Pres: LCDR Dennis Sullivan, USN (Ret.)
Sec’y: CAPT Thomas G. Kiefaber, USN (Ret.)
11814 Triple Crown Road, Reston, VA 20191

    The umpteenth annual DC area Dark Ages party held on 2 March at the Army-Navy Country Club was a smashing success, thanks entirely to Denny Sullivan, our energetic Class president who was its: organizer, administrator, master-of-ceremonies, and all-around stout fellow. It turned out to be a very enjoyable evening. Not the least of the attractions was the exquisite cuisine (despite mutterings from your scribe about the sauce, other than pepper). Participants, who arrived gray and grumpy, departed with lightened hearts and a spring in their step. They were Lucy and Hank Mustin, Anne and Ted Parker, Beryl and Dan Ebert, Peggy and Otto Zipf, Joannie and Dick Morgan, Sheila and Cal Weaver, Marge and Tom Stallman, Eileen and Fred Koester, Sally and Hartley Holte, Virginia Wyman and Ray Hine, Syd and Fred Tolleson, Nancy and Bob Hinton, Ursula and Tom Kiefaber, Betsey and Bob Fountain, Pat and Kent Drummond, Ginny and Don Conner, Roz and Mal MacKinnon, Dori and Dan Peckham, Martha and Tony Bracken, Marlene and Al Dawson, Dotty and George Martin, Debbie and John Adams, Luz and Todd Meloy, Del and Chuck Senn, Susie Gardner (widow of Geoff Gardner), Dick Peterson, and Denny Sullivan. Alternating each year between the A-N C.C. in Arlington and the Hidden Creek C.C. in Reston, VA, seems to work out well. On the evening of 22 February, 40-some Classmates met for a dinner at the USNA O’Club followed by attendance at the Midshipmen-presented Pirates of Penzance. It was arranged by Sabra and Bill Kennington, and a great time was had by all.

    It was great to hear from Bart Fordham after so long. He is alive and well as attested to by the following:

    Here is more information about the invitation from SandT Travel (Sandy and Ted Hyman) published in the ’55 column in Shipmate, October ’01. The particulars and major changes are: Crystal Cruise "Treasures of the Tsars" Copenhagen to London—Sailing, 1st June 2002 (12 Days). The ports are: Copenhagen, Helsinki, St. Petersburg (two days), Stockholm, Berlin (Warnemunde), Olso, and London. Call Sandy and Ted at 301-260-9100 or 800-823-1355.

    Ace Davis attended a luncheon meeting of the Williamsburg Chapter of USNA AA on 31 January. The speaker was the newly appointed Commandant of the Naval Academy, Col John Allen ’76, USMC, the first Marine to hold this post. Allen’s words were articulate, intelligent, and inspiring. Here are some of the thoughts expressed by Allen that impressed Ace. The Midshipmen today are every bit as bright, every bit as dedicated, every bit as motivated as we were. The USNA is rated as the seventh toughest university in the U.S. to gain entrance to, but more importantly, it rates number one for faculty/staff access by students. And, an important point to remember: while among our grads we can boast of flag officers, industry CEOs, politicians, even a president, the commandant stressed that the USNA’s goal is to turn out ensigns and second lieutenants ready to lead troops in combat. While our football program is in disarray, the overall statistics of athletic programs are truly impressive—and it is done with students who meet all of the other demands the USNA places upon them. In Ace’s words, "It has been a long time since I have left a meeting like we had today with a sense of pride that defies description."

    Classmates in the San Diego area celebrated ringing in the Year of the Horse with a Chinese Dinner in Coronado, 12 February. Lots of red was worn as is customary for Chinese New Year. A concurrent Mardi Gras was celebrated, also. Valerie and Bill Anders were down from Deer Harbor, WA. Al Macdiarmid with Jean Young came over from Benson, AZ. Jack Tallman came down from Colfax, CA. Donna and Bill Ball and Luanne and Dick Smith, who have second homes in the area, came. Other celebrants included Tom Boucher, Jo and Roger Coffey, Lynne and Ned Floyd, Sandy and Chuck Henry, Fran and Ken Highfill, Lavon and Dick Jones, Lilia and Jerry Kowalsky with their son, Mervyn, Bob Price, Tom Shine with Pat Curley, Hugh Webster, and Karen and Bob Weir. The next San Diego area dinner will celebrate the Battle of Midway, on 4 June.

    Notification of the Navy spring football game and Lacrosse Game, drew out some interesting responses. Alex Aronis:

    Frank Bendrick:

    Last October, Don Kellerman and Chuck Senn went on a high adventure moose hunt and fishing trip for two weeks to Northern Ontario. They drove to the end of the road about 350 miles north of International Falls, MN, to a gold mining camp called Pickle Lake. An outfitter then flew them further north to Lake Wastayanipi on the Pipestone River, where they stayed in a cabin. The outfitter provided boats with motors. A Cree Indian guide stayed for a few days to get them oriented to moose hunting and to teach them to call moose. While they heard many moose reply to their calls, none would show themselves from the dense timber. The relatively warm weather for that time of the year (mid-30s to low 40s) didn’t help. Don and Chuck fed the camp with the fish they caught, however. The fishing was superb, with Don catching an 18-and-a-half pound northern pike while Chuck caught a 16 pounder and a particularly large walleye. There were many animals to be seen such as a wily mink at the boat landing who tried to steal any fish they landed there, a marten, a grouse right at the cabin, and a bunch of bald eagles. While hunting they saw many beaver working to get ready for the winter, one of which splashed water on them to warn them away from his lodge. They were sorry to leave their beautiful lake, but the weather was starting to close in.

   TAPS

    I regret to inform of the death of Raymond G. Lyden (14) at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA, on 24 February 2002, following a long illness. He was in a serious automobile accident in 1965, sustaining major injuries, which resulted in his being awarded full disability from the U.S. Air Force. As a result, Ray was infirmed basically for the rest of his life. He was predeceased by his wife, Jacqueline. A funeral mass was held on 28 February at Our Lady of Miraculous Medal in Hampton, NH. Ray was a jet-fighter pilot and was named in the first group selected by NASA for the astronaut program. However, he elected to continue his education and attended George Washington University, Ohio University, and the University of Dayton where he received a master of science degree in advanced mathematics. While at the Wright Patterson Air Base, he received a Presidential Citation for work on Interplanetary Communications from President John F. Kennedy. Ray also enjoyed courses in languages and spoke French, German, Russian, Italian, and Spanish, fluently.

    With profound sorrow and regret, Joe Clarkson (joeclarkson@attbi.com) announced the death of his wife, MaryAnn Clarkson. She passed away on the morning of 5 March 2002 as a result of pulmonary system failure. MaryAnn had previously overcome a significant battle against respiratory obstruction and became one of the few individuals to successfully come off the use of a ventilator. She subsequently had enjoyed a reasonable quality of life for the past six years. On this occasion, her pulmonary functions deteriorated to a point where machine assistance would have been required to sustain life. As was her right, she opted not to proceed with such of an immobilizing situation. Her immediate family was present during her final days. Joe can be reached at: 26233 187th Pl. SE, Covington, WA 98042-8440; 253-639-7393; 253-630-5073.

    Ned Floyd (floyd@crash.cts.com) is conducting a survey to see who would like to attend the Mid Term Reunion (MTR), which is planned to be held in the latter part of the first week in May 2003 in San Diego. He is using a list of known email addresses of Classmates (’55 listserve and otherwise). Any of you within range of this column who have not been contacted by Ned, and are interested, please get in touch with him at 10 Jamaica Village Rd, Coronado, CA 92118-3208; 619-423-2870.