The Hatfield Reunion...2009!

Hey there everyone! I know that I said that I might start my story about Walter the coalminer this week, but then life happened. I wanted to share with you all about my weekend with some of the best people that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

As my wife Lisa and I pulled onto the gravel driveway of Creekside Cabins and RV Park in Louisa, KY, I could see the huge, professionally-made sign welcoming us to the annual Hatfield Family Reunion. And yes…when I say Hatfield…I mean the ones you have heard about in Appalachian legend. As if to drive the message home, there was a picture of shotguns on the sign along with the words “No McCoys.” All of this was in good fun though…although I’ve never seen a McCoy anywhere near the area during this time of year.

As we drove under the covered bridge and entered the park grounds, it was almost like coming home. I only see most of these people once a year, but somehow there is no strange awkwardness or silence. These people are family. They were there to greet us with plenty of handshakes, back slaps, and hugs. I could feel the smile starting to spread across my face. Somehow I knew that it would stay there the entire weekend. When you are around people as nice as the Hatfield clan, it isn’t hard to be jolly.

The smell of wood smoke and roasting meat made my stomach growl hungrily. Have I mentioned that the Hatfields love to eat? They are people after my own heart…and stomach. A large smoker roared with fire and smoke the entire weekend producing such tantalizing treats as smoked pork loin, spicy chicken wings, pork shoulder (pulled and smothered), and brisket. Rusty and Mike Hatfield manned the smoker and did not let us down as they produced many wonderful meals.

We checked into our cabin. It was very nice with 2 bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, and living room. There was a full front porch (complete with rocking chairs) and a back deck that overlooked a stream that chugged along happily as if it were also enjoying the festivities. Although I have been attending the Hatfield reunion for the last 3 years now, I am still amazed at the compact clean accommodations at Creekside Cabins and RV Park.

As in years past, the main attractions of the reunion took place under the “big top.” A large canopy stretched out to create the perfect space to eat, talk, laugh, and then eat some more. I had helpings from so many dishes that I ran out of plate space at each meal. When you are at a reunion, plate space is more precious than gold! Sometimes you have to stack one type of food on top of another. But then, of course, you have the chance at plate “breakage.” Fortunately this did not happen and I was able to sample many dishes including not one but TWO types of hash brown casseroles! Everything was rich and creamy…swimming in grease, cream, butter, and sugar. It was an anorexic’s nightmare! But that just meant that I wanted to have seconds of everything!!!

After eating a large meal, apparently the Hatfields love to get out and about on a hayride! Of course, I just had to take part of that as well. We all flopped down on a large trailer pulled by a sputtering John Deere tractor driven by the ever vigilant Rusty Hatfield. We were all so weighted down with all that good food that we worried about the tractor breaking down before we could get back to the camp grounds. However, the trustworthy tractor took us on a delightful trip that allowed us to show off the Hatfield friendliness to the neighborhood! We even took a sign so that people would know who we were. I think that we entertained several people that evening.

Speaking of entertainment, the Hatfield Reunion is notorious for its entertainment. Carrie (Hatfield) Moore is in charge of the entertainment. This year, the game involved blindfolding family members and having them guess what they were holding. The items for some of the older members included tame items such as vegetables, toys, and other sundries. Then they called up some of the “younger” members…and I use this term loosely since some of us involved were not that young, myself included! I thought that this was going to be easy…but NO! Instead of passing around items, they passed around…ahem….animal excrement for us to guess! Needless to say, it wasn’t too pleasant for us…but hilarious for everyone else. But I can’t complain too much. If I had been in the audience, I would have been laughing just as hard. Carrie is a wonderful, sweet young woman who goes out of her way to make everyone feel welcome. Keep up the good work Carrie! I can’t wait to see what we are all going to be doing next year!

After the entertainment, several people went to bed while the rest of us sat up. We talked. We laughed. And…we sang. The karaoke machine was a very popular item. We even had our own version of the Oakridge Boys as a large group of them broke out with the song “Elvira!” I can still hear it now as I write this article. Have I been scarred for life? If I am, it is a price worth paying for all the laughter and fun that we had just hanging out and enjoying life.

All too soon, the Hatfield Reunion ended for another year. With more hugs and back slaps, we all promised to get together again next year. We even hope to visit with some of them this coming year so that it isn’t so long in between getting to see each other. Also, thanks to Face Book and other social sites, we can keep up with each other. Isn’t technology amazing?

Now we are just left with some wonderful memories…and some really cool pictures. I’ll share some of these with you. The rest? Well…let’s just say that some of them will remain top secret until next year’s reunion when we can share them with everyone on the “big screen.” And believe me…some of them are very, very precious!

Until next week…..class dismissed!