A mass e-mailing will soon go out to all the Campbell Cousins for whom I
have e-mail addresses (and many of those will "bounce", because people
have changed e-mail addresses and forgotten to let us know, or they no
longer have e-mail, are no longer interested, have died, or whatever).
I'll send out postcards to those for whom I have a mailing address but
no e-mail (or their e-mail bounced).
But here are answers to some of the questions I have been recieving:
* The Campbell Reunion will be Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008
* It will be held in Nelson Township's pavilion, which is just off
(and visible from) Bliss Rd.; NOT at the Army Engineers'
Recreation areas we used in previous years. This large pavilion
is near the North West Corner of Cowanesque Lake.
* It is toward the Lake (downhill) from Bliss Rd.
* It is West of the Nelson Cem. and East of the Nelson Community
Center, post office and church.
* For those who don't know the area well it's better to take US15 to
Lawrenceville, PA. From US 15, turn onto Bliss Road. The
intersection with US 15 is in NYS, just across the bridge to
Lawrenceville and PA. When coming from Lawrenceville, the lake,
and after it the cemetery and then the pavilion, will be on your
left. There's lots of parking (no pun intended)
* I have not heard anything specific about this year, but for the
reunions in this century, people have started setting up around
10AM and the meal has started around 12:30 or 1.
* All those who are able to do so bring a "covered dish" to share.
* Folks are encouraged to bring their own plates, cups & and
silverware, but there will be spares on hand for those who can't
or who forget
* Bringing memorabilia, such as old photos, letters, etc. is encouraged.
* Cemetery tours will be facilitated (in some fashion)
* Anyone who is interested in attending is welcome -- no DNA test is
required for admission
* Usually we have some additional socializing opportunities for the
out-of-area visitors
* More details will follow when known.
I've been asked if there will be a giant family tree this year, similar
to the one we had at an Owlett reunion held in Knoxville several years
ago -- their 100th reunionas I recall. For that occasion, printing it
out took many 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper which I taped together. The
Owlett tree covered one side wall of the gym and the Campbell tree
covered the other side wall and one end wall of the gym. Since that
time, I would estimate that at least 400 or 500 additional people have
been added to the Campbell tree. So, unless I reduct the font size, the
chart would now be even bigger. I would love to make another, but don't
know what we would do with it outdoors -- no walls to fasten it to,
wind, and sometimes rain to contend with. The pavilion has more picnic
tables than we will need. I could fasten the pages together in blocks
that would fit on a picnic table. People would be able to get their
heads closer to the charts than when they were wall mounted, so I can
reduce the font size and still have them readable. There probably
wouldn't be enough tables to present the entire Campbell family tree,
but I could focus on the lines that are most likely to be present.
I would like to have some of our future reunions indoors. The Nelson
Community Center is available at a reasonable price. Roseville has a
nice facility that's used by some other Campbels for their reunion, and
I'm sure there are other good facilities that are affordable. It's a
lot easier to display things indoors where you don't have to contend
with wind and/or rain.
I would also love to sometime have one of our reunions in Scotland, but
the weak dollar and the high price of jet fuel don't make that seem
likely in the foreseeable future. I still have mineral rights to Tioga
Co. property, as some of you probably do also. If one of us "strikes it
rich" if oil or gas is discovered on our property, maybe we can charter
a plane and take everyone. Or, if one of you follows in the footsteps
of one of my former coworkers who won $6,000,000 in the NYS lottery.
Until then, we may have to stick to budgets more in line with hot dogs
and Kool-aid.
In spite of gas prices Marylyn is again coming from FL. Cousin Virginia
Cornell Smith is coming from NC with her sister Linda from VA. Some
cousins plan to come from NV & NM. The more the merrier!
Hope to see you all Aug 9.