1992 Reunion, Portsmouth, NH

Thursday, August 13

The reunion started with afternoon registration and check-in at the Portsmouth Sheraton Inn.

At 5:00, a welcome reception was held in the Grand Ballroom at the hotel. Cocktails and hot hors d'oeuvres were served while Junkins cousins made new acquaintances and renewed old friendships. At 6:00, all were pleasantly surprised by the sound of bag pipes and thrilled when Scott Fletcher entered the ballroom in full Scottish dress, playing the pipes. Scott continued to play a series of Scottish tunes during the first courses of dinner.

After dinner, reunion committee chairpersons Ken and Kathy Junkins welcomed all to Portsmouth and the 1992 JFA reunion. President Alan Junkins was introduced and he made the announcement of the finding of Robert1 Junkins' birthplace and spoke on the months of research that led to the discovery.

Friday, August 14

After breakfast in the hotel ballroom, a group of 40 Junkins boarded a bus for a tour. The first stop was the county courthouse at Alfred, ME. A small courtroom had been set aside and the original wills of Robert1 Junkins and two of his sons, Daniel and Alexander, were on display for everyone to see up-close and take pictures. A photographer from the Portland Press Herald was there to take pictures for the newspaper.

From Alfred, the bus took the group on a scenic ride to the coast of Maine, through Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and past Walker's Point and President Bush's home, then to York and up to the top of Mt. Agamenticus, where one could see an overview of York, York Beach, Scotland and Cider Hill, and all the lands that the Junkins lived on and farmed for many decades.

Lunch was at Warren's in Kittery and then the group went back to the hotel to do their own thing for the afternoon.

At 2:00, the JFA Board of Directors met in the hotel's hospitality room.

Cocktails and dinner were served in the hotel's ballroom. After dinner, the children were taken to another room where they were entertained with special activities while a short JFA business meeting was held. During the meeting, officers for the 1993-94 term were elected and a vote to approve the By-Laws was conducted. Roland Junkins spoke to the family about the restoration work that he has been doing on the Junkins burial grounds in the York area and then Alan Junkins spoke again about his research on Robert Junkins and Robert's life in Brechin, Scotland during the early 1600s.

Saturday, August 15

Saturday morning at 7:30, breakfast was once again served in the ballroom and at 8:30, 45 members of the family boarded the bus for the morning tour.

The first stop was Durham, NH to visit the area where Robert Junkins spent the first seven years of his life here in the colonies. Mrs. McNitt of the Durham Historic Association gave us a guided tour of the area. We first walked up the long drive to the Valentine Hill house. Valentine Hill built the house on the north side of the Oyster River in 1649, near the site of his saw mill. In 1651, Mr. Hill went to Boston and purchased seven of the Scot brought over on the Unity to work in his mill and on the 500 acre farm. Mr. Hill was the largest land owner in the area.

From the Hill house, the group crossed a walking bridge at the foot of the falls and walked up the hill on the other side of the river for a view of the mill site and the land that Valentine owned. After stopping at the actual site of the mill, the group went to the Durham Historic Association building and spent about 30 minutes looking at the displays of artifacts and memorabilia in the Association's collections.

The group returned to the bus and motored back through South Berwich and along Cider Hill Road (US 91) where Robert Junkins and his family lived and farmed for over three centuries, to the site of the Robert Junkins Garrison and the Alexander Junkins Burial Ground, and where soon work will begin at the Garrison cellar hole.

The group explored the area for awhile and Clifford Junkins, and some of the others, explained what had been done in the restoration of the burial ground. Alan Junkins placed a metal marker identifying the restoration project, as a project of the Junkins Family Association. Several of the Junkins Family Burial Grounds were marked.

The next stop on the tour was the Old York Historic Society. The group was met at the Old Gaol Museum by the curator, John LaBranch. John told the group about many of the items they would be seeing and then let the family roam the museum. There were many paintings and photographs of the Junkins Garrison and several other items from the Junkins family, the most interesting being the cradle that was used by Robert and Sarah Junkins for their three boys and also all their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, for over a hundred years.

At 12:30, the group arrived at Pier II in Portsmouth for a lobster sandwich lunch by the waters of the Piscatawa River. The afternoon was once again free for family members to shop or tour the historical houses of the Strawberry Bank District. Some spent time in the hospitality room, looking over the phot books of the JFA and some of the artifacts taken from the Junkins Garrison site during the archaeological digs two years ago.

At 5:45 p.m., members began to gather again in the ballroom to chat, have cocktails and hors d'oeuvres before dinner.

Robert Loechler, of Boston, entertained the group through dinner and during the evening with music on his dulcimer and folk guitar. After dinner, a short business meeting was held during which several awards were presented. A life membership award was presented to Roland Junkins for his continuous efforsts over the years in restoration and research of the Junkins Family burial grounds in the York, Maine area. A special award was presented by Donald Junkins to Clifford Junkins of Holyoke, MA, for his hard work and support in the restoration of the Alexander Junkins burial ground.

In a short ceremony conducted by Phillip Junkins of Las Vegas, NV, the officers and directors for the 1992-94 term were installed. After the business meeting portion of the evening, Robert Loechler led the group in some audience participation activities, including the singing of the winning entry in the three day-long contest to write a song about the reunion. Sung to the tune of "On Top of Old Smoky," the following was the winning entry by Joanne Junkins of Maumee, OH.

We met all our cousins
In Portsmouth Hamp
To Honor our Robert
A clear giant Scot.

We came from New Hampshire
And Maine to the north
And from Lady Lake, Florida
The most southerly point.

From New Jersey, Rhode Island
Conn, Mass, and P——A
Also West Virginia,
In friendship we came.

We came from Ohio
Which some call the West
But Phil from Nevada
Could explain the real west.

Then there is Maryland
And Delaware, too
Lastly there is New York
With dear babies two.

To Sarah, our mother
We honor you, too
With Robert, our father
We love you both true.

Sunday, August 16

Sunday morning breakfast was served in the ballroom from 8:00 to 9:30, while many of the family said their good-byes until the next reunion.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License