Family Reunion This Summer in Texas - Part II

Below is an update and some additional information regarding the 2009 family reunion in Texas from Millie Meyer:


Dear Family,

First off, to all of you receiving this, I'm asking that you pass this along to any cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. that you have that fall into the category of relatives, as time is short and we would like for this to be a well attended, successful reunion, one that can be remembered fondly for many years to come.

Many addresses are incorrect and I may not be able to give full attention to those that have new addresses, if they are not in my hands within the next few short weeks. When I accepted this position of secretary, I had full intentions of digging in so to speak and get this reunion back like it use to be. However when the people are gone that made it work (I'm referring to the first generation removed from my grandmother and grandfather Dean, their children and older grandchildren) the enthusiasm is still there in a lot of us, but our children and grandchildren just haven't caught fire yet. You don't have to tell me that things are different today, but to keep things in perspective, family is still family and should be right up there among the important things in life.

In selecting a place for this reunion, I have tried to keep it more or less in the middle of the United States. Go to lantanaresort. us or state parks in Texas, same name, and you can learn as much as I know about the place. They encourage you to bring your horses as they have stabling facilities for a nominal fee. Also if you have a boat, bring it as they hope to have a Marina by the 4th of July but IF THEY DON'T, there is still a place to dock your boat less than a minute from the lodge and it is free. The resort overlooks a lake. Everything is on the ground floor. There are trail rides @ $25 per hour ($35 for two hours) located nearby at the Black Mustang Ranch. Monica should answer the phone 1-817-915-8455 to use this facility. There are also bike trails.

This is located near Point Pilot, Texas.

Their rooms are $85 and $95, the latter are on the lakeside. All facilities here are on the ground floor. The number of people in the room makes no difference but a rollaway bed is $10 extra per night. There is no cooking in the rooms like grills etc. but you can have an ice chest in your room and they have coffee makers in there. They also have TV's in each room. I have requested a block of ten rooms including the 2 handicapped rooms for the reunion. Some have 2 double beds and some have a king sized bed. When you make your reservations please tell them that you are with the Cook-Dean reunion because when the 11th room is reserved with a credit card, we and those reserving after that get $5 off each of the rooms per day. Every little bit helps is how I feel. Most rooms have step in showers so if you require a tub please tell them when you make reservation. The phone number for the Lantana Resort is 1-940-686-0261 for reservations. This block of rooms will be held until May 22nd when they will be made available to the public, which includes you and there are certainly more rooms available if you reserve early enough. They tell me this is usually a busy weekend.

We plan to breakfast in our room with cold cereal, fruits, and cocoa or milk and have sandwich stuff for lunch in our room. They have a continental breakfast available for $7.95 with the usual fare. Saturday there will be a buffet style meal served in the meeting room and I'm trying to narrow that down at the present time. Prices are not cheap and it has been a struggle making a decision but I don't have time to contact each of you and then make a decision. With tax and tip the Rosemary Lemon Roasted Chicken will run right at $30. The family Reunion Treasury is putting $8 toward each dinner reservation so that will leave a balance of $22 for each person to pay. Reservations for this dinner accompanied by your full payment of $22 for each dinner should be sent to Doretha Albee, 9202 Inverness Road, Santee, California 92071 NO LATER THAN 3 weeks before the Reunion. I calculate this as about the 10th of June. Checks are to be made out to Doretha Albee NOT TO the reunion because she can do nothing with them but return them if they are.

The balance of the dinner is salad, rice pilaf, seasoned vegetable medley, and assorted wheat rolls with butter honey and your choice of coffee, tea, or water for a drink. Sodas are extra. No additional charge for children under 5 years. There is no dessert furnished with this meal.

We have a meeting room reserved for Saturday, July 4, 2009 costing $450 which the reunion is paying. We have it for the day. We will have dominoes during the day and hopefully albums of pictures and memory books for sharing in this room. This is where we will have our annual meeting, auction, and Bingo in the evening plus our "together"meal about 4 PM. There are a lot of places we can sit and visit including the lobby or a covered area outside with tables and seating should we overfill the room capacity. We plan to have a schedule of events waiting in the lobby when you arrive. Tentative reservations for the rooms are starting on the 2nd of July this year and leaving on the 6th. I did this to give some flexibility to everyone in case you wanted to come early or stay late. The closer the time gets, the less likely you could get 5 nights in a row. Friday evening we will gather in the lobby to visit and share pictures.

Do I ever hope that I have covered everything but in case I haven't here is my address:

Millie Meyer
5200 W. Teal Road
Fairburn, Georgia 30213-2303

You can e-mail Millie at gaymillacywolf AT (@) aol.com

Next is, in case this is your first time attending, our auction. Usually, but not limited to, homemade items are brought. For instance this year I am bringing my pepper jelly and maybe a couple pieces of my handmade jewelry. These items are donated to the reunion for the auction and that is how we can afford to do something like this. Then you spend your money to buy them. Any suggestions for an auctioneer?

Hope to see you there!

Sincerely, Millie Meyer