2023 Stellafane News

STMs Celebrate Their 100 Years

[2023-Dec-8] Last night, accompanied by a roaring fire in the fireplace, the STMs gathered at the Clubhouse to celebrate an intimate evening of celebration of their 100th Year as a club. A meal of beef barley soup, beans and bread was had, something that might have been served a century ago.

Member Dennis di Cicco (who took the picture) had this to say:
"It’s worth noting that the photo was taken within an hour or two (maybe less) of exactly 100 years since the original members of the STM gathered to formally establish their club and set a priority of finishing the clubhouse where we were assembled. Imagine if any of them could see this photo with an image of their first club president standing next to our newest president. Do you think any of them could imagine that there would still be a group of STMs using the clubhouse for its original purpose a century later. I can’t think what the future will be like 5 years from now, let alone 100."

Dec 7th 2023: STMs Celebrate their 100th Year - Photo by Dennis di Cicco

Happy Birthday, Springfield Telescope Makers!! Here's to many more!

The Founders: Russell W. Porter + An Important Anniversary

[2023-Dec-7] Today, Dec 7th 2023, is an auspicious day. On this day, 100 years ago, twelve people convened at Oscar Seth Marshall's home, to sign the charter that would bring the Springfield Telescope Makers into being. Most of our Founders would be Jones & Lamson colleagues, and it would become an important place in STM Early History.

This leads us to our 12th and final Founder in this series. Russell Porter was a number of things; an artist, surveyor, explorer, survivor of shipwrecks, architect, prolific designer and inspirational leader. Early in his life, he'd found himself interested in optics, and would often find himself experimenting with them. Springfield, located in what was called Precision Valley, with its machine tool industry, ended up being the perfect place to cement Porter's telescope hobby. With the tools at his disposal, and a recession making commercial telescopes a luxury most couldn't afford, it suddenly seemed that telescope making could be a hobby easily approached by all. On August 17th, 1920, the first telescope making class was organized by Porter, and held at Jones & Lamson. The success of that first class led Porter and others to suggest that maybe there was enough interest to form a club of like-minded enthusiasts. And here we are, 100 years later, and the hobby is as strong as ever, the club with more members than ever.

About our 100th Year, current STM President Cecilia Detrich had this to say in her Centennial Message:

December 7, 2023

Congratulations to the members and supporters of the Springfield Telescope Makers on this centennial anniversary of the founding of our club!

The friendship and camaraderie felt by the club's charter members as they met in the home of Oscar Marshall on December 7, 1923, to hold the first official meeting of the Springfield Telescope Makers continues to draw us all back to our beloved Stellafane. Imagine how these founding members would have felt if they were aware that their actions that evening, as they enjoyed fritters + syrup, and coffee, would reach thousands of amateur astronomers into the next century and around the world!

As we begin the second century of the Springfield Telescope Makers, we extend appreciation to all the club members, their families, and all our supporters who have contributed their talents and resources to our mission to stimulate interest in astronomy and allied sciences by preserving and fostering the skill of amateur telescope making.

We are all looking forward to gathering together on the hill at our next Stellafane Convention, August 1-4, 2024.

Clear Skies,
Cecilia Detrich
President
Springfield Telescope Makers

You can read more about Russell Porter and other Founding Members on The Founders Page. Alternately, if you're interested in reading more about the club's early history, here is some suggested reading:

Early STM History by Russell Porter | Brief History of the STMs by Bert Willard | First Meeting Minutes | History Main Page (with many articles)

Pictures from our archives below:

The 1955 Stellafane Convention.

Oscar Fullam and his wooden equatorial telescope.

Frank Whitney and his telescope on an outing of Porter’s telescope making group, Mt. Ephram, Springfield, Vermont, early 1920s.

Telescopes made by Porter’s original group of telescope makers as exhibited at a county fair about 1922.

Porter’s telescope makers erect a wood tower and install a bronze survey tablet at the summit of Hawks Mountain in Baltimore, Vermont, in 1922.

First Stellafane Convention in 1926.

New Hartness House Workshop Page

Hartness House, home of the Hartness House Workshop - Photo by Asif Khan

[2023-Nov-28] We have a new addition to the website today. The Hartness House Workshop has been a tradition alongside the Stellafane Convention since 2009. But until today, there hasn't been a way to peruse past workshops. You can now view them all in one place, on the Hartness House Workshop page. Alternatively, you can also access the Hartness House page at any time via the Convention menu in the upper-left.

2023 Board Election Results

[2023-Nov-16] This past weekend, on November 11th, was the day of our Annual General Meeting (at the BRIC). After being well-fed by the Wilders, we proceeded to elect a new Board. The result is what you see below. Bob Morse has stepped down as President while previous Vice-President Cecilia Detrich steps up to take up the mantle. Mike Hayes has become Vice-President. Terri Simoni has stepped in as Secretary, replacing Rick Hunter who has stepped down. New to the board is Katie Shusdock who has done a great job with the telescope making class, and who joins us as Director. Also joining the board is Bruce Beford as Director. We wish to thank both Bob Morse and Rick Hunter for their service to the club.

Reminder: Up-All-Night Star Party

[2023-Oct-19] In case you've forgotten, the Up-All-Night Star Party is coming up this weekend. If you're unsure to come due to the forecast, rest assured that some alternate form of entertainment will be made available should the weather prove to be uncooperative.

Scheduled for this weekend, October 21-22 and in its 30th year, is the Up-All-Night Star Party, a free event open to the public. Come see the telescopes and gaze through them. For directions on how to get there, if you need them, please follow the link. The event starts at 7:00pm both nights.

Stellafane Centennial topic of SAPA-TV Documentary

Caption

[2023-Oct-10] Wether you've missed this year's Convention and its Centennial Celebrations, or you wish to revisit those memories, we have a treat for you. Thanks to Aimee Parnell over at SAPA-TV (Springfield Area Public Television), you can watch the beautiful Centennial documentary that she put together.

Weaving archival footage from the early days of Stellafane with footage shot this year, the documentary captures the magic and the essence of what it means to be at Stellafane while chronocling the story of the STMs from its humble beginnings. Touring the many buildings associated with the club on its two sites also gives viewers an idea of what has made the STMs tick over its 100 year history.

Thank you, Aimee, for creating something that is both beautiful and timeless. If you'd like to view this documentary, you can either find the link on the Convention Videos page or at the SAPA-TV Website.

The Founders: John Pierce

[2023-September-26] The enthusiasm up on the hill this year, was quite palpable, and we hope you've enjoyed the convention as much as we've enjoyed putting it on, and the many surprises we've had up our sleeves. Thank you for coming and making the event such a great success! One of these surprises, was the Founder poster displays under the big white tent, which took up over a year to make. In making these Founder pages, the research involved created a natural extention into creating posters to display, and we hope you've enjoyed viewing them.

With that said, it's time to take a look at our next Founder. John Pierce happens to be an influential Founding member. As a local high-school teacher, Pierce met Porter shortly after arriving in Springfield from Syracuse in the summer of 1919, at a neighbourhood gathering where talk soon turned to optics. That same year, at Thanksgiving he would start work on a mirror, completing it that winter. This would strike Porter into realizing the idea that starting a class might be useful, leading to the First Class. Later as the STMs were founded, he would take up the role of Vice-President and President. One could fairly say his passions lay in teaching and telescope making.

You can read more about John Pierce and other Founding Members on The Founders Page. We'll meet again in December to talk about our founding father, Russell Porter!

2023 St-Gaudens Star Party

[2023-August-27] The St-Gaudens Star Party is back too! Taking place on September 23rd at the St-Gaudens National Historic Park, the event in partnership with the Springfield Telescope Makers, is a free event for the whole family.

The event has been re-scheduled for Saturday, September 30th, 2023 7:30pm-9:30pm.

More information is available at the official St-Gaudens Star Party Website.

Centennial Convention a Wrap; Up-All-Night Star Party

Up All Night 2023 - Click Here for PDF Version

[2023-August-24] And the Centennial Year Convention is a wrap! The Springfield Telescope Makers would like to thank everyone who came out to make this year a great success. We wouldn't have been able make it happen without each and every one of you, members, volunteers and attendees alike. You are the heart of what makes Convention tick every year, so thank you very much! We pulled out all the stops this year, and the energy and excitement on the hill was quite palpable, even when threatened with dire weather. Our Founders would have been quite proud of this year. Please, if you've captured anything you'd like to share, share them with us at webmaster@stellafane.org, and we will add them to the convention gallery!

Coming up on October 21-22 and in its 30th year, is the Up-All-Night Star Party, a free event open to the public. Come see the telescopes and gaze through them. For directions on how to get there, if you need them, please follow the link.

Stellafane: Topic of Sky & Telescope Cover Story

[2023-June-14] Extra Extra, read all about it! Stellafane, and more specifically, the STM's 100th Anniversary is the cover story of Sky & Telescope's August issue. Longtime Stellafane Attendee and Sky & Telescope writer Dennis Di Cicco wrote the generous and detailed 8-page spread. We hope you have fun reading about what the STMs were up to in their early days! Thank you, Dennis! We certainly appreciate the extensive writeup and your dedication to writing over the years.

This year marks a rather special year for the Springfield Telescope Makers, as we will be celebrating our 100th year as a club. One-Hundred years ago, the charter was signed at Oscar Marshall's home, and forever changed the telescope making world. Eventually it created the Stellafane Convention, and continues to operates it to this day. We will have plenty of surprises in store at Convention to mark this special occasion, and we certainly hope you'll join us! It's not too late to register!

If you have a subscription, then you've likely already received a copy in the mail. But for those who are not subscribed, the issue should currently be available at Newstands everywhere!

The STM put in a lot of effort to preserve the history of Stellafane. If you have any Stellafane stories, photos, articles, et cetera in your archives and would like to ensure their preservation by sharing them with our museum of Amateur Telescope Making, please contact us at history@stellafane.org or write to Stellafane, PO Box 601, Springfield, VT 05156.

The Founders: Oscar Seth Marshall

[2023-June-05] Hello and welcome to another installment in our Founder series! This one will be the last before Convention. But posters of all of the Founders will be on display in the tent on the Hill beside the Clubhouse.

Today we take a look at Oscar Seth Marshall. It was apparent that he and Russell Porter shared a familiar interest in the art of surveying, and from there after meeting Porter caught the astronomy bug and joined the First Class. It was there that he made an 8-Inch scope, his mount going on to inspire the Springfield Mount. He would also follow Porter to California to work on the Hale 200-Inch.

In December 1923, the Springfield Telescope Makers charter was signed at Marshall's home, paving the way for a legacy that we are celebrating 100 years later. On top of the charter being signed at his home, he became the first Secretary and Treasurer for the club, and would become an important figure to the club. He would eventually go on to write a memoir, 'A Journeyman's Machinist Guide to the Stars', which became a resource for the club's early history.

You can read more about Oscar Marshall and other Founding Members on The Founders Page. We'll meet again in September to reveal our next Founder .

Joe Rao is Keynote for 2023

[2023-March-16] You've likely already encountered Joe Rao at former Stellafane Conventions, as he's been a regular Stellafaner for several years. A Meteorologist, Joe Rao co-hosts the Joe & Joe Weather Show which can be watched Live in the evenings on Facebook and Youtube. He is also a devout Eclipse Chaser, having chased 13 eclipses all over the world.

With a total Solar Eclipse coming up in April of next year, and with many getting excited to see the diamond ring again, Joe Rao has happily agreed to be our Keynote Speaker this year. His talk 'Adventures of an Eclipse Chaser' will be sure to please. Are you looking forward to the Eclipse? We know we are!

But you know what else is coming up soon? Our 100th Anniversary. The 2023 Convention will be a special occasion for that very reason. Don't forget to Register! More comprehensive details are available on the Convention Page.

The Springfield Telescope Makers at NEAF

[2023-May-3] For the past several years (Covid years excluded) the Springfield Telescope Makers (STM) have traveled from their home at Stellafane on Breezy Hill in Springfield, VT to the North East Astronomy Forum (NEAF). The Rockland Astronomy Club, the host organization of NEAF, has graciously allowed the STM to set up a booth to advertise the Stellafane Convention and to introduce people to the art of Amateur Telescope Masking (ATM) (www.neafexpo.com).

At the 2023 NEAF (April 15 & 16) the STM set up a mirror grinding station, a Foucault mirror tester, several home-made telescopes and an array of historical posters describing the history of Stellafane from the early days of Russell Porter’s telescope makers in 1920 to the modern Stellafane Convention. At least 250 people stopped by to learn about the Stellafane Convention and the free mirror-making class, which takes place over the Winter months in Springfield, VT., the rich 100-year history of the STM and how the STM strive to continue to stimulate interest in astronomy and allied sciences by preserving and fostering the skill of amateur telescope making.

See the photos of the goings on, below. To learn about the 2023 Stellafane Convention click here. To learn about the free Mirror Making class click here. If you’re unable to attend the 2023 Stellafane Convention this coming August we hope to see you at the Stellafane booth at the 2024 NEAF.

Rick Hunter (left) demonstrates the rough grinding technique to a young Telescope Maker.

Cecilia Dietrich (right) talks with “Uncle Al” Nagler on how he got into the optics design business thanks to Stellafane!

Mike Hayes (right) describing how the Foucault mirror test works.

A young amateur astronomer looking through a telescope.

Mark Sproul (left) demonstrating his 3D printed segmented telescope tube.

Roger Williams (right) posing with a life-sized photo of Russell Porter, the founder of Stellafane.

Registration is Open, and Aluminizing is Back for 2023!

Alan Ward and his Aluminizing Machine in 2019

[2023-April-29] We have some exciting news to share with you today! We are proud to announce that Convention Registration is open as of today. We are looking forward to seeing all of you as we celebrate our 100th Anniversary as Springfield Telescope Makers. That's right, the 2023 Convention will be full of Celebration, and we have a few surprises in store for a memorable Convention!

If you remember, back in 2019, one of the big successes of that convention was the on-site aluminizing being offered by Alan Ward. He came down all the way from Canada and brought with him his 'portable' aluminizing machine, and ended up aluminizing 15 mirrors up on Breezy Hill that weekend!

We're happy to announce, as one of the many things to look forward to during our celebrations, that Alan Ward will be back again at this year's Convention with his Aluminizing machine, so if you have any mirrors that are ready to be aluminized, bring them to convention! If you're reading this and you're currently working on a mirror, this might be a great chance! And to those taking the telescope making class, wouldn't it be great to have it ready just in time? ;)

Alan will be aluminizing 12 or more mirrors of up to 10.25" in diameter, along with small diagonals and secondary mirrors in batches over the course of Convention weekend, and whether it's one of yours or you're just watching the process, which is quite a beautiful sight, you'll be in for quite a treat. Full details about the Aluminizing and what's required if you want a mirror to be alunimized in August, right here!

But first, don't forget to Register! We'll take a look at the Keynote next week.

Springfield Telescope Makers Celebrate Centennial, Seek Stellafane Lore

[2023-April-24] One hundred years ago, the machine shops in Springfield were state-of-the-art in the machine-tool industry and the center of activity of the Precision Valley. Among the many talented artisans applying their creative expertise was Russell W. Porter, a Springfield native, artist, Arctic explorer and all-around mechanical genius. Among the skills that Porter taught himself while he was attending MIT studying architecture was Amateur Telescope Making, for, at that time, if a working-class person wanted a telescope, they had to construct it themselves.

While Porter was working in the machine shops, he gathered together a group of 13 people of various talents and inspired them to craft their own telescopes. Soon after, they started a club, the Springfield Telescope Makers (STM), to foster the skill of Amateur Telescope Making, built themselves a clubhouse, named Stellafane (Shrine to the Stars) and started to spread the idea that anyone could build their own telescope.

This coming December 7th will mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the STM at Stellafane. The STM put in a lot of effort to preserve the founding and the early days of Stellafane, to maintain Stellafane and its environs in as original condition as practical, for example, the view today of Stellafane is the same as that seen during the 1955 Convention (photo on the right) and to preserve the early history in our Museum of Amateur Telescope Making at the Hartness House.

If you have any Stellafane stories, photos, articles, et cetera in your archives and would like to ensure their preservation by sharing them with our museum of Amateur Telescope Making, please contact us at history@stellafane.org or write to Stellafane, PO Box 601, Springfield, VT 05156.

The Springfield Telescope Makers, Breezy Hill, Springfield, VT.

The Founders: Oscar Proctor Fullam

[2023-March-4] Hello again, and welcome back to another edition of the Founder series, our first of 2023, the year of our centennial!

Today we take a look at Oscar Proctor Fullam. What we know of him is that he was a student of Astronomy and Native American Lore, and a pattern maker employed by the James and Lamson company, and later the Fellows Gear Shaper company. But not only that, he seemed to have a keen interest in nature, in particular plant diseases, of which he acquired wide knowledge of in order to better understand them. At the time of his death, he was 63, though he'd spent only 3 short years with the organization before his passing in 1926, the year of the first convention.

You can read more about Oscar Fullam and other Founding Members on The Founders Page. We'll meet again in June for the next reveal.

2023: A Special Year for Springfield Telescope Makers

[2023-Jan-02] As 2022 comes to a close, we come into a year that is a very important one for the Springfield Telescope Makers. While a group of individuals got together with Russell Porter to make their first telescopes in 1920, as noted in the article below, it hadn't been until 1923 that a club was officially formed. This means that 2023 is officially the 100th year that the Springfield Telescope Makers have been in existence. Let's pause for a moment of reflection: These have been 100 beautiful years of pushing glass, and Porter would be very proud to see how far we've come, and how much we've accomplished. Thousands more have created these instruments, with one's own hands, to look at the heavens. And they continue to attend mirror making classes. That is quite a legacy.

2023 promises to be a very exciting year for us, and we do plan on proudly celebrating. The Founder pages, which we hope you've been enjoying, are only the beginning.