Uphold Family Reunion 2008
Date: July 26, 2008
Place: Uphold Pavilion (Down on the Farm)
Time: All day
In my opinion the reunion this year was a great success.
Let’s start with the facts.
People started arriving at the Pavilion at 10 am for the final set up. People started arriving soon after. We had lunch at 2pm. The food was awesome this year. Coon did the meat and it was great. We had 85 lbs. of Black Angus, and 20 lbs of ham that Coon prepared on the spit for most of the day. Then Coon also smoked a 20 lb turkey. The meat was AWESOME! The beer wagon was there early in the morning. The reunion committee filled it with several cases of hugs, water, and pop. It is nice to have such a giant cooler on property. (Thank You Ram Cat.) The food selections were really great this year. I mean the meat that Coon does is wonderful, but there is more to life than just meat. There are a few that I really need to mention. The taco salad was really great. I remember when Rosa Uphold used to make this. I think Sam (her daughter) was the one that made the taco salad. The fruit salad was a hit, thank you Brandy, you always do stuff that is so wonderfully different. The scalloped potatoes were really good, Thank You Aunt Terri. Aunt Sandy made a sugar free cake, Thank you Aunt Sandy. There was a couple of dishes that I wasn’t sure who brought but I thought were very good, the cabbage (yum), the dirt, and I don’t know who brought just the cheese but it was a good idea. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. For those of you who did not bring a covered dish I just want to say thank you for a least coming, and remember next year you can dazzle us with your culinary skills. If you do not have any culinary skills please talk to one of the committee members and see if there is something else you can contribute, they always need specific things and you might be just the person they are looking for. (heehee)
The photo albums were wonderful. The committee was able to get a lot of random photos from different sources. (Thank You Betty, and Jim Uphold. Also, Thank You Barry Humberson, Thank You to are long lost family the Rodeheaver’s)
I do have to say I was really impressed with the album that Julie Show made for Betty and Jim’s 50th wedding anniversary. If you didn’t get the chance to see it I am sure Grandma Betty will allow it to be shown again next year or if you have a chance stop by for a visit and I am sure she will share some stories. (Pap loves company) The album was so well organized and so creative. (Thank You Julie Show)
Barry Humberson shared the very old home videos. We only had a very small TV to watch them on, but they were great. (Thanks again Barry)
Now to the older generation of Uphold’s. If you have any black and white photos we would love to borrow them to add to the collection. If you do not want us to touch them that is Okay. If you could please take them to your local Wal-Mart and make copies Echo will pay for all the expenses in this endeavor just save your receipts and call her at 912-466-0787, or 912-222-4416. To anyone else if you have any pictures of when the families got together like camping, swimming, Christmas, parties please call Echo. If you have them on digital you can email them to Echo, if they are before the digital time a copy would be great. The books can only be as great as the pictures and I am sure that yall have plenty.
(Echo is really looking for the Manger pictures from Christmas anyone remember this. One year we even did it at Pap Howard’s barn. Does anyone have pictures from when we got the cabbage patch dolls, Grandma Betty made the dresses for Easter, or the nightgowns at Christmas. Echo would also like copies of the family shots done by Olan Mills for the Church Directory)Echo would also like to have newspaper articles, if you have any please scan them and email them to her.
On to the entertainment for the children. I love the giant redneck water slide. It just doesn’t get any better than that. Those children played on that thing all day. There were other children games like ring toss, bingo, stacker races, limbo, and a dance off. I saw nothing but happiness from all the children except for Raynie when someone was on her bike, and little Stevie when Harmony accidently hit him in the head with the water hose. (Those are memories to remember.) I want to tell you how Harmony hit little Stevie with the water hose. Well, it all started with a piñata. Harmony bought a horse shaped piñata and had to much candy to just fill his stomach. So, Harmony made some extra holes and filled the horse’s head, and all four legs. Then the piñata was to heavy to hang it from the hook that it came with(it broke off). So she tied the hose around the stomach of the horse and hung it from the ceiling of the pavilion. When they were all done and untied the piñata, she was pulling on the hose to get it down from the ceiling and the nozzle of the hose hit little Stevie. (Sorry Stevie but you were a champ.)
The adults, talked, laughed, relaxed, drank, played horseshoes, and played some sort of game were you throw bean bags into a hole.
The auction did really well this year. There was some hidden Mary Kay, picture frames, decorations, homemade Jelly (thanks Margie)…. BUT just like every year in the past the adults paid a pretty penny for toys. A Bratz Barbie for $20.00, a Spiderman toy for 32.00, however, the most expensive item was something that no one even knew what it was and the winner was Betty Uphold. She paid $101.00 for the Uphold horse shoe. Now you might laugh but she just made our legacy book. The horse shoe will be sold every year. One month before the family reunion the committee will bring you the family journal. You then will write all the luck that the horse shoe has brought to you for the entire year. Next year it will be up for auction but you will not know where it is. It could be in a box of cheerios, or at the bottom of a basket. Regardless the auction did very well and we made enough to cover next year’s expenses.
Brandy Griffith sold the tip boards. She had tip boards for wine, dessert sets, bird feeders, a make up basket, a liquor holder, ect… She is always so good at doing this part so Thank You Brandy.
Becky sold the other gambling tickets and we sold out within minutes. Thank You Becky.
The DJ was Mat the Cat. I thought that they were very good, and they are a good price. If you ever need a DJ give them a call. If you didn’t like the DJ you should have requested music and stop whining.
All the children wanted rides in the golf cart and Chickie was glad to do it. (Thank You Chickie.) yes yes I know that Chickie isn’t really related to us but, when you have been around the family as long as he has been you just get adopted in.
The committee started a legacy book for the family. It was several pages with pictures, and information about our family. The committee only asked for monetary donations in order to get the book. Thank you to everyone who purchased one. It really meant a lot to the committee to see that so many of you care about our legacy. We will have a new installment next year.
Now Pap Uphold (Jim) sent over a bottle of some kind of homemade apple drink. (Adults Only) He said to have a drink on him. So, George, and Brandy walked around getting everyone to take a drink and Echo took the pictures. (Thank you George and Brandy for being so persistent and Thank you Echo for capturing the moments)
They started the fire at night. I want to give a special thank you shout out to Richie Show. Thank you for bring over the firewood.
This reunion takes a lot of planning, and the legacy books take a lot of work, But it is well worth it. Thank You reunion committee.
This reunion holds a special place in my heart. When I see all these faces of adults that I knew as children, and I see my elders look at me as an adult it is an indescribable feeling. I have a lifetime of memories with this wonderful family. Swimming at the pool, being in the barn, Sunday school, Vacation Bible school, camping, riding horses, sled riding, playing video games…….
Now I want to say a little about the reunion committee.
The members are Harmony Swaney, Becky Plisko, Echo Kirkland, and Katlyn Uphold.
The reasons they are on the committee are as follows……..
One day Katlyn was at Harmony’s and told her that she needed a senior project. Now remember at this time Katlyn was a Freshman. Harmony said well I don’t know. I don’t know if Katlyn already had an idea or not. I do know that Harmony and Echo have talked about how Katlyn is the youngest cousin and she doesn’t have the memories of all the cousins being together. I know Harmony and Echo missed having everyone all together. I know that a lot of the family work for the U Company, but there are even more of us that do not work for the Company. Anyway, Katlyn and Harmony decided to put together the fact that Katlyn needed a project and Harmony wanted all the family together….So TADA the Uphold Family Reunion.
Katlyn has had small parts from the beginning. Then this year was her Senior year and she was the head of the committee. Harmony used to be a party planner for the resorts that she has worked for so this was right up her alley. Harmony would always call her sister Echo and bounce ideas off her. Echo and Harmony became members of Ancestory.com and looked up a lot of information. Echo didn’t come to the family reunions until the 3rd family reunion. Echo was always more interested in the background of the families; she looked everything up on the internet, and being all the way in Georgia it is hard to help with much else. Becky really wanted to help so she started calling Harmony all the time to go over genealogy, and to go to trips, and to go over lists for the reunion. Thank You Committee for all the hard work you do.
However, loving family you supply the main ingredient of any good party and that is people. You can have everything in place but unless you have people there is no party.
So, thanks, you are the biggest, funniest, most loving, and giving family, and I am truly blessed to be an Uphold……
See yall next year.
P.S. Over the next couple of days I will be posting pictures......
