Robert Mullins Top 10 List Video and Pix

My brother Bill shot this video of me reading my "Top 10 Reasons Why It's Great to be a McCorry" list at the McCorry Cousins Reunion at the Schield Family cottage outside Neillsville, Wis.

He's also posted photos on Dropbox, an online content storage service. They include photos like this one of me and my siblings at the cottage. In this gallery are also pictures taken in Milwaukee with our nephew Casey and niece Erin dining at Barnacle Bud's where Joe works, a photo of the Allen-Bradley clock, pics at a rest area along I-90-94 and a visit with the Hirthe kids whose mom, Linda, was our late brother John's wife and mother of Casey. You do not need to have a Dropbox account to view the photos. Let me know if you have any trouble viewing them.
Enjoy!

Keepsake from reunion, more partying to be done

Our cousin Jane (Jonas) Williams has discovered a really nice way to remember the reunion held this past weekend in Neillsville. There’s a Web site called PersonalizationMall.com where you can order all sorts of gifts for weddings, graduations, birthdays, etc., and personalize them with your name, that of the gift recipient and other messages.
Also, if you want to continue the festivities from Neillsville, head to the annual Cousins’ Picnic on August 5 in Milwaukee, hosted by the Jonases, with a special tribute to the late Uncle Bud Jonas who died last December. More on that later.
Jane found a “suncatcher ornament” onto which you can engrave messages. Jane ordered one with the message “Never Never Land 2012” in the center, inside a shamrock, and the names of the four families in the background. Above is a photo of what it will look like.
To order, from the home page, click on “Product Categories” and from that page scroll down until you see “Glass Ornaments” and click on that. Scroll down till you see “Irish Family Personalized Suncatcher” for $14.95. Click on that, read the product description and then scroll down to “Personalize This Item.”
You have two sections to personalize, the wording that goes inside the shamrock and the text that goes behind the shamrock.
What I did was in Family Name Line 1, entered “Never-Never,” in Family Name Line 2 entered “Land” and in Family Name Line 3 entered “2012.”
Then in the section titled “Repeated in Background” enter each family name; I did it alphabetically: 1) “Jonas” 2) “McCorry” 3) “Mullins” and 4) “Schield.” (I count the nuns as being in McCorry! ;))
Below that check if you want a stand or want to have the item gift-wrapped and then choose “Click to View Your Personalized Item.” You should see the same picture I posted here. Then you can check out like you would from any other e-commerce site.
Thanks to Jane for such as wonderful keepsake idea.
Also, if you still can’t get enough of your relatives, or want to see some of them who couldn’t make it to Neillsville, Jane reminds us of the annual Cousins Picnic coming up Sunday Aug. 5. Come in the afternoon and dinner will be served at 4:30 p.m. The venue is Greene Park and Jane provides these directions to the event:
Exit: I-94/43/894 at Layton Ave. Drive east to Packard Ave. Turn left (north) to Lunham. Turn left (west) two blocks to Greene Park.
Bring your own meat or other food to grill and a dish to pass. Beer will be provided as will bocce ball equipment!
This year’s event has been dubbed “Uncle Bud’s Cousin’s Picnic” as a tribute to Uncle Bud Jonas, patriarch of the Jonas family, who died Dec. 13, 2011. A day later, on Dec. 14, our beloved Aunt Betty Schield passed. I’m sure she and Bud and the rest of the dearly departed were looking down on the gathering at the Schield cottage in Neillsville, Wis. this past weekend with pride.
Let me or Jane know if you have problems ordering the suncatcher ornament.
Best wishes to all.
Robert Mullins

McCorry Reunion at Never-Never Land a Smashing Success!

A good time was had by all at the reunion of several generations of descendants of Charles and Bridget McCorry at the Schield family cottage outside Neillsville, Wis.

As many as 70 people attended the three-day event July 20-22 including most of the 30 first cousins from the Jonas, McCorry, Mullins and Schield families, my generation. Second cousins celebrated, too, as well as one from the third, Rian Kiala Reeves, daughter of Jessica Schield and Josh Reeves and granddaughter of David Schield.
The weekend began with a Friday night fish fry at the Stone’s Throw Supper Club in Hatfield, which was almost literally just a stone’s throw away from the Arbutus Motel where I and my siblings rented a group of rooms. The staff had set up six tables in one section of the restaurant so we could all be together.
Rain the next morning cancelled plans for a golf outing for all except Tom Jonas who was already at the course when the rain started, figured “as long as I’m here” and played anyway! By 10:00 a.m. the skies cleared and many of the guests went to Russell Beach on Lake Arbutus to relax and go out on the lake in David Schield’s boat as he pulled people riding an inner tube behind it. In order for everyone to enjoy their time together, the Schields hired a caterer who roasted vegetable skewers, beef and chicken on the grill, served pasta salad and a delicious fruit salad.
Joe Mullins brought a case of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey and, in the continuation of a tradition he’s practiced for years, recited the Hail Mary in Latin each time a bottle was emptied:
“Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae Amen.”
By the way, I used Google Translate to convert the prayer from English into Latin.
My sister Tricia Freer brought sparklers for the kids (of all ages) to enjoy because her childhood memory of trips to the cottage included sparklers.
Jim Schield’s son, Brandon, brought out his acoustic guitar and, around the fire pit, lead the crowd in a sing-along late into the evening.
Yours truly entertained the crowd with a special Top Ten List for the occasion, “Top Ten Reasons Why It’s Great to be a McCorry:

10. A priest and two nuns. How could you NOT get into heaven?
9. Easy ticket out of jury duty: I have a cousin who’s a US Marshal and an uncle who’s an IRS agent.
8. Easy access to luxury vacation homes in Boulder, Colo., Santa Rosa, Calif., San Diego and Neillsville, Wis.
7. Get to say George, Mary, Dan, Mary Ann, Carroll, Betty, Teresa and Bud were your parents.
6. Impress your friends by saying, “Oh, yes, I’ve been to several Bowl games. Even played in a few.”
5. You can tell Pope Benedict, “Hey pontiff, lay off the nuns,” and know somebody’s got your back.
4. You can drink for free at Café Lulu, Barnacle Bud’s, Mader’s, Tonic Tavern, Rendez Vous Bistro.  Oh, I’m sorry. I’m told it’s a $5 coupon.
3. If you’re lucky, you could be a character in the next Betty Mullins novel.
2. Every time we get together is a good time.
And the number one reason it’s great to be a McCorry:
1. Rest assured knowing that Tess, Moon, Marcia, Jason, Patrick and Jared are all saving really good seats for us.

Uncle Carroll Schield, Sr. Mary Acquinice (Rita) and Aunt Teresa Jonas were in attendance, but Aunt Mary Ann McCorry and Sr. Mary Benedicta (Eleanor) were unable to attend.
On Sunday morning, some of the guests returned to the cottage for breakfast before heading home.
If you have photos you’d like to share, feel free to do so and you can use the address field from this latest email with all the cousins' email addresses to distribute your photos. But  make sure the address for Michael Jonas is mmjonas123 (at) yahoo (dot) com, because mjonas123 is the address of poor Melanie Jonas, from somewhere in America, who's been deluged with emails about people she doesn't even know! 
I used Picasa, the cloud-based photo sharing service of Google, to upload my photos. If you prefer another solution -- like Dropbox, Microsoft SkyDrive or Apple iCloud -- go for it. I wanted to make sure people didn’t have to enter a username and password to see the photos. Let me know if you have trouble seeing them.
In the days since my return to California, I’ve received e-mails from cousins thanking me for the photos, which I also shared on Facebook. They also made a point of thanking the Schields, in particular, for organizing the event and hosting it at the family’s cottage.
Here are a few of their comments:
Jim Jonas: “I sent a thank you note to Dan [Schield] saying that they 'did their mother proud.’  As he mentioned in her eulogy, Betty was always trying to make everyone happy ... so accommodating. They were excellent hosts and everyone, young and old, had a great time.”
Jane (Jonas) Williams: “Yes indeed!  What a great time.  I know that Aunt Teresa and Sr Acquinice were proud and happy to be a part of such a gathering.  I was particularly impressed with the ‘next generation.’ Quite a talented group of musicians, technicians, architects, entrepreneurs, etc.  Where did they get it from? Oh yeah, US!“
It was great to see all of you and for those who couldn't make it, I hope this post and the photos give you some idea of how special an event it was.
Best wishes to all, Robert Mullins

Words of Wisdom

This little item came from my cousin Jane (Jonas) Williams. Perfect for the occasion. See you all this weekend.

McCorry Family Reunion is One Week Away!

Plans are coming together for the McCorry Cousins Reunion at Never-Never Land outside Neillsville and it’s shaping up to be a great get-together with relatives, some of whom haven’t seen each other in years.

David Schield, who’s one of the organizers, says as many as 70 people are expected to attend the event July 20-22. The main gathering Saturday is going to be catered so he’s asking $15 per person to defray expenses. Soft drinks such as lemonade will be provided but feel free to bring any other beverages, including alcoholic, that you might prefer.

David said some of the clan are planning to meet at a restaurant in Hatfield, called the Stones Throw Supper Club the night before for a Friday Fish Fry. The address is W8210 County Rd J,                           Merrillan, WI 54754 in case you have a navigation system in your car or on your cellphone. David asks that you e-mail him – dschield2 (at) charter (dot) net -- if you plan to attend so they can give the restaurant a headcount. On Saturday, there will be an opportunity for those interested to get in a round of golf in the morning. 

David said they will attempt to “forge a beach-head” at Russell Beach on Lake Arbutus in the afternoon. He has a boat for excursions onto the lake for skiing, tubing, etc. Sometime in mid-to-late afternoon, the party will move over to Never-Never Land where there’ll be ample room for basketball, badminton, horse shoes, and other activities and plenty of time for everyone to catch up. Oh, and the party is BYOLC, bring your own lawn chair.

Sadly, David informs me that the cottage does not have wi-fi (you know the guy from Silicon Valley HAD to ask!) although they’ve come a long way technologically; I remember an early visit where they had an outhouse and no indoor plumbing!

Expect a bonfire in the evening to share stories, laughs and maybe even some campfire songs.

BTW, the address of the cottage is 396 Maple Lane, Merrillan, WI  54754, again for your navigation app. But David says that if you enter the address in Mapquest, the route it gives takes you through Merrillan, which is not necessary.  Here’s another link to more a more direct route:  http://www.mapquest.com/#d276660acb967f91a1e5d7be . It's about a four hour drive from Milwaukee, FYI.

Sunday the Schields may offer breakfast at the cottage, but those plans are tentative.

This is shaping up to be a great time and the chance to see everybody in the clan and see how young we all still look! There had been talk of a reunion for a couple of years but when many of us gathered in January for the funerals of Aunty Betty Schield and Uncle Bud Jonas, the Schields made the commitment to make it happen this year.

Have a safe trip and I look forward to seeing you all soon.