Foreign Friday

Lt. Col. Ralph Stevens and Susan Cope (rank unknown)
Misawa AFB Officer Bowling League
Fall 1979

One activity on base that helped me socialize with those outside of the school/teacher circle was the Officer Bowling League. An Army Lt. Colonel, Ralph (shown above) was the captain of my team; he commonly said, "One for the team. . ." when members clipped only one pin from a spare.

Ralph got married in the Spring of 1980: it was the first and only military wedding I've attended. The ceremony was held at the Club Mutsu (officer's club), and when he and his bride exited the building, they passed through a line of raised sabers. I found this site which has old and new photos of the main buildings on Misawa AFB, many of the old photos were taken about the time that I was in Japan.  

In the basement of the Mutsu was the officer's bar called Davy Jones' Locker. Upstairs was a restaurant that was open on weekends. A large bar on the main floor was only used for large parties or receptions. The high school prom was held in the ballroom of the Mutsu in 1980, and the stage in the ballroom was used for many high school plays.

Susan (shown in the photo above) was in the Navy, but I can't remember her rank. Note Susan's drink of choice. TaB, one of the early "diet" sodas, was a popular drink in those days.

Mary Miller

Mary was a secretary at one of the schools and encouraged me to join the league. I'm glad that she did. Yes, we kept score the old-fashioned way with a pencil, and the scores were projected above.

Bob Booker

I can't remember for certain, but I think Bob was in the Air Force.

Misawa AFB
Officer Bowling League
1979 - 80

I managed to bowl a 200 game and have a 525 series while in Misawa, two feats I haven't repeated.