Savannah Mini Reunion

November 7-9, 2021

Historic Savannah, Georgia
Where history never gets old
Tips-for-Visitors

Our Host
Dan Baker

Having to reschedule this Mini from March to November due to COVID severely impacted attendance. Nevertheless, these are the intrepid classmates and their mates who spent at least 3 days absorbing the area's history, scenery, and cuisine:

• Dan Baker

• John & Betsy Davis

• Lou & Cathy Desenberg

• Craig & Karen Kennedy

L to R (Standing): Lou & Cathy Desenberg, Rocky & Twink Wayburn, Betsy & John Davis, Dan Baker, Jackie Griffith (Sales Manager, The Marshall House), Penn Williamson, Karen Kennedy, Carol Wright
L to R (Seated): Craig Kennedy, Phil Wright, Margarida Williamson

Headquarters Hotel

Check out the rumors of the haunting of the hotel!

To Dan's knowledge, the place was devoid of ghosts on this occasion*.

*However, Davis reported that his wife Betsy found a Culver name tag (with her name on it) from a previous Culver event inside John’s 50th Reunion cap. John swears that he did NOT bring it or put it in there. The work of a Marshall ghost? Who knows? (Dan’s observation: Hogwash! Davis is as senile as the rest of us.)

We came we saw, and we ambled. The Savannah Mini (which was actually a bit of a Mini-Mini due to the initial group’s fears of COVID and other mysterious reasons which drove down attendance) has concluded. Savannah is a town with amazing antebellum architecture, town squares, and a fascinating history which we discovered when we sauntered through it.

For those who did not attend, you really missed something special. Savannah is a great place to visit. The history is fascinating, the architecture is unique (and old ... even older than us), The Marshall House is well worth a visit, and the staff there is second to none. Plus the area food (especially our dinner at 45 Bistro) was delicious, with many uniquely southern aspects (e.g., shrimp and grits on many menus). And then there was battling the unending lines at Leopold’s Ice Cream.

Enough with the generalities. Here's what we did day-by-day.

The Daily (B)Log

Sunday, November 6

The Mini kicked off at 5 PM with a "Welcome Gathering". It started in the Library of the Marshall House with complimentary wine. But as everyone arrived, we quickly overwhelmed the room, and our guiding light for many of the Mini's events (Jackie Griffith, the Sales Manager for the Marshal House) marshaled us all into The Board Room of the hotel.

(Yes, those are mattresses up against the walls. The Board Room was not expected to be used that night, and the new mattresses were being temporarily stored there in preparation for replacing old one.)

Jackie finally got to put faces to all the names for whom she had been wrangling rooms. She then overwhelmed each couple with a prodigious folder filled with all sorts of Savannah- and hotel-related information: Maps, local travel magazines, etc. The wine server from the Library made sure we did not lack for vino during our "meeting".

After the Gathering, we split off into smaller groups to pick our own restaurant for the evening. The choices included The Common and Chive Sea Bar and Lounge ... both highly recommended to future visitors to the area.

Monday, November 7

After breakfast at the 45 Bistro Restaurant (in The Marshall House) the schedule called for a walking tour of the Historic District near our hotel. Unfortunately, there was a snafu, and our tour guide failed to arrive. Never fear: It was Jackie Griffith to the rescue. On the fly, she arranged for all of us to board a Kelly trolley tour of the District, actually covering much more area than our walking tour would have. And our driver/guide was excellent.

For lunch, we were again on our own for picking a place, and we all scattered, doing our own exploring of River, Bay, and Broughton Streets (or relaxing) for the rest of the afternoon.

At 5 PM, we re-grouped in the Library of the Marshall House to take as much advantage as possible of the complimentary wine that was included in the hotel's "amenity fee" that was tacked on to each room. While imbibing, we listened to Tour Guide Mike fill us into much of the history of the Marshall House and its surroundings. We then split for our 7 PM dinner reservation at Belford's

Tuesday, November 8

This was the day with fullest schedule. Following breakfast at 45 Bistro, we took our rescheduled walking tour of the Historic District near our hotel. The tour (given by Mike from the previous night) covered much history of Savannah in general, but included significant information on Savannah during the Civil War.

where our lunch in The Pub and tour of the Museum were hosted by Scott Loehr, the CEO of the museum. (Scott is the older brother of Alan Loehr, Culver's Director of Alumni Relations.)

Scott provided us with an incredibly knowledgeable docent, who made the tour even more special and memorable. It is a serious understatement to say that this Museum is a fitting, sobering, and fascinating tribute to thousands of airmen who fought and died over the skies of Europe in WWII. The museum is very near the SAV airport. Definitely make a point to stop by after you fly in or before you fly out of Savannah.

However, the intellectual and social highlight of the entire Mini had to be the formation of the Codgers Community Social Group (our self-chosen team name) during the Tuesday night trivia contest and wine hour in The Marshal House library.

We were informed by our host that, typically, most groups in the trivia contest only got two or three answers correct. Our group raucously got 8 1/2 out of 10 plus a bonus question ... all the while supplying nearby competitors with the wrong answers. We were shameless (but brilliant) and devastated the opposition. Appropriately (and I hate to give him credit) Davis suggested we give our first-place prizes to the second-place “team” who we vastly outnumbered (i.e. 13 to 2); so we did.

We then retired to the 45 Bistro for an elegant dinner.

Once again (as they did in Williamsburg) the women rebelled and insisted that the men sit far away at one end of the long dinner table. Fortunately, there was a buffer of two empty chairs between us so in spite of the fact that a few comments were hurled back-and-forth, physical altercations were avoided. Both groups had a wonderful time, and the food was fabulous. A fitting ending.

Wednesday, November 9

In the original plans, this was an "optional" day with suggestions for visiting Tybee Island and/or a potential bike ride on Hilton Head Island. But everyone pretty much made other plans. So after a farewell breakfast at the 45 Bistro, we split in various directions:

• The Kennedys and the Williamsons had made plans for a multi-day road trip to tour the southern Georgia coast, islands, and the Okefenokee Swamp.

• The Desenbergs and Dan decided to head home.

• The Wrights scheduled a 5 PM flight home, but lunched and shopped with the Davis's before departure.

  • Always interested in the quirky and offbeat, while others shopped or relaxed, John toured the American Prohibition Museum. He definitely recommends it ... if you are into quirky and offbeat ... and like a prohibition-era cocktail well before 5 PM.

• The Wayburns did their own thing during the day, but got together for dinner with the Davis's at Boar's Head Grill & Tavern. (John kept wanting to call it the "Hogs Breath Inn" (the place in Carmel, CA that was formerly owned by Clint Eastwood.)

Using words similar to those sent to the participants thanking them for attending, the amazing thing about this Mini and others is the camaraderie we shared in spite of the fact that we have probably spent less than one hundred days together in the last fifty years. Dan attributes this to the fact that we had unique experiences at Culver, some good and, maybe, some not so much, that are interesting to say the least. Also, the fact of the matter is that we are pretty darned good guys who can get together and reflect on our lives without pretence. This narrative would be remiss if it did not mention that we have, somehow, latched on to some exceptionally fine and insightful women with whom we share our lives.

A final thought: It is not the location where mini-reunions and our reunions at Culver take place. It is us.

You will truly miss something special if you do not come to CMA for our 60th Reunion on May 19-22, 2022.