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POLARIS MISSILE FACILITY, ATLANTIC

34 Years of Service to the Fleet
29 March 1960 - 05 January 1995

POMFLANT Alumni Newsletter

(Click Here For Printable/Downloadable Version)

September 2001 - Issue 2

The POMFLANT Alumni, organized 8 years ago, is the only time most of us see each other during the year and the newsletters provide us information about our members. I feel strongly that the alumni should continue, however, after 8 years, I believe someone else should be head of the alumni. This is my last newsletter. I appreciate all the people who have helped and encouraged me over the years. However, it is time for a change. I know that there is someone else who would be perfect at planning the get-togethers and developing the newsletter. Volunteers should call me (873-4596) or e-mail me ( madams1202@aol.com) quickly so there can be an orderly turnover. I will distribute the names of all who volunteer so that all the alumni can vote for our next leader.


News from our Members:

Jeyne Dixon (Bill Dixon's widow) has moved. After her mother died last July, she moved to a little town just out of Augusta, GA where her son and his family live. She enjoys being near family and especially grandchildren. Her granddaughter is 5 years old and takes ballet so she takes her for her lesson sometimes. They have great fun together. She would like us to keep in touch with her (Cjeyne@aol.com). Her address is Carolyn F. Dixon, PO Box 22, Blythe, GA 30805.


Linda Smith's mother died in April 2001 so she and her husband, Bill will probably be moving to a warmer climate again after the estate is settled. She said that last winter the weather was awful. They live in Kellerton, Iowa. She volunteers with “Meals on Wheels” and enjoys politics. Maybe she will come back our way one of these days. Her e-mail address is: arby@iowatelecom.net.
Jo Smith is relocating to Virginia Beach to be near her daughter and grandchildren. She will be moving in October. We will really miss Jo when she leaves.
Huck Murdoch writes: “Hi, all you OLD POMFLANT folks. Clyde and I are doing great up here in the COOL and DRY northwest. So far the fires are on the other side of the Sound. Our E-Mail address has changed (balfearn@mindspring.com). Give us a call when you are in the area.”
Don LaVelle writes: “You will be glad to hear that no hurricanes have struck Fernandina Beach, Florida since I moved here. My son lives in Japan, daughter and her husband in Texas and my sister in San Diego just completed a visit. Hope all of you are well in Charleston.”
Glenn Kelsey and his wife Sheila live in central Florida. Glenn works for Lockheed Martin on the Trident II program. He enjoys being back with the FBM program. They will be moving to the beach soon so they can live where they play.

Paul & Rachel Fitzgerald write: “Rachel and I have just returned from their hometown of Reidsville, North Carolina. Rachel's high school class of 1956 held their 45th class reunion. There was an informal gathering on Friday. Good “ole” NC barbecue was served and those attending enjoyed the food and companionship. On Saturday there was a formal social hour and dinner. Several humorous tales were relived. One of the funny ones remembered was; who raised the girls panties to the top of the school flagpole!! Also, discussed was who had dynamited the front steps of the school and broke numerous front windows. It was a long trip up and back, however, several other visits were made and contacts were renewed while there. Paul took lots of photos and has put them on his albums. Just click to see all his albums at this address: (http:// community.webshots.com/user/fstopfitz). Most are boring but you are welcome to look and download and use any you like. Paul and Rachel are currently at General Coffee State Park near Douglas, Georgia and will remain there until around mid October. They are still volunteer campground hosts and love the area and work. After leaving there they plan to just roam for awhile and go back to Kissimmee for the winter and suffer through all the theme parks.”

Mike Fitzgerald writes: “I'm currently living in Merritt Island FL and still working for Lockheed Martin. February was a fabulous month. My girlfriend (Sally) and I spent 10 days on a wonderful vacation in France. It began with an exhausting plane ride originating from Orlando and ultimately arriving in Geneva Switzerland. From there we took a 1 hour bus ride to Chamonix France, a beautiful town catering to ski enthusiast from all over the world. We traveled with the Space Coast Ski Club of which 83 members joined in. This trip was in conjunction with the Florida Ski Counsel. All total…650 people from Florida descended on this small town for 7 days of skiing. We took 2 days off from skiing and went on day tours to the towns of Montreaux and Annecy. BIG NEWS!!!! In a beautiful stained glass filled church in Annecy, I asked Sally to marry me and a very positive response of YES from her. No date set as of yet. At the completion of our week of skiing, 40 of us jumped on a high speed train from Geneva to Paris for 3 fun filled days of sightseeing and fabulous French cuisine. Three days is definitely not enough time to do Paris justice. Sounds like a return trip is in our future. Below, I've included a web link to a site where I've posted pictures from our trip, for those of you that are interested. The folders are titled “Chamonix Ski Frances 2001” and “Paris”. All are welcome to view the folders of some of our other vacations and weekend trips, including one of our trips out to watch a Trident II launch (http://community.webshots.com/user/skibum957)."

Jim Stowe writes: Shirley and I still reside West of the Ashley in the same residence they built in 1962, but “live” in an elevated home on the Isle of Palms in the area of the Wild Dunes yacht basin and golf course.

They joined a “Shagging on the Strand” (SOS) club with close friends from Little River, SC and traveled to North Myrtle Beach for the SOS Club dance and social outing for a week in May. Although rusty, and much less flexible than in their younger years, Shirley and Jim had a marvelous time dancing at Harold's Club and Duck's across the street. Staying over on Sunday, they and friends enjoyed the morning church services held on the boardwalk across from the Spanish Galleon. Everyone was so gracious and well behaved, and had such a grand time, they plan to return in September for the Fall Migration SOS event.

In July, Shirley and Jim spent a few days with Shirley's 84 year old mother in the Charlottesville VA area as well as some time with Shirley's sister and brother-in-law who live next door. Mom and family appear to be doing well. Upon departing VA, Shirley and Jim drove to Hockessin DE for a short visit with Jim's Citadel classmate and his wife, who are in the antique music box business. Jim's friend and his wife are originally from Williston SC and have visited Charleston a few times, staying in Jim and Shirley's Isle of Palms beach house when traveling through the area. The friend insisted that Jim and Shirley stay in their family lake home in Delaware, a short drive from the E.I. Dupont estate. After a whirlwind driving tour of much of the Delaware area and some of Pennsylvania, Jim and Shirley settled down in Hockessin for a half a day of examining and listening to rare self playing musical instruments in their friend's home. They viewed and heard most of the friend's $6 million instrument collection, and finally purchased a Pell “Showmans” Organ the friend had for sale. The organ plays music via air driven across wooden pipes, and has a self playing selection of 50 songs. It sounds much like a circus calliope their friend has, but not as loud. After packing their instrument in watertight protective wrapping they loaded the instrument into their truck and drove it back to Charleston to enjoy. Their next outing is a week cruise to Bermuda which is planned for the near future. Their children sort of take control and move in with the grandchildren to enjoy Charleston during their absence.

Jim and Shirley were guests of Shirley's childhood girlfriend and her husband in Vero Beach upon their friend's retirement, sale of his computer corporation in Washington DC and 3 year world tour on their 72' yacht. The couples' new $4 million Italian style home in a gated community on front beach is a lavish site to behold, as friends and guests were provided the grand tour. Guests, business associates, and their families from nearly every state were invited in for a combination New Year's party and house warming with full catering service, band, singer, evening dresses, tux and all. Jim and Shirley got a brief “taste” of the big money crowd, got to meet the owner of an aircraft company and a tour of his facility.

Jim and Shirley both are doing genealogy study of their ancestry, British and German. Being a seventh generation South Carolinian from the upstate, Jim has found his ancestors fought against the British in the American Revolution, as well as against the Union Army in the un-Civil War Between the States. A family grave site of his Mother's side (German and member of the DAAR) was discovered in Laurens county when discussing ancestry with an old family member, Robert Hand, from that area. The first Robert Hand from NC settled in June 1788 in Durbin Creek near Fountain Inn, SC following muster from the Revolutionary Army. The original Robert developed a very large plantation in Laurens County, slaves and all, but lost it during the period of Reconstruction. Both sides of Jim's family are long time residents of upstate SC, and Shirley's from Virginia.


Sherry (Bath) Dixon Sherry was married last year so her name is no longer Sherry Bath. She and her husband both work at Westvaco in North Charleston. They work for the side of the company that makes the brown paper. Sherry thought she was coming to Westvaco for a great job…but learned it was to find the most wonderful man in the world, Don Dixon. They were married May 13, 2000. He works in the Maintenance Department and she is still a safety professional. They live on James Island. Don's youngest daughter, Alison, lives at home. His oldest daughter, Shelly, her husband, Joey and their son, Cody live four houses from them on the same street. They are expecting Don and Sherry's fourth grandchild in March 2002. Don's son, Brian and his wife, Anglea, live in Summerville. My daughter, Connie and her daughter (our oldest granddaughter) live in Goose Creek. Connie graduates from TTC this month and plans on continuing her college education at the College of Charleston or Charleston Southern in the fall of 2001. She works as an accounting technician for an electronics firm in North Charleston. My son, Eddie lives in Richmond and works as a computer specialist for a defense contractor. His daughter, Caylee (our youngest granddaughter) lives in Summerville with her mother. Sherry misses the old days at POMFLANT.

Phil Kohl writes: “Nita and I have been on several trips west to WY, UT, AZ, SD and the like. Generally spend 6 to 9 months out there just sightseeing and enjoying the weather. We have a Snowbird 5th wheel trailer and really enjoy traveling. When I retired in 1990, Nita and I finished building a home for our son over in Archdale behind the Bosch plant. Then in 1991, we took Phyllis, our middle daughter, on a trip through most of the western states for a graduation present since she finished with a 4.0 in Civil Engineering. Then in 1997, we built a house for her in Charlotte, TN. She works for the Army Corps of Engineering in Nashville. Then in 1998, we built a house for Vicky in Dorchester, SC. She used to work for Lockheed as an inspector in ICPB. She now works at Bayers in Bushy Park. We are planning on building another house for ourselves in Cross, SC. We have 3 nice lots on Lake Moultrie and will probably stay there when we get tired of traveling.”

Steve Curry writes: “My daughter gave birth to my first grandchild on March 13th. Her name is Makayla Rose Hunter and she was 6 lbs. 14 ozs. and 20 inches long at birth. She's a little angel and I spoil her every chance that I get. I've made several trip to Virginia Beach to visit the family and they travel to Charleston whenever they have the opportunity. I never thought that being a grandparent would be so much fun and I'm loving it. In June, during one of my daughter's visits here, my father was also in town visiting so he also got to see his great granddaughter. Having four generations together was a great time and I have plenty of memorable pictures of all of us together. In May, I bought a home in the Briarwood Subdivision in Summerville. My new address is 405 Chessington Circle, Summerville, SC 29485. I'm sure that I will be building a small playground in the backyard for Makayla very soon!! I'm wrapping up my third year of working at the Gaillard Auditorium in downtown Charleston. We have been shutdown this summer for some major renovations and the installation of a new air-conditioning system. As the building is 34 years old, all of the upgrades were definitely needed. If any of you get the opportunity, stop by the auditorium and check out our new and improved appearance. In October, I will be starting my 6th year of being an usher at the North Charleston Coliseum. It's a fun part-time job and affords me the opportunity to see a lot of events. Hope to see some or all of you at a future event.”

Jerry Fox writes: “Just a note to let you know what I've been doing since I retired from the Navy and POMFLANT in 1989. I started at Albright and Wilson America's (chemical plant in Charleston) in May 1990. About 1˝ years ago, the company changed hands and is now called Rhodia Chemical. I am still there, sorta, after turning down our labor contract. We are now locked out so not sure what the future will bring as of now. I have 4 grandkids and 4 by marriage grandkids.”

In memory of those lost in the terrible events of 11 September 2001
Help Support

Ron and Nancy Thomas write: Many of you have probably read this, but it speaks the truth and it is worth repeating. On behalf of my family and friends, we send our prayers out to all those victims, families, and friends of the 11 September 2001 acts of War committed against our great country.

Open Letter to those Terrorists:

Well, you hit the World Trade Center, but you missed America. You hit the Pentagon, but you missed America. You used helpless American bodies to take out other American bodies, but like a poor marksman, you still missed America.

Why? Because of something you will never understand. America isn't about a building or two, not about financial centers, not about military centers, America isn't about a place, and America isn't even about a bunch of bodies. America is about an idea. An idea, that you can go some place where you can earn as much as you can figure out how to; live, for the most part, like you envisioned living, and pursue Happiness. (No guarantees that you'll reach it, but you can sure try!)

Go ahead and whine your terrorist whine, and chant your terrorist litany: "If you can not see my point, then feel my pain." This concept is alien to Americans. We live in a country where we don't have to see your point. But you're free to have one. We don't have to listen to your speech. But you're free to say one. Don't know where you got the strange idea that everyone has to agree with you. We don't agree with each other in this country, almost as a matter of pride. We're a collection of guys that don't agree, called States. We united our individual states to protect ourselves from tyranny in the world. Another idea, we made up on the spot. You can make it up as you go, when it's your country, if you're free enough.

Yes, we may be fat, sloppy, easy-going goofs most of the time. That's an unfortunate image to project to the world, but it comes of feeling free and easy about the world you live in. It's unfortunate too, because people start to forget that when you attack Americans, they tend to fight like a cornered badger. The first we knew of the War of 1812, was when England burned Washington D.C. to the ground. Didn't turn out like England thought it was going to, and it's not going to turn out like you think either. Sorry, but you're not the first bully on our shores, just the most recent. No Marquis of Queensbury rules for Americans, either. We were the first and so far, the only country in the world to use nuclear weapons in anger.

A horrific idea, nowadays isn't it? News for you, it was back then too, but we used it anyway. Only had two of them in the whole world and we used them both. Many worked on the Manhattan Project. They once said, that right up until they threw the switch, the physicists were still arguing over whether the Uranium alone would fission, or whether it would start a fission chain reaction that would eat everything. But they threw the switch anyway, because we had a War to win.

Does that tell you something about American Resolve? So who just declared War on us? It would be nice to point to some real estate, like the good old days. Unfortunately, we're probably at war with random camps, in far-flung places that think they're safe. Just like the Barbary Pirates did, urgh. Better start sleeping with one eye open. There's a spirit that tends to take over people who come to this country, looking for opportunity, looking for liberty, looking for freedom, even if they misuse it. The Marielistas that Castro emptied out of his prisons were overjoyed to find out how much freedom there was. First thing they did when they hit our shores was to run out and buy guns. The ones that didn't end up dead, ended up in prisons. It was a big pita then (especially in south Florida), but you're only the newest pita, not the first.

You guys seem to be incapable of understanding that we don't live in America; America lives in all of us! American Spirit is what it's called. And killing a few thousand of us, or a few million of us, won't change it. Most of the time, it's a pretty happy go lucky kind of Spirit. Until we're crossed in a cowardly manner, then it becomes an entirely different kind of Spirit.

Wait until you see what we do with that Spirit, this time. Sleep tight, if you can. We're coming.

God Bless This Country - UNITED WE STAND!


Our Sad News:

Since our last newsletter, I have received information that the following have died:

Bob Durden - died in April 2001. He was employed while at POMFLANT in the Planning Department. He was 72 years old.

Nancy Tenney (wife of Jerry Tenney) - died in May 2001. She was 63 years old. Jerry was employed with civil service at POMFLANT.

Jake Lemacks - died in June 2001. He was 68 years old. He was employed with Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation.

Bill Alge - died in March 2001. He was killed in an accident cutting a tree. He was employed with Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation.

Ellaree Hartman (wife of Bill Hartman) - died in October 2000. Bill was employed in the Planning Department.

Mary Detwiler (wife of Don Detwiler) - died in June 2001. Don is retired military and served at POMFLANT.

Lavera Byrd (widow of Ken Byrd - died in May 2001. Ken was in the Safety Department at POMFLANT.

Jimmie Price (wife of Mardis Price) - died in August 2001. Mardis worked in the Planning Department while at POMFLANT.

Pat Mathis - died in June 2001. He worked in the Supply Department.

Nate Logan - died in May 2001. He was a Lockheed employee working as a missile mechanic and planner.

Josh Ladson - died in May 2001. He was a missile inspector.

Jack Gignilliat - died in December 2000. He worked in the Accounting Division of Comptroller as Timekeeper. He was 77 years old.


Please keep us informed of any news about our POMFLANT family.

Please keep Ron Thomas and John Maney up to date on your e-mail addresses and or your current snail mail address and telephone number changes.

Keep Mary Adams informed of your address & telephone changes.

PLEASE SEND US INFORMATION FOR THE NEXT NEWSLETTER WITHOUT YOUR INPUT, I HAVE NOTHING TO WRITE ABOUT. Mary


HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL IN APRIL 2002


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