The Bigelow Society Reunion 2010
The Dates: 13, 14, 15 August 2010
The Board
meetings were very informal. The first was held at the Fireside
Restaurant and
Theater on Friday night, where we had a wonderful dinner of fish or
chicken.
Most of the discussion revolved around further reunions and recruiting
new
board members. It was a rainy Friday night, but we were cozy at the
Fireside
and at the farm. We met new people and reconnected with others from
previous
reunions. As we left the restaurant, there was a beautiful rainbow,
which
turned out to be a good omen for the rest of the weekend.
Saturday morning
we met at Don Bigelow’s farm for coffee, juice, and pastries. The men
and women
of this family are such wonderful hosts, and they make you feel so
welcome.
After visiting with “cousins”, we were off on a new adventure. We took
a bus to
Old World Wisconsin, a wonderful historical park which showed the homes
and
villages of the immigrants to Wisconsin. On the bus we held our second
Board
meeting, which again was informal and short. We discussed some By-law
changes
and Board meetings via conference calls or internet. Very little was
decided,
as too few Board members were present to offer their views.
Carol
Valentine followed by husband Bob on right
After a wonderful dinner and plenty of
deserts, we had our
general meeting. It too was kind of informal, with the President Rod
Bigelow
giving a report on the progress of the society over the past years, and
Treasurer Dee Bigelow giving the financial report. It was 4 years since
we last
visited Don Bigelows’ farm and it was great to see all the fine
restored tractors
again as well as classic autos and trucks.
Rod
and Dee Standing; Allan to her right; Jackie Woods
in front of Rod
Then it was time
for the auction. We all had a good time, thanks to the fine job done by
Don jr.
and a real auctioneer Kevin Bigelow. As many of you know, the auction
is
usually run by the president. So it was with great relief that Don and
Kevin
took over. Thanks to the auction, the society took in some money, which
has
been unusual the last couple years. We shared with the Don Bigelow
families,
but it was hardly enough. So I want to thank them again for such a
wonderful
time.
Kevin
Bigelow and Don jr. Auctioneers
On a further personal
note:
As I like to do
on my reunion trips, I made it a mini-vacation. I traveled from Ft.
Atkinson to
Milwaukee, and drove around seeing some of the sights of last year’s
trip. I
then went to Chicago and stayed two nights with relatives. I had a
wonderful
visit with their grand kids that spend their summers near our place in
Chazy
Lake. On Monday afternoon, I rode my bike along Lake Michigan, and went
to the
Shedd Aquarium. This has always been one of my dreams of going there,
because
of my great interest in fish. It did not disappoint, and I took many
pictures.
That night, my wife’s second cousin, John, took me out to one of the
best barbecue
rib joints that I have ever eaten at. Frank Sinatra used to eat there,
when in
town and ordered ribs “keep them coming”. Now I know why. This made my
long
drive home better………….ROD
Photos by Gail Hummel (our Authorized
Bigelow Society
Photographer),
Rod Bigelow
Box 13 Chazy Lake
Dannemora, N.Y. 12929
rodbigelow@netzero.net 
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