FROM THE PRESIDENT
Kudos to Ray and Kathy Spatz for a wonderful and exciting
New York reunion. Thanks to them, and the hard work of Jack
Timmons, things ran very smoothly. We were also blessed to
have a group of fireman from the South Hempstead Fire
Department (of which our own Ray Spatz is a member) who
joined our Saturday night bash and acted as our color guards
for the evening’s festivities. Our speaker for the evening
was Mr. Tom Gwynn from the Cradle of Aviation Aero Space
Museum. He had a wonderful PowerPoint presentation on the
history of Aviation, which everyone enjoyed. And to really
make the evening delightful was our Master of Ceremonies
Jerry Judge who did a great job at the podium as he always
does at every reunion. Thanks, Jerry, for sharing your
talents with us year after year.
One of the highlights of the reunion was the
harbor cruise. We have had a lot of good dinner cruises
before, but this was exceptional. They hosted the bar, which
made everyone happy right off the bat. The DJ was
exceptionally good and some of us actually danced with our
wives. Miracles never cease. The weather was good for NY at
that time of year. The harbor was lit up by a beautiful moon
and as we came around the beautiful Statue of
Liberty; it was an awesome sight to behold. Jerry Judge
leaned over to me and said, Boy this is worth the whole
trip, and I had to agree with him. It was goose bump time.
There were so many wonderful moments that we shared at the
Big Apple that I could go on for pages. The most memorable
times, of course, are the times we spent just renewing old
friendships and just enjoying each others company. Next
Year it’s back to San Diego. I hope you can all
make it. The good Lord willing we will see you all in
Aug.2006.
John Reynolds
NEW MEMBERS
| James Wiley |
BT3 |
59-62 |
Toledo, OH |
| Jim Reynaud |
FTM3 |
66-68) |
Midland, TX |
| Michael Soinski |
HM3 |
64-66 |
Grand Junction, CO |
| Maurice Delancy |
SM1 |
59-60 |
Virginia Beach, VA |
| Robert L. Middleton (D) |
RMC |
66-69 |
Columbia, SC |
| Michael Doyle |
SN |
67-69 |
Sherman, WV |
| Michael Scott |
SN |
59-63 |
Woodland Hills, CA |
| Jerry Humphrey |
CPL |
62-64 |
Newburgh, IN |
| Bruce Obrien |
FN |
65-66 |
Roseboro, NJ |
| Dorman Lee |
MM1 |
62-65 |
Baytown, TX |
| Larry Hodge |
SK3 |
62-63 |
Round Rock, TX |
| Marvin Mendenhall |
PR3 |
64-64 |
Liberty, MO |
| Ray Stoman |
RM2 |
67-69 |
Montana City, MO |
| Larry Swingler |
GMM3 |
63-66 |
Tucson, AZ |
| E. J. “Skip” Pellegrin |
BM3 |
61-63 |
Houma, LA |
Taps
| Isaac “Ike” J.
Roberts |
IC3 |
65-68 |
10/29/05 |
|
Bob Kershner |
LCDR |
63-66 |
11/10/05 |
|
Walter Michlanski |
SN |
59-6? |
08/02/05 |
|
Andre M Seaton |
RD2 |
59-62 |
7/10/05 |
|
Doyne R. Wills, Jr |
LCDR |
65-67 |
|
|
Robert L. Middleton |
RMC |
66-69 |
12/01/01 |
LETTERS
Kathy and Ray, Thank you for the wonderful reunion. We had a
great time, the tours, the dinner cruise, the picnic, and
the final dinner. You two did a terrific job. It was the
best reunion that we have attended. New York will long be
remembered, and the hotel did a terrific job for the sailors
and families of the Topeka.
Thanks…
Carol and Mike Hight
(See you next year)
Hello Ray and Kathy, enclosed is a CD of some of the photo’s
I took on Cloud 9. Sure enjoyed our Reunion and the whole
get together. Sure got some nice shipmates that I never knew
before. I want to thank you for all that you did to make
this the best Topeka reunion ever. We hope to see you in San
Diego next year.
Best,
John and Bridget Woolston
Kathy,
Ray and you put on a spectacular reunion. The patriotic
theme for the Saturday Banquet was wonderful. Anyone who did
not get a lump in their throat when the magnificent Firemen
Color Guard in the dress uniforms paraded the colors simply
was not alive. Your table centerpieces with the red, white,
blue, and flag balloons were perfect. I really liked your
dinner programs. Nice touch having beer for the firemen.
Again, what a great job the two of you did. There’s a
certain amount of stress doing these reunions. I have no
idea when you and Ray had any time to sleep. But you had one
grateful group of really nice folks attend your reunion.
Regards,
Jack Timmons
SHIPS STORE
The ships store has some new jackets
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Men’s Jacket navy with beige, $42.00 each.
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Ladies Jacket navy with white, $20.00 |
Sizes small through X-large.
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These items are available from the Ship’s Store,
order now and come to the reunion already dressed
out. Most of the merchandise will be available in
New York. All orders should be sent to Linda Roberts
at 7315 Valley Lane, Hixson, TN 37343-2207. Linda’s
phone number is 423-842-5147. Include $5.00 shipping
with each order and make checks or money order
payable to the Reunion Association and send to Linda
with your order.
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Polo Shirts 2000
Grey 2M, Beige 1M
Polo Shirts 2002
Yellow XL only, Blue XL and XXL Ivory with pocket,
XL only
Polo Shirts 2003
Navy M, XXL, White/Navy M, XXL
Navy/Tan with pocket XL, XXL
New style Nylon Jackets
Navy 2XL; Hunter green 1 M or Royal blue 1 L
Micro fiber 2003 Jackets
Navy/Beige and Beige/Black
Assorted items available
Ball Caps
Key Chains
Cold Drink Holders
Coffee mugs w/Topeka emblem
Topeka Note pads (5 pack)
License Plate Holder
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$25.00
$25.00
$26.00
$26.00
$35.00
$36.00
$12.00
$3.00
$5.00
$6.00
$5.00
$4.00
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REUNION 2006
The USS Topeka CLG-8 2006 reunion will be hosted by Ruth and
Dudley Cass in San Diego, CA. The reunion hotel is the Town and Country Resort and
Convention Center, 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, CA
92108. The dates for 2006 are Wednesday, August 16th
through Saturday, August 19th. Room rates are
$99.00 single or double plus applicable tax. We will have a
hospitality suite in the Regency Tower. This site is the
same as our 2000 reunion. Please plan on coming and
enjoying in 2006! More details in the February 2006
newsletter.
EDITORIAL
Where do I begin? The reunion is just an awesome memory
as I write this message. Ray and I have received numerous
accolades from members that were at the New York Reunion.
When we first agreed to do the reunion the doubts were
numerous, will we get a decent turnout, will the cost be too
heavy, how will we get around in the “Big Apple”, just to
mention a few. Well, as you all know we overcame these
hurdles and had a terrific time. Briggs tour company was
just wonderful, the tour guides full of information and they
sincerely cared about the success of the tours we took. The
dinner cruise, I feel the highlight of the reunion, was a
great time for all. The ship was beautiful with an attentive
and accommodating staff. The evening skyline of Manhattan
and the breathtaking view of the Statue of Liberty brought
tears to many. Personally, I have not danced that much in a
long time!! The DJ’s kept a lot of us on our feet the entire
evening, it was difficult to take a break to enjoy the
delicious buffet that was available. As always the
hospitality suite was the place to gather and rekindle the
friendships established over the years of the reunions. Ray
did an amazing job of keeping the refreshments and libations
available at all times. The Banquet was the final success.
My thanks to Tom Gwynn and the South Hempstead Fire
Department for contributing to the Patriotic theme. Ray and
I are looking forward to returning to a status of guest at
the future reunions. Thanks to all that attended and we are
thrilled at the success.
Names and Telephone Numbers
Board of Directors:
Jerry Judge, Chairman
68 E. Sierra Way
Chula Vista, CA 91911
619-422-0761
Email RAJTR@cox.net
Board Members:
Dudley Cass, Don Anderson, Jack Connery, Ken Noble,
Tom Victory
President:
John Reynolds
916 Esplanade
# 107
Redondo Beach CA 90277
310-540-7817
E-mail
Canrc@hotmail.com Secretary-Treasurer
Jack Timmons
2661 Poinsettia Dr.
San Diego, CA
92106-1121
619-224-8928
Email
JETimmons@aol.com 2005 Reunion Coordinator:
Raymond Spatz
503 Olive Blvd.
So. Hempstead, NY 11550
516-385-5712
Email
kspatz@optonline.net
Newsletter Editor:
Kathy Spatz, 503 Olive Blvd.
South Hempstead, NY 11550-8012
516-565-4267
Email
Kspatz@optonline.net
Webmaster:
Ken Noble
14019 Summer Bay Lane
Broomfield, CO 80020
303-410-7150
Email
kwnoble@usstopekaclg8.org
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