Hello Everyone:
Bill Robinson told me that the final job of a host/hostess was to write a summary of the reunion that they hosted. So the following is mine.
Monday was arrival day. Bill and Carla Swain arrived first with John Jewell. Francis LaClair picked Connie Luhta up at the airport and later Bradi and I picked up Jack and Helen Taylor, Jana and Jeff Osterlund and Bill and Robbie Robinson. My brother Mike met John Dugan at the airport late that evening and Richard Shandor arrived late evening also. Monday was spent reconnecting with friends and catching up. Everyone was excited to meet John Jewell who traveled all the way from Australia to join our reunion.
Tuesday morning we had reservations for a trip on the Mount Washington which is a 230 foot ship that cruises Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire’s biggest lake. The captain of this ship is a friend of our family, and therefore invited everyone that wanted to, to join him in the wheelhouse for a tour and questions and answers. On the return trip to Meredith, we enjoyed a buffet lunch on the boat.
Tuesday afternoon was spent relaxing. A group did go to Concord to visit the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium. Some of you might remember that Christa McAuliffe was the teacher from New Hampshire that was aboard the space shuttle that blew up.
Tuesday evening everyone went to dinner at Walter’s Basin in Holderness, NH. The restaurant is on Little Squam Lake which was one of the lakes in the movie “On Golden Pond”. Back at the hospitality room in the hotel John Jewell gave a presentation which included gifts of two of his country’s flags and a framed certificate of appreciation from Charters Towers. He also told how he and Bruce Buchan, our other Australia friend, are trying to get a piece of the plane Steak & Eggs for our group.
Wednesday morning started with a very emotional visit to the cemetery to see Kip Hawkins’ grave. Kip was in the 89th Squadron with Dad and worked on the plane Steak & Eggs. From there we went north to see some fall colors and to take a trip up an aerial tramway, which was the first in North America, on Cannon Mountain. Cannon Mountain is a ski area in New Hampshire and is where Bodi Miller, the Olympic skier, learned to ski. Some of us hiked the rim trail which led to an observation tower. From there you could see four states and Canada.
After visiting a small ski museum where Bodi Miller’s Olympic metals are kept, we went to the Mount Washington Hotel for lunch. The Mount Washington Hotel is one of New Hampshire’s grand hotels built in the early 1900’s. The Economic Summit was held here right after World War II. While eating lunch we had a fantastic view of Mount Washington, our largest mountain.
When we arrived back at the hotel, Gus Breymann and Noel Tunny were there to greet us. Noel also traveled all the way from Australia to join our reunion. He too had some great stories to share and was fun getting to know him. Wednesday evening was spent visiting and watching a movie filmed in 1942 that Gus had brought. We also watched a DVD that Bradi made of pictures from past reunions and some of the old pictures that have circulated through emails.
Thursday morning started early. We went to a World War II museum in Wolfeboro, NH. The museum opened an hour early to accommodate our schedule. Besides having some WWII vehicles, it had a time tunnel and also showed what life was like in America during the war. A group of people enjoyed a movie on the WASP’s role during the war.
For lunch we were invited to the Plymouth Senior Center where they served a pot roast dinner. Some speeches were made, some songs were sung and all veterans were recognized and thanked. We enjoyed a very large turnout of local people who came to share lunch with us. Thursday afternoon was for relaxing.
Thursday evening we had reservations at the Lobster Pound in Weirs Beach so people that wanted to experience lobster could. It was a very enjoyable time. Some people who were at the restaurant and heard about our group bought our veterans some drinks and then came into our dining room to personally thank them.
Friday was for goodbyes which were hard to do. Hosting this reunion was, without a doubt, one of the best things that my family and I have done and it was sad to see it end. We would like to thank everyone that attended for coming, and we hope that all that did come had as much fun as we did and went home with some very special memories.
Best regards from Joe Long and his Gang.
Sincerely,
Janet Lenentine
