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| Photo courtesy of Mare Island Naval and Historical Museum |
Part II - Diving Deeper
“It started with an email from Josh," recounts Brendan Riley during a recent interview at the museum, "asking if I happened to be related to Wyman Riley, because he had found this tape at a garage sale. So, I emailed back and said yes, that was my father, and what do you have?” This short interaction began a correspondence between Josh and Brendan, which over the coming weeks included numerous emails and phone calls, each of which revealed a little bit more about the tape, its' origins and purpose.
Josh had initially thought to sell the tape, aiming to make some quick cash with his recent tresure-hunting find. However, at some point during their conversations, he decided it was more important that he gift it to Brendan. Josh recalls, “I remember finding Brendan and thinking, well, this (the tape) was intended for his father and I thought well, how nice would it be to send it to him (Brendan), because I would like it, if someone who came across something that belonged to my mom or my dad that was connected back to me (would send that item to me). I would love it.” So, Josh placed the box with the tape into the padded envelope, addressed it and sent it on its’ way to its' newest owner.
During his long and successful career as a journalist and newspaper reporter for the Associated Press, Brendan was used to receiving all kinds of interesting bits and pieces of information, much of which eventually found its' way into the stories he wrote. It was just part of what came with the job of reporting the news. Of course, some bits and pieces were more helpful than others, and Brendan had learned to take a lot of it with a grain of salt. When he received the tape in the mail from Josh, however, Brendan recalls he was genuinely interested to hear just what might be recorded on it. After his numerous conversations with Josh about the tape, what was written on the box it was in and where it had been found, Brendan's curiosity was at a high point. Unfortunately, he had no way of listening to the tape.
While reel to reel tape consoles had, at one time in the past, been very popular in the home hi-fi environment, those days were long gone, with these machines having been replaced by vinyl LP (long play) records and tape cassettes, then by compact discs and most recently, by digital music players and online music streaming services. Even if he had wanted to buy a reel to reel tape player, it would have been a relatively expensive and time-consuming proposition, a place Brendan didn't want to go at that time. So, with no easy way to listen to what was on it, Brendan placed the little cardboard box with the reel to reel tape back into the padded envelope, which he then placed on the shelf in his office, to be saved for another day.
While reel to reel tape consoles had, at one time in the past, been very popular in the home hi-fi environment, those days were long gone, with these machines having been replaced by vinyl LP (long play) records and tape cassettes, then by compact discs and most recently, by digital music players and online music streaming services. Even if he had wanted to buy a reel to reel tape player, it would have been a relatively expensive and time-consuming proposition, a place Brendan didn't want to go at that time. So, with no easy way to listen to what was on it, Brendan placed the little cardboard box with the reel to reel tape back into the padded envelope, which he then placed on the shelf in his office, to be saved for another day.
RELICS TO THE RESCUE
Not long before all this activity between Josh and Brendan took place, I had a begun a long-overdue home cleanup project, which involved moving selected items from the spare bedroom of our home into a studio space which I had been given access to in the museum.
Back in my college days, as part of my broadcast communications major at San Francisco State University, I elected to take a number of courses in audio engineering. The curriculum focused primarily on the professional methods, techniques and equipment used for recording sound. We learned about such things as proper microphone placement, mixing boards, recording consoles and digital sound effects processing. Over the years since that time, I managed to collect a fair amount of my own recording equipment, the idea being that, at some point in the not too distant future, I would set up my own recording studio. This, however, never really happened, and the equipment ended up unused, taking up whatever space I could find for it. Every now and then, my wife would suggest that I "find a place for that equipment." I, of course, always found a way to stall for time, counter-suggesting that I might eventually find a use for it, other than as a new “for sale” entry on Craigslist. Then one day, as luck would have it, I actually did find a use for it, in my museum studio, digitizing old audio recordings onto the computer. The primary goal was to make these old recordings more accessible to people, since digitized recordings could be played on any computer or any capable website. The other goal was to better preserve the original media these recordings had been made on, since being able to play digital copies of the original recordings meant we no longer needed to use the original source media to play the recordings, thus saving these for posterity. So, after a couple trips back and forth from our house to the museum, and a timely donation of a reel to reel tape player from the museum director, the equipment had officially found a new home, renewed purpose, and I finally had a recording studio! 😁😁
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| The Studio (photo courtesy of Jim Kern, Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum) |
Eventually, word of the studio reached Brendan, and he approached me about listening to the little tape in the cardboard box. After relating to me the story of how he had acquired it from Josh D., and telling me more about what was thought to be recorded on it, he let me in on what he was really hoping to hear. First off, based on what was written on the box, Brendan was fairly certain it was a recording of a ship-to-shore call made from the nuclear submarine USS Gurnard to Mare Island, during sea trials the sub would have been undergoing at that time. Right off the bat, this sounded impressive to me and I was ready to warm up the reel to reel machine and start rolling tape. More important to Brendan, however, was the fact that he believed there was a chance that somewhere on that tape was a recording of his father, Wyman Riley.
Brendan explained to me that for many years he had been searching for a recording of his father's voice, with no success. Furthermore, he was disappointed that he personally had never had a chance to record his dad while he had been alive, and Brendan was hopeful that somewhere, someone had in fact made such a recording that he would be able to find and listen to. After hearing this, I definitely wanted to listen to that tape. Brendan has been a respected and valued member of the Vallejo community for many years; I jumped at the opportunity to try and help him recover a piece of his family history.
At the time the recording was made, Wyman Riley was the managing editor of the Vallejo Times Herald and The Evening News Chronicle, in those days two of the largest daily newspapers in Northern California. Luther Gibson, influential California Senator for Solano County, was the owner of both, along with the company that printed them, Gibson Publications. Senator Gibson was not just a savvy politician, he was also a smart businessman. He knew the newspaper business and – more specifically - what would continue to sell subscriptions to his readers. In Vallejo, where a large percentage of local residents worked at the Shipyard, or for local businesses which supported Shipyard operations, it was news of Mare Island and what was being built there that, to a large degree, kept the printing presses moving, and Gibson made it standard policy that if there was news from Mare Island, it would be reported in his papers, without delay.
Now that we knew we had something recorded on the tape, and that it was something we could actually listen to, all that was left to do was let the tape roll. As the reels on the machine started turning, transporting the fifty year old tape over the play heads, Brendan and I sat back and listened to a little bit of Mare Island and United States naval history.
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Brendan explained to me that for many years he had been searching for a recording of his father's voice, with no success. Furthermore, he was disappointed that he personally had never had a chance to record his dad while he had been alive, and Brendan was hopeful that somewhere, someone had in fact made such a recording that he would be able to find and listen to. After hearing this, I definitely wanted to listen to that tape. Brendan has been a respected and valued member of the Vallejo community for many years; I jumped at the opportunity to try and help him recover a piece of his family history.
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| Photo courtesy of Brendan Riley |
VOICES FROM THE PAST
After completing set up of the studio, as I started to play some of the old tapes I was receiving (and finding in museum storage), I came to lean heavily on the phrase, “expect the unexpected”. Many of these old tapes, I came to find, were made primarily by amateurs, who had little to no experience recording audio, and listening to the results of their efforts was at times a challenge. Distortion was a common issue, as many people, in an effort it seems to get as much sound recorded onto the tape as possible, would crank up the input signal levels as high as they could go, resulting in an often disturbing listening experience. Or, they wouldn't turn up the levels high enough, which created a recording that sounded very distant and was hard to understand. In addition, what was written on the labels of the boxes the tapes were stored in was many times no longer accurate, as people had often reused these tapes, recording on them multiple times, usually erasing any previous recordings, and without taking time to update the labels. This meant that the only way to really know for sure what was on the tapes was to listen to them.
In the case of the tape Brendan brought me, we did have a handwritten description on the outside of the box:
After completing set up of the studio, as I started to play some of the old tapes I was receiving (and finding in museum storage), I came to lean heavily on the phrase, “expect the unexpected”. Many of these old tapes, I came to find, were made primarily by amateurs, who had little to no experience recording audio, and listening to the results of their efforts was at times a challenge. Distortion was a common issue, as many people, in an effort it seems to get as much sound recorded onto the tape as possible, would crank up the input signal levels as high as they could go, resulting in an often disturbing listening experience. Or, they wouldn't turn up the levels high enough, which created a recording that sounded very distant and was hard to understand. In addition, what was written on the labels of the boxes the tapes were stored in was many times no longer accurate, as people had often reused these tapes, recording on them multiple times, usually erasing any previous recordings, and without taking time to update the labels. This meant that the only way to really know for sure what was on the tapes was to listen to them.
In the case of the tape Brendan brought me, we did have a handwritten description on the outside of the box:
“Press release from the USS Gurnard. The sub is somewhere in the middle of the pacific and surfaced specially to send this msg to the press. Left 15 Sept. 1968 from M.I. for trial. To Wyman Riley. Phone conversation (word unintelligible) Torn up (word unintelligible) phone cable.”
While this was no guarantee of what would actually be on the tape, it was better than nothing, and it was a good start. In addition, there was no apparent attempt to ever cross out the original content description and replace it with a new one, which gave me hope that no one had ever re-recorded over this tape. This of course assumed that the tape was the same one the description on the box was referring to. A lot of possibilities in such a small package.
It was clear to me why Brendan was hopeful there was a recording of his father somewhere on the tape. The name "Wyman Riley" was right there on the box; he was listed as the intended recipient of the message from the USS Gurnard, so it seemed fair enough to think his voice might actually be part of the recording.
At the time the recording was made, Wyman Riley was the managing editor of the Vallejo Times Herald and The Evening News Chronicle, in those days two of the largest daily newspapers in Northern California. Luther Gibson, influential California Senator for Solano County, was the owner of both, along with the company that printed them, Gibson Publications. Senator Gibson was not just a savvy politician, he was also a smart businessman. He knew the newspaper business and – more specifically - what would continue to sell subscriptions to his readers. In Vallejo, where a large percentage of local residents worked at the Shipyard, or for local businesses which supported Shipyard operations, it was news of Mare Island and what was being built there that, to a large degree, kept the printing presses moving, and Gibson made it standard policy that if there was news from Mare Island, it would be reported in his papers, without delay.
Fortunately, the tape was in very good condition. Whomever had it before it reached Josh had apparently taken good care of it. Reel to reel recording tape can hold up fairly well over time, if it is stored in the correct conditions. Fortunately for us, it appeared that this tape had never been exposed to an overly difficult environment, so we were encouraged that it seemed there was a better than average chance there would be quality recordings on it.
We were not disappointed. The recording on this little tape was excellent, still clear as day. The audio levels were good and there was very little background "noise" or electronic interference which is often found on these kinds of recordings. The voices on the recording were clear, right on target.
We were not disappointed. The recording on this little tape was excellent, still clear as day. The audio levels were good and there was very little background "noise" or electronic interference which is often found on these kinds of recordings. The voices on the recording were clear, right on target.
Now that we knew we had something recorded on the tape, and that it was something we could actually listen to, all that was left to do was let the tape roll. As the reels on the machine started turning, transporting the fifty year old tape over the play heads, Brendan and I sat back and listened to a little bit of Mare Island and United States naval history.
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(This is Part Two of a multi-part story.) (click here to read Part Three) (Click here to go back to read Part One)
(Updates to this story will also be made from time to time, as new information becomes available.)
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