Retired Men’s Association

Cigar Box Bulletin August 2009Volume 12 Issue 8

Inside this Issue

UpcomingMeetings

Friday, Sep 11 Friday, Oct 9 Friday, Nov 13 Friday, Dec 11 Friday, Jan 8

Reporter:Fred Schulz

Reporter:Frank Irish

Continued on page 3

August Minutes

Continued on page 6

August Speaker

The meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance, led by Rey Graunas. The chairman, president John Kiladis, then thanked Gerry Brody, who led the crew that prepared the coffee, and Hollis Gray, who picked up the doughnuts for the meeting.

There was one visitor, Earle Neyman of Framingham, who came as the guest of Abner Salant. Members who reported recent travel included: Frank Lyons, who visited Denver and then went to see his son at Lake Tahoe. Bill Ely took 10 members of his family to a resort at Dixville Notch. Milt Jones was on a cruise to Alaska. Ron Riggert visited family in Denver and then went on to Yellowstone and Oregon. Wayne Clemens hosted a family reunion at Lake Sunapee.

Birthdays 2 Special Events 7 Anniversaries 9 The Vase 11

John Kassabian introduced our speaker, Jon Strong, by first thanking him for filling in on short notice after the originally planned speaker had backed out. Jon’s presentation covered the mega-floods of the Pacific Northwest which occurred dur-ing the last ice age and up to ap proximately 12,000 years ago.

Jon Strong

Page 2

August 2009

The Cigar Box BulletinP. O. Box 261

Wayland, MA 01778

Published monthly by the Retired Men’s Association

of Weston, Wayland, Sudbury and surrounding communities.

Board of Directors:Wayne Clemens President Emeritus

John Kiladis PresidentFrank Lyons Vice PresidentBill Ely Vice PresidentBarry David Vice-PresidentJohn Kassabian Vice-PresidentMerrill Mack TreasurerAl Persson BulletinKarl Geiger Ron RiggertWally Hart Hollis Gray

Proof ReadersYutaka Kobayashi, Bob Curtiss,

John Heckscher, Wayne Clemens

Day Year Age

The RMA is a not-for-profit corporation

Nicholas Sisak 2 1917 92Anthony Alesi 15 1918 91George Kiesewetter 12 1929 80Peter Beckwith 5 1929 80Harold McAleer 17 1930 79Henry Dendunnen 22 1931 78Fred McDougall 25 1932 77G.P. Lenentine 9 1933 76Sam Merra 6 1935 74John Heckscher 23 1936 73Terrance Thoman 23 1939 70

FISH OF SUDBURY NEEDS DRIVERS

F.I.S.H. is a volunteer organization that provides transportation for Sudbury resi-dents to medical appointments. The vol-unteer drivers are under no obligation to accept any assignment unless it fits com-fortably with his or her schedule. There is no weekly or daily schedule or require-ment. You only drive when and where it is convenient for you. This is a volunteer activity that is totally flexible to the vol-unteer’s schedule. F.I.S.H. is a great way to help your neighbors who are in need. If you are willing to become a driver, or would like more information, please call Ed Gottmann 978-443-9233.

Page 3Continued from page 1 (speaker)

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Jon began his talk with a number of photos showing the geography and geology of the northwestern U.S. The eastern region of Washington State was named the “Scablands” by the early settlers since the land seemed to have many wounds

and sores. The Scablands are a vast region of weird terrain 200 miles east of Seattle, including gorges hundreds of feet deep, enormous potholes, huge boulders (“erratics”) scattered as if dropped by giants, undulating hills that look like huge ripples, strange layers of silt and ash, and a “waterfall” five times wider and three times taller than Niag-ara, but without any water. Many of the boulders are granite which is particular-ly strange since this area has no granite.

During the early part of the 20th cen-tury, the commonly accepted theory of geology was Uniformitarianism. Although the earth was originally formed by a series of catastrophic events the later changes were as-sumed to have occurred gradually and uniformly. Geologists assumed that the Scablands were the result of slow gradual effects over eons but they couldn’t explain the anomalies. They assumed that the topology of the area was formed by the Columbia River,

but the Columbia is 50 miles away and rivers form narrow gorges, not something 200 miles wide. In a 1923 paper, geologist, J. Harlan Bretz, a University of Chicago professor, proposed that the Scablands were formed by a catastrophic massive flood but he couldn’t account for the source of the water. His proposition was re-jected by the geological community. He continued to study the area over the next couple of decades. In the meantime,

Scablands

J. Harlan Bretz

Dry Falls- red area indicates area Niagara Falls would occupy.

Page 4

Joseph T. Pardee, a geologist who worked for the U.S. Geological Survey dis-covered the trail of evidence left by Glacial Lake Missoula, a lake created by an ice dam approximately 2 miles wide and half a mile high during the ice age. This lake was in the western part of Montana. He discovered that when the dam broke near the northern edge, the water flowed across northern Idaho towards the Scablands, proving Bretz’s theory of the cataclysmic flood. The main evi-dence was the ripples in the lake bed and the bottomland downstream which were formed as the water rushed past. It took many years for the geologist com-munity to fully accept Bretz’s theory, but his theory was finally accepted in the 1950s and he was awarded the Geological Society’s highest award, the Penrose Prize, in 1979 at the age of 96.

It is assumed that no humans witnessed the catastrophic flooding. The break-ing of the ice dam would have caused a tremendous roar and earth shaking. In a hand-out that Jon made available at the end of his talk, the energy of a single megaflood was equivalent to that of 4500 megatons of TNT, almost 100 times more than the biggest fusion bomb.

During the last ice age, glaciers extended as far south as northern Montana and one finger blocked the valley northwest of Missoula. The lake that formed, Glacial Lake Missoula, was approximately 150 miles long by 150 miles wide and formed an area about 3900 square miles. It had an average depth of 880 feet and was 2000 feet deep at the dam. The lake contained about 500 cubic miles of water. That is the volume of the present Lake Erie and Lake Ontario combined. What is now Missoula, Montana was 950 feet below the surface of the lake.

Jon showed a portion of a video from the PBS Nova show of 2005 “Mystery of the Megaflood” that showed a fascinating depiction of the bursting of the ice dam. When the dam broke, Lake Missoula emptied in 24-48 hours, releasing 2.5 trillion gallons of water toward the southwest. This resulted in a maximum flow at the dam of about 9.5 cubic miles of water per hour. It also caused backups at various rivers in the path of the onslaught. For example, the Snake River Valley at Lewis-ton, Idaho backed up to 600 feet deep. Simi-larly, other rivers in the route to the Pacific including the Columbia and the Willamette backed up as well.

All the perplexing mysteries of the Scablands were answered by the Missoula Flood theory.

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Silt Layers near Wallula Gap

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For example, the deposition of the “erratics” was explained as being both rocks carried south by the glacier and then carried westward by chunks of ice during the flood events, as well as huge rocks plucked out of the basalt by the floods.

Other strange geologic formations such as hanging side canyons that had val-leys far above the main canyon walls to which they connected were now ex-plained. As the flood rushed down whatever canyons were already present, the main canyons suffered massive erosion lowering their floors relative to the side canyons.

Speaker continued from page 4

Palouse River Canyon

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The vital statistics were read by Gerry Brody, who noted that as a result of an oversight at last meeting, the 65th anniversary of Henry and Doss Wellins, which occurred in July, had not been announced. Of the August birthdays that Gerry announced, the oldest was Nick Sisak, at age 92. Among the anniversaries, the longest was that of Bill and Madeline Meoli, celebrating their 59th.

Bill Towle told us that there would be no RMA hike in August, but that hikes would resume in September.

A few meetings ago, Jerry Evans gave us a talk on lifestyle improvements (both fitness and nutrition), and he would like to conduct a follow up session with the RMA at some future date, if there is enough interest (and it appeared that there is).

John Heckscher asked for volunteers to do some painting at Parmenter.

The songfest, under the direction of Neil Kaufman, included “In the Good Old Summertime” and “In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree,” as well as “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie”

Charlie Raskin had our sickness report. The good news is that Marty Nichols is back in circulation after an operation. But Rick Dugan is about to have a stent implanted, and Fred Manasse is having an operation this week. Walter Hall is still recuperating and has moved to the Willows for treatment.

George O’Reilly announced that the trip to Battleship Cove had been canceled, but there are plans for a trip to the Coast Guard Academy on September 18th.

Joe Angel reminded us of the annual banquet, which will be on October 21 this year, at the Marlboro Country club as usual. There will be a “Christmas in October” theme.

Page 6Minutes continued from page 1

Special EventsGeorge O’Reilly Chairman

Coast Guard Sept 18th Bus leaves Academy SBC 8:30 AM

Page 7Continued from page 5 (speaker)

The unusual massive potholes were explained by a complex physics phe-nomenon. When water rushes past a discontinuity at high speed a vortex is formed and at the edge of the vortex bubbles are created which then burst as the water is circulating around the discontinuity. The bursting bubbles cause a high energy pounding on the surface of the discontinuity resulting in major rapid erosion.

The actual bursting of the ice dam and reformation probably occurred many times during the ice age. The mechanism by which the dam failed is ex-plained as follows. Under pressure, the melting point of water decreases. As the depth of the water in Lake Missoula increased, the pressure at the bottom increased enough to lower the freezing point of water below the temperature of the ice forming the dam. This allowed liquid water to seep into minus-cule cracks present in the ice dam. Over a period of time, the friction from water flowing through these cracks generated enough heat to melt the ice walls and enlarge the cracks. This allowed more water to flow through the cracks, generating more heat, allowing even more water to flow through the cracks. This feedback cycle eventually weakened the ice dam so much that it could no longer support the pressure of the water behind it, and it failed cata-strophically. This process caused a similar event recently in Iceland in 1996. Recently, some geologists estimated that the cycle of flooding and reforma-

Potholes

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Page 8Continued from page 7 (minutes)

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Ten RMA members (plus one guest of Abner Salant), including our Aug. speaker, Jon Strong, had a very nice luncheon gathering at the Bella Costa Ristorante on Route-30 in Framingham. Appropriate musical entertainment was provided by our own Bill Ladoulis. Discussion topics were varied and animated - with everyone participating! Next month's ROMEO luncheon will be handled by Jim Howard and will be at the Lotus Blossom restaurant in Sudbury.

Romeo Report :

tion of the lake reoccurred on average with a periodicity of 55 years and that the floods occurred at least 40 times during the last ice age.

Recently some scientists at the University of Minnesota conducted an experi-ment where they built a mini-scabland to test the vortex theory. They concluded that the process is scale-independent. They found that water at high speed forms a vortex with bubbles and can carve out features in rock in a matter of seconds as the bubbles burst.

Jon’s excellent presentation explained one of the many fascinating features of the evolution of America’s western landscape.

It is time to support the RMA efforts to restock the Wayland and Sudbury Food Pantries.

Please bring non perishable items to the October meeting. Barry David and John Heckscher will see that all the items are taken to the pantries.

Date Year Years

Anniversariesin

Page 9

August

David and Audrey Levington 20 1950 59Gail and Derena Drake 6 1950 59William and Madeline Meoli 6 1950 59Robert and Marjorie Mainer 11 1951 58Harold and Shirley McAleer 15 1953 56Robert and Alice Vannerson 28 1954 55David and Rose Raduziner 1 1954 55Norman and Dorothy Sears 7 1955 54George and Shirley O'Reilly 18 1955 54Ivan and Deborah Lubash 12 1956 53Jim and Jan Carlson 18 1956 53G.P. and Mary Lenentine 18 1956 53Henry and Jacqueline Dendunnen 24 1956 53Robert and Patricia Hayes 3 1957 52Donald and Nancy Burrer 17 1957 52Alfred R. and Sarah Phillips 17 1957 52Al and May Persson 25 1957 52Thomas and Patrica Smith 30 1958 51William and Jeanne Maloney 16 1958 51Neil and Phyllis Kaufman 16 1958 51

Michael and Janet Daniel 20 1960 49Gerald and Merna Morse 28 1960 49Stanley and Rhoda Sakowitz 2 1961 48Karl and Marilyn Kelber 20 1961 48William and Peg O'Rourke 18 1962 47Robert and Luanne Allard 17 1963 46Merle and Mary Ann Dence 3 1963 46Bill and Pat Metz 29 1964 45William and Donna Carleton 21 1966 43John and Maureen Dolan 13 1966 43Homer and Beverly Eckhardt 24 968 41Jim and Joan Carlton 6 1972 37George and Marney Ives 12 1978 31C.F. and Jeanne Morse 3 1996 13

Doss and Henry Wellins had their 65th wedding anniversary in July.

Page 10

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce .

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present .

8) A bass was painted on the base of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row ....

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

So you think English is easy.

Page 11

It as Christmas and all of the family had gathered at Grandma’s to welcome Santa and share the season. The grandchildren were running here and there playing tag while the men were in the basement enjoying the game and a beer. Suddenly a crash, a hush and the running children stopped. The antique vase that had been in the family for years fell to the floor and was in a hundred pieces. Fingers pointed and voices raised but the facts were that no specific child was at fault. It was the game of tag and the enjoyment of the chase that caused the accident. All the parents volunteered to replace the vase but none knew how. The older sister Jane was determined as she knew what the vase meant to her mother. Her younger sister Sarah also felt guilty as her son was always getting into trouble. When the holidays were over, Jane set about the task of replacing the vase. She searched in antique stores but it was not to be found. Then someone suggested EBay. Jane went on the net and there on EBay was the exact vase. The starting price was $100.00 much less than Jane expected. For those who have not familar with EBay. It is an auction website where items are placed for sale with a starting price and a time limit for buyers to bid. Each bid raises the price $2.50. Jane placed a bid. The perfect vase was now available for $102.50. She followed the progress of the bid over the next week and placed a new bid several times. The price was now $205.00. It came down to the last day. Jane placed a bid and the price went up to $215.00. Almost immediately it went up to 217.50. Jane went up to $220.00. She watched it all day and every time she placed a bid someone bid $2.50 more. Time was running out and the price was $597.50. Jane bid $600.00 and the price went up to $602.50 as the time ran out. It was then that she realized that she had been saved by the bell. She did not have $600.00 to pay for a vase. As much as she wanted to replace the broken vase $600.00 was way more than she could afford. Christmas came and the family gathered. They sat in front of the fire to open the presents. Grandma opened one labeled to Granny from Santa. It was the vase. Jane was so overjoyed to see the vase that she blurted out. “Sarah, you were the one. Let me give you a check for half.”

by AL Persson

The Vase

Next MeetingFriday, September 11 Website: RmenA.org

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