Our last family reunion was this past Saturday in Lecompton, Kan. It was thrown together and with less than a month’s notice there were some who couldn’t make it and we struggled to find a meeting room that wasn’t already spoken for, so the headcount was fairly low with 19 people attending. Not bad considering one flew in from Los Angeles and one flew in from Florida. They met at the Kansas City airport and shared a rental car. Two more arrived by car from Austin, Texas and one cousin has been traveling from Washington state to Dallas to Oklahoma City to multiple stops in Kansas. His Dallas stop was to see my aunt, who also drove up and was responsible for setting the date and location. There was also a second cousin from somewhere up north and even several people from Kansas.

Mom came from a farm family near Welda, Kan., and there were 12 kids. The family reunions on her side were an annual Father’s Day weekend event in Welda or Garnett for as long as I can remember. Dad was the family photographer and there are pictures dating back to the late ’50s. Much of this past week leading up to the gathering was devoted to poring through photo albums and boxes of photos and commenting on when, where and why the photos were taken. Some of the thoughts/comments:

“Look at those hairstyles/clothes!”

“I remember that dog/car/wallpaper.”

“Who the heck is that?

“Why don’t people write names and dates on photographs?”

At some point in the 1990s my Aunt Velma said the next generation would need to start taking over the family reunions. And as people moved further away, the gatherings continued but we agreed to have a “big” reunion every five years, for those who couldn’t make the trip every year. For my generation, most of the cousins had grown up knowing each other and the hope was that the next generation could have the same experience. But in recent years, the “reunions” are more often for funerals.

I told my aunt that as soon as I got back to work on Monday it would be my turn to write a column or “viewpoint” for the opinion page of the Great Bend Tribune. She suggested I write about the importance of families getting together for reunions and then to write another piece about the importance of family members getting along and setting aside any differences while they still can. 

I’m wondering if readers will share other suggestions for keeping in touch. There have been talks of a traveling reunion that starts in one state and moves to multiple locations, with people joining in as they can.

We didn’t have any next-next generation members at this gathering. No little kids running around, until the end, when my niece and her husband showed up with their little girls.

One of my aunts turned 80 last November and she read an essay she wrote reflecting on the concept of a family circle perhaps spreading with the birth of new generations, becoming interconnected circles, akin to Olympic rings, that grow and stretch over time.

Here’s hoping all is well with your circles. And don’t forget to put names and dates on those photos.

Susan Thacker is the news editor of the Great Bend Tribune. Email her at sthacker@gbtribune.com.