SPAR News

The SPAR and Seaboard Web sites now have almost 500 pages and almost 1,900 photos, not counting thumbnails.

*2012 Reunion Photos

Ninety-five photos taken at the reunion have been posted in the Album section here.

Four photos from the Seaboard Archive have been added to the history section, courtesy of Capt. David Hill. A photo of monkeys brought from India and used for for research that led to the Salk vaccine has been added to the history page. Three additional photos have been added to a separate page here.

2012 Reunion

Once again, the SPAR reunion was a great success due to the efforts of our officers Lou Furlong, Paul Cellecz, and Ed Bouvier; and the underappreciated efforts of their wives, Cathy, Sheila and Anita. Even with a few last-minute cancellations and no-shows, my final count is 96, a great turnout. The list has been posted here. Please let me know if I have omitted anyone. I apologize if I have done so. Any error is entirely mine. At the banquet, we enjoyed a presentation by the guest speaker, Dr. F. Robert van der Linden, chairman of the Aeronautics Division and curator of air transportation and special purpose aircraft at the National Air and Space Museum. More about him can be read here.

A list of the locations of SPAR reunions has been posted here, courtesy of Pam Snyder. We do not remember the locations of three of the reunions in the 1990's. Please let me know if you do.

Pat Rothacker has published a second book. This one is about her liver transplant. She is donating the proceeds to provide a scholarship for a girl from the South Bronx to attend school. You can see both books on Pat's page in the Members' Activities section here.

Crew Seniority Lists

The crew lists were originally created by Andrea Battern and Capt. David O. Hill who assembled them from those contracts and periodically-issued seniority lists available to them. Since then, additional names have been added from additional seniority lists that have become available and as they become known through examination of online crew manifests. The dates for those individuals are listed in blue, indicating that the actual date of hire is unknown. The blue date is that of the earliest manifest found as yet listing that person as a Seaboard crewmember.

Finding these individuals is an extremely tedious process and will proceed slowly. Approximately 50 have been added to the pilots, navigators, flight attendants, and radio operators seniority lists to date. If you have any information to contribute, please let me know.

http://www.seaboardairlines.org/lists/lists.htm

*2012 reunion announcement from President Lou Furlong

Dear Seaboard Family;

As we fast approach our Washington D.C. 2012 SPAR Reunion, I have a special announcement to make:

Thru the efforts of our SPAR Historian, Capt David O. Hill, we will be having a distinguished guest speaker at our Tues. evening banquet. Dr. F. Robert van der Linden, Chairman of the Aeronautics Division of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, will give a Power Point presentation centered on our period of commercial aviation.

You can read more about Dr. van der Linden here.

Thank you David! See you all in less than two months!

Your SPAR Officers,
Lou
Ed
Paul

Printable copies of the reunion documents have been posted here.

A list of the DC-8 aircraft operated by Seaboard and their disposition is posted on the Web here.

Reported by Capt. Lou Furlong

In the Members' Activities section, a revised list has been posted listing 161 countries and 3 U.S. territories visited by Capt. Harry McCarthy in his Turbo-prop Bonanza.

Carol Everhart has made a nice video from photos taken at the 2010 Flight Attendants Reunion at the El Rancho. The video has been added to the album section here.

Frankfurt photos

On August 12, 2011, there was a Seaboard lunch in Frankfurt. In addition to people who worked for Seaboard in Germany, it was attended by Ed & Anita Bouvier, Paul & Sheila Cellecz, and Pat Parlette. The American attendees also visited the Baseler Eck. Twenty-eight photos, taken by Ed and Anita Bouvier, have been posted in the album section here.

Thirty people attended the SPAR lunch in Danbury on July 13, the best turnout of the ones I attended (last four). Once again, thanks to Capt. Nick Tramontano who arranged it all. Eighteen photos, showing all attendees except me, have been posted here. Additional photos will be added if I receive some good ones that are not redundant. If additional ones are posted, there will be a notice posted in this section.

In the Members' Activities section, a page has been added about Capt. Harry McCarthy's remarkable travels in his Turbo-prop Bonanza. There are six photos and a link to a video about these airplanes and their amazing performance.

Welcome to new SPAR member Charles "Skip" Ellis. He started at Seaboard in 1969 and was promoted to Operations Manager in Boston in 1970. He was later assigned to start operations for Seaboard in San Francisco. His contact info is in the directory.

Thanks to Capt. Nick Tramontano, there will be a Seaboard lunch again in Connecticut on Wednesday, July 13, at 12 noon. If you did not get an e-mail message from me and want the details, contact me. If you plan to attend, please let me or Nick know. If you have any questions, please send them to Nick.

Two photos of the German announcement of the reunion meeting in August in Frankfurt have been posted here and here, courtesy of Helga Traeger.

Welcome to new SPAR member Rick Heaney. He was an instructor from 1969 to 1974 and Manager of Maintenance Training from 1974-1980. His contact info is in the directory.

2011 Reunion photos

Eighty reunion photos have been posted in the Album section, spread out over 6 pages starting here. Thanks to photographers Lou & Kathy Furlong, Jim & Sibyl Haynes, David Hill, Larry Irving, Pat Mooney, Christine Treger, Joan Volkman (and me), we have at least one photo showing each of the 71 attendees.

The reunion was a smashing success. It is impossible to overstate the debt we owe to Lou & Kathy Furlong, Paul & Sheila Cellecz, and Ed & Anita Bouvier. Without their extraordinary efforts on our behalf, we simply would not have had a reunion at all; let alone one that many people have said was the best yet. The same was true last year and the year before that. A list of the 71 people who attended is posted here. The number would have been higher but for several last-minute cancellations and no-shows. An e-mail message will be sent to members when the photos are posted.

Cell-phone numbers

If you have a cell-phone plan that includes free plan-to-plan calls, you can have that fact so indicated in the directory; e.g. ATT, VER, SPR, etc.

Suggested by Capt. Tom Reinke

In the memorial section, a better photo has been posted for navigator Bill Jamieson, courtesy of Bill's daughter, Lea Given.

A memorial page has been posted for Laura Jane Boggess Heguy who was one of Seaboard's first two flight attendants. She died in 2010.

A memorial page, including photo, has been posted for navigator Bill Jamieson, courtesy of Bill's daughter, Lea Given. Bill died in 2004.

The photo on the memorial page of Capt. Jim Mathis has been replaced by a different one, courtesy of Christl Mathis.

A scanned image of a 1956 magazine ad showing Seaboard's scheduled cargo routes flown by the Connies has been added to the Seaboard history section. The ad was provided by Capt. David Hill and scanned by me.

A photo of Ruth Field has been added to the memorial section, courtesy of Leigh Wise who also provided details about Ruth's death in 1995.

A photo taken by Jean Snidow at the 2003 SPAR reunion has been added to the Album section. It shows Rich Bochkay with Col Bob Morgan, pilot-in-command of the Memphis Belle, the first B-17 to complete 25 missions during WW II. The photo can be seen here.

A memorial page, including photo, has been posted for Capt. Joe Szaflarski, courtesy of Joe's daughter, Jane Bowley.

Two photos have been posted in the Album section, courtesy of Diana Morgan. One of the photos shows Cookie Betancourt who has not previously appeared on the Web site or in the video.

Two photos of DC-4 interiors from the Seaboard Archive have been posted in the Aircraft section here.

A photo of Colin Woodbridge-Turner who worked in London Operations has been posted in the Album section, courtesy of Colin.

A photo of Ellie Prakopcyk and Sue Beerli in 1968 has been posted in the Album section, courtesy of Ellie Prakopcyk. Photos was sent by Julie Kane.

Three photos from the late 1960's have been posted in the Album section, courtesy of Diane Stannard Huenerbein. None of the six people in them previously appeared on the Web site or in the video.

A photo of Terry Ward Selmin has been added to the memorial section, courtesy of Margaret Morell Powell.

A photo of Marty Pross has been added to the memorial section, courtesy of Margaret Morell Powell.

A photo of John Willmott and his wife at the time, Suzanne Rode Willmott, back in the Connie days, has been posted in the Album section, courtesy of John Willmott.

A photo of Helen Brown Kessing has been posted in the Album section, courtesy of Ray Gray.

Capt. Ray Dorman has donated a considerable number of Seaboard documents and items to the Seaboard Archive. Photos of some of the items have been added to the memorabilia section here.

Capt. Harry Sroka

Capt. Harry Sroka died in St. Augustine FL on May 6, 2012, two days after his 76th birthday. There will be no funeral but there will be a service in Pennsylvania in August. Details will be provided when available.

Reported by Capt. David O. Hill

Capt. Matt Devine

Capt. Matt Devine died in Vero Beach FL on April 23, 2012. He was 74 years old. Services are as follows:

Visitation will be 3-5:00 pm on Sunday, April 29, 2012 at Strunk Funeral Home, Sebastian, FL.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 am on Monday, April 30, 2012 at St. Sebastian Catholic Church.
Military Honors will be conducted by the Sebastian Area Veterans’ Honor Guard.
Interment will be at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, FL.

An obituary has been posted by the funeral home here.

Reported by Capt. Nick Tramontano and Bill Lawrence

Joe Dinunzi

Joe Dinunzi, who was a line foreman in JFK maintenance, died in Germany on Apr. 15, 2012. He and his wife Marge worked for Seaboard for most of its existence. Andy Flood, who worked with him, wrote, "Joe was always a perfect gentleman and in all the years we worked together I never knew him to lose his temper, regardless of the difficulties and frustrations of running a maintenance operation.

Reported by Andy Flood

Capt. Joe Tosolini

Capt. Joe Tosolini died on Mar. 7, 2012. He was 83 years old. There will be a viewing at

Farley Funeral Home
265 Nokomis Ave.
Venice FL 34285
Saturday, Mar. 10 between 4 and 6 p.m.

Additional biographical information will be added to Joe's memorial page within the next few days.

Reported by Pat Parlette, Capt. Hank Treger, and Capt. Paul Cellecz

Capt. Art Yadven

Capt. Art Yadven died on Feb. 21, 2012. He was 93 years old. Although he only flew for Seaboard for a short time in the early days, he was a SPAR member and once attended a reunion with his wife.

A photo has been added to his memorial page, courtesy of his son, Dr. Mitchell Yadven.

Reported by Capt. Paul Cellecz

Capt. Ike Battern

Capt. Ike Battern passed away, peacefully at home, on Sunday morning, Dec 4, as a result of kidney failure. There will be a gathering and memorial service on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, at 10:00 at Bolock Funeral Home. Gathering from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. followed by a memorial Service, to celebrate a full life, at 11:00 a.m.

Bolock Funeral Home
6148 Paradise Valley Road (Hwy 940)
Cresco, PA 18326
Phone: 570-839-3392
www.bolockfuneralhome.com

GPS: address:1 Peterson Hill Rd, Cresco, PA

An obituary has been posted by the Bolock Funeral Home here.

Reported by Andrea Battern

Capt. Capt. Joe Kane

Capt. Joe Kane died unexpectedly on Nov. 29, 2011. He was 91 years old. There will be a "Celebration of Life" service this coming Saturday (Dec. 3rd) at 11:00 a.m at

St. Francis Xavier
26 Chestnut Land Road
New Milford, CT 06776 Phone: 860-354-2202 (parish office, closed Fridays)
http://www.sfxnewmilford.org/

Note: Church is on Rte. 109, just off Rte. 202 north of New Milford

An obituary has been posted online here.

Reported by Capt. Hal Bemis and Capt. Nick Tramontano

Notices previously listed here about members of the Seaboard family who died have been transferred to their memorial pages or to this page.

For the memorial section (with some pictures and biographical information) for members of the Seaboard family who died, click here.

News	Revised May 21, 2012
Recent Deaths	Revised May 6, 2012
Memory Lane	Revised April 9, 2012

SPAR NEWS