Newspaper The Times Herald-Record Aug 15,1990 upcoming Bull Picnic

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Newspaper "The Times Herald-Record" Aug 15,1990 upcoming Bull Picnic

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000406

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Page 2 | NEIGHBORS | 4 | The Times Herald-Record | August 15, 1990 Kinfolk of Bull-Wells to picnic again in Campbell Hall By Peter Schoenberg Staff Writer CAMPBELL HALL - More than 400 of the 20,000 or so descendants of William Bull and Sarah Wells are expected to attend the 123rd annual Bull Family Picnic to be held Aug. 18 at the Bull Stone House off Hamptonburgh Road in Campbell Hall. Bull built the house in 1722, four years after he married Sarah Wells, considered by historians to be the first white woman to settle permanently in Orange County. The house now is occupied by Mike Brown, his wife, Betty, and two of their seven children. Brown, a 10th-generation Bull descendant, once again is coordinating the picnic. Supervised games and entertainment will be provided, but families are urged to bring their own picnic basket lunch. Brown has overseen the mailing of more than 4,000 invitations to families that trace their ancestry to the Bulls. Last year, Bull descendants from throughout the United States attended the gathering. Registration is scheduled for 10 a.m. and tours of the fortress-like house will be conducted from 10 to noon and again from 2-4 p.m. The picnic, itself, will get underway at noon. A family member will be picked to lead the clan in a prayer of thanksgiving before the meal. PETER SCHOENBERG/The Record Four hundred descendants of William Bull and Sarah Wells will have a picnic Saturday at the Bull Stone House in Campbell Hall. The first Bull Family Picnic was held in 1868 on Lookout Mountain, next to the Hamptonburgh Cemetery where William and Sarah are buried. The following year, a photographer recorded the second-annual gathering of Bull descendants. For the first time in five years, a professional photographer will be on hand, at about 2 p.m. Saturday, to take a wide-angle group photo of the hundreds of Bull descendants attending. Normally, a formal portrait is taken once every five years. Orders may be placed for copies of the picture. The formal photograph could bolster attendance at this year's picnic, according to Brown. Other afternoon activities include supervised games for the children, horse and pony rides and authentic music provided by the Ramapo Fault String Band. Blue-Ribbon awards are presented in categories like youngest boy, youngest girl, oldest man, oldest woman, longest married, first to arrive to the picnic, and longest journey to get to the picnic. Last year, the Bull descendant traveling the farthest to get to the picnic was Susan Sweum of Seattle, Wash. At 1 p.m., the annual meeting of the William Bull and Sarah Wells Stone House Association, Inc. will be held in the Stone House. Business will include the electing of four directors. Currently, James K. Sinclaire Jr. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. is president; Mike Brown is vice president; and Richard G. Ivory of Union, N.J. is secretary. Volunteer tour guides from among the Bull clan were recruited to conduct organized tours of the historic house for the first time last year. The formal tours are being continued this year, but more volunteers are needed. Those interested may contact Mike or Betty Brown at the Stone House.

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Bull Picnic, Campbell Hall