Chasing Galileo in Goldendale

o Information: 509-773-3141; the state parks’ website or the observatory’s website.

But that’s what four Vancouver amateur astronomers had to work with as they pursued their dream of building a telescope at Clark College. That grinding contraption powered by the Model A transmission was key to shaping the 24 1/2 -inch-diameter telescope mirror that was 5 inches thick and topped 200 pounds.

o Goldendale Observatory is one of only three observatories in Washington open to the public, with the most public hours. Jewett Observatory at Washington State University in Pullman is open to the public once monthly; Jacobsen Observatory at University of Washington in Seattle is open to the public twice monthly.

o It is one of only 14 International Dark Sky Parks in the nation.

o Its telescope was built in donated space at Clark College by four amateur astronomers from Vancouver.

o What you might see in the telescope: The moon, star clusters, galaxies, nebulae, Jupiter and Saturn including its rings and moons.

No amateurs had succeeded in building that large a telescope. But the four men — all 60 or older — were determined to try.

After seven years of painstaking calculations and toil in a workshop at Clark College, the men completed the telescope.

But installing it at Clark College didn’t pan out. Even when Vancouver skies are cloudless, light pollution makes it tough to view the night sky. Eventually, the men found a home for their telescope in Goldendale, 120 miles east of Vancouver, where clearer and darker skies prevail.

Today, visitors can climb a tall ladder and gaze through that same telescope at Goldendale Observatory State Park.

For the first time, the observatory is open more than it’s closed, said Troy Carpenter, the park’s interpretive specialist. That’s good news for amateur Clark County astronomers willing to make the two-hour trek for a chance to view celestial objects through the telescope. The area is so ideal for astronomy that it’s one of only 14 certified International Dark Sky Parks in the country and the only one in the Pacific Northwest.

Later this year, the mirror in that telescope will be replaced “to provide a more versatile field of view,” Carpenter said. Then the original mirror, precisely ground with the help of the Model A transmission, will become part of a display about the telescope’s history.

Clark connection

The four Vancouver men who built the telescope became friends through their shared interest in astronomy.

John Marshall was an electrical engineer for Clark Public Utilities and was teaching part time at Clark College. He found the group the space to build at Clark College. After they built a smaller telescope and gave it to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Marshall had the idea of building a larger telescope for Clark College.

“If I can get the college to come up with a 24 1/2 -inch mirror, will you guys handle it?” Marshall asked his friends, according to a Feb. 21, 1979, Columbian article.

Clark College purchased the $900 Corning Pyrex telescope mirror glass and other material, investing about $3,000 in the telescope. The completed telescope was valued at about $75,000.

Maryhill Museum of Art

What: Built by early 20th century businessman Sam Hill. Permanent exhibits include Auguste Rodin, American Indian artifacts, Art Noveau glass, Queen Marie of Romania.

Stonehenge Memorial

What: This concrete replica of the original in Wiltshire, England, was commissioned by Sam Hill, early 20th century businessman, as the nation’s first World War I memorial. It was dedicated July 4, 1918, to the servicemen of Klickitat County who died during the Great War.

Where: On state Highway 14 0.9 mile east of the intersection of Highway 97 and Highway 14; 3.8 miles east of Maryhill Museum of Art.

Hours: Open daily 7 a.m. to dusk.

Cost: Free admission and parking.

Information: 509-773-3733 or the memorial’s website.

The men realized the endeavor would take years. Grinding the main mirror took an entire year.

They did the work themselves: lens grinding, gear making, metal scrounging, planning and project management.

Marshall was project manager, supplying what materials the builders needed.

M.W. “Mac” McConnell was a glass engraver until an allergy forced him to find new work at the Vancouver water department. He was retired by the time he started the telescope project. McConnell had built 14 telescopes by the time he started working on the telescope at Clark College.

Don Conner, who quit school after eighth grade but was sharp at physics and math, studied books about telescopes at the public library and learned how to build them, starting in the 1930s. With the Depression in full swing and without deep pockets, Conner built telescopes from glass coasters for beds for only 20 cents each.

“I could make a better telescope than Galileo had when he discovered the moons of Jupiter,” Conner said in 1979. “I’d make ’em and give ’em away.”

He performed the majority of the complex mathematical calculations for the telescope built at Clark College.

Washington State Parks Information Center: 360-902-8844 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Maryhill State Park

What: A 99-acre full-service camping park with 20 tent sites and 50 electric sites and 4,700 feet of Columbia River waterfront.

Where: 50 Highway 97, Goldendale, 0.25 mile north of Highway 97 bridge.

Reservations: 888-226-7688 or the state parks’ website.

Information: 509-773-5007 or the parks’ website.

Columbia Hills State Park

What: 3,338-acre camping park with eight partial utility sites, eight standard sites, two primitive tent sites and one primitive hiking-bicycle site. The park has 7,500 feet of shoreline on the Columbia River, with a 90-acre Horsethief Lake, 12 miles of hiking trails and Native American pictographs and petroglyphs.

Where: Milepost 85, state Highway 14, Dallesport.

Reservations: 888-226-7688 or the state parks’ website.

Information: 509-767-1159 or the parks’ website.

Conner, who had multiple sclerosis and sometimes shaky hands, also ground the lenses.

“I hesitated quite a while before the guys convinced me I could do it,” Conner said. “I couldn’t depend on my hands anymore. But they sent Mac (McConnell) for me to be my hands. I was the master of the machine. If I needed help to move the glass around, he helped.”

Before he retired, Conner worked in the parts department at a Chevrolet dealership. He scrounged some parts for the telescope in the Chevy junk heap.

Omer W. VanderVelden did the majority of the machining. Born in 1899, he was 65 when they started building the telescope. He died a year after the observatory was dedicated.

At the time, the 24 1/2 -inch-diameter Newtonian Cassegrain telescope was believed to be the largest amateur telescope in the country.

When it was finished, the telescope was wrapped in polyethylene and stored at Clark College until the builders could find a home for it.

In 1971, they met with Clark College officials and some Goldendale residents to develop a plan for their city to build an observatory for the telescope.

In October 1973, the Goldendale Observatory was dedicated, but the building was closed right after the dedication ceremony, because there was no operating money. By 1976, there was enough money to hire a director. However, funding was a constant issue.

In 1980, the observatory was sold to the state for $100,000 and became Goldendale Observatory State Park.

Visiting today

Today’s visitors to the Goldendale Observatory can view the night sky through that same telescope completed at Clark College 44 years ago. Almost a half-century later, that telescope remains one of the largest public telescopes in the nation.

Other telescopes available for the public are a 14-inch-diameter Schmidt-Cassegrain, a 14-inch-diameter GoTo Dobsonian and a 60-millimeter-diameter Hydrogen-alpha solar telescope. Daytime visitors will only be able to gaze through the solar telescopes.

Although admission is free, a Washington State Parks Discover Pass is required to park in the lot and can be purchased at the front desk. It is $10 for a one-day pass or $30 for a 12-month pass.

Between 15,000 and 20,000 visit annually, including many school groups from Portland, Seattle and more far-flung cities and towns, said Carpenter.

The best time to visit the observatory is after dusk. That affords an opportunity to climb a wide rolling ladder and peer through the telescope built by four dedicated Vancouver men who dreamed of sharing their enthusiasm for the night sky. Conner, Marshall, McConnell and VanderVelden died years ago, but their telescope will inspire generations to come.

Exploring the area

Since it’s best to visit the observatory after dusk, nearby sites of interest can occupy visitors during daylight hours. Within a short drive of Goldendale is the Stonehenge Memorial, a concrete replica of the original in Wiltshire, England. About 4 miles west on state Highway 14, Maryhill Museum of Art offers permanent exhibits, including Auguste Rodin and American Indian art, and a new exhibit of West African masks and sculpture. At the Horsethief Lake unit of Columbia Hills State Park, visitors can view petroglyphs and pictographs and swim or fish in Horsethief Lake. A handful of wineries with tasting rooms dot the Columbia Gorge landscape.

Visitors also might consider extending their trip and camping at either Maryhill State Park or Columbia Hills State Park. Both are a quick drive from all of these sites.

Goldendale Observatory timeline

1964-1970: Four amateur astronomers in Vancouver built a 24 1/2 -inch-diameter Cassegrain reflecting telescope in borrowed space at Clark College at a cost of about $3,000. M.W. McConnell, O.W. VanderVelden, John Marshall and Don Conner eventually donated the telescope — the largest amateur-built telescope in North America — to the city of Goldendale, which agreed to build an observatory to house the telescope on a hilltop north of town.

Oct. 13, 1973: The grand opening of the Goldendale Observatory, built with a $156,000 federal grant plus $50,000 borrowed from a bank by the city of Goldendale. The day after the opening, the observatory closed due to lack of funding. It was closed often.

Feb. 26, 1979: Goldendale was on the center line of the last total solar eclipse of the century. The celestial event drew 3,200 visitors, doubling the town’s population that day. A sign at a business read: “Welcome to Eclipse City.” Gov. Dixie Lee Ray declares “Goldendale Appreciation Day” in recognition of the city’s hospitality to eclipse visitors.

October 1980: The city-owned observatory was sold to the state for $100,000 and became part of the state park system. Its new name is Goldendale Observatory State Park.