122 replies to this topic

[Mr Magoo]

I think it is neat that her entry on Sept. 1, 1946 notes the observation of M31 using the old term of The Great Nebula in Andromeda. Thank you for sharing all of this.

[deepwoods1]

Happy to have found this thread. Wonderful read! So nice to be the keeper of history!

[TOM KIEHL]

Happy to have found this thread. Wonderful read! So nice to be the keeper of history!

Thanks Dave ,

    Out of all the telescopes that I own , Alice's scope is my most loved and cherished scope of all . I maintained communications with Lenard ( Alice's surviving husband ) after the sale . On 12/12/14 Lenard sent me a letter informing me that he had moved to Gilbert ,  Arizona  to live with his daughter Kathy and her husband . Upon this move Lenard came across this booklet about comets and mainly the Barringer comet crater ( 2nd revision edition 1946 ) . In the circular cut out of the booklet is a small fragment of the Barringer  crater comet . Lenard said in his letter " In the process of moving I found this item and my first thought was of you , I know you will give it a good home " . Almost a year later Kathy ( Alice and Lenard's daughter ) sent me a letter informing me that Lenard had passed on 11/20/15 , he was 89 . Lenard's obit and the correspondence and the comet booklet are in my Alice Mae Weiss history folder .

 

Together again , may they both rest in peace .

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[Chuck Hards]

Wow!  I had a copy of that same booklet, when my mom and dad took me to Barringer Crater as a teenager in the early 70's.  Long lost, what a treat to see one again.  

 

So nice of Leonard's daughter to keep you informed.  Keep that provenance together Tom, it only adds to the value of the scope.  Well-done, my friend.  

[fjs]

It's sad to hear of the old guy's death. I think it's fantastic that he remembered you and gave you such a gift. I can't imagine the personal, emotional value it adds to your appreciation of what was already your favorite piece of history.

Edited by fjs, 13 May 2017 - 06:24 PM.

[TOM KIEHL]

It's sad to hear of the old guy's death. I think it's fantastic that he remembered you and gave you such a gift. I can't imagine the personal, emotional value it adds to your appreciation of what was already your favorite piece of history.

It sure was Frank . It was very emotional for me to hear of Lenard's passing . I find it unusual that an old telescope and some old Sky and Telescope magazines would bring me so close to one family . I like to think of it as Divine Intervention . I never met Alice of course , or her daughter Kathy , but I did have the honor and pleasure of meeting Lenard . The day I met Lenard we spoke for hours about Alice , Kathy , and himself at his dining room table , all the while , under  the watchful eye of Alice's photo as the center piece on that dining room table . Weeks after our first and only meeting Lenard was so gracious to mail me a copy of that table center piece photo of Alice . I did call Kathy once I got the news of Lenard's death and offered my condolences ( that was the first we'd spoke ) . Kathy ( Alice's daughter ) and I set up the deal off of Craigslist via Email's , Kathy at Gilbert , Arizona and I in Ohio .

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[wrvond]

Simply amazing.

[AUricle]

Such a treasure, Tom!.......and the story?.....I hate over-used words, but in this case "amazing" just fits. What a beautiful lady!

In my corner of the midwest today, we're being treated to a fine approximation of winter. Cold, gray, rainy.........Finding this story put some sunshine in the day.

Devoured every word, right down to the journal entries. 

Thanks for documenting it all so well and putting it here for everyone to enjoy.

Alice Mae yet lives on.....

[TOM KIEHL]

Thanks fellas for the kind remarks . I'm looking at her scope as I type in my computer room . It 's the first thing I see every morning with my morning cup of joe ! 

 

Yes you are right !  .........  " Alice Mae yet lives on ".....

[charlesgeiger]

My sister in law still has my older brother's 3.5" Skyscope.  He passed on in 2011.  It is the exact same instrument as pictured in the first posts here.  The box it came in has a date of 1954 from the Skyscope company.  It was first purchased by his friend, Mike O'Brian and then purchased by my brother, Bob, I assume around 1955.  My first observations with this scope date back to 1957 viewing Saturn.  That is what hooked me on my life long obsession with astronomy.  I still remember the image!  I could easily see Cassini's division and the dusky equatorial band and, I believe, Titan.  This was on my parent's property at Anderson Island in the Puget Sound. 

This scope did not have a finder so, being limber in my youth, I pointed from the mirror cell up past the focuser to find Messier's.

I spent many years using the scope and did so up into the late 1960's.  I will say the mount was 'touchy' but adequate.  This unit had 2 eyepieces for 60 and 100 power.  As stated, the mirror cell and front ring were brass along with the focuser and two eyepieces.  I observed almost all of the Messier's with this scope.

One year, my brother had possession of an old Zeiss microscope.  I used the Zeiss eyepieces in the Skyscope and the difference in image quality was profound!  That old Skyscope, with its single stalk secondary, produced excellent pinpoint stars, high contrast, and high definition too.  Unfortunately, my brother sold the Zeiss and I was not able to use those eyepieces again.  And yes, they were smaller in diameter than what was in the Skyscope.

As stated earlier, the legs screwed into the base and all the items were fit into the original shipping box and still are.  The box was filled with straw.  I will have to look at it again!

I understood later that the mirror was supposed to be spherical but a f/11 gave excellent images. 

I know David Levy has a Skyscope also but have not heard of or know anyone else having one.  So this thread has been fun and brings back so many memories.  I remember seeing Sputnik going from east to west (at least that is how I remember it) and it was pulsing light (tumbling) from the front yard of my parents house in Tacoma with my brother.  If I remember correctly, it was visible for about a two week period.  Again, this was the first satellite!

In those days the Milky Way also was very prominent even in the city. 

Anyhow, the mirror (last I saw) still had a great coating on it.  The secondary was a flat square mirror on the stalk and was also still bright.

Thanks for the memories!

Charlie Geiger

[TOM KIEHL]

Thanks Charlie , what a great story . You might think about getting that old Skyscope out once again and feed it some Photons . It would most likely re kindle some of those  old childhood memories      

[Marcus Roman]

Amazing scope, amazing passionate people, wonderful post!!!

[The_Vagabond]

Just came across this thread, and I must say, wow. Amazing. 

Tom, thank you for sharing. 

[TOM KIEHL]

Just came across this thread, and I must say, wow. Amazing. 

Tom, thank you for sharing. 

You are welcome . Yes , Alice's scope , I must say was one of my Favorite scopes . Not because of performance , but overall appearance and back story . Alas , my old friend is destine for greatness in a museum in China .     

[The_Vagabond]

I guess now is the time to mention one of these classics is on eBay, but not in an obvious location. I'd go after it myself, but I am going through a bit of a crisis at the moment (my Mother unexpectedly died last week), and I am having to prepare to move. Living on a fixed income really bites, but alas, after the Edmund disaster sort of hesitant. Besides, too rich for my blood, so to speak.
Anyway, if anyone is interested.

https://www.ebay.com...e/174514025387?

[RalphMeisterTigerMan]

Wow! What an amazing memory and memorial! To have so much literature and pics and all, wow! All I have from my Mother is the "leiben's lauf" from her memorial and some ashes.

 

My older brother and sisters in their infinite wisdom would not let me attend her memorial. But, I digress.

 

The amount of literature and information you have is amazing. Where she is, I'm sure she would be proud!

 

Clear skies!

RalphMeisterTigerMan

[The_Vagabond]

I took the leap and bought that Skyscope. 

Sadly, I'm in the midst of a move, so I won't get to see it until the first week in December, and to be honest I really shouldn't have bought it (good thing I'm fond of Cherrios and ramen noodles). But it looks like such a fascinating piece of amateur astronomy history that I had to do it. 

Edited by The_Vagabond, 21 November 2020 - 11:38 AM.

[charlesgeiger]

To The Vagabond,

That is great you purchased the SkyScope!  You should have great fun with it.  As stated earlier in the thread, I had access to my brother's for many years and got great views of Messier's and the planets.  As it turns out, my sister in law gave the scope to a person wanting one after my brother's passing.  I will never forget the joy it brought me.

Charlie

[The_Vagabond]

To The Vagabond,

That is great you purchased the SkyScope!  You should have great fun with it.  As stated earlier in the thread, I had access to my brother's for many years and got great views of Messier's and the planets.  As it turns out, my sister in law gave the scope to a person wanting one after my brother's passing.  I will never forget the joy it brought me.

Charlie

Thanks, Charlie. 

I've started a thread where I'm writing about my travails with the telescope, which finally arrived a few days ago. I think it is an interesting instrument. I hope to be able to locate some more eyepieces, or to make my own. For now, restoring it, and hoping to use it on the 21 December for the conjunction. 

Cheers, 

Robert

[charlesgeiger]

The Vagabond,

I also wanted to say I'm sorry about the passing of your mother.  That is a life event that you will, of course, not forget.  All I can say as an analogy is people with physical losses (such as loosing an arm or leg or entering into blindness) will always have that cross to carry, but one can heal and get past the worst and accommodate to such an extent that your life is changed but it also takes a different direction.  I hope you heal and can focus on some good times with your new to you scope. 

Charlie  

[The_Vagabond]

The Vagabond,

I also wanted to say I'm sorry about the passing of your mother.  That is a life event that you will, of course, not forget.  All I can say as an analogy is people with physical losses (such as loosing an arm or leg or entering into blindness) will always have that cross to carry, but one can heal and get past the worst and accommodate to such an extent that your life is changed but it also takes a different direction.  I hope you heal and can focus on some good times with your new to you scope. 

Charlie  

Thank you, Charlie, for the kind words. 

She passed away in front of me, and CPR couldn't bring her back (nor did the defibrillator). It was sudden and with very little warning She was 81, a little over a month shy of her 82nd birthday. 

I was her caretaker of sorts, but she was spry until the end. Just odd now that she is gone. I name my telescopes, and I actually have sort of a pattern to the naming, but I am tempted to name my SkyScope after her. 

Anyway, again, thank you.

 - Robert

[westchesterastro]

Great telescope! I also own one and am trying to get a new mount for it, could you offer me any guidance on how to find a compatible mount?

 

Thanks for your help in advance.

[Rob Siegel]

My name is Rob Siegel. I'm not really a sky-and-telescope guy, but my father was, and after my mother passed, I inherited his disassembled Skyscope. I remembered it well from when I was a child growing up on Long Island, and needed to learn enough about it to put it back together and make it functional. I'm a singer-songwriter, and wrote a song about the whole affair. In doing so, I used information from this thread, as well as from Tom Keihl's 12-year-old locked thread (https://www.cloudyni...pe-company-inc/). The song has been released on my new album I'm From Here, and I've made a simple video that uses a few photos from the two threads, credited at the end of the song. You can find it on YouTube at the link below.
 
https://youtu.be/_Y7A9kAZNZ0
 
Thank you folks so much for this information. I'm mainly a car guy (vintage BMWs; long story), so I well understand the value of enthusiast communities like this. If anyone will enjoy the song and the video, it's you.
 
--Rob Siegel

 

Edited by Rob Siegel, 12 April 2025 - 02:45 PM.