flagbig

carpenter-zimmerman.org

Family Reunions (To see the information for the previous reunion, see the Reunion 2006 page.)

 

See the Forum to find out what people are talking about.

How to reach us full story...

Carpenter's Station[Image Placeholder]
“Established near this site, 1780, by the brothers Adam, Conrad, and John Carpenter. All were American Revolutionary soldiers, sons of George Carpenter, Sr., who died while serving with the First Virginia Regiment. One of the early stations through which the settlement of Kentucky was achieved. Carpenters once owned 3,000 acres in vicinity of this station.”

— The Kentucky Historical Society placed a memorial marker with these words on the site of Carpenter's Station in 1969.

Carpenter-Zimmerman Family Reunions

Reunions? Plural? Is that a typo? Nope.

For every really big reunion, there are any number of smaller family gatherings taking place all across the country multiple times each year.

At the last big reunion, in June 2006, people expressed an interest in getting together again down the road. Some prefer the Kentucky location, and others proposed we meet in Virginia where George Zimmermann lived, or in Pennsyvania where he fought and died. Each of these locations, and I am sure many others, have a rich history that would be of interest to all who are descendants of George Zimmermann.

The Reunion Planners who have done it before can tell you that a big reunion requires a lot of work. It is never too soon to get started. However, until someone gets the itch to make plans to get everyone together, we will have to think of other ways to get together.

So, I had an idea. Why not promote the smaller gatherings as well? People are taking trips to historic sites, and they are getting together to celebrate the holidays, or special events like a golden anniversary, the retirement of an honored relative, college graduation, and shared holidays. There are lots of reasons for people to get together, and this web site can help.

I thought to myself, "Self, why don't you invite people to send you their invitations, then you can post the details here on this website, and provide links to whatever information they might create on their own." I thought that was a good idea, so it motivated me to update this page.

You can still find the old reunion page archived here: Reunion 2006.

Gatherings

Neal Family Gathering in Branson Missouri, August 2007

Like many others, the Neal clan is a part of the larger Carpenter-Zimmermann family. They recently got together to celebrate the 65th wedding anniversary of Robert Arnold and Dorothy Neal. I posted some news about that in the Carpenter-Zimmerman New, which you can view on the home page.

Promote Your Gathering

You can list your gathering here too. Just send me mail and tell me all about it.

Think about what you would like for the reunion, and then go right over to the Forum and post your suggestions. Shall we return to Kentucky? What about Virginia? How about Pennsylvania? We have roots in each of these places to greater and lesser extents.

Once again, we all give our tremendous thanks to the 2006 Reunion Planners, Kathleen Carpenter Griffin and Joe Clarkson Carpenter. They managed to arrange another fantastic event that was a fun and rewarding experience for all those who attended. Once again, we all got to meet more cousins than we ever knew existed and the feeling of connectedness makes it harder to feel alone when you know where you come from.

This page will post the latest reunion information as it becomes available. For the absolute latest news — hot off the press, so to speak — you can jump to the Reunion Planner News page, which is managed by former Reunion Planner, Kathleen Carpenter Griffin and our Webmaster, Joseph William Carpenter.

Some things to think about for next time

The previous two reunions (2001 and 2006) were planned with a historical and genealogical emphasis. That is a great foundation, and each of those reunions was very successful for its intended purpose. However, if the reunions only serve those with an interest in genealogy, then they are not reaching everyone. Some people would like more options about the events they attend.

There was some talk about expanding the next big family reunion to become a larger and more inclusive event. In some respects, making it more like a traditional family reunion, with games and events intended for the entire family. I believe both agendas can be met. If the reunions are located near to both historical sites and some more mainstream vacation sites.

There is a strong genealogical interest in this family. How else would we have such a well-rooted family tree? It is possible to think about that in terms of smaller genealogical events, like mini-reunions, or weekend trips back to the home places.

We know that some people did not come to the last big reunion because they only get one family vacation, and wanted to make the most of it. Okay, so lets make our next big reunion something people will want to attend. Get involved now and help plan the next reunion so that it will include events that are of interest to you.

In addition to special interest events, there could be joint events to bring everyone together. This means that any place chosen should also have the historical interest that would appeal to the genealogists, and also have the family fun that would appeal to just about everyone. We are not talking Disneyland here, so think about such fun places as Frontierland, and other places located nearby our own historical home places that have also grown up to become vacation destinations.

Such events could include a barbecue like we had in Kentucky, or some other event planned around a meal. Such a large group gathering would also afford an opportunity to create several truly special group photographs. How rare might it be to see so many Carpenters in one place!

Keep the planning simplified. it will require some creative thinking, but there is plenty of time to find a place that will serve as a ideal location for such a reunion. Just imagine that is is possible, then go find a way to make it happen.

How to reach us

This website remains as a resource for this family. For now, I am in touch with the more active among us. Those who take up the mantle of Reunion Planner, will have my help. In the meantime, you can post your suggestions about the reunion and the web site in the Family Forum.

We look forward to your participation in the forums and please do submit stories and articles for publication on this web site!

| Contact Us | ©2005-2006 Joseph W. Carpenter