Early Family Reunion Memories

My earliest memories of the family reunion date from when it was held in Mount Albert, at a church hall. It may have been an old schoolhouse? These memories are probably from the mid-60s.

Beside the hall, there was a baseball diamond, and an area with trees and swings nearby. The church hall had a kitchen downstairs and the upstairs had wooden floors, big windows and a stage at one end. As kids we loved the stage, partly for its elevated position, but also for the stage doors which lead to secret staircases. We were not supposed to sneak into the mysterious stairs, but of course we did!

The hall was set up with long tables, one of which was always laden with the food that each family brought: potato salads, deviled eggs, casseroles, pies and carrot cake stick out in my memories.

The baseball field was a guy place: I can remember my older cousins Norm and Ed Dennis, and Ron and Don James playing baseball with our uncles. I think if I ever did get to play, it was probably way out in left field. But I did get to have some ownership of that field, with the help of my 2nd cousin Penny Ford. For a few years, we were the queens of the three-legged race. There were a lot of fun games in those years, and lots of kids to participate in them: we raced on two feet, we jumped in sacks, we tossed eggs, and we did this stupid race which involved tying a stocking with a ball knotted in one end around our waist, with the ball hanging down the back like a tail. Then we had to use our 'tail' to knock another ball along the ground.... sheesh!

Well, this is just a start. The next Moynihan Family Reunion will be in the summer of 2006. So there is lots of time between now and then to get this blog whipped into shape. That means, oh my cousins, aunts & uncles: time to share your memories!