Reunion 2012 Recap

THANK YOU to the approximately 250 people who joined us at the 2012 Reunion in Willoughby, Niagara Falls!

The Willick Family Reunion -

           Saturday July 14th 2012

This was our 13th official International Reunion:

It was in 1828 that our ancestors left Europe and arrived in Canada, to settle in Willoughby, Ontario with others from their homeland. 

Your Reunion Committee was pleased to hold the 2012 Reunion once again in Willoughby Township! The Willoughby Volunteer Fire Department Recreation Hall hosted this year's event. Located directly opposite the Willoughby Town Hall, on Sodom Road between Fort Erie and Niagara Falls, the fire hall is situated on former Willick farmland.

The Saturday of Reunion Day started out clear and warm.  

Events of the day:

(9:30-11:30 AM) Family Reunion 9-hole golf outing!

Saturday morning, around 12 people joined our 2nd Family Golf Outing on the Chippawa Course at Legends on the Niagara, each receiving a Willick mug and String Backpack  in golfer's green!

In the meantime the setup committee was at the Hall, moving tables, shifting chairs, preparing the Registration and Reception areas, and greeting early arrivers.

1:00 PM    Memorial Tree Dedication

As the excitement of the day grew and the sun peaked, we made our way to the small grove area behind the Fire Hall to share a moment of remembrance and dedication of our newest Reunion Tree, an Ivory Silk Lilac tree. This new planting joins an Autumn Blaze and a Rep Maple planted in our prior 2006 and 2009 Reunions.

1:30 PM    Registration opened

2:00 PM    Willick Family Reunion

Back inside, more family was arriving. Registration was smoothly managed by Elaine Bayne and Nikki Winger, and each attendee received a complimentary Willick Family string bag in Orange, Blue, or Purple. 

During the course of the day, families gathered and memories were shared.  It was great to see so many familiar faces, new members of the family, cousins and relations joining us for the first time, and family who made the effort to rejoin us after missing some prior reunions.  

    Reunion Activities

• Everyone received a Schedule and Family Information Form in the reception package.  Thank you to all who provided their information for our genealogy and general records.

• Fran & Rosemary O'Conner joined us with Genealogy information, family trees, documents, and photographs!

• The Farewell family shared some bound and laminated copies of "Grandma Willie's Recipe Collection", from Stella (Gordon) Willick's personal collection of recipes and humour. 

• Door Prizes! Oh my - we had dozens of wonderful gifts donated by attendees. Hal Willick supervised the door prize drawings, which were held in the late afternoon. 

• Dessert Raffle! Pies, cookies, cakes, treats - so many delicious items were baked or brought to support the raffle. At just $2 for a penny-card ticket it seemed everyone wanted a chance to bid! Flo Martin handled ticket sales amazingly, and with the help of Randy Hall and Hunter Hall the drawing of the winners was successfully completed!

• 50/50 Raffles! Ruth Ibey and her crew had an excellent plan: sell 120 tickets at $2, 3/$5 and we  guarantee $100 winners.  3 Winners during the day and one in the evening.

• Sports: Great games of Volleyball and Horseshoes were held in the summer sun. 

• Kid's fun:  Cathy Charnock and Christine Ruchlewicz made sure we had children's races and games of fun and skill in the afternoon. 

• "The Nose Contest" defending champion Michael Parm was working in the North and unable to attend, so former winner Mike Willick oversaw the challengers. Contestants included Brian Willick of Toronto, brothers Todd & Ross Willick of Michigan, and Chris O'Reilly of Toronto. A face-off nose to nose was held between Hal Willick and his son-in-law Jay Newton, with Jay winning the honor of  our 2012-2015 Nose Contest Winner. 

• The Kitchen and Bar: the Fire Hall kitchen and bar served beverages and traditional Reunion fare for a nominal charge. $2 French Fries, $2 Hot Dogs, $3 Sausage, $3 Hamburgers; $4 beer and mixed drinks. 

5:30 PM    All-Family Meeting

The All-Family Meeting opened with a blessing, and then moved on the recognition of attendees in several categories.  This included:

• Eldest Attendee:  Frances Repa, (92 years)

• Newly Wed: Dorene Willick Jacobson (2 Sep 2011)

• Furthest Traveled:  Chris & Lori Willick from Alberta (3200km); with honors to Ian & Suzanne Etheridge (Nunavut, 2400 km) and Don Willick (Florida, 2300 km)

• Youngest Attendee:  Clare Forhan, 3 1/2 months, daughter of Jason & Emily Forhan.

• Largest Family present, parent(s) and immediate children:  Margaret Mateyk and her 6 adult children attended with their families. 

• Closest Birthday:  Jason Forhan (July 10) and Brian Willick (July 18)

A proposal was made, seconded, and approved to plan for our next Reunion in the Niagara Falls region on Saturday, 18 July 2015. 

The Reunion Day came to a close, but the weekend continued:

6:00 PM   Reunion Roast - pig and turkey roast was held out back and sandwiches were served for a nominal  charge of just $4, served on a bun.

Live Music commenced near 8:00 PM.

         A good crowd of 50 to 60 people stayed for music, dancing, and more socializing Saturday evening. 

Tom Willick opened the evening entertainment solo with some great tunes. He was followed by Willowood, who played a great set well into the night. Our thanks to the band - Mike Woods, Jack McMillan, Rick Chamberlain, Danny Meisner, Mike Hvilivitzky. Find Willowood on Facebook.

On Sunday 15 July 2012 a Sunday Family Mass was held at St Joseph's Church, Snyder, Ontario.

        The day was slightly overcast, but that didn't dampen the spirit of the attendees!  It has always been a boon to have our families gather at St. Josephs following our Reunion day!.      

Thank you to all who attended and those who supported this Reunion!