Hellcat News, (Detroit, Mich.), Vol. 18, No. 1, Ed. 1, September 1963 Page: 4 of 8
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The HELLCAT NEWS
IT WAS A
SWINGING AFFAIR
The above title is apropos of
our 17th Annual Reunion in St.
Louis, Mo. because from open-
ing registration on Thursday
morning until the last goodbye
after the Saturday night din-
ner dance the Hellcats were
really swinging.
According to our official
count the 134th Ord. Bn. had
the largest representation at
the reunion with 29 men sign-
ing in. They had their own
party room presided over in
grand style by those two ami-
able hosts( Herb (have a drink)
Pinno and the Elsa Maxwell
of the 134th, Harold Hendricks.
Second in representation was
the 714th Tk. Bn. with 23 men
registered. The hosts were Bill
Johnson retiring president and
Harry ( you better believe it)
Kettler our hard working and
capable reunion chairman.
Third was the 66th with 19
men. The 56th AIB, and the
495th AFA each had 18 men
sign in. As in the past, those
units with the more active
unit reps had the best attend-
ance.
The registration went along
smoothly with the wonderful
help of the St. Louis convention
Bureau who furnished us with
some very capable and conge-
nial people. It was wonderful
to sit behind the registration
desk and observe the members
as they came in to register.
There was such an air of de-
light and good fellowship in
the air that it was actually
contagious. Unit boundaries
are becoming less and less evi-
dent as the years go by. Our
reunions are taking on more
and more the atmosphere of
a family reunion. I don't think
there was a lonely Hellcat at
this reunion.
Len Dooley (Hq/92) and Dr.
Frank Tiberio (C/43) are still
at it, having met for the 17th
year at a reunion. These two
fellows have attended every
reunion the association has
held.
There are many of us who
have attended ten or more re-
unions and it just stands to
reason that this association
must mean something to a lot
of Hellcats to have them trav-
elling hundreds of miles year
after year to make these re-
unions. We were especially
happy to note the number of
new faces that stepped up to
the registration desk this year.
The younger set were very
much in evidence this year.
These young men are sure
growing up and have as much
of the Hellcat spirit as their
parents. You should have seen
them checking the sign-in ros-
ters for new arrivals. They
were as excited as their Dads.
Our Friday night cocktail
party was as usual a gay, get-
acquainted affair. It started
off a little on the quite side
but by the end of the evening
everybody was dancing and
having a wonderful time. Espe-
cially when our own Millie
Kaminski contributed to the
fun of the evening with her
concertina. This gal has a ter-
rific talent. Our Saturday night
dinner dance was a huge suc-
cess. The food was very palat-
able, the service was excellent,
and the music and entertain-
ment was as good as we have
ever heard. The dinner was
held in the Boulevard Room
which had all the atmosphere
of an elegant night club and
the spirit of the surroundings
prevailed. Our teenagers had
their own table with their own
liquid refreshments (cokes) and
potato chips. Some of them put
on a real twist exhibition which
was a delight to watch. Harold
Hendricks tried to climb one
of the artificial palm trees and
make like Tarzan — or was it
Cheetah? Lew Ostraat and
Helen Mielnik joined in a de-
lightful fan dance with the
palm leaves. Vince and Marg-
aret Caulfield broke all exist-
ing track records for this parti-
cular dance floor. The high-
light of the evening was a de-
lightful waltz performed by
Vince and the band leader. -
Speaking of the band leader,
this fellow by his own admis-
sion could out perform Eddie
Peabody or Arthur Godfrey on
the banjo and to everyone's
delight he did just that. Seri-
ously this fellow was a trem-
endous entertainer and a real
virtuoso of the banjo.
The St. Louis reunion com-
mittee headed by Harry Kettler
(B/714) and ably assisted by
Gerald Mullen (Sv/495) Roy
Daniels (B/714) and Charles
Ruma (A/17) are to be sincere-
ly congratulated for a job well
done. "It was a swinging af«
fair!"
SWING WITH
US IN "64"
REPORT FROM 493
AFA UNIT REP
Being in St. Louis was a
wonderful experience. The re-
unions seem to get better every
year. We enjoyed our old friends
once again from our own and
other units. It was a wonderful
feeling to be so royally greet-
ed by John and Dorothy Clarke
when Sara and I entered the
hotel Thursday night. You see,
once you join the association
you don't just belong to a unit.
You are part of a real won-
derful organization of friendly,
down-to-earth people.
The representation from the
493rd was small in number but
we made a joyful noise. Never
a dull moment when Earl Briggs
is around. He is associated with
the Topeka, Kansas fire de-
partment. Good Luck Earl as
you work toward advancement.
Can you imagine Paul Venie
sober at the cocktail party?
Sgt. Pyle would never believe
it. Paul is engaged in farming
at Springfield, Mo. Seeing Lela
and Harland DeGroot was a
real thrill. They are the same
charming couple we knew 20
years ago and are the proud
parents of five children. Har-
land is an RCA Victor dealer
in Winchester, 111. A reunion
would just not be the same
without Mr. and Mrs. James
Morris and their handsome
young son. The dinner dance
was something to remember
especially since we were in-
formed by our secretary's wife
Janet that we had just gained
Theadore Ward as a new mem-
ber. Welcome to the association
Ted and we hope to see you
in Louisville in 1964. We are
also happy to welcome John
Fore (B) and Charles Feola
(B) to our association. Thanks
to Ed Kemick (495th) for ask-
ing for a membership applica-
tion for Frank Kemick. Mrs.
William Mosher (A) wrote that
they would not be able to join
us in St. Louis. Their son, PFC
Charles W. Mosher, born to
them while Willy was in service,
will be 20 years old this fall.
He is a marine stastioned at
Camp Pendleton, Cal. They
have two other sons ages 15
and 10. Thomas Campbell is
still single and is an assistant
supervisor of Mercer and Arm-
oured Car Service. He feels
that it becomes more important
each year to hear from some
of the buddies that shared the
good old days and the bad days
with you. Emil Meyer couldn't
make the reunion because of
conflicting vacation dales. . . .
Better luck next year Emil.
As your unit rep for the new
year I resolve to do my best
but I'll need help frcm all of
you. Some recent addresses in
your possession may be of help.
However don't wait for me to
do all the writing. A note from
someone a fellow knows or: a
more personal basis can make
all the difference in signing
him up or not. Let's start now
to build our membership up
for next year. Good luck to all
of you until we meet in Louis-
ville.
Vernon Wates
RFD No. 1, Box 191
Edgefield, S.C.
TRAVELS THE
FARTHEST
Pictured here is John Brun-
etta (C&D/23) receiving a prize
from our St. Louis reunion
chairman Harry Kettler (B/-
714) for traveling the longest
distance to attend our 17th re-
union. John and his wife Jean
travelled from North Reading,
Mass. to make this one but
then these two folks would
make a reunion if we had one
in Timbuctoo.
TO DRINK OR
NOT TO DRINK
Nobody minds a man having
a morning eye-opener and it's
okay to have a bracer around
10 A.M. — and a couple of
few beers on a hot afternoon
to keep a man healthy, or at
least happy — and, of course,
everyone drinks at cocktail
hour — and a man can't be
criticised for having a wine
with his dinner, a liquor after-
wards, and a highball or two
during the evening. But this
damn business of sip, sip, sip,
all day has got to stop!
(Courtesy of Bob Saehloff)
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Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News, (Detroit, Mich.), Vol. 18, No. 1, Ed. 1, September 1963, newspaper, September 1963; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410125/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.