Major Walter Oberst III, US Army (Ret) Sept. 4, 1942 – Feb. 23, 2011

on Mar 01 in In Memory

I met Walter when I was with the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce.  Walter’s wife, (Gayle Oberst) was and is the first women mayor of Panama City Beach. Walter was a tall quiet man.  When we were at special events he would mingle with all of us. He always had a smile and a good word for everyone. He will be missed by many.

My Friend Tom Servello

on Jan 22 in In Memory

Anthony Thomas Servello Jr.

May 27, 1950 – January 21, 2011

There are few people in my life that I consider a true friend, But Tom Servello was one of them.  I met Tom when i was transferred to Pax River, Md.  in the late 70′s.  He was the first to welcome me and show me around.  we became good friends. We spent time together and he often teased me about my tires on my car but that was another story.  Tom’s pride and joy was his family. He had 2 sons and a beautiful wife. Liz was a great person and Tom was proud of his 2 sons, just like any father, Chris and Jeffery. They both Graduated from the Naval Academy and have great careers is the Navy, following the tradition their father started. Tom will be missed, but i know he is not suffering anymore.  My prayers and thoughts are with his family. RIP my friend and brother.

Paul G Avery

on Mar 29 in In Memory

Paul G Avery had a major impact on my life.  In 1966 i was stationed in VP-23 at N.A.S. Brunswick, Maine. and in the summer a friend of mine came to me and asked if i would be interested in a blind date.  I of course said yes, and i met Mr Avery’s daughter. after the date we saw each other a few times but I really got to know her father, Mr Avery. That year i wound up at their lake front campsite on Damarisocitta, Maine.  Camping with the family on weekends and learning to fish the lake.  He didn’t have a boat but we use to fish from the dock. by the end of the season i was getting ready to go on deployment until May so i had a chance to get an aluminum boat and I picked it up and gave it to Mr Avery for the lake.  Mr and Mrs Avery Had a big effect on my life and he was a good man. I can still see him laughing at me when one night when i had gotten stopped in Brunswick by the pd and the police said that i hadn’t registered my car and they towed it. i was so mad, because i thought that i had registered it. He was on duty at bath pd and he was laughing so hard as i walked in and he said let me see the registration.  the next day he took me up to get it registered. and he got the guy he knew who had towed my car to give it back to me.

April Issue of Squelch Tales

on Mar 22 in Life Stories, Wa1pjs

Apr10

Robert G. Schippers (Bob)

on Mar 21 in In Memory

In 1975  while being transferred to N.A.S. Willow Grove, our family moved into Mt Laurel, New Jersey and we lived on Masonville Rd.  Three house up the street Lived Bob And Sam Schippers.  They were about the same ge as Kathy and and we became good friends. They had a son and daughter also That would be Kyle and Kegan.  Our families became very close and we did a lot of things together.  Bob was a New Jersey State Trooper. and they had bought this old house on the road and it was an ongoing project, but the one thing bob taught me was the way he did things.  He bought the best so it would last a lifetime.  sometime when i am confronted with buying the cheaper version Bob comes to mine and i usually make the right decision.  It happened yesterday when i was looking at a jacket for sale, i was looking at one that was cheaper but not exactly what i wanted. i could almost hear bob saying “you know that is not the one you want, so why get it”. It is funny, the things you remember about someone.  I was on the Masonville Rescue squad for a while and we would get called out in the middle of the night to the turnpike for a rescue and there would be Bob. He told me one time ” Hi neighbor, couldn’t let you sleep through the night if i was awake”. If you met Bob you wouldn’t think he had a sense of humor , but he did.  Bob and i where Chimney Sweeps together and we would spend a lot of Saturdays cleaning chimneys.  We wore the top hats and tails.  Sam passed earl, but Bob and i always remained in touch. I talked to him just 24 hours before he Passed.

Bob was a good and honest man. What more can you say than that. RIP my friend and i will think of you often.

Running Water

on Jan 30 in In Memory, Life Stories

Mr. Avery’s camp was located on the Indian rd. , in Dresden. It was only about 18 miles from the Bath Bridge. One year Paul came to me and said “Are you coming to camp with the guys or going playing with the girls at Rollin Andy’s “(a well know night spot in Brunswick, Me). I stated that I was going to do both because I was young and didn’t need as much sleep as the old guys. He chuckled and asked when I was coming to camp. I told him I would be there Fri night after an appearance art Andy’s. He said fine an that was that.  

Friday night came and I went to Andy’s with the guys. It was raining hard and it was Indian summer (warm) so we didn’t have any snow to content with so I was heading to camp. I had had a couple of beers and back in those days there was as much to do about drinking and driving. I think we called it Young and stupid. Any way I was fine and was heading to camp.

It was raining so hard when I crossed the bridge into Woolwich and picked up Rt 127. Didn’t know who all would be there. I had to slow down a couple of times because of the rain but my 1947 ford p/u was running right along. I had to slow down as I turned on the Indian road because it was a dirt road. Only about 3 miles and I would be at came and even through it was 45 degrees or close to that there would be a nice cozy fire in the wood stove and it would be nice and toasty in camp. 

As I rounded the bend, I saw a ladder up against the front of the camp. As my headlights flashed on the camp I could see two people on the roof in their white skivvies with flashlights. It was Paul and Russell and they were surprised to see someone coming down the road at 2 am and they were also relieved it wasn’t someone they didn’t know. I asked what they were doing and Paul replied that they had finally gotten running water in camp but that it wasn’t exactly where they wanted it; In other words, there was a leak in the roof over Paul’s bed. They couldn’t sleep so they decided to fix it. That picture was worth a 1000 words.

My First Gun

on Jan 30 in In Memory, Life Stories

After my first hunting season, I was all excited about hunting, but I didn’t own a gun. So I went down to the local pawn shop to go shopping for a gun. Not knowing anything about guns this was not going to be easy. I didn’t even know if I wanted a shotgun or a rifle. When I walked into the pawn shop I saw this 12 gauge shotgun. It caught my eye as it had the longest barrel I had ever seen. So I inspected it and it was within my budget. It was only $25.00 (remember it was the Sixties). So I bought it!! And I now had my first gun. 12 ga shotgun with 36 in barrel. 

Now that I had my gun I headed to Mr. Avery’s house to show him of my Great Find. When I arrived at his house I showed him what I had bought. His response was “ this thing is so long you can reach out and hit the deer over the head”. He then proceeded to explain that this was and excellent duck gun, but I didn’t care as I had my first gun. Now all I had to do was get a gun rack for my truck. It was close to thanksgiving and Mr. Avery came and said he was going to a turkey shoot and wanted to borrow my 12 ga. He asked me to go and he said he always won a turkey for dinner all the years he had been going, but I had duty, but I was so proud that he wanted to use my shotgun. I got home about 6 that night and Mr. Avery wasn’t home yet and Mrs. Avery said he should be home anytime. About an hour later in comes Mr. Avery and the first thing he says to me is “ where did you get this gun”? I replied that I had gotten it at a pawn shop downtown Brunswick. He then proceeded to tell us the story. 

There he was lining up to shoot and after he fired his load he missed the target completely. He couldn’t believe he missed and shot again and again he missed the target completely. Trying to figure out what was going on. Mr. Avery had a second shot gun so he got his turkey that year. He also said on the way home he stopped at a gunsmith friend of his to check out the shotgun. Turns out the barrel was bent and the gun couldn’t shoot straight. Mr. Avery of course had a solution. He informed me that this gun would make a great lightning rod. My feelings were hurt a little but you have to admit it was funny. Finally, we took that gun and made it a camp gun, one we left at camp which hung over the front door and every time some asked about the gun the reply was “Oh that is tom’s gun. He bought it to shoot around corners” A couple years later, we lost that gun in a fire when two 16 year olds boys decided to burn the camp down while they were drinking. They didn’t even know who the camp belonged to. Anyway that is the story on my first gun.

Roseasa and the Blue Jay

on Jan 30 in In Memory, Life Stories

Mr. Avery’s camp was located on the Indian rd., in Dresden, Me. At that time it was a secluded area of Lincoln county. Mr. Avery loved that place and he would go there on weekends just to get away. He had a special relationship with the Chickadee’s of the area. I think that was his favorite bird. He would feed them on a regular basis, and you could even hear him talking to them as he went outside to feed them. 

He always kept plenty of food in there feeders for them. They use to fly down and land on his bald head as he walked out to feeder. They knew he was going to feed them. He would actually take an empty tin can and put bacon grease in it and when it was full he would take it out and nail it to the tree. The birds loved that.

I remember one hunting season when we were all at camp and one morning Mr. Avery came in from feeding the birds and he was complaining about the Blue jay that was stealing all of the food and wasn’t letting the chickadees feed. So every time one of us went outside we would chase the blue jay. Roseasa kept saying he’s out there again and he decided to do something about it so he got out his 22 rifle and decided to shoot the blue jay. At the time we didn’t realize what a project that was going to be. 

Roseasa stalked that blue jay for days sneaking up on it. What makes this so funny was that the bird feeder was out the door of the cabin only about 30 feet. The bird would fly down and land on feeder and eat all of the food. As the days went on we would notice Roseasa was missing and he would be at the back door trying to get that blue jay in his sights. 

All of a sudden we would here a pop and he fired at the blue jay and he missed every time. This went on all week and the weekend was drawing near and when you leased expected it you would hear a pop. Another miss. It was Saturday and we were sitting around in the afternoon waiting to go out hunting for the last time at camp. We were joking and cutting up, drinking coffee and telling stories. Again Roseasa was missing and we hadn’t notice. All of a sudden we hear a loud boom and everyone looked around. That wasn’t a 22 someone remarked. Roseasa walked in and said “ that blue Jay won’t bother the chickadees any more as he placed his 12 ga shotgun on his bunk. We all laughed went out hunting. The next morning as we went outside there was another blue jay in the bird feeder.