The Compass

Submitted by: Rich Johnson

My search has finally ended.  The Johnson brothers know that I have been searching for Cy’s old compass, the compass he carried for many years while hiking and hunting in the New England woods.  I can remember a day at the old camp with Frank and Bob when dad stopped somewhere back on the property and gave us our first lesson with that very compass.  He pulled out a map and the compass and had us climb a tree to spot various mountains in the distance.  We triangulated with the use of the old compass to pinpoint our position. I believe we were able to verify that we were actually in the state of New York!  Years went by and I remember the 3 boys got together (I’m not sure Chuck and Betty were old enough to join in) and bought Dad a brand new compass for Christmas.  He of course carried the new one from that point forward.  The old compass sat among his various items of hunting gear and over the years was misplaced.  Don’t ask me why but I just had to have the compass back.  I’ve done some research and thanks to the Internet have gotten some background on the compass and where to purchase one.  The compass was a WWI issue compass. Some descriptions list them as an officer’s compass, some as an aviators survival compass.  There are a number of them available on the Internet from various antique dealers for between $90 and $150.  These compasses, for the most part, have a US inscribed on the cover.  I don’t remember any inscriptions on Dad’s old compass.  I found a dealer in England that makes replicas of the original, with no inscription, for $42 plus a small shipping fee.  Well guys, I GOT ME ONE!!!