Jessee Reunion Oct 2016

By Gene Lucas
Airport tennessee Waiting for my plane for Knoxville Tennessee for the first stop on a road trip to A family reunion I had time to reflect on just how little I knew about my Mom's family. Mom's Mom died 3 months after she was born. Her Dad was unable to raise her and her 2 year old sister so His Mom and Dad took my Mom and her sister Aunt Bee in to raise. That was the extent to what I knew about my Mom growing up in Bethesda Ohio. Knoxville just happens to be the closest airport to Bristle Virginia. My Moms family lived in Russell County Virginia starting in early 1750s. The area they lived in was called the Black Hollow. The area has a lot of coal mines there so I am guessing that is the reason for the black in the name. I arrived in Knoxville on time around 3 pm Friday evening and was met by my brother Bob. We loaded up his Dodge Challenger rental car with my back pack and hit the interstate heading east. Upon arrival in Bristle VA we check in to our hotel and text my sister. She wants us to meet them down by the River at a Winery for some wine tasting. After 3 samples each we buy a few bottles of wine and get recommendations for supper and head out for the JJ's restaurant in Abingdon VA. The restaurant turns out to be a nice little family place with good food and ice cold beer. We drive back to our hotel in Bristle VA and consume a bottle of wine before bed. We have to be at the park at 10 am the next day for the reunion. We get up at 5 am so we can hit the 7-11 for breakfast of coffee and donuts. Lisa and Mom are staying in Abingdon at the suggested motel on the reunion website. They get a great full course breakfast at their motel. They will come by our motel in Bristol in the am and follow us over to the park which is about a mile away. We leave for the park around 9:30 am and spend about an hour finding the reunuin location. It turns out the park called Sugar Hollow Park is 400 acres with camp sites and lots of activitly going on this weekend. We find the pavilion the reunion is located in and park under some very large acorn trees. We get out of the cars and are standing around talking and acorns fall from the tree and hit the fender on the rental car dent the fender. Brother Bob immediately moves both cars out from under the trees before they look like they have been in a hail storm. As we walk to the pavilion we see Thomas Lee Jessee standing out in front talking, he is a relative that looks like Robert E. Lee and plays him in reenactments of the Civil War all thru the South. This is the link for Thomas Lee Jessee Once inside we put on name tags which include where in the jessee name you are related for us that is great grand father John Jessee. winery tchalenger Millhouse Flour Mill Lisa & Mom Flour Mill Mom and Thomas Lee Jessee

Last updated on 10-6-2016 GL .

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