Happy Birthday to Shorty Hagerman!

Today is Shorty Hagerman's 79th birthday so we had a big to do aboard the Savannah Lou.

You might remember Shorty is the AIMM Master at Arms and has been involved in the project for several years. He served during WW 2 on the USS Lexington in nearly every battle of the Coral Sea. He is quite the hero to us all.

In the top photo, Shorty and AIMM deck hand Chris Pointer share a guffaw about something.

In the bottom photo, Becky Taylor, Mayor Patrick H. Hays' executive assistant presents Shorty with a "Shorty Hagerman" day plaque that the mayor signed prior to leaving for a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting which is the only reason he was not there to lead the celebration himself.

Anyone who visits Razorback is sure to remember Shorty and his unique style.

Webcam is Live Again

The Live River Cam is back up. Have fun. Be patient. It loads fifty users at a time who rotate through in the order they arrived. Each one gets a minute to play.

The Commander's Commander is At It Again

Museum Director Greg Zonner's wife Bonnie finishes up some painting in preparation for the opening. She is working on the Mary Munns barge which will serve as the gift shop and entrance to the museum and boats. Bonnie is a dedicated volunteer and leader in the AIMM project.

That's the Way It Is In Arkansas Some Days--

Two days ago it was nearly 80 degrees, today it is in the 20s. Razorback is covered in sleet and snow and the white dots in the photo are sleet droplets.

African American Veteran Stories Available Online in Honor of Black History Month

A selection of 23 fully digitized collections of materials submitted by African American war veterans is highlighted on the Veterans History Project web site. The collection of fully-digitized
stories is titled "African Americans at War: Fighting Two Battles," and is added to "Experiencing War" stories from the Veterans History Project at www.loc.gov/warstories.

"As the nation celebrates Black History Month, the Veterans History Project is honoring African American veterans who have served in the United States military by highlighting some of the remarkable stories we have received," said Bob Patrick, acting director of the Veterans History Project. "We also invite and encourage all minority military veterans to contribute their story so that their sacrifice and service on behalf of this nation will not be forgotten."

A sample of some of the Oral History interviews featured are:

• BM1 Bobby J. Wallace, who served 20 years in the US Navy, starting in WWII
• CM2 Frank Hosendove, who was drafted at age 30 and served aboard USS Bridge, which was badly damaged by a mine 10 weeks after the war ended
• Solomon Reed, who rose to the position of Command Master Chief
• Colonel Rutherford Vincent Brice, who served in the Navy during WWII, was able to attend college after the war and was commissioned in the Army, seeing combat in both Korea and Vietnam
  
• Lieutenant General James Franklin McCall, who was drafted into the Army during Vietnam
• Brigadier General Donald L. Scott
  

All veterans are encouraged to participate in an Oral History program either through the Library of Congress's Veterans History Project or through other programs. Many universities have such programs.

New Sign-- Things Come Together

 

WEBCAM DOWN

We are experiencing technical difficulties with the WebCam. It should be operational Monday. Sorry for the inconvenience. It's a work in progress.

Steve Nawojczyk
Office of Mayor Patrick H. Hays
North Little Rock, AR

Eye on the River Cities - The Arkansas Times

This article appeared on the Arkansas Times web site, Thursday, February 9:

Eye on the river cities

Leslie Newell Peacock
Updated: 2/9/2006

A digital camera atop the Junction Bridge provides visitors to North Little Rock’s city website real-time video of the Razorback submarine, work along the river, the Clinton Presidential Center and other views of the north and south shores of the Arkansas River in downtown NLR and Little Rock.

The Sony camera, installed at the suggestion of Mayor Patrick Hays as a good way to showcase the city and its work-in-progress Maritime Museum, went online Feb. 3 with a link at www.northlr.org. The camera offers a 340-degree view of the north and south shores and can be manipulated by visitors, who get 60 seconds to scan, tilt the camera up or down and zoom in on scenes if they want.

Steve Nawojczyk, the mayor’s director of youth services, said he’s looking forward to watching the Memorial Day weekend celebration Riverfest on the webcam. Too, he said, “we can keep watch on LR and be sure they are not trying any funny stuff ... we’ve got torpedoes, you know!”

The camera’s zoom capability is not so advanced that it can read people’s checks at a restaurant, as could a model in use in New York City demonstrated to Hays and others, so outdoor diners along the river need not worry about that particular invasion of privacy. (However, a zoom of the lens to loft and condo projects on the Little Rock side clearly show interiors of undraped rooms. Fair warning.)

The city spent about $9,000 to install the camera and pole, Jerry Reagan, city auditor, said. The Sony is enclosed in protective housing; an antenna sends a microwave signal to North Little Rock’s City Services building, which transmits the image to the web server.

Not all computers will be able to use the web cam; several at the Arkansas Times didn’t have enough memory. The one that did got a clear picture of the submarine and the back of the River Market; the Clinton library was obscured by the Interstate 30 bridge.

Webcam Now Available

The City of North Little Rock now has a webcam.

The webcam is on the Junction Bridge, just downstream of our mooring. As the camera rotates, you can see Riverfront Park, the Arkansas Queen, and Razorback. You can even take still pictures. This was the view at about 4:00 this afternoon:

Another neat feature is that you can take control of the camera for 60 seconds. When you have control, you decide which direction to turn the camera, how much to zoom, etc. When your time is up someone else has a chance to take control.

The camera shows both the north and south shores of the river, including the Presidential library, the Rivermarket, and downtown Little Rock.

The camera can be found through the North Little Rock Official City Web Site, or directly via the Webcam Site