Dates for our 45th Reunion are October 26-29, 2000, an "off-Homecoming" weekend. Details will be provided in Shipmate, via letter and on the '55 Net. If you have any ideas, put them on our Listserv or call Tom Kiefaber at (703) 759-7743 or another Washington area Classmate. Letters to classmates regarding this reunion will be put on this Website for classmates to read and copies of forms in case they have lost their copy. Click here for the January 2000 letter from Dennis Sullivan.

55 CLASS COLUMN - May '00

Preparations for the 45th reunion keep marching on. The Chesapeake Bay cruise on Thursday might be to a location other than Baltimore, due to time and price considerations.  Reminder: Saturday evening will be an opportunity for classmates to organize smaller parties or dinners on a company or battalion basis.  Several companies are already making plans for get-togethers that evening.  The 4th Battalion will be hosting a Saturday night gathering.  It will probably be at the USNA Officer and Faculty Club with cocktails at 1830 (cash bar)dinner at 1930, buffet or sit-down in the $25 range.  All classmates will be invited.

A fine bunch of DC area classmates and wives got together in Annapolis on a late February Saturday afternoon to watch Navy dump Holy Cross in basketball, and then regrouped at the lovely Anne & Ted Parker (19) home to do some socializing and feasting.  It was a delightful evening.  Most of us were paying close attention to the Republican Primary results in S. Carolina.  You can guess what kind of mood that left us in.  Attending were: Alice & Don Sturtz (23), Margo & Gary Snyder (01), Leslie & Jack Baldwin (13), Sabra & Bill Kennington (07), Tom Kiefaber (19), Hartley Holte (13), Mary Gail Buchanan, John and Jane Bersch {Dave Reynolds' (19) widow}, Betsey & Bob Fountain (06), Denny Sullivan (13) with Barbara Bryant, Lucy & Hank Mustin (12) and Sheila & Cal Weaver (12).  Holte and Weaver recently moved to this area from Indiana and New York, respectively.

Ray Hine (20) had a ball in California recently and wanted to share it with us:
 

Virginia and I had a super two weeks stay in the Palm Springs, CA area.  We had the opportunity to visit and to play golf with classmate Jim DeGroff (23).  Jim lives on the private Nicklaus course at PGA West located at La Quinta in the Cochella Valley that includes Palm Springs as well as Palm Desert, where we were staying . Jim and his lovely wife, Dine, hosted us at cocktails following golf at the Palmer course where Jim paired us up with Glenn Hatcha, '53 graduate from USNA. Another day, Jim hosted us at the Nicklaus course  after which Jim and Dine put on a wonderful steak dinner from the grill. Their home is absolutely beautiful, capturing the wonderful interior design touches of  Dine and the delightful location on the 12th green per Jim's golfing eye. They both hope to attend the reunion in October. We enjoyed Palm Desert so much that we hope to return there next year, but for a longer stay. It was wonderful to view the Super Bowl and then to go out at half time to chip and putt golf balls in your back yard (15th green on the golf course where we were staying). A dream come true!

Twenty-two classmates and wives joined for cocktails and dinner at the Jamaica Village Clubhouse in Coronado Cays on 24 February.  Joining the group were Patsy & Guy Grafius (10) who have left the Bellevue, WA to build their new home in Scottsdale, AZ.  Tom Emery (09) while visiting family in the area, joined the festivities.  Others present included Teri & Tom Boucher (07), Lynne & Ned Floyd (18), Phyllis & Paul Grozen (07), Grace & Bob Hammond (01), Dick Jones (10), Ray Medeiros (03) and Barbara Obinger, Penny & John Nyquist (16), Bob Price (06), Carol Schrader, Peggy & Hugh Webster (12) and Karen & Bob Weir (21).  Ray Medeiros won the door prize - what remained from the bar.

The world traveling Zipfs haven't slowed down.  Otto reports on their latest travel escapades:
 

Peggy and I made a trip in November to Hawaii, combining several different activities around the Navy-UH football game.  We spent our first week on the big island of Hawaii, staying at the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC), which is located inside the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  The enclosed photo shows us on the edge of the Kilauea volcano caldera. (PHOTO #1, "Zipfs at Kilauea")  This volcano is still a very active one.  We were able to see, from a far distance, red lava flowing down the side of the volcano.  We spent the next week on Oahu.  There, we met Kitty & Norm Wallin (08) now living in San Francisco, who were also staying at the Hale Koa.  The second photo is of Norm, Kitty, and Peggy at the Hale Koa outdoor bar. (PHOTO #2", Wallins with Peggy Zipf at the Hale Koa")  We had gathered to view the usual beautiful Hawaiian sunset.  Notice that there is not even a glass of ice tea on the table!  Our Oahu time included President Circle activitiesand attending the wonderful Class mini-reunion arranged by Mary Lou & George Stott (17).  They did such a superlative job in arranging and hosting events for us.

The Zipf family held an annual mini-reunion at the Army-Navy game (Debbie, Otto, Peggy, David and Laurie).  We are looking forward, along with two additional family members, to attending the game in Baltimore in 2000.

As the millennium approached, Peggy and I boarded a cruise ship in Acapulco, Mexico.  This was a trans-Panama Canal cruise to Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  The New Year's Eve celebration (sans Dick Clark!) was truly a memorable celebration. It took place in the Pacific followed by our transit of the canal on 2 January.

Once back home, we then took a two week car trip in January.  It started with a weekend in Ocean City, MD, which is an annual escape for Peggy's Mother and siblings.  Following this, we spent three great days exploring Charleston, SC, on our way to a week in Central Florida.  The time in Florida was highlighted by two enjoyable events.  The first treat, was the sights and sounds put on by Disney World at Epcot Center to celebrate the millennium. The second event, was a  very enjoyable dinner in Tampa.  This was the first time since early in 1953 that three of us "wives" from the 15th Company have gotten together.  The picture shows Joe Taylor, Philly Taylor, Sue & Bob Stuckey (12) and Peggy & yours truly. (PHOTO #3, "Taylors, Stuckeys and Zipfs")  The Taylors are retired in Sarasota, FL, and the Stuckeys in Sun City Center, FL.  All of us retired from active duty in three different services; Joe from the Army, Bob from the Marine Corps, and Otto from the Navy.  Peggy and I leave on our next sojourn in late February to New Zealand and Australia.

Two burning questions were answered recently on the '55 Listserv.  One, how did our class crest and ring design come about?  The other, is there still a China Fleet Club in Hong Kong?  Regarding the first, Dick Dutnell (13) weighed in to Carl Peterson (13) with how he remembers it:
 

One volunteer plebe representative from each battalion met early during our first academic semester.  During this first meeting, I was elected president, and we discussed how and when to go about the class crest selection process. (This was not exactly rocket science, because many had gone before us and defined a well-beaten path).  As Dan Butterfield (05) said, we went back to our battalions, solicited ideas, and made rough sketches for committee consideration.  These crude to well-done sketches were then converted to identically scaled production drawings by an outside source (Academy Art Dept.or one of the vendors, who knows?) so that the artistic execution would not be a factor in the voting.  As I recall, Paul Farans submitted the class crest idea that was selected by the Class (and I was sorely disappointed that my design was not).  I don't recall the vendor selection process for fabrication of the class pins, or how they were paid for, so all of that must have gone without a hitch.

Late in our 3rd or early in our 2nd class year, we met to start the ring conception, production and delivery process.  Since there was little interest in the design of the rest of the ring, I took it upon myself to take my own thoughts and suggestions from the committee to draw up the bezel, the academy shield design, and the bottom portion of the ring.  These were approved by the committee, drawn in final form for production, and made a part of the bid package to the vendors.  Therefore, I am to be blamed, or given credit for, the overall design of the ring, including the Academy shield side (I didn't want the eagle defecating on the shield). I don't recall any tie among the vendors in the ensuing bid review/selection process, because - all other aspects being the same - Josten came in with the highest Brinell hardness test results, hands down. Period. End of discussion/review process!

If anyone wants to get his ring reworked in any way, they should contact (Josten) Warranty Service at (800) 264-9296 to find out how much to ensure it for when mailing  (depending on your exact configuration, your $90+ ring now costs $800+ to replace).  There is no charge to resize the ring or to replace synthetic stones (providing no other jeweler has worked on it).  A total remake, such as I had done nine years ago, now costs $50 plus $5 handling.   This may have been more than you wanted to know about the ring business, Carl, but I couldn't help myself.  Looking forward to the reunion and seeing you both again.

The other question was answered by Paul Grozen:
 

Phyllis and I visited Hong Kong in October '98 at the beginning and end of a trip to Japan, China and Singapore. It's no longer called the China Fleet Club; it's called the "Seaman's Club", or something like that. It also isn't in its old location - that area has been redeveloped. It's now located right on the waterfront at the fleet landing, about a half mile to the left of the Star Ferry landing, as viewed from Kowloon. With those differences and a modernized building the rest of the act is still the same. There are several floors of merchants contracted by the Navy to sell there. We found the prices to be good, although the days of the real Hong Kong bargains are long gone. We were shopping for a Chinese carpet and had the advantage of being able to price what we wanted in Hong Kong, compare during ten days in China, and then go back to buy it in Hong Kong. We found the quality and price to be much better at the fleet club than in China.

I don't know if the organization running it is still called the Navy Purchasing Branch. but I would guess that it is. Someone with Supply Corps connections might be able to answer that. The Fleet Post Office is still located there, which is very handy for mailing things home. There's also a branch of NFCU there.

I hope to have this year's DC area golf schedule by the next column.  Have included several snaps taken at recent golf outings and tailgates. (PHOTO #4, "Winners Ray Hine & Virginia Wyman"; PHOTO #5, "Dick Morgan, Denny Sullivan, Jack Renard & Joe Dunn"; PHOTO #6, "Dick Morgan, Jack Renard, Monroe Hatch, Denny Sullivan & the Mustins"; PHOTO #7, "Bill Collier, Dick Morgan, Tom Stallman & Darrel Westbrook"; PHOTO #8, "Carl Peterson with wife Trudi & daughter")

More travel news, this time from Dick Morgan (03)
 

Joanie and I usually travel on our own, however, this was our first planned tour and it was wonderful. One week in Cascais, Portugal (on the ocean outside of Lisboa), a week in Albufiera, Portugal (on the ocean in the Algarve) and a week in TorremolinosSpain (On the Mediterranian in the Costa de Sol). Lots of included tours, but little packing and unpacking, because we were in one hotel for a week at a time and all meals were included. We extended a week, rented a car and took the sights we wanted that were not included on the tour.

BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATION OF MIDSHIPMEN'S PAY.  The following information for '51 - '55 is interesting and, in some cases, humorous.  Required Expenditures -$2384.97 (e.g., Service Dress Blues - $71.50; Class Ring - $75.00). Authorized Extra-Curricular Activities - $244.20 (e.g., Graduation Announcements - $3.00; Initial Membership Alumni Association - $2.00).  Money Allowances (Leave, Cash, Midshipman's Store Credit) - $1386.00 (e.g., Christmas Leave $20.00; Cash - $13.00/month 1/c year; $45.00 2/c cruise). Pay - $4034.14 (e.g., $84.50/month 1/c year).
 

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