Reunion / Weekend Activities ...
Reunion Activities of 2016: We suggest starting with a reception Friday evening at the main venue. Our main activity would of course be visiting with each other. Van Leichliter suggested having a table for mementoes brought by attendees. We also encourage writing remembrances of Braden and Nana, visits to Keisterville, or whatever brings back fond memories of our extended family. There may not be time for a formal genealogy presentation, but we will make a written document available. Pat Bishop is willing to make a presentation based on her book Chicken and Biscuits. Peggy Vail and Bill Hoover would like to have the Saturday evening banquet in Keisterville, PA. This was the hometown of our parents and where we went on vacations to see our grandparents. This “coal patch” is one of the few in the region that has thrived as a community. There is now a Keisterville Community Center (KCC), see http://keistervillecenter.com/ We’re suggesting a Saturday dinner at KCC followed by Pat’s history presentation. We’ve also discussed the possibility of inviting the residents of Keisterville to join us for desert and the history presentation. The trip from Wheeling to Keisterville is 62 miles and 80 minutes using I70 and Pennsylvania Turnpike 43. If we use a venue in the Laurel Highlands we’ll be about 30 to 45 minutes from Keister.
Weekend Activities: The reunion weekend will be essentially scheduled, except perhaps for Saturday morning. But by adding a day or two to your plans there are wonderful nearby opportunities for family fun and education. If it’s been a long time since you’ve been to this region you’ll be surprised at how it’s changed for the better.
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Weekend Activities: The reunion weekend will be essentially scheduled, except perhaps for Saturday morning. But by adding a day or two to your plans there are wonderful nearby opportunities for family fun and education. If it’s been a long time since you’ve been to this region you’ll be surprised at how it’s changed for the better.
- Laurel Highlands -- The best options are in the Laurel Highlands. This name refers to the region south of Uniontown in Fayette and Somerset Counties. A must see is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater near Ohiopyle, PA, see http://www.fallingwater.org/ Reservations are a must during the summer. Two additional Frank Lloyd Wright houses are nearby, page down at http://www.laurelhighlands.org/things-to-do/arts-culture/frank-lloyd-wright/
- Ohiopyle -- The town of Ohiopyle is now dominated by a state park centered on the water fall, see http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/ohiopyle/ The Keister family donated a large parcel of land included in the park. Ohiopyle is the takeoff point for rafting on the Youghiogheny River, see http://www.laurelhighlands.com/rafting/?wppa-occur=1&wppa-cover=0&wppa-album=1&wppa-photo=1 The lower Yough is a guided trip since the rapids reach at least class 3. Experienced rafters, canoers and kayakers can handle the upper Yough. There’s a railroad-bed bike trail along the Yough above and below town, part of a trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland MD, see http://www.atatrail.org/ Bikes can be rented in town.
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