|
|
Class Notes from the June 2001
|
Did you miss last month's class notes? Visit the Shipmate Archive (on the class Web site) or click the To Alumni Only link if you are a current member. If not a current member, refer to bottom of this page. |
|
55
|
Annual Membership: 34% Life Membership: 35% |
Pres: LCDR Dennis Sullivan, USN (Ret.)
Sec'y: CAPT Thomas G. Kiefaber, USN (Ret.)
11814 Triple Crown Rd., Reston, VA 20191
h: 703-758-1077; e: KIEF55@aol.com
http://www.usna.com/classes/1955
The Joint D.C. Area/Tidewater Virginia luncheon held on 22 March in Montross, VA (Northern Neck) was a roaring success. Bob Fountain arranged for lunch at Stratford Hall (birthplace of Robert E. Lee) and afterwards, many took the tour and gathered at the Fountain’s nearby country estate ("farm" doesn’t do it justice) for a tour there and refreshments. Attendees were: Debbie and John Adams, Cal Weaver, Tom McIsaac, Jean and Darrel Westbrook, Nancy and Don Kellerman, Julia and Tom Lapham, Cyd and Fred Tolleson, Peggy and Otto Zipf, Ann and Jerry Holland, Sally and Hartley Holte, Ginny and Don Conner, Ann and Wes Saunders, Tom Kiefaber, Denny Sullivan, Dick Peterson, Bernie and Jim Powers, Shirley and John Camp, Anne and Ted Parker, Bumpsey and Ace Davis, Diana and George Delano, Gwen Farino, Pat and Jack Foran, Betsey and Bob Fountain, Sarah and Larry Frost, Betty and Tony Hastoglis, Ann and Jerry Nay, Dolly and Brent Streit, Karen and Pat Taylor, Rhoda and Al Vail, and Carol and Carl Vogel. This time the D.C. contingent was not heavily out-numbered by the Tidewater bunch.
Classmates and wives in the greater San Diego area enjoyed cocktail and dinner in Coronado Cays on 2 April 2001. All enjoyed roast beef. Nobody has yet to come down with hoof-and-mouth or mad cow disease. Those attending included Rita and Dan Butterfield, Lynne and Ned Floyd, Bob Hammond, Lavon and Dick Jones, Lilia and Jerry Kowalsky, Celina and Ed McHale with Ed’s cousin, Dick Bodie (retired Army saw-bones), Penny and John Nyquist, Peggy and Hugh Webster, and Karen and Bob Weir. Hugh Webster was sporting his third new knee. Rita and Dan Butterfield said farewell as they are moving to Nellysford, VA, to become ’55 Pac Rep East Coast. At the end of the evening, Bob Weir won the raffle for the remainder of the bar.
Joan and Dick Morgan spent part of their Maryland winter in the Orient. First stop after 20 hours in the air was Hong Kong. Dick says:
| It hasn’t changed much in the past 30 years, still cosmopolitan, busy, crowded but the cell phone has taken over. I think the good deals still exist, not so good as 30-45 years ago, but are still there. The 200-plus uninhabited islands under British rule are slowly being inhabited. My guess is total inhabitation in ten years. When China took over from Great Britain, they agreed to keep Hong Kong capitalist for 55 years. (A great year, but China can do anything they want, if they want, when they want.) Four days in Hong Kong are not enough, try for at least ten, or make it a two week trip of it’s own. |
| Next stop Bangkok, Thailand. Just as crowded and busy as Hong Kong, but definitely not as cosmopolitan. Traffic is "stand-still" especially during rush hours. The entire area is traversed with canals, being referred to as "Venice of the East" is an apt likeness. We toured the Bridge on the River Kwai, associated cemeteries and museums, the Bangkok canals, the floating markets and several Wats, including the Grand Palace of Rama VI (King of Thailand). Six days was enough, I think. |
| Then we hit Chiang Mai, Thailand for two weeks. Absolutely outstanding. The first week was pretty full, local Wats, elephant training camps, elephant rides, Ping River raft trips, hot springs, "The Golden Triangle—Thailand, Burma and Laos," Mekong River boat ride, visits to a Laos village, Thai Hill tribes and so on. The second week more relaxed, but still full and interesting. Just a little more time to help the Thai economy. You well understand the phrase "going broke—saving money." |
| All in all, one of the most interesting and fulfilling trips we have had. Any one curious or interested, we will provide any info you desire. The only drawback to the 26 days away, was the need to use two of those days for flying, but lets face it, Thailand is halfway around the world from Maryland. Joanie didn’t have to change her watch. If you go, remember to take goodies for the children whenever you visit Hill Tribes or villages. The photos of the children will warm your heart. |
Taps
Tony Hastoglis sadly reported that Loring P. Dresel (8) passed away quickly of a heart attack on Monday, 26 March while at his vacation home near Leona, FL, where he was interred. He had been ill for some time with a variety of problems but lived reasonably actively without complaint according to Anita, his wife of 18 years. She can be reached at: RR2 Box 522, Walterboro, SC 29488; 803- 538-5614.
As Tony relates:
| He was my roommate along with Pete Blair and Denny Curtis. Pete, Dres and I were also in the same company at NAPS. He was a-one-of-a kind guy who asked nothing of anyone. He was a gentle and kind man who, despite many hard times throughout his life, maintained his positive outlook. Those of us who were with him at USNA will always remember his pleasant and self-effacing way and quiet humor. God bless his soul. |
MG Buchanan sent in a picture of ’55 folks taken at a gathering after the funeral services for Terry Monahan (Phil Monahan’s wife) on 16 March. There are, l to r: Fred Tolleson, Bumpsey Davis, John Kelly, MG, Tom Lynch, Elaine Kelly, and Otto and Peggy Zipf. In attendance, but not pictured, were Debbie and John Adams, Lucy and Hank Mustin, Tom Kiefaber, Denny Sullivan, Ace Davis, Tom McIsaac, Jack Garrow, and George W. Martin.
Heard it on the Grapevine (’55 Listserv)
Bob Price returned recently from Oahu, HI:
| My wife’s daughter, Laura, married a young lieutenant commander with the submarine force from Pearl Harbor. (Her father was LCDR Tom Yeatts ’62, and he also had served on nuclear subs in the Pacific Fleet. Tom Yeatts died in December 1972. His widow, Mary, and I married in August 1973.) I visited George Stott briefly in Kailua. He, his wife and their two adult "kids" run a large and prosperous realty in Kailua, across the Pali from Honolulu. His business prospers despite all four family members running it. I went up to Pacific Heights to the house in which our family lived on 7 December 1941. We were 8.5 miles from Ford Island. (My father, a Marine, Edgar Price ’30, USNA, commanded AA gun batteries on the periphery of Pearl Harbor.) I looked from the main window after 60 years and could still see a portion of Pearl Harbor (didn’t notice any Zeros this time). The strange thing was that our house looked smaller than I had remember, and also the nearby lava rock garage into which we three kiddies were herded by our mother. I snuck out with my brother several times to get up near an Army .50 cal machine gun and two gunners that just set up on our short street. They fired quite a few bursts when some Zeros came near enough our hill on the Pali. It suddenly came to me how our road, the garage, and our house had not shrunk…being seven years old I was quite a bit smaller then, but now somehow taller (and rounder also). It was a fleeting feeling. |
While S2 stuff was being discussed on the listserv, John Haynes and Tom Boucher weighted in with comments. From John:
| We have at least one Classmate that perished in an S2 crash at sea—Tom Baldwin (9th Company). I was stationed on a submarine undergoing overhaul at Pearl Harbor Shipyard in February 1960. Tommy was flying S2s from a carrier (LEXINGTON, I think) passing through en route to a routine Far East deployment. He had visited Joyce and me at our palatial digs in Foster Village the evening before his crash, and we had planned for me to fly with him to view Kilauea Volcano, which was erupting at the time. I remember reading the headline in the Honolulu Star Bulletin that evening about the crash of a Navy plane at sea, and I got that tight feeling in my gut that one gets when they know bad news is on the way, even before the news arrives. I knew it was Tom, even before I read the details in the paper. He launched, but apparently lost an engine immediately thereafter, and never gained enough air speed to stay airborne. Some of his aircrew survived. |
From Tom:
| John Brainard (was killed in an S2); slid over the side before deck crewmen could secure the a/c to the flight deck. The sea state was extremely high at the time. None of the aircrew survived, September 1960. |
John Nyquist joined the cannonball dialogue by coming up with the "official recipe." Now, what you have all been waiting for these 50 years: the recipe!
| USNA Wardroom Cannonballs |
| 1 recipe for a two crust pie: 8 apples, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 cups brown sugar, 1 cup water |
| Peel and core the apples. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Fill the centers of the apples. Roll out the pastry dough and cut pieces to cover each apple. Seal pastry with water. Place in an ungreased baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees until crust is brown. Serve with hard sauce. |
| USNA Wardroom Hard Sauce |
| 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, 3 teaspoons vanilla, 1 cup butter, 2 egg whites |
| Soften butter and mix in the confectioner’s sugar. Add the vanilla and beat well until all ingredients are blended. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the sauce. Chill two hours. Now, make 2 times recipe (16 cannonballs—of course 16!). Enjoy full meal of your choice. Inform family of any last wishes. Consume 12 or more cannonballs and carry on forever! Bon appetit. |
The accompanying group pictures from our 45th Reunion are Companies seven, eight, nine, and 10. Fourteen more to go!
For all 13th Company Beavers, Once Again
To remind you—during Homecoming 2001 (12-14 October), there will be a reunion of all those who were lucky enough to be in the 13th Company from 1951 to 1959. Thirteenth Company Alumni will participate as a group (informally) during regular homecoming activities; parade, Alumni Association party, tailgates, etc. As a finale, there will be a casual party and buffet dinner at Alumni House after the football game on 13 October. Those ’55ers interested in attending should contact Denny Sullivan at 703-683-0733 or DSull55@aol.com. Bill McCarron is the instigator of this affair and he expects all ’55 Beavers to attend.
Early Notice
The 2001 All Classes Homecoming Party is being billed as the "World’s Greatest Cocktail Party"—a return to truly great homecoming parties of the past. It will be held in Alumni Hall following the parade on Friday, 12 October from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and will feature heavy hors d’oeuvres, open bar, and performances by various groups of the Brigade. The cost will be approximately $30 per person.
Are you a member of the Naval Academy Alumni Association (15 non-graduates are!)? You can sign up by calling (410) 263-4448 x112 or 117. Annual dues are $40.00 or $330.00 for lifetime membership (paid in quarterly installments). Or indicate your interest to me and I'll have USNAAA send you an application. You'll find SHIPMATE has vastly improved. Tom K. Note: Please contact USNA Alumni Services office at 410-263-4448 x112 or click here to update your address if you are a member of the USNAAA and not getting Shipmate. If you are not a Naval Academy alumnus, but would like to subscribe to Shipmate, you can contact the phone number above or click on Subscription Form. Your Webmaster |