Volume 1, Issue 1. July 1, 2006
Cook Family Reunion 2007
Atlanta, Georgia
Home of Martin Luther King Jr. and the World of Coca Cola. Get ready and mark your calendars for the Cook Family
Reunion 2007. The Atlanta Reunion Committee is hoping to make the next family reunion one of the most memorable.
You will be able to take advantage of what this great city has to offer. You can shop until you drop at Lenox
Mall, Phipps Plaza, and The Underground. Or you can enjoy some of the nightlife that Atlanta is famous for at Club Visions,
Level 3 or Vegas Nights.
Touring the Birth home of Martin Luther King, is an experience not to be missed. In addition, the young at heart
will get caught up in nostalgia at the World of Coca Cola. Let's not forget the Georgia Aquarium, billed as the world's
largest.
Perhaps you may wish to tour the campus of three notable historical black colleges, Clark, Spelman and Morehouse.
We will also enjoy the mystique and festivities of Stone Mountain Park.
The reunion will take place at luxurious Renaissance Hotel located downtown Atlanta. Cook Family Reunion 2008
will be in Chicago, Illinois.
If you are interested in hosting the Cook Family Reunion 2011, prepare your committee, the site and activities.
This will be voted on at the Atlanta Reunion. In order to ensure the continuity of the reunions, you are bidding on
reunions four years away.
Check out the following websites for futher information about the Atlanta Reunion.
Reunion On the High Seas
Cook Family Reunion 2005
Cook Family members had the time of their lives aboard Royal Caribbean's, the Sovereign of the Seas, cruise
ship. This wonderful reunion was organized by Brenda Cook Houston, of Laurel, Maryland. Descendents
of Albert, Arthur, and Monroe Cook were present. A total of 16 family members were in attendance. The food on
the ship was delicious. If you missed out on authentic Bahamian rum cake or the dessert called guava duff, you missed
a treat. In addition to the festivities on the cruise ship, which included stage shows, karaoke, and a casino.
We also enjoyed the sites and shopping on the Bahamian Islands of Nassau and Coco Cay.
Restoring the Cook Family Historic Sites
It is important to maintain our legacy. Yet, important pieces of our heritage are in ruins. At the
reunion in 1989, I recall still being able to walk inside of Cook Chapel. By the 1997 Eutaw, Alabama reunion, less than
10 years later, we were permitted to only look in from the front door. It has now been another ten years of deterioration.
In addition, our ancestors are buried in an overgrown graveyard. I worry that we may no longer be able to find the exact
location.
These standing examples of our heritage are appropriately located near Cook Road and should be preserved.
I propose that we become involved in the national Trust for Historic Preservation. This may be a means to obtain funding.
In addition, we as a family should make it a part of our agenda to raise funds toward the restorations as well. If we
decide to take on the project of restoration, we should also consider what will be housed in the restored site such as photos,
documents or other artifacts. Let's do this for both our ancestors and for the future generations.
Please forward correspondences by mail or email to the Cook Family Preservation Committee.
The Cook Family Cooks
One clear tradition in our family is in the area of cuisine. With family all over the world, our family
probably has quite a repertoire of delectable delights. It would only make sense to pull it all together for the development
of the Cook Family Cookbook.
We are looking for submissions of recipes in the following categories: Chicken, Beef and Pork, Vegetables,
Breads, and Desserts. Please include your name, your hometown, the name of the recipe, the name of the son of Sarah
and Charles that you are a descendent and if possible a photo of your disk. The final due date for your recipe to be
included is May 31, 2007. We will also feature a recipe in future newsletters.
Please send your recipes addressed to the Cook Family Cookbook, by mail or email.
Cook Family on the Web
If you haven't had the opportunity to check out the Cook Family Website, you should do so. Marquette
Cook has done a phenomenal job with the site. He established this site in 2000. It contains a lot of
historical information as well as a newsletter on current happenings with the Cook Family. Be sure to look at the photo
albums to see small morsels of our history. This would be a great start for anyone, in particular children, to get an
introduction to their ancestors as well as other family members.
Check out the official Cook Family Website at:
Cousin's Club
During the reunion on the high seas, several members of the family proposed developing a cousins' club.
The purpose of the club would be for the fun-loving souls who love to travel to plan a destination trip on the off year of
the main family reunion. The activity could be sports related such as white water rafting, the annual black ski trip
to Colorado, or tickets to a championship such as the Super Bowl or the NBA Championship. It could be an activity that
is cultural such as visiting Gullah Island or a trip to New York for a Broadway show. Or we may just want to kick back
and have fun at a music festival such as the James Brown Festival of Soul or the Essence Festival in New Orleans. We
might decide to island hop during carnival.
For those of us who love to eat, the Taste of Chicago would be on the agenda. Vegas and Atlantic City
would be for the gambler in us.
A good resource for ideas is the magazine Pathfinderstravel and website
www.pathfinderstravel.com. This magazine and site is devoted to Africans American travel. If you are interested, please contact the Cousin's
Club
Cook Family Organizes
A great deal of discussion occurred concerning formally organizing the Cook Family. Hierarchical
organizations are inherently problematic. ill defined leadership roles are the cause of many of these problems.
One option for organizing the family is to revisit the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary,
and Treasurer. If this option is chosen, we would need to develop a constitution that defines these roles.
Another option would take a functional approach to organizations. This approach may be more effective
and efficient. The family could be structured in terms of committees and/or by regions. Some of the Cook Family
subcommittees could include the aforementioned Cousin's Club, the Restoration Committee, Cook Family Historians and/or a Cook
Family Reunion Committee.
In addition, a motivated and committed family member could be a part of more than one of these committees.
This is in the infancy stage and your input would be greatly appreciated.
Please send any ideas to the Cook Family Organization Committee.
Nicknames: A Family Tradition
When looking at my most immediate family, I can't help but notice the prevalence of the use of nicknames. In
fact, I have aunts and uncles whose birth names I did not learn until I was an adult. It was the equivalent of a college
level quiz matching the real name to the nickname. It also would be interesting to learn the origin of each person's
nickname.
I am going to give you the rundown of the nicknames of just my aunts and uncles to illustrate my point.
Perhaps, you have family members with the same nicknames. Things begin innocently enough with Leola/Leona whose nickname
was Lou. Now the fun begins: Percy Paul Jr. was Holly, James was Little Buddy, Sarah was Sister, Maydelia was Hon, Milton
was Doc, Frank is Baby Ray, Arlena was Love, John was Bopeep, and my mother Louise is Baby Sister. Although she is seventy
five, she is Baby Sister to her siblings as well as nieces, cousins and other relatives.
Although you may find people nicknamed June bug who are Jr., nicknames today are not as creative.
Perhaps the creativity is now focused on the birth name thus eliminating the nickname. Nevertheless, my name is Victoria
but you may call me Vicky.
Letter From the Editor
Greetings family. I am excited to bring you this newsletter with the information of the latest developments
in our awesome family.
Several family members have already contacted me concerning their interest in serving on several of the
committees mentioned in the letter.
The Cook Family is making history. I have a friend who explained that history is not the study of
the past, but it's the study of change. I wonder what Charles and Sarah, who began their life together on a small plot
of land in Greene County, Alabama would think of these changes in their family.
We have had a Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, PhD's, medical doctors, politicians, and a host of other
educated and talented professionals.
Our history burns bright and
should be passed from our
elders to the next generation.
Charles and Sarah must be very pleased. We are their legacy. This is why it is of particular
importance for us to speak with our elders and record how things have changed. In our daily lives, let's strive to make
changes so that our descendents too will be pleased. I look forward to seeing you all at the Cook Family Reunion 2007
in Atlanta, Georgia.
Sincerely,
Victoria L. Miller, PhD
Great Granddaughter of Monroe Cook
_______________________________________
Cook Family
Inc.
P.O. Box 11266
Baltimore, Maryland 21239
Please send all correspondences
concerning the Cook Family to the above
mailing and/or email address
