July 29 2006 was the day of Munn 200, what I remember as an unconventional family reunion. Typically, family reunions are all about the genealogy, sharing intense research and finding connections between vast amounts of people in a highly organized way. Munn 200 was more about the fact that I missed everybody and the 200th anniversary of the Munn's landing on the Island was a good excuse for a party.
Don't get me wrong. I'm obsessed with the family genealogy and now have 30 years of research going 10 generations back, and I can endlessly spout off countless tidbits of family information that I understand only I am interested in. Like, did you know that Dad's father's father's mother's father Hector Munn was killed by a kick to the head by a mule in 1876 at the age of 49 leaving a wife and 9 children behind? Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Munn 200 was held at the house at the River on a humid summer day, but it didn't start out that way. The morning was rainy and stormy but the skies cleared at lunch and the weather was perfect for the gathering. It did take quite a few months of organizing but the great thing was that many family members from all over were able to come, for instance, Aunt Viola, who was 94 at the time, from Vancouver, and Aunt Joyce from Scotland. Below are a lot of pics from the day and they are in no particular order. Thanks to Jim, Neil and Sandy for the pictures below.
Grampy's brother Uncle Danny wrote the following poem when he was overseas in the war, and I put it on the back of the programme.
Below are the flags we flew that day. Union Jack. Maple Leaf, Red Ensign (the old Canadian flag) and the Cross of Saint Andrew, the flag of Scotland.
The following day was the tour of Hopefield and all of the local cemeteries
Video that Jim shot
Today would have also been Winnie's 89th birthday. She passed away 1 year ago today. The River isn't the same without her.
Winnie & Joyce in the kitchen 1985
