| Some Lunarfins History |  The NASA Nerd | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Lunarfins dive club was organized in 1963 by a small
group of divers who worked at the Manned Spacecraft Center, as JSC was
known back then. Thanks to the persistence of Hugh Scott, Wally
Graves, Lyle Jenkins and Jim Peacock who made it happen. The club
grew primarily through the sponsorship of SCUBA training classes, local
dive trips and social activities.
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| Where did we get that goofy diver in our
logo?
The thin, crew cut diver, typical of the engineers working to go to the Moon back then, is affectionately called the "NASA Nerd." Founding member Jim Peacock tells this story about the logo of the Lunarfins, designed in the early sixties: Chet McCulough was the original artist. When he showed it to Hugh Scott and me, he noticed the puzzled look on our face. We didn't say a word, but after a long pause, Chet said, "Well if you guys think you can do any better, have at it!" That was back in the days when we had very few people, and fewer resources. I haven't seen or heard from Chet in years. I don't even know if he is still among us. But he was the cornerstone of the original club, as far as getting things done. We usually had the Lunarfins fish fries at his house on a canal at San Leon. That was back in the days when you could buy jumbo shrimp for fifty cents a pound (nine count). But, on the other hand, you could buy a new car for $4000, and a new house for $20,000.
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| Diver of the Year
Every December since 1985 the club members have selected a "Diver of the Year" to honor. This is the person who did the most for the club during the past year. The honoree receives a plaque (depicting our infamous "NASA Nerd"). The award is presented at the annual Texas Gulf Coast Council (TGCC) banquet in February. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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