In April 2001 I attended the "Antarctic Deep Freeze Association" (ADFA) meeting/reunion in Biloxi, MS. This group is primarily made up of Navy veterans and scientists who were in the Antarctic before and during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) in the mid 1950s....
Many of the folks you see here were Seabees who built South Pole in 1955 and 1956. The man at the far upper right is Carlton Walker, the construction manager for Raytheon, currently in charge of the new station construction. The person at left with his hand to his head is Jerry Marty, the NSF construction manager for this project. He worked for Holmes and Narver building the domed station in 1974-75. 
This photo was taken in the hospitality room, the woman in the center is Dian Belanger who has an NSF grant to write a book based on oral histories and other information from the IGY period. I shared some of my historical information with her. 
This was the view from my hotel room...the "ship" you see to the left was actually one of the many casinos which line the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  From the boardwalk, this is a view of the President Casino, a barge attached to a yacht harbor.  Here's a view looking back the other way at the main hotel... .  At the final banquet...here is Jerry Marty and wife Elena, both of whom spoke at the conference. I first met Jerry in 1976. |