The Reunion, The Full Story

A fair warning this is one long post! Before I write about what makes a reunion I'm going to do the background stuff. What makes a reunion great isn't the hotel or the food it is the people in attendance. This was a great reunion because the people that came were great. They came from Florida, Wisonsin, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, California, Wasshington, and of course Oregon. The background:

Because I have written about him on the blog before my cousin Jack did make it to the reunion despite starting chemo the day before he left for here. His wife Bernadine and he really went above and beyond the call of duty just to get here.

The hotel was really nice and the staff there were very helpful. They pretty much accommodated what we asked them to do. Best Western Northwind in King City is the place to stay if you are coming to see us! Make sure you tell the sales manager, Nancy Myers, that I sent you. The sales manager's idea that I have a room right across from the meeting room was right on. It allowed me to use the room to store things. If you are going to have a reunion or other event I would definitely work with the sales manager of your hotel to get a room across from the meeting room, it sure saves a lot of running.

If you are going to cater an event in Portland then Stephanie Pape of The Lamb's Thriftway in Garden Home is your woman. They do weddings and just about any event you there is. Prices are reasonable, she is helpful, extremely conscientious, and more concerned that there would be a enough food then I was. So concerned that I thought I would not only let the cousins down if there wasn't enough food but I would let her down too! She was also flexible. One thing the cousins don't know is when I thought there were going to be more people than planned I called her on Friday and we added a small lasagna and a pound of meatballs. Stephanie also threw in some extra place settings. Simply put the food was delicious. I had the to die for meatballs. Stephanie cooked the meatballs in a bourbon sauce. If I didn't restrain myself I would still be eating them! This was the fourteenth reunion and several cousins thought this was the best buffet. I heard good reports about the lasagna, the chicken breasts, the roasted veggies, the cake, the meatballs, and the scalloped potatoes. There were fifty-one people and there was just a little leftover. I knew the food was good when two of the people in their early twenties were walking down the hall, didn't see me, talking about how delicious the food was. "That food was delicious." If you can please those youngsters then you can please us oldsters! The two things I would do differently are to add more scalloped potatoes because the twelve pounds I ordered disappeared in minutes and then I would heat the veggies differently. On the veggies some of the people that went first thought they weren't cooked enough and some of the people that went late through the line thought they were overcooked. Stephanie was worried about that and didn't start the veggies until she delivered them. What I would do is turn on the burners a little earlier then after the first ten or twenty went through the line I would turn the burners off. However, I don't think you can do much better than the best buffet!

Now on to what makes a reunion. What really great relatives I have. The problem when you start mentioning people is that you always miss someone that should be mentioned but I'll never forget Belva or her husband Don. I would write what I am going to write even if I didn't know that she reads the blog. I may have got the cousins here but Don & Belva kept them here and entertained them! Thursday night Belva and Don hosted a welcome to Oregon evening. They also hosted informal get togethers for Friday Night diner and Saturday lunch. The reunion success is squarely on their shoulders. Boy if you ever want to meet an amazing family then meet Don & Belva's family. Some really beautiful and handsome kids! I enjoyed each and everyone of them!

Cousin Helen and husband Joe paid for the chicken for the Friday lunch. Joe and Helen are perfect examples of what a great group this was. Cousin Bonnie needed a ride to the airport on Sunday. Several people, including my sister, volunteered to take Bonnie to the airport. Of course Joe was one that volunteered and he was the chosen one. He is a really handsome guy that used to work for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He basically wouldn't let me take Bonnie to the airport because he thought I was to tired and he thought it was more important that I get Mom and bring her to the hotel to say goodbye to everyone. Helen is first cousin Shirley's daughter. Shirley passed away last year. Helen confided this reunion was kind of hard for her because her Mom loved the reunions and it kind of made her sad. Helen is an amazing woman that used to work for the Alaska state legislature. My mom would adopt her in a heartbeat.

Speaking of amazing families you can't go wrong with first cousin Merna and her kids Joan and Al. Merna is a beautiful woman and obviously was a damn good Mom because her kids treated her like a queen. Joan is a delightful young woman that just retired from teaching kindergarten, her husband is a department head at the University of Florida. Joan just appreciates everything even a park she walked to! She thought Cook Park near the hotel was just as beautiful as the Columbia Gorge. Then we have my buddy Al. He accepted my offer to be M.C. Saturday night. Thank God for Al. Just a side note my sister-in-law who really doesn't like that many people wants to be just like Merna. That tells you what a dynamic woman Merna is. Just a side note, Al and my brother's son Greg could be twins.

I really love first cousin Ruth. Then there are her son Paul and his more than delightful wife Nancy. It just isn't cousins that make a reunion, it is in-laws too. One day when I had to go visit the caterer I came back and there was Nancy in my room with Mom making sure she was taken care of. Paul is a handsome dude that takes good care of his Mom. Ruth really couldn't have got to the reunion without Paul and Nancy. Ruth is just so appreciative about such little things! Damn there are good women in my family. Ruth mentioned to me that in some hotels they delivered the newspapers to their rooms. The hotel we were staying in, had the daily newspapers in the lobby. I am an early riser. I walk every morning so I just walked a different route the next couple of days and dropped a newspaper off at the door to her room. I also made her waffles a day or two. She was so appreciative you would have thought I walked to LA every morning for that newspaper! She also told Mom I made her waffles. A woman in her eighties that isn't down in the mouth but so positive and appreciative. I'm proud to have Ruth as a relative.

I already mentioned cousin Bernadine and her husband Jack. Jack is such a good man. My heart just aches that he has to suffer right now. He is doing it with style, humor, and charm. You look up damn good man in the dictionary you see Jack. I really enjoyed my time with Bernadine. She rode with me to the caterer. She has always been a favorite of mine.

Cousin Bonnie was a real trooper just to get here. I picked her up at the airport on Thursday morning. She had gotten up that day at five in the morning to get to the airport. She was fun to talk to on the way from the airport. Reunions wouldn't be reunions without her.

Barbara did something that we all appreciated and it must have taken a ton of work. She put together a montage of family history that was a huge hit. She is going to be back in Oregon next week and I am looking forward to talking more with her.

Cousin Dick and his wife Judy were also fun. Judy liked to walk in the morning and thought the area where Mom lives was absolutely beautiful. Dick has an interesting background including a stint with the FBI as a fingerprint specialist.

There were a lot of cousins I didn't get to spend time with. Delbert and Aldelphia couldn't have made it without their sons Mike and Bill driving them here. I did talk to Bill & Mike a little bit, fun guys. Bryan I didn't spend any time with so next reunion I am going to make a point of seeking him out. I also wish I could have spent more time with the always smiling Glenn and his family. Ever see one of those people that you just know they would be fun to talk to? That's Glen.

I also got to meet Don's niece Joan who was mentioned on the blog before. She is the young woman that had a stroke at forty-six and still spends time helping others. She was great and as cute as a button. My Mom thought her husband was very charming. Here is the post where Joan was mentioned.

http://thedahnreport.blogspot.com/2010/02/good-bad.html

I saved my family for last. I now even have more appreciation for Mom. As tired as I am at my age Mom must be absolutely exhausted at her age. She also did what she could to help. She wrapped up close to twenty prizes for bingo and special gifts for cousins that came from the longest distance away, etc. She did it despite arthritic hands. My sister made centerpieces for the banquet that added charm to the evening. She also watched out for mom before and during the reunion when I needed to do things. My sister's husband Bob was his helpful self. I didn't realize how much I relied on Bob until the night of the banquet. Sis's daughter Lisa came from Utah, everyone thought she was really pretty. My nephew Greg came every night to the hotel charming his relatives. His wife and two of his children joined us for the dinner. My niece Kristie made a brief appearance. Bless my brother's heart. He and his wife changed some travel plans so they could make the dinner. Thank heaven Grover and Kayce had a great time! Grover loved Joan and bro said he made a new buddy in Ruth. Joan also thought bro was an interesting guy. Kayce was extremely charming and says she now has a new role model in Merna. Grover told me he was so pumped that he didn't sleep after the banquet. This was his first cousin reunion.

Other notes. The ghost tour wasn't that great. Some of the cousins visited the vineyards, some went to Saturday market, some went out for Mexican food, some went to movies, a bunch walked over nightly to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream, some went out for breakfast, but most of us just stayed around the hotel and talked.

At first the task of putting the reunion together seemed overwhelming. The worry about how well it would go and whether or not there was enough food was constantly there. However the excitement of walking into that room banquet night seeing fifty people smiling and having fun was exhilarating. The thank you card and the hugs from Ruth and Merna were touching. The thought while I was putting together the reunion was I don't think I'd do this again. The thought changed during the weekend and as Saturday night ended the thought was I'd do it again in a heartbeat. How about next month?

PS

These are a couple of pictures taken banquet night by my brother from his cell phone, click on the picture to enlarge it.

This is Don & Belva's family, I could name most of them but I am going to stick with the highlights. Belva is the beautiful woman in the white slacks and black top sitting in the front row with her hands on her lap. Don is the one standing the furthest on the left. Joan the one that had a stroke is in a pink top sitting all the way to the right. Joan's husband is standing behind her. Don & Belva's son, Kevin, is standing next to Joan's husband, he is the second from the right. Kevin's wife is the pretty dark haired lady standing next to Don. The really good looking blonde in the white kind of dotted dress is Chris. Went we first met on her arrival, she said "I remember you from twenty-five years ago." I was thinking twenty-five years ago she couldn't have been born. She is forty-seven and looks great.



This is Mom banquet night. Ever see a woman in her nineties looking that good?