OSTIEN FAMILY NEWSLETTER
Roolf, Spinelli, Larko, Atkinson, Pursley, Sinz, Cardova, Furgas, Cushing, Shifflet, Surbella, Wilson, Morris, Albrecht, Coster, Dominick, Morales, Rothwell, McKnight, Gruemken, Schaller, Mathewson, Biblis, Smialkowski, Jacobs, Kaplan, Wrabel, Zipay, Bornes, Henderson, Bichsel, Myers, Marshall, McDade, McKinney, McClusky, Koch, Hughes, Miller, Mackey, Kersey, Moore, Brown, Stuard, Murphy, McFarland, Bizon, Snyder, Pepper, Kearns, Ruble, Durstine, Moyer, Waltz, Frankenberry, Bash, Tangora, Hammersmith, Norge, Curry, VanArtsdalen, Markelwith, Hoffman, Borowy, Reith, Dos Ramos, Deaton, Petrosky, Sopira, Botti, Bridges, George, Masengill, Gardner, Divens, Barrett, Hamm, Moore, Leto, Glass, Snyder, Ragan, Ott, Boden, Bulger, Boyer, Gutshall, Clark, Hamilton, Walker, Mitchell, Mowery, Brown, Lamont, Weaver, Trust, Trout, Davis, Glunt, Smeltz, Lehnhardt, Pirl, Guezman, Hannen, Bangs, Chara, Eberle, Schjeldahl, Marroquin, Topp, Currey, Ward, Restagno, Meier, Otten, Shy, Rhoads, Gardner, Meyers, Byrd, Pinkerton, Stanley, Ortendahl, Banker, Smith, Marlow, Pesnell, Overman, Longpre, Spencer, Skellenger, Chew, Arnold, Tetlow, Whitney, Sanderbeck, Moose, Carroll, Hall, Coven, Henderson, Jackson, Popovich, Hrabak, Young, Forcucci, Wilson, Urban, Kuehn, Fiorenzo, Stahlsmith, Lewis, Thomas, Porter, Delo, Dickerson, Luffy, McDermott, Davis, Speckhals, Hall, Thomas, Lopez, Divens, Wheeler, McMunn, Houth, Lowes, Green, Benning, Treser, Smith, Boddinger
January 17, 2007
Hi, everyone!
Well, things are starting to shape up for the next family reunion! The reunion will be in Washington, D.C. over this coming Labor Day Weekend. The reunion will begin on Friday, August 31, 2007 and run through Monday, September 3, 2007.
The reunion will be held at
the Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel in Arlington, VA. This hotel stood out as we considered the
many options available in the DC area.
It is just across the river from the heart of the Capitol, and directly
on the Metro Line. In fact, the Metro
runs underneath the hotel. The Crystal
Gateway Hotel is part of the Crystal City area near Reagan International
Airport, with many restaurants, shops, and activities. The Crystal Gateway Hotel is offering us a
group rate of $119.00 a night per room.
Proposals from other hotels ran from $129.00 per night to $189.00 per
night. The standard room rates at the
Crystal Gateway run from $195.00 to 295.00 per night. They made this offer based on my initial projections about how
many family members would be attending.
(Let’s hope I’m not too far off!!)
Washington, D.C. was
selected for next year’s reunion for many reasons. The reunion in 2002 was out west, so it seemed fair to have this
reunion back on the east coast. The Washington
area has so much to do and see that we felt it would be of interest to all age
groups and family groups. We also
thought it was an area that could be a wonderful destination both for those who
want an extended weekend and for those who might want to incorporate the
reunion into a longer family vacation.
We selected the Labor Day
Weekend for the reunion because it is a longer weekend when people have some
extra time, and because July through mid-August is too hot and humid in the
city. This advice came from family
members who live, or have lived in the DC area. They felt the weather over the Labor Day Weekend would be much
more pleasant.
These decisions are always
very difficult, because there are so many excellent options to consider. One of the key things we had to consider was
the sheer size of our family. We felt
that we needed a reunion city that would have a tremendous array of activities
for all age groups and individuals.
Washington, D.C. certainly meets that need. We also wanted a setting that was comfortable and would allow
family members to be able to relax, visit with each other, and have fun. We feel that the Marriott Crystal Gateway
Hotel provides that.
We would like to have a
fairly open structure to the reunion this year. We’d like to leave the days available for family members to do
whatever they want in the DC area, and then have reunion activities in the late
afternoons/evenings. The Crystal
Gateway Hotel will provide us with information about activities, times, costs,
Metro schedules, etc. We also will have
areas at the hotel where family members can spend time together during the
days, in the event you choose not to go into the city. We will plan to have an opening gathering on
Friday evening for the family, a big get together of some kind (still to be
determined) on Saturday afternoon/evening, and the closing banquet/celebration
on Sunday evening. The events planner
at the hotel (who has been very helpful!) suggested we have the closing banquet
on Sunday evening because the next day is Labor Day, and some people will need
to get back home that day. The costs
for the closing evening dinner and other group activities at the hotel have not
yet been determined, but I will let everyone know those prices in a future
family newsletter or on the family website.
Below is a partial list of
some of the sites and activities in the Washington, D.C. area:
Ø
Smithsonian Institution
Ø
Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts
Ø
Lincoln Memorial
Ø
Washington Monument
Ø
Jefferson Memorial
Ø
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Ø
WW II Memorial
Ø
Holocaust Museum
Ø
Arlington Memorial
Cemetery
Ø
FDR Memorial
Ø
Native American Museum
Ø
Korean War Veterans
Memorial
Ø
White House
Ø
The Capitol
Ø
The Pentagon
Ø
Curtis-Lee Mansion
Ø
Iwo Jima Memorial
Ø
U.S. Navy Memorial
Ø
National Air &
Space Museum
Ø
Washington Nationals
Baseball Team / RFK Stadium
Ø
MCI Center
Ø
Luray Caverns in
Virginia
Ø
Historic Georgetown
shops and restaurants
Ø
Old Town Alexandria
Ø
Crystal City shops and
restaurants
The Crystal Gateway Marriott
is asking that we try to make our reservations for rooms as soon as
possible. That will help us get some
idea of the size of the reunion, which, in turn, will allow us to make more
accurate decisions about banquet room size, etc. So, even if you are not completely sure you can come, it would be
helpful if you would reserve a room for now, and then cancel it later if you
have to.
There are two ways to make
your reservations…
1.) Call 1 (800) 228-9290. Follow the prompts, and
when you get a live person on the phone give them the dates of the reunion - August
31 to September 3, 2007 - and the following code… “ostosta.” They
will then be able to take your reservation.
2.) Go to www.crystalgatewaymarriott.com.
On the right side of the screen type in the check-in date as August 31, 2007
and check-out date as September 3, 2007.
Indicate the number of rooms you want and the number of people in your
room(s). In the “Group Code” type in ostosta. That will take you to a screen where you
then can reserve your room(s).
That’s all there is to
it!! Please come spend time with all
your cousins, aunts, uncles, and other assorted relatives. We’ll tell tall tales, and boast about our
kids and grandkids, and check out the cute cousins, and remember our loved ones
who have died, and see how much none of us has aged or changed!! It’ll be a grand old time!!
Please pass this newsletter on to any of your immediate
relatives who you think might not have received it in the mail. Often times I get newsletters returned to me
because people move and the mail is not forwarded.
The family website is:
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/o/s/t/Keith--Ostien/index.html
Let’s all get together and
celebrate this great big family!
Love, Keith Ostien
(517) 881-7367 (cell)
(517) 669-1235
13482 Speckledwood Dr.
DeWitt, MI
48820