cape fear men’s club, inc. newsletter...cape fear men’s club, inc. / po box 12835 / wilmington,...

Cape Fear Men’s Club, Inc. / PO Box 12835 / Wilmington, North Carolina 28405 / www.capefearmensclub.org

Next General Meeting

The next CFMC general

meeting will be Wednesday, February 5, at the American

Legion Hall behind Hugh MacRae Park, 702 Pine Grove Drive.

Social hour starts at 4:30 pm with catered dinner at 5:45 pm. Your dues pays for the meal but an RSVP to the E-vite is absolutely necessary and essential to insure that the proper amount of food is contracted with the caterer.

Please remember

to bring and

wear your name tag

NEW YEAR’S EVE DINNER DANCE

Tuesday, December 31 American Legion

7:30 pm – 12:30 am

Food – Taste of Italy

Music – Duke Ladd Band

$45/pp

As 2019 comes to a close, I look back at the club activities and Special Events and hope that each of you has found Club membership to be a satisfying and rewarding experience. I see friendships formed that will last a lifetime. Special Events have always played a special part of our activities. It is one of the times that we can share a quality event with members and our wives. Dave and the Events Committee do a fabulous job. It is not an easy job. While those who did attend one or more of these events reported having a great time, attendance has been somewhat disappointing.

(continued on page 2)

The last general meeting of 2019 was December’s EXTRAVAGANZA! Some

239 meals of crab legs, steak, and plenty of sides were served

If you need a new name

tag, email Bud Sparks

at budsparks@aol.com

It will be available for you

at the February meeting.

A Message from Scotty Scott, CFMC Board President

November / December 2019

Cape Fear Men’s Club, Inc. Newsletter

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(The President’s Message continued from page 1)

At the December General meeting, Dave handed out a questionnaire. The results will help his committee to formulate plans for 2020. In the meantime, if you have in mind a specific event that you would like to see the Committee hold, please let Dave or any Event Committee member know your ideas. Better yet, join Dave’s committee. At the dinner meeting I presented three awards. First, “Distinguished Service Award” to Pete Robi-son for his years as Secretary of the Club and his patience in preparing our events calendars and newsletter. Peter moved to Vero Beach in mid - December. Distinguished Service Award recipient, Pete Robison

Next, “Distinguished Service Award” was pre-sented to Steve Minor for his time as activity chair-man of the photography group and for always being present to take pictures of new members for our photo directory.

Steve Minor (left) receiving the Distinguished Service Award from President Scotty Scott

Then, our ‘Man of the Year” award went to Bob “Gomps” Gomperts. Bob has for years been one of the most active members having chaired many dif-ferent activities as well as planning many of our special events.

Bob Gomperts, Man of the Year, holds his award

Finally, in January 2020, we will be accepting 20-30 new members. Please make them welcome, if they live in your neighborhood, ask them to join you in one of your activities. May good health be with you in 2020,

George “Scotty” Scott

Member Activities Larry Schramm High Nooners Luncheon

Stan Weinrich stanweinrich@yahoo.com

The November Larry Schramm High Nooners luncheon was held on November 19 featuring an exciting presentation by Rick Haley about his ex-periences aboard the Navy's only nuclear pow-ered research submarine NR-1.

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Culture Club Howard Finger hhfinger23@gmail.com We attended two musical performances at UNCW in December: On December 6, the UNCW Symphony Band’s tal-ent and virtuosity was on display during a delightful evening of classical music by new and classical composers. Two days later, the 62-member Cape Fear Chorale presented Sing Fa La La - a gleeful program of hol-iday favorites that concluded with an audience par-ticipation singing popular seasonal oldies. On Friday, January 24, the Batuque Trio will be per-forming at 7:30 pm at the Beckwith Recital Hall UNCW. The trio blends a myriad of jazz styles, from the folkloric roots of Cuban and Brazilian music to contemporary trends in Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and Caribbean jazz.

Biking Howard Finger

hhfinger23@gmail.com

November’s Ride As summer waned, 20 members of the CFMC bike

club bid farewell to the season with a trip to

Wrightsville Beach. Along the way we traversed

the Summer Rest Trail, watched the bridge rise and

fall, and made the essential stop at the Johnny Mer-

cer pier.

The Port City Chop House served their usual di-

verse and excellent lunch.

21 riders participated in the November 12 outing

December’s Ride

24 riders with bikes & strollers made the December ride

On a magnificent 75-degree December day, 24 riders participated on our 12-mile ride that took us thru Halliburton Park onto the new city trail bike path and onto Wade Park. The trip experienced some minor snafus - a flat tire and a broken chain, but overall all went well until I (Howard) didn’t quite understand that a RED light at college road meant

STOP! But, No harm no foul. The Tavern on 17th Street served a slow but satisfying lunch. In January we will try to seek some shelter from cold with a ride thru Inland Greens.

The December Larry Schramm High Nooners Luncheon December 17 featured a presentation by Joe Suleyman, New Hanover County Director of Environmental Management. Under Joe's management, the County has made great strides in improving operations, minimizing environmental impacts and reducing costs to the taxpayer.

Gomps & his new knee lead the charge up the just-opened 1.3-mile section of the Cross City Bike trail along College Avenue

PLEASE remember when you write checks, make them payable to: Cape Fear Men’s Club, Inc.

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Saw Pit Landing - November

The November Paddle at Saw Pit Landing was wonderful. The weather was in the mid to high 60's and the sun was in and out of the clouds all morning. We only had 10 men on this paddle. Two of the original dozen men that planned to attend cancelled due to the weather! Only three of the paddlers wore shorts. The rest were very comfortable with a light sweatshirt. Yes, it was a very relaxing 1 1/2-hour paddle. The paddle was in the Holly Shelter Game Preserve so there were no houses or structures along the way. We all had lunch in at Bandanas in Burgaw. They have GREAT sandwiches; everyone raved about the cheesesteak sandwich. This was the last paddle of the season. I hope to see you out for the 2020 kayaking season. I will start the season off at The Black River again in March. Look for the announcements starting in February.

NOVEMBER

Thirty members and guests had a wonderful, but chilly hike the morning of November 13th through the Abbey Nature Preserve in Pender County. The 3 mile hike was followed by a delightful lunch at the Kornerstone Bistro.

DECEMBER

Kayaking Doug Furness cfmckayak@gmail.com

Hiking Jeffrey Barnes stjjcb@gmail.com

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Hiking (continued)

Fifteen showed up on a cool, brisk December morning to walk the Riverwalk along the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington. The walk began in front of the Embassy Suites Hotel and we walked back and forth in both directions to the end - about 3.5 miles. We will not hike in January, so our next hike will be on February 12 with location TBA.

Two missed the picture due to slow walking & fast talking

12 of us joined for lunch in a private room with a view at the Steam Restaurant - good food and a lively conversation

Current Events Bob Gomperts wind1621@gmail.com

Current Events alternates between a "current" current event and other timely topics of interest, and is usually scheduled the second Wednesday of each month at the Northeast Branch of the New Hanover Country Library on Military Cutoff Road. Times vary due to venue availability. The subject and particulars are announced by e-mail prior to the event.

Cigar Group Gordon Brotherton rg_brotherton@hotmail.com

The Cigar Group meets the second Wednesday

each month throughout the winter months. The

location is TBD for each. All are invited to join

us for the lively conversation - fact, fiction

and lies. We smoke cigars, drink adult

beverages, discuss politics, and tell stories-

some of which are true. The Cigar Group can

solve any problem - large or small. Send an

email or call me at 910-616-8441.

Bridge George (Scotty) Scott scotty.cfmc@gmail.com

Men’s bridge plays the second and fourth Tuesday from 1:15pm to 4:00pm at Kickback Jacks. Those wishing to enjoy lunch beforehand meet at 12:15 pm. Couples bridge (husbands and wives) play on the fourth Thursday from 1:00 to 4:00 pm in members’ homes. If interested in joining either group email me and I will add you to the list.

Golf Jack Kazmarski dadkaz@aol.com As you know the vagaries of the weather as well as the availability of courses in good condition, and at a reasonable price, makes it a little difficult to pinpoint when and where we will be playing a month (or two) in advance.

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Shooting Randy Inge randybinge@gmail.com

Members of the shooting club took advantage of good weather and the fine facilities at Camp LeJeune November 21, 2019

PAUL LOTHROP (left) AND BOB NEVIN TAKE A BREAK FROM SHOOTING. WEATHER AND FACILITIES AT CAMP LEJEUNE WERE TERRIFIC

GREGG HAMLIN - EXCELLENT TRAP SHOOTER AT WORK

PAUL LAWLESS HITS HIS STRIDE IN ROUND TWO

Bowling Bob Engel Robertc1941@msn.com

On November 14, “JT” Thomas rolled

strikes in 7 out of 10 frames for a 229…the

high CFMC game bowled in November

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Another year of tennis is in the books. As we look forward to 2020, we can all hope for happiness and good health. Our tennis group has enjoyed a good year of active participation from about 14 of the club members. We would certainly welcome participation of more members. The group meets on Monday morning at about 8:30 am at the Ogden Park tennis courts. If you have made a resolution to be more active and maintain your health, this might be a good way to “kick off” the New Year. See you all courtside. If you are interested in joining please contact me.

Stu White returns a volley showing his form & follow through

It was a little damp one morn, but the sun wasn’t in our eyes!

Mike Clark serves while John Carpitella prepares for a return

Bill Hylwa volleys using great form & a perfect forehand shot

(Left to Right) Lee Mendez, Bill Haycraft, Tony Spataro, Bob Engel, John Carpitella, Stu White, and Mike Clark (kneeling)

Tennis John Carpitella jcarpitella@hotmail.com 910-686-5575

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Fishing – Salt Water Dale Nixon

dalenixon01@ec.rr.com

Recent Trips On October 30, Rudy Hrubala, Bruce Gartner and

Stuart Reed spent a day on the water with Captain

Wolfe of SeaHawk Inshore Fishing Charters. They

were rewarded with a nice catch of 7 black drum,

one red drum and two sea trout. Sadly, this was our

good friend Rudy Hrubala’s final fishing

expedition. Rudy greatly enjoyed these outings on

the water with his friends! Rudy, with his always

present, welcoming smile, will be sadly missed by

all his friends.

Rudy Hrubala with friends, Bruce Gartner & Stuart

Reed – October 30 fishing trip with Captain Wolfe

Bruce Gartner, Stuart Reed and Malcolm Thaden

fished a few days later with Captain Wolfe and

picked up a nice mess of delicious black drum for

dinner.

Malcolm, Bruce, & Stuart – 3 happy fishermen

Malcolm, Bruce & Stuart’s dinner tonight!

On November 8, Mark Larkins and Frank Price

fished with Captain Jon Hoff of Circle H Charters.

As reported by Mark... “great morning of fishing

with Captain Huff on 11/8. Kept some nice sized

trout and released 3 flounders and more lizard fish

than I care to count. Frank Price and I had a great

time and highly recommend Circle H Charters.”

Mark & Frank and 10 nice speckled sea trout

(continued on next page)

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Mark Larkins must have enjoyed himself on his

last recent trip with Captain Jon Hoff, as he headed

out a second time on November 22, this time with

David Hoff. The guys really nailed the sea trout on

this trip! As David reported, “Mark and I had a good

day today. Limited out on trout in about 2 hours.

Spent the rest of the day catching and releasing

about 30 more fish.”

Mark & David with nice limit of Sea Trout

Don Reichard, Ken Bartholomew & Bill Richards

reported on November 24, “We had a fine day with

Captain Jeff - bunch of black drum, a trout, and

sheepshead! We’re looking forward to the next

trip!”

Ken and Bill with nice Black Drum catch

On November 25, Dave Prentice, Dave Sundberg,

Grover Canady, Mike Nevin, and Dale Nixon

headed out to the Gulf Stream with Captain Rick

Croson of Living Waters Guide Service in search

of the big ones! (continued on next page)

2020 Fisherman's Post Saltwater Fishing School This full day, individually–tailored, hands-on, saltwater fishing school is rated as one of the best in the

country, and is highly recommended for ALL saltwater fishermen in our Club, no matter whether you are

new to the area and to saltwater fishing, or whether you are a seasoned “old salt!”

Each year, over a dozen of us have participated. Don’t delay, this School sells completely out quickly!!!

Full Day - Wilmington, NC - February 8, 2020, at Cape Fear Community College’s Union Station Building

(5th floor) Downtown Wilmington (502 N. Front Street, Wilmington, NC 28401). Before February 1, 2020,

tickets are $100/person and $115/person thereafter. You can register and pay by calling Fisherman’s Post

at 910-452-6378, register and pay in person at Tex’s Tackle, or West Marine in Wilmington.

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The captain tried every technique available to get

the tuna and wahoo to bite but alas, the fish really

had lock jaw this day. Bob Nevin boated the one

and only blackfin tuna that day. All that we could

entice to bite were the false albacore. They were

great fighters but were not the table fare we were

after. At the end of the day, we decided to do some

deep-water bottom fishing to see what might be

home down in the depths. We were able to pick up

three very large, & outstanding eating, trigger fish.

A couple of the triggers were likely citation sized

fish...the largest being over 5 pounds in weight.

Grover Canady (holding citation trigger fish) and Dave Sundberg

On December 10, Malcolm Thaden and Bob

MacFarland spent a half day with Captain Huff. As

Malcolm reported, “Bob and I fished with Jon all

morning but couldn’t find any fish. Kept at it until

Jon found trout. Caught lots of small trout and

finally got into some keepers. What a nice spring-

like day.”

Bob and Malcolm with nice sea trout catch

Even though it was a chilly and windy day on

December 12, Bill Richards and Don Reichard

reported . . . “enjoyed our trip immensely with Cpt.

Huff! We fished the Cape Fear, North East Cape

Fear, and Brunswick rivers. We boated 3 stripers!

Don Reichard with Cape Fear River Striped Bass

There will be no Vonda Kay trips scheduled until April

2020. Unfortunately, the Captain decided to shut down

the service this winter due to low demand.

Vonda Kay Winter Bottom Fishing Trips

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Cape Fear Uncorked Wine Group II News - November 20

Uncorked held its last tasting of the year at the

home of Dave and Mary Austin with co-hosts

Ladd and Pam Smith. The tasting theme was

wines of the Finger Lakes region of New York

and Ontario, Canada. The motivation for

featuring this region was a summer trip by the

Austins to Canada where they sampled

representative wines and hand-carried two

Canadian wines back for the tasting event.

The other two wines offered were from Finger

Lake wineries, though purchased locally.

Those familiar with this region will know its

climate bears a greater resemblance to

Germany than France, reflected in the varietals

grown there. The first wine sampled was a

2017 Dry Riesling from Wagner winery on the

east side of Lake Seneca, just a few miles

north of storied Watkins Glen. The wine

earned a solid “Good” rating by the group,

with two rating it “Excellent.” As promised, it

was dry and crisp with tangy acidity and

green-apple bouquet. At a price of $15 over

half the group would buy this wine, available

at Total Wine.

Next up was a 2018 Dunes Red blend of

Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Marechal Foch

grapes, produced by Sandbanks winery on the

Canadian side of Lake Ontario. Its claim to

fame is that Queen Elizabeth drank this wine

during a visit to Ottawa in 2010.

Unfortunately, the group found her selection

less appealing. In spite of a flamboyant

description on the bottle, most found the wine

lacking in depth. While drinkable, it left no

strong impression on the palate. It earned a

center-of-mass “Good” rating, and several

thought it “Excellent” balanced by an equal

number who found it “Acceptable.” If it were

available locally at its $12 price some of the

members of the group would buy it.

Canada supplied the second red wine of the

evening in the form of a Baco Noir from

Inniskillin in Niagara-on-the Lake, Ontario.

This is a hybrid grape designed to thrive in the

colder climates of Canada. It was quite

drinkable, cited as “creamy and refreshing, a

nice blend of sweet and savory,” but like the

previous red wine from Canada, lacked depth.

It received virtually identical polling by the

group with the same price.

The last wine was a Riesling (with 10%

Chardonnay) from the Finger Lakes winery

Red Tail, located across the Seneca Lake from

Wagner. Unfortunately, its sweeter taste sent

it to the bottom of the ratings for the evening,

averaging “Acceptable,” but no one would buy

this wine at $17 a bottle from our local wine

shop, Red Bank.

Rather than ending on a sour (or is it sweet?)

note, kudos to the Austin-Smith team for

wonderful setting and complementary food

items, including Manchego and Fontina

cheeses, cranberry cream cheese log, stuffed

pastry shells, barbeque beef sliders and an

array of nuts, olives, crackers and fruit.

A fitting end to another vintage Uncorked year

of wine, food, and friends.

Wine Group II

John LaSala

woops72@aol.com

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1. The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli [Alan

Smith] January 15

The Italian Theoretical physicist behind the

global best seller Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

turns his attention to time: how it works and what

we get wrong about it.

2. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of

the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

[John Tufano] February 19

The incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship

Essex - the inspiration for the climax of Moby-

Dick. During ninety days at sea under horrendous

conditions, the survivors clung to life.

3. Hoopla by Harry Stein [Frank Amoroso]

March 18

Considered by many people to be one of the best

adult baseball novels ever written. This blend of

fact and fiction centers on the "Black Sox"

scandal of the 1919 World Series.

4. Mountain by Robert Kuncio-Raleigh [Robert]

April 15

The true story of a free black raised by white

notable Philadelphians just before the

revolutionary war tragedy.

5. Alone by Michael Korda [Leith Wicker]

May 20

Combining epic history with rich family stories,

Michael Korda chronicles the outbreak of World

War Two and the great events that led to

Dunkirk.

6. A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler [Gary

Dillon] June 17

The classic story of an ordinary man seemingly

out of his depth, A Coffin for Dimitrios remains

Eric Ambler's most widely acclaimed novel.

7. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

[????] July 15

Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but

we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in

it, and move forward with renewed purpose.

8. God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens

[????] August 19

In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am

Not a Christian and Sam Harris's recent

bestseller, The End of Faith, Christopher

Hitchens makes the ultimate case against

religion.

9. Proust and the Squid: The Story and

Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne

Wolf [Lee Mendez] September 16

The act of reading is a miracle. You will never

again take for granted your ability to absorb the

written word.

10. Metropolis by Philip Kerr [????] October 20

Berlin 1928, the dying days of the Weimar

Republic shortly before Hitler and the Nazis came

to power. The voice of Nazism is becoming a roar

that threatens to drown out all others.

11. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of

Murder, Insanity and the Making of the

Oxford English Dictionary by Simon

Winchester [Hugo Thomas] November 18

An extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the

incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that

led to the making of the Oxford English

Dictionary.

12. The Tenth of December by George

Saunders [ ???? ] December 16

One of the most important and blazingly original

writers of his generation, George Saunders is

master of the short story. Writing brilliantly

about class, sex, love, loss, work, despair, and war,

Saunders cuts to the core of the contemporary

experience.

Book Club Robert Raleigh

rraleigh1@ec.rr.com

Books for 2020

[Names in brackets are discussion leaders. Red question marks indicate books still requiring leaders. Dates may change.]

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ACTIVITY COORDINATOR EMAIL PHONE

Beer, Burgers & Buddies John Wynne gabwyn2821@gmail.com 833-8634

Biking Howard Finger hhfinger23@gmail.com 516-902-4267

Book Club Robert Raleigh rraleigh1@ec.rr.com 409-9864

Bowling Bob Engel robertc1941@msn.com 845-641-6149

Breakfast/Lunch Bunches Steve Adrian sladrian1@gmail.com 452-5491

Bridge (men & couples) George (Scotty) Scott scotty.cfmc@gmail.com 908-872-3983

Cigars Gordon Brotherton rg_brotherton@hotmail.com 616-8441

Culture Club Howard Finger hhfinger23@gmail.com 516-902-4267

Current Events Bob Gomperts wind1621@gmail.com 859-6821

Early Risers Breakfast Alan Smith alanbevsmith@gmail.com 762-2906

Events Dave Sundberg carzcarzcarz@yahoo.com 552-5024

Fishing, Salt Water Dale Nixon dalenixon01@ec.rr.com 398-2868

Fishing , Surf Terry Reilly tcreily@gmail.com 248-836-8136

Golf Jack Kazmarski dadkaz@aol.com 860-550-3632

High Nooners Stan Weinrich stanweinrich@yahoo.com 901-493-7227

Hiking Jeff Barnes stjjcb@gmail.com 232-5056

Investments Bruce McGranahan cbrucemc@gmail.com 681-3773

Kayaking Doug Furness dougfurnessnc@gmail.com 319-7684

Live Music Kurt Abisch foodsoft@aol.com 914-582-8673

Shooting Sports Randy Inge randybinge@gmail.com 804-839-8492

Tennis John Carpitella jcarpitella@hotmail.com 686-5575

Volunteerism Greg Stone ghstone99@gmail.com 612-6925

Wine Group 1 George (Scotty) Scott scotty.cfmc@gmail.com 908-872-3983

Wine Group 2 John LaSala woops72@aol.com 845-552-3578

Wine Group 3 Harold Eichenholz haroldvienna@hotmail.com 301-527-1170

Wine Group 4 Jay Brooks jmb61148@gmail.com 610-909-9060

Wine Group 5 Bruce Maurer bemaurer@hotmail.com 821-0229

Wine Group 7

Wine Group 8 Michael Zalob mzalob@yahoo.com 599-1610

President Scotty Scott scoty.cfmc@gmail.com 908-872-3983

Vice-President Bud Sparks budsparks@aol.com 302-588-2555

Secretary Hugo Thomas hugothomas2015@gmail.com 860-490-0401

Treasurer Steve Rothschild sroths28@aol.com 585-943-7551

Member at Large Bruce Maurer bemaurer@hotmail.com 821-0229

Member at Large Lee Mendez hedleymendez@icloud.com 757-870-5145

Member at Large JT Thomas jt73vt@gmail.com 703-798-3719

Events Coordinator Dave Sundberg carzcarzcars@yahoo.com 218-390-2683

High Nooners' Coodinator Stan Weinrich stanweinrich@yahoo.com 901-493-7227

Webmaster & Newletter Gary Kohunsky gwkohun@yahoo.com 352-7579

CAPE FEAR MEN'S CLUB ACTIVITY COORDINATORS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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