Sat 17 Jun The squall line had moved through... the rain and lightning had long since stopped... the computer had been plugged in... when we were visited by the proverbial "bolt out of the blue." I actually saw the strike across the towpath on the hill... so close one felt the shock wave and smelled the ozone. The Caretaker's Wife was sitting at the computer as blue "something" shot out of the electrical wall plug beside her. Both the Club President and Captain later reported hearing the boom and crash in their homes some distance away. The computer and fax machine were fried, despite two surge protectors connected in series. All downstairs breakers were tripped and the place stank of burned insulation. Subsequent investigation revealed that the phone line down the hill was literally blown to pieces. As the James Super party left it was seen that a length of line was lying across both the stairs on the iron bridge and the towpath itself at about chest height. Greg Super bravely pulled the wire down from the trees so no bicyclist would decapitate themselves, and it was discovered that one end was connected to parts of the telephone junction box from the pole there... and that the remains were charred.

Sun 18 Jun Canoe Supervisor David Lyles came down and repaired one of the Club Old Town canoes that had a busted thwart.

Mon 19 Jun Bummer news: It was discovered today that some of the many small, blown up wire fragments littering the towpath from Saturday's lightning strike event are in fact from the power line from the Island that goes up the hill to power the lights on the hill. As this was an old but heavy duty telephone line salvaged and used by Ken Fassler (because of its self supporting capability over distance), it was initially thought it was pieces of the Island telephone line. This means no lights on the path for the foreseeable future, as it is uncertain how this might be repaired and replaced without involving a major contractor... or even where appropriate materials might be found. It is also curious that the lightning struck two wires that were at least thirty yards apart.

Tue 20 Jun During a "very" early trip to the bathroom this morning the sound of dripping water could be heard coming from the closet wherein reside the hot water heater, water pump apparatus, and other mysterious water equipment. Sure enough, it appeared that water was leaking from the bottom of a raised hot water heater and running down the walls. A few hours later the flow had increased such that the water in the entire facility had to be shut off because there seemed no way to isolate this hot water heater from the water system. This also meant the Club had to be closed, as state law requires functioning toilets.

Wed 21 Jun So... this morning at 0900 hrs we awaited PEPCO, Bell Atlantic, and our plumber.

Donny and Kevin with a total Bell Atlantic crew of 4 arrived to string new wire down the hill for our telephones. There was continued amazement as they pulled the old wire down and pointed out where certain parts of the wire itself were literally blown out of the insulating cable. PEPCO did not arrive but Kevin declared that their equipment showed a good ground at the Clubhouse.

Herb Dennison and son Herb arrived after lunch and made quick work of restoring the water system. The old water heater was cut out of the System and detached so that it could be easily removed when the facing of the cabinet is taken off. The outdoor shower was fixed and Herb declared that best guess for the hole in the water line was critter chew.

Thu 22 Jun Finally today the telephones became operational. A mystified Bell Atlantic crew came back to check the Island after running 1500 feet of new wire across two roads, down the hill, and across the river... but with no success at restoring service. What they discovered was a charred wall plug where the lightning had melted the connections, and finally, in the afternoon, on the fifth day, the phones rang again.

Sat 24 Jun Canoe Supervisor David Lyles came down with his Mother to fix the broken thwart on one of the Old Town Club canoes. While David worked, his Mother held court and kept all entertained on the screen porch.

Thu 29 Jun It was a dark and cloudy day... just the sort of day to try an experiment with the new work computer of the Caretaker's Wife to see if we can resume updating the Log. Have we collected and installed all the necessary and correct software??? If so, our own Club President gets all the credit. The Caretaker's computer could not be scheduled for repair before 13 July.

The Caretaker has been getting stomach sick this week, but when this happened to the Wife also, some intuition suggested that the ultra violet system that supposedly kills all organisms in our water be checked. Sure enough, it seems the UV system has not been operational since the 20 Jun incident when the entire Island water system was down. This does not mean to imply that the illness comes from the well... but the coincidence is statistically significant enough to be mentioned. The UV system is now operational again.

Fri 30 Jun Yesterday there was some confusion regarding the responsibilities of Members when the Caretaker is sick or temporarily absent and the ferry is left on the Maryland shore. In this case the sick bed had to be left and Members asked to stop swimming or otherwise respond to the ringing bell. This happened several times and seems to be a problem every year, requiring an annual lecture to the Membership. This year's lecture is now in the form of a notice left on the ferry:

Attention: When the ferry is locked up at the Maryland side, the Caretaker is away on an errand or ill. Any Member who unlocks the ferry and takes it to the island becomes the de facto caretaker and is responsible for answering the bell should any other Member or the returning Caretaker wish access to the Island. This means you can not go swimming or stay at the ends of the Island where the bell can not be heard. If you take a canoe or kayak out, you must first return the ferry to the Maryland shore and lock it up.

If another person rings the bell, you may transfer the responsibility to that person as a condition of their access to the Island. At all times there must be a designated responsible person to answer the ferry bell and act as substitute caretaker. This need not be enshrined as a rule, as it should be considered simple logic or common courtesy.

Sat I Jul During these last few days when the Caretaker and his Wife have been ill, a special mention in the dispatches to Substitute Caretaker Supervisors Jeff Komarow and John Krasny for laboring so hard to find Members to man the ferry... and many thanks to all of you who have pulled together to make it work in the absence of staff. Those of you who worry that the Club evolves more toward a country club and away from a coop have reason to worry less.

-- Doc Taliaferro, Sycamore Island Caretaker