News From Fort Schuyler

January 8, 1999 - Volume 3, No. 2

DR. FOODY MENDING - According to a note received from KEN PETERS, Class of 1954, long-time Chairman of the Engineering Department, Professor Emeritus JOHN F. FOODY, broke his hip in a fall last June "and is recovering, but slowly."

FORGET THE NBA, IT'S MC AND KP ON 1/30 - "Up to the time I was graduated in 1954 and completed a teaching assignment in Engineering in 1956 at Schuyler," writes KEN PETERS, Class of 1954, "KP had never beaten us. That was a considerable achievement considering the size difference between the two schools. Positive attitudes and spirit do count. It was my class [in their Second Class year] that stole the KP goat. It was kept by a local vet until we returned it to their Admiral at mid-court during halftime. DAVE OAKSMITH and GIGES TURI were our chief perpetrators. The story of how they cased the joint across the river is interesting." (Ed. - (Tell us. Don't worry, the statute of limitations must apply by now.)

Ken ends with the question: "...when, if ever, we lost our first game to KP?" According to JIM MIGLI, Director of Athletics (the one person on campus who knows the 'score') King's Point finally beat Maritime for the first time on January 11, 1956: KP 68 - MC 52.

NEW REGIMENTAL CADET OFFICERS ANNOUNCED - Cadet regimental leaders for the Spring 1999 semester include: JOSEF EGGERT - Reg CDR; GREGORY CALLAGHAN - Reg COS; ANSREAS ISELI - Reg ADJ; ELAINA DAVIS - Reg OPS, WILLIAM COTTER - Reg TO; ERIK LARSEN - Reg MSO; KRISTOPHER DOBINSON - 1st Battalion CDR, and JESSICA BARRETT - 2nd Battalion CDR. Congratulations. (Translations on request)

FUN AND GAMES - For cadets with time, money, and exemplary hand-eye coordination, there is good news in the January 11 Plan of the Week: "The Game Room under the stairs to the new 1/c Mess Deck has been redone. There are new arcade games and a change machine inside. It will be open during the week and on weekends."

CLASS OF 1939 NEWS -There is a wonderful Class History at the Alumni Association website. It was written by the original co-editor of the October 1939 yearbook, JOHN CORSO. (There was also a yearbook for the February graduating class.) Go to: http://www.fsmaa.org/classes/1939.cfm CLASS OF 1944 LOGS IN, TOO - New subscriber, STAN LLOYD, notes that a mini-reunion is scheduled for February 6 at his home in Tequesta, FL (561-747-9343.) He also reported that 7 Schuyler classmates attended his surprise 75th birthday party on December 12. Those college ties.

MORE PERSPECTIVES ON CAPTAIN OLIVET - Describing some of the teachers in his 'History of the Class of 1939,' John Corso wrote: "There were other instructors such as .....PETE OLIVET, 'Pete the Tramp,' so named because he looked exactly like a comic strip character of the same name." The NFFS editor contacted FERGUSON BYARS, Class of 1939, to confirm the identity of 'Pete.' Fergie responded: "Yes, Pete Olivet and A. F. Olivet were one and the same. He taught math and would fill two blackboards with equations and formulas. If any cadet had a problem with that his remark was usually 'think or thwim.' This cadet had to spend weekends studying in order not to be kicked out of the school. Because I was not even good at algebra in high school, spherical trig didn't go down easily either."

LEN SUTTER, Class of 1953, recalls that "KARL HUBNER (Second Mate) and I (Third Mate) sailed with Captain Olivet on the Cruise of 1954. It gave me the opportunity to gain a different perspective on Captain Olivet. He did a tough job extremely well, and was a very decent man."

As a follow-up to classmate BILL McMULLEN's description of CAPTAIN OLIVET's "soft interior," PETER BACI, Class of 1964, recalls the January 28 1998 NFFS item he sent about how Father JIM HUVANE, a former Schuyler cadet, served as the captain's cabin boy on one cruise. "Jim was a good friend to us and we finagled a way to get him to share our room on the cruise, even though he was 'crew' and not part of the student body at that time. Capt. Olivet came into our room during one of his inspections and only three of the four occupants were present. He asked who the fourth locker belonged to, and we told him it was Jim Huvane. This obviously was a violation, but as the room was spic-and-span, he just moved on to the next stop on his inspection and never ordered Jim to move to the 'crew's' quarters. He was a crusty old soul, but there was a soft side to him as well. He and Father Jim kept in touch after Jim left Maritime to pursue another career."

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE AND A CHALLENGE - Apparently, engineers in the Class of 1964 did not get to see that "soft side" of Captain Olivet to the same degree as their deck counterparts. BOB SCHWIEGER, Class of 1964, faxed the following comment: "Heart-wrenching article! Olivet must have liked deckies. We engineers shoveled [snow] w/o hot chocolate and got demerits w/o brandy. One time Cap'n O was on the prowl, came into our room, handed out demerits for resting between classes on the TSES IV, opened the head door to the surprise of one of my roomates who saluted while on the john and received 10 D's [demerits] for unmilitary bearing. How about a good/bad remembrances contest? Who wins - the good Olly or the bad Olly?"

UPDATE FROM DIEGO GARCIA - News comes from KEVIN COATES, Class of 1979, that there are now 6 Schuyler graduates in that far-away locale. "We are trying to get a group picture to send back to you and the alumni."