Scuba symbol owned by anyone?

[mike_s]

So where does the guy from Vortex, who claims to have invented the dive flag, fit into this? Or is he Dockery?

 

[The Kraken]

Doc Dockery bought and developed Vortex Spring into its present state.
He designed and developed some rather inpressive machinery to bring the spring up to its current level.

He lives in the house on the opposite side of the spring from the dive shop.

the K

 

[Sam Miller III]

Kraken,
Memories or fairey tales of yesteryear?

I have no intention of flying or driving 3000 miles to meet Mr. Dockery. But it would be interesting to chat withone who constructed a unit from plans from PM five years before the magazine was published; who began diving self contained diving prior to it's being known in the US; who never made a sound about his involvement with the divers flag until after the demise of Ted Nixon; who never stepped forward to assist in the defense of the flag, his brain child his creation.. Nope I think I will remain right here where it all began

However, I would apprecate it if you could contact him for any documents, pictures, etc he has that supports his claim to fame and forward them to me post haste.

It would also be interesting to discover where he purchased the basic equipment, Fins Mask & Sorkel or even what brand they were in the 1940s--especially in Michigan.

Some how I keep hearing Frank Sinatra song "Fairy tales can come true'...

sdm

 

[Mafiaman]

Kraken,
Memories or fairey tales of yesteryear?
Some how I keep hearing Frank Sinatra song "Fairy tales can come true'...

sdm

Being right is not a license to berate.
I do understand your pride in your accomplishments.

 

[beezwax]

....But it would be interesting to chat withone who constructed a unit from plans from PM five years before the magazine was published....

I have no idea who invented the dive flag, but you're way off here Sam. The first issue of Popular Mechanics was January 11, 1902. The PM website has an archive of covers of every issue they've ever published. And if you google "Popular Mechanics scuba" you'll see that they did have scuba articles in the mid-1940s.

 

[The Kraken]

Kraken,
Memories or fairey tales of yesteryear?

I have no intention of flying or driving 3000 miles to meet Mr. Dockery. But it would be interesting to chat withone who constructed a unit from plans from PM five years before the magazine was published; who began diving self contained diving prior to it's being known in the US; who never made a sound about his involvement with the divers flag until after the demise of Ted Nixon; who never stepped forward to assist in the defense of the flag, his brain child his creation.. Nope I think I will remain right here where it all began

However, I would apprecate it if you could contact him for any documents, pictures, etc he has that supports his claim to fame and forward them to me post haste.

It would also be interesting to discover where he purchased the basic equipment, Fins Mask & Sorkel or even what brand they were in the 1940s--especially in Michigan.

Some how I keep hearing Frank Sinatra song "Fairy tales can come true'...

sdm

Sam,

Popular Mechanics was being published as early as 1902.

Keep in mind too, that scuba gear was already in use in 1941, albeit it was closed circuit.

Cousteau designed his open circuit system in 1943 and it was marketed in France, in Great Britian in 1950, in Canada in 1951 and in the U.S. in 1952.

I'm not so sure that you're correct in saying that scuba gear was unknown in the United States prior to 1950.



the K

 

[Sasquatch]

Well, Sam, I can understand not wanting to travel 3000 miles to meet Mr. Dockery but for the sake of your writing you might want to at least CALL or arrange for someone in the area to record answers to questions you've pre-written in an interview setting.

It sounds like this could make an interesting paragraph or two.

Just my opinion...

Sea ya!

 

[Bob3]

Folks might be thinking of the July 1953 issue of Popular Science, that has the entertaining article "Build Your Own Diving Lung" using surplus military gear.
PM no doubt had similar articles, but it's the Popular Science edition that is sought after by collectors, along with the June 1954 edition of Popular Science that has a hand operated hookah pump featured in "How To Build a Beginner's Diving Outfit". It features one of those dual snorkel masks, garden hose, a hot water bottle, and a gallon can (for the pump cylinder).
It also shows how to make fins from a pair of sneakers & "Pliobond". They also show how to build a prescription mask, pretty advanced stuff for the day.
Sam (or anyone else for that matter), I'm up in Sacramento & would be happy to let you thumb through my issues of said mags.
I built a diving bell & dive helmet out of lard cans back in the '50s.
I too, recall the dive flag's birthplace as having been in Michigan.
Snowboarding was first invented there too, sliding down the big sand dunes on sawed off water skis.

 

[Tom Smedley]

You're writing a book that is supposed to be factual and you have closed your mind to the fact that someone invented the dive flag. You adamately refuse to travel a relatively small way to meet and interview a man who had undoubtedly done so much for the sport. You know Doc also has a telephone and even though he lives in the Florida Panhandle he knows how to use it. No matter how thick your research is it is incomplete without this pertinent piece of information and you have wasted your time.

It's your book, you will get the royalties, you do the legwork.

Kraken,
Memories or fairey tales of yesteryear?

I have no intention of flying or driving 3000 miles to meet Mr. Dockery. But it would be interesting to chat withone who constructed a unit from plans from PM five years before the magazine was published; who began diving self contained diving prior to it's being known in the US; who never made a sound about his involvement with the divers flag until after the demise of Ted Nixon; who never stepped forward to assist in the defense of the flag, his brain child his creation.. Nope I think I will remain right here where it all began

However, I would apprecate it if you could contact him for any documents, pictures, etc he has that supports his claim to fame and forward them to me post haste.

It would also be interesting to discover where he purchased the basic equipment, Fins Mask & Sorkel or even what brand they were in the 1940s--especially in Michigan.

Some how I keep hearing Frank Sinatra song "Fairy tales can come true'...

sdm

 

[H2Andy]

Memories or fairey tales of yesteryear?

yeah, you know everything there is to know about scuba history in the US, so silly of us to dare think otherwise

:shakehead

you're not coming across real well here, sam

you *could* be wrong (or is that not a possiblity?) wouldn't it make sense to look into it, figure out if you are or not? not close your mind to the posibility that you could be wrong?

hey, you could be the first real pro to get Doc his place in diving history; that would be quite an accomplishment on your part.

and it would look even more impressive on your diving history expert resume.

not to mention the service you might render to the accuary of our sport's history