A Tour of Sampson and Winter Visitors!

submitted by Alex and Betty Gondola

June, 2007

Alex & Betty Gondola

We want to share pictures with you, taken in 2006 of our tour of the former Sampson Naval Training Center, where Alex trained for service to our country in 1943. The Center was turned into a campground sometime after the war was over. A naval museum was started on the premises over 20 years ago by a number of dedicated servicemen and their wives. In the museum are mementos, artifacts and keepsakes donated by the servicemen and their families, etc.

An annual reunion has been held at Sampson for 20 years, but the final one will be held on September 11, 12 and 13, 2007. Open to the public, the museum will be turned over to the New York State Parks and Historic Preservation. There are many sculptures outdoors, massed displays of military flags, bricks embedded in the ground with names engraved in each brick, which were donated by former sailors or their survivors. The museum is well worth seeing, historical and educational, especially for today's generation, as educators these days in many schools just gloss over this most important part of America's history.

The museum's phone number is 315-585-6203 or write to:

Sampson World War II Veterans, Inc.
PO Box 63
Seneca Falls, NY 13148-0063

We had a wonderful time at the reunion, where we met many interesting people, had lunch and dinner with them and we all watched a comedy during the evening. As usual, Alex attracted a number of women to our table during the performance. Name of the comedy: Italian Wedding!

Click on any picture below to see the full-sized picture.

Historical Marker	Old warehouse outside of museum	Alex's Brick
Alex's Brick Close-up	Alex and Oz Ostapeck's visit in 1999	The audience was the "guests" at the Italian Wedding.
Alex and a pretty lady	Alex and another pretty lady	Alex and yet another pretty lady
Alex and...hey Alex, that's no lady!

We also had visitors over the winter!

Roy and Nona Thell visited us in Florida this past winter. It was wonderful to see them!







Bill and Jeannie Bradfield visited us twice this winter. So good to see them!

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