VOLUME VII, NUMBER 2

A message from the President

We are anticipating a delightful reunion this year in South Hadley, MA, on the campus of Mount Holyoke College.  The school looks very different today than it did in 1847-48 when our famous cousin Emily attended the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.  Our speaker, Martha Ackmann, will take us back to those days for a glimpse into Emily’s life at this institution.  We also have confirmed a visit from the Wethersfield Historical Society for the presentation on early Wethersfield that was cancelled last year.

f you’ve never been to Mount Holyoke, you are sure to enjoy the beauty of this campus.  The conference center where our meeting will occur is a very attractive facility and has a patio overlooking a brook which we can use for meeting and chatting with each other during our morning social period.  That activity was so enjoyable last year that we hope you will all come early and take advantage of the time.  Of course we will also have exhibits and publications on display and more Dickinson T-shirts!

On a personal note, it occurred to me recently that I have been president of this association for five years, which is more than half of the total time I have been a member.  It has given me an opportunity to get to know many of you, some in person, some through e-mail or other communications.  I think this is a unique and wonderful organization and that we do some important and good things.  The real character of the DFA, however, emerges annually at our reunions, and we hope the spirit of the reunion of 2009 will be seen again each year.  If you have never attended a reunion, make an effort to come this year and hopefully you’ll catch this spirit too.

Alan C. Dickinson, president

2010 DFA SCHOLARSHIP ALERT One of the most important functions of the Dickinson Family Association is the awarding of our annual scholarship.  The deadline for applications for this year’s DFA scholarship is April 30.  Anyone interested in applying should print out the form from our website and submit it with all other required material to the scholarship chair, Jean Blackmer, 61 Sever St., Worcester, MA 01609.  If you don’t have access to the internet, contact Jean and she will send you the form.

REPORT ON JANUARY SURVEY      As of mid-March thirty-five people had returned the survey cards sent out in the January mailing.  Although this represent less than 10% of the cards we mailed out, they indicated that thirty four people were planning to attend this year’s reunion.  Most of the returns included a donation to either the general or scholarship fund or both, and we are very grateful to those of you who contributed.     We do hope a good number of the other 90+% of you will eventually decide to attend the reunion and will return the response card enclosed with this mailing.  If you have not already made a donation, you can do so with the reunion response card, or at any time for that matter.

IDEAS FROM ELIZABETH WILKINS             One of our cousins, Elizabeth Wilkins from Crofton MD, who has attended recent reunions, has sent some great and creative ideas to us.  Most of these came to us last summer after the unusual reunion in Wethersfield and we apologize for only now getting them out to the membership.            It was Elizabeth’s idea to take pictures of reunion attendees by line of descendancy in addition to the usual full group picture.  Last year, of course, we had the time to do that and those pictures will hopefully be on our website by the time you read this.  She also suggested that a record be kept of attendees from each reunion arranged by these lines and posted on the web.  Another web-related thought was to have geographic links to find out where the Dickinsons are currently located.  This would allow us to see who lives near us and might prompt some get-togethers or “mini-reunions.”            Elizabeth also mentioned possibly organizing a Dickinson trip to a place like Disney, which has a deal in late summer for groups of 8 or more.  At a recent board meeting another idea was suggested, namely a Dickinson group cruise.            Your webmaster hopes to act soon on some of Elizabeth’s ideas and we would welcome help from any of our members.  Also if you have ideas of your own, let us hear from you.  Our e-mail addresses are, webmaster (Alan Dickinson): anbdickinson@charter.net and Elizabeth: ewilkins4@hotmail.com .

MISSING COUSINS      Our Membership Clerk, Beth Landolina, has reported the names of several of our members for whom we no longer have valid postal and email addresses.  The list, which in most cases includes the last known place of residence, is as follows:  Scott Counsell, Waverly MA; Doris F Dickinson, Vernon VT; Edward M. Dickinson, N.S.W. Australia; James Dickinson, San Francisco, CA; James L and Mardalee B Dickinson, ?; Jean Dickinson, ?; Percy A Dickinson, Ancram, NY; Thomas S Dickinson, Pasadena, CA; William E Dickinson, Kansas City, MO; Jose Fernandez Dickinson, ?; Marie Gauthier, W. Suffield, CT; Mary Jane Dickinson Graham, Rossaville, GA; Thomas A Haven, ?;  George Hawksley, Bridgeport, CT; Elsie S Hayden, Westfield, MA; Stacy and Trevor Holmes, Chicago, IL; Cheyenne Huffor, Northbridge, MA; Lorna Hyland, Waverly, MA; Russell Hyland, Dedham, MA; Belinda West Mulliken, Belmont, MA; Alton E Paddock, Royersford, PA; Lora L Pallatto, Foster City, CA; Kathy Sanders, Old Saybrook, CT; Paul W Toelken, Prescott Valley, AZ; Frances Wackerbarth, Granville, MA.    If you can help us reconnect with any of these people please contact Beth Landolina at 82 Evergreen Dr., Tolland, CT 06084; (860)870-0339; BethL0719@sbcglobal.net.