Pieri's Corner

In what seems like only a few months ago, a project was put in motion to recapture a part of Camp Hale history for our members.  At the forefront of the effort was Mr. Dick Pieri, who had agreed to open the vaults and share the years of Camp Hale stories and memorabilia he had accumulated.  In coordination with Mr. Dick and the Board of Directors, CHAA was gearing up to introduce two new sections of this web site, " Pieri's Corner " and " Gigi Pieri ". Unfortunately, as the effort came to take shape, Mr. Dick passed away.

In a spirit passed on from generation to generation, Rich Pieri and Dave Pieri have now taken the reins and have vowed to help share those memories with the Alumni Association.  The vault contains a multitude of information and may take awhile for the brothers to get everything together. A big Brackety Ax is warranted for all in the Pieri family for their undeniable contribution to all that is Camp Hale.

This just in - We're scanning copies from the 1950's and 60's. Check out some of the great images below. A big thanks to Mrs. Pieri, who was combing the archives and found the below images.

Early 1950's

As a taste of things to come, Rich shares the story of NASA's Skylab falling on Camp in the summer of 1979, which, much to this webmaster's surprise, I remember like it was yesterday.

Enjoy, and stay tuned .....

During the summer of 1979, NASA's Skylab disintegrates in its orbit and lands in and around Camp Hale, Sandwich NH.  Campers are stunned at the debris and charred marking on the lodges and Rec Hall.  Luckily no campers or staff were hurt during this event.

Was it a hoax??  Read on to find out ...

Hi all. I'm Rich Pieri, better known as "Mr. Dick's Son" number 1. Most of you probably know my brother David better than you know me and he has more stories than I have, but I have a special one:
Skylab. It is special for me because I was very interested in NASA's space programs at the time (I was 12), and because....

After its final mission in 1974, Skylab was moved to a parking orbit that was expected to last 8 years. The new Shuttle program had begun and plans were made to use the Shuttles to move Skylab to a more
permanent orbit in 1981. That didn't happen. Conditions caused Skylab's orbit to deteriorate in 1979. Mr. Dick kept watch for news about Skylab.

You see, Mr. Dick had a plan.

Once a range of days was announced as the probable days that Skylab would fall out of orbit, he set that plan into motion. I happened to stumble upon it. Mr. Dick was doing a dump run in the VW and I asked
to go along. Dumps are fun places when you are 12. He let me, so it was Mr. Dick, myself, and someone else whom I do not remember (sorry), off to the Sandwich Dump. We drove to the dump, tossed out
the trash, and then the fun (for me) started. I was told to look for stuff that could look like it might come from Skylab. We scrounged up a bunch of junk like nuts and bolts, I think a toilet seat, a variety of other odds and ends, and a conical thing that I thought looked like some bit of a docking collar or some such. We tossed it all in the back of the VW and hauled it back to Camp.

I didn't see any of it for a day or two until the morning of July 12, -- the morning after Skylab finally de-orbited and broke up over western Australia and the Indian Ocean and not Sandwich, New Hampshire -- arranged by the totem pole in front of the Dining Hall. Mr. Dick and his adult accomplices had stenciled "NASA" and "Skylab" on the larger pieces and tossed all of that junk we collected in a bonfire to make them look like they had broken up and burned during re-entry. It was most convincing and I would have believed it if I hadn't been in on it.

I never learned who all of the accomplices were. If you are among them then give yourself a pat on the back. You were part of a unique hoax, one of the best that Mr. Dick ever pulled.

The below photo was taken by Mr. Dick that morning. It is my conical thing partially buried after "impact".

--Rich P.