The Goodenow Family Association

2006 Goodenow Family Association Reunion at Oberlin, Ohio

by Carol Baxter

The 2006 GFA reunion in Oberlin, Ohio, had the distinction of drawing family members from three continents - Africa (Stan Goodenough from South Africa), Asia (Kate Wildman Nakai from Japan), and North America (the rest of us)! It was also enlivened by several representatives of the younger generation, notably Jamie Cooper (from California), Olivia, Ryan and Tyler Caputo (from Massachusetts), and Seneca and Ginna Fox (from West Virginia).

GFA Group picture Goodenows began arriving on Monday, July 17, checking in at the Oberlin Inn, right in the center of town. That evening, a contingent headed across the street to the park in the center of town, Tappan Square, and carried out a traditional activity in this college town – painting one of the granite rocks to celebrate our reunion. Master artists included Stan Goodenough, President, and Kristin Peterson, Reunion Coordinator.

The Early Bird activities included day trips to two Lake Erie Islands and to Ohio Amish country. On Tuesday, July 18, we boarded the Goodtime I and cruised first to Kelly’s Island and then to Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. We had the opportunity to sightsee via tram or golf carts, savor the lunch specials of walleye or lake perch, and saw glacial grooves and a monument to Admiral Perry. The itinerary on Wednesday, July 19, included a morning visit to the Warther Museum and Knife Shop in Dover, Ohio, truly a unique destination with a button house, Swiss-style flower gardens, arrow head collections, astonishing wood carvings, a glimpse of the knife factory, and a chance to browse and buy at the gift shop. The bus then delivered us to an Amish restaurant for lunch and another chance to shop.

The first Main Program event, the Welcome Dinner, kicked off Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Oberlin Inn’s banquet room. After the meal, a videotape of the 2003 trip to South Africa taken by several GFA members was shown. On Thursday morning, our first business meeting was called to order by GFA President Stan Goodenough. That afternoon, the group walked across Tappan Square to the Oberlin College Archives. Archivist Roland Baumann talked about their collections of papers related to missionaries from Oberlin College who served in Africa. Herbert Delos Goodenough and Caroline Leonard Goodenough, Oberlin College alumni whose descendants include reunion attendees Kristin Peterson, Karen Carpenter and Stan Goodenough, served at the Adams Mission in South Africa in the late 1800s. Baumann and his staff had also filled two display cases with relevant materials.

Following a reception hosted by the Oberlin College Development Office, we headed across Tappan Square again, to the historic First Church in Oberlin, a United Church of Christ house of worship where five generations of Goodenoughs have been members. There, Mary Louise Van Dyke of the Hymn Society of America presented biographical information on Caroline Leonard Goodenough and led us in singing a sampling of hymns written by Caroline.

Now ere we part a song of love and cheer!
May all be spared to meet another year.
God bless us all, and let our hire be
Souls, that shall shine through all eternity

[Verse 1 of Mission Hymn by Caroline Leonard Goodenough]

We boarded the bus again on Friday for a trip to Norwalk, Ohio, organized and hosted by Assistant Reunion Coordinator Kathy Truesdell. Stops included the Woodlawn Cemetery, the Firelands Historical Society (both in Norwalk), the spectacular Schoepfle Gardens in Birmingham, Ohio, and Westwood Cemetery in Oberlin. The Woodlawn Cemetery is the burial place of a number of Goodnows and there we were joined by a local Goodnow descendant, Mr. Kit Angell. Historian Henry Timman shared much information about the Goodenows who made the town their home in the somewhat distant past.

After eating lunch at Berry’s Restaurant in Norwalk, we visited Schoepfle Gardens in Birmingham, Ohio. Our guide there was Marianna Carney, a relative of Kathy Truesdell who lives locally and volunteers at the Gardens once a week. Her husband, Jim Carney, was the tram driver. [From Kathy Truesdell: Marianna Carney is my second cousin on the Wildman side. My grandfather and her grandmother were brother and sister. She is a Goodenow from Abigail Goodenow, but not from my grandmother Lucy Goodnow Wildman. She also is a graduate of Oberlin College.] Our stop at the Westwood Cemetery in Oberlin allowed us to view the memorial bench honoring Lois Goodenough and LeRoy E. Peterson, parents of Karen Carpenter and Kristin Peterson. The final business meeting took place on Saturday morning, where the 2006-08 officers were elected and the establishment of a scholarship was approved.

Distinguished Service Award presented to the Groeniers

Several optional activities were also offered during the week, including a tour of a Frank Lloyd Wright House in Oberlin; a tour of Kristin Peterson’s workplace, the Lorain County Joint Vocational School; and a free concert on Tappan Square. As always (and entirely appropriately), the Farewell Dinner was the climax of the week. During the pre-meal reception, Hal Cutler set up his laptop, digital projector and screen and provided an entertaining backdrop of photographs taken earlier in the week and that day. After the meal and the presentation of the Distinguished Service Award to Groeniers, outgoing President Stan Goodenough presented personal gifts to all the officers (both incoming and outgoing), and was himself presented with a special print of Oberlin landmarks by Kristin Peterson.

Finally, new president John Goodnough addressed the group and urged us all to recruit new members for the continuing and future well-being of the organization, and wished all those present Godspeed until our next reunion, in 2006 in Sudbury, Massachusetts.