Thomas Tenney Monument 2013 Rededication to Add Family
TENNEY TIMES – Fall 2013
Weather or not – Tenney’s take on MASS-ive Adventures
Many of us arrived in Boston on one of the hottest days of the week! Yep…97 degrees plus humidity – ugh. Add to that, Wednesday was not the best day to be flying, especially into Boston – Officials decided 9/11 was a good day to schedule an “Emergency Preparedness Drill” closing Logan Airport to incoming traffic – for up to 3 hours! Yep…a major “oops” that the Bostonians and media sure let’em know about!
We gathered in Braintree to register and pick up our really neat 2013 Reunion T-Shirts (Great job Jen!) Following a quick lunch, we were on the bus and off to OBBG (Old Bradford Burial Grounds) for the Tenney Monument Re-dedication.
It was another pretty hot day, and “heavy showers and thunderstorms” were in the forecast – we just hoped the weather would hold off until 6:00. We were joined at OBBG by many honored guests.
OBBG looked GREAT! Once again Barron, Chris and Eric had worked their magic. And once again Atwood Memorial had worked magic to modify the Monument – it looked Awesome! Great job guys – thanks SO much!
President Kay opened the ceremonies with a welcome to OBBG and thanking those in attendance. Representatives from Peterson Landscaping and Bradford Swim Cub were presented with donations in recognition of their contributions. Certificates of Appreciation were presented to Eric, Barron and Chris.
President Kay’s opening welcome & presentations were followed by the “arrival” of some very special (and eerily familiar) ladies: Sarah Tenney Atwood, Abigail Bailey Tenney, Sarah Boynton Tenney, Rose Chandler Tenney, Mercy Tenney Hardy and Susanna Woodbury Tenney. Each lady stood upon her eternal resting place and spoke of her stone’s story – who we were, our families, where we came from and whom we wed in “Every Stone Has A Story”. (Watch for each of our complete presentations in upcoming Tenney Times!). Pastor Orvalle led the closing Blessing and the Memorial Monument was revealed to the appreciation of everyone. All in attendance agreed “Every Stone Has A Story” was pretty interesting – Thanks Debby!
With a bit of extra time on our hands, we headed over to First Congregational Church of Bradford (the very church our Tenney Ancestors began over 300 years ago! – OK, so this one is only since 1685…. but even so…), where Pastor Orvalle, Harriet and Barron opened the church doors and provided an impromptu tour for those of us visiting for the first time; for those of us familiar with the Church – it was a nice “home coming”. The church continues to look great!
Heading off to Haverhill Country Club for dinner, relieved the anticipated weather had held off…so far…. we arrived for some well deserved cold refreshments and a chance to check out the Merchandise, Tenney Genealogy and reminisce on the OBBG visitations. It was wonderful having Rev. Jim and Anne Tinney (VA) join us, both having recovered from their ordeals over the last year. An all American buffet of Baked Ham and Beans and Roasted Turkey with all the “fixin’s” made for an early Thanksgiving–yummie! And the rain started (did anyone else notice the time? -6:00).
Our guest speaker began her presentation “Investigating the Dash” – Marcia started with a poem about the dates on our stones and mused with us as she inquired what our “dashes” would be. She provided forms and a list of questions then lead us on a path that showed where to look, how to discover and leaving no lead (or stone) unturned.
She showed us her method of creating a timeline as information is obtained, shared her adventures as she determined her own family “dashes”. Marcia also resides in Rowley on, you guessed it, Tenney land and has long been acquainted with the Mehaffey family. It really is a small world. Marcia’s presentation was energetic, interesting, entertaining and informative – all enjoyed it very much! Perhaps we will see Marcia again next year. Thanks to Debby for sponsoring such a great speaker!!!
Apparently the weather was not pleased that our evening was concluding as the rain strengthened and the lighting flashed – it was a cold and stormy night as we headed home.
Barron and Jeannie escorted Nancy and Emma out to the highway, while the rest of us boarded the bus….high spirits flowed as all on board chatted and reflected on the days events, while the rain pelted down, the lightening flashed, the thunder roared and the windshield wipers went back and forth…until they didn’t and we found ourselves on the side of the road waiting to be rescued by the mechanic – an hour later, fuses replaced, wipers on, we are on the road again…but, wait – what’s that sheet of water? It’s rain, it’s wet and it’s inside the bus! The walls and seats are soaked – only a few miles down the road from where we last were stopped and this time, off the highway, our “rescue” bus arrives – OK, everyone off this bus and onto that bus…once resettled, we’re off again and reach our destination 3 hours delayed. Just confirmation to us all that whenever “things happen” (and they usually do!), the Tenney’s “go with the flow” making Sangria from Grapes! Thanks to all aboard Thursday night for your patience, understanding
and adventurous sense of fun! (FYI – The Bus Service was VERY apologetic and compensated for our “adventure”).
Our late night created a late start Friday morning, but soon we are on the Trolley and off to NEHGS (New England Historical and Genealogical Society) in Boston where we had an introduction presentation and tour by NEHGS staff member Judy of the 7 floors. By 11:30 we were on our own to delve into the riches of records available to us (after lunch, of course!).
For those of you unfamiliar with NEHGS – (1) They are located 1 block away from Copley Square and the finish line of the Boston Marathon. There is still much construction repairing the damage, and (2) They have a LOT of “stuff” – it’s a researcher’s Mecca! Although a bit trying at times (some of us just could not “find” what we were looking for) – eventually everyone found some nugget to take home (Marcia’s forms came in pretty handy). A satisfactory day of researching concluded, we were back on the Trolley heading “home” and…the rain came…not as bad as the previous evening, but the Trolley was dripping, then “raining” over our heads – solution 1: open the umbrellas and tilt them “just so”, diverting the water; solution 2: relocate to another seat while sliding head first “gracefully” down the aisle (good thing Nancy is light on her feet!).
Saturday brought beautiful weather, a true Fall day in New England – no rain, no heat, no humidity – absolutely gorgeous! We were off again on the Trolley into Boston where a few of us “hard core” researchers returned to NEHGS while the rest of us headed down to Boston Harbor for a day of sight-seeing, tours and Harbor cruise. It was mutually agreed that everyone enjoyed their day’s activities.