~by Jeff Tryon ummer is the natural time for reunions of all kinds. The weather is nice and people take vacations, or just try to be more out and about. This summer, reunions take on an extra measure of meaning as we crawl out of our pandemic-enforced isolation like a horde of cicadas, craving human contact. We are eager to reconnect and catch up with old school chums, people we knew from church, and family members from near and far we have not seen in at least a year. Recently, I attended the class reunion for the Brown County High School Class of 1973. I am always a little nervous to appear before this group of folks, who may or may not remember what an obnoxious smart aleck I was in my teens. All in all, they seem to have forgiven, or at least forgotten. A nice group, and, like me, considerably more mellow and wise these days, I expect. You know how it is—at the ten-year reunion, everyone is striving to show off a little, everybody is decked out and at the height of their energy, eager for social encounters. By your 48th reunion, folks are a good bit more laid back, the drinking mostly iced tea.
S
38 Our Brown County July/August 2021
Reunions
Year after next, for our 50th, we will demur to the “Brown County Alumni” group, which organizes a reunion every year and each year honors the class which is celebrating its golden anniversary. The second Sunday in June brought the “Homecoming” celebration at Unity Baptist Church up on Spearsville Road. Homecoming Sunday typically includes an afternoon service where people who have previously attended return to share memories and reacquaint. A few years back I had the distinct pleasure of bringing the message in the morning Homecoming service. I sang a solo of “Precious Memories” and preached on the Prodigal Son, undoubtedly one of the greatest reunion stories ever told. Between the morning and afternoon sessions, there is a big pitch-in dinner, with everyone sitting at long tables to eat and enjoy fellowship together. One year, I brought a pot of chicken and dumplings, just like mother used to make. During dinner, one of my cousins approached me asking if I had made them.
