Bonnie & I drove to Logan, stopping overnight in Beaver, to attend the Hadfield Reunion to be held on July 14th and 15th. We must have done this drive to Utah a million times since we moved to Southern California in 1964. The road has changed over the years, mostly freeway now so the driving time is shorter, but in many ways it's the same. Many miles of desert, then into Southern Utah with all the red rock mountains, and then into Northern Utah with it's Wasatch Mountains and all the greenery. When we enter Cache Valley where Logan is, which we always referred to as Happy Valley, I get the "grins." It's a beautiful valley and of course holds all my childhood memories.
The 2017 Hadfield Family Reunion began on Friday evening at Uncle Max's and Aunt Marie's home in River Heights, and resumed the following day at the community park in River Heights. As long as I can remember there has been a Hadfield Family Reunion held in July on the weekend closest to my Grandpa Will's birthday (July 13th). My Uncles and Aunts were always there, along with my cousins as they came along. My cousin Warren and I were the oldest of the 50 Hadfield cousins (see listing in photos below), so he and I were at the reunions from the beginning.
This year, unfortunately, Aunt Elaine passed away three weeks prior to the Reunion at the age of 96, and then Aunt Vonda passed away three days before the Reunion at the age of 97. Uncle Max is my dad's only remaining sibling. Aunt Marie (Uncle Max's wife) and Uncle Allen (Aunt Nina's husband) and Leah Rae (Uncle Allen's 2nd wife) are still with us. Uncle Max's family was the host family for 2017.
Friday evening session: After a surprise rain storm, members of Uncle Max's family took turns presenting a history of each of the ten children of William and Grace Hadfield, with the theme "The Passage of Time." We were also favored with a musical number, "Sunrise, Sunset." The photos below show those presenters and the Hadfield child with spouse. What a great looking group they are.
Presenters of each Hadfield sibling's history and related photos from the left:
1st row: Uncle Max for Gordon, and Lorna, Norma Jean and Gordon; Jan for Myrl, and Myrl & Foster.
2nd row: Randy for Ronald, and Ronald & June; Kent for Elden, and Sarah & Elden;
3rd row: Brent for Norman, and Elaine and Norman; Linda for Vonda, and Jack & Vonda.
4th row: Stephanie for Amy, and Amy and LaMoyle; Mark for Max, and Marie & Max.
5th row: Leslie for Nina, and Nina & Allen; Kent for Dean, and Dean & Arla.
6th row: Katherine, Natalie and Marcie presenting a musical number. The next three photos are shots of the "audience."
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Saturday afternoon session: There was a good crowd and everyone brought their picnic lunch. Ice cream was distributed by the host family. Leslie organized a bunch of games for the younger generation - actually for anyone wanting to play. I think everyone had a good visit. Since Bonnie and I have lived in California for so many years, these reunions are always a good chance for to visit with relatives we don't often see.
Below is a photo of a list of the Hadfield cousins and some photos taken at the Friday afternoon portion of the reunion.
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Aunt Vonda's funeral: A viewing was scheduled for the Sunday evening after the reunion, and a viewing and funeral service was scheduled the next day (Monday) at the Hillcrest 2nd Ward chapel.
Miscellaneous old photos: I think my cousins will be interested in the photos below of the children of Will and Grace (except I don't have a photo of Gordon) and most of the spouses. You can tell by my shirt that I took many of the photos on the same trip to Utah. I wish I had taken photos with the others who left us earlier, but I didn't think of it at the time.
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A Little History: My Grandpa William was brought from England to the U.S. by his father at the age of 13 and resided on the family homestead in Grouse Creek, Utah - a God forsaken place on the Nevada/Utah border. Grandpa married Grace Jorgensen, who was from North Logan, and they raised their children on their small ranch in Grouse Creek. Grandpa Will died of Brights Disease when the youngest of their 10 children was only a couple of years old. My dad, along with his older sister Myrl and his younger brother Elden, left Grouse Creek after all three had finished 10th grade in Grouse Creek and moved to Logan together to attend Logan High School. My mother met dad's sister Myrl when they both worked at the Bell Telephone Company. Myrl introduced mother to dad and they were soon married. Grandma Grace eventually moved the remaining children to Logan. Below are some family photos:
From the left-1st row: Grandma Grace and Grandpa Will, the family prior to the last child's birth (Dean), and the family at Grandpa's headstone in the Grouse Creek graveyard.
2nd row: The sisters and spouses (Gordon's and Elden's spouse missing) along with Grandma Grace, Grandma Grace pitching softball at one of the Family Reunions held in Grouse Creek, and the Grouse Creek town sign.
3rd row: A special photo of Grandma Grace, the aunts and uncles at one of the Family Reunions held in River Heights, and grandchildren at a Family Reunion (Karine, Clair, Warren & Julie).
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