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Post by Tusker on Feb 9, 2023 16:20:08 GMT -8
I was having a conversation in a different group the other day about the Frigid Frogs, otherwise known as the Duluth Skin-Diver’s Club. They were founded in 1953 and seem to have been around for several years, but it’s very difficult to find much on them. This goes for many of the early clubs in the United States. Does anyone have any information and/or first-hand stories about them? We seem to have lost something with their disappearance. Jacob |
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Post by SeaRat on Feb 10, 2023 13:10:58 GMT -8
Here in Oregon we had the Oregon Council of Diving Clubs, or "OCDC." Our club, the Salem Junior Aqua Club, was associated with the Salem Aqua Club, and we went as high school students out to their dives. Here is a newsletter from 1965:  OCDC Sept 1965004 by John Ratliff, on Flickr  OCDC Sept 1965005 by John Ratliff, on Flickr  OCDC Sept 1965006 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Now the OCDC was also a member of the Underwater Society of America, which still exists. www.underwater-society.orgThe Rose's are still active, I believe, in this organization and I think they have records going way back of dive clubs. I'll look at my files and see if I have other contact information.  NW Diving History001 by John Ratliff, on Flickr John |
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Post by cnotthoff on Feb 10, 2023 14:25:04 GMT -8
Our club Humboldt Skindivers was founded in 1956. We've been active since then. Zoom meetings hit our membership hard, so we're trying to rebuild. This is a flyer from the 80's.  HSD90a by Charlie will, on Flickr Our earlier meeting minutes and newsletters are mainly hand-written and don't scan well. www.facebook.com/groups/180674617714Good Dives, Charlie |
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Post by onokai on Feb 10, 2023 14:30:48 GMT -8
I had a book once on how to get dive club membership up. It was the whole book on how to get NEW members-wait I gave it to you Charlie. New members are on the way just check out chapter 10
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Post by snark3 on Feb 11, 2023 2:22:07 GMT -8
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Post by cnotthoff on Feb 11, 2023 10:05:19 GMT -8
I had a book once on how to get dive club membership up. It was the whole book on how to get NEW members-wait I gave it to you Charlie. New members are on the way just check out chapter 10 Yea Mark, cuz everyone is gonna stop by to have their car washed by a bunch of old men. Especially when the cheerleaders are soaping up down the street. Good Dives, Charlie |
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Post by antique diver on Feb 11, 2023 14:42:01 GMT -8
I had a book once on how to get dive club membership up. It was the whole book on how to get NEW members-wait I gave it to you Charlie. New members are on the way just check out chapter 10 Yea Mark, cuz everyone is gonna stop by to have their car washed by a bunch of old men. Especially when the cheerleaders are soaping up down the street. Good Dives, Charlie My vehicle needs soaping, and I'm only 1200 miles away.  |
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Post by onokai on Feb 11, 2023 16:24:37 GMT -8
Nothing like Charlie is a Speedo to bring them in-How about those fan tubes with a fan blowing to bring them in or a Highway sign flashing
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Post by Tusker on Feb 11, 2023 17:24:48 GMT -8
Perfect — this is exactly the sort of thing I was curious about! So far we've accounted for clubs in the Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Northwest, and California, with active clubs in three of the four. I was about to ask about the South, but I might have one to add — the Piedmont Diving and Rescue Association has been around since 1963. They operate three quarries in North Carolina for members.
Jacob
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Post by vance on Feb 12, 2023 14:21:35 GMT -8
Perfect — this is exactly the sort of thing I was curious about! Jacob I'm wondering why you're curious about Charlie in a Speedo? He does look good in a wetsuit, though.... |
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Post by Tusker on Feb 20, 2023 6:35:02 GMT -8
Perfect — this is exactly the sort of thing I was curious about! Jacob I'm wondering why you're curious about Charlie in a Speedo? He does look good in a wetsuit, though.... Hey now, Phil, enquiring minds and all that  |
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Post by antique diver on Feb 24, 2023 10:28:16 GMT -8
The first dive club in Texas would most likely be the Inland Divers Association, started up as a spearfishing group in 1957 on Possum Kingdom Lake. The group is still active, and has evolved from spearfishing to cleanups and general family diving fun at their property on the water. We were members through the 70's and 80's, keeping our pontoon diving barge there. I don't recall all the founding members, but pretty sure that mechanical whiz Tom Davis and ramrod Mary would have been involved. Tom was the long time go-to-guy for air in the 50's, with his compressor on a trailer at lake PK most weekends. Fairly soon afterward he opened Scuba Point, on the water next to Inland Divers property. Mary,Tom and Scuba Point are gone now, but his daughter still has lots of his old collection, which even includes his badly beat up version of the Bendix aviation oxygen diving rig. (Maybe he got frustrated and took a hammer to it... that would be understandable)
The next oldest Texas dive club that I know of is the Diving Rebels, which began in Arlington in 1958, and also still active! Our old friend and 50's diving pioneer, George Cummings, was the driving force in forming that group. George was also the author of an early Scuba textbook, and opened Arlington Scuba in 1972. His legacy is carried on to this day by his son Tom, who still owns the popular and respected dive shop. In March the shop will have completed 51 years in the full time diving business. A Texas record for remaining shops. The only dive shop with a longer history is not all about diving. Copeland's in Corpus Christi, while older, has always been a mix of diving, surfboard manufacturing and snow ski apparel and hardware.
Francie and I consider it a privilege to have been friends with these iconic figures of early diving in Texas.
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Post by Aquala1 on Feb 24, 2023 15:51:46 GMT -8
Speaking of early dive clubs, this photo popped up on Facebook from the Spearchannel feed. This is Jim Christiansen sometime in the mid to early ‘50s. Notice that he’s wearing either a cotton sweat suit or some type of wool or cotton thermals over his drysuit. This was common at the time to protect the suit and if I had to wager, he’s wearing a Bel-Aqua/Aquala suit under the thermals.  |
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Post by Tusker on Mar 7, 2023 15:30:14 GMT -8
I mentioned the Piedmont Diving and Rescue Association in an earlier post and by chance got a tank earlier today which had its last VIP sticker from the 70s on it. Jacob  |
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Post by h2operations on Mar 7, 2023 18:07:43 GMT -8
There were a lot of clubs in the Philadelphia/Delaware/ New Jersey ( Tri-State ) are thru the 60s,70s, and 80s. The oldest that I know of that is still kicking is Philadelphia Sea Horses. They started around 1957 if memory serves correct. Most clubs scuba as well as other organizations have fallen victim to time. Most people have other things going on an no time to commit or do not want to make the time to be involved. Also with 237 Channels on the TV.... that tends to be a game changer in recruiting and retention. I remember a time when most shops had an affiliated club or vice versa. I do know of one club that was sunk by the mismanagement of the shop that it was affiliated with. Some of the members from the 80's still meet ad hoc to keep the dream alive.
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