At the beginning of July, members of the extended Parker family converged on Kinston for our biennial Parker Family Reunion. When John, my brother, and I were growing up, our huge family gathered at a city park in Roanoke, Virginia, for what was then the Parker-Brown Reunion. That reunion was named for the descendants of my great-grandparents, Peter Parker and Judia Brown Parker.

Back then, roughly 150 people attended the reunion. What I most remember were comments from distant relatives directed at John and me like: “My, you sure have grown.” Since John and I were a little devilish at times, we got into the habit of saying our names and adding, “My, haven’t we grown.”

For years, that family reunion ceased. Several of us got together to discuss starting a smaller reunion that would the descendants of Henry S. Parker and Lady Belle Parker – my grandparents.

The first few reunions took place in Virginia. My Old Dominion relatives had contacts with a church camp. The camp leaders consented to allow us to use their grounds. In 2022, we had our reunion at Aunt Judy’s home in Vinton, Va. Since most of those who attended the reunion came from North Carolina, the Virginia detachment asked us to plan this year’s event. John, who lives in Florida, agreed. Coming to Kinston was closer than going to the Roanoke, Virginia area.

Since our reunion is always around July 4, I thought one of the events we could attend was the Naturalization Ceremony at Harmony Hall. None of my out-of-state family had been to such an event. They found the ceremony at Harmony Hall to be moving. Twenty-three new citizens received their citizenship papers – and swore an oath that renounced any other citizenship and pledged their total allegiance to the United States. People from 18 countries took that oath. Their family members who could be present beamed with pride.

Later that day, we meet for the North Tower concert and fireworks in Pearson Park.

After breakfast on Friday, the Virginians boarded the CSS Neuse II. They had heard about the boat – and even visited the website. But they wanted to walk the decks. Later that day, we all converged on the home of Rachel, my daughter. She and her husband had cooked hot dogs and hamburgers, along with sides. Rachel told those who wanted a different kind of meat to bring their own and Joe would grill it for them. Twenty-eight of us attended the soiree at Rachel’s home.

In the days our family was here, we ate meals together, had an hour-long gospel sing of songs my grandparents and dad loved. Michael, my son, even accompanied the singing by playing my granddad’s guitar. After the sing-a-long, we went to King’s for the lunch buffet. We ended the festivities with those who could coming to church with me on Sunday.

Four generations attended. Although Aunt Judy is actually four years younger than I am, she represents the generation of my mom and dad and Aunt Dot. Judy’s children almost think of me as an uncle – even though we are first cousins.

The most important activity we did was to spend a good deal of time talking with each other. My grandkids had the opportunity to talk with cousins they seldom see. They left with the understanding they are part of something larger than themselves and their immediate families.

Family is the basic unit of society. I encourage all of you who no longer attend or hold family reunions to get back into the habit. Few bonds are as strong as family bonds.

Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.