With great excitement and anticipation, the "first" Goodhind Family Reunion was held June 19, 1999 at Look Park in Northampton, MA.
To our knowledge, it was the first time the various branches of the Goodhind family had been assembled in possibly one hundred years. Even within our own families, many of us had not met in nearly a generation. Descendant cousins were present of 3 of the original brothers who emigrated to America: HENRY, RICHARD and JOHN.
There was a large printed genealogical family tree that stretched across several tables (which included even the youngest family members), all the way back to ancestors William Goodhind and Ann Norman. It was fun to find your own name and then to find the name of the person beside you, trying to figure out how you were related. Each person who attended the reunion received a name tag that traced his or her ancestral line directly back to William and Ann.
We had directions available to visit the resting places of the original five Goodhind brothers. We had a brief newsletter highlighting the preparations for the day. There were also a number of old family photos.
Who came from farthest away? A young cousin visiting all the way from Hawaii!! But we also had with us a descendant of one of William and Ann's children (TOM) who had remained in England so many years ago: MARTIN GOODHIND. By luck, he had been stationed in Pennsylvania by the company he worked for at the time of the reunion. Martin's brother David has done quite a bit of work assembling information on the English side of the Goodhind family. You can find out more about Martin and David by choosing this link.
[Above is a reunion photo of Martin Goodhind (center) and Reunion organizers Alan Goodhind, Cindy Palmer, Liz Banas and Tim (Masloski) Goodhind]
A professional videographer recorded the day's events. We were fortunate to have some of the most "senior" family members present and agree to be interviewed on tape. Someone had the good sense to suggest to us all that we gather each group of the family together and take photographs. I think those photos in particular will be enjoyed for many years to come.
All in all, we had beautiful weather, fine food, and wonderful companionship. It was a day to catch up on old family matters and to meet "new" family members for the first time. In these busy days, too often family is set aside in the pursuit of other things. We hope for another reunion soon!
