\n<\/em><\/p>\n
CHAPTER I.<\/h4>\nWHENCE AND WHY THE 49er LODGE?<\/h5>\n
“This is the most costly project undertaken by any USMA class for the benefit of West Point and the Corps of Cadets.\u201d<\/em> *********<\/p>\n For the first five years after graduation, we were scattered worldwide and the \u201cpermanent\u201d class officers (elected in 1948) were the duly appointed representatives for class business. Official actions were limited to a few nominal interactions with the USMA administration and the Alumni Association. Stationed around the globe, we collectively worried about our colleagues in Korea but essential interactive classmate support, including flowers at funerals, was provided simply and appropriately by close personal friends.<\/p>\n Beginning about 1956, as the 49er contingent at West Point grew steadily, an organization began to take shape. Because President Bill Gustafson (who succeeded Hank Foldberg on his resignation from USMA in 1948) had left the service and Vice President Bob Kemble had joined the faculty, the USMA Chief of Staff tapped him as the appointed liaison and duly recognized the expanding USMA 49er contingent as the official class representatives. The USMA 49ers agreed to elect acting officers every two years in order to address needs of that period and, at Kemble’s request, Ab Greenleaf and Phil Dickinson drew up a constitution for \u201cThe Representative Class Organization.\u201d In time, that constitution was officially approved at the tenth reunion with 110 classmates in attendance.<\/p>\n The designated duties of the Representative Class Organization were: 1) to provide official liaison with USMA and the Association of Graduates; 2) to prepare the class notes for the Assembly, 3) to supervise the class fund; and 4) to coordinate class-wide activities. The modest existing fund, about $300, was to be used for appropriate donations for deceased classmates\u2019 services, for minor business expenses and for any project of interest properly approved. A general desire to recognize in some better way our special class, including our already deceased colleagues, was occasionally expressed but no definitive thought had yet surfaced for either developing a heftier class fund or of a major class project.<\/p>\n By 1965 movements to enhance substantially the class fund for broader purposes and also to get the burgeoning DC group more directly involved were underway. The Representative Class Constitution stated that as long as there were five or more 49ers at West Point the official organization would remain there. Even so, by 1965 the center of gravity had shifted. There were some ninety of our class in the Washington area. Accordingly, the DC group: (1) asked Frank Hinchion and Walt Milliken to keep tabs on the Washington activities, (2) formed a class column news gathering support committee of Harry Griffith (Army), Carl Arantz (AF) and Elaine Sylvester (wives), and (3) began raising a local fund to meet emergencies and to decorate 49er graves in Arlington Cemetery each Founders Day. The suggestion was also made to start class wide annual dues, as had been long urged by Bob Nulsen, Jack Madison and others.<\/p>\n In turn, Nulsen, then president of the class organization at West Point, sent a letter in November 1965 citing growing needs for a stronger class fund, like the anticipated gifts for future graduating sons of \u201849. And with broadening foresight, the USMA group also speculated on such projects as scholarships for children of unremarried class widows and perhaps a class marker \u201cmemorializing our departed classmates.\u201d One suggestion was for \u201ca marble bench. . . at the entrance to the library.\u201d The collection of regular dues was overwhelmingly supported by the class and the fund was placed under the supervision of Bill Fuebbert and Kemble, both of whom had returned to \u201cpermanent faculty\u201d positions at the Academy. (Gil Kirby and John Costa had not yet been appointed Department Heads.)<\/p>\n *********<\/p>\n Between 1967 and 1969 the vision and commitment were expanded extensively and \u201cthe project got legs.\u201d Building from the background of developing ideas, in 1967 Kemble recommended to the Representative Class Organization at USMA an eight-year plan for a precedent setting gift to be presented at our 25th reunion. The project was approved, and the first decisive movement began toward a substantial type of Class of \u201849 commemorative, although as yet undesignated.<\/p>\n \u201cNow is the hour. This is the year we launch an eight-year program to carry us through the 20th and 25th reunions.\u201d So wrote Kemble from West Point to the class as a whole on Founders Day, 1967. One of the goals outlined in that correspondence was \u201cto establish a firm financial base for a large-scale fund drive, beginning about 1971, for a class memorial of some real note to commemorate our 25th anniversary.\u201d A working calendar included: In 1967 \u201cUpdate our mailing list. . . Begin annual class dues.\u201d In 1968 \u201cMake specific plans for the 20th reunion.\u201d In 1969 At the 20th reunion. \u201cRevise the class constitution. . . [and] determine the general nature and expense of a class memorial to be presented about the time of our 25th anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the next year, as \u201cproject officer,\u201d Kemble laid out the class vision in a series of discussions with several USMA officials including the Chief of Staff, the Commandant and the Superintendent\u2019s Gifts Program Officer, Charles Canham (\u201851). A follow-up letter to the class in 1968 also asked, \u201cWhat form of class memorialization do you think best?\u201d The ideas were mixed; but in time, Kemble proposed\u2014subject to class approval\u2014and Canham endorsed 2the concept of a large recreation lodge, a place where cadets could enjoy themselves \u201caway from the public stare.<\/p>\n Those plans were warmly received by all parties and eventually endorsed by two Superintendents. The location recommended by the Supe\u2019s staff and endorsed by the Post Planning Board was, however, not near Delafield Pond but to be part of an envisioned Constitution Island recreational area, with a regular ferry service provided. The general Constitution Island development was to be underwritten by other benefactors but would feature the 49er Lodge. Alternate locations had been discussed, including the eventual site above Delafield. Meanwhile, plans for the 20th Reunion and the new assessment of class dues went forward. The 49er fund was up to a whopping $3,557\u2014but growing. More letters were dispatched by Kemble soliciting financial assistance to establish a solid starting point for the proposed post-20th reunion drive.<\/p>\n Then, at the twentieth assemblage, an ad hoc review committee including Jack Hammack, Al Goering, Jack Rust, Bill Gustafson, and Harry Griffith met with Kemble at his home to critique the now ambitious proposal of a commemorative lodge and to set an approximate total dollar goal. The group: 1) endorsed the concept; 2) recommended a separate Memorial Fund Committee to be headed by Class President Gustafson, and 3) with Goering and Hammack urging us to \u201cthink big,\u201d proposed a dollar target of $75,000 to $100,000. Today, we should remember that in 1969, when we were at only mid-career, this was a bold and some thought a totally unrealizable move.<\/p>\n At the 20th Reunion business meeting following, with eighty-six in attendance, a resolution was passed that a major class commemorative should be given to USMA at our 25th Reunion and the fund drive committee was officially formed. Upon notification of 49\u2019s intentions, the Chief of Staff wrote Kemble that the Superintendent was most pleased about the \u201csubstantial gift\u201d and \u201clooking forward to an early completion of this very worthwhile addition to the Academy.\u201d Importantly, about that time Department Head heir-apparent Gil Kirby innocently agreed to oversee the realization of the class project.<\/p>\n A notice to the full class soon announced that \u201cThe Class of 1949 plans to make a major gift, something in the neighborhood of 75 to 100 thousand dollars, . . (1) to establish a lasting memorial to the Class and especially those who have given their lives in service; (2) to fill a legitimate need of the. . . Corps of Cadets. . . for which other funds are not available; and (3) to demonstrate to the West Point alumni what can be accomplished when the capacities of a single class are organized.\u201d The three essential elements were now fully delineated.<\/p>\n The notice went on to assert that the last point, setting a new criterion, might well prove to be the most consequential to the Academy. Previously, the traditional twenty-five-year class gift had been something like a tree, a bench or a fountain and averaged about $5,000 in value, or only 5% of the 49er announced goal. We had audaciously determined to set a wholly new standard.<\/p>\n The fund raising soon got underway but fell short of the established time schedule. Bill Gustafson, the initial chair of the Fund Committee, was beset with personal difficulties. Business related transfers and professional challenges were followed in 1970 and 1971 by the extended and fatal illness of his first wife and attendant increases in family duties. On later reflection, Bill candidly asserts that he should have passed the leadership more quickly to others. \u201cIf not before,\u201d he states, \u201cI should have resigned as committee head. . . once Phoebe\u2019s illness started taking its toll.\u201d Even so, he and his committee got the project underway and by our 25th Reunion, $57,300 had been collected and another $10,600 pledged.<\/p>\n If the fund raising was sputtering a bit, the building project continued full bore\u2014but with yet another twist in the location. USMA’s plan to develop Constitution Island as a major recreation site was finally acknowledged to be too difficult to sustain due to problems with access, utilities and year-round use. It was scrubbed. Thus, an alternate location for the lodge above Delafield Pond needed to be identified and all the construction plans approved and engineering details mastered. At this critical point in 1972, the previous \u201cproject leader,\u201d Bob Kemble, neatly exited West Point handing off the enterprise to our eminent on-site engineer. Professor Gil Kirby. Gil sarcastically and typically grumped, \u201cThanks a bunch.\u201d But, with the encouragement of the now dwindling USMA 49 group, he took on the daunting task of making our class dream a reality.<\/p>\n Kirby became part designer, part engineer, and part \u201cdog robber\u201d as best recollected in his own descriptive words. In Gil\u2019s terminology, the project became, \u201cthe usual mating dance between the AOG and the Post Engineer plus a blessing from the Planning Board.\u201d He further explains that, \u201cAs I hold a PE license from New York, I was acceptable as the AE. As for payments, I wrote the specifications and contracts; the bills came to the AOG; I reviewed and, if satisfied, the bills were paid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs for the design, my guidance was a dollar limit of $100K and of sufficient size for a company of cadets. The next step was to select a structure, and I locked in on one from Lindel Cedar Homes for open space and ease of construction. The price for the basic structure was reasonable and I made a preliminary agreement with them. Gentleman\u2019s agreement, if you will, as there was no paper. They sent the details for the foundation piers and reinforcement to support the arches. I drew up a contract and provided working drawings and the first part was done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs for funds, you may recall a line of mine in the Class Notes when I noted that if we didn’t get more money, we would have the Class of 1949 Memorial Floor Slab. As we were nearing completion, we were broke. The AOG was kinder and gentler in those days and I was able to get a loan from them based on the full faith and confidence of the class. We were able to finish and the loan was paid off in the end.\u201d (That part of the tale is related below.)<\/p>\n Gil goes on, \u201cThe building arrived and with some assistance from the contractor the basic structure was erected. Next problem was water and sewer. The nearest connections were at the NW comer of Delafield. Bids came in too high, but I was able to locate a Reserve SeaBee outfit and convince them it was a great training project. They didn’t have the proper equipment, so I had to go to Newburgh and rent a backhoe. A related problem was, in order to hold down costs, I had to run both water and sewer in the same ditch. Exceptions were obtained from OCE and the Post Engineer and the lines were laid and connected.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe next problem was electrical. Power had to come from the substation on the hill and this required a transformer. I found a proper one declared surplus at Picatinny Arsenal and talked the Post Engineer into getting it shipped to WP. The line was overhead part of the way and underground the rest, but I was able to \u201cfind\u201d poles on the post for which there was no 4immediate use. The electrical contractor came in and installed the power panel and finished the wiring. I did a lot of shopping for light fixtures, kitchen appliances and plumbing fixtures. Lighting for the 25th dedication was a close call. Anyhow, it all came off\u2014with the usual gripes about parking and having to walk so far.\u201d<\/p>\n “The last item to give me indigestion was the plaque. I had an idea for something more, but the Museum and Memorialization Board would not allow any more than we had. The patio was added later and followed the same routine, although funds were better. There were complaints about the fireplace, so it was taken out and electric baseboard heaters were added. At this point I left and as in John Brown\u2019s Body, it was, as far as I was concerned, \u201c. . . the last event in the minstrel show.\u201d<\/p>\n Somewhere in that general time period Professor John Costa, back as Head of the Foreign Language Department in 1977, accepted the task of adding life and the personal touch with collected pictures of the class. He recalls working with the USMA Library and Archives staff to complete the first \u201c49er Lodge Exhibition\u201d in time for our thirtieth reunion. (Later John would add to that display in the newly expanded lodge in preparation for the fiftieth reunion.)<\/p>\n **********<\/p>\n Meanwhile the essential fund-raising task was fully back on track. As approved at the 25th reunion, the \u201849 Representative Class Organization was appropriately and officially moved to the DC area. Our leadership now operated under the more imposing title of “The Class of 1949 Association\u201d with a Board of Directors. Accordingly, and concurrently when Gustafson felt obliged to step aside as Chair, the DC group took over the Memorial Fund Committee. By this time Bob Nulsen had been reassigned to that area and was the newly anointed President of the Washington contingent. Thus, he states, “I became by default also the new chair of the fund drive.\u201d As Bob explains the concept of the operation, \u201cI organized the class memorial fund giving into areas within the US and miraculously was able to find a helpful classmate to head each region. Their job was to call and encourage individual classmates in their region to contribute. And it worked!!\u201d Among those who, in 49er style, rose to the task were A1 Goering, Jack Rust, Charlie Cheever, and JV McDonald. (There were more who should be mentioned but memories and records fall short here.)<\/p>\n Frank Hinchion, in addition to undertaking his lengthy tenure and demanding service as our Class Scribe, was also doing heavy duty as Treasurer of this organization. As Nulsen relates,” I had retired from the Army by this time, so we spent a lot of time in Frank\u2019s office trying to make this effort a success.\u201d By December of 1975, a notice from Bob showed 215 contributors and $83,735 in hand and he reminded us that, “we have already collected more money. . . than any other class,\u201d He urged additional contributions to pay in full the loan from the AOG which Kirby had negotiated in order to complete the Lodge by the 25th Reunion. It is noteworthy that in 1976, without further solicitation^ the AOG provided an extension of the loan with the acknowledgment that, “This is the most costly project undertaken by any USMA class for the benefit of West Point and the Corps of Cadets.\u201d Between 1977 and the 30th Reunion, Bob and Frank and their team, with sufficient funds acquired to pay off the entire loan, finally stepped down.<\/p>\n **********<\/p>\n With the structure completed, paid for and duly dedicated; the first chapter of the 49er Lodge story was complete. By the late 60\u2019s when the modest notion of a class gift of a memorial bench was greatly magnified to the much grander vision of a cadet recreational lodge, three fundamental concepts had now been firmly incorporated. Unlike previous classes, our 25th Anniversary Gift: 1) would be of a scale and design to commemorate appropriately both our exceptional class and our fallen colleagues; 2) would be for the direct and practical benefit of the Corps of Cadets; and 3) would be, as enunciated in a joint letter from Kirby and Kemble, \u201can effort specifically designed to demonstrate to other USMA classes. . .that major contributions can be made by an organized and loyal alumni. The importance of the project thus goes much beyond the Class of 1949.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBuild us still another.\u201d<\/em> The wonderful sequel to Chapter 1 of our lodge story is now also happy history: the consistent and appreciated use of the facility, the continued improvements, and finally the culminating accomplishment in its impressive expansion and renovation. Chapter II is the story of the \u201cnew\u201d lodge and opens with a class business meeting aboard the Queen of Bermuda during our 40th reunion (May 19, 1989). On the agenda was a discussion item to talk about the long-term oversight of the 49er Lodge.<\/p>\n With both Gil Kirby and John Costa retiring from their respective department head positions at USMA, the class would no longer have anyone on-scene to look after the condition of the lodge. Years of experience had shown that the building required a certain amount of care and feeding. Its remote location and relatively low position on the Academy\u2019s funding priorities meant that keeping it in first class condition took a lot of \u201cbirddogging\u201d by someone or some group with a personal interest. George Sylvester (who with Kirby, Bill Bumpus, Dave Bolte and Ed Hindman had initiated the addition of a covered patio in 1984 and a better heating system in 1989) revisited the subject in a letter to Academy authorities in June 1988:<\/p>\n \u201cAs the Class of 1949 grows older, we have begun to raise some questions about the long-term future of the Lodge. Unlike many class gifts such as trees and monuments, the Lodge, due to its location in the woods and its wear and tear from heavy usage, needs a permanent sponsor to oversee its well-being. . .. Are there any policies that deal with long term responsibilities for class gifts of this nature? Is AOG in a position to provide oversight on a permanent basis? If not the AOG, what other organization? Where will the funds come from to pay for \u201cbig ticket\u201d items such as a new roof or periodic major refurbishing?\u201d<\/p>\n The responses were not encouraging. Following the lead of \u201949, other classes had also begun to present gifts to their alma mater which were functional and thus required maintenance and upkeep. The strain on USMA\u2019s financial resources was beginning to show. In fact, the Supe had issued a new policy requiring that all future class gifts be accompanied with a maintenance endowment fund. Although grandfathered, it was clear that we could no longer rely on the Academy to maintain the 49er Lodge at the high standard expected, particularly with respect to replacing those \u201cbig ticket\u201d items when necessary. With all of this as background for the meeting aboard ship, the class wisely created a permanent Lodge Committee to oversee the long-term well-being of our class\u2019s legacy to West Point. Sylvester was appointed chairman together with committee members Ted Boland, John Maurer, Larry Ogden, Duane Smith, George Summers, and Ed Triner. In its early 7years the committee focused its attention on keeping the Academy\u2019s feet to the fire on minor maintenance and repair and on coming to grips with creating a maintenance endowment fund for the long term. Later the committee would undertake to orchestrate the conversion of the original lodge to the \u201cnew\u201d lodge and that part of the story will follow.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, thanks to a series of officers stationed at West Point, mainly from Kirby’s old department of Geography and Computer Sciences but also including his son-in-law Major Richard Jenkins from the Department of Engineering, the class and the lodge committee always had a set of eyes and ears to check on the state of the lodge and to deal with the right agency at West Point to get things fixed. It was not always easy, and the class will forever be indebted to those young officers for their efforts on our behalf.<\/p>\n In addressing the maintenance endowment fund for the lodge, the committee opted not to conduct a fund drive specifically for that purpose. Instead, a series of annual letters encouraged each class member to make his contribution to the West Point Fund and to mark it \u201cRestricted, Class of 1949 Gift Account.\u201d The class responded with characteristic gusto. The original goal of $80,000, which in hindsight was not derived very scientifically, was quickly exceeded. Meanwhile we were most fortunate in acquiring the pro bono services of retired BG Bob Wilson, class of 1950, former head of the Department of Engineering and good friend of Duane Smith. In December 1991 Bob, traveling from his home in Bethesda, MD, spent a day at the lodge listing items that would one day need to be replaced, such as the roof, floor covering, shutters, screens, appliances, and furniture, together with the appropriate intervals for replacement. His analysis became the basis for Smith\u2019s revised estimate for a replacement reserve requirement of $155,000. With annual contributions pouring in from caring classmates, the class met the new goal of $155,000 by June 1993.<\/p>\n Although USMA made a few minor expenditures for the lodge, the \u201849 endowment remained largely intact as planning for the \u201cnew\u201d lodge got underway and spending on the original lodge was overtaken. Accordingly, a completely revised reserve calculation was again required. Once again Wilson undertook the on-site task of developing the analysis and Smith calculated a revised endowment need of $250,000 to provide for the perpetual upkeep of the lodge. By the time the new lodge was dedicated the original endowment had reached that value and additional funds were not needed.<\/p>\n *********<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in the summer of 1991 the Association Board of Directors set up a 50th Reunion Gift Committee consisting of Sylvester as Chairman, Costa, Griffith, Hammack, Kemble, Kirby, Tom Marsh, Emil Nakfoor, Smith, Summers and Arnold Winter. They were to determine what the class wanted to do regarding a gift at the time of our 50th reunion. After considerable individual input, travel, meetings, deliberation, and polling the class, a series of four gifts was recommended and enthusiastically endorsed. With a goal of one million dollars, the principal portion of $600,000 was to enlarge and modernize the 49er Lodge. An additional $100,000 was earmarked as management reserve. Significantly, one of the other gifts was a matching grant to our 50th reunion class, the Class of 1999. At our 50th<\/sup>, the Class of \u201999 signed an agreement to assume oversight responsibility for the Lodge beginning in 2009 at the time of our 60th.<\/p>\n Under Harry Griffith\u2019s determined and persuasive fund-raising leadership, and with representatives of each of the twenty-four cadet companies plus Ebba Jo Spettel representing the class widows, once again \u201949 over-achieved. Those effective company reps were (from A- 1 through M-2) MC Ross, Marley, Black, Pollin, Cox, Stansberry, Liddicoet, Dirkes, Hoffmaster, Long, Hartinger, Lauer, RC Henry, Costa, Peixotto, Hodes, Mechling, Crall, Bumpus, Cameron, AF Turner, JP Chandler, Swett, and Yellman. Coupled with an advisory board comprised of Bob Black, Dick Bowman, Bill Gorog, Kirby Lamar, Bill Lake, Wayne Norby, Duane Smith, George Summers, and Ted Swett, Harry had put together a powerful, effective, and indispensable team.<\/p>\n With the decision to proceed with a major upgrade and with the fund-raising campaign underway, it fell to the lodge committee to make the project a reality. By the summer of 1993 two original committee members, Maurer and Ogden, had moved out of the Washington area and could no longer serve. Costa, Bill Huber and Ed Townsley soon joined the original members.<\/p>\n The addition of Lew Zickel that same summer was akin to acquiring a first round draft pick in the NFL. Lew had all the right tickets. The committee needed an on-scene point man to interact with the architect, the contractors, and the various organizations at West Point which are part of the equation in such a major undertaking. Lew\u2019s professional background was in architecture, engineering, construction, and contracting. He had performed a similar role in the building of the Jewish Chapel, and later, the Doubleday Field stadium, and the historic restoration of the Commandant\u2019s quarters. He knew all of the players at West Point on a first name basis. From his home in Dobbs Ferry, he was less than an hour’s drive from West Point. And he was a 49er through and through. The thousands of hours that he would devote to the lodge project would be. as he described them, \u201ca labor of love.”<\/p>\n *********<\/p>\n With Zickel on board the committee began to come to grips with a host of key decisions. One was whether to pursue the lodge project as one design\/build package or to break it into separate contracts for architectural services and construction. The committee opted for the 9latter and never regretted the choice. Another set of decisions involved the design criteria which, as indicated above, were evolving over time. In September 1993 the committee sent a letter to five A&E firms soliciting bids on the architectural phase. Among the key design criteria were a 50% increase in covered floor space, preservation of the original laminated arch architecture, upgraded and expanded restrooms and food and beverage areas, handicap access, a loop road for improved vehicle access, park-like landscaping with low maintenance, and importantly, provisions for a large memorial boulder with plaque to commemorate our classmates who had given their lives in service to their country. Three of the A&Es responded with excellent proposals and following a source selection process by the committee a contract was awarded to Stephen Tilly, Architect of Dobbs Ferry, NY on January 24, 1994.<\/p>\n It is important to point out that throughout the period covered by Chapter II (the decade from our 40th to our 50th reunions) the class association Board of Directors was an active participant at each of the decision milestones thus ensuring that what was happening was the will of the class as represented by its board and not solely that of the lodge committee. Rotating annually as class association presidents during those years were, in order, Tom Marsh, Ted Swett, Kirby Lamar, Wayne Norby, Dick Bowman, Web Ivy, Joe Muckerman, Dave Bolte, Ed Howard, George Hoffmaster, and George Sylvester.<\/p>\n Returning to the subject of architecture, the committee found Tilly\u2019s design concept exceptionally appealing. The concept retained the original lodge almost in its entirety, capitalizing on the sweeping laminated interior arches and creating with a raised ceiling and a new cantilevered wing the aura of an Adirondack lodge complete with clerestory windows along the crest of the roof. With a wrap-around screened porch, a corner gazebo integral to the building, and relocated restrooms and food and beverage serving areas, the lodge was indeed a \u201cnew\u201d structure without abandoning the original lodge.<\/p>\n 1994 proved to be a particularly formative year in the life of the project. Tilly and Zickel and the rest of the committee labored hard to resolve the myriad details associated with balancing design, cost, and practicality. By year\u2019s end Zickel had traveled to Washington on six occasions, all at his own expense, to meet with the lodge committee which had long since settled into Smith\u2019s Arlington, VA office-in-home as its permanent venue. In September of that year Zickel, Sylvester, and Tilly traveled to West Point to seek formal project approval from the Installation Planning Board, a required step in the process. The meeting, chaired by the Dean, was unremarkable except for direction to add a barbecue pit and make it integral with the lodge. This was to prove costly but, in retrospect, probably a wise decision in that it obviated the need for ad hoc charcoal fires outside the lodge with the potential for setting the woods (and our lodge!) on fire.<\/p>\n In October the class celebrated its 45th reunion at West Point. Inasmuch as the new lodge was still in the design stage, the class was able to visit the original structure and at the same time see a color rendering of the proposed site and floor plans. Even so, it was not easy to visualize the grandeur of the structure which would rise from those plans. Several members of the committee then journeyed to the \u201cfield of boulders\u201d at Stony Lonesome to search for a candidate of just the right size and shape to serve as the future memorial boulder at the lodge. Although several possible candidates were identified, the best boulder was one that was already on-site just a few feet from the lodge.<\/p>\n From the beginning the lodge had been known as the 49er Lodge and to members of the class that said it all. It therefore came as quite a surprise to the committee to discover that among the users of the lodge there was some confusion as to the term \u201c49er.\u201d Some thought 11it sprang from the rustic nature of the building and its setting that reflected the 49er gold rush days. Another popular story was that the lodge had been the gift of the San Francisco 49er football team. Ludicrous perhaps, but true. So, in order to remove any ambiguity henceforth, the official name as recorded on the books of the Military Academy and in the signage at the lodge is \u201cClass of 1949 Lodge.<\/p>\n *********<\/p>\n Returning to the new lodge project, it was now the spring of 1995 and the committee was still waiting for the architect to complete the construction drawings and bid package. At that point a bit of serendipity appeared in the form of about 800 cubic yards of fill dirt and rock excavated from the Doubleday Field stadium project. The stadium contractor was happy to get rid of it and the lodge project needed it for site preparation for the new loop road to the lodge. The fact that Lew was involved with both projects made it all come together, saving the class $40,000. Thus, the site work was jump started even though the lodge itself was still in the drawing stage. It wasn\u2019t quite as smooth as it sounds, however, because not a shovel full of dirt could be placed on the site until the New York State Historical Preservation Society had satisfied itself that no Indian arrowheads or shards of pottery would be disturbed. Once the rocks and dirt and bulldozers began to arrive the original lodge was \u201cclosed for construction.\u201d The date was June 7, 1995, the 46th anniversary of the class\u2019s graduation.<\/p>\n Concurrently the committee debated what sort of contractual arrangements were best for the construction phase. With a strong input from Lew the committee opted for hiring a construction manager rather than a prime contractor. The former provided much more visibility over the selection of subs and suppliers and this proved to be the selling point in as much as the lodge was basically an aggregation of subcontracted work. Having reached that decision, the next step was the selection of Point Construction, headquartered in Bernardsville, NJ, as construction manager. Point’s CEO, Sam Champi, became to the lodge construction what Lew Zickel had been to the overall project. Champi\u2019s Point Construction had been the construction manager on the Doubleday Field stadium and thus they knew7 all of the key players on the West Point scene. Lew had worked with Champi on that project and held him in highest regard. But best of all. he was a fellow member of the Long Gray Line, Class of ’66. There would never be any doubt about his dedication or his integrity.<\/p>\n In the midst of all this, disaster struck. On the late afternoon of September 9, 1996 Zickel had a serious car accident on the way home to Dobbs Ferry from one of his innumerable trips to West Point. He suffered a collapsed lung, some broken ribs, and the indignity of being medically \u201cgrounded\u2019” from driving for an indefinite period. It took awhile to get back on his feet but his continued role with the lodge was not to be denied. From then on Point\u2019s project manager doubled as his chauffeur to and from West Point, some 40 trips in all, and Lew picked up right where he had left off.<\/p>\n With Lew on the mend and the construction cost estimates firmed up, the construction phase shifted into high gear. Under the direction of Point Construction some of the subs were called upon to perform minor miracles. The mating of the laminated timbers of the new design with those of the original design and the matching of stain colors between old and new were particularly tricky. All of the timber framing was prefabricated off-site to extremely tight tolerances. Calling on his past experience of \u201chorror stories\u201d of delivered pieces that didn\u2019t fit, Zickel elected to measure the field dimensions himself and held his breath as the new arches and other pieces arrived at the site. He reported it \u201can exhilarating moment\u201d as every piece fit without adjustment. The contractor\u2019s insistence on superb craftsmanship and his pride in delivering to the Class of \u201949 a quality product are evident in the lodge as it stands today \u2014 as Zickel describes it, a \u201csymphony in wood.\u201d<\/p>\n *********<\/p>\n As both a forcing function on the schedule and a capstone event, a grand reopening in the form of an Open House was scheduled for October 17, 1997. In preparation Costa had acquired and framed some 20 photos of the class\u2019s cadet years to add to the 17 that had hung in the original lodge. He acquired some of the new photos from the archives at West Point and others from classmates Larry Ogden, Jim Poore, and Pete Palmer. A very appealing Zickel-designed \u201cClass of 1949 Lodge\u201d sign was mounted on the outside of the lodge and inside the old furniture was replaced by sturdy oak tables and chairs to accommodate 160 visitors. The gala open house was attended by 27 classmates, 4 class widows, and 44 wives, relatives and friends. The leadership of the Class of 1999, including leaders of each of the cadet companies, were invited and they showed up in great numbers. This was the first event in which the two classes, 1949 and 1999, had an opportunity to meet and begin the bonding process that was to reach its fulfillment at the time of our 50th reunion and their graduation.<\/p>\n With the Open House now history, fittingly the very first scheduled event was a party hosted by Phil and Mary Deane Fier. On the business side Lew was busy wrapping up the contractual loose ends that are ever present on a project of this magnitude. Two parallel efforts are worthy of recognition. One is a short history of the class written by one of the class’s most accomplished authors, Harry Maihafer, with the able research assistance of Bob Ennis and George Pollin. The history, written specially for display at the lodge, is mounted on an interior wall near the main lodge entrance and adjacent to Sam Coursen\u2019s Medal of Honor Plaque and photo. The other is a magnificent oil painting of the lodge by Herb Turner, a renowned artist in his home area of Southern California. When asked if he would undertake such a project, he lost no time in making a special trip to West Point to view the lodge in various light conditions so as to capture its unique character on canvas.<\/p>\n Herb\u2019s painting was presented to the Superintendent at the class\u2019s 50th reunion and now hangs with distinction in Eisenhower Hall.<\/p>\n With Bishop Ben Benitez giving the invocation, the Class of 1949 Lodge was formally dedicated in a ceremony witnessed by all those who attended the 50th reunion. With these final touches the new structure seems to be the exact fulfillment of the dream of 1967. It is at once an impressively handsome structure yet a warmly inviting and totally functional recreational facility for the Corps and the West Point community.<\/p>\n **********<\/p>\n So, in review and retrospect, we find that the path to the realization of our legacy to West Point was created by an evolution of collective ideas, widening aspirations, and considerable endeavor by many\u2014surely more than named here. The final fulfillment of those ambitions of more than forty years has now been superbly accomplished:<\/p>\n Once again, Forty-Nine has substantially raised the bar.<\/p>\n Preface The development of the concept of a commemorative lodge as a gift to our alma mater and the two-stage follow-through to its eventual completion is a central part of the history of the Class of 1949. Since first dedicated in 1974, the lodge has been a tangible legacy of our class to USMA for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[13,18,20,21],"class_list":["post-122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-class-of-1949","tag-bob-kemble","tag-charles-robert-kemble","tag-class-of-49","tag-lodge","post-preview"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nAssociation of Graduates, 1976<\/em><\/p>\n![\"USMA](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/charlesrobertkemble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1995\/05\/USMA-1949.jpg?resize=676%2C676&ssl=1\")
The lodge of the USMA Class of 1949 is not only an unprecedented West Point benchmark but also the most common strand in the history of our particular class. Yet why, when and how we fixed on and accomplished that signature project has really never been told. The endeavor formally took flight in 1967 but the complete explanation of how we chose that exacting goal, and its subsequent realization actually goes back to about 1956. According to helpful records and still reasonably acute collective memories, the broad answer embraces several Class of \u201849 sub-stories: the evolution of our official class representation, the development of our class fund and financial capabilities, the sporadic input of thoughtful ideas and ever-expanding visions, and the devoted endeavors of many. And basic from the beginning was a persistent urge to bring recognition to our distinctive class, close-knit and risen from World War II, and to honor our fallen classmates.<\/p>\n![\"Original](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/charlesrobertkemble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1999\/05\/Original-Lodge.jpg?resize=676%2C374&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n
\nCHAPTER II.<\/h4>\n
THE EXPANDING VISION AND ULTIMATE ACHIEVEMENT<\/h5>\n
\nUSMA response in 1998 on how to make the lodge even more suitable.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/charlesrobertkemble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/49er-Lodge-West-Point-2.jpg?resize=676%2C507&ssl=1\")
Determining what the \u201cnew\u201d lodge would be like was an evolutionary process. For starters there was the original lodge and an amount of $700,000 (including management reserve) to enlarge and enhance it. As early as July 1991 the lodge committee notes reflect some discussions on \u201cimprovements such as more parking and a park-like environment around the lodge, including a grill and gazebo.” In July 1992, three A&E firms were asked to come up with artist’s concepts of what could be done on that rather formidable terrain for under $400,000 (the goal then under consideration by the Gift Committee). An outdoor pavilion, a barbecue pit, parking, landscaping, and a memorial boulder and plaque were all part of the mix. At that point major construction changes in the lodge itself were not a consideration. Two of the A&Es responded with innovative drawings and one became part of the 50th reunion questionnaire package from the Gift Committee to the class in the fall of 1992. The responses made clear that the class not only supported the lodge component of the 50th reunion gift but that it should be an even larger percentage. Hence the revised total of $600,000 plus $100,000 management reserve.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/charlesrobertkemble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/49er-Lodge-West-Point-4.jpg?resize=676%2C507&ssl=1\")
Perhaps no issue received more careful consideration than the memorial plaque. There was the issue of where to place the boulder. There was the issue of whether or not to have individual names on the plaque and, if so, howto define the list. And there was the issue as to what the message should be. As class scribe Summers took the lead in researching these matters but in the final analysis the resolution, after much intensive deliberation, was unanimous with the committee. As with all of the key decisions the proposed plaque wording was approved by the class Board of Directors. Ultimately it also had to be approved by the USMA Museum, Historical, and Memorialization Committee but not without some minor wordsmithing in the process. The plaque that was ultimately cast and which is displayed at the front entrance to the lodge reads:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/charlesrobertkemble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/49er-Lodge-West-Point-6.jpg?resize=676%2C507&ssl=1\")
By the fall of 1994 there were growing indications that costing out the detailed construction drawings would exceed the stated price goal. Everyone who saw the conceptual design fell in love with it, but in reality it was overdesigned. With Point Construction on board in the fall of \u201995, the team embarked on pinning down the construction cost. The bestestimate was an eye watering $150,000 over budget. The committee was adamant that the lodge would not have a cost overrun. Accordingly, everything was put on hold while Zickel and Point Construction and the architect set about to carve out the errant amount. It was an intense and often agonizing effort that consumed most of 1996 but in the end succeeded. A combination of redesigned features, value engineering, and elimination of \u201cgold plating\u201d carried the day. To the casual observer nothing had changed in the external or internal appearance of the new lodge. The disciplined approach paid off.<\/p>\n\n
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