The L.A. Maritime Museum will host the 2nd Annual CCED Rally on Sept. 2nd from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. We will again be diving from the Museum's tugboat, Angel's Gate. Last year's event featured commercial diver and historian Torrance R. Parker, and attracted over 400 spectators! This year, we will pay tribute to the divers who helped build the Port of Los Angeles.
The Rally will honor the late Al Hanson and E. R. Cross - divers whose contributions to the field were legendary. An invitation is being extended to any and all commercial divers who worked in the L.A. Harbor area to join us for the day on the observation deck. Hopefully it will give us a chance to meet some of these legends and their families.
Only CCED members who have previously used the standard gear will be allowed to dive, but all members are welcome as we will need help in monitoring the compressor/air bottles, acting as tenders, manning the display on the observation deck, etc., so there will be plenty to do for everyone. Help is always needed to unload and load equipment and is greatly appreciated. If you want to help in any way, call Charlie or simply show up around 8:00 a.m. at the Museum.
The L.A. Maritime Museum is located at Berth 84, at the foot of 6th St. in San Pedro and is within easy walking distance of Ports O'Call where you will find several restaurants for lunch, as well as gift and novelty shops. So - bring your family, your next door neighbor, the old couple down the block, your best friend - and plan on having a good time.
For more information, call Charlie Orr (310) 834-7051.
On June 16, 17 & 18, an "Old Timers Reunion" was held at the Lindquist Landing in Brentwood, California. The reunion was hosted by Charlie Lindquist, Jr. with the assistance of John Durham and Capt. Ed White.
The guest list red like a "Who's Who" in California commercial diving: Bud Weiser, Gunner Overall, Torrance Parker, Mike San Gabriel, Kenny Knott, Bob Kirby, Jeff Dennis, Dick Clement, Don Wright, Ace Parnell, the Lanham brothers, and several others.
Approximately 30 dives were made during the 3 days, including a dive by a gr-granddaughter of Charlie Lindquist, Sr. She dove the old Desco Agar helmet used by her great grandfather as a tribute to his life and career.
On Saturday, July 8th, we held our 4th rally at the College of Oceaneering for their Student Appreciation Day event. COO student John Pranga won the raffle and got to dive the MKV in the Colleges 11 ft. tank. He did fine and enjoyed his first heavy gear experience! Capt. Ed White served as Divemaster, and tenders included Charlie Orr, Rick and Dale Eriksen, Danny Carr, Jocko Robinson, Mark Howell, Al Perez and Pat Harwell. In addition to the MKV and TOA, Charlie Orr dove his new Browne Commercial hat and Pat Harwell his new DESCO MKV. Both helmets performed flawlessly. The oldest diver of the day was pilot and machinist Ed Clark (age 79). Special guests included Mr. and Mrs. Fred Lewis, Mrs. Connie Clark and Jocko's son Travis. Again our thanks to Jim Sparks and the COO for their continued support.
CCED held their latest meeting on May 19 at the L.A. Maritime Museum. Our regular meeting room was in use, so the meeting was held on the observation deck overlooking the harbor. Nine members and Dr. Pete Lee were present.
An announcement was made of the death of E.R. Cross. A memorial service in Los Angeles will be held at a later date.
Discussed was the continuing efforts to obtain a new compressor motor, purchase of two K-bottles for back ups, plans for a combined rally by the HDS and the ADC on Oct. 1 in Santa Barbara, and plans for the July 8th rally at the COO.
Dorothy Barstad has completed revisions to the Divers Release Form and Log Form; Leslie Jacobs completed the revision of the CCED Safe Practices. Copies were handed out to those present and copies will also be laminated for use at our events.
Two dress-in demonstrations were performed with Capt. Ed White giving advise and assistance. Practice dress-ins will be conducted at future meetings on a regular bases whenever possible.
The next meeting will be held on Friday, July 21st, at the Maritime Museum, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Members who would like a copy of the complete report should mail a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Dorothy Barstad, 13119 47th Ln., Yuma, AZ 85367-6413
The Safe Practices Standards have been completed with copies handed out to those present at the last CCED Meeting on May 19. All divers will be required to read the Standards before diving. Copies may be obtained by calling Charlie (310) 834-7051. A laminated copy will also be available from the Dive Master at the rallies. Many thanks to Rick Eriksen and Leslie Jacobs for all their work on revising and typing the Standards for the group.
The Sparling's School of Diving in Wilmington, California was the first civilian dive school in the United States to teach diving. Started by Joe Sparling in 1944/45 the school had a rocky beginning. After obtaining approval to train divers under the new GI Bill however, many young ex-servicemen returning from WWII, began training as divers and under-water welders.
The School was bought by E.R. Cross in 1947. The name was changed to Sparling School of Deep Sea Diving and was moved to 1148 N. Wilmington Blvd. Over 1500 divers were trained during the seven years the school was in operation at that address. The school was closed in 1954, but Mr. Cross continued to operate a divers supply store at the same location until 1956.
While operating the school, Mr. Cross maintained a single lock recompression chamber which from early 1950 was the only chamber in the area. As a public service, Mr. Cross offered it to anyone needing it's use. Twenty-eight cases of bends were treated in the chamber during that time.
Mr. Cross went on to conduct an educational exchange program with divers and governments in the Pacific Islands and along the west cost of both North and South America. He worked as a pilebutt and diver for Hawaiian Dredging, and in 1960-61 worked for Bechtel Corporation as a Marine superintendent in charge of construction of the Chevron's tanker mooring terminal at Barkers Point, Oahu. Upon completion of the terminal he became a marine consultant and diving technician for Chevron. Retiring in 1986 he has been doing free-lance writing, with his column, Cross Talk, appearing regularly in Skin Diver magazine.
E. R. Cross passed away on May 8th at Port Angeles, Washington. In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Cross suggested that donations be made to the HDSUSA in his name. A memorial is planned in Los Angeles at a later date.
Information Source: "20,000 Jobs under the Sea," by Torrance Parker
Leslie Jacobs - Leslie had two of her articles published in the Spring 2000 issue of the Historical Diving Times. On page 33, is her article on the '99 Labor Day Rally at the L.A. Maritime Museum and on page 44, is a condensed version of her interview with Torrance Parker.
Compressor & Air Bottles - Sue Sterns, at Compressed Air Specialties, has been a BIG help in obtaining the new 3500 psi bottles. Sue and crew arranged to have the bottles ready for pick up and went out of her way to help. They are also helping to get the compressor up and running again.
Website - A lot of changes have been made during the past month or so. Several new pages have been added including a page on membership, pictures from the '99 Labor Day Rally, Music!, etc.
While on vacation, Charlie Orr made arrangements to meet Richard Lowe, Bill Grondvold and Russ Potocki in Dallas, Texas. The three men have formed a new WEG group in Houston known as MOAV (Mystic Order of Aquatic Vigilance). Operating much on the same bases as our group, they are offering free membership and have no structured organization. They have a website maintained by Russ that is full of information, pictures, a membership application and just plain craziness. If possible, check it out as you are bound to get at least one good chuckle out of it, if nothing else. (http:\\moav.net)
Their primary helmet will be Richard's Siebe Gorman, and Russ's new Morse Mk V. Bill's hat with it's "schnozz extension," is a Russian 12 bolt. (We won't say his nose is big, but . . . .)
We had a great afternoon having lunch together, discussing helmets, taking pictures and visiting with these super guys who left Houston at 5:00 a.m. just to meet us in Dallas. They are making plans to join us sometime this fall for one of our rallies, and we are hoping to make arrangements to travel to Houston to dive with them sometime in the near future.
Jocko was born and raised in the L.A. area and has had an interest in diving from an early age. He began SCUBA diving in 1968 while in the Army.
After the Army, he worked aboard the schooner, Lepchin. Jocko took care of the daily maintenance and tended to the diesel engines. He worked for three years at this job, traveling to many foreign countries.
Jocko continued to travel, as money would permit, to places like the Caribbean, South Pacific, the Orient, Europe, and North and South Africa. He lived in South Africa, before returning to the US.
In 1977, he went to work for "Dive and Surf" in Redondo Beach, as a SCUBA repairman, where he is still employed. While working there, he became involved with Marine Land, setting up their dive programs. It was at about this same time that he also took up sky diving, and later base-jumping.
Travis, Jocko's son, shares his dad's interest in SCUBA and actually started diving at 3½ years old! They also enjoy off-rode biking with "quads."
Since our groups beginning, Jocko has been one of our most active members. He has volunteered his help and donated countless hours of his time helping us with the equipment and lending a hand at the rallies.
The L.A. Maritime Museum is housed in the old San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building. For those of us who grew up in the L.A. Harbor area, the Ferry was the only means of transportation from San Pedro to Terminal Island until the completion of the Vincent Thomas Bridge in 1963. Between 1941 and 1963 thousands of cars, trucks and workers passed through the building each day on their way to the shipyards or the canneries on Terminal Island. The powerful rams which once lifted and lowered the ferry ramp can still be seen in the Navy Hall.
The Maritime Museum is the largest on the Pacific Coast; housing a large collection of beautifully crafted models, some made famous in Hollywood films. In addition to the large model collection are paintings, sailor crafts, seafaring artifacts, and memorabilia reflecting the maritime heritage of the greater Los Angeles harbor and Pacific from prehistoric times to the present.
The back deck and 3-story high windows on the waterside overlook the Glenn M. Anderson Channel where daily, large ships pass with their cargos and passengers from around the world. It is always a thrill to watch one of these huge ships maneuvering it's way through the Channel.
Docked on the channel side of the building is the floating collection of the Museum, including the ST class tug Angels Gate, and early 20th century Monterey fishing boats, Domani and Bornagain.
Also, berthed at the Museum's back deck are two sailing ships, the Swift of Ipswich and Bill of Rights which are used as floating classrooms by the L.A. Maritime Institute providing sail training to local school children.
For a nominal fee starting at $10 for those outside of California, to $40 for a family, you can become a "Friend of the Museum" and participate as a volunteer in many of the programs that are carried on daily. All memberships are tax-deductible. For more information call (310) 548-7618.
To Dr. Pete Lee at the L.A. Maritime Museum for use of their facility for the Labor Day Rally and use of a room for our business meetings. It is greatly appreciated!
Also - Many Thanks: To Bill Grondvold for $20 worth of stamps for The Com Line and to Mike Valentine for a $5 check. This help with expenses to mail the newsletter is truly appreciated as the cost of paper, envelopes, printing and postage usually runs about 80 cents per copy.
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