The docket is full...please take a comfortable seat...and the Court will come to order!

MARIO WENDETTI sent in this teaser CC’d on a note to RICK SASSE on his daughter Heidi’s water polo tournament at Conn College: “My wife NANCY suggested (mandated?) that, while in New London, we take the team out to lunch after their second game.  The "Dock" is long defunct, so there was only one choice.  There's always only be one choice - Hughie's.  Had a nice chat with him and we talked about how much the CGA connection has meant to him.  (Or, he's just a good business person.)  Anyway, thought it would make a nice addition to our column.  Will send digitals along with a short (something less than the "complete SITREP") article.”

STAN NORMAN sent in a SitRep just after the Court adjourned for the June edition.  “Attached is a picture of the Norman clan at church on April 14, 2002.  The lovely lady on the left is our daughter-in-law Carrie.  Next to her is Derek.   Derek is our oldest son, he is an ET2 in the Navy.  Derek and Carrie are expecting our first grandchild in November 2002.  In the center are SUE and I.  On the right are Patrick, our youngest son, and his fiancée Cristy Koski.”  A great picture, but a little short on detail...but with a little prodding, STAN beefed up the SitRep. “Derek and Carrie are living in San Diego where Derek is stationed.  Derek is an instructor at the fleet training center.  As a combat systems computer specialist, he teaches classes in aircraft carrier combat support systems.  He finished back-to-back sea tours on the USS INDEPENDENCE, forward deployed in Japan, and the USS CONSTELLATION, in San Diego.  He's pulled two tours in the Persian Gulf, one on each carrier.  Derek's enlistment is up in two years so he and Carrie are struggling with the question of getting out or staying in.  With his training and experience, he's a cinch to end up back on a carrier if he reenlists.  The difference will be that he has a family now.  Patrick and Cristy have not set a date for their wedding.  They are both in college and working at restaurants to help cover college costs.  Both are hoping to attend the U Dub for their Bachelor Degrees.  Sue is in her 12th year managing a busy doctor's office.  We are both looking forward to a small, country parish, God willing!  It would be nice to get out of the city.  Back to Greek and Hebrew!”

Norman Family

BEV SILVA reports that she and RON are knee deep in boxes, that she finally joined RON for good in D9’s beautiful Flag quarters looking out over Lake Erie moving into quarters on the 11th of June.  RON adds “BEV and I are doing fine and are now in Cleveland.  The movers delivered our HHG a week ago and we've been very busy unpacking.  I've been out of the office for 4 weeks with 2 weeks of TAD and 2 weeks to do moving.  We are really enjoying the area and are looking forward to getting busy in the job.  I've got to get back to over a months worth of e-mail!”  RON had the District photojournalist take a Classmates photo at his CofC...attending were GREG COPE, LARRY HOWELL, and THADMIRAL.  RON and BEV are really excited about this assignment.  They are going to Detroit next week for three days, during which they’ll watch the Canadian 4th of July fireworks.  Wait until they experience the Coast Guard Festival fireworks and musical fountain in Grand Haven!

Ron Silva's Change of Command

J. B. owes us an update.  “I got back from Yemen OK -- it was the adventure of a lifetime.  I'll get some notes together eventually.  But the reason I came back (I was offered an extension in Yemen by both US Ambassador Hull and Gen Franks personally) was to join TSA Training organization.  I haven't 'landed' my final position yet, and I thought I'd wait until that is settled before sending in an update.  I'm likely to be either the Director, Leadership and Development Institute or the Director, Office of Quality Performance.  Both are nice jobs and a good fit, but my boss, the Associate Undersecretary for Training and Quality Performance has reserved the right to put me in whichever box she feels like.”  J. B., remember to think outside the box, whichever box you end up in...and send in that complete update on Yemen toot sweet.

JIM RIESZ’s old address wasn’t working, so I sent an E-mail to the Federal Reserve.  JIM’s response: “I was finally able to get broadband in my area and switched.  As for an update, there is not much to tell.  I continue to work at the Federal Reserve as an automation manager with most of my work being in the PeopleSoft and Oracle Financials area.  I cannot believe it's been almost 11 years, and I still have the same job and live in the same geographic area!”  Check out his new address at our Classmates page <http://www.oocities.org/CollegePark/Campus/7184/classmates.html> and send him a note telling him we need a more complete update...and any old bills he can find just laying around!

Speaking of old bills, thanks to your purchases at Amazon.com I sent in a referral fee check of $36.78 to our Class Fund.  BTW, have you designated your current donation to the Alumni Association to the Class of 1971 Fund?  Are you making a donation?  Designate by contacting John Maxhan at (860) 701-6771 or via e-mail at jmaxham@ctol.net and register and start a donation on-line at <https://www.pay.onlinecommunity.com/uscga/contribute_unregistered.htm>.  In the meantime, don’t forget to use our on-line link to Amazon.com via our home page <http://www.oocities.org/CollegePark/Campus/7184/index.html> when buying books, CDs, DVDs, electronics, and those other items on your advance Christmas shopping list.  Remember, $36.78 here and there and pretty soon we’ll be talking real money!

So how was the new Hughie’s?  MARIO provided a little more detail: “In late April, the WENDETTIS fed the Brown University Women's Water Polo Team on break from the Northern Championships hosted by Conn College.  They asked me for recommendation on lunch.  There was only one choice ... there's always only been one choice.  And Hughie was a gracious host, not only providing good food but also giving us an update on his move, recollections of Mom and Pop, and agreeing to let us bring in a picture of the Schmeague for lunch.  He posed first with the whole team and then with daughter Heidi (soon to be junior), NANCY, and me.  We later went to visit the Eagle while it was moored at Fort Trumbull.  Many recollections, real and exaggerated, were told to the youth present.  The tournament?  Ouch!  Came in second (out of 12).  But beat Harvard, so some enjoyment.  Love salad was great, great, great!!!  The rest of the menu?  Let's just say it was more nostalgia than food I suppose.  Brought back lots of good memories, some fueled by Hughie himself.  If we don't meet there for the 35th, we don't have a hair on our ass.”

Wendts at Hughies

Hope to have another Hughie’s review in the next edition.  As I type, PHIL and ANNE VOLK are driving back to New London, beginning a self imposed PCS move back to the New England environs.  Anne's sister has bought a small, old home near Mitchell College as an investment and will rent to them while they look at buying or building.  CHUCK BECK reported that he’d been “swaboed by PHIL to find him a home and a job before he and ANNE move to CT from Port Angeles.  Once a wife always a wife!  I am relishing PHIL’s return to CT because I think we have just determined who our 35th Reunion project manager will be.”  Sounds like a plan...and PHIL can follow up on MARIO’s challenge!

Complying with the Court order from the June docket, MO SHERWIN provides a synopsis of their last 30 years.  WALT is doing well after his hip replacement in March and returned to school the first week in May.  “Well, the SHERWINS have returned to Connecticut.  After 26 years of varied civilian "duty stations" from CT to DE to VA, we returned to CT in 1997 to raise our now 9 year old son Reid.  We bought MO’s family home and renovated it and will begin "Phase II - the FInal Renovations" this Spring.  When WALT graduated from the Academy and was medically discharged and looking for a job, he was asked, "What would you really like to do?"  Of course, football was his first love (after MO, of course) and he wanted to coach.  He got a job at St. Thomas More Prep School in Colchester as a math teacher and assistant football coach, and over the next five years moved up to Assistant Headmaster and Head Football Coach.  He then attended Trinity College in Hartford to obtain his public school teaching certification and moved on to Killingly High School in Danielson, CT for two years.  WALT then felt it was time to return home to Delaware to be near his aging parents.  We were in Delaware at Smyrna High School from 1978-1983.  It was a wise move because his mom passed away in 1983.  We then moved on to the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia for fourteen years where WALT coached at Buffalo Gap High School in Swoope and then at Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton.  MO moved from job to job as WALT did and then finally bought her own business - Honeysuckle Hill - a small gift and antique shop in downtown Staunton (birthplace of Woodrow Wilson and home of the Statler Brothers).  After 20 years of marriage with no children, in 1992 we had a beautiful baby girl (Rachel Anne) placed with us for adoption - but sadly after four and a half months we were forced to return her to her birth mother.  It was a devastating time for us, but the sun soon shone again and we received a 4 day old son who we named Reid Bennett.  He is the best part of our lives. Unfortunately, WALT‘s dad died shortly before Reid was born and never knew his grandson.  Although we loved Virginia, we wanted Reid to grow up near family - and MO has a huge family.  In 1997, WALT applied for and was offered an algebra and head football coaching job at Montville High School in CT.   Last year he was promoted to Athletic Director (still teaching half time, too).  He has had a successful coaching career including coaching in the Delaware Blue and Gold All Star Game and being named Coach of the Year for the Skyline District in Virginia in 1984, as well as Associated Press AA Coach of the Year for the State of Virginia in 1990.  He was selected as 1999/2000 National Football Foundation, Hall of Fame High School Coach for SE Connecticut.  It's good to be home and near friends and family (including our brother-in-law and classmate BOB ALLING).”  

MARY CORNELL came through with a Classmates photo from THADMIRAL’s Change of Command as LANTAREA.  Recognize everyone in the photo?  Mary adds: “Things here are fine, but busy. Cate just graduated from Bucknell so it's been packing her out and then moving some stuff to Boston where in the fall she will be a graduate student in Biology at NorthEastern . Luckily her sister Sarah has a house just south of Boston and is willing to store stuff.  We have been there a couple of time to help with her house renovations. Since it was built in 1814 it has been a challenge but fun and is an ongoing project. We saw THAD when he was here in Willimsburg for the Flag conference, but didn't catch up with the other admirals since we were busy their one free night.”  Oh yeah, the photo... JAY TAYLOR, CHARLIE WURSTER, RON SILVA, PAT WIESE, TOM RUMMELL, THADMIRAL, DAVEY EDWARDS, JOHN WALTERS, STEVE CORNELL, and RICH HARDING.

Thadmiral's LantArea Change of Command

Speaking of RICH, he sent in another Classmate photo, this one from THADMIRAL’s Change of Watch as Coast Guard Chief of Stuf...Staff.  RICH provides a few more details: “RON SILVA attended but had to leave early and though I saw BERT KINGHORN, neither he nor DENNY CLEAVELAND made the photo.”  So RICH, who’s that on the far right...and PANCHO?  “DENNY CLEVELAND came not only for THAD but he was good friends with Tim Josiah.  As an aside, I grew up and lived a few blocks from Tim Josiah. My brother in law lived right next door to him and was obviously good friends.  As a further aside, Bob Rzemieniewski also lived within blocks of the two of us.  All three went to the same HS - classes of ‘65, ‘67 and ‘69 so like CGA (’69, ‘71, ‘73) there never was time when all three were in the same school together at the same time.  With Bob Rz still on active duty and Tim and me as a civilian, we had 37, 35 and 33 CG years - 105 total - from our one small town - Levittown NY!”  Now pay attention, from right to left...KEN MASS, RICH COX, RON FRAZIER, THADMIRAL, RICH HARDING, AL GRACEWSKI, JON WALDRON, CHARLIE WURSTER, and KELLY CALLISON.

Thadmiral's Chief of Stuff Change of Watch

After avoiding service of process on a couple of subpoenas, TONY HART finally reported around as our 123rd on-line classmate.  “I have been terribly remiss in not establishing contact. I have meant to write on a number of occasions, but then something would pop up and the next thing it would be weeks later.  I guess if the road to hell was paved with good intentions, I would be there and already in residence.  JUDY keeps telling me that I have no life but work, and that I should relax more - guess she is right.  Let me fill you in on what we've been doing since retirement, way back in 1991.  After retiring in Miami, we moved back to Knoxville and built a house on some property we had purchased from my parents.  Although only a few miles from Knoxville, we are out in the country surrounded by woods and small farms.  We are at the end of a small dead-end road with few near-by neighbors and on one of the TVA lakes.  I installed a small boat dock soon after we moved here, but then sold my sail boat.  Sailing is terrible on the lake we are on, so I have been looking for a powerboat but just cannot decide on the one to buy.  We have 8 dogs (Pembroke Welsh Corgis), 3 cats, and the occasional deer or raccoon that wanders through.  I worked for Martin Marietta (later Lockheed Martin) at one of the Department of Energy Oak Ridge nuclear plants from 1991 until 1998.  Lockheed Martin had the operating contract for the three DOE facilities in Oak Ridge.  In 1998, Bechtel Jacobs Company won the contract and I now work for them as the Emergency Management Program Manager.  In a nutshell, Bechtel Jacobs Company has the contract to conduct environmental remediation and waste management at the 3 Oak Ridge sites and the plants at Paducah, KY and Portsmouth, OH.  It is truly amazing what the government was able to develop and construct in the early 1940's in developing the atomic bomb.  I doubt if we could do the same thing in today's world.  We probably could not get beyond the permit stage.  Judy is still in the CG Reserves as a Special Agent. In fact, she is in New Orleans now on 2 weeks active duty.  When she is not on some CG business, the dogs, or dog-shows, keep her busy.”

When you read the June docket, did you catch the announcement that AL and LORI SGANGA are grandparents by now?  So where is the photo?  While we wait on our Classmate, we’re adjourned!


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