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Archiver > WHITNEY > 2003-01 > 1043825942


From: R R Kyser <>
Subject: [WHITNEY-L] Re: WHY RUGBY?
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 01:39:10 -0600


According to Yahoo, "The geographical center of the lower 48 states lies
outside of Lebanon, Kansas, in the middle of a hog farm." No thanks!
( http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20010122.html )

The center of the 50 states is somewhere in South Dakota. Rugby has one
train a day in each direction, which is more than all of SoDak can claim.

I'm partial to southern Connecticut because it offers both Eli's museum
in Hamden ( www.eliwhitney.org ) and Henry's Norwalk a few miles away.
And lots of empty college dorms if the hotel prices are too high.

Whitney Point, N.Y. would be both economical and eponymous, as well as
near to those nasty (in genealogical terms) upstate counties where a lot
of us are hopelessly lost. But it is a bit off the beaten paths.

If a more central location is desired, how about Minneapolis-St. Paul?
The Whitney Hotel near St. Anthony Falls is rather nice, and there are a
couple of locally prominent Whitney families. It's an airline hub with
non-stop flights from almost everywhere. Of course, the Mall of America
might prove to be a worse temptation for some than the LDS library...

Did you know that in Minnesota's recent senatorial election, one
candidate worked for the Dorsey and Whitney law firm, while the other
hired a Whitney to manage his campaign?

Cheers,
Ron Kyser


On Tuesday, January 28, 2003, at 10:48 AM, Whitney Keen wrote:


It's a good idea to think about the geography. Questions to consider --
is the meeting primarily a Reunion, or is it s research trip?
Personally, if I am doing research, I don't have time to socialize
except in the evenings. If I am meeting and schmoozing with relatives,
I don't have time for research. So maybe we should meet at a place that
has some connection with the family, but is not a prime research site
like Salt Lake City. The Boston location last year would have been
wonderful for me but I was already committed to my Dad's 93rd birthday.
At present, I am assuming a 94th birthday this coming August. We could
meet at a site that is important for the Henry-1 or Samuel-1 branches
(not my branches, but interesting for all that). I really didn't think
Rugby ND was a serious contender. It may be the center of the US, but
not of the contiguous 48 for sure. The location in Whitney-on-Wye would
be fun, but I suspect it would be expensive to get there and probably to
rent the place and stay there. It looks very grand. I wish the two
British Whitneys that got in touch with me for the DNA project had
ordered the kits and submitted their DNA. Then we would at least know
where they fit and whether Whitney-on-Wye is in fact, the ancestral
homeland. If it is, it would be an incentive to travel there, maybe rent
a guest house or two as well as the "manor", and connect.


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