Reunions & Memories

Labor Day Weekend, we had the Hollis family reunion. Many years ago, (even I can't remember exactly when) the Hollis' began a tradition of gathering every year in September. The first I remember of the reunions began as a celebration of my grandfather's, Henry Ervin Hollis, birthday. It was held for many years at the old "Miller Clubhouse" and later moved to the front yard of my grandparent's home. My dad is one of 9 children. One sister died at a very young age. As I grew up, my aunts and uncles were like having 8 more moms and dads. And all of my first cousins were and still are very close. For those of you who don't have cousins you are close with, you just don't know what you are missing. And the older I get, the more precious they become. Only my Dad and Aunt Darlene are still with us and this reunion means a great deal to them, so the tradition continues. On Saturday, only spouses and descendents of my dad and his sibblings get together for a cookout, ice cream, and games. Then on Sunday, all of my Dad's cousins and their descendents join the crowd. After leaving my grandparents house, we had many reunions at Cheatham Dam. We moved around a bit as things changed over the years, but all still remembered fondly the times at Cheatham, so this year we moved back there. I didn't get as many pictures as normal, just couldn't seem to get it together, but above is the picture of our immediate family taken on Sunday. Probably not the most flattering shot (hot, dirty, and tired), but one my Dad is sure proud of. He loves bragging about his grandkids and especially the great-grandkids. My Dad has promised to ride his bicycle through Henrietta on his 100th birthday and I remind him quite often that I'm holding him to his promise. And I expect my Aunt Darlene to be there cheering him on! See link on side for more photos!