A seventh* Walker Reunion is being planned
for July 16 to 18, 1999. The Reunion will be held at the Ramada
Plaza Hotel (formerly Holiday Inn) in Warsaw, IN - remember the
swimming pool, the glassed in meeting room and the dancing. Events
being planned are a golf outing, shopping at Shipshewana, playground
games, Walker trivia contests, dancing, swimming, and lots of
getting reacquainted!
There are at least 110 descendants (not counting spouses) of Lewis
and Irene Walker walking the face of the earth. We hope we can
shake hands, hug and kiss every one of them at the Reunion!
* The first reunion was held at St. Meinrad, IN in 1952
to celebrate Fr. William's Silver Jubilee; the second at Pewaukee,
WI in 1955; the third was an informal one at Sarasota, FL in 1973
to celebrate Herb and Irma Walker's 50th anniversary; the fourth
was at Loogootee, IN in 1977 to celebrate Fr. William's Golden
Jubilee; and the fifth and sixth were held at the Holiday Inn
in Warsaw, IN in July, 1993 and 1996.
There will be a family dinner at the Ramada
on Saturday, July 17th at
6:00 PM. The cost is $16.00 per person - $8.00 for children age
12 and under and free for age 3 and under (ages as of July 17,
1999) which includes the tip. There will also be a cash bar available.
We also need $3.50 from each person to defray mailing and copying
costs plus the rental of the gathering room at the Ramada.
If you plan to attend, we must have your check or money order
by April 5, 1999. Your money for the dinner will be refunded to
you if you have to cancel your trip and notify us by July 10,
1999. Please use the reservation form enclosed with this newsletter.
If you're not ready to send in your money, just send a copy of
the reservation as soon as possible and send the money by April.
Rick Snodgrass, the banker, has volunteered to be our Reunion
banker again this year.
July is the height of Warsaw's tourist season, so make your hotel reservation now, but no later than May 15, 1999. If you plan to stay at the Ramada, call 219/269-2323. Tell them you are with the "Walker Family Reunion" and you will receive a reduced rate of $65 per night + 10% tax (just $2 higher than 1996!). Eight rooms with double beds and seven rooms with a king bed and sleeper sofa have been reserved. Either room can sleep up to four people for the $65 cost. Rollaway beds are available at $6 each.
If camping is more your style you have your
choice of staying at the Pike Lake Campground or Jellystone Park.
The Pike Lake Campground is approximately 10 minutes from the
Ramada. For reservations, call 219/269-1439. Jellystone Park is
located between Pierceton and North Webster, Indiana on highway
13 - about a 30 minute drive from the hotel. For reservations
call 219/594-2124.
If you're flying to the Reunion the nearest commercial airports
are at Fort Wayne and South Bend. Warsaw has an airport for private
aircraft to land.
Would you like a memento of the seventh Walker Reunion? We have arranged to have good quality, printed T-shirts available to those Walker's attending the Reunion. The color has not been determined. Color choices are: natural, white, antique rose, ash, bermuda, light blue, key lime, khaki brown, pina colada, sage, soft blue, soft pink, stone, straw, yellow, heather, azure, black, brick, coral reef, denim (1996 Reunion color), gold, jade (1993 Reunion color), kentucky bluegrass, moss, navy, orange, purple, raspberry, red, royal, shale, turquoise, burgundy, forest green and kelly - suggestions?. The cost is $7.00 per T-shirt (add $1.75 for XXL). See the enclosed order form. Orders, with a check for the total amount, must be received no later than April 5, 1999.
Of course the Walkers have an Internet site;
it's the 90's after all! The site has just been established but
it contains the latest family genealogy and information about
the Reunion. In case your family information is not complete,
our site has a genealogy form to print and fill-out. We desperately
need more information on the non-Walker spouse and his/her parents,
plus brothers and sisters. The more information, the better! The
Web address is, www.communinet.org/QA/walker.
If you have an e-mail address, let us know what it is and whether
you mind it being posted on our Web site. E-mail us at dlsnodgrass@ctlnet.com.
As plans firm up and we get a good idea of how many people are planning to attend the Reunion, we'll send out another newsletter to keep you up to date. Send any suggestions you may have to David Snodgrass; 106 River Cove Lane; North Manchester, IN 46962, or call (219) 982-7308, or fax (219) 982-7667 (e-mail: davids@q-aconsulting.com).
Download the October, 1998 edition
of the Walker Union
newsletter (160K file size). It is in Adobe Acrobat version
2.1.
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Take me home Lord!