2011 Reunion News

We are back! 

Before I give the rundown of this year's family reunion, 

I would like to thank Greg and Teresa Steelsmith for taking the time to reserve the pavilion for next year. I really appreciate you saving me the trip.

Now, on to the what's what of 2011's get together.

There was a questionnaire passed out, and the chicken was voted to stay, as was the auction

(both of which are personal favorites of mine, so I'm glad you all feel the same way).

The chicken will continue to be paid for with the treasury money, and we will continue meeting 

at the Lebanon Memorial Park.

Also on the questionnaire was the question:

"Would you be willing to serve as an officer?" to which a very small handful of people said "yes."

I (Aaron Benge) was made the President, and James Benge was made the Vice President / Treasurer / Social Organizer / Public Relations Liaison / Event Coordinator / etc.

The terms of office are 2 years for the President and from what I understand, 37 years for all other offices.

Thanks uncle James for having my back. It means a lot to me.

As you can see, the website has been updated, and the counter restarted.

I apologize for not posting more often than I did last year. I will be more diligent in the years to come.

Send me your old photos! Mary Alice gave me Virgil's old presidential Cadillac bag of Benge family history, so in the months to come I will be posting Family Tree info and other interesting things I find in there.
I am still looking for the list of who won each of the titles for Longest Drive, Newest baby, ect.
The list is in the bag or tote somewhere. Wish me luck.

I will leave you with some photos from this year, and a thanks to my Great Uncle George Benge, who answered the "......how you can help" question with

"PRAY." 

...Uncle Jim and I can use all of that that we can get!

(remember, click on any picture to see the full size) 

...maybe next year Andrew will let me get a picture of him.

Stay Tuned!

Hey, everybody! In case you missed this year's reunion, I wanted to give an update on how it went. The weather was the best it's been in three years; not too hot, not too cold. We thought we might get rained out there for a while, but it passed. The food was fantastic (as always), and the auction went well. ...And we didn't have to share the pavilion with strangers!
I will be posting photos, and a list of newly appointed officers as soon as I get a chance to go through the "tote."
We would like to thank Mary Alice for graciously holding the office of President for the last 5 years. Yes, you read it correctly, 5 years. Thank you. We appreciate everything you've done!

We had sort of a small turnout this year, so lets try to get the word out early for next year. It would be nice to see some folks who don't usually come... I'll start working on my brother and sister ASAP.
Check back here often. I will be adding and changing things in the weeks to come.

We Have A New Benge! Zedekiah Creed.

Meet Zedekiah Creed Benge, 

son of Aaron and Rebecca Benge. Brother to Lukas Benge, Ethan Chezem,
Noah Benge and Esther Benge.

Born Sept 23, 9lb 12.8 oz,

all digits present and accounted for!

(click photo for larger view)

His first name comes from the bible, Jeremiah chapter 29 (in Hebrew means "Righteous King"),
and Creed is a family name;
Creed was Tilford's brother
(you can read the post and see a picture of Tilford and Creed by clicking here.)

From what I understand,

Tilford was Albert's father,

who was Henry's father,

who was Cecil's father,

who was my father,

making Creed my Great, Great Uncle,

and Zedekiah's Great, Great, Great Uncle.

PFC Samual Edward Benge

I would like to thank my cousins, Rusty McCullough and Chad Benge for these pictures relating to my uncle Sam.
(Click on any photo to see a larger image)

 

The first is a picture of Samuel "Bo" Benge (Right) at AIT, in Fort Lewis, Washington. He is pictured with Jackie Bartlett from Bedford Indiana

Samuel Benge with mother, Hazel Benge Ft Knox, KY just before he left for Vietnam.

Samuel "Bo" Benge was only in Vietnam for 31 days before losing his life. 

His tour began on May 2, 1969.
He became a casualty of war on June 3, 1969;
in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

Sam's name appears on panel 23West, Line 50 on the
Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC (pictured below).
Click here to visit his information on the Wall online.

Below is a post card sent by Sam, to Rusty McCullough.
(I don't have the front of the second post card...)

and another:

Four Brothers:

Above, Left to Right: Samuel Benge, Virgil "Ricky Benge, James Benge and Cecil "Buddy" Benge

"The Year We Shared The Pavilion"

If you were at this year's family reunion, and want some of your pictures posted here, please email them to me at: romans833@yahoo.com.

We had a great time this year, all things considered. 2010 will be known as the "Year we had to share the pavilion." 

It was good never the less.

Thanks to Chad Benge for these photos:

Seated on the floor from left to right: Jim Sullivan, Cecil Benge, Virgil "Ricky" Benge, Sammy Benge, James Benge, and the last is Jay Copenhaver. Seated behind them from left to right, Henry Benge holding Becky Benge, Hazel Benge holding Donald Benge, Martha Benge, Albert Benge is holding Joe Copenhaver, Sally Copenhaver holding Jeff Copenhaver, Judy Copenhaver, Serrie Copenhaver. Standing in the back from left to right: Virgil Benge, Mary Benge, Mary Katherine Benge, Carel (?) "Boob" Sullivan, Linda Sullivan, Martha Benge, Eva Sullivan, Mary Alice, Sam Benge, :Louise Benge, George Benge, John Copenhaver, and Nancy Benge Stone. 

Believed to be taken sometime between 1955-1957, around christmas at Albert and Martha's just west of Granville Wells school outside Jamestown, Indiana. 

From left to right: Henry Benge, Albert Benge and Alberts half brother Theo. 

To my knowledge, Albert is holding either Martha or Mary Benge.

We've Got Mail! (...and a couple updates)

There's less than two weeks until the family reunion, so if you have any old family photos that you would like posted, now would be the time to do it! I'm looking forward to getting some feedback on the website, and maybe getting some snapshots in the process.

These were sent to me by Rusty McCullough...

Chris and Mary Ellen McCullough, wearing "Baton Twirling" outfits 

crocheted by Grandma Hazel

Mary Ellen (holding "Tiny"), and Rusty McCullough

Hazel Benge

Almost There...

We're getting near that time, ladies and gentlemen. We are just a little under two months away from the 

Benge Family Reunion - 52 days, 14 hours, 30 minutes, and 15 seconds to be exact, as I write this.

At least that's what the new countdown ticker in the side-bar says.

Remember, there is a link to a map and directions underneath the countdown, just in case you have family coming in from out of state.

Looking forward to seeing you all there, and keep the pictures coming!

By the way, if you would like to send me census records, marriage certificates, death certificates, baby announcements, or anything of that nature, just send me a scanned picture (preferably in the ".jpg" format, but it doesn't have to be).