I went for a walk this morning and when I returned James said he wanted me to go with him to the Mangum Reunion in Nutrioso where he is meeting his Dad. I hadn't planned on going but I could tell James really wanted me to and if he's on his medication he really shouldn't be driving. I hurried and took a shower and got ready to go.
When we arrived in Nutrioso we looked for a parking lot full of cars but did not see any. We drove the 8 miles to Alpine and James finally contacted his Dad on the phone. The reunion is in Luna, New Mexico. We new we had found the place when we saw Oran and Alicia standing outside. There were actually only 7 cars, 8 including ours, in the parking lot. There were quite a few Lambson's in attendance.
A picture of Oran with his sister Luella who is 96 years old. The woman standing is Luella's granddaughter.
Alicia, Uncle Delbert, and James. James is telling uncle Delbert how much he enjoyed the two poems he had written and recited. One of them was about a Christmas quilt his mother, Annie Laura Mangum Lambson had made him(Uncle Delbert).
James reminiscing with his cousin Albert Lee (we call him Lee), about old times. I had a nice visit with Lee's wife Polie too but the picture I took of her didn't turn out. Lee and Polie lived in Chandler for awhile and I remember the delicious candied yams Polie would bring to our Thanksgiving celebrations. I still have the receipe and I make them for Thanksgiving every year.
I don't know who the people seated are but the man standing with the trademark red suspenders is Oran's youngest brother, Uncle Kay. Kay lived by us in Chandler for awhile. He told an interesting Mangum story about one of the Mangum brother's getting into a fight with someone who had rustled one of his cows and was butchering it. This Kay Mangum beat the cattle rustler up and shoved him inside the gutted cow and covered him over with the cow hide. Both sides lived to tell the story.
I guess I enjoy these Mangum reunions because my great grandmother, Lydia Ellen Mangum and James's grandmother Annie Laura Mangum were sisters. I feel a kinship with these people. It is interesting to hear the stories of the simple lives they led. Most of them lived in small communities on ranches and had very little in the way of worldly goods. They knew the things that were important, their families, and the gospel.
We had a nice potluck lunch and headed back to Vernon. We read our scriptures and from our Victoria Holt book about Marie Antionette, and then James took a long nap. I worked on my young women's lesson on the importance of education.
