Just recovering from last night’s wonderful, warm Santa Fe dinner party and Harvey family reunion. It was held at the gorgeously cozy home of Kay Harvey, and included three generations of Harvey family members from London, California, New York and Chicago, some of whom knew their family history pretty well (and were very helpful with the book) and others who are just learning it now, and their excitement is contagious.

One highlight of the evening, besides the terrific food and company (including all the folks from the New Mexico History Museum who made this whole Santa Fe event possible), was the scene in the guest bedroom with Liz Drage Pettifer–a relative from England that none of the Harveys had ever met. Liz is–stay with me here–the niece of Freddy and Betty Drage Harvey, whose birth was the reason Betty made her fateful trip to England in 1936 (after which she returned to New York, new puppy in her arms, and Freddy flew her home and, well, you know.) Since the Drages and the Harveys went on to have their own issues, it’s not surprising that Liz grew up not knowing her Harvey family at all–she was reconnected to them only when I reached out to her for help on the book.

She brought with her from London some of the dresses and accessories that Betty Harvey had bought in London in 1936 before flying home–stuff that was then delivered to Liz’s parents, and the family has kept it ever since. So, back in the guest bedroom, Liz was pulling out dresses, a fur collar, even the baby blanket stitched with bunnies that her Aunt Betty had given her–while several generations of fascinated Harvey girls oohed, aahed and literally got in touch with a new chapter of their history. All the clothes were in mint condition (even the black feather fan), and it was a delightful and unexpected end to a terrific night in Santa Fe, a city full of pleasant surprises.

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