News From Fort Schuyler

December 1, 1998 - Volume 2, No. 55

RANKED AMATEURS - The SUNY Maritime College Sailing Team is now ranked 19th in the nation, according to the current issue of Sailing World. We join our friendly rivals from the Naval and Coast Guard Academies as well as Kings Point in the top twenty.

NON-SALINE CULTURE - Every now and then the Humanities Department and the Library Lecture Series get together to promote something different. This week it will be an evening of classical music in the Carpeted Lounge of BAYLIS DORMITORY. The "Serafin Duo" featuring Martha Winokur, piano and Jack Katz, violin, will give a free performance at 8:00 PM on Thursday, December 3.

QUICK REACTIONS - Responding to the retirement plans of Dr. HOWARD L. ENGLISH, Vice President of Academic Affairs, were Rod McFADDEN, Class of 1975, who notes: "Dr. English is sooo ancient, he can remember *me* as a Cadet!" PETER JENSEN, Class of 1978, writes: "I had the pleasure of being associated with Dr. English during my years at Maritime (1974 - 1978). I was active in the Newman Club during that period, as was Dr. English. As I recall, he was our sponsor/moderator."

MRS. MAGAVERO VENTURES INTO CYBERSPACE - Well, not quite, but FILOMENA MAGAVERO, who began work at the fort as a librarian in 1949, appreciates the e-mailed "hellos" that NFFS forwards to her. She writes: "Best regards from Fil Magavero to all my friends out there in cyberspace. It's great to hear from you, even if only in virtual reality. Many thanks for remembering to FRED ELSNER, JOHN (Magoo) McLEAN, BOB SCHWIEGER, et. al. Happy Holidays and love always, Fil." (Ed. note: Fil has been working at the Luce Library one day a week as a volunteer since she retired in 1992. She is the primary reason why college has been able to maintain its status as a U.S. Federal Documents Depository despite cuts in staffing and funding. So, thank YOU, Fil.)

MORE WEDDING BELLS - A note from a classmate reported that MARK HANNA, Class of 1993, was married to Jodi Fleming on November 13. Best Man was BRIAN McCLINTOCK 93, with JOHN VENTRUDO 93 and MATT MAHANNA 94 in the wedding party. A sizeable contingent of Schuyler graduates, eleven too many to list in NFFS (sorry), attended this Manhattan ceremony.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Here's a career update from PETER JENSEN, who writes he has been "...working for Mobil Oil Corporation in Fairfax, Virginia, as a Crisis Preparedness Consultant....since 1997. I spent 17 years as an active duty marine safety officer in the Coast Guard. I am now in the CG Reserves. My family and I reside in Crofton, Maryland."

DOMER DERIVED - For the past 30 years or so, graduates of Fort Schuyler often refer to themselves as "Domers" to the incomprehension (and sometimes irritation) of alumni from earlier years. In January 1998 several special issues of NFFS provided a chronology and variant explanations for the term "Domer, " based on response to an online survey. Now another wrinkle is added with a note by DICK ROTHAMEL, Class of 1971.

"In the mid 1960's there was a TV show called Hippodrome which showed a different circus each week. There was a guy in the class of 1968 who said: "This place is a circus, a regular Maridrome." The name Maridrome stuck for about a year and was shortened to the easier-to- pronounce Maridome, and the cadets started referring to themselves at the Maridome as Domers. Shortly after that, on the 1969 cruise, the TSES IV ran aground at Stepping Stones Light. My roommate, Steve Cernik, commemorated the occasion by having T-shirts printed with the TSES on the rock and a cadet twiddling his thumbs in the foreground with the name DOMER underneath. These T-shirts were popular and cemented the term." (Forwarded to NFFS by ROD McFADDEN)

ANOTHER ALUMNUS WITH STAMINA - That Marine Corps Marathon attracted yet another Fort Schuyler graduate. DC Alumni Chapter President, JOHN HANNON, Class of 1977, writes: "I also ran in the Marine Corps Marathon this year in Washington, my first marathon and now that I have tried and finished it will not be my last. It was a great experience and my goal since I started running as a regular exercise over a year ago. Also running in the marathon with me was my daughter Kelly, who is a sophomore at James Madison University in Virginia."

POETRY ABOARD - A bulletin board for original poetry has been placed outside the Humanities Department. Everyone is invited to share their original poetry - signed or unsigned. Apparently this concept has struck a chord since there are already a number of poems posted on the board. If you send a poem via NFFS, it will get pinned up along with all the others for the rest of us to enjoy.