The family of the late Jack and Gertie Rowlands of Baljennie held a family reunion at the farm of their youngest child and only son John (and Arlene) Rowlands of rural Battleford on the Aug. 1 long weekend. Close to 70 family members signed the register, attending from as far away as Mississauga, Ont.; Hanna, Alta.; Saskatoon, The Battlefords, Baljennie and Willowmoore.
It was a two-day reunion and each day started off with a pancake and sausage/bacon breakfast. John Rowlands and Margaret Parrish organized the breakfasts and had lots of help cooking from the family members, mostly the men who enjoy cooking. It went over well.
Roman Jaskolski and his friend Nancey came from Montreal, Que., to take all the family photos, and there were lots of photos taken
Games of horseshoes were played and other little fun games for the children. Shannon Rowlands was in charge of the two days of activities.
Numbers were picked to choose partners to go on a treasure hunt to find at least 25 to 30 different things that were in the yard. It's a big yard and it took some time so it kept everyone busy a good part of the afternoon. One member of each group had to have a camera to take photos of what they were hunting for. Some easy clues were given, but some of the clues meant nothing to some hunters so a lot of questions were asked. But if you could find one of Shannon's and Edward's boys they knew what everything was and where to find the articles. Little prizes were given to the first pair to find all the clues and take the photos. They all had a lot of fun.
Balloons filled with water, which were then frozen were passed out to everyone to throw out. Some balloons had little beads hidden in them and that led to a prize. Being a hot day, the ice felt cool to work with.
Family souvenir mugs were sold to whoever wanted them. A silent auction was held and each family made donations of various items. At the day's end the articles went to the highest bidders. Funds from the silent auction went to pay the reunion expenses. Many family members had brought trailer homes to stay the whole weekend. The children and some older kids and their parents got into a water fight. There was a lot of wet, soaked people about.
On Saturday night, the family put on a potluck supper and on Sunday night there were wieners, hamburgers and salads. There was no shortage of food. No one went away hungry.
Jack and Gertie Rowlands had a family of five children. Dorothy (Mills), Margaret (Parrish), Irene (Greer), Norma (Kowenchuk) and John.
A family reunion and history book of the last 85-plus years is in the process of being published and will be available later this fall.
A big thank you goes out to Shannon and Edward and all their helpers for such a lovely reunion, and to my brother John for having everyone come to the farm. It was wonderful and I'm sure everyone enjoyed it all.
