The Matteson Family Reunion 2010 Home Page
Saturday, August 14, 2010
- Added our pictures under "Galleries"
- Added the slide shows in "Downloads". They are in .pps form, will try to convert to .pdf.
- We decided on a place for lunch on Sunday, the Melville Grille
- We are tax exempt in Rhode Island! Here is the certificate.
- The DEADLINE for sign-up is July 17. Here is the second mailing with the sign-up form.
- Added a copy of the recent mailing, which has a sign up form. It will also be included in the Mattesonian mailing.
- Dorothy and Gordon Matteson will sponser the coffee on Saturday night and Gail will make the cake.
- On Saturday we got the check from Herman to reserve the Sunday bus. All arrangements are now made. Yes!
- Herman will also be mailing in the form for tax exemptin in Vermont. If we get that, Gail will bring it to the RI Statehouse for a cert here. He already had a more recent IRS ruling letter, which Vermont wanted. Fingers crossed.
- We have heard back from the current owners of the Clement Weaver house (built 1679) and he will allow us to visit on Sunday. Clement had been a near neighbor of Hugh and Elizabeth in Portsmouth, so he and Henry must have gone way back.
- Oh no! All this tax exempt stuff may be for naught:
Sunday, March 13, 2010
- We drove the Saturday route to check the drive times. It will be tight but doable.
- The bus has been switched to one with a wheelchair lift. No extra charge!
- The special sailing of the Prudence Island Ferry planned turned out to be too expensive. We will use the normal schedule, which means we won't be able to have lunch there.
- The Saturday costs are set, and Sunday other than lunch.
- Marilisa can bring a digital projector (yeah!), so all we need now are photos from past reunions. Please email them here. If you prefer to mail prints, email us to get our mailing address, we'll scan them and return them at the reunion.
- Vermont wants an updated IRS letter saying that the congress is a 501(c)(3) organization.
- We have heard from Mr. Thurston, owner of the Parsons' former place. He has agreed to let us visit and we will invite him to Prudence Island for lunch with us.
- Updated the Schedule page with the current trip costs. Sunday is still a little unsure, so we have it as a maximum.
- We found a reference to a Vermont tax account in some papers we had. I have emailed them with the number, but haven't heard back.
- The bus for Saturday and our Newport Mansion tours are reserved.
- The bus, restaurant and park (for lunch) are now reserved.
- The quest for tax exempt status continues. Waiting for a return email from Vermont.
- No word yet from the current owner of Hugh and Elizabeth's place as to whether we can stop there on the Sunday trek.
- We expect to finalize the menu this week. We will then have final costs for Sat.
- The quotes on the bus have started to come in. So far the best price is $699 for the day and it's a very local company (West Warwick), so the cost estimate is down to more like $73 for adults and $32.50 for kids.
- "Call for Photos"
Please email
us your photos from past reunions, especially from 2006. We
are making a musical slide show for the bus ride.
- Wrote letter to George Thurston Jr., current owner of the Parsons property in Portsmouth, to see if he would let us visit during the Sunday trip.
- Cost estimate for Saturday is now $79 for adults and $38.50 for kids, which includes:
- Bus for the day
- Box lunch and drinks
- Tours of two mansions
- Three-entré buffet dinner overlooking the Atlantic Ocean
- Coffee and cake at the
Hotel (Sponsored by Gordon Matteson)
- Updated web site
- Visited the Parsons'
house site. The address is 664 Union
St., Portsmouth, RI. We didn't stop in, but
here are some screen shots from Bing.com bird's eye (did Hugh build those stone walls and did Henry help?):
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- Mailed the deposit check for the Saturday night restaurant.
- Visited Fort Wetherill State Park, where we will have lunch on Saturday. Not as nice as Beavertail, but it will do nicely.
- Emailed the reservation form for Fort Wetherill State Park, it's just a formality.
- Emailed scanned documents to the State of Vermont in an attempt to get a copy of the Congress's tax exempt certificate as required by Rhode Island.
- Spoke with Felicia at RI DEM Division of Parks and Recreation re: using Fort Wetherill for lunch. It's OK to move the picnic tables as needed.
- Final confirmation that we have the Coast Guard House locked in for our date.
- Visited the Rhode Island State House and attempted to reason with bureaucrats to get tax exempt status.
- Visited Portsmouth town hall and got copies of Hugh Parson's will and William Allen's will, which was witnessed by Henry. Also got copies of the map of the "Original Land Grants" of Portsmouth, showing where the Parsons lived.
- Visited the Coast Guard House restaurant. We are leaning toward dinner on their covered deck. Here are some pictures of and from the deck (the cover was off for the season):
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