HMC Family Association

WHEN: The Hewitt-Matheny-Cooper Family Association annual Family Reunion will take place Sunday, August 4, 2024. It is always on the first Sunday in August.

WHERE:

IN PERSON At Maud Williamson State Recreation Site, 22500 Wallace Rd., NW, Salem, Oregon (between the cities of Salem and Dayton) at the intersection of Oregon Route 221 and Oregon Route 153.

ONLINE: The virtual event this year will be on Google Meet. The Virtual Reunion link is: https://meet.google.com/mko-brtr-iyu

The link will be available on Facebook HMC Family Group as well as here on the website, HMCFamily.org.

For Virtual Reunion support contact Melissa Gomez 503-851-4145 or melclark2@gmail.com.

SCHEDULE:

9:00 Visiting, family albums available to view, storytelling, kids’ games, The Daniel Matheny Hewitt Two-Hops-and-a-Jump Challenge (see below), and the Country Store.

New – Silent Auction

11:30 Virtual event begins online.

12:00 noon Potluck picnic followed by annual family meeting.

Elections this year are for two Council members from the Matheny branch.. You can volunteer or nominate someone at the meeting.

PROGRAM:

SPEAKER George Bailey and his family from Montana have gone back to Missouri from where the Great Migration wagon train our ancestors came west on originated, and have followed the Oregon Trail all the way out. They will be on hand to tell us about their journey and what the Trail is like today.

MAIN PROGRAM We all belong to a big, historic family descended from those who came on the 1843 wagon train, connected to those who had been here for centuries when the wagon train arrived, and expanded to those we have partnered with from around the world since then. President Merrilee will facilitate as we explore the ways the family links us, how and why it all came together, and how we spread out. Our historian, Brian Hewitt, will give background history. Come share how we connect to family in all our own ways and celebrate the sense of belonging.

WHAT TO BRING:

A potluck dish to share. Plates, utensils, water, and lemonade will be provided. Please join in to help with the cleanup.

For the silent auction, please consider bringing family heirlooms, historical items, and treasures that no longer have a place in your life but that you think will be appreciated by family members.

Donations for the Country Store. Bring items large or small that may be of interest to family members, including extra produce or canned goods from your garden, plants, services, books, household goods, handcrafts, art, etc.

We are once again updating our mailing lists. Please send your email and postal mail addresses to registrar@hmcfamily.org, or Melissa Gomez 503-851-4145. You can also put them on the list at the registration table when you are signing in at the picnic; or in the sign-in or chat if you are attending online.

Bring a spring in your step for the Daniel Matheny Hewitt Two-Hops-and-a-Jump Challenge. We have a special guest this year, Devereaux Clark, the all time champion of the event we have been holding for sixteen years. But don’t worry, there are a number of other age categories. You can enter at the picnic or try it wherever you are and post your results online. For the history and details of the event see Daniel Matheny Hewitt Challenge -Two Hops and a Jump in the page listings to the right.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE REUNION, contact Merrilee, our HMC president at merrilee.s.johnson@gmail.com or 503-550-9339.

The Hewitt-Matheny-Cooper Family Association annual Family Reunion will take place Sunday, August 6, 2023. It is always on the first Sunday in August.

WHERE: Maud Williamson State Recreation Area, 22500 Wallace Rd., NW, Salem, Oregon (between Salem and Dayton

ONLINE by ZOOM at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7330119657 Link will also be available on our Facebook.com HMC Family page.

Duration: 7 hours. Folks in person can drop by and say hello to Zoom attendees ahead of the meeting.

SCHEDULE:

9:00 Visiting, family albums available to view, storytelling, kids games, The Daniel Matheny Hewitt Two-Hops-and-a-Jump Challenge, and the Country Store.

11:00 Wheatland Ferry Marker Dedication presented by J. Elaine Warmington Wagner (Daniel Matheny descendent), Regent of the Oregon State Society, Daughters of American Colonists. The ceremony will be at the marker on the right side of the road, immediately before you reach the ferry as you come from Maud Williamson Park. The address is 18270 Wheatland Road.

The president of the Daughters of American Colonists will not be able to attend due to illness but a vice president will be here to represent her. She will be accompanied by the Washington State regent and the honorary national president, also from the state of Washington. The current western section marker chairman and honorary national president is attending from Colorado. Many Oregon DAC members will be there, as well.

The McMinnville News-Register, the Salem Statesman Journal, and the Oregonian will be sending reporters to cover the event.

The marker dedication ceremony will be included in the ZOOM. The video may be choppy due to the reception in the area, but we should be able to hear the audio.

12:00 noon Potluck picnic back at Maud Williamson Park.

Annual family meeting We will start the meeting at 1pm, but you may join the ZOOM ahead of the meeting to visit.

Local Native American Lifeways presentation by Stephanie (Wood) Craig, Thomas Cooper, Sr. descendent and member and archivist of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Stephanie will present local Native history and Willamette Valley and Coastal tribal history. She will display local and regional family belongings (heirlooms).

Stephanie will be joined by her husband, Joe Craig. Joe is an enrolled Umatilla tribal member and the 4th great-grandson of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe. His grandparents met locally.

Joe and Stephanie live on one of the Cooper Donation Land Claims next to Stephanie’s parents. Stephanie is a Cooper on her father’s side and an enrolled member of The Confederate Tribes of Grand Ronde. She is Santiam and Yoncalla Kalapuya, Cow Creek Umpqua, Takelma Rogue River, Clackamas Chinook, Mohawk, Metis on her mother’s side. She is also the HMC archivist.

WHAT TO BRING:

A potluck dish to share. Plates, utensils, water, and lemonade will be provided. Please help with cleanup.

Donations for the Country Store – items large or small that may be of interest to family members, including produce, plants, services, books, household goods, etc.

FOR MORE INFORMATION contact Merrilee, HMC President, at

email: merrilee.s.johnson@gmail.com or by phone 503-550-9339

Again this year, we struggle with the uncertainty of gathering in person for our traditional reunion. Our usual picnic area of Maud Williamson State Recreation Site has been reserved for those who want to meet for visiting unofficially.  However, the official Reunion will be an online Zoom program, presented by Elaine Warmington Wagner in Oregon, Al Ernest in North Carolina, Sylvia Fiscus and Marian Robertson in Colorado, and Brian Hewitt in Oregon.