Reunion Report

I realized I've been so busy with work and attending the No HOW in Atlanta, that I hadn't written anything about the family reunion I attended. In short it was great to reconnect with my family. I discovered my dad had a ton of information on our family history. We have things traced back at least nine generations. The info goes back to the 1700s and the first guy that came here from Scotland. He landed in North Carolina, although we do not yet know why or exactly who his relatives were in the UK. So that will give us something for which to search.

My dad said he would mail me a copy of everything he has. There were mostly dates and places and names. Of course I am more interested in the stories which would help us understand what our ancestors were doing and thinking, what they were like and am I like any of them. There were a couple interesting stories that someone had recounted, but I won't post them until I get a copy of what my dad has. I did find out that my great, great, great grandfather at one time owned almost the whole county where I grew up. He gave it to his brother to manage, but his brother lost it in bad deals and gambling.

One of the highlights of the trip was going to see the "old home place" where my great grandfather raised my grandfather and his siblings. Then my grandfather raised my dad and his siblings there. It is still very remote. There are two ways to the farm. One is to park by the river at the bottom of the mountain, walk across the swinging bridge and almost straight uphill. The other way is to follow a narrow paved road until you get to a dirt road. After you travel a mile or so up the dirt road, you make a right, open a gate and drive a mile through a field. Trucks and SUVs are required!

With all the family history available, I realized that I didn't need to search for a new surname. My maiden name, Duty, is the right one. It may be unusual, buy my early relatives are folks of which I can be proud. It is my honor to carry this name. Get it? "Duty, Honor, Country" :o)


As you can see my little Mitsubishi wagon couldn't pass. You can catch a glimpse of my car in the upper right hand corner of the photo. This photo was taken from the back of my cousin's truck facing where we had been.


The farm is certainly located in a beautiful neck of the woods.


We reached the end of the rough, grassy trail and found the old house still standing.


his is the front of the house. I remember the porches on both the first and scond levels with porch swings and rocking chairs and a whole lot of laughter.


If you stand in the pasture that's in front of the house and look to your left, this is what you see. No wonder we mountain folk are teased for having one leg shorter than the other. :o)


Looking left-center in front of the house.


If you look to your right, this is your view.


According to genealogical information, our early ancestors came from Scotland. A thistle is a fitting reminder of our heritage.


I think this is the saddest image. A chair waiting for a soul to sit in it once more.


Leaving the farm

Downhome Reunion

Life has been hard up here in the mountains
Few people know the meaning of it
Young people died old of hardship and sorrow
And learned well the lesson, don’t give up or quit

Tonight we're taking my sweetheart's mother to a concert. We had this planned months in advance. I got word from my cousin last week that our annual family reunion had been moved up to this weekend too. Traditionally, the reunion was held the weekend after Independence Day. I have not been to a reunion in years but the story behind that is long and not too exciting. Anyway, one of my aunts is not doing well healthwise. I was always her favorite niece and so it is very important that I go to this reunion. My sweetheart is going with me and the trip should be quite interesting for him. I'm taking him into the mountains down in far southwestern Virginia. Although a number of cousins live in other cities, a big part of our family is still there, including my dad.


The town I grew up in had a population of one-hundred fifty people. It is a very small town that is in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains. This is a picture of it taken in early March. Ok, the photo was taken in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corp, what has often been referred to as President Roosevelt's "Tree Army". Not much changed from the photo to when I was growing up there. A few more houses. We had a general store, two churches (Baptist & Methodist), a gas station, a tiny bank and the post office. The town was cut into two sides by a river. When I was growing up, all I had to do for adventure was to look up and pick a mountain to climb, or head to the riverbank. There were always waterfalls, plants, animals, rocks, fossils and arrowheads to discover. Although it seems an idyllic life, I know I am remembering it through the misty mirror of yesterday. What I remember of most of my life there is peace and quiet.

Of course I have tons of stories about growing up there. Stories that I need to write down for my daughters. My grandmother kept an old family bible with all of our ancestors names written it it. I'm going to take a look at it while I'm down there. I'm also going to visit the "old home place." The farm where my father and his father and his father before him grew up. There is still no paved road to this farm. You get to it by walking over the "swinging bridge" which is sometimes more scary than wading across the river. I can't wait to see it, because the earliest memories I have of my grandparents happened on this farm. I believe the house is no longer standing and the land is full of bramble and briar. Perhaps it's because I've been searching for a different surname, I just feel the need to get in touch with my roots, take photos and record things before they are lost. And I have my sweetheart to share it with with makes it all the lovlier.

Least Coin Story

I do this sometimes when I'm bored or waiting on something, like now...

Look at the least coin in your wallet, pocket or purse. Check the date that it was minted. Think of where you were and what you were doing that year. Do this often and relive forgotten parts of your life.

The least coin in my pocket now is a penny. It was minted in 1981. The first of June 1981, I had just graduated from high school, was looking forward to starting the new chapter of my life...college. Of course that would come after my step-sister and I took ourselves on an a vacation together with no parents. We also took our boyfriends...but my parents didn't know that (whoohoo!).

By the way, I'm still trying to decide on a name.

Still Searching

I'm still researching names...this week I've been toying with what I like to do. I love to kayak. I love water. Lovewater

English: Lovewater
Spanish: Amoragua
French: Aimerleau
Italian: Amarelacqua
German: LiebenSieWasser
Dutch: HoudVanWater