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Memories of Hein Hvatum

Hein Hvatum died on May 22, 2008. Below are some of my photos of him, mostly taken on bicycle trips. Hein was one of my closest friends in Charlottesville during the years I was on the scientific staff there (1980 and 1984). We did nearly daily exercise bike rides after work during the warmer seasons, and often took long rides on the weekends. Several times, we did "centuries", rides of 100 miles, from Charlottesville to the Blue Ridge, then along the Ridge to another access point, and back to Charlottesville. And on a few occasions we made the 120 mile ride to Green Bank from Charlottesville, which included 6000 ft of climbing. I could usually count on Hein if I felt like going riding. Sometimes, I would simply show up unannounced at his door ready to go. More often than not, he'd look simply look at me, forget whatever he was planning to do, and go get his bike.

During this period, we were first convincing NRAO to take on the VLBA project, and then starting construction under Hein's guidance as project manager. Those long hours riding were also times that we discussed the many issues we faced with the VLBA design. This period was certainly the one in which I had the most contact and influence with observatory management.

After I moved west to be with the VLBA project, my contacts with Hein tapered down. He did visit a few times. On one occasion in 1992 we took the opportunity to ride to the top of South Baldy from Socorro, a climb of 6000 ft in 25 miles. I know that there are photos from that trip as I have found an email about sending him prints. But I have not found the films. On another occasion, in 1999, we spent a couple of days riding south from Pie Town during one of his segments of the Continental Divide Trail. There are photos of that event below.

I'll write more as I feel the urge.

The Washington Post obituary can be seen at this link.. The Charlottesville obituary is at this link.. Thanks to Gene Runion for providing the links.
 
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Peter Napier, Hein Hvatum, and Gene Runion riding south of Pie Town on the Continental Divide bike trail in 1999.

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Lunch on the Continental Divide trail ride with Hein, Peter, and Gene. I forget the name of the other person.

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Hein at the campground on the Continental Divide ride.

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Hein Hvatum, Joel Linden, and Susan Neff during a fall ride near Charlottesville, probably in the fall of 1981 based on when the film was processed. The photo may have been taken on one of our many Boonesville rides - one of our most common weekend rides.

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Hein Hvatum at a pond near Farmington Country Club on the outskirts of Charlottesville in 1982. We called the pond the "Duck Pond" and often used it as a place to meet for rides.

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Hein Hvatum bicycling near Charlottesville. From the date on the slide, this was in 1978.

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Joe Burch (Mark II correlator operator), Lee J. Rickard, Hein Hvatum, and Susan Neff on a fall 1978 ride near Charlottesville.

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Another shot of the same group at the same time as the last photo. They are Joe Burch, Lee J. Rickard, Hein Hvatum, and Susan Neff on a fall ride near Charlottesville.

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I even managed to take Hein on a hike or two, especially when cycling was not an option. Here we are on the Blue Ridge, obviously in winter. The film was processed in Feb. 1983.

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This photo and the next few were from one of our rides to Green Bank, this one in 1984 based on the date the slides were processed. Here we are in Monterey, VA, fairly late in the ride. I don't remember who everyone is, but left to right, they are Bill Cotton, Hein Hvatum, Ed Sieveka, Kurt Riegel, Tom Brooks, Craig Walker, and Buddy Martin. Ed was a CV resident who sometimes played Volleyball with the NRAO people, but he was not an NRAO employee.

In 2007, a similar photo surfaced from the NRAO archives. After a couple of wide ranging attempts to identify everyone, we succeeded and that is the only reason I now have all the names above. The photo in the archives may have been taken by the reporter who is in the following picture. That photo is at this link.


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This is another photo taken at the same time as the last. Notice the woman with the notepad. I'm wondering if she was a local reporter there to interview us.

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A scene along the road during the ride beyond Monterey. The first two riders are Bill Cotton and Tom Brooks.

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On that trip, we clearly visited the Cass Scenic Railroad during the couple of days we were in Green Bank. I've included these photos because of Hein's strong interest in trains.

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One of some of the group inspecting the engine. Unfortunately we only see their backs. The people are Hein Hvatum, unknown, Bill Cotton, Jay Lockman(?), Barry Turner, and Tom Brooks. Often when we rode over, it was on the occasion of some event like a picnic or meeting. Clearly the group that went to Cass was not just the bikers.

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On the ride home. Yes - we rode both ways that time.