Jared Pratt Family Association
November 7, 1992
Dear Pratt Cousin:
The three objectives of the Jared Pratt Family Association are to investigate the ancestry of Jared and Charity Pratt; to find the descendants of Jared and Charity Pratt; and to preserve the Pratt family history for ourselves and for our children.
During the last several months, we have been approached by two family members urging us to hold a Pratt reunion in Nauvoo next summer. The first is Dick Lambert, the owner of Destinations Travel who is planning an air/motorcoach tour of LDS historical sights including Nauvoo for Pratt family members from June 10-17, 1993. The second is Rebecca Tollefson who is serving a mission in Nauvoo with her husband Bart. In exchange for using the family’s mailing list, Destinations Travel has offered to help us coordinate a family picnic lunch and reunion activities on Saturday, June 12th, in Nauvoo and to provide to family members at cost a Pratt family historical brochure related to the Nauvoo period. Because our six children have never seen Nauvoo, Linda and I were intrigued with these suggestions and have concluded to sponsor a gathering of the Jared Pratt Family Association in Nauvoo to coincide with the Destinations Travel tour. We invite you and your family to attend with us. Unlike our last reunion, Nauvoo itself will be the primary experience. My own family will probably arrive in Nauvoo on Friday the 11th and stay until sometime on Monday the 14th. The formal reunion events will be limited to a Saturday afternoon picnic lunch followed by a family meeting which will include a report on the progress of the ancestral and descendancy work of the Association and a chance to mingle and become better acquainted with our extended family.
You can participate in this Nauvoo experience in four different ways:
1. Plan a Nauvoo experience for your family all on our own and join us for the reunion meeting on Saturday (providing or bringing your own lunch).
2. Same as #1 but join us for a picnic lunch prior to the reunion at a cost of $5.00 per person. Reservations and payment for this lunch must be made to the JPFA, c/o Robert and Linda Grow, prior to May 15, 1993.
3. Same as #1, plus utilize Destinations Travel to book motel rooms for your family at the Days Inn in Keokuk, 12 miles from Nauvoo, which includes a continental breakfast and swimming pool. The reunion lunch is included in this option.
4. Take the full Destinations Travel tour described in the enclosed brochure. (Note: There is more than one option with respect to travel to, and involvement with, the air/motorcoach tour so please read carefully).
It is important that we know as early as possible how many are planning to come to Nauvoo under any of the above options so that appropriate plans can be made. Please be aware that you need not sign up for the air/motorcoach tour in order to participate in sacrament meeting on Sunday morning, the plays offered by the Nauvoo Historical Society on Friday or Saturday nights, or the fireside on Sunday night, if one is held.
We would love to see you in Nauvoo. If you are able to join us, please respond to the Grows if you are taking option #1 or #2; if you are interested in options #3 or #4, please fill out the response portion of the Destinations brochure and mail to Destinations, Inc.
For additional information concerning Nauvoo, contact: Nauvoo Tourism, Box 55, Nauvoo, IL 62354, 217-453-6648; or Joseph Smith Historic Center (RLDS), Box 338, Nauvoo, IL 62354, 217-453-2246; or LDS Visitors Center, Box 215, Nauvoo, IL 62354, 217-453-2237.
Please send this information on to any Pratts who may be interested in going to Nauvoo with us.
In addition we are tentatively planning a formal Association reunion for Salt Lake City in July of 1994. Incidentally, the descendancy and ancestral work are moving forward. If your conscience is bothering you about not completing your part of the work, remember your ancestors and Matthew are waiting to hear from you!
Best Regards,
Robert J. Grow
9767 Little Cottonwood Place
Sandy, Utah 84092
(801) 943-4648
[transcribed and proofread by David Grow, Dec. 2006]