Tenney Family Reunion
August 2-3, 2003
Newburyport, Massachusetts
The Reunion was, in the words of attendees “A Rousing
Success!”
On Saturday, we all gathered in the Community Park of
Newburyport to check in, catch up and familiarize ourselves with the area. We
were able to enjoy the hospitality and fun of Newburyport’s “Yankee Homecoming”
celebration with lots of shopping, food…and oh yes rain! We had a private tour
of the Maritime Museum, highlighting the ship Daniel I Tenney and a history
lesson of the Coast Guard – Hey Kay, thanks for the informative (and impromptu)
presentation! Next it was time to board the bus – yep! An old-fashioned School
Bus! Off we went to Hay-ver-rill Public Library where local historian Greg
showed us several Tenney treasures including one of Martha Jane’s original scrap
books used for her 1904 book and many photographs; didn’t he also start the
story of a pretty amazing lady? The not so good news was that the Library is
closing and we were probably the last Tenney’s to see the wonderful Special
Collection Archives items for a long time.
Back onto the bus and off to Tenney Gate House and Grey
Court located in Methuen. Our gracious host, Joe Bella supplied us with much
needed refreshments and a history of Charles H. Tenney’s summer home. Following
the cool drinks, a quick drive up the hill to the mansion remains proved a
delight to the senses – rolling green lawns, beautiful forests, massive stone
works and – does anyone know where the stairs lead to? And oh…the views.
Although we had to cut our visit to Methuen a bit short, we thoroughly enjoyed
both Joe and Mr. Mack’s historical knowledge. Back on the bus for our next stop
at the ancient burial grounds of Bradford. This cemetery is the recipient of a
lot of Tenney “blood, sweat and tears” thanks to Debby Bianchi and Barron
Tenney. They have, with the help of volunteers, made wonderful progress in the
cleanup of the cemetery; you can actually SEE the stones of our Tenney ancestors
without getting poison ivy! Great job Deb and Barron!
The tour concluded with a stop at the Rowley Library and a
tour of the renovations. Our hosts and tour guides, Marcia Farina (Bill & Louise
Mehaffey’s daughter) and Tim Young very graciously (and gingerly) took us thru
the construction site while painting a wonderful and detailed vision of the
finished Library. It will be a wonderful resource for many years to come!! And
the crème d’la crème was Tim Young’s invitation to his home for lemonade and
cookies. His house is an original Rowley homestead with large, wide plank
flooring and 2 authentic documents signed by Tenney’s! An awesome home and
delightful end to a long day of adventure.
Sunday, bright and early, we gathered at the Greek Orthodox
Church for our annual meeting, completing the business at hand by early
afternoon. Congrats to the elected and re-elected officers! Off to lunch, and of
course, a last bit of shopping. Sometime during lunch, the skies got very gray,
thunder and lightening and down came the rain! Those of us diehards – headed
for the Yankee Clipper, getting a bit wet in the process to cap off the weekend
with a cruise of beautiful Newburyport Harbor….ummmm, well almost. While the
weather refused to cooperate – we still managed to have a wonderful cruise in
the pouring rain and thunder and lightening storm. Our “cruise director” Captain
Bill Taplin made the precarious trip very entertaining and even managed to relax
Kay a bit! Let’s face it, cruising in a metal boat in a thunderstorm is not
something mom would approve of but it was one of the highlights of the weekend!
To all those that attended - thanks for coming! It was great to see you again or
for the first time. To those that couldn’t attend – we’ll look forward to seeing
you next year! And to those that worked SO hard to make this year’s reunion a
success, I thank you.
Debbie Montgomery
TFA Reunion Chairperson
