Well, it took 14 years to happen. So to say it was "long anticipated" would be an understatement!
The 2ND GOODHIND FAMILY REUNION was finally held on Saturday, June 29th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the home of Peter & Laurel Goodhind in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was hot and a little muggy, with an occasional heavy gust of wind, but there was no rain! About 90 people attended.
Descendants of 4 of the original Goodhind brothers who immigrated to America from England were represented. (There are no living descendants of the 5th brother, FREDERICK.)
(l. to r.) Sue (Andrews) Polumbo, sister Sally Andrews and cousin Cindy Palmer (and her husband Ted) represented descendants of JOHN.
(l. to r.) Alan Goodhind, his son Jon (with guest Sue Borgani) and his cousin Ken Condon represented descendants of HENRY.
And for the first time at a Goodhind family reunion, (sitting) sisters Joan (Goodhind) Mekal, with her husband Ed, and (standing) Pat (Goodhind) Boissonneault, with her husband Joe, represented the descendants of JAMES THOMAS.
Virtually all the rest of the 70-plus attendees (minus family friends) were descendants or relatives of RICHARD's second family.
The eldest person at the Reunion was Arthur Goodhind Sr., who did much of the cooking (assisted by son Peter and his wife Laurel's sister, Anne Marie Sheerman). The youngest attendee was Jadzia Hawkins, just 3 weeks old! ("Jadzia" ia a Polish name which translates roughly as "female warrior.")
Tents, tables, chairs and serving equipment were loaned from Amherst College through Peter Goodhind. Families also each brought a salad or a dessert item. A table was set up with information about the family, old photos and family tree charts. Each attendee received a name badge showing their descent from one of the original Goodhind brothers (or a relationship to a descendant).
All in all, it was an amazing day, where family and friends had the chance to share stories, reminisce or just enjoy some new faces! Hopefully, it won't be another 14 years before the next one!
You can see a photo gallery from the day's festivities by making the selection on the right sidebar or by following this link. There is also a link on the right sidebar for a handout that was available for every attendee.
A big thanks to Peter and Laurel Goodhind for offering their home and property for the Reunion! And for their work setting up, cleaning and preparing food for this massive undertaking! Special thanks to Art and Barbara Goodhind for buying the hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken, as well as cooking it all up! Thanks also to next door neighbors Anne Marie Sheerman (Laurel's sister) and her partner Dawn West, as well as Laurel's daughter Eileen Thompson and her partner Mike Yurkevicz for all their hard work. This wouldn't have been possible without all of you!!
