Comment

Comment by Bill Gardner on September 27, 2009 at 12:41am

That Popular Mechanics that I purchased for 10 cents in a used book store marked my downfall into the wicked world of diving. I was 12 years old when I bought it and couldn't think of anything else. As a matter of fact I went on to meet Murray Black (yes he did have a big noggin and punctuated the point by wearing a huge black cowboy hat) in Australia when he was winding down DivCons' activities in Oz. Just as a point of interest-on Bill Strophls dedication page on Vulcaniasubmarine.com a canadian diver named leonaerd Mott was mentioned-he was tragically killed in the collapse of the new Second Narrows Bridge under construction, 1958. Phil Nuytten (co founder of Oceaneering International, founder of CanDive, International Hardsuits, & Nuytco ) a graduate of the Coastal School of Deep Sea Diving was a volunteer rescue diver on site after hearing the crash that day, performing rescues/retreavals.

Comment by Dive Diva on September 26, 2009 at 9:47pm

Bill you find the most interesting items, the Sparling School of Diving and Underwater Welding, in Wilmington, CA was the ONLY civilian commercial diving school in the US at the time. It was founded by Joe Sparling circa 1944. Ellis Royal Cross, a USN diver helped write the curriculum and was an instructor. In 1947, E.R. Cross purchased the school and changed the name to the Sparling School of Deep Sea Diving. Cross also owned Diver's Supply, commercial diving equipment store. In 1951 Cross served as one of the 5 man technical advisory committee to the LA Co Board of Supervisors, Dept. of Parks and Recreation, in the development of the LA Co Water Safety Program - the nation's first training program for Scuba divers. In 1954, Cross closed the school, after training nearly 2500 divers. Among the Sparling School alumni are men like "Blackie" Murray, Founder of Dive Con, and Bill Stropahl, one of the Disney divers.