Memories Make Stories · The Language Portal

Memories Make Stories

When we gather at our family reunions, we share memories, tell stories as we remember them, and others fill in the gaps. And sometimes I make up stories, like telling my cousin that my biological father never came to visit us after we came back from France. And she said, "Oh no, honey, he came to see you girls when you lived with us in Chase." I was three and spent my life thinking he never once cared enough to see us again. Family reunions help us gather the truth with older cousins lovingly sharing their versions of stories our younger minds skewed up.

My grandparents had 16 children from 1909 to 1934 and now there's 432 descendants. I kid you not.

My cousin, Gwen, has done an incredible job tracking, researching, and systematizing our family tree. She told us during our last reunion that Fred Astaire was a distant cousin. I asked again, and Gwen told me he was a cousin 10-times-removed. It's no wonder I love to dance. I can't sing or play an instrument, but there's lots of musical talent in our family.

We had about 45 family members representing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins. My one remaining Aunt Muriel wasn't present as she's about to turn 100. She was born on September 1, 1926. Imagine. Her daughter, my cousin Donna and her husband, drove from the east coast to join us and visit her Mom. 5550 km from her door to where her mom lives.

The oldest picture is my Great Grandfather, Wm Benson, and Great Grandmother, Amelia Thankful Ball (our lineage connects us to Lucille Ball, a cousin 7-times removed). I laughed when I first saw that I had a Great Grandmother with the middle name THANKFUL.

Next is my grandparents with all 16 kids, and my Mom is front and centre. In 1976, my Mom and I flew out to Chilliwack, BC when I was 18 for our first family reunion. My mom is in the dark blue dress with her remaining brothers and sisters. And finally, the 1st cousins. One of my younger cousins kept insisting that I didn't belong in the photo, as I wasn't a first cousin. I assured her I was and she was surprised I was her Dad's cousin, not hers. My Mom was the youngest and had nieces and nephews older than her. I called them Aunt and Uncle when I was little even though they were cousins.

Are you or someone in your family tracking your family genealogy?

What's your favourite story about your family?

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Memories Make Stories