U.S.S. Aquila: The First Ten Years

                           By Rob Langenderfer

          I have been the historian of the U.S.S. Aquila for nearly 14 years.  During that time I have never attempted to write a chronological history of the ship.  Part of the reason that I avoided doing so was that in the Aquila, like any human organization, there have been some conflicts at times between members, and some people have even left the ship as a result of them.  However, as 1^st officer Linda Widener and I have become the only regular members of the club who were part of the organization prior to the summer of 1997, I felt that it was important for the other members of the club to get a sense of the sheer amount and variety of activities that the Aquila has been involved with in its history and what things have been like.  Thus, with one notable exception involving an international organization that impacted us, I have left the politics out of this history because ultimately it has been the good times that members have had together that have formed the ship.  Hopefully this will provide all of the membership with a sense of what the Aquila  was like at different times as well as provide a record of things that the club has done.  I have listed (in an appendix) the members of the command staff.  

 1990 – In the spring of 1990 Sam Hearld approaches U.S.S. Polaris member Carolyn Cook about starting a Starfleet International shuttle in the Northern KY area, and Polaris CO Tom Milinksi writes him on June 16, 1990 with more details.  On Aug. 9, 1990 Sam writes Tom and re-confirms his interest in starting a shuttle and notes that he just received his membership packet for joining Starfleet International.

Sept. 1990 – Sign up for Northern KY shuttle at Crescent Springs Creation Con with James Doohan nets a good list of  over 50 interested people in the Northern KY shuttle according to the U.S.S. Polaris newsletter; another article in the same newsletter (the Nov. 1990 Red Alert ) claims 38 expressed interest by signing the sign-up sheet.  Glenna Juilfs noted that she signed the list as did Cindy Paugh and Alice (Farley) Collier.  (For what it’s worth I think the 38 number is more likely correct because it also notes that 12 signed up for the Shuttle Camelot  and 38 for the Polaris itself.   Unfortunately that list has now been lost, so that valuable historical document is no longer with us;  I was at that convention but do not recall signing the list.  It is intriguing how close I came to being a charter member of the ship.)  However in the process of researching this series, I found a computer print-out dated Oct. 28, 1990 of 11 people interested in forming a KY shuttle.  Those people were Linda Widener, Charles Kersker, Stephanie K.F. Stichberry, Kevin Rack, Sam Hearld, Greg Turner, Jennifer Alexander, Bev Hater, David and Darlene Slaughter, and Linda Nebel.  (All of these names and addresses and phones are typed.)  There is also a notation by Sam’s name  in ink that he is to be CO, and Joy Menges’s name is written in ink along with the notation that she is to be XO.  This document was truly fascinating as I had no idea that it existed before tonight (July 8, 2009) or had forgotten completely  about it.

 Nov. 1990 – First organizational meeting for the Northern KY shuttle occurs at Crescent Springs LaRosa’s held on the 18^th with 16 members being present including Jennifer Alexander, Janet Burgoon, June Gunter,  Bev Hater,  Sam Hearld, Charlie Kersker, Dennis Schwendemann, Glenna Juilfs, Ben Stull, Linda Widener, Tammy Widener (Linda’s youngest daughter), and Dave Slaughter.  It is decided that the shuttle’s name will be Aquila, which is Latin for “eagle.” (Sam Hearld later wrote an article elaborating on the origin of the name of the club, which was published in the Apr. 2008 Talon’s Edge.)

Dec. 1990 – Second organizational meeting occurs in which the U.S.S. Polaris formally agrees to sponsor the Aquila in Starfleet International as a shuttle (ship in training).  Sam Hearld becomes the ship’s CO by mutual agreement and Joy Menges was appointed 1^st officer.   Joy Menges, Cindy Paugh, Adam Widener, Brian Widener, and Greg Turner are among regular ship’s members who attend their first meeting at this time.

Dec. 1990 – Sam Hearld and Bev Hater and Glenna Juilfs, Glenna’s daughter Pam Paynter, Pam’s daughters Jessica Pence, Crissie Paynter and Nikkie Paynter attend the Christmas party given by Polaris CO Tom Milinski at his house.

Jan. 1991 – First Talon’s Edge newsletter issue published, edited by Joy Menges.  It would come out on a monthly basis.  Tina Widener (Linda’s oldest daughter) attends her first meeting.

 Feb. 1991 – Janet Crouch attends her first meeting.

Mar. 1991 -  Tammy Borchardt and Erin Pence (Glenna’s son) and Vanessa Turner (Greg’s daughter) attend their first meeting as do Tom and Melanie Kummer.  The club collects 1150 items for U.S. soldiers in  Operation Desert Storm, and the club also makes a video to send with the items.  Sam announces in the Apr. 1991 TE that the Aquila has been officially recognized by Starfleet International as a shuttle.  The Aquila plans to contribute, along with the U.S.S. Polaris and the U.S.S. Yorktown to a joint fanzine, Nimbus, planned for late 1991.  Tom Milinski retires as Polaris CO and 1^st officer Joan Riley becomes CO.  Three Aquila members attend Millennicon.

Apr. 1991 – Gary Donner attends his first meeting.  Glenna, Bev, Ben, and Freda Kurtzman attend Marcon. 

May 1991 – Tony Scott attends his first Aquila meeting, and it is also the first club meeting held in the Crescent Springs Presbyterian Church, which would be the regular club meeting place for almost two years.  Members of the Aquila along with the Polaris work a table at Creation Con that month with Marina Sirtis.  Other members attend.  It is the first major convention that a great many club members all attend together and probably stands as the single largest gathering in club history at a convention.   Cindy, Angela Hellard, Tammy B., Joy, June,  Jennifer, Frank Ketron, Tony, Bev, Glenna, Erin, Ben, Freda, Tina Tindall, Sherry Tindall, Linda, Tina, Tammy W., Adam (Linda’s oldest son), Brian (Linda’s youngest son), Greg, David and Darlene Slaughter (David’s sister), Sam, Dennis, Linda Nebel, and Art Menges attend or work at the convention.  This was THE major event that Cindy recollected from the first couple years of the club’s history, but she also remembered that when she tried to give blood, she was found to have a 102 degree fever and was sent home!  The Federation clubs beat the Klingons in the Blood Feud.  The club makes its first major contact with the IKV Doomslayer (Joe Manning’s ship, which would go on to head the Dover Peace Conferences).  Bev Hater resigns as 2^nd Officer of the Aquila and transfers to the Polaris where she will soon begin a long tenure as its Security Chief and perform many great services to local SF fandom (many of which will be mentioned here).

June 1991 -  Leonard Robinson attends his 1^st meeting.  Cindy Paugh is named 2^nd Officer.  The Aquila’s sister ship, the U.S.S. Camelot,  achieves starship status.

July 1991 – Carson Widener (Linda’s then-husband), Terrie Holahan, Pam Paynter (and I believe Rob Langenderfer, although I’m not listed in the meeting minutes and would not formally join the ship for another year and a half – I know I was at an Aquila meeting where Sam ran the business meeting) attend their first meeting.  It was noted that the Aquila received a distinguished service award from Starfleet for its work on the Blood Feud.  Carolyn Cook was named U.S.S. Polaris liaison to the Aquila.

Aug. 1991 – Linda, Tammy W., and Tina Widener attend Rivercon.  Jessica Pence and Shelley Wagner attend their first meeting. The first editions of the Aquila Crew Member manual and the  Aquila Officer manual were passed out.  Later in the month CO Sam Hearld resigns and Joy Menges becomes Acting CO and 2^nd Officer Cindy Paugh becomes Acting XO with an election scheduled for October.

Sept. 1991 –   Cindy Paugh, Glenna Juilfs, and Darlene Slaughter travel (along with some Polaris members) to Dover, OH to help the IKV Doomslayer and the Shuttle Kestrel of Starfleet International with recruiting members.  The members posed in costume by an Air Force jet and by a theater that the cinema could use for an advertisement.  The later large Dover peace conferences would come from this.

Oct. 1991 -  An election is held to select the new Aquila command staff.  Joy Menges is voted CO, Cindy Paugh XO and Greg Turner 2^nd Officer.  Cindy Paugh is interviewed by the Channel 12 Cincinnati TV station to obtain her reaction to the death of Gene Roddenberry, which occurred during that month.  Nimbus I  is released with contributions by Aquila  members Alice Farley, Glenna Juilfs, and Cindy Paugh.  Joy Menges is one of the co-editors of the fanzine.

Nov. 1991 -  Terrie Holahan edited a sample issue of Talon’s Edge in addition to Joy doing the regular issue as Joy had asked that someone else take over the newsletter.  At this time in many cases, different division chiefs such as Glenna Juilfs (Operations), Greg Turner (Security) as well as Vanessa Turner from the Cadet Corps published their own division newsletters.  Glenna among others attended Starbase Indy and reported on the many fun things that occurred. 

Dec. 1991 – Terrie Holahan becomes the regular Talon’s Edge editor.  Nineteen members were part of a recruiting drive at the premiere of Star Trek VI.  A  Covington Latin High School student (and eventual salutatorian) who would put forth a not insignificant effort in trying to make the ship a more active and fun place to be in the years to come recalls his ticket being on opening night of the film being taken by a rival of his on Villa Madonna Academy’s academic team, its eventual valedictorian, the club’s recruiting officer Jennifer Alexander, as well as being recognized by Greg Turner (the club’s security chief  who was in full Klingon makeup) with the exclamation, “You were at one of our meetings!  (Any guesses who that was?  You only get one!  <grin>)  Ken Paugh, Frank Ketron, Vanessa Turner, Bob James, June Gunter, Tammy Borchardt, Charles Kersker, Glenna Juilfs, Cindy Paugh, Greg Turner, Shelley Wagner, Jennifer Alexander, Linda Widener,   Tammy Widener, Erin Pence, Tina Widener received Certificates of Appreciation for working at the recruiting drive.  Brian and Adam Widener were also there.  Seven people attended a Christmas party at Tammy Borchardt’s home.   Shawn and Heather Borchardt (Tammy’s children) attend their first Aquila  meeting that month. At the December Aquila meeting, Joy Menges, Darlene Slaughter, Glenna Juilfs, Cindy Paugh, Dennis Schwendemann, Russ Walters, Erin Pence, Ken Paugh (Cindy’s husband), Tammy Borchardt and Jessica Pence were awarded certificates for participation in Malts after Midnight.  Malts after Midnight was a group coordinated by Bev Hater that was comprised of users of Tri-State Online, a local computer BBS in which a number of Polaris members and Aquila members as well as many other people participated, and the Malts after Midnight participants included members of the Polaris, Aquila  and other people who were not affiliated with either group.  Basically they would go out to different United Dairy Farmers at midnight and get malts and other tasty treats.  They even made the  Feb. 9, 1992 Cincinnati Enquirer.

Jan. 1992 -  Nothing particularly exceptional happened this month except that the club was invited to attend the first annual Dover Peace Conference set for April.

Feb. 1992 -   The name Aquila won by two votes over its nearest competitor for the name that the ship would keep when it attained starship status.  The Aquila crew also selects Pepper as the whale it wishes to adopt.  Alan Wright attends his first meeting.  By this time Tammy Widener had become Stampede Coordinator and received a promotion for it.

 Mar. 1992 – The Aquila Cadet Corps, under the stewardship of Linda Widener, is announced to be the largest division on the Aquila and the biggest Cadet Corps in Region 1 of Starfleet.  All throughout this time, division chiefs are preparing formal written reports that are regularly sent to the command staff and to the regional division chiefs in Starfleet.   The command staff in turn write reports for Starfleet.  The club would never have so much paperwork as it did in the first couple of years when it was preparing to apply for starship status.  There would sometimes be special joint division meetings with the U.S.S. Polaris, the Shuttle Aquila’s mothership.    

Apr. 1992 – Glenna Juilfs won 2^nd prize in the costume contest at a recruiting drive at Forest Fair Mall in late March.  Nine members (Cindy and Ken Paugh, Greg Turner, Tammy Borchardt, Leonard Robinson, Erin and Jessica Pence, Russ Walters, and Glenna Juilfs) attended the Dover Peace Conference in April.  More than fifty people attended the Malt Run at the convention that was the biggest Malt Run ever held at that time.  Thirteen members from the U.S.S. Polaris attended the convention as did one from the U.S.S. Camelot.  The convention featured a formal flag ceremony in which Glenna participated as a representative of the Romulan Star Empire, a national Romulan club.  This convention  in particular was a place where friendships were forged between people from many different clubs, and many memorable and fun (and funny) events and miscellaneous occurrences happened, things that Glenna Juilfs would be especially good at recording in her departmental (and later the club) newsletter.  The shuttle blueprints, having been completed, were on sale at the club meeting this month, as was the Gene Roddenberry tribute book.  At this time, the club meetings were long and did not contain much Star Trek or SF news or SF talk, but a great deal of the material was Starfleet-related.  There was not often even much talk of activities, but the formality and reports given at the meeting contributed toward the club attaining starship status.

May 1992 – A total of 33 members and 4 visitors were present at the meeting, which was pretty typical for the ship at that time.

June 1992 – This meeting netted 26 members and 6 visitors, and Polaris CO Joan Riley noted that the Aquila was ready for starship status.  Tammy Borchardt hosted an impromptu ST:TNG  season 5 finale party at her house on June 19 attended by several people.   On June 26 Cindy hosted an Operations Department meeting at her house. 

July 1992 -  Glenna Juilfs was appointed 3^rd officer of the ship.  She also became the ship’s activities coordinator.  Cindy hosted the club meeting at her house that month, the first of several that she would host over the years.  She also hosted an Operations department meeting that month.  At that time, divisions in the club were large enough that they sometimes had their own separate meetings.  Linda, who became Medical Chief that month (a position she still holds today, 17 years later – the longest current post on the ship filled by a member), would write letters to the members of her division on a monthly basis to stay in contact.  Tammy Borchardt replaced her as Cadet Corps Commander.   At the end of the month (on July 26, 1992) the paperwork that the club needed to send in to apply for starship status was sent out although due to Starfleet misplacing the paperwork (which, thankfully Joan Riley had made an extra copy of), the Aquila would not receive their official notice that they had achieved starship status until Nov. 19, 1992 (with the U.S.S. Aquila’s commissioning date being retroactive to Aug. 15, 1992 to make up for the lost paperwork).   The club started to be part of a newsletter exchange program this month. 

Aug. 1992 – Twenty-five people members and seven visitors attended the meeting at Cindy Paugh’s house.  Among them was Pam Paynter, Glenna Juilfs’s daughter , making her first appearance at a club meeting.  Joy took Tina Widener and Erin Pence out for pizza for having “graduated” from the Cadet Corps, and several other people joined them.  Carson Widener was able to help Camelot CO Russ Grubb when he had car problems.

Sept. 1992 -  There was a report on Space Station Cincy in the  Sept. 1992 Operation’s Obelisk newsletter that had John DeLancie and Majel Barrett as guests.  The review is unattributed, but it sounds like Glenna Juilfs’s voice writing!  Cindy Paugh, Glenna Juilfs and Erin Pence answered phones at the MDA Telethon.  I was at the club meeting that month at a steak house (although I’m not listed in the minutes), and it was the fact that I was treated with some warmth and friendliness by Tammy Widener, Pam Paynter, and really everyone there that I decided that I would definitely permanently join the ship at some future point.  Erin also participated in the MDA Ice Skate-a-thon.  On Sept. 13, 1992, Linda, Tina and Tammy Widener, Glenna Juilfs, Erin Pence, Stephen Pence, Tonya Rutledge, Pam Paynter, Jessica Pence, and Polarisites Ron Plogman and Bev Hater showed Star Trek VI to patients at the VA Medical Center.

Oct. 1992 -  The biggest event this month was the club Halloween Party (held on the day of the club’s October meeting), which had a large enough number of entries in their Masquerade Contest to give several honorable mentions as well as a large number of awards.   Joy Menges, Cindy Paugh, Tammy Borchardt, Terrie Holahan, Glenna Juilfs, Ken Paugh, Greg Turner, Linda Widener, Heather Borchardt, Shawn Borchardt, Gary Donner, June Gunter, Freda Kurtzman, Tom Kummer, Katie McManus, Linda Nebel, Jason Paugh, Angel Paynter, Crystal Paynter, Pam Paynter, Erin Pence, Jessica Pence, Leonard Robinson, Tonya Rutledge, Dennis Schwendemann, David Slaughter, Vanessa Turner, Shelley Wagner, Adam Widener, Brian Widener, Tammy Widener, Tina Widener, Brooke Johnson, Dustyn Pence, Dustyn Pence, Jr., Janet Burgoon, Stephen Pence, and visitor David Alexander attended.  Thirty-eight people at a single Aquila  meeting and party – it may well be a club record for all time, and it certainly was a high point of the group’s time as a shuttle.  Brooke Johnson, Pam Paynter, Nikkie Paynter, Crystal Paynter, and Freda Kurtzman all joined the ship this month – five new members, quite possibly a club record for all time.  Alan Wright attended Lagrangecon ’92 this month in Cleveland and saw Jonathan Frakes, Robert O’Reilly and Ann Crispin.

Nov. 1992 – This meeting was another one with a very large attendance. The same people were there as the previous month although Charlie Kersker, was also there and Heather Borchardt, Janet Burgoon, Dustyn Pence, Dustyn Pence, Jr., and Stephen Pence were absent.  Barb Bruser, Melanie Kummer, Shirley Robinson and myself were there as visitors and Polaris CO Joan Riley was there although she arrived late and was not counted as being present, but I remember because I was there and remember her complaining about never driving this far for a meeting again, and I also had her write her name and phone number on a newsletter of mine.  I can’t remember for sure if Carolyn Coook was with her or not, but I think she was.  This little incident reveals that sometimes things can happen that even the attendance record doesn’t reflect and that on some things people’s memories can be very clear and on other things they can be foggy.   At the meeting it was announced that the Aquila had achieved starship status.  Cindy Paugh was promoted to Commander, Greg Turner was promoted to Commander and Glenna Juilfs was promoted to Lt. Cmdr., and Joy would be officially recognized as Captain a week later (among promotions for the command staff).  Glenna Juilfs was voted Officer of the Year for 1991 and Tammy Borchardt was voted Officer of the Year for 1992.  Nimbus II  was now available.  Glenna Juilfs (and probably some other ship members with her) attended Starbase Indy in Indianapolis over Thanksgiving weekend where Leonard Nimoy was a guest.  There was a listing of Aquila  club officers with their names and addresses that was dated Nov. 25, 1992, six days after the ship finally received a letter confirming its starship status. Since that is a nice snapshot of who was heavily involved in the club at the time, I will provide it. 

Commanding Officer: Captain Joy Menges

Executive Officer: Commander Cindy Paugh

Second Officer: Commander Greg Turner

Third Officer, Chief of Operations: Lt. Cmdr. Glenna Juilfs

Cadet Corps Commander, Project Genesis Coordinator: Lt. Tammy Borchardt

Chief of Communications, Ship’s Newsletter Talon’s Edge Editor: Lt.jg Terrie Holahan

Chief of Medical: Ensign Linda Widener

Chief of Engineering: Ensign Ken Paugh

Quartermaster: Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Kersker

Chief of Science: Ensign Dave Slaughter

Treasurer:  Lt. Dennis Schwendemann

Records Officer: MCPO Gary Donner

Outreach Officer: MCPO Alan Wright

Stampede Coordintor: PO2 Tammy Widener

It had been a long haul for the ship, and there was still some confusion as initially the ship was assigned an NCC # that had already been given to another ship, but its correct NCC # arrived in time to make it onto the cover of the Nov. 1992 Talon’s Edge.  The shuttle had finally made it to starship status.

          Part of the reason I was so comprehensive in my listing of events for these years as a shuttle is that they are now almost 17 years in the distant past and many people do not know about them at all and people who were there don’t remember them clearly.  I filled out my little yellow card at the December meeting of the (now) U.S.S. Aquila  to officially make known in writing my intention to join the U.S.S. Aquila and was a regular member from there on out.  There have been so many things that have happened in the last 16+ years that I feel a simple listing of them would be pointless (and far too much work for me!).  Instead, I am going to speak much more in my own voice of my recollections of what it was like to be a member of the club throughout its history and try to cover the major events of the club’s history in great detail to convey the flavor of  how the club has evolved. 

In November I sent in my check to join Starfleet, the Aquila’s parent organization with the intention of then officially joining the Aquila  as an official member, having been present at five meetings as a visitor.  Since my membership would not be processed until after my 18^th birthday late in November, I would join the ship as a Petty Officer and not at a cadet rank.  There were many people in the club around my age at that time, so it was a group with whom it was especially easy to interact, and the adults in the group were very welcoming to me.   

          The Aquila was at its peak around this time as a club that was built around families.  Linda Widener was a member along with her husband Carson and daughters Tammy and Tina and sons Adam and Brian.  Tina had turned 18 at the beginning of the year and Tammy would turn 16 in 1993.  Tammy, Tina and Brian were regular members along with Linda.  Glenna was a member along with her son Erin (who, like Tina and myself for that matter, had also turned 18 in 1992).  Glenna’s daughter Pam Paynter was also a very active member along with Pam’s daughters Jessie Pence (who stayed quite active in the club for a number of years), Nikkie and Crissie (who weren’t as active).    Glenna’s sons Dusty, and Stephen were also somewhat active in the clubs although their live-in wives Janet Burgoon and Tonya Rutledge (more commonly called Billie Jo – yes, I know sometimes the names are confusing)  were more so and Dusty and Janet’s children Dusty, Jr. and John John (who was born a few months later and who I can still remember crawling around at one of our events as a one-year old with a big smile on his face – he was always a ham!).  Glenna’s daughter Lynda and Lynda’s daughters Becky and Cyndi would also eventually come to events.  Glenna’s son Ben and his girlfriend Renee would also come to events.  First Officer Cindy Paugh and her husband Chief Engineer Ken Paugh would bring their four year old son Jason to events.  Cadet Corps Commander Tammy Borchardt regularly attended meetings as did her son Shawn (who was in high school) and her daughter Heather (who was soon to be in high school) and Heather’s friend Brooke Johnson (who was in high school with Shawn) and Tammy’s niece Katie McManus.  Second Officer Greg and his daughter Vanessa (who was in high school) also came to meetings regularly together.   As you can imagine, Aquila meetings at the church where they met at that time were pretty raucous affairs with kids running around  and a lot of noise being made but a lot of fun being had by all, although the meetings were much more business-like and long and seemingly much more focused on the ship and its divisions and committees than on much directly related to Star Trek  than the meetings would be in the future!  Videos were sometimes shown after the meetings (although sometimes it could be hard to focus on them due to all of the other noise), and potluck dinners were a not infrequent occurrence.

          In terms of the Star Trek franchise itself, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine began airing in January of 1993.  Dave Woodard, who was on the U.S.S. Camelot at the time, hosted a premiere party.  A Creation convention was held in Ft. Mitchell the weekend before the premiere.  James Doohan (Scotty) was the guest and my friend Joe Link and I attended together.  Cindy Paugh and several others from the Aquila were there and we exchanged pleasant greetings and I became more and more convinced that this was a great time to be getting involved with local fandom as the Aquila had a family feel about it that other groups simply could not match.

          In February of 1993 there was a special Starfleet wedding to commemorate the marriage of newsletter editor Terrie Holahan to John Drummonds after the club meeting where Erin Pence was named the new Cadet Corps Commander for the ship, a position that he would hold for the next eight and a half years until he and Glenna moved to Texas.  I had been formally assigned to Security the previous month as a Petty Officer on the Aquila, and I did not take a large part in the  proceedings, but I was there.   Attendees at this event were Joy Menges, Cindy Paugh, Jason Paugh, Greg and Vanessa Turner, Linda, Tina, Tammy, Adam and Brian Widener, Glenna Juilfs, Erin and Jessica Pence, Pam, Crissie and Nikkie Paynter, Stephen Pence, Tonya Rutledge, Tammy, Shawn, and Heather Borchardt, Brooke Johnson, Katie McManus, Gary Donner, June Gunter, Ben Stull, Dave Slaughter ,  Terrie and John Drummonds, Alan Collier, Alice Farley, David Alexander, John, Carolyn and Jody Cook, Christina Shafer, Leonard and Shirley Robinson, Dave Borcherding, Dennis Schwendemann, Alan Wright, Rob Langenderfer, Freda Kurtzman, Tom Kummer, Charlie Kersker, and Shelley Wagner attended.  It was the last Aquila event held in Crescent Springs Presbyterian Church for word had gotten out that church member Jennifer Alexander was no longer regularly attending Aquila meetings and the church no longer had a reason to agree to serve as a meeting place for the club.

          For the next several months the club met at Bonanza Steakhouse.  In April Joy Menges stepped down as CO, and the club finally established a set procedure for choosing the command staff on a regular basis, something that the group had not had prior to this point.  Cindy Paugh was elected CO, Greg Turner was elected 1^st officer, Glenna Juilfs was elected 2^nd officer and Dennis Schwendemann was elected 3^rd officer.  After the meeting several members, including myself, Tammy Borchardt and her family, Glenna and some of her family and possibly Cindy and her family went to have an Easter Egg hunt at a local park.  Later that evening, Pam Paynter, Erin Pence, Tammy Borchardt, Gary Donner and myself went out to a Malts After Midnight outing.  Cindy was there as was Bev Hater, Joan Riley (having recently stepped down as Polaris  CO), and a lot of other people from the Polaris and from Tri-State Online (which was not as active as it once was Trekwise but still maintained  Trek and SF forums).  There was even an admiral from Starfleet in town from Washington state who was head of one of the Starfleet regions from the West coast talking a bit with Joan about financial issues at the international HQ of Starfleet between the retiring Fleet admiral, Jeannette Maddox and her successor, Rob Lerman.  It was great to be there, and Gary Donner even treated me to an ice cream, but all of us actually had more fun talking and joking in the car on the way over than at the Malt Run itself!  Fourteen Aquila members attended the Dover Peace Conference later in April, including Cindy and Ken Paugh, Glenna Juilfs, Tammy Borchardt, Heather Borchardt, Brooke Johnson, Greg Turner, Pam Paynter, and Jessie Pence were there, among others.  The game Bounty Ball, where you toss a roll of paper towels around until the plastic comes off, which was later played in great fun at Maryanna and Terry Willacker’s among other places, was created on this Dover trip.   Dover had become THE place for people from many different Trek clubs all throughout OH to gather together in a fun setting.

In June the Aquila began to meet regularly at Boone County Public Library in Florence.  Cindy’s command style was less formal than Joy’s and much more relaxed and laid back.  I hosted my first party for the ship that month even though the weather was quite uncooperative.  I sought to bring together members from the Aquila and The Friends of the Time Lord, the Dr. Who  group in which I had been a regular member for two and a half years and through whom I had originally gotten information about the Polaris and through their newsletter editor at the time, Renee Alper, found out about the  Aquila two years before.  Linda, Tammy and Brian Widener were able to attend as well as F.O.T.L.  president Joe Link as well as Tom Kelly (who, at the time, was Chancellor of Commuications of F.O.T.L. but would move up to the Vice-Presidency the next year and then have six years as the group’s president after that) and her room-mate Anna Kelley.  Anna in particular (as well as her husband Wayne) would maintain ties to Aquila members (particularly myself, Linda Widener and Glenna Juilfs) for many years thereafter.  In spite of the terrible weather, which had kept many people, including Glenna Juilfs and Tammy Borchardt from attending, those who were able to make it had an excellent time.  Fourteen Aquila  members attended Paramount’s King’s Island on June 6^th that had special Star Trek  content at the time.  Terrie stepped down as newsletter editor during the summer, but in early August Glenna assumed the post and would remain as the club newsletter editor until she moved to Texas eight years later.   In August there was a fun gathering of members of many different clubs, including the Aquila  and the Polaris at the planetarium where we got to see an interesting space-related program on their big special screen, and Anna and Wayne Kelley were also there.  Sixteen members of the U.S.S. Aquila attended the club picnic at Indian Lake Wildernes Preserve in September, including Cindy Paugh, Glenna Juilfs, Erin and Jessie and Dustyn Pence, Janet Burgoon, Pam, Nikkie, and Crissie Paynter, Stephen Pence,  Billie Jo Rutledge, Carson, Linda, Tina, and Brian Widener and Rob Langenderfer.  I remember this event particularly well as it was the first time I met Linda’s husband Carson, and it was the first major lengthy outdoor event with the Aquila that I had attended.  The sense of family among the club was never more evident.  Earlier that month I had attended my first Engineering Blueprints meeting at Cindy’s house, and ten Aquilans (although not me, who had other plans that night, seeing Kenneth Branaugh’s Much Ado About Nothing with Joe Link) saw the special Star Trek festival later that night at the Emery Theatre. 

          Late that month five long-time members of the ship left the group to help form a correspondence ship with one other long-time member joining them in the not-too-distant future.  However, that was not able to darken the mood on the ship as the club had its commissioning party in October with Cindy Paugh, Glenna Juilfs, Erin Pence, Leonard and Shirley Robinson, Greg and Vanessa Turner, Tammy, Shawn and Heather Borchardt, Alan Wright, Linda, Carson, Tammy and Brian Widener in attendance.  They partied from 9 P.M. until 3:30 A.M.!  If I had not been at my uncle’s wedding, I would have been there!

          Although this may say seem somewhat personal and arbitrary, I can’t neglect to mention when reviewing these particular months all of the help that I received from Linda, Tammy, and Tina Widener in helping me to construct my Cyberman costume for Visions ’93 in Chicago (the big 30^th anniversary convention in honor of Dr. Who).  Although Anna and Wayne Kelley and Tom Kelly and Anne Cox-Espenlaub and Erb Hansel from the Dr. Who club also helped vitally in the process and should not be forgotten, the help of the Wideners at their house, my house and going with me to stores late at night and even working on aspects of the costume when I was practically asleep was particularly invaluable and is representative of many acts of the Aquila that have not been mentioned in this ship’s history. (My costume was finished, and I did wear it in the Visions Costume Contest and received an honorable mention and later wore it at other events.)

          In November of 1993 Carson Widener took over as Treasurer for the ship.  Later that month several members of the crew (including at least Glenna and Cindy) journeyed to Starbase Indy to see Renee Auberjonois (Odo) where they witnessed Polaris Security Chief Bev Hater try to show her good friend IKV Doomslayer Captain Joe Manning something, causing him to slip and then Bev, who was only semi-conscious at the time, dragged him across the floor, giving him a bad case of rug burn!    Although Bev denied it, there were witnesses who saw her sitting in Joe’s lap later during the convention!  (If you know Bev, that was a truly unusual and newsworthy occurrence!) 

           In January, 15 crew members participated in an Engineering Blueprints development party at Cindy and Ken’s.   The activities committee also had a meeting there where they tossed around ideas for future events (some of which are still being discussed today).    Another engineering party was held in March at the Paugh’s.  In April Ken Paugh was voted Officer of the Year for 1993. In April a large number of Aquilans  journeyed to New Philadelphia, OH for the Dover Peace Conference including Cindy, Greg and Glenna (with Glenna fighting to protect her Romulan ears from several Klingons, including Greg!).  In the legendary Hatergate trial, Bev was placed on trial for what had happened at Starbase Indy with Joe Manning’s rug burn.  After Bev was freed when actor Robert O’Reilly (who played Gow’Ron, leader of the Klingon high council on ST:TNG and ST:DS9) made a phone call to Joe leaving the decision up to Joe’s judgment, Joe himself was placed on trial by a Klingon admiral for letting her go free, and Cindy and Bev among others were called to testify, Bev claiming that she couldn’t remember anything!  It was eventually decided that the disputes would be resolved by whether Klingons or Starfleet groups could collect the most food for their local food banks.  Such were the fun and funny happenings that could occur at conventions.  In May Cindy stepped down as CO, with Greg moving up to CO, Glenna to XO, and Linda Widener to 2^nd Officer.  On May 31, 1994 the Paughs hosted a ST:TNG finale watching party at their house.  It was quite a good time, particularly as the last season of the show had declined in quality over the previous ones, but they definitely delivered the goods in the finale “All Good Things…”

          The Aquila also supported each other during rough times.  It was around this time that the Wideners’ house burned down and they lost nearly all of their belongings.  (This was the second time that they had to undergo that particular tragedy as it had occurred once to them before the Aquila had been founded.)  Many members of the ship came to help sort through the remnants of what was left and to donate clothes and other items for them, and the ship unanimously voted the proceeds of the club’s bake sale to the Wideners.

          In July, Glenna got involved in a new group, the Space Station Star Hawk that was open to people from many different clubs – Romulan, Federation, Klingon, Dr. Who.  The group was led by Juanita Daley who dressed as a Romulan.  Glenna, Erin and probably Janet Burgoon marched in a 4^th of July Parade with them in which they had built a float.  (Some of this is based on guesswork, matching the unidentified people that mentioned in different divisions with the Aquila crew roster dated Sept. 26, 1994 on which forty people were listed.   However, except for one event each that I can recall, Brooke Johnson (who was at Heather’s graduation party five years later), June Gunter (possibly), Rocky Wood (possibly, but I can’t picture her in my mind after so long), Tom and Melanie Kummer (both of whom I cannot picture in my mind after so long but I remember Linda saying goodbye to Melanie at a party over at Cindy’s house) and Howard Hudson and Steve and Billie-Jo and their son Brian (who had moved to Georgia) no longer attended any ship’s events, so at this point the ship effectively had 31 members. )   Those 31 included Tammy,  Heather and Shawn Borchardt, Janet Burgoon, Glenna Juilfs, Ben Kirby, myself, Katie McManus, Cindy, Jason and Ken Paugh, Pam, Nikki, and Cryssi Paynter, Dustyn, Dustyn Jr. and Jonathan Pence (who by this time was a smiling, devilish one year old crawling around at great speed for his age!), Erin Pence, Lynda Pence, Jessica Pence, Leonard and Shirley Robinson, Greg and Vanessa Turner, Linda, Carson, Tina, Tammy, Adam and Brian Widener, and Alan Wright.   Twelve of those thirty-one were members of Glenna’s family. 

 Later in July the Aquila held a tremendously successful picnic at Indian Lakes Wilderness Preserve in Batesville, IN that had 43 people attending, including several members of the Star Hawk and members of Space Station Renegade and the IKV Buruk.  Steve and Billie Jo drove up from Georgia to attend, and 21 people, including myself, spent the night there.  It was a really wonderful time being out under the stars with all of Glenna’s family and Brian and Adam , and I can still recall feeling how lucky I was to be on a ship that had such a family atmosphere to it.   

By this point the Operations newsletter was the only newsletter coming out of a division on a semi-regular basis, and that was done by Glenna who had been the Chief of Operations from the founding of the ship and who was also now doing the monthly Talon’s Edge newsletter.  However, Glenna (and, particularly with her making the point consistently in the newsletter, the rest of us) had already long realized that the Aquila was not a division-oriented ship.  Virtually all of the events were ship-wide. 

In August the Aquila began meeting at the Florence Union Hall, moving after just over a year in the Florence library.

In September, Glenna, Cindy, Erin and Linda worked  at Care+Con in Columbus, and three other club members (including Tammy Borchardt) attended this convention where the proceeds went to charity.  The convention had possibly the most remarkable list of guests of any convention that the Aquila attended with Marina Sirtis (Troi), Michael Dorn (Worf), Jimmy Doohan (Scotty), George Takei (Sulu),  Grace Lee Whitney (Rand), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Mark Lenard (Sarek), John De Lancie (Q), Robert O’Reilly (Gowron), and many others. Nearly all of the guests went above and beyond the call of duty in being gracious and warm toward their fans, and Glenna recalled the tears of joy that were on a blind girl’s face and warm words of appreciation that were given by her to Aquila  members as they led her to meet some of her heroes, and she pointed out that tears were on the Aquila members’ faces as well as they witnessed the touching scene.

Twenty-two people attended the special Aquila Halloween party on Oct. 15, 1994 with Tammy Widener, Erin and Jessica Pence, Glenna Juilfs, Rob Langenderfer, and Jodi Crouch  receiving awards for their costumes.  (I had forgotten that I had worn my Sherlock Holmes costume to an Aquila event before I saw it in Janet’s story in the newsletter.)

Glenna and several members of her family worked the Delhi Haunted House with members of the Star Hawk that month.  They worked a room that was made up as the Collins’s Family Mausoleum from Dark Shadows.  Earl Jones was Barnabus Collins, Janet Burgoon was Angelique, Erin was the Grim Reaper, Glenna was a gypsy fortune teller, and Eileen Dehyle was a disembodied hand coming out of a coffin.  Juanita Daley, the commander of the Star Hawk, helped to design the room.

In November, the ship’s 4^th anniversary party was held.  Tammy Borchardt was elected Chief of Science.  Prior to the party 23 members journeyed over to an event at the planetarium that members of the Polaris and other Star Trek clubs were attending.  The  premiere of Star Trek: Generations occurred later that month, and the Aquila held a recruiting drive the night it came out that 12 Aquilans (including myself) attended.   This time truly was the period in the ship’s history in which the members of the ship were the most active.  Members of the club participated in recruiting drives at Media Plays in both Florence and Western Hills, marched in Thanksgiving and Christmas Day parades, did a “Breakfast with Santa”, and helped at a canned food drive all in the span of just over  a month.  Additionally, Glenna Juilfs, Erin Pence, Jessica Pence, Janet Burgoon,  Leonard Robinson, and Rob Langenderfer performed alongside Juanita Daley, Elza Correll, Eileen Dehyle, Chris Dehyle, and Bill Robb from the Space Station Star Hawk in two performances of Klingon Monkey Business at the Westside Nursing Home in Price Hill and the Woodland Hills Nursing Home in Lawrenceburg in December.

I have endeavored to keep politics out of this history, but there is one matter on an international scale that affected a great many clubs in Star Trek fandom and the Aquila itself to a major degree, so it is one political matter that I cannot ignore because it has shaped how the ship has functioned since 1995.  To deal with the matter extremely briefly, Starfleet International, the mega- Star Trek club that was over the Aquila, its mother ship U.S.S. Polaris and its sister ship U.S.S. Camelot as well as hundreds of other chapters, had suffered from not having turned in tax returns to the IRS in 1991 and 1992 since it had been incorporated.  A candidate for Starfleet President, Dan McGinnis, had been suspended, pending an investigation into various matters, including having airline tickets for himself, his wife, and others paid for out of Region 12 funds.  When his Vice-President, Deborah Nelson, assumed the presidency, she reinstated him as president of  Starfleet International and he in turn fired all of the directors of the Starfleet Academy schools as well as the Starfleet Regional Coordinators who had opposed him.  There were concerns that Starfleet International would begin to impose tight controls upon local chapters about how they would use their money.  At the Feb. 1995 meeting, of the 19 members of the club who were present, 17 voted that the group end its ties with Starfleet International.  (The U.S.S. Camelot  and the U.S.S. Polaris also voted to leave Starfleet International around this time, along with many other Starfleet chapters.) 

After the meeting, many of us journeyed over to Cindy and Ken’s for what would end up being the last Engineering blueprints meeting/party we would end up having.  The preliminaries for the blueprints were completed, and work on the final drawings was in process.  However, unfortunately, they were lost during Glenna’s 2001 move to Texas.  The Engineering parties that we had at the Paughs (and I attended four of them) and the two other general parties we had there that I attended were always a lot of fun.  Even though I was always self-conscious about my lack of drawing ability (and consequently never did anything of note in terms of actually helping create the engineering blueprints), I was very active at the Activity Committee meetings that took place over there, and one could argue that they were my initial steps in actively participating in the process of developing ideas that the Aquila could carry out on a short and long-term basis that provided direction for future fun activities.   We would watch videos over there to tremendously late hours while talking and joking around about all sorts of things and comically noting how, especially in his early years, Cindy’s dog Dusty was absolutely obsessive about sniffing anyone and everyone any number of times!  We had many good times over there, and I, for one, miss all the camaraderie of those late hours, hours that we never seemed to have the stamina for anywhere else.

In March Darlene Stroberg, a friend of Tammy Borchardt’s joined the ship, the first regular new member the group had gained in a couple of years.  She joined a ship that would never again be affiliated with an outside group in anything more than a nominal way although the Aquila still retained ties of friendship to the Polaris and the Camelot.  With the Aquila having left Starfleet International, the club policy manual was revised to reflect the relevant changes that the step entailed as well as other changes that the revision committee, comprised of Greg Turner, Glenna Juilfs, Linda Widener, Tammy Widener, Tina Widener, Leonard Robinson, myself, Cindy Paugh and Ken Paugh thought necessary.   Many members of the crew participated in a St. Patrick’s Day and a Memorial Day and a 4^th of July parade (after having spent many hours building a Bird of Prey float at Juanita Daley and Elza Corrill’s house with their 13 cats and floats which took up a great deal of space in their living room) with the Space Station Star Hawk.    Documentation for some of these events is sketchy in the Aquila  newsletter since Glenna by this time was also editing the newsletter for the Star Hawk, Hawk Talk.  It may not be necessary to give a detailed account of every parade, but as I was heavily involved in helping to build floats and attending the regular monthly Star Hawk  meetings (where plans for Tall Stacks ’95 in which Aquila and Star Hawk members planned to participate were regularly discussed), I wanted to try to give those of you who were not there a sense of what it was like.  For one thing, there were gatherings at Juanita’s house, sometimes as many as five or six a month when we were at our most active points getting ready for a parade. Glenna was always there and served as very much of an anchor of stability for the occasionally volatile but vulnerable and also somewhat motherish Juanita Daley, suffering from cancer but managing to uphold virtues of dignity and determination, who felt, however, that she been treated badly by Klingon clubs in the past and was almost always worried about them intruding on her turf.  Glenna had always served as an anchor of calm and controlled thought on the Aquila  when things threatened to burst out of control.  Because she was quite low key, when she stated a position on something, you knew that it had merit, whatever the issue concerned.  Many years ago now Joan Riley observed to me that Glenna was a gem that was often overlooked.  Erin was always at her side loyally helping on the floats and with anything else that was needed.  Janet Burgoon, the mother of two of Glenna’s grandchildren who lived with Glenna at the time, was also over there a fair amount.    Once Linda Widener became involved in Star Hawk activities, she became one of its most consistent members, always helping frequently in building the floats and in marching in the parades.  Many times Brian and myself were also with her, and I have many pleasant memories of innumerable times listening to country music in her van as we went over to Juanita’s.  Juanita (who liked to be called Mommy O’Rommy and Joan Riley (who often went by Captain Mom) both had motherish qualities about them, but the two people who most exemplified the best of those attributes so much that their kids each called the other “Mom” and helped a young historian in his college days deal with emotional private family issues outside his prior experiences and treat him and make him feel like a member of their own families were right here on the Aquila command staff at the time.   Brian and Erin had a lot of fun together and Tammy W. was also a not infrequent participant in parade-related events and even Tina showed up now and then.  Leonard and Shirley were nearly always present for the parades and other events although they didn’t do a great deal in terms of float construction. From outside the Aquila, Earl Jones and his wife Margie and son Ed represented the IKV Harbinger and Ed and Monica Watkins represented another Klingon ship with Eileen Dehyle also helping on things.  Bill Robb’s tapes of Star Trekking Across the Universe could always bring a smile to my face when we started the parades.  The Star Hawk  crew also attended many Native American cultural events since Juanita was a full Navajo.   At the May 1995 meeting, after a successful Dover Peace Conference that had Robert O’Reilly in person as a guest that Glenna, Erin, Janet, Tammy and Darlene and Greg attended and also just after the Paynters moved to Texas, the following people held offices on the Aquila:

Captain Greg Turner, Commanding Officer

Commander Glenna Juilfs, Executive Officer, Operations Chief, Newsletter Editor

Lt. Linda Widener, Second Officer, Medical Chief

Commander Leonard Robinson, Records Officer, Ship’s Archivist, Marine Officer in Charge

Master Chief Petty Officer (MCPO) Carson Widener, Treasurer

MCPO Janet Burgoon, Assistant Operations Chief, OPS Newsletter (note : which, effectively, she never did anything with; Glenna edited the final issue in which she announced Janet as the new editor in the Winter 1994-95 issue, and the last Aquila division newsletter bit the dust)

Lt.jg. Ken Paugh, Engineering Chief

MCPO Vanessa Turner, Communications Chief

Commander Erin Pence, Cadet Corps Commander

Lt. Cmdr. Tammy Borchardt, Science Chief

MCPO Tina Widener, Project Genesis

Ensign Alan Wright, Quartermaster, Outreach Officer
Captain Cindy Paugh, Recruiting Officer

Ensign Shirley Robinson, Overseas Coupon Project Coordinator, Stampede Coordinator (as far as I can recall Shirley never did anything related to those positions; Tammy Widener was the only person who did anything with Stampede)

The revised policy manual was approved at the May meeting.  Later in May I hosted a club party that many club members attended.  All 6 of the Wideners were there, and Greg and Tammy and Darlene and Glenna and Erin (and I think Art Lauer from the Friends of the Time Lord and I think Alan Wright and maybe Leonard and maybe some other member of Glenna’s family).  At the party   Glenna announced that she had heard from Cindy about a major special event that Bev Hater and Polaris  CO Dave Abbott (who had succeeded Joan) were in the beginning stages of working on with people from the Cincinnati Museum Center. 

Leonard became Director of the Aquila Academy following the ship’s departure from Starfleet, and he developed versions of Officer’s Training School and Officer’s Command College for the ship.   Leonard handed over the position of Ship’s Historian to me in July, and I have held it ever since. 

In September Tammy Borchardt hosted the annual club picnic at her house.  Many people (including myself attended), and Tammy would go on to host more than twelve more parties at her house for the club over the years that I would attend.   I got to know her mother and her sister Candy and her dogs (one of which we saw grow up from being an excitable puppy into a friendly and well-mannered Lab-Chow girl) quite well.  They were always very hospitable, and her sister in particular was a very good conversationalist.  I feel sad that I don’t think I ever had the chance to share with her about my trip to Disney World, for she was a big Wizard of Oz fan, and I got to see the ruby slippers.  Tammy’s “worms and dirt”  (chocolate pudding, crushed oreo cookies and gummi worms) was always a hit with the cadets.   While Cindy and Greg and Glenna and Linda were rather quiet and thoughtful leaders, Tammy was all emotion and tended to shoot from the hip.  “I don’t want any of that Next Generation crap!” she shouted when a prospective ship’s motto that was a line from ST:TNG was proposed as the Aquila’s motto when the ship’s going to starship status was discussed many years before.  At another time, she admitted, with a hint of a smile, “I’m not always tactful.”  While Linda and Glenna and Cindy could be Kirk and Greg could be Spock, Tammy was McCoy through and through (a bit ironic, since Mr. Spock was Tammy’s absolute favorite character on Star Trek).  Tammy was always very sweet and motherish to the cadets, especially the small ones.  A frequent attendee at conventions with the group, Tammy did not take shit off of anyone, once punching out Earl Jones when he started fooling around with her after he had too much to drink.  An artist, always capable of very deep feelings, extremely blunt in her speech, extremely talkative, Tammy could be very down-to-earth at times and sharp-tempered at other times.  She was always interesting and she had a way of rallying the group when it had hit a low point by holding a party or just spouting forth on some topic or another.   Extremely fun-loving and never predictable, she brought life and energy to the group wherever she went, and she remains the only member of the group to be voted Officer of the Year three times (in 1992, 2000 and 2001).  No one else has even won it twice.   (To be fair, in 2002 the award was eliminated, so 2001 was the last year for which it was awarded.) 

 Later in September Carson, Linda, Tina, Tammy, Adam and Brian Widener, Alex Snodgrass (Tina’s fiancé), Chris Langsdale, Tonya Jones, Jodi Crouch, Eddie Jones, Leonard Robinson, Glenna Juilfs and Erin Pence journeyed down to Lake Cumberland to help clean up the area, which was full of garbage.  In October Linda, Tammy and Brian Widener and myself, Cindy Paugh, Glenna, Erin and Ben Kirby helped out at the 1995 VA Homeless Stand Down, giving clothes and other aid to the homeless.  At Tall Stacks ’95 in October the following people from the Aquila and the Space Station Star Hawk helped out (with the great majority in historic costumes that they had made) to make the event more enjoyable for the thousands of people who came to see it: Linda, Tina, Tammy, Adam and Brian Widener, Jodi Crouch,  Tonya Jones, Cindy Paugh, Erin Pence, Glenna Juilfs, Juanita Daley, Eileen Dehyle, Elza Corrill, Rob Langenderfer, Samantha Lawrence, April Byrd, Lynda Pence, Ben Kirby, Alex Snodgrass,  Don Deyhle, Tammy and Heather Borchardt, Darlene Stroberg, Bill Robb and Terry.   Glenna Juilfs, Erin Pence, Adam and Brian Widener, Jodi Crouch, Tonya Jones, Ed and Monica Watkins, Tami Illis, Eileen and Don Deyhle, Casey (Jones – who was Eileen’s granddaughter), Stacy, Sam Fields, Mary Sipe, Earl and Eddie Jones and Jonathan Praether manned two rooms at the Delhi Haunted House – a medieval torture chamber and the family funeral of the electrocuted murderer.  Members of the group who helped out at Boo Fest at the Haunted Neighborhood at the Cincinnati Museum Center were Linda Widener, Erin Pence, Glenna Juilfs, Juanita Daley, and Eileen and Don Deyhle.  At CPR Saturday in November Linda and Brian Widener, Janet and Jodi Crouch, Glenna Juilfs, Erin Pence, Eileen Deyhle and Rob and Mary Langenderfer all obtained or renewed their CPR certifications.    I listed all of these events to give those reading this a sense of just how active the group was at this time. 

In January of 1996, the group moved into its new meeting place at the Barnes and Nobles bookstore in Florence (having had to leave the Union Hall after 1995 since Greg was no longer a union officer).  That would remain its regular meeting place for the next ten years.  At the meeting, Glenna, Erin and Leonard were promoted to Captain, Linda was promoted to Lt. Cmdr., I was promoted to Lt., Tina and Vanessa were promoted to Ensign, Tammy Widener was promoted to MCPO, and Brian was promoted to CPO, and Adam was promoted to PO (having been in the Cadet Corps and having started on the ship with a much lower rank).  Although the prior two months were relatively disappointing due to bad weather, the death of Juanita’s father and the almost total destruction of the floats in the Thanksgiving and Christmas parades, the next months would again be a period of great activity as the Star Trek Federation Science Exhibit came to the Cincinnati Museum Center, and Star Trek clubs from all over the Greater Cincinnati area were given the opportunity to help explain the different experiments and rooms that comprised the exhibit which were designed to help the public better understand science and the technology that was coming from it.  In February Janet Crouch and Sam Hearld returned to the Aquila after long absences, and Greg’s stated intention to retire was vetoed by the entire crew, and he agreed to stay on as CO for another two years.  The Aquila Marine unit (38^th MSG) was given an award for being the SMI 7^th Division Strike Group of the Year, and Leonard was given an award for being the SMI 7^th Division Marine of the Year.  Tina had married Alex Snodgrass and  had moved to West Virginia, so Darlene Stroberg took over Project Genesis.  At the April meeting, plaques for the 1993, 1994 and 1995 Officers of the Year were presented to Ken Paugh, Greg Turner and Linda Widener respectively.   The Museum Center exhibit finished up this month with a great volunteer party where Fleet Captain Joan Riley (former Polaris CO) had the opportunity to promote Dave Abbott (who by now had himself retired as Polaris  captain, handing the reins over to Tom Creech) to Fleet Captain for his hard work on the exhibit.  Bev was promoted to the rank of Captain later that month at Dover, largely because of her hard work on the exhibit.  The exhibit was more than just a way of teaching people about science and Star Trek and being a nice PR activity for both the museum center and local clubs.  It got people from different clubs working together and interacting with each other in a way they never had before.  New friendships were formed, and a greater sense of community among fandom resulted.  Glenna, Linda, Erin and Brian each worked 100 or more hours at the exhibit, which gave each of them the rank of Commander the way the  ranking in the museum center’s system was done, with only Captain (with 150 or more hours of volunteer time) eluding them.  Janet Crouch made the rank of Lt. for her volunteer time, Cindy made the rank of Lt.jg. and Leonard and I both made the rank of  Ensign while Jodi made the rank of Chief.  Tammy Borchardt, Darlene Stroberg, Janet Burgoon, Tammy Widener and her then boyfriend Robert Hollander were also recognized by the ship for the time that they had put in volunteering on the exhibit.      

The Dover Peace Conference in 1996 with Robert O’Reilly and writers Margaret Wander Bonanno and Brad Ferguson as guests was a wonderfully festive time, a particular convention highlighted by one attendee of almost every Dover as the high point of Dovers.  Dover seemed to always fall right near my final exam week at Thomas More College, but this was the one right before I was scheduled to graduate, and I figured that I could survive the trip and still do well on my exams.  I went up with Linda, Brian, Glenna and Erin.  Greg, Tammy, Darlene, Cindy and Ken Paugh, and Leonard and Shirley Robinson also attended from our ship. I had a nice time getting to talk with Robert O’Reilly about acting, and I was able to get the Vulcan ears there from Earl Jones that he had made for me to complete my Vulcan costume, which I later wore to several conventions.  A lot of water has passed under the bridge since this time, so I feel that I can finally say that I was NOT drunk on Dave and Jennifer Woodard’s rum-soaked watermelon.  When I learned that it was soaked in rum, I decided to just act as if I was a little under to see if I could see what it felt like and to get a rise out of people, which I did!  I was never not in control of any of my faculties, including when I was crossing the street.  Unless I was so drunk that I was not aware of my movements, which I don’t remember being, and I do remember thinking that it would be interesting to see what being drunk felt like and I remember consciously doing things that I was aware might make people think I was drunk, like rubbing my pants legs, so that is my final word on the subject unless someone who was there wants to offer their recollections of things!

I did end up graduating from Thomas More with a 3.914 GPA, and many members of the Aquila came to my graduation party held back at my house.  Linda, Brian and Tammy Widener (along with her then-boyfriend Robert Hollander), Glenna, Erin, Lynda Pence and her daughters Becky and Cyndi and Dustyn Pence Jr. and Jonathan Pence attended, and I remember all of the things that occurred that day, playing basketball late at night with the Wideners in my driveway was the most fun. 

Wayne and Anna Kelley hosted a picnic at their home in Lynchburg, OH in June where they had horses and a coillection of cats and dogs that would have rivaled Juanita’s for the cats and Tammy’s for the dogs!   Linda and Tammy and myself along with several members of Friends of the Time Lord  were able to attend.   I was even able to spend the night there and the next day had a nice time getting The Lord of the Rings at a flea market and hearing Anna and Wayne’s stories of their many years in Star Trek  and Beauty and the Beast  fandom on the way home.

Throughout the summer of 1996, the Star Hawk continued to go to Native American cultural events and to prepare for the Labor Day parade.  Yet even Junaita’s relinquishing nominal command of the station to Eileen with Glenna as 1^st officer could not alleviate the stress and tension that people on the Star Hawk were feeling, quite possibly from over-commitment.    

 Tammy and Darlene and myself attended Third Rock in August and were at the commissioning of the U.S.S. Antares, a new club founded by Dave Abbott and Bev Hater that contained members from many different clubs in the area, including Laurie Weingartner, Joan and Richard Riley, Reggie Parker, myself and tons of other people!   At the August Aquila meeting Greg was promoted to Commodore and given a plaque by the crew.  He was speechless with gratitude!

Space Station Star Hawk did a Labor Day parade, and then the next month it disbanded.   Aquila  members still did the Lake Cumberland clean-up in September and were still involved in haunted houses in October, but the era of tremendous activity was at an end.  I was now in graduate school at UC and couldn’t have done all of those activities even if I wanted to. 

In November, the club held a recruiting drive at the movie theater in connection with the opening of Star Trek: First Contact, and this time I stayed until the very end at midnight and saw the movie for free and stayed awake for all of it!  In December I was promoted to Lt. Cmdr. for points and for passing OCC (the first person to take the Aquila version of OCC that Leonard had created), and Shirley was promoted to Lt.jg.  The Aquila had a very nice New Year’s party at Sam Hearld’s restaurant where 29 members attended and had a wonderful time.  On the sad side of things, although a number of Aquila members were able to attend the U.S.S. Antares Christmas party, the good mood was shattered by the unexpected death of Tina Widener Snodgrass’s husband Alex as well as the death of former Aquila member Ben Stull.  Still, the Aquila persevered into 1997.

Fourteen members of the Aquila attended a recruiting drive with the U.S.S. Melbourne, a Northern Kentucky chapter of Starfleet Command captained by Tony Scott with Miriam Lauer as 1^st officer with Tricia Scott, Art Lauer, Jan Koenig and Mary Kramer rounding off most of the crew that had split off of the U.S.S. Yorktown that was held the night of the release of Star Wars: The Special Edition at the Showcase Cinema in Erlanger and eleven members attended the recruiting drive with the Melbourne at the opening of  Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: The Special Edition.  I was there at both drives and at the drive for the release of Star Trek: First Contact (at which I think members of the Melbourne were also present), and the atmosphere was so electric with anticipation as we saw the movies and the previews for the next ones coming out that the evenings were just filled with joy and energy.  Recruiting drives would never be so much fun as they were those nights. 

The Aquila and its members did two panels at Millennicon, a general SF convention held in Cincinnati, in 1997.  I was on a panel dong a comparison of the crews from the different Star Trek series and I was also on a panel with Linda and Glenna discussing how close we were to achieving Star Trek’s technology.  I won a plaque that year for finishing 1^st in Star Trek  Jeopardy that was overseen by Joan Riley at Millennicon with the plaque being made by the new Polaris  CO Therese Truitt.  I remember that Linda and Glenna and I think Erin and Lynda came out to my house to watch a video to prepare for the panel.  I received boxes of material from Cindy via Glenna and Lynda for the ship’s archives that spring and also got archival materials from Joan Riley and Bev Hater that year to examine.  (Some of those materials have been helpful in preparing this history today.)   

Tammy Borchardt, Darlene and Brad Stroberg and Anne Williams and Linda and Brian Widener and Glenna Juilfs and Erin Pence and Earl Jones attended the 1997 Dover Peace Conference and had a good time. 

Tammy B. hosted three parties in 1997 for the crew.  (Occasionally, like with Shawn and Heather’s graduation parties, they doubled as family events.)  I hosted one. Glenna, Erin, Tammy B. and myself had a very good time at the party that Maryanna and Terry Willacker had at their house.   Aimee Weber joined the group in the summer of 1997.   Erin took over as Chief Engineer, and Alan took over as Recruiting Officer and Nelson took over as Media Liaison Officer in August.

Glenna became involved as a member with the IKV Harbinger (Earl Jones’s ship) and the Midnight Warrior  (a ship captained by Jeremy Burns and then Tina (Schoenfield) Burns) around this time.  Therese Truitt stepped down after just six months as Polaris CO, turning the reins back over to Joan.  Star Trek  fandom itself, however, was shrinking, particularly on a local level.    Star Trek celebrated its 30^th anniversary in 1996, and Star Trek: First Contact was released, and one could argue that local fandom hit a high point with the Cincinnati Museum Center event of 1996.  However, Deep Space Nine (good as it was) never captured the public imagination as did ST:TNG.  In Cincinnati, due to TV rights issues over which local fans had no control, Deep Space Nine went off of free broadcast TV in 1997 with two seasons still to air.  In early 1998 Voyager followed its elder sibling off the air midway through its 4^th season.    From talking with Joan in the process of finding out about the Aquila’s  early history, I knew that the Polaris membership was shrinking.  In some cases, the problem wasn’t just old members wearing out and getting tired (although occasionally that did happen), it was also that there weren’t new programs to capture people’s interests, particularly in clubs that were still, at least from their names at least, focused around Star Trek although on a practical level, I think virtually every Star Trek club in the area broadened its base to focus more on SF in general in the late 1990s.

In December of 1997, Leonard was voted Officer of the Year for 1996, and he had also been voted SMI Marine of the Year for 1996 throughout the whole huge organization of Starfleet Marines International (if I am remembering correctly).  I was voted Officer of the Year for 1997 and promoted to Commander.  Nelson and I attended the all-club Christmas party, and Glenna, Erin, Ben and Tammy Borchardt attended the Klingon Christmas party (called the Feast of the Long Night) coordinated by Garland Young in 1997.  (Interestingly Glenna and I both remember one year distinctly that I attended the  Feast of the Long Night but  neither Glenna nor me can remember what year it was with any certainty.)

Fifteen people (including myself) attended the activities committee meeting/party that Tammy hosted in February of 1998.  It was around this time that I added the last major bunch of archival materials that I obtained from Glenna (which she may have given to me at that meeting), and the archive listing was now in what is basically its current form. 

The Aquila panels at Millennicon in 1998 went well, with Glenna, Linda, Erin, Ben, Aimee, Leonard and myself attending the convention on various days.  I finished in 2^nd place in Star Trek Jeopardy but was still given another plaque and friends of the club Joel “Twisty” Nye and Tina Schoenfeld won awards in the costume contest.  (Joel won “Best of Show.”)

Tammy Borchardt was promoted to Commander in May for points and after taking and passing OCC.  At a special meeting on May 31^st at Tammy’s house at which she treated us to her chicken and dumplings, it was announced that the 3^rd officer position would be filled in June and that the command staff would once again meet regularly.  The following month Tammy was elected to the 3^rd Officer position beating Sam Hearld (who had been Security Chief and Marine Officer in Charge since Leonard accepted a position as a Regional Marine head in January of 1997), with Erin, Leonard and myself deciding not to run.  The club’s election proceedings were revised slightly to allow for a member to run for a command staff position prior to a vote of confidence in the incumbents.  

In June I graduated from UC with my M.A. in history, and Linda, Carson, and Brian Widener and Tammy Borchardt attended my graduation party.  

In early September,Glenna received the unexpected news that Greg had stepped down as Aquila  CO and that she was now in the center seat.  (Sam Hearld was elected 2^nd officer in October with Tammy having chosen to remain as 3^rd officer.)  However, it was a time of change.  Russ Grubb had stepped down as Camelot CO after six years, and Jonathan Steele succeeded him (with Dave Woodard as 1^st officer), with a special transfer of command being held at a special celebration that I was able to attend with my family at Loveland Castle.

In November I became Newsletter Exchange Officer and for a while mailed out club newsletters to other groups that still published print newsletters.  Then when most newsletters started going online, I began to distribute our newsletter online.  I am still doing so today.

Tammy hosted another party in November, this one focused on making pottery, that I was able to attend the last part of.  Recruiting drives were held in December in consort with the Melbourne for the release of Star Trek: Insurrection with Linda and Tammy Widener, Glenna, Erin, Nelson, Aimee and myself making appearances.  At the December meeting Linda and Sam were both promoted to the rank of Captain (a fact for which I had to search extra hard since it was not specifically noted in the meeting minutes!).  Nelson was also promoted to MCPO, and Alan was promoted to Ltjg. 

At Millennicon in 1999, I was a member of a team that won at Star Trek Jeopardy and received a certificate and a Star Trek game from Polaris  CO Joan Riley’s collection (a game that I incidentally, hope to play some time at a future Aquila event).  Millennicon was a site chosen for the first fandom reunion, and Ben Bova was the guest of honor, and I had the opportunity to ask the noted author a question about the space program and got a helpful response.  The Aquila  panels, as usual, went well.  (I have kept every program for each Millennicon that I have attended.  However, I do not have them close at hand.  I will copy and paste a listing of the panels that I personally was on as part of an appendix to this history.  (I’ve already written almost 30 pages, and I still have the last ten years to cover although admittedly and purposefully I will not describe them in as great a detail  because they do not need to be described in that way because more people remember them.) I do remember that in 1998 or 1999 the Aquila did a panel on the works of David Eddings that I was not on and at one point the group also did a science-related panel that I was not on, but virtually every other panel that the Aquila did at Millennicon I was on.)

Glenna attended Dover this year and heard a recorded message from Kevin Conway (Kahless) who apologized for being unable to appear. 

In June DeForest Kelley died and several nice tributes were given to him at the meeting and in the newsletter.  The Tranquility Base convention for which Glenna, Linda, Cindy, Erin and Janet Crouch had done extensive planning under the helmsmanship of Bob Westerman (who really ran the show completely and unfortunately did not adequately publicize the convention) and Vice-Chair Miriam Lauer (who was not given adequate authority to influence convention decision-making in a meaningful way) was held, and despite the different issues behind the scenes, was one of the most fun and memorable conventions that I attended.  Mira Furlan (Delenn) and Robin Curtis (Saavik) were two of the friendliest guests I ever met at a convention.  For what it’s worth, to all the people who helped out behind the scenes at this convention, it was one of the best ones that I’ve attended, and it was particularly nice to be able to meet Mira Furlan who played my all-time favorite character on my all-time favorite SF TV show.  Besides myself and all of the Aquila members listed above who worked at the convention, Alan Wright, Diane Baker and Tammy Borchardt attended the convention.

Seven people attended the Aquila’s 100^th meeting in July: Heather Blair-Collins, Tammy Borchardt, Jamie Dougherty, Glenna Juilfs, Erin Pence, Linda Widener and myself. 

In August, the group voted to join the Maquis Freedom Alliance (MFA), but like the previous organization TREK (to which the Aquila, Polaris, and Camelot  joined after leaving Starfleet), it was an organization that did not have a major impact on the group, and several years later the Aquila voted to leave it.  (According to Joan Riley, TREK had largely been the brain-child of Dave Abbott and Bev Hater, and Rick Alvey, who had been a Captain in Starfleet International was selected to run the group initially and  did some work on it, but Joan, who had nominally been the group’s  Vice-President, needed mental prodding from me to remember what group I was talking about, and then she said that Dave, Bev and Rick had basically run things and that nothing had really gone anywhere with the group.  I suppose that all of the groups were too suspicious of outside authority after their experience with Starfleet International to give any meaningful authority to a centralized group.   I know that was my feeling, and that is why I didn’t even bother to record an instance in this history (and it did happen) when it was suggested that the Aquila rejoin Starfleet (more as a means, I think, of just proposing the option and letting people know that Starfleet, which by this time had rid itself of Dan McGinnis and was under more effective leadership, was in better shape, than out of any real desire to rejoin the group and have to submit endless paperwork to regional coordinators and Starfleet HQ) and it was voted down strongly by everyone.   The Polaris also considered rejoining Starfleet but voted it down.

Sam Hearld was voted Officer of the Year for 1998, and plaques were awarded to him and Rob (the 1997 winner).  

In October, a video party occurred at Sam’s place in Butler, KY that Tammy Borchardt, Steve Proffitt, Rob Langenderfer, Art Lauer, Alan Wright, Nelson Charette, Leonard and Shirley Robinson and Sam Hearld attended.  Diane Baker joined the club as a regular member in November.

In December the club went to the All-Club Holiday party with Heather Blair-Collins, Tammy Borchardt, Denny Case (Lynda Pence’s live-in boyfriend), Glenna Juilfs, Erin Pence, Lynda Pence, Cynthia Pence and Rebecca Poff (Lynda’s daughters), and myself attending and everyone had a good time and many toys were collected for Toys for Tots.

In January of 2000, Carson Widener resigned as Treasurer, and Greg was elected Treasurer at the next meeting.  The Aquila panel at Millennicon that year on Marion Zimmer Bradley went well.

In June, Glenna, Tammy, Erin, several of Glenna’s grandchildren and her dog Trixie made the journey up for the U.S.S. Odyssey picnic.  They rendezvoused with me coming back from a family vacation in VA and we all had a great time at the picnic.  The U.S.S. Odyssey crew were very friendly, and we had a very nice newsletter exchange with them going for quite a while.  I also remember now bringing up the possibility of doing more card-playing at Aquila events in connection with that trip, but I never followed through on the idea (at least not until now).

Tammy Borchardt, Diane Baker, Glenna and Ron Juilfs, and Erin Pence had a good time at the Willacker’s picnic in August.

At the October meeting at Sam’s place in Butler where we showed a number of videos, Diane, Nelson, Sam, Glenna, Erin, Cyndi, Becky, Leonard, Shirley, Linda and myself were present along with Art Lauer and Mars Society Representatives Lyle Kelly and Janis Jaunbergs who made a special presentation about the Mars Society (an organization that encourages space exploration, particularly plans that will lead to human exploration of and eventual colonization of Mars).  I was also promoted to Captain for points with a vote of approval by those present. 

The Aquila’s 10^th anniversary party was held at Linda Widener’s house in Rabbit Hash.  Appropriately enough, it fell on the actual date of the anniversary itself.  Glenna, Erin, Diane, myself and Linda and Brian and Tammy and I think Sam and Nelson were there and possibly also Adam.   It was the last time that I would be out there, and in many respects it was the end of an era.   I haven’t written about this in the club history because they weren’t strictly speaking club events, but I remember driving out there when I was learning how to drive and having good times out there with Linda and her family.  Linda and I would watch videos and go over archive material.  Bandit, her big beautiful German shepherd-Husky mix who was sometimes mistaken by a wolf by police, was so friendly but knew to be gentle with me.  The house was out in the country where it was just beautiful.  I remember that night Erin and Brian and myself and several other kids who were there went out looking for UFOs, which was a not uncommon sight in Rabbit Hash.  It brought back the wonderful days of  all of the good times we had doing parades at Juanita’s, days that when we were doing them, it seemed like they would never end.  We watched Star Trek: First Contact that night.    It was a wonderful way to celebrate the ship’s 10^th anniversary as it served as an epitome of what the ship would always mean to me.  I have reached 32 pages and covered the first 10 years.  I’m going to stop now, for the moment, because I think it’s an effective stopping point, but eventually I will cover the next nine years, and then look on into the future.

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