If you have a union job, you may make a bigger deal out of Labor Day than hubs and I do each year. In the U.S. Labor unions brought us the weekend.
Working most of the past 30+ years for newspapers, and not for union presses, my husband and I haven’t always had the pleasure of having Labor Day off. Or, even weekends, for that matter.
Many Labor Days, my parents would invite hubs and me, and my brother and sister and their families over for a cookout. And, I’m not sure what prompted this tradition, but my mother would buy us matching t-shirts. They were generally red, white, and blue. Some had bible verses about freedom printed on them.
John and I still have several of these t-shirts, and we still sometimes wear them around the house, although not the same patterned ones at the same. We’re not THAT cute. Mama’s oldest sister, our Aunt Sis, was that cute. She was a top notch seamstress and she would make matching outfits for her and her husband, Uncle George, that they would often wear to family reunions.
We used to have the “Smith family” reunion the first Sunday of June every year. My mom is now the only of her eight siblings still on this earth. So, family reunions have ended their annual run.
Family reunions always included the best recipes from each of my aunts and my mom. Karaoke from my cousin Debe. Lots of gabbing. And lots of iced tea. Our family was a tea-totaling bunch.
One year, hubs and I rounded up all the famous favorite recipes and printed out a Smith Family cookbook and gave a copy to everyone.
If any of you are nearing the end of your usual gang of reunion goers, I’d recommend planning one before time gets later. A recipe book and a bunch of namesake t-shirts will be long treasured. I’m not sharing our cookbook with non-relatives, because I’m territorial that way. And I’m convinced Aunt Beanie left something out of the recipe she gave me for her famous chess pie!
So, if your family name is Smith or Jones or Hatfield. I’d strongly encourage you to make plans to get together at least one more time.
If you have memories/stories of family reunions, please share in the comments.
Chicks on the Case 
we used to have family reunions every year or so when I was a kid. On my mom’s side (Saxton) we would have it at the Kawana Club park. Mom had 3 siblings and their spouses, her parents, and there were 10 of us kids. That lasted until I was about 15 years old.
daddy’s family (Moyer) what’s the different bottle of wax. We’d rent the pavilions at Knoble Grove amusement park in PA. grandma (grandpa wasn’t there, but that’s a nut story for another day), daddy, seven siblings and spouses, about 25 first cousins, a , a myriad of great aunts and uncles, and second cousins. There was always at least 100 people there. Most of my family was too poor for souvenirs.
we had our last reunion about eight years ago? Before daddy’s stroke and his sibling started passing away. Fortunately, I do have a picture of this. It’s got all daddy‘s siblings except for the one who had already passed. Definitely a memory to keep.
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Definitely have some great memories and great photographs over the years of family reunions!
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We never did family reunions on my dad’s side of the family. Too few, too scattered, and too many who didn’t talk to one another.
I did go to a couple of reunions on my mother’s side. They were great fun because I got to see my “Pennsylvania cousins.” They were the best part of my mom’s extended family – and my great-uncle was a fabulous cook!
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Same on my father’s side, which might have been a good thing!
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Same on my father’s side, which might have been a good thing!
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Liz, our reunions included former spouses in some cases. Sometimes they were people I actuallly liked better than their ex!
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Oh my goodness, family reunions are an almost annual event in my mom’s family. She was one of the oldest of 12 and we just grew from there! I was one of 68 grandchildren. There are still 60 of us around, aging, but still upright! Lots and lots of the next couple of generations and still growing. We have collected family recipes online and still celebrate with a couple of Grandma’s standards. I love that some of the younger generations are interested in learning and maintaining some family foods and traditions. My great-grandmother used to braid rag rugs and we taught people how to do that a few years ago. Sausage making is still alive and well for some as well. I am all for keeping those traditions around, and grateful for the opportunity to gather and catch up whenever we can.
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That sounds great — especially the homemade sausage!
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We didn’t do family reunions
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I understand some families are just too scattered around the country to be able to get together.
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My husband’s Wisconsin family did reunions when his parents and their many siblings and spouses were alive. We, the next generation, are scattered across the country, story of our times.
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I understand, Priscilla. We were mostly in Tennessee. Now much of our family is spread out hither and yon, too.
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My dad was an only child and my mom had only one sibling, so we were a pretty small family (though we sure loved getting together with our cousins–and still do!). So family reunions haven’t ever been a big thing in our family. But I’ve always been a bit jealous of families who host big ones with a hundred family members. The T-shirts though? No so sure about that, lol.
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Leslie, we were once invited to a reunion near New Orleans. As far as we know we aren’t directly related to them. It was my husband’s family name which isn’t too common. It was too far for us to make the trip, but it was kind of them to invited us!
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We stopped doing family reunions. Relatives would get together from different countries but as we grew older, the reunions slowly stopped. They were fabulous, though.
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Sounds like you had some good times and great memories, Patricia!
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The one really big family reunion I remember, I was the only one close to my age there, and I was bored out of my mind. My dad hung out with me, which really helped. (It was Mom’s side of the family.)
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Mark, since my mom was the youngest of eight siblings, my brother and sister and I were often among the youngest. At one extended family gathering, my brother was explaining my mom was the youngest of our grandma and granddaddy’s kids. The man didn’t know they’d had another child that much younger!
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We didn’t get to do family reunions growing up, maybe because we had a lot of relatives overseas. Now, though, I do get to pull together parentals, siblings, and in-laws over the holidays, and that’s always fun.
P.S. That cookbook idea is great!
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Jen, if the family cooks are willing to— and honest enough— to fork over the favorite recipes, a cookbook is a true treasure!
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We never gathered for holidays like Labor Day or Memorial Day. My immediate Italian family came together for Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. We saw everyone else at the millions of weddings and funerals. The Jewish side occasionally had what they call Cousins Circle get-togethers. There were four girls around my age but they grew up around each other and I didn’t, so I often felt left out, which I know wasn’t intentional. Ironically, one of those cousins moved in with me in NY and still lives in my old apartment!
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El, my mom was such a late-life surprise, she actually had nieces and nephews who were older than her. She was very close growing up with a niece who was three days older than her!
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So funny, Vickie–today the photo memories that popped up on my phone featured the Quinn Family Reunion of 2024! We don’t do matching T-shirts, but there are a lot of Irish-themed ones. We used to get together every year in Syracuse/Camillus at Labor Day Weekend–and spend that Saturday at the New York State Fair (aka The Great Fair). My most vivid memory is hanging out by the ice bucket of sodas. Reunion was the only day of the year some of the younger cousins were allowed to have soda. They (literally) drank orange pop and root beer and grape cola until they puked. Inside, ongoing slide shows played with highly embarrassing moments from previous reunions. We kids knew we still had hours to play (and puke) when the grownups said we’d be leaving “soon.”
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Lisa, I love that your family had regular, recurring reunions! And great that you have photos to remind you of those events!
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