STOGUIDE pages 28-39:Layout 1 10/31/07 1:12 AM Page 34
R U R A L R O U T E
battle stations:
Stowe Mountain Resort crew extinguishes house fire
W
armDecembernightsinVermontcan
seemodd,evenominous,andDec.21,
2006wasoneofthosenights.AtStowe
MountainResortthatevening,unseasonablymild
weatherlessenedtheworkloadofthesnowmakingand
groomingcrews,ensuringthenightwouldpassunevent-
fully.Butsuddenly,around9p.m.,snowgroomer
GeorgeMandigosawsmokeandflamespouringoutof
oneofthenewSprucePeaktownhousesnearthetopof
theInspirationLift.HeimmediatelyradioedBryce
Berggreninsnowmakingcontrol,whopromptlycalled
theStoweFireDepartment.
Severalsnowmakersinthesnowplantoverheard
Mandigo’sradiocallsotheyracedtothetownhouse,
joinedenroutebygroomerChristianPratt.Asthemen
arrivedonscene,theysawboththemagnitudeofthefire
anditspotentialdangeraswell:Theburningtownhouse
satdangerouslyclosetootherbuildings.That’swhenthe
snowmakersradioedBerggrentochargeupthesnow-
makingsystemontheInspirationTrail. CALLAHAN
Asthesnowmakingsystemquicklyfilledwithwater,
thesnowmakersandgroomeroperatorracedtopull
GLENN
snowmakinghosesfromtheirvehiclesandoffthenear-
byInspirationTrailitself.Theyquicklypiecedtogether
awaterlinefromthenearestsnowmakinghydrantandbroughtthehose astheysoakedthebuilding’sgarage,wheretheflamesroaredmost
tothescene. intensely.SnowmakerNateRingquistthennoticedanexposedpropane
Protectedbytheirhardplasticmountaineeringboots,hardhats,heavy gaslineleadingintothegarage,andsoassnowmakerspouredwater
winterclothingandheadlamps,thesnowmakersweresomewhatprotected ontothepropanelineRingquistturnedofftheoutdoorvalve.
Georg von Trapp, “To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat there is a will, there is a way to
Commander” (Translated and with an introduction by his granddaughter, find the enemy and perhaps do Capt. Georg von Trapp
Elizabeth M. Campbell), University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln & London, 2007. my bit to bring this accursed war
to an end.”
G
eorge Von Trapp’s memoirs, To the Last Salute, begins like a Greek He does his best with poor equip-
epic, in media res—in the middle of things—when he is reassigned in ment. The boats can stay submerged
April 1915 from a torpedo boat to U-boat 5 in the Gulf of Cattaro only a short time; crew members keel
in the Adriatic Sea, to 8 a.m. on Nov. 2, 1918, when he raises the Austro- over from “gasoline stupors” and have
Hungarian flag for the last time over his last command, the U-31. to be dragged to the surface to recover
At first, the names of strange ports and seas, nautical terminology and in fresh air. Periscopes don’t work prop-
technical descriptions, can be confusing, although there are notes at the end erly: it’s easier to raise and lower the
and background information provided by Robert C. Lendt, on the Austro- whole boat to see above the surface.
Hungarian Empire and submarine warfare in World War I. But by page 10, Preserved food spoils; a crew member
von Trapp’s passion for the U-boats and service to his Emperor and King, becomes psychotic and tries to sink the
sweeps the reader into his naval adventures. boat; engines constantly break down.
Von Trapp, who fled in 1938 from Nazi-occupied Austria with his family to Despite the technical problems, his own determination and daring bring
eventually settle in Stowe, was very much a romantic, fiercely loyal, loving, his first big victory: the sinking of a French cruiser, the Leon Gambetta. The
warm-hearted, generous, superstitious man (“I would never leave port on a U-boat’s fuel is running out, it’s nighttime, and “An underwater attack at
Friday! And it is absolutely impossible for me to ever put on the right shoe first. night has never been attempted in the U-boat branch of the service, neither
That would bring horribly bad luck!”), yet extraordinarily brave—as were the in peacetime nor in war. But I want to risk it; it appears a sure success.”
men on his boats. At heart, he was a knight, who missed the days “When Torpedoes are launched: “There—a dull, hard sound, after ten seconds a
chivalry was still in control of all warfare. Those days are gone. The last knight, second one, as if a knuckle hit an iron plate, and a cloud of smoke shoots
though, is our old Emperor . . .” How appropriate that for his service during high up, far above the topmasts . . . Everything happens very quickly. The
the war, he receives the title, Ritter, equivalent to the British term, “knight.” thin silhouette in the periscope becomes noticeably smaller, only a thin
Von Trapp is sad to leave his crew members on the torpedo boat: “But streak is visible and then it, too, disappears. Nine minutes after firing . . .
then, it is tempting to command a U-boat! I will be my own boss. Where There is nothing in sight; only five lifeboats adrift in the water. . . ”
34
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193