Additional Information Links
| 2011 NIAGARA FALLS tour info.doc Map of Niagara Falls Area |
| Our 2011 Conference was held at the Quality Hotels & Suites, Niagara Falls, NY. http:\\www.qualityniagarafalls.com Phone: 716-282-1212 |
Friday, Sept. 23 – Lockport Bus Tour
30 Foote cousins navigated the Erie Canal on a tour Friday morning, Sept. 23, 2011. After boarding a school bus at 9:45a.m., they traveled to Lockport, NY. Nancy White, a Foote cousin, who coordinated the tour at Lockport, met them at our first stop, the Erie Canal Discovery Center.
They experienced an animated presentation of the building of the Erie Canal, including the five locks in Lockport. Then there was an animated “locking through” of the original locks. Time was also spent viewing the canal displays in the center.
From the Erie Canal Discovery Center the orange vehicle took them over a large bridge across the Erie Canal to Erie Canal side. a box lunch was enjoyed and they then boarded the ship Lockview V for a cruise on the Erie Canal.
The ship locked through two newer locks, traveled west under the widest bridge in the US, and an upside down RR bridge. After turning around, traveling east, they again locked through the 2 locks and passed under 2 lift bridges.
All were able to view the remains of the old flight of five locks. A number of interesting facts were learned about the locks and the Erie Canal from the running commentary by the ship’s Captain. The trip arrived back at the hotel at 3:30p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 24
Saturday Morning Reunion Sessions
10:00a.m...-Becky Owens led an informative “Tips on Genealogy Research” based upon her considerable experience as a Genealogist. She presented the participants with tips on researching family histories, handed out group sheets on which to record data and also gave each family a decorative “fan” family tree chart. She stressed the necessity of each of us to start recording our family stories. Becky gave an amazing demonstration of grave witchery (for finding bodies in graves) and many of us tried our hand at being a grave witch (and being a body). Her method works!
11:00a.m. -Joanne Gilbert facilitated a “Treasures in the Attic” session of Foote mementos. Included in the “show & tell” was a quilt made by a Foote in 1892, a doctor kit, Foote silver spoons having a March 5th date, a number of photographs of “Footes of the past ” and Barbara Foote-Hennessey’s vintage collection of clothing worn by her female relatives. The dresses were beautifully displayed on mannequins that traveled all the way from Vermont.
Maid of the Mist Boat Ride
And again, another boat ride. This time, 24 “Footes”, on Saturday afternoon at 2:p.m., walked from the hotel to the Maid of the Mist dock where we boarded one of the Maid of the Mist boats from the US side of the river. A spectacular sight was seen as the boat motored past the American Falls and then hovered very near the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls. All of us were in the “mist” and appreciative of our blue raincoats. Susan Foote was in Canada at the time, saw our boat, and took pictures of us. She will identify all of us who were on the boat.
The FooteShoppe
We had great accommodations at the hotel. Our hospitality and banquet room fit our needs perfectly. We had plenty of room to set up our FooteShoppe items. Many new items were on sale. New t-shirts were available. A complete listing of items and prices will in available in a future newsletter. Please contact Gary Foote at Footeshoppe@excite.com for availability and pricing on “Foote” merchandise. You can also reach him at FFAA, % Gary Foote, 7800 Myrtle Avenue, Glendale, NY 11385.
Sunday, Sept. 25
The banquet ended our festivities and another great reunion. This is always one of the highlights. Starting out with cocktails at 6pm, followed by dinner at 7pm, it ended with a short business meeting including the election of officers.
This year we voted 2 trustees into office. Holly Lee and Margaret MacDonough will be serving as trustees for another 6 years. At the conclusion of our meeting, our guest Speaker Chris Foote talked about the paving machine that was invented by their Grandfather. They had a terrific slide show and shared many interesting facts from their family archives. Thank you, Chris, for sharing that with our group.
The board has decided that the next reunion in 2013 will be held in the New England area.