looking for Richard (Dick) Anderson island caretaker

P

potter water

New member
Looking for an old friend from my Jet Propulsion Laboratory days. He left many years ago to care take a small island in the San Juans. The island was owned by his wife's family and he and she were hired by the family to watch after the place. We are talking 30 plus years ago, so this is a shot in the dark. Dick had hand built a 20 plus foot lapstrake wooden dory to get back and forth to the island. He built it in his Pasadena garage. An amazing piece of work. He also built harpsichords. Fascinating fellow and his wife.

Some one of you may have run into Dick in your cruises among the islands. I think the island he was on was more southerly and very near the mainland.

Not much to go on, but he was a fun acquaintance. He may be dead and gone by now. But one never knows. I suspect the boating fraternity among those who live on or cruise those islands regularly will know something about this guy.

Thanks for any help.
 
Good luck in your search. I hope it works out for you. I have seen this boat in Friday Harbor many times. Also, run across it out in the islands a few times. Dory type, wooden, and in the San Juan's. I know that doesn't narrow it down much, but it is a beautiful boat.

IMGP1577.sized.jpg

Harvey
SleepyC:moon
 
That is a beauty. And much like the one Dick was building. I didn't get to see it with the super structure on. That looks like one heck of a sea worthy dory.
 
For goodness sake. I worked at JPL from '65 to '82, in the Controls Lab. Started out doing studies for the planetary flybys and ended up working on the Mars Rover breadboard. Finally went to TRW where they paid well for studies (called proposals at TRW.)

When were you there and where did you work?

Coming up to the PNW this summer. Maybe we can get together.

Boris
 
or this.


San Juan Island Distillery—In 2011, the owners (Richard Anderson and Hawk and Suzy Pingree) of prize-winning Westcott Bay Cider started crafting apple brandy and gins, too. Though you’ll have to wait another year plus for the first batches of apple brandy to finish aging in French oak barrels, the distillery offers an array of artisan gins and liqueurs available to sample and purchase. According to the Pingrees, their grain-based Spy Hop gin is in a “new American style,” compared to the juniper-forward London style. In addition to the standard gin botanicals, the crisp and flavorful Spy Hop includes island-foraged botanicals such as blackberries, lavender, rosehips and madrona bark. It’s delicious as a sipper over ice on a hot day.

The distillery/cidery tasting rooms will continue to be open Saturdays from 3 to 5 p.m. into late October. While you’re there, admire the gleaming beauty of the 200-litre copper German-made Adrian still, used to distill the brandy and the cider base for their Spy Hop Harvest Select gin. Or call the distillery at (360) 378-2606 to arrange a private tour if you happen to be on-island a different day or into winter. This coming weekend, October 5 and 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the distillery crew is hosting a cider apple picking party at their nearby orchard. Come by to help pick, or spot them walking in the Friday Harbor Fall Farm Parade on Saturday at 2:30.

In fact, October—with crisp autumn days and fewer crowds—is an excellent time to visit the San Juan Islands and sample the local bounty. Several events geared toward foodies and art lovers are ongoing throughout the month: Check out Savor the San Juans and the Great Island Grown Festival. Visit AAA Washington or the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau for planning a trip to the islands.

Photos by Karalynn Ott.[/url]
 
Boris, I worked as supervisor and then deputy section manager in the spacecraft data system section. I started there in 79 and left in 88. You will, I'm sure know many of the folks I worked with. We built the on-board brains for Voyagers, cassini, Magellan, Galileo and many others. Dr. Tom Thornton was the manager of the division that contained the SDS early on. I've forgotten many of the names of folks there so many years ago. I moved on to manage a laboratory called the Space Dynamics Laboratory that is part of Utah State University. We had contracts with DOD, NASA, and others. Primarily we built orbiting telescopes and instruments to look down at upper atmosphere characteristics, and out maping the cosmos. Two of our missions were with JPL, the most recent called WISE. Loved that place, but couldn't see raising my kids there when they hit Jr. high and high school. Fortunately, found the perfect job in the perfect kid raising location in Northern Utah.

As for others commenting on Dick Anderson, it would be like Dick to turn apples into cider. He was a real Thoreau type person. Don't know if that is him. I'll have to explore a bit more. Meanwhile, maybe the thread will hit on someone with first hand knowledge of his state and whereabouts.
 
Up until two years ago I lived on San Juan Island for four years. The name is familiar, but I can't recall why. It's like trying to remember what 60s group sang a particular song. Maybe it will come to me....
 
Ah, but it should give you great comfort knowing that there are people who sleep at Holiday Inn Express, AND rocket scientists who own Cdorys and who think they are "out of this world."
 
Back
Top