Family Reunion

Welcome & today I'll share a few pictures of yesterday's family reunion (promise...no people pictures!). It was such a glorious day, and unfortunately our host cousins decided to have the gathering at the old family church Fellowship Hall. I was disappointed, but I certainly understood that it was easier on them. When it's held at The Home Place - as previously done in nice weather - they have all the work of setting up tables, chairs, etc. At the Fellowship Hall, all the tables are already arranged by the church crew, and all that needs be done, is put out the food, and then tidy up when we are done. We still had a good time, and of course we visited the cemetery to hunt for loved ones. That used to bother me a bit, but my parents have been gone for 18 years now, so it's not so emotional for me. Usually. And it's always interesting to go find sites of other relatives not so closely linked to me. My great-great grandparents are there, my great grandmother and of course my Dad's parents & one of  his brothers are sleeping right behind the church walls. My husband always thinks we ought not to 'be morbid' as he puts it, but to me, it's just a visit to say Hello and hope somehow that they know they are always in my heart. As one of my cousins who refuses to do this, reminded me "They are not THERE". Well, I know that!

I've always thought this was a very old-fashioned looking church. When it was first built, in mid-1800's I think - it was white clapboard. Since there were graves from the 1700's, there must have been an earlier building too.  Over time, as the congregation increased (and collection plates were more generous!) - the church façade was bricked. Only the center portion was the original church. I can remember when it was just that part, but only have seen pictures of when it was wooden. Again over time, wings were added as the congregation grew. It's very peaceful in the interior with some lovely stained glass windows. When the Fellowship Hall was being remodeled & enlarged, church members found a beautiful old stained glass window that had originally been over the altar. I'm not sure what final decision was made on how best to place this memorabilia where it could be best enjoyed. You can see the blue sky, how green the trees are, and I was standing out in the grove of very old trees that are in front of this church, to take the pictures. (see the shadows on the asphalt). At one time, the doors would be open so visitors could come inside, say a prayer or whatever. Sadly, that's no longer possible. There's a wonderful steeple with a cross at the top of the main portion.

This view shows the wonderful trees that surround the back edges of the cemetery. At the very back, there is a wood, with a dirt path that goes back to the Home Place. My grandparents walked that path to attend church, as did my brothers  when they were young lads at the farm with Grandma.  Some of the headstones are circa 1700's. It is heartbreaking to see so many tiny stones of children & read their ages if the inscription is readable. High infant & child mortality in those days. There are lots of unmarked graves in the center of the cemetery, where the stones were of some soft blue-gray slate type material. I can remember those looking so tipsy & crooked when I was a very young child, tagging along when Daddy took his Mother to clean the graves on Memorial Day. (probably a Southern thing.) Now I think professional crews do this type of thing, but back in the late 40's, that was done by relatives.  Over time these stones had eroded and fallen down. Since the area is maintained by a crew it became too labor intensive to care for the areas where these stones were, so they were removed. The church records keep the names of those buried there (but not all, according to my cousin. Some of the stones were totally illegible and records were not so complete for that time period).The area is a cleared grassy spot so as to be easily mowed & clipped. There is a small in-ground memorial stone for a marker. Most visitors know the story, so one does not just walk across this area. Another area has been turned into a memorial site for deceased members of this church who were veterans. Time didn't allow us to visit that, but I understand it is a memorial plaque with names, pertinent dates & service branch. Cemetaries can be quite depressing I realize, but we have visited some really old ones in our travels, and I've always thought this particular one is quite peaceful. Even when there's no one I love resting therein, I've always found it interesting to see the old stones, read the dates and the inscriptions.

My cousin who hosted the reunion, is a quilter. We come from a family that had lots of quilters. I used to be a quilter! (Translation: I bought fabric as I now buy stamping supplies). I pieced some tops, but only ever finished quilting some throws, nothing bed-sized.  Cousin P.  knows I love old quilts. She brought over one that she has which was a marriage gift to her mother (my Dad's baby sister). All the family quilters gathered at a quilting bee, and each prepared a block. They chose the pattern, fabric and signed their names,  then embroidered the signature. I found the block Mama had done, (got a little choked up as I was looking at the photo just now), as well as the center block, (Mother) done by my Grandmother. I think my aunt married in 1936. Most of the fabrics used were from feed sacks. In case you may not know that meaning: Farmers long ago, bought grain, flour, seed - in sacks that were made of very pretty calico prints. As a USA quilter, I know the value of feed sack material (and I can usually tell if it's 'real' or a reproduction too!). I knew that the fabrics in this quilt were real & had been washed to remove all the original 'stuff' that may have been in the material - probably using a washboard & tub outside, over a fire. The quilt backing still had the faded logo in places. Someone apparently had dyed all the backing fabric used to be a single color of what was perhaps a tan color. Over time, it's patina'd into something that looks like a coffee stain brown.

Mama's block, top right

 

 

Grandma's Block for her daughter's wedding quilt

 

 

 

As we were taking pictures, I realized all of us were using flash, and said "Wait! Everybody, set your flash off. Light is really bad for an old quilt like this". So that's why the color on this picture is not so nice as the 2 above. I asked my cousin how she is storing this treasure. She said "Oh I have it hanging over a door". Since I was already fighting with myself not to covet, I then had to zip it to not offer proper storage advice on old fragile quilts.  Her quilt -- her choice as to how she cares for it. And she's a quilter, so she knows more than I do about antique quilts! *

 

*Forgot to mention. The edges of the quilt had become raggedy as it was used for warmth, not just for looks. Cousin P. added a new binding, which of course would devalue this for a collector. For us it's a family heirloom, which is priceless.

 

One amusing reunion story: I sat with my brothers & their wives, and my husband at one end of a table. A fella that I knew was a cousin of some sort - and I knew exactly which family he belonged to - sat across from me. We chatted, but I could not think of his name. I knew that he was one of my late 1st cousin's boys, and I knew which one he was not! (the 2 that I could remember are deceased). But I couldn't think of his name to save my life. I'm pretty sure he didn't know me either, but he knew I belonged with the 2 fellas (my brothers) that he did know!! It's really strange to think I attended these reunions as a kid, and now my generation is the OLDER generation. I expect when our group of cousins are gone, this event will cease. A shame, because it's a lovely way to enjoy old family memories. And we did. Some laughing & happy, some not so much.

 

Hope I haven't bored you to tears! Thanks for visiting and letting me reminisce (I had to look up the spelling of that one!!!) Hugs. Happy afternoon.