Jim_Hooper 4 #26 March 14, 2009 Brian Williams was Jerry Bird's FJ instructor and put me out on a student jump at Arvin. Bill Newell is the one for stories from those days. Which begs the question: What are the criteria for a 'pioneer'? The southern California jumpers took considerable pride in their outlaw status and boycotted PCA for years. Thus, low A, B, C, or D-numbers don't figure very prominantly among 'em. It was only when 10-man speed stars became a National's event - with the prerequisite of a D license to compete - that a lot of the best relative workers grudgingly joined and did the paperwork. I have heaps of respect for those mostly military freefallers who earned the early licenses, and experimented with body position/control. The serious stylists, in particular, laid the foundations for RW, and were instrumental in spreading the word about skydiving. But it was the SoCal rebels who set skydiving on the evolutionary branch that led to where the sport is today. Equally, how many of the early experimenters (pioneers) in CRW/CF have low D licenses? The sad - even disgraceful - thing is that today they receive so little recognition from USPA or the skydiving community at large. I suspect Howard White will redress that oversight as the organization's museum takes shape. Hoop SCR242 SCS 90 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackwallace 3 #27 March 14, 2009 Got that right Hoop. Not just SoCal, but the Hinckley gang. I sat and signed hunderds of jumps to get guys liscenses to go to the 10 man nationals. Some of those people had to have more than 2000 jumps and never had a log book. And once they had been to the nationals cared less about the liscense or how many jumps they had. wildmanU only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler. scr 316 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 6 #28 March 28, 2009 New addition to the list of those planning to be in Raeford in May: Al King. He might even bring Sport Beth if she can get time off from work. Al is already committed to being in a small-way () Al, one of the developers of the AFF program and still an active AFF instructor, will also have his first exposure to tunnel flying. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 6 #29 March 29, 2009 And another add to the list: Nate Pond (D-69). I saw him today; he's planning to fly his 180 down to Raeford. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 6 #30 March 31, 2009 And another: Bill Jolly, D-26. Which means that the reunion will have: D-1 D-22 D-26 D-69 D-70 D-83 And possibly D-16 and D-50. HW (D-29650 ) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poppenhager 1 #31 April 1, 2009 Howard, I will be there too.If I'm still alive ! POP Quote Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 6 #32 April 1, 2009 Excellent. Add D-45 to the list. Have you registered yet? I see that John Coppe is on the list of attendees. He flew a lot of loads I was on at Indiantown, and I saw him last year at Lowell Bachman's memorial party. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 6 #33 April 8, 2009 Add Loy Brydon to the list; the sub-100 attendees are: Lew Sanborn - D-1 Loy Brydon - D-12 Jerry Bourquin -D-22 Bill Jolly - D-26 Paul Poppenhager - D-45 Nate Pond - D-69 Coy McDonald - D-70 Bill McCarthy - D-83 And possibly D-16 and D-50. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KJWard2 0 #34 May 11, 2009 It was great to have everyone come to Raeford and a big thanks to Linda for her hard work!!! I hope we can have another one out this way again sometime, it was much fun! Kris Ward“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” Sydney Smith Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 6 #35 May 12, 2009 And thanks for Raeford (Gene Paul and Tony) and Paraclete XP (Tim) for being great and generous hosts and Linda Miller for organizing an amazing event. Here are just a few pix to show you what you missed if you weren't there. -Buddy Blue and Coy McDonald -D-1 signs another logbook -Pop (D-47) about to jump the PAC (He was also later in a seven-way) -Bob Sinclair and admirer HW (who owes beer for his first PAC jump, too) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
patmoore 14 #36 May 12, 2009 Great shot of Pop! Thanks for sharing it. Sorry I couldn't make it down there. Would have been great reconnecting with so many folks from the past.DZGone.com B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152. If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveJack 1 #37 May 12, 2009 Quote -D-1 signs another logbook Looks like Lew should have signed that one Double D-1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,387 #38 May 12, 2009 Hi howard, Those quick ejectors on Pop's rig means that he is from 'back in the day.' Probably would scare the crap out of the youngsters. JerryBaumchen PS) Looks like good times all around. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
upndownshop 0 #39 May 19, 2009 Quote I will have a scanner with me. I'll grab whatever pictures people want to share. In Salt Lake City last year, Ted Strong had a huge stack of black and white pix taken by Tom Schapanski, who was well known both as a photographer and competitor. Unfortunately I didn't get to scan any of them and Jim Arender took a bunch of them home with him. I wish I had been able to record peoples' stories (well, at least some of them.) Particularly memorable were the early jump stories from Brian Williams, a (definitely) pioneering southern California jumper. HW Hey Howard Did you get what you needed from the books? Hope there was enough interesting stuff for you! J Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 6 #40 May 19, 2009 Yup. I scanned a lot of stuff (not all of it, by any means). Eventually (when I sort out the rest of the stuff I have to do) I'll be asking you about some specific pictures). HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douggarr 6 #41 May 19, 2009 What the hell -- if you've got gray in your hair you're an old timer. I just turned 60 and can brag that I'm SOS-1353. You have to love a sport that takes so much pride in having a low number anything. At the Raeford Pioneers fest, I was in a three-point 7-way where Al King (59) and I were the youngest in the formation. Everyone was hoping we'd just nail a round. The old farts can do it once in awhile.SCR-442, SCS-202, CCR-870, SOS-1353 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
