I talked with my brothers and we decided that a huge family reunion would be perfect; although most of us live close, two of my brothers are located on the West Coast, and they hadn’t been home in a couple of years. 

Even though I knew my mom would be pleased just to have everyone together again, I still wanted us to do something special.  So, I got to thinking….what would my mom want to do?

Marietta House

Before I go on, it’s important for me to tell you something about Jane Lee: she loves telling stories.  She spends her free time in the library researching local Maryland families; then she would regale everyone with what she had learned (although I think she always embellished a little).  I can still remember cold winter nights when we would gather around the fire and her chair, as she would share her newest story—these are some of my happiest childhood memories.

It was while remembering some of the more colorful stories that I had an idea….

Billingsley House

Since she was moved to an assisted living facility in 2005, my mother is rarely able to get to the library.  Instead, she now relies on newspaper articles and gossip for her stories.  I wanted to change that; I wanted to give her a weekend that would provide her with years worth of incredible stories.

I started researching; I needed to find local historical sites that would provide extensive information about local families and local history.  It was then that I stumbled upon Prince George’s County Historical Website.

Mary Surratt House

On their website, I found pages and pages of local historical landmarks all located in PG County—everything from technological centers (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) to museums (College Park Aviation Museum).  My focus, however, was on famous family homes in the area.  I found quite a list to choose from, but I focused on the houses and churches (we are a very religious family) I thought my mom would find most interesting.

NASA Goddard Space Center

On the third weekend in June, my whole family came together to celebrate my mother’s birthday.  At the party on Friday night (held in a banquet room at The Comfort Inn in Bowie), I announced our plans for Saturday and Sunday: a tour of historic Prince George’s County, to honor my mother and her love of history and story telling.  Never before had I seen my mother at a complete loss for words, she was so touched that we had all come together to honor her.

College Park Aviation Museum

On Saturday June 19^th, the Lee Family visited three homes: Mary Surratt’s House (the house John Wilkes Booth escaped to after he assassinated President Lincoln), Billingsley House Museum (a plantation home-built in the mid-1700s), and The Marietta House Museum (where Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Gabriel Duvall lived).

On Sunday, we explored two churches: Dorsey Chapel (the center of the African-American community of Brookland in the late 1900s) and Mount Nebo A.M.E. Church (the adjoining school was the focal point for the African-American community).

Mount Nebo Church

Each site that we visited was meticulously maintained and provided visitors with information about its historical significance.  I was impressed at each stop—I had no idea that Prince George’s County had such an important and vibrant history.

I visited my mother yesterday.  As I walked into the study at the assisted living facility, I noticed that my mother was once again doing what she loved: telling a story (about Dorsey Chapel) to the little group that sat gathered around her chair.

Dorsey Chapel

This story is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Prince George’s boasts many famous and unique African American historical sites that allow visitors and residents to explore the past, and celebrate our African American heritage. For over 300 years, African Americans have raised families and built communities that have been vital to the growth and development of Prince George’s County.

African American Heritage Brochure

Visit unique sites such as the Columbia Air Center, the first black owned and operated airfield that made history in 1941, and Blacksox Park, once the home to flourishing African American sandlot baseball teams.

Learn about the enduring strength of the African American people by visiting Belair Mansion, a large plantation built in 1747 with exhibits highlighting the significant role of the enslaved Africans and their lives on the plantation and working as jockeys at the famous Belair Stables.

Further discover the daily lives of slaves at The Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park and Northhampton Slave Quarters and Archaeological Park, and experience their interesting exhibits. Visit The Charles Duckett Log Cabin at the Patuxent Rural Life Museums to get a rare and interactive glimpse into life in the 1880s. The museum includes a cabin built by a former slave and landsman in the Union Navy during the civil war, as well as a tobacco museum, a blacksmith shop, a tool museum and a 1923 Sears, Roebuck and company simplex house.

Visits to various historical African American churches show the enduring spirit and faith that still remains today. These churches include Saint Paul’s Methodist Church, thought to be the oldest black congregation in Prince George’s, and Dorsey Chapel, a small frame meeting house church built to serve African Americans in rural Prince George’s at the turn of the 20th century.

Prince George’s County has a wealth of interesting historical sites to discover this February during Black History Month.  For an African American Heritage Sites Guide, just request one, or download it here as a pdf file.

Below is a preview of the site map in the guide.

African American Heritage Sites in Prince George's County, MD

African American Heritage Sites in Prince George's County, MD

Prince George’s County, Maryland is the ideal location for any reunion, regardless of group size, price point or interests. From quality hotels, to historic museums, and fun attractions, there is something for everyone to enjoy in Gorgeous Prince George’s!

Looking for a high quality hotel for your group to stay? The Marriott Greenbelt hotel has won “Marriott Hotel of the Year” and is minutes from exciting attractions such as the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Six Flags America, downtown Washington, D.C., and within an hour from Baltimore and Annapolis.

Planning a reunion for a large group? Check out the National Harbor, Maryland’s newest dream gateway! It’s an incredible 300-acre waterfront destination just minutes from downtown Washington D.C., along the Potomac River. The cornerstone of National Harbor is the 2000-room Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, the largest hotel in the Washington DC metro. The National Harbor features world-class dining, nightclubs, shopping and an amazing market, as well as special seasonal features and attractions for the whole family to enjoy!

There are a magnitude of unique and interesting historical sites, museums and cultural events to enjoy in Prince George’s. Go back in time and visit the Surratt House, home of Mary Surratt, the first woman to be executed by the United States government after being found guilty of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. The museum presents a variety of programs and events, recapturing the history of mid-19th century life and focusing on the fascinating web of the Lincoln conspiracy.

Check out a performance at the incredible Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, take in a professional sports game, or spend a day exploring Fort Washington and it’s 341-acre park offering an assortment of recreational opportunities, including hiking and biking trails and a playground.

There are plenty of great places to experience on your reunion in Prince George’s, making it the ideal reunion destination! Check out Reunion Capital USA for reunion planning advice, ideas and more!

Follow ReunionsUSA on twitter for daily updates!

Enter the Cyberhunt Sweepstakes and you could WIN a reunion package worth over $20,000 in Prince George’s! It’s only open until December 31st so enter your group today and you could be the next big winner!

Don’t be deferred, this is a Sweepstakes you can actually win! Chances are not a million to one, and we have a lucky winner every year for a reunion of a lifetime in Gorgeous Prince George’s County, MD—located just outside of Washington D.C. making it the perfect reunion destination.

The grand prize package includes luxury hotel rooms for a long weekend, catering for a reunion dinner and reception, a day full of fun at Six Flags America, a genealogy workshop, transportation and t-shirts for your entire group, and more!

Need reunion inspiration? Meet our past winners, Kendie Reich and Yolawnda Rogers and experience their reunion stories for yourself! You and your family or friends could be next!

It is a fun and easy to enter the Cyberhunt, don’t miss out on an incredible prize and memories with those you love! For extra chances of winning, forward the link to all your friends and family, and have them enter today! The contest runs through December 31st, 2009, check out our official rules and regulations if you have questions.

For daily reunion tips, inspiration, and helpful hints, follow ReunionsUSA on twitter!

With a database designed to bring each group together, you can search for every member of your group so no one gets left out. Once you have some reunion plans established, submit your reunion for your other commorades to find. If you are wondering if there is already a reunion being planned, we also have resources to search for current reunions so you can reconnect and not miss the big event!

The Nation’s Capital and neighboring Prince George’s County is the ideal location for a military reunion for all U.S. services. Maryland, Washington D.C and Virginia have an incredible variety of Military Museums and Memorials for your group to chose from, and many have military special discounts and group rates. Whether your group is interested in touring Andrews Airforce Base, experiencing the U.S. Navel Academy, or visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial—there are a variety of exciting options in a close distance.

With an abundance of military related sites and resources complied to assist you with your planning, as well as help finding the perfect group accommodations, you wont have to look much further for all your reunion planning details.

Following us on twitter? We would love to help you honor our troops. A reunion celebration or a welcome home gathering of loved ones is the most memorable way to celebrate all they have done for our country! Get started planning today!

Why worry about money? Enter our Cyberhunt Sweepstakes today for a chance to win an amazing all-inclusive reunion worth over $20,000 for your special group!

My mother told me that she always wanted to have a reunion. My cousin said, “I am tried of us getting together for weddings and funerals.” I was tired of it too. My mother said that she wanted to do this but she needed help. I called family members in Baltimore, Prince George’s, Philadelphia and California. They all agreed to  have Maryland as our reunion home state.

The planning process was not easy, and took a lot of time, but every bit of it was worth it. At our first family reunion, we planned to have another every year. The first year was awesome and the second year was better. We had games, moon bounce, food, drinks and more food.

Seeing the joy on my mother’s face to have her family all together, laughing, hugging, sharing memories gave her so much joy, she continues to reflect on her memories with a smile on her face. The joy of having a family and being together.

We would love to hear about YOUR reunion next! Enter our Cyberhunt Sweepstakes today for a chance to win amazing reunion package worth $20,000!

With hundreds of church attendees, it can be difficult to connect with all your church members and catch up with church friends every Sunday morning.  In today’s busy world, creating meaningful connections and relationships at your church community can be difficult. Church is a spiritual place where we are inspired by our pastors and the words of the bible, a place where we realize the importance of friends and family, and a place where bonding and the connection to God creates a connection to others–everyone from all types of backgrounds, races, ethnic backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses.

How often, though, do you take the time to get to know those people who surround you each Sunday in the pews of your church?  How often do you talk and catch up on their lives and what is happening?  How often do you share in simple celebrations and laughter, bonding time that is priceless?

It’s time to celebrate your special church and bond with your fellowship.  It’s time to share in the spiritual bonds that unite everyone in the community.  It’s time to celebrate the joys of everyday life with those who appreciate and understand your gratitude and enthusiasm for life.  It’s time to plan a church reunion!

Fall is the perfect time to start organizing a grand church celebration! You can celebrate with your current fellowship, and also invite past church members who may have moved away for a weekend of fun and faith.  At ReunionCapitalUSA.com, we have the most up-to-date and helpful planning information.  From time lines to venues, from activity ideas to accommodations, the web’s #1 source for Church Reunion Planning has it all!

Check out our 2009 Cyberhunt Sweepstakes for your chance to win our GRAND PRIZE REUNION package worth over $20,000 in reunion prizes!!!

A Reunion is a great way to bring your military friends back together, honor your time in the service, have fun, and celebrate your unbreakable bonds.

Prince George’s County is eager to host and celebrate veterans for your military reunions. Located just outside of our Nations Capital– with abundant military memorials, museums and historical sites in the County and in nearby in Washington, D.C, Baltimore and Annapolis, there is no better place to reconnect!

Reunion Capital USA can help plan every element of your military reunion to ensure it is both a fun and memorable occasion for all. We can help  locate military buddies, provide information on military attractions in the area, and plan the reunion details– from accommodations and transportation to fun ideas for celebratory dinners and daily activities.

Activities we recommend to make your reunion special include tours of military installations, such as the local Andrews Air Force Base and Quantico Marine Base, visits to the National Mall where memorials for American wars are located, a formal or themed banquet dinner, a memorial service to honor the members of your troop who are no longer with you today, and to reflect on everyone’s own military experiences.

Military reunions are a special way to reconnect with friends you haven’t seen in years and create memories. We would be honored to help you start planning your military reunion today in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Sound like the perfect place for your military reunion? Enter our Cyberhunt Sweepstakes and you and your military buddies could win a reunion valued at over $20,000!

“You can never go home again – or so they say. Of course, when Thomas Wolfe coined the phrase as the title of his famous novel decades ago, he wasn’t necessarily referring to his high school reunion. However, he makes a valid point. Sure, you can physically return to the town or city you call home, but all things change with time, making it impossible to truly revisit your past. Surprisingly, some of the classmates who moved cross-country following graduation have yet to come back to Prince George’s County, despite the fact that ten years have passed. It’s actually more common than you think: individuals who ship off after high school often find themselves so wrapped up in their new lives that they lose touch with their former home base.

Returning home can be shocking for some, especially when high school reunions are identified as the first events to lure residents back after so many years. Aside from the usual, more noticeable changes – such as new office structures, hotels, or green spaces – many former residents will notice modifications at a less obvious level. Tweaked regulations and new bills and laws can also prove to reshape a region, especially in Prince George’s County, where the tourists continue to flock.

Several unexpected changes to have taken place in the area within the past decade come as the result of a 2001 tornado. The natural disaster swept through Prince George’s County at full force, carrying vehicles high into the air and killing two residents. In total, the tornado caused in excess of $100 million in damages, carrying its peak strength through the University of Maryland campus in College Park. Overall, the winds endured for miles, destroying everything in their path and injuring more than 50 residents.

The tornado smashed through university windows, wreaked havoc on one of its dining halls, and removed the steeple and a portion of a church. Buildings had to be repaired throughout Prince George’s County and the face of the region’s entire backdrop changed, thanks to downed trees and uprooted greenery. No doubt, ex-residents returning to the area following the destruction are sure to notice a few changes.

In addition, Six Flags fans may discover that their home-based theme park has received its own share of modifications throughout the past decade. In 2005, what is often referred to as the region’s biggest tourist attraction underwent a face-lift. Added to the park were two new rides, a larger kids’ pool, and new restaurants and shopping opportunities – collectively referred to as Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. The overhaul also saw the theme of the park shift from a tropical theme to a more Caribbean feel, marking the first series of improvements to hit the park in ten years.  Park-goers will also notice an empty spot where the Haunted House once stood, following a 2008 electrical fire that caused about two million dollars in damages.

Residents of Upper Marlboro in particular may have an extremely difficult time identifying with their former hometown, due to the possibility of an extensive development project. A February 2009 town hall meeting saw town officials and residents deliberate about a series of proposed changes that would remove some of the peace and tranquility from Upper Marlboro. If the town proceeds with the new design, Upper Marlboro could be transformed into a busier, multi-use hub of activity, much to the dismay of many current inhabitants. Detailed additions as outlined in the proposal include new building and hotel construction, along with transformations to roads, parking lots and walkways.

Undoubtedly, the most significant addition can be found by taking a short trip upstate to Washington’s National Harbor, an incredible new development featuring marinas, hotels and restaurants – including an upscale dining experience owned by a few famous names. Even though the area boasts a wide selection of eateries, the shopping is even more impressive. Covering more than one million square feet, National Harbor’s mix of shops and services will overwhelm former Prince George’s County residents. The 300-acre center even features a series of beautifully architected condominiums and a long list of events and activities.

It can be hard to return home after an extended hiatus, especially when the images you hold close to your heart have been marred by new buildings, closed shops, and modernized housing. Even though you may have been kept up-to-date on the region’s progress by family and friends, it’s one thing to hear about it and quite another to witness it in person. When making the journey back to Prince George’s County, remember that it’s the people and experiences that shaped your time there, not the structures and surroundings.”

Many thanks to Mike and his team at schoolsandreunions.com for this great article!

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Let us take this month of celebrating and remembering Womens History, to remember the women close to us in our lives.  Here is a touching story about a family celebrating an important woman in their life.  This may  be the perfect time to reunite with those women in your family, whether it be a church group, a sorority, old friends, or family; like mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, nieces, daughters and sisters.  When we reunite; we create a new page in the history book of our lives…a book that we can pass down to the generations to come.

There are so many historical tributes to women, especially in Prince Georges County.   Darnall’s Chance House Museum, in Upper Marlboro is hosting a special event for Women’s History Month. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is also open this month in Washington D.C. And as always, Gorgeous Prince George’s County is the perfect place to host your next reunion.  Be sure to check out ReunionCapitalUSA for ideas and tools to get started.

Do you have a favorite story about a women in your life? We would love to hear it!

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