Our reunion this summer will be held July 31 - August 3.

I hope to see all of you there!
If you have any questions about the reunion or future newsletters please contact Jack Estes or me.  Our information can be found in the right column of this blog.

If you leave any comments please contact me through my email also.
Unfortunately, I haven't been checking my own blog very often.  Plus I may possibly be moving soon so I prefer a more direct contact from you so I can answer you within a few days.

Thank you,
Kathy

Finally, An Update!

Dear Estes Cousins,

I'm sorry I have not done a very good job of keeping this blog up to date.  Though it has done some good for we have had a couple of new cousins find us by finding this blog!  So that is one good thing.  Three years is way too long!

Our next reunion is tentatively set for July 31-August 3, 2014 in Estes Park, CO.

If you have not received a newsletter this year, please contact Jack Estes.  You can find his contact information in the right column.  Future newsletters will have more information about the reunion in 2014.

If you would like to see certain information posted in the blog, please contact me.

Thanks.  Hope to see you all at the REUNION!

Kathy

Tribute to WANDA IONE MOYER

Wanda Ione Moyer was born July 14, 1920, in Torrington, Wyoming to Edson and Fern Estes Moyer. This year will be her 90th birthday and as far as we can determine, is the oldest living member of Joel Estes' descendants. She is a third great granddaughter of Joel and Patsy and a descendant of Francis Marion, 12th child of Joel and Patsy.

She has two daughters - Ronda Pratt (Dean) of Spokane Washington and Dallas Hincks of Boise, Idaho, four grandchildren Kerry Toney (David) of Spokane, Kyla, Karisa and Dakota Hincks of Boise, and four great grand daughters, Cynthia, Alyssa and Callie Toney and Abigail Haynes.

As with many Estes, she spent her early years moving, mostly up and down the Platte River valley from Torrington to Kearney and all stops in between. The frequent changes in towns and schools made her an adaptable and friendly person that has stood her in good stead. She survived the Depression with a struggle as did most of the people around her. She remembers with embarrassment yet, having a school physical, which required her to remove her sweater to reveal her only and too small dress which was split up the back. She also remembers days of blowing black dust and a kindly neighbor who came to take them in with his family so they wouldn’t be alone.

The thirties were also the time of the big bands and Wanda loved to dance. Even after working a 12-hour day, she would be off to the Saturday night dance. She said even the young ones would have a dance and set out a couple. This is Nebraska in the summer before any air conditioning.
She was always an avid reader until macular degeneration has robbed her of her sight.


She graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1939 and the same month married Harold Millsap of Torrington.

During the draft of World War II, Harold changed from working on the railroad to farming with his father north of Torrington and then began the city girl’s 16-year stint as a farm wife.

Harold was killed in a train accident at Holly Sugar Factory in 1957. This left her a widow with young girls, Ronda and Dallas, to raise.

In May of 1962, she married Mike R. McKelvey and they lived in Torrington until Mike retired from the Wyoming Highway Department and they moved to Mesa, Arizona for 16 years. They enjoyed traveling and motor biking.
Mother loved to play pinochle and bowl and had a mean eye as a pool player.

As a small girl, she almost drown but was rescued by someone grabbing her by her long hair. In Arizona, she overcame her fear and learned to swim.

As Mike’s health started to deteriorate they returned to Torrington where he died in 1997.
With failing eyesight, Mother decided to move to Spokane, Washington to be near her oldest daughter, Ronda.








She is currently residing at Royal Plaza Retirement Center, 302 E. Wedgewood, Spokane, WA 99208. Her phone is 509-484-5593 if anyone would care to call and wish her well.

2009 EFA NEWSLETTER

It has been agreed upon that the entire newsletter not be put on this blog, in fairness to those who have paid their EFA dues.
I am putting in the hi-lites of the newsletter. I hope you will enjoy it enough to decide to pay dues (only $15.00 for 5 years!), so you can enjoy ALL the newsletter. You'll find Jack's mailing address in the right column.
If your dues are paid and you want to receive it by email, please email me at related2me@yahoo. com and I will put you on the newsletter email list for future newsletters.

Estes Family Association
Estes Park, Colorado 1859-2009
November 2009 - Issue 34

Family Celebrates Sesquicentennial of Estes Park
by Colleen Estes Cassell, Chairman

The Estes Family celebration of the Sesquicentennial (150 years) of Estes Park was a great success. The first item on the agenda was participation in the Estes Park Rooftop Rodeo Parade on July 7th. The theme of the parade was "Women of the West and the Men Who Loved Them." Who better to represent both parties than Patsey and Joel...
The Estes Park Museum curator, Derek Fortini, and Colleen set up a special display in the lobby of the museum using artifacts and pictures from the Estes Family...
We were all pleasantly surprised that in spite of deciding at the last minute to hold the reunion in July of 2009, we had the best turnout since our original in 1981...
...Thursday evening was a great success. Sandra Moravec and her husband and sisters, Frances Estes and Marjorie Lilley and their families once again hosted a Barbecue at Sandra's beautiful Estes Park home...
Friday, everyone showed up to have the group picture taken at the high school stadium. It turned out great!...
Following the picture taking, we had our potluck picnic...
Saturday afternoon, the museum arranged for a terrific slide show...
James Pickering, who has written several books about Estes Park- "This Blue Hollow", "America's Switzerland", "Estes Park Then and Now" presented the program...
...the reunion banquet was held at 5 p.m.
After our dinner, we held a short meeting...we found that the oldest family member was Marjorie Newman (86), who came from Torrington, Wyoming...our youngest attendee was Colleen's great grandson, Kellen Johnson, 11 months old, from Maple Valley, Washington...
The next reunion is planned for 2014. We voted to use just one color for the T-shirts next time...
On Sunday, about 30 people met at Mary's Lake Lodge for brunch.

--By the Numbers--
by Jack Estes
Reunion attendees came from 11 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming...
Five branches of the Joel Estes family were represented... : Milton, Martha Ann, Francis Marion, Newton, and Lovey. Next time, we need to work hard to get some other branches involved...

Help Wanted
The EFA newsletter can be printed more often and more informatively with your help. We'd like to distribute family news such as births, marriages and deaths to help you keep your genealogy records up to date. The newsletters are also more interesting if they included articles you have written, such as family reminiscences or reports of your genealogy research. Historian Kathy Garcia is anxious to record such information. This information is available to us only if you submit it. You can send it to any EFA officer, [see right-hand column for addresses]. So keep those cards and letters and photos coming!
...not everybody has a computer, and those who do sometimes change addresses, so we'd like to continue trying to reach you by U.S. mail...
Vice Chairman Rae Price has professional experience publishing newsletters, this issue is her first shot at improving our EFA product through editing and formatting. We hope you like it! [If you are not on the mailing list you missed out on a great newsletter!]

Financial Report
by Jack Estes
The Treasurer's report given at the reunion included: The current EFA mailing list is 77 households, 15 of which are behind in dues. Several households were dropped from the list after their dues became delinquent back into the 1990's or because their mail was returned with no forwarding address...

EFA dues
Estes Family Association dues are $15 per household. Please remit payment so we can continue to provide you information about the family. The dues are used for reunion deposits and expenses and newsletter postage.
Please send dues to Jack Estes (address in right column).

Address Changed?
Please help us keep accurate records by letting us know if your mailing address or e-mail address has changed.

OCTOBER 2009 EFA HONOREE

GETTING TO KNOW YOU
MARJORIE WELLS NEWMAN

Marge was born on July 22, 1923 in Deaver, WY to Floyd Harrison Wells and Bernice Palmer. She is a Great Granddaughter of Martha Ann Estes, 5th child of Joel and Patsey Estes.

Marge grew up in Deaver, graduating from high school in 1940. She went on to college and graduated from the University of Wyoming at Laramie in 1944.

She married Keith Newman on November 8, 1947 in Reno, NV.
They have six wonderful children, 3 girls and 3 boys: Jean Marie (Bedord), Neil Eldon, Blair Evan, Ross Lee, Alice Arlene (Sibbitt), and Nancy Anne (Reiber). She has eight grandchildren, but as yet, no great-grandchildren.

Marge has lived in Wyoming and California. Her favorite color is Green, and as she puts it so wonderfully, "for everything that grows!!" She loves to spend her time with family and friends, church activities, and traveling.

Of course her favorite food is beef since she is in the beef business.
She enjoys reading autobiographies and history books, and finds herself reading more now that she has a little more time on her hands.

Congratulations, Marjorie. It is so good seeing you at the reunions and getting to know you...see you in 2014!

Our official Estes Family Reunion picture 2009

If you came to the reunion...can you find you? If you weren't there...we missed you! What a group! Hope everyone had as much fun as I did...can't wait for the next one...it's going to be a long five years. See you in 2014!