"Takin' Twenty with the Virginian Brethren by Skip Salmon

[NW Mailing List]

Gordon,
Does anyone remember the Ground Observer Corps?  Our Scout troop would go out every Sunday and call in the type and direction of every airplane/airliner that came over Rural Retreat.  Must have been about 1960.  In those days they flew so low you could identify the type of plane.

Frank Akers
Rural Retreat Depot Foundation


________________________________
 From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> 
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 7:26 AM
Subject: Re: "Takin' Twenty with the Virginian Brethren by Skip Salmon
 


Skip,
 
Interesting that you would mention Sputnik.  I was in 
the Signal Corps Research and Development Company at Ft. Monmouth, NJ, 
when Sputnik was launched, and I was one of a number of Signal Corps 
soldiers who were rushed to a radio directional finding station to track the 
satellite using radio direction finding equipment around the 
clock.  Periodically, we would pick up the telephone and call in the 
coordinates to Washington so someone there could plot Sputnik's path.  
Times have certainly changed since those crude methods were used.
 
Gordon
----- Original Message ----- 

>From: NW  Mailing List 

>To: NW Mailing List 

>Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 8:13  AM

>Subject: "Takin' Twenty with the  Virginian Brethren by Skip Salmon

>

>

>Last night, on the last Wednesday of winter this year, I had the pleasure  of "Takin' Twenty" with seven of the Brethren and Friends of the Virginian  Railway. We discussed the passing of some friends this week.  Several  remembered Virginian Signal Maintainer George Henry Lewis of Princeton and  Hobert L. Scott, Jr. who served in both the Operating Department and  Mechanical Departments of the N&W.  Landon Gregory remembered Scott  as Suptentendent at Crewe, VA and I remember Mr. Scott as Manager Motive  Power.  Both will be missed.

> 

>I told the Brethren to be on the look out on DIY and HGTV for the "Salvage  Dawgs" TV show for an upcoming episode involving the Mechanical Department of  the Roanoke Chapter of the NRHS. They taped a session at our 9th Street  Yard using some of the Chapter's equipment and "stuff" of Chapter members in  this episode.  The Black Dog Salvage 13th Street Roanoke antique store is  also involved with the Virginian Station Project.  More on this  later.

> 

>The Jewel from the Past, like those in a Hamden "Special Railway" 23 jewel  hunting case dust cover, is from October 25, 2007:  "This month is the  50th anniversary of the Russian 'Sputnik' launch, the first satellite or  Russian 'fellow traveller' that started the Space Race in October 1957. I  asked the Brethren how they remembered it as they went on their normal duties  on the VGN.  Glen McLain, who was working at Sewells Point, remembered a  lot of his friends who were going to W and M fabricating radios to listen to  the beeps.

>Jimmy Whittaker remembered hearing that when the Sputnik made its pass over  the area every 96 minutes, people's garage doors would go up and down."

> 

>I told the Brethren about Gordon Hamilton's power point talk tonight at the  regular meeting of the Roanoke Chapter NRHS at the O. Winston Link Museum  at 7:30 PM.  All are invited to  hear about "Railroads, Raids and Ruin, Building to Big Lick and  Beyond"  If you are in the area come join us and hear Gordon's  presentation.

> 

>I passed around a list of 20 "Ponderisms" and asked the Brethren to pick  their favorite one.  Landon Gregory picked number 11, "How is it one  careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a  campfire".  He then proceeded to tell us about when he was about 9  on his father's tobacco farm in Callens, VA and made himself a cigar out  of freshly cured tobacco but could not get it lit with a whole box of  matches.

> 

>Since St. Patrick's Day was last Monday I have this for our Irish friends:  A Texan walks into a pub in Ireland and gives this challenge: "I'll give 500  American dollars to anybody in here who can drink 10 pints of Guinnes back to  back.  The room is quiet, and no one takes up the Texan's offer.   One man even leaves.  Thirty minutes later the same gentleman, who left,  shows back up and taps the Texan on the sholder and says I'll take the  challenge.  He then downs 10 pints of Guinnes in a row.  The other  pub patrons cheer as the Texan sits in amazement.  The Texan then gives  the Irishman the $500 and askes him "I do need to know where you went for the  30 minutes".  The Irrishman replies, "Oh, I had to go to the pub down the  street to see if I could do it first".

> 

>Time to pull the pin on this one!

> 

>Departing Now from V248,

> 

>Skip Salmon

> 

>DVIX

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