By this time 50 years ago, I joined ENS Jack Roberts and ENS Steve Curran in renting a house in Norfolk, Va. I know that we were there by this date in 1970 because it was where we watched the total solar eclipse of March 7, also a Saturday that year.
The total eclipse was only visible in the southeastern US, as shown in the map of its path below. It remains the only total eclipse I’ve ever seen.
The house was “modest” and I assume the rent was pretty low. According to Jack, it had two stories, with two bedrooms on the top floor and a kitchen, living room, and other room on the ground floor. I’m guessing one bathroom. Jack and I were roomies in one bedroom, with Steve and, sometime later, LT Frank Fox in the other.
The photo below may include the house. It probably looked much like one of these houses. I don’t remember the house from the outside, except I believe there was a porch. I took the picture to try to capture the unusual “light” during a portion of the eclipse.
The house, though modest, fulfilled its function. “It was great to be off the ship and feel somewhat ‘normal,'” Jack recalls. “I think we ate a lot of TV dinners.”
We hosted a party at some point, inviting the wardroom. The only person I remember specifically attending was the then-wife of LCDR Wentz. I know he and others were there, but my memory of the evening includes only her. 🙂
That spring, we also had the pleasant duty of hosting at the house a young lady and two of her college classmates on a “date.” Problem was she was the daughter of CAPT Olsen. You can consider the awkward position we were in. CAPT Olsen’s daughter, Fran, was attractive and also a source of potential danger. As Steve recalls, “We were so glad to drop them off early and get home safely.”