Name/Title
87th Bull Picnic Sept 1954 "Independent Republican"Entry/Object ID
000508Tags
Bull PicnicScope and Content
Bull Family's 87th
Is Happy Prelude To 88th Meet in '55
Reprinted from the Independent Republican,
Goshen, N. Y., Sept. 2, 1954
For the eighty-seventh year the members of the Orange County
Bull family met on the last Wednesday in August at the "Stone
House" in the Town of Hamptonburgh. About 300 were
present including residents of California, Wisconsin, Ohio, Kentucky,
Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, besides, of course,
New Jersey and New York. About 30 or 40 attended for the
first time. Among these latter was William Oshima of Cleveland, O.,
husband of Helen Ackerly, and their son Michael, born last year.
Mr. Oshima is of Japanese descent, although born in this country and hence a citizen. He was introduced to the entire gathering at the business meeting and was accorded a cordial welcome. Other first-comers were Col.
Oliver F. W. Cromwell VIII and his daughter, Constance, of Yonkers, N. Y., descended from the line of Ann and presented by Col. H. S. Monell of the same line. Dr. Ralph W. Stone of Harrisburg, Pa., was also present for the first time accompanied by his wife, the former Edna Bull of Middletown. Their daughter, Mrs. Wilson Everhart and three children, of Camp Hill, Pa.,
were likewise first comers. In the same list were Mr. Edward
V. B. Conklin of Beacon, N. Y., and his sons, Thomas Donald
Conklin and Robert Ewell Conklin and their families.
The day was propitious, neither too hot nor too cold. Thanks to
Fremont Cornell, road commissioner for the Town of Hamptonburgh, the driveway into the Stone House from the Craigville Road, had been widened at a point opposite the cemetery, thereby for the first time enabling drivers to see through to the house at a point where they can pull out for the cars to pass in comfort. This had been a great need and is tremendously
appreciated. Miss Laura F. Craft of Chester had rearranged the display of
gifts from former years in the Long Room, and placed flowers
throughout the house, including in the hall a vaseful of magnificent gladioli given by I. Harold Houston of Goshen. The house itself had been recently
re-decorated, Louis Brown, our resident, had himself repainted the front stoop and outdoor trim. The lawns are now-a-days well kept. The trees
were a luxuriant green and afforded ample shade for all at
luncheon and the business meeting. After luncheon, at which grace
was said by the Rev. James L.Getaz Jr., minister of the First
Presbyterian Church of Hamptonburgh, the annual meeting
of the Association was called to order by the Rev. Charles Beattie
Thompson of Thompson Ridge. Genevieve Decker Nave was
elected to the Board of Managers. Hamlet S. Roe and the
Rev. Charles Beattie Thompson were re-elected. These three
nominees were proposed in a speech by Harry C. Bull of
Goshen, which carried the entire crowd with whom it resulted in
unanimity and the casting of one ballot. The organization session of
the Board of Managers immediately followed the meeting of
the Association. All the old officers were unanimously re-elected.
Returning to the business meeting, three gifts in memoriam
were announced for addition to the Endowment Fund: from Mrs.
Samuel Carlisle Goodrich of Newburgh in memory of her late
mother, Anna Leeper Jordan; from Miss Sarah M. Eager of 235
East Pasadena St., Pomona, Calif., in memory of her grandparents,
Samuel W. Eager, the historian of Orange County, and
his wife, Catharine McCauley Eager; and from Mrs. Meredith
Littlefield (Dorothy Kernochan) of 1565 E. California St., Pasadena, Calif. in memory of her father, Louis Kernochan and of her brother, John Benson Kenochan. The oldest member of the family present was Whitfield H. Bull
of Santa Barbara, Calif. formerly of Washingtonville, N. Y., now 84
years of age. The youngest was Frederick George Condit, born
May 12, 1954, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Condit, Jr., of Andover, N. J. The comers from the greatest distance were Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Hunter of
58 So. Portola Road, Laguna Beach, Calif. Of course those
from a distance usually are in the area for other reasons and
are able to take in the picnic, but not so with John Milton Bull of
Poynette, Wisc., who this year, as annually for some time past
came east expressly for the occasion. Naturally thoughts often turn
to some of the absent. Among them this year was Mrs. Elizabeth Bull Greene of Stony Ford and Sidney, N. Y., now in her 92nd year, but kept at home by
illness. She had attended every picnic hitherto. Another whose
absence was regretted by many friends and admirers was Clarence H. Crist of Montgomery. An outstanding feature of this year's reunion was the large
number of babies, children and young people present, from the
youngest baby already mentioned closely followed by Eleanor Lindsay Vogelbach, born last April 8th, daughter of Robert and Jean Thompson Vogelbach of Thompson Ridge, all the way up through the 20's. The
toddlers and those just beyond, seemed to be all over the place.
"Bullets," as one of the irreverent once expressed it. With such
a happy augury next year's event is already being looked forward to with pleasure.