Party with skydiving pioneers

[howardwhite 6]

Do any of these names mean anything to you?

Kim Emmons Knor, Deke Sonnichsen, Jerry Bourquin, Barbara Roquemore, Len Potts, Jim Arender, Bill McCarthy, Dick Myron, Gary Douris, Kevin Donnelly, Linda Miller....
You can meet and party with them and many others at the 2008 Pioneers of Sport Parachuting reunion June 26-29 in Salt Lake City. (You can even skydive with some of them; Skydive Salt Lake has donated a free King Air load to the first 10 reunion registrants who want to jump.)
If those names are not familiar to you, they include world champions, early members of the Golden Knights, and a lot of people with very low D-numbers. Collectively, they have a lot of really great jump stories to swap.
The reunion is primarily for people who started jumping in the 50s and 60s (though people who started later might be allowed to attend).
It will be held at the Airport Hilton in Salt Lake City; registration for events, including a banquet Saturday evening, is $50. Other events available include golf at a nearby course, spring skiing at Snowbird, and shopping at Park City.
To register, send your check to Elizabeth Wilson Foster, PO Box 551, Park City UT 84060.
Or pm me for more details.

HW

[skr 1]

> Barbara Roquemore

Hey Howard, I'm not coming to this one
but would you tell her I said hi if you think
of it while there?

I've wondered a few times what path her
life took. The last time I remember seeing
her was at UCLA in the late 60s, where she
was majoring in Russian and I was ostensibly
getting a PhD in math.

Skr

[fallfast69 3]

Hi Scratch, you've been round almost long enough to be one of them there pioneers...right?

Jon Presley

[skr 1]

> been round almost long enough to be one of them there pioneers

You've stumbled onto the secret.

You have to be born early enough
to be on the scene before very much
has happened.

Or if someone just got here, they just
have to hang out for a few decades
and remember a few stories about how
it was back when people were still using
parachutes.

Imagine! Parachutes! Trusting your life
to a few strings and rags! Plus we had
to peddle the airplane to altitude too!

None of this new-fangled levitation stuff!

[itllclear 1]

Quote

Trusting your life to a few strings and rags!

And the harnesses were made from tyranosaurus hides, and the hardware was made from stone because they hadn't yet learned to work with metal.

BSBD

Harry

"Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there."

"Your statement answered your question."

[howardwhite 6]

This cartoon, from an old Spotter, may help explain; you need to blow it up to see the detail.
It was drawn by Mike Buckley, who later died in the Golden Knights DC-3 crash.

HW

[fallfast69 3]

When you and daVinci were going over his drawing, did ya mention the wood frame thingy didn't really sound like the hot ticket?

Jon

[NickDG 23]

I gotta go to one of these things. I could stroll around feeling young . . .

NickD

[skr 1]

> wood frame thingy didn't really sound like the hot ticket?

Well, getting those wooden chutes into the box
could sometimes be a bear if you didn't fold the
hinges in the right order ...

But the real difficulty was some of the weird
malfunctions.

The nail-over was probably the worst ..

If you forgot your claw hammer ..

Plus using a saw to cut away was a bit awkward ..

[Usetawuz 1]

Scratch, you are a sick man!!!

_________________________________________
The older I get, the better I was!

[Jim_Hooper 4]

Skratch - is your memory failing so badly that you've completely forgotten about the splinters you could pick up doing a fast pack job with a pine-framed cheapo?! I always thought the thin, laminated ash models with low-porosity vellum were better, but who could afford one of those on a college student's budget?
Hoop

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

Hey Skratch!
I miss you and DJan. You both headed out to your new destination at the same time I got back home! Hopefully our paths will cross again soon.
Thanks SOO very much for all of the wisdom you provided me early on. I feel so honored to have had Skratch Garrison as a mentor of mine

_________________________________________

[howardwhite 6]

(bump)
The list of attendees for the 2008 reunion includes:
-At least eight D <250 license holders;
-A couple of the original Golden Knights;
-People who jumped in Terminal Velocity, The Gypsy Moths, and other skydiving movies;
-National champions in several disciplines;
-And lots of other people with great jump stories to swap.
The free KingAir load at Skydive Utah is full, but a wish load is manifesting.
Deadline for paid (money order) reservations is June 20.
If you want more info, including the list of those who've signed up, PM me.

HW

[GreenLight 7]

Quote

I gotta go to one of these things. I could stroll around feeling young . . .

NickD

I was just thinking the same thing...

Green Light
"Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there."
"Your statement answered your question."

[scottmyers 0]

Just curious, Howard. Is champion skydiver Anne Batterson planning to attend? Just wondering since she won at the "young" age of 16 back in the early 1960s. Thanks!

Scott

Gig em, Garland Owls!

[howardwhite 6]

She is not currently on the list, but I know she wants to attend and may yet be there. She's traveling a lot.
I see her about once a year.

HW

[howardwhite 6]

Add to the list of attendees: Ted Strong (D-16).
He will give a presentation on the origins of tandem skydiving.
Deke Sonnichsen, an early president and HQ staff member of PCA, will give a presentation on the early days of sport parachuting.
Lenny Potts will talk about the National Skydiving Museum.
Deadline for reservations: end of the week.
PM me for more info.

HW

[scottmyers 0]

Cool, Howard! I wish I could go to this reunion just to rub shoulders with those who were in the sport back in the 1960s. Plus I'd love to chat with Anne, Barbara and the other ladies about how they felt being in a man's sport and having lots and lots of success while showing the guys they love skydiving as much as they did.

Scott

postscript - Does anyone know if "Barbara Roquemore (Parachuting)" that came out on VHS back in 1972 is still available on the Internet? Just asking...and thanks in advance.

Gig em, Garland Owls!

[dunderhead1 0]

Quote

Imagine! Parachutes! Trusting your life
to a few strings and rags! Plus we had
to peddle the airplane to altitude too!

oh yeah...when i started we didn`t have either parachutes or airplanes...i just flaired a cow and hiked up elcap and used the cowskin as a "parachute", hah..

[howardwhite 6]

Dunno how long it will be on line, but here's a TV news story on the Pioneers (a.k.a. Old Farts) skydive Saturday.
A video will be on line elsewhere later, plus more pix and news.
Ten jumpers | ~42,000 total jumps among them | average age 64.8.
http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=C8767FFE76E2F4093A9F71F675BC23AC?contentId=6871662&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

HW