2008 Reunion

Nornes Family
72nd Reunion
August 10, 2008
AmericInn, Fergus Falls

DATE & SITE CHANGE: At the 70th reunion it was decided to hold reunions every 3 years, but at the 71st in 2006, that decision was modified to every 2 years, thus the 2008 reunion. The site had to be changed from Alexandria because, as Connie Jeffers said, “We barely got out of there without washing the dishes” in 2006. In other words, it became too expensive. So the officers have secured a meeting room at the AmericInn in Fergus Falls for Sunday morning, August 10th.

ACTIVITIES: Saturday—For those who arrive on Saturday night, August 9th, we can gather in the AmericInn lobby for conversation and making dinner plans. The AmericInn has a swimming pool for motel guests. Bring your own snacks. If meeting sites and times can be pinned down more precisely later, I will try to contact as many people as I can with dinner reservations whom I suspect will arrive on Saturday. In any case, Connie and I will power up our cell phones (see page 2) and you can call us if you can’t find us after you arrive.
Sunday —Because the Silent Auction and Bake Sale were so successful at the last reunion and because funds might again be short, we will repeat these events on Sunday morning in the AmericInn meeting room. We need you to donate an item of your handicraft, a collectible, CD’s or DVD’s, items with sports logos, travel souvenirs, etc. Any home baked food item will be more than welcome. At the last reunion, the Scandinavian baked goods were sold within minutes, so if you can, help keep these traditions alive. Volunteers are also needed to help set all this up: see Connie Jeffers or Tammy Anderson.

DINNER: A chicken lunch will be catered by Dairy Land of Fergus Falls at a cost of $5.50 plus tax and gratuity. Please note that we will need you to bring a few desserts for dinner as well. The cost of the meeting room is $100, which means that a charge of $10 per person should get us out of there without trouble and leave a little change for postage.

MOTEL RESERVATIONS: The following motels are located near the AmericInn in a cluster off 210 just east of the 210-I-94 intersection. You will have to make your own reservation—do it immediately as reservations are tight at this late date.
AmericInn, 526 Western Ave., 218-739-3900
Best Western, 925 Western Ave., 218-739-2211
Comfort Inn, 425 Western Ave., 218-736-5787
Super 8, 2454 College Way, 218-739-3261

PROGRAM: Anything besides the usual hymns and genealogy reports has not yet been determined. If you can let me know in advance of marriages and births in your family, I would appreciate it. I would also like to take some time to discuss technology issues with knowledgeable attendees. In addition, the site for the next reunion will need to be determined.

WEB SITE OR BLOG: A Nornes Family Circle website has not yet been set up. I tried but failed. Instead I have started a Nornes blog on which I have posted all the e-mails I have received in regard to deaths and illnesses in the family over the past two years. You can access it at www.NornesFamilyCircle.blogspot.com. Down in the lower right-hand corner, you can click on “Comments” that will get back to me. The comments can also be accessed by anyone else reading the blog. The blog can be one way for us to keep in touch until something more suitable is established. To verify the addresses I do have, I will e-mail this reunion letter to you via this method as well. If you do not receive an e-mail notice, please send me your address via the blog or aanden@aol.com.

ADDRESSES: Which brings up another point. I have 200 names and addresses in my mailing list, but that number does not reflect how many I should have. I hope, however, that it is sufficient to reach at least one member of a family who will communicate this information with his/her children and/or siblings. And then I beg of you, please send me - or have them send me—their addresses — regular mail, e-mail or both. With every mailing, we waste an awful lot of postage money on envelopes returned to me with addresses no longer valid.

Anne Marie Aanden (aanden@aol.com) 952-944-1826, Cell—952-270-7039
Connie Jeffers (cjeffers@q.com) 763-434-3101, Cell—612-245-2521
Lowell Bennes (Lowell@lowellbennes.com) 218-236-9468