WOW, What a Week End

Another unusually busy weekend is behind me. This was the Minerd Reunion. With the multiple spellings and pronunciations of the name, I won’t have room to write a post if I shared them all. It is an event held every other year and draws cousins and other relatives out of the woodwork from all over the United States and probably Canada as well.

The reunion started Friday evening with an invitation to dine at the “Out of the Fire” restaurant. I used the word dine because it’s an establishment which serves fancier fare with prices to match. Of course anything more expensive than Subway or McDonalds is expensive to me. I’ve always said that I’m frugal, but my kids say I’m cheap. I don’t have a credit card, so cash or check keeps my expenses in check.

On Saturday, cousins from all over the United States gathered. Each person brought massive amounts of food, gifts, prizes, and display items. Photographs of ancestors, founding, fathers and mothers of our clan abounded. It amazed me to see the many branches represented by some folk I knew, but didn’t know they were related to me. Many others I didn’t know and were introduced in person or by history and photos. I marveled at the many people gathered, researched, and were able to expound on their branch of the family, knowing the birth places, travel, history, and grave locations. I believe that in olden days, our family would have been chroniclers and narrators going from village to village telling our tales.

I’m not a genealogist, but rather a purveyor of family stories. Who did what, who liked what, or what happened to whom? I don’t have the diligence or patience to ferret out ancestral lines. I much prefer to write about the meat and potatoes of family members. When my mom, Sybil Miner Beck developed Alzheimer’s disease, I noticed these tales were slipping away and when both of my parents died, so did many of the memories they once shared. This scared me into trying to preserve these stories which were so dear to me, passing them on to my children and grandchildren before I join them beyond the veil.

This was the first gathering that I attended. I became aware of the site through Mark Miner who is master of ceremonies and recently the common thread that binds much of this group together. He is the president of the reunion and founder of the family website. The site is National Minerd-Minard-Miner-Minor Website and Reunion.

I applaud all who I met and who have contributed so much over the years to keep the family ties strong. I  pray that these bonds will expand and draw us closer together.

“Finally brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace be with you.” II Corinthians 13:11