100 Years!

My mom's family is as unique as any family but we add a twist to our heritage. We gather every year at the original homestead of my great grandparents. William and Sarah Mann.

Attending the reunion isn't something we are able to do every year yet even if one hasn't attended in a decade the moment you step onto that sacred ground you feel the warmth of generations of family reaching out to you. Remember that feeling of being hugged by your grandmother? That's the feeling you get when you arrive in Bill Holler.
It's also the final resting place of my mom, Ethel Ann Bowyer Cogar. So much of life really is like Gary Allen's song: Life Ain't Always Beautiful but it's a Beautiful Ride. Losing my mom when she was 61 certainly seems unfair and it's a loss that takes a part of your heart with it. But we try and find happiness in the legacy she left behind.
One of the great treasures of the reunion is the magic box. It holds years and years of photo albums. Some photos you forgot about but they immediately warm your heart. Today we live a digital world and the magic box may someday hold some new type of technology (perhaps not yet invented since my dad is no longer here to do that!) but for now we love our Kodak memories.

Four generations. That's baby Jason~his first visit to the holler! 1981. And the little girl above with the fingers in her mouth is unmistakably Elizabeth. Oh how she adored her Granny.

What started out decades ago as a gathering with picnic tables has now turned into a pavilion complete with stoves, refrigerators, freezers and electricity. There's also "solar" showers and toilets. Other small buildings have popped up over the years, giving shelter from the rain and strong sun as needed. On Saturday nights they heat up the deep fryers and create delicacies similar to what you've seen on Food Network. Oh those deep fried onion rings! YUM!
There's an auction every year to raise money for the Mann Plan fund. This year nearly $2000 was raised. Mind you some items are brought back every year to be sold over-and over-and over. Or in the case of this object my sister-in-law Susan is holding, a unique treasure made by a long gone great Aunt.

You might ask what these fine people are supposed to be. Why William and Sarah Mann of course!
And here's a shot of part of the food table. Everyone brings their special dish and we share a meal fit for a king!

Change is always difficult with a long time event. Everyone is skiddish about trying something new. However this year we took the jump and it was well received. We took the group photos BEFORE we ate! In fact they added a cute little twist. After the photos you were asked to sign the family book which allowed you to receive a fork for the feast! And despite our humble beginnings in this sacred holler, we are not savages-we prefer forks to fingers! Great new idea folks! Thanks for thinking of it!
Here's the entire group-well there were probably a few that didn't want to leave their cozy tents but for the most part we managed to get a lot of people on the hill!

After the group photo we break into our immediate family group. We are the proud descendants of Eliza Ann Mann Bowyer. Let me add that my grandmother was the epitome of kindness. I loved spending time with her so much that as soon as I got my drivers license (at 16) I drove to Virginia to visit her. Years later, when I was grown with a family of my own, I was on a trip with friends to the Royal Ontario Gardens in Canada. As we were walking I suddenly smelled something so familiar, something that reminded me of my Nanny. My friend Catherine immediately said-that's boxwood. As soon as we returned from our trip I was off to the landscaping center to buy boxwood. In fact we planted it all around our pool. And now that we're in a different home I also have it in the garden. A constant reminder of the love my Nanny represented. Some days that fragrance puts a tear on my cheek. Not one of sadness but one of pure joy. She really was a treasure. And also a treasure is my Aunt Ruby. Attending the 100th reunion was something we didn't want her to miss. So I picked her up on my way into the holler and my brother Clay made sure she got home safely. Oh how wonderful it was for her to be there and us to spend that magic day with her!

In the back row:Liz, Jason, Glenn Sekse, Clay, me, Tim, Tony Cromer,Ian. In the middle row: Susan, Rhonda, Amy, Cortney. Sitting: Tandy, Aunt Ruby, Cassandra. Why the blank sign in front of us? Cousin Phillip took all the group photos and later added the family member name via Adobe Photoshop. Aren't we clever in our family!
Here's our sweet Aunt Ruby!

We're also known to be a silly bunch. Dressing up in crazy outfits, expressing our political thoughts on a t-shirt, showing off our very expensive jewelry (24 karat necklace for example) wearing the same red dress every year or driving around in decorated lawn mowers. Why not? Life is often too short and we all need to laugh more.

Ah, the Mann family reunion. A time to sit back, reflect, relax, have fun, share the love of all the ones who once walked here. Amazing, truly amazing.

Before I finish today's blog I have another photo to add. Notably missing this year were my Aunt Sharon and Uncle JC. They certainly wanted to be there and without their support over the past 25+ years it's doubtful this year's reunion would have run quite so smoothly. Uncle JC had just returned from a hospital visit and couldn't make the trip. Sure seems unfair that they had to miss the 100th but despite the fact that they weren't there physically they sure were with us in our thoughts. Everyone spoke of how they missed them. I know I sure did.

Marvelous Myrtle Beach

This is more about my cousin Amy and her super sweet boyfriend Tony than it is about Myrtle Beach. However we were all in Myrtle Beach before we went to the reunion so I'd like to add some photos from our time together.

Tony, Amy, Callie (10) and Josie (5). Doesn't take too many days with this group to learn that Tony is totally devoted to the girls in his life.
The first time I met Tony was about a year and a half ago. Amy had just re-connected with Tony (they went to high school together over 20 years ago). We were hosting our annual Christmas party and Amy wanted to come up (from Virginia) for the party. Tony lives in Knoxville, TN which meant a REALLY long drive for him! The night they were due to arrive my girls and I were out for our annual girls Christmas dinner (that year Tim splurged and got us a ginormous limo!) In any case my heart went out to Tony even before I met him. He was meeting Tim and my sons for the first time, without the benefit of me or the girls to protect him from our guys. What we soon discovered was that Tony was so likable and so genuinely crazy about Amy that she nor he needed any protection!
Shortly after I had a chance to speak with Tony he mentioned a book he had read. He said the book had had a dramatic impact on his life. He spoke so passionately about it that I knew I needed to get a copy, asap. The book is called The Go Giver, by John David Mann and Bob Burg. Ironically Mann is my maternal grandmother's maiden name. After I read the book I wondered if I was somehow related to John David.
What I also discovered about Tony was his passion for Amy. During the party I asked him if I could ask him a personal question. He chuckled and made some comment about it being ok so long as it wasn't the same question his mother had asked! My question to him was: "When did you know Amy was the one?" He said-the moment she first pulled up to my house in her car and opened her car door. I then asked Amy the same question. She said it was when she first pulled into Tony's driveway and saw him in the garage. Yes, love at first sight still happens. They had become re-acquainted by texting, emailing and talking on the phone. But they hadn't seen each other for many years until the day Amy had the courage to drive to Knoxville and see him in person.

I might add that my son Jason may have had some input into her decision to take this leap of faith. Amy had been married for eleven years, not a happy bride but a woman who had made the ultimate commitment, took it seriously, and took years to get the courage to walk away. We admire her courage. Jason spent time with her on the beach in Myrtle Beach one summer and told her that she was a wonderful person who had so much to give to someone and she should take a leap of faith and go see Tony.

What can I say. We are all so happy for them. As they have said many times, they are living the fairy tale. And let's be honest, most fairy tales have their share of bumps and bruises during the story. Tony and Amy have many battle scars for decisions they made when they were very young. But they also have a love so strong that they are willing to drive hours every weekend just to spend a few precious days together.

What made this last trip to Myrtle Beach so special? Finally getting to meet Tony's amazing daughters. Meet Callie and Josie-2 girls who are as sweet as a sweet tea!

Some other photos from our fun few days together.

Another highlight of our beach days? Getting up to see the sunrise!

How can you not LOVE this one of these precious sweet girls!


Love this one too!

Here's two from some of the fun things we did. A trip to Barefoot Landing and Calabash Creamery for some yummy ice cream!

My sweet little Amy is all grown up now. I wish she never had to experience so much pain in the years she was away from all of us. But it's good to know that the little angel I used to spend all my days with has found true love. And if I had to pick her Prince Charming myself I would have quickly picked Tony.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

It's true, good weather days in our area are not as common as not so good weather days. But today is a perfect morning. I am sitting in my back yard listening to the symphony of birds and watching the groundhog stare at me from the little barn. One slight movement and he runs like a fox back under the barn. I grew up with ground hogs and muskrats and a variety of other wildlife. When we first moved to this house there was a family of groundhogs living under our foundation. Creative Ian devised an elaborate system to lure them out. Then Tim drowned them in the pool (pool wasn't ready to be used at that time-needed a new deck at the least). The funny part is what happened a few days later. Ian was taken out to dinner with 2 of his swim coaches. Amanda and Jessica Olbrys. He retold them the story of the groundhogs and their demise. Of course he was quite young and his voice a bit loud and animated as he was proud of his capture. I can only imagine what the other diners were thinking as he told the story!

Our backyard on July 4th

Been gone too long!

It's been a very busy couple of weeks. I have lots of photos to post-nearly 100!
And that brings me to this past weekend. We went to West Virginia to celebrate the Mann 100th family reunion. What a feat! 100 years of a family gathering in Bill Holler. It's nearly impossible to truly describe the area where our family has gathered for so long. One thing is for sure is that the moment you pull off the main road (a windy and curvy barely two lane road that stretches from Alderson to many other small towns) a feeling comes over you. It's like you can feel all your relatives reaching out to you with arms wide open. Remember Christmas when you were little and you couldn't wait for Santa to come? And then on Christmas morning running to the tree and sure enough he had been there? Well, it's that feeling when you get to the Holler. A smile and a tear both appear at the same moment. And although you never met your great grandmother you still feel her presence. She's standing on her porch with a glass of sweet tea in one hand and a mouth watering biscuit in the other hand. You can't wait to begin the feast and with every passing minute you know you are one step closer to the joy of seeing everyone and the sadness that will come when you have to say good-bye.
Enjoy the photos!

It is here where my mother patiently awaits our visits. It's not that we must travel to the mountain to be with her for she is with us wherever we go. But when we can travel to the mountain we hike up the hill -hoping the local snakes aren't interesting in visiting-and we take a moment to breath in the expansive views. What a lovely resting place.

My mom had the ability to make each grandchild feel like her favorite. She never showed favoritism to any of them-just one of her many talents. Here you can see Elizabeth happily hanging out with Granny. Elizabeth looked like this quite often. Getting her to smile was often a challenge. It didn't mean she wasn't happy, only that she was a wee bit stubborn! Pretty much defines her nowadays as well!

One of the things that makes the reunion unique is how we like to be silly and laugh at ourself. I had heard there was going to be a hat contest so I decided to participate. Never did really have a contest that day but I have no regrets about the hat. Made the day even more fun! As for the necklace, my Aunt Sharon requested that I do something my mom had done many years ago. Wear a 24 Karat necklace. Was it silly? Of course! But it was lots of fun and got a lot of people chatting about it. So thanks to Aunt Sharon for the request and my mom for having the idea originally. We so missed having Uncle J.C. and Aunt Sharon with us that day. They were instrumental in the success of the reunion and we were all sad that Uncle J.C.'s recent illness kept them from participating this year.

The Rube! What we lovingly call our beloved Aunt Ruby. She was so excited to be able to go and we were so excited to have her with us. She is such a treasure.

One of everyone's favorite pastimes at the reunion is to open the magic trunk and look through years and years of photos. And then you strike gold! You find an old photo of people you recognize-and love dearly. This is a 4 generation photo. It was Jason's first trip to the mountain.

Food, food, and more food. On Saturday night they fire up the deep fryer and fry anything and everything! But for me the best were the onion rings!

Loue and her daughter Hope. Hope is a word one thinks of each time they step onto the sacred reunion ground. For no matter what happens each year, from losing a loved one to divorce or the joy of a new baby, one can always hope. Loue lost her beloved son Richard in a motorcycle accident. Our cousin Verna died one day before the reunion began-in the Holler. Yet everyone is able to put their sorrows in that special place for one day and gather with other family members to remember those that are no longer with us and to dream of those that will someday return to experience the reunion once again.

Gordon, Gordy, whatever you call him, you will love him! He was married to Carris. A favorite cousin to so many. Carris made a quilt and doll for Elizabeth when she was born. And although not on her legal birth certificate we used to use Carris in Elizabeth's name. She never liked it but that's only because she never had the chance to get to know Carris. For if she had she would have loved that name, as we all loved Carris.

Cousin Ray. For many years he served as President on our Board of Directors. Yes, we're a serious group, having a Board!

What's unusual in this photo? Glenn! Not that HE is unusual but the fact that he is there and he's not related. So why is he there? Because EVERYONE is welcome at our reunion and Glenn is as close to a brother as Clay has known. We loved having him there and he had a great experience!

Here are 2 sweet cousins who haven't seen each other in 10 years. Rhonda, on the right is the daughter of Uncle Rodney. When Jason was 15 he flew out to California to spend a week with Uncle Rodney. Every teenager should have an Uncle Rodney to visit. He was a former police officer and in his retirement loved to bike. Most days he biked 40 miles. Unfortunately for no good reason he left us all too young, from pancreatic cancer. Oh how we loved him. On the left is our sweet cousin Amy. For many years we didn't see much of her, she was trying to survive a difficult marriage. One day she had the courage to walk out the door and we now have our happy cousin back. But despite all her troubles she knew she had the reunion, the one place where time stands still and everyone is ready to greet you with a huge hug.

After hearing reunion stories for more than 6 years Liz finally got to experience the magic of the mountain. She soon discovered that everyone here is treated like family-which includes having random water balloons thrown at you! On the way out of the Holler we ran over a snake-Liz's response: "If that had happened on the way in I would not have gotten out of the car!"

My last paragraph follows another special part of the reunion. Familiar. Each year Loue pulls out this special red dress and puts it on. She said she didn't know how much longer this would be possible as it was getting rather tight. Well, she still looks like a true beauty! Just like our reunion. Beautiful, year after year.