It was 1959, and Yvonne was traveling with her husband, Jim, and her daughters, Yvette and Karen. They were excited to be returning to the United States from Germany. Once home, Yvonne began planning a birthday party for her daughter Karen. She also decided to include a surprise celebration for her mother on Mother’s Day. Yvonne asked her older sister, Etta Mae, to help.
They mailed letters to their siblings and asked them to join them at their mother’s home in Maysville. The family had not been together since their father’s death on May 4, 1952. Back then, many people did not have access to long-distance calling. There were no cellphones. Social media, Facebook, and texting did not exist. Yvonne had no way of knowing if her siblings would come to the celebration.
To her surprise, they all came! Everyone enjoyed a weekend of food, fellowship, and fun. This celebration in 1959, consisting of 37 family members, was considered the first Wooten family reunion.
Six years later, they got together again, and the tradition took hold. Over the next 50-plus years, the family celebrated in the Carolinas, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, and California. The reunions consisted of touring the host cities, playing games, singing and eating together, welcoming new members and remembering deceased members, collecting souvenirs, and documenting their journey. A reunion weekend usually began on a Friday evening with a meet-and-greet session and ended on a Sunday with a family breakfast.
Today, family members who attend the reunion range in age from infants to the early 90s. Through the years, they have gone off to college, joined the military, or relocated because of employment, but they still manage to attend the reunion. Folks travel from as far west as California and as far north as New York. The average number in attendance is from 100 to 150.
When the family comes to North Carolina, they know they will be enjoying southern staples, such as sweet tea, fried fish, corn bread, and collards. It’s common to see games such as Scrabble and spades being played by the young—and the young in spirit. Amateur and professional photographers help capture the weekend so that the memories can be published and preserved in the family’s souvenir booklet. For many years, highlights of the reunion were documented in the Jones Post, the family’s hometown newspaper.
The Wooten reunion is an important tradition centered on a family with a shared identity and connection. Reunions are a great way to set aside time to share family history, create a support system, and have fun with other kids your age. And these connections can last a lifetime. Karen and Yvette—in addition to their mother, Yvonne, and younger sister, Greta—continue to attend the Wooten reunion and have begun passing this tradition on to the next generation.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in Tar Heel Junior Historian.