The second Saturday in August - for almost all of my married life that has meant The Hoskins Reunion - a celebration of a marriage that took place in August of 1843 - yes. That's right - that's 160 years ago. When I was first married I was absolutely enthralled with the idea of a family that still got together after that many generations. After nearly 40 years of living in a community that's about 50% family and another 20% kin, it feels normal - but I still love it just as much as I did when I first experienced it - back in the summer of 1975.
Cousin H and I do all the prep for TheReunion - keeping the mailing list, getting out the invitations, making sure the room is set up. We actually take the day before off to run around town making sure everything's ready.
Then we gather at the church where J. T. Hoskins and his wife Hannah Ware Hoskins, and many of their descendants are buried. It's nice that so many of our long gone cousins are just outside every summer when TheReunion takes place.
Here is BD's branch of the family - the grand-children and great-grandchildren of Emma Hoskins and R. G. Haile.
It's always fun to see who makes it to TheReunion because some of them come from very far away.
Everyone wears a name tag and most of the time puts the name of the sister they descend from.
The generations never seem to have any problem communicating.
Looks like cousin D is pondering the quality of the ice tea - or maybe it's the lemonade.
For sure - nobody has any trouble finding something delicious to eat. It's much more a question of - "Can I stop myself before I pop?"
But no matter how much spoon bread or pound cake or fried chicken you put on your plate, it's the smiles and the hugs that make TheReunion so special.
It comes in early August but after it's over I always feel like summer is at an end. There's just the winding up stuff left to do. A few more days of swimming, a few more hot nights and then it will be September - the beginning of fall, the start of the new school year, my BIRTHDAY MONTH!
But all year long we'll look back with smiles and happy memories of this 160 year old tradition - The Hoskins Reunion.
Then we gather at the church where J. T. Hoskins and his wife Hannah Ware Hoskins, and many of their descendants are buried. It's nice that so many of our long gone cousins are just outside every summer when TheReunion takes place.
Here is BD's branch of the family - the grand-children and great-grandchildren of Emma Hoskins and R. G. Haile.
It's always fun to see who makes it to TheReunion because some of them come from very far away.
Everyone wears a name tag and most of the time puts the name of the sister they descend from.
The generations never seem to have any problem communicating.
For sure - nobody has any trouble finding something delicious to eat. It's much more a question of - "Can I stop myself before I pop?"
But no matter how much spoon bread or pound cake or fried chicken you put on your plate, it's the smiles and the hugs that make TheReunion so special.It comes in early August but after it's over I always feel like summer is at an end. There's just the winding up stuff left to do. A few more days of swimming, a few more hot nights and then it will be September - the beginning of fall, the start of the new school year, my BIRTHDAY MONTH!
But all year long we'll look back with smiles and happy memories of this 160 year old tradition - The Hoskins Reunion.
What a special time you've had again this year. Long may it continue!
ReplyDeleteHugs!