Friday, June 6, 2008

Reunion Secretaries

This is my first time to ever be responsible for sending out the reminders for my mother's people's reunion. I didn't want to take the responsiblity, but I've never done it and I figured it was my turn, so I accepted it...and dreaded it. I wrote a quick, cute, corny little poem, enlisted my husband's help in running it off on postcards, went to the post office to purchase 60 postcard stamps, self-adhesive (or "already been licked," as the postal worker said,) placed them in the obligatory upper righthand corner (27 cents to mail a post card? Well, it's cheaper than gas, I guess) and have them all ready to mail. Then I saw the secretary's book in the briefcase full of "stuff" that has been handed down over several years. (Don't know whose idea that was, but thanks! Very organized.)

The book has information from the very first reunion in July, 1963. My mother was the first secretary. That would make sense...it may have even been her idea to have the reunion in the first place. The first page says:

Record of Collections and Expenses
7/21/63 (with my mother's name beside it)
Collected $3.52
Book, stamps, etc., 1964 2.75
Bal. July 1964 .77

I read down and over the pages and notice (my mother had it again in 1976) the names of those whose names will never appear there again, like my mother's, and the names of those who are unable to come because they are too old and live too far away at least to come every year, and the name of one with Alzheimer's, and the names of those whom I don't even know.

Then...what? What's my name doing there in 1983????? Well, I THOUGHT I'd never been the secretary before! But, lo and behold, there's my name...in MY handwriting...having been the reunion secretary in 1983! I bet my mother had a huge hand in helping me with that because I had a baby by then and lived 120 miles away.

Anyway, I was just waxing nostalgic and wanted to share this with anyone out there who might care. Have a good day.