Payne family enjoys three-day reunion
GRAVETTE — The Payne family enjoyed three days of activities in the Gravette area on the weekend of Gravette Day.
On Friday night, Aug. 10, almost 30 of the family met in Gentry at the home of Delbert Payne and Jo Jackson for a cookout and swim party. Delbert and Lanny Garrett were the master grillers.
On Saturday, we proudly donned our royal blue Payne Family shirts, over 60 of us celebrating Gravette’s birthday in the parade and at a lot of other Gravette Day activities. Lunch was at Sue Rice’s or Bill and Clara Payne’s homes in Gravette.
Saturday evening (and the afternoon) were spent at the Lanny and Snooky Garrett farm with more swimming in the creek and pool and a spaghetti dinner later on.
Sunday was the big day at the Hiwasse Community Center for a devotional from chaplain Bob Wineberg, a fabulous lunch prepared by all and the silent auction and quilt raffle.
The best part was welcoming six new children to our family. Cade and Nikki Mayer adopted Leda, age 15, and Savanna, age 9, and with proud grandparents, Bob and Bobbi Wineberg, introduced them to more than 70 new relatives. Savanna now thinks the whole town of Gravette is made up of her cousins!
Carly Dickey and Wyatt Payne were born earlier this year and did not make the reunion, but proud great-grandparents Bill and Clara Payne were there.
Blake and Lyndsy brought Zechariah, three weeks old; and John Wayne Williams and Courtney Porter brought 11-day-old Letti Nichole, who both got introduced to a lot of family members on Sunday. Zechariah’s parents, grandparents Chuck and Lisa Garrett, and great-grandparents Lanny and Snooky Garrett and Mary Bumstead were in attendance. Letti’s parents and grandmother Candy Williams were there and, of course, there was a host of aunts, uncles and cousins for both.
Allie Kershner’s baby, Lillianna, was too shy to “come out” for the reunion, or that would have been the seventh new member.
We also celebrated the new doctor of veterinary medicine, Rachel Cummins from Coppell, Texas, our first “doctor” in the family. We are all proud of you, Rachel.
We had family from Lake City, Florida, across the country in Austin, Texas, and many points in between. All got home safely and we are excitedly awaiting our next get-together between Christmas and New Year.