Preble Yell - January 1998

PREBLE YELL

NEWSLETTER OF THE PREBLE REUNION ASSOCIATION

JANUARY 1998

EDITOR'S CORNER

First...I will put the best possible "spin" on it...Isn't it great to find the January 1988 Preble Yell in the mail a full month early?...Now, I need to level with you. This was supposed to be the Summer 1997 edition...due to be in the mail in August! Just too many competing projects around here and I didn't get the job done. Sorry about that.

Thanks to the efforts of our host and hostess, Earl and Lillian Kurtz, we had a wonderful reunion at Charleston, SC in early June. Many old friends as well as a great group of new ones were in attendance. The hotel staff was superb and bent over backwards to see to our every need. Read all about it inside.

Since this turned out to be the January 1988 newsletter, it is time to appeal to you to make your contribution toward keeping the outfit afloat in the form of $10.00 dues to carry us through 1988. For two years running, only 40% of our membership have contributed dues. We could do a few more things if we could move that up closer to 100%.

As an aid to your memory, I have coded your address label to indicate the calendar year through which our records show you to be in good standing. A hyphen below your name means that we have no record of dues receipt. So please check your address label and respond as you are able. A preaddressed envelope is provided for your convenience in mailing dues.

I hope that all of you will enjoy a wonderful holiday season and will remain healthy and happy throughout the new year and beyond.

Bill Calhoun

REUNION REPORT

Those of you who were unable to attend missed another great Preble reunion. Perhaps we will see you in 1999!

A GREAT WARMUP

About ten of us arrived in Charleston a few days early. Earl and Lillian Kurtz invited us into their home on both Saturday and Sunday evenings for refreshments1 a full sit-down dinner, and great companionship. With so many other things to take care of, I don't know how Earl and Lillian found the time for such an undertaking...but all of us extend our sincere thanks.

THE HOTEL

Earl selected the Radisson Inn - Charleston Airport as the venue for our 1997 reunion. It was an excellent choice. Rooms were comfortable and reasonably priced and both public and private (our) facilities were well suited to our needs. The hotel staff did a bang-up job of making us feel comfortable.

HOST ROOM

Our host room was provided gratis by the hotel and opened onto a very large enclosed and air-conditioned atrium. The atrium provided a great deal of comfortable seating for our shipmates to gather around in groups of mutual interest.

We were allowed by the hotel to stock our own supply of refreshments in the Host Room. Earl did a great job of economizing by purchasing this stock at the local Coast Guard Base at a fraction of what it would cost elsewhere. Even so, we lost our shirt on refreshments, recovering only about half the cost of stocking through voluntary contributions.

ATTENDANCE

Although not as large a group as attended our first reunion in San Diego, it was an impressive group...spanning 46 years of Preble history and memories. Shipmates traveled from all over the country to attend and each contributed his full share toward the enjoyment of all.

All of us learned a great deal about the happenings aboard Preble during the times we were not serving aboard. A complete listing of those shipmates in attendance commences on page 3.