The Adventurers’ Club Newsadventurersclub.org/archives/AC News/AC News Sep 2015.pdf ·...

The

Adventurers’ Club News©

Bob Silver with Belly Dancer at his birthday party94th Anniversary Year!

See page 18

Volume 59 August/September 2015 Number 8/9

August/September 2015 ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS

The Adventurers’ Club NewsThe Official Publication of the Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles®, California

Table of ConTenTs

PRESIDENTVince Weatherby(714) 612-9081

1ST VICE PRESPierre Odier

2ND VICE PRESPierre Odier

TREASURERRobert Zeman

ADDRESS2433 N BroadwayLos Angeles, CA 90031

MAILING ADDRESSPO Box 31226Los Angeles, CA 90031

DINNER RESERVATIONS(323) 223-3948 Deadline: Tuesday Noon

SECRETARYJeffrey Holmes

Volume 59 ...........................................................................................Number 8/9Publisher .......................................ACLA President, Vince Weatherby (#1060)Editor .....................................Robert G. Williscroft (#1116), Centennial CO 80122

Cell (818) 613-9445; [email protected]. Editor .................................................................................................[OPEN]Club Phone (323) 223-3948 (24 Hrs) ...............................www.adventurersclub.org

August/September 2015

FRONT COVER: BOB SILVER (#728) AT HIS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION WITH A DELIGHTFUL BELLY DANCER

PHOTO: STEVE BEINDIRECTORY .............................................................................. INSIDE FRONT COVERPRESIDENT’S PAGE ................................................................................................... 1WHAT’S HAPPENING ................................................................................................ 2N.O.H.A. ............................................................................................................. 3 & 20THRAWN RICKLE ....................................................................................................... 4BOOK REVIEW: THE LAST GREAT SECRET OF THE THIRD REICH .......................... 5THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUB ............................................................................. 6LETTERS-TO-THE-EDITOR ........................................................................................ 20ANNOUNCEMENT..................................................................................................... 20FORTHCOMING PROGRAMS ................................................................................... 21

ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS August/September 2015

The

ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS©

Volume 59 August/September 2015 Number 8/9THE PRESIDENT’S PAGE Vince Weatherby (#1060) - President

Where’s the a d v e n -

ture?” Bob Sil-ver’s (#728) fa-mous response to brother adventur-ers, could not be used to describe his recent pro-

1

Adventure is upon us and very few tickets remain for this much antici-pated event on October 24th. Pierre Odier (#988) is responsible for this year’s NOHA, which we are assured will be another interesting and suc-cessful venue.

Dave Finnern (#1065) is heading the committee to seek out next year’s board members. Any questions or suggestions for candidates should be addressed to Dave.

Thank you to the many unmen-tioned members that continue to assist selflessly whenever called upon. This Club would not function without your unselfish effort.

As always please continue to bring guests. If each member could find one qualified new member this year the long term effects would be tre-mendous for us.

Our ship creaks a little, yet the sounds are familiar and soothing as we sail into smooth seas. The ship is solid, the crew fit, and all is well.

gram. We heard tales replete with a life-time of adventure including a svelte belly dancer who demonstrat-ed her artistic skills with Bob on our stage.

Bob has celebrated another birth-day and has been a member of our Adventurers’ Club for fifty years, well done Bob!

Our salute to our military members was unique, many members wore their military uniforms well for this evening. I noticed one uniform appeared to have shrunk since retirement. For this evening we were entertained by a troupe of sensational ladies who danced and sang in a style from a bygone era, all to honor those who served our country. Our brother member Jim Stewart (#1164) trav-eled from Oklahoma to be here for this evening. Jim is a Vietnam vet and was a tank commander during the Vietnam War.

Our yearly black tie Night of High

“


What’s Happening...

2

What’s Happening...

Club cooks share a moment with Lincoln

Vicky, Kevin & Joseph with Lincoln (Robert Broski)

We don’t see Alan Smith (#1069) (a former Club president)

around much since he moved to the East Coast. So it was nice to see him this Thursday (Aug. 13) at the Club, sitting with current President Vince Weatherby (#1060) and former pres-ident Pierre Odier (#988) (currently holding positions of 1st and 2nd VP).

Presidents row!

President’s RowJeff Holmes (#1148)

Had a good time at Burning Man this year, however, it was the

worst “dust white outs” that I have every endured. Inside our tent looked like the Sahara desert.

The highlights were reconnecting with the Wanderers Camp. Our camp served gin and tonics and 3,500+ hot dogs. It was great having my Ad-venturer Club buddies namely Danee Hazama (#1014) from Tahiti, Jeff Holmes (#1148) and Bob Gannon (#1066) at the Burn.

At the Burning Man Temple, we left photos of John Goddard (#507-OTGA) and Steve Peterman (#986-

OTGA) and wished them well on the Great Adventure.

B o b G a n n o n took us in his plane which was so cool. Danee and I had a wonderful time doing photo shoots everywhere. It was

a true learning experience for me photographing with Danee.

Burning Man AdventureShane Berry (#1093)

Shane & Danee


N.O.H.A. /What’s Happening...

On August 15, 2015, Shane Berry (#1093) celebrated his seventieth

birthday with ten members of the Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles. The other Club members were Gary Mortimer (#1086), A l a n Fe l d s t e i n (#1094), Bob Zeman (#878), Steve Law-son (#1032), Jeff Holmes (#1148), Rober t I anne l lo (#1100), Kevin Lee (#1163), Paul Isley (#1088), and Stew-art Deats (#1168). Gary Mortimer came in from Lake Havasu. There were twenty-one people in total doing the

hike. Shane and his group climbed Mt. Baldy (2300 feet of gain and 6.3 miles round trip, elevation 10,064 ft).

The group took the ski lift up and started from there. Mt Baldy is the highest peak of the San Gabriel

Mountains, and the highest peak in Los Angeles County. It was a nice breezy 72 degrees on top. The valley below the mountain was 104 degrees. The group celebrat-ed on top of Mt. Baldy with Hima-layan flags, Tibetan

bells, and rum. The group had several “Mt. Baldy Virgins” who conquered

Baldy at 70

Club members on Baldy Summit

Phot

os S

hane

Ber

ry

(What’s happening continued on page 21)

August/September 2015 ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS4

Thrawn Rickle

THE THRAWN RICKLE From the Ancient Scottish: thrawn = stubborn; rickle = loose, dilapidated heap

Robert G. Williscroft (#1116) – Editor

It seems I put the Board into

a bit of a pan-ic last month, when I said that if I don’t get an assistant editor relatively soon,

at some point I will simply resign, turn in my materials, and walk away from the job. I wasn’t kidding, guys.

This edition of the News is a com-bined August and September edition, not because I want to make a point, but simply because of my time constraints. I will continue, insofar as physically possible, to produce a magazine each month. When the real world catches up with me, however, I may have to combine two issues from time to time. If a competent assistant editor steps up to the plate, we can avoid this. A personal message to each of you: You love the Club. The Adventurers’ Club News is an integral part of the Club; it’s how many of you keep in touch, how you find out what you missed when you were unable to attend Club meetings. It’s the lifeline of the Club. I really need one of you to decide that the News is sufficiently important to your life that you will choose to become part of the oper-ation. You will have to learn a new program (probably); you will have to learn a new way of doing something (probably); and you will be tied to a schedule that can be demanding. I can

tell you this, however. Producing the News each month is rewarding, and you will not regret becoming part of this. The Club has 150 or so mem-bers. One of you surely can take the plunge. If that person is you, please contact President Vince or me directly, and let’s get you integrated into the process.

I told you last month that I would be launching Slingshot at the International Space Elevator Conference in Seattle on August 21. Although I missed see-ing any of you there, I can report that the launch was a smashing success. Slingshot is now firmly embedded in the annals of this revolutionary form for attaining access to outer space. Probably the most memorable thing about the ISEC was to be sitting in a room of geniuses. There may have been more brain power in that one room than I have ever had the privi-lege of experiencing before.

This month Bob Walters (#1047) brings us an intriguing book, The Last Great Secret of the Third Reich. You really don’t want to miss this book! Just imagine how the world might be today if thirty-year-old Captain Johann Heinrich Fehler had not turned over his cargo to American authorities, but instead delivered it to Imperial Japan. The book is controversial, but it tells a remarkable story that leads to sober speculations about what might have happened in the alternative, had Im-perial Japan received the cargo.


Book: Last Great Secret

BOOK REVIEW: The Last Great Secret of the Third ReichArthur O. Naujoks & Lee Nelson, CFI, Springville, UT, 2006, 6 x 9 in trade pback, 112 p, ISBN: 978-1555179984 Reviewed by Bob Walters (#1047).

It’s a thin book, and the title suggests another conspiracy fabrication. I al-

most did not acquire it. The book was written by a German WW II vet, now a U.S. citizen, who made good use of his German sources and provides impressive documentation from various official and published sources.

Prior to the defeat of the Nazis, they modified their largest and fastest subma-rines, designed to deploy mines, for the task of deliv-ering personnel and supplies to Japan. (And, apparently, for delivering loot and flee-ing Nazis to Argentina over what was called the North-ern Escape Route.) Their intention was to assist the Japanese in defeating the Allies and there-by affording the Nazis the opportunity to resurface after the Allies had been forced to sue for peace with Japan. The plan was to reequip the Japanese with the latest technology and training for air defense weapons and to provide for the nuclear destruction of the Allied invasion fleet.

This book deals specifically with the submarine U-234 and its crew, passengers and cargo. Upon the sub’s surrender a few weeks after VE Day, it arrived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with remaining crew, nuclear scientists, and weapons experts, 560 kilograms of enriched uranium (U235), two dis-

assembled Messerschmidt turbo jet aircraft, a crate of infra-red proximity fuses designed to trigger nuclear bombs, and all the plans, instructions and expert personnel needed to utilize the above.

The source and manufacture of the uranium is disclosed. There was enough

for nearly a dozen bombs and the fuses were superior to anything the Allies had yet designed. (Documenta-tion suggests that the Ger-man fuses were actually used on our first air-delivered atom bombs.)

The U-234’s final journey included a collision with another sub, delivery of twelve mysterious passen-gers to another sub off

Argentina, the decision to abandon the original mission, and the suicide of the two Japanese on board after being told that the sub would surrender to Amer-icans. We treated the Captain, Johann Heinrich Fehler, roughly, and he spent the remainder of his life commanding an Arabian-registered merchant vessel on a Mediterranean-Red Sea run.

For a small book, there are many tidbits relating to major figures in the closing days of the war in Europe. But the major emphasis remains with Captain Fehler. Instead of a remaining life of obscurity, his decision possibly could have led to a Nobel Peace Prize.


Minutes – May 28, 2015

THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUBMay 28, 2015Scott Warner (#1184)

Guests

Terry Stern, Tom Potase, Bruce Coo-per, and Brad Ritter

Returning from Adventure

Martin Bloom (#1147) just returned from sailing the Caribbean with his

wife Trish. He talked about completing his goal of interning his close friend’s ash-es into the ocean at Tobago Keys. Steve Peterman had passed away three years ago, to the date, while sailing with Martin and Trish around the Caribbean Islands.

Allen Feldstein (#1094) returned from Africa, where he participated in and com-pleted a survival training course.

Jay Foonberg (#1126) discussed his goal of running half-marathons in half of the States. He had just returned from running a half-marathon in Cincinnati Ohio, called the Flying Pig Marathon. He reviewed his time to complete the run, which is always “Same Day.”

Announcements

Pierre Odier (#988) announced the death of Vince Wetherby’s father

two days ago. Vince sent his regards to the Club and will be returning to the Club soon. He is currently caring for his mother and making arrangements for his father.

Pierre said that Night of High Ad-venture announcements will be mailed out soon.

Talked about the tradition of travel-ing members to send out post cards of beautiful woman from the place they are visiting.

Talked about reinstituting a tradition of dressing up for all Ladies Nights.

Showed a bottle of booze that was mailed to the Club.

Reviewed a new program of sponsor-ing a flag by Club members for a new display being set up at the Club.

Board meeting will be held at Jeffrey Holmes’ house on Monday, June 1.

Kandahar Province

Three decades of war and Taliban oppression have left Afghanistan’s

landscape riddled with destroyed build-ings that once housed families, provided healthcare, and everything in between. Since coalition forces have overthrown the Taliban, establishments that provided essential services can be rebuilt. Sergeant Bryan Kresie joined villagers in Southern Afghanistan as they rebuilt a community center one brick at a time.

Bryan focused on what his Civil Affairs Team accomplished in Afghanistan while deployed to Maiwand and Zhari Districts in Kandahar Province. He provided an overview of what Civil Affairs is and how it works on the battlefield, and described how lethal and non-lethal elements are integrated and employed on the company level, what projects are, how they acted to provide stability in the region, and how the Taliban use their own Civil Affairs, and how they countered that effort.

B r yan Kres i e served in the United State Marine Corp Reserve from 1997 Sergeant Bryan Kresie

Photos Bryan Kresie


(Minutes continued on page 8)

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Minutes – May 28, 2015

to 2006. He deployed to Al Anbar Prov-ince, Iraq, in 2004 to 2005. After a brief break in service, Bryan enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in 2009 as a Civil Affairs Sergeant, and was deployed to the Maiwand and Zhari Districts of Afghanistan in 2011 through 2012. While deployed, Bryan worked on Civil Affairs projects ranging from educational train-ing to women’s issues. Bryan earned a Combat Action Badge while in Afghanistan, and was also awarded a Bronze Star.

Pierre Odier intro-duced Bryan Kriese and gave a brief histo-ry of his background in the Marines.

Bryan introduced himself and talked about his youth. He was born and raised in Northern Utah, and moved to California to teach school. He discussed his career in the Marines working for Special Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The civil forces are assigned to special operations and fly the Airborne flag. He discussed his job in civil affairs, where they work with the civilian popu-lation trying to win the hearts and minds of people of that country.

Bryan reviewed the different types of training and schools available to all in civil affairs which were a combination of training available to both the Army and Marines. He discussed how in Civil Affairs money is used as a weapon to win support by providing services and jobs to the general population. Bryan displayed a map of Afghanistan and talked about the politics of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. He discussed the resources of the sur-

rounding countries, which include Iran, Pakistan, and India. He talked more about programs offered by civil affairs, which could be as simple as giving soccer balls to the children. The balls would be in Afghan colors, so the children knew that the government supported their playing soccer, when the Taliban would not.

Brian told about setting up schools, and some of the problems they had

setting up a school with integrated female teachers. The Taliban came in after, and at-tacked the school and killed all the female teachers. Bryan talked about how they were always involved in in-formation campaigns

to contradict the info the Taliban was putting out about the US Army. Taliban would tell the citizens that America want-ed to take over their country and eliminate their religion. Civil affairs would come in and pass out Afghanistan flags and encourage them to follow their own reli-gions and pray with them to show them that the religions could coexist.

He showed videos of explosions and talked about the mines used in Afghani-stan. He showed photos of military gear including Humvees, guns, and explosives used. He talked extensively about the var-ious types of land mines used by the Tali-ban, and the damage they would inflict on their vehicles. He showed how they setup the military vehicles to help withstand an impact with a mine. Bryan talked about Taliban’s views on Islam and what was allowed and what was not. He discussed their culture, where it was common prac-

Sergeant Bryan Kresie at work


Minutes – May 28 & June 11, 2015

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(Minutes continued from page 7)

June 11, 2015Scott Warner (#1184)Guests

tice to buy their brides at a young age and then pick them up later when they grew up. He discussed humanitarian aid they provided to the population. He showed irrigation systems used by the Afghanis.

They were always asking the military to dig wells for them for irrigation. The problem was that a lot of farmers grew poppy and marijuana to earn money. He said that marijuana is used widely in their country as a recreational drug. He talked about wide-spread corruption in the country.

Brian told of his crowning achieve-ment while he was in Afghanistan, which consisted of a building they restored and converted into a woman’s center. Surpris-ingly, he said that the woman had a lot of power in the home, and the Army tapped into that source. They offered perks to the people to join them and participate in their programs by offering jobs to the men to help them rebuild the structure, and taught them construction trades, like masonry, roofing, and how to install doors and windows. But first they would win the woman over, who in turn would go home and tell their husbands to take the jobs and learn a trade. This way they would have money and purchase goods needed for their homes. Afterward, they would get the men to join them and form

militias to help protect their homes and communities. After the building was com-pleted they set up classes for the woman in such things as child delivery, which was very popular. Bryan talked about different products they would give to the people, such as a wind-up radio that did not need batteries. He said these types of products were very popular.

Bryan finished his presentation by talking about the American military and how our nation had the power to go in and destroy any country in the world. He said he was proud to be part of our mili-tary, because we are one of the few coun-tries that return after the battle is over and help stabilize and rebuild countries.

Sergeant Bryan Kresie

Scott Warner (#1184) introduced his guests which included family and

friends: Don Warner, Brett Warner, De-nise Howe Warner, Kathy Warner (Wife), Pat Keene, Guy Nesbitt, Digger Dean, Mike Harmon, Tracie Harmon and Katie Harmon.

Other guests included: Dodie Fuller, Casey Sheppard, Tim Nott, Kathy Her-rity, Cassandra Elliot, Bill Price, Nanette Lestrano, Carey Brenner , Don and Me-aghan Brown.

Announcements

Pierre announced that Vince Weath-erby would be returning soon.

Pierre announced that Night of High Adventure announcements will be mailed out soon.

Talked about the tradition of travel-ing members to send out post cards of



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Minutes – June 11, 2015

beautiful woman from the place they are visiting.

Talked about reinstituting a tradition of dressing up for all Ladies’ Nights.

Reviewed a new program of sponsor-ing a flag by Club members for a new display being set up at the club.

Gold Mining the Rivers of the Sierra Nevadas

Scott Warner started by dedicating his presentation to his mother and father,

who spoiled him and taught him that he could do or accomplish anything he wanted in life.

He stated that since he was the newest member of the club, he wanted to show a history of his adventures and where his passions have taken him. He started as a gold miner over thirty years ago, and then he and his friends decided to go opal mining in Nevada. This ignited a whole new passion in gem, mineral, fossil, me-teorite and florescent mineral hunting all through the Midwest. He began exploring the national parks in his travels and fell in love with the beauty and geology of

our country. Yosemite and Yellowstone sparked his interest in exploring the thermals of the west and his interest in photography allowed him to photograph the beautiful scenery and wildlife we have

in the USA. His love of going off the beaten path was fulfilled once he got his first quad, which allowed him to travel long distances everywhere he prospect-ed and see everything that is out there, including Indian sites, petroglyphs, caves, thermals, historical sites, etc.

Scott started his gold mining presenta-tion by showing and teaching about the three types of gold they find prospecting in the Sierra Nevada’s. He then passed out gold trays to the audience so they could see and learn about placer, alluvial and lode gold. He continued with a history lesson on the origin of gold in the Sierra Nevadas and the famed Mother Lode belt. He explained that there were actually four gold rushes in California. The first one was in 1842 at Placerita Canyon in Santa Clarita. The second was the famous gold rush of 1849 in the Sierra Nevadas. The third occurred during the great de-pression, when money had no value and hardy individuals could go to the Sierras and find enough gold to buy clothes and food to survive. The fourth gold rush is still going on today and started in the 1960s when gold dredges for the indi-vidual were developed. In the 60s and 70s, men could go to the Mother Lode and dredge the throats of the rivers and

Various size gold nuggets

Photos Scott Warner

Scott with his catamaran river boats



10

(Minutes continued from page 9

recover 100 ounces of gold per week. By the 80s this number began to decrease as the rivers were worked over. Advances in Technology, like metal detectors and the skyrocketing price of gold have kept the activity in gold mining very high. Since the 80s, we have also had four or five major floods in the Sierra rivers, and a lot of gold has been deposited. The moral of the story is that there is still a lot of gold out there to be found in the Mother Lode.

Scott continued by showing photos of a gold dredge and explaining how they operate. Basically, it is a large suction vacuum that sucks up the sand, gravel, and rocks and processes them through a sluicing system. Scott explained that the sand and gravels of the Sierra Nevada rivers are all gold bearing with small gold consisting of flour-size to flakes and small gold nuggets. He said the goal of a dredger is to get to the bottom of the river where the big gold is running along the bedrock during flood stages. He said the key to finding gold nuggets is to understand and know how to work the cracks and crevices where the heavy gold is stuck. Scott started discussing the main rivers of the Sierras he has worked during the last thirty years, and started

with a slideshow of the Merced River. Merced River – He and his friends

started working the Merced in the mid-80s and had a permanent camp there where he and a bunch of other dredgers set up their own small town and dredged the Merced until the mid-90s. He showed many photos of the Merced and told the story of the toothless miner, which was a human skull he uncovered while dredging with his father. He said it freaked him out when he found it, but after close exam-ination, realized it was a fake. That’s when his dad started laughing at him, because he had buried it in a hole in the river and then covered it up for Scott to find. Scott told many stories including the potato cannon wars they had in camp against the other dredgers in the canyon. He showed many photos of gold he and his friends found in the Merced, including a fifty-ounce pocket of nuggets they found. He ended by telling all that the Merced River was rich in gold, rattlesnakes, and that the canyon was hotter than hell in the summertime due to its lower elevation at 1,000 feet.

Scott continued with a photo show of all the other rivers he dredged, including the Consumes, American, Yuba’s, Feather, and Trinity/Klamath. He discussed how every river is unique and produces dif-ferent types of gold, minerals, and gem-stones. He covered some highlights from every river and passed out more gold to the audience to show them the various types of gold he has found in the Sierras.

Consumes River – Explained that they were working on a limestone rock belt that ran through the area and that they uncovered a huge cavern under the river that had stalactites hanging off the

Scott and the fake skull



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ceilings. They witnessed a lunar eclipse one night in camp while watching the full moon come up over the mountain range. He said it freaked everybody out because they had been in the canyon for three weeks and did not know there was going to be an eclipse. He said besides the gold found in the area, they recovered many huge garnets, minerals, and molyb-denite nuggets that looked like platinum nuggets. It was rumored that high quality diamonds were found in the river.

American River – Extremely rich canyons around Auburn area with many gold-bearing veins crossing the canyon from the Mother Lode belt. He said that the metal detectorists find huge crystalline gold masses that have eroded from the vein systems and are working their way down the hillsides. He then talked about a meteorite that blew up over Coloma in the American River canyon in 2012. He said it was the size of a minivan and was classified as a very rare meteorite that was older than earth. The pieces found from this meteorite were selling for $1,000 a gram, and people who were metal de-tecting for them in the canyon were also finding the crystalline gold that was all through the area.

Yuba Rivers – Scott showed a perma-nent camp he keeps on the South Fork

Yuba River. He showed historical pictures of the town of Washington, photos of his crew dredging, and the gold they were finding. He explained more about what dredging involved, such as moving rocks all day long by hand and the large ones with winches. He then talked about the property he works on that is owned by his close friend and mentor, Lyla Tracey. He explained that she owned the famous Red Ledge Mine on the property, and that the mine was known for producing Ribbon Gold in the veins. He stated that he and his crew had sampled all sixty acres of the river claim and found that on the lower twenty acres, large pieces of Ribbon Gold were deposited in the river. He said they had been working the river claim for the last ten years and passed out a tray of gold that eroded from the famous mine.

Feather River – He said it was beautiful river system surrounded by gorgeous country and scenery. He stated that all forks of the Feather Rivers had very rich histories and there was a lot of gold to be found in the area. He showed photos of some of the tributaries they worked that fed the Feather River, such as Indian and Spanish Creeks. He said the best thing about the Mother Lode is that every riv-er, creek, stream, and tributary has gold in it. He then showed photography of awesome high country scenery.

Trinity/Klamath Rivers – Talked about the rich gold history in these two rivers and said the best thing he loved about working the Trinity and Klamath Rivers was the platinum nuggets found there. He showed some photos of them and passed a large one around to the audience. He explained that platinum nuggets were much rarer than gold nuggets and that

Scott in the cavern beneath Consumes River


Minutes – June 11 & 18, 2015

12


June 18, 2015Scott Warner (#1184)

Guests

a one-ounce platinum nugget will sell for $10,000. He mentioned there were also large colored diamonds found in the Trinity/Klamath Rivers, but the best thing about dredging there was fishing for salmon in the mornings and evenings and then eating smoked salmon and drinking wine. He ended the river presentation with a slide show of some of the wildlife and beautiful scenery he photographed in the Redwood forests along the California coast.

He then talked about Crystalline Gold from the mines of California and passed out a tray of beautiful gold to show the audience the different forms that gold takes. He then answered questions from the audience and ended his presentation.

Scott with his friend and mentor, Lyla Tracey

Neil Kurtzky, Robert Owens, Danny Jones, Michael Kerrog, Erick Simmel

honoring America’s fighter pilots. He said he wore his uniform and forgot that he had a knife in his pocket, which was not a good idea since Pelosi, Reid and Powell were attending. After the ceremony he went to an airfield and got to watch some B-17s and P-52s fly around.

One of the members (unidentified by Scott – Ed.) talked a about three trips he took to San Juan Island for fishing, Cabo san Lucas for a two-day film shoot, and then off to his family home in Illinois where they are starting an organic farm.

Bernie Harris (#1063) flew to Chicago with his son to watch his oldest Grand-daughter graduate from college. While there they went to a robot museum and viewed a German U-Boat that had been captured during the Second World War.

Dave (unidentified by Scott – Ed.) talked about a lecture he was asked to do for The Gold Prospectors Association of Amer-ica (GPAA) chapter out of Victorville.

Stewart Deats (#1168) talked about a reunion he had with some of his buddies from his military unit. He said that Bob Silver (#728) helped him set up a trip to Las Vegas at the Hustler Hotel. He said a good time was had by all.


Bob Walters (#1047) just returned from Washington DC, where he at-

tended a ceremony at the capitol building

Leaving On Adventure

Scott Warner (#1184) announced he was leaving for a three-week trip to

Nome Alaska. He said he and his two mining partners would be dredging for gold in the Arctic and Anvil Rivers, and working the gold-bearing beaches of Nome. They then travel to Homer, Alaska, to fish for giant halibut and king salmon, and will be taking a few flightsee-ing/photography trips by bush plane and helicopter to see the glaciers.




He asked the members to stand in for him and take the meeting minutes while he is gone. He reminded everyone that the minutes are done for the members who can’t attend the meetings.

humanity, how I live, how I approach challenges in life and how I have come to learn that how we look at things here or what is important to us is not the only way to see and experience things.”

Alan Feldstein is an avid adventurer, explorer and owner of Infinite Safari Ad-ventures, a wildlife safari and adventure company that creates custom safaris for people all over East and Southern Africa. Besides being a member of the Adventur-ers’ Club of Los Angeles he is a member of the Explorers Club and a Trustee of the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

Pierre introduced Alan Feldstein (#1094) who is a lawyer and runs Infinite Safari Adventures in Africa that special-izes in Wildlife.

Alan introduced his program and talked about his friend Peter Coyote, who is an actor and activist. He talked about his mountaineering days and the time he shat-tered his ankle in Nevada. The doctors said he would never climb again, and then he recovered and summited Mt. Whitney. He talked about kayaking in Tanzania, and showed a video clip titled Up close and personal with an elephant. He discussed some of the other presentations and programs he had given at the Club and the places he

Announcements

Vince Wetherby talked about the latest edition of Adventurers Club News and

the interesting photo of Abe Lincoln and Pierre Odier barefooted.

Vince announced the upcoming Board meeting on July 15. He then brought up Pierre Odier to introduce the evening’s guest speaker.

It is not only the places you go, but the people you meet

Many of us in the Club travel to amaz-ing places. We see amazing things.

We take pictures of those amazing sights and come back with stories to regale our friends and fellow club members with. But many times we come back and talk about what we saw not whom we met.

Tonight Club member Alan Feldstein (#1094), who has given several presen-tations over the years about the places he has visited and the things he has done, has taken a different approach. Tonight is not about things like wildlife experiences in Africa, kayaking in Vietnam & Tanzania, rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, or climbing Mt. Whitney and Mt. Kilimanjaro. Tonight is about the impact of the people he has met along his travels. Some he could barely communicate with; others have become lifelong friends.

“The people I am going to talk about have had a profound effect on my life. They have shaped my feelings about

Alan with an African friend

Photos Alan Feldstein



14


had traveled, but how he had neglected to cover the people he had met, and the impacts they had on his life. He decided to do this presentation on the people and the different cultures he had experienced, and how they impacted his travels and personal life.

Vietnam – Alan discussed a fishing village he stayed at and the people he came to know through a translator. He said he was invited to share meals with the people in the village and was invited to drink rice wine with them. He got so intoxicated that he could not remember the kayak ride home.

Geofrey the climbing guide – Alan talked about how he climbed Mt Kiliman-jaro on his fiftieth birthday with a local guide named Geoffrey. He said that he had forgotten some of his clothes and medication to help him oxygenate his blood. All the other climbers became ill, so he climbed the mountain alone with Geoffrey. He said they talked extensively while they hiked Kilimanjaro, and dis-cussed their lives, and got to know each other very well. He said that Geoffrey helped him achieve one of his greatest goals when they made the summit.

Prosper the painter – Alan talked about Prosper, who was a great wood carver from Kenya. He said that he was impressed with how much pride Prosper took in his work. Prosper did not care if he sold his work, he only cared about the pieces he sculpted.

The mysterious Benin girl – Alan showed a great photo of a beautiful young girl whose parents had died, and whose uncle had taken her in. He said that apparently the uncle did not really want her, and you could see the sadness in her

eyes in the photo.Allie the papyrus kayak maker – Allie

was from Ethiopia, and created kayaks woven from a certain tree vine. He took great pride in his kayaks and let Allan take his kayak out for a ride. He was so proud that a white man was able to handle his boat, that he made Alan a small replica of his work as a gift. Alan said that he made a special connection with this man, and he still writes him and keeps in touch.

Rafiki Patrick Olepapatiti – Swahili for is my brother. Patrick is a Masai warrior. His dad died, so as eldest son he had to drop out of school to help support the family. Twelve years later he showed up at the high school, and would not leave until they gave him an education. He went to College with Alan’s assistance by helping pay for his education. Patrick basically lived two lives as a student in Nairobi during the week, and as a Masai warrior leader on the weekend. When Patrick graduated, Alan went to Nairobi for his graduation ceremony, and said he felt like a proud father.

Alan said that Patrick taught him not to worry about things in life, and to enjoy the simple things. Patrick went on to build a school for his village. Alan is returning to

Alan and Patrick


Minutes – June 18 & 25, 2015

Patrick’s village to help him build a water well, so the woman don’t have to walk six miles for water. Patrick is fluent in three languages including Swahili, Masai, and English. He works as a professional for the government.

Allan ended the presentation with two quotes that basically say if you accept the differences of other people and open your-self up to their cultures, religions, and ways of life, you may find that they are your friends and will impact your life forever.

Allan answered many questions from the audience.

June 25, 2015Jay Foonberg (#1126)

If you missed the June 25th Andrew McGregor program, you missed a great

one. Hopefully, you will be able to see the DVD in the future. You missed meeting him face-to-face and perhaps serving as an inspiration to him or his serving as an inspiration to you. Hopefully, he will be back soon to tell us of his new adventures.

Vince Weatherby (#1060) began the meeting with the tribute to all adventurers and the introductions of the many guests, as well as those coming from and leaving for adventures. It was a very well attended meeting and program.

Prior to the presentation , Sid Hallburn (#1125) related how he and two others being musicians have a group called “Forever Young,” their ages being 89, 90, and 91 (Sid does the tap dancing). They won a dance contest against many groups of youngsters. They won $400 as the prize, but donated it back to be used for the young people. He said that they are available at reasonable prices for other gigs. Jay Foonberg (#1126) reported that

he was leaving to go on an adventure to M.I.T. to take a course entitled: Commu-nication and Persuasion In The Digital Age,” recognizing that more than one-half of all information sent electronically is read on hand-held portable devices rather than desk tops. Jay also related how his eight-year-old granddaughter fixed a computer problem that the adults present could not fix. Jay indicated that the future is not around the corner. The future is here. Two A.C. members asked if Jay would give a short synopsis of the two-day program at an A.C. meeting. Jay indicated that it was up to the program chair, but he was willing .

Bernie Harris (#1063) reported on an upcoming cruise with family members. He gave a full description of the trip and the family members. He also reported that his many cruises were causing him to be absent from A.C. meetings, including this year’s NOHA, but that his thoughts would be there. Pierre Odier (#988) gave a progress report on NOHA, set for October 24th.

He also reported on a “Salute To Armed Forces” night set for September 3rd. He said Miss California would be present to add to the event. When ques-tioned as to “What Year – Ms. California”, Pierre refused to answer.

Pierre also delivered a progress report on the Flag-naming rights for the Hall of Flags in the Chase Hall. He said that eight states were still available for“Adoption” by a member who would pay $100 and get his named inscribed on the flag and the list of “those flags with namings” whose names would be permanently in-scribed on the flag and in the presentation materials.




16


Vince then introduced Pierre Odier who induced the guest presenter,

Andrew McGregor.

Andrew McGregor is everything we could want from a true adventurer and then some. He is a role model for all of us in the Club. It is most interesting that he began his adventurer’s career by coming to A.C. meetings as a guest and meeting face-to-face many of the people who

shaped his career and work. High on his list of “Inspi-rators,” if there is such a word, are Jo h n G o d d a r d and Pierre Odier. Jeffrey Goddard, John’s son, became a close friend of Andrew.

Andrew calls himself a “War Zone” Journalist, but “Peace and Friendship” journalism is really what he does, among many other descriptions, including “Fighting Philanthropist.” He told many fascinating stories of his adventures, each as interesting and exciting as the others. It is difficult to give a completely accurate

report, because no matter where one starts, it seems to be in the middle of his adventures.

He began by giv-ing credit to the Club and the many people he met at the Club, singling out John Goddard. He then gave credit to his mother and grandmother who taught him: 1. The nature of your ad-ventures defines the nature of your stories; 2. Your stories should serve as inspirations for future generations; and 3. Have an expectation that you can and will make a difference.

These three lessons could easily be-come a message to or motto for all mem-bers of the Adventurers’ Club and to all those who present programs at the Club.

He described the Apopo and Ticiano projects, and Chess Boxing. The Apopo project trains rats to be able to smell land mines. The rats find the land mines using their trained sense of smell and then sit and scratch the ground when they find a land mine. A person then comes to the place and defuses or explodes the

War Zone Journalism:Rwanda and Eastern DR Congo

Andrew McGregor

The McGregor Crest

Andrew with hippo victims

Andrew with the UN in the Congo

Photos A McGregor



Minutes – June 25 & August 20, 2015

mine. Andrew is looking forward to the day that the rat will be accompanied by a robot with a G.P.S. to mark the exact spot and then move on to other mines. Andrew said he was inspired to begin this after meeting a member of the Club at a Club meeting who was (and still is) training Cambodians to defuse land mines in Cambodia.

The Ticiano project teaches people living in a war zone to take photos and write stories for publication. After being trained (often by Andrew), the newly trained “correspondent” could earn as much as $400 for an accepted story. In Rwanda, where this is being taught, $400 represents an entire year’s earnings.

He then described his concept and teaching of “Chess Boxing.” Individuals who have disputes or disagreements are encouraged to utilize Chess Boxing rather than turn to violence or leaving grudges and anger unresolved. This works espe-cially well within organizations and social communities where the people have some connection to each other.

Individuals “compete” with each other by playing three minutes of chess followed by three minutes of actual

boxing. The boxing represents “com-bat” and the chess represents thought about the boxing (or other things). The person is to think about his (or her) boxing during the interlude of playing chess, and to think about the chess

while boxing. The goal of the training

is to expose people to the concept that conflicts can be resolved through think-ing, whether the conflict be on the chess board or in the physical boxing.

He also related how other nations, espe-cially China and Japan are creating cultural rather than military associations with the peoples of Africa through their NGOs (Non-Government Organizations).

He emphasized how important it is to use media that can be understood and acted upon. He uses virtual (over the Internet) comic books and comic book- like characters to deliver his messages. He showed several examples.

Andrew McGregor – Chess Boxing

August 20, 2015Scott Warner (#1184)

Guests

Bob Silver (#728) introduced his wife Eva and a few of his guests.

Linda Finnern, Jane Iannello, Linda Hernandez, Leanne Reynolds, Tom Potase, Linda Abrams, Rosaly Lopes, Earl Simm, Patty Matus, Ilse Ackemanent, Meeno Peuce, Dan Brown, E Wallace, Jake Schwartz, Dick Durant.


Stewart Deats (#1168) just returned from diving the pinnacles off of Point

Dume. He said he had intercourse with many seals and had a wonderful time.

Chuck Jonkey (#1026) just returned from Indonesia and the islands of Java and Bali where he visited bat caves, and temples. He documented and filmed many ceremonies, wood carvers, musical instruments, dances, music performances. He said he had twenty massages while there and ate some excellent food.


Minutes – August 20, 2015(Minutes continued from page 17)

Scott Warner (#1184) just returned from his mining camp on the South Fork Yuba River where he found some nice gold, and did not want to return home. He said he is an outlaw miner now that environmentalists have forced the state to make dredging for gold illegal in Cal-ifornia.

Linda Abrams just returned from a flight in her ER Coupe where she flew from LA to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and back to LA. She took the flight to attend the ER Coupe National Convention.

Shane Berry (#1093) climbed Mt. Baldy with twenty-one people, including eleven members of the Adventurers’ Club. They all went with Shane to help him celebrate his seventieth birthday and held a party in his honor. Shane showed some great photos of the hike and party.

Shane mentioned he would be leaving soon with a few other members to attend Burning Man in Nevada.

relating to his travels and brought in a beautiful Belly Dancer who did a seduc-tive dance for Bob and was very much enjoyed by all who attended, especially Bob. He said afterwards that he wanted to do the same thing every week.

Pierre introduced Bob and his antique 16 MM projector and said that his cam-era may be ancient, but his stories never get old.

Leaving On Adventure

Scott Warner (#1184) informed the group he was leaving for Guadalupe

Island in Mexico to dive with the great white sharks.

Alan Feldstein (#1094) announced he was leaving for Tanzania and Kenya to help build a water well in his friend’s vil-lage, and would be attending a conference in Kenya on reestablishing tourism in that country, which has suffered due to wars.

Announcements

Pierre Odier (#988) made some an-nouncements and talked about Bob

Silver (#728) and some of the places he has traveled in the Middle East. He said he wanted to give Bob some ethnic culture

The Flight of the Freeflight: The Beginning of a World Trip

Bob and the Belly Dancer

Bob started his presentation by tell-ing everyone what to do if the film

broke. Said you just let it unwind on the floor. He talked about the film he was presenting and how it came to be made. He covered his early career where he worked for a company building parts for submarines. He then talked about


Minutes – August 20, 2015

a cruising boat he and his friends built when they were young men, the Freeflight, a Costa Mesa-built traditional wooden double-ended 34-foot gaff-rigged Tahiti ketch. A great cruising yacht with a set of sails – main, mizzen, genoa, storm, jib, and maybe even a spinnaker He said it took them two years, $4,000, and a lot of hard work and sweat to complete. Talked about their leaving Newport in 1960 to sail this vessel across the Pacific to Hawaii. He said in his film presentation, you will see some of the really stupid things he did when he was young.

Bob started the film, which showed them leaving Newport harbor with their surfboards on the boat, so they could do some surfing in Hawaii. Said they lost their photographer in the pacific who was filming the boat from a small dingy. He said he never imagined you could lose a person so easily in the ocean. He showed video of them building the boat and the processes involved. He said if you are going to build a boat, you should build it close to water. Talked about his buddies he was traveling with and said the weather turned cold after a few days out to sea. He mentioned that Hawaii is 2,500 miles away and the boat only traveled four to five knots, which made for a long twen-ty-three day journey.

Bob showed video of life on the boat and some of the ways they cooked and cleaned. Laundry was done by dragging their clothes on a rope behind the boat while throwing laundry detergent into the water. He showed a beautiful mahi-mahi they caught, and reviewed the navigation methods they used to hit the islands. He showed their arrival in Hawaii, and the beach at Makaha where they went

to attend a surfing contest. He said the waves were five to twenty feet high, and showed some great surfing video of he and his friends doing trick riding, like switching boards with each other as they rode the waves, and their surfing at night with lights and putting on a great light show. He showed some fantastic high-lights from the surfing contest and, of course, many photos of Bob’s favorite thing – beautiful young women in bikinis.

Bob said he would entertain questions from the audience, but said he did not know the answers. He answered questions about how he built the boat and said he did not know what happened to the boat after he left Hawaii. He left Hawaii to go to work for a company and was involved in the war effort. Bob then said Pierre was “Father Time” and was coming up to remove him off the stage.

Vince Wetherby then presented Bob a plaque of appreciation for putting on a great presentation.

Bob then presented Vince a British medal for the Club.

Pierre talked about the flag program at the club and unveiled a dedication to Bob Silver. It was a long surfboard with Bob’s name and photo, along with all the states of the USA and the names of the mem-bers who sponsored the various states. Photos were taken and a good time was had by all.

Vince then an-nounced the up-coming programs for the month and the meeting was ad-journed. Bob’s surfboard


Letters / Announcement

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Thanks, Bob. Now I know that at least one other person read last month’s News. – Editor

Announcement!

To the Editor:I really miss the club up here but enjoy

reading the Adventurers’ Club News. You get some outstanding programs, and it appears the members are truly exceptional. I would truly enjoy going to the meetings. The com-pensation is that this is truly a paradise and a lot calmer than the LA area.

Attached are a few photos of our place. We do have snow occasionally. – Dick Kyle (#899)

Thanks, Dick. Stay in touch! – Editor

To the Editor:We have had some outstanding programs

in 2015. Last Thursday’s program (Sept 3, 2015)

brought an exhilarating and rousing display of patriotism by a group of WWII era men and women celebrating that “finest gener-ation” and all the other wars the USA sent men and women to fight for and maintain our freedoms. Thanks to Vince Weatherby for the foresight to seeing the wonderful people in attendance, many in their late 80’s, sing their hearts out for America with patriotic songs of that era.

Not to be outdone, member Sid Hallburn, aged 92, played the drums and then danced a storm up on the Club’s stage.

Hat’s off to all the featured Club vets in attendance, and there were many. – Bob Aronoff (#1837)

The Kyle Place

Winter at the Kyle Place

The frozen lake


September 3, 2015 – SPECIAL EVENT – LADIES’ NIGHT – Honoring veterans

September 7, 2015 – BOARD MEETING – 7:00 PM. The Adventurers’ Club Board of Directors meets the first Monday of every month un-less there is a schedule change. All Club members are welcome to attend. The location of the meetings varies each month, and will be announced “from the podium.” For up-to-date details contact President Vince Weatherby ([email protected]) or Board Director, Bernie Harris ([email protected])

September 10, 2015 – LADIES’ NIGHT – Clayton Jones – Searching for Ho Chi Minh

September 17, 2015 – Chuck Jonkey – Historic and Cultural Adventure to CubaSeptember 24, 2015 – LADIES’ NIGHT – Shane Berry & Rick Flores – Ex-

ploring the Colorado PlateauOctober 1, 2015 – GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING – Bill Altaffer –

World TravelerOctober 8, 2015 – LADIES’ NIGHT – Tanis Hammond – Land Speed

Record Holder at 323 MPHOctober 15, 2015 – Jim Harlan – Uncommon Adventures Dive & Adventure

TravelOctober 22, 2015 – CLUB DARKOctober 24, 2015 – N.O.H.A. – Night of High AdventureOctober 29, 2015 – LADIES’ NIGHT – Kenneth Freund November 2, 2015 – BOARD MEETINGNovember 5, 2015 – LADIES’ NIGHT – GENERAL BUSINESS MEET-

ING – Joint meeting with California Wreck Divers

21

Programs / Notes

Forthcoming Programs

(What’s happening continued from page 3)

it for the first time. Some members of the hike saw bighorn sheep. The group could also see a wildfire grow-ing in the distance.

After returning to the parking lot, a birthday celebration was held for Shane. Gary Mortimer was Shane’s hiking buddy in Nepal in 2001. They got half-way up Mt. Everest. Gary had a bottle of Nepal rum from that trip that was finally consumed at the party.

Everyone had a good time.

Alan, Shane & Kevin Bob Zeman at ski lift

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