Mailing List:2002-08-12 09, Re: About The Reunion and Mailings, by Lyn Legere
Mailing List Archives > 2002-08-12 09, Re: About The Reunion and Mailings, by Lyn Legere
From: Lyn Legere <lynleg -at- bu.edu> Subject: Re: [WHITNEY-L] About The Reunion and Mailings Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 17:30:11 -0400 References: <[email protected]> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------B12A16888D325EBAA0F3A64C Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Dear group, et al., What a great synopsis, Phyllis, and a good laugh. Yes, we did have some fun and though I was ready to ring the neck of the hotel staff from time to time, as you noted, we all remained restrained and can hold our heads high in those towns. I want to especially note all the hard work done by Carolyn Branagan to get the accomoodations and at a price that was reasonable. I know from working with her that there were some very trying times with this. I also want to say that working with Carolyn has been an absolute delight. I want to thank all the presenters and, because I was running around a lot, I, too, will be looking forward to getting the handouts to really read the information. But all of it was a wonderful combination of good solid scholarship and down to earth humor. I will be posting my pictures hopefully this week and later, when things quiet down in my work world, I will write up my own thoughts on the reunion from the perspective of organizing - what worked, what didn't work, etc. It had been suggested that we provide evaluations for people to fill out and I think that was a good idea. I didn't think to do it before the reunion, but we might want to think about doing something like that to give people an opportunity to provide feedback, anonymously, if they'd like. Janet Duffield agreed to start the conversation about any future reunions and those discussions will, I imagine, follow the general protocol that allowed this reunion to be such a success - open discussion and general consensus on all of the issues like time, place, topics etc. We collected in excess of $200.00 for the rebuilding fund of the Watertown Free Public library and I will be talking wth them this week about the best way to present this money to them. Thanks to all who so graciously made donations. LYN Timeneggin -at- aol.com wrote: > Although not official greeters, we (and several others) were greeted by Janet > Whitney and Victoria Harrel who had arrived a day earlier (soon to discover > we are Henry Adams descendants), Robert Croxton Whitney and Rita Mayhorn. > Shortly, Lyn Legere and Carolyn Branagan who had been on a trip to the Mt. > Auburn Cemetery arrived. > > Since our rooms were not ready when we arrived, we were shown to the > (Whitney) Hospitality Room--a place to "sit a spell", leave materials for > other WRG members and families to examine, but mostly to share information > freely, as if it had been stored at a simmer for years, to boil up now into > lively and sometimes animated exchanges. Others used the room to review > notes or to prepare their materials for the lecture program. > > At the appointed hour, we assembled in the dining room. Carolyn Branagan and > Lyn Legere welcomed us all. Lyn, speaking first, explained how "SORRY" she > was, that she wanted to say that first and that she'd be "SORRY" in advance > for anything that was going to go wrong during the entire weekend. That was > the first glimpse into the humor that was to come to the Whitney's that > weekend. Carolyn's family, who had made magnets for each of us as a souvenir > of the day, continued to be her helpers during the remainder of the weekend. > Thank you so much. > > The game Lyn chose for the icebreaker immediately showed Lyn's knack for > enlisting others to help, as Mile Poston was soon scurrying back and forth > across the room to post the "leaves" (square decorated papers on which we > were to write our names) in under the appropriate "branches" (John and > Elinor, Richard, Benjamin, John, unconnected, etc.)of the Whitney family > tree. > > > Those who were speakers were more than willing to share the information they > had gathered. Speakers like Allan Green and Robert Ward who advised us on all > the proven and disproven facts in the Whitney tree; Ken Whitney's > Josiah-Josiah-Josiah and Dove enigmas; Karl Schwerin's "Scientific > Whtiney's"; Ron Kyser and Joe Whitney's "Other Whitney Families" searches; to > Larry Tracy's search for Main/New Brunswick ancestry and where those travels > have taken him; to Robert C. Whitney's humorous stories (mixed tastefully > with a "suthun drawl") about his southern ancestry. > Although Ken Schwerin commented that Whitney's have "hot tempers", this group > was found to be PATIENT (moved from room to room, reserved rooms unavailable > on time, food, waiting in line, changes in scheduling, etc.) > HELPFUL (directions, paperwork, keeping one informed of changes in > program/conference rooms and where to find them, etc. > GENEROUS (sharing familial and genealogical information, copies of items; and > of themselves, their hobbies and interests outside of genealogy; donating > door prizes) > GENUINELY WARM AND HOSPITABLE (welcoming, cordial, caring for one > another--enough space, enough food, seating with folks, helping hold doors, > papers, glasses, etc.; > HUMOROUS - We did so much laughing this weekend-- either at ourselves, our > mistakes, our presenters antics, and things that were just genuinely funny. > > While some visited other places of historical significance or went to Boston > to research, we chose to go by caravan (earlier days would have been wagon > train) to the Watertown Public Library. Lyn and Carolyn are so good at > leading. After the library, the caravan drove to the Mt. Auburn Cemetery > where some visited and took photos of the Whitney graves, while others > "meandered" (Lyn's word) about the peaceful grounds. > > Door prizes included imprinted tee shirts and hats and several books. These > were awarded for oldest and youngest member of group present, travel the > greatest distance, having a relative from the geographical location of > resources in book. etc. (There was a LOT of humor here, or just plain > DISHONESTY, as family members vied for the prize being offered). > > What's in the future? A new list is being compiled by Carolyn of those > present at the reunion, said list containing names, addresses, telephone > numbers and e-mail addresses. Another reunion? Some feel it would be better > to have a reunion every two years, rather than every year. Communication: > Through communication with those on the WRG, new evidence (proof) and > information will continue to be shared. > > What is the final analysis? It was a successful event, with a few glitches > (and what event doesn't have them). Advanced planning paid off. We who > subscribe to the WRG list (and those who don't) are grateful for all of the > hours and hours of dedicated research that is available through the Whitney > family, and for all the energy that went into this reunion. And, we can hold > our heads high: We're still welcome in the Lexington, Concord, Watertown > area. > > Though many of you have asked for copies of the "handouts" that were given at > the reunion, let me advise you that most of material that was presented will > be forthcoming online and can be downloaded. Of the things that were > provided, I will be mailing those out shortly to people who had e-mailed > requesting them. Some of these requests were missing snail-mail addresses > and you will be receiving a request for those via e-mail. > > If you have questions about the snail mail ONLY, please write me at > timeneggin -at- aol.com > > Sincerely, > Phyllis Lovelace House --------------B12A16888D325EBAA0F3A64C Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="lynleg.vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Description: Card for Lyn Legere Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="lynleg.vcf" begin:vcard n:Legere;Lyn x-mozilla-html:FALSE org:Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation version:2.1 email;internet:lynleg -at- bu.edu title:Research Assistant adr;quoted-printable:;;940 Commonwealth Avenue, West=0D=0A;Boston;MA;02215; fn:Lyn Legere end:vcard --------------B12A16888D325EBAA0F3A64C--
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