Additional Accommodation Information

Continuing the theme of last month’s post, the kitchen and bathroom facilities at Campus Grove are first rate, much like what one would find at any newer hotel. Each room has a bathroom sink, and easy access to a toilet; additionally the first floor rooms have showers in them, while the second floor rooms share four private showers accessible through the main hallway. One first floor bathroom and one first floor room and attached bathroom are ADA accessible. There are eleven toilets and eight shower stalls at Miller Hall. Please check the floor plan for specific details. Remember you will be responsible to bring your own linens (towels, bedding, and pillows) and toiletry items.

In the May 2009 post we assigned each family the responsibility for one meal. The kitchen has two ovens, two dishwashers, a large refrigerator, a large two basin sink, and a full set of dishware along with various pots, pans, and cooking utensils. If you need a specific kitchen apparatus to prepare your meal please plan to bring it with you. For an overview of the kitchen and bathrooms be sure to view the photo gallery on the Campus Grove website.

It is everyone's responsibility to keep Miller Hall clean and tidy during our stay, and to police the area before we check out on Monday morning.

Sleeping Accommodations

A large part of the appeal of Campus Grove was the sleeping accommodations. The fifteen dorm rooms and large third floor gameroom at Miller Hall can comfortably sleep 80+ people. The Glen and Elizabeth McDonald clan currently includes around ninety individuals from roughly 25 families; after speaking with the Campus Grove owners and seeing the space ourselves, we can assure there is enough room at the inn. While room assignments will not be made until all registrations have been received, it is clear that each room will likely have more than one family sharing the space during the reunion.

We would invite you to take a look at the layout of Miller Hall to get an idea of the sleeping quarters. If your family is interested in camping on the grass outside the hall with a tent or RV, this can be done as well. Please let us know if you would like to do this. Each family will also be responsible for bringing their own linens - bedding or sleeping bags, pillows, towels, and washcloths.

The Reunion Registration Form will have a few questions about sleeping accommodations and any special requests or needs your family might have. Lastly, please let us know if your family will be attending the reunion but not staying at Miller Hall; note however that this will not lessen the reunion registration fee for your family.

Family History Program Redux

The work of gathering photographs and documents for the Family History Program on Sunday July 4th continues. While in Idaho last month, I scanned over 150 items to potentially use in the video presentation. Thank you to Scott & Nan, Brent & Nancy, Jay & Darla, John & Shelley Thomas, and Troy & Stacy Hamilton for letting me look through their family scrapbooks and records. I know there still is additional material out there, so please refer to the March 2009 post for more info about the project.

The second phase of the program is to ask each family unit to send me ten to fifteen photographs that document their family. The images should reflect the history of the family and their varied activities and interests. Please do not only select studio portraits, include things like family camping trips, graduations, Church events, etc. Each picture does not have to show all family members either. Get together for a Family Home Evening and select your favorite images. For those families with married children, remember your children are selecting pictures of their family as well, so let’s try and keep the overlap to a minimum.

Once you’ve selected the images, I would request that you send me two things, the digitized copies of the photographs and caption information about each photograph. If you need help digitizing or scanning your images, ask the younger members of your family – they may be more technologically savvy and can assist. If you do not have the capability to do the scanning yourself, places like Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Kinkos can assist you with doing this. Please have the photographs scanned at the following settings if possible - 24-bit color, 300 DPI, and in a TIFF file format. Of course if the photographs are already digital images, then the task is much easier.

Please also spend the time to include a write-up about each image. Nothing too long or extravagant, just answer the basic who, what, when, where, and why questions for each image. This will prove important in the future. As an archivist I can tell you nothing is more frustrating than having an amazing photograph with no descriptive information. Once you have all the images and their captions ready, send it all to me on a CD or DVD.

Our mailing address is:

Dylan and Karen McDonald
2421 36th Street
Sacramento, CA 95817

These images will be compiled into a digital scrapbook DVD, along with a DVD video about the Glen and Elizabeth McDonald, and a copy of both will be given to each family at the end of the reunion. I hope that this will be a great way for us all to reminisce and get better acquainted with each other. The deadline to submit material is March 1, 2010.

One Year and Counting!!!

Yesterday, Karen and I visited Campus Grove with Stacy and Taylor Hamilton to review firsthand the accomodations and surroundings. Wow - we are even more excited about next year's reunion. The four of us walked through nearly every room at Miller Hall and spent time reviewing the furnishings of the bedrooms, kitchen, game room, and bathrooms. The place is even more spacious than the photographs on the website suggest. The surrounding grounds offer horseshoe pits, tetherball courts, a sand volleyball pit, fire spits, picnic benches, a hot tub, and an above ground pool. The campus' original sidewalks are still in place providing plenty of paths for riding bicycles.

The town of Albion is nestled in picturesque small valley at the base of Mount Harrison just a fifteen minute drive from Interstate 84. Although the population is only around three hundred, there are several cafes, small markets, gas stations, and the Marsh Creek Inn (a bed and breakfast). For larger shopping needs, the town of Burley, with a Walmart, Albertsons, and numerous fast-food resturants, is only a twenty minute drive away.

After driving through the town we headed up Mount Harrison to Lake Cleveland, an old glacial lake. The drive to the lake is only about thirty minutes and the view of the valley below is stunning. There were still snow banks just off the paved road. Although we were unable to drive all the way to the lake, as the Forest Service does not open the upper road until the July 4th weekend, we have been told by locals it is worth the trip up.

One year and counting. Hope to see you all during next year's Fourth of July weekend!

Reunion Photos

A professional photographer will be on hand to take group and family photographs as part of the reunion registration fee. The photographs taken will include the entire group, extended families, individual families, the four brothers and spouses, all Glen and Elizabeth's grandchildren, all Glen and Elizabeth's great grandchildren, etc, with all of us in our reunion t-shirts. Each family will then recieve a CD with all the images taken by the photographer.

The photo session will take place either on Friday, July 2nd or Saturday, July 3rd. Our photographer, Steve Mendoza, will also be available for more formal family photographs if you so request. There will be space on the registration form to request having additional photographs taken. Steve photographed the Clark Family Reunion at Brent and Nancy's home in the summer of 2007 (see above photograph) and everyone was happy with his work. Please visit his D/C Photography website for more information about Steve.

Got Food?

What's a family reunion without good food! To keep the costs low and spread the fun, each of the four brothers and their families will be assigned a meal. These meal assignments include the planning, purchase, preparation and set-up, as well as the clean-up afterward. The kitchen at Campus Grove is limited, although it has two ovens, two dishwashers, pots, pans, and dishes. However, depending on the type of meal you wish to serve, come prepared with the proper dishware and utensils. Please also note that there is only one refrigerator, so storing all the perishable food will require families to bring along coolers and ice. There are grocery stores in the Burley area as well, so you need not travel to Idaho having packed a large meal (unless you really want to). The meals will be self-serve, as the entire family will not be able to fit in the dinning area; some will choose to eat outside or in the third floor game room. For now plan to serve at least 50 adults and 25 children (although final numbers will not be determined until next May).

From the list below you will notice that the Friday dinner and all breakfast meals will be taken care of as part of the registration fee. The brothers and their spouses should please take the lead (or delegate) in making sure their family food assignment is met.

Friday dinner: Catered

Saturday breakfast: Continental
Saturday lunch: Kim and Diane McDonald Family
Saturday dinner: Scott and Nan McDonald Family

Sunday breakfast: Continental
Sunday lunch: Jay and Darla McDonald Family
Sunday dinner: Brent and Nancy McDonald Family

Monday breakfast: Continental

Albion Area Outdoor Attractions

If your family wishes to extend their vacation beyond the family reunion, below is a list of attractions in the Albion area that might be of interest. All are within a 40 mile drive of Albion; please follow the links for more details. Be sure to bring your hiking shoes, mountain bikes, swimming suits, camping and fishing gear, binoculars, and cameras to enjoy these great outdoor activities.

City of Rocks National Reserve
This unique geologic area became a landmark in 1843 for California-bound emigrants. They left wagon ruts across the landscape and their signatures in axle grease on Register Rock, Camp Rock and many others. A few granite pinnacles and monoliths are in excess of sixty stories tall and 2.5 billion years old. The smooth granite faces offer exceptional rock climbing. This unique area offers scenic walks near the historic California Trail and opportunities for wildlife watching, photography, world-class technical rock climbing, hiking, mountain biking, picnicking and camping.

Pomerelle Resort
The triple chairlift operates for scenic chairlift rides to the top of the mountain for a 50-mile panoramic view of the Magic Valley and beyond. Enjoy hiking, nature walks and mountain biking. Pomerelle is equipped to accommodate mountain bikes on the chairlift for your biking adventure. Our outdoor grill will tempt you with "Mountain Man" hamburgers, "Woody's Big Dogs" and ice-cold refreshments. Volleyball and horseshoe pits are also available.

Durfee Hot Springs
Durfee Hot Springs is a naturally heated pool with no added chemicals. The clean and soothing hot spring, and beautiful scenery is just outside the town of Almo.

Lake Cleveland
At 8,200-foot elevation, with 29 campsites on a gorgeous lake in a mountain cirque, one of two that exist south of the Snake River. The west end has a wheelchair-accessible trail to the lake. For an interesting side trip, take the turn to Mount Harrison lookout, and get a great view of the surrounding country from the tall tower. Stable for equestrian use; enjoy birdwatching, canoeing, fishing, and hiking.

Massacre Rocks State Park
Situated on the Snake River, just off Interstate 86, exit 28, Massacre Rocks State Park is open year round and covers approximately 1,000 acres. The park has a 40 unit campground with water and electrical hookups, 4 sleeping cabins, restroom buildings with hot showers, a visitor center, access to the Oregon Trail wagon ruts, over 12K of hiking trails with maps, a self guided nature trail, and a boat launching area. Summers are full of fun to be had fishing, boating, hiking, exploring, and bicycling. Weekend campfire programs are held from Memorial Day through Labor Day, Canoes and Kayaks are available to rent for fun on the river, and special events are routinely held. Bird watching is exceptional here as well, with over 200 species identified annually. If botany is your bag, we have about 300 species of plants for your enjoyment.