I'm now in my 50s, but as a child growing up on a farm in Iowa, this is a summer tradition I looked forward to every year. The Fourth of July was a special time of the year; my parents were part of a card bunch (similar to many from the “Greatest Generation” era), and a portion of this group would gather early in the morning at a local park for breakfast. The men would start the fire, get the coffee perking, and cook eggs and bacon and sausages in cast-iron skillets while the women put out all the trimmings, including homemade coffee cake, pastries, and fresh fruit. We kids would run all over, playing catch and making use of the swing sets and teeter-totters. After we had stuffed ourselves, the women would clean up, and we'd all head home to rest up for the evening festivities.
In the early evening, the entire card bunch would gather for a night of celebration. The men would grill while the women placed on the table all the delectable homemade goodies and the kids lit firecrackers and played croquet. The meal was always finished off with homemade ice cream. Once it got dark, the fireworks would begin. (Fireworks were illegal in Iowa, but the host family would always drive to Missouri and pick up the bottle rockets and many other items to awe us with.) Following the fireworks, the women would retreat to one room to play Royal Rummy and the men to another to play poker. My parents each had their own “penny” jar saved up from pocket change over the year. We kids never ran out of things to do both outside and inside the house. It's an event I wish was still part of my family life.
–Sherry from Tulsa, OK
When Frank and Ella May Fossati were married in 1921, they traveled to Port O’Connor along the magnificent Texas coast for their honeymoon. They liked the area so much, they bought property there and built a summerhouse for their growing family. Every year in May, when school was out, they packed the family’s old pick-up with provisions and clothes and headed to the port. Crabbing, fishing, and swimming were the agenda for the idyllic summers, along with afternoon board games and walks along the beach. Wonderful meals made from fresh seafood were the evening menu. All 10 Fossati siblings treasure glorious memories of the wonderful days spent at their beloved beach house.
Five generations of the Fossati family have continued to travel to the tiny town. Frank and Ella May’s eldest daughter, Rita Fossati Tuttle, has shared the place with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren for many years. Every summer, a July Fourth picnic is held at the old beach house, where a delicious shrimp boil is served. Then the culinary competition begins! Visitors arrive laden with fantastic desserts and snacks, which are enjoyed until the magnificent fireworks display lights the entire sky for half an hour. The crowd is large—usually 75 or more family members and friends.
The Fossati family has a tradition of culinary excellence; Frank's brother and father operated Fossati's Deli, the oldest deli in Texas, for many years. Theresa and Cathy, Rita's youngest sisters, who are also fraternal twins, still operate the deli on Main Street in Victoria, Texas, about an hour's drive from Port O'Connor. The menu is full of family favorites, including Uncle Kite's Oyster Loaf, Ella May's soup, spaghetti, and wonderful desserts. A visit to the port often includes a stop at Fossati's deli to get the culinary juices flowing!
The July Fourth Port O'Connor picnic is an example of family, fun, and fabulous food. We welcome the prospect of sharing it with the sixth generation and Paula Deen's entourage!
–Diane from Houston
A few years back, my mother's entire family (about 20 of us) decided to start taking a family vacation once a year. Every August, we rent a house in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, for the week where all of us sleep under the same roof—and, amazingly, survive!
Because we are all from the Chicago area, we were anxious to try the fresh fish and other local cuisine that South Carolina has to offer. We decided to cook our meals each night rather than go out to dinner. I am not sure how the idea got started, but we decided to pick teams for each night of the week. The team whose night it was had to prepare the meal and beverages for the entire group.
We are a competitive bunch, so it quickly took hold and turned into a cooking competition. Each year, the teams compete for the best overall dinner and tablescape. Each team prepares a menu and theme for their meal, and we incorporate costumes, tablescapes, beverages—you name it—to see who wins the title of Best Team that year. The menus and settings are top secret. My grandmother and my aunt went as far as having Italian chef's costumes flown in from a friend one year. It is such a great way to bond with the entire family, and there is nothing better than everyone getting together at the same table for good food and good company.
After the trip, for Christmas gifts, I make recipe books with family photos from the trips and distribute them to everyone. I am already looking forward to this year's competition.
–Samantha from Libertyville, IL
Every summer, it seems, my family runs in a million different directions. Yet there is one event that stops us all in our tracks—our annual family reunion. It's a tradition we look forward to every year and we never miss it! Over the years, the family has spread out across the miles, but the first weekend in August, we all come home to Oregon for the Gregory Family Reunion (this year marks the 70th year).
The Gregory family, originally from Oklahoma, came to Oregon during the Depression to work in the lumber mills. Stories are told about how they left "home," setting off for a better place, a place with less dust and more jobs. They picked cotton along the way, often stopping and camping for weeks at a time along the side of the highway, to earn money so they could move on.
Hard times and each other are all they had when they arrived. Summers in the Oregon coastal communities where they eventually settled were humid and hot, and meager in both amenities and food. But with those original Gregorys came stamina and a zest for life and each other. And it was these characteristics that began our annual gatherings and that still bring us together 70 years later. Six children of the original Oregon Gregory settlers are still with us and still attend each annual reunion.
In the beginning years, they met on a Sunday at someone's home. There were yard games, fishing, men chatting about the economy (I think we have come full circle since those days), ladies chatting and sharing recipes, and lots of good old Okie food. Later, they moved the annual event to a local park, one with water so the kids could splash and play and cool off. After several years, they moved the reunion to a park about 50 miles inland and gathered there the first Sunday in August for the next 30-some years. Eventually it grew into a weekend of camping, and it remains so today. The meeting place has changed a few times in the past 20 years, but the reason hasn't: family and food!
Each year, members of our extended family begin arriving as early as Wednesday or Thursday before the official reunion weekend. They come from Arizona, California, Washington, Idaho, and all over Oregon. They show up in motor homes, travel trailers, and tents, with kids, dogs, and friends in tow. Some of our noncampers stay at the local hotels, which are all within walking distance of the park. We rent the entire lower half of the park down by the river. Many of us have not seen or talked to each other for a full year, so we have designated Friday night the official opening of the weekend, with wine and hors d'oeuvres, better known amongst us Gregorys as the “Cocktail Hour.” Everyone brings their favorite new wine and some munchies to accompany their wine choice. Ice-cold beer is usually on hand as well.
Saturday is the day of the actual picnic, a potluck extravaganza. Early in the day, we travel in a caravan to the local farm on the other side of the river to see what is available. Corn on the cob, green beans, peaches, and onions are always the first choices with the Gregory family. Whatever is fresh and available will be one of the highlights at the potluck.
People start lining up with plates and forks in hand at 1:30 p.m., and dinner is served at 2 o'clock sharp (my grandmother pretty much keeps everyone on schedule). My dad and my Uncle Ron have been known to just keep a fork in their shirt pockets in case someone walks by with something on their plate that needs to be sampled. “Quality control,” they call it. Over the years, we've integrated tabletop barbecues, and the gents serve barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs while the ladies fill in the rest.
I can honestly, and proudly, say that the Gregory Family Reunion is totally centered on food! Yes, we are all good down-home-cookin' foodies! There are recipes that have been brought every year. Rosemary Gregory always brings fresh tomatoes and watermelon from California. My Aunt Jewel makes the best desserts, and Cousin Carrie always brings something from her grandmother's recipe collection in honor of her grandma, who is my grandma's sister. Two years ago, I was honored by my grandmother giving me her recipe box, and now she calls me weeks before the picnic and tells me what to fix. She's already planning what I should bring, and this year it's her carrot cake. Last year it was Sauerkraut Salad, which was a hit and has been requested again this year. Cousin Angie is putting together a cookbook of all the recipes we can gather from the Gregory families, past and present. It should be fun!
During the weekend some of us will fish at the nearby river, some of us will nap, others will move their folding chairs around following the sun in search of a little tan, the little ones will ride their bikes around camp, and almost always the adults will engage in a water-gun fight with the youth. Because the park we gather at is just minutes from an Indian casino, each evening after dark, a group of us head up there to enjoy the casino festivities … if you know what I mean!
For 2 1/2 days, we sit around listening to the elders tell the stories of reunions past, stories of the hard times, and who is related to whom and how. We catch up on what each family has been doing for the past year, and there is always a family group photo to mark the end of another year.
On Sunday morning, everyone begins packing up to head home, but not before a recipe exchange over coffee and leftover desserts. We promise to send everyone the pictures we have each taken with our cameras and vow to be back again next year. And then, as quickly as it came, it is over, with hugs and long embraces and a wave goodbye.
–Timi from Snohomish, WA
I have a wonderful family tradition—our reunion that takes place every July. But it's not just any reunion. We go camping for a week, and there are normally about 150 family members! My dad was one of 11 children, and they were friends with another couple with nine kids. We've combined those two families into the Hick-a-Mack tribe. My generation has 32 cousins, then my kids' generation of…well, I've lost count. Now those kids are having kids, and you can see where the numbers come from. This tradition started in 1956 with two of the original brothers camping in the summers with their families. It caught on, and 53 years later, we are still at it.
We all meet at a small county park right on the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon, close to the coast. Relatives come from California, Arizona, Oregon, and sometimes as far away as Louisiana, and we camp in everything from tents to trailers, campers, and motor homes. The park director is a friend of one of my cousins, so he basically lets us have the “run of the park.”
Everyone watches out for all the kids. It's a great time to let them be kids, riding bikes, building sand castles, and making tie-dyed T-shirts. The kids' carnival with homemade hand-cranked ice cream is always a highlight. I grew up watching my grandparents milk the cow, then get out the rock salt, and chip away ice from the blocks stored in the cellar. If it was strawberry season, Grandma always sliced berries for the ice cream. Our rule was if you didn't crank, you didn't eat. I've held to that rule as long as I've been doing the ice cream at the carnival. Most kids have never seen ice cream made the good way!
We have an organized wine-tasting and dessert night, old-timey slide shows of the “elders” and past campouts, a golf tournament, a poker tournament, and a cribbage tournament. We also have a horseshoe tournament that starts on Friday. The finals are Saturday afternoon, just before our potluck dinner. Our family loves to cook, and better yet, we love to eat! There are at least three or four picnic tables full of salads, sides, main dishes, and desserts. Our tradition continues with dining; the “elders” go first, then the tournament winners, then the rest of us. After dinner we have our raffle, family picture, talent show, and campfire sing-a-long.
People may have family reunions, but I don't think anyone goes camping for a week with that many people for as many years as we have. I've talked to so many people who don't even know who their cousins are, let alone go camping with them for a week each year. I cannot imagine not having those people in my life.
I may have to miss the beginning of this year's trip, as we are expecting our fourth grandchild that week. But I hope to make it for wine tasting and potluck!
–Sue from Lake Tapps, WA
My name is Rylie, and my family owns Loch Haven Lake in the beautiful mountains of Roanoke, Virginia. This year marks our eighth to host an Independence Day celebration for the whole family and the members of our lake.
We start off the day with a cookie contest. Contestants bake three dozen of their favorite cookie. Members line up to taste the wonderful creations and then vote on favorites with poker chips.
Next up is the bubblegum-blowing contest. Adults and kids get a kick out of this one. Everyone lines up for a chance to blow the biggest bubble. Measurements are taken using a stick found on the ground and marked with lines. Last year's winner measured 8 on the stick.
After that, all the kids join in on sand castle creations. They can build what ever they want, and prizes are given to all.
Then it's off to the canoe races. So far this has been our biggest event. The kids really enjoy getting to race in the boats with their parents. Next comes my personal favorite, the Greased Watermelon contest. We have four divisions in this race, and each group must get the watermelon across the line. The prize is the watermelon, and you wouldn't believe how badly some people want that watermelon!
The final contest of the day is the Biggest Splash. Kids line up for a chance to show their stuff off the low diving board
When the games are over, the whole group heads up to our cabin to relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon with a potluck dinner. Some grill in the shelters, and my mom brings her newest garden creations. She combines squash, tomatoes, and zucchini fresh from my dad's garden on the property. Each of us contributes homemade macaroni and cheese and other side dishes. The band starts to play, and the lawn is covered with kids doing the limbo. It is a busy day, but we have one more thing to do. We serve cake to say thank you to our members for another safe and wonderful year.
–Rylie from Roanoke, Virginia
I grew up in Florida, and I am a lover of great Southern cooking. I have since moved to a small town called Somerset, Wisconsin, with my wonderful soul mate and husband of the past 5 1/12 years. We have four kids. The two older girls are mine, and the younger girl and the boy are my husband's: however, they all live with us. Every summer we have two traditions: one brings in the summer and the other one closes it. My husband has a pretty close-knit family. His father and mother live fairly close, and his sister lives with them.
Every year in early summer our entire family and his parents and sister pack up and go to the North Shore for vacation. We stay at a great bed-and-breakfast called the J Gregors Inn, a rustic little place just north of the small town of Castle Danger, Minnesota. There is a great view of Lake Superior and a nice seating area with a fire pit and a grill for guests to use. I am the designated cook of the family, but the girls all love to help in the kitchen or at the grill. We roast hot dogs and marshmallows like most families do, but we also like to shop locally and grill the great food. We spend a lot of time watching large ships come into the harbors, visiting local parks and waterfalls, hiking, and just taking in the ever-changing beautiful North Shore. My husband loves to do photography as a hobby, so we have quite a collection of beautiful pictures of the area.
To end the summer on Labor Day weekend, the family again packs up and heads to the Minnesota state fair. With that, you know, comes the food. We read the paper ahead of time and decide what fun things and new treats we would like to try, and we all share a little of everything. We spend the rest of the day visiting all the different areas, although the home-improvement buildings are always my favorites. It is great fun and ends our kids’ summer with a big bang.
–Kim from Somerset, WI
Paula, my family and I celebrate in Trenton, Tennessee. Our town is home to the "World's Largest Collection of Porcelain Veilleuse-Theieres," or, as they are more commonly known, teapots. These teapots were used in sickrooms for light and also for heating medicine and soup for patients. We have a weeklong festival usually beginning the last week of April and running through the first weekend of May. The Saturday of Teapot Week we have a parade down College Street. Fortunately, I live on this street, and my house has a large front porch with two swings and numerous chairs. My family makes plans to try to come and spend that weekend there, and we have a "party on the porch."
It's like a mini reunion—friends and family stop by before, during, and after the parade, and we enjoy seeing all the floats, bands, tractors, etc. in the parade. Of course, there is always plenty of good food. We usually have ham and biscuits, breakfast casserole, and homemade cinnamon rolls, along with lots of good coffee. Tea cakes are also a tradition around our house, especially at this time of year. Sometimes, the merchants in town serve tea and tea cakes during one day of the festival week. Also during that week, we have various events including cafés, luncheons, picnics, music feasts, etc. This is one of the ways that Trenton celebrates the coming of summer. Thank you for the opportunity to tell you how we "party on the porch."
–Sarah from Trenton, TN
When Dad moved us to Boise in 1964, we kids thought we were going to die. After living in Southern California and then having to leave all our friends and the beach, Idaho sounded like it would be all potatoes, farmers, and dirt roads.
We never thought that it actually might be harder on our mom, who was born and raised in Hawaii. Raising seven children wasn't easy or cheap, and our dad moved us to Boise for work and a better way of life.
It wasn't long after moving to Boise that Dad and Mom discovered there was a growing community of Hawaiians living in Boise. The junior college brought in the big guys to play football, and usually they all stayed in Boise after graduation and began raising their families here. Boise was and still is a very beautiful, thriving city, but back then, there were very few ethnic restaurants or stores where you could buy Asian products. The local Hawaiians craved their favorite Hawaiian foods. Many had their families back in the islands send them their favorites, but one July Fourth, a small group of them decided to have a real luau for all the Hawaiian ohana (families). That first small luau began a tradition that has lasted over 45 years.
To put on an authentic luau, a whole pig is prepared and buried in a deep pit in the ground the night before the big day. I enjoy this part because it isn't so crowded, and you can sit and really visit with folks you don't get to see during the year. One of the original ohana luau members committed a large portion of his yard for digging the pit, and it is used every year. Making kahlua pig to feed over 150 people is hard work and time consuming. The same guys do it every year without complaint, and they have it down to a fine art.
The whole time the men are getting the pig ready for the fire, someone is serenading with his ukelele and guitar, singing lovely Hawaiian songs. If we are lucky, a couple of very talented women dance to the music, swaying their hips, arms outstretched, gracefully telling the story with theirs hands. In the background, many of the children set off firecrackers and sparklers in celebration of the Fourth. You can almost smell the salty sea breeze and feel the sand under your toes. While the pig is cooking in the ground, everybody sits down and enjoys all the wonderful dishes. When the food is eaten and the cold beers are gone, the music comes to an end and everybody wishes everyone a good night, knowing they'll gather the next day for the big luau.
The next day, everybody arrives at the pavilion at a local park, dressed in their best Hawaiian clothes and flip-flops. We all help line the long tables with white paper and sprinkle rose petals up and down the centers. The table that will hold all the potluck dishes is about 50 feet long, and is filled with all kinds of delicious Hawaiian dishes and coconut cakes, fresh fruit, and soon to arrive, the guest of honor, the kahlua pig!
Everybody stakes out a table and saves enough spots for the family members. Everyone greets each other with warm hugs and kisses. The air is festive! The musicians set up their speakers and instruments and begin playing music to greet the families. The day is filled with love and the aloha spirit and lots of good food that Hawaiians are known for. Before the day is over, many begin planning for the next year's July Fourth luau.
Over the past 45 years, we have lost many of the original members and have watched three more generations enjoy the yearly ohana luau. Our parents are in their 80s, and they still look forward to each luau. Each year, we wonder which wonderful dish Mom will make. She stills wows everybody with a graceful hula dance each year. That must have been what made Dad fall in love with her 65 years ago at Pearl Harbor.
It's getting harder to pass down the knowledge and desire to our younger generation, but so far, the July Fourth luau continues on. It's important to pass down the memories so the cultural heritage and traditions are not lost but remembered and practiced for generations to come. Aloha!
–Karen from Boise, ID
I have two grown sons and love to cook with butter and cream! People always say I am like another “Paula”!
When my sons were younger, we started a summer tradition of camping out on little spoil islands off the intercoastal waters in the St. Pete/Clearwater area of Florida. My husband would plan for every possible occurrence and ask me to put together all the necessities for these “possibilities.” The boys' job was to haul it all to the car, the boat, the shore, and back again.
We set out with a wonderful sense of adventure. By the time we got the boat loaded and the car secured and were headed out for our 10-minute boat trip to the island of our choice, I was having visions of lazing around on a hammock, frolicking in the water, and enjoying our happy little family. We would anchor the boat just off the island, and then the fun would begin. After an hour of hauling every “possible” thing in our overloaded boat (many trips, supplies carried on our shoulders in 2 feet of water, dog chasing us, etc.!) to the island, it was now time for “setting up camp.” Now, all these important and necessary things had to be unpacked, tents erected, air mats inflated, bonfire set up, bathroom area determined (along with some shoveling instructions that gave me instant nausea). Then we could relax. The boys ran into the water to get the sweat off, and we adults tried to unwind … really, one of us tried. While I was collapsed on the beach, my husband, being the consummate pioneer, began gathering sticks for the evening bonfire, checked the boat anchor, made sure toilet paper was hanging near the “bathroom,” and secured the poles on the tents one more time.
As it started to get dark, we lit the bonfire, ate marshmallows, made s'mores and hot dogs on a stick. The boys threw the mushy marshmallows on each other and then dove into the water to remove the sticky goo. After sunset, we played cards, took a little island stroll, then settled into our tents for sleep. Actually, the boys slept. I tried to sleep, but my husband kept waking me, checking the boat anchor, watching for approaching pirates, and making sure the toilet paper supply was sufficient for morning. By sunrise, I was dreaming of Hilton hotels and swearing off island life forever.
For some reason, the men in my life never understood why I got tremors and a nervous tic when they mentioned going camping to the island!
Each day you decide where to focus your mind … choose joy!
–Aprille from St. Petersburg, FL