Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago
Meeting Minutes 30 March 2011
General
- Approximately 40 members and guests met at 6:30 on the 8th floor of the Helix Building, 310 S. Racine at Jackson.
- New Members: Brad and Doug Fresh, Bill Marsh
- Guests: LarryWojcik ( Gene's cousin ), Tom Lutz author of ?? published by Valerie , Jack Hadfield ( speaker ), Bill Marsh
- Tonights meeting was run by Don Doherty, with refreshments provided by Mike Brutlag and Dan Kasberger.
Board and Committee Reports
- President - Don Doherty
- New membership premiums offer extended to tonight.
- Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard on the recent shows, presentations, projects, and everything else that so many volunteers have done.
- President Elect - Nothing at this time.
- Secretary - John Bell provided copies of the minutes from the last meeting, which were approved.
- New membership forms are available, and will be available at all future meetings.
- Treasury – Bob Gadbois reported on the state of UASC finances.
- Several new memberships have come in, ( including some at tonight's meeting. )
- Contact Bob for further details
- Membership – Rosters were provided by Scott Reimer.
- Members from 2010 who have not yet renewed their memberships are still included, but marked accordingly.
- Several new memberships over the show season
- Unpaid members will be removed after tonight's meeting.
- Steering Committee – Don Doherty reported on the results of the first steering committee meeting
- Minutes are available, and may be placed on the web.
- Field Work:
- We need to get back into it more, and bring projects to completion to create good project reports.
- We plan to develop a standard report format
- Working on developing a standard liability release for boat owners and UASC
- We need to develop survey tools and to inventory what we have.
- Reorganizing UASC as a 501(c)3 ?
- Making this change will allow donors to deduct their donations from their taxes.
- UASC will have better access to grants
- Reviewed a copy of the bylaws from Trustee Dave Truitt. They will be updated during the next year.
- Survey Coordinator - John Gerty
- We had a great lunch meeting at Ghost Ships with Brian Abbott and Dave Thompson of Nautical Marine Group in Michigan.
- Brian Abbott is penciled in to do sector scanning Car Ferry #2, Material Service,Flora Hill, The Mac, ( Wells Burt, Illinois / Holly Barge? ), tentatively on June 1st and 2nd.
- Web Site - Jack Bolous
- A few bug fixes have been taken care of.
- Working on improving the appearance
- Send any information or suggestions to
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- Safety - Chet Childs
- Looking into CPR course. Sam Frank is available. Half a dozen members showed interest.
- April 6th, Wednesday, either at Helix or at Chet's
- – Claire Gadbois reported on the Illinois Council of Skin and Scuba Divers:
- UASC took first place in U/W competition
- A nice video was presented by Dan Kasberger
- Northerly Island survey project ( Margo ) Bob Foster from IL Park District is looking for info about waters around Northerly Island, above and below the surface.
- July 31 - Jim Haigh Memorial Dive
- September TBA - Cleanup Dive
- October 2 - Pumpkin Carving Dive at , run by Pam Romund and the Tritons.
- October 9 - International Beach Cleanup - Blackwell Forest Preserve, 10:00 a.m.
- October 22 - President's night next year at Sawa's
- UASC took first place in U/W competition
- DiveHeart Liason - Gene Hasiak
- Presentations were made at OWU, Ghost Ships, and CMF
- Ghost Ships - Discover SCUBA
- Chicago Maritime Festival - Underwater Detectives for young participants. Gene also presented for DiveHeart and also the history of UASC.
- Check the for info on upcoming events.
- Other
- Don Doherty - We received an e-mail from ""
- A group of 11 international U/W archaeologists from South and Central Asia ( Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka ) want to meet with us.
- Several officers will be giving them a presentation next Monday, including Don Doherty, Jim Jarecki, and John Gerty, and will meet with them for a few hours to exchange ideas.
- John Gerty wil show them a hands-on presntation of the 12th Street Beach wreck.
- Don Doherty - We received an e-mail from ""
Mini Tech - Jim Jarecki, "UASC Project Planning"
- Jim gave a great 5-minute talk on the proper way to plan a project, including a very informative handout including references.
Recent and New Business
- Joan and Cris do not want to split the Ghost Ships booth any more.
- Do we want to do the booth by ourselves next year?
- consensus is yes.
- Feb 18-20
- Joan and Cris presented "Booze, Bullets, and the Buccaneer" at the Friday Night Film Festival.
- Also at the Friday Night Film Festival, Bob Gadbois was awarded the Middle Coast Award.
- Keith Pearson spoke on Recovery of the Lost Naval Airplanes of Lake Michigan
- UASC presented booth number 1006
- John Bell setup and took down the booth, with help from Todd Hitzman, Scott Reimer, Hank Fiene, Don Doherty, and others.
- John Gerty, Todd Hitzemann, and Michael Angelo Gagliardi provided new display items to freshen up the booth for this year.
- Larry Boucha and Bob Gadbois from UASC managed the A/V for the show.
- The booth was very popular. Several college instructors asked for speakers.
- Bonne Terre Mine asked for premiums in exchange for free advertisement.
- 20% discounts on custom dry suits. Hank received the card from the vendor.
- Feb 26
- The Wreck Detective Children's Presentation was done again by the Loftuses, Gene Hasiak, and others.
- Tony Kiefer spoke on the Tool Crib Disaster
- Gene Hasiak spoke on DiveHeart and UASC
- The UASC booth was popular and well staffed.
- Ghost Ships Festival will be in Milwaukee March 25th and 26th
- Booth volunteers needed - Signup sheets will be e-mailed.
- Joan is presenting a new presentation.
- ICSSD U/W Competiton March 13th.
- UASC took first place for the second year in a row!
- Dan Kasberger team captain; Don Doherty, Mike Brutlag, and Michael Angelo also competed.
- OTHER: Miscellaneous new business items should be brought up – briefly – now.
- Rahm Emmanuel new mayor. UASC to write a letter of congratulations, suggesting a Chicago Maritime Museum on Northerly Island
- June 11th, Indiana Dunes State Park,Indiana State Dunes Centennial: 100th anniversary of the J. D. Marshall sinking. Jim Jarecki will be doing a presentation, and would like for others to also present, possibly with the Shipwreck Detectives project. Jim could use some help.
- David Dows Photos - If anyone has some, please contact Don Doherty.
- Prins Wilhelm V Wreck Drawing
- Mike Brutlag - Door County trip planned for Sept 3rd - 7th, Labor Day weekend.
- Kieth Pearson - Let's get projects going - There are a bunch of wrecks out there worth exploring further.
- Speakers are always needed.
- THANKS to Dan Kasberger and Mike Brutlag for providing tonight's refreshments.
- Sign up for meeting refreshments - Dan Kasberger Refreshments coordinator.
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday April 27, 2010
Refreshments to be provided by Chuck and Margo Miller.
Brendon Baillod - President of WUAA - Shipwreck Research Techniques.
May - Jack Scott - Illustration Techniques
Shipwreck Survey Projects
- Material Service - Sank on July 29, 1936 in 38’ - Project Leader: Jim J./John L./Tony K./Cris K.
- Contact Cris or Joan if you have any relevant materials - Report to be generated soon.
- Barge No. 2 - Sank on Sept. 29, 1906 in 40’ - Project Leader: John Loftus
- John Loftus, Jim Jarecki, and John Bell are working on this wreck for their NAS II project.
- The Rotarian - Scuttled on September 28, 1931 in 80' - Project Leader: Tony Kiefer
- The Straits of Mackinac - Scuttled on April 10, 2003 in 78’ - Project Leader:Needed
Guest Speaker -- Jack Hadfield, "History of Chicago Fire Boats"
An interesting history and presentation about Chicago's Fireboats. Jack Hadfield's passion for these proud vessels has produced a nearly lifelong avocation. He has spent many hours researching and tracing the life and service of several fireboats, beginning in the late 1800s. With photos, video archives and narrative, he'll explain their construction, the more noted fires they fought, and what happened to them after they retired from service. The only one left in service today is moored near Navy Pier and the Chicago Locks leading into the river. Jack is a retired licensed stationary engineer and a retired Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. He has a U.S. Coast Guard issued Master's License for steam and motor vessels of 100 gross tons. Jack is a board member of The Fire Museum of Greater Chicago and a board member of The Marine Navigation and Training Association.
- Fire Museum of Greater Chicago
- Alpha - 1881
- Geyser - 1886 ( received pumps from the Conway, 1925 )
- Yosemite - 1890 106' x 11'
- Michael Conway
- Fire Queen - Worlds Fair 1893
- Most fireboats had Scotch boilers. - multiple furnaces. Hot gas tube side, water shell side. Fired tube boiler, as opposed to water tube boiler.
- Had to keep steam up 24/7. Fuel cost went way down when switching from coal to diesel.
- Busey - 1937
- Engine 58 - A fire boat still in operation. Tied up to filtration plant north of Navy Pier. 92 feet long. Only currently active ( major )fire boat, but there is another under construction.
- 6-8-8 : Current Boat ? ( Not a pumper ) Fast Response boat. Small, diver support. Only other active boat besides the 58.
- New boat under constructions - No name yet.
Other Business
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00, after which a number of members retired to for further discussions and socializing.