Hotel Information

There are a variety of lodging options in Abilene.  The Holiday Inn Express conference room is where most reunion events will take place.  In addition to providing the conference room for free, the hotel has provided a significant discount on the rooms for those staying there.  We appreciate their generosity. Their information along with other lodging options we recommend are listed here.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites (Website)
103 East Lafayette Ave.
Abilene, KS 67410

$125/night (w/ breakfast)
(plus 19% taxes/fees)

Reservations: (785) 576-9933
Tell them you’re with the “Seeley Reunion”

Abilene’s Victorian Inn Bed & Breakfast (Website)
820 NW 3rd St., Abilene, KS 67410

Regular Rooms: $87-98/night
Suites: $153/night
Breakfast Included
(plus taxes/fees)

Reservations: (785) 263-7774 or
1-888-807-7774
Ask For the “SGS Reunion Rate”

Engle House Bed & Breakfast (Website)
102 Highland Dr.
Abilene, KS 67410

Kruger Room (2 twin beds), $119/night
Belles Springs Room (queen bed), $119/night

Both the Kruger & Bella Springs Rooms for a
total of $169/night.
(plus 8% taxes/fees for all rooms)

Kruger & Bella Springs rooms share a bath, but if
one room is rented singly, the other room isn’t rented and the bath is private.

Lancaster Suite (queen bed, private bath), $139

Reservations: (785) 479-3749
Ask For the “Seeley Rates”

Visit the City of Abilene Website for Additional Lodging Options (Website)

Gather with us at the Historic Rock Island Depot in Old Abilene by 6:00pm on Friday evening (Sept. 5th) for a relaxing train ride through the Smoky Hill River Valley between Abilene and Enterprise, KS. We’ll have time to spend at the Hoffman Grist Mill and gift shop as well.

The cost is $10.00 per person. Purchase tickets for the excursion when registering for the reunion – there’s an option on the form.

The track on which we’ll be traveling was originally constructed in 1886 by the Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. Founded in 1993 as a heritage railway, the A&SVRR was designated as the offical Kansas Heritage Railroad by the Kansas Legislature in 2024.

Eating Together

It wouldn’t be a family reunion without food. We have a great line-up of lunches and dinners available each day to foster eating as a group. You may certainly bring your own food to enjoy with the family too. You must purchase the meals when you register for the reunion so we can plan with the providers. The costs are very reasonable:

Lunches:  Adults $15, Youth (11-18) $12, Kids 10 and Under are Free.
Dinners:  Adults $18, Youth (11-18) $15, Kids 10 and Under are Free.

All meals will be served at the Holiday Inn Express except as noted.

Here’s the menu for each day:

Thursday

Lunch on the Seelye Mansion Patio: Cookies, chips, drinks, and condiments with your choice of sandwich:

• Ham and Cheese on Italian Bread, or
• Chicken Pecan on a Croissant

Dinner: Buffet featuring Chicken, Roast Beef, Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad, Rolls, Cookies, and Brownies.

Saturday

Lunch: Pasta Salad, Cookies, and Drinks with your choice of Wrap:

• Tuscan Chicken on a Spinach Wrap, or
• Roast Beef on a White Wrap

Dinner at the Brookville Hotel: Fried Chicken with All the Fixings.

Friday

Lunch: Taco Bar with All the Fixings. Includes drinks and a cookie.

Dinner at the Seelye Mansion: Barbecue featuring Pork, Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Baked Beans, Slaw, and Ice Cream

2025 Reunion Quilt Raffle

A tradition of creating and raffling off Seeley Family Reunion quilts began with the 2015 reunion in Abilene, KS. The tradition continues in 2025 by commemorating the Seeley Genealogical Society’s 60th anniversary.

Lou Ann Crisler has created a 2025 reunion quilt (pictured below) for which members can buy chances to win in a raffle.

Raffle tickets are $5.00 each (or less in packages of 5, 10, or 20) and can be purchased when you register using the registration form or in person at the reunion.

If you attend the Reunion in Abilene this year, this lovely quilt, a memorable piece of SGS history, could be yours.  All you need to do to win it is purchase a ticket with the right number on it!

The drawing will take place Saturday (Sept. 6) at 8:00pm.
You must be present to win!

This years’ quilt features a vintage map of the United States bordered first in yellow and then in dark blue, the colors of the SGS logo. On the map itself Lou Ann appliquéd white ovals indicating the sites and years of all twenty previous SGS Reunions:

• Lyons, CO
• Denver, CO
• Fort Wayne, IN (twice)
• Wethersfield, CT (twice)
• Salt Lake City, UT (twice)

• Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
• Abilene, KS (thrice)
• Tacoma, WA
• Williamsburg, VA
• Horseheads, NY

• Grand Rapids, MI
• Parkersburg, WV
• San Diego, CA
• St. Louis, MO
• The 2021 Virtual Reunion

History of the Reunion Quilts

– by Jesse Crisler

At the SGS Reunion held in Abilene, KS, ten years ago on July 26-29, 2015, a tradition that is still going strong was instituted with a drawing for a quilt handmade and donated by SGS Life Member Loleath “Toots” Brundage of Washington Terrace, UT. Then in her late eighties, Toots decided not to travel to Abilene for the Reunion, but her quilt, an exquisite example of the Dresden Plate pattern created from assorted green fabrics on a white background, was admired by all who attended the Reunion, most of them showing their regard by purchasing chances in the hope of winning the quilt when the lucky number was drawn. On the final night of the Reunion in the ballroom of the Eisenhower Museum, Nick Taylor drew the winning number from a plastic bag held by Lou Ann Crisler, and the quilt went to Sue Craven, who had traveled all the way from Michigan to attend the Reunion.

The Reunion which occurred four years later on June 26-29, 2019, in San Diego, CA, showcased the next quilt, actually, two of them. Toots again donated a full-size quilt, this one of various purple fabrics on a white background in the same Dresden Plate pattern, while Caroline Haddon designed a smaller lap quilt comprised of alternating horizonal and vertical four-patch rectangles on antique white fabric. Following the installation of officers, Lou Ann asked young Tayson Collett to draw both tickets. “Sunny” Seely Redd, a society member from Utah, won the quilt made by Toots; as for Caroline’s quilt, it was won by Mary Comar from Michigan, who later confessed to Caroline, according to her daughter, SGS Director Pam Turner, that she had really wanted to win the quilt and very happy that she did!

When Covid forced SGS members to gather virtually for the Reunion in 2021, for obvious reasons no quilt was raffled. But Lou Ann herself made a quilt for the next Reunion, held on June 22-24, 2023, in St. Louis, MO, which centered a blue and yellow stylized rendition of the Society logo against a white background framed in red, the whole surrounded by fabric depicting US states and their distinguishing products or landmarks. Because of grandmotherly duties, Lou Ann reluctantly stayed in Provo, UT, instead of coming to the Reunion, but her husband, Jesse Crisler, SGS Second Vice President, in her stead drew the winning ticket. Terry Tietjens, who has served as a Director of the Society for many years, was delighted when he realized that he had won the quilt and immediately announced that he would proudly spread it on a bed in the Seelye Mansion, where all visitors to the mansion can see it.

The Society greatly appreciates the past efforts of Toots Brundage, Caroline Haddon, and Lou Ann Crisler who have given unstintingly of their time, effort, and creativity toward what has over the past decade become another notable SGS tradition.

Abilene has a rich history from a small settlement established in 1858 to a wild frontier town at the end of the Chisholm Trail, where Texas longhorn boarded trains to the east and legends such as “Wild Bill” Hickok kept order; to being the boyhood home of Ike Eisenhower and to A.B. Seelye and his family; to never losing its history or charm and being declared #2 on the top 10 Best Historic Small Towns (2025) in USA Today’s Readers Choice Awards – just one of the many “Best” awards it has won over many years, and it keeps winning.

With such a history there are many things to see and do in Abilene. We’ve highlighted some here. For details of these sites and a full list of their attractions, check out the City of Abilene’s great visitor website.

(The numbers in parentheses correspond to those in circles on the map at the bottom of this page.)

(1) Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Boyhood Home, and Museum (Website)
200 SE 4th St.

Hours: Tues-Sat 10:00am-4:30pm, Sun 11:00am-2:00pm
Admission: Home only, Museum only, Both: Adult $7, $15, $20; Senior $7, $12, $17; Student $7, $10, $15
Highlights: The Eisenhower Museum, Presidential Library, Boyhood Home, Visitor Center, and Place of Meditation where the Eisenhowers and their son David are buried.

(2) Dickinson County Heritage Center (Website)
412 S. Cambell St.

Hours: Wed-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm, Sun 1:00pm-5:00pm
Admission: Carousel Ride – Under 2 free w/ Adult; Child (2-14) $4 (incl. museums); Adult $4
Museum Entrance – Adult $8; Senior (62) $7
Highlights: The Dickinson County Historical Society Museum, C.W. Parker Carousel National Historic Landmark, the Museum of Independent Telephony, and a barn built in 1915.

(3) Lebold Mansion (Website)
106 N. Vine St.

Hours: Tours Available by Appointment
Admission: Suggested Donation $15
Highlights: Victorian mansion dating to 1880 built above original dugout of Abilene’s founders Timothy and Elizabeth Hersey visible in basement, original vintage wallpaper, ceiling painting, inlaid wood parquet floors, period furnishings.

(4) Greyhound Hall of Fame (Website)
407 S. Buckeye Ave.

Hours: Wed-Sun 10:00am-4:00pm
Admission: Free, Donations Encouraged
Highlights: Preserving and presenting the history of the Greyhound (breed of dog, not the bus)

(5) Old Abilene Town (Website)
200 SE 5th St.

Hours: Saturdays 11:00-4:00pm
Admission: Free
Highlights: Can-can dancers and sarsaparilla at the Alamo Saloon, gunfight re-enactments, Texas longhorns, carriage rides, model village inside Great Western Cattle Co., Merchants Hotel, W. R. Wilson General Store, church, carriage house, cabin, and other historic buildings.

(5) Fred Schmidt Railroad Museum (Website)
200 SE 5th St.

Hours: 9:00am-5:00p
Admission: Free
Highlights: Museum located inside former Rock Island Depot adjacent to Old Abilene Town and features railroad memorabilia, model trains, railroad telegraph, and more.

(6) Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum (Website)
321 N Broadway St.

Hours: Thurs 9:30am.-5:30pm, Fri-Sat 8:30am-4:30pm
Admission: Free
Highlights: Preserves working photography studio dating to 1921 featuring camera, framed prints, rolls of film, and revolving exhibits showcasing the work of several period photographers in Abilene.

(7) Brown Memorial Park and Waterfalls</strong (Website)
Located off 2000 Ave south of Abilene

Hours: Mon-Fri 10:30am-2:30pm
Admission: Free
Highlights: Founded in 1927 by local philanthropist C. L. Brown, now features nature trail, waterfall, 18-hole disc golf course, and picnic area.

(8) Eisenhower Park and Rose Garden
Home of the World’s Largest Belt Buckle!
500 NW Pine St.

Hours: Daily 6:30am- 12:00 midnight
Admission: Free
Highlights: Park on the National Register of Historic Places, over 150 varieties of roses, over 500 varieties of other flowers, gazebo, fountain, playground, picnic area, walking trail, tank, municipal pool, volleyball, tennis, and basketball courts, baseball diamond, bandshell, skate park, world’s largest belt buckle (nearly 20 feet wide and 14 feet tall).

(9) Little Ike Park
324 N Spruce St.

Hours: Open 24 hours
Admission: Free
Highlights: Statue of Eisenhower as a boy, world’s largest “I Like Ike” button, picnic tables, benches, heart of downtown.

(10) Big Spur (World’s Former Largest Spur)
1810 N. Buckeye (in front of Rittell’s Western Wear)

Admission: Free
Highlight: 28-foot-high inverted spur weighing a ton.

(11) Russell Stover’s Candy Factory Outlet Store
1993 Caramel Blvd

Hours: Open Mon-Sat 19:00am.-6:00pm, Sun 11:00am-6:00pm
Highlights: You know, candy!  Assorted Russell Stover’s, Whitman’s, and Pangburn’s chocolates; novelty and holiday items, including sugar-free options and inexpensive seconds; ice cream.

And don’t forget the…

Cowboy Boot Trail – Enjoy a variety of decorated boots in various places around town.