A tale of two brothers comes full circle

Once there were two brothers that lived in Michigan. One decided to find work in Canada, while the other stayed in Michigan. After a time, William, who was living in Canada on a farm, decided to follow his relatives Edna and Stanley to California. They suggested he could make money in the oil wells during the Depression to support his family. He left his wife and children in Canada until he could make enough money to buy a home for his family. Soon after he was stable, the family followed William to CA. Now William loved picnics, baseball, and family. And the family eventually grew much larger. So the idea to have an official family reunion once a year, when the entire extended family could get together came about. The reunion would be picnic style, and include a baseball game. The expectation was that the entire extended family would meet once a year. Since the official recording began, this family has been meeting the Saturday after Father's Day for the past 39 years. Below are 3 of William's children, at the 39th Annual Bellenbaum Reunion.

(L-R, Dolores, Edith, friend of the family Vi, and Erine)

William's eldest son Ernie still lives near Irvine Regional Park where the family reunion has been held serveral times, and where most early reunions were held. He is considered the patriarch of the Bellenbaum family these days. He is 87 years old. His children and grandchildren live in CA. Second to the right is Vi. She has been a friend of t he family since 1929. To her left is Edith. Her children, grandchildren, and great grand children largely live in Washington state. And on the left on the end is Dolores. She is affectionately called GG by her great grandchildren. And her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren live in CA, WA, CO, AZ, and HI. Now if you look really close at GG's T-shirt (click on the picture above to make it larger) you will see that she is wearing a T-shirt from the 2007 Bellenbaum reunion held in Michigan. It has a Hawaii theme to it. Stay put, I am getting to that part in the story.

(L-R, Hubby, me, GG, Son1, Son2, Grandma T., Aunt M. and Uncle T.)

So here is how the Farmer family fits into this tale. William is GG's father. GG is Grandma T.'s mother, Hubby is Grandma T.'s son, and he is named partly for his great grandfather, William. On the far right is Hubby's only living sibling (2 are in heaven) and that is Uncle T. to Son1 and Son2. And then there's me. I started going to the family reunion about 10 years ago, when Hubby and I had been dating for less than a year. And Aunt M. started going 4 years ago, when she was dating Uncle T., and he was actually deployed.

Friday night dinner at Uncle Ernie's

Definitely gotta click on the picture to make it worth your while

So there is also a tradition of having a pre-reunion party on Friday night, before the reunion. And we are usually all a bit slap happy from lack of sleep, travel time, and some good ol' family traveling. You know what I mean. From being in the car hours together. This year, our family came from CA, AZ, OR, HI, CO, and TX.

Well, over the years the West Coast Bellenbaums have kept in contact with William's brother's family in Michigan. We send them invites to our family reunions, and they send us theirs. Truth be told, they know we are out West, and we know that they are in Michigan. In 2006 the West Coast Bellenbaum family reunion was held in Hawaii. The Michigan Bellenbaums couldn't make it. However, they thought it would be great fun to have a Hawaiian themed reunion. So that is just what they did, even though most of them have never met most of us! This year, though, GG and her middle daughter, Inez went to visit. The Michigan Bellenbaums hold their reunion the weekend after Mother's Day.





GG and Inez went to Michigan and stayed with Robyn and Charlie. Robyn is the granddaughter of the brother that stayed in Michigan. She is Dick Bellenbaum's daughter, and he is GG's first cousin. That makes Robyn and Grandma T. second cousins, since she is GG's daughter. So, Robyn and her husband Charlie knew they had a trip planned to Hawaii this Sept. They have been in contact with Hubby, a cousin they never have met before, for months about their trip to HI. They planned to meet up one day so Hubby could take them on a private trip to the USS Arizona Memorial aboard Admiral Willard's boat, The Remembrance.

And it's not a super romantic tale. Hubby pulled up in his convertible along the side of the road and picked them up at a bus stop. He and Robyn were each on cell phones, and Robyn had a picture of Hubby from the 2006 reunion in Hawaii.

Two of Admiral Willard's boats,the 4 Star Admiral, the Pacific Fleet Commander for the Navy

USS Arizona Memorial


View of the Flag from the USS Arizona Memorial

So Hubby, Robyn, and Charlie all went to lunch together at Sea Breeze on Hickam AFB. They had a great time. And so the distance between distant cousins became as close as across a lunch table. I was sad to miss it, but I had to pick up Son1 from preschool. Robyn and Charlie brought us some special preserves from Michigan, and special Michigan mints. At the end of their time, Hubby drove them back to Waikiki after lunch. And this is how the tale of two brothers comes full circle...all the way on this little rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Robyn and Charlie at the USS Arizona Memorial