Alumni Sandstorm ~ 10/18/17
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4 Bombers sent stuff, heard about a Bomber death, and
			   memorial INFO for 1 Bomber today:
Larry MATTINGLY ('60), David DOUGLAS ('62)
Dennis HAMMER ('64), David RIVERS ('65)
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BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Bob CHILES ('58)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Keith HUNTER ('63)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Lynn-Marie HATCHER ('68)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Bob HINKLE ('75)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Kelly GAINES-FRANKLIN ('84)

BOMBER LUNCH Today: '55 Ladies, 11:30, (3rd Wed)
 Billie LAWELL or Sharon TEMPLEMAN will tell you where

BOMBER CALENDAR: Richland Bombers Calendar
    Click the event you want to know more about.
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>>From: Larry MATTINGLY ('60) 

To: Dennis HAMMER ('64)

My compliments on the refinish of the radio cabinet. Looks
very nice.

In one period of 3-4 years, back about 20 years ago I picked
up and refurbished about 20 old cabinet radios. Some, I
refinished/rebuilt for the owners for a right tidy charge,
and the rest I sold at flea markets or by other means. 

Most of what I did was cleaning and refinishing the cabinet
and replacing speakers where the old paper cone was torn or
even missing. Some of those old cabinets had some serious
spider infestation. YUK. With all the very dangerous
materials I have handled in my life, I hate spiders. Got
bitten twice by a huge black widow. Within 20 minutes with
only the one eye, I was seeing double and triple. While I did
not get a bed, I hung around the hospital over night so they
could keep an eye on me. A couple of years later I got bit
again with no effects at all.

Replacing the string is a precise type job. The choice of
string is important. It needs to have some texture to it to
keep it from slipping. And you have to be sure to have 
the needle and the position of the actual tuner plates
synchronized in the correct position or the needle ends up
being incorrect. Some radios have a spring arrangement to
keep the proper tension on the string. The fellow who did my
restringing would set the needle on a local station and then
he moved the tuner plates until the station came on clear.
Then he marked the position of the plates, and then tightened
the string to the right tension to move both at the same
time. You have to go around each pulley 2-4 times so the
string can get a grip on the various pulleys and move all 
at the same time. It takes lots of patience. He would take
 a picture of any existing string for reference later. Tubes 
can still be found, some from collectors and China is still
making some of them. Search the internet for needed tubes.
You may find someone in your locale who has one of the old
tube testers. They have a small charge to check your tubes.

Radio electronics have changed radically. You may need 
to find some old bearded ham radio operator to get the
electronics repaired. Yeah, some of the old guys do shave.
For the gold rings you might check with stores that sell the
parts to make or repair curtains. Some have endless boxes of
fittings. Have fun. 

-J. Larry MATTINGLY ('60), (Pyro Consultants LLC)
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>>From: David DOUGLAS ('62)

Speaking of radio stations (somebody did, I recall), I worked
one summer (I think '62) at KPKW in Pasco as engineer and
disc jockey, although I don't recall the exact title. I took
the train to Seattle to take the engineer exam and think I
had a 3rd class license. I went to the station to learn how
to turn the transmitter on (I don't think my license allowed
that, but I didn't actually turn it on) and operate the
console and fill out the log. We had a network news feed but
had to substitute PSAs for any alcohol and cigarette ads,
since the station was owned by a Christian.

I worked Saturdays. I went out by myself my first Saturday to
turn the station on about 6AM. I plugged in the transmitter,
and the fuse blew. The rule about fuses is, if one blows you
try a second one. If that blows too, you find out what's
wrong. I put in the only extra fuse, plugged the transmitter
back in, and that fuse blew as well. I wasn't familiar with
Pasco and didn't know where one bought fuses at 6AM, so I
decided to try to find out why the fuses blew. I traced the
cord I plugged into the wall back to the transmitter. One of
the two wires that had been soldered to the transformer had
come loose. I decided to solder it back in place and maybe by
the time I had it fixed I could think of somewhere to go to
find another fuse.

Meanwhile, one of the weekday station operators had turned on
his radio to listen to the station and not hearing it came
down to the studio to see what was wrong. He knew where to go
to get fuses, so we finally got the station on the air,
although a bit later than usual.

I probably told this story once already, but I also appeared
on local TV once. We got our first TV the summer of 1958,
just before ninth grade. I watched the only station available
from sign-on to the national anthem at the end of the day.
One show in the afternoon was a local network production
(Yakima, Richland and Walla Walla stations), a homemaker
show. The lady hostess had a recipe contest, so I sent in the
recipe my eighth grade math teacher had given us for Waldorf
Cake, made using Miracle Whip instead of eggs and whatever
else is in it. I won - probably because I was the only male
to enter. The program originated in Yakima. My mom was
pregnant at the time with one or the other of my brothers, so
my dad took a day off to drive me up there. The hostess took
us to lunch at a very nice restaurant - I got a cake for
dessert with sparklers on it. Then we had a tour of the TV
station, and finally I baked my cake on TV. I got one fan
phone call afterward. It was an interesting experience. In a
box somewhere I still have the Junior cookbook I got as a
souvenir.

One year we had unusual sunspot activity. We had a UHF TV
antenna that was next to the phone line to the house. For
some reason I happened to turn to one of the VHF channels and
actually got a station - in Alberta, Canada. It faded out and
I got many other stations from as far away as Louisiana. I
plotted them on a map, and the plot made nice curves with
Richland at the center.

-David DOUGLAS ('62) ~ Mesa, AZ where I'm still swimming in
	the pool while it's warm
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>>From: Dennis HAMMER ('64)

Re: Nerd question ????

I have a question that probably only a nerd or someone who
works in a certain field (and I don't know what field that
would be) would know. Last August we made a trip to Spokane
for three days. The trunk light stopped working so I stuck
one of those little flat LED lights that has a little round
magnet on the back to the inside of the trunk lid to use as a
trunk light. There was a lot of smoke in the air here in the
Tri-Cities, Spokane, and in Coeur d'Alene, ID. I assume it
was the heat of the Sun made the glue come loose and the
light dropped off the trunk lid. I was unable to pull the
magnet off with just my hand and haven't tried to use some
tool yet. A week or so ago I noticed there is a little circle
of dirt on the outside of the trunk lid, so I checked and it
is exactly where that magnet is stuck and exactly the size
and shape of the magnet. It is a little ring of dirt
following the outside edge of that magnet. What could have
caused that????? It has rained and I assume the water has
something to do with it. Is there iron in the smoke from the
trees in the fires??? Does the dirt become attracted to a
magnet??? Did the magnet cause the water to form a bead that
caused it???? I would not think a magnet would have any
impact on either dirt, smoke, or water. It has not been waxed
so that had nothing to do with it. Thinking about getting a
horse shoe shaped magnet and seeing it the dirt will form the
outside shape of a horse shoe.

Re: Astrophysics question ????

In High School I saw a UFO (Unidentified FALLING object). My
mother made curtains for my bedroom that covered only the
bottom part of the windows on McPherson Ave, she called them
cafe curtains. One night I woke up and without moving at all
saw a really bright "star." It was due West and at least as
bright a Venus. In fact, if I had just gone back to sleep I
would have said it WAS Venus and probably would not have even
remembered it. I was thinking that was really cool, then all
of a sudden at great speed it shot straight down. In the late
'70s I told someone I worked with I had seen a UFO and
described it. He said, "Aw, you just saw a shooting star." I
told him it was not a meteorite, I have seen meteorites
before and they are moving when you first see them and moving
when they go out of sight. They don't just hang there
motionless, then all of a sudden take off at great speed.

This was far brighter than any meteorite I have seen, but I
suppose it could be a much bigger one or closer to earth and
heading straight for me, however . . . it would have to break
the laws of physics to all at once make what would have to be
a nearly 90 degree turn. Only thing I can think of that would
look like this is if someone had put a Coleman lantern on a
balloon or kite (these days they would use a drone) put it
into the air and it dropped off. Now that would be an
incredibly stupid thing to do unless it was over a large body
of water, and what I saw would have to have been over
Richland. Anyone have any ideas that make sense????

-Dennis HAMMER ('64)
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>>From: David RIVERS ('65)

Re: Radios

I recall having two radios in my yute... One was a gray
Zenith that turned on and off by opening and closing the
little "door"... the other was a short wave monster (like 
one of those cell phones in a bag size) with a 100 pound
battery... Keith PETERSON ('65) and Craig DAVIS ('65) and I
used to go from station to station looking for any rock 'n'
roll song... later I always listened to the Real Don Steele
(NAB) and Lynn BRYSON ('57-RIP)... don't recall the station
but man did I love to just lay on my bed and listen
(laziness... )... Lynster's theme song was Straight Flush 
by the Frantics... dang I remember that song so very well... 
now. What if I'd been listening with our Bomber B-day Babe... 
woo hoo... that would mean we could share the memory with
everyone... ahhhhhh but alas... I am fairly certain no
Bomber-babe ever entered my bed room... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Lynn-Marie HATCHER ('68) on your special day,
October 18, 2017!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
-David RIVERS ('65)
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********************** HEARD ABOUT **************************
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Heard about this Bomber death today:

Jody KENDRICK LeMaster ('66-RIP) ~ 8/5/48 - 10/9/17 
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********************** MEMORIAL INFO ************************
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not a memorial - only INFO today

Bill CRADDOCK ('61-RIP) ~ 1/28/43 - 10/4/17 

Celebration of Life: TOMORROW, Thursday, October 19, 2017, 1pm 
 Events at Sunset, 915 Bypass Hwy, Richland
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That's it for today. Please send more.
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