The staff at FEN Hokkaido circa 1953
click on the picture above
to view in larger format
Tom Coulter provided the following description of a
recent reunion he hosted for folks from FEN Hokkaido/Sapporo. Tom writes:
"Our first-ever Sapporo reunion was a smashing
success! Four of us - Glenn Maxham, Duluth, MN, Gordon (Skip) Ward and wife, Connie,
Toledo, OH, Norm Fletcher, Natchitoches, LA, and myself, and my wife Irene, got together
for a four day weekend at our home on Longboat, Key, FL. All of the men, myself
included, were together at Sapporo in 1953 and '54. The three men mentioned above,
along with Bruce Copeland of South Carolina, had stayed in contact all these years,
wanted to have a reunion, and, happily for me, decided to look up and invite their old CO,
yours truly. They located me through the University of Minnesota alumni office. And, my
wife and I responded by inviting the gang to Florida for a late winter break."
THEN
|
|
 |
|
Maxham |
Ward |
Coulter |
Fletcher |
"We had a great time! Reminiscing,
showing slides (yes, the slides held up over 50 years), exchanging photographs, hearing a
scratchy, but audible recording made at the station with all of us on it, even wearing
distinctive hats with the FEN logo which Norm Fletcher had made up for the occasion. We
went cruising on my boat, deep sea fishing, enjoying great seafood, and, especially.
reminiscing. The latter was worth the price of the whole thing!"
NOW
From left to right: Glenn Maxham, Skip Ward, Tom
Coulter, and Norm Fletcher as they appeared at the 2003 reunion
click on the picture above to compare
"then and now" in a larger format
"I don't know if you've heard of other FEN
reunions. But, now, at least you've got ours to put in your FEN history book. I think I
can speak for my Sapporo companions when I say our reunion may have been a small one, but
it was a wonderful success!"
"As for Sendai, I spent a much larger portion of
my time in Japan in Sendai where my duties were split between managing the station in
rented NHK facilities in downtown Sendai and building the new station, transmitter and
tower out at Camp Sendai. I recognized all the men shown in the web's Sendai article.
However, I'm not in touch with any of them, at least, as of right now. But, who knows? Now
that we've made contact through your website, that might just change!"
You may reach Tom at:
Tom Coulter
P.O.Box 9225
Longboat Key, FL 34228
phone: (941) 363-7192
FAX (941) 387-0079 (FAX serviced 24/7)
