The Books are in the Mail!

I just sent the last of the Albert and Mary Park History books off.  Those of you that ordered them should be receiving them in about a week.  Enjoy!

Judy

Sending prayers and get well wishes to Judy as she continues to recover from a recent heart attack. Wanita says she is doing better, but has struggled a little, emotionally, due to the side effects of all the drugs. Cards would be appreciated, or a phone call. Judy's address is 25277 West Cranston Place, Buckeye, Arizona 85362. The phone number I have for her is 623-327-1923. (Wanita added a comment that Judy's cell phone number is 623-327-0466)  You might want to call Wanita for details. 623-932-1166. Get well, soon, Judy!

LAST CALL FOR PARK HISTORY BOOK orders!

This is a reminder of the October 15th deadline for ordering a Park history book.

As of this morning, I have orders for 14 books.  That only includes the ones I have actually received money for.  There are others who have told me they plan to order, but I have not yet received their money.

I will only be able to order books that have been paid for in advance.   We are getting close to the 20 book order which will take 20% off the list price of $157 (plus tax and shipping)   which brings the cost to around $133.  (To get the volume discount, the order has to go to one address, so all books will ship to me, and I will forward each individual order on.)

I have asked that anyone ordering a book send me $150.  If it comes to less than that, I will give you a refund. 

Deadline to order is October 15th!  Hurry!  Hurry!  Hurry!

Thanks for your support and enthusiasm.  What a great family we come from!

snopes.com: Roane County High School Prayer

I recently received an e-mail with a link to this story. I thought it might possibly be a hoax, so I checked it out and discovered it to be true. Although it is 9 years old, I think it bears repeating. snopes.com: Roane County High School Prayer

Hello From St. George!

After returning from the reunion and moving to St. George, we have finally got our Internet up and going! I never dreamed it would take so long! Thank-you all for making the reunion a wonderful success. I confess that I took a pitiful few number of pictures, so if anyone wants to e-mail some of theirs to me, I would be glad to include them in a future post. (Or I will copy them from your blogs)



For those that may not have heard the word, the 2011 reunion will be held in Arkansas. I am really pretty excited about that because Arkansas is where the Park family settled just before moving to Idaho. As soon as I get my map unpacked I will do some research and see just how close we will be to the Arkansas homestead!

I have had a request for more Albert and Mary Family History books.

• The cost for one book is $157.65 plus shipping which adds a couple of dollars to the total.
• 2-9 books is 10% off (with shipping, approximately $150)
• 10-19 books is 15% off (approximately $140).
• If we have an order of 20 or more books, then I need to contact the publishers for a quote, but I am guessing that it would be 20% off ($133).

I need to know who is interested and how many books you want. Payment has to be made in advance, so please consider that when ordering. I would like to place the order around the first week in October, so I can get the books back and re-sent to everyone before the Christmas rush. Once I find out how many books are wanted, I will let you know the definite price. If you are aware of any corrections that need to be made to the book, it might be possible to do that, if you let me know quickly. My new phone number is 435-673-8256.

Again, thanks for a wonderful reunion and I'll be posting pictures soon! (Aspen and Babz are able to make posts to this blog as well, so I am inviting them to do so at this time!)

A Last Minute Request!

THREE MORE DAYS! If there are any of you out there that haven't left for the reunion yet, I have one more request.

Firewood. There will be a firepit, and there is wood available to purchase, but if anyone has some they can bring, it would be great.

I think that's all. We are looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

The Final Count-Down!

I know it seems that we have left you hanging here at the end, but, we have been so very busy!

But, don't worry! The reunion plans are going forward and we hope to see you all next weekend. In the meantime, here are some final details.

• The main gathering place will be at the Ranch Inn Motel and Campground (9611 Highway 30 208-776-9917 ask for Marie) As far as I know, there are still trailer and tent spots left. If you want a tent spot and haven't already reserved it, please make a comment on the blog, letting me know or call me at 1-435-789-8256 or 1-435-790-4047
• The other block of rooms are at the Home Hotel and Motel (306 East Mian Street 1-208-776-5507) I have canceled the hold on the remaining rooms...sorry!
• Reba and Tryina have asked about the cost of food. This is the plan.

We will use most of the rollover Park reunion funds to cover the cost of food, one day's rental of the community center and one day's admission to the hot springs. I doubt that the yard sale, raffle/silent auction will replace all of those funds ($2200).

But we are keenly aware of the slumping economy! After the cost of your motel rooms and gas, it might be too much for some of you to have to come up with more money for food.

We will leave it up to each family to decide if they can afford to make a donation to help with food. (Mike and I will be the cashiers)

• BRING A LAWN CHAIR!
• BRING A JACKET! It gets cold at night. There has also been a lot of rain this summer, so plan for it, just in case
• BRING A TUBE to float the river if you want. Tube rentals are available for a price...$7.00 a day for a single and twice that for doubles, three times for triples and 4 times for quad
• The menu has been revised, but you'll still love it. And, if you don't, there are food wagons close by.

See you next week!

More Details!

As the time for the reunion draws closer, we wanted to share with you some of the activities we have planned.

• Swimming and tubing at the river, hot pools, and waterslides I have attached a price list for the hot pools and swimming pool. The reunion fund will cover the cost of Saturday's entrance fee. Thursday and Friday, you can swim at the river for free or pay to attend the other pools. Tubes are available to rent when you run the river. (singles, doubles, triples and quads) There is a group rate for those if any of us are interested. Friday would be a good day to do that because the finishing spot is right next to the Community Center.
(If this is too small to read , go to http://www.lavahotsprings.com/ then to the swimming pools,then to the rates...it's hard to find,but it's there, I promise!)



• Main gathering spot will be at the Ranch Inn We have reserved a covered pavilion at the Ranch Inn for the entire reunion. That is where we will gather each day for meals and visiting. The address is 9611 E. Highway 30





• Yard Sale and Raffle/Auction Don't forget to bring your yard sale and raffle items. The reunion fund needs some refurbishing and this will help!





• Friday night at the Community Center From 2:00 until 11:00 we have reserved the Lava Community Center building which is a nice facility with plenty of seating, spacious kitchen, indoor restrooms, a stage with sound equipment, etc. That night, we will have a fun program after dinner, including Family Reunion Bingo, Guessing games, Kiddie Fish Pond, and lots of other fun stuff we haven't even thought of yet. The Community Center is located at 150 North Center





• Look-alike contest Refer back to an earlier post where I announced the Albert and Mary look-alike contest.





• Crafts for the kiddies There will be some fun crafts for the kids at the main gathering spot on Friday and Saturday. Feel free to bring your own stuff for this. (are there leftover beads from the 2007 reunion?)





• Lots of snacking! In keeping with tradition, we are requesting that all the cousins please bring snacks...cookies are always a favorite, but we are always open for new items!





• Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! If I can talk Mike into lugging it down, I have a real cute put your head through the hole backdrop for pictures. Let's tentatively plan to take family pictures on Saturday morning, just before swimming.

I hope to see you all at the reunion. It will be great fun!

P.S. Marie called to tell me that two rooms had opened up at the Ranch Inn...rooms 3 and 7. Call and ask to speak to Marie personally, because she wants to handle it herself. 1-208-776-9917 She will only save them until Monday, the 18th because she says she has tons of reservation requests. And, with that thought, I will also be releasing the hold on the rooms at the Home Motel in one week. (Otherwise, I will be responsible to pay for them, myself!)

And, please let me know if you plan to use the tenting option at the Ranch Inn. I need to let Marie know how many to rope off. So far, I have three from Tryina (did I remember that right, Tryina?) and one for Reba.

The Ranch Inn Has Two Rooms!

Marie called me yesterday to tell me that the Ranch Inn (the main gathering place for the reunion) just had two rooms open up and she will hold them for Park family reunion attendees only until Monday, the 18th. Both rooms have a full and two twin beds. Hope someone out there can use them!

Let's Talk Turkey!

After taking a couple of weeks off to help mom (Barb) begin to recuperate from a recent fall which left her with a broken hip and wrist, it is time to get back to the business of planning the final details of the family reunion, which are, as follows:

• MENU The place we will be gathering at is an outdoor pavilion. We will have access to running water (no sink) and electricity (no stove) so, for the most part, it will be somewhat like camping. In the interest of simplicity, we plan to have simple breakfasts and lunches, with a big dinner each night.
• For breakfast, we will serve cereal, fruit, yogurt, sweet rolls, milk, coffee,and juices. Babz requested that we have bacon and/or sausage one day and volunteered her family to cook it, so we may have that as well. (Yay, Babz!)
• For lunches, I was planning al'a'cart fixings for sandwiches, assorted chips, cold veggies, cookies, punch and ice tea. This will make it easy for those wishing to take a sack lunch while swimming, etc.
• For dinners, Thursday night will be hot dogs, hamburgers and salads and Saturday night will be dutch oven chicken and potatoes
• Friday afternoon and evening we have reserved an indoor community center, which has a fully equipped kitchen, tables, chairs, bathrooms, the works. We will have a big dinner, with roast, potatoes, gravy, rolls, salads, corn-on-the-cob and cheese cake for dessert.

This is subject to revision. I have already changed my mind several times and reserve the right to do so again before we are finished. :)

If you or your family has a special cereal request, let me know, so we can try to accommodate. Likewise on the salads, lunch meats, juices or any special requests, in general.

• FUND RAISERS In keeping with tradition, we will be having a Park Family yard sale. We will have to be creative in how we do this, but I think we can make it work. Bring all your treasures! In addition, there will be a raffle and/or silent auction for some home created items. Bernice is already working on some stuff, and Uncle Bill is great to donate. I plan to donate a copy of the Albert and Mary family history book that I am working hard to complete. (the request for memories of Grandma and Grandpa Park is now open to everyone...leave it in the form of a comment at the end of this post, send me a letter (3161 West 3500 North, Vernal, Utah 84078) or e-mail me (lindalpm1978@yahoo.com) Hurry please, it goes to the printers in a few weeks.)

In conjuction with the yard sale, if any of you have room to bring a table (long, short or in-between) that would be greatly apprecaited.

• Chairs We are requesting that anyone with room, bring chairs to sit on. There will be picnic tables to eat at, but to just sit and visit, there isn't much there.

• The next post will be about swimming and other activities we are planning!

ACCOMODATIONS!

I just talked to both motels we are booking with. These are the reservations they have made, as of the 19th of March.

Ranch Motel
Mervin: rooms 1, 2 and the large yurt
English: rooms 3 and 7
Bernice Park: room 4
W Park: room 5
Barker: room 6
Frank Park: room 8
Blum: room 9
Williams: small yurt, one full hook-up#4
Merrell: teepee, one full hook-up#3

Home Motel
Merrell: rooms 101, 103, 111
Johansen: rooms 106, 107, 110
V Thompson: room 108
Barker: rooms 104, 105, 140 (is right next to 104)
J Vincent: rooms 102, 109

Rooms still available for $65 per night: 112, 113, 114, 115, 116

I will be in Lewiston for Uncle Bill's birthday celebration and hope to be able to talk to some of you then if there are problems.

Thanks, Aunt Peggy!

Look at these great pictures!

This is Grandma Park, age 4. It will definitely have to be added to the Look-A-Like contest.

Wha-hoo! I don't remember Grandma anyway but completely covered up. What do you think...should we add this one to the contest, too!

Here's a great picture of Grandpa.

Thanks, Aunt Peggy.

Only 155 days to go!

Get your accommodations, quickly!

I talked to Babz the other day and she told me that she had taken the last rooms I had reserved at the Home Hotel and Motel (see earlier post for phone number; sorry I don't know how to do the link thing...feel freee to add it, Aspen) so they agreed to set aside five more rooms for us...the last five in the motel! If you haven't made arrangements for a place to stay yet, you need to hurry! I believe these last five rooms have one queen bed in them, and the price is still $65.00 per night. There are still trailer hook-up spots available at the Ranch Inn,and camping spots.

Oh! and that reminds me. When I last talked to Marie at the Ranch Inn, she told me that they had mistakenly double booked some of you. I think it was for the yurt...but I can't remember for sure. Anyway, she said she would call the Home motel and make arrangements with them so that everyone would have a place. I would assume that she called whoever it was that it involved, but to be on the safe side, those of you booked at the Ranch Inn should probably call and confirm your reservation.

Tomorrow I am checking into rates for the swimming pool, hot pools, river tubes, etc. and I will post that information soon.

A request for yard sale and other donations to go towards the family reunion fund will be in a post later on this week,as well.

I still haven't heard from anyone at all from Aunt Peggy's family. If there are any of you out there reading this, please let me know!

Look-Alike-Contest!

HERE THEY ARE! The pictues for the Albert and Mary Park look-alike contest to be held during the Park Family Reunion! I am excited to see who will win. Let's have some fun with this. Some of the pictures I have are group shots, which I will try to have cropped . But, for now, here they are...This is Grandpa,with two of his sisters. He, of course, is the one in the middle.

Again, a group shot of Grandpa's family. He is in the front row, second from the left. His twin sister, Alice has her arm around his shoulders.

Grandpa, as a young man.


The next two pictures are of both Grandma and Grandpa.

And now, the pictures of Grandma Park

As a young girl...

A teenager...

A little older...

And finally, in her later years.

Rules for the contest are as follows:

1. The above photos will be framed and sitting on a table for everyone to see, with a clipboard in front of each photo.

2. Throughout the reunion, you will be encouraged to "nominate" candidates for each photo, by putting their name on the clipboard.

3. On the last night of the reunion, each of the nominated candidates will have a chance to "strut their stuff". Candidates are encouraged to do whatever it takes to improve their chances of winning (wear similar clothing, etc.)

4. An applause vote will determine the winner of each photo.

5. Each winner will receive a framed photo from the category they won in, and each contestant will receive a smaller, unframed photo, plus bragging rights.

Finally, if any of you have different pictures of Grandma and Grandpa Park that you feel would make better look-alike photo contest pictures, please mail or e-mail them to me by March.

And I still need memories and photos! The book I am working on will have a section for each of Grandma and Grandpa Park's children, with short histories of their lives, (Aunt Lil, Aunt Gracie,Uncle Bill...)as well as pictures (hopefully!). If you want a better assortment than the snapshots I have of past reunions, then please send me some pictures!

Also, I have not heard back from many of you. I am most concerned that there is at least one representative from each of the original sibling's families. So, please take a minute and make a comment at the end of this post. By commenting, you will agree to make sure that your extended family gets the word. Anyone I haven't heard from by the time I return from my vaction the middle of February I will have to call or send a letter to. (not a fun task!)