Thomas Edward Fuller Family Reunion

Linda Fuller Brooks (left) and her daughter Melanie Miller in front of a quilt that was raffled at the reunion.

Adeline Fuller Davis (the author’s mom) and her niece, Judy Hawkins, who made and donated the afghan for the raffle.

Introduction

Weeks before the Fuller Family Reunion (descendants of Thomas Edward Fuller) in Batesville, Arkansas, planner Terry Davis began sending weekly reminders to members. While these are edited for space, we felt the information Terry shared could be an inspiration to other planners who want to build momentum and excitement about an upcoming reunion. The Fullers meet every two years.

To: Fuller cousins!

Subject: First Letter 4 weeks before the reunion

From: Terry Davis

Hey Fuller cousins! Hope you are doing great, and also hoping that you are planning on attending next month’s reunion! We DO have some needs and if you can help, it would be greatly appreciated. First, on Thursday, we will be meeting at Ramsey Heights Baptist Church to set up and decorate. The more bodies we have, the easier it will be on every-one. This is one of the best parts of the reunion (seriously), and if you have never helped before, this would be a great time to begin. All you need to do is to show up, and we’ll find a place for you to pitch in! Second, we are going to need more tables this year! If you have any folding tables or camp tables we can borrow, please let us know. Third, we need food! In the past, we have had an amazing variety and a great quantity of dishes! We need side dishes, desserts, fried chicken, ice, tea, water, soft drinks, paper towels, plastic ware, paper plates, etc. Fourth, raffle tickets are a dollar, $5 for six tickets. And, we will also have our Tip Jar for you to help out financially. AND don’t forget to bring money to purchase Fuller Family Recipes cookbook for Christmas or birthdays pres-ents, or wedding gifts. Fifth, we need you to help get the word out about our reunion. Don’t assume that everyone has gotten the word. Not everyone has access to the internet, so when you see a cousin at church, or grocery shopping, ask if they’re coming to the reunion! Sixth, If you have old photos to share, please bring them. We all love looking at pictures, especially those old black and white photos of our ancestors. Put your name on anything you bring. And finally, we need YOU!!! We have cousins coming from all over the United States, and they want to see YOU!!! So, remember the dates – June 21-22 (and the 20th for setup and decorating!) See you next month!!! Terry Davis

Fuller Family Reunion

To: Fuller cousins!

Subject: One week later

From: Terry Davis

Cousins! A little over three weeks remaining until our 2019 Fuller reunion. First, can you help with setup on Thursday, the 20th? “The more, the merrier,” the faster and smoother everything will be! A gentle reminder, if you live in the area around Batesville, please bring a dish (or two) of your favorite food! Fried chicken, deviled eggs, potato salad, green beans, corn, pies, cakes ... you get the picture! AND please make sure your name is on your dishes! Have you contacted all your cousins, reminding them about the reunion? Sometimes, all it takes is a personal invitation to get that cousin to come. Do they have transportation? Many cousins are elderly, and would like to come, but have no way to get there. And finally, please help us financially. Putting on a reunion and sending out newsletters costs money. Many reunions have registration fees, sometimes of $25 or more. We have chosen to not do that. We want everyone to be able to attend our reunion, and we do not want a lack of money to keep anyone from attending. Cousins, it’s almost here! A lot has happened since our last reunion. We’ve all had good days and bad days, happy times and sad times, good health and not-so-good health, but the one constant throughout the past two years has remained, we are family. Your cousin, Terry

To: Fuller cousins!

Subject: One more week later…

From: Terry Davis

Friday – We will visit local cemeteries to clean as many headstones as possible. From there, we will head out to Pleasant Plains and the McMullin Cemetery. After we all get a little “hands on” experience, those who feel like they are experts might want to go to Floral and clean some other stones at the Cedar Grove cemetery. We will go to Batesville to eat lunch at Colton’s Steakhouse. After lunch, anyone who wants to go clean more headstones can go back to the cemeteries we visited that morning, or to Maple Springs cemetery or Brown’s cemetery in Thida. This is something we’ve added this year, in hopes we can do a better job of maintaining the upkeep of our ances-tors’ and loved ones’ graves. Saturday – The main event! Doors of Ramsey Heights Baptist Church will open at 10 AM. This will be the time to register, purchase raffle tickets (everyone gets a free ticket) and purchase Fuller cookbooks. After you register, view our many exhibits of photos and scores of old documents. Feel free to look, but PLEASE DO NOT TAKE pictures or documents! If you are sharing photos, please make sure your name is on everything. This includes tables you loan us, your dishes and ice chests you brought for the potluck. We want to ensure that you make it home with what you brought! At 11:30 AM, we will sample those incredible Fuller family favorites at our potluck lunch. Our reunion program is after lunch. This year, several of our Fuller cousins have agreed to speak, AND we have a sound system! Included in the program will be our financial report, introduction of committees, special awards, recognition of living grandchildren of Thomas Edward Fuller, our big raffle, and lots of other activities. We have added an activity table for Fuller children this year! Our hope is that our kids will have fun, and as they move into adulthood, they will want to return to reunions in the future.

Cleaning headstones are (from left) Sherri Fuller Smith, her sister Kristi Fuller Gillihan, and Kristi’s son, Brayden Wild.

Three things we definitely want each of you to participate in are (1) signing the Fuller banner. We have not done this in the past, but believe that years from now, as our children and grandchildren attend these reunions, they will enjoy looking at old banners from previous reunions, trying to locate the signatures of their ancestors. (2) Our huge 5-generation family tree. We will have the tree stretched out on tables, and as you look for your family, we want you to add your children, grandchildren, etc., along with birthdates and other information you would like to share. Led by Mike Todd, we are planning on writing a book of Fuller family and history. The information you share with us, will greatly assist in the efforts to make this book as accurate as possible. (3) PLEASE make sure you are part of our group photos! We want all of our attendees to be a part of this special part of the reunion. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, PLEASE do not hesitate to get in touch with us. We’re almost there! Two years have just about come and gone, and a little over two weeks from today, we’ll once again gather in Batesville, Arkansas, to celebrate our Fuller family legacy! See you then!!! Your Fuller cousin, Terry