Week 32 – Reunion

 

Family reunions used to be something most every family did. This was just a part of growing up. Families tended to live closer together than they do now, so on a Saturday, or Sunday, ever so often, your parents would pile you in a car, along with something that your mom cooked, or baked, and off you’d go to spend time with aunts, uncles and cousins from a multitude of generations. You knew not only your first cousins, but often who your second and sometimes third cousins were. Unfortunately, the days of family reunions are, for the most part, gone with the wind.

My mother’s side of the family was huge! Her father was one of twelve children, and my grandmother was one of eight. It seemed like one of my great-uncles was always hosting a family reunion. I mostly recall family reunions held at my Great-Uncle Carl’s house. He was the oldest of my grandfather’s siblings and I suppose it was his duty to keep the family connected. A few times, we had reunions at Red Rock Canyon, near Hinton, Oklahoma, and I remember once going to a lake (of course, my mother wouldn’t let me anywhere near the water).  As I got older, there were reunions at other great-uncles homes, as well, but eventually they tapered off. It wasn’t until my Uncle Joe united the Ditmore’s from across the country that any other large Ditmore reunions were held. As the family had now spread from coast to coast, reunions were held in California, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Michigan. We now keep in touch via a private Facebook group which currently has almost 300 members.

My maternal grandmother’s side of the family wasn’t nearly as good at getting together.  Although I knew the names of many of my Pennington cousins, I spent very little time with them. We would be invited to supper occasionally by varying cousins or their offspring, but the visits were far between, so many of those days are long forgotten. My family did spend quite a bit of time with my mom’s double cousin, Margie, and her family. Her daughters had a blue Corvair and they would pick me up and take me to the Delta Drive-In for a coke. I was really young when this started and to tell you the truth, I can’t believe my mother let me go off in a car with these two teenage girls! I really felt grown up! My outings with them ended, however,  when they were visiting one evening. The Corvair, which had been parked in front of our house had disappeared when we went outside. The street we lived on was sort of steep, and whichever one of them was driving had neglected to engage the emergency break. Well…the car had rolled down the hill and ended up IN someone else’s house, and we followed yelling from down the street. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but I never again went to the Delta Drive-in with my cousins. My mom and I would often have lunch with her Aunt Myrtle (Margie’s mom), but somehow, we seemed to have always missed her grandchildren and great-grandchildren who visited her often. I only remember one Pennington family reunion that was held in Guthrie, Oklahoma, at the home of Margie’s sister, Lila Faye (probably in the late 1970’s).  Although there were MANY cousins close to my age, I knew very few of them, yet we all lived in the same general vicinity around Oklahoma City. Social media can really be a wonderful, as recently that I’ve been able to connect with some of them, and I’m so thankful to have that opportunity now.

My father’s side of the family was small. His only sibling had no children. The few cousins he had lived in other states. Once in a while, when I was on my summer trip with my grandma Powers to Missouri, some of those cousins would stop in for a visit. His only cousin on his maternal side of the family, William Skirvin, lived in Moberly with his family. He had two children, although older than me, still fairly close in age. They would include me in picnics their family took, or to watch my cousin play baseball, but also they’d take me on trips to Saint Louis to see the Cardinals play. This was really exciting to me as I would sit with my great-uncle Bill and listen to all the games on his radio when I was there, and it was spectacular to see the games in person. Sorry, not sorry, to all my Texas friends – I will always be a Saint Louis Cardinals baseball fan. “Go Cards!” A few times, I recall my dad’s cousin, Beuford, his wife, Anna Mae, and maybe one or two children, visiting Beuford’s mom in Moberly. We would be invited to Aunt Lola’s for supper often, but especially when they were there. I sort of remembered a girl my age, but it wasn’t until I became interested in genealogy that I even knew her name. (Yes, that was you LouAnn!)

My grandfather Powers was one of five sons. The oldest, great-uncle Willard, had no children. My grandfather had three – my aunt Dorothy, who never had children, my dad (who had two), and their younger sister who died at the age of sixteen. Great-uncle Ernie had a daughter, who never married. Great-uncle Lonnie had three sons – the oldest had no children; the middle son lost a son at an early age and when he died a few years later, his wife remarried and her husband adopted his two other sons; and the youngest had a daughter. The baby of the family, great-uncle Irvia, had one son who had four children. These five sons produced only eight grandchildren for my great-grandparents. The next generation (my generation) only added a total of eight great-grandchildren (including the two that were adopted). So, to say that my father’s family is small is an understatement.

My second cousin, Beverly, granddaughter of great-uncle Lonnie, lived in Arizona. Shortly after my dad died, she contacted me. This was about the same time I had started researching my family tree. She had developed an interest in genealogy much earlier and had done a lot of research on our side of the tree. A few years before this, she, my dad, and his sister, Dorothy, all met in Moberly, Missouri, to visit cemeteries, courthouses and libraries looking for clues on the Powers family.  She and I became pretty close. Talking on the phone or emailing became a common occurrence between us. We managed to track down our adopted cousins, one who ironically lives in the same town as my brother; and we made contact with the widow of my dad’s cousin, Beuford.

This brings me to the most memorable family reunion I ever attended. It’s the only family reunion I can recall on the Powers side of the family, and it occurred in Moberly, Missouri, around 2002. Although it was a very small group, it was my Powers’ family. I’ve always felt closest to my paternal side, likely because I was so close to my dad. But because there were so few of us, I had very limited interactions to get to know the folks who I share those ancestors with.   Literally half of the entirety of my second cousins were there (ok, so there were only four of us but it was half!), and the only living member of my dad’s generation, Anna Mae Powers, wife of my dad’s cousin (who, sadly, has since passed away). It was a good feeling to connect with my Powers roots, in the place where our branch of the tree began.

The Powers family are all doing our best to propagate an entire new generation of descendants. My brother and I combined have added five children, fifteen grandchildren, and even one great-grandchild (so far); our Arizona cousin has added three children, and four grandchildren; and our four Missouri cousins have really set the bar high with adding nine children, fourteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. I hope that as more generations are added, each will remember the stories of our ancestors from whom they descend.

Life moves much faster than in days gone by. Young families are busy with jobs, school, baseball, football or soccer games, dance and piano lessons, the list is endless. While it is unlikely the return of the family reunion will ever be as commonplace as it once was, I hope that while everyone is looking at their phones, maybe they’ll notice a post by a distant cousin, send a friend request, and get to know each other.  Who knows, maybe they’ll even want to get together, and invite the rest of their families.