CAMPBELLS

Well - what can I say about my mom's siblings? - sheesh - there were always some of the cousins around.  The largest group I ever mingled with had over 300 direct descendants at a reunion up at the Westcastle Boy Scout Camp - and O yeah - what a water fight that one was.  Most of you have attended one or more of these Campbell reunion camps.  Do you remember them?  I do not have any pictures of any major groups from them but if you visit the Campbell group on Facebook you should get plenty of  snapshots to see.


The Campbells often got together around Christmas time. I am not sure why at that time of the year.  I think this picture of the some of the Campbells in 1965 (at the Forsyth's in Mt. View, Alberta) would be near Granny Bohne's birthday.

I do remember one Christmas that they all came to our house in Kimball and we played some crazy 'toothpick' game - I think the idea was kind of like Jenga but it was toothpicks being stacked on top of an old fashioned glass pop bottle somehow.  I just remember all the adults and teens laughing like lunatics while they played and how they all were sitting or laying on the floor - shocking - adults on the floor, some stretched flat out!!


While looking for some other pictures look what I just happened to come across! 

And I must make a correction - it was matchsticks apparently! 
The house was stuffed right full of people - big people, little people, old and young.

WHAT?

What is the largest/most fun family gathering you remember?

Ginger is remembering one or more of several ski trips. I tried to find the fishing trip pictures and instead found some other very interesting pictures I will post sometime.
Meanwhile take a look at some ski pictures.

We really did have a lot of fun on those trips.

SUMMER WITH FORSYTHS

This is a picture of my Grandfather Neil Snow Forsyth, my dad's dad, on his 97th birthday with his second wife Ruth. Most of the family was together there for that occasion.

AUGUSTS

Neil Snow Forsyth's birthday came in August - along with a host of others!  Invariably the Forsyth clan (in partial or full force) might be found at a park for that celebration.  As he aged, and lived with us, it was most often at the Kimball Park: lots of fun times with cousins, Aunts and Uncles and other extended relatives by the dozens. We didn't ever do much - roast a wiener (after finding a stick to cut for it) and a few marshmallows - there was always plenty of potluck food. We also might play Red Rover, tag or a bit of softball perhaps, have some races, or later on some 'Run-Sheepy-Run'.  If it was warm wade in the St. Mary's river a bit.

 I believe some of the pictures here are taken on or near Grandpa's birthday over the years. My Uncle Duane and my Aunt Ruth both were shutterbugs.  This first one is taken about 1959 - can you spot me top right?
Think Hendrix ...

I knew all my grandparents, (living great grandparents and some of their siblings) Aunts and Uncles fairly well; both the Campbells and the Forsyths - no easy feat for a child to know about 50 adults by name. Now the cousins - that was asking a little much - I knew a few names of those near my age and a few that were the age of one or another of my siblings. As I got older I knew more of their names.

And here is a lot of the same bunch of us all again about 1974 (Tad is the baby I am holding).  The Hatches and the Snows also had reunions every few years so it seemed like we were going to a reunion every year somewhere or other and dad's family were there at those when not having their own - to which the Hatches and Snows were always invited. Invariably there would be some shirt-tail cousin or uncle/aunt being introduced. Many are my memories of jokes and songs around an evening campfire - especially songs.  We always sang and sang and sang. Aunt Verna usually played the guitar and/or accordion.  Now that fascinated me! Boy oh boy would I have loved to get my hands on that! The older boys had one they tried to play at one time but I never did get to really try it.