To the Editor:

Four of the six Dees boys originally from Illinois visited me in my Knox home on Dees Boys’ Weekend on April 19. Our brothers Rick and charles are deceased.

We all grew up on 419 East Corwin in Litchfield, Illinois. So we picked 4/19 as our get-together date, the 10th Dees boys’ get together since the passing of our parents in 2012.

Since, after the women’s NCAA basketball tournament, there’s been so much in the news about nothing to do in the Albany area, here are a few suggestions, from the Dees boys, and they will not cost you an arm and a leg, as the saying goes.

We Dees boys went for late breakfast with New York and Illinois friends to The Chuck Wagon Diner on Route 20. This diner was originally in Illinois before moving to Michigan and Route 20 here in New York.

We then visited Amy and  Russ Pokorny’s green energy Octagon Barn in Knox, for a tour of the facility.

The 9/11 exhibit at the New York State museum is always a moving experience; we planned to go to Mass at the Cathedral next door but were early so we took in TV Mass the next day.

We Dees boys then visited the grave of President Chester A. Arthur, 21st president, and then we drove 30 minutes to Kinderhook to visit the home and grave of the eighth president, Martin Van Buren, on the Old Post Road. The Old Post Road was the main carriage road from New York City to Albany back then.

The Thacher Park overlook always is and was a treat on a beautiful clear day treat we drove to Cooperstown. The Baseball Hall of Fame was not crowded and was great fun. We had lunch at the Doubleday Restaurant on Main Street.

We had other areas to visit on the weekend agenda but simply ran out of time; that’s life.

The most fun was being together, sharing stories of our youth and adult life around the fireplace. It was a cool weekend.

Yes, some of the family stories made us laugh while others made us cry, but love was all around on this Dees Boys’ Weekend of 4/19.

Yes, there is plenty to do in the Albany area without having to spend a lot of money. You just have to plan it and as MaMa (Betty) Dees said: Keep moving.

Frank #3 Dees

Knox