The big even last week was our family reunion. This year it was hosted by my Rathfon cousins in southern Indiana. We left on Tuesday morning and arrived there at 11:00 that night. We were there Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and on Saturday we drove home. I took a lot of pictures and thought the best way to tell about the reunion was to show you the photos and comment on them.
Stacey, Hannah, Josiah, and I and the two Shillig boys, Asa and Enoch, stayed at my cousin Ron’s house. Everyone else stayed at my cousin Amy’s house and that’s where most of the activities took place.
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| Ron and Camille's house. |
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| Amy and Nathan's house. |
On Wednesday morning those of us at Ron and Camille’s house picked blueberries.
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| Picking blueberries. |
We spent that day at Patoka Lake where we ate lunch and dinner, played games, swam in the lake, rode on a boat on the lake, talked, laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company.
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| The pavilion at Patoka Lake. |
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| At Patoka Lake. |
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| Laura Martin cutting watermelon. |
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| Talking and laughing. |
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| Hazel at the lake. |
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| Enoch, Asa, and Josiah. |
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| Patoka Lake. |
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| Playing games at the lake. |
On Thursday morning, I went with Ron to pick elderberry flowers. Ron served his mission in Sweden where they make a drink from elderberry flowers called fläderblomssaft. They served us some our first night at their house and I really liked it, so Ron showed me how to make it. After that, we went over to Amy and Nathan’s house for the rest of the day.
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| Ron picking elderberry flowers. |
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| A bowl of elderberry flowers. |
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| Making fläderblomssaft. |
Amy and Nathan had a tent pavilion set up where we ate our meals. They have a nice swimming pool that kept people cool and entertained. They had plenty of room in their house for making food and for sitting in air conditioned rooms to talk and play games. The weather was hot while were there – 90° and 90% humidity, so that was much appreciated.
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| The tent pavilion at Amy and Nathan's |
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| The swimming pool. |
Thursday afternoon some of us drove into the town of French Lick to look at the restored resort hotels there. French Lick was once famous for its therapeutic springs and these magnificent spa hotels were built there. During the Great Depression they went under and then were used for other things and eventually fell into disrepair. Just in the last few years they have been restored and now, with the addition of a casino and some world class golf courses, they are in business again.
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| In the huge rotunda of the West Baden Springs Hotel. |
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| The West Baden Springs Hotel. |
Thursday evening after dinner we had a Family History Night where some of us shared stories about our ancestors. My mother brought an album of photos of her mother, our grandmother Mary Elizabeth Showers Rathfon. She also brought Grandma’s violin and Summer (Ron and Camille’s daughter), Hannah, and Camille all played it. It was touching to hear music come from the old violin.
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| Ron telling us about our ancestor David Porter Showers. |
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| My mother with Grandma Rathfon's violin. |
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| Hannah playing Grandma Rathfon's violin. |
On Friday morning, I got up early and took a walk through Ron and Camille’s meadow. Their property and all of that area of rural Indiana is very beautiful.
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| Ron and Camille's meadow. |
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| Fritillary butterfly. |
When we went over to Amy and Nathan’s that day, we had a family photo session.
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| Our family plus two Shillig boys and Sarah's friend Tosh. |
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| My parents and Aunt Dolly. |
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| My parents and their children, Hollie, Jaynan, me and Nancy. |
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| Ron, Camille, and Summer. |
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| Amy and Nathan and their family. |
That afternoon Ron took some of us on tour of his work. He works at the Purdue Agricultural Extension and is in charge of their forestry program. He showed us some of his current work experimenting with using goats to control invasive multiflora roses. The Purdue Farm is a beautiful place and I envy him doing such interesting work in such a beautiful place.
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| Ron telling about his work. |
Friday after dinner we had wonderful entertainment when Swallowtail performed. Swallowtail is a musical group that plays Celtic and other folk music. It's members are Ron, Camille, their daughter Summer, and their friends Duane and Anita Murphy. The music was great. After they played, Rachel played on the harp and Amy’s husband Nathan played the guitar and sang some songs he wrote. It was all so good. There is a lot of talent in our family.
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| Swallowtail performing. |
Friday evening we began to say our good-byes to those leaving early the next morning. Saturday morning the good-byes continued. We headed for home at 9:00 a.m. On our way home we stopped to visit our nephew Teddy Shillig and his family in Ohio. And after a long and tedious drive, we arrived home at 10:30 p.m.
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| Teddy Shillig and family. |
The reunion was wonderful – the best we’ve had yet. Wonderful food, wonderful activities, wonderful people. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have more family there. We’re already thinking about the next reunion in 2017. We hope that those who couldn’t come this year will be there next year.
