CULLMAN – Not so long ago family reunions were common in the area, with most remembering them from their childhood days. Members of a family would arrive with their children, their children’s children and covered dishes for an afternoon of fellowship, laughter and even tears. In the 21st century, with family being more spread out across the country, the gatherings are becoming a thing of the past, along with porch sitting and being neighborly.
One family who still holds on to the southern tradition is the Hasenbein family, the heirs of Frank and Elizabeth Grabber Hasenbein.
The elder Hasenbeins were married at Sacred Heart Church in Cullman on July 16, 1907 and Elizabeth birthed 16 children over a 23-year span. Thirteen of those Hasenbeins lived to see adulthood. The last of their offspring, Alfred, passed away almost three years ago, yet the family still gathers once a year in early June to celebrate each other’s joys and mourn the losses.
In September of this past year, the family suffered a tremendous loss when their beloved cousin Tootie, Mary Frances Means Cogburn, passed away in Mena, Arkansas. As the family matriarch, her energy defied her age and cousin Tootie could usually be heard before she was in sight.
When asked why her husband and children traveled every year from Arkansas to Tootie’s hometown of Cullman for the reunion, her daughter, Marlena Parnell, didn’t skip a beat and answered, “Because Mama dragged us for years!”
Jan Alldredge, Tootie’s younger sister, explains, “It was important for their group, especially this year, to travel down because they lost their family member. It was very important for them to come this year to keep the routine of what they had always done with their mom and to stay in contact with all of the family.”
She went on, “I think that’s part of what we all need – to stay connected with our family to instill our values, our morals and see how similar our interests and our tendencies are through the generations. I think you find similarities even with this many of us – some good, some not so good!”
The Hasenbein stubbornness is the stuff of legend and was evident as the family gathered for the big family photo. Wayward descendants were lassoed in from outdoors while others were too busy chatting to pay attention to the instructions. But, from the chaos, eventually came the family photo which has been taken yearly since the late 1970s at the reunion.
John Tekulve spoke to the relevance of the waning tradition, “It’s important to see people and to continue to talk about and remember the old times, to talk and laugh about things we did growing up and that our parents did, and recognize the similarities in all of us.”
