Return to Archives Page

Note: Photos at the bottom of this page

 116^th Column

          Beginning with info cut from 115^th just submitted.  My first category is proud grandparents with photographic evidence.  Linc & Ann Jones with “Little Linc,” son of Peter ’85.  Peter is a G3 planner in 1^st Inf Div in Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo or wherever Big Red One planning takes him.  Linc & Ann have been to visit Peter, Stephanie and “Little Linc” in Germany at least once, probably more often.

 

Next photo is Bill & Ellen Clary with granddaughter Megen from Christmas 1998.  Megen was then two, therefore, must be three now.  This delay was due to misplaced photo—misplaced by Bill not this procrastinating, packrat Scribe.  Bill is still instructing at Flight Safety for the Lockheed JetStar group (ground school, simulator, flight training and examining in customer’s aircraft in GA and overseas).  Ellen is looking forward to being graduated from Univ of GA.  Someday they hope to “convert to part-time and free-lance JetStar flying, move to NW Montana, find a few acres and built a log home!”

          Classmates who own airplanes.  My third photo from 115^th initiates a new category of reporting: owning or having owned airplanes.  This is a natural follow-on to Corvette owners.  The photo shows Mark Sigurski with Bob McCann and Bob’s airplane.  I think Bob built it.  Therefore, Mark gets a medal for trusting both Bob’s airmanship and assembly skills.

Mark and I created a list of airplane, but said list is AWOL.  Working from inadequate memory and insufficient data, here goes.  Al Chase is one.  Another is Chuck Densford, who also owns an airfield and an ancient sports car that has been towed all around the USA but has not moved under its own power for 15-20 years or so.  Rich Clements built his own plane.  I had a picture once which may have made an earlier column.  As I recall, the plane was sexy yellow color.  This may prompt a response from Rich.

John Schroeder is building a plane at his NC-retirement home, not on a golf course but in an airfield community development complete with taxiway to his hangar next to the house.  While under construction, plane not house, John bought a Cessna 150 for Libby to take lessons he says.  However, the real reason may for “fly-ins” to meet Al and other classmates as they fly around NC and VA.  I believe that Don Roberts is the third of this “pick an airfield and let’s meet there” crowd.  My notes from John are long gone.  If Don is not the guilty party, I will hear about it.  Incorrect information is a good way to generate correspondence.

A recent email article about Bob Barker provides interesting info for this category.  Bob’s Aero Products Supply Co is “a far cry from the F-100 supersonic jet fighters that Barker said he flew in the 1960s for the Ohio Air National Guard's 166th Tactical Fighter Squadron, after serving as an active-duty Air Force pilot in the 1950s. And it's a different business from developing computerized mission planning systems for the B-2 Stealth bomber, one of the Logicon programs he said he worked on.”  And now to the airplane ownership point, “Barker even gave up the twin-engine Cessna 310 he used to keep at Moraine Air Park. ‘I sold it when I started flying this counter,’ he said.”

          Let me hear from others own or have owned planes.  My sense of urgency for this column was increased with the following email traffic from my Assembly boss: “Dear Mr. Sibert, Guess who's late with their submission of "Class Notes"?????  Have a good day!  Joyce Perkins, Class Notes Editor.  It is now 7 March.  Where did the two months go?  Early to late in an augenblick.

          Ghostly Assemblage.  Sadly we had another selection for this promotion.  Ted Timberlake lost his too-long battle with cancer on 10 Jan.  His final P-rade, delayed by a snow storm on 25 Jan, was held on 2 Feb from the Ft Myer Chapel to final earthly resting place in Arlington cemetery.  The service was well done with remarks by his rector from SC and a touching eulogy by his elder son and namesake.  One story demonstrates the Timberlake sense of humor lives on -- his son and eulogist awoke the morning of 25 Jan, saw the snow and thought, what else can go wrong now?  But, as he related during the memorial service, the storm reminded him of another DC snow storm when he was eighteen.  He and father Ted were due on Capitol Hill to discuss an appointment to AFA.  Their muscle car with BIG engine wasn’t too good in the snow, especially poor going up hill.  It needed weight in the rear.  Therefore, father and driver Ted turned to 18-year old son and said, get in the trunk.  What?  That’s right, lift the trunk lid and sit in the back where your weight will help.  Comforting to know that teenage sons are good for something, dead weight, and that Ted’s now grown son can laugh about it years later.  And share the story with Ted’s classmates.

The Timberlake sense of humor helped us all truly celebrate Ted’s life.  In prior columns I have written about the final selection process for the Ghostly Assemblage.  Unfortunately, we have moved from below-the-zone selection into the primary zone.  Ted will be missed by his family and classmates.  A number have shared wonderful war stories and vignettes from Ted’s life on the class email net and homepage.  And, you will find Ted’s memorial article in this or the next Assembly because he wrote it himself.  Sally and sons cleared it for publication.  The point of self-authorship is made as a plea for others to follow Ted’s leadership and do likewise.

Another new category for next column is classmates having been elected to public office.  We all know about Sam Benjamin, our only classmate to serve in the US Congress.  Running today for City Council in Alexandria, VA is Van Van Fleet.  There are many more: mayors, state senators and representatives, city council members, party officials, etc.  Names and offices next time because I am running out of time, airspeed, runway and altitude right now.

Time only to say 12 enjoyed Austrian Ski Trip (Bill Gillette made the arrangements).  Forty-or-so are signed up for Two-River Cruise in France in June (Phil Pryor & Jerry Mitchell organizers).  Well over 200 are signed up for 7-10 Sep Portland Mini (Paul Vanture and crew of four).  This one is rapidly becoming a maxi.  Other opportunities for gathering with classmates include the weekend of 5-8 Oct (Gerry Schurtz & Neil Mathis) when Army travels west for the New Mexico State game in Las Cruces and the Beat Navy tailgate and game in Baltimore (Ed Weckel) with parties the night before in VA (Alan & Florence Salisbury) and MD (Glenn & Kit Brown).  As my British colleagues say, cheers.