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After all these years!
Reunion With Old Friends:
| "Is that really you?" |
| Don, Tiffany, & Darlene |
| Don, Tiffany & Darlene |
| Don, Tiffany, Darlene & Femmie Starks |
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| Don Wilhoit & Andy Starks |
Don and his family live in Afton, Tennessee, just outside of Greeneville, not far from Knoxville.
Tiffany's husband, Travis, is in the Air Force, and was recently sent to Japan. She is preparing to
move to Japan for three years. It was great to spend a few hours together and talk about all the
people, places, and events that touched our lives and helped shape us into what we are today.
Tiffany's husband, Travis, is in the Air Force, and was recently sent to Japan. She is preparing to
move to Japan for three years. It was great to spend a few hours together and talk about all the
people, places, and events that touched our lives and helped shape us into what we are today.
| If any of you get together, please send us some pics to post. |
| We're looking forward to seeing all of you July 16-17, 2008 in St. Louis, MO. |
We've got a banquet room reserved for the afternoon and evening of July 16th
at the Days Inn, 3660 S. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63127 (314) 821-3000.
at the Days Inn, 3660 S. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63127 (314) 821-3000.
| We hope all of you will include an evening and morning with us in your vacation plans. We'd sure love to see all of you! |
The average room rate in July is $70, but the motel is giving us a rate of $50 + tax for either a
smoking or non-smoking room, with either one king size or two double beds. Take your choice.
Some of you said you would like to get there the day before, so I got with the hotel people and that
rate is good the nights of July 15th and 16th. If you decide to stay over for Thursday night for any
reason, it will be the regular rate, which is around $70.
Be sure and tell them you are with the Army, 8th Missile Det. (Their computer wouldn't let them
enter it beginning with a number, so they put "Army" first). You shouldn't need it, but if you do, our
group code is 8msd.
You must reserve your room by June 16, 2008 to get that rate, but of course they can't promise
there will be rooms available by that late. So we can know how many to plan for, please drop me
and email when you reserve your room or, if you don't plan to stay there, let me know you're coming.
We are also getting a banquet room that will cost $125. The plan is to use the banquet room for a
place to visit. We'll have some refreshments there for when you get in.
Our oldest son and his family live in St. Louis, so Femmie and I will get there Tuesday and spend
that night of the 15th with them, then spend Wednesday afternoon and night at the Day's Inn.
Wednesday, the day of the reunion, Femmie and I will set up the banquet room for our casual
fellowship time. We'll have the room all afternoon, so when you get there, come by for some
refreshments and a visit with whoever is there.
There will be no "formal meeting." About 6:30 p.m., we'll have a few announcements and then go to
Helen Fitzgeralds Irish Pub and Grill across the street. You can check out the Helen Fitzgeralds
web site for menus and prices. They have a nice restaurant where we can order individually and set
in the same area to eat and talk.
To get their banquet room would cost $100, and we had to order from their pre-planned menu.
Since we have the reception room at the hotel, this seemed unnecessary.
Since I haven't heard from several of our old buddies lately, I'm going to mail this out to them using
conventional mail. Also, a few of them don't have email addresses.
If you haven't done so yet, you may want to check out the Day's Inn web site. Google Day's Inn
Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis and you can see some pictures and other info. (There are several Day's
Inns in the St. Louis area).
After breakfast Wednesday, we will all go our separate ways or in small groups of like interest.
The Day's Inn used to be at 3664, but they changed it to 3660, so if you're using a GPS, it might not
like one of those numbers.
If you have any ideas you think will make this a more enjoyable and memorable time for all of us,
give me a call or drop me a line and tell me about it. Also, if you have any questions, don't hesitate
to ask.
St. Louis itself doesn’t offer much for tourists, but below are a few suggestions within driving
distance:
The St. Louis Arch has a great American heritage museum in the bottom, and, for a price, you
can ride a tram inside to the top (630 feet) to look around St. Louis.
Jessie James' Hideout is at Meramec Caverns, 60 miles west of St. Louis on the way to Branson.
It and the caverns are a little light, but may be worth the stop.
Laura Ingalls Wilders wrote the "Little House" books. Her house and museum are at Mansfield,
which can be on the way to Branson with very little detour. It's pretty nice if you like that kind of thing.
Branson is full of fairly expensive live entertainment. However, the motels, food, gas, etc. are not
expensive at all. You can get room and ticket packages on the web, or buy them individually when
you get there. You can also attend a 90 minute video and tour presentation where they try to get you
to buy a "time-share." They give you tickets to certain shows just for sitting in. That's the way they do
their advertisement. You get in on these at a booth in the foyer of the old Wal-Mart. Some shows,
like the "Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede" a wild west show, have supper with the show, so the tickets
are a little pricy, but worth it if you like that sort of thing. You can Google "Branson" and learn about
all the shows.
Silver Dollar City is an amusement park on the outskirts of Branson. There will be a good number
of kids there in July, but it is more an adults place. There are all kinds of shops and crafts, several
live entertainment shows (Country, Blue Grass, Gospel, Rock, Comedy, etc.), and some great food.
It’s an all-day thing that most people really enjoy. It’s worth the time and money if you like that sort of
thing.
The Titanic Museum has been added since we were in Branson last, but might be nice to see.
Graceland, for all you Elvis sighters, is 280 miles east of Branson (5 hours), or 284 miles from St.
Louis (4 hours, all interstate). For a fee, you can tour the house and grounds and his two airplanes.
There is a local radio station there that just plays Elvis music, and a TV station that just shows his
movies. I believe all the motels there have the TV station, and you can get the radio station in your
car. The Heartbreak Hotel is right across the street.
Nashville is 308 miles (4 ½ hours on interstate) from St. Louis. "Music Row" is pretty interesting.
The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City is an awesome place, but it
is 500 miles (7 hours) west of St. Louis and 326 miles (5 hours) from Branson.
Some are planning to go on to Branson, which is about 5 hours drive southwest of St. Louis. Others
are planning to go other places, some with members of our group, others by themselves. Whatever
you do afterward, we're looking forward to seeing you all there.
Our phone numbers are:
. Home - 337-365-6528
. Office - 365-9013
. My Cell - 577-4824
. Femmie’s Cell - 380-0429
If you have any other questions, please drop me a line or give me a call.
smoking or non-smoking room, with either one king size or two double beds. Take your choice.
Some of you said you would like to get there the day before, so I got with the hotel people and that
rate is good the nights of July 15th and 16th. If you decide to stay over for Thursday night for any
reason, it will be the regular rate, which is around $70.
Be sure and tell them you are with the Army, 8th Missile Det. (Their computer wouldn't let them
enter it beginning with a number, so they put "Army" first). You shouldn't need it, but if you do, our
group code is 8msd.
You must reserve your room by June 16, 2008 to get that rate, but of course they can't promise
there will be rooms available by that late. So we can know how many to plan for, please drop me
and email when you reserve your room or, if you don't plan to stay there, let me know you're coming.
We are also getting a banquet room that will cost $125. The plan is to use the banquet room for a
place to visit. We'll have some refreshments there for when you get in.
Our oldest son and his family live in St. Louis, so Femmie and I will get there Tuesday and spend
that night of the 15th with them, then spend Wednesday afternoon and night at the Day's Inn.
Wednesday, the day of the reunion, Femmie and I will set up the banquet room for our casual
fellowship time. We'll have the room all afternoon, so when you get there, come by for some
refreshments and a visit with whoever is there.
There will be no "formal meeting." About 6:30 p.m., we'll have a few announcements and then go to
Helen Fitzgeralds Irish Pub and Grill across the street. You can check out the Helen Fitzgeralds
web site for menus and prices. They have a nice restaurant where we can order individually and set
in the same area to eat and talk.
To get their banquet room would cost $100, and we had to order from their pre-planned menu.
Since we have the reception room at the hotel, this seemed unnecessary.
Since I haven't heard from several of our old buddies lately, I'm going to mail this out to them using
conventional mail. Also, a few of them don't have email addresses.
If you haven't done so yet, you may want to check out the Day's Inn web site. Google Day's Inn
Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis and you can see some pictures and other info. (There are several Day's
Inns in the St. Louis area).
After breakfast Wednesday, we will all go our separate ways or in small groups of like interest.
The Day's Inn used to be at 3664, but they changed it to 3660, so if you're using a GPS, it might not
like one of those numbers.
If you have any ideas you think will make this a more enjoyable and memorable time for all of us,
give me a call or drop me a line and tell me about it. Also, if you have any questions, don't hesitate
to ask.
St. Louis itself doesn’t offer much for tourists, but below are a few suggestions within driving
distance:
The St. Louis Arch has a great American heritage museum in the bottom, and, for a price, you
can ride a tram inside to the top (630 feet) to look around St. Louis.
Jessie James' Hideout is at Meramec Caverns, 60 miles west of St. Louis on the way to Branson.
It and the caverns are a little light, but may be worth the stop.
Laura Ingalls Wilders wrote the "Little House" books. Her house and museum are at Mansfield,
which can be on the way to Branson with very little detour. It's pretty nice if you like that kind of thing.
Branson is full of fairly expensive live entertainment. However, the motels, food, gas, etc. are not
expensive at all. You can get room and ticket packages on the web, or buy them individually when
you get there. You can also attend a 90 minute video and tour presentation where they try to get you
to buy a "time-share." They give you tickets to certain shows just for sitting in. That's the way they do
their advertisement. You get in on these at a booth in the foyer of the old Wal-Mart. Some shows,
like the "Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede" a wild west show, have supper with the show, so the tickets
are a little pricy, but worth it if you like that sort of thing. You can Google "Branson" and learn about
all the shows.
Silver Dollar City is an amusement park on the outskirts of Branson. There will be a good number
of kids there in July, but it is more an adults place. There are all kinds of shops and crafts, several
live entertainment shows (Country, Blue Grass, Gospel, Rock, Comedy, etc.), and some great food.
It’s an all-day thing that most people really enjoy. It’s worth the time and money if you like that sort of
thing.
The Titanic Museum has been added since we were in Branson last, but might be nice to see.
Graceland, for all you Elvis sighters, is 280 miles east of Branson (5 hours), or 284 miles from St.
Louis (4 hours, all interstate). For a fee, you can tour the house and grounds and his two airplanes.
There is a local radio station there that just plays Elvis music, and a TV station that just shows his
movies. I believe all the motels there have the TV station, and you can get the radio station in your
car. The Heartbreak Hotel is right across the street.
Nashville is 308 miles (4 ½ hours on interstate) from St. Louis. "Music Row" is pretty interesting.
The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City is an awesome place, but it
is 500 miles (7 hours) west of St. Louis and 326 miles (5 hours) from Branson.
Some are planning to go on to Branson, which is about 5 hours drive southwest of St. Louis. Others
are planning to go other places, some with members of our group, others by themselves. Whatever
you do afterward, we're looking forward to seeing you all there.
Our phone numbers are:
. Home - 337-365-6528
. Office - 365-9013
. My Cell - 577-4824
. Femmie’s Cell - 380-0429
If you have any other questions, please drop me a line or give me a call.