Haines Family Association, Inc.

This year we will be celebrating our 232nd year and 11 generations on the Mountaintop here in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of New York State at our annual reunion held in Haines Falls at the South Lake Pavilion, NYS North-South Lake Campground. All are welcome for the entire day as we socialize, picnic, play games, take our group photo, have a baking contest, give out awards and conduct our annual meeting. Please bring sharing-table snacks, your own picnic lunch, your photo albums, family trees and/or genealogy research on your computers or albums to share, or collections and anything else you think would be of interest. The Park opens at 8:00 a.m. There is lots to see and do until lunch time and our annual meeting.

In our opening prayer this year we will be remembering faithful members Jan Haines, Marvin Howard and Marie Haines, who died since we last met.

I can’t believe this is our 25th anniversary, can you? The years have gone by fast, and we’ve accomplished many things which benefit our children, our grandchildren, our mountaintop and its residents and the various charities to which we contribute each year.

At our recent annual directors’ meeting we agreed to donate $100 to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life and $50 each to the Tannersville Rescue Squad, the Mountain Top Historical Society, Tannersville Area Health, Haines Falls Library, Haines Falls Fire Department, Hunter Fire Department, Tannersville Fire Department and Lanesville fire Department, and $200 to pay off the oldest long-past-due perpetual care on a Haines plot in the Haines Falls Cemetery, where most of our ancestors are buried. We also set up a committee to explore setting up a Haines Family Association (HFA) Scholarship Fund for an annual award to a Hunter-Tannersville High School Senior.
 
Our HFA groundskeeping crew continues to maintain the Mountain Top Historical Society (MTHS) Campus, which was owned by our ancestors at one time, and the historic Aaron Haines Cemetery adjoining it, for the 15th year. If you would like to get some exercise and fresh air, we can always use more volunteers.

Thanks to the initiative of Greene County Legislator Larry Gardner, the Greene County Legislature, the Greene County Highway Department, Gary Harvey,  Highway Superintendent, sign maker Lesa, Town of Hunter Supervisor Dennis Lucas and Town Board members, in consultation with the Showers family and members of our Family Association, signs were erected at both ends of North Lake Road and in front of the High View House in Haines Falls honoring the memory and WWII ultimate sacrifice of Lt. Richard A. Haines, dedicating that portion of road the     Richard A. Haines Memorial Highway on October 29, 2010.

Also, courtesy of Supervisor Dennis Lucas and Hunter Town Board members, our Lt. Richard A. Haines’ ship plaque which we commissioned is now displayed in the entrance foyer of the Town of Hunter building.

Through our participation in NYS’s Adopt-A-Highway Program, our HFA members have made pickups on our assigned section of Route 23A on 5/29/10, 9/23/10 and 5/25/11. Signs with our name on them are posted at both ends of our highway section.

The new access road to the Aaron Haines Cemetery in Haines Falls, the right of way for which was granted to the HFA by the MTHS, continues to be a work in progress as we await more free fill.

Sandy Palmer, our Webmaster, is always looking for interesting additions to our HainesFamilyAssociation.org website. 

Director nominees this year are Susan Haines, Nancy McGowan, Anthony Bucca, Harriet Bucca, Harold Palmer, Robert Van Dyke, Richard Haines, Ron Haines, Rachel Haines, Robert Haines, George Van Dyke, Linda Schultz and Gail Haines.

As always, my thanks to our directors and to you, our members, for your support over these past 25 years. I look forward to seeing you at our reunion on Saturday, July 9th.

Check www.GreeneTourism.com for a place to stay. Hope to see you at the reunion.
      
My best regards,
Richard E. “Cousin Dick” Haines
President, HFA