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Archiver > WHITNEY > 2002-01 > 1011644425


From: Lyn Legere <>
Subject: [WHITNEY-L] RE: REunion Activities
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2002 15:21:16 -0500


Hi Folks,

People's responses to activities for the Reunion weekend are as follows:

1) Tour of Watertown - 8 votes

2) Robert & Allan - Discussion of father of Thomas Whitney - 7 votes

3) Maps of local areas - 7 votes

4) Documenting sources - 3 yes/several specific "no"

5) Discussions on future Reunions - 3

6) A visit to to the New England Historical Genealogy Society

7) Lecture on origin of surnames - 2 votes

One vote each for:

Tour of Mt. Auburn
Beginning genealogy
Future of the WRG
Discussion tracing Southern Whitneys
Discussion tracing Henry Whitney family


As you can see from the numbers, I didn't get a response from everyone
attending, so I'll assume, unless I hear otherwise, that I've heard from
all that wanted to have a say at this point.

Other ideas were passed along to me as well, such as:

1) Put up a large map of the Whitney Family tree (trees??) to see how
we connect.

2) A book on the Whitneys to sell and distribute at the Reunion and to
send to those who didn't come.

3) A "brain storming" session to get the creative juices going.

4) Investigate the Vermont Whitney line

5) Description of how John's sons' lines developed.

6) Whitney origins.

7) Discussion on the history of the WRG

8) Sunday a.m. service

AS you can see, ideas are quite wide-spread. Also, we need to meet the
needs of the varied lines - this is not a specific John & Elinor family
reunion. Also, getting acquainted face-to-face and having some fun
should definitely be included in the program!! As one person pointed
out, there are many Historical Societies and conferences, etc., where
lectures are given. Also, we may have children to think about.
So....how do we combine all these????

Jeanne Muse sent me a possible program structure that I think might
work.

Friday - Arrival Day - Before the reunion, we should have an idea of
when people will be arriving. We can then set up a time to actually
start with activities, but in general, Friday night would be a good time
for "ice-breaking" - meeting each other, etc. I have a couple of ideas
for this, which we can talk about later (or maybe I'll just surprise
everyone!!)

If we have most people coming in in the afternoon, Friday night might be
a nice time to talk about the origins of WRG, and maybe a quick history
of the Whitneys in the USA and/or England.

Saturday:
People's most desired activities are around some lectures and some
visits in the area. We could have the morning be the time for some
topical discussions. If we go 9 - 1, we could do as follows:

Robert/Allan on Thomas of Westminster
A volunteer on the Henry Whitney line
A volunteer on the Southern Whitneys
Maine/Vermont/NH Whitneys??
Break into respective groups to discuss new info or brainstorm brick
walls

LUNCH BREAK

After lunch, we could do some touring. I fear that people are going to
be very dissappointed in Watertown. When you get onto Route 2 on the
outskirts of Concord, the tapestry of the land changes significantly
into farming land, etc. What I'm thinking is that Jan and I can work on
maps, etc. of the varied places in the area, and maybe groups can go on
different tours, swinging by Watertown on the way, if you choose. If
someone can advise me where the Whitney buildings are in Watertown
(Shawn??), I can go over and take some photos and post them to help
people make decisions about Watertown.

Saturday Night

This might be a good time for some social activities, maybe some
including children. Do we have many children coming and are any of them
interested or at least partially interested in this family tree thing??
We might want to put together an activity specifically to embrace the
children - maybe they can talk about their own family or grandparents or
something that interests them about their family. There are other ideas
for how children could be involved.

Sunday is check out day. Depending on when people need to get on the
road, we can decide what to do, if anything, on Sunday a.m. We had
talked about maybe having some sort of an ecumenical service
(lay/ministerial volunteers?) on Sunday morning. This also could be a
good time to have a meeting about the 2nd Whitney Family Reunion!!

I would love peoples' feedback on this very preliminary outline of our
Reunion. Remember, it's your reunion, so let me know....

Thanks,

LYN

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