Brian and Donor Overlooking the Chagrin River in the Waite Hill Land Conservancy

Brian's photo of Whistling Swans at Sherwin Preserve of the Waite Hill Land Conservancy

Jane Esselstyn's Daughter ? at Sherwin Preserve of the Waite Hill Land Conservancy

post: Brian and Chris Sherwin

Treasure Diving Holidays and More

This was taken on a dive in the Bahamas -- a Crile adventure. Here is Ann Crile, Brian Sherwin, Joan Crile (now in Heaven) with some Bahamians. Jane and Barney were diving when few others did. They went down holding their breaths. They all wore black leotards with a face with teeth on the backsides of the suit to scare away the barracudas!) They made movies by enclosing the camera is a rubber ice bag with a specially made glass cap. The movies of these adventures were shown all over the world during the Criles many trips --- and this was their hobby-profession as well as being world famous surgeon, writers, etc. ( I have to brag that I set the music to those movies!) On a dive with Pete Peterson from the Smithsonian they brought up the wooden steering wheel from one of Columbus' ships (Santa Pinta?) which you can see on display at the Smithsonian. They were pioneers (the Cousteau's of USA). Ed Link, who invented the Link Trainer -- a pilot training machine used for WW II pilots -- stopped by the Sherwin pool to show the Criles his invention which was the first scuba diving equipment (before Jacque Cousteau's)..  (Years later Peter Sherwin would oversee the building of a state of the art version as Chief Pilot of Ozark Airlines.)    The Crile's book, "Treasure Diving Holidays" is standard reading for many a young marine archeologist.  

When, years later I was president of the Bermuda National Trust, I made an official visit to Colonial Williamsburg to arrange an archeological project in Bermuda. The younger archeologists warned me about the hot tempered Archiologist Emerntitos, a man at the top of his field. I sat beside the intimidating  old man at a dinner. Overcome with shyness I asked him if by chance he knew of my aunt and uncle. "Are you kidding," he barked, "Jane and Barney Crile of Treasure Diving Holidays!" So Williamsburg came to Bermuda on  a number of "digs" in our historic buildings, and assisted us in putting together the Trust's dynamic program of Bermuda's cultural history. Thanks, Jane and Barney!

A note on Barney Crile probably forgotten: In 1947 some statehood for Puerto Rico extremists broke into the public galleries of the United States House of Representatives and shot five Congressmen. At the time Cleveland was snowed in in a huge blizzard. Fire trucks were called out to clear the runways so a plane could rush Barney to Washington to direct the operations that saved the lives of the Congressmen! And that's  just one reason why the signature building of the Cleveland Clinic (now Cleveland's largest employer) is named the Crile Building!

Some family we are!

blog: Dennis Sherwin

Greg McIntosh, who was a young member of the diving group adds the following notes: (Actually the leotards were to keep is from getting sunburned. Each child had a different "face" on his or her rear so that Barney and Jane could instantly identify one from the other). About the rubber bag the camera was in: It was actually a modified bag used by anesthesiologists in the operating room. It is fitted between the tanks of various gasses and the mask over the patent's mouth and nose. Clinic machinists created the lens fitting for the front of the camera and fashioned a clamp to secure the open sam at the rear - used for inserting and withdrawing the camera from this improvised underwater case with it's specially made glass cap. 

Briggs August 2007 celebration

August 12, 2007: celebrating birthdays and our 50th wedding anniversary

Back row:Marion Berry, Walter B., Jason & Ashley Bernhard, Corning Chisholm(93), Duncan Briggs (17), Jake Berry(16)
2nd row: Wendy Berry
3rd row: Henry Berry(8), Kate & Toby Briggs, Sam Berry(14)
Front row: Hal Berry, Alex(6) & Helen(10) Bernhard, Charlotte Briggs(14), Adele Bernhard(11), Marnie Briggs(19)

We are enjoying another summer in our Eden, Southwest Harbor ME and welcome any who come this way. Pam and Tyler Konkal are arriving this weekend 07 /18 so even California isn't too far away.

Kate Briggs