Family Day

Kittery Point Maine, N 43 04.963 W 70 43.431

Saturday, July 29 2006

What a great day this was. Janet and Gordie picked us up and drove us to Brian and Lee's camp. The camp is located on a small lake in New Hapshire (I can't remember the name of the lake). There we met with Dot and Art my aunt and uncle, and Brian's chilcren Vanessa and Ryan and Shawn, my cousin Warene with her husband Richard, and my sister Nancy with her family Karl and Lena and Alex. There were also a couple of friends of the kids there to make a total of 19 relatives and friends. This group had never gathered before except for weddings and funerals, yet here we were for an unplanned and spontaneous reunion.

It was great fun. We all got to swap stories. Brian and Lee treated us to swimming, and rides on the Sea Doo and wake boarding behind his speedboat. Brian also cooked a turkey and we had a great barbecue. We all continued until after sunset when we reluctantly parted again. I'm certain that everyone there, young and old, enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Thank you all for the hospitality.

My aunt Dot is 88 but her mind is still sharp. She told me about some family lore, about visiting her grandfather (my great grandfather) George Donovan at his farm at Cape Breton Nova Scotia. He was a fisherman, a farmer and a storekeeper there, apparently a mainstay of that community. Now, the family lands have been sold to the state. It was the first I had ever heard of these ancestors of mine.

Uncle Art is 93, but in very good shape for his age. Art told me about some of his exploits in the South Pacific during WWII. Art served in the Phillipines, and Guadacanal, and on Corrigador. His favorite story was about the day when General MacArthur came ashore on his celebrated return to Corrigador. Art saw him approaching walking through the water, but he didn't like the general because the general had declared the place as secure whereas Art and the others knew that there remained a lot of japs and that the place was dangerous. Art said that he pretended to wash his face, covering it with his hands and bending over. When it was done his buddies told him, "Art, you just mooned General MacArthur!"

My other uncle, George, who was not there today, also has interesting war stories. He was on the second tank to cross the bridge at Remagen Germany. He said that they fully expected to not reach the other side of the bridge alive, but they did.