Culture of Honor

I'm reading a book called "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell and I came across a passage last night that reminded me of a purpose of our upcoming reunion:

"The 'Culture of Honor' hypothesis says that it matters where you're from, not just in terms of where you grew up or where your parents grew up, but in terms of where your great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents grew up and even where your great-great-great grandparents grew up. That is a strange and powerful fact." (pg. 170)

I'm excited for next year's reunion and to visit the places where my kids' great-great-grandparents grew up. Hopefully everybody read the biography of great-grandma and grandpa Wilson that Uncle Lloyd wrote. I found it interesting when reading that to see personality traits in me and my siblings that are similar to those of our great-grandparents.

Family Reunion here we come!

Kendall and I had the opportunity in summer 2007 on our way home from Utah to Texas to go by the old homestead and see the sights of Alamosa which includes Great-Aunt Ruth Bailey. Mesa Verde National Park was awesome with all the incredible cliff dwellings. Durango was a great town to visit as well and the mountain views throughout the south were breathtaking. Grandpa Brownie & Grandma Dots house is still standing and located right beside the old railroad track. It will be a fantastic chance to see where this family all began and celebrate the wonderful people who started it (and most of us) all! Please make it a priority to come. It is well worth the sacrifice and very humbling to see where this incredible, large family began. We're in as long as it's in June! Vivre la famille Ericksons!

Centennial Celebration

Hi everyone! So, for those of you who have given input for an Erickson Reunion... thank you. With everyone's varying schedules this year, it has been pretty difficult to figure out dates, etc. for such an event for this year. But, I do think it's good that we've been at least discussing some of our options. While we (Rob and I) would still like to do something small with our family members who are interested this summer (maybe a day floating the river), we think it would be really fun to start planning something big for next summer—commemorating Grandpa's 100th birthday. My dad recently sent this email out to his siblings, and I hope you will read it and consider the ideas presented (especially those in the bolded paragraph), and give some feedback as well by leaving a comment.

"To my dear siblings,

There has been some discussion about a reunion next year to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Dad’s birth. There may already be specific initiatives underway to plan that. If so, that is great and our family would like to help however we can. In any event, I haven’t heard of any specifics lately so I thought I would try to “put a stake in the ground” to help things move forward. I am not necessarily wed to the specific idea that follows but thought it might at least spur some dialogue and help us build momentum.

My suggestion is that we plan a 3 to 4-day reunion in southern Colorado in the latter half of June, 2010 for the 9 children of Brownie and Dot, their spouses, children (and spouses), and grandchildren. We would consider a central location such as Pagosa Springs (or nearby environs), that would be a great venue for a family reunion and would be close to some terrific sites including the San Luis Valley (Alamosa, La Jara, Manassa, the Great Sand Dunes, etc.), Durango/Silverton/Ouray, Mesa Verda (Gila Cliff Dwellings), Taos, etc. We would try to find lodging/camping arrangements that could accommodate a large group and would not be tough on people’s pocketbooks. Individual families could tack on their own family reunions before or after. We could also invite family members from the San Luis Valley, New Mexico, or wherever, to join us for part of our 3 or 4-day extended family reunion. We would plan/schedule activities that would be varied and fun for all.

I am happy to take the lead on this (with the assistance of my world-class organizer partner, Dauna). Alternatively, if someone else would prefer to drive this effort, we will be happy to work with them. I know there has been significant interest on the part of the 3^rd generation (Dad’s and Mom’s grandchildren) to make this happen and it would be important to have them involved in the planning and execution.

While there have been a lot of thoughts expressed about doing something special to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Dad’s birth, time is drawing nigh. March 3, 2010 is less than 9 months away and the proposed reunion would be just one year away from today. It would require that everyone commit rather soon so that we could make the necessary reservations for whatever accommodations we will need.

I would hope that no one dismisses the idea out of hand. Without a doubt, it will require some planning and some sacrifice in order to pull this off, particularly given the travel to southern Colorado. I can think of scores of reasons why this might not work or be convenient for particular individuals. I would hope that everyone would try to set those aside and ask himself/herself, “How can I/we make this happen?” We have not had a family reunion for the family of Brownie and Dorothy Erickson since the summer of 2003 in Seaside on the Oregon Coast, which was six years ago. We are way past due. Moreover, there will not likely be a better or more convenient time to try to do this than next summer. A few years hence, and any remaining relatives, friends, or contemporaries of Dad and Mom (e.g., Earl, Ruth, Lloyd, Leon) will be gone and we will miss the opportunity to have their participation and insight in such a wonderful event. Besides, some of Dad’s and Mom’s children are getting up there as well.

Please let me know what you think. Here are some questions for consideration:

1. How does the latter part of June work for you?
2. What about the proposed length of 3 to 4 days?
3. What do you think about the proposed venue of Pagosa Springs or nearby area?
4. What kind of accommodations would you be interested in (e.g., camping, cabins, etc.)?
5. Which of your family members would be likely to attend?
6. What specific ideas, activities, etc. do you have to make the reunion fun and worthwhile?
7. How might you be able to help in the planning and execution of this reunion?
8. Any other thoughts…

As stated, I wanted to throw out a specific idea that might engender some excitement and enthusiasm for this. It will not happen without effort and sacrifice on everyone’s part, but it would create rich experiences and memories that would be well worth it—in fact, priceless.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and the thoughts of any of your family members. I hope that I have everyone’s e-mail correct. I don’t have Ruth’s and don’t know if she has an e-mail address, so will call her.

I look forward to hearing from you.

All the best,

Bruce"