We had approximately 60 MacAlpines in attendance as we shared food, drink, and, of course, the sound of bagpipes. Many discussions arose about the history of our Family and the endeavors of the Society to bring us together and to regain recognition for our Family. This two-day event consisted of a golf tournament on the 21st and a picnic with barbecue on the 22nd.
The golf tournament was held in Glencoe, Ontario, Canada, while the picnic was held at Maybury State Park in Northville, Michigan, USA. Eight hearty souls entered the golf tournament and Andrew Hugh McAlpine of Detroit was declared the winner.
Timothy (McAlpine) Smith, Staff Writer for the Farmington Observer, interviewed some MacAlpines at the picnic and documented our event. He wrote an article about our gathering that appeared in several newspapers the following month (see below). A copy of the article has been forwarded to The Lyon Court so that they will be kept informed of our gathering activities. Among other festivities, a one-year subscription to Scottish Life Magazine was given to one lucky attendee. We would like to thank the folks at this fine publication for their support and sponsorship of our event. We would like to offer a special thank you to the co-hosts of this event, James A. McAlpine, Advisors Committee, and Donald R. McAlpine, Michigan Commissioner, for their efforts in coordinating this two-day event.
While most of the people at this event were members of Family MacAlpine, many were not yet members of the Society. Additionally, although this event was originally a family reunion for a particular branch of the Family, many MacAlpines of no known relation to one another were in attendance making this a true Family gathering.