Video from 1998 Dayton Family Reunion Now Available on youtube

DFH Volume 1 Issue 21

It hardly seems possible that it’s been 21 years since our Dayton reunion in Corinth.  Kids that attended are now married with their own offspring, thus starting a new generation of Dayton’s.  I think especially of the Humbert kids and their cute rendition of “King of the Universe.”  Video of our 1998 Dayton Family Reunion is now available on my youtube channel.  Jan Manley taped the entire event, and now, thanks to her, we can relive that fun time spent together in June in Corinth.  Nearly the entire event has been filmed.  The filming has been broken down into 26 individual videos, so you can only watch what you want.   These are the videos:

  1. Introduction
  2. Wilber Dayton sends his greetings from Macon, GA
  3. Breakfast footage of attendees and table chat with Jan Manley commenting
  4. Tour of Dayton Brothers sawmill led by Paul Dayton.
  5. Tour of Henry and Christie Daytons graves in Dayton cemetery on Hadley Hill led by Paul Dayton with Family History commentary by Jim Dayton.
  6. Tour of Charles and Nancy Dayton’s graves at Dean Cemetery in Stony Creek led by Jim Dayton.
  7. Tour of David and Chloe Dayton’s graves at 9N Cemetery in Lake Luzerne led by Jim Dayton.
  8. Viewing of outside of Wilber and Jessie’s House on Mechanic St by Jan Manley and Cammie Luckey.
  9. Priscilla Tyler leads children’s games (watermelon seed spitting).
  10. Interview with Sam Tyler.
  11. Invocation by Wilber Dayton with accompanying photo montage of reunion.
  12. Chester Dayton reciting Psalm 93.
  13. Congratulatory letter from Governor George Pataki (New York State).
  14. Prayer for Wilber by Rev. Leonard Humbert.
  15. Dinner footage of attendees and table chat with Jan Manley commenting.
  16. Audience participation in singing of George Washington Bridge led by Keith Tyler.
  17. Photo montage set to a hilarious light bulb joke about religious denominations.
  18. Nancy Dayton sings a beautiful rendition of “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”
  19. Keith Tyler’s little Tommy joke.
  20. Chester Dayton [Chip} reciting Mia Carlotta, by Louis Untermeyer.
  21. Humbert Kids sing “King of the Universe”.
  22. Jim Dayton tells a story about Charles (Chop) Dayton’s strength.
  23. Roger Dayton tells a story a Chop, Gerald Ralph and he on scaffolding.
  24. Chester Dayton Tells the Story of Chop and the Cigar Cutter.
  25. Jenn VanTol presents a plaque containing Psalm 23 and the signatures of the attendees.
  26. Jim Dayton thanks everyone for coming to the reunion.

Here is a link to get to the “my channel” for me (Jim Dayton).  Once there, you can view whatever you would like.  I recommend that you subscribe to the channel so that you can more easily get here and get notifications of new videos.  https://www.youtube.com/user/jimdayton1/playlists?view_as=subscriber

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1998 Dayton Family Reunion-Chester Dayton Family

DFH Volume 1 Issue 12

During the 1998 reunion, we photographed the offspring of each of the children of Wilber and Jessie Belle Dayton who attended the reunion.  The following is the Chester “Chip”  Dayton family.

Chester “Chip” Dayton was the third child of Wilber and Jessie Belle Dayton.  He was born in 1910, during the presidency of William Taft.  Ford’s Model T had been invented only 2 years earlier, so there were very few roads and mainly dirt with ruts, as were all streets in towns and cities.  The preferred transportation was still horse and buggy.  Chip was raised in a home with Christian training and did well in school.  He was one of three graduates to speak at his high school commencement ceremony. He enrolled at Houghton College after high school where he met and fell in love with Clara Stanton from Long Lake, New York.  They married in 1929 when Chip was just 19 years old.  Tragically, just three months after marriage, Clara died of tuberculosis.  After a time of seclusion, Chip rebounded and married Elizabeth “Lib” Duell in 1931. Out of this union, Chip and Lib had Mary Lou, Betty, Nanette and Roger.  Tragedy struck Chip and Lib in 1936, when their 4-year-old daughter, Mary Lou was struck and killed as she ran into the street after getting a piece of ice from the ice truck.

Chip worked at International Paper Company until about 1946, when he decided to launch into a business venture which would fulfill a lifelong dream.  He asked his kid brother Paul, who was also working at International Paper Company, to become an equal partner with him in the Dayton Brothers Lumber Company.  It was a lifelong partnership of best friends.  As far as I know, they never had a major confrontation or disagreement.  Most remarkable!  They were partners for 35 years.  Lib, his wife of 50 years, died in 1981.  He remarried to Marjean Chapman in 1982.  Chip died in 2005, at the age of 95. 

He and Paul loved deer hunting.  They both had a natural harmony with the forest and mountains.  Chip loved being in the outdoors and enjoyed woodworking of any kind.  He was a gentleman and a gentle man.  His strength was his generosity.  He was devoted to the Christian faith in a very active and profound fashion, he was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Corinth, New York. He held nearly all officer positions of the church at various times, even serving as a local pastor to provide assistance in the absence of the senior pastor. His favorite charity was the Gideons, an organization which spreads the gospel and places Bibles in the hands of personnel in the armed forces, hotel patrons and students at educational facilities.  He was unusually generous with both his money and his abilities, not only for the local church, but with family and friends who needed a helping hand.  He was so humble that it was sometimes difficult to recognize what a tremendous contribution he was making.  He was indeed the role model that we all need in our lives.

Children of Chester:

Mary Lou was tragically killed when running into the street and being struck by a car when she was only four years old.

BettyI’m quite sure that Betty got her degree from Houghton and was an R.N.  She and husband Ramon (Ray) Orton had children David, Dennis, Duane, Pamela and Robin.  Betty passed away in 2011.  Ray enjoyed a prestigious career in Engineering at IBM. After a period living on his boat in Virginia, he now lives with his daughter, Pam Pichette in Michigan.

Nanette-Nan first attended Marion College (Indiana Wesleyan University) and then Kentucky Mountain Bible College.   She married Rev. Leonard Humbert and was married for 51 years before Len passed away in 2012. In recent years she went back to Roberts Wesleyan College to receive the necessary education for her ordination.  She has since been ordained in the Free Methodist Church.    Nan is still very active in church and community affairs [81 years old].   She lives in Rose, NY near her son, Mark.   She and Len had children Mark, Maribeth, Paul, and Heidi.

Roger-Roger spent the early part of his career working at Dayton Brothers Lumber company.  After he left the sawmill, he worked in construction for a short time.  He then established Dayton Pest Control which he owned and operated for many years.  Roger and his wife Dale have a blended family of Tamara, Lydia, Katie, Amanda, Stacy. [Roger had carrot top red hair -the envy of many of us in the Dayton family]

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Letters to the Editor-Comments on Wilber’s Tribute

DFH Volume 1 Issue 4

Letter to the Editor: in response to the March 17, 2019 Tribute to Wilber Dayton, Jr..

Mark writes:

I still remember grampa (Chip) showing my dad (Leonard) the announcement when Uncle Wilber was going to become the President of Houghton.

Grampa was always very proud and pleased to tell everyone about Uncle Wilber’s latest career move or accomplishment!

As an adult, I have often come across people who knew and loved Uncle Wilber at Houghton or through other of his church-related activities.

Definitely a legend!

Steve write:

Living near IWU, I couldn’t tell you how many times people have asked me if I am a relative of Wilber. Most of them knew of him from Marion College, Houghton or Asbury.

Jim write:

An Associate Pastor of my church in Texas (1st United Methodist, Irving, TX) studied under him at Asbury Theological Seminary.  Dr. Dayton enriched thousands of lives.

Priscilla writes:

Imagine my surprise when it was announced during chapel that Uncle Wilbur would be the new president!

Tamara writes:

My sweetest memory of Grandpa (Chip) bragging on Uncle Wilbur was when I was in high school and he brought out a new pre-publication NIV Bible. He held it as though it were a fragile piece of china or a newborn baby – something precious and awe inspiring. “Look what Wilbur has done” in a almost a whisper. His face was beaming. Grandpa was always so proud of Uncle Wilbur’s accomplishments and of Uncle Wilbur personally as a man of character.

I never pick up an NIV without going back to that moment.