Life after military service often allows latent talents and interests to flourish. Such is the case of our Bob Odenweller. Bob informs us that the big event for this Philatelic year will be a once-a-decade World Stamp Show in New York in May/June 2016 at the Javits Center, where he will be chairman of the 52-man jury . The US Post Office has issued stamps to commemorate the event and has signs advertising the event on post office walls across the country. In November, Bob will be in Venice for a meeting of the European Academy of Philately as an honorary member. Bob is a national and internationally accredited judge and the senior active judge for both the American Philatelic Society and the International Federation of Philately.

Former Delta Captain-Instructor Pilot Jerry Farquhar, recipient of the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of accident/incident free flying, is most likely our most avid gun collector. He has over 100 vintage guns stored in his private vault in Okeechobee, Fla. He began seriously collecting some 20 years ago, focusing on guns with unique histories, such as a .32 caliber Smith and Wesson rim fire revolver carried by officers on both sides of the Civil War and a pre-1882 Winchester lever-action rifle. He says that the guns from the Southerners were generally in better shape because the Northerners refused to sell them any ammunition. Jerry also has six guns from Buck Condon's collection, deeded to him by Buck before his final flight.

Jim Bujalski and his wife, Judy, might properly be defined as crafters. Currently, they have been "snow birding" at the Good Life RV Resort in Mesa, Arizona since 2009. Jim has always enjoyed working with his hands, so the resort wood working shop is now ideal for him. Judy enjoys working with the multitude of quilters that come to the resort every year. Until about a year ago, Jim was also active buying Native American Jewelry at the reservations and from reliable wholesalers, then selling it at arts and craft shows. He also has became quite expert at detecting fraudulent turquoise jewelry from Korea and elsewhere.

After flying F-102s and RF-4s, Alex Zimmerman became a computer guy--working on Modeling and Simulation (M&S) at the Pentagon and then as a defense contractor for about 24 years. Over the years he has pursued beekeeping as a hobby (actually started in Junior High School) and still has some hives in his back yard. Among his many volunteer charitable activities, over about a 10- year period, Alex has served as a digger at archaeological sites in Jordan. He is now working part-time at the AFRL , Albuquerque, still doing M&S.

The Super Saber Society is one of the more active aircraft-oriented affinity groups in our generation. Our website tells the story of Leon Goodson's visit with his granddaughter to a gathering of the Super Sabre Society at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in 2014, and now RG Head has reported on the dedication of a flyable F-100D at the Palm Springs Air Museum. Each of the F-100 pilots present was invited to sign his name on the fuselage. With RG at the event were Garry Gulbransen and their guest Phil Meinhardt.

Biancur, Johnson, Bronson, Boyington, Voisika ['59], Lalime, & Yates (2013)

MiniSki XXVI--Andi Biancur reports that the final demonstration of skill and agility on the slopes in Utah by '60 grads occurred from 19-20 February, 2016. After consultation with the President & CEO, Al Johnson, and Chief Instructor, Greg Boyington, the MiniSki Board of Directors elected, after a 26-year run, to terminate the fully scheduled ritual in favor of future free-form ski events. Relative to previous years, the attendance was down, as fewer risk-takers were able to answer the call this year. But, having said that, those intrepid enough to test their aging skills, held their own against nature and advancing maturity. The class of '60 group, composed of Jerry de la Cruz, his daughter Anna Marie, Ron & Connie Yates, Ralph Lalime, Andi & Carole Biancur, and Greg Boyington, stepped up to the challenge. The weather cooperated, more-or-less, and the snow was great. Their time together was, as always, a highlight of the week.

In February, Ben Furuta met in Seattle for lunch with Nels Delisanti, Vic Yoakum, Denny O'Keefe, and Chuck Diver. One of the subjects discussed was the idea of a West Coast mini-reunion, perhaps in Reno somewhere in the 2017-2018 time frame. The underlying philosophy was the notion that the actuarial tables were starting to turn against us and the strong possibility that the 2015 reunion in COS may have been our last big hurrah. Is there any sentiment for a similar event on the East Coast--or elsewhere?

Dean Vikan

Recently, on Facebook, Dean Vikan , Minnesota state runner-up for outstanding senior citizen and former IP test pilot, posted the above photo of himself in front of a Lockheed NF-104 Starfighter at Edwards AFB in 1971. The Starfighter was an F-104 modified with a 6000-lb-thrust rocket engine mounted above the jet engine. Three aircraft were procured from 1963-1971 to support astronaut and test pilot training for the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB. The aircraft flew in the 100,000-ft. regime and simulated conditions that space shuttle pilots would encounter upon reentry and landing. Many of the lessons learned in the program were incorporated into the final configuration and procedures of the Space Shuttle program. Ron Yates was the program manager from 1968-1970 and one of the test pilots. Other classmates who flew this magnificent machine were Fred Porter, Mike Love, and Mike Loh.

At the invitation of the Dean of Faculty, Mike Loh presented a lecture at USAFA on March 31 to the cadets in the Department of Military and Strategic Studies. The subject was "Leading With Airpower", a personal memoir of his role in Desert Storm 25 years ago, and the contrast between Desert Storm and the current campaign against ISIS. Ron Yates and Wayne Kendall were there to provide flack and peer critique. "Fortunately," Mike says, "no eye witnesses to my role or war stories were present to ruin my credibility."

On Wednesday, 4 April, the DC area Class of '60 contingent met to celebrate USAFA's Founders Day at the Springfield Country Club, Tom Burke's home course. As shown above, attendees were: Tony and Karen Burshnick, Al and Gale Johnson, Bob Badger, Leon Goodson, Howie and Judy Bronson, Bill and Cathi Hockenberry, Bill Carnegie, Jerry and Betty de la Cruz, Tom and Mary Ellen Burke, Ken and Judy Alnwick, Pat Warack and Les Querry. Don't be fooled by the collective photo. As is our custom, grads and their wives dine in separate venues. Perhaps not surprisingly, the ladies overwhelmingly prefer it that way.

We mourn the loss of John Russell (Russ) Currey, C-130 pilot, systems analyst, and Alabama gentleman farmer. Russ died on 14 Feb 2016 in Eastaboga, AL from complications following a battle with throat cancer. Shown above is a photo of Jim Thomasson, Glenda Currey and Dale Mayo at his memorial ceremony. We have also been informed that Chuck Waterman's wife, Mary, passed away on 22 February.