Since January a part of my subconscious has been wrapped around the needs of pulling off another family reunion. There is lots of updating, detail planning and investigation that goes on to prepare for one of those. So the relief that is has come is immense.
August 11th found us in Brigham City once again with what turned out to be a successful event with a wonderful feeling of family and ancestry and honor. Thank you SOOO much to all who contributed in even the smallest of ways: Morris & Dellalee Forsgren with the homemade root beer and the Ogden Cookies; Lester and Dorothy Knight for rousting out all the Lees and helping update lists & conducting and helping set up, my sister Elaine and nephew Alex who arrived on the scene at just the right time to help spread out the Forsgren scrolls and get them taped and tacked into place & who took pictures for me, and most of all, Jill and Mark Forsgren and their extended family Apryl and Micah who set-up & figured out the computer problems, and were just generally a calm in all the detailed storm.
In addition we had surprises that made my heart sing.
1 - The oldest living Peter Adolph Forsgren descendant (soon to be 100 years old) was feeling well enough to attend! Thanks to her daughter Andrea who brought her from Ogden. Erma Walsh is such a delight and still sharp and smiley and loving. She and I have had such wonderful visits over the last year and a half learning about a whole side of the family I knew almost nothing about. She is very dear to me and has a wonderful collection of photos and memorabilia from her side of the family.
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Is that a face of serenity or what???
Erma is Peter A Forsgren's first great, grandchild, born of his first child, Sarah Christina Forsgren Klem's daughter, Lorinda Funk. (Lorinda's husband Andrew George Funk was responsible for some of the architectural wonders of Brigham City)
2- Artifacts and displays.
Joyce Peterson Lowe brought needlework and artifacts of her grandmother & great grandmother along with some amazing scrapbooks she has created of Forsgren family people, events & places. Sadly, I did not get a good photo of the display -too many thoughts and people vying for my attention, I guess. I always come away regretting that some people and some business didn't get enough of my attention!
Joyce has a gift for this preservation hobby which has benefitted us all...and has been a help in her own health struggles.
Leanna Steinekert brought a wooden box - probably handmade by Peter Forsgren that contained many personal papers belonging to him: a notebook he carried on his mission, his call as Patriarch, personal letters in both Swedish and Danish, etc. I wished I could have sat alone in a corner and fished them out one by one to savor the moment... Sigh! Another goal for another time when I get up to Leanna's house and have a closer look. Meanwhile - an assignment to her to get them translated, scanned and put into archival-safe file folders.
3-At last! Some descendants of Christina Erika Forsgren came. So glad about that since we have hardly had any in the past. I think they think of themselves as Davises (since Erika married William Davis and of course her children carry that surname)...but that doesn't make them any less Forsgren!
The Forsgren descendancy scrolls were rolled out again this year. Unfortunately they have not been updated since 2010. I could potentially have added another 15 feet or more. Just couldn't find enough time to do that and work on the blogs and update the computer files of data, photos and cemetery records too. If I had all the information for all the descendants I am afraid we couldn't even be in the same room with them they would be long!
The good news is that a new Presidency DID emerge from the business part of our meeting and I have resigned my duties as Secretary after about 25 years. I will happily continue as archivist/researcher, but I need to let go of any other function in order to get all the data into an electronic format so it can be put out there for the new generation of genealogists. Still lots of cemeteries to tramp and lots of websites to investigate and data to gather! In my opinion I've kept the fun part. Someone else can create better, larger and [more fun for families] reunions in the future.
Returned to the cabin about midnight - bone weary buy thoughts alive and popping - thankfully - to keep me awake! So grateful that it went as well as it did and that people were enjoying what they were seeing and hearing. That is all that is important.
See you all in 2014 !!
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