The Dingler web site has a new look and feel! I took advantage of the move to a new software platform (moved from Movable Type to WordPress in case you’re curious) and went hunting for a new theme. This one seemed to be a good fit for the family history aspect of the site. Enjoy!
The Dingler Family site is now on Twitter. If you’re on Twitter, you can now follow DinglerFamily for updates about the web site, reunions, and more.
If you aren’t on Twitter, you can check it out at http://twitter.com
You can find us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/dinglerfamily
You can also subscribe to our Twitter RSS feed in your favorite newsreader. See the Subscribe link in the menu bar on the right.
The Best Western Lafayette Garden Inn in LaGrange, Georgia, will be our host hotel for the reunion this year. We have a block of 30 King and Double rooms reserved for the reunion. Rates inclusive of taxes are $85.11 and $73.91 respectively. Rooms include complimentary hot breakfast at the IHOP restaurant at the hotel.
All rooms are non-smoking and have a microwave and refrigerator. Wireless Internet access is complimentary. They even offer an airport shuttle from the Atlanta airport for a nominal fee. Maybe some of our more distant family members will take this opportunity to attend the reunion this year.
To reserve your room, call the hotel at (866) 523-2938 toll-free or (706) 884-6175 and let them know you are with the Dingler Family Reunion. You must mention the reunion to get our special rate. Rooms must be booked before June 23 for the special rate. If you wait until the last minute to book, you’re going to pay the prevailing rate.
Please make your reservations as early as possible. The sooner we know how many people are going to attend the reunion, the better able we can plan for the weekend. We need to book a minimum of ten rooms for the discounted rate.
After you book your rooms, please send an email to reunion@dingler-family.org and let us know that you’ve booked and the number that will be attending.
For more information about LaGrange and area attractions, please see our earlier post See You in LaGrange.
Hotel Reservation Details:
Best Western Lafayette Garden Inn
1513 Lafayette Parkway
LaGrange, Georgia 30240
Toll-Free Reservations: (866) 523-2938
Local Reservations: (706) 884-6175
Ask for Dingler Family Reunion rate when you make your reservation
Executive King Room $75.99 per night, $85.11 inclusive
Traditional Double: $65.99 per night, $73.91 inclusive
Additional charge of $6.99 per room for 3rd and 4th adult added to room
IHOP breakfast included in rate
Hotel Web Site: http://www.lafayettegardeninn.com
Hotel on Google Maps
You know the dates (July 24-26) for the 2009 reunion, but you’ve been wondering where we’re meeting. Well, wait no more. Get out the maps, program the GPS…. We’re heading back to LaGrange, Georgia, for the first time since 1998.
As you may recall, the cemetery where Nancy Paschall Dingler is buried, the Old Whatley Cemetery, is near LaGrange, so everyone will have an opportunity to visit her grave. There are some other nearby cemeteries associated with Dinglers, so we’ll be sure to provide directions for all those who are interested in making the rounds.
We’re working on hotel arrangements and will let everyone know once plans have been finalized.
If you’re planning to attend the reunion, please send an email to “reunion@dingler-family.org”:reunion@dingler-family.org and let us know who will be at the reunion. We know plans can change, but an accurate count of of attendees will help us plan the rest of the weekend.
Some links to local attractions in LaGrange:
We’re going to be changing things a bit for the reunion in 2009. Due to a scheduling conflict, we’re going to move this year’s reunion back one week. The reunion for 2009 is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of July 24-26.
Before we changed the dates, we checked with Terry to see whether there was any significance of the traditional third weekend in July. Terry’s response:
A little history about the 3rd weekend in July:
It is much like the woman who always cut the end off her ham before cooking—just like her grandmother always did. She finally asked her grandmother why she did that before cooking a ham. Grandma responded, "Honey, I have to do that because my pan’s too short." The lesson, obviously, is that we often continue to do things in certain ways for reasons that are no longer valid. Very early on, we discussed moving the reunion date, for several years running. Each time, Winnie Dingler objected because she had another reunion that other weekend. So, we stayed put with the 3rd weekend. Well, Winnie Dingler has been dead at least 10 years, and hadn’t been to a reunion for close to 10 years before that! The point being—there is nothing sacrosanct about the 3rd weekend.
We’ll have more details as plans are solidified.
If you’re looking for a hard copy of the book, Dinglers of the South, someone is auctioning a copy on eBay.
We’re less than a month away from the 2008 Dingler Family Reunion. If you’ve been putting it off, don’t wait any longer. Tomorrow is the last day to book a hotel room at the guaranteed reunion rate. You can still book a room after the 27th, but you may not get the special reunion rate.
Our host hotel is the Cabot Lodge Jackson North (web site, map). We have a block of King and Double rooms reserved at a nightly rate of $94. You can call (601) 957-0757 and make reservations now. Be sure to mention the Dingler Family Reunion to get the special rate. We encourage you to make reservations now.
The Cabot Lodge offers a complimentary Deluxe Continental Breakfast each morning featuring freshly cut fruit, assorted cereals, yogurt, specialty breads, muffins, and scones baked fresh daily by Broad Street Bakery. Each evening there is a hospitality reception in the atrium featuring complimentary cocktails, beer, wine, soft drinks and fresh popcorn. Get relief from those hot July days in the outdoor swimming pool. We think you’re going to enjoy your stay at the Cabot Lodge. Leslie and the staff at the hotel have been quite helpful and are looking forward to having us there in July.
Also, if you are going to the reunion, please let us know how many people will be attending the dinner and meeting on Saturday night. We need to give a count to the caterer pretty soon. You can email us at reunion@dingler-family.org.
The 2008 Reunion is only 48 days away! Have you made your reservations? If not, the deadline to get the discounted rate is June 20. Don’t miss out!
Our dinner and meeting will be held on Saturday night (July 19) at Chimneyville Smokehouse. Chimneyville Smokehouse is a family style barbecue and farmers market restaurant and catering service in Jackson, across from the Mississippi State Fairgrounds.
Our dinner will be served buffet-style starting at 6 PM. The menu includes:
The cost is $13 per person. We need to have a headcount to the caterer a couple weeks in advance, so if you will be at the reunion and dinner, please email us at reunion@dingler-family.org and let us know how many people will be in your group.
After dinner, we will have our meeting, and maybe if we’re lucky Terry will bring some photos from the trip he is on right now in the Middle East.
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting hungry for some good barbecue! Be sure to join us in Jackson and at Chimneyville Smokehouse.
On March 22, I posted about the Dingler Cemetery in Douglas Co., Georgia. Recently I received copies of photos of the headstones in that cemetery along with photos from the Oak Grove Cemetery. Some background info from Sandy Whittington of the Douglas Co. Cemetery Preservation Commission:
Coordinates for the Dingler cemetery are N 33 35 36.3 and W 084 53 50.1 – it’s in landlot 184, district 3, section 5. When James Dingler settled here in the 1850s, it was part of Carroll County but subsequently became part of Douglas County in the 1870s. James moved here from Pike County, GA.
The Sticher cemetery and the Dingler cemetery are one and the same (though we found no Sticher markers). John’s sister Clarissa married Newton Sticher, and they’re both buried just up the road in Oak Grove cemetery — along with several other members of the Sticher family.
The photos I received were resized from the originals, so I’m checking to see if we can get the originals. I’ve posted them as is but will re-post if I can get the originals. Here are J.T. and Sarah’s markers. To see all of the photos and for more info about the cemeteries, see the links that follow.
