Truesdell Cousins Family Reunion

11/28/2024

06/06/2024

2024 Truesdell (Cousins) Family Reunion at Great Escapes RV Resort. We were down a little in numbers but still had a great time. Note to self - we need to appoint someone to take pictures!! Cousin Sandy asked "did someone take pictures"? I grabbed my phone and started taking some but by that time a lot of family had left. Apologies to those who I missed. I did get some on Saturday (meal and evening) and Sunday morning breakfast.
Thanks to all that did come out and enjoy the day/weekend.
This is a great place for the younger crowd with all kinds of water and other activities. For the older crowd there are several "adult" pools, mini golf, etc. as well as good food, and just sitting around. We all had a good time visiting, eating, catching up, and telling tails.
Among family things discussed were enlarging Bee Branch Cemetery and having a reunion in Alaska.
The brothers Bear and Fat Boy have the equipment and knowledge to clear the land behind the back fence. We are in the process of getting permission from the land owner.
As far as the reunion in Alaska, it was discussed having one every three years or so up there. We would still have one here for those who can't make it to Alaska and to hold on to our weekend at the resort.
We hope to put out more info before the reunion next year - weekend of June 7th (1st Saturday in June) so y'all can plan and make reservations (make them as early as possible)! If you weren't there we missed you. Hope to see y'all there next year.

09/15/2023

A quick message to let you all know what is happening.
1). John Truesdell was able to secure the reservation for the Corgi Club House Event center once again for the 2024 Reunion at Great Escapes in Perrin TX. It is again on the first Saturday in June. We have the event center Friday evening and Saturday, as always.
2). John was also able to reserve RV spots 22 and 23 located in front of the club house. One for his camper and one for us to use for parking and visiting around the picnic table. Whether you’re driving in, renting a cabin or an RV spot, remember to bring a chair to use outside,
3). This year’s reunion was great. We had a nice turnout (≈40 ppl if I remember correctly). We raised a record amount in the auction. Thanks again to all who brought great auction items and to John and Shannon (Fat Boy) for handling the auction. We love them being in charge but they’d love a break sometimes so if you can help them out or even handle some of the auction, please let us know! Your help would be greatly appreciated.
4). Thanks to all who brought delicious additions to our Saturday lunch! This coming year, as always, the bbq (from John Truesdell) will be furnished along with tea, water, ice, plates, flatware, and cups will be on hand. Please bring a side dish or dessert to add to the array if you can. If you have a great recipe from the past from one of those we’ve lost be sure to bring that.
5) please bring family photos to share if you can, we all enjoy those.remember to contact Great Escapes North Texas to make your reservations! The person who deals with Family Reunion events is Liz. Call her or mention you are with the Truesdell Cousins Family reunion for a discount. There is also a veteran discount and a senior discount. If you mention the family reunion you will be guaranteed the exact space or cabin you choose without the $25 upcharge . Reservations for 2024 opened on Sept 1.
When you call, push zero (“0”) to talk to someone on site if you desire.

There has been talk of sometimes having the reunion (or an additional reunion) some years in Alaska. We’ve discussed alternate years and every 3rd year has been mentioned. Think about this, please, and let us know what you think. Christy Walker has offered to be the point person to find us a good location near Soldotna and make things happen if/when we decide to do this.

09/16/2021

We have made the difficult decision to move the Truesdell Cousins Family to a new location and back to the original date. Lakeshore where we have been having it no longer exists, it has been razed and a private home is being built on site. We could not get a clubhouse or event center earlier than August. We checked out several places on the lake then opted for this location and it’s many amenities including mini-golf, 4 pools (1 with water park features), a splash pad, water wars lake, event centers, general store, cafe (soon), dog park, and many more amenities listed in their website along with a photo array. Great Escapes is a new owner (formerly Miller’s) who has renovated everything. We are hoping this change will entice more families with children to join us to enjoy a full weekend of fun for everyone.

Reservations have been made for the Corgi Clubhouse at Great Escapes RV Resort North Texas, 2730 FM 2210, Perrin TX 76486 for June 3-4, 2022. Phone 940-531-5204. I reserved a 2bed cottage for myself across the street from the clubhouse. The cost for the clubhouse is $418 total, The cottage is $365.96 for both nights. There is a senior discount available for those of us who qualify😉 along with military and first responder discounts. There are cottages and RV spots available nearby at least for now. Some of the park’s amenities are included with the rental fees, some are extra. I don’t have a price list. They have a great website which allows you to reserve RV sites and Cottages online or you can call for reservations.

06/29/2021

Thank you, to all who attended the Family Reunion last weekend at Bass Hollow. I hope everyone had a good time, I know I did. We missed all of you who could not attend this year.

We, John Truesdell, Bryce Bowman and I, checked out two places to consider for next year, and hopefully for years to come. They both have drawbacks but both are very nice.

The first is Great Escapes RV Resort near Perrin TX not too far from Jacksboro. Until recently it was Mitchell’s RV Resort but has been bought and is being renovated. It is very nice! Lots of cabins, two event centers, several pools and a splash pad, a dog park, planned activities and themed weekends for most of the year. The downsides are that we can’t get a price list nor can we reserve for next year until September 1 when the renovations are supposed to be done. They are certain if we call at that time we can reserve for the first Saturday in June next year. They also said it should be no problem to get the first Saturday in June year after year. The downside is that it is NOT on PK lake. Please take a few minutes to check out their website.

The other location is Rock Creek Park on PK but across the lake from our usual locations. It is a very nice camp with RV sites, cabins, and an event center. It also has a playground for the kiddos. We were unable to talk to anyone on Sunday afternoon but I’ll call and request pricing and availability later this week. There may be no availability for the first Saturday in June forcing us to take whatever date is available again which is less than ideal. I will contact them and post the information as quickly as I can.

So, barring prohibitively high pricing at Great Escapes or Rock Creek, which would you prefer? Great escapes is a great place to take the kids for a weekend getaway around the family reunion, Rock Creek is beautiful and much closer to what we have enjoyed the last few years at Lakeshore.

We’re hoping to return to the first Saturday in June every year so those who have vacations and other escapes planned for all or part of the summer won’t have to miss the reunion.

We’re looking forward to hearing from everyone so we can make the choice that allows the greatest attendance.

06/18/2021

Just remember, it could be worse…

06/18/2021

Everything is moving along nicely getting the reunion together. We are meeting the heat challenges with an Interesting array of ways to cool off a bit such as LOTS of icy cold water, frozen treats, fans, cooling spray, and water balloons and there is always the lake. Grab your water guns and super soakers and your sense of humor and join us in our revelry beginning Friday evening June 25 and packing up Sunday morning June 27. As the Alaskan contingent would say, “DON’T FORGET YOUR BUG DOPE!” Some of the best times we’ve had in the past have been before and after the ‘official’ Saturday reunion lunch and auction. Bring your favorite picnic side dishes and/or desserts, a great auction item or two, a chair to sit in or a blanket to sit on and join in the fun! Don’t forget, we are the “cool kids” so we can do this in spite of the heat. We have a kitchen in the chalet but refrigeration is limited.

Bring yourselves to the reunion! Wear your cool clothes, cool hats, cool shoes, cool sunshades! Eat great food, especially John Truesdell Jr’s award winning barbecue. Don’t forget those auction items and a chair…. If you need a place to cool off or put a little one down for a nap the Chalet is air conditioned!

We hope to see you all at Bass Hollow starting 1 week from today!

06/09/2021

Good morning! Just a quick reminder that the family reunion had to be moved this year when Lakeshore closed it’s doors in January. It was rescheduled at Bass Hollow on the 26th of this month. This was the nearest date snd the only venue we could find on such short notice. It’ll be great, though. We’ll be outside in the open shady area in the middle. We rented the chalet for the kitchen. Please bring chairs (and tables if you have them) and covers for the food you bring to keep the insects off.

As always the reunion fund will cover the venue, ice, tea, lemonade, and water along with cups, plates, and eating utensils. The award-winning barbecue will be furnished by Johnny Truesdell and Little John’s Barbecue.

Please join us if you can. There were still rentals available a couple of days ago.

Last year’s reunion was small but great in spite of the COVID pandemic, Let’s see how good this year can be in spite of the continuing COVID pandemic and the sudden venue change. We missed those who couldn’t join us last year and hope to see you this year!

01/12/2021

Here is the follow-up information as it stands right now. We are still looking for an inside venue for lunch on Saturday but have put a backup plan in place.

We are moving back to Bass Hollow to stay Friday night, June 25, and Saturday night, June 26 so we can visit as much as possible. We reserved Cabin 19 to give us a kitchen and bathroom if we need to hold Saturday’s lunch and auction outside in the shade. I reserved Motel Room 201 for myself, all other rooms, cabins, and RV spaces are available with the following exceptions
Cabin 10 is unavailable
Cabin 9 is unavailable
Cabin 18 no longer exists

The following photos include the address and phone number of Bass Hollow. Their web site is basshollow.com . Also included are rates and a map showing where each cabin or room is located.

01/12/2021

Listen up Truesdell Cousins. Lakeshore Lodge and RV Park has closed it’s doors permanently leaving us without a place to hold the reunion this year. There is a possibility the will sell the place and it will be reopened later but even if they do all of the “cabins” that were mobile homes have been sold and moved.
I am so far unsuccessful at finding a different place to even ask about reservations. If you have suggestions, please let us know.
We need a lodge or small event center, air conditioned, with cabins, RV park, and a boat dock.

11/15/2020

Very sad news today. Jonathan “Shotgun” Daniels passed away after a lifelong battle with a debilitating disease. RIP Jonathan. Walk with the angels.

05/10/2020

Sad news this morning. Charlotte Ann Truesdell Hellums passed away last night in the hospital in Luling, TX from a massive heart attack. There will be a funeral in Luling but I do not know yet when or where. I’ll publish that information as soon as I have it.
Mother’s Day on May 10th has been a busy day for this family. Grandmother Ibby Sybil Haliburton Truesdell passed away on Mother’s Day, May 10, John Truesdell Jr was Born on Mother’s Day, May 10. Jessica Pierce, Aunt Kathy’s granddaughter, was born on Mother’s Day, May 10, and now our wonderful and much loved cousin Charlotte has passed away on Mother’s Day, May 10.

Rest In Peace Charlotte Ann, you are loved and will be greatly missed by all of us. Please say “hello” to the many who went before and were there to welcome you home.

04/27/2020

We "I" have the double wide trailer reserved. I plan on bringing my travel trailer. Before I cancle the large trailer I am checking to see if anyone else might be interested. It has 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms. 2 bedrooms have 2 bunk beds that sleep 2 on bottom 1 on top and the the other has 2 regular beds. It also has a couch and futon. This thing can sleep up to 16 if needed and I'm not staying in it by myself. Thus I'm bring a trailer.

04/27/2020

It is time to decide if we are going ahead with the reunion on Jun 13. We have the lodge reserved (and paid for) Friday evening June 13 through Sunday morning June 14. It is time for the final decision now so if the decision is to cancel we will have time to cancel and get most of the deposit back. Lakeshore keeps $50 of the deposit up to 3 weeks ahead. Cancellations of 3 weeks or less forfeit all deposits. That is for the lodge and/or any other reservations so if you decide not to come please don’t forget to cancel.

The obvious down side of cancelling is not being able to see everyone this year, the not as obvious down side is losing our weekend date at Lakeshore. If we cancel there is a strong probability we would lose our “second Saturday in June” standing reservation and would have to change to whatever weekend they have open or change locations.

So please comment and let us know if you want to continue with plans for The weekend of June 13, 2020. I’ve waffled back and forth for the last month but am leaning toward attending if we decide to go ahead with it. I just cannot see myself missing if the family decides to gather AND I know I am ready for an outing!

06/09/2019

The 2019 Truesdell Cousins Family Reunion. 48 people in attendance, great food, great fun, great people!

06/02/2019

For those staying at the "Lodge" on Friday night, I will be heating up some bbq left overs. If you're going to be around and don't want to travel to eat you're welcome to partake in a little family bbq - as long as it lasts. I think Melanie is going to get some slaw and potato salad. If you want anything else you might want to bring it and your refreshments. See y'all soon!

05/10/2019

It's coming up much sooner than I thought. The family reunion at Lake Shore Lodge on Possum Kingdom lake is June 7th (Friday night) thru the 9th (Sunday). As of this morning, there are 3 motel rooms, 3 trailers (2 sleep 8, 1 sleeps 4), and several RV spots still avaliable for that weekend. The contact for Lake Shore is Vicky at 940-549-2518. We still have some room in the double wide (2 beds I think). Cousin Sandy and family and me (John jr) and wife Melanie have the double wide reserved as well as the lodge for the reunion. We will have the meal and auction on Saturday. Please bring auction items and your favorite side dish and or anything else if you don't want BBQ. Sandy can be reached at 918-559-2531 and my # is 512-658-8455. Come on out and visit, tell stories, and make new ones.

07/24/2018

The 9 first cousins gathered last night along with many other family and friends to celebrate the fishing prowess of the sons of J.R. Truesdell Sr and their visit to Alaska this summer. I wish you all could have been there! Here’s hoping the boys return every summer...Fat Boy (Shannon), Bear (Shane), John Truesdell Jr, Shawn Truesdell Byrnes, Shelly Truesdell Pollard, R Vickie Herrmann, Sandy McLelland, Christy Lynn Walker, and Pat Truesdell. (My apologies to Bear and Fat Boy if I got your given names mixed up.)