Family reunions, Las Vegas Sun, Aug. 14, 1997

Reunion communion Lisa Ferguson Thursday, Aug. 14, 1997 | 10:08 a.m. Their printed T-shirts said it all: "The McLennan Family Reunion Back Together Again." Several members of the 90-person brood, hailing mostly from California and Texas, donned the white shirts while the family converged in Las Vegas recently to celebrate their heritage, catch-up on family news and reminisce about old memories while making new ones. It's the third time the family has reunited in four years. "It has been really enlightening," said Benita Brown, a 54-year-old McLennan cousin, during a family dinner banquet at The Orleans hotel-casino. Las Vegas, it seems, has become a reunion mecca. Also attending this reunion were Brown's 11 siblings and her 77-year-old father, Hugh McLennan, the family's oldest living relative. He's the one they call "Big Hugh." Then there's his cousin, "Little Hugh" McLennan, who's son is also named Hugh. "I just found out this weekend that they call him 'Little Hugh.' I thought I was 'Little Hugh,' " said the youngest Hugh McLennan, a 39-year-old resident of San Bernardino, Calif. He and four of his relatives comprised the "committee" which spent a year organizing the reunion. (Plans for next year's gathering, in Northern California, and the family's return to their hometown of Waco, Texas in 2000, are already underway.) The week-long gathering began in Southern California, where the McLennans spent four days attending an old-fashioned "fish fry" dinner, picnic and softball game and a church service in their honor. The festivities then moved to Las Vegas for the banquet and "family awards ceremony." The celebration concluded with a surprise birthday party for the Big Hugh. Total cost for the get-together: About $3,000, paid for with funds collected through "family dues." "We could probably write a reunion book right now," joked committee chairman and McLellan cousin Jason Rogers, "called 'The Do's and Dont's of Reunions.' " Tom Ninkovitch already has. The author of "The Family Reunion Handbook" (Reunion Research, $14.95) also founded the Northern California-based company Reunion Research, which promotes group reunions and tracks their latest trends. According to Ninkovich, some 200,000 family reunions are held nationwide each year, most with guest lists numbering 40 people. "That's because most reunions are still (held) in Grandma's backyard," he explains. Not so in Las Vegas, which has become a hot spot for reunions -- family, class, military or otherwise. Last year, the city hosted 22 family reunions attended by nearly 3,300 people, who spent $1.8 million in non-gaming dollars. "Reunions are very important" to the local economy, says Rossie Ralenkotter, vice president of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which actively solicits reunion group business. "When you have 103,000 rooms to fill every day, we need to be" pursuing all types of business, Ralenkotter explains, adding that the LVCVA has noted an increase in reunion traffic in recent years. "That coincides with all of the new (hotels and attractions) that have been added to our market." So it's not as traditional as a potluck supper in the park, but Las Vegas reunions have their advantages, Ninkovich says. "The bottom line is when these reunion planners look around, they find that stays are cheaper in Las Vegas than in most places," he says, adding: "It's easy for the adults to linger in the Vegas area. After this (reunion) is over, they're going to gamble." No matter the venue, the gist of family reunions remains the same. "It has to do with the story of your life. Secretly, everybody wants to know what that story is," Ninkovich says. "Your life isn't complete without finding out where you came from and where you're going. The most convenient way of finding out is to go where a bunch of family members are and ask them." As years pass, he says, "It really becomes important for many people to do something positive for their families. When you get to be middle-aged or later, you want a legacy." At age 34, Erica Foreman is already dedicated to preserving McLennan family traditions. One of Big Hugh's 19 grandchildren, Foreman has been an active participant in the reunions since the first one was held in Waco. "We're trying to get our younger generations to get to know each other so they can continue to keep it going," the homemaker says. The trick, Ninkovich contends, is to keep reunion events interesting for youngsters. "For the kids, it's a party because they don't have all of those memories that make it nostalgic," he says. "If they don't have a good time, they won't want to come the next time." Take it from Priscilla Wysong. The 13-year-old and her preteen brother, John, from Damascus, Md., were among the youngest attending the 20th annual Wysong family reunion recently. About 80 of the 119 attendants took a tour of the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory and Cactus Gardens in Henderson. "It's weird," Priscilla said while resting on a rock in the garden, "I never knew I had so many people that are related to me." "They really haven't met anybody outside of their (immediate) family," explained the children's father, John Wysong, "so this is unusual for them to see sixth and seventh cousins." They weren't alone: For 45 Wysongs, this was their first time attending a family reunion. It was also the first time the family -- which traces its roots back to a Ludwig Wysong, who came to the United States from Europe prior to the Revolutionary War, and his children -- has gathered in Las Vegas. "It was my turn" to host, explained Clark Wysong, a retired construction company executive who has lived in Southern Nevada for two decades. It took him two years to plan and book three days' worth of activities for his kin, most of whom reside east of the Mississippi River. "So this was a long (trip) for some of them," he said. "But the nice thing about having it here is that a lot of people (who live) on the West Coast never went to a reunion because they were (held) so far east." In past years, the family has met in Springfield, Ill., Columbus, Ohio and Harper's Ferry, W. Va. Their first reunion, attended by 300 people, was held in the tiny town of Fincastle, Va., outside Roanoke, where the family refurbished an ancestor's old blacksmith shop and dedicated it to the area's genealogical society. (They'll reconvene there for the reunion in 2000.) "Having it in Las Vegas, it wasn't too difficult to get (relatives) to come," Clark said. Besides the chocolate factory tour, their schedule included a slot tournament at the Aladdin hotel-casino, a genealogy workshop and a show by magician Lance Burton. "We're probably getting a lot less chit-chatting done than we usually get," Clark said. "In Las Vegas, we see them at dinner and then we don't see them again." Hollis Compton stayed busy taking notes, since he's hosting next year's reunion in Chattanooga, Tenn. "What's amazed me is how you can pull the family together," the 59-year-old said. "We're looking for a big (turnout) next year." archive