(no subject)
Finally home from a busy, busy weekend trip to Dayton and Fort Loramie, Ohio.
lyda_pearl found a great house to rent on AirBnB, where seven of us, plus two dogs, stayed. Everyone else was at a local hotel where our cousin reserved a block of rooms.
Day One:
Yesterday our cousin Debbie hosted a family reunion at her house. There were a ton of aunts, uncles, cousins, spouses, etc. Most of whom I don't actually know other than as names in stories told by my older sibs, or dim memories from very young childhood. I'm very nearly the youngest of the cousins, by a fairish amount, so I never really interacted with any of them, but it was great seeing everyone and taking a shot at figuring out who was who.
Aunt MM with her sons Robert and John, and LP
LP and ANM with their pups
Cousin Lisa (Uncle Dick's daughter) and Aunt Rose (Uncle Ben's wife, for those keeping track at home)
Aunt Mart and wbkbb
ANM and our sis-in-law playing Corn Hole
Day Two:
Today was a more somber gathering, as we had the funeral mass and graveside service for Dad.
Dad wanted to be buried in his family's plot in Fort Loramie, which is one of the reasons this was delayed from mid-March to mid-July while we made arrangements. His family has lived in that area for generations and the community there was a foundational part of our dad, long after he moved away.
We arrived at the church a bit early so we wandered through the old cemetery by the church for a bit.
Searching out the family tombstones.
We found the monument for our great, great, something Grandfather Christoph.
Someone had it cleaned up and recut fairly recently, otherwise you wouldn't be able to read it at all. Back:
Front:
Our Aunt Rita is also buried here. A small stone for a child who lived barely 18 months. Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Suzy, and others are buried a few miles away at a newer cemetery, which is where we had the grave side ceremony for Dad.
Grave side.
The aunts and uncles planned a lunch at a local restaurant so we had one last chance to gather together before all spinning off to our respective homes and lives again. Cousin Lisa said what we were all aware of, that at this point in our lives, we probably wouldn't all get together again until the next funeral. So I have to say, I hope I don't see all these folks again for a long time.
lyda_pearl found a great house to rent on AirBnB, where seven of us, plus two dogs, stayed. Everyone else was at a local hotel where our cousin reserved a block of rooms.
Day One:
Yesterday our cousin Debbie hosted a family reunion at her house. There were a ton of aunts, uncles, cousins, spouses, etc. Most of whom I don't actually know other than as names in stories told by my older sibs, or dim memories from very young childhood. I'm very nearly the youngest of the cousins, by a fairish amount, so I never really interacted with any of them, but it was great seeing everyone and taking a shot at figuring out who was who.
Aunt MM with her sons Robert and John, and LP
LP and ANM with their pups
Cousin Lisa (Uncle Dick's daughter) and Aunt Rose (Uncle Ben's wife, for those keeping track at home)
Aunt Mart and wbkbb
ANM and our sis-in-law playing Corn Hole
Day Two:
Today was a more somber gathering, as we had the funeral mass and graveside service for Dad.
Dad wanted to be buried in his family's plot in Fort Loramie, which is one of the reasons this was delayed from mid-March to mid-July while we made arrangements. His family has lived in that area for generations and the community there was a foundational part of our dad, long after he moved away.
We arrived at the church a bit early so we wandered through the old cemetery by the church for a bit.
Searching out the family tombstones.
We found the monument for our great, great, something Grandfather Christoph.
Someone had it cleaned up and recut fairly recently, otherwise you wouldn't be able to read it at all. Back:
Front:
Our Aunt Rita is also buried here. A small stone for a child who lived barely 18 months. Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Suzy, and others are buried a few miles away at a newer cemetery, which is where we had the grave side ceremony for Dad.
Grave side.
The aunts and uncles planned a lunch at a local restaurant so we had one last chance to gather together before all spinning off to our respective homes and lives again. Cousin Lisa said what we were all aware of, that at this point in our lives, we probably wouldn't all get together again until the next funeral. So I have to say, I hope I don't see all these folks again for a long time.