2006 Pennsylvania, a wonderful place for the Boone reunion!
Jill and Gene Ray were co-chairs of the 2006 reunion. Jim Lewars and staff (thanks, Marcia Houston) at the Boone Homestead provided the Boone family with a memorable visit to the home that was the birthplace of Daniel Boone.
We also visited the Amish country in Lancaster County and the Morgan Log House, the family home of Sarah Morgan wife of Squire Boone. The home was purchased by Sarah’s father, Edward Morgan in 1708.
2004
Guided by plans of reunion committee chair-members Connie Holmes Larson and Gene Ray, the Boone Family returned to the St. Louis area for a “homecoming.” This event centered on the Nathan Boone Home in nearby Defiance and Boonesfield Village, both of which are properties of Lindenwood University.
Lindenwood University hosted our family with a reception and private tours of the home and a viewing of the Price-Loyles Collection, consisting of 6 generations of Boone Family artifacts. We were entertained with skits performed by re-enactors portraying Nathan and Olive Boone, Daniel Boone, and John Filson. We visited the original graves of Daniel and Rebecca Boone and the Daniel Boone Judgment Tree Park. The family enjoyed tours of historic St. Louis and St. Charles, had lunch on the river boat “Tom Sawyer”, and dinner at the Bevo Mill.
2002
For 2002 it was “OREGON OR BUST!” for another Boone Family Reunion, this time chaired by Arlene Curry Buschert, Janet Boone McGarrigle and Carolyn Boone Grenfell. Oregon is such a beautiful state! In a little more than one hour from downtown Portland, we visited a lodge and experienced the majesty of being high atop Mt. Hood. We viewed the barren
desert, the Pacific Ocean, old lighthouses, dense forests, and the breathtaking and awesome Multnomah Falls. We learned about the struggles and successes of the some Boone ancestors, friends and neighbors, who in 1843 went west on the Oregon Trail. We saw again the strength and leadership of Boone men and women.
2000
The Boone Family found their way around Winston-Salem, North Carolina to celebrate the new millennium with a reunion chaired by Barbara Gill and Gene Ray. A bus tour took us to the Joppa Cemetery in Mocksville, Davie County. Here we stopped to pose for photos among the graves of our Boone ancestors. Seeing a discount store and parking lot adjacent to this picturesque spot made us all realize how important saving historical landmarks can be.
Speakers from Wake-Forest University and the State’s Department of History told tales of North Carolina legends, heroes, heroines and anti-heroes. The final night’s banquet had us tapping our toes to the tunes of two authentic Appalachian storytellers.
1998
Lexington, Kentucky was the site of our ’98 Reunion chaired again by Gene Ray and Pete Holste. The 92 attendees enjoyed four days of genealogical brainstorming, tours of area historical sites, banquets, speakers, and a theatrical performance at Fort Harrod State Park.
Delegates to the reunion ratified the Society’s by-laws in the ceremonial Boonesborough Convention of 1998.
1996
With Gene Ray and Pete Holste leading the way as chairmen, we held our first “Boone Family Reunion” in St. Louis, where Daniel Boone spent the final 20 years of his life. It was a huge success! The attendees (our charter members) approved formalizing the Society and making the reunion a regular event.