USS ROBERT L WILSON DD/DDE 847 REUNION INFORMATION

As Found in the Midship's Passageway, This is a Replica used with our Ceremonial Bell seen in Reunion Photos!!

Shipmates, The 2010 Ships Reunion will be held in October (7 thru 11) 2010 in St Louis, MO. Please be advised there will be a scheduled trip to Centralia IL for the dedication and the placement of the Ship's Anchor near Robert L Wilson's grave site. The trip to Centralia being planned will be by bus, a distance of about 70 miles and will tenatively be $35.00 per person. His surviving sister will be the Guest of Honor at the Dedication. Please plan to try and be a part of this great event, if you have never been to a reunion, this would be the time to make plans for an effort to be part of a historic event in your life. We are still accepting donations for the slab (quarterdeck) that the Anchor will be placed upon.

LUNCHEON GUEST OF HONOR AT 2010 REUNION

Eva Shook is Robert L.Wilson's sister. Seen here at home in Centralia, Il Eva is anxious to meet crewmembers of the ship that is her brother's namesake. She has agreed to be our honored guest at a luncheon to be held at Centralia House on October 9, 2010, when we dedicate the ship's anchor monument at Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery where Robert is interred. Many local veteran's organizations are planning to attend and take part in the ceremony.

STAINED GLASS ENTRANCE DOOR TO CENTRALIA HOUSE SINCE 1854

The Centralia House was a landmark and a tradition on the original Illinois Central Railroad. Constructed about 1854, it was the social center of Centralia until it burned in 1918, and was famous for its restaurant in the days before the dining car. Each train was met by a waiter who announced the meals with a large brass gong. Some of the great men of American history dined at Centralia House, including Stephen Douglas, Generals Grant, McClellan, Sherman and many more.The restaurant achieved such a fine reputation for good food that traveling drummers scheduled their trips to spend the weekends here. It was also popular as stopping-off place for the local smart set. The building which houses this restaurant as a saloon and a sporting house, and still retains its pre-1900 bar and back bar. Among other things, the saloon became well known for a hair-raising drink call the Knickerbein (Broken Leg) which was a layered concoction with a raw egg yolk in the middle, covered with kummel. Except for the addition of the kitchen and the conversion of the stable to a store room, the restaurant is exactly as it was a century ago, even to the spirits warehouse and a stone cellar below the bar. The entrance to Centralia House emphasizes it's Illinois Central railroad heritage with the wide funnel image and headlamp of a steam locomotive that hauled freight and passengers just a few hundred yards away since 1854.