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DRAFT
MINUTES OF THE 47th ANNUAL GERKING FAMILY REUNION August 12-13, 2006 Hosted by the Extended Families of
Lynden & Nancy Gerking and Laverne & Helen Gerking The 47th Annual Gerking Family Reunion was held at the home of Lynden and Nancy Gerking in Walla Walla, Washington. It was held over Friday evening and Saturday. Seven family lines (descendants of the children of Jonathan Rice Gerking) were represented, with descendants of Solomon Myers Gerking in preponderance. Also, seven states were represented: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon, and Washington. Seventy-two people signed in for the reunion, and given the number of people running around without name tags there probably were 80+ people enjoying the hospitality of the Walla Walla extended Gerking Family. The reunion began with a dessert gathering Saturday night in the Gerking’s beautifully-decorated yard. A highlight of the evening for children of all ages was roasting marshmallows for S’Mores. Special tables had been set aside for family memorabilia and history, and Florence Bowe’s presence enhanced the experience for those with questions. Many of the attendees had brought their own family pictures and other memorabilia. The notebooks put together by former family historian Janelle Jackson, which include many family pictures and documents, were in continuous use during both days of the reunion. In fact, there was so much interest in the items on the family history tables that it was difficult at times to find a place to view them. An area had been set aside for the White Elephant sale to raise money toward our 50th reunion in 2009, and that was highly successful. Lynden had hand-carved from wood a number of replicas of the Gerking coat of arms, which were sold to benefit the 50th reunion. At the 2005 reunion Nancy Gerking had donated a picture of David Taylor’s warehouse showing horse teams, sacks of grain, and many family members, and this picture appeared on refrigerator magnets given to those who attended this reunion. There also was information about the Walla Walla area for those wanting to explore it further. Sunday we began gathering around 11:00 a.m. and were treated to a delicious lunch that had been prepared by the extended families of Lynden and Nancy, and Laverne and Helen Gerking. The Johnny Appleseed grace was led by the Bixby singers, unfortunately minus Jay, who had been too sick to travel. (Note: Jay passed on a couple of weeks after the reunion). Bob Gilliland of Weston, OR, had arranged for Blue Mountain (formerly Kees) Cemetery to be open for those interested in touring it or those interested in discussing repair of gravestones. With Lynden Gerking serving as chair we hald a business meeting, where we took care of housekeping business and continued planning for the 50th reunion in three years. Correspondence In addition to correspondence received giving news of family passages and which will be presented in the Newsletter were: • Greetings and best wishes for a good reunion from Karl Gerking, Bremerhaven, Germany; • Regrets at not being able to attend the reunion from Betty VanMeter and daughter Lyndel Fullen. • Regrets at not being able to attend the reunion from Patty Adsit and Margaret Wells of Toledo, OR, and sending family updates for the Newsletter. • “Hello” to the reunion group from Clem Hansen, Grant, Nebraska. • Regrets at not being able to attend the reunion from from Bob Gerking on behalf of the Iowa family. • Best wishes for a successful reunion from Lori Roberts, Molalla, OR. • Greetings and a donation from Garry and Louise Gerking, Sumner, WA. Minutes of 2005 Meeting: Minutes of the 2005 family meeting in Portland were distributed and their highlights commented on by Beth. Financial Report as of July 31, 2006: The July 31 balance in the savings account was $1,544.33. Income during the year of 8/1/05-7/31/06 was $174.71, and expenses totaled $66.39 for post card stock and stamps. It was moved, seconded, and passed by the group that the 2005 Minutes and the 2005-2006 Financial report be approved. 2007 Reunion There were no volunteers to host next year’s reunion, so after discussion it was agreed to hold the 2007 reunion at the Port of Cascade Locks’ Marine Park. Several reunions have been held there in the past and it seems to be a central place for people from both east and west to gather. Beth will make a reservation there. A host for the 2008 reunion will be sought and plans for that made at the 2007 reunion. 50th Reunion - 2009 There was discussion of what would be an appropriate place to hold this commemorative event. The first reunion was held at the Miles and Ethel Leabo ranch on Eight Mile in Wasco County. After discussion, it was decided to check with Sorosis Park in The Dalles, which was the site of other reunions over the years and would put us close to where the first reunion was held. Beth will check it out, and other ideas are welcome. Ideas for raising funds to make the 50th reunion really special were discussed. Among ideas offered were more white elephant sales, creating and selling a Gerking recipe book, and selling address labels to Gerking family members who order them. Bev Rowlands, who has a Cookie Lee jewelry franchise, offered to sell her jewelry at a reunion and donate a portion of the proceeds to the 50th reunion effort. No real decision was made, but we will encourage donations through the Newsletter and other family communications. Other Business As reported at last year’s reunion, the pages in the original reunion guest register were used up at the 2004 reunion, and she had been authorized to buy a new guest register to use for future reunions. During the year, however, she’d been unable to find a nice one that wasn’t prohibitively expensive. She’ll continue the search during the coming year and when a suitable book is found will transcribe the signatures from the 2005 and 2006 reunions into the new book. Beth requested help with correspondence duties and Diann Hebert volunteered to help out with that. Reunion Collection The ceramic wagon donated by Florence Bowe at last year’s reunion was used for the reunion collection this year. No records were kept that separated the reunion collection funds from the white elephant and other sales, but the total deposited into the Gerking Savings account following the reunion was $749.97. This was less the $89.00 reimbursed to the Walla Walla Gerking family for meat for the Sunday meal. Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Beth Johnston, Acting Secretary |