Anyone can set up a reunion, even at next to zero-cost. If Dad's cousin Pat can do it, you and I can too.
Pat (who has since passed away) has a ranch, loosely speaking, with her 13 horses at her son's place next to hers, and huge patches of nettle and weeds growing there. But it is a serene and quiet place, with an untamed natural beauty.
Pat is not the world's tidiest housekeeper, but she has a heart as huge as her whole ranch, and she knows a lot of relatives, and when she invites them, they come. Never mind if they have to be on the road for a week, as Bert did, driving up from Georgia, or several days as did Catheryn and her daughter Kelly from Washington. Anita and Henry brought their girls and Anita's parents in their RV from Winnipeg... and so on.
Pat called it a Come N' Go Reunion.
She had no real activities ready, but the half dozen children there on the Sunday, enjoyed a batch of kittens that they cuddled and traded between themselves. She jumped on a truck with some young guys and went to pick up a crate with young piglets for the kids to play with too. (I'm afraid they were a bit too big to cuddle).
Those of us who are genealogists and outgoing, just got right into making acquaintance, or renewing contacts with the relatives there, and sharing information. We had to hang on to our papers in the wind, or weigh them down with stones on the picnic tables, but we managed.
Since we got home, I've been thinking, how a reunion would look if I organized one? I don't have all the space Pat does, but alternatives do exist. She makes it look so easy.
Well, I would research first on Google.
Yes, plenty of help. Here's a web site with all kinds of suggestions. I found some websites about organizing a family reunion. (Unfortunately, at the time of this update, those are gone. However, a fresh search today discovered many more websites about planning family reunions. Just do your research.)
I like the large outdoor spaces for those who come with RV or camper-trailer, or tents, but I'd try to find a farm or park near a large building too, so if the weather turns too wet or too windy and hot, they can go inside. A cleaned up barn would do.
Speaking of inside, the genealogists in the clan need some large tables to spread their charts, and pictures. It would be smart to have some computers hooked up and online so the advanced ones could show the newbies how to do more adventurous research.
Pat generously shared her photocopier. That's a huge help.
The kids under 12 need a bit of help with getting acquainted, so someone who is good with games and activities to spearhead these, and be their Pied Piper would be a super good thing. I'd throw in a pinata, and maybe a craft table too.
If you can't do all that, settle for a batch of young kittens and/or puppies. Just pass them around, and the kids will be occupied.
A few optional activities for the young people and adults who get bored with all that data sharing are a smart move as well. Such activities can run in the background and be supervised by some who find more pleasure in such togetherness.
Naturally, folks want to eat, and the best visiting often happens over a meal, or snack. But a hostess can get depressed, or terrifically exhausted trying to do it all alone. Allowing each family to bring their own food can work, but then they withdraw to eat alone too.
It's better to have a few people designated to be food detail people, both setting up and cleaning up. If it doesn't work that way, at least announce meal times in advance, and ask everyone to contribute with pot luck dishes.
There should also be some photo op times. A few are going to be snapping candid shots off and on, but by the time the reunion is over, people want to take home photos of the new friends they made of relatives they didn't know they had. So it is wise to schedule time for the whole crowd, and the smaller family units to line up for group photos.
This should not be planned for the very end of the reunion, as there are always individuals and families who are leaving early, and they'd be missed. Not all arrive at the beginning either, so it needs to fit in the middle somewhere.
Of course, there are the huge gatherings some clans plan for every two to five years, and they can get quite methodical. (I still get asked if I was at the big Friesen reunion of '77 with over 1000 people. No, I missed that one!) Just now I've focused on the smaller, economy reunions, but I can also visualize on the big scale too. That would call for committees and sub-committees to organize and pull off.
I wonder, Should I stir up some interest? I can think of at least four big clans to organize.
Oh no, now I'm feeling overwhelmed! I better call a friend and pray about this first.
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