Reunion 1999

The Thirteenth Reunion of the U.S.S. Nassau was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado on September 15-18, 1999, with 76 in attendance.

At our Wednesday evening reception, we were served pizza, cold drinks and coffee. Each morning a continental breakfast was available in the hospitality suite prepared by George Oberst and myself. George Oberst made the coffee, while I went to a local bakery and picked donuts, sweet rolls and juice. Never again will I do that.

On Thursday, September 16th, we took The City Tour which included The Air Force Academy, Old Colorado City and the Garden of the Gods. I have been there three times and the red sandstone formations never cease to amaze me. In the evening, we went to the Flying "W" Ranch for a Bar-B-Q. The Master of Ceremonies gave the Nassau members a special mention and tribute. They had a Western Band composed of two guitars, a violin, a piano, drums and a bull fiddle. What music came out of that combination! Everybody was on their feet when they finished playing "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

Friday, September 17th, we went to The Royal Gorge. We rode the Incline Railway to the bottom of the gorge and back; the tram across the top of the gorge; walked across the suspension bridge and had lunch there. Saturday, September 18th, we rode The Cog Railway up to Pike's Peak, which is at an elevation of 14,000 feet. The temperature at the top was 35 degrees and there was about three inches of snow on the ground. There is a four foot by eight foot plaque dedicated to Katherine Bates who wrote the four verses of "0 Beautiful For Spacious Skies" with two verses appearing on it. The Cog Railway is what is implies. It was two rails on each side with a cog wheel in the center which rotates on a track in the center and powered by a diesel engine. This is the only way to navigate the steep grades, moving the train up or down.

We had planned for a special speaker from the Academy, but he canceled out a week before. The Visitors and Convention Bureau in Colorado Springs recommended a woman whose show was called "Conversations with Dora," but, it was a complete bomb.

lrvin and Grayce Thomas had seven of their relatives at the banquet. I had all four of my daughters at the reunion, but only three were at the banquet as Rachel, who is a flight attendant for Continental Airlines had to return to work.

Shipmates attending the Colorado Springs Reunion were J. Adams, J. Bahm, H. Barber, P. Begley, E. Bishop, E. Brown, V. Butler, A. Calleo, D. Christensen, J. Coe, R. Cowdery, F. Crow, J. Duncan, W. Fry, E. Gaston, S. Gault, L. Guptill, J. Helps, J. Holmes, C. Jordan, D. Jordan, W. Kennedy, R. Kleinspehn, E. Koszut, D. Kupcho, E. Lamb, P. Liebert, , J. McCain, F. McLain, S. Moore, E. Morris, L. Novotny, M. O'Brien, G. Oberst, P. Oliver, L. Rafferty, J. Rappenecker, C. Ross, E. Schneider, J. Thomas, F. Williams's daughter. Gala Self, W. Zink, and their wives.

During the Invocation, at the 1999 Reunion Chaplain Zink remembered those who had passed on since the last reunion. They were Donald Berg, Olvier Hoplin, Jack Jackson, Robert Morstad, Archie Poe, Tom Unis and Richard Webb.