M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Rehearsing Celestial Reunions
By Sherlene Hall Bartholomew

It’s almost “Summertime, and the livin’ is . . .” crazy.  It’s that season when somebody in the family is going to get the bright idea that we ought to hold a reunion, as just happened to yours truly.

I’m not big on the proposition that throwing together a bunch of strangers from all over tarnation, who haven’t talked in ages but are linked by pedigree, is going to bond us for life.  Nor am I convinced that even the best Christians in the family emerge from such reunion tumbles wrinkle-free.  Fact is, my relatives on both sides will be relieved that I just deleted several paragraphs of not-hot thought about past experience with this persistent family custom.

My practical side agrees that nieces, nephews, cousins, and such can now stay in touch, two sentences at a time, over the Internet.  This means for family communication avoids all the bugs, hassle, expense, and after-the-fact recovery required by more traditional ways of insisting to, especially ourselves, that we are one big, happy family.  For real life getting-together, I prefer family-to-family meetings, as visiting occasion makes convenient.

So you can guess my response when my brother David wrote this March, proposing what became a huge family bash for all descendants of my father’s parents, Howard and Florence (Tracy) Hall.  This event was happily initiated and paid for by my parents, Ida-Rose and Tracy, who thought this a meaningful way to blow proceeds from the recent sale to Walmart of their Payson, Utah farm.

Giving up their farm was a reluctant, but voluntary experience—much different, certainly, than that of my father’s parents during depths of the Depression.  As jobs thinned, Grandpa was told he would have to start working Sundays if he wanted to keep his tenured job coming in and out of Ogden, as a train engineer. 

Grandpa, a convert to the Church at age thirty (after Grandma told him she would only marry in the temple) converted to more than Grandma.  He quit smoking cold turkey and after baptism lived his new religion with fervor.  He had strong feelings about keeping the Sabbath, but his family about starved in the aftermath of his leaving this coveted position.  He took every odd job he could get, but they finally lost the farm.

Dad, oldest of their five sons, remembers his mother’s brave face and involuntary tears, as they drove away for a small, cold apartment in nearby Ogden City, where she feared her boys would not have the wholesome upbringing she fostered on their Marriott farm.

No Sacrifice for Good Unrewarded

Experience on this earth brings its ironies.   My Uncle Donald sent me his moving remembrance about those hard times, after noticing that the day his brother Tracy made his breakthrough, inventing synthetic diamonds for G. E., was the anniversary of the very day they lost their boyhood farm! 

General Electric eventually made billions on Dad’s invention, for which they awarded him a $25 savings bond and little credit, prompting him to quit and head for BYU.  As David pointed out in his farewell remarks at our reunion, the most my father ever made was when he sold his farm--supposed to be a side hobby, perhaps bought in search for closure on his parents’ loss.  Dad’s piece of land, bought on a professor’s salary, was intersected years later by major highways that made it worth selling.

Perhaps this boon was the Lord’s way of teaching us descendants of Howard and Florence that no sacrifice made in the cause of keeping God’s laws goes unrewarded.  From what I remember about my ever-kind grandparents, there’s little doubt they would have wished that blessing on future generations.  I must admit it seemed appropriate, indeed, that all Halls celebrate sale of that farm with a party our grandparents would have never dreamed possible.

David thinks big.  This would be no ordinary occasion and would be centered on other events the family might like to attend, as other attractions.

All From a Family of Seven!

So early in the merry month of May, my parents sponsored flights and a stay for 1-4 days, at Salt Lake’s Grand America Hotel for many, if not all out-of-town descendants of my grandparents. This incentive may account for the fact that, at last count, 203 of a possible 260 descendants showed up, with their spouses, for this day of remembrance and several days of optional planned activity, surrounding it. 

Scheduling Family History

My attitude perked up even more when David sent a general e-mail, inviting all five (and still living) sons of my grandparents to bring their family records to merge into a general family file on a computer he would bring to the reunion.  I have been trying to gather family group records on our living family for years, without much success.  A blessed benefit, planning reunions, is that they must be calendared well in advance, so family history finally gets scheduled.

Something about anticipating The Day gets people looking at their records, if for no other reason than to call Aunt Mugshot’s spouse by his right name.  Out come old photos, along with family group records and those important attendant memories.

Power in Pictures

David invited each of my Hall uncles to order and forward family photos that he would assemble into power point presentations he would bring to the reunion.  These would then be shown and moderated, after the final reunion banquet, by a representative from each branch of the family.  This would introduce us all to the trials and triumphs our tribes have experienced since each son married and left home.

David also invited descendants from each of the five branches—especially the younger generation, to present talent numbers before, during, and after reunion meals, in the assembly hall reserved for general family gatherings.  A nearby sitting room included couches, comfortably arranged to facilitate relaxed visiting between meals and activities. 

Babysitting Provided, No Less!

What my daughter Laura loved was that a professional service provided babysitting in a large hotel playroom, across from the general assembly room, stocked with play equipment and marvelous sitters.  Child meals were brought in as an additional convenience, so that young mothers in the family could enjoy adult conversation, as they got to know our family better, over meals.

Tribes Bring Records and Dance to Peace!

Wonderful things happened in response to David’s good planning.  The family dug up fantastic photos I had never seen before.  New records flowed in, too, over that highway called the “Net,” before their owners followed airways from their Zions to ours.  Family talent, as played, sung, danced, and signed, fortified our notion that we should all be in the movies (there were, in fact, so many volunteers, David had to cut the initial program by more than half, in his resolve that our final evening together would end before dawn).

Meeting Internet Cousins in Person

I knew I was a gonner when I started getting ideas of my own for our reunion.  Why not liven up the “Family Tree Fair” David asked me to head up by bringing in some Internet cousins who actively research our joint Hall lines?  Though not descendants of my grandparents, they are descended from Grandpa Hall’s grandparents and are more involved in “The Search” than many of us on the LDS branch of the family!

With authorization to sponsor their attendance, we invited some who over years have contributed the most and were delighted when three accepted!  Two of those, Kathy Pyles and Delight Heckelman (the third was her granddaughter, Lana Wood), agreed to send in photos to assemble into power point presentations they would narrate at our “Fair.” (You may remember these cousins from a former column).  There I told about Kathy’s sleuthing in original records and Allen County, Ohio cemeteries for Hall family information.

I also told about Delight’s amazing success finding seven lost cousins who were adopted out when their mother became ill and could no longer care for them.  I asked Kathy and Delight to tell the family these stories, showing photos as they went along, and to also tell about their own families.

Not only was it a thrill to finally meet my Internet cousins in person, but I was proud as punch to introduce them to our family--and the other way around.  I wish you could have been there to enjoy their excitement and feel their spirit, as they told about their joys, learning more about our Hall roots.

They must have felt a little trepidation, wondering what it would be like among all those Mormons.  Delight, in fact, forewarned:  “I know you’re excited about your religion, Sherlene, but I’m coming out to meet Halls and visit the Family History Library, not to be converted.”  Or something like that. 

My reply:  “I understand.  Do you want us to bring you back to the hotel before we attend the Tabernacle Choir broadcast on Mother’s Day?

Hers:  “I wouldn’t miss that for the world!”

I:  “Well, maybe we should bring you back before we attend the worship service, after the Choir broadcast.”

She:  “Anybody who loves Jesus is my friend.  I plan to attend the worship service, too.  I’ve gone to lots of different churches, so this will be interesting, too.”  Or something like that.

Do you get the feeling it’s me that scares them, not my church?

Dumping Treasure in the Vault!

Getting back to their presentations--as each photo was sent by cousins via e-mail attachment, I gleefully dropped it into my own PAF media file for that individual, before forwarding it on to David, who has his own company, so was able to enlist his staff to help assemble the presentations.  Forced to search through boxes of unorganized photos, preparing my own thoughts, I finally got many of them scanned and attached to my media files, before forwarding them on, as well.  Reunions do have a way of helping us get organized!

Jane Hall, an avid Hall family researcher who sent her regrets, forwarded a fabulous old photo of her husband’s ancestor Isaac Hall and his family that I was thrilled to show as part of my own presentation.  What fun it was to show that pioneer photo including four men and let the family guess which was Isaac, brother of our ancestor (they easily guessed, by his distinct Hall features).  Jane and her husband Garth, a descendant of Isaac, still have that bell you see on top of the pole—what a way to call the family to dinner!

Howard Hall Hub

Jane also sent an old survey of two thousand plus acres of land our earliest William Hall settler once owned near Harper’s Ferry, in early Virginia--before the Indian wars encouraged the family to move west, that is.  This amazing document totals their land acreage, names all their surrounding neighbors, and shows where the Ferry was!  Now we can go see those rolling, blue hills, for ourselves and stand on land we know our ancestors walked.  Document lover that Jane also is, she knew I’d want to make copies of that survey for all there, along with other handouts.

 Looking at that survey helped me decide to finally post my family group record on these early pioneers, William and Hannah (Richardson) Hall, along with voluminous notes I have been assembling about them and their times for several decades.  I had placed these notes in chronological order, hoping to someday write a book about them.  That likely failing, the family group, including all notes about my research on this family, is now on-line, with hope that other descendants will add their input.   

David has been after me for years to post my genealogy.  It felt good to finally get started by accepting his invitation to post that and other records gleaned for this reunion on a family site he now maintains as “The Howard Hall Hub.”  Address for this site was published on the reunion program that David placed on-line, as announced by e-mail before the reunion.  It was again distributed as a memorable, multi-page picture souvenir, as Halls checked in at the hotel.  This program included maps of the hotel and, best of all, all descendants of Howard and Florence, including spouses, were listed on the program, so we could review names, after meeting cousins from distant places.  It also helped that large-print name tags were prepared for us to wear, as we showed up for initial reunion activities.

Those of you now designing program formats for your reunions may get ideas from our scheduled events, printed as part of the distributed program

Copies of a 550 page hardbound copy of Uncle Delbert’s Howard Hall, Florence Tracy Hall and Their Progenitors—A Book of Remembrance was distributed to all who signed up for one, and we also look forward to distribution of another significant volume by Uncle Donald.

New Forever Family

Saturday included a full slate of activities topped by the marriage of my niece Barbara in the Salt Lake Temple, followed by a reception at the Lion House, also attended by Kathy, Delight, and Lana.

Worth Remembering

I guess late hours and all the fun made us Internet cousins a little giddy.  More than once we laughed ‘til we could hardly breathe.

Sunday morning came, and what a glorious day it was.  I was born on Mother’s Day, but my birthday and that celebration coincide only once every seven years or so—this was the year!  It could not have been a more glorious day to share with these dear friends and cousins. Temple Square was resplendent, the Choir performance, soul-stirring.  Cousin Alan Hall’s wife Jeannie, a new alto in the Choir, reserved seats for those attending our reunion—a treat, in itself.  With her usual thoughtfulness, she even brought gifts of the Choir’s latest CD for our guests.

It made me glad when Delight said, after the performance:  “It was all I could do not to stand up and sing along with them!”  (Nods all around.)

President Gordon B. Hinckley attended the broadcast and afterward expressed his heartfelt appreciation to the Choir for singing at his Marjorie’s funeral a few days earlier.  I felt so blessed that my cousins got a chance to feel of his spirit.

The Mother’s Day service we attended later could not have been better.  First, I could hardly believe my eyes when President Hinckley came in and sat in the row ahead of where Dan and I had settled.

Of course the Primary children sang, as part of the service, or it could not have been Mother’s Day. The speakers were inspired to speak with sensitivity to the feelings of all women—and men, for that matter.  In that service, we were all included in a call to honor our mothers by better nurturing our brothers and sisters, old and young, in this world.

It made me glad, again, when my dear cousins felt that, as well.  Delight summed it up, later writing:  “Sunday was a blessed day, all around.”

After her return home, Kathy had hardly unpacked before she again sent more e-mails with new research information she found than I’ve had time to input. 

She also wrote:  “You will never know how much it meant to be included in the awesome experience of the Hall Reunion and to meet all of you kind, warm hearted family!”  Another day she shared this:

While I visited Grandpa the other day, he wanted to know all about Utah and was so happy I met such nice people.  I told him I’ve never been anywhere like Utah, ever--it holds such high energy!  I told him the Halls are such honest, beautiful, loving people—that I also went to church and saw some awesome sites. 

These dear friends likely saw lots of chaff, too, but kindly blew it off—a contagious tendency I felt from all who came to our family fest.  Seeing their glowing faces and reviewing their good lives, as demonstrated in our picture presentations, brought me to almost burst with warm feeling for all there.

I like to think that Grandma and Grandpa Howard Hall were ushered through the veil to attend this reunion of of their descendants.  It must have warmed their hearts to hear our expressions of sweet memory and appreciation for the rich gospel legacy they left us. Did they see our precious photos and hear our version of their and our life stories?

What delight must have attended their watch, as their grandchildren and great-grandchildren danced and sang!  I still remember their making time when I just ten years old to show me their ancestral photos and the family histories Grandma so lovingly compiled.  How it must have thrilled them to see us also caring about family records

It was also a memorable day for my parents, who planned to leave the reunion early, for health reasons.  What a surprise it was when they came that last day, enjoying every minute of what made lasting memories for us all.

The more I think about it, this whole reunion thing was my idea!

Submitted to Meridianmagazine.com by Sherlene Hall Bartholomew, copyright 2004

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