By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
EAU CLAIRE – Fruit farmer and cherry pit spitting promoter Herbert F. Teichman, 76, was born into weather record-keeping in 1930.
"When I was just a child, and we used to call 'dinner' 'supper,' Mother called, 'Supper's ready. Have you read the weather?' When I read the weather, I look at my wife (Liz) and say, 'Is supper ready?'
"It's been a part of our home all these years" since his father William Teichman in 1923, Herb Teichman said Tuesday morning as he accepted the prestigious John Campanius Holm Award.
"Dad first got the invitation from Stanley Johnson when he was at Michigan State University as a young professor. My father took a short course in which he pointed out the fact that elevation and proximity to Lake Michigan would make or break a fruit farm in southwest Michigan. Because of that, Father made the decision, and Mother made it with him, to move here to a life of fruit growing, and we're still at it," Teichman said.
Mike Sabones, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service northern Indiana forecast office near Syracuse in Kosciusko County, remarked on the sunny, blue-skied day unfolding in the Tree-Mendus picnic area.
"When (meteorologists) actually have a nice day, it's a pretty rare event. Saturday, a pretty crummy, drizzly and rainy day, we had a picnic planned for the office. Needless to say, we had to cancel it because of the weather. It's just a beautiful day to be in the orchards," Sabones said.
Sabones explained that the Cooperative Weather Observer Program, in which Teichman succeeded William on Aug. 1, 1968, involves a national network of 11,700 people who daily observe high and low temperatures, precipitation and snow.
"That data is a vital resource for our nation for research, insurance and energy, and not the least of that list is agricultural applications. We value our cooperative weather observers, so every year we give no more than 25 John Campanius Holm Awards for the display of excellence in meteorological observations throughout their careers."
Holm was a Swedish Lutheran minister who twice a day in 1644 and 1645 in what is now Delaware made the first documented weather observations ever taken in this country.
The first extensive network of cooperative stations was set up in the 1890s as a result of the act of Congress that established the U.S. Weather Bureau.
Historic figures who maintained weather records include Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson maintained an almost unbroken record of weather observations between 1776 and 1816.
The only higher NWS award than the Holm is named for Jefferson.
Visiting dignitaries included Elkhart, Ind., native Thomas A. Townsend, central region observations program manager in Kansas City, Mo.
As the Lansing-based cooperative program manager for Michigan three decades ago, Townsend presented Teichman his 10-year award in 1978.
"You and your father William have a combined 83 years of service as cooperative observers at Eau Claire. Your father was honored in 1967 with the Thomas Jefferson Award," Townsend said. "Your dedication to duty is admirable. Your legacy of weather data will forever remain for future generations to use in research and climate studies. Thank you for a job well done."
Dr. Jeffrey A. Andreasen, associate professor of agricultural meteorology and state climatologist in the Michigan State University Department of Geography, has been with MSU since the early 1990s.
"We have used the Eau Claire record arguably more than any other single data series in the state of Michigan for a couple of very important reasons," Andreasen said.
Teichman's "quality and consistency are unparalleled in Michigan, I believe. In terms of research, if we had more series like Eau Claire and the Teichman record, there would be many fewer questions and probably a lot of climatologists out of work. From MSU and the research community, a hearffelt thank-you. Your data makes a huge difference."
The National Weather Service is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
NOAA will be 100 years old in 2007.`