Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago
October 24, 2018
Meeting Minutes
President Dean Nolan welcomed 23 members and guests.
The minutes written by Secretary Carol Sommers were approved.
John Bell, treasurer, reported that the only change in the funds was that one membership was added. He also handed out renewal notices and reminded members that the dues are due on January 1 and we have only one meeting before then.
The sad news was announced that Chet Childs had passed away in his home. Visitation will be Friday, October 26 from 3 to 9pm and the funeral will be on Saturday, October 27 from 9 to 9:30am. A flyer with the locations was passed out. Members then reminisced about him, especially his jokes. He was UASC president in 2002 and he definitely will be missed.
Illinois Council of Skin and Scuba Divers – The President’s Night Dinner was last Saturday. The Club of the Year is Chicago Scuba Meet-Up, the Diver of the Year was posthumously awarded to Bob Gadbois and the Humanitarian of the Year is Adolph Habich. The pumpkin dive took place and the Underwater Competition will be in March.
Our World Underwater – It will take place on February 16-17 at the Marriott O’Hare and it was decided that electricity will not be needed at the UASC booth.
Chicago Maritime Museum – Almost one thousand people came for Open House Chicago. On December 8, 4-8pm the museum will host their Holiday Party featuring Lee Murdock performing his Christmas Ship Concert. The party will also feature a very special presentation from the UASC to Dave Truitt. Ben Sells will present on Friday Nov. 16 about the tunnel built under Lake Michigan for the two-mile crib and on Thursday, November 1, the program will by Frank Blair who built a schooner and sailed it around the world.
Website – The minutes are up-to-date. Colin will start a feature This Month in Maritime History. It was brought up that Jim Jarecki is a good source for information and he offered the following facts on the spot: On this day, October 24, 1898, the L.R. Doty sunk, on October 16, 1880 the schooner David Wells and the steamer Alpena sank and on October 6, 1875 the steamer Merchant sunk which was the first iron-hulled commercial ship and the first iron-hulled ship to sink on Lake Michigan.
Newsletter—More articles are needed, especially with photos. We want the newsletter to be ready for OWU. Michele offered an article on her trip to Thunder Bay.
Elections- The committee has met and the following slate is offered: president, Colin Bertling, vice-president, Scott Reimer, secretary, Claire Gadbois and treasurer, John Bell. Nominations are being taken and anyone else interested in running should add their name.
Holiday Party – The party will be held at 2pm on Sunday, January 13 at the home of Carol Sommers. Bring a potluck dish.
Memorial Plaque—Michele has cleaned mussels off of the Mack where it will be placed and it was decided that it will now have both Chet and Bob’s names.
Dive Co-ordination—Diving is over for the season. In order to dive more, Claire suggested that a schedule be set up next year. Tom still has items to donate to CMM. There was discussion about the North Avenue wreck that Tom and Harry Zych used to dive on. It was dynamited by the Army Corps of Engineers. Bobby Bodnar talked about diving the 12thstreet wreck 20 years ago as a member of the Sea Deucers. The exposed portion of the wreck was 75’ long by about 30’ wide, but may have been twice as long since it extended under the breakwall. Nothing was found to identify it and it is mainly boards now which are only visible when the water is low. Terry Poulos donated books about diving. John will send out a list. Colin found interesting reference books about wrecks from the 1940’s in the Chicago Public Library.
Presentation- Dick Lanyon, retired executive director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, talked about his book West by Southwest to Stickney. He added that 300 additional photos on the subject can be seen on the site www.everythinggoesmedia.com. He also authored Draining Chicago and Building the Canal to Save Chicago.
In the 1850’s there was a cholera epidemic in Chicago and by 1889 the size of the city had quadrupled due to annexing adjacent areas. The river was reversed in 1900 mainly because the Jackson Park area--which was prone to flooding--was wanted for the World’s Fair. It was relatively easy to do because the river is forty feet below the level of Lake Michigan when it is in Riverside. By 1907, all the sewers which had been discharging into Lake Michigan were diverted to an intercepting sewer. The building for the 39thSt. Pumping Station where sewage was diluted with lake water still exists. Swing bridges located at Dearborn, State and Clark were a problem for navigation because of the center piers—once a steamer became stuck and blocked the river for two days—so the Water Reclamation District built 16 new bridges and the ones at Cermak Road (1904) and Jackson Street are still in use. Cermak was a Chicago mayor who was shot. The river locks were built in the 1930’s and since 1984 are maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Lockport Powerhouse Dam was built in 1908 in that location because there was a 38- foot difference between the upper canal and the DesPlaines River. The dam delivered electricity and for seven years had the highest lift lock in the world—50 feet. There still are two generating units working of the original eight.
The Stickney Plant has a sewershed of 260 square miles in an area holding 2.7 million people. Water is cleaned using natural methods—aeration and bacteria. It has two pumping stations which were originally run by steam but are now electric. The dried sludge is used as fertilizer. Most sewers were built in tunnels where the water would flow by gravity. The clay was carved out and used in landfills. Timber gates between the sewers were held closed by river water pressure and when the water level in the sewers became higher than their tops due to storms, the doors would open and let excess water flow into the river. The Racine Avenue Pumping Station near Bridgeport has 14 pumps. It used to pump sewage into the South Fork. One pump services 30 square miles in dry weather. In a storm, excess water goes to Stickney and 6,000 cubic feet of water are pumped per second when all pumps are on.
The Deep Tunnel project feeds into the McCook Reservoir which is located off I55 near the LaGrange Road exit. Stage One is scheduled to be finished in 2029. Rock is being dug out at the rate that it can be absorbed and sold in the construction market. The reservoir is 350 feet deep and will hold 3 ½ billion gallons of water. Stage Two will hold 6 ½ billion gallons. Water usage in the city is dropping and 600 million gallons per day are processed in dry weather. Newer suburbs have different sewers for sewage and storm water. Political appointees are no longer used to head the Reclamation District; instead, executive directors are appointed from inside.
UASC in conjunction with the City Branch of the American Public Works Association awarded 5 certificates of one Professional Development hour / Continuing Education Units as recognized by the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Registration to those licensed professionals who attended Mr. Lanyon's presentation.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15. Minutes respectfully submitted by Secretary Carol Sommers.