I'll tell you my impression of the VA reunion. I'm Bettye, the wife of Max Gail Maupin, Rolla, MO. First of all, you have no idea how hard Bill worked. He was moving constantly yet never too busy to stop and talk with any and everyone and answer their questions. The man is amazing. Also amazing was the knowledge of Loren Adams from the 'rolling hills' of Kansas. Those two, plus Dru Maupin from Fulton MO and Dorothy were the moving force of the reunion with Bill doing the bulk of the work.For us, a special plus was meeting Janice and Jean from TX as they are also Mosias, George, and Addison B. Their grandfather was Max's grandfather's brother, the closest we've been able to find so far. Not much is known about George and Addison B. Accommodations were great and in fact, Bill and Bob Butler met our plane in Charlottesville. Saturday at the church and the Dan Maupin farm was unbelievable. The feeling of 'family' was so strong. Everyone hugged. And while we won't remember all the names, the faces will be familiar and the conversations never forgotten. Dan Maupin's wife is also named Bettie and she was in the garage selling cider, which was absolutely delicious. Bob Butler's wife was also named Betty and she came in and told me she knew how old I was because of my name. A lot of 60 and 70-year-olds were named Betty! We loved being with Bob and Barbara Maupin from TX. Our two daughters from SF and Atlanta were there and loved the close feeling of family at the Sat. function. The headstones were impressive, scenery gorgeous of course. Dorothy and Loren will kill me for telling this but Dorothy fell (not seriously) crossing the street in White Hall as she and LD were going to lunch. She said she was more embarrassed than hurt. And Loren was ill off and on but didn't seem to want to talk about it. You should have seen Bill on the Williamsburg trip! Of course, he's younger than we are, but he never stopped. He had everything arranged beautifully, was able to gain permission for us to go into one of the Maupin houses (Lord knows I've forgotten which one) and we infringed on a private home to find a Maupin grave far back in the back yard that was in terrible condition. It was a lovely spot and it was sad to see it's condition. Lynn Taylor (TX) got in there and pulled away weeds, strawberry vines and what have you, dusted off the grave, said She could clean the the thing up in a couple of hours with a machete (spell) and I believe her. Four things stand out for me: The Saturday event at the church and the Dan Maupin farm, the Talifaire-Cole house (I should look up the correct spelling before mailing this out but won't), the unkempt Maupin grave, and the sweetness of meeting so many wonderful people. And I only married into the family. At one point, one lady came up to Max and said he was the spitting image of her uncle. Bill said they all looked alike! And many people said they would make a special effort to attend the June Missouri reunion in Fulton, MO. All you need is the desire to be there and food to share! Also, you'll receive a special letter from Dorothy with details. If any of you would like to get on her address list, notify Bill or Loren. I'm sure they would get your address to Dorothy. The early morning visits at the free breakfast at the Quality Inn were such fun. I didn't make all of them but Max did, and he said he learned a lot and met many great people. Can you tell we had a wonderful time? Max Gail and Bettye Maupin - and the weather was great!!! ______________________________________________________________ >Yes, please! >june > >In a message dated 10/31/00 12:11:32 PM Pacific Standard Time, >SandKatC@aol.com writes: > ><< Hi Cousins: > > I keep hearing how nice the reunion was but have yet to hear interesting > stories of where you all went and what you did. Maybe each one who went had > a favorite trip or lecture, etc. they would like to share with we poor >little > old cousins who weren't able to make it back to VA. > > Thanks, Cuz Sandi :) > >> > > >==== MAUPIN Mailing List ==== >Personalized Mailing Lists: never miss a connection again. ><http://pml.rootsweb.com> >Brought to you by RootsWeb.com

Hi Bettye, (Mrs. Max) You may be only a Maupin by marriage, but you sure fit in as part of the family. I thought your daughters were wonderful and both seemed very interested in the family. You forgot to mention that Dru's son, Zachariah, came down and brought his professional video camera. He is hoping to do some editing and making some video of the dedication cerenonies available later. Several others also brought personal video cameras. I didn't realize I was being secretive about my illness, but was just trying to keep going. Turns out that it was a combination of, pushing too heard to get there, an inner ear problem that developed going over the mountains and trying to deny that the calendar pages keep turning. Thank you and all the others, for watching over me. More proof that we are part of a loving family. Before I left, Dorothy and I had company. Leora slipped coming down to breakfast, making it three. She was a little shook up, but no injury. I am so glad that you and the girls enjoyed it so much. So much of the joy is in meeting other family members and exchanging information. I feel blessed meeting so many that I had only met over the internet or by mail. I never realized there were so many cousins from Texas, and I spent more than a dozen years in the San Antonio area. Later... -- Loren <kycollja@midusa.net> {:-)> HOKC *))))) TSG, USAF, Retired >From Iola, in the rolling hills of SE Kansas