I cant recall where or when I first met Bev Lee Morgan....
I think it was after he an others returned from that ill fated round the world trip that totally disintegrated in Tahiti.
Bev and his shipmates Ramsey Parks and "Platzi" (Lorenzo) Miller purchased a rundown WW!! Quonset hut near the then Abalone processing plant in bucolic Newport beach,
It was a small unit, Certainly not large enough for three divers and their equipment - but it was secure and was a roof over their heads. Never the less it needed it to be larger, with private rooms for each of them, so they contacted the city who denied their request to modify the hut in any way.
A short time later I dropped by after my Saturday dive at Laguna beach and they were all busy laying a concrete block perimeter foundation, which they were covering with debris as fast as they could lay the concrete blocks forming the foundation-- camouflaging it from the eyes of city officials,
The following week the concrete flooring and all the plumbing was installed and promptly camouflaged.
Several weeks later I received a telephone call -- "If you are not busy bring your hammer and meet on Saturday at the hut as early as possible ." I arrived and the project just getting underway.... Divers and surfers were gathering for .an illegal modern "Barn raising." We tipped up painted prefabricated walls and nailed away- placed the prefabricated roof in place, Planted a few plants and tossed dirt on the addition to create the illusion that it had been there since WW11 but lost the war.
Bev, Ramsey and Platzi moved in to their new "digs'" and lived there several years until Romance, Academic position and Business and a lured them away one by one.
Bev fell in love with a lovely local nurse Marilyn Winterhalter aka "Mary Sumnerstopper" and was married for the second time. Concurrently he was perfecting his Oral Nasal dive mask which was loosely based on local Phil Widoff's mask Phil's mask but was never totally perfected like Bev's mask.
I ended up with one of Bev's first mask 008 which I still have , now packed away for safe keeping
<<< Marilyn was a good friend of my ex room mate Joe MC Cabe girl friend. Joe died on the recovery of a 7000 pound anchor on June 4,1950 - Joe's girl friend was so distraught at losing Joe that she took he own life. It was Marilyn Winterhalter who went to her home and discovered her in the garage - >>>
Ramsey became the director of the Santa Barbara City College Marine Science program until he passed away at the age of 39 of a massive heart attack .
Platzi established a very successful Newport Beach commercial diving Company SEA= Submarine Engineering Associates which he operated until his passing
Those were the "Daz of our dives " -- experienced by only a few which will never ever be experienced again
Sam Miller, 111
@Akimbo
@Bob Evans
@Trace Malinowski
