CAS Summer Picnic and Henkel Rededication - August 17 2024
August 17th was a great day in the history of CAS. We held a re-dedication of the observatory which houses the historic 1880 Alvan Clark refractor. The Henkel Observatory as it was once called, had seen its name obscured by time. After Saturday that will not happen again. The CAS Board voted to commission a bronze plaque for the centennial of the acquisition of the Alvan Clark refractor. Once owned by local businessman and CAS charter member Andrew P Henkel, the telescope was donated to CAS in 1924 by his wife Stella G Henkel.
Additionally, we were able to honor some legendary CAS Members for their contributions to the Henkel Observatory. Former CAS President Roland Johnson (1964-1968) for his vision to build a new observatory to house the Alvan Clark, and for designing said building. Paul Nohr (d 2006) and Paul Morgan for their leadership on the construction team. And John Ventre for his tireless two decade effort to discover the thief would stole the objective lens of the Clark telescope in 1981.
Their names along with the Henkels are now immortalized in bronze, forever to be known to future CAS Members and our guests. We also gave a nod to Dudley Fuller, the telescope maker from the UK who generously offered to sell one of his prized Clark lenses in the mid-1980s to replace the lens which had been stolen. Also acknowledged were the two former owners of that replacement lens from Fuller, famed astronomers William R Dawes (who calculated the famous Dawes Limit) and William Huggins.
To read the text of the dedication speech click below:
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Anniversaries are important. They remind us of many things. They remind us of beginnings, they remind us of hard work, struggles, achievements, and perseverance over time.
In 2011 CAS celebrated a centennial. Founded in 1911, CAS had persevered for a century as a place for those who love astronomy to gather, observe and discuss all things astronomy. And for 100 years CAS members have also been bringing their passion for astronomy to the general public, just as our founder DeLisle Stewart did.
CAS has endured through two world wars among many other wars, a Great Depression, multiple recessions, and now two pandemics. Our collective efforts and the efforts of many who came before us have allowed us all to be here on this day.
And today we celebrate yet another centennial. All of us and those who came before us all have had roles to play to get us to today. But today we will remember specific members who have played a specific role in a significant part of our story, of our history.
When a significant amount of time passes, there is a danger of losing the past. Of history fading. Today we are going to ensure this part of our history does not fade over the next 100 years.
The Clark dome. It’s what we refer to this building. In my 12 years as a member, I’ve rarely if ever heard anyone refer to it by its real name. While time has faded its true name, today we will ensure it does not fade again.
And in preserving it, we also will preserve the names of significant contributors. And while it would be difficult to list all the names of those who have made this observatory happen, we want to ensure the names of those who have had their own significant role to play, are not faded by time.
Andrew P Henkel was a Cincinnati area businessman, and a CAS charter member and trustee, who was passionate about astronomy. So much so, he purchased an 8 1/4 inch Alvan Clark refractor which was mounted at his home in the Hyde Park area of town, on the corner of Erie, and Mooney aves. It was said their home was a very popular destination for those wanting a look at the moon and planets, and especially so during the apparition of Halley’s comet in 1910.
This telescope was one of five of its size made by the Clarks in 1880, and Mr Henkel purchased it for the sum of 10,000. A huge sum of money at the time and equivalent to over 300,000 in todays dollars. There should be no doubt as to his passion for astronomy having paid that much money for such an instrument.
Sadly Mr Henkel passed away in 1913.
Upon his death, the Alvan Clark telescope was willed to… Berea College in Kentucky. However, as there were no additional funds willed to the college for the construction of an observatory to house it, Berea College declined the bequest.
Andrew’s wife, Stella Gregory Henkel, subsequently donated the telescope to the fledgling Cincinnati Astronomical Society on the condition that it be housed in the proposed DeLisle Stewart Observatory. However as the observatory was not yet built, Mrs Henkel held onto the telescope for 5 1/2 years after her initial offer to CAS. This would be 11 years after mr Henkel’s death.
Finally on May 23rd, 1924, the CAS executive committee, voted to accept the telescope, with the understanding the Society would build a temporary structure to house the telescope until the Stewart observatory was completed.
Of course the observatory would never be completed, and the Clark telescope, would have two other structures protect it, until if found it’s final home.
The first was a wooden structure, the remains of which are still located near the entrance to this facility, obscured itself now by trees and brush. The second of which, a rolling metal shed completed in 1956 in the location it’s currently placed. But in about 10 years time, this shed had begun to deteriorate significantly.
In 1964, a new champion for preserving the Alvan Clark emerged in CAS President Roland Johnson. Johnson would be CAS president from 1964 to 1968… the year I was born. His vision was to design and construct a new domed observatory to house the Alvan Clark. By 1965 the walls had been completed but work stalled on the project.
In 1966, the project was reactivated by newcomer Paul Nohr, along with Johnson, and project mainstay Paul Morgan, with Nohr having designed the shutter and rotation mechanism. And by 1967, the new home for the 8 1/4 inch Alvan Clark had been completed.
In 1980, the 100 year anniversary of the manufacture of the Clark telescope was celebrated, but merely a year later, something tragic would occur. The theft of the objective lens of the the telescope.
Now rather than go into detail about what happened subsequently, and ruin the story for our presenters later in todays program, I’ll defer to them. But just like going to see the movie Titanic in 1999, you go in already knowing how it turns out. For nearly 20 years, Mr John Ventre diligently tracked down the lens, and the thief, eventually returning the lens to its rightful place with the Society. The story is quite fascinating, and entertaining, and we are privileged to hear it from Mr Ventre himself today, with some assistance from other esteemed guests.
That brings us to today, and why we are all here.
Before the final rededication, I’d like to thank the CAS Board. The board was very supportive of the idea to have this dedication, and to invest the funds to make this a memorable day for our members, and preserve the memory of this great gift and these legendary contributors. I’d like to thank Terry Endres, John Blasing, John Ventre, and Brian Engel for contributing to the copywriting on this monument.
Let it be known for future generations of CAS Members, and all of the guests who visit this historic place, that this building which houses the generous gift from the Henkels, shall once again be referred to as The Henkel Observatory.
(Plaque reveal)
The Henkel Observatory - CAS Centennial 1924 - 2024
On 23 May 1924, the CAS Executive Committee voted to receive the gift of an 8.25-inch Alvan Clark refractor manufactured in 1880. This refractor, owned by local businessman and CAS charter member Andrew P. Henkel, was donated by his wife
Stella G. Henkel upon his death. A permanent structure was completed to house the telescope in 1966 under the leadership of CAS President Roland Johnson, Paul Nohr and Paul Morgan.
In 1981, the objective lens was stolen and would only be recovered after 20 years of diligent investigative work by CAS honorary lifetime member and astronomy historian John Ventre. In the interim, a replacement 8-inch lens made by
Alvan Clark in 1853 was purchased by the Society from Dudley Fuller, a telescope maker in England. The lens was previously owned by famed astronomers William R. Dawes and William Huggins.
I want to thank Roland and Paul Nohr and Paul Morgan for their efforts, we also remember the names of the team who helped build the Henkel Observatory today.
Roland Johnson
Paul Morgan
Paul Nohr
Lou Hesse,
Dr Alex Presnell
Paul J Morgan
David Morgan
Milton O’Dell
Howard Dunteman
Daniel Woods.
And the many others who contributed the the 100s of hours to construct the observatory.
And also many thanks to John Ventre for his tireless efforts to retrieve the original Clark objective lens.
Earlier the ceremony kicked off with some announcements:
Radio Astronomy
We’ve seen a surge in radio astronomy activity over the last year and a half, so and we wanted to acknowledge the members who have made that happen. Jeff Rodriguez was at the forefront of championing the return of radio astronomy at CAS with the SID project (Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance). From the Stanford University SID page: “The SID Space Weather Monitor program is an education project to build and distribute inexpensive ionospheric monitors to students around the world.” Jeff recruited CAS Members Lois Oxley and Emmy Bursk to form the CAS SID team, and together they built the array used to monitor these atmospheric disturbances.
For their efforts they all received the bronze level award from the Astronomical League. The programs as described by the AL: The Observing Program is a result of collaboration between the Astronomical League (AL) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) with support from Associated Universities Inc. (AUI).
Additionally Jeff received the Silver level award.
Jeff got this program running which in turn inspired John Blasing to set up the Radio Jove team (read about Radio Jove HERE). The Jove team set up an array in the telescope field behind the Henkel Observatory, and began taking data last year prior to the annular eclipse in October. Their efforts netted huge results quickly having seen huge energy spike after “first light” of this array.
Many CAS Members were involved in the construction of the JOVE array, including John Blasing, Terry Endres, Brad Reck, John Sneddon, Brian Witterstaetter, Mike Heldman, Cat Behrmann, Brian Engel, Dave Beitz, and Mike Passeroti. The JOVE data team comprised members John Blasing, Brian Witterstaeter, Mike Heldman, Chris Jones, and Raj Aware.
For their efforts the JOVE data team received awards for their work from the NASA Radio JOVE Project, and director Chuck Higgins.
For more on Radio JOVE see the NASA site HERE, and read about it in the January 2024 Sidereal Messenger.
Also read an article in EOS, a science magazine published by the American Geophysical union. The quotes about CAS participation are about halfway down.
Link to that article HERE.
I want to thank Jeff Rodriguez for being the spark that got radio astronomy going again at CAS. We had several false starts to restarting radio astronomy at CAS over the last seven years. It’s great to see it finally up and going again, and thriving. Thank you Jeff.
The CAS 2024-2029 Strategic Plan
After nearly a year of monthly meetings, the CAS Strategic Planning Committee has wrapped up its work for the 2024-2029 five-year strategic plan. Following on the heels of completing our 2081-2023 Strategic Plan, co-chairs Cat Behrmann and John Blasing led a new committee to help shape the direction of CAS for the next half decade. It’s an ambitious plan which includes everything from infrastructure improvements to financial goals, as well as member and public engagement. The full plan will be available for members tor review once ratified by the CAS Board, which should occur at the September Board meeting. Thanks to the entire Strategic Planning committee for spending nearly 20 hours and many Saturday mornings developing this plan, which is very ambitious but achievable. The SP committee is co-chairs Cat Behrmann and John Blasing, Brian Witterstaetter, Tim Fisher, Jeff Rodriguez, Chris Jones, and Bryan Simpson.
The CAS 2024-2029 Strategic Planning Committee: (left to right) Bryan Simpson Jeff Rodriguez, Cat Behrmann, John Blasing, Brian Witterstaetter, Tim Fisher and Chris Jones.
CAS Elections and Departing Members.
The CAS Board Election is coming up in September and along with the annual seats of President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary (all one year terms), there are two Trustee seats (three year terms) up for election again this year.
Leaving the Board after this fiscal year, will be Secretary (and former CAS President) Terry Endres, and Trustee Chuck Fairbanks, as they are not running for their seats after their current term expires.
I want to thank Terry for his work as Secretary, and for holding to his promise as a past president to continue to be involved with CAS after his term expired. Chuck Fairbanks has been exactly what a Trustee should be; champion of the well-being of the Society, thoughtful, both an advocate of ideas, and also considerate of alternatives. The CAS Board is very strong and their presence has been a part of the reason it has been over the last several years. Thanks to both of them for their service to the Society.
In Memorium
We took a moment to remember our friend, volunteer, advocate and supporter Keith Bookbinder who passed away recently. Keith was a very warm and jovial personality and I became friends with him just as I took over as president in 2017. He was a big supporter of me personally and gave me some great guidance on financial matters for the Society. I will miss all the conversations that I would have had with him, if Glioblastoma had not taken him from us too soon. RIP Keith.
Feibel Observatory Replacement Fundraiser
We recently launched a new segment in our observatory replacement fundraiser. The 60-Day Summer Challenge was launched after a conversation with one of our members who wanted to try to help us reach our initial $40,000 goal. He proposed a matching funds program which started as a commitment by him to match up to $4000 in donations, with an extra $1000 if we reached that $4000 goal. That would have netted an increase in the fund of $9000, putting us well over our initial $40,000 goal.
During this 60 day period, it became clear that the membership was stepping up in a big way, surpassing the $4000 goal by mid-July. At that time our anonymous benefactor offered to continue to match up to $5000 (with the $1000 bonus still already secured) which would have totaled $11000.
But the CAS membership continued to contribute to the fund blasting past the $5000 extended goal until finally reaching a total of $6280 by the end of the 60-day period.
At that time our benefactor decided to increase his total donation to $7000. This resulted in an increase to the fund of $13,280 dollars. What an incredible run this part of our fundraiser was.
At the picnic our generous benefactor made himself known.
Steve Weeks presents a check to CAS for $7000 aiding the Feibel Replacement Fund.
An enormous thank you to Steve Weeks, who is our now less-anonymous benefactor for this period of fundraising. Steve’s generosity is overflowing, not only with this massive donation, but also with his time, as he was a significant contributor to CAS getting the Moeller partnership agreement completed last year.
Our fundraising total for the Feibel Observatory Replacement Fund is now $46,856
A huge thanks to all our members who contributed to this fund since it started mid-2023. I never thought we would have been so successful in the fundraising at this juncture but it’s a real testament to the excitement and enthusiasm of the CAS membership for what we are doing together as a Society.
We will not be pushing another segment of the fundraiser until after the design is completed and we know how much the new facility will actually cost to build. We have asked a lot of the membership in the last year financially. In the future we will look to gain some corporate donations and donations from outside the membership. More details on that once the design is complete, which I am still hoping can be this calendar year.
If you do still want to contribute to the fund, please visit our Member Resources page to make a contribution. The CAS car window deals are still available for a minimum donation of $41 by PayPal, or $40 cash, check or Venmo.
Home Observatory For Sale
And on the subject of fundraising, the CAS Board has decided to sell the SkyPod which is sitting in the telescope field at CAS. We are asking $850.00 for it. All proceeds to go into the Feibel Replacement Fund. Reach out if you’re interested.
SkyPod for sale. $850.00. Bench not included.
Starfield Update
Steve and Sue Rismiller drove up from Florida to attend the CAS Summer picnic. For those unaware, Steve and Sue were the creators and owners of Starfield in Bracken County Kentucky prior to donating it to CAS in 2015. It’s a most generous gift which we work to maintain for future generations of CAS Members. Back in 2019, they made a $5000 donation for its upkeep which we used to rebuild the deck which had fallen into a less safe condition. We used that opportunity to redesign the deck, to make it larger, and safer. The resulting StarDeck should be a great place for CAS Members to spend time observing the sky for years to come.
For the purpose of continuing to support Starfield, they have made a very generous $2000 donation this year for continued upkeep and improvements in the Starfield facility. This is perfect timing as there is considerable work that needs to be completed on the rolling roof system. We also hope at some point to be able to automate the roof to make it easier for members possessing less mass than some of us, to be able to open the roof safely and without injury. Thank you Steve and Sue for your continued support of Starfield and CAS.
Henkel Observatory Improvements Update
At the picnic, leading into the re-dedication of the observatory, we summarized all of the work that has been completed to make the observatory safer and more operable.
In 2022 the CAS Board voted to assign considerable money to replace the roof which was deteriorating. The flat parts of the door around the dome were leaking badly, water was pooling, thus increasing the deterioration. CAS member Tom Harrison was our contractor liaison who helped us get that taken care of and the roof was replaced and new gutters and downspouts installed.
In the last year, a group led by Mike Titus and Reza Baf, worked with a group of Miami University engineering students to design and implement a new roof automation system. Gone are the days of having to struggle to turn the dome by pulling on a rope, and hoping the roof didn’t stick. A huge thanks to Chris Russell (who led the student team), Dylan Baughman, and Zachary Stine for their work on the design of the automation system. And thanks to the CAS Board for supporting such an important and long-sought solution to turning the Henkel dome.
Reza Baf and Mike Titus remark about the work completed to automate the Henkel Observatory dome.
Finally, after many years of discussion, the CAS Board and House & Grounds committee decided to take action regarding the deteriorating concrete work leading to and around the base of the Henkel Observatory. The sidewalk had sunken in and was creating a tripping hazard near the 14-inch pad, as well as the entrance to the Henkel. Additionally the concrete has sunk in near the base of the building, directing water underneath the observatory.
In July, a huge team of CAS volunteers showed up on one of the hottest days of the year to bust out concrete. I was overwhelmed by the response. While we certainly would have gotten it finished, it would have been a considerably longer more difficult process if not for the efforts of CAS member Mike Miller and his employee (and now CAS member) Brian McGeever. There’s no substitute for people who have experience and the right tools. Mike owns a contracting company and they perform concrete work on a weekly basis. With their assistance what would have been a really long day of concrete busting ended up taking only a couple hours. CAS Members got to work with sledgehammers after Mike and Brian cut it up with saws and jackhammers.
Mike and Brian then stayed later and set in the concrete forms. The following week, they showed up with a cement truck, and two other workers and poured the concrete. Not only did it look great they also fixed all the sod around the areas of the new sidewalk.
When visiting the newly re-dedicated Henkel Observatory you’ll also notice we made the sidewalk deeper in front of the West facing wall; room to put a bench under our new Henkel bronze plaque.
To further add to the improvements, Steve Tilford recommissioned the South facing door, which was designed into the building to allow good foot traffic flow, but had been closed off due to some problems with the door. Thanks Steve for getting that door operational again.
We are thankful for everyone who contributed to making this a very special day at CAS, and put in all the work, sacrifice and donations so we could make all these wonderful announcements.
Looking to 2030
I also am already looking forward to 2030, and the 150 year anniversary of the Alvan Clark refractor. 6 years seems like a long time but it will be here before you know it and we should plan a huge celebration for that year.
Thanks everyone and thanks for being such wonderful members of the Society.
Clear skies
Bryan Simpson
CAS President.