On Friday, August 12, Dorcas and I left for a 5-week trip, our primary destination being the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northern Minnesota. Our first stop would be to attend the Franklin Family Reunion, held the 2nd Saturday in August each year in Linville Falls. Due to our typical fall travel schedule, we are not often able to attend this reunion, but this year it worked out for us.
We spent Friday and Saturday nights at Riverside Golf and RV Park on the banks of the Catawba river in Morganton. It's not what you would call destination park, but it is affordable and very convenient when visiting my home town.
On Friday, we had a reservation to attend Grandfather By Night, a special private event, to view the sunset from the summit of Grandfather Mountain and to explore a nature trail by night.
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| The gatehouse at Grandfather Mountain |
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| No, the camera is not tilted (much). The ground is made that way at Grandfather Mountain |
The sunset from the summit of the mountain was stunning.
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| Dorcas on the famous "Mile-High Swinging Bridge" |
After the sunset we were led on a half-mile nighttime walk on the Woods Trail.
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| We found a number of salamanders |
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| And phosphorescent fungi |
We spent Friday and Saturday night in Morganton at Riverside Golf and RV Park and visited the family plot at Forest Hill cemetery.
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| Ginger: One of the family now |
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| Isn't she cute? |
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| Linville Falls Community Church in the spring |
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| Myron and brother Ran |
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| Uncle John, Myron and Ran |
Each year the Franklin Reunion features an historical presentation related to the family. This year that presentaion was .... wait for it ... "Finding Dorcas". The reunion brings together the descendants of Samual Franklin and Dorcas Burns Parker. Previously, we had talked about all the men in the family, but little was known about most of the women. And there has never been another member of the family named Dorcas until I brought my own favorite Dorcas in. The life and history of Dorcas Burns Parker was not well known, so Cousin Tense did some genealogical research and tried to clear up some mysteries.
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The presentation goes on for 3 pages. Contact me if you want to see the whole story. |
The Franklin Reunion always has live entertainment. Click HERE to hear a rendition of "The Brown Mountain Lights". Click HERE to hear "I'll Fly Away"
Samuel Franklin is my great, great, great, great grandfather. This year is the 150th anniversary of his death and the 75th anniversary of the Franklin reunion. Samuel Franklin's father was James Franklin, Ben Franklin's older brother. Therefor the guy on the $100 bill is my great, great, great, great, great uncle. Dorcas (Whitley, not Franklin) has always been very popular at this reunion. She is the only Dorcas I have found in the family, since great grandma Dorcas Franklin. I find this odd, since many family names have been recycled heavily. Ironically, my maternal great grandmother was May Delilah Greene Franklin, descended from Nathanial Greene of Revolutionary War fame, thus joining the Franklin and Greene lines.
