All of my aunts and uncles on my dad's side of the family lived in southcentral Wisconsin as I was growing up. I regularly got to spend time with all of my dad's siblings, their spouses and my cousins.
My dad was one of five siblings. I had 12 cousins with whom to play, but mainly there were nine of us because one of my dad's siblings was quite a bit younger and her children missed out on the shenanigans of us older kids. My sister and I were the second oldest group, so we got to know the nine cousins well.
We went camping together and went on week-long family reunions. Our Sundays were daytrips to each other's houses.
My aunt Penny lived on a farm, so there was all sorts of things to do there - especially tobogganing in the winter. Penny and her husband lived near Milton and they had an eight-person toboggan. By packing the smaller-sized cousins in the front and on the laps of older cousins, we could get all of us on for a ride.
We had fun, often dodging a barbed-wire fence. And we could always go in and warm up with hot chocolate.
Meanwhile, the house would be full of adults with card tables set up as an enormous euchre tournament raged with little brown bottles of beer being passed around.
My grandfather and grandmother lived in Lake Mills in an enormous house. During family events, the nine cousins had the run of the upstairs, which included four bedrooms. We would play hide-and-seek in the biggest bedroom.
The best part of the game was figuring out where to stick the littlest of the cousins. Some could be hidden among folded quilts in a cedar chest or in the corner of closets filled with old dresses and Army uniforms.
Meanwhile, the adults had their own games downstairs. They played all sorts of card games, but at Grandma and Grandpa's, they played many other games, including one with a string and a ring. The string was passed around a large table and the string was put through the ring. People had to pass the ring from one person to another to see where it ended up in 5 minutes of stomping, hooting and hollering.
It was always fun and a bit mysterious watching my parents, aunts, uncles and others play these ancient parlor games. Well before board games became popular, my family had all sorts of games you could play with average household items and cards.
One of these games was Spoons, which was played with a deck of cards and some teaspoons. These games could get very exciting and I learned a bunch of new German slang curse words and insults as an afternoon progressed.
Everyone's house had a big yard and one of the other favorite games in the summer is the now forever-banned lawn jarts. We usually had three games going with those deadly missiles flying back and forth. One thing about our summer gathering was that there was always a ridiculous number of coolers and lawn chairs. And rarely did people sit down. We kids would be playing together and the adults were in a game. The only time we sat was when we ate or a card game was underway.
When the day ended and it was time to go home, often some of my cousins would cry. My cousin Chad never wanted to leave and it took many a speech from my cousin Todd and me to get him bucked up to the point where he could stop crying when our weekend visit was over. We did have such wonderful, childhood fun.
Now when I go to family reunions or get-togethers, the meal is the focus. Often kids can't make it. They're at some baseball tournament or event. I get it. Once Derek and I missed a family reunion because he was doing his Eagle Scout project. Life gets in the way.
I would complain about cell phones and other baloney, but at one of our recent family outings, we had a great multi-generational kickball game. What great fun for everyone.
I was lucky enough to visit with my dad and his brother this week and we talked and played a dice game called Farkle. It was just enough of a visit to have a great appreciation for my family and reminisce about good days of the past.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
My dad was one of five siblings. I had 12 cousins with whom to play, but mainly there were nine of us because one of my dad's siblings was quite a bit younger and her children missed out on the shenanigans of us older kids. My sister and I were the second oldest group, so we got to know the nine cousins well.
We went camping together and went on week-long family reunions. Our Sundays were daytrips to each other's houses.
My aunt Penny lived on a farm, so there was all sorts of things to do there - especially tobogganing in the winter. Penny and her husband lived near Milton and they had an eight-person toboggan. By packing the smaller-sized cousins in the front and on the laps of older cousins, we could get all of us on for a ride.
We had fun, often dodging a barbed-wire fence. And we could always go in and warm up with hot chocolate.
Meanwhile, the house would be full of adults with card tables set up as an enormous euchre tournament raged with little brown bottles of beer being passed around.
My grandfather and grandmother lived in Lake Mills in an enormous house. During family events, the nine cousins had the run of the upstairs, which included four bedrooms. We would play hide-and-seek in the biggest bedroom.
The best part of the game was figuring out where to stick the littlest of the cousins. Some could be hidden among folded quilts in a cedar chest or in the corner of closets filled with old dresses and Army uniforms.
Meanwhile, the adults had their own games downstairs. They played all sorts of card games, but at Grandma and Grandpa's, they played many other games, including one with a string and a ring. The string was passed around a large table and the string was put through the ring. People had to pass the ring from one person to another to see where it ended up in 5 minutes of stomping, hooting and hollering.
It was always fun and a bit mysterious watching my parents, aunts, uncles and others play these ancient parlor games. Well before board games became popular, my family had all sorts of games you could play with average household items and cards.
One of these games was Spoons, which was played with a deck of cards and some teaspoons. These games could get very exciting and I learned a bunch of new German slang curse words and insults as an afternoon progressed.
Everyone's house had a big yard and one of the other favorite games in the summer is the now forever-banned lawn jarts. We usually had three games going with those deadly missiles flying back and forth. One thing about our summer gathering was that there was always a ridiculous number of coolers and lawn chairs. And rarely did people sit down. We kids would be playing together and the adults were in a game. The only time we sat was when we ate or a card game was underway.
When the day ended and it was time to go home, often some of my cousins would cry. My cousin Chad never wanted to leave and it took many a speech from my cousin Todd and me to get him bucked up to the point where he could stop crying when our weekend visit was over. We did have such wonderful, childhood fun.
Now when I go to family reunions or get-togethers, the meal is the focus. Often kids can't make it. They're at some baseball tournament or event. I get it. Once Derek and I missed a family reunion because he was doing his Eagle Scout project. Life gets in the way.
I would complain about cell phones and other baloney, but at one of our recent family outings, we had a great multi-generational kickball game. What great fun for everyone.
I was lucky enough to visit with my dad and his brother this week and we talked and played a dice game called Farkle. It was just enough of a visit to have a great appreciation for my family and reminisce about good days of the past.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
