I Discovered Many Things At My Family Reunion....

After settling into our new hotel Mr. Snooty and I both began to relax, then we showered & got dressed for the reunion. Soon, we were ready and took off for Guthrie in our rental car.

Of course, as a child, I never realized what a lovely little town Guthrie is. This trip, I was totally in awe of what an enchanting little place it has always been.


However, because we were late, we sailed through town toward our destination of Camp Joy, which is located on Gooch land on the other side of Guthrie. The family was just beginning to eat, so we at least made it in time to have all of the wonderful dishes everyone had brought. (We had stopped and bought 3 large fruit trays.)


From the moment we arrived, relatives were coming up to hug me and tell me how we're related. It was amazing and heartfelt and I loved every minute of it. We were finally able to go through the buffet and eat to our heart's content. Then, the Family Business Meeting began. It was interesting to find that the first reunion was held on the same land we were sitting on and my great-grandmother Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) had been there with five of her children in tow. The year was 1933.

Sadly, over the years, the attendance has dropped off. Probably due mainly to the younger generations not wanting to travel so far to attend, since the family is now spread all over the world. However, it has mostly been kept alive by the Gooches that stayed around Guthrie on family land, to farm. I suddenly realized why The Brown Recluse hated going to these reunions & why she never kept in touch with any of them. These are good, honest, down-to-earth, hard-working, deeply religious people. The Gooches are a tightly knit clan and they boast of a long line of Methodist ministers. It seemed to me that everyone I met had a tremendous sense of humor and could all talk you blue in the face, but I just loved them all. They are all very country... and why wouldn't they be? They are simple in their wants, they love deeply, there is almost no history of divorce, and they are proud of their heritage. I saw nothing but goodness in all that.









After six hours of visiting and getting to know everyone, it was time to go, so I reluctantly gathered my things and we left. I cried when leaving, because I could have stayed and listened to their stories forever. I drove slowly back to Guthrie, enroute back to the hotel. Although Mr. Snooty wanted to get back & watch the US Open, I had to stop in Guthrie and take a few pictures of the charming buildings that have stood since the early 1890's. Guthrie is quite an enchanting little town.








That night, we had dinner reservations at a longtime OKC restaurant called Junior's, where I'd eaten like 25 years ago. It was wonderful back then and it was just as wonderful the night we ate there. Mr. Snooty loved it, as did I. We had the most adorable cocktail waitress as well as a great waiter.




We ordered Escargot served in a butter sauce inside mushroom buttons and had to fight over the last one. Then, we had Caesar Salad that was EXCELLENT. For my entree I had the Shrimp & Filet Mignon (my fave) and Mr. Snooty had Tenderloin Medallions Diane, which he is still raving about.



We were both very satisfied and then headed back to our hotel room in Edmond where we watched the new National Treasure movie. It was great, but we love movies like that, along with all the children's movies. Yes, we are total geeks like that.

The day we left, we got packed up, went back into OKC and had an early lunch at my favorite old burger spot call The Charcoal Oven. They've been there for at least 40 years and still have the best burgers I've ever eaten. This time I had my old favorite... A Theta Burger & Curly Fries. I was in Hamburger/French Fry Heaven and I ate all but a couple of bites, which is unheard of for me.




We made our plane on time & had a perfectly nice flight home. So, the trip having started off so terribly, ended up being a wonderful experience and I loved it.


Here's a picture of the part of the airport we'd been unable to see upon our arrival, due to torrential rains.