Pearl, it is so good to hear from you that I don't care about the mistakes. I would't have had the nerve to undertake anything like this if you hadn't chimed in with your whole-hearted support from the beginning. **** FIRST INFO WE NEED: Let me ask you and all the other family reps to the Steering Committee to contact other relatives, whether they live around the corner and you've known them all your life or whether you met an hour ago on the rootsweb in search of a common great-great-grandfather. We are looking for an indication of interest and trying to determine about how many from each family might attend. It is time to start identifying those families which are interestesd in attending and getting from them the actual places relevant to that family that they'd need help finding. I may not sound like it, but in my mind I REALLY DO have all this pretty much together... if Warren can receive a few dollars from each us and take care of the communal preparations. I have not overemphasized the need for handicap accessible facilities, and perhaps I should have more to say about that. I expect each of us is keenly aware that none of us are up to tromping very long through the woods or climbing a dozen steps to look into a church... beyond that, I also know that the places some people WANT to go are a tromp, tromp-and-a-half through somebody's woods, and somebody's going to have to locate these sites for us and get us directions and arrange to keep the owners from shooting them. Some people don't "do well" if every moment isn't planned down to the red carpet ride back to the airport -- hey! if those people will send me $10,000 I'll head up the road and work for them for the first six months of the year. Likely, they wouldn't be happy no matter what. You know one of the best trips we ever took? We went to Greenville NC or somewhere near there, for a function I can't even remember attending. But while the guys played golf, the "ladies" were taken to visit an old farm out in the country where a gentleman-farmer in his 80s spent the morning just showing us the old farm implements he had collected. It was raining cats and dogs, and there we were in our dress casuals trying to stay dry. Then we dashed the 100 yards or so to his house and had some lemonade and cookies. It was fantastic! Yeah! It was a charity golf tournament! Then men got rained out and were delighted to have all morning to talk guy-talk. That's the kind of experience I'd love for everybody to have -- well, except about the men getting rained out. Of course, it wasn't for everybody, and I had nothing to do with those plans. But, Pearl, I learned that day that there is a hell of a lot more to see and learn about no matter where the good Lord sets me down than to waste another day at an outlet mall! And I am profoundly betting that there are people -- people who are kin to us -- all over Johnston County going about their business, just waiting on someone to come along and ask them to share the knowledge they've spent a lifetime gathering up. I just hope one of them lives in Bud Massengill's house and knows about all those Massengill Family cemeteries. And that we can find him/her! I feel like we have made the first move: we have said to all & sundry, "Johnston County, I'm interested in you and I'd like to drop by and chat." Now we'll see what happens. WHATEVER actually happens is bound to beat the hell out of another week of cable television and traffic-dodging -- and when I think of what all the people in all those cars who are inexplicably drawn to Myrtle Beach on each and every holiday or excuse for one ARE SPENDING just to keep from staying home... well, I think it would probably drastically reduce the National Debt! YO! MAMIE TATE! I put in three extra periods just for you! HEY, Y'ALL! If Meredith Page is ready, we should be on our own website Monday or Tuesday! Then I can tell y'all about Mama and Daddy's midnight ride through the Andes Mountains in search of a mahogany farm in the Amazon Basin. Does anybody else know of people from Johnston County who cannot follow directions and spend half their travel-time getting lost? If so, welcome them to our club with open arms. Life is good! annie At 01:34 AM 10/21/2000 -0400, you wrote: >Annie, > >I meant to state in the previous email, that I am still on the "Amen List".I >made two errors ( I sometimes have made more ) on the reply email. I am not >sure how much I can do for the input, into this project ,but I am willing to >help, as much as I can. > My ancestry is from the Early WATSON Settlers Of Johnston County. I vote >for year 2001....hopefully I can make it that long. ;-) It is going to take a >lot of working together, to make this work. My thinking cap is still on, but >it is hard to keep my head screwed on straight, with my mileage. > >Keep those wonderful upbeat letters coming . I just love them, and if they >don`t spark interest, nothing will. By the way, I sure would like to play >with your mom and her trains. :-) > >Pearl Moye Weaver >