1998 Reunion

1998 Will Rice Family Reunion
July 10-12, Trinity Pines, TX
A Report by Andy Himes

Twenty-five or so folks showed up this year, braving a killer heat wave that left Texas and its neighboring states suffering in plus-hundred degree weather for a couple of weeks straight. My own visit was a little bit shorter than others, because I first had to attend my 30th high school reunion in Racine WI on Friday evening. I got up early Saturday morning for the flight to Houston, arriving in the middle of the day when the temperature was already 104 degrees. When I stepped out of the Alamo shuttle and into the heat on my way to pick up my rental car, it was as though a wall of heat slapped me in the face and slammed me to the sidewalk. It was all I could do to put my bags in the trunk, roll down all the windows and pull out of the lot to drive north from Houston toward Trinity Pines. Soon enough, the air conditioning took hold in the car and I was relatively comfortable.

Sam Welcomes Me to Texas

You know, despite having all these Texas relatives, I've barely visited Texas. A Juarez weekend back in 1969 for a convention really doesn't count. Neither does passing through Amarillo one day on my way to somewhere else back in 1972 or so. So I was amazed to see the endless vistas of East Texas trees and scrub brush, fast food outlets and car lots that stretched for miles along the interstate north of Houston, shimmering in the heat. I was also startled to see an alabaster-white, approximately 60 ft. high statue of Sam Houston waving at me from the side of the interstate. Despite the big red signs that said in bold letter's, "Do Not Park Here," I immediately had to pull over and get out of my car in order to take a photo of Sam's mythic presence.

Trinity Pines

The family reunion was at Trinity Pines, on the Trinity River and lakes, a few miles outside of Trinity, Texas. Trinity Pines is a church sponsored camp, and several hundred young people there were involved in a considerable amount of hollering and rapid movement, a startling amount, in fact, given the extreme heat. When I finally got out of my car at the campground it was all that I could do to remain upright, much less do any unnecessary hollering.

I spent the next day at Trinity, having a marvelous time chatting, visiting, eating, swapping tales, and catching up on news with cousins, cousins of cousins, and spouses, kids, and miscellaneous and various, nefarious relatives of cousins of cousins. Highlights (for me) included:

	Extremely pink cake provided by Jan Rice.
	George Rice leading the family business meeting with his customary humor and panache.
	Truly wonderful barbecued chicken.
	Talking to Glorianne Rice, John Rice, and Jennifer Rice Wiginton about their publishing house, Wheelock Press, and its fabulous Web site at http://wheelockpress.myriad.net/.
	Hearing Pete tell stories of traveling with his evangelist father Bill when Pete was a child.
	Seeing Rice and Ellie Nutting again for the first time since I was six years old (42 years ago).

Next October in Tennessee

A major discussion took place about when and where to have the next reunion. After various frivolous suggestions had been made (including trips to the moon, Seattle, the Caribbean, etc.) a decision was finally made, consented to by all present, to have the next reunion in Rogersville, Tennessee, in September of 1998. (Rogersville is in Northeast Tennessee, near where our ancient ancestor John Rice moved his family in the early 1800s). A number of people enthusiastically and cheerfully suggested that one or more or all of the John R. Rice daughters would or might be convinced to be enthusiastic and cheerful about the prospect of hosting and organizing the next reunion. I pointed out that making my aunts in charge of organizing the affair might ensure that they would actually show up!

Bonnie and Clyde Redux

At noon on Sunday we all got in our cars and drove off. I paused in Huntsville to have lunch at a small town cafe with Pete and Annette Rice. And after lunch I went off to see the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville, which boasts a delightfully macabre array of penitentiary photos and relics, including the actual sub machine guns that belonged to Bonnie and Clyde.

From Huntsville I drove to Austin, where on Monday I visited the state capital. After searching high and low, from the first floor all the way up to the state Senate chambers at the top of the building, I finally found when I was looking for. Will Rice's photograph is hanging on the wall in the basement, along with all the other Texas state senators in the 38th Legislature. Will was elected state senator from Decatur back in 1923. He only served one term and then went back to Decatur took to look after his family and business interests.

Bob and Jan

All in all, we had great time. Thanks so much to Bob and Jan Rice from all of us for the tremendous amount of hard work and ingenious efforts they expended. Because of their care and kindness we could focus on enjoying each other's company instead of worrying about the logistical details.

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