John Pack Reunion Changed to Aug 20, 2011

The John Pack Family Association

2011 Reunion Update

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Dear Family,

For those of you new to our email list, WELCOME! (Please note that we are working to increase  our contacts and your email may have been added by a family member who loves you-unsubscribe at the bottom if desired.)

 

The annual John Pack Family Association reunion will be August 20, 2011 (NOT the 13th). This will be just after the 2011 BYU Education Week so come and enjoy both events!

 

If you are not familiar with the annual reunion, it is a wonderful wholesome recreational activity for singles and families alike. It is held at ‘This is the Place Heritage Park’ in Salt Lake City, UT. There is a replica of John Pack’s home there. There are also a host of fun activities and things to experience at the park itself. From panning for gold in a real flowing stream to riding ponies and trains, the park has a lot to offer. Block out the date now so it will not get crowded out by a busy summer! (See the park website for more info.) (Read one family members experience from last year’s reunion at the end of this email.)

 

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Also, we are looking for a volunteer to design the cover for the upcoming new John Pack book. Please contact our editor, David R. Pack if you are willing to share of your artistic skills in this manner ([email protected], 208-356-4779).

We have recently upgraded our contacts database to include your ancestral line. We hope this will facilitate future smaller family reunions. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey JPFA Contacts Database to enter your information into the new database. Please share this link with anyone else who may like to be on our mailing list.

There is a new entry on our website that is a transcription of a speech a family member recently gave about John Pack.

Have a great summer!

Love,
Ben Pack, JPFA President

 

 

 

P.S. Last year’s reunion experience, by Alison Pack:

 

We attended last year’s John Pack Family reunion at the pioneer village in “This is the Place” State Park, along with our son and daughter-in-law and their five children aged 2 to 12.  We were gratified to find that the trees lining the streets of the main part of the village had matured to give pleasant shade (and, where the trees ended, a novel “misting corner” had been constructed).   Having had a taste of the delights of the reconstructed village before we convened at the Social Hall (even Grandma enjoyed bowling the iron hoop and eyeing the child-size wooden stilts at one of the homes), we were excited to begin our tour, part of which was enjoyed on a train with a street route.  At the many homes and shops and public buildings we found costumed “settlers” eager to share their lives with us, and we were drawn back in time in a most delightful way.  At every home we entered there was a special, authentic activity going on which we could either observe or participate in.  The gentleman at the leather store gave us some fascinating information leading to saddles and to Pony Express riding—which was especially interesting to us as there is an ancestral connection. The knowledgeable craftsman’s wares were on sale at the pioneer store (ask the kids about the array of fascinating toys and other goodies there, too).

Further on, the kids climbed a scale model of the good ship Brooklyn, which in 1846 took a group of Church members fleeing persecution from the east all the way around the Cape and up to San Francisco.  (We were surprised to find some familiar family names on the passenger list.)   While the parents rested on the covered benches there, kids could pan for “gold” at a little stream nearby, and near the same spot one could also board a tiny train and go for a ride around the “lake.”  Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves sitting in the cool shade of an authentic Indian Hogan, hearing a Native American and her son tell how their family lived.  There were even fascinating outbuildings in the woods nearby.  What a fantastic addition to the park.

When it was time for cake and ice cream, it was a short walk to the reconstructed (air-conditioned!) John Pack home—the perfect venue for the family to get together and enjoy each other’s company.  There was much that we did not see, and we’re eager to go back this year and enjoy more of the wonderful pioneer village, while meeting all of you at our grand 2011 Reunion on August 20th!

 

The John Pack Family Association – www.johnpackfamily.com
Ben Pack – 801-225-5996


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