HIGGINS 18TH FAMILY REUNION
July 23-24-25, 2004
Approximately 60 people were in attendance Friday night at the Grand Junction City Park. In memory of Wava, who always made spaghetti for the reunions, Tommy & Wava Higgins family made spaghetti (and did they make spaghetti). Instead of understanding John when he said that he had 59 reservations, I think they made spaghetti for 159, along with salads and garlic bread, plus desserts brought by those attending. $133 was collected in donations on Friday. The weather was beautiful, and the kids had fun on the playground equipment.
Saturday afternoon Dale hooked up the tractor and his truck to two trailers and took us back to the old family farm, pointed out other interesting Higgins historical areas, and then on to the cemetery for all to see the gravesites of relatives buried there. The original barn on the homestead is falling down, but they are hoping to get a historical grant to help restore it, since it is a century farm.
Saturday night hog roast was held at Dale’s Auction House in Grand Junction. Again the weather cooperated to keep the 95 people in attendance comfortable – even the mosquitoes cooperated by staying away. Supper consisted of roast pork sandwiches, beans, relish, corn on the cob, watermelon, and guess what “spaghetti” plus all kinds of wonderful desserts again. Entertainment was provided by a D.J. with Karoke participation, and everyone had a fabulous time. Donations totaled $380. During the evening Dale with his wonderful auctioneering skill sold many, many handcrafted items and other antiques raising another $856.50.
Two quilts made by Judith Higgins were signed by all families present with their names and dates of birth. It was decided to auction these off on Sunday instead, so all would have a chance to bid on them.
Sunday dinner was held at noon at the St. Brigid Parish Center with approximately 113 in attendance. Dinner was catered by Hy-Vee with broasted chicken, au gratin potatoes, green bean casserole, salads, rolls, Salisbury steak in gravy, with desserts furnished by the families. This year reservations had to be accompanied by payment, and that system worked much better, so we did not end up paying for meals that were not eaten or paid for. Freewill donations totaled $83.00.
OLD BUSINESS:
Minutes of the 2002 reunion were available on Sunday, along with an agenda for the business meeting, plus sheets to use to update family information.
NEW BUSINESS:
Family Reports: John went down the list of 4th cousins and asked a representative of each family to make their report.
Mike Higgins, descendants
4th cousin:
Oscar higgins, descendants NO
ONE PRESENT
4th cousin:
Leo Higgins, descendants:
Darrell Higgins said he became a great grandfather again on Monday. He has a daughter who is battling cancer. His sister had a hysterectomy and is doing fine, and will be grandmother to twin grandsons soon. Darold has retired three times, but is going to drive the school bus this year again. This way, he said, they get to divide up the housework, and he doesn’t have to do it all.
4th
cousin: Mary Gertrude (Higgins)
Venables, descendants NO
ONE PRESENT
4th cousin:
Leo Higgins, descendants
Ray Higgins reported that they are still in Wessington Springs, and only two boys are living. He is retired and spends his time playing golf and woodworking.
4th cousin: Gerald Higgins, descendants
NO ONE PRESENT
John Peter Higgins,
descendants
4th cousin:
Jerry F Higgins, descendants
John Higgins (son of Jerry) stated all of his family was here except a son who lives in Maine. Julie is still working at Terra Chemical International as a corporate accounting analyst. Lisa works at WCICC, a joint county city data systems service; she is a computer analyst/supervisor. Tim works for the City of Sioux City as a under ground utilities field supervisor. Shanna is a structural engineer, she and two of her ex fellow workers are opening a new architectural firm Aug 1, 2004 the name is Morning-Star Studios, in Cedar Rapids, IA. Shanna is expecting their new baby in November. Chris is at Booze-Allen as a Computer Systems Architect Consultant. They have 11 grandchildren with one on the way. He also reported about his brother Mike and his sister Peggy who live in California.
Tish (Higgins) Pranke said three of her children currently live in Sioux City, but her daughter Marie is moving to Sydney, NE. Marie’s husband has a job at Cabella’s. She was proud to say her granddaughter Alex was selected to attend the political convention this weekend, and the grandsons are busy playing ball this summer. Her son Bob has been a teacher for 20 years, and his twin Bill owns his own construction company, Coral Street Builders.
Karen (Higgins) Swenson, who attended with her husband Darold, told about her kids and their families. Her oldest daughter Debbie lives in Tennessee was remarried in April, and her husband is battling cancer. Deb has five children and 2 grandchildren. Kamille and her husband moved to Rapid City where he is doing construction; Kerry lives in Des Moines and has a daughter who lives in Sioux City.
LaNease (Higgins) Steckelberg passed away January 18 2003. John said we see the family occasionally and all are doing well. Jerry has battled cancer but is a survivor. Jerry has had two new grandchildren since the last reunion for a total of 9. Lyle & Joan have 8 & David & Shannon have 1.
4th cousin:
Mary “Mamie” (Higgins) Boje, descendants
Dorothy Higgins said no one was in attendance because Dorie had planned the Boje family reunion for this same weekend, as she forgot it was supposed to be the Higgins one. Mary Ann and Ott, of course, were at the Boje family reunion in Omaha this weekend. Dorothy said the family is not letting Dorie forget about it either, as they usually attend the Higgins reunions.
4th cousin:
Joseph “Joe” Higgins, descendants
Dorothy Higgins said Jim’s wife Denise is selling Mary Kay and had a big convention in Dallas this weekend. Colleen & Kenny’s son was married last week-end, and Kenny & Colleen were helping to host ragbraui this weekend. Bill couldn’t come because he had tickets to a Shriner’s football game.
4th cousin:
Bernard Higgins, descendants
Tim Higgins said he saw his Mom and Dad recently. His dad went to a specialist in Texas, as he has shortness of breath. Bernard has had bypasses already, and the doctors tell him he has no other options except to take his medications. Kids and grandkids are all well, and they consider themselves blessed to have all 15 children living. Nancy/Wayne, Joe/Connie, John/Linda, and Tim/Marianne were present representing the family.
4th cousin:
Sylvester “Sam” Higgins, descendants
Dorothy Higgins (widow of Sam Higgins) said she was accompanied by her daughter Patricia who stopped to attend on her way home from a meeting in Chicago. Although Trish retired from Osh Kosh, she couldn’t stay retired and is now working for a distributing company in Minneapolis. Mary is a principal of an elementary school, Steve works for Honeywell, Mark is in Dallas with a bonding company, Larry is in Kansas City also working for Honeywell, Ed is a construction inspector. She has 16 grandchildren and 11 ˝ great grandchildren.
Edward “Eddie” Higgins,
descendants
4th cousin:
Agnes Veronica (Higgins) McGraw, descendants NO ONE PRESENT
4th cousin:
Francis Barbara (Higgins) Van Overschelde, descendants NO ONE PRESENT
4th cousin:
Vincent Higgins, descendants
Faith’s (Vincent’s widow) family had prepared a beautiful testament on Faith’s life, and Julie Zediker read it at the meeting. Following that the family made a special presentation to her of a framed copy of the reading, plus another framed award. Faith, Judy, Carol, John V. Bill, Dianne, Tim, & Nancy were present at Sunday dinner; Sharon had left to return home. They also have a brother at the political convention. Ed happens to be overloaded with work right now, but he usually comes to the reunions.
Vernon’s wife Geraldine passed away in December.
4th cousin:
Lawrence James Higgins, descendants NO ONE PRESENT
4th cousin:
Vernon John Higgins, descendants NO ONE PRESENT
4th cousin:
Mary Felica (Higgins) Ottosen, descendants NO ONE PRESENT
4th cousin:
Donald Michael Higgins, descendants NO ONE PRESENT
Katherine “Kate”(Higgins) Shaughnessy, descendants
4th cousin:
Francis Shaughnessy, descendants
Regarding the family of Katherine Higgins, Dale said he stopped to visit Francis Shaughnessy in February. He is in good health, has finally moved to town, but has the same table and chairs and battery operated radio that he had on the farm. Francis is 90 years old, hunched over, but sharp as a tack. He can name all the U.S. Presidents in order with their dates in office, wives’ names, etc. You can stop him at any point, and he can pick up right where he left off. Dale said it is phenomenal and he had intended to record it, but forgot all about it until he was on his way back to Grand Junction. He thinks Francis first developed this ability because he had to go to the hospital in Topeka where all the streets are named after Presidents, and memorizing the streets was the only way he could ensure that he didn’t get lost.
Thomas “Tommy” Luke Higgins, descendants
4th cousin:
Tommy Higgins, descendants
Dale reported seven of them were present. Lynette is married, Lyle passed away, Kenny has 3 boys plus grandchildren, and Wayne’s daughter Karilynne was present and grandchildren. Wayne said he overheard Long John and his Grandfather talking once at a picnic, and they said you know you are getting old when you are the oldest one at a picnic. David and Joan were present. Gary/Jane have a new grandbaby Logan, the proud parents are Ryan & Dawn higgins. Gary & Jane’s daughter, Michelle is moving to Ohio. EllaMae was here with her kids, and Tom just got married. Rosemary lives in Ankeny with her cats, and she owns her own business. Dale/Susan’s daughter Sarah lives in Connecticut and is in telemarketing. Brad restores log cabins; Dale Jr. has taken over Dale’s repair business; and Joey is attending college in Ottumwa with straight A’s.
4th cousin:
Bob Higgins, descendants
Bob reported Gordon and his wife drove him out from California for the reunion. Bob’s daughter had a heart transplant and is coming along fine. He has a great grandchild (Austin). Genevieve got married late in life, and Steve got married last September.
4th cousin:
Mary Genevieve (Higgins) Haase, descendants
I know Genevieve was there along with her son Steve and wife Diane, I am sorry there is no report from them.
4th cousin:
Richard Higgins, descendants
Richard said he had to tell a story about EllaMae, who never spoke before she was 4 years old, she just pointed, as the boys always waited on her. Richard drove out from California also. They have 20 grandchildren, and one great grandchild. He said he had a heart attack in 1985, then cancer, so he is not as sharp as he once was. He and Marge are attending classes at the community college, and have been entering items in the Orange County Fair winning some ribbons. Also they went to France since the last reunion and will be continuing on to Connecticut after the reunion.
Richard’s daughter spoke up since Richard didn’t mention them, stating they were very proud of their Dad as they think he is the hardest worker/most creative person they know. She said she has been a day care provider for 22 years, and Theresa had gastric bypass surgery and looks great. Richard had a granddaughter Layla Safari Forooshani graduated May 31, 2004, magna cum laude from Cal State University, Fullerton, CA with a 4.0 GPA, her major is English. Diana’s daughter Emily is a dance instructor and has received 3 scholarships to N.Y. & L.A. at dance completion. Diana’s son Joseph graduated 2 straight years on the deans list in industrial maintenance, and is presently working forRoe Heating & Air Conditioning of Iowa City.
Barbara Bridget (Higgins) Lynch , descendants
4th cousin:
Colletta Cecilia, descendants
Catherine Code gave the report. She said Aunt Mary and a niece were with her. Michelle got married June 5th. Regarding Berniece’s family, Ray passed away as did his son Dwight. Theresa is not in good health and moved into an apartment in Omaha. Theresa’s granddaughter got married in March 2002 and is expecting her first child. Betty lives in Illinois, also has health problems, and has a son who lost his leg due to diabetes. Georgie’s health is not good either.
Frank Lawrence Higgins, descendants
4th cousin:
Mary (Higgins) Kelly, descendants
Tish (Higgins) Pranke said that she called Mary Kelly. Mary said she wanted to thank David for taking care of the graves. Her daughter Mora had a severe stroke and is undergoing intense physical and speech therapy – making slow progress. Mary is having to use a walker due to some medication she was given. Mary said her mom and dad actually lived at the homestead place when they were first married.
Descendant –
Patrick Higgins:
Marilyn Campbell, her cousin Noreen and husband, Paul, came from Illinois. She originally met Dale when he came to Illinois looking for Long John’s grave. Patrick is her great, great grandfather, and her great grandfather was Bernard (son of Patrick and brother of Long John). Bernard stayed in Illinois to farm, and William B.(son of Bernard) is her grandfather. Two of the boys died, and her mother was the 4th born. Her mother had a heart transplant, suffered a massive stroke shortly afterwards and died. Marilyn is the oldest of six children, and has three children of her own. Her mother’s family is long lived but short in stature with the average height 4’11” to 5’1”. When John and family visited Marilyn last summer, she said that John must be a throwback to the Higgins side someplace as tall as he is. Noreen’s mother died from cancer at the age of 42. Aunt Rosella has diabetes; Aunt Berniece worked at a prison until she was 70 years old and took care of the inmates clothes. She called them her boys and wasn’t shy about giving them sermons on what they should do. Aunt Catherine still attends Mass with Noreen. Noreen said it was a wonderful weekend, and she really enjoyed the reunion.
Website/Password: The website address was on the agenda sheet plus directions on how to accsss the secure site data by using a password. However this is not correct you need to reverse the two words.
Tombstone: Since it was decided at the 2002 reunion to start a fund to purchase and install a new gravestone in Illinois, John visited the undertaker there, looked at the grave, got prices from the mason, etc. Depending on the verbiage on the stone as cost is determined by lines and number of letters in each row, it appears that the stone would cost about $1678 plus tax and the foundation and permit fee. Noreen offered to work on getting prices for this, as she thought she could get a better price and was available to make contacts right there. It is the intention to leave the old stone there. Although there is a baby buried there (William P. – son of J. and J), no one knows whose baby it is. Richard said he obtained a copy of the verbiage on the stone from an old postmaster in the town, so John requested a copy of that, as he was told no information was available when he contacted the church/cemetery office. With the money donated today, John believes we have $897 for the stone.
John thanked all who helped in any way with putting the reunion together and for coming to the reunion, gave an accounting of bank balance and will send an itemized list with these minutes. He stressed the need for people to keep us apprised of address changes, email address changes, and to make sure to notify other family members when they receive information regarding the next reunion. John had writable CD’s and stamped mailers available to anyone to take, who would be willing to download pictures onto the CD and return it to us, so they can be put out on the website.
Next Reunion: It was agreed that the next family reunion in 2006 will be held in Wilmington, Illinois on July 28, 29, and 30, 2006 – the place where it all started. Marilyn and her sister will be the host families. There are motels in Morris, and it is only 20 miles to Joliet, so there won’t be any problem with enough motel rooms, and it is a recreational area, so there are plenty of wonderful campgrounds. John said he will assist in any way he can – will send out all the mailings and will drive to Wilmington if need be to help get everything organized.
Auction: Following the business meeting, Dale auctioned off the two signed quilts. One sold for $175 and the other for $170. Also a table cover (Iranian Cloth) from Iran (donated by Theresa & Hassan Safari Forooshani) was auctioned off for $25.
Now for the financial report.
|
DATE |
EXPENDITURES |
AMT. |
|
INCOME |
AMT. |
|
1/03 |
Bank
error in interest |
5.58 |
|
Begin.
Balance in Account |
816.02 |
|
3/2/04 |
Stamps,
Env., Paper |
166.78 |
|
Tombstone
Donations |
224.00 |
|
7/14-22/04 |
Stamps,
ink cartridges, copies |
276.97 |
|
Free
will Friday night |
133.00 |
|
7/24/04 |
Kai-Bo |
63.60 |
|
Free
will Saturday night |
380.00 |
|
7/24/04 |
D.J. |
195.00 |
|
Free
will Sunday |
83.00 |
|
7/23/04 |
Buns |
60.75 |
|
Auction
Saturday night |
856.50 |
|
7/22/04 |
Meat
– pork |
137.38 |
|
Auction
Sunday |
370.00 |
|
|
Smoking
of Meat |
50.00 |
|
Dinners
Paid |
754.75 |
|
7/19/04 |
Pork,
Spaghetti, hot dogs, tea |
33.27 |
|
Donation/Tombstone |
620.00 |
|
7/18/04 |
Napkins |
2.54 |
|
Cookbooks
Sold |
2.00 |
|
7/25/04 |
Cups |
6.25 |
|
Interest
Earned |
50.84 |
|
7/20/04 |
Plates,
cutlery |
47.86 |
|
Book
Sold |
100.00 |
|
7/18/04 |
Pork
& beans, BBQ sauce, etc. |
36.19 |
|
TOTAL INCOME |
4390.11 |
|
7/22/04 |
Ice |
15.00 |
|
|
|
|
7/25/04 |
Rental
of Hall |
75.00 |
|
EXPENDITURES |
-1808.63 |
|
7/25/04 |
Caterer
– Hy-Vee |
627.90 |
|
|
|
|
6/30/04 |
Bank
Service Charge |
8.56 |
|
BALANCE IN
BANK |
$2581.48 |
|
|
TOTAL
EXPENDITURES |
$1808.63 |
|
TOMBSTONE ACCOUNT |
$897.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Available
for 2006 Reunion |
$1684.48 |
It worked much better this time to have everyone provide their own beverages.
Just want to remind you again of my e-mail address: jphiggins@cableone.net. Also many thanks to all of you who traveled both near and far to attend the reunion. Without the families continuing to participate, we will soon lose contact with our relatives.
Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you in 2006,
John P. Higgins
3201 So. Hennepin Street
Sioux City, IA 51106-4414
PS Dale found a camera case with poloroid film in it at his shop on Sunday.
Dale Higgins
101 S. 16th Street
R.R. #1 Box 310
Home Phone 515-738-2323
E-mail: higginsd@netins.net