“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

2026 Fall Meeting

of the New England Chapter of the Old Antarctic Explorers Association

is tentatively scheduled for:

Saturday, October 3, 2026
1-4 PM

Location:
Bull N’Claw restaurant

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

Directions

From I-95 north or south:

— Take Exit 19 at Wells/Sanford.

— After toll booth, turn left onto ME-109/ME-9/Sanford Rd,

— Go 1.6 mi.

— Turn left at US-1/ME-9/Post Rd,

— Go 1.7 mi.

— Bull N’ Claw is 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 25-30 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 22 May 2026

Members:	156
Members-At-Large:	15
Total:	171

Membership By State

CT:	16
MA:	56
ME:	24
NH:	20
RI:	29
VT:	10
Total:	156

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 2026 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 at least 40 attendees at this Spring meeting, but settled for the 36 that showed up! Spumoni’s Italian Dinner Buffet lunch was delicious as usual.

Chapter Business

Chapter President Ron Gilchrist (CBU-201, DF’67-’71) led the business meeting after lunch. Following the officer reports, the topic of dwindling meeting attendance trends was mentioned again in Old Business, and the Board of Directors will continue to monitor and evaluate meeting attendance numbers.

Chapter Education Committee Chair, Fred Santino (VX-6, DF’65,’66) continues to make Antarctic presentations to various organizations near his home 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 ($66) was Fred Gladstone (USS Wyandot, DF-IV), and he donated his winnings to the Chapter The first door prize winner, Barry Chase, (ADRC, USN (Ret.); VX-6 Crew Chief, DF’60 & ’61(R4D), ’65(C-54), ’66-68(LC-130); former OAEA Board member) won a free lunch at the next Chapter meeting he attends. The remaining door prizes included:

Pair of acrylic penguins; won by Ken Lahtinen (VXE-6 DF’71-73),
“Ice Eagles” DVD; Jeri Canfield, spouse of Rick Canfield (ASA, ITT (electrician); 1980-83),
Penguin wall plaques; Billie Hunter (Life Assoc; Chair of 2016 OAEA Reunion Committee),
Small Stand-up Penguin figure; Dick Kopplin (ASA DF’71 s/s Brockton Station; w/o McM DF’71),
Framed color photo of Sunset; Jane Gilchrist, spouse of Ron Gilchrist,
Framed color photo of butterfly; Nick Pellegrino (VXE-6 DF’71,’72),
Framed color photo of foggy harbor; Kari Jackman, daughter of Jack Dever (EOC, USN (Ret.); ASA DF’62).
“Antarctic Aviation” book by Fred Santino; Paula (Jim Kelly spouse),
“Antarctic Awakening” book by Fred Santino; Jim Kelly (ASA Det ‘C’ DF’72-74).

Meeting Schedule

The next OAEA-NE Chapter meeting is tentatively scheduled for 1pm on Saturday, October 3, 2026, 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 ~~8 – 12 October 2025~~ Best Western East Inn & Suites, San Antonio, TX	POC: AZCM (A/C) Bob McCauley Email: bobmccauley2@cox.net website: http://puckeredpenguins.org/newsandevents.html
OAEA National Reunion September 14-18, 2026 Springhill Suites Marriott Linthicum Heights, MD	https://hertable.ticketspice.com/old-antarctica-explorers-reunion-2026- Hotel: (410) 694-0555
The Antarctican Society ~~July 31 – August 3, 2025~~	POC: Tom Henderson website: https://www.antarctican.org/2026-gathering

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