Family Reunions

'Tis the season for family reunions. We'll look at the health and significance of those extended family get-togethers.

It is high summer, and we are smack dab in the middle of family reunion season. If you look, you will see it in parks and big backyards. Lots of kids. Lots of cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and great grandparents. Second cousins and third cousins and people who can’t even explain their relationship exactly, but know they’re – somehow – family.

Not every family does it, but many do. You may be headed there right now. Anticipating the stories, the potato salad, the old family jokes and tall tales.

This hour, On Point: We are family. We’re looking at family reunions now.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Rick Bragg, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and journalist, professor of writing at the University of Alabama, author of two best-selling memoirs, "All Over But the Shoutin'" and "Ava's Man."

Edith Wagner, founder and editor of Reunions Magazine, a quarterly publication for family, school, class, and military reunion organizers. Author of "The Family Reunion Sourcebook."

Dawn Braithwaite, chair of communication studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and senior fellow with the Council on Contemporary Families.

Ione Vargus, founder and institute administrator of The Family Reunion Institute at Temple University, dean emerita of the School of Social Administration at Temple University, doctorate from the Heller School at Brandeis University for Social Policy and Management.

These are just a few of the many story submissions we received. See more families stories.

McDonald Family

 Angela Johnson-Dorsey on planning a mega-family reunion:

In August 2012, I was the reunion planner the first-ever reunion for the 20 children of Thomas McDonald, my great-grandfather, in Fayetteville, NC. My great-grandfather was born a slave in southeastern NC. He had approximately 20 children with two different wives and has nearly 500 living descendants. The reunion we had in August, was the first attempt to bring together the living descendants. We had over 360 attendees, in total.

An event of this size never would have been possible if it hadn't been for social media. We automated as many processes as we could as much as possible. We created a Facebook page with a special site to provide reunion updates. We also established a reunion site with another company that allowed us to handle online ticket purchases. The great thing about this is that we were able to increase attendance simply by allowing people to purchase their tickets online. Approximately 30%-40% of our attendees used online option for making their reunion arrangements.

Peters Family

Oliver Peters, Jr. on his family's 40th reunion:

Our 40th reunion was a huge success. 39 people attended this year, staying in 8 townhome units at The Waterways on Smith Mountain Lake.

A lot has evolved since that first reunion. Evening meals are still shared together, but our family now gets divided into 5 "groups." Each group is responsible for providing one evening meal for everyone. You bring the beverage of your choice and we will provide the hors dourves, main meal and dessert. Each year we also rent a ski boat from the local marina. Here the "heads of households" divvy up the cost of the boat for the week, while the younger, 3rd generation (late teen, early 20s) kids pay for all the gas. One family member brings all the water skis, tow ropes, etc, another brings all the sports equipment (football, bocce ball, Frisbee, Volleyball) while still another brings the past years "memories."

There are four large photograph type books that contain a written history of each reunion. Who attended, what was served for meals, as well as pictures from each year, including 39 years worth of group pictures. There was also a DVD created which chronologically shows the reunions by way of pictures and movies (super 8 up to digital). Now with the digital age all around us, all of the original pictures, video’s, letters, and newspaper articles have been scanned and up loaded to a web storage site for all to see whenever they want.

Cook-Goings-McGraw Family

Daisy Stroud on planning her family's reunion:

I planned this year’s "Coming Home," Cook-Goings-McGraw Family Reunion held in Buffalo, New York last weekend July 19th - 21st, 2013. Sixty-five direct descendants of Al and Susie-Bolton Goings along with a host of extended family and friends attended.  My goal for those three days was for each of us to love on one another like it may be our last time to do so. To this end, I prayed and asked the family to join me in celebrating one another and maintaining a spirit of unity, love and fellowship as a family and that our reunion be a time of remembering, rejoicing, recreating, renewing, but most importantly connecting and reuniting! It was all of that and more.

Our reunion activities included a pre-reunion fish fry for early arriving attendees on Thursday and the official meet-and-greet, family picnic, late night bowling, Sunday worship, tour of Niagara Falls and semi-formal family gala. For the occasion a souvenir reunion book and family directory was created which included a narrative of six generations of Al and Susie Bolton-Goings family history.

Un Family

Tom Yi on the history and traditions of the Un family:

Our family immigrated to the United States in 1972 from South Korea. Slowly, my parents sponsored family members to join us in the U.S. At one point we had 14 people living in a 4-bedroom, 3-bath, 2-car household. We survived (smile) and now we are a family of 3 generations comprised of Koreans, Americans, Vietnamese, Chinese and Laotian.

The original reunion was to celebrate our 20th year in the United States ... Since then we have had family reunions at major life events, i.e. weddings, graduations and the like. Another occasion for a reunion is called Hwangab. This is the 60th birthday of an elder. In the past, living to the ripe old age of 60 was a great feat in Korea. Not so much in the U.S. but we still keep this tradition. For each elder that attains the age of 60, their children organize and plan the reunion.

Knaus Family

Elizabeth Knaus on activities at the Knaus family reunion:

A few weeks ago we traveled for a class reunion and also gathered together with my husband’s family. Then we crossed the South Dakota border for a reunion with my side of the family in Minnesota. Some of the activities included: making a list and grocery shopping together, meals, church, parade, thrift store, swimming pool, hiking, flea market, public fire works show, boutique shopping, tubing down Fish Hook River (it was a hit, so we did it 2 days in a row), bon fire (my husband calls them bond fires) ... Photography was an on-going process and we've created lasting memories to share with each other.

AARP: Affordable Family Reunion Tips: "Summertime is family reunion time! Seeing the entire clan at a family reunion can be a lot of fun, but it can also get pretty pricey. And you definitely don’t want anyone in the family to feel uncomfortable or not attend because of the cost. Here are some tips for keeping it cheap, and keeping it fun."

The Grio: The Do's And Don'ts Of Family Reuntions: "A sense of belonging, a thirst for knowledge and love are reasons why families everywhere make annual pilgrimages throughout the United States and abroad to reconnect with kinfolk. Some 82 million Americans will participate in family reunions this year, according to Budget Travel Magazine, which notes that 44 percent of leisure trips taken by African-Americans include family visits."

The Grio: 5 Rules For A Happy Family Reunion: "I saw a sight I hadn't seen since before her massive aneurysm and brain surgery nearly 12 years ago: My 60-year-old mom dancing to Robin Thicke, fingers snapping, smile lighting up the room, walker pushed to the side, having a ball at our family reunion."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Family Reunions Preserve The Past: "For years, the reunion was our way to preserve our connection to the past. Now it's our way to solidify our connection to the future ... Family is more than DNA, more than who we used to be, more than we can imagine we will become."

"Family Reunion" by Plank Road Publishing

"We Are Family" by Sister Sledge

"Family Reunion" by The O'Jays