Page updated on 11/14/2020
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEVE AND BONNIE RICHTER
6/28/2020
GOOD MORNING CLASSMATES, Trust this email finds ALL of you doing just great during this NEW NORMAL. All is OK with your Reunion Committee. Below is a note received from Joy Kisling and I'm passing it on to you. Can't wait to see the pictures that Steve and Bonnie Richter took. I will let you know when the pics are on our website. Stay health and be safe, ED I just got word from Joy that Steve Richter is forwarding some pictures from our last reunion to Mary for the website. I just want to give you a heads up. I will send out another blast to let you when Mary tells me they are up....real soon. We are all excited to see them. Mary is already putting her head on it so we can maybe have it sometime next week.. Thanks, Joy |
Hi everyone,
Rick got to Ascheley Charles about pictures the school photographer took. She sent the link below for us to see them. They were a bit disappointing but we have to be happy for what she did get.
Love to all,
Joy
Click on this link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c3dn7tp2wuqay3i/AAArGiOyljzdmLdkzGaACdSBa?dl=0
Rick got to Ascheley Charles about pictures the school photographer took. She sent the link below for us to see them. They were a bit disappointing but we have to be happy for what she did get.
Love to all,
Joy
Click on this link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c3dn7tp2wuqay3i/AAArGiOyljzdmLdkzGaACdSBa?dl=0
MONDAY (The "morning after").
Well, it's over!!! What should I do today??? I am SO RESTLESS!! I miss that feeling of looking forward to seeing my beloved "Crew" and all our classmates very soon. At the same time, I am so happy. We did it!!! It was one of the most fun weekends I have spent in a long time. Thanks to all those classmates that were able to make it to the Maritime College 55th Reunion of the Hurricane Class of '64. Thank you all for expressing your appreciation for the efforts of our Reunion "Crew". I loved knowing that you all had such a great time. That was what we all worked for and hoped for. So many memories once again.....meeting classmates and reconnecting in halls and the lounge on Friday and directing them to our hospitality room, the nice breakfast in the Fort on Saturday, class picture time...watching the photographers trying to get this bunch of "Hoodlums" to pay attention for long enough to get a printable photo! That camaraderie was what I have loved all the years I have known them. They looked so proud as they marched in together as a group, I felt proud watching them much like I felt on Graduation Day 55 years ago! And…young Duke Anthony (Bob Thompson's grandson), marching with the group to represent his beloved deceased grandfather! Cocktails and dinner were great and Eileen’s table decorations were wonderful but the highlight of the evening, once again, was Steve Richter’s video production of “memories”. He is a master!! We also watched the 2014 version and everyone was thrilled to see it again. Thank you Steve!! I know Mary won’t talk about all her efforts for the website so once again, I will say thank you to her for the amazing job she does and all the hours she spends. There is so much humor and so many memories, pictures, stories and history in our website…..all because of her efforts. Look for pictures of the weekend! I could go on and on but I will let my fellow “crew members” speak for themselves. Hope to see everyone again in 2024. Until then be well and happy. Enlarge any photo on this page by clicking on the photo.
From Joy of Vinnie Tabbone
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Mary O'Neill received the following email by way of an explanation for the following photos.
"Hi Mary,
I am Henrik and Joy Kisling’s daughter. I am best friends with Al Paris’ daughter Maureen. We both attended the luncheon on Saturday with our sons (Dean and Finn) as we recently learned our parents were friends in college!! Here are a few pics we took. Sincerely, Kris"
Kris Renihan
"Hi Mary,
I am Henrik and Joy Kisling’s daughter. I am best friends with Al Paris’ daughter Maureen. We both attended the luncheon on Saturday with our sons (Dean and Finn) as we recently learned our parents were friends in college!! Here are a few pics we took. Sincerely, Kris"
Kris Renihan
Joy has asked me to write something more than ditto to Ed's comments. I thought Ed and y'all spoke so well about the 55th reunion that I was unable to add to his or any of your well spoken statements. Joy tells me I am a man of few words. Some things I like to leave unspoken. Anyway, here are a few..........
It was Ed and his bottle of Grand Marnier that got me to say yes to the reunion planning in the fall of 2012. I am always hesitant to say yes to these affairs because when I yump in, I do it with me whole body, sometimes to the exclusion of everything else. Many a sleepless night was spent for the 50th reunion, as I do plan better at 3 am. However, I must admit that this group of people I yumped in with are the finest to be found, each and everyone of you. As Steve said, everyone had their part and played it so well. It has truly been an honor to have been a part of planning the last two Class of '64 reunions with all you folk. I even said yes to our 55th without the benefit of another of Ed's bottles of Grand Marnier! It was so great to see all those classmates who made it to the 55th. The fun everyone expressed they had made all our efforts really worth while. |
I am finally off the road. Traffic was bad approaching the GW Bridge, and horrible getting around Washington DC. It rained for most of the drive which made for accidents due to lousy visibility and slippery areas. We stopped driving for the day in Woodbridge Virginia at The Marriott Springhill Suites, and had dinner. I am relaxing and continuing to enjoy the Reunion High.
After the formal program ended, I stayed in the dining room with 4.0, Al Trachtman, Randy Webber, Fred Eisele reminiscing till 1am and loved every minute. The synergy of everyone on the reunion team created another most memorable event for Bonnie and I. You-all are simply the best. I feel privileged to have been on the team. Each of us had tasks to complete, and they were done impeccably well. The success of the fund raising and hitting the $75K goal, the agenda, the hospitality suite w munchies, beer, wine, name tag distribution, parking permits, list of attendees. Organization of events at the Fort, photos, the museum. Table decorations at dinner (FANTASTIC) were so apropos, tasteful, and candy for our eyes. In short, all the details that needed attention received same and I can’t think of anything of substance that was overlooked. End result: The event was truly successful, and resulted in “every" attendee being a happy camper, and talking about our 60th. The link to my Labor of Love Production (55th Reunion Hurricane class of 1964 Video follows below. Using any smart phone, tablet, notebook computer, desktop computer, click on the link (or cut and paste in your browser window) and the video will open. You will be amazed at the clarity and resolution. Move your cursor anywhere on the picture and icons will appear at the bottom of the video. The icon on the lower right of a square with a smaller square within opens the image to full screen and is the best way to view the video. Make sure your speakers are on and turned up. If you do not hear the music, there is an icon on the lower left of the picture window of a “small speaker”. Click on the speaker icon and voila :-) Share the link with family and friends so that they can identify with your memories. The videos took time to create, but I would not trade the hours required for anything. I experienced the hands on enjoyment of viewing the 135mm slides, the photos (many faded and creased), etc., and touching them up, inserting comments, and vicariously living moments that I’d heard others talk about. Capsule summary: Pure joy! Thank you one and all for this experience of a lifetime. Your classmate, Steve 55th Reunion Video for the Hurricane Class of 1964 https://youtu.be/rlWV8xpNW88 |
From Rosemary ThompsonI wanted to let you know that Bob's and my youngest daughter, Patty, our Grandson Duke and I will be at the daytime activities at the Fort. Duke and Bob were buddies. He regularly walked the 3 blocks to our house to stop by to chat with Gandpa or do Home Depot projects. October 12th is his 15th birthday. So, this is a treat for him to experience a little of Grandpa's life and to see the "fraternity" of men that were so important to him.
Since Bob was both Class of '64 and '69 we will celebrate doubly with the 55th and 50th groups. I'm looking forward to seeing you all also! Hugs, Rosemary |
I’d like to add my thanks to Joy and Rick, Ed, Steve, and Mary and Jack for organizing a great 55th reunion. To those who couldn’t be there in person, you were missed but definitely you were there with us in spirit. For me, the best part (among many) was realizing once again what a profound impact Schuyler and especially our classmates had on my life. With thanks, Walt Dabberdt Walt Dabberdt +1 720 352-2732 (mobile) Email: w[email protected] |
From Father James Huvane
Wow. What a week Mary and I had.
Friday morning we drove down to the Fort. Mary and I have been married for 29 years and she had never been to the College. I think she was very impressed. She has had a lot of contact with class members through her work on the NY Maritime Class of ‘64 Reunion website. Seeing the facility helped her better understand some of the stories we have included on the website. We spent a lot of time in the fantastic Maritime Museum. There is so much there to see and read. My only disappointment was that Bob Thompson’s exhibit with his picture and model of his ship the Overseas Marilyn has been moved to the library. It is sitting on top of one of the book stacks and not easily viewed. Jim McNamara is working to get it back into the Museum. Friday evening was our welcoming cocktail party. Most of our thirty classmates were at the party. It was great to see Ed and Jane, Rick and Joy, Eileen and Jose, and Steve and Bonnie. We have spent so much time together planning for the reunion it was great to see them in person. Yogi, of course, was non-stop. His stories, new and old are always great to hear. Eric Aanstead has not changed since MUG year. He had to have me give him a ‘Brodsky’. This is an Engineering thing. At our age, I was afraid I might hurt his neck. I keep asking him why he has not married his ‘friend’ Peg. He tells me he has asked her four times and she said no. Maybe she knows something WE know? Classmate Jay Barsin was not present. He had fallen off a ladder working on his bungalow down at Breezy Point and broke his hip. Same one as three years ago. Speaking of Breezy Point,’ Judge’ John Ingram looks good. He Is planning to retire in January. Fred Lobbin and George Koch both lost a lot of weight and are looking great. George still maintains his license. Nick Esposito came up from Jersey and is another one with non-stop and loud stories. Bob Carty, Gene McDonald, and Al Trachtman had all gone through major medical scares and are all looking great. John McMurray in from Michigan brought us great weather. Jim McNamara is still working with the Fort Schuyler Museum and is another one who looks the same as Mug Year. I had always thought John Ingram was the youngest in our class – June 1943, but we found out that John Brennan was still younger – Sept 1943. I spent time with Gene Sweeney and Al Paris. Along with Steve Gabri, we all went to Holy Cross High School in Flushing, Queens. We are trying to remember the other four guys who came in with us but didn’t graduate. We know Barry Smyth and Charlie Hanley. If any of you out here had roommates in our early years that went to Holy Cross we would like to know? Our longest travelers were Randy Weber in from Texas and John ‘4.0’ Wilson in from Hawaii. My impression was that many of the stories told have been greatly embellished over the last five years. Saturday was great. The weather was bright and sunny, though breezy. The march into the Pentagon was led by the Class of ’69 (50thReunion), followed by the Class of ’59 (65th Reunion) and last but not least our Hurricane Class of ’69 attendees. The Mug class gave a Pass in Review. Rosemary Thompson was there on Saturday with her daughter Patty and grandson Duke. Duke told me that he had spent many hours with Bob Thompson listening to his stories and hearing stories from friends who visited Bob. We had him march in with us and take Bob’s place in the class picture. Might have a future Mug. Saturday evening we had a great cocktail hour and banquet. The highlight of the evening was the spectacular video Steve Richter put together for the Reunion. Links to this video are on the website and I recommend everyone spending time to view the video. Sunday morning there was a mass officiated by our classmate Jim Huvane. Jim will be celebrating his 50th anniversary in the priesthood next year. I would like to thank my classmates who have all worked hard to make our reunions successful. Special mention must be given to Joy Kisling and Eileen Femenia. Super special mention has to be made to my beautiful wife Mary for her work on the website. She has spent many, many, many hours working to make our website special and spectacular. We have already started planning for our 60th reunion in five years and I look forward to seeing you in 2024. Finally, just before our reunion, Mary and I went to her TWA Reunion being held at the new TWA Hotel at JFK airport. If you are in the area, I would recommend going to see this spectacular reconstruction of this historic facility. Also, we took a day to take the train down to the WTC Museum. I would recommend putting this on your bucket list of things to visit. It is a spectacular museum and very emotional to see. Hope to see you in 2024. Jack. |
We share all of Jack's sentiments. Like an elevator going down to the ground floor it finally hit us, ‘the reunion is over’.
After all the planning and interaction with the ‘Dream Team’ of reunion committees over the past 12 plus months we tried to relax and veg out and just reflect on what a great weekend it was and how, as Jose always puts it, the ‘synergy’ of the committee completely outweighed the total sum of its parts. Joy, you were a ‘Joy’ to communicate with; Rick, sorry I got you nervous in trying to meet our guarantee (in my nature from all the years doing the same for the AA); Mary, you are a hoot and so glad we got to spend time with you after such a long hiatus. The attention to detail you put into the website was unbelievable. The emails between you, Joy and myself were hilarious, sorry guys, Mary really did think I looked like Grace Kelly, Joy like (was it) Michelle Pfeiffer and you like Nancy Kwan from "The World of Suzy Wong"(?) Steve and Bonnie were busy putting together the video we have worn out playing. We have it on a loop in the study. Labor of Love Productions is up for an Academy Award! Last but not least Ed and Jose. One depended on the other. One to write up the solicitation letter and Ed’s dissemination to the troops always with a cheery introduction. It’s always hard to part ways however the 60th is right around the corner. I’ll save the lighthouse centerpieces as no one will realize they were recycled from the 55th. Maybe a trivia question at the 60th. ‘When did you see these before?’ As Jane and Ed know we are always around and welcome all strays coming through NY. With plenty of space to stay you are all welcome to visit and spend time with us. As the Spanish say, ‘Mi casa, es tu Casa’. Warm regards and ❤️❤️❤️, Eileen PROUD HONORARY MEMBER ‘64 |
...more from Eileen
What an overwhelming experience for me to visit the college for the first time, tour the museum with Jack, and then see the beautiful Homecoming events on campus. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this Reunion.
After coming to know the classmates through their ‘baby’ pictures while working on them with Steve 5 years ago, it was a pleasure to finally meet some of the grown-up versions of the babies. What a bunch of funny, cool guys you all are! Being that I have no knowledge of anything military other than what I’ve heard from my veteran brother and aviator Dad, Jack was my walking encyclopedia for questions. Silly questions, I’m sure! To this day, when touring the museum, I asked him what the “apostrophes and commas” were on board all the model ships. “Apostrophes and commas? Oh, you mean the DAVITS!” he said. I would like to thank the Organizers for trusting me and allowing me the freedom to create your reunion website. When Rick asked that I “put something together” with information for the 50th reunion, I was flattered and challenged, but had no idea what to do. I had to determine the ‘tone’ of the website as there was no other example of one out there. A moment after accepting, I thought to myself, “What are you doing, I haven’t done anything like that in over 10 years!” So began my quick indoctrination of terms and maritime definitions with a hundred daily questions for Jack. Thank you, Jack, Joy, and Rick, for approving my initial draft. That gave me the confidence to proceed...but in what direction, I still didn’t know. However, the hilarious contributions by the classmates for our For Fun pages propelled me towards the path it took. I fully partook of the lunacy vicariously and what fun that was! As the website evolved, I found myself laughing out loud reading about your exploits and cracking myself up with ideas for the graphics to accompany them. I am nothing but easy to amuse, I tell ya. Working with Steve on the graduation pictures was challenging to say the least, with Steve scanning and cropping and me, optimizing each and every photo. That exercise left an indelible memory of your names and baby images and it was wonderful to meet many of you, now grown and (sober)! Long hours spent researching, creating, laughing and having a great time, were well worth it because I am forever blessed taking on the role of your Webmaster. Thanks for all the wonderful memories! With love from Mary |
Dear Teammates,
You all are the GREATEST. Over the last five (5) plus years all of you have been on the top of your game. Nothing was a problem and you "just handled it". The last weekend was fabulous, highlighted by Steve's (and Bonnie) video. While the video was playing I looked around and all eyes were glued on the screen and except for a few comments there was quiet. never knew our class to be that quiet. Thanks to Joy and Rick for taking the lead and Joy for coordinating the rest of us. The Hotel was very supportive and that is Rick's doing. Eileen's centerpieces were the best and thanks to Jose "We made our $75k goal". Jack, Thanks for bringing Mary this year and for all your In Sights to the many emails that flowed freely. Mary, Mary. What a web site.. On your behalf, many Classmates commented to me on the web site. So Happy you were with us this time. And a big THANK YOU goes out to Father Jim. Until WE meet again, Be safe, Be health and Be HAPPY, Ed Ryznar |