Party
Aave-aturero-' ,
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PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ADVENTURERS' CLUB. LOS ANGELES
706 WEST PICO BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90017
March 1981
Volume 24:3
Founded 1922
A RECORDING OF HISTORY
THE WEEKLY CLUB MEETINGS (Our Thursday Night Safaris)
December 4, 1980
ON SAFARI AROUND 706
with OWEN O'CALLAGHAN
Convivial diners and guests gathered into
meeting chairs at the sound of eight bells.
During the reading of the traditional toast,
lights were darkened and one bell sounded as
President DWAYNE MERRY announced the
passing of Honorary Member No. 893, Peter
De Paolo, Auto Racing's most respected Ambassador. Only a month before, at the Night of
High Adventure, the wrench Peter had used
during his long racing career was presented to
the Club. De Paolo, 1925 Indianapolis 500
winner, had a career which embodied the
history of auto racing both in the U.S. and
Europe.
ED LAURANCE, speaking out of a deep
personal friendship, made a frank and explicit
report on the grave illness of esteemed member
GEORGE WURZBURGER. "I think you all
love him," Ed said, "I cannot do anything for
him and I do not believe anyone else can.
About all we can do is say a prayer for him."
TRAVELLERS: Twenty miles East of Victoria,
B.C. is 56-square-miles Orcas Island (pop. 3,000)
and among its fine homes is PHIL ROULAC's.
Phil, with son (grandson of the Club's Founder)
visited the Club and gave a unique report on his
sojourn to England and Ireland. The occasion
was the annual meeting of the British Driving
Society which had invited the American Carriage
Society. Phil attended a dinner at Buckingham
Palace as guest of the Crown Equerry, who is
in charge of the Queen's carriages, chariots,
horses, guards.
Phil then went to Ireland, met some of the
Master fox hunters, and rode the beautiful hunt
country. He made the jumps without coming
acropper.
"One thing that keeps my interest peaked,"
he said, "is that marvellous monthly magazine
the Club publishes. Sometimes I read it twice,"
We acknowledged the great editorship and writings of Keith Young and Al Adams and its
other contributors. Gracious tribute gratefully
received by us at the News.
LEE TALBERT, returned after a long spell,
told of off-shore oil production off Palawan
Island - 8,000 bbls. per day from five wells.
Typhoons have not stopped production in the
South China Sea.
(A Recording of History......to page 3)
ADVENTURERS' CLUB NEWS
Page 2
THE ADVENTURERS' CLUB NEWS
USPS (389-310)
IN THE LIBRARY
- with JOHN BODEN
Published monthly
Editor .........Bob Williams
Reporters -Owen O'Callaghan, Smokey Storms
John Boden and others.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE. . . $1.00 per year
Entered as second class postage at the
post office at Los Angeles, California.
CLUB MEETS AT
ADVENTURERS' CLUB ROOM
706 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Phone 749-3537 (Thursday nights only)
1981 OFFICERS
President ......George Manchester
1st Vice President ......Dick Kyle
2nd Vice President . . . Owen O'Callaghan
Secretary ........Roy Roberts
Treasurer ........Charles Ross
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
William A. Hawkinson
John F. Cameron
Peter C. Parfitt
Donald G. Orosz
"Smokey"
C. Storms
William L. Carr
Dwayne L. Merry
WHAT! NO STORY??
As you ha've already noticed, this issue does
not lead off with another rousing adventure
story. Because of the necessity of reporting in
complete detail the news highlights and programs for each week, the accumulation of material has dictated that this issue of the Adventurers' Club News be devoted exclusively to the
reporting of program material in order that the
time lapse between the date of the meeting and
the reportingof the program be as short as possible. Several "stem winders" of stories are on
hand on the Editor's desk but they will have to
wait until future issues in order to catch up with
the calendar.
Ed.
Whether or not any member follows Herman
Jesson in a visit to the Andaman Islands they
might wish to expand their knowledge of those
rarely mentioned islands of the Bay of Bengal
along with the humid Nicobars. Herman
returned with "The Andaman & Nico bar Information" for the Club describing the government,
industrial development, flora and natural resources.
*
*
*
*
China is a land of mystery to most of us
known mostly as the origin of fantastic art
both useful and ornamental. We have heard
that they invented paper, the compass, printing
and gunpowder when the majority of Europeans
lived in primitive ignorance with very little of
the knowledge and amenities we associate with
civilization. But the snatches of reference we
see as to that dynasty or other dynasty seems
a blur to us when we hear of her long history.
"China by a Frenchman, Henri Cartier-Bresson
and Barbara Brakeley Miller is a paperback that
throws light with short text and photos on the
early conditions of the present Red regime from
1948 to 1964. The part by Miller of only
twenty pages gives a capsuled view of 4,000
years of the history of China, leaving you with
a clear insight into the human history of that
great people.
"China And The World Press" was presented
to JOHN BOOTH by the author Hollington K.
Tong in 1948 and traces the struggle of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek with the Communist
forces and the intracacies of political and
military situations with which he had to deal.
—John Boden
Page 3
March 1981
(A Recording of History..... from page 1)
A pathetic note was struck when Talbert
described a boat-load of 37 women and children
Vie tnam refugees who, early morning, tied up
to the one-hundred-ton-plus storage tanker.
Talbert ordered food and reconstituted milk
sent to them and watched at their amazement.
I-fe later visited them at the Palawan refugee
center.
A gem of precision, PETER PARFITT, who
was with the World Affairs Council, recounted
all too briefly his trip to India, Sri Lanka and
Nepal. He did mention a few highlights: a two
and one-half hour elephant ride, dinner aboard
a sweet scented sandalwood houseboat in Kashmir and a Bengal tiger felling its water buffalo
victim. Too short, Peter.
Returned from his third trip to China, JOHN
DELMONTE visited Ichang where the world's
largest hydro-electric plant is under construction. Part of the Yangtze is being dammed in
the project. Along the river are the carved steps
where a generation ago coolies pulled boat
up river. At Kweilin, John visited huge caverns
the rival of any in the world, recently opened
In Burma, at Mandalay, he found the perfect
place to jog - an old square fort whose walls
measured exactly one and one-half miles. John
also visited Sri Lanka, Malaysia and India.
POSTCARDS: Datelined: Honolulu, LON DE
COURSEY reports a cruise around the Islands.
"Everything is looking up." A second card,
a week later, merely said, "Things are looking
better all the time." This card was signed both
by Lon and TOM STEVENSON.
It was subsequently reported by Lon that
Tom contracted an infection which spread
throughout his body and Tom is yet at the
Ross-Loos Hospital in Honolulu.
A NOTE: From Pretoria, So. Africa, GEORGE
MICHAEL sends profound regrets on hearing of
the death of CHARLIE BRISCO No. 663.
Wishes happiest of holidays to the members.
In an addendum to his program a few weeks
ago, GERRY EVANS told of visiting a famous
old gun maker in London. When he knocked
on the door, the old family retainer opened it
and recognizing Gerry, shouted upstairs, "John!
John! Mr. Evans is visiting from the Colonies!"
Adventurer of the Week:
Give a man a boat, an uncharted course, an
isolated shore and a chance to explore - that's
sailing. Given the ten minute slot for Adventurer of the Week, JACK CAMERON took us
to Isla Isabela, half a hundred miles below the
tip of Baja California's long peninsula (Cabo
San Luis) and as many miles from the Mexican
mainland. Isabela's beaches are not whitened
sand but the bleached bones and vertebraes of
sharks, for the only humans who visit its shore,
as they have for long decades, are the Mexican
shark fishermen.
The only permanent inhabitants are the
thousands upon thousands of frigate birds.
Climb the island's ancient volcanic crater and
there you will find him . that huge, proud, male
frigate - its red pouch gloriously distended in
the ancient ritual of attracting the female to
a pre-nesting mating site. The island abounds
in birds, some who have come from as far
south as the Galapagos. Here they nest and
breed and feed.
When, toward sunset, the sail-er weighs
anchor and his craft disappears into the vast
oceanic horizon, he leaves behind one o1
Nature's many miracles, one performed in
splendid isolation.
That's what sailing is all about.
Page 4
ADVENTURERS' CLUB NEWS
PROGRAM - December 4, 1980
'7he Cargo Cult of John Fri,m"
- STU BRUCE and BILL LYTE
The introduction of an old member always
sheds new light on some aspect of his personality or his travels about which we may not have
known or have forgotten or mislaid. This
function is one of the fine services our Program
Chairman, CHET WILCZEK, so admirably performs. It is his trademark.
STU BRUCE is stranger neither to the Club
nor the podium but it is stimulating to be
regaled by his extensive vita: partly educated
in Cypress and Beirut - - - by foot and camel
over Algeria's Hoggar Mountains - - - rafted
Ethiopia's Omo River - - - by dog sled down
the East coast of Greenland - - - five trips,
beginning with the Dutch governments expedition in 1961, to New Guinea - - - Director,
Vice President and President (1970).
Nor is any less treatment given the new
member:
BILL LYTE, U.C. Santa Barbara graduate in
1975, Construction Engineer in hazardous and
toxic wastes - - - surfer in California, Hawaii,
Bali, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia - - back-packer - - - mountaineer - - - travels in
S.E. Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Egypt.
The focus of their joint-venture, odd venture
adventure was the John Frum Cult of the
New Hebrides.
Stu began the program with a learned and
fascinating summary of the Cargo Cult which,
concurrent with the colonization of the South
Sea Islands, is one hundred years old.
The cult is messianic and semi-religious
usually led by village messiahs who explain that
the vast influx of wealth and goods brought by
the white men (in white vessels; later, airplanes)
are actually meant for the native people but is
being diverted by the white men whose gods
are superior. Frustrated by white man's laws,
taxation, discrimination, and work edicts, natives followed their messiahs eagerly. They
gave up European clothes, quit working for the
white man, threw away money, stopped going
to church. Some behaviour was aberrational.
Huts were torn down, gardens uprooted, mock
ships (and airplanes) were built. The belief was
that by appealing to their gods, the cargoes and
goods would be brought to them.
In 1940, on the island of Tanna, southernmost of the New Hebrides, at a time when the
price of copra dropped out of the bottom, a
singular figure, said to have bleached hair,
a high pitched voice, clad in a coat of many
pearl buttons, emerged. He claimed to be the
earthly manifestation of Karakoram, Volcano
god of the islands. This was John Frum.
Frum exorted a return to old customs, to
traditional dancing, to a greater consumption of
the potent cava, to nonpayment of taxes. He
prophesied the eruption of volcanos, the flatting
of Tanna. Significantly, he foretold the coming
of the Americans and they would bring the
cargoes and the good life.
A disturbed British-French condominium
government had Frum arrested, jailed for three
years, and finally exiled. The movement was
successfully suppressed - until the arrival of the
Americans who were invading Guadalcanal.
The Americans were friendly, paid good
wages, were generous to a fault. The cult had
a sweeping revival. The good years had come.
Frum, who since disappeared, was right.
But the war ended; the American's left.
The natives seized on the promise by Frum
that he would return. And, when he did, their
youth would be restored, there would be no
March 1981
iess; no need to tend gardens, trees or pigs.
The belief spread that John Frum was in
Ame rica, collecting cargos, preparing for his
glo rious return. They wait yet. Each year
there is a celebration called the Festival of
John Frum.
It was to attend the Festival that Bruce,
Lyte a nd Max Wurtzel (a frequent Club visitor)
re turned last February.
Trouble was brewing when the party arrived
at Tanfla. What the Frum movement did was
politicize the people and give them a sense of
i n dependence. As in all things politic, there
were two sides. Bill Lyte took the story from
here.
The Fre nch-supported party had lost a close
election to the British-backed group. The day
the Bruce group arrived, armed natives had
surrounded the airport - 200 men with bows
and arrows, backed by a contingent of Tannans
on horseback. They had been waiting the
arrival of the French High Commissioner. Confrontational politics. Independence in the air.
For our intrepid travellers, the situation was
touch and go. Who could predict what would
happen?
The mob scene shifted to Government House,
in front of which the French Commissioner was
given a list of demands. Nassi, the wrinkled
and wily elder Tannan statesman had hidden
the keys to Government House.
Across the island is Sulfur Bay. It was the
business of the Bruce party to get there in time
for the Frum Festival. They disengaged from
the political imbroglio and set out through the
jungles on their journey. Let it be added that
the natives won their i ndependence and the
New Hebrides is now called Vanuatu.
Tanna's jungle roads are rain-soaked, mudenmiring, volcanic ash "roads." Outside the
village of John From stood a sign in pidgin
Page 5
English which read, "Certain death awaits you
if you pass this point." The village, untouched
for years, had an eerie air - everything besprinkled with volcanic ash. The original church was
There were crude palm-constructed
intact.
resemblances of airplanes and crude, narrow
"runways," built in the hope of attracting
cargo-laden craft.
On to the Festival. Stu Bruce narrated.
To accompany him, Guest Tom Flynn played
native drums.
The Frum Cult is widespread throughout the
72 islands of the New Hebrides (Pop: 92,000).
Many of these Melanisians make the yearly
pilgrimage to Tanna. In front of the red cross
of John Frum, the festival begins at 6:00 am.
Pictures of Christ and the astronauts adorn the
Church altar. (From predicted the U.S. would
go to the moon. The astronaut picture is proof
of his prophetic powers.) Prayers are offered;
chants are sung.
And there are parades - parades of villagers,
each elegantly costumed according to his village,
his island; parades of warriors armed with
wooden rifles and red bayonets (symbol of a
willingness to fight for independence). Some
with "U.S.A." emblazoned on their chests.
And dances - primitive "true" tribal dances,
latter-day folk dances, dances depicting fishing
and hunting. And feasting - pig and smoldering
tubered vegetables. And drinking. cava in cava
ceremonies, cava for the sake of drinking,
more cava.
On and on the festival rolls to hypnotic
drum beats - in the morning, throughout the
afternoon and into the torch-lit night. In the
final ceremony, troops march - symbols of a
peoples' unity, tribute totheir God-like protector and inspiration, John Frum.
(Reported by Owen O'Callaghan)
Page 6
December 11, 1980
ON SAFARI AROUND 706
with OWEN O'CALLAGHAN
Wanda Bronson, our caterer, had the night
off. This, of course, opened the floodgates of
Club culinary cleverness and, this night, their
concoctions concentrated on that cleverest of
all dishes, chili. Maybe, chili ought to be the
symbol of the Club - its ingredients are so
indefinable, so individually characteristic, so
hotly defended. At any rate, no man here who
didn't enjoy the diversity of the cook-out. All
praise to our first-rate chefs: WALLY BAGLEY,
JACK CAMERON, LOU HIGGER and "SMOK..
EY" STORMS. Gentlemen, take a Texan bow.
Eight bells and the cook-out came to a halt.
President DWAYNE MERRY read the silent
toast. Guests were introduced.
TRAVELLERS: Per usual, HERMAN JESSON
beat his card back. Prevailed upon to make
a report, Herman spoke glowingly of his daughter's management of Jessonia and her plans to
further build up his Amazon island. Over the
years, fifty or more Club members have rafted
to this haven in the jungle.
"You wonder about a guy who has been
absent from the club for three and a half years,"
mused HAROLD WARD. Touring the Carribean,
Harold stopped at St. Thomas Island where he
decided to check-up on absented ED BODEN.
The "Kittywake" has been repaired after its
racing accident; Ed's surveying business moves
apace. But Harold found the real answer.
"When a fellow is young, handsome, is a
bachelor, has a boat of his own, sets his Own
pace, and lives in a paradise, he'd be a darn fool
to return to Los Angeles."
ADVENTURERS' CLUB NEWS
SICK REPORT: President Dwayne read a
letter sent to CHET WILCZEK from the ailing
FRED DEMARA. "Many and sincere thanks
for the Club tape and card you sent. Both
were much appreciated and enjoyed. I really
miss the Club and enjoy news from it - regularly
supplied by GERRY PRICE, et al (here today
for a visit). It's been "on and off" for almost
two years now as far as my health goes. With
every good and kind personal wishes . .
Gerry Price, on the Board of the Good
Samaritan Hospital, sees Fred frequently. "About five weeks ago," he reported, "Fred was
not expected to live. He was then in a diabetic
coma. Shortly after, the doctors told him they
would have to take his left leg. But Fred would
not agree to it. Surgery was performed on the
gangrenous Leg. Parts of the leg bone and foot
removed. The doctors held little hope."
"Today, five pins were removed from the
leg and foot and Fred is coming along well.
It is great now to speak to the old Fred we
know. His color is good, he responds well. He
is coming along fine."
While at the mike, Gerry also reported on
JOHN DAVIDSON who is having surgery on
one eye. Not to worry, John is already
arranging to go to Australia, thence, to Zaire
with JERRY NILSSON to shoot a black-maned
lion on his 92nd birthday. Not a member who
doubts that it will happen.
LON DE COURSEY made report on TOM
STEVENSON. Hospitalized in Honolulu in
critical condition, Tom had a gangrenous right
leg, the result of complications arising out of
diabetes. The leg was removed from above the
knee. It is well to remember that while there
are parallels in medical maladies, no two cases
are exactly alike. Lou talked to Tom's wife
who said he was doing just fine. His spirits are
Page 7
March 1981
up and he wants to be remembered to the Club.
We look forward to the return of the three
stalwarts as soon as possible. A toast to their
health and spirits.
*
*
*
*
DICK McCARTNEY gave an open invitation
to all fishermen, duck hunters, clammers, scuba
divers to avail themselves of his new Trailer pad
on the beach of Conception Bay, 14 miles south
of Mtilege. Contact him and the key is yours.
Then he made a bombshell announcement enough to make a man drool. He is entering
his motor home in the Motoring Challenge.
This is an event in which 400 entries (five
classes) will drive from Peking to Paris, 12,000
miles, following the route pretty much of the
transSiberian railway. It starts June 10 and
ends on Bastille Day (July 14) in Paris. Unhappily, all entries are now closed.
It is one thing to go half-way around the
world on wheels. But TOM LINDHOLM is
going all the way around the world by boat.
Leaving Christmas, he will take his 41-foot
sloop down to Panama, then head up the East
Coast. In September of '82 a fifty boat race
(single-handed) and proceed "the wrong way"
around the world, via Capetown, Sydney, and
Rio. Should take about seven months. May
the wind be ever at your back.
PROGRAM
"Psychic Discovery in Alexandria"
by Steven Schwartz
The Mobius Group, of which the guest
speaker, Stephan A. Schwartz is President, is
a research organization which combines scientists and psychics in the hope of resolving
questions neither alone can answer.
Schwartz is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, consultant oceanographer for
the Navy, former Special Assistant for Research
and Analysis for Chief of Naval Operations,
former Editorial Staff member of National
Geographic, author (The Secret Valley of Time),
and Explorer Club of New York member.
Schwartz acknowledged the skepticism toward psychics but assured his audience that his
group does not "do" fortunes, has neither
crystal balls nor black cats, nor do they hunt
treasure. The group works with an aspect of an
existence of which needs to be proved under
rigorously controlled field conditions. Call it
intuition or hunch or vision, there is in the
human being a capacity to make intuitive leaps
in time (and space), a capacity to know things
other than by way of the intellect.
The two field tests discussed tonight discovery of a sunken ship and the Alexandria
finds - were undertaken because archeology
offers a special kind of rigorous protocol to its
experiments.
Given what archeologists know, it is then
possible to construct a challenge, the solution
of which finds no other answer except for
psychic phenomenon. Within such constraints,
psychic power can be defined and developed as
yet another tool in man's quest for knowledge.
The first film demonstrated the basic process.
It was the first experiment in undersea psychic
archeology. Whatever technology archeology
has to recover the detritus of prior civilizations
- to recover history, under water - there is none
developed to tell the archeologist where to look.
Can some strange, yet unexplained human power help the archeologist to see through fathoms
of water where he could not otherwise look?
At the Institute for Marine and Coastal
Studies on Catalina Island, long established and
Page 8
well equipped, the Mobius Group gathered for
Project Deep Quest. Psychics Ingel Swann and
Hela Hammel were given three tasks. To locate
on a map an archeological site, to identify and
draw specific objects within the site, to explain
their history.
Independently, both psychics selected the
same site - an area a few hundred yards square
out of an area of 1500 square miles, an area
where 4,000 exploratory dives had been made
in the past ten years. Their composite list
included jars, winches, chains and wood of a
ship which had blown up. 120 objects in all.
Hela "saw" a large enigmatic square block,
concrete or granite, protruding from the sea
floor.
Next morning, the Institute's three-million
dollar submersible, the Taurus I, set out to
locate the site. It had a 1,000 foot underwater
capacity. As any sailor knows, they had
difficulty locating the exact pin-point and,
after some futile attempts the location was
established.
Extender arms from the Taurus probed the
sand and picked up a heavily encrusted object.
they then saw a piece of machinery - the winch.
Wood planking appeared which, on later examination, showed signs of being burned and torn
apart as in an explosion. On the last passage
over the wreckage, they saw the monolithic
square block - alien to the shipwreck. Since it
was solid and weighed around 20 tons, it was
not recovered. Perhaps some building blocks
being shipped to San Francisco.
Of the 1100 wrecks reported in this area,
none matched this type ship. When all the
evidence was reviewed by U.S.C.'s Director of
Marine Studies, Don Walsh, the ship's sinking
was established as about 90 years. The possibility of fraud was virtually eliminated. "They
beat us clean across the board" he said.
ADVENTURERS' CLUB NEWS
Eleven psychic's were given standard ordinance maps of Egypt and asked to find the
Pharos Lighthouse in Alexandria. Alexandria,
founded in 331 B.C. lasted one thousand years
and was, by far, the world's greatest city.
Buried, possibly burned is its incomparable
library (a million volumes). Schwartz was told
repeatedly to look for the Lighthouse in
Alexandria's Eastern Harbor. Space does not
permit any lengthy description but among the
discoveries was the Lighthouse, one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world, Cleopatra's palace
with a 300 meter square floor, the palace
where Mark Antony fell on his sword, the
ancient seawall, part of the temple of Isis, in
sum, a site which will keep archeologists busy
for decades.
One of the two psychics who were used on
site was George McMullen, 60, a hunting-fishing
guide out of Nanaimo, B.C. The other was
Hela Hammel. Both were taken out to the
desert and asked to discover the Christian City
of Maria. They had 225 square miles of sand
dune to select the site. Accompanying them
was a knowledgable Egyptian archeologist who,
two years previously, had "done" the area with
a magnometer and assured the party "there's
nothing out there." The psychics not only
located the site, they outlined the walls, described the tile work, delineated rooms. Until
then, it was thought to have been a Roman
settlement. Subsequent excavations find the
psychics on the mark.
In another demonstration, George was asked
to put six pot shards in chronological order a feat that took archeologists three and a half
years. By feeling the shards and by profound
concentration five of the pieces were correctly
dated and put in order. The piece cast aside
("I don't like this one. It's covered with blood")
was totally out of context. It came from a
March 1981
Page 9
village on the Christian-Moorish border, a village that was totally massacred.
Psychic phenomenon? Schwartz would not
explain it. Some experts mumble about a
"bio-sensor computer system." The answer
probably involves a deeper question. Is the
mind, which certainly is not the brain, capable
of existing outside of time and space? We don't
understand it any more than three dimensional
people understand a fourth dimension. (The
absence of the perameters of time and space.)
(Reported by Owen O'Callaghan)
On stage a symmetrical, enbaubled Christmas
tree, its lights blinking in greeting. The last
meeting of the year. The Christmas Party.
The cadence of conversation, the outbreak
of laughter rose and ebbed as over one hundred
adventurers and guests made their convivial
way through the dinner courses.
Dr. JOHN BOOTH, as Chaplain, in an
inimitable invocation, managed, at the same
time, to chide his fellow adventurers.
While yet dining, eight bells rung sharp and
clear, reminding us that we were but a part of
long traditions.
December 18, 1980
President DWAYNE MERRY, over the now
quiet men, spoke about what a fantastic year
this has been. "It has been an incredible
privilege for me to serve you. I know there
were times when, busy with other things, I
did not mingle among you. You have to
forgive me that. There are so many people to
thank during the course of the year - And in this vein, Dwayne carried on, interrupted occasionally by applause, remarks, and
whistles. The talk was more an occasion for
comaraderie than for formal summing up. As
much as any words, the mutual exchange
bespoke his leadership this year.
From the podium, Dwayne acknowledged
Oklahoma-returned Wesley Hardin who was
visiting L.A. briefly. Wesley is the waiter who
left the employ of our caterer, Wanda, and who
so diligently served the club the past few years.
Thanks were expressed to DAVE REED who
supplied the music, to LOU LOOBER who
donated the tree, to JOHN BODEN who
decorated it, to GERRY EVANS who from his
San Luis Obispo ranch, supplied the wine.
Christmas card from MASON ARMSTRONG
who returns from the East in February - - a card from HENRY VON SEYFRIED, pioneer.
ON SAFARI AROUND 706
with OWEN O'CALLAGHAN
CHRISTMAS PARTY
Since 1964, when the Club first moved into
the Masonic Building, the lobby remained the
same. Yet, it looked somehow more dingy and
scabrous. The garishly painted elevator creaked
its descent. Then you entered under the palm
thatched door.
Merry Christmas.Seasons Greetings. LOU
LOOBER, Greeter for half a century, beamed
his beatific smile. OWEN O'CALLAGHM
hustled to get your badge.
Inside the room was changed. A bar at the
rear of the hail, tended by a gold jacketed,
quick moving barkeep. To the side, a table
with erect champagne bottles ready for corkpopping. AL ADAMS, BIL BROWN, COB
HARMS, all ex-House Chairmen, saluted the
new, incoming caretaker.
Tables agroan with hors d'oeuvres, apertifs.
The steaming dinner and pumpkin pie. Long,
red-covered tables, aglistening with silverware
and erect wine bottles.
Page 10
lug a new concept: a honeymoon without the
paperwork. "All you need is the honey and the
money."
"The reason 1 have not been here in a while,
RALPH DE LOACH said, "is that I have been
living in England. We have a 300-year-old
cottage. And, if you don't all come at once,
and you are in England, we will put you up
one night and give you one meal." Sounds
reasonable, eh, what? Call GEORGE ROSS for
the address.
At this point, President Merry called forth
the Officers and Directors to the stage. First
V.P. CHESTER WILCZEK, 2nd V.P. CLARENCE HARMS, Sec. DAVID MORGAN, Tres.
WALLACE BAGLEY and Directors JOHN
CAMERON, WILLIAM CARR, "SMOKEY" C.
STORMS and Past President JOHN MAHON
took their places. In absentia were HENRY
KEHLER, DONALD OROSZ, and ROSS REED.
"These are the men," Merry said, "who have
done an outstanding job this year. I stand here
to applaud them." To which the whole Club
stood and added its plaudits. With the same
gentlemanly grace, President Dwayne then called on and introduced the Officers and Directors
of 1981. They are: First V.P. CHESTER K.
KYLE, 2nd V.P. OWEN O'CALLAGHAN, Secretary, ROY ROBERTS, Treasurer, CHARLES
ROSS. Holdover Directors are: Cameron, Carr
and Orosz, and re-elected Storms. New Directors: PETER PARFITT and (absent) WILLIAM
HAWKINSON. Finally introduced was new
President GEORGE MANCHESTER.
Thus, as it has been for over fifty years,
passed on the power of the Club, a continuum
which finds its strength and poise in the
character of the men, past and present, who
seriously undertake the responsibilities, the
duties of their various offices. For their
devotion, their time and energy, the remainder
ADVENTURERS' CLUB NEWS
of the membership is both in their debt and is
grateful. It is fitting, proper and just that they
be singled out on this singular occasion. Maintain the quality, keep the traditions and we,
all of us, will have the assurance that the
Adventurers' Club will endure down the corridor of time.
President Dwayne turned the microphone
over to President-to-be George Manchester.
After a brief history of the Club, George
sketched some of the objectives he hoped to
achieve in the coming year. He pointed out the
need for attracting new members. Compared to
the early years of the Club when as many as
eighty members a year were inducted, the Club
today has a need to attract prospective applicants. Most prospective members are at one
time or another guests of members. George
urged that every member consider himself an
ad hoc Membership Committeeman and actively
invite men of character and adventurous spirit
to attend Club meetings. Every member has a
stake in the continuation of a healthy, viable
Club.
Sympathising with the 1st Vice Presidents'
job as Program Chairman, heaviest job in the
Club, Manchester called on the total membership to search out their circles of resources and
where they find a worthy person or subject
they should come to the aid of the Program
Chairman in his work.
George's third concern was housing. Whereas
the city need only give a 30-day notice (to
vacate) to the present landlord, the Club's
lease specifies a 90-day notice to the tenant.
There is a possibility the Club could be called
on to move in the shorter time-period. George
hopes the Housing Committee this year will
diligently survey possible sites for new quarters,
preferably in the downtown area.
March 1981
The three priorities sounded by the Presidentelect are old ones. But they are also ever new.
With the passage of time, they represent an
urgency which cannot long be deferred. There
is no such thing as an active club with inactive
membership. All of us have an individual and
shared responsibility to the Adventurers' Club.
We can not leave it to George.
Toastmaster, GEORGE ROSS, remarkable
for his faithfulness to the Club's origin, recalled
its early members. In the period of 1911-12,
DAVE PASCOE had to shoot a South American
revolutionary General to prevent him from
impressing his railway gang into the rebel army.
JOHN DAVIDSON rode his horse from the
Washington-Oregon area to Southern California.
RICHARD ATKINSON was actively involved
in the Russian revolution (NILSSON in the
Rhodesian revolt?). RENE BELBENOIT escaped from the infamous Devil's Island. A young
WILL ROGERS was still twirling his lariat.
Capt. JACK ROULAC had not yet had his
brush with Pancho Villa.
It was these men who were the cadre around
which the Adventurers' Club was formed. At
the foundation meeting four toasts were offered
which to this day are given on every celebratory
occasion.
"Gentlemen stand and charge your glasses."
With that, Ross called on Col. ROBERT NE!MAN, representing the Armed Forces, to give
the first toast:
"To Adventure, the shadow of every redblooded man." Then called upon was hunter
GERRY EVANS who offered: "To the game."
Representing the Air Forces (Naval) and Sailors,
Lt. COB HARMS: "To every lost trail, lost
comrade." Representing every gentleman adventurer, Dr. CHESTER SIDELL: "To Gentle-
Page 11
men Adventurers."
Following time-honored custom, George Ross
then read the names of those members who,
this year, passed on to the Great Adventure:
They were: CHARLES BRISCO No. 663,
PETER DE PAOLO No. 893, MAURICE A.
MACHRIS No. 692 (Hon.), Lt. Col. DOUGLAS
K. MORTON No. 907, Capt. FINN RONNE
No. 793 (Hon.), JAY GOULD WALKER No.
777 (Consular), JAMES H. WOODYARD No.
535.
In their memory was raised the silent toast.
* S *
*
*
Vice President and Program Chairman CHET
WILCZEK came to the stage for the last time as relieved as he was delighted. Uncharacteristically laconic, he introduced member WILLARD BASCOM who, to the delight of the
audience, recited a poem - 'When you were
a tadpole I And I was a young fish" - an
anthropologist -paleontologist explanation of the
evolutionary chain, to his girlfriend while at
lunch at Delmonico's. Whee! It was great fun.
Thank you, Willard.
After a couple of short transitional movies
which took us over the cascading white waters
of the 226-mile Colorado River, some members
were called upon to relate their Christmas
experiences.
The first was a Navy yarn related with the
crisp salty talk that only a combat Commander
(seven combat stars) can conjure. It took place
in Luzon on Christmas Eve . rather, when
preparations were being made to invade Luzon.
MARION CASSELL was Commander of L.S.T.
No. 126 when it got a message to proceed to
the Dutch East Indies and report to the Port
Director's office. An S.C. would go along as
escort. Neither had directions nor a chart nor
description of any kind. They proceeded by
Page 12
the seat of their pants.
Toward evening three ships were spotted on
the horizon. Since they didn't have the American cut, they had to be Japanese. On closer
view, stripes were made out on the flags - the
setting sun? It turned out they were the stripes
of the British flag "Boy, were we glad to see
those Limeys."
2:00 a.m. Christmas Eve the watch picked
up land on port and starboard and dead ahead.
Islands. They proceeded cautiously until daybreak. Dawn revealed three LSD's in an island
harbor. From a fourth, they were given charts.
Land was 400 yards ahead. At 300 yards they
dropped the hook and ran out 120 fathom
chain which never touched bottom.
Landing, some G.I.'s directed them to operations headquarters. There was no Port Director.
"But I suppose 1 am, since I am Senior Officer,"
said the Commander of the four LSD's. He
inquired about supplies. Among those enumerated was 120,000 gallons of water which was
badly needed.
Therewas a dock but tied to it all day was
an Army vessel. "Those dogs would not even
let us in." On the dock were hoses which
could take on the water. A short distance
away was also a tank holding a million gallons
of 100 octane gas.
Christmas Eve and they couldn't even dock.
Nobody aboard had gotten any mail for three
months. So they anchored. Getting his officers
together, they decided to slip in and buy beer
(amply stored) for the men. "Well, we had a
beer bust on the main deck. And we were
singing carols and negro spirituals."
"Right in the middle of this thing," Cassell
related, "we got a red alert. The Japs started
bombing. They wouldn't even leave us alone
on Christmas Eve."
ADVENTURERS' CLUB NEWS
"The Army vessel was still sitting at the
dock. The gasoline holding tank got a bomb
hit. Ship and dock were ablaze. Worst fire I've
ever seen."
After that, it became tradition to hold beerbusts at anchor on any special occasion.
No introduction was needed for the next
man. If there was an Adventurer of the Year
award, Col. DON TAYLOR, all by himself,
would have won it - after setting seven world
records in his tiny Thorpe circling the vast
Pacific.
"In the span of eight hours," Don began,
"I played Santa Claus, made a man a hero,
almost bought the farm, and lost my Christmas
spirits."
An AT-6 pilot, Don in the week following
Pearl Harbor, was assigned to Panama. At
Christmas, since no supply ship arrived, everything, including food, was in short supply.
A real scarcity. Nor was there any mail. The
outfit was made up of 20 P-40's and one warconfiscated J-3 Cub. Christmas Day Don was
asked to fly some old mail to a group of
engineers who were stranded, building an airstrip on San Bias Island. Since he was the only
one who flew a cub, he agreed and, taking a
bottle and the mail, off he flew. The mail
delivery made one bunch of engineers happy on
this happy holiday.
As he was about to leave San Bias, the Chief
Enigneer asked a favor. Would Don be willing
to take the native Chief for a ride? It certainly
would be appreciated since the engineers were
using the natives for labor. Besides, it would
make the Chief a hero. Don agreed. The bigfooted Chief was crammed into the back seat
and instructed not to touch anything, off they
flew. "I circled the island and, spotting the
biggest house, I wrapped that cub around it at
March 1981
70 mph." The Chief sat there. Said nothing.
Not a word. Soon after, they landed.
Don later found out that thereafter the
engineers could get anything they wanted from
the natives. And, indeed, the Chief became
a hero. But the Chief's mother gave him hell
because, being so close to Heaven, he should
have stayed there.
As a gift, Don was given a huge stalk of
bananas - for which the fellows in Panama
would be most grateful. Don had the assurance
from the Commanding Officer that on his
return (his) mail would be waiting for him.
A nice flight home. "I was having a ball.
I made my pitch out at the air-strip just like
a fighter pilot, racked that cub up, came
around the corner and started down. When I
chopped the throttle, I pulled the stick back.
Wouldn't budge. Nothing. I took a look over
my shoulder and, sure enough, the bananas had
rolled off the back seat against the stick. There
we were. I yanked that turkey as hard as I
could just as I touched. Well, I bounced a good
60 feet - to the amusement of the 20 fighter
pilots who were watching the landing. Did I
ever get the raspberry."
"After I cleaned up - the banana squash, I
headed for the mail room. Now, for my
Christmas mail - and, with luck, presents."
No mail. A U-boat had sunk the ship.
BOB SILVER (whose articulation and diction
makes him, by far, the easiest Club member to
record) came next. Nostalgia time. Text: diary
entries made in the '60's. Setting: Aboard the
42-ft. cutter Awahnee, co-skippered by NANCY
GRIFFIN, now member of the Honolulu Adventurers' Club. From Papeete, Tahiti, they
were headed for Born Bora, thence to Australia
before the typhoons begin. Presently anchored
Page 13
in the lee of a small mountainous atoll because
of a stalled diesel engine. Time: December 24.
"Party swam ashore. No natives all gone
to Raiatea for the holidays. Spotted lone
chicken which we cleaned all afternoon trying
to get a "turkey" Christmas dinner. It escaped.
Stayed for night."
"Monday, December 25. Weighed anchor.
Difficulty with wind warping around both sides
of island's mountains. Given gift of a "pareau"
- the native sarong.
"Dropped hook Bora Bora lagoon at same
time as Matson Line Monterey - on its second
visit since end of war. Liner making soundings
for future anchorage."
Aboard was a full complement of tourists
on a South Pacific island fantasy cruise. Despite
the necessity of reaching New Zealand before
typhoon season, tourists were promised that
evening a fabulous Christmas "tamaari," a
sumptuous feast of pigs-cooked-in-ground. Hopeful of a free gourmet meal, Bob presented
himself to the Ship's Captain, with whom
Bob's father had worked years ago. What with
the soundings, the pressure of leaving, the
party, the Captain was courteous but short.
Sure, Bob could stay for the dinner. Only
a short time later Bob found out it cost twenty
dollars. What young crewman could afford
that?
Gracious to the end, the Captain gave his gig
to Bob to return to the Awahnee.
Bob's mates aboard the yacht (also under
the necessity of leaving) did not quite appreciate
that he returned empty handed, that he did not
accept his father's friend's offer of anything the
yacht could use (corking, a small generator).
Worst of all Bob failed to come back with a
gallon of gourmet chocolate ice-cream of which
the luxury liner was amply supplied.
Page 14
That Christmas evening Bob sailed out of
Bora Bora under threatening gloom - and a pre.
typhoon sky.
The toasts done, the stories told, the four
bells rung the members lingered another hour
before they headed home for the Season's
cheer, for another Christmas and a brand new
year.
(Reported by Owen O'Callaghan)
January 8, 1981
SPECIAL BUSINESS MEETING
(No Program)
Free expression of opinion is one of the
bulwarks of a free society. We certainly
indulged freely at the January 8 Special Business Meeting on the subject of modifying the
Club's Articles of Incorporation. Ostensibly
for the purpose of the Club becoming eligible
for a tax free status that would allow tax
deductions to donors. Opinions for and opinions against, past experiences that were similar
and good and those almost identical that turned
bad, all were expounded and it might be said,
at some length.
To one with the experience it is reminiscent
of the public meetings held by the Division of
Highways, in years past, to give the public the
opportunity to express opinions concerning
freeway locations. It was difficult for the
public to realize that important decisions cannot be based on opinions but must have facts
and figures determined by research and study.
Dwellers in the affected areas insisted that
since our government is a democracy they
should be allowed to decide on freeway locations by popular vote, it's hard to imagine
more chaotic results had that system been
tried.
ADVENTURERS' CLUB NEWS
And so it is with important Club decisions.
Popular vote yes, but not based on "gut"
feelings or emotion-garnered opinions.
of all those who spoke pro or con only one
individual offered conclusions supported by
studied research, gathered facts, consultations
with the I.R.S., and legal advice, and he was
our Treasurer, Charlie Ross.
The Club is composed of members from
many professions and skills which is fortunate
because we can expect knowledgeable guidance
in many fields of endeavor. That fact is useless,
however, unless we take advantage of it.
As an Engineer, I would not presume to
have an opinion on the subject based on my
knowledge because I have none. Therefore, I
must look to someone who has, for a worthwhile basis for my opinion.
For the present, unless someone can offer
opposition based on something more substantial
than conjecture, "gut feeling" or emotional
opinions, I must follow the lead of Charlie Ross.
—Chet-Wilczek, No. 811
January 15, 1981
ON SAFARI AROUND 706
with BILL BUCHANAN
Dr. ED CHATWELL announced a fishing
trip to North Island of New Zealand and
promised to bring back the world record
yellowtail.
GENE BABBITT will also be
aboard.
Dr. LOU HIGGER had invited as guests Boy
Scout Troop 33 from Beverly Hills and they had
a field day exploring the club trophies from all
over the world.
WAYNE BARKER announced a benefit
dinner sponsored by the National Hockey
League at the Century Plaza to be held February
March 1981
Page 15
9, 1981 for the Children's Diabetic Foundation.
An evening of top entertainment will be provided. Avery worthwhile event.
CHET WILCZEK read a letter of appreciation to the club from STAN COOLEY who,
due to illness, has not been able to attend
recent meetings. Stan, we miss you. Get well
and come back soon.
A letter from Sue Stevenson thanked us for
sending the cassette on which the club members
had sent best wishes for his early recovery.
TOM STEVENSON is learning to use his
prosthesis and is walking better every day.
On behalf of member DOUG MORTON,
who recently passed away on a fishing trip to
Baja, Ed Chatwell presented a trophy head and
tail of a fourteen-foot marlin, a gift from his
widow. We look forward to seeing it mounted
on the wall of our clubroom.
CHARLIE BRISCO's collection of five thousand slides, which JOHN DAVIDSON is busy
sorting, and which ROSS REED has volunteered
to furnish the necessary slide projector trays,
were formally presented to the Club. OWEN
O'CALLAGHAN accepted the slides on our
behalf.
BOB HOWARD is in the cardiac section of
the Veteran's Hospital at Long Beach. He is
allowed visitors and would enjoy cards from the
members.
A sad note marked the announcement of the
passing of long time member GEORGE WURZBURGER who we will indeed miss. He was an
avid collector of animal specimens. Indeed the
Los Angeles County Museum owes much of its
popularity to the specimens which George
collected for it. He held the world record for
his antelope and gazelle specimens.
*
*
a
*
ADVENTURER OF THE WEEK
VOLMER JENSEN has long been interested
in hang gliding and is said to be the first person
to make foot-launched hang gliding safe. He
has developed a rigid-wing foot-launched hang
glider powered by a ten horsepower motor and
a similar one without the motor. He has also
built and flown eleven sailplanes, one land
Plane and one amphibian.
Volmer sold a set of plans for the swing
wing glider to David Cook of England six years
ago. With it he won all the contests in England
in the next four years. Then he put a tenhorse-power motor on the swing wing and was
the first man to cross the channel in this type
of aircraft. The Prince of Wales gave David
Cook a bronze medal for his flight across the
English Channel. The details of this flight are
given in a letter which he wrote to Volmer
Jensen.
Tuesday, May 9, 1978 was the last standby
date for the Channel crossing. The team for
this flight had been ready since Christmas but
the Dover Coast Guard had warned them of the
very dangerous conditions so the flight was
constantly postponed. In May the sea temperature is 5 or 6 degrees Centigrade. You can last
in this water only a few minutes before dying
of cold. With the VJ23 decked in the sponsor's
colors, and with a full tank of gas (10 liters).
A flight time of 77 minutes would be available.
At 10:40 a.m. and with five minutes visibility the takeoff took place. There was much
turbulence. After one hour of flying with the
motor screaming at 7,000 r.p.m. with the wind
four six north east it was time to get a first
glimpse of the coast. It was cold, the air
temperature was only 10 degrees C. He tried
following the escort ship African Queen towards
Page 16
the coast as time was giving out and no sight of
land yet. There was only just over eight
minutes of fuel left.
At one hour and ten minutes he saw the
misty coast of France, three and a half miles
away. He turned to his right and thundered
into a long power dive which gave him a
ground speed of about sixty miles per hour,
The Dover-Calais ferry was directly below.
Even though the glider was stressed for only
30 miles per hour in rough air.
The power dive had used up some two hundred feet of elevation and he was able to cross
the shore at one hundred and fifty feet.
Banking around northwards he eased the throttle
back and made a normal five step landing.
There was less than five minutes of fuel left.
The time from England was one hour and
fifteen minutes.
Volmer Jensen then showed a motion picture
film of his new ten horsepower aircraft which
is capable of flying a 200 pound pilot. This is
a Swing Wing, beautifully crafted, small and
elegantly finished. The thin wooden lead edge
of the wing, 1/32" thick, is polished with a
high gloss to show the beautiful grain of the
ADVENTURERS' CLUB NEWS
natural wood. This works much better than
fabric or metal for a glider. Takeoff is quite
easy, but landings are quite fast in a five to
eight mile wind. The propeller is only 28" in
diameter. There is good control with the
elevator, rudder and the ailerons. With these
three controls you can no make a bad turn.
The control stick is only about a foot high.
For the Len horsepower airplane you gear
down the engine 3.6 to I and use a 48 inch
diameter propeller and get a lot more thrust.
It cruises at about 28 m.p.h. if you build it
yourself it costs about $1,200.00, the engine is
$200.00 more. This gets about nine and a half
horsepower. A Gilmore belt is used to gear it
down. This is a cerrated belt. Mirage Dry Lake
and Oxnard are favorite flight locations, as well
as San Fernando airport. With one spark plug,
one cylinder and one piston, it. is best not to
plan on very distant flights. The name swing
wing means just that, you are sitting in a little
swing beneath the wing and if it is rough air
you will be swinging around a bit. This is an
experimental aircraft and there are as of now
no plans to attempt supersonic speeds.
A Word From the Editor...
The programs that have been presented for our information and enjoyment on Thursday evenings continue to grow in interest and importance. Because of this the reporting
of this material takes a great deal of space. The program for January 15, 1981 will run
to 3Y2 pages and should be printed in its entirety in one issue. Limitations on printing
and binding equipment available to the editor prevents the expansion of this publication
to a 20-page edition. Hence, the program that would normally appear with the News
section of this date will appear as the lead article in the April issue. "Face To Face With
Man-Eating Sharks" by Dr. Donald Nelson is something you will not want to miss.
RC W
The Adventurers' Club, Los Angeles
706 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90015
Entered as Second Class Postage
at the Post Office at
Los Angeles, California
POSTMASTER:
Address Correction Requested
Return Postage Guaranteed
Mr. George M.flChO9tt'
12948 Woodbridge Street
Studio City, Calif. 91604
3/81