Two of the best things about family reunions-the babies and the elders.
Tipper
Appalachia Through My Eyes – A series of photographs from my life in Southern Appalachia.
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Appalachia Through My Eyes – Family Reunions
22 Comments
Sue Crane
June 4, 2011 at 9:37 amour reunion is coming up in mid-July!! Sadly, our numbers are dwindling as so many of the ‘young’ ones are scattered geographically. At one time we celebrated six generations with the birth of my first great-granddaughter. What blessings.
Ethel
June 2, 2011 at 6:11 amWe used to have a family reunion, but I guess everyone is too busy with their own life now. I would have savored them more had I known they would ever end! I would have asked a lot more questions of the elders, most of them gone now, who knew all the little details of the family history.
Sweet picture, Tipper! I love the bemused and indulgent look on the gentleman’s face, the little ones seem to bring out the tender side in us all!
kenneth o. hoffman
June 1, 2011 at 10:34 pmTipper: nothing could be better than go back too any one of a dozen family reunions. they were all filled with happiness, and good food. i remember my dad would put on Carl Storys great song family reunion. love those memories. k.o.h
Suzi Phillips
June 1, 2011 at 10:32 pmYou’re timing is spot on, Tipper! We attended a wedding this evening a the Phillip’s family’s old homeplace. We had the elders (74) & the youngers (3 days). When this bunch gets together, it always turns into a reunion with priceless stories & precious memories. The ones who are no longer with us always are in spirit. Lovely evening!
SandyCarlson (USA)
June 1, 2011 at 10:29 pmThe babies and the elders are why we have to have picnics–to remember it’s just good to be home. Beautiful.
Bradley
June 1, 2011 at 9:12 pmTipper,
We used to have the best reunions when I was little and then as a yong man! So many of my family have gone now.
I always dreaded it when I was very little because we got all those wet and gooey kisses. You could count on getting your cheeks and nose tweaked till you just wanted to run. Then there was all those that would laugh and slap their knees and say, “Lord I won’t never forget that time you boys got butted nearly to death by Granny’s old billy goat!” It was always something you wanted to forget like that time the old cow tried trample us little boys when we tried to pet her new calf! Then there was the time that etc., etc., etc., but there was always so much love then.
We still have a reunion but not as frequent now. The homemade ice cream (I think tasted better then).
Oh,yes there is always some young sprout there that just can’t believe that you are so old that you actually remember seeing Buddy Holly live on The “Ed Sullivan Show.”
Yeah, those were the days!
Bradley
Mary Jane Plemons
June 1, 2011 at 7:20 pmMy husband and his twin are the eldest of twelve siblings. When his Daddy died at 80-something several years ago, there were exactly 100 descendents and spouses living. His mother had died about 40 years ago. Now there are approximately 130, maybe more, in the immediate family, plus uncles, cousins, and friends who show up at reunions. One brother died last year, the youngest. The twins are 73 now. Most of the 8 brothers play music, plus many of the others, so we have lots of guitars, a steel, drums, etc., with music all day, tons of good food, and we visit up a storm! At the last one, we took a picture of all our military vets, and they represented 108 years of service, from World War II, thru Korea, Viet Nam, and Desert Storm, with one nephew actively serving in the Army now. He is in Afghanistan now, for the second time, plus serving in Iraq.
Nancy
June 1, 2011 at 6:49 pmHave never been to a family reunion, mainly because there has never been one. Is that weird?
RB
June 1, 2011 at 6:19 pmI agree.
We had two aunts (sisters) who bickered constantly at family reunions. They WERE the elders. We called them The Aunts. But their little squabbles were humorous, not rancorous – especially to those listening, cause they’d argue about the silliest things. The one I remember most is whether their mom (our Gran) had two rinse tubs with her wringer washer or just one.
Can you imagine arguing about that? LOL
Uncle Al
June 1, 2011 at 4:29 pmFor various reasons we have missed our family reunions (both sides) for a couple of years. We do plan to head to Mississippi in July for this year’s reunion. My mama will be excited. She always can tell me how many cousins there are now and the newly borned ones as well. Some of our earlier “kin” were from NE Georgia and some even in NC, but I’ve had trouble tracing all of them.
Mama Crow
June 1, 2011 at 2:39 pmMy fav parts of reunions are Mama’s potato salad, watching the kids play in the creek, cleaning out the spring, and waiting for evening so we can start the campfire and do hotdogs and marshmallows. Mama Crow.
ps I don’t like the part where my cousin and I get out the big poster size chart of our family tree and put dashes around the names of those that died this year, but we also get to put new stickers for the new arrivals…that helps.
still Mama Crow
Janet
June 1, 2011 at 11:28 amI love family reunions! We are having ours on Saturday.
Mary Shipman
June 1, 2011 at 11:07 amlove this Tipper!
John Dilbeck
June 1, 2011 at 10:06 amI couldn’t agree more, Tipper.
I went to a family reunion last Saturday and had a great time seeing everyone again.
I shot over an hour of video and now I’m working on whittling it down to under 15 minutes so I can post it online — and not leave anyone out.
There were lots of new young-uns and not as many of the old folks.
Coffeemuses
June 1, 2011 at 10:00 amThe funny thing about family reunions is that when you are between those two extremes…They just aren’t as much fun.
It’s the kids and the elders that make those awkward in-between years worth living through. At least in my family, everyone seems to go through that period of young adulthood where you just don’t want to be bothered with the yearly trip to see all of “the relatives”.
Nice timing Tipper, I have a reunion this Sunday for my dad’s family…The attendance has dropped off in recent years, and since I am now an elder…That bother’s me.
Miss Cindy
June 1, 2011 at 9:37 amI think you have to develop a little maturity before you can truly appreciate the innocence and purity of the very young and the hard won second sight of the elders!
Jen
June 1, 2011 at 9:23 amMemories in the making for both generations!
Mike McLain
June 1, 2011 at 8:59 amI wish I still had my grandparents around. My last surviving grandmother died almost 20 years ago, just shy of her 90th birthday. I would love to chat with them, and I have a LOT of questions.
I was blessed, though, because with the exception of my Dad’s dad who died from cancer at 72, the other three lived into their mid-80’s to mid-90’s. Knowing what I know now, though, I would have spent more time with them.
Sandra
June 1, 2011 at 8:40 ama lovely shot of young and older, not old of course. the little boy’s look like twins. i always like the elders at our reunion, because of their stories,now all those elders are gone home to heaven and I am the elder.
Joe Mode
June 1, 2011 at 7:41 amI love get togethers, but unfortunatley for us our reunions of late only occur when there is a death or wedding in the family. We did just have a christening get together for my wife’s 2nd cousins little girl.
I always enjoy talking to my elders. They are the keepers of the family memories. They are good at reminding one of their younger days and happier times as well.
B. Ruth
June 1, 2011 at 7:02 amTipper,
This one has me perplexed….It could be someone waiting with the younger cousins at the Trailways or Greyhound bus station in town for a family reunion….but gosh I haven’t seen a Trailways or Greyhound bus in years! sooo, that type of meeting (reunion)is not probable…
The picture reminds me of the bus depots, pick-up and drop-offs, in small towns I’ve seen thru the years….
So where is it?
Thanks Tipper,
Becky
June 1, 2011 at 6:43 amI agree with that!
It has been a long time since my family has had a family reunion.