Newsletter and Website Update, July 2009

July 19th, 2009

PRINT MAIL: Been noticing anything different in the newsletters lately?  To make better use of our volunteers’ time, we are trying out having our postal newsletter printed and mailed by Duncan Business Services in Loveland, Colorado.  Vicki Duncan is our registrar Sylvia Fiscus’s stepdaughter and she has been in business for ten years.  The cost of hiring Vicki’s business is greatly offset by the fact that she can meet the US Postal Service’s regulations, including the fee, for us to mail bulk mail and by her access to all forwarding addresses registered with the Post Office so we are not paying for undeliverable newsletters.  Plus, as more family members choose to receive the newsletter via the website, our print mailing list of over 500 addresses will decrease as will the costs.

It took us some time to make this transition, but now that we have, the process will go much faster and can be done by family members around the country.  Nancy Matheny Nasim, in California, is our print newsletter production editor and webmaster.  Barbara sends her the articles from Oregon, she puts them on the website and lays out the print newsletter and sends it off to Vicki in Colorado – all electronically.

Nancy has been working non-stop to set up the systems for both media.

If you are not getting your copy of the newsletter, contact registrar@hmcfamily.com with your name and address, to make sure that we are up to date.

WEBSITE We are now the first entry when you Google hmcfamily.org!

Remember, with a website you can email us links to sites of interest to the family and public notices and articles about family members.  We can also include a lot more pictures.  And information can be posted immediately.

Nancy is setting up the website pages so that they can have individual editors.  Royse Kerr, in Texas, who created our original Hewitt-Matheny-Cooper website, will be managing the Hewitt Page.  Nancy has started the Matheny Page, and a Cooper editor is needed.  Anyone interested?

With the many ways we will now be able to share and learn about family and our heritage between members across the country, comes the challenge of protecting personal information.  The council has developed a privacy policy that is posted on the website.  It will be a developing document.  If you have questions or concerns, please email Barbara at council@hmcfamily.org.

Finally, be sure to let us know if you want to receive the newsletter by postal mail, just email notices telling you when the website is updated, both, or neither (you can check the website without notices).

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Minutes of the HMC Family Council Meeting, May 30, 2009

July 19th, 2009

Present: President Barbara Kerr, Treasurer Louis Rodge, Secretary Joanne Shipley, Christine Cranmore, and President Emeritus Elma Hewitt.

Absent: Shilah Bauer and Rae Ann Nelson.  Shilah reports that she is resigning from the Family Council at this time.

Meeting was called to order.  Letters from Ken and Helen Kirkwood, Olive Merry, Don Rivara and Mel Moss were received.

Minutes of the November Meeting were read and approved.

Treasurer reported a balance of $4,966.15 as of 3/24/2009.  The accountant has filed the annual form 990.

Discussion continued regarding receipts for future donations for the silent and oral auctions, and donation cans at the reunion.  We need confirmation from the State of Oregon regarding our tax-exempt status.  Louis is following up with phone calls to Dennis and Dan Matheny and to the State of Oregon to see if we can obtain the original paperwork.  Cost to file would be $30, if we can’t confirm previous paperwork.

Newsletter: Next edition will be available on the website.  Please send us your email address!  Printed copies will also be mailed, unless members indicate that having them on the website is good enough.

Elma will call Barbara with additional email addresses from the Reunion sign-in books, so everyone can be notified that the newsletter is available on-line.

New and changes of addresses need to go to our new Registrar, Sylvia Fiscus at registrar@hmcfamily.org.  She will keep all current contact information.

The possibility of bulk-mail is being investigated.  One member of the family will offer an estimate of costs if she does it through her agency.  If we can get a copy of the filing with the State of Oregon for tax-exempt status, we may reduce the cost substantially.  More information to come.

Historian: To maintain privacy, historian, Don Rivara, will keep all family records and lineages at historian@hmcfamily.org.

Communications: If you wish to contact one of the council, please use one of the following addresses:

council@hmcfamily.org (Barbara Kerr),
secretary@hmcfamily.org (Joanne Shipley),
treasurer@hmcfamily.org (Louis Rodge),
Elma@hmcfamily.org (Elma Hewitt),
registrar@hmcfamily.org (Sylvia Fiscus), and
historian@hmcfamily.org (Don Rivara).
Your email will automatically be forwarded to the correct person.

Website: Please let Barbara Kerr know if you have any trouble getting into the website.
An on-line tour of the area will soon be available – see upcoming information for ways to use it, and to add to it from your family’s archives.

Publications: Elma has some beautiful illustrations for Into the Eye of the Setting Sun.  They will be incorporated into the copies that will be available at the reunion.  There was discussion about how to recognize or reimburse the man who did them.  No decisions yet.

Discussion continues about publishing Into the Eye of the Setting Sun.  Christine will speak with her mother, and Elma will speak with Julie Jones, in order to collect more information about the history of the work.  Mel Moss has found newsletter references to Ruth Stout working on it extensively with Julia Jones.

2009 90-year Reunion Celebration:

Mike has reserved our regular site with the shelter.

Brian Hewitt will be auctioneer.  Louis will be cashier and clerk.

Readings, singing, food and photography are all on the schedule.

Please bring your little “I remember” booklets, or email a family story to secretary@hmcfamily.org so we can add current family stories to our memories.

Elma is requesting each family to bring old photos on poster board, with labels, to be displayed on the walls of the shelter.

The council adjourned, with great thanks to Barbara for all the planning and research she has done in preparation of our coming celebration.  Next meeting will be at the Reunion.

Respectfully submitted,   Joanne Shipley, Secretary

Treasurer’s Update

THE AUCTION This year at the reunion the oral auction will be monitored by the treasure to help insure the person who wins the item is identified and receives the correct item and the correct dollar amount is collected.
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RE: NONPROFIT STATUS The Hewitt-Matheny-Cooper Family Association is not a “non-profit” or a “not for profit” classified organization.  Therefore donations to the H-M-C Family Association are not tax deductible.  We are in the process of filing/declaring a “not for profit” status with the IRS.  However, we will not be a “charitable” organization and donations will still not be tax deductible

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REUNION 2009 It’s A Party!!

July 19th, 2009

Maud Williamson State Park

Maud Williamson State Park

PHOTO DISPLAY Elma Hewitt is putting together a gallery of pictures of our oldest ancestors and of past reunions.  Bring your pictures (copies) on poster board so they can be hung in the gallery.

PICTURE COPIES Olive Merry Johnson has donated snapshots from past Reunions.  Come find yourself as a child or other memories to share with your family.  Plus, Marcia Durbin has provided a cd of photos from the 2005-2007 Reunions including group photos. There will be a copier/printer for making copies.

GROUP PHOTOS We will be taking group photos by family branches, which you will be able to download from the website after the Reunion.  Don’t be left out!!

One of Brian Hewitt's sons making the "hop-skip-and-a-jump" at the 2008 reunion

One of Brian Hewitt's sons making the "hop-skip-and-a-jump" at the 2008 reunion

THE  DANIEL MATHENY HEWITT CHALLENGE is back with age categories from under 6 to over 60.  See how far you travel in two hops on one foot and a jump from two feet, in succession after (but not counting) a running start.  This event was started last year by Brian Hewitt, great-great-grandson of Daniel Matheny Hewitt, who was a local star at this traditional Olympic event.  Last year’s winner was Toby Williams who covered 28 feet 8 inches in his two hops and a jump.  Can you beat that?! (See Toby’s jump in the June 2008 newsletter.)

WEBSITE DEMONSTRATION We will have a computer available for viewing our hmcfamily.org website for those who don’t have access to a computer or don’t have experience in navigating websites.

OREGON TRAIL GAME Play the classic Oregon Trail Game computer game, which now has a cult following.

OREGON HISTORY TIMELINE Celebrate Oregon’s sesquicentennial by bringing information on any contributions made by members of our families as citizens of the State of Oregon, the Oregon Territory, or Oregon Country (including Washington, Idaho, western Montana, and a corner of western Wyoming).  We will make cards to put up on a timeline of Oregon’s history.

STORYTELLING AREA Match memories or ask those questions you’ve always wanted to know the answers to about the family.

THE AUCTION As mentioned in the last newsletter, Brian Hewitt has come out of ‘retirement’ to be our auctioneer again! Please bring a brief description and suggested price for your oral auction donations to help Brian out. Our treasurer, Louis Rodge, will be busy with a new tracking system for the auction and raffle.

Marian Murray McClaine helping David Shelburne make ice cream at the 2008 Reunion (James Andrew Hewitt descendants)

Marian Murray McClaine helping David Shelburne make ice cream at the 2008 Reunion (James Andrew Hewitt descendants)

HOME MADE ICE CREAM!! Thank you to David Shelburne for bringing back our tradition of homemade ice cream at the Reunion! Homemade ice cream is a lot of work and we appreciate David’s generous contribution to our picnic last year.  So, this year let’s follow David’s lead and have ice cream for our birthday party.  If you don’t have an ice cream freezer, you can still join in on the fun of turning the crank.

Homemade ice cream at the Reunion was something to look forward to all year.   Elma Hewitt’s fond memories of picnics in Unionvale were of fried chicken and homemade ice cream.  Jean Kerr remembers that “Erma (Shelburne) and Elsie (Warmington) were the only ones to make it for many, many years and they had the best ice cream that anyone had ever tasted.  They had a big dairy and their ice cream was probably cream period (no milk).  Elsie was the master of flavoring it.  Vanilla was always the preferred flavor.” [Especially because we ate it on homemade pies.]

Memories of a Recipe from Elsie Warmington’s daughter, Olive Merry Johnson:

“Thought surely I could find a recipe for the ice cream but could not.  No, it isn’t a secret — BUT —–!!!  Will put down what I remember (with help from the family).  Stir up 6 eggs, add 2 cups sugar, 2 cups cream, and 1 tablespoon vanilla.  Pour in one gallon ice cream freezer and add enough milk to make it two thirds full.  Add crushed ice, sprinkling salt (chunky kind) over the layers of ice cream and turn the freezer until it is too hard to turn.  Seems pretty simple and hope that is correct.”

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