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!
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.
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.
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