Student's Desire to Conquest
Leads to Sky Diving Hobby
Reprinted from The Ahoskie Herald
If you are planning to attend college, you had better do a lot of thinking
about the roommate you choose.
You could end up like Tom Treesh, 22 of Norfolk, Virginia.
Treesh is a freshman student at Chowan College and rooms with Jim
Wells, 23, of Gaston. Wells is a veteran sky diver.
Prior to meeting Wells, Treesh was an adventure seeker but had never
explored the thrills of jumping from
a flying airplane.
After a little urging and a “final
push” form Wells, Treesh made his
first jump two weeks ago at Roa
noke Rapids.
He made his second leap into
the airways Saturday during Cho
wan College homecoming festivi
ties.
Both Wells and Treesh are what
you might call thrill seekers.
Prior to meeting and becoming
roommates at Chowan, Treesh and
Wells both engaged in skin and scuba
diving and both have piloted hydro
planes in competition.
Jim has also raced motorcycles
and says Tom, “I guess he’ll have
me doing that next.”
Just why does a young man de
cide he uxints to jump out of an
airplane, when most sky jockies
today just hope they stay airborne
until completing a trip from one
air strip to another.
Says Tom, “Man’s desire for con
quest.”
“At least,” adds Tom, “that’s the
story Jim told me.”
Jim has been leaping from air
planes and praying for his chute to
open for three years.
He first jump^ while serving with
the Marine Corps in Okinawa “about
three years ago.”
Since that time Jim has jumped
79 times and has accumulated 21
minutes and 20 seconds of free-fall
time.
Countable free-fall time is earned
from the time a jumper leaves the
aircraft unitl he pulls his rip cord
to open the chute.
During a pre-game show at the
Chowan-Lees-McRae football game,
Jim registered a free fall of 40 sec
onds during which he did a 360 degree
right, left, right turn and was anti
cipating a back flip.
“I was wearing a flare to time my
free fall,” noted Wells, “and was
afraid I would burn myself.”
Free-fall time and other records
related to jump are kept in a log
book and determine a sky diver’s
license classification.
Free-fall time is the prime data
for determining a jumper’s classi
fication.
A jumper with 1-10 seconds of free-
an
seconds acting like a wingless bird
gets you a “C” rating and for 75-
200 seconds you earn a “D” license.
Other than free-fall time, the num
ber of the jump, type parachute and
emergency chute used, altitude of
jump, nearness to target and maneu
vers in the air are kept in a log book,
according to Wells.
“The more the merrier,” comment
ed Jim when asked how many feet
from the ground he liked to leave the
plane. “Usually over 7,200,” added
Wells.
When in the service, Jim was a
member of a sky diving club and
says, “I jumped about 10 times a
week.”
He now gets to jump “about once
every two weeks.”
Treesh, who is a student sky diver
under Wells’ direction, says he
plans to jump “as much as possi
ble.” Like most college students,
Tom says, “When the money
allows.”
Teaching a sky diver, according to
Wells, is a slow process.
First, says Jim, “You let him jump
with a static line five times.
“A static 1 i n e,” explains Wells,
“automatically opens the chute after
the jumper falls 15 feet from the
plane.
“On the last two static line jumps,”
says Wells, “Tom will pull a dummy
rip cord just to get the feel of it.”
The learning jumper then grad
uates by three’s from a “clear and
pull” jump and steadily adds to his
free-fall time.
“On a clear and pull jump,” notes
Wells, “the jumper just clears the
airplane and pulls his rip cord.”
Next come three five-second jumps,
three 10-second jumps, three 20-sec
ond jumps and on and on as the
jumper masters each level.
In the interest of safety, explains
Wells, a jumper is often held back
at a certain level.
“If a jumper is rolling before
opening his chute at five seconds,
you don’t advance him to 10 sec
onds. You uxiit until he has mas
tered that height and is controlling
himself adequately,” says Wells.
V
license
fall time obtains
classification.
The license classification changes
as the jumper logs more free-fall
time.
For example, 10-25 seconds earns
the jumper a “B” license, 25-75
m
FLYING LIKE A BIRD—Veferon sky diver Jim WeUs goes through some
sky diving maneuvers prior to opening his parachute. Wells left the plane
at 10,000 feet—and opened the parachute when he was 2,500 off the ground.
HOMECOMING DAY VISITOR—Tom
Treesh made a parachute jump prior
to the Homecoming football game re
cently. He landed in the baseball
field at the rear of the stadium.
Book Collection
Donated to Library
More than a hundred volumes
from the personal library of a form
er Acting President of Chowan Col
lege, the late Rev. J. M. Duncan,
have been contributed to Chowan
College’s library.
Widow Contributes Books
His widow contributed the collec
tion, including valuable volumes by
contemporary theologians and philo
sophers, as well as outstanding his
torians and sociologists. During his
lifetime, the Reverend Mr. Duncan
served for 18 years on Chowan Col
lege’s Board of Trustees and was a
long-time pastor of churches in the
West Chowan Baptist Association.
Dr. Bruce E. Whitaker said of the
collection, “Chowan College is grate
ful to Mrs. Duncan for making pos
sible this gift of books from the
library of her late husband. All of
us knew him as a faithful servant
of God and a friend of Christian
higher education. The quality of that
portion of his library which has been
given to Chwoan College serves to
remind us that he ‘gave heed to
reading’—and to go^ reading—
throughout the years of his ministry.”
Former Professor
In South Carolina
Mrs. Rose Goodwin Pool, former
Chowan College professor who served
as Chairman of the college’s Depart
ment of Music, teacher of voice and
Director of the Glee Club, has moved
from Hickory, N. C., to 7 Woodfin
Avenue, Greenville, S. C.
Her son, Kenneth, who was former
Chairman of the Organ Department
at Southern Baptist Theological Semi
nary in Louisville, Ky., is church
organist for the First Baptist Church
at Hickory.
PAGE SIX
THE CHOWANIAN