Dale
Gathering together
I worked with someone once that had a reunion with his siblings every two years. They were scattered across the United States and I thought, what a great way to keep in touch and stay close to family. It made me think of our Summerlin family reunions and how special it is to reconnect with cousins, aunts and uncles that live outside of St. Lucie County and who have special stories to share when they all get together.
In thinking of it from my friend’s perspective, I thought it was so cool for him to travel to another location. To gather with family, explore the area they had chosen to gather at, and spend time together as well. They always chose someplace different.
But, from my perspective, I realized what a beautiful place we live in, here along the Treasure Coast, and how special it must be for my relatives to come and visit. It also made me appreciate the planners and the orchestrators of the events. Sitting under their tutelage, and because of what I’ve learnt during the planning of a few myself, it’s made me appreciate even more the stories of, and from, those who came before us.
Sharing the Stories
“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.”
~Lewis Carroll, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
I can remember my father spinning yarns and telling us stories from an early age. I know now, many of those stories were just that. Stories. Like the time he explained the scar on his ankle as “that’s where the Indians shot me with an arrow.” Or an all time favorite (even though I cannot remember the details for the life of me) is the story of Ar-chi-bald Ba-hunk-us where he spelled the name in syllables. I mean, every kid knows Bahunkus means “butt”, right? We would be in giggles over that one every time he told it!
But, also there were true stories about family. Like of E. C. & Polly Ann farming pineapples on their land. And how the local post was delivered by Josie who would climb up on a platform and hold the bag of letters and other sundry mail up and a train attendant would grab it from a hook as they passed by on the tracks. And did you know that E. C. Summerlin sat on the first Grand Jury in St. Lucie County? All fact, not fiction.
There are stories of our relatives packing live sea turtles on their backs on the paddlewheel boats that were headed to Jacksonville to the market. There is a story about Tom who patiently waited for months to hear if he was made the bridge tender of the North Bridge. I need to share though, in those same stories it is often told of how he would go off hunting and someone else in the family would sit in for him. He liked to hunt and fish a lot! But often times, sitting on that bridge at night meant a chance to cool off from the humidity, try and avoid the mosquitoes, and for them to just spend time with each other.
Eating the food
Can I just tell you, these gatherings, these times we get together and share a meal and reminisce. These feasts are shared so that we can get together and remember our history. We put up the story boards with pictures and memorabilia, we sit around and tell stories. Some play games. There’s laughter and even tears. This is history. This is tradition. This is important.
Tell your children about it in the years to come, and let your children tell their children. Pass the story down from generation to generation.
~Joel 1:3, NT/NLT
These stories, passed down from generation to generation might be lost if not for these gatherings. In this age of technology, it’s a special time to slow down and appreciate each other and the history we share. The connection.
We’re all connected by our roots,
~Dale
