Feb. 3, 2010

 

Hookers,

 

Most of the usual suspects were in attendance last night at the Olive Garden, but we were blessed with the addition of ‘RD’ Dominy, who, as usual, was in rare form. We conducted no business of any worth, at least at my end of the table. JC might have a different take on that. We all did notice that none of our female Hookers showed last night, so what’s up with that? Don’t you like our company? Never mind, don’t answer that. We really did miss you, so give us another shot next month. We promise to try to be real gentlemen, or at least as much as we can be.

 

For future planning, we’ll join again on Tuesday evening, the 2nd of March, at the Olive Garden. For real long-term planning, our old friend and comrade, Jim Fleming has promised to join us for dinner on July 6th, when he is back in the States on holiday from the hot sands. Still working to establish a Hooker coin design and local manufacturer, and will pass on what I find.

 

#10

Hi all

 

We are planning a sojourn to the big city of Sequim on Sunday the twenty-first of February.  We will be having lunch at the Oasis Bar and Grill, 301 E. Washington St. in Sequim.  We look forward to a pleasant drive in the country and the pleasure of your company.  Please RSVP so that we will be able to give the Oasis a  heads up ahead of the invasion.

 

 

Gerry

Gerry Curtis
3612 166th Ave E.
Lake Tapps, WA 98391

Inspiration34@gmail.com

 

 

Feb. 17, 2010

 

Hookers,

 

Here’s the plan for Sunday’s run to Sequim and lunch with Art. We meet for the usual coffee and crumpets at the Mitzel’s Restaurant in Fife (5402 Pacific Hwy E) at around 08:30 or 09:00, with a departure at 10:00 after consolidating into an appropriate number of cars. Mapquest shows the trip to Sequim to take about 1:50, putting us into town on schedule for the Oasis Sports Bar & Grill on Washington St. If we have part of the crew coming in from the north, using the Kingston Ferry, and you want to consolidate further, give us a call enroute and we’ll figure it out on the fly. We’ll have the usual rowdy lunch, so save all your tasteless jokes and other abuse that you’ve been saving for your friends. A good picture of this group will need to be taken, so plan accordingly. We get home when we get home.

 

The Hooker coin is actually beginning to have legs and I may have something to report at the next dinner. Have you been to the Hooker website yet?  Go to: web.me.com/hookpilot/The_Hook-ers

 

#10

 

 

March 1, 2010

 

Hookers,

 

For those of you that have short memories, it’s tomorrow night that we’re having dinner at the Federal Way Olive Garden. Bring your coins, your stories and your appetite and have a great time. Sara is ready and waiting for you Hookers, and don’t make her throw you out for not getting along.

See you there around 7 pm.

 

#10

 

 

Follow - up on March Dinner

 

Hookers,

 

The count was 13 for dinner last evening and no one put an eye out, so I guess the number was lucky. As you can see by the pictures, most had a good time and we didn’t work Sara or Scott too hard trying to keep us happy. It was a very civil crowd, that is, until the south end of the table started with the political commentary, which caused the conversation to circle the drain until talk of guns started up again, and then everything was fine again. Many of our usual members were missing last night, so we all shared a desert and left the bill for them next month. That’ll teach them for not coming.

 

The Hooker coin is in the hands of the real artists, and we expect a preliminary design in the near future. We did have a short discussion regarding the overall size of the Hooker coin and the results were somewhat mixed. Some wanted a larger (1.75 – 2.0 inch) coin, while other prefer the smaller (1.5 – 1.65 inch) coin. There still is time for you to have your voice heard, so pass on your comments to everyone, or directly to me. Until next month, continue to do good work, you Kings of the Cascades, you Princes of the Palouse.

 

#10

 

 

News About our Hooker Coin. 3/22/2010

 

Hookers,

 

Well, here it is. Just one more step before we start stamping coins. As you can see, we’ve made the changes that we all wanted: 1.75 inch coin, bright gold with the bright silver overlay for the crew wings, touched up the windows on the gold Hook, the white wings on the front were made less cartoonish, ‘The’ was added to the ‘Sound of Freedom’, and you’ll notice that we were able to do two things with the external load, we created and area for some engraving that many of you wanted, but still made it look like an external load (I know the angle is a little weird for the load, but it was the best that I could do given what we had already done. I didn’t have the heart to ask yet for the outline of Mt. Rainier, as I was treading on very soft ground with the artist by the end of the project.

 

So here it is and unless I hear of some yet unheard shortcoming in the designs, we will go to production. Be very quick if you should have something really important to be added. From here the process calls for the dies to be made, then a test coin is made to insure that it is as we have agreed upon. One that is approved, we’ll have all the coins within a couple of weeks. In case you were wondering, I will foot the bill for the 300 coins, which is expected to be somewhere around $2,000. You Hookers will repay the loan by paying $10 a piece for the coins (postage and envelopes extra). When the first 200 coins are purchased, I will be repaid and then we can start creating a reserve account for another coin purchase down the road. I do not intend to make dollar one on this transaction, I only want to be repaid the loan.

 

I think that it would be a little early to expect the coins by the next dinner meeting, but then, I’ve been surprised before. I will let you all know.

 

#10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 7, 2010

 

Hookers,

 

It was an all-time record for dinner last night at the Olive Garden. 22 Hookers were there for dinner and a good time was had by all. Steele Clayton, Tina Miles, Phil Raschke and Mike Sigman all joined us for the very first time, and it was very nice to see their faces and get up to speed on their lives. Bob Agee was in town on a break from Iraq. Hal Thornton was over from Yakima and led us in a toast for our friend Gerry, who was missed by all. All the regular suspects were there….Lori, Terry, Pat, Chris, Wayne, Richard, Don Moehring, Don LeMaster, Boomer, John Q, Dick, Tom, JC, Doug, Brett and I. We all had wonderful conversations about politics and guns. You know the usual stuff. The new Hooker coins should be in by the May dinner, but I will keep you informed of their progress.

 

#10

 

May 4, 2010

Hookers,

 

If you haven’t had dinner with a bunch of Hookers before, you have an opportunity to do just that next Tuesday evening at 7 pm at the Federal Way, Olive Garden. All the usual suspects will be gathering for drinks and dinner with their pals of the Mighty 92nd. Please come and join us while we present the very first ‘Hooker’ coin to Sandy Curtis. Everyone will get an opportunity to see and handle this brand new challenge coin before we hand it over to her. No, you can’t buy it…….it’s already been engraved with Gerry’s callsign. The rest of the coins will be arriving within a couple of weeks, so watch the Hooker site and I’ll notify everyone via that site.

 

#10

 

 

 

May 21, 2010

 

Hookers,

 

I picked up our coins this week and they are truly beautiful. So, now we’re ready to get them to you. I will, of course, have them at the next dinner on the 1st of June, but for those of you that will not be at the dinner, or don’t want to wait to see me, we can use the mail system. I will mail these coins to you directly. The coins themselves cost 61 cents to send the 1.7 ounce coin, plus the protective envelopes, which cost another 24 cents. So, please add 85 cents to the basic cost of the coin of $10, for each coin that you would like me to send your way. Please make your check out to:

               

Mark Hansen

                2750 Comet St

                Milton, WA 98354

 

Once again, I intend only to recover my monetary investment with the sales of the first 200 coins, the final 100 coins will provide a $1000 bank that will be used to buy more coins, when that time comes. The accounting for this project will be maintained at my home and is available for anyone that is concerned to review.

 

#10

 

May 31, 2010

 

Hookers:

 

We will gather tomorrow at 7 pm at the Federal Way Olive Garden for another edition of dinner with your pals, Hooker style. Bring your appetite and your best joke and we’ll see who shows. I’ll be bringing our new coins for those of you who want them. Be advised, I have some trouble sending these coins through the mail using the cheapest method, and some have been lost going through the mail system machinery. I will adjust the shipping envelopes to prevent further losses, but it will, no doubt, increase the mailing costs. At $10 a piece, it doesn’t take long to hurt us in lost coins. I will replace all coins lost in the mail system, no charge. Hope you all are having a great month and I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night.

 

#10

 

 

May 26, 2010 Honolulu Hawaii

 

USARC Safety Officer CW5 Kip Rummel Visits with Mike Jones on Oahu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kim and Mike had a great time a the Hale Koa Military Resort on Waikiki Beach on the 26 of May recently. It was great to share all the exciting things that have happened to both long time Aviators over the years. Mike retired after 27 years  in Army Aviation and Kip will soon make the same transition after more than 35 years of service. 

 

 

June 24, 2010

 

Hookers,

 

OK, today is the last day at work before Don and I hit the road on a bike trip down to San Diego and the VHPA Reunion. With that activity, I’ll not be able to email you on Friday prior to dinner, so here’s your warning now. We will convene the July Hooker Dinner on Tuesday evening, the 6th of July at the Olive Garden in Federal Way. As usual, we will meet in the bar and be greeted warmly by our friends Sara and Scott, who will be looking for us to liven up the joint somewhat. Don and I wouldn’t think of missing dinner with you Hookers, so we’ll be leaving San Diego on the morning of the 4th and blasting northbound on I-5, just to be with you. Bring your coins, cause you never know when some smart guy is going to challenge your butt. For those of you that are still without a Hooker coin, fear not, I’ll have some ready at the next meeting.  We’ll see you there.

 

#10

 

Ps   Somebody call Boomer on Monday night so he knows which Tuesday we’re meeting on……….

 

 

Aug 21, 2010

 

I’m now set up and operational in Edmonds.  It’s great to be back in the Pacific Northwest.  Mark, give me any updates you have for September.

 

Today I drove up to our old digs at Paine Field. The Ops building is the same, minus the security fence. Our maintenance hangar is now the Heritage Flight Museum.  Our old North Slope are at the approach end of RWY 16 has been graded and buildings and a grassy area occupy our favorite place to practice slope landings.  Over across the south end of RWY 16 is another flying museum and a biz jet hangar complex.  I wonder about the noise complaints now that the entire area is heavily built-up with housing... Not our problem anymore.

 

Mike

Hooker 31

 

 

Sept 3, 2010

 

Hookers,

 

I’m running out of time and need to get the aircraft off the roof and out of the Mariner TFR. Dinner is Tuesday night at 7 pm at the Federal Way Olive Garden. See you all there.

 

#10

 

 

Sept 7 Dinner Recap

Hookers,

 

A great group last night for dinner at the Olive Garden. All the usual subjects in attendance, with the addition of Mike Jones,, who now lives back in this area. I didn’t do the count, but I suspect that there were 18 – 20 of us. We missed the rest of you Hookers out there, so same place next month, and on the same first Tuesday.

 

A number of you have been asking for the info on the Hooker logo, so here it is:

 

                Williams and Williams

                1145 East Main Street

                Lakeland, Florida 33801

                863 683 5487 Office

                863 683 6420 Fax

                800 695 1227 Toll-Free

 

                Please ask for Dominick and refer to the 92nd Aviation/ Hooker logo. His direct email is: dom@nametags4u.com

 

So far, we’ve been buying our own shirts and hats and sending them to him, however, I believe that they also have shirts there that can be embroidered and sent back. I haven’t needed to inquire about that possibility, but you might want to. The cost of the Hooker logo has been $6.50 per item, plus shipping back from Florida.

 

#10

 

 

October 2, 2010

Hookers,

 

Now, don’t forget, it's dinner with your friends again next Tuesday evening at the Federal Way Olive Garden at or about 19:00. I won’t be joining you this month, as I’ll be driving my Dad back to South Dakota in his new Audi. I know, you wish you could be there, huh? Ahhh, South Dakota at the harvest time….brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it? Have a great time at dinner and I’ll see you all next month.

 

#10 

 

 

 

October 31st  BOOOOOOO

 

Hookers,

 

It’s time, once again, for dinner with your pals. So come on out Tuesday evening to the Federal Way, Olive Garden at 7pm for the next edition of ‘Dining with the Hookers’. Get your voting done, then come join us at the place that Sara is going to save for us roughens. I understand that the collection was a little small last month, so get ready for a little makeup this month. Father Hansen is back in town, so we’ll be joined by a real WWII veteran.

 

By the way, I’m getting a brand new helipad at KING and you’ll never guess how I decided to christen this new slab of concrete. Let’s just say that the Hooker name will live on for another 40 or 50 years.

 

See you for dinner.

 

#10

 

 

Info on Art’s Memorial Service:

 

Hey Hookers,

 

Art’s family is putting together a picture show for his memorial. Please look through your archives and email me any pictures you have of Art. To make receiving emails easier, please zip your files or limit each to 2-3mb per individual email. I will consolidate everything on to a disc and forward to Jesse.  Please use david.ladzick@gmail.com for this request.

 

If you are not up on Facebook, Art’s family is looking at 29 DEC for his memorial in Port Angeles. I am working the flyover piece, but a recent DA policy change prohibits all of these kinds of flights so I’m not sure it will work out.

 

Thanks,

Dave

 

Hookers,

 

Thanks to the few who have forwarded photos. I still need a lot more, so keep them coming.

 

Art’s funeral is set for 29 December. Viewing from 1100-1200, service from 1200-1245.

 

Drennan-Ford Funeral Home & Crematory

260 Monroe Rd
Port Angeles, WA 98362
(360) 457-1210

www.drennanford.com

 

 

April 5,  2011

 

Hookers,

 

Anyone out there hungry? Tuesday evening at the Federal Way Olive Garden, you’ll have a chance to eat and catch up with your old friends. We meet around 7 pm, but you probably already knew that. Those of you that haven’t been with us for a while, please stop on by and be greeted properly. Sara will be waiting for us and taking care of all of our needs, as usual. Thank you, Sara. You know that we’d probably be kicked out of most other places for bad attitudes and even worse jokes. MAJOR……. you know what I’m talking about. See you all Tuesday evening and if you need some coins, I’ll be ready.

 

#10

 

 

June 28, 2011

Hookers,

 

Since many of us will be gone to the VHPA National Reunion during the first Tuesday in July, the attendees at the June dinner decided to move our next dinner to the 19th of July instead of the first Tuesday. Also, since the 19th is so close to August, it was also decided to wave off the August dinner and reconnect on the 6th of September. If any of you can’t stand to go a month without dinner with the Hookers, then just let me know and I’ll meet you at the Olive Garden on the 2nd of August, as I live right down the street. Let me know what you’d like to do.

 

#10

 

 

 

October 28, 2011

Hookers,

 

Ah ha, and you thought I’d forget again….nope. It’s time for dinner again with your Hooker friends. We’ll be meeting at the Federal Way Olive Garden next Tuesday evening around 7 PM. Be there or be square, as they used to say. Hope you’re having a great month.

 

#10

 

 

March 1, 2012

Hookers,

 

And you thought I’d forget your notice again this month….but no, and I’m a day early because the aircraft is in getting a 100-hour inspection and I happen to remember while I was sitting at the computer. OK, now it’s the same as every other month: Next Tuesday evening we will collect at the Federal Way Olive Garden around 7 pm and have a nice meal and conversation together. OK, Boomer, you’ve now missed the last dinner and the last VHPA Chapter Meeting, so it’s high time that you showed yourself. It’s either that or we’re going to leave a bar bill for you for the April dinner. Come on….we’ll be nice this month and not mention anything about politics….yeah, right!

 

The rest of you, get off your rumps and get down there Tuesday night. All our friends at the Olive Garden are ready to make your night, especially Sara. Oh yeah, Sara, Dick, and I’ll be there early.

 

Nuf said,

#10

 

The March dinner was held with over 20 Hookers present. A good time was had by all. Our fearless organizer, Mark was NOT present, so we didn’t have quite as much fun with him over discussing politics. We hope to see an even larger group next month.  

 

Hooker 31

 

 

 

 

April 3, 2012

Hookers,

 

Hey folks…..Rosalyn passed this on to me during the last month, so take a quick look at the attached event notice. Since Don and I are going through the area on the return from VHPA New Orleans, we’re planning on stopping to see the Winelands and have breakfast with them. Maybe some of you can make their Armed Forces Day, but if not, I’ve got an idea. The notice says we can sponsor a table for 10 other vets for only $200. What do you think, can we put together some coin for the Winelands. I’m going to pass the hat tomorrow night at dinner, so put an extra ten spot in your wallet. For those of you that will not be at the Olive Garden, if you would like to donate to the ‘Hookers’ table, please drop me an envelope to:

 

                Mark Hansen

                2750 Comet St

                Milton, WA 98354

 

I will see that every dollar gets to the Winelands and their Armed Forces Day event.

 

 

 

November 5, 2012

Don’t forget our November monthly Olive Garden get-together, 7 pm, Federal Way. Bring your $15 for the Hooker Tontine if interested. Membership will be closing soon.

 

Hooker 31

 

 

April 21, 2015

Monthly dinners have continued since November 2012. There have been a few changes, Doug Houser has moved north to a new home near our favorite watering hole, Martha Lake. (The tavern is long gone, but not the wild memories) Mike Jones has moved to his new lakefront home on Island Lake in Shelton and Mark Hansen has skipped the country altogether and is now an ex-pat living in Ecuador enjoying the good life, smoking big fat cigars, and trying to learn Spanish. Our monthly dinners at the Federal Way Olive Garden continue to draw 20 or so Hookers and friends every month. So come join us on the first Tuesday of the month, at 7 pm.  Bring your challenge coin. You have been forewarned. 

 

Our next dinner will be May 4th, at 7 pm.  JC has taken over Mark’s communication duties for the group. Contact him if you have announcements or address changes.  

 

Hooker 31

 

 

May 24, 2017

Here it is 2017 and we are still going strong, meeting monthly at the Olive Garden Restaurant in Federal Way.  May saw a slight change of venue. We now have been relegated to a private dining room at the restaurant. Could it be to remove us from public view?  We had 19 in attendance and had a great time. 

 

 

 

February 2020

Time has passed as have two of our Hooker brothers, Clark Stahl and Michael Woodruff, all within a short period of time. Mark Marian has taken over admin work for the monthly dinners as JC is in failing health. We wish Hooker 44 well.

 

 

September 1, 2020

This is a year that has tested our resolve and in too many cases, friendships.  Because of the pandemic, our Hooker dinners have been temporarily suspended. We hope to announce an informal workaround to this.  In the meantime, we use this time to reflect on where we’ve been as brothers and sisters in arms.  Our contributions to the country, and community stand as witnesses to our patriotism, dedication, and sacrifice.  These are the qualities that define us.

 

We take care of our own, especially as we get older. JC, Dick, and others get our support as they face health challenges.  We honor their service and friendship. 

 

Hooker 31

​

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August 27, 2021

We hope to restart our Hooker Dinners.  

​

September 28, 2021

We held the restart of our Hooker Dinners at the Lynnwood Olive Garden restaurant. With only a few days' notice, did manage to get a small group to show up. The next dinner will be on October 26th at 6 pm. 

​

Hooker 31