The next meeting will be on July 6, 2000.  The meeting will be held at the Penn Gables Restaurant in Ebensburg at 7:30 P.M.

There is no regular board meeting in July.  Instead we will meet at Clover Creek Quarry on the morning of the Treasure Dive (Sunday July 16th) at 10:00 A.M. to prepare prizes.

Treasurer's Report: Income: $3,218.20, Expenses: $2,860.55, Current: $4512.92.

Last day to register for the Treasure Dive is July 6th!  See the upcoming events section of the newsletter for additional details.

Voting for our new officers took place at the June meeting. The new officers will take over in August, and are as follows:
President:    Donna Bender
Vice President:  Lance Marks
Treasurer:    Barb Wyland
Secretary:    Lois Keegan

Thanks to everyone who sold tickets or otherwise helped with our annual fundraiser.  Total monies raised for the club after prize payments and the cost for ticket printing was $1,037.36.  Winning numbers and ticket holders were:
Mon May 29th: #565 Arlene McCully
Tue May 30th: #692 Julie Paige
Wed May 31st: #006 Robert Allen
Thu June 1st: #597 Nathan McKeta
Fri June 2nd:  #814 Chester Sciechowicz

The club has elected to make a monetary donation to Judy Risbon, owner of Clover Creek Quarry, for allowing us the privilege to dive and enjoy the quarry.  This was done last year as well, and is intended as a small token of our appreciation.  The monetary donation was $200, and was accompanied by flowers and an invitation to join us in this year's Treasure Dive.

Laurel Diver patches have been printed and are available for $10.  The patches bear the Laurel Diver insignia over a red and white dive flag background.  Please see Donna Bender if you would like one.

Anyone traveling Route 22 to the quarry may find a temporary detour for road construction at the Route 866 entrance to Williamsburg.  Traffic into Williamsburg is being routed to the Yellow Spring entrance; about 4 miles further east on Route 22.

Several of the constitution changes were voted upon at the meeting.  After discussion, some of the changes have been tabled until a later date pending additional discussion and information.  The changes below all passed by vote at the June meeting (see last month's newsletter for a detailed description of the changes):
 Article IX: change approved
Rules & Regs #1: change approved
Rules & Regs #3: deleted
Rules & Regs #4: deleted
Rules & Regs #5: deleted

A wreck diving trip to Lake Erie will be held on June 17th and June 18th.  A trip report will be in the next newsletter.

Donna Bender and Dan Kelly are looking for comrades for a trip to Bonne Terre Mine on June 23rd - 26th.  Plans are to drive to the area on Friday the 23rd, and to travel home on Monday the 26th.  They will be doing two tank dives on Saturday and Sunday.  Cost for the trip is $60 per dive plus travel expenses.  Please call Donna at 472-9796, or e-mail her at Donna@Bender.net for additional details.

A trip to Dutch Springs will be held on July 1st and 2nd.  Plans are to leave at roughly 5:00 on Friday June 30th for the trip down, camp at the quarry Friday night and Saturday night, and then travel home on Sunday.  It's about a 5-hour drive from Altoona to Dutch Springs (Allentown - Bethlehem area), and anyone wishing to hook up with the group for a single day is welcome as well.  Admission cost for the quarry is $19 per day, plus a $5 per person charge to camp.  Accommodations in one of the campers should be available for anyone needing a place to sleep.  Please call Donna Bender at 472-9796, or e-mail her at Donna@Bender.net for additional details.

Our annual Treasure Dive will be held on Sunday July 16th.  Since this is the 25th anniversary of the club, we will be having a pig roast in addition to the traditional hamburgers and hotdogs.  The cost for Laurel Diver members is $15, and annual club dues must be paid in order to register.  The cut-off date for club member registration is July 6th!  Please remember that prizes must be pre-purchased, and that no registration will be accepted after this deadline.  Invitations to this year's event were sent to former Laurel Diver members, and to members of the Saint Francis Dive Club and members of the Nittany Divers as discussed and voted on.  Only about 3 responses (2 non-diver) were received, and the deadline has passed for non-member registration.  Mark Hooper is interested in putting together poor man's band for Saturday and Sunday Treasure Dive entertainment--if you have even moderate abilities with a musical instrument, please bring it along and join the fun.

A trip to Morehead City, NC is planned for July 29th and 30th.  We will be diving for two days aboard the Diver Down, and will likely visit the wreck of the U-352 (see the February newsletter). The June 200 issue of Rodale's Scuba Diving also featured an article about diving at Morehead City.  Sharks are generally present in the area, and we should have an excellent chance of seeing some. Cost for the diving is $70 per day, and lodging is available for $65.40 per person.  All monies for the trip must be paid no later than the July meeting.  Only 2 spots are available at present.  Call Jim Smith or Sandy Verdavoir at 696-1938, or e-mail Jim at JCSDMD@aol.com, for further details.

The Thousand Islands trip will be held on August 24th - 27th.  This trip is now full.

A big welcome to the Laurel Diver's newest member, Brian Paahana.  Welcome aboard!

On October 5th, 1932, the Boland loaded at Erie, PA with 3,500 ton of coal bound for a Canadian port.  A few hours out of Erie, near Barcelona, NY, the vessel ran into heavy fog and rough seas.  Waves broke continuously over the craft, however the seasoned crew of 19 saw little to fear and continued ahead.  At about 7 P.M., as the two women cooks were placing steaming dishes of oatmeal on the table, the freighter trembled violently and listed sharply to starboard.  There was a general rush for the deck as mountainous waves swept over the vessel, tearing away the hatch covers and draining into the holds. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Captain Edward Hawman ordered lifeboats lowered, and instructed everyone to put on life belts.  The first lifeboat capsized in the heavy seas, and the crew rushed across the deck and cut loose the second lifeboat.  The Boland listed sharply to her side, turned upside down, and sank within four minutes.  Members of the crew leapt into the seas, clinging to planks and other pieces of wood for as long as an hour and a half.  The first mate managed to swim to the second lifeboat, and pulled in one of the crew.  Together they set out to gather other members of the crew.  Gradually 15 of the 19-person crew were taken aboard the lifeboat, but no trace could be found of the remaining four.

After an exhaustive search, the survivors rowed 11 miles to shore where, suffering from exhaustion and exposure in the raw winds and heavy rain, they were taken in and tended to.  It took them 5 hours to reach the shore.

The body of the second cook was found by a fishing trawler the next day with one arm still caught through the straps of her life preserver.  The bodies of the remaining 3 crewmen were never recovered.

Although initial reports were that a broken rudder was the cause of the casualty, an October 11th inquiry held in Toronto concluded that the disaster was the result of shifting cargo.  A resulting investigation found that a 400-pound deck cargo of coal was taken aboard before the hatches were securely battened.  After leaving Erie, a high sea struck the vessel, causing her to list about 15 degrees to starboard.  The master sounded the signal, calling all hands to boat stations.  In an effort to facilitate the launching of the starboard boat, the master brought the seas more toward the port beam.  A second wave struck the vessel, causing her to roll more toward the starboard side until she finally rolled completely over.

The court's final judgement was that the shifting cargo caused the boat to list, and was accentuated by water entering through improperly secured hatchways, and a faulty act of seamanship in the master turning the vessel to port.  Captain Hawman was found in default, and his captain's license was suspended for a period of two years.

The Boland rests today on her side, 30-feet beneath the surface of Lake Erie near Barcelona, NY