2022 Reunion: 

More than 75 Pritchard family members gathered the weekend of July 15-17 in Spalding, Nebraska to celebrate their common family heritage, reminisce and meet the next generation of Pritchards. Families gathered informally on July 16. On Saturday July 17, reunion goers had their pick of a Tabata workout in the park led by a certified trainer; golf at the Cottonwood Greens; a visit to the local petting zoo or friendly competition at the local blue rock shooting range. In the afternoon families enjoyed swimming at the local pool and a large group spent the afternoon canoeing and kayaking down the Cedar River, carrying on the long tradition of stopping at the “Mud Slides” for an extended visit. It was the first time canoeing for many of the younger descendants with only one canoe capsizing. (Names withheld to protect the innocent.) Everyone gathered at the City Park for a delicious potluck meal that evening, organized by Margaret Ann (Pritchard) McCoy and her many willing helpers. The pulled pork was purchased locally at Spelic’s Meat and Market (a Pritchard descendant), and smoked locally. Several birthdays were celebrated with special cakes and cupcakes as well as the singing of the Happy Birthday song to recognize these special guests. The ever-popular Turtle Races were cut short by lighting and the “disqualification of several turtles who did not pass their drug test.” Pritchard descendants took up the offertory Sunday morning at St. Michael’s Church and then all who were able gathered afterwards at the Spalding Senior Center for coffee, warm cinnamon rolls, doughnuts and other goodies before departing for their homes. The Pritchards who gathered are descendants of Thomas Pritchard and Julia Dolan (probably Doolan). Thomas immigrated to America in 1832 and settled in Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania. Two of his sons, Thomas P. Pritchard and Michael James Pritchard moved to Spalding in the 1880s, and homesteaded on adjoining farms. These two farms are still in operation today.

2020 Reunion: 

The Pritchard Family Reunion was canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2018 Reunion:

Nearly 100 Pritchard family descendants gathered in Spalding August 11-12, 2018 for their nineteenth biennial family reunion. The Michael Pritchard Family traces its ancestry to England/Wales with early descendants of the clan first settling in Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania and eventually to Greeley County, Nebraska. The deed to the present Mark Pritchard farm, for example, is dated July 1, 1886.

Saturday activities for the weather-perfect two-day reunion event included some golf, a nostalgic visit to family farms, blue-rock shooting at a local site, Cedar River tubing-canoeing and of course the ever-popular turtle races. Soon the group sat down to a pot-luck brisket dinner in the park with all the side dishes and desserts. My mother would say, “enough food for the “threshers'” The rest of the evening was spent looking at pictures and visiting.

Sunday was a day of Mass, followed by a light breakfast at the Senior Citizen bldg.  No prizes for those travelling afar although participants did come from California, Colorado and Illinois. Looks like next reunion (2020) could be moved up one week to accommodate early school openings. Stay tuned.

 2016 Reunion:

Spalding played host August 13-14, 2016 to a Pritchard Family reunion, a two-day event that has been held every two years since the early 1980’s. The more than 100 attending the two-day event trace their ancestry to England/Wales with early descendants of the clan first settling in Pleasant Mount, PA and eventually to farms southwest of Spalding in March of 1885.

Saturday’s activities included golf at the local Cottonwood Greens course, trap shooting, a town historical site walk, and a full afternoon of canoeing on the Cedar River. Evening events included a bountiful covered-dish dinner at 6:00 p.m featuring pulled pork by chef Kent Endacott, followed by the ever-popular Sandhill Turtle races conducted by ring-master Mark Pritchard.

Mid-morning Sunday the clan motored to Primrose, NE where they were hosted to a full day of activities at Gary Pritchard’s spacious Prim Town facility. Fr. Tom Dowd, a Pritchard descendant, conducted a solemn field Mass for assembled Pritchard family members followed by a bountiful, full-course luncheon prepared by Janet (Pritchard) Buettner and the Pub staff. Various other activities throughout the afternoon included visiting, photo ops, reminiscing, and reviewing family genealogy records. The family resident genealogist Dorothy (Pritchard) Endacott displayed a large detailed and graphic computer generated genealogy display of the Pritchard clan dating to 19th-century England/Wales and updated to Sunday, August 14, 2016. That display also included a 34-page Pritchard Family Tree chronological record for the descendants of Thomas Pritchard.

The next Pritchard Family Reunion in August 2018 is planned to be held the weekend following the Greeley County Free Fair in Spalding.

2014 Reunion:

Heavy Saturday afternoon thunderstorms forcing  cancellation of Cedar River canoeing events did not dampen the spirits of nearly 100 Pritchard family descendants as they gathered in Spalding August 9-10, 2014 for their every-two-year family reunion. The Pritchard family traces its ancestry to England/Wales with early descendants of the clan first settling in Pleasant Mount , Pennsylvania and eventually to farms southwest of Spalding in March of 1885. The traditional two-day event in Spalding dates to the early 1980s.

Late afternoon abating stormy weather allowed some nostalgic visits to family farms and enabled Mark Pritchard to conduct his ever-popular turtle races at the town park. This followed by a bountiful covered dish meal featuring pulled pork and numerous desserts. Lots of reminiscing until late night.

Sunday mid-morning members of the clan motored to Primrose, NE where they were hosted to a full day of activities at Gary Pritchard’s spacious Prim Town restaurant including a noon-time bountiful, full-course luncheon prepared by Janet (Pritchard) Buettner and the Prim Town staff.  Earlier, at 10:30, Fr. Tom Dowd (a Pritchard descendant) conducted a Mass for assembled Pritchard family members.

A mid-afternoon raffle proved spirited and entertaining as several beautiful hand-made quilts donated by the Claire (Pritchard) Vlasin estate went to: Kent Endacott, Connor Spelic, Scott LeVier, Marie Zadina John & Crystal Spelic and Don Pritchard. Other hand-crafted embroideries went to Lori Pritchard, Conner Spelic, Janet Buettner, Susan Pritchard, Jim Pritchard, Amy Pritchard, Allison Pritchard, JoAnn Pritchard, Margaret McCoy and Dolores Waters.

The family resident genealogist Dorothy (Pritchard) Endacott displayed a large detailed and graphic computer-generated genealogy display of the Pritchard clan dating to 19th-century England/Wales and updated to Sunday, August 10, 2014.  While no prizes went to those traveling afar, several out-state locations were represented including Delaware, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. One out-of-town motorist got as far as the Boone/Greeley County line and had to be escorted to the family event.

The next Pritchard Family Reunion in August 2016 will be held the weekend following the Greeley County Free Fair.

2012 Reunion:

More than a century ago an Englishman named Thomas Pritchard immigrated from Burghill, England to Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania. Several of his sons would eventually settle in Spalding, Nebraska, beginning in March of 1885. Nearly 100 descendants of those Greeley County pioneers met in Spalding August 11-12 for their 16th biennial family reunion.

Saturday activities for the two-day reunion event included morning golfing at the 9-hole Cottonwood Greens golf course, nostalgic visits to family farms, swimming at the town park, and Cedar River canoeing. Perhaps stimulated by the recent London Olympics, late afternoon events such as flag football and sand volleyball clearly entertained the youth group until the ever-popular box turtle races began. All of this followed by a pot-luck/beef brisket dinner. Late evening the clan was entertained by several family singers/musicians/stand-up comedians, and all culminating in a family rendition of John Denver’s “Back Home Again.”

Sunday, a special breakfast was held at Spalding’s Senior Center for the clan followed by a 10 a.m. Mass conducted by Fr. Tom Dowd, a Pritchard descendant. All then motored to Primrose, NE where they were hosted to a full afternoon of activities at Gary Pritchard’s spacious Prim Town Pub facility beginning with a bountiful full-course luncheon prepared by Janet (Pritchard) Buettner and the Pub staff.

Various activities throughout the afternoon included visiting, photo-ops, reviewing family genealogy records, and reminiscing. Dorothy (Pritchard) Endacott displayed a 50-foot detailed and graphic computer generated genealogy display of the Pritchard tree dating to 19-century England and updated to Sunday, August 12, 2012. A mid-afternoon raffle proved spirited and entertaining as several beautiful hand-made quilts donated by Claire (Pritchard) Vlasin of East Lansing, MI were awarded to: Janet Buettner, Angie Carraher, Dick Dowd, Mike Flaherty, Alf Glaser, Jane Glaser, Scott LeVier, Ann Ogden, Maureen Poulicek, Amy Pritchard, Gary Pritchard, JoAnn Pritchard, Lori Pritchard and Robert Tracy.

While no special prizes went to those traveling afar, several out-of-state locations were represented including Colorado, Kentucky, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. A date for the second weekend of August 2014 was tentatively set for the next gathering of the Pritchard clan in Spalding.

 2010 Reunion:

More than 100 Pritchard family descendants gathered in Spalding August 14-15, 2010 for their fifteenth biennial family reunion. The family traces its ancestry to England/Wales with early descendants of the clan first settling in Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania and eventually to farms southwest of Spalding in March of 1885.

Saturday activities for the weather-perfect two-day reunion event included some golf, nostalgic visits to family farms, Cedar River tubing/canoeing, early evening children games, turtle races and swimming at the town park. All of this followed by a pot-luck/beef brisket dinner in the park. Late evening, the clan was entertained by several family musicians/singers/dancers culminating in a family quintet singing a nostalgic rendition of John Denver’s “Back Home Again.

Following Sunday church services, members of the clan motored to Primrose, NE where they were hosted to an afternoon of activities at Gary Pritchard’s spacious Prim Town Pub facility beginning with a bountiful, full-course luncheon prepared by Janet(Pritchard) Buettner and the Pub staff.

Various activities throughout the afternoon included visiting, photo ops, reviewing family genealogy records, and reminiscing. Dorothy (Pritchard) Endacott displayed a large and detailed graphic computer generated genealogy display of the Pritchard clan dating to 19th-century England/Wales and family members present updated it to Sunday, August 15, 2010.

A mid-afternoon raffle proved spirited and entertaining as several beautiful hand-made quilts donated by Claire (Pritchard) Vlasin of East Lansing, MI became the property of: Linda Flaherty, Bob Pritchard, Rita Echternacht, Christie Rasmussen, Colleen McCoy, Mark Endacott, Annette Pritchard, Margaret McCoy and Michael Stein.

A children-only animal quilt drawing Saturday evening in the park was won by Mary Pritchard daughter of Mike/Amy Pritchard.

While no prizes went to those traveling afar, several out-of-state locations were represented including Connecticut, Colorado, Louisiana, Ohio and Utah. A date of the second weekend of August 11-12, 2012 was tentatively set for the next gathering of the Pritchard clan in Spalding.

 2008 Reunion:

Rain forced cancellation of a Saturday “canoe the Cedar river” event, but did not dampen the spirits of more than 100 Pritchard family descendants who gathered in Spalding, Nebraska, on August 9-10, 2008 for their biennial family reunion. The Pritchard family traces its ancestry to England/Wales and descendants who eventually settled on farms near Spalding in March of 1885. Historical artifacts exhibited at the reunion included a ship’s log of Thomas Pritchard’s 43-day voyage from Liverpool, England to New York and a deed for the first land owned by the Pritchard family in Pennsylvania. The 100 acres, purchased on June 12, 1852, was located near Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania.

Saturday activities for the two-day reunion event included mid-morning golfing at the rain-drenched Cottonwood Greens golf course, nostalgic visits to family farms, and early evening children games, turtle races, and swimming at the town park. A much-anticipated Saturday canoeing event on the Cedar River was cancelled because of weather conditions. A pot-luck dinner in the park that evening in unusually cool outside temperatures was well attended and enjoyed by all. Late evening, the Pritchard clan was entertained by several family musicians/singers/comedians—and no talent scouts!

Sunday, Fr. Joe Hannappel and Fr. Tom Dowd (a Pritchard descendant) conducted a 10:30 Mass in Spalding’s renovated St. Michael’s church which is on the National Register of Historic Places. An all-Pritchard choir sang the Mass while other Pritchard family members performed church services such as altar attendants, door greeters, etc.

Following Sunday church services, members of the clan motored to Primrose, Nebraska where they were hosted to a full afternoon of activities at Gary Pritchard’s spacious Prim Town Pub facility beginning with a bountiful, full-course luncheon prepared by Janet(Pritchard) Buettner and the Pub staff.

Various activities throughout the afternoon included visiting, photo ops, reviewing family genealogy records, and reminiscing. Dorothy (Pritchard) Endacott displayed a 40-foot detailed and graphic computer generated genealogy display of the Pritchard clan dating to 19th-century England/Wales and updated to Sunday, August 10, 2008.  A mid-afternoon raffle proved spirited and entertaining as several beautiful hand-made quilts donated by Claire (Pritchard) Vlasin of East Lansing, MI went to: Janet Bittner, Dorothy Endacott, Matthew Ogden, Annette Pritchard, Joan Pritchard, Kathy Pritchard, Mike/Amy Pritchard and Susan Pritchard. While no prizes went to those traveling afar, several out-state locations were represented including Colorado, Kentucky and Ohio.

A short business meeting added three new members to the reunion planning committee and the next date for the Pritchard clan reunion was set for August 14-15, 2010 in Spalding, Nebraska. Don’t miss it!