Resources: History of WAS, Inc.

The Genesis By Curtis Roelle

The Westminster Astronomical Society Inc. (WASI) of Maryland held its first meeting 20 years ago this month on Monday, May 28, 1984. Since that time the society has grown considerably and currently has members in five states. This is a brief history of the club in three parts based on my recollection and, where that fails, on an archive of newsletters that stretches all the way back.

Maryland became my permanent home in 1980 following college graduation. During the two years my new wife and I lived in Gaithersburg I joined the National Capital Astronomers (NCA) in Washington, DC. After being a member of the Prairie Astronomy Club (PAC) of Lincoln, Nebraska for eight years I wanted maintain an active relationship with other amateur astronomers through membership in a local club.

About one year before moving to Maryland I had begun work observing a preliminary list of the Astronomical League’s (A.L.) Observe: The Herschel Objects observing program. The A.L. released the full list of 400 Herschel objects in 1980. In 1982 I started the Herschel program over again but found it very difficult to observe from the light polluted Washington metropolitan area. Most observations were made from a southward facing 3rd floor apartment balcony and after nine months just 26 of the brightest objects had been observed.

I started searching for a darker site within commuting distance and in the Fall of 1982 we bought a home in the Westminster area near Winfield. By the end of the following year the remaining 374 objects in the Herschel list had been observed. Although the skies at the time were good for deep sky observing it was hard getting to Washington for the regular monthly NCA meetings. With the Herschel list completed I started thinking about what the next astronomy project should be.

Then one month my issue of Sky & Telescope (S&T) magazine did not arrive in the mail. Upon contacting the circulation department they queried me for my zip code, which I gave them. After a short pause they asked, “Mr. Roelle?” Apparently I was the only subscriber in Westminster, aside from the local library. That lonely feeling was a watershed moment. That month’s missing magazine led to a decision to form what is now our club.

That’s the end of the background information. So a mix of factors involving boredom, laziness, and loneliness congealed in a motivational way. Several months later a naturally occurring event provided the opportunity to grab some public attention and let it be a segue way for attracting other people with similar interests.

On May 30, 1984 there was to be an annular solar eclipse whose central path would cross Maryland. A meeting room was reserved at the Westminster Public Library (it seemed only fair that the area’s other S&T subscriber should be included). Meeting notices were posted around town and a view graph presentation about the eclipse, what to expect, and how to observe it safely, was prepared.

Finally the big night came. I was both excited and nervous. Excited that soon I would be meeting other people – neighbors and townspeople – with similar interests who had the potential to help get the club idea airborne. Nervous in case the meeting room wasn’t big enough for the 25-100 people I was expecting to attract.

People started showing up. First one. Then two more came. And so on until there were eight people (including myself and my wife). But we now had a handful of names, addresses and phone numbers to work it. It was a start.

In order to maintain momentum and contact with the others the two-page Vol. 1 No. 1 “Newsletter of the Westminster Astronomical Society” was printed and mailed to the May meeting guests. It included news of the previous month’s eclipse and announced the June meeting to be held on July 7, the first of two regular meetings held that month. Tom Appler was present at that meeting and became our fist guest.

The third meeting was on July 25. The main business items at the July meetings were reviewing the proposed constitution and securing permanent facilities for the monthly meetings. Both of the July meetings were held at my house. The meetings adjourned to the patio for observing with a 6” f/8 Newtonian reflector.

In August WAS monthly meetings started being held at McDaniel College, then known as Western Maryland College (WMC). Lewis Hall room 111 was provided by the WMC Physics Department. As the difficult task of organizing the club was But the same time the publicity efforts were beginning to attract others.

The September meeting was canceled because I was on a business trip along Florida’s space coast during a launch of the space shuttle Challenger. However, we did have an exhibit on display in the library that included contact information for possible new members.

In October Dr. Sten Odenwald became our first guest lecturer. You might be familiar with Sten’s current Astronomy Café web site at astronomycafe.net. It was the first of two lectures given by Dr. Odenwald. The other was in March, 1990. The following month Fred Espenak made his first appearance as a WAS guest lecturer.

We also began taking our speakers out to dinner before the meeting at Fan’s Chinese Restaurant. The restaurant has since been closed by the Carroll County Department of Health. Nowadays we eat at Bullock’s Airport Inn, which continues to pass inspection.

In October the first WAS star party was Blaine Roelke’s farm near Taneytown. Blaine has since moved his observatory to another rural location near Rockwood, Pennsylvania.

Membership forms were distributed at the November meeting. The imposition of the $11 yearly dues ($13 for families) caused the more happy-go-lucky persons to slip away. By the time of the first annual business meeting in January WAS had seven paid members.

Discount subscriptions to Astronomy Magazine were also available for $12 per year. (Astronomy is still available for $29 per year. Magazine subscriptions have increased by 142% while dues have gone up by 36% during the same time period.)

Five persons were in attendance at the business meeting in November. Campus security had not unlocked the meeting room in Lewis Hall so the business and the first election of officers had to be held at the pub in the WMC student union. The constitution was modified by quorum vote to establish five elected offices.

The first WAS officers, elected for the 1985 term, were as follows:

President: Curtis Roelle
Vice President: Todd Bonner
Secretary Tom Prall
Treasurer Blaine Roelke
Director at Large Tom Appler

The new president’s goals for WAS in 1985 included doubling the membership, participating in Astronomy Day, and gearing up for public outreach during the appearance of Comet P/Halley the following year.

caption: Title slide from the program presented at the first meeting of the Westminster Astronomical Society on May 28, 1984. The subject was the upcoming annular solar eclipse visible two days later in Maryland.