Reunion Past
I was very young the last time I looked forward to a family reunion with the anticipation I have for the one coming up. We will have been out of the country for twenty-three months and, except for web cam, have not seen any of our family with the exception of Bruce, Linda and my Mom in all that time. I fear some of our grandchildren have forgotten us. Others, like me, can’t wait for the reunion so we can see each other again. The possibility that we might have most, if not all, of our family together for the first time in many years is a great motivator. I am reminded of the Harris Family Reunion we had in the summer of 1972.

We were a young married couple with four little kids. Doug was only six months old. We wanted to attend the reunion to see so many of the family. But, it was difficult. We had to arrange for time off work. We had no money and we had to travel all the way from Concord, California to Indian Springs, Idaho near American Falls, Idaho.
The Tilley side of the family was in charge of the reunion that year. They had arranged for a large campground. There were no cabins, no showers, and the only bathroom facilities were outdoor rented toilets. We worried about what we would find but the reunions in the past gave us reason to believe it might be ok.

We loaded up our four little kids and a small dog in a small Datsun station wagon with no air-conditioning. At one point we heard the temperature was way above 100 degrees. We drove with all of the windows down as far as we dared. We knew we could not travel all the way in one day. We had found a campground on the map near Elko, Nevada. By the time we got to Elko, it was dark and we followed a terrible road to where we thought the campground should be. We had to drive around large boulders in the road to get there. We hung a tarp from the top of the car and rolled our sleeping bags out on the ground.

We woke up to the sound of large construction equipment. We got up and jumped in the car and started to drive off when Stephanie screamed that Duchess, our little cockapoo puppy was still tied to the back bumper of the car. We put her in the car and tried to leave the camp ground. The road out of the campground was blocked. We found construction workers on the road and asked them about getting back to the main road. They told us the road to the campground was closed from 9:00 AM until 9:00 PM for construction. I complained that we did not know that when we drove into the campground. I explained about the family reunion my children would miss. The construction crew finally took pity on us and a caterpillar operator used his huge tractor to move boulders out of the way and led us back to the main road.

It was so exciting, later that day, to arrive at Indian Springs and see my parents and hundreds of other relatives. We had over 400 people camped together for that reunion. Some of my richer relatives showed up in fancy motor homes. Many brought campers. Others brought nice large tents. We had our tarp connected to the top of our little car and we slept in the open. We had all kinds of games and competitions. The food prepared by the Tilleys was wonderful. With what little money we had, we paid to get into a swimming pool as that was the closest thing we had to a bath. Some went to the hot springs to bathe but they had to be careful because many of the local Indians used the same springs and they didn’t worry about wearing clothes. Even with those negative things that happened, such as bossy aunts, or bragging cousins, it provides me with wonderful memories. The few days we spent at that reunion are some of my very best recollections.

We were even there for Sunday. One of the Tilleys was a member of the bishopric in the local ward and he conducted Sacrament meeting for us. We sang and bore testimonies. As I look back, some of the spiritual things that happened that day are really too sacred to discuss.

When I look back, we couldn’t afford to go. It way too difficult a trip with a new baby and so hot we could hardly stand it. We didn’t have the equipment needed for such a trip. We just made the decision to go and we did. We probably would have been fine had we not gone, but we would be missing a lot of stories that we tell if we had.

I hope all of you can figure out some way to attend our reunion this summer. I have as much confidence in the Scifres ability to put on a good reunion as I do looking back on the Tilleys. I hope to see you all there.