ASA Chitose Association Inc.
Secretary's Report

                                           

         Roy Gettz
       Roy Gettz
 
Roy Gettz new email address is: asachitoseassn@att.net as of June 1 2009.
Website email address as of November 1 2009 is  asachitose@yahoo.com or asachitose@aol.com 

  

Membership

A requirement for Active membership for eligible personnel is payment of $5.00 annual dues. Active membership is required to receive the newsletter and attend reunions. Dues may be paid as far in advance as the individual desires. Widows (who pay no dues) are requested to contact the secretary every 2 years to let us know they are interested in maintaining active status. Newly located personnel are carried on active status as a courtesy for the dues year they are located in. The dues year starts on January 1 we are now in dues year 2009. Your dues status is in a block below the address label, if 2009 is above your name your dues expires at the end of December this year. Dues notices are not normally sent out to keep expenses down. Dues check should be made out to ASA Chitose Assn., and sent to Roy Gettz- 3091 Blackbird Ct, Melbourne, FL 32935. Membership Status - Our active membership is at 885 (a gain of 68). It is encouraging to see a gain of active membership. We again will be sending postcards to all inactive members we have not contacted in several years. The gain on our located list would have been greater but we are still losing previously located members total stands at 396. Our count on those located now stands at 2600 … a gain of 23. We still have 4015 people we are looking for. If you have an old friend you are looking for, send me his name and we will give you what ever info we have to help you in your search.

Newsletter - If you are an active member and did not receive the last letter that went out early December let me know we have extra copies on hand.

Input for the  newsletter should be sent to Steve Walcher stevew68@comcast.net or postal at 1703 N Oakcrest Ave, Decatur,
IL 62526. This is really a multi person job that Steve and Roy Baum have volunteered to assume. Remember the success of
our newsletter not only depends on them it requires input from all to really make a great newsletter. 
Roy has also volunteered to head up a new feature we call it Buddy Bios. It will be a paragraph
or two on what you have been doing since you left Chitose. It can

include your background, work history, travels, family information, etc. This feature with 3 sample bios was introduced

in our last newsletter. We have received a lot of positive comments on this, lets get your input in. I know we have many

talented people out there who could contribute there talents by submitting articles from their stays in Chitose. Bear tales

from our days are always welcome but keep in mind that this is a family newsletter and keep away from anything that

might still be classified. Also things of interest that is or has occurred in your life, people are really interested in what is

going on with our members. Any story is made more interesting by the addition of pictures (should be originals or high

quality copies, they will be returned). Co-ordinate with Steve and Roy on the format if sending by e-mail and remember

we have no paid help so try to avoid sending input in longhand, if this presents a real problem get with Steve and Roy.

Keep in mind the newsletter is sent out in bulk mail and if you have moved it will not be forwarded or if on vacation it

will normally not be held for you.

 Help wanted -

 We are still looking for volunteers to maintain our photo history albums. We have 4 books that cover our years at

Chitose ; 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 & 65 -71. We need 4 people preferably from the time frame of the book they would take

over. We have a lot of pictures that we do not even know what time frame they belong with. The books have not been

updated for several years & will initially will require quite a bit of wor

 ASA Chitose Roster - I recently sent out an updated roster as an attachment in PDF format to all active members

(dues paying). Sorry due to mailing expenses we are not able to send by postal. There are 84 pages with 2584 located

members. This will be done about every 6 months. If you did not receive the roster and are an active member let me

know. I am planning on having copies of the roster run off that will be sold at cost at the reunion.

Please note the updated e-mail address below

Roy Gettz -asachitoseassn@att.net -3091 Blackbird Ct, Melbourne, FL 32935 -321-259-7039

Click here for Brats Info:

CHITOSE BRATS

    David Shaner the son of Stanley Shaner , now deceased, Chitose 57/64, has been appointed to be the ASA Chitose Brats Coordinator by president Andy Goodrich. David and his wife Kim live in Delray Beach, Florida. A Chitose Brat is any child of a member assigned to or attached to ASA Chitose who accompanied their parents at Chitose. Chitose Brats are eligible to be associate members of the Association and can be active or inactive depending on their dues status (dues are currently $5.00 a year). They are eligible for all the benefits of the association except that they can not hold elective office of the association. They will be carried on the roster as a separate section. Our current roster of the Chitose Brats is included in this newsletter. It would be appreciated if all who had Children review this list and send corrections or additions to Roy Gettz who maintains the roster. It is hoped that in the future our newsletter will have at least 1 page devoted to the Chitose Brats. Any input for the Brats Page should be sent to David Shaner at 9774 Savona Winds Dr, Delray Beach, FL 33446-9762, e-mail at shanerdmshanerdm@yahoo.com
        David (Mike ) Shaner the Chitose Brats coordinator for the ASA Chitose Association has set up a website at http://www.asachitosebrats.org/ for the Brats. The site is in the development stage and all are encouraged to take a look. The Chitose Brats are eligible to be associate members of the association either active (dues paying) or inactive members and will be carried on a roster separate from our regular members. They will be eligible for all the benefits of the organization except voting. These benefits include receiving the newsletter (which will include a Brats section until they are organized to the point of putting out their own newsletter) and attending the reunions which we hope will become a family affair for them. For our regular Chitose members who had children at Chitose please pass this on to them and have them contact Mike at: By Phone: 561-865-1248 or 561-504-2902  
The following was submitted by David Shaner

  As a dependent, I lived in Chitose 1 for 6 years (1957 to 1964). I returned to Chitose, accompanied by my wife, this past May with friends from the ASA Chitose association. This was the first time I had seen the place where I had grown up, since 1964. Needless to say the memories started pouring out of the hidden recesses of my mind and literally burst out of me in many ways. Of course, the city and camps had changed in so many ways that most of what I remembered was gone and would remain only a memory. But those things that remained made my trip there a very wonderful experience.

  I moved to Chitose from Tokyo in 1957, and our first year we lived off camp, in a converted duplex about 1/2 a mile away from Chitose 1 and right next to the Chitose river. I was shocked, overwhelmed and exceedingly delighted to discover that that house still stood and, indeed was inhabited. It had been converted back to a duplex but there it stood. Remarkably enough, was the fact, that in spite of all the changes, I was able to walk from the Airport Hotel directly to that house, as if it were yesterday.
  My six days in Chitose were equally filled with wonder and discovery of those sites I remembered so well, that were still around. I was even able to climb Mt. Tarumae, with my wife, which I last climbed in 1963 as a 16 year old. The 20 members of the association who traveled with us were wonderful and truly made the trip a great one. I fondly remember them all. Sheila McCann, always ready to get us to and from everywhere, she was like a special aunt; Dick and Mary Ott, our special newspaper deliverers; everyone touching our lives in special ways. Our Japanese hosts were also wonderful, especially Ben Saka, who I know is in all of our prayers. So many of them Knew my father and could tell me stories of their relationships. The Chitose reunion trip and the stay in Tokyo have truly been one of the most wonderful experiences in my life. As a result, I have been in contact and even had dinner with several “Chitose Brats” and we all agree to continue to communicate and meet and to try to find all the Chitose Brats. Our plans are to develop a web site and eventually, become part of the ASA Chitose organization. We would love to have all ASA Chitose members provide us with information on former Chitose Brats through their parents. Please feel free to contact me at shanerdmshanerdm@yahoo.com with any information.