Success!

(Click photo to enlarge)
Thanks everybody! I hope you had as much fun as I did. Please send photos as soon as possible. Send a few choice pictures to my email, or burn them all to CD and mail them to the address below. I'll keep updating this blog for a while, so keep checking back.

Phil Caspar
995 Hopmeadow Street
Simsbury, CT 06070

Family Tree Update

Click here to download the updated printable family tree.

Sunday Mass

I have received some requests for information about Catholic mass in Stowe. According to our contact person, the only Catholic church in town is Blessed Sacrament. Their Saturday service is at 6:00 pm, Sunday services are at 8:00 am and 10:30 am. Saturday probably won't work though due to the banquet.


Update
Sensing that Sunday morning will be travelin' time for many, my Aunt Ruth made some calls and determined that the best bet for a Saturday evening mass is at 4:00 up in Johnson. Plan on 35-40 minutes for this lovely drive.

Numbers

You know what I want
You know what I need
Or maybe you don't
Do I have to come right
Flat out and tell you everything?
Gimme some money!

(Lyrics by Spinal Tap)
It took some doing, but I finally managed to get all the information necessary to compute per-person prices. As I said before, I'd really appreciate it if you could mail me a check this week to avoid needing to worry about that during the reunion. The totals, which include the Friday afternoon cruise on Lake Champlain (snacks included), as well as the Saturday night banquet, are $70 per person for those of us older than twelve, $35 for ages six through twelve, and free for all kids five and under. The age breakdown was determined by the Inn, and I applied the same scheme to the cruise.

These numbers were calculated based on the following anticipated attendance. Let me know if anything is incorrect:(Click to enlarge)
Since not everyone reads their email regularly, please pass this information along to your immediate family and others you know will be attending.

Thanks so much!

Phil

Phil Caspar
995 Hopmeadow Street
Simsbury, CT 06070

Itinerary

I've tried not to over-schedule us during our time at Stowe. It's not just a reunion after all, it's a vacation too, so relaxation and unstructured time are priorities. There is quite a diverse collection of activities available, from lounging by the outdoor pool at the Inn or playing tennis on their clay courts to touring the nearby Ben and Jerry's factory. There's also golf, alpine sliding, shopping in the village of Stowe, taking a gondola ride (or hiking) to the top of the mountain, and lots more, so I think it's important that everyone get plenty of time to do what they want to do in smaller groups or even alone. That said, here is what we have so far:

Wednesday, 6 PM, REUNION-KICKOFF BYO BARBECUE
Start the festivities by gathering in the backyard area where kids can run around and we can all reaquaint ourselves with this ever-expanding family. Bring your own grillable items and a refreshing beverage or three.

Thursday, all day, FREE TIME.
8 PM, FAMILY ANECDOTE HOUR, Location TBD
I thought it might be fun and interesting to get together and share some family stories. Those of you with good memories, please come prepared.

Friday, noonish, FULL-FAMILY EXCURSION TO BURLINGTON.
3 PM - 5:30 PM - Cruise on Lake Champlain aboard the Northern Lights.
For those of you who haven't been to Burlington, VT, you're in a for a treat. It's a really cool town with great food, shopping, and nightlife. We will carpool into town, arriving early enough to enjoy a few hours on Church Street and the waterfront, then meet at the dock at 3 o'clock for a cruise on the Northern Lights (cash bar, snacks provided). Afterwards, consider having dinner in Burlington or head back to Stowe. This should be a great day.

Saturday, FREE TIME until dinner.
REUNION BANQUET, Inn at the Mountain, precise time TBD.

I hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend as much as I am. It won't be long now!

Honoring Len Quigley

(Written by Cannon Quigley)

This summer, the Quigley family and friends will be honoring the memory of my father, Leonard V. Quigley, by participating in Swim Across America, a fundraising event for cancer research. 

The choice of sport is somewhat ironic, as my father was a more of a floater than a swimmer. Losing his mother as a young boy on a dairy farm in Missouri, he simply never had the opportunity to learn to swim. He claimed that he faked his way through the Navy swim test by bouncing off the bottom of the pool when the instructors were looking away.

It was perhaps to make up for this shortcoming that he married my mother Lynn, an avid swimmer, and they encouraged (one might even say lovingly pressured) their four children to be competitive swimmers throughout their childhoods. 

Despite his aquatic limitations, my father went on to become a brilliant lawyer, experienced amateur archaeologist, and enthusiastically mediocre tennis player.  More importantly, he was an outstanding husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather and friend. He shared with us his wisdom, intelligence, faith, curiosity and taste for horrible jokes.  And nobody could quiet a baby (even a stranger’s baby) like LVQ.

My father succumbed to both prostate and liver cancer on November 15, 2005 at the age of seventy-two.  On July 29th Lynn, his wife of forty-one years (just weeks short of her seventieth birthday), together with their four children, Matt, Cannon, Dan and Megan, and several friends, will dive into the Long Island Sound and swim a mile in his honor as a team ("Not So Fast, Quigs") named after his favorite joke (see below). And we know he will be floating somewhere nearby, chuckling and cheering us on.

Please consider supporting our swim by clicking on the link below to make an on-line donation, or by sending a check made out to Swim Across America to:

Cannon Quigley Campbell
2 Vine Place
Larchmont, NY 10538   

The money we raise will go to the following beneficiaries:  The Tommy Palazzo Fellowship for Pediatric Oncology Research at Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, The Swim Across America and DeMatteo Research Laboratories at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and The Cancer Support Team of Mamaroneck, New York.  Thank you so much for your help.

A commanding officer calls in his platoon sargeant to tell him that the father of one of his privates, young John Schultz, has passed away. The commanding officer asks him to gently inform his soldier of this sad event, demonstrating the sympathy and generous spirit of the entire squadron.

The next morning the sargeant lines up all his men and says:

"Everyone whose father is still alive, take one step forward. NOT SO FAST, SCHULTZ"

Click here to make an online donation.

Final Preparations

Well, we're just about three weeks out now. It's hard to believe that we will be reunioning so soon! A couple points of order:

First, please check the list of attendees to the right to make sure it looks correct. If you know of anybody who should be there that isn't or who is there that shouldn't be, please let me know. I have to give a final guest list for the Saturday night banquet this week.

Also, I will need to know the ages of all the kids attending as part of the guest list as there are price breaks at different tiers.

Next week I will be soliciting advance payment for the Saturday dinner and Friday cruise in order to avoid needing to spend time collecting during the weekend at Stowe. Let's make this easy people! Send me a check in advance! I will let you know exact amounts after I know for sure how many people are attending.

Finally, I will be updating the family tree to include at least three new members of the Cannon clan (and I think I heard about a fourth). Now is a good time to send an updated photo of yourself or someone you love if you so desire.

Thanks and can't wait to see you all.

Phil

No More Delays!

A letter from our Stowe coordinator:

Phil,

I wanted to reach out to you regarding any remaining lodging needs that your family members may have for the Cannon family Reunion in August.

As a courtesy to you I wanted to let you know that we do have a bride considering that weekend, and there would be lodging involved. Therefore, should any of your family members still need to make lodging arrangements for your event I would advise them to make their reservation within the next day or so.  Your room block has dropped, but family members can definitely still call in and make a reservation should they need to do so.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks Phil!

Have a Fabulous Day!

Calais

It's All Relatives...

Thanks to everybody who sent photos, especially Rosemary Quigley (Richards) who provided mugshots for about half the family.

If you don't like your photo, feel free to email me one you prefer more, and I will happily make the substitution in the next edition.

Also, if you see any errors in spelling or if I have a photo of somebody else by your name or anything else, please let me know. Hopefully this can be a useful document and it would serve us best if it is accurate.

There are four ways to view the document. The most straightforward, but the least user-friendly, is to simply click in the image above to open a full-quality JPEG file. You won't be able to zoom in and out in your browser window, but if you save the image to your hard drive, you could use imaging software to adjust the magnification.

If you have Excel, you might want to download the Excel file. On my computer, this seems to provide the fastest navigation. Click here to download the Excel version of the family tree.

I've also created a PDF version. You can use the free Acrobat Reader to navigate around the document quite nicely. I especially recommend the "dynamic zoom" feature. Click here to download Acrobat Reader for free. Click here to download the PDF file of the family tree.

If you have 20 minutes, a pair of scissors, and some tape, your best bet might be to download the printable version of the file. It too is a PDF so if you don't have Acrobat Reader you'll need to download it (unless you have a Mac in which case Preview will do the job just as well). Once you open the family tree file, just print it out, trim the pages and tape them together (there are eleven pages). It's pretty nice to see the whole thing at once - I highly recommend this method. Click here to download the printable version. Note that if you have a slow connection these downloads may take a few minutes as the files are rather large.

I welcome your feedback.

Group Photo Collection

In the course of collecting photos for the family tree, I've received a bunch of great group pictures that I felt should be put on display. Feel free to comment on where these were taken or anything else about them. Click the pics for full-scale versions.

Pic 1:
Pic 2:
Pic 3:
Pic 4:
Pic 5:
Pic 6:
Pic 7:
Pic 8:
Pic 9:
Pic 10:
Pic 11:
Pic 12:
Pic 13:Tahoe Reunion 2004. 1st Row: Phil Caspar and Cannon, Tara Malloy Caspar and Molly, Eric Altschule and Harper, Jennifer Caspar Altshcule and Allie, Louanne Flannigan Caspar and Caroline, Vickie Caspar Eichler and Harry. 2nd row: Brian Quistorff, Kate Applewhite Caspar, Richard Caspar, Greg Conklin, Anne Quistorff Conklin, George Caspar (IV), Matt Eichler. 3rd row: Jesse Kearns, Tara Carmichael, Kevin Kearns, Michelle Kearns. Top row: Fran Browne Caspar, Helen Caspar Quistorff, Kirk Quistorff, Ruth Caspar, Rita Schaeffer Caspar, Joe Caspar, George Caspar, Meghan Kearns, Justin Brown.

Pic 14:Jim Quiqley and Sheela Caspar at Ruth and John's anniversary.

Pic 15:

Flashback: Columbus Reunion

Thanks to Rosemary Quigley for this photo of the family at the Columbus reunion. I have some fond memories of this event. Click the pic for a full-size view.

RFP: Request For Photos

I need your help! I'm working on assembling an online family tree with photos of each family member. I think this will be useful for many of us who need a little name/face refresher course.

I still need head shots of more than half the people in the family. Rule of thumb: if you were at Tahoe, I have your photo. If not, I need it. I can extract your head shot from a group photo or other photo - it doesn't need to be a portrait - so long as the resolution is decent. Please email me pictures of yourself or others. Quigleys, this means you!
I also need pics of all the children of Patrick Cannon and Margaret Phillips and their spouses. If anyone could help me out with those I'd appreciate it.

Don't be a blank box! Email your photo soon!

Reservation-Making Time Is Now!

Hello and Happy New Year!

Now that the holidays have concluded, you can feel good about looking forward to the warm summer pleasantness that awaits you just a few months from now. And while you're at it, pick up the phone and make reservations for you and your family to join all the Quigleys, Caspars, and Kearns at Stowe next August! We have a block of rooms at the Inn at the Mountain with special group rates, but they will only be held for us until mid-January.

For reservation information, scroll down, or click here.

If you're still on the fence about whether to attend, I really have to urge you to go ahead and commit. Connecting with family is important, and at least in this case, it's going to be FUN! Good people, good food, mountain air, a cruise on Lake Champlain, the Ben and Jerry's factory right down the street, and lots more! Call soon!

Spider shot

Here is a photo of a spider that I took today. I believe it is called a black and yellow argiope. Thought I'd share it.
Click the image for a larger view.

New Lodging Option Available

There is now a very nice five-bedroom unit available for the week of our reunion. Apparently it has been recently refurbished and has its own private yard area. It is directly across the street from the one- and two-bedroom units. The rate is $339 per night. Ask for Bingham's Cottage.

RSVP

Alright, it's time to get a preliminary sense of who will be attending this shindig. I've begun a list in the sidebar to the right indicating who's planning to attend based on what I've heard or gleaned from email feedback. Please leave a comment below this post or click here and indicate whether you and yours will be able to join us at Stowe next summer. If you think you probably can't attend, it would be helpful to know that too. I will update the list as info comes in. If you have information on others who may not be checking this blog, that would be appreciated as well.

Please don't feel as if you need to make your plans immediately - there's still plenty of time - but if you do know, the information will be useful as we make further preparations. Thanks!

If you need help with how to post a comment, see below, or click here for easy instructions.

Reservation information

Here is the information you'll need to start locking in your plans for next August:

Inn at the Mountain
5781 Mountain Road, Stowe, Vermont 05672

We have blocked condominiums and rooms at the Inn at the Mountain. These rooms will be available at a special rate until January 13, 2006. When calling to make reservations, please refer to:
Cannon Family Reunion
Wednesday, August 9, 2006 to Sunday, August 13, 2006.
To make reservations, call: 800-253-4754.
A one night’s deposit will be required at time of reservation.

These are your choices: Plus there is the very nice 5-bedroom Bingham's Cottage available for $339 per night.

Note that this represents the contents of our reserved block, not the capacity of the Inn. If we need more rooms, they can be made available at these rates. It would be prudent to make reservations as soon as possible so that we can determine whether additional rooms are needed before they are rented to other parties.

By the way, we thought these units were very nice. The two-bedroom units are all in close proximity to each other. Between the condos and the Inn there is a beautifully manicured lawn shadowed by trees with a stream running through it. A swimming pool is in this area as well. The three bedroom unit is a bit removed from the others, but not by much - about a two-minute walk I believe. This unit has a hot tub if I recall correctly. The Inn rooms are all very nice - fairly standard in their layout.

Here is an image depicting the relative locations of the one- and two-bedroom condos. Units 3 through 12 are one bedroom units and the rest are two bedroom units. Note, this diagram is NOT TO SCALE. Click the image for a larger view.
Because this diagram is a two-dimensional representation of three-dimensional living spaces, I find it a bit confusing. Here is why: in the diagram it doesn't look like unit 15 opens into the backyard area where the pool is, but in reality it does. It is on the first level, and units 18 and 19 are above it, each with two levels (second and third floors). Similarly for units 16, 17, 24, and 25 (all on the ground floor). So the diagram is showing what the units would look like if they were lying on their sides. I hope that makes sense. I've included it so that families who wish to reserve multiple units can see which ones are close to each other. In that regard, I think this diagram is helpful.

Please consider making your reservations soon. It would make further arrangements that much easier. Thanks!

Commenting

In case anyone is wondering how to leave a comment, here are some quick instructions. It's actually quite easy.

1) Click on the comment hyperlink below the post for which you'd like to leave your comment (where it says "0 comments" or some other number of comments).

2) A new page will come up that will show you any other comments already written on the left, and on the right it will say "Leave your comment." Type your comment in the large box below this.

3) Where it says "Choose an identity," click "Other" and then type in your name. You do not need to be registered. Leave the space for "Your web page" blank.

4) Click the button entitled "Publish Your Comment."

That's it!

If you'd like to leave an RSVP comment about whether you'll be attending the reunion, please click here. I hope this helps!

Family email archive

Thanks for all the corrections and additions to the email list. Below is what I have so far. If you know of any more updates, maybe put them in as a comment, and I will update the list. Thanks!

Caspars
George and Fran: gcaspar@prodigy.net
Jen: jcaspar@aol.com
Eric Altshule: ealtshule@aol.com
Vicky: vceichler@yahoo.com
Matt Eichler: matteichler@comcast.net
George IV: george.caspar@dechert.com
Louanne: louanne_caspar@yahoo.com
Joe: jca4par@comcast.net
Rita: rita.caspar@comcast.net
Phil: pcaspar@westminster-school.org
Kate: kcaspar@westminster-school.org
Rich: rcaspar@yahoo.com
Tara: taracaspar@yahoo.com
Ed: edward_caspar@hotmail.com
Sheela: buzzneo420@comcast.net
Ruth: ruthcaspar@sbcglobal.net
Helen and Kirk Quistorff: quistorf@u.washington.edu
Anne Quistorff Conklin: annesqconklin@msn.com
Greg Conklin: gjconklin1@msn.com
Brian Quistorff: bequw@stanfordalumni.org

Quigleys:
Rosemary Quigley: rquigley@chinagraphny.com
Sheron: sheron.quigley@worldnet.att.net
Janet: quigleyjl@att.net
Donald & Nina: dquigley@bmwllc.com; agquigley@comcast.net
David: dbquig@ix.netcom.com
Leo: lquigley@ix.netcom.com
Lynn Quigley: lquigley@plaxall.com
Matthew Quigley: mquigley@plaxall.com
Elizabeth Quigley (Matthew's wife): ekquigley@optonline.net
Cannon Quigley Campbell: CannonQC@optonline.net
Bruce Campbell: bruce.campbell@nbc.com
Dan Quigley: dan.quigley@otis.com
Jenny Minton Quigley (Dan's wife): jmintonq@comcast.net
Megan Quigley: megan.quigley@yale.edu
Eric Gill (Megan's husband): Egill@PillsburyWinthrop.com
Jim Richards (Rosemary's husband): jrichards12@nyc.rr.com
Dmitri Iglitzin: iglitzin@workerlaw.com
Eileen: evquigley@speakeasy.net
Rosemary McPhillips: rqmcp@webtv.net
Brian & Janice McPhillips: bhmcp@massmed.org
Maureen & Michael Allen: mmcpallen@comcast.net
Ralph Quintanilla: ralphqhf@comcast.net
Anne-Marie McPhillips: ammcp@comcast.net
Michael & Terri McPhillips: terrimoco@wideopenwest.com

Kearns:
John: kearns@buffalo.edu
Jane: jane.kearns@huntrealestate.com
Michelle: jmichellekearns@yahoo.com
Kevin: kkearns@scienceworld.bc.ca
Tara Carmichael: taracrofty@yahoo.com
Megan: kmkearns@earthlink.com
Jesse: jessekearns@earthlink.net
Tom & Carol: kearns@fuse.net
Dan & Lelanya: lelanyakearns@msn.com
Jim: JCKonbentbrook@aol.com
Anne & Tom: lyons@colorado.edu
Rachel: RLyons@ocv.com; rachel@citynetdsl.com
Tom & Kristen: tklyons1@msn.com
Rosemary & Bob: rkwakefield@shaw.ca
Laura & Greg Ambrosic: lambrozic@shaw.ca
Stephanie: stephanie.wakefield@sympatico.ca
Bill & Nancy McCully: wmccully@park-ridge.lib.il.us (seems to be incorrect)
Jim (son of Tom and Carol): jim@james-kearns.com

Announcing Cannon Family Reunion 2006

Hello and thanks for visiting this new Cannon family-reunion blog! By now you must have heard that plans for the next reunion are underway: we will be gathering this time in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont. Check this site for information on lodging reservations including phone numbers, rates, and other good stuff. I will post it as it becomes available to me.

At this time I would like to thank Anne Lyons for organizing the several previous reunions of this family. I've wondered why some branches of a family develop traditions of gathering for reunions while others do not. What is it about this particular collection of Caspars, Kearns, and Quigleys? I really don't know, so if you have any thoughts on this, please add them to the comments section below. Maybe there's no specific reason other than the fact that Anne got the ball rolling somehow. At this point, we're just trying to maintain the momentum. Getting together is a good thing. So thanks Anne!

So far we've established that we will be staying at Inn at the Mountain and Condos on Stowe. We did some research and found that this provides us with a variety of rooming options (inn rooms as well as condominiums) at a reasonable price. There is an outdoor pool and a very nice park-like setting for kids to play and grown-ups to relax just outside the condos. There is a stream that runs through the property that I liked a lot, and there are tennis courts and a fitness center on the premises. The Stowe area also boasts numerous other activities.

We will be building in plenty of free-time to the schedule so that everyone can enjoy the area in the way that they most desire (I've gotta get on the Alpine Slide myself!), while incorporating some meals and events for the entire clan to enjoy together. I think this is going to be a great weekend, and we hope you all can make it!

Check back here for more info soon!

Patrick Cannon family

Our progenitors: Patrick Cannon, Margaret (Phillips) Cannon, Ruth (Cannon) Kearns, John Kearns, Helen (Cannon) Phillips, Anne (Cannon) Caspar, George John Caspar Jr., Rosemary (Cannon) Quigley, J. Vincent Quigley. (Click photo for a larger view.)

Reunion one year away

It's just under a year until the reunion will take place. I've scheduled it for August 9-13, 2006 at Stowe. It should be fun!