The 2007 Patrol Gunboat Association Reunion was held at the Holiday Inn Grand Island and a grand reunion it was. Nancy and I met up in Pittsburgh, PA on July 29th where we spent a few days visiting family. On July 31st we arrived at the hotel and started setting things up for the reunion.

We decided to drive to Buffalo in separate cars for several reasons. The biggest reason was that we were headed in different directions after the reunion. One advantage was that I didn't have to ship too much to the hotel thus saving the Association the cost of UPS Shipping. When we arrived at the hotel on Tuesday the first thing we needed to do was unpack and get things moved to our room as well as the hospitality room.

Fortunately the hospitality room was available when we arrived so it was really easy to get the car unloaded. We took the raffle prizes, cups, hats and three boxes of Association Historical Items straight to the hospitality room. Then we took our suitcases to our room and finished checking in. After a late dinner we called it a day.

Wednesday started off with a trip to the local Sams Club for soft drinks, bottled water, chips, crackers, pretzels, the list goes on and on. While I finished unloading the car Nancy got the  Hospitality Room registration table set up with hats, coffee mugs from K&E Crafts and registration envelopes. At the same time the hotel staff was working on setting up the refreshment table, loading containers with ice and getting the cold beer on tap and ready for our first arrivals. Check in started promptly at 3:00, the 2007 Patrol Gunboat Association reunion was underway. While a few ventured out to see the sights, most stayed in the hospitality room all day. At 7:00 the hotel catering staff showed up with several bottles of wine and a huge tray of cheeses and meats for the group to snack on. Surprisingly, the hotel brought in so much wine that I think we were drinking it for the next three days.

Thursday morning Nancy checked in the few members who arrived late Wednesday night, then we headed out to the bus for the tour to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. During the registration period I worried about the new regulations for crossing into Canada. While I was told that passports were not yet required, I was still concerned. I suggested that everyone go ahead and get a passport just in case, but for those who didn't a government issued picture ID should suffice according to the tour company. The crossing into Canada went off without a hitch, the Canadian Customs officials had all of us through in no time at all. From Customs, we headed to the falls. I loved this tour when I was there with the USS Canberra group and I loved it even more this time with my fellow gunboatriders. The ride on the Maid of the Mist was just as awesome the second time as the first. What an incredible sight. We returned to the hotel around 4:00. Nancy took care of registering a few new arrivals, then we were off to Waterstreet Station for our first Dining Out. Following the suggestions of several of our members during the 2006 reunion I arranged for a semi formal dinner out. When I did my sight inspection of Buffalo, the representative from the Convention and Visitors Bureau suggested Waterstreet Station for this event. The prices were reasonable and I thought the food was excellent. I think most of the group agreed. Following dinner, we headed back to the hotel where Nancy did some late night registrations while the rest of the group enjoyed Sea Stories, beer, soft drinks and snacks. Apparently the tour to Niagara with it's long walk to the elevators took its toll, by midnight almost everyone had headed to their rooms so they could get a good nights sleep in preparation for the next days events.

Friday morning started off with a registration session from 7:00 until 8:30 for Nancy. By 9:30 we were on the bus and headed for the Buffalo Naval Park. When we arrived we were split up into several smaller groups and commenced our tour of the USS Little Rock (CL-92/CLG-4), USS The Sullivans (DD-537) and USS Croaker (SS-246). Several of the wives and kids had never been on a Naval Ship before and were amazed at the way sailors lived. If they only knew how much better it was living on the Little Rock compared to living on a PG. Of course, PG duty was much better in spite of the living conditions. By 4:00 we were back at the hotel getting ready for the Friday Night Buffet Dinner.

At 6:00 we started with the cash bar. Cold hospitality room beer is great but mixed drinks and the company of fellow gunboatriders and guests always makes for good conversation and fun times. We were well lubricated when the hotel started calling tables for the Buffet Dinner. Dinner buffets are always hit and miss when it comes to the food, but the hotel did an excellent job with the buffet dinner. A few more drinks following dinner helped loosen up the members as we spent about an hour telling stories at our "Open Mike" session. For me the night ended shortly after checking the hospitality room. As usual, the die hard's were sitting around munching on chips and drinking beer and soft drinks. Thinking I must be getting old, I headed to the room for some sleep.

Saturday morning I checked out the meeting room for our annual Business Meeting. We got started on time at 9:00 and it didn't take long to go over the few items on the agenda. Personally I thought I kept it pretty short, I will let it go at that.

Following the business meeting around a dozen of us took off and headed to Maple Grove Cemetery for what I referred to in the registration package as a working party. This was a new idea that I had for this reunion. Those who participated in the working party were given bundles of new American Flags to place on the graves of veterans at Maple Grove. When word got out that I wanted to do this, several members donated money to help cover the cost of the flags.  While the thought was very much appreciated, I decided to do this on my own and wanted to pay for this project myself.  For those who sent in donations, it was very much appreciated however I deposited your donations in the Association account.  If this offends anyone I apologize.  I will return your donations if you like. 

It was an interesting project and ironically one of the more difficult events I have ever tried to arrange.  Initially I asked the Buffalo Convention and Visitors Bureau for some suggestions on where we could do this.  I wanted to find a cemetery close to the hotel so that we could travel there on our own rather than having to pay for transportation.  There were about a half dozen cemeteries within a short driving distance of the hotel.  Where I ran into a snag was when I tried to get permission to replace worn flags.  My problem was trying to convince them that there was no catch.  Maple Grove was the smallest cemetery on the list.  It had gotten to the point where I was afraid I would lose my temper when I talked to the caretaker.  Finally he agreed provided I let him know when we would be there and call him so that he could be present while we replaced the worn flags.  In any case, the working party was a success, or at least I felt it was.  We had more than a dozen people participate and more who wanted to.  Since Maple Grove is so small, we had to limit the number of participants.  Along with replacing any worn or soiled flags, some of the ladies manned up the water bucket brigade and watered flowers as well as helped clean up debris and litter.  I think everyone who participated felt it a worth while project where we could take some time to pay our respects to some of America's veterans.

We returned to the hotel where we joined the rest of the group in the hospitality room.  At 6:00  we were again outside the banquet room for some relaxation and cold drinks.  By 7:00 most were seated as the 2007 Patrol Gunboat Association Banquet Dinner began.  Our 2007 Chaplain, George Ingram said the invocation and the group recited the Pledge of Allegiance.  After a few opening comments, dinner was served.  Following dinner we had the raffle drawings and the 50-50 cash drawing.  As in previous years Ed Reynolds from K&E Crafts supplied many of our prizes.  We also gave away another Dumas Model.  This years 50-50 winners were:

We also had a special drawing this year.  Ron Currie's wife Barbara had spent many hours this last year making a special quilt for the raffle table.  Ron has had some medical problems recently and this was Barbara's way of saying thank you for all the support they have received from the Association members.  Throughout the reunion Barbara sold tickets for a special drawing for this quilt.  By the time we had the special drawing, Barbara had sold $700.00 in tickets.  She then donated the money to the Association.

Following a short open mike session, we ended the 2007 Patrol Gunboat Association reunion with hugs and farewells until the 2008 reunion in Seattle, Washington.

Updated by Terry W. McManuels