|
The 2011 Bentwaters Buds Reunion!
Hosted by: Larry & Bernie Kuepper
Date: To Be Announced
Location: Appleton, Wisconsin
2010 Reunion Photos
New! Photos from Capt. Bob

2009 Reunion Photos
August 9, 2010
Fellow airmen and ladies,
It was GREAT! The only regret, it went so fast. The 2010
reunion was hosted by John ( Bomber ) and Christina Urbank at
their home in beautiful Rocky River, Ohio. Located only three
blocks from Lake Erie, their beautiful home is shaded by several large trees, with
an English flower garden in front. Debbie and I stopped at a
couple parks along the lake on the way to their home to walk
out on a pier and explore a beach area. We had been to
Cleveland before, but if you miss Rocky River, you miss a lot of
the area's beauty.
John and Christina went all out with a cookout Friday
night and a barbeque Saturday evening. Pork Loin, potatoes,
corn on the cob, assorted salads, deserts, what a
feast. With all the work involved they brought in help.
Daughter Janet Luru, grand daughters Gelien and Shirley
Langford, and foreign exchange student Julia Mertens.
Richard and Shelly Peach arrived a couple days early to give
them a hand. Paul Kuzinski and Ron Novak pitched in to help
man the grill. Thank you everyone for making 2010 a
success.
Saturday afternoon the ladies departed for lunch and a tour
of Cleveland on the Lolly the Trolley. They had a terrific
time and a very nice lunch. The men were treated to a tour
of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Everyone had a great
time before returning to the Urbank's for dinner and party.
This year we had 16 men and 12 ladies attend. That ties the
record and we did have one new person attend. Steve Seymour
was there and promised to be back. Those in attendance were:
Larry and Jeanne Bourque, Dean and Pat Burgstahler, Steve
Gunderson ( This may be a first, ROCKY paid a visit to ROCKY
), John and Chris Hoover, Larry and Bernie Kuepper, Paul
Kuzinski, Pops McPartland and son Patrick, Mike and Eileen
Nissley, Ron and Bonnie Novak, Dick and Shelly Peach, Gary
and Debbie Roberts, Steve Seymour, John and Christina
Urbank, Dean and Martha Varner, Ray and Jane Zeigler, and
Erv and Carolyn Zimmerman.
As usual, our WEBMASTER, Erv Zimmerman had pictures posted on http://bwbuds.org/ before we returned home. Erv and Carolyn
had to leave early to attend a family wedding. If someone
would send Erv the group and couples pictures taken after
his departure, I am sure he will post them also. Erv, where
would we be without you? You have one terrific site, on
behalf of everyone, thank you very much.
As I announced Saturday night, Larry and Bernie Kuepper (The newly weds) have stepped forward to host reunion # 10
in Wisconsin. Since they each still own a house, I will
just say in the Appleton, Wisconsin area. Exact location to
be announced. They will be assisted by Co-HOST Steve
Gunderson. They are looking at September 2011, but are open
to suggestions. That was Saturday night. During breakfast
Sunday morning, Mike and Eileen Nissley have committed for
2012. As always, this is a long way off and things happen,
so things could change.
Again, for those that were there you know what a great time
we had, for those absent, there is next year.
Gary
June 5, 2010
Hi Guys and Gals,
We are only 9 short weeks away from reunion #9. Several
people have already committed and John and Christina Urbank are
busy getting things ready. Here, again, is the information you
need for reservations at the Holiday Inn. The reunion is August
6-9 in Rocky River, Ohio. The rooms are under the name
Bentwaters Buds. Please, lets make all of John and Christina's
hard work worth it, with our biggest attendance yet.
Gary
Hi Guys,
August is creeping up on us. Christina and I have been shopping
for hotels. We have picked the Holiday Inn Westlake as the
nicest and most reasonable. They are offering $84.00 +tax per
night. It is located about 5 minutes from our house. It is right
off of interstate 90 just two exits away. It has and indoor pool,
restaurant and bar. Let us know who will be checking and we will
get the contract set up. There is a three week automatic cut off
before the date
- Here is the address:
-
Holiday Inn Westlake
1100 Crocker Road
Westlake Ohio 44145
Tel 440-617-2361
Fax 440-871-7910
- Our address is
-
19490 Battersea Blvd.
Rocky River
Ohio 44116
Best Regards,
John and Christina
January 11, 2010
Buds,
Happy New Year to all. Here's hoping 2010 is a good one. Christina
and I would like to make the date for the reunion the 7th of August.
I guess it should be actually the 6th thru the 8th of August to be
correct. We hope this date will work for everyone.
Best Regards,
John and Christina
January 11, 2010
Buds,
Happy New Year to everyone. This is the information we have been waiting for!
I am sure John and Christina will have more information coming
such as Motels, etc. but we have a date set. From the E-mails
and phone calls I have received I know people needed to schedule
time off from work and family vacations. For those flying into
Cleveland it is also cheaper to get tickets well in advance. I
hope to have the biggest group yet. We had two new guys last
year and I am still pushing for Petrosky and Levine, whom have
both showed interest. Remember, John and Christina live in
Rocky River, Ohio which is outside of Cleveland. I hope
everyone has a great 2010, Debbie and I are looking forward to
seeing everyone.
Gary
August 24, 2009
Buds,
For all that were there, you know what a great time we had.
For those that were not, there is next year.
This year's reunion in Greene, NY at the home of Larry and Jeanne Bourque,
co-hosted by Dean and Pat Burgstahler. Dean and Pat arrived a couple days
early to help Larry and Jeanne prepare for the event held in a
beautiful, seven acre country setting. Friday evening we
had a deer walk through the yard while we were there. Larry and
Jeanne also called in reinforcements in the form of their daughters
Sheri and Rhonda and son in law David. A big thank you to all seven
that were involved in pulling this off.
Two weeks ago we were worried about a light attendance, but
several surprises pushed the attendance to 27. Those in attendance
were: Larry and Jeanne Bourque, Dean and Pat Burgstahler, John and
Chris Hoover, Rick Jacobsen ( Jake ), Larry Kuepper and lady friend
Bernie Breight, Rick and Brenda Lawrence, Mike Nissley, Ron and
Bonnie Novak, Dick and Shelley Peach, Lewis and Janet Poley, Gary
and Debbie Roberts, John ( Bomber ) and Christina Urbank, Dean and
Martha Varner, Jane Zeigler, and Erv and Carolyn Zimmerman. A big
thanks to our WEBMASTER, Erv Zimmerman, for our great web site where
he has already posted pictures from this years reunion:.
The initial gathering was Friday evening for dinner and getting
reacquainted. We were then back Saturday morning for more
friendship. For Jake and Dean Varner, this was the first time they
had seen the guys in 40 years. The ladies departed at 1100 for a
trip to Cooperstown where a lunch and site seeing was planned. They
had a buffet lunch at the beautiful OTESAGA RESORT in Cooperstown.
The Airmen were treated to a tour of a Classic Car Museum in
Norwich, NY. We all returned to the Bourque's for more refreshments
and dinner. If you went away hungry it was your own fault.
There was picture taking and exchanging of gifts. Many of the
ladies have put together crafts and other tokens of friendship for
everyone. Paul and Barb Kuzinski were not able to attend, but
contributed to the event. Paul called, but our location caused the
call to be dropped three times. Paul and Barb had sent shirts to
distribute to everyone. Thank you Paul and Barb. I came away with
shirts, hats, coffee cups, pens, paper weights, friendship flag
pins, magnets, stickers, etc. A big thank you to everyone for the
gifts.
A side note: Just to show the friendships that have been
built, Jane Zeigler attended without Ray. As many of you may know, the
plant where Ray works suffered an explosion over a year ago. They
are just now starting to get back to normal operations and Ray is a
big part in getting it back to normal. Thus, he was unable to attend.
Jane was visiting relatives about 5 hours from Greene and decided to
attend to see her many Bentwaters Friends. Thank you Jane and next
year I am sure Ray will be able to attend also.Guys, I think we
need to watch this as some of the ladies were talking of continuing
the reunions without us.
Speaking of next year, as I said last year, WE AREN'T DONE
YET. Bomber and Christine Urbank have agreed to host next year in Rocky
River, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. We are already
looking forward to a good time there. Saturday night I was
approached by another airman who told me the he and his wife are in
the planning stages as possible host. We won't release the name
yet, but it's great to see this grow and so many people take part.
As Jim Tiller said, " Keep finding more Buds. "
Gary Roberts
August 14, 2009
Buds,
The 2009 Buds Reunion is fast approaching. I
thought I would send a little information on things you may or may
not see at or on the way to this years reunion courtesy of the hills
in NY.
There are deer all over the hill out here. They
come into our yard to eat apples (and some of our shrubs). We have
had beaver in our pond from time to time. There is a groundhog
living across the street. Turkey wander through the yard and fields
in the area. An occasional rabbit or two drop buy to also see what
we may have planted that they can munch on.
We have various types of birds around here. We
have the common blackbirds, crows, starlings, robins, blue jays etc,
There are a number of red-winged blackbirds that come around in the
morning and evening. We also have various types of hawks and a
couple types of eagle including bald eagles. Turkey vultures can
also be seen soaring the skies overhead. We have bluebirds (NY state
bird) and a number of woodpecker varieties. Northern Flicker is a
wood pecker that spends a lot of its time on the ground eating ants
& small insects. It has a red heart shape marking on the back of its
head. We have some cardinals living in our hedges along with other
birds. Blue heron stop by the pond with mallard ducks and Canadian
geese. Hummingbirds zip in & out for a drink. There are just to many
different birds to name them all.
Within a half mile of here there is a farm that
has a camel, alpaca's, and floppy eared goats. At the top of the
hill on the main road is a riding stable/horse farm.
Larry Bourque
|