Ray Major

 

Roger Dowiat passed away December 23, 2009.

 

I met Roger at the Atlanta Astronomy Club’s annual star party, the Peach State Star Gaze. I think it was 2003 when we first met. The friendship started slowly, but grew stronger as the years went by. By 2005 I made it a point to set up near Roger so I could hang out with him.

 

The 2005 PSSG was particularly memorable. Roger and I were joined by our friend Bobby Thompson and the three of us had a blast. There was one night we stayed up very late. Roger’s normally jovial mood was enhanced by consumption of some “fruit juice” he brought with him. He was hoarse the next day from laughing and cutting up so much. I was later told we could be heard all over the field. For any of you who may have been kept awake by our antics, I offer no apologies. Eventually one of us mentioned that we might ought to think about calling it a night. I said, “Yeah, we’ve been up so long Leo is rising.” Bobby looked at me and asked, “You know what comes up after Leo, don’t you?” I said, “Virgo.” Bobby replied, “The sun.”

 

Unfortunately, I don’t have photos of that trip, as I wasn’t into photography at the time.

 

I heard Roger talk about the nice piece of property he had in Mentone, Al, and some years later I got to see it when the club held the Messier Marathon observing session there. I fell in love with the place immediately. Roger told me I would be welcome to come back there anytime. The following Spring (2008) I took him up on it. I was wanting to see Rock City, and I made plans that would include a night of camping on Roger’s property. I spent a night at Cloudland Canyon, and a couple of nights at a nearby KOA, where Roger picked me up to go tour the upper end of Lookout Mountain. We toured Ruby Falls, Rock City, Patriot Point Park, and rode the Incline Railway. We did a considerable amount of walking that day, for a couple of old guys. The picture at the top of this post is of Roger in the cavern that leads to Ruby Falls.

 

 

In this photo, Roger enjoys the view from the observing deck at the top of the Incline Railway.

 

 

At Rock City Roger used my camera to make this picture of me navigating the Fat Man’s Squeeze.

 

 

 

After completing our tours of Ruby Falls, The Incline Railway, and Rock City, we moved on to Patriot Point Park, site of the famous “Battle Above the Clouds.”

 

 

I don’t think Roger knew any strangers. When a couple of other tourists walked up, Roger immediately engaged them in conversation and began sharing some of his knowledge of the area.

 

 

Our tour of the Chattanooga area done, we proceeded to Roger’s Lookout Observatory. I would have thought we had done enough walking for one day, but we proceeded to do some more walking around that beautiful place in the country that Roger was so rightfully proud of.

 

 

The view from the hill above Roger’s observing site.

 

 

It was at the Lookout Observatory that I made the first, and thus far only picture I ever made of a star. We joked about that being the astronomical building. It has a star on the front and a crescent moon on the side. To see the full moon you would have to be inside the building.

 

Laid-back old country boy that Roger was, I think it was appropriate that he should own a genuine outhouse. I kidded him a lot about being a redneck, but he didn’t mind. It was a title he had proudly bestowed upon himself, and he carried it with more grace and charm than any man I ever met.

 

Roger told me I should come back sometime and he would take me on a tour of the Little River area, but unfortunately it was never to be. Hard times soon deprived me of the means to travel. I have scoped out the Little River area on Google Earth, and I can see why Roger wanted so much to show it to me. I hope to see it someday, but I will do so just wishing I could have Roger as my personal tour guide. I will always wonder what stories he would have told and what local color he could have added.

 

I didn’t know it, but when I parted company with Roger the next morning after playing tourist together, it would be the last time I saw him. It would still be the better part of two years before he left this world, and we stayed in touch with occasional emails and phone calls, but we never managed to be in the same place together again. I’m glad for the times we were together, and I will always cherish the memories.

 

Rest in peace, Roger, and thanks for being my friend.

 

 

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