A Chairdean Ionmhuinn Mo Chinnidh
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MC DONALD NEWSLETTER, Fall,2001,Vol.15, No.3, |
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People signed in and welcomed "old" cousins and met new ones. We circulated and looked at numerous family photos and historical documents, and reminissed about old times while the children ran around on the ample grassy hillsides and watched the ducks and fish.
We brunched on barbecued chicken a la Chef Jim La Torre, potato salad, and a Mc Donald Clan cake so decorated for the occasion.
A real treat was meeting cousins who none of us had met before such as the "Gillis Girls" Elizabeth Sutter from Honolulu and Pat Kraatz, both of whom told us stories and shared pictures of their Gillis ancestors. Dianne Toomey was also a newcomer to the group. Her ancestor was the brother of Ellen Fogarty. Most of the Fogarties settled in the Benicia/Vallejo Area and that is where Dianne was raised. As to be expected, some of our past attendees are no longer with us but were represented by their grandchildren, i.e. Mike Dadasovich, Dick Mc Donald, Bill Mc Donald, Barry Bennett and his sister Jodie, Rick Terry and others. An interesting sidelight was that only two families that were present still carry the surname, Mc Donald (and the Mc Donald Y chromosome if we ever get into molecular genealogy).
Those in attendance were: Jan and Walt Rilliet, Francis and Nick Santos de Dios, Phyl and Gordon Van Ness, Bill and Pat Norin, Mark and Michelle Barnes, Nancy, Rob and Dianna Rouse, Dianne Toomey, Bill, Gerry, and Charlene Mc Donald, George and Peggy Perazzo, Barry, Shyrl and Kelly Bennett,
Jodie, Jim and Mindy Garvin, Michael and Kathleen Dadasovich, Rick and Rosemary Terry,Dan and Liam Mc Coy, Nicole and Damian Barnes, Patricia Kraatz, Elizabeth Taryn and Kiera Sutter and friend. Kathy and Jim La Torre and Dick and Mary Mc Donald.*
* Please excuse any omissions or misspellings
 
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"Family Reunion," as seen in Heartwarmers.com
I learned to appreciate family reunions as a child. There was
Great Uncle Carl who loved children and we all looked for him because he
would tease us, and pretend to trip us with his cane (at least I think he
was pretending). And I loved the family nicknames, such as Lank, Happy,
or Curly. Would Snow White show up too?
If you go every year from the time you are born, you will
eventually figure out who some of your relatives are before you die. If you
come
soon after you are born, you might win the prize for the youngest member of
the family. Then you must keep coming to insure that your particular
family line wins the prize for the most members present. If not, Grandma
will lament all year long that it was your fault that her line didn't win,
because they only lacked one person to win and you weren't there.
From the time I was small, we attended two reunions yearly -- one
for each side of the family. Sometimes we had reunions at our house.
Tables and chairs were borrowed from church and placed under shade trees.
There were little circled up groups here and there. Some visited, some
played table games, or maybe a game of softball. Under the big maple tree, a
group strummed their guitars and sang the old songs, and that's where
I learned "Froggy Went A Courtin".
Reunions included huge quantities of food and homemade lemonade
or iced tea, and what reunion would be complete without fried chicken?
Of course there was a pan, nearly as big as a washtub, full of
corn-on-the-cob. Can you say "roastinears"? (all one word, slurred
together.)
We can't forget the talent show. Many who wanted to, and some
who didn't, were asked to perform. There was a variety of entertainment.
It didn't matter if you were good or not, there was always a round of
applause for you.
One year we performed an original song written by my
brother-in-law and yours truly. We surprised his mother and sang this song
in her
honor and she was duly mortified. It's one of those things mothers have to
endure:
-- The Underwear Song --
1) Growing up I learned a thing or two
Always be careful what you say and do
Listen really close and you will see
This is what my Mama said to me
Chorus
Always wear clean underwear
Cause you might have a wreck between here and there
Just in case you need emergency care
Always wear clean underwear
Reunions are a time of renewing, caring, and loving. They remind
us of who we are and give us a sense of identity. Life is short, and
family is extremely important. Family includes the adopted, the in-laws, and
even a few out-laws. Visitors are welcomed in the festivities. The family
reunion is a place where everyone is loved no matter where you are in
the family tree or what has happened in your past.
As people begin to leave there are hugs and kisses and promises
to stay in touch and to see one another more often. Some hesitate a bit
longer in saying good-byes, dreading to leave and linger for one more
hug, as Aunt Julia says, "Would you play Amazing Grace one more time?" She
dabs at her eyes with a handkerchief, as several join in four part harmony,
making a wonderful sound that echoes in my mind years later.
Many are getting up in years now. A cousin said, "I'm so old, I
don't even buy green bananas anymore." I look around me and wonder, who
won't be with us next year. Some have health problems and there are no
guarantees of tomorrow. Who will make it back next year? I'm reminded not to
take anyone for granted. I have learned to be generous with hugs and in
saying,
"I love you" because this could be the last hug, the last kiss, the
last good-bye.
Reunions are good. Family is good. Life is good, and God is
good!
-- Pamela R. Blaine
It's summer and time for the annual family reunion.
It comes with summertime like hot weather and the county fair.
Cars beep a hello as they drive in and folks hop out saying
things like: "Look how much she's grown!" (Now that I'm an adult, I really
prefer that nobody says that about me anymore.)
2) The years have gone by and I'm old and gray
And still this question won't go away
As I drive along with caution and care
Do I have on clean underwear?
"Coming to California thirty-three years ago (book written in 1922) James Mc Donald is one of the most successful orchardists of Santa Clara County and he can look back at a life filled with varied and interesting experiences from his boyhood days in the Maritime Provinces, to the time spent in balmy, tropical Honolulu, and then by way of severe contrast, three years spent in the frozen North, in the first gold rush to Alaska. His birth- place was Cape Breton, Canada, and he traces his ancestry back to the McDonalds and Mcdonalds ot Inverness and Gleacoe, Scotland, Augustine and Mary (Giles) McDonald were his parents, the father born on Prince Edward Isle. Grandfather Angus McDonald and Great-grandfather Ronald McDonald came from Morarshire, Scotland, and settled on Prince Edward Island, and this was the family home for many years. There Augustine McDonald fol- lowed his trade as a builder, until his marriage, when he made his home on Cape Breton Island until his death at the age of ninety-two. Mrs Mary Gilles McDonald's grandfather came from Scotland to Prince Edward Island, and here her father, Donald Giles, was born. When a young man he came with his wife and child in an open boat to Cape Breton while it was yet a wilderness, and was one of the first settlers there, taking up land and improving it and becoming well-to-do. He built two vessels, one, for each son, and for years they were engaged in trading along the Atlantic Coast.Mrs. McDonald passed away at the age of seventy-seven,the mother of thirteen children, seven of whom are living. The fifth oldest of the family and the only one in California, James A. McDonald, attended the schools of his home neighborhood until he was twelve years old and shortly after he entered a dry goods' store in Sydney as a clerk, continuing ln that line of work until 1888. when he came to San Francisco. Wishing to get into the great outdoors, he followed ranching at San Rafael for five years and engaged in the same line at Hopland, Mendocino County. He next served as a deputy under Sheriff McDade at San Francisco, then went to Honolulu, where for three years he imported horses from California, sell- ing them in the Hawaiian Islands. At the time of the first gold rush to Alaska, in 1898, Mr. McDonald made his way to St. Michael and then up the Yukon to Dawson: it took from July, 1898, to June, 1899, to make the trip, as the party was frozen in en route. He was at Fairbanks when there was only one old prospector there, and they had to walk across from Rampart City. At Dawson the Canadian Government was building a telegraph line to White- horse, and he entered their employ, working on the boat handling the wire, and helping install the first telegraph instruments at the station at Dawson. After the line was completed he was mate on the steamer taking people to Whitehorse, and on the way down the river they lost the boat. All on board escaped watery graves, Mr. McDonald coming ashore bareheaded, and they walked 250 miles to Dawson, camping out nights. He continued to prospect, but after putting in three years there he returned to San Francisco in 1901 via Camp Nome.
At old St Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco, on April 30. 1904, Mr Mc Donald was married to Miss Elizabeth Byrne, the daughter of Garret J and Annie (Mc Cleod) Byrne, pioneers of San Francisco. Mrs Mc Donald was born at San Francisco and educated at the Dominican Convent there: she is a cultured woman of much capablility and the union has proven a very happy one. After their marriage Mr and Mrs Mc Donald took up their marriage on Glenbrook farm, the Bryne Homestead since 1879, and since then Mr Mc Donald has devoted his time to horticultura, having reset and improved the ranch until 60 acres are now a full bearing orchard of prunes and apricots. It is beautifully located on Stevens Creek and is one of the showplaces of the county. Mr Mc Donald is also roadmaster in the Fifth supervisorial district, having filled this office since 1905, very creditably to himself and the public, as the roads in that district will attest to his ability in that line. He is a member of the San Jose Council, K of C and is greatly interested in the improvement of the Santa Clara Valley, this wonderfully favored section of the globe."
"History of Santa Clara County"
Editor's Footnote: When Laughlin, Michael and their Uncle Hugh Gillis first came to California in 1868 they spent the spring in Santa Clara County. They may very well have stayed with Jim's family. The Byrne girls and Michael's daughters used to visit one another. Kate Byrne, Ann's sister, and Belle Mc Donald attended Notre Dame Academy of Santa Clara.