VP-1 P-3 Orion Pioneers Contributed by Don Grove fogydong@gmail.com Secretary & Treasurer The Great '97 Gathering by Mike and Linda Callihan (Mike was an AW1 in VP-1) Upon arrival at the motel in Bellingham a note was at the desk for those attending the VP-1 get-together to call the Hunt's - of course we did - this was the focal point for the whole reunion - the Hunt's opened up their hearts and their home to everyone morning, noon, and night!! This was the beginning, to see the core group in action!!! The Hunt's were endeavoring to build a large deck off their second story to accommodate part of the gathering for the big reunion picnic to be held July 5--well mother nature had put quite a few delays in the pouring of cement, etc. - they were running behind--their son Ed was the foreman of the crew that was out there pounding away-then I took a second look--good grief that's Mike Glenn the ol' chief from days gone by--take another look-there were a group of guys that still live in the area that were old VP One-ers out there pounding away in the middle of the night - with 3 days to go they were slaving away so that we could all have a day of enjoyment--! On July 3rd a golf outing took place at North Bellingham Golf Course. What a blast (in more ways than one!) and what a joy to see Mt Baker while playing golf! A site for sore eyes, I must say. (You see, after having lived in such places as Colorado and Washington and then having been banished to the land of Texas just to make a living - this was a GOOD FOR THE SOUL OUTING)! Then, July 4th, Stu Stebbings from Island Junket Cruises so graciously took groups of us out on a sailing excursion to the San Juan Islands. That evening a lovely dinner was held and then we all went off to see the great fireworks show on the shores of Bellingham Bay that the city put on. Saturday, the 5th of July, was the day of the BIG EVENT at Rich & Ruth Hunt's. No two people have ever worked as hard as they did to see that so many people enjoyed themselves. Other people to be recognized are their neighbors, their children, and Don Grove, Don Swendsen, Robroy Graham, Carolyn & “Shark” Morasch and Jeff Barclay. "VP-1 P-3 Orion Pioneers Reunion Summary Page"