Sylvia’s dad was the youngest of four brothers and the only one still living. The widow of his next older brother is still with us, and Aunt Dorothy was able to be with us that day.

These are the direct descendants of Leon and his brothers that were able to be present for our reunion near St Johns, Michigan. We had fun sharing memories and family stories. There was lots of good food when it was time to eat.

Leon’s grandfather came to St Johns, Michigan from the north shore of Lake Erie in Ontario, Canada in 1865. The Civil War had taken a terrible toll, and that meant that there was good farm land land available in Michigan. Indeed, the farm land around St Johns is particularly rich and is mostly flat, which means excellent for farming.

Like American families will do, some (like Leon) have stayed in the area. Others have moved on to other places. We had folks at the reunion from Alabama and Florida. Sylvia’s sister, Gay (Gaylynn), surprised us by flying in from Florida. That delighted all of us.

I  learned more about Leon’s great grandfather coming to America. It’s an interesting story, and I’ll share that with you in another post.