Family Reunion, a family tradition

Yep, it is a family tradition, here is photographic evidence of my family CIRCA late 1920’s/early 1930’s.

Yep, we did it again, our clan gathered at one of the old home places for a joyful reunion of family.  Well now, do you suppose this photo from yesterday will survive 90 years like the one above.  I have seen it on facebook already, maybe it will……..

Nothing new, getting stuff organized is always a problem with these folks, the call was for the older folks to sit in the front row, they were slow to respond.

Right to left, you have the old sarge, the only one with no gray hair and second oldest at 73 years, my brother Harold, the oldest one there at 75 years, cousin Lynn at 72, his wife Carol, cousin Anne, cousin Wayne, cousin Ellen at 70 years, her daughter Denise, Randy with his wife cousin Judy and their daughter Paula.

Yep, that’s my brother in the foreground, the house is the old home place of uncle Peggy and aunt Margaret.  His real name was Eulon but everybody called him Peggy, I suppose it is because he married Margaret.  When My father went into the Navy during WWII the addition over the garage on the right side of the house was built so my mother and brother could live there.  Peggy was a dairy farmer and because milk was considered an essential product he was exempted from the draft.  Yep them little kids there learned how to milk cows and work on a farm.

Me and my brother, yep, I am the handsome one and he is the grumpy one….

and then it came time to eat, who do you suppose made it to the front of the line, that is daughter #1 behind me, she is an angel and soooooo good to me.  That is Harold’s daughter Angie dipping me some potato soup which she wound up eating when I found Brunswick Stew on down the line.  I must look sickly,  everyone wanted to help me even though I could take care of myself.

num, num, Brunswick Stew, keep dipping

being first in line had it’s advantages in this clan.  You get a better look at the addition to the house in this photo.

 

Me, Harold, Lynn, and D-#1 having lunch, you can see my Brunswick Stew bowl is empty, sucks, I should have licked the bowl. Wayne joined us later and we swapped childhood stories, D-#1 is amazed that we survived………

WAYNE, he said we tried to put snakes on him but he could run faster than us….

Me and Ellen, I thought I was the only one with no gray hair but look at Ellen, is it real or is it from a bottle?  My story was about a skittish mule that broke out of his traces and had me pushed up between him and the Sorghum Syrup cooking pot, not knowing if I should be under the mule or in the hot vat.

LYNN told about catching snakes in the seine when catching bait fish from the creek, he also told of Wayne losing a finger at 9 years old in a farming accident.

Harold, the grumpy old one, told a story about the same mule that I had a problem with when they were using a mule driven hay bailer.  He said my father threw a pitch fork at the mule and stuck him in the butt.  They kept bailing until the mule was finally broken.

and I have to tell you I may remember this as one of the happiest days of my life

Paula and Tim live in her grandfathers house

My comment on Paula’s facebook:  I will never be able to thank you enough for hosting this wonderful event, You made an old man happy.

Paula’s response was:  Tim and I commented tonight about how much you smiled all day and looked so happy! I'm glad you had a good time and glad you're home safe!! Love to you and Bonnie!

Daughter #1 did not know what a seine is…….

Seine fishing is fishing using a seine. A seine is a large fishing net that hangs in the water due to weights along the bottom edge and floats along the top. Boats equipped for seine fishing are called seiners.