Reunions: Face time preferred over FaceTime
We had a family reunion of sorts this month. Many members of the family regularly get together for holidays, but we felt a day of just eating and visiting with no real agenda would be something different. While it was a lot of work for those who organized the event, I can say that it was definitely enjoyable.
Nieces and nephews arrived from as far as Montana and Colorado, bringing spouses and children that we had not seen in a number of years. Youngsters and babies were notably present in abundance. I can attest that the next generation of Houstons is secure!
Family reunions are not as prevalent as they once were, most likely due to the availability of email, video phones and other forms of social media. If grandparents can grasp the use of FaceTime and Skype, they can regularly chat with and see their grandkids regardless of where they live. But nothing beats actual visits with hugs and kisses from these little ones!
I like to peruse the archives of certain newspapers. In the past this would have meant going to a cramped cubicle in a library and scrolling through spools of microfiche. Now we have websites dedicated to preserving decades of newspaper publications. Simple keyword searches quickly find your topic of interest.
If I search on the term “family reunion,” I find 58,109 references between 1910 and 1920 in the United States. That number increases to 92,575 for the period between 1920 to 1930. The peak of references to family reunions in newspapers was between 1960 to 1970 at 165,342. This may indicate that fewer reunions were taking place or, more likely, these gatherings were not as newsworthy as in the past. The articles would list names of family members and where they lived, sometimes mentioning those who had passed on since the previous reunion. I found an
edition of The Tipton (Indiana) Daily Tribune that listed some 30 reunions occurring on one weekend in July 1970!
I recall a couple of reunions in Texas on my father’s side of the family. These were grand affairs with loads of food, watermelons, games for the kids, and lots of talking by the adults. Children’s input into conversations was not really welcomed, but we sometimes sat on the periphery of where the adults gathered to listen to some of the stories. I so wish someone had brought a tape recorder! I was able to find some old Super 8 film of one reunion that my father had squirreled away in his closet. Most all in that video have passed on and with them, their history.
Now I and my siblings are the “old folks” at the reunion. I wonder how the youngsters will remember us? I do know that if they were over the age of 10, they all had camera phones. At least they will have more records of their reunions than we do.
— Devin Houston is the president/CEO of Houston Enzymes. Send comments or questions to devin.houston @gmail.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.