From YAGRGRAM #41 - Harry Miller

The St. Louis reunion was a great success, as expressed by everyone that I spoke to. Even the weather cooperated. The early birds started to arrive on the Sunday before the start of the reunion and by Wednesday we had over 150 people at the hotel.  The Wednesday night pre-tour was sold out, and we had a waiting list for those who wanted to go on the tour. Something to keep in mind for future reunions. Sign up early! On Thursday, the start of the reunion we had 122 men and 109 spouses/guests for a total of 231 people. The 122 men represented 15 of the 16 ships and one YR. The only ship that had no one attending was the Interdictor.  Our hospitality room was put to good use throughout the course of the reunion. It seemed that there were always people sitting around while not touring the surrounding sights. And, as always, it was the place to meet old friends and make new ones.  Friday morning we had 5 bus loads of people going on the tour of St. Louis and St. Charles. Once again the weather was great. The only downside to the trip was that not enough time was spent in St. Charles, but a lot of us went back either Saturday or Sunday to spend a little more time there.  Saturday morning the spouses/guests enjoyed their breakfast penny social while the men were at the crewmen’s meeting.  That evening all 231 of us got together once again for cocktails and our farewell banquet. After we ate, the dance floor was put to good use (must be a good way to burn off the extra calories).  It seemed that we had more dancers this year than others. Lastly, the Watchman crew was the last group to close out the evening in the banquet hall. But all was not lost, as the hotel’s lounge and lobby area were full of those who did not want the evening to end so soon.  At this time I want to thank Dave Guse (AGR-4) for stepping up and preventing a disaster that was in the making. Monday morning I was informed by the local host that he was unable to help with the reunion for personal reasons. At that time Dave along with Steve Mierzewski and the Searcher crew stepped up and volunteered to take up the slack.  They went out and picked up all the items that were needed for the hospitality room.  Then they stored all the items in Coleman Flaskamp's room (Coleman assured me he did not eat or drink any of the items while they were in his room).  On the day of the reunion, they formed a work party to get everything from his room to the hospitality room.  A BZ (well done) goes to all of them for their effort.

I also want to thank all of those who helped out in the hospitality room.  We posted a watch bill for people to sign up for an hour or so throughout the time the hospitality room was open to make sure the snacks and beverages did not run low.  I also don't want to forget to thank those who helped out at the check in table and selling the pins and raffle tickets.

Pre Reunion Dinner Cruise On The Mississippi River
Our reunion got off to a roaring start with our Wednesday night dinner cruise on the mighty Mississippi. Departing the hotel with 3 bus loads of anxious tourists looking forward to an evening on the river and the sights that would be seen from the riverboat. By all accounts, all had a very enjoyable and relaxing evening. 




 

Hospitality Room

Our hospitality room consisted of two rooms and was located on the 9th  floor of the hotel. With plenty of snacks and beverages, it was the perfect place to relax after a day of sight seeing.  We opened our hospitality room on Thursday at noon.  It was a busy location for the duration of the reunion.