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Perry family reunion was fun for all ages
The Perry Sisters’ Saggy Bottom Girls perform at a family reunion in July at Howell’s Mill Christian Camp. Left to right, Kaye Trammell, Dixie Nash, Heather Patereau, Judy Mora and Sharon Reinhart.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following was submitted by Frank Perry of Dayton, Ohio, who returned to the Tri-State over the July 4th weekend for a large family reunion. Here are some details about the family's first large get-together in 24 years:
The descendents of Jack and Edna Perry, who last resided at Martha, held a family reunion on July 4-6 at Howell's Mill Christian Camp. Eight of Jack and Edna's nine children attended, and a total of 60 descendants were there.
The eight children in attendance were Eileen Ray; Phil Perry and Wayne "Buck" Perry of the Barboursville area; Judy Mora and Sharon Reinhart of Bradenton, Fla.; Frank Perry of Beavercreek, Ohio; Kaye Trammell of Payson, Ariz.; and Dixie Nash of Pt. Charlotte, Fla. Eldest brother Ronald Perry of Bradenton, Fla., was unable to attend. The largest group of attendees was from Florida with other family members from Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and the Barboursville area attending.
Activities at the reunion included a 10-vehicle, 58-person Nostalgia Caravan Tour of the Barboursville area, with stops at the Sadler Farm on 4-H Camp Road, a former Perry family residence, and the huge rock above the 4-H camp, where family legend has it that sister Judy was born. Other stops were at the Crossroads area of Huntington (Norwood Road and Norway Avenue), another former residence of the Perrys where most of the children grew to adulthood, the Marshall Memorial at Spring Hill Cemetery, Stewart's Hot Dog Stand and Oaklawn Cemetery, the burial place of Jack and Edna.
The Nostalgia Tour was organized by Jennifer Perry-Daly of Evergreen, Colo. She provided brochures to a reader in each of the vehicles in the caravan, providing pertinent information about each site from stories obtained from the Perry siblings. To keep the interest of the grandchildren, she provided each of them with a question sheet to be filled out for prizes at the end of the tour. She and her father did a practice run-through of the tour a day prior and warned Stewarts Hot Dogs of the rush of business they would have at noon the next day.
Saturday evening entertainment by family members was led off by Maya Daly of Evergreen, Colo., the 8-year-old granddaughter of Frank and Doyla Perry, singing "God Bless America." Feature act of the evening was a performance by the Perry sisters, Judy, Sharon, Kaye and Dixie as the Saggy Bottom Girls, with lead vocals by Dixie's daughter Heather Nash Patereau. They performed a song and dance routine from "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou." The Florida girls had previously performed that routine on a video tribute to Kaye on her 60th birthday. Their performance was preceded by a Gospel Sing-Along, and singing performances by John and Laura McConda and Sonny and Cher (Wayne "Buck" and JoAnn Perry). Karaoke was performed by younger members of the family.
July 4th activities included a competitive kickball game, swimming, ping pong, basketball and watching videos of the last large Perry reunion in 1984, followed by a drive to Barboursville to watch the fireworks.
Kelly Rowell of Cocoa Beach, Fla., daughter of Sharon Reinhart, compiled and printed a Perry Family Cookbook, which contained many precious recipes of Edna Perry that were enjoyed by the family over the years, in addition to current favorites of family members.
When the reunion at Howell's Mill concluded on July 6, 24 of the group headed to the New River for a rafting trip led by Troy and Andrea Perry of Columbus. Troy and Andrea are rafting guides on the New River. Troy is the son of Wayne Perry and his wife, JoAnn.
