Family with deep Granville roots holds 90th annual reunion

For the 90th consecutive year, a large extended family with roots in southern Granville County gathered for the annual family reunion and celebrated the wonders of faith and family.

This 90th HLLBG Family Reunion — the letters stand for — was held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel RTP in Durham Aug. 23-25. A meet and greet on Friday kicked off the weekend, which continued with a “Sneaker Ball” banquet Saturday night and a church service Sunday morning.

“Historically, family reunions like the HLLBG have served as vital cultural milestones,” the family said in a press release. “Initiated in the aftermath of Emancipation, these gatherings were pivotal for African American communities, particularly in reconnecting families dispersed by the cruelties of slavery. Over decades, as families expanded and migrated during the Great Migration, these reunions transformed into essential anchors of family identity and heritage, preserving Southern traditions far and wide.”

The documentary “A Singing Stream” chronicled the family’s history in 1986 and highlighted the family Gospel singing group the Golden Echoes. A second documentary, “Reunion,” brought the family history up to date in 2016, and a third installation in the documentary series will be released soon.

If faith and family are the twin pillars, the third “F” leg of a three-legged stool would be farming. The family’s agricultural roots run deep in the soil of southern Granville County, and that tradition continues with Ken Daniel.

Daniel, who retired as an information technology engineer from BB&T — now Truist — in 2020, works with community-supported agriculture and grows a variety of produce on the family farm in southern Granville County.

“We have been very fortunate,” Daniel said. “The CSA has kept farms in production and allowed us to do a lot.”

Areatha Plummer is the new president of the HLLBG Family Reunion. Plummer and other officers for the 2024-2028 term were installed during the closing worship service Sunday morning.

Other newly elected officers include Vice President Asha K Jones – Wade; Recording Secretary Sylvia Landis; Assistant Secretary Kristy Williams; Treasurer Collette Humphries; and Financial Secretary Bronzella Daniel.

“The family is the foundation of society,” Joseph Williams said in comments during the installation of family reunion officers.

Williams noted there are five last names — Harris, Landis, Lawrence, Byrd and Green — but together it’s “essentially one big family unit.”

The reunion honored the family’s oldest or “most seasoned” members, who include: Mabel R. Landis, 90, widow of the late John Landis and daughter-in-law of Coy and Bertha Landis; Dolores Green Humphrise, 91, daughter of Joseph Green Jr. and Vera L. Green; Mary Rogers Baker, 94, daughter of Sherman and Novella Rogers.

Williams described the offices as a ministry. The officers are committed to the work of keeping this family together and strong, Williams said.

The Rev. Willie Goins celebrated God’s grace and the gift of faith in his message at the church service.

“God’s love goes far beyond anyone else’s love that you could ever imagine,” Goins said. “You can rest assured that you have brighter things ahead.”

This family makes things happen, Goins said. But how does that work? he asked, and then answered the question: “God is the glue.”

Quoting the Biblical verse John 3:16, Goins said God sent Jesus, his Only-Begotten Son, “that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

“You can take that to the spiritual bank and it will cash,” Goins said.

Six generations participated in the reunion.

Asha Wade, whose term as president ends this year, told the Gen Z members of the family “it’s time to step up.”

Wade pointed out that when the reunion started in 1934, there was nowhere near the communication technology that is available now, yet people still managed to spread the word and make it happen.

“So we should definitely be able to keep this reunion going,” Wade said.

The family’s first reunion was organized in 1933 and was held in 1934 at Rock Spring Baptist Church in Creedmoor. The initial organizer was Luna Landis Lawrence Bullock Eaton.

“In February of 1952 Luna passed the torch of hope and continuance of the reunion to her daughter in law Bertha Landis, one in whom she had profound confidence,” according to a family history read at the Aug. 25 church service by Areatha Plummer. “Bertha accepted the torch and kept the great work moving forward.”

The first meeting of the reunion was held on the 4th Sunday in October but family members later determined the 4th Sunday in August would be a better time to hold the reunion.

The gathering was held on that Sunday at Rock Spring Baptist Church until the pandemic in 2000.

“The original purpose of the reunion was for support and continued up-keep of the family cemetery which was donated to the four families by the late Horton Harris,” the family history states.

A 50th Anniversary banquet was held at G.C. Hawley Middle School.

A virtual reunion was held in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The post Family with deep Granville roots holds 90th annual reunion first appeared on Restoration NewsMedia .