The Wunderle Family Reunion to be Held on Facebook this Year
Little did I know it then but my family was far more extensive then most families. Start with the fact that I am one of 50 first cousins on the maternal side of the Family, aptly named the Wunderles. My grandmother lived to see them all and write their names into the bible. She added pages to start the next list of great grandchildren before she died in 1983. The Wunderle family reunion was the big event of my summers. Where do you put all those folks? Well, we took over a whole park, Bain Park in Fairview Park, Ohio. I imagine it was the Wunderle sisters and sister in laws who put together the games and prizes for all ages. The year I was born there were 4 cousins born. So the games were geared to different age groups. There was kick the shoe, sack races, whistle after eating a cracker, and of course, candy scramble for the wee ones. The Park has a creek that runs through it for barefoot fun. Stepping from stone to stone was our first lessons in balance. Experienced mothers brought extra clothes for those who slid off the rocks or others who went after tadpoles. The men played horseshoes. I think my Grandpa was the best or maybe the sons and sons in law allowed him to win. I liked to watch and listen to the chatter that went on as they played. If a colorful word was to slip out I wanted to be there to catch it.
We were introduced every year to the senior members, great aunts and uncles, some a little off-putting like Hildegarde and Gertrude dressed in black with their hair in buns, others more convivial like Henry, Charlie and Frank and their jolly continence. And we all got along most of the time, accept for the occasional time when some cousin bit another cousin and another took my… whatever.
And while we kids played the aunts would be busy putting together their best picnic feasts. And the much anticipated thing was you could go to any table and taste a sampling of what they were having. My grandparents came from German heritage so someone was sure to offer good German potato salad. Aunt Lucille married an Italian and became a gifted cook with Italian offerings. No one not nobody could surpass my mother’s pies. So I made sure I got a piece before moving on to another table.
The reunions ended when my grandfather passed away. I was in high school then. Since then weddings and funerals have sufficed as mini reunions but no big reunion has been attempted. We are now, like so many American families, spread across the great expanse of this country. Would we ever see each other again?
Fast forward to Christmas 2008; Kim, my 30 something daughter, puts me on Facebook. I’m not new to the internet. I started communicating on the net in 1986 with Freenet based in Cleveland Ohio and have websites and blogging conquered, nonetheless I was skeptical of Facebook. I equated it (unfairly) to MySpace. It also had a disconcerting busy looking page and I felt the little cutesy add ons were too junior high for my taste. But then it started, the boomers were jumping on, spurred on for the most part by their kids. It took about a month before I got the gist. I started with adding my kids and then I invited my siblings along with their kids. So yes there are friends, schoolmates, and friends of friends. And now the cousins, nephews and nieces! So unexpected but so fun. Now there are dozens of cousins (more joining everyday) sharing pictures, sharing memories and what’s new with them. Cousins reunited at last. Anyone care for a game of kick the shoe?
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 6:47 pm and is filed under Philosophy. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 19th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Such a beautiful piece! I cried when I read your memories of the family reunion. Since I was the oldest cousin, it was my job to watch over the little ones. The great aunts would give us all a pat on the head and said the everlasting, "My have you grown!". The great uncles would give us a huge hugs. One of the great aunts was crazy and one smelled bad. The food was outrageously good! Everyone cooked for their own family but the kids did get a taste of anything good and leftovers were free for the taking. Uncle Doug was the loudest horseshoe player. You could hear him all over the park. As we got older, we played softball and any of the kids could play. The big ones would help the little ones move from base to base. Goodbyes were sad, with everyone promising to stay in touch in the year ahead. In the evening we would returned home exhausted and once again feeling lovingly enclosed and safe within this wonderful Wunderle family. Ah! Sweet memories!
February 19th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
And a great comment. I know exactly which Great Aunts they were! A shared glorious childhood memory and I would defy anyone to say it wasn't the best time ever.
June 5th, 2010 at 3:29 am
Muriel, ran across this by chance, well… not entirely. It was so "warm" and "connecting." Thank you for trying to keep us conneted this way. There are so many strong memories… Cousin Tom W.
August 3rd, 2011 at 6:55 pm
John-This is a great postmuch appreciated. You are a huge (no pun intended!) asset to the CF community. The give it all away approach just bedevils the masses. Great points John and a much needed perspective.BTW-The extra L will be gone asap!