Use your Browser's Back Button or click here to go back to Biloxi Photo Page.
John W. Weeks Reunion – 2001 Biloxi Mississippi
This year’s reunion was held in Biloxi Mississippi, from October 14, 2001 thru October 18, 2001. Many of the participants arrived in advance of the start date. For example, Hal and Ellie Gross arrived Friday to make sure that the hotel management was ready for the Weeks Crew and to set up the hospitality room. Hal has an enormous job transporting and setting up numerous pieces of memorabilia that he collected and assembled over the years. Hal and Ellie deserve a lot of credit for this effort. The following is my account of the reunion.
Click here to see who was at this year’s reunion
Day One
Our drive from
our home in Toledo, Ohio was a pleasant one except for the last leg between
Greenville, Alabama and Biloxi. The weather was warm but stormy during this
segment of our trip. We arrived around noon on Saturday. Upon arriving we
couldn’t help but notice the large Weeks banner hanging from the balcony of the
hotel. What a welcoming.jpg)
sight! After checking in and dropping our luggage in
our room, we couldn’t resist admiring the beautiful view of the Gulf from our
hotel room. After leaving our room we headed for the hospitality room.
On the way to the hospitality room, we saw familiar faces. The first person that we ran into was Bill Sloan. Bill is a regular at our reunions; he hasn’t missed one since his first reunion in 1989 at Williamsburg. There is a story about Bill and how he took some extraordinary steps to attend a Weeks reunion in Washington D.C., after having open heart surgery. If you want to hear his take on this incident, have him tell you the story at next year’s reunion. Incidentally, Bill served aboard the Weeks from 1958 thru 1965. Next, we met Bob Grimm and his wife Carol. We met Carol and Bob back in 1988, at the first reunion opened to post WWII, crew members. At that point they had a young daughter at home and coming to future reunions would be tough. A month before Biloxi, I received an e-mail from Bob, he said, “The daughter is in college, we are coming to Biloxi”. This will be their second reunion. Welcome back Bob and Carol; hope to see you at next year’s reunion. Bob was a Machinist Mate and served on the Weeks in 1959. Our next stop was the hospitality room; since it was early the room was all most vacant expect for Hal, Ellie, the Wester’s and Hal’s right hand man Wendell Packard.
As I glanced around the room, I could see that Hal’s was busy during the year adding to his vast collection of Weeks memorabilia. There were several new exhibits, one in particular catch my eye, the one on Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vern Clark and Rear Admiral Jim Eastwood. Both of these guys served on the Weeks as ensigns in the sixties. After an hour or so doing small talk, Bea and I headed back to our room to unpack. On the way back we ran into old friends Wanda and Jim Veld. That storming evening a group of us got together for dinner and camaraderie.
Day Two
Sunday, the official start of our reunion turned out to be a beautiful day, overnight the storm blew out to sea. The morning was sunny the temperature in the upper seventies. After grabbing a cup of coffee, Bea and I headed for New Orleans, to meet Kate and Tony Johnson. The plan was to have bunch with them and take in some sight seeing. The second reason for heading to New Orleans was to pick up Bob Godley later that afternoon at the airport.
The drive to New Orleans is approximately 93 miles. The drive in toke us pass the John Stennis Space Center. If you not familiar with the John C. Stennis Space Center, it is one of ten NASA field centers in the United States. It is NASA's primary center for testing and flight certifying rocket propulsion systems for the Space Shuttle and future generations of space vehicles. We stopped briefly; however, we didn’t get a chance to go in the StenniSphere because it was closed due to heightened security after the September 11th terrorist attack. Incidentally, I believe this was one of the places that Hal recommended visiting in his news letter.
.jpg)
After an
interesting scenic drive along route 10, we finally reached New Orleans. We
headed for the city’s core; Vieux Carré, a historic neighborhood also
known as the French Quarter. Exotic houses and wrought-iron balconies reflected
the French and Spanish architectural styles that dominate this unique district's
narrow streets. After several wrong turns we finally found the hotel where the
Johnson’s were staying. After an hour and a half of catching up on what’s been
going on since our last reunion we decided to visit the visit the
National D-Day Museum.
The museum was located only moments from the French Quarter and Central Business District of New Orleans; however, it didn’t take long for us to get lost. Now I see why I couldn’t be a Quartermaster on the Weeks. After circling the museum several times we finally scored. I kept telling myself that the reason we got lost was because of the screwy way they had their one-way streets laid out. A little bit of trivia the National D-Day Museum's primary exhibit space, was constructed in 1856, in the former home of the Louisiana Brewery. After getting inside, I can tell you it was well worth making the trip. Instead of me telling what the museum was all about I will let Stephen Ambrose, the Founder tell you in his words.
"On the day World War II began, Dwight Eisenhower wrote his brother, 'Hitler should beware of the fury of an aroused democracy.' Ike was right. Galvanized by the atrocities and conquests of the totalitarian nations, America sent her best and brightest to the beaches of Normandy, Sicily, Iwo Jima, and many other battlefields oceans away from her shores. The American sailors, soldiers and airmen came not to conquer, but to liberate, not to loot or destroy, but to bring life and freedom. Eisenhower told his troops, 'We will accept nothing less than full Victory!' After horrendous sacrifices, that is what they produced. The brave young men rode onto the beaches and into battle on Higgins Boats, built in New Orleans by Andrew Higgins, the man Eisenhower said, 'won the war for us.' Higgins was a patriot and a visionary capitalist, but he could not have built tens of thousands of ships in a few short years without a tremendous effort from his workers. In a scene repeated in cities all across the country, the people of New Orleans came together - black and white, old and young, men and women - to propel the war effort. Like their soldiers, they worked hard and made sacrifices because they all believed in the righteousness of their cause. They believed that, as a popular saying of the times had it, 'we're all in this together.' Their sense of duty, of right and wrong, their teamwork and their courage embody the American spirit. The National D-Day Museum celebrates the American spirit. Young and old will come to learn of their proud heritage. Since 1945, democracy and freedom have been on the march. But visitors will learn not just of what we have done. They will learn of what we can do. They will learn that we are still in this together."
When I read, Dwight Eisenhower words to his brother, 'Hitler should beware of the fury of an aroused democracy.' I couldn’t help thinking of September 11th, and substituting for Hilter, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban regime.
.jpg)
Incidentally, if
you have an opportunity to visit the museum you can visit their website at
www.ddaymuseum.org . The site is well laid out
and gives you a virtue walk through its exhibits.
After an interesting afternoon, we left the museum, Kate and Tony headed for Biloxi and Bea and I headed for the airport to pickup Bob Godley. We returned to the hotel late Sunday afternoon; to our surprise we saw many new and old faces. As I approached the entrance of the hotel, there were several familiar faces; one stood out, a fellow that I haven’t seen since our first reunion in 1988. That sailor was Richard (Ralph) Schwarz. Ralph was a Machinist’s Mate and served in the late fifties. Next time you see him, ask him how he put a hole in the hull of the Weeks. We also ran into Harm Carr. This is his first reunion. Captain Carr was a Sonar Technician. I guess you wondering why I called Harm, Captain. After getting out of the Navy he went to College and Dental School. He then enlisted in the Navy Reserves where he obtained the rank of Captain. Well done Harm. Hope that you and your wife can make next year’s reunion.
The rest of our evening was spent visiting and then out to dinner. It was a long day for us, but a lot of fun.
Day Three
This morning we
woke up to another great day on the gulf. Hal, how did you order this weather?
A bunch of us got together for a good old southern breakfast, at the hotel.
Afterwards, everyone roamed around trying to decide what to do. This
.jpg)
year was
kind of unusual, there were no planned tours or activities; everyone was on
their own. Some decided to go to casinos, others to sightsee at the local
historical sites, and then some headed for Mobile and New Orleans. We and the
Johnson’s decided to do the local historical thing. Our first stop was the
Jefferson Davis Home, “Bealuvoir” which down on Beach Boulevard facing the gulf.
The tour of
Bealuvoir turned out to be more interested than we first thought it would be and
we enjoyed our tour. The following is a brief history taken from their website
at
www.beauvoir.org . If you didn’t visit Beauvior,
you can do a
.jpg)
virtual tour at their website. Beauvoir is the retirement estate
of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Biloxi, Mississippi. Developed by
planter-entrepreneur James Brown, the gulf side estate grew to encompass
approximately 500 acres and was dominated by an imposing Louisiana raised
cottage-style residence, constructed in 1848-1851. Unscathed by the war, the
property passed from the Brown family in 1873 first to Frank Johnston and then
to Sarah Anne Ellis Dorsey. A Natchez born intellectual, author, and Confederate
partisan, the widow Dorsey named the estate, which she shared with her
half-brother, Beauvoir (French for "beautiful view") and invited Jefferson Davis
to write his memoirs here. Davis accepted the invitation but insisted on paying
his way and, by February 1877, was living in the Library Pavilion at Beauvoir.
Joined by his wife Varina, Davis purchased the property in February 1879 and
transferred to the main residence, where he lived until his death on December 6,
1889. Varina Davis sold the central portion of the estate to the Mississippi
Division, United Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1902 for use as a memorial to
Jefferson Davis and as a Confederate veterans home. The veterans’ home operated
on site from 1903 until 1957, caring for a total of approximately 2,000 soldiers
and widows.
Museum operations at Beauvoir began in 1941 with the opening of the main residence and Confederate cemetery for tours and have subsequently expanded to include a Confederate Museum, Davis Family Gallery, Theatre, and Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier, Stars and Bars Gift Shop, and other features of interest on 52 landscaped acres. The Jefferson Davis Presidential Library was opened in 1997. The new facility contains an extensive library on Southern history, a portion of the personal library and papers of Jefferson Davis a biographical exhibit on the Southern president and a theatre/lecture hall.
After completing our tour we had lunch at one of the excellent restaurants on the beach by the Biloxi Lighthouse. We then headed back to the hotel to rest and visit the hospitality room. That evening several of us went to a dinner at a local seafood house.
Day Four
Tuesday turned
out to be another lovely day; so far we couldn’t ask for better weather. Since
tonight was our banquet, we
.jpg)
decided not to wander too far from the hotel.
Several of us decided to drive up the coast east of the hotel to a small scenic
town called Gautier to give the ladies a chance to do some shopping for gifts
and memorabilia. The town had a number little shops and restaurants that made
our stay interesting and enjoyable. After hours of fun and camaraderie we
headed back to Biloxi to get ready for the banquet.
As I pointed out earlier, new and old members had been trickling into the reunion all week; according to Hal’s notes we had a total of 109 seated for the banquet which included spouses and guests. Hal Gross did a reading on America, as a tribute to the Heroes of September 11th. As usual, the banquet was a night of dinner, dancing camaraderie.
Day Five
Day four we had our breakfast meeting. Earl Thomas filled in for Hal, since Hal wasn’t felling very good. As we do every year a collection was taken for Hal and Ellie as a token of all of our appreciation for the fine job and hard work keeping the association running.
That evening, several of us went to Grand Casino – Gulfport for dinner and an evening of fun.
Day Six
Well, it was time to head for home. I hope everybody enjoyed this year’s reunion, as much as we did. Also, we hope that all that attended left with the same warm feeling that we had as we pulled away from the hotel; knowing that we had rekindled some old memories and friendships. Finally, we want to thank Hal and Ellie for the great job putting this year’s reunion together.
So long folks, see you all next year!