I Was Thinking... A Family Reunion

When I was growing up, my family was always close by. My grandparents lived in nearby towns and most of my aunts and uncles lived locally too. Those that had moved were still in the state or just over the border. The same was true of my wife, even if her family circle was in a community 400 miles from mine.
The same is probably true for those that were born in Kasson, Mantorville, Byron, Hayfield, or Dodge Center during the 1940s, 50s, or 60s. Generation after generation seemed to stay close to where their families were.
But today with a few exceptions, most of the people I know aren’t living close to where they grew up.
Even though my wife and I have spent the majority of our lives in Kasson, we still are newcomers because our family name doesn’t have a history here. We didn’t grow up or have relatives here. But if I’d go back to where I grew up, I would have just a few cousins left there. My family members are spread out between Florida, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Illinois, Washington, and Wisconsin. `And that is just the relatives I know.
But every so often, someone in a family gets the desire to reconnect in a more meaningful way than with just a Christmas card. That discussion took place last fall at another family gathering, a funeral. Somebody said they should meet again under happier circumstances and my wife agreed.
Little did she know, she was then committed to organizing it. But in some ways, she was the logical choice.
For quite some time my wife has been researching her family history on both her mother and father’s side. She had contacted relatives for information, did the DNA test, and had formulated binder after binder of family pictures, names and dates, and relationship graphs. Because of her research, she was also contacted by other unknown relatives who were also doing their own genealogical search. So, she and one other cousin agreed to make a reunion a reality.
The core reunion group were her cousins since everyone from previous generations were gone. These cousins were all connected with a common grandfather. But that grandfather was just one of eleven children so the extended family would be much larger.
As with any plans, nothing ever goes as smoothly as you would hope.
The day before the event, the host was rushed to the hospital with what turned out to be a minor stroke. Do you cancel at the last minute or try to find a new venue? Since people were coming from Arizona, California, Montana, Texas, South Dakota, and Iowa, that was not an option. Luckily, other cousins stepped up and found a new location and the event was still on.
The new location proved ideal with a shelter out of the sun, electrical hookups for crock pots, and tables to spread out pictures and books filled with family history. For about four hours, cousins and their families reacquainted, shared family stories, and introduced the members of the younger generations.
All but two of my wife’s living cousins were able to attend. Several more distant relatives came and explained how they were connected and met relatives for the first time. Some relatives were recognized instantly while some who hadn’t been seen for a long time looked considerably different. But a brief conversation quickly renewed former connections.
While everyone had changed and their lives had taken vastly different paths to a variety of places, for a Saturday afternoon in July, for a couple hours, they were all family again.
As people slowly started to drift away, many realized that this temporary connection was especially meaningful since at our age, this might be the last time we would see some family members again. Despite all the planning it took, and the distances traveled to get there, almost everyone was glad they had made the effort to come.
 
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PHOTO:Ron Albright