Family Tragedy

We've had a terrible tragedy in the family. Mickey was in an accident coming down a steep windy mountain road on his bike in Ashland Oregon...see links below to an article and video.. He is in intensive care with severe injuries including a broken neck which has left him paralyzed. John, Sara, and I are here with him at the Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford Oregon. I can barely see through the tears to write this but I will keep you updated as we know more...please let others know who i have forgotten to include in this email.Keep us in your prayers,

You can now go to a blog (thanks to John!) and post messages and view updates etc. Please let everyone know. Go to: www.carepages.com and sign up as a member and then go to MicksRecovery.

love,
Sandy

Here are some links for you about the accident:

http://www.ktvl.com/news/road_1187598___article.html/downhill_crashed.html

The following is a video (from local TV station). Give it a minute or 2 to
download:

http://www.ktvl.com/video/index.php?bcpid=1138370270&bclid=1155263524&bctid=1855495946

Hannah Grabs 6th All Around

Hannah grabed 6th on Beam, 4th on Floor and 6th All Around this past weekend in Roswell Georgia. There were 15 competitors in her bracket. check out our blog for pictures and more info. www.andersonfamilysav.blogspot.com

Relatives Connect

Dan, Elisabeth and I were in Boston for a wedding and were able to have dinner with Adam Swinson and his wife, Michelle DuBois. Michelle’s mother, Diane, also joined us for great conversation and food. What a joy to get the chance to reconnect with Adam, with whom we had sort of lost touch. Since Michelle is a Brockton Councilwoman, we had some good political discussions. But also, we were able to share memories of the Swinson family, particularly my recollections of visits with Uncle John and Aunt Shirley Swinson when I was young.

We are waiting for Hurricane Omar. Elisabeth and Rob are coming over to spend the night, since their landlord will be staying in their place downstairs from their house. We should be fine, since Cowpet has a generator on site.

Susan

Family Reunion! ? !

At the internment for Elisabeth, the idea of having a Swinson family reunion came up.

Sandy, Pamela and Susan were going to try and look at some options and would defiantly like some help. So If you are interested in helping in any way, please contact one of them or post a comment on the Blog and it will be forwarded on to them.

Different options were the Sons of Norway Lodge or a cruise but again those are just ideas so input is welcome.

Part of the idea is to keep it near the West Coast and less expensive and far enough in advance so that everyone can attend and to get a lot of the second cousins together so they can get to know each other better.

There is a Poll on the right side of the Blog so put in your vote and / or leave a comment and / or contact one of the above so we can get the creative juices working and get a reunion planned.

Also on the right side of the blog is a subscribe and follower button. The subscribe button allows you to enter an e-mail address and you will be notified when the Blog is updated. I tested it and it won't SPAM you. The follower link is if you have a Google account you can sign in and it will add you as a follower.

If you have any ideas for the Blog or would like to help, please let me know. Blogger has made it really easy so anyone can do it!

Elisabeth Ann Swinson Sharp's Internment

Since I wasn't able to attend, I wanted to get input from as many people as possible. Please email me your thoughts on the trip so i can post them and we can get all the different veiw points.

Many family members arrived on Thursday night, September 25th. They were spread out between Poughkeepsie, Fish Kill and Newburgh, NY.

Thursday night, Susan, Dan, Pam, Maryanne, Jackie, Bill and Joyce, Marcotte and Caroline and Elisabeth all met at Charlie Brown’s Restaurant in Fish Kill across from the Marriott Residence Inn where many of them were staying. It was great to see everyone.

Friday, September 26th , everyone was on their own in the morning time. Some met at the Residence Inn to look at photos, etc. Some went out to eat a late breakfast….Cracker Barrel, yeh! It was neat, because everything one would want was right there in Fish Kill where we were all staying…Charlie Brown’s, Cracker Barrel, Starbucks, Walmart, etc.

The committal was that afternoon (the anniversary of Stanley Sharp’s committal next to Ted and Elisabeth’s grave) at 2 pm at the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. Everyone met at the entrance and then followed one of the men over to the grave site.

Those who attended were:

McLeods: Sandy Ryan, Judith Smith, Mark;

Swinsons: Margie (Uncle John’s ex-wife), Adam (Margie and John’s son), (and wife, Michelle), Maryanne Launse;

Hall: Mary and John;

Sharps: Susan Anderson (and husband, Dan Llewellyn), Jackie, Bill (and wife, Joyce);

DeWitt: Pamela;

Mickens/Martin: Gracie and George.

The Rev. Tyler Jones from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church presided. He told us that he mentioned the Swinson name to several of his West Indian/St. Thomian members, and they remembered Grandpa Swinson. It’s a small world indeed!!!

The service was short, but everyone stayed around talking and taking photos for quite a while. Then at Aunt Mary’s suggestion we all took off for the American Culinary Institute where we ate lunch at the Apple ……Café. (Can’t remember the whole name…Elisabeth?) Some people bought pastry and baked goods to take home. We walked around peeking in windows of kitchens and classrooms. It is a large, beautiful campus, and we all had fun eating, talking and shopping!

Then some went sightseeing or back to our hotels for a rest before dinner. Several members went over to New Paltz to see Hugeunot (spelling?) Street where the old stone houses are. One of the houses, the Elting-Bevier House belonged to Ted Sharp’s Elting ancestor.

Friday night, at 7pm everyone met at the Riverside Station Restaurant, where we ate upstairs overlooking the view of the Hudson River and the Mid-Hudson Bridge. Unfortunately because of the cloudy weather, it was dark by the time everyone arrived. But, it was a good meal and great conversation, some of which was about politics as the Presidential Debate was going on while we were still there. Also, Adam’s wife, Michelle, is a Councilwoman in her district in Boston, so it was very interesting to get to know her and what she does. Susan, Dan and Elisabeth are traveling to Boston the weekend of October 10th for a friend’s wedding, and will be meeting up with Adam and Michelle for dinner.