Reunion Reminder from John Fowler

dear all:

you have already been made aware of the great new reunion website put together by betsy, jr. and her nephew ben.  sadly,  i may be too computer illiterate to use it effectively, so will have to rely on this method to communicate reunion reminders together with news and nuggets to lure even more attendees.  however, you can use the website to keep up and to post your ideas for those events (other than specific meals?) which you may want to take place at the reunion.  would appreciate receiving all your reunion suggestions, ideas and requests at the earliest possible date.  for example, do we have enough tennis players for a tournament?  there are many artists in the family; are exhibitions and discussions possible?  south dakota produced a couple noted illustrators, harvey dunn and remington schuyler, but the museums housing their works are three hours away. any interest?

two housekeeping notes:

1.  requests have been received as to the best time to be in elk point if one cannot be there for all of the period july 3 through 8.  it appears that july 5 and 6 are the days when most everyone will be in elk point and when the larger family parties, meals and "ceremonies and speeches" will be held.  it is expected that a large tent with 10 tables and 70 chairs will be installed in the side yard for the entire period, and work is progressing on events of special interest on all days.  don will be in attendance for the entire period to lead  historical discussions, reminiscences and tours.

Hometowne Inn, Elk Point

2.  your host committee (party of one, so far) has received many informal but few formal notices of attendance, and almost no information on specific travel plans, period of stay, or expected sleeping accommodations. please give us feedback on these matters asap.  unfortunately, even the renovated house will not hold the 60 or so expected reunioners, and probably not even all offspring of margaret and me with spouses and children.  midge's house is on the market and may well be sold by july 4th, so that cannot be counted on either.  however, i have reserved some rooms at the local motel, the hometowne inn, some of which are still unspoken for.  it is (almost) within walking distance of the house, very reasonably priced (about $65 per room with 2 queen beds), and will no doubt be a (subdued) venue for mini-parties.  let me know, as all reserved room are still in my name;  first come, first served.  the relatively new holiday inn express in vermillion has many rooms available for the period, but is 18 minutes away and  more "spendy", to use an elk point term.

in the previous reminder, i talked about the importance to the family of the 1876 fowler home in elk point.  another significant piece of "family" real estate is the chaussee farm about 3 miles west of town.  it is a centennial farm, meaning, in this case, that it has been in the family for well over 100 years.  it includes the main house, which is an interesting piece of architecture built early in the 20th century, and it has great southern views toward the missouri river and the nebraska hills.  david keeps the grounds in immaculate condition.  tours will be arranged and, depending on july's weather and mosquito crop, it may provide a fantastic picnic venue.

other touring destinations within an hour or so include spirit mound (the only spot in south dakota where you can be 100% certain that you are standing exactly where lewis and clark stood); superb architecture, including the restored orpheum theater, in sioux city; the falls on the sioux river (in sioux falls, of all places); hudson, sd, where pealy grew up and many relatives, including his parents, are buried; the ida grove, ia, area where sophie was raised; and the dells on the sioux river where jesse james escaped after the botched northfield, mn, bank robbery;  all of which you can visit after your mandated pilgrimage to the national music museum in vermillion.

National Music Museum--Vermillion, SD

the new basement in the elk point house has a "file room" containing family archives as well as a lot of other "stuff".  we hope that you will supplement the archives with biographical information such as that which brother don has asked all family members to send, along with pictures and other materials which you may select for inclusion.  the goal is to have a comprehensive archival section for each family into which a fowler has married, etc.

the file room also has large cupboards and their "stuff" includes antique toys, games and other memorabilia, including pealy's paints and 1940s income tax returns, and 1929 sioux city newspapers, discovered during the renovation, which had been put in layers beneath the parlor rug to cut down on invasive breezes from under the house.  if the young'uns promise to temporarily turn off their electronic gadgets, we will demonstrate with the old toys and games how the "deprived" children of the 1920s and 30s, and their facebookless but genuine "friends" sought to entertain themselves and navigate what moderns may (wrongfully!) consider a necessarily joyless childhood, while yet managing to turn into part of what our most prominent dakotan dubbed "the greatest generation".  having finally spit out all of that last sentence, i freely admit that i find the current younger generations to be brighter, as well as more knowledgeable and sophisticated, than most cohorts whom i remember from the '30s.

provoked?  let us hear from you.  "uncle john"