The hall is air conditioned for our summer comfort, well-maintained, and there is plenty of parking space. It is handicapped accessible, too. Of course, it has full toilet facilities.
Feel free to drop in any time after 9:00 am.
Upon entering the hall for the first time on the 27th, please take time to sign in with one of the hosts at the door. Pick up a name tag, too, so that others will know who you are. Perhaps you will meet someone that you once knew but after the passage of several years or decades you will need a clue as to who you are encountering.
Name tags will help!
We hope that many of you are bringing memorabilia to show and talk about. There will be tables arranged in the room for anyone to set up displays of their family artifacts, photos, posters and any other memorabilia. These can be left in the hall throughout the day until we close our celebration late in the evening.
Whenever in the hall, feel free to introduce yourself to anyone you encounter. Engage in conversations about your family’s history and hear the experiences of others, too.
There will be several chances to learn more about your family history. Some of our cousins will have on-hand copies of documents that may help you learn more about your particular ancestors. They can also help you learn about burial sites of your ancestors. They will be happy to help you to find answers to your questions to the extent possible. If sufficient information is available, your family tree may be created for you, too. Bring some pictures that can be scanned and then inserted into your family tree. Have a list of names and important dates of your close relatives that may aid researching your part of the family. What better way to remember your roots than leaving The Gathering with new information that you can refer to over the coming years and pass along to younger generations.
Cousin Ann Cushman will be available in the Hall to talk about how one can become a member of either the Sons or the Daughters of the American Revolution. Wingate’s grandfather John Haines supported the fight for independence and makes us eligible. Ann also can talk about eligibility for the Mayflower Society, but not all of us are eligible for that association.
After 3:00 p.m. All of the activities will be at the VFW Hall. A cash bar will be open and there will be some light appetizers for all to enjoy. We hope that everyone will use this social period to engage in viewing the displays and conversing with other cousins.
At 5:15, a professional photographer will take a group photo:
Hopefully, all participants in the Gathering will be present to be part of this historic image.
Followed by a buffet supper for those who RSVPed. Still time to do that here!
After the supper is over, everyone (including those who did not pay for or partake of the buffet dinner) is welcome to join in the after-supper program. There will be acknowledgments of those who have supported the Haines Maple Grove Cemetery and Friends Church over the years. There will also be some presentations on the history of our ancestors and their accomplishments. After the formal program, everyone is invited to remain in the hall to continue socializing and making any plans they choose for further actions to preserve the legacy of Wingate and Mary Haines.