Haines Family Association, Inc.
TWENTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL FAMILY REUNION & MEETING
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Hello All Haines Family Members and Friends,
Our 27th annual family reunion and meeting! We will be celebrating 234 years of Haines families on the mountaintop. The reunion will be held at the South Lake pavilion at North and South Lake campground. All are welcome for the day to partake in the activities. Remember to bring your lunch and something to drink. This is a time for descendents of the mountaintop settlers and friends to get together and reminisce about their ancestors and current family. Bring photos and whatever you know about your family tree, and hopefully some of our attendees can add info to it. We will have activities for the youngsters, a table where you can share your special treat or snack item, and ice cream from Stewarts. If you would like to have the baking contest again, we will need entries in the pie, cake or finger food categories.
2012 was a busy year. We had work parties for cleanup, repairs and maintenance at the Aaron Haines cemetery, the Peter B. Haines cemetery and the Layman cemetery. Work parties also completed trash pickup along our Adopt-A-Highway section in May, August and September. There was constructive work done on the right of way for the Aaron Haines Cemetery and the cemetery grounds. Thank you to HFA board members and their families for helping at these work parties.
Our volunteer HFA groundskeepers and mowing crew have been busy again this year at the Mountain Top Historical Society. With all of the wet weather, the crew is overworked when the sun shines. If you have some spare time - a part of a day or a whole day - and like to use a riding mower, let us know.
As in 2012, we have undertaken again in 2013 worthwhile projects and efforts that contribute to the good of the general public. We will be donating to the American Cancer Society, Haines Falls Fire Dept., Tannersville Rescue Squad, Tannersville Fire Dept., Hunter Fire Dept., Lanesville Fire Dept., Tannersville Area Health, Haines Falls Library, and the Mountain Top Historical Society. In 2012 we also paid for the perpetual care for one of our Haines Family ancestors in the Haines Falls Cemetery. For 2013 we have not yet decided whether to pay for perpetual care or donate to help with the costs of grounds maintenance at the Haines Falls Cemetery and other mountaintop cemeteries.
2013 started off with a work party on May 13th for the highway cleanup along our adopted section of Route 23A in the town of Hunter. We have plans for future highway cleanup work crews for July or August, and again in September, as needed by the conditions. Cemetery work parties have begun with the first on June 15 at the Aaron Haines Cemetery. More are being planned for future dates. Let us know if you are able to help.
Labor Day weekend - August 31, 2013 - there will be a parade celebrating 200 years of the Town of Hunter, and members of the Haines Family Association are planning to be a part of it. The HFA parade committee is our Board of Directors and their families. If you would like to join the committee or help with anything, just let us know. We are planning on a float for the parade.
We are looking for members to participate in the parade and help with setting things up. We are looking into purchasing balloons, banners and other materials for the parade. We are also pricing t-shirts for any HFA members who would like to purchase one, with the hope that all Haines Family members and families will wear them during the parade.
We have also sponsored a banner for Hunter’s 200th anniversary celebration. It is displayed as you come to Haines Falls from the east on 23A.
Our website is growing and has been very active, thanks to all the work that Sandy Palmer does as webmaster. We have seven family trees with ancestry photos posted, along with a myriad of other information. Please check it out at www.hainesfamilyassociation.org . If you would like to have your family tree included, or have other interesting information that we could post, contact Sandy at her email address on the website.
Membership dues and donations are needed to continue our services to the mountaintop communities.
Our dues are only $5 per year, which does not go far; that is why we ask for donations. You can mail your dues and donations in, or hand them in at the reunion. We need updated email addresses so we can send out info without spending dues money on postage and supplies.
We had our Annual Meeting on June 1, 2013. When the minutes are completed they will be emailed to those we have emails addresses for, and sent out in a future newsletter. You can check out our previous and current newsletters and activity updates, or contact any of our officers or directors, through our website at www.hainesfamilyassociation.org.
Our tentative slate of Officers and Directors for 2013-2014 is as follows: President - Harold Palmer, Vice President - Ron Haines, Secretary - Rachel Haines, Treasurer - Robert J. Haines, and Directors: Richard E. Haines, Nancy McGowan, Robert H. Van Dyke, Linda Schultz, Harriet Bucca, George Van Dyke Sr., Sandy Palmer, Peg Fries and, new this year, George Van Dyke Jr. If you would like to nominate anyone let us know now or at the reunion / meeting. Sue Haines is continuing to help with many of our projects and the reunion but has decided not stay on as a director.
Thank you. I’m looking forward to visiting with you at South Lake on July 13th!
Sincerely,
Harold Palmer
President
Haines Family Association, Inc.