News From Fort Schuyler

May 13, 1999 - Volume 3, No. 25

SST VIDEO UPDATE - The Parents' Association initiated the Summer Sea Term video program in 1977, funding the purchase of new feature films in video format for use aboard the Training Ship and integration into the Luce Library collection after the cruise. Since 1994, recommendations for new titles have been provided to the library by a cadet committee appointed by Student Government. This year, at the urging of Parents' Association President, MARK L. SCHNEIDER, all videos acquired for SST 1999 are "pre-viewed" copies. The purchase of used videos, which include new releases and a vendor guarantee, provides a "bigger bang for the buck" and means that nearly twice as many new titles (44 vs. 29) will be available for the shipboard program this summer as compared to 1998. Among the titles addition to the collection are: Boogie Nights, Deep Impact, The Edge, Good Will Hunting, and Sphere. Thank you, Parents' Association !

More good news on the video front. Last year's Ship' Librarian, JENNARA WENK, has generously donated a selection of feature films to the library from her personal collection. Many of the titles fill in gaps, including such maritime classics as: Damn the Defiant and Captain Horatio Hornblower.

ADDITIONAL ALUMNI ACCOUNTS READY - The list of contributors to the call for alumni reminiscences continues to grow. Paper copies of these alumni accounts will be deposited in the college archives collection. Three more titles are ready for e-mailing to anyone who is interested. Just request the title(s) you wish to receive by e-mailing: rcorson@sunymaritime.edu

FERGUSON BYARS, Class of 1939

"An Incident in the Bay of Bengal - Summer 1941" (2+ p.)

WILLIAM C. GIBNEY, Class of 1944

"My Most Eventful Voyage" (6 p.)

KARL E. HUBNER and SETH HAWKINS, Class of 1954

"The Night the Training Ship EMPIRE STATE II Broke Loose" (1 p.)

Earlier alumni accounts that are still available include:

WALTER H. HESSE, Class of 1940

"Convoy to Murmansk- PQ 15" (11 p.)

LEN SUTTER, Class of 1953

"George Riser Remembered " (2 p.)

MORE RISERISMS FOR THOSE SPECIAL OCCASIONS - After reading Len Sutter's memories of George Riser, JIM WHALEN, Class of 1962, sent this note: "I recall another Riserism: 'A sailor without a knife is like a whore without a...' Mr. Riser just left the statement unfinished. On the 1960 cruise he gave WALTER VOHS [Class of 1962] and myself instructions, including a hand-drawn diagram, to make the bosun's chair fast prior to going up the after mast of the EMPIRE STATE IV. His admonition was, 'Now listen to me, or you'll be splattered all over the deck.'"

FERGUSON BYARS recalls that: "Some of my classmates called me 'Riser's fair-haired boy' because of the way he approved of the care I took in re-varnishing railings, etc. in the bridge space on the EMPIRE STATE, while they may have been given less favorable jobs." (Shades of HMS PINAFORE's: "I polished up the handle so carefully that now I am the ruler of the Queen's Navy !)

RECOMMENDED READING - The May issue of "Sea Power" magazine, published by the Navy League, has an interesting article about U.S. maritime education with numerous references to SUNY Maritime. It is available online, without the color photos at: http://www.navyleague.org/seapower.htm