Civil Defense in 1958 and 2018: Mt. Airy Test Case

"Lessons from an Emergency" was just published in my local newspaper, Mt. Airy Messenger, under The Way We Were column on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, page 15.
However, this editorial is an excerpt from March 28, 1958 in the Mt. Airy, Maryland, Community Reporter local newspaper.
It states that it is "a glance at Mt. Airy's past brought to you by the Mt. Airy Historical Society."
Reading it 60 years later, it indicates a high-level awareness of the necessity for civil defense.
The practical wisdom in it is superb.
We need to become as aware.
The March 28, 1958 editorial follows:
(Yes...kids were tougher then. The toy kit you see was marketed as a toy for kids, U-238 Atomic Energy Labs came with three different types of live uranium ore and a Geiger counter.)

"The recent paralyzing snow storm, which disrupted electric and telephone service, prevented deliveries of fuel oil and hampered efforts of dairy farmers in getting rid of their milk, presented a number of valuable lessons designed to set forth the importance of being prepared for this kind of emergency.
It also pointed up the utter dependence of our present social and economic system upon electric service, for not until something occurs to interrupt the flow of this all-important medium into our homes, farms, stores, offices, and manufacturing plants do we recognize the extent to which we have become the slaves of electrical energy.
Without it [electricity]:

• Many of our oil-heater or stoker-fed furnaces are out of service
• We have to revert to candles or kerosene lamps for illumination
• Automatic washing machines, dryers and irons hold up all laundry operations
• Households who cook on electric ranges are unable to prepare food
• The threat of spoilage in inoperative refrigerators and home freezers mounts
• Radios and television sets are silent while electric sweepers, dish washers, food disposers, percolators, toasters, and water heaters totally stymie housekeeping efforts. 
• Father's electric shaver refuses to work and persons accustomed to sleeping under electric blankets shiver the night through. 
• On the farm, water systems fail, dairymen cannot operate the milkers while milk spoils in milk-cooler storage tanks. 
• Supermarkets and other stores were unable to operate their cash registers, freezer cases warm up, threatening frozen food supplies, while elevators and escalators in department stores are at a standstill. 
• Many factories face complete shutdown and unemployment mounts. 

Yes, this is indeed an electric age.
But there might conceivably be even worse situations than that caused by a show storm. An atomic bomb could wreak havoc on communities over a wide area. Death and destruction would then be added to the inconvenience and misery caused by the mere interruption of electric service. Surely everyone ought to give sober thought to the possibility of such a catastrophe and resolve to take all measures possible to soften the blow in case it should come. This means more serious attention to Civil Defense organization and planning.
The recent emergency brought many ingenious methods of overcoming sever hardship. Some homes had fireplaces with supplied of wood handy.
With these they kept rooms  warm and even cooked meals in some instances. Others had camp stoves fed by bottled gas. Little, gravity-fed oil room headers saved the day for others.
On farms a number of farmers operated their milking machines by backing a truck up tot he dairy and attaching their vacuum hose to the mother where they had removed a spark plug. others put sleds into use to get their milk to the main highways, when they could not get their trucks out.
People with heating systems not dependent upon electricity opened their homes to less fortunate neighbors. It is encouraging to observe how people react to emergencies after all.
But the lesson we should have learned is that a little preparation in advance might alleviate hardship and inconvenience in such situations.
Man is a resourceful animal, an can usually find means of caring for his needs when the comforts and conveniences of modern life fail."

The Lessons of a 60-Year Old Emergency as it Applies to 2018

The Mt. Airy, MD "Lessons from an Emergency" editorial was written 60 years ago.
What has changed?
Not much. Except that we are ten times more vulnerable to disruptions in a continuous flow of electric power than Americans were in the 1950's.
Moreover, the threat of atom bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles has increased. Sadly, these bombs and missiles can come from many more bad actors, from more directions, faster, be more destructive and in minutes...not hours.
Also, the threat of electromagnetic pulse disruptions, from foreign attack, hackers, or solar flares, has increased.
And, the threat of natural disasters impacting Americans is greater because there are twice as many Americans as in 1958.
Are the citizens of Mt. Airy aware of these facts?
Do they care?
Do any Americans in the tens of thousands of towns just like Mt. Airy all over the United States care about civil defense preparations today?
In just one area, the electric power grid, how vulnerable is our electric grid? Read this and weep.
Here is my blog post attempt to incite a call to action to harden the American power grid before it is hit.
Please explore the wisdom, knowledge, strategies, and practical steps developed by the The American Civil Defense Association over 60 plus years of learning about civil defense issues. It is worth reading the articles and course material found there.
I have been on the TACDA board of directors for 8 years and can vouch for their civil defense knowledge and experience.
We publish the Journal of Civil Defense. The latest issue has my article "When State Hackers Take Aim at the Power Grid." There are many other worthwhile articles in this issue and the Journal of Civil Defense and in its archives.
Contact: TACDA, 12162 South Business Park Drive, #208, Draper, UT 84020, www.tacda.org, info@tacda.org, 800 425 5397.
Sharon Packer, Secretary/Treasurer of TACDA, has posted an excellent discussion of radiation issues on the TACDA Blog. Sharon owns a company that builds bomb shelters and is an expert in this areas. For a quick analysis of electromagnetic pulse (EMP), see here.
There are other American civil defense voices, such as Michael Mabee, in the desert raising the alarm here. And here. And here. If this were a just world, he would be on the National Security Council organizing American civil defense efforts.
What are we doing as a nation to create, test, and implement a national strategy to address these ongoing dangers?
What are you doing as an individual?
What is your family doing?
These threats were there in 1958. They are still here, in even greater degree, in 2018.
Americans are the best in the world at instant civil defense, as proven on 9/11 in New York City. The 9/11 Great Boat Lift, when the U.S. Coast guard, barges, and private boat owners got 500,000 Americans off Manhattan island after the sneak jihadi attack, was much bigger than Dunkirk and much faster.
The 9/11 Great Boat Lift, done in 9 hours, is a remarkable story of Americans spontaneously saving the lives of other Americans in an emergency.
It is civil defense at its best, but it is a one-time miracle. Civil defense cannot be based on miracles, but rational planning.
Or you can go back over 2,500 years to Aesop's Fables, especially the Ant and the Grasshopper, for why we need to prepare.
Enjoy making your civil defense preparations now while you have the time and resources. Here is one option if you are young:
If you are 18 to 24 years old and want to serve in support of disaster-related projects, apply for FEMA Corps by April 1 to start in July 2018. Apply here.

Farmers Feed the Hungry Christmas Parade

On December 9th, 2017, we went to the family-friendly Farmers Feed the Hungry Christmas Parade in Lisbon, Maryland. It collects food from parade goers to distributed to the hungry. Below are some photos to give an idea of how Christmas-wonderful and beautiful an event it is.

Honoring the Sacred American Flag

   The American flag is sacred, and we should treat it as sacredly as members and families of the military do when we bury those who have served.
   (Here, I provide photos of recent funerals I have attended at Arlington National Cemetery to help the reader see how respectfully the flag is treated as the symbol of their sacrifice at military funerals.)
   Did you know that the 21 gun salute stands for the sum of the numbers in the year 1776? 
    Have you ever noticed the honor guard pays meticulous attention to correctly folding the American flag 13 times?
       If you did know this, you probably thought it was to symbolize the original 13 colonies, as most do. But the true story is much richer and deeper.
       The 1st fold of our flag is a symbol of life.
       The 2nd fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.   

       The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing our ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world.
       The 4th fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.
       The 5th fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decaur, "Our Country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong."
       The 6th fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. 
       The 7th fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they are found within or without the boundaries of our republic.
       The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.
       The 9th fold is a tribute to our Mothers, and American womanhood. For it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the characters of the men and women who have made this entry great, have been molded.
       The 10th fold is a tribute to our fathers, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born.
       The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrews' eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
       The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in the Christians' eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.
       The 13th fold, or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost reminding us of our nation's motto, "In God We Trust." We look to the Heavens, our Almighty Father for our Nation's preservation.        

After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the Sailors and Marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the rights, the privileges, and freedoms we enjoy today.
       There are some traditions and ways of doing things that have deep meaning. In the future, you'll see flags folded and now you will know why.
       Share this with the children you love and all others who love this symbol of "Liberty and Freedom." 

 

     Share this with the children you love and all others who love this symbol of the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, millions of them and their families, who won us and preserve our Liberty and Freedom.
   My poem below is to thank all the military wives, girlfriends, mothers and sisters who are left behind to carry on and to raise the children and continue civilizations after the military father, brother, husband, sons are buried.

I have attended the funerals of two uncles, Ray Curley and Billy Curley, at Arlington.

I wrote this poem after attending the funeral for a Navy SEAL who was the husband of the niece of my friend, the Vietnam Army green beret you see saluting the grave of his comrade in the photo above. 

I saw the SEAL's widow and children and tried to convey their lives at that moment.


Soft Feet Walk the Wet Green Grass at Arlington

Soft feet walk the wet green grass at Arlington,
Where a young mother cradles her baby and sons
Weeping softly in death-caused grief and pain
As her warrior husband is interred and remembered.

Many sing praises of his courage, bravery and strength
Under enemy fire in fierce battles in foreign lands.
She feels the baby move at her neck and cry out,
Hungry for food but unaware of the greater hunger.

The mother hears more words of praise from the chaplain,
She tries to maintain, but the knot of grief grabs her throat.
She sees the two boys fidgeting and looking about
And wonders how she will explain their father to them one day.

Her pain is now to a degree she knows as few do
The sword that has pierced her heart can never be removed
In this lifetime, and will stay with her until her own death:
Until then there are three children who must be raised.

As Christ hung on a Cross and Mary saw her son taken
So the Holy Spirit could be revealed to the human race,
This mother must protect, nourish, love and kindle
The spirit of these children co-created with her husband.

The wind blows and she looks up to see a man and a flag
Telling her how grateful the nation is for her husband’s sacrifice.
She knows now what every warrior’s widow must know,
The truth of his life work that became his mission:

His love for her was the reason he was willing to die,
That sacrificial love the reason these children live.
She cradles the baby and flag, takes the boys hands,
Stands and walks, despite the grief, to her destiny and duty.

November 14, 2017

Find more info on the American flag here. 

John Vincent Atanasoff Inventor of the Digital Computer

Is there a device more important to everyday living than the personal computer?  

Well, did you know the inventor of the personal computer, the Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC), was John Vincent Atanasoff, and was buried at the Pine Grove Chapel in Mount Airy, MD in 1995?

And that the principles of John Atanasoff's computer are the basis of millions of computers and the information revolution, without which modern society would not exist? 

The big breakthrough was made by John Atanasoff who abandoned mechanics and designed electronic circuits for calculating by use of a binary system of numbers.

That you do not know may not be an accident given that Atanosoff’s invention plans was stolen from him in 1938 and used by Sperry Univac. 

He had to sue for years to prove in court that he, and not Sperry Univac, was the true inventor of the personal computer.

In 1937, a professor of mathematics and physics went for a long drive to Illinois during which he conceived several ideas that still change the world. 

These ideas led Professor John Vincent Atanasoff (together with his PhD assistant Clifford Edward Berry) to invent and build the Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC), the first DIGITAL electronic computer.

They built it in the basement of the physics building at Iowa State College during 1939–42. He was driven by the need to solve physics problems using long numeric equations.

Among the breakthroughs that John Atanasoff made were the following ideas, all of which he jotted down on a napkin in a tavern.

-     Electricity and electronics, not mechanical methods

-     Binary numbers internally

-     Separate memory made with capacitors, refreshed to maintain 0 or I state

-      Direct 0-1 logic operations, not enumeration

From these ideas, he was able to successfully build the ABC. The ENIAC successor, and all subsequent computers, are based on these ideas.

For memory, the ABC used electrostatic store-drums made up of 1600 capacitors each. 

These capacitors are used to store a small charge representing the 1, or on, state. The off, or 0, state was represented by no charge. 

Therefore, binary numbers could be stored onto the drums. 

This is the first use of the idea now known as DRAM, a modern day technology used in today’s computers.

The ABC was a specific-use computer, designed to solve systems of linear algebraic equations, and was capable of solving systems with up to 29 unknowns. 

What is remarkable about John Atanasoff’s computer is that he created it on his own, with no real financial backing from companies or the government like future projects such as the ENIAC, EDVAC or UNIVAC.

In 1942, John Atanasoff was called on duty and he started a defence-related position in the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in White Oak, MD, as a theoretical physicists to work on various projects related to mines disarming, underwater bombs, and rockets. He participated in the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll n 1946.
John Vincent Atanasoff's papers are archived here. 

Between 1942 and 1966, most of his scientist work was related to the dynamics of sea vessels. 

He holds patents to over 30 different devices (for a device for capturing and recording seismic sound waves, a post office sorting system, automated systems for package preparation and others).

In 1973, after a Federal patent judge voided a patent owned by Sperry Rand Corp. on ENIAC, the Atanasoff-Berry Computer was credited as the first electronic digital computer. 

This decision put the invention of the electronic digital computer in the public domain and granted legal recognition to John Atanasoff as the inventor of the first electronic digital computer.

Following World War II, John Atanasoff remained with the government and developed specialized seismographs and microbarographs for long-range explosive detection. In 1952, he founded and led the Ordnance Engineering Corporation, selling the company to Aerojet General Corporation in 1956 and becoming Aerojet's Atlantic Division president. 

In 1960, he and his wife Alice moved to their farm in New Market, MD. In 1961, he started another company, Cybernetics in Frederick that he operated for 20 years. In 1970, John Atanasoff was invited to Bulgaria (his father John emigrated to the U.S. in 1889 at 13 from Bulgaria) by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and the Bulgarian Government conferred to him the Cyrille and Methodius Order of Merit First Class. President George H.W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Science and Technology in 1990. 

John Atanasoff’s father, Ivan, was a Bulgarian immigrant. On October 4^th, 2003 on the 100^th birthday of John Atanasoff, Bulgaria named him the “electronic Prometheus” who gave birth to digital computing, and dedicated a monument to him in Sophia, noting that his creation incorporated several major innovations in computing including the use of binary arithmetic, regenerative memory, parallel processing and separation of memory and computing functions.

Inventor of the digital computer, father of the modern computer, WWII war research victory contributor, company founder, husband, father, immigrant’s son…the man who quietly revolutionized the world…and then for years had to defend the theft of his invention from very powerful companies in multiple lawsuits. 

His life and work contributed mightily to the American Dream. 

An immigrant’s son who knew genius required grit to succeed. We all, especially everyone who has used a computer, owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

New Market's John V. Atanasoff helped spark the computer age

February 21, 2002, Gazette, Karen Beck, Staff Writer.

The next time you send out an e-mail or play a video game, you have a former New Market resident to  thank. John Vincent Atanasoff lived in a home on the east side of New Market for over 30 years, watching the countryside change just like everyone else in Frederick County. Unlike everyone else, however, Atanasoff happened to have invented one of the key technological advances of the modern age. His calculating machine, created over 60 years ago at Iowa State College (now University), was ruled in 1972 to be the first in a long line of evolution that most recently has churned out Pentium processors and G4s. For that reason, Atanasoff is credited with being the computer's inventor, and today, seven years after his death, is called its forgotten father. So why, then, is Atanasoff not a household name? The reason is that Atanasoff only got credit for his original idea after decades of other people claiming it as their own. According to some of the many biographies of Atanasoff, the highly-contested inspiration for his rudimentary computer came to Atanasoff in 1937, when he was a professor at Iowa State College.  One night as he struggled with the problem of designing a device that could quickly solve complex math problems, he went for a long drive and ended up a tavern in Illinois. Over a shot of bourbon, he realized some of the inherent principles of his invention: he could use electronic, rather than mechanical, components for the device, and use the base-2, binary system. For three years, Atanasoff worked on this new computer with a graduate student, Clifford Berry. By December of 1939, they had built a promising prototype of the Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC), which intrigued many people, including one scientist named Dr. John Mauchly. Atanasoff readily talked with Dr. Mauchly about the prototype, and even had him as a houseguest at his home in Iowa. In the following years as World War II erupted, Atanasoff was sent to Washington to do research for the Naval Ordinance Laboratory.  He tried to get a patent for his device, however because of high turnover, the documents were "shoved back in a drawer and forgotten," said William O'Toole, computer science professor at Mount St. Mary's College and long-time friend of Atanasoff. Submitted photo taken by Carolyn Kaddis John V. Atanasoff, New Market resident and inventor of the computer, at age 80 Meanwhile, Mauchly and Dr. Presper Eckert Jr. developed the now-famous machine called ENIAC and sold it to the U.S. Army. As time went on, Mauchly and Eckert gained the patents and the credit for the first electronic digital computer. From that technology evolved many of the modern devices we use today, from cell phones to Imacs, while the ABC was dismantled to make more space in the Iowa State lab.  Atanasoff got other jobs, and in 1963 Berry was found dead in Coney Island, a case O'Toole said the court ruled was a suicide. It was three decades after the idea's fruition when the matter mushroomed into a three-year-long court case. One computer industry giant, Honeywell Corp., sued another corporation, Sperry Rand Corp., trying to invalidate the Mauchly-Eckert patents it owned.  During those deliberations, Atanasoff gave testimony that brought all of Mauchly and Eckert's ideas into question. After a massive investigation, the judge found that the ENIAC computer relied on innovations made in Atanasoff's prototype, in other words, that it was Atanasoff who invented the first computer. However, this was not news to Atanasoff's wife, Alice. During all the years in which his invention went unrecognized, she said they thought it was "just the way life was."  This disappointment did not stop Atanasoff from further accomplishments and inventions. Alice said that he held 32 patents, some of which came from his days working for the government during WWII.  Of those, some are still classified. He worked successfully at a number of jobs and operated a engineering business called Cybernetics, Inc. in Frederick for almost 20 years. Once the announcement was made that the computer was his idea, Alice Atanasoff said that they had hoped for more fanfare. Only with time was he was decorated with awards and accolades, including the National Medal of Technology, presented at a ceremony at the White House. Iowa State University named a hall after him, and in 1997 rebuilt his ABC computer at a cost of $300,000. "He really opened up the computer industry, competition came in at that point," O'Toole said. O'Toole listed five specific developments that Atanasoff was responsible for, four of which were stolen by Mauchly and Eckert.  The only one of those five that they did not use in ENIAC was using a binary system for calculations, which O'Toole said is now the industry standard. In spite of those accomplishments, the Atanasoffs were never to see any of the financial benefits of such a wide-sweeping invention, and even today many textbooks still list Mauchly and Eckert as the original inventors. According to Alice Atanasoff, that is because once people had their beliefs established, they were not going to change their minds. Still, what people think does not change her husband's impact on technology, and on the people around him. When the lawyers searched his background as part of the suit, she said that they had talked to many of his old acquaintances.  "Most thought he was the most brilliant man they ever knew--but fun," she said. O'Toole listed a bevy of great qualities Atanasoff had, including his humor and warm-hearted nature. "I am happy and proud to say we were good friends," O'Toole said. Alice Atanasoff moved with her husband after his retirement to their farm in New Market in 1960. They chose the area because they both liked the peace of a farm, and the people and atmosphere of Frederick County. Alice Atansoff still lives in their hilltop home, whose modern architecture was partially designed by her husband. Although the Atanasoffs were never active in the town government, she said that they had good friends in the area. Alice said that it was interesting for them to watch the changes in the area, as the landscape went from no houses on the horizon to the current development.  After Atanasoff died from a stroke in 1995, he was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Mount Airy, where a monument to him still stands. That cemetery should be the site of some festivities next year in honor of what would have been Atanasoff's 100th birthday in October of 2003, according to Alice Atanasoff. At the same time, a huge celebration is to be held in Bulgaria. Since Atansoff's grandfather was a Bulgarian patriot, that country has a special tie to his accomplishments.  As a result, the Bulgarian government will be dedicating a monument, a commemorative coin, and a postage stamp as celebrations are held across the country at the same time as local tribute is paid to the former New Market resident.

Sources:

http://jva.cs.iastate.edu/jvabio.php

http://paul.luon.net/essays/HoC-Atanasoff.pdfhttps://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/science_and_technology/years-after-death-computer-inventor-still-celebrated/article_3afbb911-fee1-5722-b51a-3159bd92a0b1.html
https://www.thocp.net/biographies/atanasoff_john.html