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PAST MEETINGS OF THE EXPLORERS CLUB |
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Chapter Web Pages |
MEETINGS AND EVENTS OF THE PAST YEARIn reverse chronologic order
The Philadelphia Chapter's Wednesday, April 19, 2006 meeting began with a brief presentation by Michael Doyle (at right) from the membership office of The Explorers Club on the newly upgraded membership files. Please forgive the poor picture quality from my newly aquired camera that I have yet to master. Our principal speaker for the evening
Dr. Katherine Woodhouse-Beyer FE’91 then told
of her adventures in Alaska’s Kodiak Archipelago mapping Aleutian archaeological sites. She has done extensive research and fieldwork on a number of Aleutian Island sites, some dating back 9,000 years. She continues to collaborate with Alaska Native organizations on community archaeology projects. She told of her "finds" on sites where the
"Alutiiq people" lived during the period from the mid 18th
to the mid 19th centuries, when the area was a Russian colony.
Dr. Woodhouse-Beyer, a research fellow in the Brown University Anthropology Department received her PhD in Anthropology at Brown University. She holds a B.A. degree in Anthropology from Bryn Mawr
College and an M. Phil. degree in European Archaeology from Oxford University. She has participated in and supervised excavations in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, France, Italy, Iceland, Outer Hebrides, England and Kenya. While at Brown University she supervised artifactual conservation and analysis of the Afognak Artel finds at the Historical Archaeology Laboratory. The Afognak Artel collection formed the basis for her dissertation "Gender Relations and Socioeconomic Change in Russian America, 1741-1867 A.D.". 
On Wednesday, March 15, 2006 Dr. David Saul FI¹99 presented "Sea Kayaking the South Georgia Islands" for chapter members and guests. An avid ocean explorer and founding Trustee of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, Dr. Saul has kayaked the world from Panama to Alaska and from Greenland to Tasmania.
On Wednesday, March 1, 2006 Capt. Eric
Smith described "Diving Cleopatra's Palace" for chapter members and guests. An archaeological diver, Capt. Smith has worked with Franck Goddio on such sites as
On Tuesday, November 15, 2005 Robert McCracken Peck FN' 83 Senior Fellow and Librarian of Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences hosted "A Private Evening at the Academy"
at the Ewell Sale Library of The Academy of Natural Sciences. Bob Peck showed attendees unique specimens representing centuries of field exploration such as plants collected by Lewis and Clark, birds collected by John James Audubon and fossils collected collected by Thomas Jefferson. Spectacular books and manuscripts from noted expeditions were also displayed. 
Our speaker October 27, 2005 was Clare Fleming , M.S., C.A., Curator of Research Collections at the Explorers Club in New York. Her presentation highlighted the archives we posses at our club headquarters in New York. Attendees were mesmerized by the information and the way in which it was presented. The Club’s archives document over a century of world exploration and field science and are indeed first class. Clare Flemming, the Club’s first professional archivist, presented selected material from the Club’s collection of art, artifacts, film, photos, maps, manuscripts, memorabilia, and rare books. Highlights included manuscripts of 19th and early 20th century Arctic exploration, handwritten membership applications of the Club’s earliest members, annotated maps and legacy photographs, hand-colored lantern slides, records that document key events and personalities in the Club’s history, historical Flag Reports and menus from The Explorers Club’s world-famous Annual Dinners. She also discussed the current state of the collections and their use by researchers and the simply curious. Attendees were presented with the Explorers bookmark pictured above featuring a few of the prized items. Ms. Flemming earned her masters degree in Archival Management from the Pratt Institute. Prior to graduate school, she worked for a decade in collections curation and field research at the American Museum of Natural History. 
On Wednesday, November 17, 2004 William H Thomas, Ph. D. spoke to our chapter about the work he has been doing with the indigenous peoples of New Guinea. His presentation was titled "The Great Rivers Heartland: Exploration and Conservation in Papua New Guinea." Since 1988 Dr. Thomas has been working with the people of New Guinea to conserve their forests. New Guinea is the largest wilderness area in the Pacific. While the forests of the Amazon and Congo basins are more extensive, New Guinea remains one of the least explored places on earth. He shared with us plans for the exploration and conservation of the largest and most important wilderness on this island. The Great Rivers Heartland straddles the international boundary of the independent nation of Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya. Cutting through the heart of the island, the Great Rivers Heartland encompasses the headwaters of New Guinea's four great rivers; the Digul, the Fly, the Sepik, and the Idenburg. All originate in the central uplands of this borderland. This vast natural area stretches for nearly 300 km. and is virtually unexplored. It contains the homelands of some of New Guinea's most remote societies and is the most biologically diverse landscape on the island. The conservation of the Great Rivers Heartland is vital not only to these societies, but also to the continued viability of New Guinea's coastal ecosystems and reefs -unique marine ecosystems that rely on the pristine waters delivered by the uplands of the Great Rivers Heartland. Dr. Thomas is an anthropologist and the Director of the New Jersey School of Conservation at Montclair State University.
He has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Arizona State University.
On Saturday, October 16, 2004 our Philadelphia Chapter of The
Explorers Club in conjunction with The Independence Seaport Museum presented an evening devoted to "The Future
of the Titanic at the museum. Speakers for this event were:Patrick Clyne, Vice President, Mel Fisher Enterprises for Atocha & Margartia expeditions Dr. Michael Manyak, Medical Director for the Titanic 2000 Expedition Lt. Cmdr. Craig McLean, Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Ocean Exploration Program David Concannon, Esq. Served as legal advisor to five Titanic Expeditions. Peter Hess, Esq. Admiralty Attorney and Membership Director of the Explorers Club served as the moderator. These four accomplished Explorers, each of whom has descended two and a half miles to the abyssal depths of the Atlantic Ocean, shared
with us the claustrophobic, yet exhilarating experience of diving to the world's most storied shipwreck, TITANIC. Their presentations went well beyond the ghostly imagery seen in books, magazines, on television and at the movies. Each of the panelists also projected what he believed will be the future of this iconic shipwreck. Topics discussed included: Dr. Jeff Mandell gave our chapter a wonderful presentation titled "Exploration and Survival in the Remote Arctic" the evening of September 22, 2004.
When not on expedition, Jeff is the Senior Vice President of Capital Markets Consulting Division of Egar Technology in New York City. He is also a partner with Canadian Arctic Holidays, licensed by the Nunavut Territory Government as outfitters and guides for Artic expeditions. The accompanying photo is courtesy of their website. Jeff holds multiple degrees in mathematics and has served as the global head of derivatives trading for three large foreign banks.
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Cleopatra’s Palace in the waters of the Port of Alexandria, Egypt.
His research interests include ethno-ecology, conservation and traditional ecological wisdom of indigenous people. Since 1988, he has conducted ethno-ecological research in Papua New Guinea. He is a fellow of The Explorers Club and has been recognized by The United Nations for the development of research methodologies, now recognized as one of the "Best Practices" in the use of indigenous knowledge. At left he is pictured in Philadelphia native dress accepting an award and the chapter's thanks from Chapter Chair Carol Aitken.
Jeff was member of seven expeditions to the remote Arctic, including four across the Polar Ice Cap on foot to the North Pole. These expeditions were unsupported by aircraft and only one used a supporting dog team. Jeff discussed the experience, skills and equipment needed to survive and thrive in that harsh forbidding environment. He began by removing and demonstration items of clothing and equipment from his expedition backpack. This was followed by a show of slides taken during some of his expeditions. He concluded with a video of a 1998 expedition in which he and four other experienced Arctic explorers suffered wind chills reaching 170 degrees below zero to complete the first ever traverse of an unnamed glacier abutting Mt. Wordie on Bafflin Island. Jeff is currently preparing for his next expedition to the Arctic in 2005.