Home for Oak City Days!!

The 3rd weekend in August is always Oak City Days. For those of you who read this that don't know what Oak City days are they are a celebration for the town of Oak City where Whitt was raised. He LOVES that little town and that is no joke. He has such great memories of growning up there and he just can't think of One reason not to return there to finish out his life.

Anyway the celebration starts on Friday evening with a small town parade. We have not made it there in time to see the parade but I'm sure it is great for kids. If they throw candy that is a hit with my grandkids. They have an icecream social, a rook tournement all on Friday evening. Whitt's brothers and sisters and their families have our family reunion that evening as well. Now if have been to Oak City you know that dinner is not until the chores are done so dinner usually starts about 8 p.m. or later. Oh another thing they do which is kind of interesting is that at the cemetary they spotlight past residence of the town who have passed on. Their ancestors dress up like them and give a brief description of their lives in Oak City. We went this year and it was really interesting. Also we showed our grandkids where Great Grandpa John and George and Ren Lovell are buried.

On Saturday morning they have a turkey shoot what ever that is and at 11:00 they have a choir program. It was very good this year and it was fun to have them include the audience in some of the songs. They always sing this song called "The song of Home" and you really can get the feeling of how much these people really love their town. The big draw of the day is the dinner they serve from 12-2. They cook a beef and a pork in the big pit over night and it is delicious. They also have all the trimmings baked potato, corn on the cob and my favorite cucumbers and onions in vinegar. They have many booths to browse and shop at and I always find some great things. The afternoon includes games for the kids, a horse shoe tournement and the evening is filled with the big Oak City Dance. Dancing is a big thing in Oak City they dance for everything, weddings, holidays, parties you name it and it is a reason to dance.

All of our kids were there with their familes except Alesha, Phil and Koen. We missed having them with us but we are so excited to meet them in Nauvoo on Sept. 6th. They will be on their way home from school. We have a great few days planned together and I am trying to get things ready here so they can move in when they get here.