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Aerograph February, 2006

TARHEEL CHAPTER
President: Roger Bissinger
Vice Pres.: Dan Lepore
Treasurer: Rudy Kittel
Reporter: Roger Tanner

The Tarheel Chapter held its holiday dinner meeting at 1800 on Saturday, December 3rd at The Trevi restaurant. We were fortunate to have 15 folks present including: Roger and Louise Bissinger, Mike Dickenson, Tom and Pat (“Smitty”) Fitzpatrick, Rudy and Ellie Kittel, John and Carol Raley, Ron and Jean Sweet, Roger and Anne Tanner, and Al and Ellen Upton. It was a bit early in the season for Santa to make an appearance, but all present seemed to enjoy getting together with their former shipmates, etc.

As there is not much to report, I thought I'd share a bit of
naval trivia:

Aerograph August '05

President: Roger Bissinger
Vice Pres.: Dan Lepore
Treasurer: Rudy Kittel
Reporter: Roger Tanner

The Tarheel Chapter held its spring dinner meeting at 1800 on Saturday, April 30th at The Trevi restaurant. This restaurant has become a favorite of our chapter and this along with the change of our meetings from a weekday to a Saturday is probably the reason for such a great turnout. A group of seventeen is a pretty good crowd for our chapter. Present were Roger & Louise Bissinger, Harold Crutcher, Mike Dickenson, Tom Fitzparick, Rudy & Ellie Kittel, Dan & Pat Lepore, John & Carol Raley, Ron and Jean Sweet, Roger & Anne Tanner, and Al & Ellen Upton. We are very pleased to welcome our newest member, Ron Sweet and his wife, Jean!

As there is not much to report, I thought I'd share thefollowing bit of naval trivia:

First U.S. Naval Commission:The first U.S. Naval commission was that given to Captain Samuel Nicols of the U.S. Marines by the Continental Congress on November 28th 1775. (Traditions of the Navy, a Collection of Naval Customs, Terms & Traditions by Cedric W. Windas – originally published: BROOKLNY, N.Y. : Our Navy Inc., ©1942

Roger W. Tanner



Aerograph Feb '05

President: Roger Bissinger
Vice Pres.: Dan Lepore
Treasurer: Rudy Kittel
Reporter: Roger Tanner

The Tarheel Chapter held its Holiday Dinner meeting on December 14th at the Bonefish Grill in Asheville. Despite the raw cold and windy weather, eight hardy souls attended: Roger and Louise Bissinger, Mike and Carolyn Dickenson, Tom and “Smitty” Fitzpatrick, and Dan and Pat Lepore. Several of our members were experiencing health problems, some others were out of town, some were previously committed to other engagements.

We met at a large table in the bar area at 1600 for drinks and a lively “scuttlebutt session”. Dinner was served in the dinning area a bit after 1700. The food was very good and, of course, the company was excellent.  We always schedule our meetings on weekdays. We are aware that this practice affects the attendance for those who don't live in the Asheville area, but we have been unable find suitable restaurants where the
management will allow us a meeting room/area during weekends. Since Asheville is the largest mountain city near the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Cherokee Indian Reservation, these restaurants are quite busy during
weekends with tourist trade from the Southeastern and Middle Atlantic states. A lot of our members don't live in the Asheville area and some of these folks work; others are involved in activities where they live. The bottom line is that it is nearly impossible for many of our members to take part in the weekday meetings. If other NWSA chapters have experienced this problem and have found a viable solution, please share it with us via email to Roger Tanner.

Tarheel Living:
As the New Year begins, we often find ourselves reflecting all that took place during the previous year.  On the local scene, the most notable events, in the view of this reporter, was the appearance of many wild animals within the city of Asheville. We have always had many bears, bobcats, etc. in our mountains, but spotting these creatures were infrequent. Except for an occasional bear raiding a garbage can, most animals remained hidden. 

My wife and I are city residents and during 2004 we saw the following on our property:
Wild turkeys – 22 roosted in our pine trees some nights; wandered around our yard looking for food.  Bobcats – two occasionally crossed our property (one acre) and walked across our road and up Pleasant Mountain.

Coyote – many seen hunting for food; seems to like cats and raccoons best.
Raccoons - up to 13 were on our property one night.
Bears – one very large male, and one mother with two cubs.
Rabbits- several more than in past years.
Hawks – one red-tailed, two red-shouldered (one of these actually landed on our deck rail).

It doesn't take a genius to realize that the almost routine appearance of all these animals within the limits of a city of about 70,000 people, is not normal. The mother bear appears to have given birth to her cubs in my neighbor's wood pile and is still returning to the pile,
as though it is home. With all the building of new homes and condos in this valley, she was probably run out of the place where she intended to give birth by a bulldozer and men with chainsaws.

Roger Tanner