Dear Family and Friends,
I want to thank everyone who made the 56th annual reunion last year so successful! Now it is time to invite you to the 57th reunion of Thompson kinfolk along with allied families. Sunday, October 5th, 2014, is the big day. As always, we will gather at Ebenezer Methodist Church in Kemp, west of Swainsboro, Georgia. The church doors will open at 9:30 for registration and visiting, with the program starting at 10:30. Casual dress is fine.
Our speaker this year is cousin Garland Thompson of Douglas who is well known to most of you as he is usually in attendance. You may not know that Garland has a long list of achievements, especially in agriculture and banking. He will speak on the early and changing land boundaries of Georgia. We look forward to it, Garland!
Dinner on the grounds will begin at noon. As is our tradition the Robert Thompson family will be serving their delicious barbecue. Please take time to thank them for all their hard work. There will be several containers around the picnic area for donations to cover the meat expense. Please bring several side dishes to add to the barbecue. There will be a special table for desserts. Plates, cups, utensils, napkins, table coverings and ice will be provided. Some folks enjoy bringing tables and chairs so they can linger.
If you lost a loved one in the last year, or know of someone who has, please send me the names, dates and other information so they can be included in our memorial service. Please send this right away, as it is very difficult to put together on the morning of the reunion. I’d like to mention also that one of our relatives Eve-Annette Fields Culver passed away in 2011 and left a substantial part of her estate to our Thompson Foundation. We will honor her memory during the program.
Our budget is always strained so please consider mailing a donation to help with our many expenses, primarily the upkeep of the historic Ebenezer Church and Cemetery. If our family heritage is to be remembered it is up to each one of us to do our part. I look forward to seeing you at our unique reunion. We are fortunate to have this lovely church, our ancestral home, to gather at to renew old family acquaintances and make new ones. Mark your calendar. Come visit under the towering pines. Remember, it won’t be as good a time without you there!
Yours truly, Saturday Oct. 4th Sharing Time
Swainsboro Library 1:30-3:30
Farm and Home Museum 3:30
Philip Stephens, President
Reubin Thompson Memorial Foundation Sunday Oct. 5th Registering/Visiting
1083 Woodland Drive Ebenezer Church 9:30-10:30
Soperton, GA 30457 Program 10:30
912 529-3624 Dinner on Grounds 12:00
wphilipstephens@yahoo.com
Reubin Thompson Memorial Foundation, Inc. NEWSLETTER
Kemp, Georgia September 2014
Including: Beasley, Coleman, Flanders, Hall, Hooks, Kea, Kirkland, Kitchen/s, Lumley, Moore, Riner, Rowell, Scott, Sumner, Thigpen, Webb, Youngblood & more
You missed a terrific day if you were not at the reunion last year. How could you beat the tasty barbecue, warm fellowship, fine singing and interesting new cousins! This year’s gathering is Sunday, October 5th, 2014 at Ebenezer Church near Swainsboro. Along with some details about the Fields/Thompson family, we will discuss the Kea/Kea family. The featured speaker is our cousin Garland Thompson from Douglas, Georgia. He is known for his colorful, old stories as well as his long list of accomplishments, including being the president and “Man of the Year” of various organizations. We are so proud to call him one of our own.
We will again have the “Sharing Time” on Saturday, October 4th, at the Swainsboro Library from 1:30 to 3:30. You don’t need to prepare anything special to participate. We have fun sharing old stories and reliving days gone past. Those who wish will go to the Farm and Home Museum north of downtown about 3:30 for a special tour of the old buildings there, including a “dog-trot” house and one-room school. Join us! [DIRECTIONS: From downtown, go north on U.S. 1, turn right on Ralph Lee Road; follow Fair Ground Road to Museum Road.]
SPECIAL TRIBUTE
Philip reported that in October we will honor our cousin Eve-Annette Fields Culver who left us a portion of her estate. She specified that “This bequest is for the maintenance, repair and upkeep of the cemetery and special attention to the…Culver, Fields, and Brack plots and monuments.” Eve-Annette was a grandchild of William Clinton Fields and wife Annie Thompson Fields. She was born in 1928 in Ocala, Florida, married Guy Culver and lived 56 years in Macon. She retired as a secretary at Robins Air Force Base. Attending our reunion from time to time, she knew that numerous close family members were buried at Ebenezer. Eve-Annette and Guy, who had no children, are now among them. We are so appreciative of her generosity! [Find her family in the south-east corner of Ebenezer Cemetery at Kemp. Her father was Smiley Brown Fields]
Eve-Annette Fields Culver
born 21 January 1929
died 27 June 2011
ROOTS AND WINGS SCHOLARSHIP
As chairperson Susan Yandle Middleton said, faith and family are the roots of the strong Thompson Family Tree. Our Thompson forebears also knew the value of education and how it could give wings to someone young or old. The purpose of this scholarship is to allow one of our own to pursue some worthy ambition or new career path. In late June the Board of Directors voted to raise the scholarship to $1,000. Please contact our cousin Susan Y. Middleton at symiddleton@bellsouth.net for more information.
CEMETERY UPDATE
A number of our old Ebenezer monuments suffered damage this year, likely due to the cold winter and ice storms. The Foundation has formed a committee and is searching for an experienced repair person to hire for work on our cemetery stones. Please let us know if you could do this or know of someone. In addition, many of our stones need attention. There are two very safe products to use for cleaning old tombstones: “D2” [buy on line] and “Wet and Forget” [Ace Hardware]. They keep on working for several months when it rains. Never use bleach, especially on granite, as permanent damage will occur. As you may know, there are some 550 marked burials at Ebenezer and others not marked. The Thompson Foundation has purchased a total of sixteen pillow stones, mostly for our kinfolks who had none.
PINE LOG ECHOES
There are still some copies of the huge local history book Pine Log Echoes for sale at the Main Street Market in downtown Swainsboro for $65 plus tax. Co-author Mary Ann Smith says that they are working on the second edition and although the deadline has passed, she might be able to include some more information. Contact Mary Ann at 478-237-9322 or email her at diggingupkin@yahoo.com for details. Many local families including Thompsons, Youngbloods, etc. are detailed in the book.
AN INVITATION
If you’ve never been to one of our annual reunions, make this October the year to attend. Are children welcome? They most certainly are and will be given some interesting materials to help entertain them during the meeting. Do you need to know exactly how you connect to the family? Not at all. Remember, anyone with loved ones buried at Ebenezer Cemetery is encouraged to be part of the reunion activities. This includes all those with ties to the families named at the top of this newsletter and others. It up to each of us to carry on our unique heritage. In unsettled times like these, family ties and traditions are more important than ever.
Newsletter editor & family historian:
Marilyn M. Lear BackRiver@comcast.net
4106 Riverside Drive 912-265-5916
Brunswick, GA 31520
Officers and Directors: Philip Stephens, President, Martha Walker, Treasurer, Lucille Braswell, Bo George, Clarke Johnson, Marilyn Lear, Allen Thompson, Andy Thompson, Rev. Clarence Thompson, and Robert Thompson.
PLEASE SEND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO HELP SAVE MONEY ON MAILING EXPENSES AND MAKE IT EASIER TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH YOUR FAMILY.
NOTE: you can download a copy of this newsletter – Thompson Reunion Newsletter – Sept 2014