Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago
Meeting Minutes
28 Feb 2007

Note: These minutes are annotations to the Agenda provided by meeting coordinator Cris Kohl

General

• This month's meeting was coordinated by Cris Kohl. An EXCELLENT spread of food was provided by Cris and Joan Forsberg.
• Approximately 30 members were in attendance at this month's meeting, including at least 8 new members. Introductions were made all around.

Officer Reports:

• Treasury – Treasurer's report was given. Contact Bob Gadbois for details.
• ICSSD –  Visit the ICSSD Web Site for more information.
  • Underwater competition will be March 25th at Elk Grove Village Pool
  • UW Pumpkin carving contest at Haigh in October.
  • President's night dinner Saturday October 3rd.
• Membership – A dozen new members were added at Our World Underwater.
• Newsletter – Coming soon. A new newsletter editor is needed.
• Other -
  • Jim Jarecki is now a member of the Chicago Area Archivists. Contact Jim to see what resources that membership provides.
  • Shipwrecks! magazine is now available - Contact Cris Kohl for more information.

The Past:

•  Our World Underwater was a great show this year, highly attended and very successful.
  • UASC Thanks Scuba Emporium and Pat Hammer for donating booth space.
  • Thanks also to Cris Kohl, Tom and Chris Kastle, Michael Angelo Gagliardi, and Nancy Boucha for providing premiums and prizes to give away at the booth.
• The Chicago Maritime Festival was well attended, with approximately 20 organizations participating and over 200 in attendance at the evening concert in spite of the inclement weather.
  • UASC's booth was well received and well attended. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped to set up, take down, and man the booth.
  • The Shipwreck Detectives activity for the children was also well attended and well appreciated.
  • Liz Jurkacek also did school outreach in conjunction with the show.
  • Many other UASC members attended the show and participated in many ways, such as a presentations by Cris Kohl, Joan Forsberg, and Michael Angelo and AV support by Larry Boucha and Bob Gadbois.
  • About a dozen UASC members enjoyed a fine Mexican dinner between the afternoon shows and evening concert. :-)

The Future:

•  UASC needs presenters for local venues
  • H2Go SCUBA, a new shop in Oak Park. ( 262 Chicago Avenue, 708 383-3337 )
  • Scout groups in Plainfield
  • Three presentations in Indiana
• April 10th 6:30-7:30 Museum of Science and Industry Book Club on "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson, discussion hosted by Cris Kohl.
• CPR courses - Chet Childs is working to arrange a course. The original proposed date and time were March 24th, which is a conflict with Ghost Ships for some members. Chet was going to look into alternate dates.
• Professor Charles Beaker of Indiana University is interested in a joint project to survey shallow water wrecks in Indiana waters. There are a number of students to help / participate, and some funds available, but commercial charter boats would have to be used for insurance reasons. Jim Jarecki is the contact person on this project.
• We need presenters / presentations if we are going to host the 2007 UASC Shipwreck Show, as we have in past years at the Shedd Aquarium.
• Equipment Issues:
  • We have a digital projector, and need a DVD/tape player. It was generally agreed that Jim should just go buy us a good one.
  • A new side-scan sonar unit is now available on the market for only $2,000, whereas traditionally these units start at $20,000. The low-cost option is the Hummingbird (987?), marketed as a bottom charter and advanced fish finder for fishermen but also used by some divers and fire departments.

Upcoming Shows / Conferences

• March 3-4 Boston Sea Rovers Clinic
• March 10 Great Lakes Underwater, Oswego, NY
• March 23-24 Ghost Ships Festival, Milwaukee
• March 23-25 Beneath The Sea, New York
• March 31 Shipwrecks 2007 Show, Welland, Ontario, Canada

Dive Projects

• See the very long list in Cris Kohl's Meeting agenda. Of special note:
  • Dale Bennett is looking for information on the Saint Mary.
  • We need a project leader for The Mystery Wreck.
  • Liz Jurkacek is project leader for The David Wells
  • John & Ruth Loftus are project leaders for Barge No. 2
  • Other listed projects include the David Wells, the Wells Burt, the G. J. Dorr, the Rotarian, the Material Service Barge, the Straits of Makinac, and "Val's Wreck"  

Guest Speaker

•  Cris Kohl gave an excellent presentation on how to do historical research, including some very interesting examples, and an OVERWHELMING list of sources of information, from museums to books to magazines to national archives to local newspapers ( the more local the better! ) to dive club newsletters to societies to registries to enrollments to insurance claims to court reportings, and many many more. Truly a cornucopia of good information! :-)

Other Business

•  Future meetings will be coordinated by:
  • March - Bob and Claire Gadbois
  • April - John and Ruth Loftus
  • May - INSERT YOUR NAME HERE
  • June - Tony Kiefer
  • July - Joan Forsberg
• After adjournment of the regular meeting, a number of members retired to Jak's Tap for some excellent food and beverage and continued conversations.