Wagner College 50th Reunion & Michelle's HS Graduation

June was a busy month for us as we traveled to Staten Island, NY for Walt's 50 reunion at Wagner College, June 6-8, 2008.

That weekend we enjoyed the Alumni Luncheon, a reception in the President's office, a dinner dance with a roaring 20s theme, a Broadway play A Chorus Line, and a brunch cruise in NY harbor by Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty and Governor's Island.

After that, we visited Steam town in Scranton, PA, a very interesting railroad museum operated by the NPS.We got a real neat tour of the RR Shop where there were many pieces of equipment from wheel trucks to boilers to engines being worked on. We were lucky to have spent the night at the old RR station in Scranton, the Radisson Inn.

We then went to the Finger lakes region on NY to visit an old college fraternity brother in Skaneateles, NY and Hammondsport, NY, where we toured the Bully Hill Vineyards and visited the Curtiss Museum.

From there, we drove to Newtown, CT to visit our daughter & and family; it was Michelle's HS graduation. While there, we visited with my former Wagner classmate Betsy and her husband Bob Press in Rhinebeck, NY, which was only about a 90 minute drive away through very scenic parts of CT and NY.

Our trip covered 2,600 miles.

We arrived safely home on the 23d.

GETTYSBURG - NEW VISITORS CENTER

On Thursday, April 17th we visited Gettysburg, PA and the new Visitors Center. The center just opened up on Monday, April 14th. It presents in some detail the three days of battle on July 1, 2, & 3, 1863 in both film and displays. There is also a large gift shop and restaurant. From here, one can book tours to the battlefield as well as the Eisenhower farm. The center also has two large theaters showing an informative film on the battle and the events that lead up to it. Admission to the museum is free, however there is an $8 charge to see the film. After purchasing our tickets, we settled in to watch the film. Just as it was about to start, there was a very loud noise. It was the fire alarm! The whole center had to be evacuated. Since we had already handed in our tickets, we wound up outside, no tickets. Due to the evacuation, we were unable to get a refund, but the staff said all we had to do was come back and show them our tickets. But we had none. Fortunately, we were able to re-enter after about 15 minutes and were able to see the film; this time without any disruption.

Prior to visiting the Visitors Center, we booked a commercial battlefield tour for $41.50/pp which included three local museums. We visited the Lincoln Train Museum. This was really interesting, it contained numerous model train sets from the 1800s to today by Lionel, Marks, Ives and MTH. One of the most interesting was a chrome set made by Ives that sold in 1925 for $100; it has to be worth a small fortune today. They also had an operational model railroad. Its main attraction was a simulated train trip through the Civil War countryside made by Lincoln on his way to Gettysburg to deliver his famous speech. The Gettysburg Battle Theater was also interesting; it gave an excellent overview of the military events that lead up to Gettysburg and the three days of battle. This turned out to be a good stop prior to our battlefield tour. The third museum we visited, the Soldiers National Museum, turned out to be a real rip-off; poorly designed with trivial displays of little educational or other value.

For dinner, we ate at the Dobbin House Tavern. It had a Civil War era atmosphere, the building being one of the oldest in Gettysburg. Food, drink and ambiance were excellent. We would highly recommend this for a very enjoyable dinning experience.

The battlefield tour conducted by a licensed tour guide proved to be real interesting and worthwhile. The two hour tour gave us a real good appreciation of the three days of battle, the significance of the terrain and the major events that took place.

We stopped at Little Round Top and learned about Gouverneur Warren and his last-minute defense of Little Round Top. This is a hill at the left flank of the Union defenses that on the second day of battle, as the Confederates were attacking, was as a result of some Union maneuvers left undefended. Brigadier General Warren was General Hooker's chief topographical engineer and not in command of troops. However, he recognized the importance of the undefended position on the left flank of the Union Army and on his own initiative, organized its defense just in time to stop a Confederate assault. For this he is known as the "Hero of Little Round Top"; his gallantry and initiative was instrumental in the Union victory at Gettysburg and in turn for preserving the Union.

As with all the others who fought to preserve the Union, we owe them so very much. Each one of us should make time to visit Gettysburg and other Civil War sites to recognize and honor the sacrifices that made our country great, united and free, whose wealth and blessings we now enjoy in freedom today, so that we may all continue to do so in the future.

A Passion for Civil War History

Whether you’ve come to the Lowcountry from Up North or are a bona fide Southerner, sooner or later, you are going to find that the Civil War is part of our local heritage. Yes, it really did happen here.
The War of Northern Aggression, the War Between the States, the War to Preserve the Union, or the Recent Unpleasantness are terms used, depending upon your perspective, to refer to this war. Being a newcomer to South Carolina, I decided that I wanted to know more about what happened here almost 145 years ago. The more I learned, the more interesting this part of our history became. Did Sherman really burn down all those buildings in Beaufort and Bluffton? Did the Confederacy ever have a chance to win? What kind of men were Lee and Grant? What was it like for Lincoln and Davis to govern during these tumultuous years?
Like many others interested in studying the Civil War, I joined the Lowcountry Civil War Round Table, impressed with their organizational philosophy: the War was the defining moment in the history of our country. It established that we would henceforth be one nation, indivisible. With nearly 400 members from the local area, the Round Table provides a form for hosting renowned Civil War historians and professional impersonators (e.g., General Robert E. Lee) at meetings held locally in Bluffton.
Through the Round Table, I became aware of The Blue and Gray Education Society (BGES) , a national organization dedicated to our further understanding of the War Between the States by interpreting and preserving Civil War battlefields, conducting high quality seminars, promoting and publishing scholarly research, and by facilitating worthy educational endeavors. Each spring, they hold their Atlantic Civil War Symposium on Hilton Head Island. To understand a battle, you have to walk the battlefield; you need to see the actual terrain where the battles took place to get an understanding of the difficulties faced by both the troops and the generals who led them. This upon the heels of a classroom lecture or reading one of the many good books available is really what makes history come alive.











Walt at a BGES battlefield seminar, Shiloh, MS.



The University of South Carolina at Beaufort offers many excellent courses throughout the year on the Civil War. One of the benefits that as a senior I have taken advantage of is the ability to audit a course at a reduced rate. A great fringe benefit is enjoying the dialog with the young students, for some of whom, Civil War history is their recent unpleasantness. One of my courses was about the battle at Chattanooga, Tennessee which was held under siege by Confederate positions on Lookout Mountain. As seen in the accompanying photo of the Confederate cannon, my visit there helped me greatly understand the remarkable heights from which they commanded the city and the Union forces trapped there. Even more remarkable was the fact that the Union Army led by U.S. Grant stormed this position from below and managed to dislodge the Confederates.

Confederate cannon on Lookout Mountain.

The subject of the Civil War through my participation in educational organizations and with the many battlefield and museums within a day’s ride or two is for me an interesting and exciting hobby making history come alive.
To understand the challenges President Lincoln faced in this 1864 reelection, the reelection of President George Bush offered to me some insight: both took place amid serious dissent on the home front in a time of war. Bush faced similar criticism that Lincoln endured in 1864. The Patriot Act, supported by Bush, is challenged for taking away some liberties; Lincoln faced similar criticisms for his suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, granting sweeping powers to law enforcement and imprisonment of Southern spies and sympathizers without trial. Bush and Lincoln were criticized for their lack of intellect, large number of casualties and a mismanaged war effort, and endured opposition from Europe. While both were in the military, Lincoln served for less than three months in what could be called the National Guard of that era; Bush’s National Guard service was hotly debated. Bush faced an opponent eerily similar to McClellan. Like Kerry, McClellan was a war hero in a predominantly anti-war party and was also highly criticized for his military record by Republican supporters. Both were generally adored by the troops under their command. McClellan grew up as a member of the Philadelphia aristocracy while Kerry was a member of the Boston elite. Both flip-flopped on major issues. Whoever succeeds Bush needs to be better than Lincoln's successor.
As I get more involved with Civil War history, I find that to really understand why it occurred, you need to study our history from the establishment of the first colonies of Spain, France and England, not only in the U.S. but also in South America and the West Indies. The period after the Civil War merits study to understand the aftermath of this bloody struggle and its influence on the development of our nation.
History is a never ending sequence of people and events; starting with the Civil War and going back and forth in time is an interesting, stimulating and rewarding way to understand as much as possible about what took place here 145 years ago.

GRAND CIRCLE CARVAN - TRAVELING JOURNAL

We left Sun City on Sunday, Aug 26 and after 2065 miles arrived at Moab, UT on Wednesday Sep 5 where we joined up with the Winnebago-Itasca Travelers, the organizer of the tour. There are 21 Winnegago motorhomes in our tour from all over the country. We are the only ones from South Carolina.
Our first tour was to the Arches National Park. Words cannot describe the wonderful scenery. The geological formations were simply fabulous. With a little immagination, one can associate each shape with an animal, cartoon character, etc.




















A number of Western movies were filmed in these national parks, including Thelma and Louise and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

After visiting the Arches National Park, we went to Dead Horse State Park from which we could see the canyon lands near the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, just outside Moab. The scope of these canyons was just breath taking. I never saw so many canyons in one place. They may make our visit to the Grand Canyon anticlimatic.














We had a free day on Sunday so we took a ride along route 128 to the La Sal Mountains. This scenic road goes along the Colorado River through canyons and alongside vinyards. From the road up the La Sal Mountains we got excellent views of Castle Mountain and the Moab valley.

We left Moab on Monday for Torrey, UT, about 160 miles southwest of Moab. Along the way we stopped at the Goblin Valley State Park. Here we saw thousands of sandstone formations that resembled goblins and other weird creatures. The goblins are made of Entrada sandstoneand show evidence of being near an ancient sea with the ebb and flow of tides, tidal channels, and coastal sand dunes.
















On Tuesday, Sep 11, we all took cars and toured the Capital Reef National Park. The highlight of this trip was the drive and hike through Capital Reef Gorge. Again, the cliffs, domes, and monuments were breathtaking. We saw ancient Indian petroglyphs or drawings along with a part of the gorge where the pioneers from the 1870s and later had written their names and dates.














Afterwards, I hiked up a one mile trail to Hickman Bridge, a natural bridge. This was a real strenuous hike, up and down, at altitudes of 7,000-8,000 feet. The views though were fantastic. The hike took me over an hour, Lillian waited nervously below for me to return. On my way down, I met a couple hiking up who relayed a message from Lill that she was concerned about me. But I returned safely to her. That ended our day at the Capital Reef National Park and the surrounding area. I returned to the campground tired and hungry and thursty. These are the times when a beer or two or three taste especially good!















I've taken over 500 pictures and have run out of space on this blog. After Gremlin Valley where there were thousands of sandstone forms that resembled aliens from outter space, ET type animals, &, yes, gremlins, we visited Bryce Canyon, Zion, Durango, Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon (North & South Rims), and the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

Of all the canyons we saw, Bryce, due to its many interesting formations and colors was our favorite.



On our way home, we stopped in Little Rock to visit the Clinton Presidential Museum & Library. We were very impressed with the Clinton Museum, especially with Hillary Clinton's very active involvements and accomplishments as First Lady.






All in all, I think our high point was Mesa Verde, so below is our last picture from this wonderful six week trip of 5750 miles.

WALLY & JULIA GET NEW HOUSE

In July 2007, Wally & Julia relocated to Augusta, GA and bought a nice, four bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood just off of I520. The proud owners seem quite happy in their home. They've been busy painting the interior and getting furniture. To complete the kitchen, a dishwasher was recently installed. Good luck to the happy homeowners!!!!!

Performance Center Delivery

On July 16, 2007 we picked up our new BMW 335i convertible at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, SC. BMW put us up at the Marriott the day before. Prior to delivery, we drove a BMW 335i coupe supplied by the Center

on their test track. There were about 15 of us picking up our cars that day. We were split in groups of about 4 or 5 and taken on the track to learn how to use the performance of the cars we purchased. Each had a BMW similar to the one purchased. We communicated with the instructor via two-way radios. We all also drove the BMW X5, which is made in Spartenburg, SC, on their off-road test track.

Wow! What an SUV! We went through water, up and down steep grades, and sideways on a 45 degree slope such that while in the driver's seat, I could look down on the ground through the sun roof. One impressive demonstration was when I had the X5 on a hill such that it was balanced only on the front right and rear left tires. The instructor then came over to the X5 and opened the rear door, it opened and closed with out a problem, illustrating the structural integraty of the frame.

After lunch, we then went and saw our new BMW. It was in its own room with the top down. Beautiful.

We drove it back to the Marriott. That evening, Lisa and Karen, who happened to be that weekend in Greer their old home town, joined us for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.

Wagner, Class of 1958 50th class reunion

Wagner Class of 58 reunion will take place on June 6, 7, & 8, 2008. Keep these dates open. Stay tuned to this blog for updates. Our goal is to raise $100K to establish a Class of 1958 Endowment. If we all do our share, we can realize this very worthwhile goal and accomplish something really meaningful and beneficial for both our alma mater and its future students. Contact our Class Agent Milt Keen or Gail Kelley,Reynolds House, One Campus Road, Staten Island, NY 10301.