Last weekend, the Kendall clan gathered for our second family reunion at West Park in East Peoria.
West Park has a beautiful shelter that is uniquely painted and the view on top of the hill along Springfield Road is pretty spectacular.
My dad reserved the shelter for $25 and a deposit with the Fon du Lac Park District, and it is well worth it.
There are plenty of picnic tables and garbage cans, a grill on site as well as restrooms.
What more could one need for a perfect family reunion except nice weather?
Speaking of weather, it rained during our reunion, but we didn’t care. We were dry under the shelter. We
talked, ate good food, took pictures and looked at scrapbooks.
My dad said he thought only two years had passed since our last family reunion, but it had been four. I bet him $5 and I won. He couldn’t believe how fast time passed. The older one gets, the faster time seems to go by.
That’s why I think it is important to have a family reunion. Family is one of the most important aspects of life that we sometimes take for granted.
When I was young, all of the Kendalls gathered every year at my great-grandparent’s small home for Christmas. The kitchen, dining room and living room were packed with relatives laughing, eating and opening gifts.
Sadly, those times went by the wayside after my great-grandparents passed away. They were the glue that seemed to hold our family together and their house was the meeting place.
As a youth, I never imagined that one day some of those people wouldn’t be around anymore and that our tradition would be gone.
Some of the seniors in my family mentioned they would like to have a family reunion, so my parents and I decided to plan it. At our last one we told them it was our gift to them.
It is nice if the younger generation in a family continues the tradition of making sure everyone gets together at least once a year.
It is awesome to gather and observe a new generation of your family listening to stories from the older generation. The younger generation can learn where they came from and pass these stories down to their children.
At our reunion, one of my relatives, John King, made a Kendall-King geneaology CD and gave me a copy. He has gathered information about our roots for the past 15 years. I now know that my family came from Virginia.
A Thomas Kendall lived there during the Civil War. I wish I could trace my lineage even further to find my roots in Europe.
John and I talked about immortality and how over long periods of time, names and memories are lost.
That’s why it’s important to enjoy them now.
