News From Fort Schuyler

April 14, 2001 - Volume 5, No. 14

EBB TIDE - News of the death of ROBERT P. LUCAS, Class of 1957, has been received from ANDY FOSINA, Class of 1965. Andy wrote: " Bob passed away on April 9, 2001 in Virginia Beach. Bob was a native New Yorker and he served 31 years in the US Navy, retiring as a Captain. He shipped out after Navy retirement and worked for Maersk Lines as a project manager." Bob was also at Fort Schuyler as an Associate Professor from 1992 - 1994 and served as Chairman of the Marine Transportation Department during part of that time. Andy concludes, "Bob is survived by his wife Joan, a daughter, two sons, and eight grandchildren. He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The family has asked that memorial donations be made to Memorial Sloan- Kettering Center, Box E, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021." [A full obituary appears in the April 12 Virginia Pilot at http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw0412obt.html ]

IS IT OR ISN'T IT ? "Permit me to make a comment that l-o-n-g and serious research done by very reliable sources indicates it's St. Marys WITHOUT an apostrophe, when it refers to the ship, pentagon, etc., etc.," faxes JOE GERSON, Class of 1947. Joe, maritime historian, bon vivant, and the leading cheerleader for Fort Schuyler in the Midwest, continues: "The song as written and sung as it relates to the church may well be with an apostrophe....but the 'salute' to the ship and the ship itself correctly reads NO apostrophes." [The NFFS editor, no model of consistency, tends to sprinkle commas and apostrophes about generously. It should be noted for the record, however, that documents in the Luce Library archives, dating back to 1853, consistently refer to the ship as the ST. MARY'S.] Joe - is this one of those newfangled traditions ?

ITS MURDER - At 2000 on Tuesday, April 17, America's foremost pop historian of serial murder, HAROLD G. SCHECHTER, will be speaking on the subject of crime in the 19th century: "The Boy Fiend: Juvenile Crime and Media Hysteria," in the S&E Lecture Hall. This free event, which follows right along with the Film Noir Festival, is the final Library Lecture Program of the term. It is co-sponsored by Prof. JOHN ROCCO of the Humanities Department, impresario of this semester's "Groundbreaking Films Festival: Film Noir, the Cold War, Zombies, and Heists." Dr.Schechter, a prolific author who is renowned for his true-crime writings, is Professor of English at Queens College where he teaches courses in American literature and culture.

BELLES OF ST MARYS - A response from JUAN H. STAGG, Class of 1979, about updating the alma mater to be more inclusive: "I would suggest the following: CURRENTLY: 'The old lads, and the new lads who have gone to sea.' PROPOSED: 'For all lads and lassies who have gone out to sea.' This could be sung keeping the music's cadence unchanged. Maybe other members of the community would like to propose other changes. Let's start on this endeavor."

UPSTATE v. DOWNSTATE - The newest book about Empire State local and state politics, "New York Politics: A Tale of Two States" is co-authored by JOHN BRIAN MURTAUGH, Class of 1960. Brian was a member of the New York State Assembly for many years. More information about this book, which was published in February, can be found at: http://www.mesharpe.com/65600641.htm

MODERN ENTREPRENEUR - West Coast alumnus BILL BARTSCH, Class of 1984, "..was piloting a cable laying ship last month out of San Diego and met BOB SPIEGELTHAL, Class of 1978, who had just chartered the vessel for a few months to lay many miles of fiber optic cable off the California coast. He is Director, Systems Integration, for a company named Global Photon www.globalphoton.com ) that hopes to lease the use of these new cables to the major communications providers like ATT and MCI. It is all on spec and a bold adventure for another brave Domer. We swapped a few legendary LESTER DUTCHER [Class of 1949] stories and I gave him the hard sell on finally joining the Alumni Association."

CALL THE CHIROPRACTOR - As the June retirement date nears, many NFFS readers are sending nice notes. "I'm guessing that you will miss lots of things when you leave," writes KEN MURPHY, Class of 1961. "In my mind, I loved to look out on the ever changing water. The Fort itself, I miss. I remember spending hours in the "tombs" in the old library. A small desk, a little light, the smell of books, and a gun port to look out on the water. And, little by little, learning all those engineering subjects." Ken can be found at his Shallow Water Sailor website: www.trailersailor.com/sws/index.html

This note from DICK EVANS, Class of 1965: "Back in 1990-91 I was stationed in Newport, RI, for a year on the staff of the Commander, Naval Undersea Warfare Center. On a summer weekend, I picked up my sister and we drove down to the Fort for a look-see. We had a terrible time getting there as so much had changed since I graduated. This was my first time back, and upon arriving, I was overwhelmed by the new buildings; already well-worn, and at the changes since I had last been there. I had an overwhelming sense of loss. It was no longer 'my Fort Schuyler.' After wandering the grounds for a bit, we eventually ended up in the library and there you were. We reintroduced ourselves and you provided a copy of the 1965 yearbook, and instantly, it was wonderful to be back."

"I guess what I am trying to say, and poorly, is that you and your weekly newsletter have become an invaluable link to the college. I have made donations to the college that I might not have made, and it had been great to keep up to date on what is going on....I hope that the newsletter will not whither up and blow away with your departure.":

Finally, this from an anonymous 3/C cadet: "I enjoy reading [NFFS] on a regular basis. It lets me know what is going on in the alumni realm of the school and gives me cool facts to brag about my college. Thanks." Without all you readers, of course, there wouldn't be an NFFS. [Why the chiropractor? Because of all this back slapping !]