Don Junkins, Vice President of the Junkins Family Association and his wife Kaimei, have agreed to host the 2004 biennial reunion in Deerfield, MA. We are planning on the tentative dates of August 13, 14 and 15.
Historic Deerfield was incorporated in 1952 to formalize the work of carrying on the long tradition of architectural, agricultural and artifactual preservation that is Deerfield's legacy. Today, 14 museum houses and the Flynt Center of Early New England Life display more than 25,000 objects made or used in America between 1650 and 1850. It is the quality of this collection, the meticulously preserved 18th and 19th century houses in which it is displayed and the old village itself that make Deerfield the New England we all hope to find. Despite repeated Indian raids in the early days of the settlement, Deerfield grew as an important market town in the mid-1700s. Many of its colonial buildings have been preserved and are open to the public year round.
The weekend will be filled with tours of the Old Deerfield Village Historic District, including the Fray House, which contains a piece of Junkins history. Until 1890, Miss Baker spent her summers in York, by the sea. In 1890, she decided to have a home in Deerfield. She restored the oldest house in town, dating back to 1698. Many of the items used to restore the old house were brought from other abandoned houses of the same period. A panel, which is the china closet door under the back stairs, was brought from the Junkins Garrison. The building was deserted except by hens when Miss Baker rescued the panel in a very filthy condition. She scrubbed it and treasured it to be ready when needed, as she had kept the drawers, which are now below it. The Garrison was later destroyed by fire when struck by lightning.
Remember August 13, 14 and 15, 2007 - Junkins Family Association Reunion