Telescope of a conservative

National Review, May 5, 2008 by Robert Howe

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WFB wrote ("ATrip Down South," April 7) that Barry Goldwater was "a man of exploration and science. No tool of the trade ... was unfamiliar to him.... The airplane was in his blood, and the radio, and instruments of magnification and miniaturization.... He always had at hand the most alluring paraphernalia, cameras especially."

I have the senator's telescope. It is a Questar, made in New Hope, Penn. The inventor, Lawrence Braymer, moved beyond the predictable German designs then dominating the market, devising an innovative mechanism that is versatile, compact, rugged, and of exceptional optical quality. Questars remain very highly regarded today.

Goldwater bought (or was given) the Questar in 1967. In 1993, his Scottsdale secretary mentioned that her husband, Conrad, was seeking a fine telescope but found the prices steep. Goldwater took the Questar from his camera closet and made a gift of it to a man he hardly knew. But first he sent it to the factory for refurbishing; the receipt shows that he spent over $660 to give his secretary's husband the telescope (a new Questar then was $3,500).

This episode says much about the senator. His telescope was indeed "most alluring." It was also American-designed and -made. And the manner in which he gave it to Conrad illustrates his generous, magnificent personality.

I treasure this telescope.

Robert Howe

Wilbraham, Mass.