June 2019 Meeting Notes

We started off the June meeting with Tolling the Boats lost in June, followed by birthday wishes for our members, introductions, and then the officer reports.

2019 Holland Club Induction
This year we inducted Rich L. into the Holland Club. Rich qualifies on USS Alexander Hamilton (SSBN-617). Congratulations Rich.

Base Commander Ric presenting Rich his Holland Club certificate

Old and New Business

Base Float Refit - We planned a working party for Saturday June 22 to get the base float into shape for upcoming events and parades. We’ll get a report on how it turned out shortly.

Independence Day Parade – Seattle Base will be participating in the Kirkland parade on the 4th of July. Seattle Base member and World War II veteran Ralph Sterley will be the Grand Marshal for this year's parade.

Plans for the 2019 parade are like previous years. We will meet near Kirkland’s Heritage Hall in the morning. The Kirkland Police will block the roads near the parade route at 9:30, so you will need to be there early or come in from the north. Parking is available to our group exclusively, to the north of Heritage Hall and along Waverly Park. Lunch will be served around 11:00, the we'll take a few photos, and the parade will start at Noon. Remember to check the blog and newsletter for more details. We hope to see you there.

Here is a map of the parade staging area, parking and the parade route.

Kirkland Parade Information

Smokey Point – Seattle Base members will be manning the coffee booth at the south-bound Smokey Point rest stop on July 12 – 15. There are still a few more spots to fill and we can always use donations of cookies for the event. Please contact Steve or one of the other Seattle Base officers if you can help with this important fund-raising event.

VFW BBQ and Open House – VFW Post 2995 has invited us to attend their upcoming Open House and BBQ on August 17.

Seattle Base Summer Picnic - We are looking into having a Base Picnic later this summer. Let us know if you are interested in this too. 

Good of the Order
- Sr. Vice Commander Larry let us know that he and several other base members will be helping out with the Eagle Scout Court of Honor on June 30. If you would like to help out or attend, please contact Larry for more information.

- Seattle Base received 3 submarine pictures to use to raise funds for the Base. We are asking members for a donation of $40 - $60 for each picture. Photos and descriptions of the pictures are included below. If you are interested in one or more of the pictures, speak with Base Commander Ric.

Aerial photo of a Sturgeon (637) class fast attack submarine ($60)

A signed and numbered print drawing of USS Skate at the North Pole ($60)

Cutaway line drawing of USS Torsk ($40)

June 2019 Meeting Reminder

The next Seattle Base meeting is this coming Wednesday, June 19, 2019. We will meet at VFW Post #2995 (4330 148th Ave N.E., Redmond WA 98052). Social hour starts at 6PM with business meeting at 7PM.

Holland Club patch

Here is a preview of the meeting agenda for June:
- 2019 Holland Club Inductions
- Seattle Base float refit
- Kirkland 4th of July parade
- Smoky Point Rest Stop coffee weekend
- Tolling the Boats Ceremony

These are just the high points. We hope to see you at the meeting

Upcoming Event Reminders

Here are reminders of some upcoming events for early July.

Kirkland Independence Day Parade

Ready to go at last year's Kirkland Parade

Seattle Base will be participating in the Kirkland parade on the 4th of July. Seattle Base member and World War II veteran Ralph Sterley will be the Grand Marshall for this year's parade.

Plans for the 2019 parade are similar to previous years. We will meet near Kirkland’s Heritage Hall in the morning. The Kirkland Police will block the roads near the parade route at 9:30, so you will need to be there early or come in from the north. Parking is available to our group exclusively, to the north of Heritage Hall and along Waverly Park. Lunch will be served around 11:00, the we'll take a few photos, and the parade will start at Noon. We will talk about the parade at the June meeting, but also remember to check the blog and newsletter for more details. We hope to see you there.

Smokey Point Event
Seattle Base members will be manning the coffee booth at the south-bound Smokey Point rest stop on July 12 – 15. Steve will have the sign-up sheet at the June meeting. Be sure to mark your calendar and sign-up to help out with this important fund-raising event. Be sure to bring any questions to the June meeting.

Western Region District Commander Elections
It is election time for Western Region District Commanders. Seattle Base is part of Western District 4 and our current District Commander, Jim DeMott, is running for re-election.

WD4 Commander Jim DeMott at a recent Seattle Base meeting

Voting is open from June 15, 2019 until close of business on July 15, 2019. Emailed ballots must be received by close of business on July 15th and mailed ballots must be postmarked no later than July 15th to be counted.

You can download a PDF or Word version of the ballot. The ballot has instructions for returning it by email or regular mail.

You can read the District Commander duties and requirements for office in this Word document. 

Cabela's Memorial Day Weekend Event Cancelled

Due to several issues, we are not able to participate in the Cabela's Memorial Day Weekend event.

Photo from a 2018 Calbela's event

Reminder, the Memorial Day service at Tahoma National Cemetery is planned for Monday, May 27 at 1:00 PM.

Be sure to watch the blog for further updates.

May 2019 Meeting Notes

We started off the May meeting with Tolling the Boats lost in May, followed by birthday wishes for our members, introductions, and then the officer reports.

Western District 4 Commander Jim DeMott at the May meeting

Old and New Business
Cabela’s Event – We are finalizing plans to have the base float at Tulalip Cabela’s store over Memorial Day weekend (May 25 – 27). We will want to have volunteers to man the table and talk with people. There will be in-store discounts for veterans. Be sure to watch the blog for updates.

Smokey Point – Seattle Base members will be manning the coffee booth at the Smokey Point rest stop. This year we will be at the south-bound Smokey Point rest stop on July 12 – 15. Steve had the sign-up sheets at the May meeting and will have it at June meeting. We hope you’ll sign-up to help out with this important fund-raising event.

Base Float Refit - We are looking at putting together a working party to get the base float into shape before our upcoming events and parades. The float needs cleaning, repainting, and some electrical work. We are looking for volunteers to help. Please contact Base Commander Ric for more information.

Independence Day Parade – We will be participating in the Kirkland Independence Day parade on Thursday July 4. The parade Grand Marshall will be Seattle Base member and World War II veteran Ralph Sterley.

Kaps for Kids – After some discussion, we decided that volunteers from the Seattle Base can participate in the Kaps for Kids program with support from USSVI National. Kerry R. has been in touch with Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma and has the guidelines for visits. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Kerry or one of the Base officers for more information.

Kerry talks about Kaps for Kids

WD4 Commander Visit – Jim DeMott, Western District 4 Commander, stopped off to give an update on the region and remind us about upcoming events. He put a plug in for the USSVI National Convention and also wanted to remind about WD4 elections.

May Program
The May program was a presentation by Dave S. on the Royal Navy’s K class steam-powered submarines. Dave talked about the advancements in technology during the early 1900’s that led designers to propose a steam-powered submarine. He covered ideas for how the submarines would be used and the basic design. He also talked about real operations, the flaws with the design, and early problems for the submarines. Dave also talked about the main operation that was supposed to show how the subs could operate with the fleet and how it ended in disaster.

It was an interesting talk about a submarine design that was ahead of its time.

Good of the Order
- Several Seattle Base members attended the memorial service for Fred Ensslin on Monday at Tahoma National Cemetery. Because a lot of these services are somewhat generic, we are looking at something we can have read for submariners at these ceremonies.

The flag folding at Fred Ensslin's memorial service

- Sr. Vice Commander Larry let us know that he will be helping out with some Eagle Scout programs with the Boy Scouts.

- Jim Harper let us know that Jay Davis’ daughter sent in a donation to Seattle Base

- The Memorial Day service at Tahoma National Cemetery is planned for Monday, May 27 at 1:00 PM.

May 2019 Meeting Reminder

The next Seattle Base meeting is this coming Wednesday, May 15, 2019. We will meet at VFW Post #2995 (4330 148th Ave N.E., Redmond WA 98052). Social hour starts at 6PM with business meeting at 7PM.

We will be discussing normal Base business along with upcoming events. The program for May will be on the Royal Navy’s K class steam-powered submarines.

HM Submarine K15

We hope to see you at the meeting.

May - June 2019 Dolphin Brotherhood Posted

The May - June 2019 issue of the Dolphin Brotherhood has been posted and is ready to view and download.

Razorback and Clamagore;
one sub is preserved, while the other's future is uncertain

This issue has a report from the Razorback's 75th birthday, updates on efforts to save the Clamagore, an article on a new Russian special projects submarine, and the usual submarine related articles.

Hardcopies will be mailed out this coming week. I hope you all enjoy the newsletter.

Reminder - the internment service for Fred Ensslin is scheduled for Monday, May 13 - 10:30 am at Tahoma National Cemetery.

Dave Schueler
Seattle USSVI Base Newsletter Editor