“At the bottom of the planet lies
an enchanted continent…
like a pale sleeping princess.
Sinister and beautiful,
she lies in her frozen slumber,
with amethysts and emeralds of ice,
her dreams iridescent ice halos
around the sun and moon,
her horizons painted with pastel shades
of pink, gold, green, and blue.
Such is Antarctica,
luring land of ever-lasting mystery.”

Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd,
writing in the National Geographic

The New England Chapter of the OAEA
comprises of those members living in
the New England area.

Connecticut – Maine – Massachusetts
New Hampshire – Rhode Island – Vermont

By Laws

OF THE
OLD ANTARCTIC EXPLORERS ASSOCIATION
OF NEW ENGLAND, Inc.
(Revised September 21, 2008)

Click Here for a copy of the By-Laws

PREAMBLE

We unite to form the
OLD ANTARCTIC EXPLORERS ASSOCIATION
of NEW ENGLAND, Inc.;

in which we are dedicated to supporting, at the regional
level, the mission, and goals of our parent national organization,
the OLD ANTARCTIC EXPLORERS ASSOCIATION, INC. (OAEA),
as set forth in the OAEA National By-Laws.

Officers/Contacts

~~~~~~~~
Chapter President
Ron Gilchrist
Narraganset, RI
Phone: (401) 741-2483
~
Chapter Vice President
Bill Maloney
North Kingstown, RI
Phone: (401) 486-1200

Chapter Secretary/Treasurer
OAEA Secretary
Marty Diller
Brunswick, Maine
Email: mdiller01(at) gmail (dot) com
Phone: (207) 729-0197
~~~~~
Immediate Past President
Dave Hazard
Lisbon, ME
Phone: (207) 353-9068

Chapter Directors At-Large:

Rick Canfield Shoreham, VT Telephone: (802) 272-7596	Dick Kopplin Moosup, CT Telephone: (860) 464-7557

Chapter Meeting

The

2025 Fall Meeting

of the New England Chapter of the Old Antarctic Explorers Association

is tentatively planned for:

Saturday, September 27, 2025
1-4 PM

Location:
Bull N’Claw Restaurant

2270 Post Road (US Rt.1).
Wells, Maine
Phone: 207-646-8467

Directions

From I-95 north or south:

— Take Exit 19 at Wells/Sanford;

— After tollbooth, turn left onto ME-109/ME-9/Sanford Road;

— Go 1.6 miles;

— Turn left at US-1/Post Road;

— Go 1.7 miles;

Bull N’Claw will be on the left, across from the Maine Diner.

Chapter Meeting Agenda

1:00-1:30 pm: Socializing and merchandise sales.

1:30-2:30 pm: Eat lunch.

2:30-4 pm: Business meeting / presentation
and raffle/door prize drawings.

__________________

As usual, this will be very informal.
We are expecting a large gathering of 35-40 or more folks
who enjoy sharing their experiences with other OAEs and FNGs.
Remember spouses and friends are welcome, too!
Bring your pictures, cruise books, yeah – all that fun stuff!
_________________

For last-minute help in finding directions to any of the weekend’s activities, please contact:

Marty Diller
Cell Phone: (207) 751-0903

Chapter News
CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP

Chapter Membership
As of 28 September 2024

Members:	161
Members-At-Large:	16
Total:	177

Membership By State

CT:	16
MA:	57
ME:	28
NH:	21
RI:	29
VT:	10
Total:	161

Chapter Membership Dues

OAEA-NE By-Laws establish voluntary annual dues of $5 (five dollars) for each member to help cover the Chapter’s administrative expenses.
The fiscal year starts on October 1st with a dues drive during the second quarter. Dues can be paid in person at a Chapter meeting or mailed directly to Secretary/Treasurer Marty Diller
at the mailing address above on the “Officers/Contact” page. Please make all OAEA-NE checks payable to “OAEA-NE”.
If you have any questions about your dues, please contact Marty Diller.

New England Chapter Spring 2025 Meeting

By New England Chapter Secretary-Treasurer

The New England Chapter returned to our regular spring venue, Spumoni’s restaurant in Pawtucket, RI. We were hoping for around 40 attendees at this Spring meeting, and sure enough, we had 40 show up!

CHAPTER BUSINESS

Chapter President Ron Gilchrist (CBU-201, DF’67-’71) led the business meeting after lunch. Following the close of our Business meeting at last Fall’s Chapter meeting, our Chapter VP resigned from his position for medical reasons, so finding a volunteer to fill that position was the big item of New Business at this meeting. President Gilchrist wasted no time here, and announced that he had appointed Bill Maloney (CAPT, USNR (Ret.); NMCB-71 DF’72) to the Vice President slot. The members unanimously approved that appointment.

The topic of dwindling meeting attendance trends was discussed again in Old Business, and the Board of Directors will continue to monitor and evaluate meeting attendance numbers.

OAEA life member Ben Koether (CDR, USN (Ret.); USS Glacier (AGB-4), DF’60,61; Glacier Society President and founder) was in attendance today and was given the floor to inform us on the Society’s activities. He urged our members to join the Society – just apply on-line, no annual dues or fees! (https://glaciersociety.org).

Ben has just finished a book about navigation, “Dead Reckoning,” which will be available to purchase in a month or two. Meanwhile, he has been “lobbying” legislators in D.C. to fund a new class of icebreakers that would also contain spaces for both hospital and research facilities. Ben is also involved in renovating D.C.’s old Capitol Hill Bar that closed during the Covid pandemic, and means to resurrect it as the “Icebreaker Lounge” with plenty of USS Glacier memorabilia. The next Glacier reunion is planned for October 2025.

Chapter Education Committee Chair, Fred Santino (VX-6, DF’65,’66) continues to make Antarctic presentations to organizations northwest of Boston. Fred has also developed various “canned” Antarctic presentations and has them available for use by members that would like to make similar presentations in their communities

Fundraising

The winner of the meeting’s 50/50 raffle ($106) was Jack Jennings (VXE-6 Herk Loadmaster, DF’71-74). Jack donated his winnings back to the Chapter. The first door prize winner, Lloyd Mills (AKCS, USN (Ret.); VXE-6 DF’71-72; ‘72-74), won a free lunch at the next Chapter meeting he attends. Other door prizes included:

Stuffed Toy Penguin; John Dion (Holmes & Narver; s/s Pole & Palmer, 1978-80),
Macquarie Island T-Shirt; won by Ben Koether,
“Ice Eagles” DVD; Jack Dever (ASA DF’62),
Quilted pot holders (2); Dick Kopplin (ASA DF’71 s/s Brockton Station; w/o McM DF’71),
Penguin wall plaques (2); Billie Hunter (Life Assoc; Chair of 2016 OAEA Reunion Committee),
Crystal penguin knickknack; Pete Kearney (ASA, w/o MCM DF’71),
“Antarctic Aviation” book by Fred Santino (2); Guest Paula Ochsner & Dave Killian (VXE-6 DF’70-73).

Meeting Schedule

The next OAEA-NE Chapter meeting is tentatively scheduled for 1pm on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at the Bull N’Claw restaurant in Wells, ME.

Upcoming Reunions

As information becomes available,
it will be posted on this page.

VXE-6 Association Reunion TBA	POC: Phone:
OAEA National Reunion 2026 TBA ~~Colorado Springs, CO~~	POC: Phone: (719) -1412 Email:
The Antarctican Society TBA ~~Boulder, CO~~	POC: Tom Henderson Phone: (__) 888-____

The New England Chapter of the OAEA comprises of those members living in the New England area.

Connecticut – Maine – Massachusetts New Hampshire – Rhode Island – Vermont