"Takin' Twenty with the Virginian Brethren by Skip Salmon

[NW Mailing List]

I remember it in the 1950's, but I'm pretty sure it was gone by 1960, what  
with passenger jets coming on the scene in '57 or '58.
 
Greg Harrod
 
 
 
In a message dated 03/20/2014 4:38:07 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org writes:

 
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_ (mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org)  
To: _NW Mailing List_ (mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org)  
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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