Mark July 18-20, 2008, on your calendars. Those are the dates for the 29th Annual Dingler Reunion. We will be meeting in Jackson, Mississippi this year.

If you were at the reunion in Little Rock last year, you’re probably wondering what happened to our plan to look at Vicksburg. We’ve avoided Vicksburg in the past due to issues with the Miss Mississippi pageant being held on the same weekend. When we found out the pageant had been moved to a different weekend, we were hopeful things would work out, but our preferred hotels didn’t have availability.

So we headed down the interstate and made plans to meet in Jackson. We’re still working out all of the details, but hotel arrangements have been set. 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 deadline for reserving a room is June 27, but please don’t wait that long.

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.

We’ll post more details as we get closer. If you’re planning to attend the reunion, please send an email to 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.

If you were at the 2007 reunion in Little Rock, you probably had a few of the sugar cookies that were in the hospitality suite. Sallye Cowan made the cookies and after being asked by several people for the recipe, she finally coughed it up. So here goes:

Sallye’s Sugar Cookies

1 cup margarine (2 sticks)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
4 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Let all ingredients reach room temperature.
2. Cream margarine, oil, sugars, eggs & vanilla
3. Sift flour, salt & baking powder
4. Blend into creamed mixture
5. Chill dough 1 hour
6. Roll into balls & place on cookie sheet. Flatten with bottom of a class that has been rubbed with margarine & dipped in sugar.
7. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until cookie has started to brown around the edges.

I’ve posted photos from the 2007 reunion in Little Rock. You can find them in our albums for our trip to Little Rock:

Dingler Reunion 2007 Day 2

Dingler Reunion 2007 Day 3

Dingler Reunion 2007 Day 4

Another Dingler reunion went into the history books tonight. With approximately 50 people in attendance this year (about the same number as gathered in Huntsville last year), everyone agreed that Little Rock was a great place to host the reunion. The Clinton Library was the main destination for most people today with groups of Dingler descendants touring the facility at various times today. Folks also toured the Old State House as well as visited the shops and merchants in the River Walk district.

The banquet and annual meeting were held at the Central Church of Christ Fellowship Hall, located just a few blocks from our hotel. After a meal of fried chicken, ham, and several sides and salads (and some great desserts as well!), Terry Cowan kicked off the meeting. Everyone went around the room and introduced their families. Afterwards, Terry had a short presentation on the Dingler migration to Arkansas, highlighting the large number of families that made the move from locations such as Georgia and Alabama.

We also discussed locations for next year’s reunion, suggesting that it was Mississippi’s turn in the rotation. Both Vicksburg and Jackson have been put forward as sites. We’re doing some checking to ensure we won’t b e competing with other events for hotel rooms, and will post more once we make a selection. Even though we’re still working out the where, we already know the dates. Be sure to pencil in the third weekend in July, July 18-20, on your calendar for next year!

A big part of this year’s success can be attributed to the efforts of our hosts, Glenn and Jessie Dingler. They did a fantastic job, and we want to thank them for taking the time to make all the arrangements. Thanks for sharing your home, Little Rock, with us. Great job!

Stay tuned for reunion photos!

Just a quick post to let you know the reunion has started! We’re here in Little Rock and although attendance is expected to be on the lighter side, we still have a great group here this year. People have been stopping by the meeting room, and we’ve already spotted a few first-timers (whom, we hope to convert to regulars!).

Tomorrow a number of people are heading over to the Clinton Library and Museum and down to the River Market to do some shopping and enjoy the city. Of course, tomorrow evening we’ll all gather for dinner and the annual meeting.

If you aren’t here in Little Rock, here’s the greeting you would have received from the Downtown Little Rock La Quinta, the official Dingler Reunion hotel for 2007.

Reunion Central at the Downtown Little Rock La Quinta Hotel