Friday, September 18, 2015

Out With A Whimper

Labor Day weekend should have found the park full, the sky clear and our programs very popular.  Instead, it was cold, cloudy and rainy.

With the burn ban (no campfires) still in effect and the cold, rainy weather, the park wasn’t even full.

For our last weekend we had lots of fun programs planned.  Of the 5 programs, we were only able to have 2 of them due to the weather. 
We wanted to go out with a bang!  We were a little disappointed.

Since then we have been busy with other projects.

We have about 15 different bulletin boards and other areas to posts our weekly program flyers so we have taken down the last flyer of the year and removed all the staples from the bulletin boards. 
Our colorful This Week At Farragut flyer and tear-off sheets.

We also spent some time cleaning our office.  It’s amazing how much stuff (all of it good stuff!) we accumulate during the season. 
 Before
After
As you may know, Farragut State Park started out as the Farragut US Navel Training Station during WWII.  Every year in September they have a reunion to remember the veterans that trained here.  Everyone is welcome and there are lots of veterans from all branches.  Last year, of the almost 300,000 veterans that trained here at Farragut, 12 returned.  For some reason this year there wasn’t a count.  Farragut was only in operation for 30 months during WWII.

It is a tradition for the veterans to hold this large flag while Anchors Away plays in the background.

Our job was to be the Brig (jail) hosts.  The brig is the only original building that still remains from 1942-1946 (there are a few pump houses and a couple of water towers).
Mark pointing to the 6 original camps.

Every year the park staff assures the WWII veterans that there will always be a yearly reunion here at Farragut.
They will not be forgotten.

Teri

5 comments:

  1. What a great tradition! I wonder how many of the WWII veterans are still alive and able to travel.... Many of our summer visitors at Aroostook NWR had been stationed there when it was Caribou Air Station (or Loring AFB), and it was a privilege to take them on a tour. You may think you went out with a whimper, but I'm betting you made a real bang during your time there!

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    1. They forget to ask the veterans of Farragut Naval Training Station to identify themselves, but based on the visitors that signed in at the museum I would guess about 8 made it back for the reunion. There were a few other WWII vets there as well, but the numbers are down dramatically from just a few years ago.

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  2. Safe travels back to Texas. Which way are you traveling? Will we be seeing you down the road? We have been in the Black Hills for a week now. Gorgeous.

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    1. We are heading to Billings to visit some friends, and then probably down into Colorado to check out a possible volunteer spot for next summer. No specific plans after that, but most likely will spend some time in Colorado and New Mexico before heading on into Central Texas.

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  3. Come by here on your way to Texas...would love to see y'all again.

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