SECOND DISTRICT
NEW YORK
NEW YORK
 Dear Cousins,
I am writing to introduce myself as the new Wing Family District 2 Representative. As you may know, Luton Reed, our former Representative, resigned in June, and I have volunteered to take his place. I am writing to say hello. To give you a bit background about myself – I live in New York City and work for a small consulting firm with which I have been associated for 20 years. I spend weekends on Long Island and am an avid tennis player, gardener and biker. My mother is Martha Wing Lombardi, and my grandfather was Frank Everett Wing, who was the President of the Wing Family between 1938 and 1961 and was responsible for the purchase of the Fort House in Sandwich in 1942 from its last family resident, Cora Wing. Although I grew up in New Jersey, my family spent many summers in Sandwich where we rented a small house in the dunes in East Sandwich, and which I am amazed to say is still there. My memories of the Wing House with its broad lawns and beautiful views of the marshes and Cape Cod Bay go back many years. My mother and her sister, Deborah Wing, ages 94 and 92 respectively, still reside in Sandwich. My parents moved to Sandwich in 1988 and although my father died in 1990, my mother stayed on. For many years she was extremely active in the Wing Family as the Director of Public Relations, the hostess of reunion teas, the general “go to” person regarding Wing matters in the town, and one of the family’s most informed genealogists. She suffered a major stroke in 2004 and is now pretty much home bound. Her sister Deborah moved into my mother’s house after their third sister, also a Sandwich resident, passed away. The residents of Sandwich who are familiar with the history of the town have great respect and affection for “the Wing Sisters.” For anyone who hasn’t attended a national reunion, they are great fun, and it’s fascinating to meet relatives from all over the country with whom we share a common heritage. The 2009 reunion will be in Seaside, Oregon and will coincide with the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Oregon Trail. I urge anyone who can to attend. As you probably know, we have a wonderful and informative website, wingfamily.org. All the information you need about the reunion, and anything else Wing-related is on it Please feel free to contact me at any time with suggestions or thoughts regarding District activities, getting together informally and generally opening lines of communication. I hope to plan a District 2 reunion sometime next spring, and would be happy to have any suggestions regarding possible locations. New York is a large state and our members are spread out, so finding a convenient central point is a challenge. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Warm regards, Nancy Wing Lombardi 212 972-6990 (days); 646 352-2670 (cell) |
 DISTRICT 2 WING FAMILY REUNION JULY 25, 2009
It was an excellent reunion. In the end 19 people attended, although I had expected 23. One family had to drop out at the last minute. We met for lunch at Charlottes, a beautiful inn in Millbrook, where we had a private room overlooking the gardens. Everyone introduced themselves, talked about their Wing connection and interesting aspects of their heritage. The youngest attendee was Kaitlynn Townsend, four years old, and the oldest was Fayette Wing from Albany, 90 years old. Fayette brought some of his research, old photos, a letter from his great great grandmother, etc. which he shared. I brought with me nine Wing merchandise items as prizes (the cost of about $100 was donated by my Aunt Deborah Wing who couldn’t attend but wanted that amount to go toward the upkeep of the Fort House.) Fayette received the “prize” prize - the Wing fleece blanket, which he was very happy with. After lunch we proceeded to Wing’s Castle, five miles down the road. As you can see, it is quite a remarkable place. Peter Wing, who has built the Castle with his wife over the last 35 years from scavenged architectural remnants, municipal construction projects, yard sales, etc., gave an extremely interesting tour, explaining where each item came from, how he fit it into the overall scheme, etc. He also showed us some old Wing memorabilia related to his grandparents, great grandparents, great-great grandparents stores and businesses in the area. We adjourned about 4:30 after saying our goodbyes. Now I will start thinking about next year! Great pictures from Kathy Wing Prokyrom from Albany, the daughter of Fayette Wing. |
