Obituary of Samuel Hiram Beverage

Photo: Sgt. Samuel H. Beverage, early 1943, on the Egypt-Lybia border with the British 8th Army, Middle East Air Force, wearing British battle dress with “U.S.A.” on shoulder straps. Samuel Hiram Beverage, the only child of Hiram Stone Beverage and Ruby Hazel Taylor, was born on December 6, 1917, at the house known as "Sunnyside" on the North side of the Mill Pond on North Haven Island, Maine. A life-long history buff, he was always pleased to point out that his arrival coincided with the dramatic disaster in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where a French WW I Munitions Ship collided with a Norweigan supply ship at the Harbor entrance and subsequently exploded, blowing out nearly every window and destroying much of the town, as well as killing approximately two-thousand people and injuring another nine-thousand, six thousand of whom suffered profound, life-changing wounds. North Haven Island and Halifax are on about the same parallel, and when this disaster was followed by a tsunami and a day later by a tremendous blizzard in the region, many locals believed it to have been precipitated by the explosion. Samuel spent many years studying the effects of the sun-spot cycle on the ionosphere and radio wave transmission. He discovered that when he matched these cycles to severe weather conditions and documented spectacular failures of polar explorations, there was a clear, unambiguous correlation. Samuel concluded that, while the tsunami in Halifax was obviously caused by the explosion, his birth had happened at a high point in the solar cycles, thus the blizzard of 1917 was, in fact, nothing more than the result of the natural sun spot cycle, in spite of the fascinating local lore. was home-schooled for several years by his mother, then his formal education began in the one-room school at the junction of Middle Road and what is now North Shore Road and South Shore Road. The building had just been modernized by the addition of "Indoor Outhouses" - quite an unusual feature at the time. Samuel's teacher was his Aunt Nettie Beverage who presided there for twenty-one years until it's discontinuance in 1932. From there he advanced to the Center/High School, graduating from North Haven High School in June, 1935, in the middle of a class of ten. During High School, Samuel and his friend, Alex Witherspoon, became very interested in Short Wave Radio. He and Alex built one and two tube regenerative receivers and listened in on nearby HAM Radio Amateurs regularly. The Senior Class Trip was to Boston, Massachusetts, quite an adventure in those days, and after the others had gone home, Samuel stayed a few days more with relatives in Cambridge. He went to all the radio places he could find, including the Cruft Laboratory of Harvard University, where he observed an experiment they were doing with a "Doorknob" tube on UHF. They showed him their radio equipped panel truck in which they could go to various locations to test signal strengths, using portable antennas, the first ones produced by National Radio Co. of Malden, Massachusetts. In Boston he discovered the original Radio Shack, as well as Brattle Radio, Ben's Radio, and several others. He bought a brand new ARRL "Radio Handbook", price $1, and "How to Become a Radio Amateur", price 25 cents! While looking in the window of Ben's on Boylston Street, near the corner of Washington Street, Samuel encountered Harold Sweet, Amateur W1JEF, who was attending Massachusetts Radio and Telegraph School on an upper floor of that very building, and who took him up there to look around. Samuel had to work for his father for a year to earn his tuition, but in September, 1936, both Samuel and Alex were enrolled. Samuel and his cousin, Milton Beverage, who was enrolled at Suffolk Law School on Beacon Hill, found a rooming house in Back Bay, Boston. There were other family members close by as Samuel’s Uncle Alonzo Taylor worked for the Edison Electric Co. on Boylston Street. During the weekdays, Samuel took the Radio Operating Course and three nights a week the Radio Repair Course. When he completed his studies in May, 1937, he had two Radio Diplomas and a Government issued First Class Radio Telephone License which qualified him to work in a Radio Broadcasting Station or other position which required a licensed operator. His call sign was W1MGP which quickly became familiar as “One Maine Grown Potato”. Jobs were scarce in Broadcasting, but he did go to work for a radio company in Fall River, Massachusetts, in February, 1938, which not only serviced Police Radio Stations in Fall River and Westport, Massachusetts, but also constructed transmitting equipment for them and for the local Radio Amateurs in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. When he was drafted into the Army, serving from June, 1941, to October, 1945, his specialized training and experience was sought after and rewarded. When he sailed from New York City on July 16, 1942, aboard the HMT Pasteur, he was part of the first complete Signal Corp of WW II. From July, 1942, to May, 1945, Samuel was Master Sergeant, US Army Signal Corp, Radio and Communications Chief for the 1060th Signal Co., 323rd Air Service Group, in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, and Italy. Samuel returned to the United States in May, 1945, and married Eleanor Sargent in Somerville, Massachusetts, then headed to Florida via New York, receiving an Honorable Discharge in October, 1945. He subsequently enlisted in the US Air Force from June, 1947, to June, 1950. His military awards include: Pre-Pearl Harbor (American Defense) Service medal; Good Conduct Medal with Knot (two awards); European-African-Middle east medal with three Bronze Campaign Stars; American Emblem; Army Air Force Technician Badge; Radar V1 Mechanic; Sharpshooter Badge - Carbine; Five Overseas Bars. After the war, Samuel returned to James Millen Co, from 1946 to 1947, then joined the National Radio Company after his enlistment ended, working there from 1950 to 1970. Samuel returned to North Haven with his wife, Eleanor, in 1973, and, with Lewis and Ida Haskell, they were instrumental in the establishment of the North Haven Historical Society, where Eleanor served as secretary for many years. Both were tireless researchers in history and genealogy, and both became members of the Mayflower Society. Right up into the months before his death, Samuel was delighted to spend hours and days gathering and organizing detailed historical information for anyone seeking assistance. On October 8, 2009, Samuel journeyed to Rockland to renew his driver’s license at the age of nearly 92, returned on the 2:15 ferry, and never left the Island again. In 2010, at the age of 93, Samuel received North Haven's "Boston Post Cane", as he had become the oldest citizen of the Island. He retained this honor until his death on December 18, 2014, after achieving ninety-seven years of age, ever grateful for the opportunity to live out his life on “the most beautiful place in the world”. Samuel is predeceased by his daughter in law, Kim Beverage, but survived by Eleanor, his wife of 69 years, as well as five children, twelve grandchildren, seven great-grand children, and various spouses, including Sandra and Edward Andrews, Barry and Ethel Beverage, Stephen Beverage, and Julia and Ron Cobb. Grandchildren Sheila and Dana Dyke, Paul and Stephanie Andrews, Christopher and Andrea Hayes, Heidi Beverage, John and Nadja Beverage, Mary and Robert Bates, Steven Beverage, Jessica and Perry Marrocco, Courtney Beverage, Joshua Beverage, Eric Cobb, and Justin Cobb. Great-grand children: Dyana Dyke, David Dyke, Daniel Dyke, Antonio Andrews, Ryan Beverage, newborn Riley Beverage, Brooke Beverage. In addition, he leaves five step-grand children and five step-great-grand children. Plans for a memorial service for family members and friends will be announced in May, 2015.