Robert here, writing this
blog entry. The Watkins side of my
family is primarily concentrated in the states of Virginia and North Carolina,
with the exception of my father’s branch, which is scattered to the four winds
in Michigan, Missouri, Colorado, and Washington. For the past 35 years the VA/NC Watkins have
gathered every year on the south end of Topsail Island, NC for a week long
family reunion. Even sporadically before
this, going back to 1952, my father and his 3 brothers had vacationed together on
the beaches of Wilmington, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC with their families.
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| The first cousins in 1952 |
The 4 brothers had a total of
15 children (my cousins), who became quite close due to these family reunions
and other gatherings at the holidays, etc.
Most of the senior Watkins are gone now, but the fourteen remaining cousins
still carry on the tradition with their ever-growing families. If all the descendants were able to be here
this week, it would be somewhere around 100 Watkins, ranging in age from 93+ to the newest little one born last month,
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| 1958 Cousins |
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| 2016 Cousins |
Our branch of the family is
known as the JHW’s (Joel H. Watkins descendants), and due to our scattered
locations we do not make it to the Topsail reunion every year, except for my
oldest brother who lives in St. Louis.
We try to go every other year, and even this is getting harder with our
kid’s schedules. But 2016 is a big year,
and all of the JHW siblings are able to go, along with most of their
children. The reunion is the same week
every year during the month of July, and everyone reserves rental cabins at the
end of the week for the next year. We
basically take over most available rentals on the south end of the island for
that week.
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| Topsail Beach |
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| Always Changing Beach |
After having tried various
other beaches around Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, we settled on Topsail Island
around 1980. The south end is a
well-kept secret of quiet residential streets and the best beach around. The central and north end of Topsail is more
developed, louder and more crowded, while “our” end is perfect for relaxation. Topsail is a narrow strip of sand, about ½ to
1½ miles wide and 27 miles long. With
the Atlantic on one side and the Inland Waterway (the Sound) on the other side,
the island offers something for everyone; ocean fishing, sound fishing,
crabbing, beach walking, shell and shark tooth hunting, beer drinking, sun
bathing, swimming, playing beach bocci ball, visiting with relatives, etc.,
etc.
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| "Our" spot on the beach |
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| Beach Bocci Ball game |
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| Sand Babies |
I have lots of fond memories of
the beach from my childhood – getting blue crabs to follow a fish-head on a
string into shore where we could net them; trying to find the biggest
fossilized shark tooth in the sand; looking for ghost crabs on the beach at
night; and skinny-dipping in the ocean after dark. Our cousins were our best friends for a week, and they still are!
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| The beautiful Sound side of the island |
The cottages on the island are
all built on pilings that keep the living area about 10 feet above ground. This allows them to weather the bad storms
and hurricanes, which can wash over the island.
Many cottages on the south end are also built on small canals cut
perpendicular to the sound, which allows boat access and private docks. These are the prime properties, but sometimes
hard to get for rentals. My VA/NC
cousins who come every year have the advantage of reserving their same cottages
a year in advance on the day they checkout.
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| Typical Cottage |
This year Le Anna and I are
sharing a cottage with my brother Joe, my sister Ruth and her family. Our family does not put on any pressure to do
group activities, so the week can be as relaxing as you want it to be. I love the beach, so my normal daily routine
goes something like this:
· Wake up around 7 AM, go for a walk and/or have coffee
on the porch and then a leisurely breakfast
· Pack a lunch and go down to the beach around 10 or 11
AM with chairs and big umbrella – we stake out the same area of the beach every
year, and every day – and sit, visit with cousins, swim or walk on the beach until
you “burn” out, which could be anywhere from 2 to 5 PM.
· Go back to the cottage, shower and get cleaned up for
dinner. We go out about every other
night, or take turns cooking at the cottage.
· After dinner it’s time for more visiting with cousins,
wandering from house to house, and a few nightcaps.
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| Afternoon Chat Circle |
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| Body Surfing |
Although the weather can be
stifling hot in July, there is always a wonderful breeze on the beach that
makes it tolerable. The asphalt on the
street may scald your bare feet, but as soon as you top the sand dune on the way
to the beach, the miraculous ocean breeze refreshes you. Another good thing about our spot on south
Topsail is that there are no cottages that front on the beach (they have all
been washed away in previous hurricanes).
So you walk directly from the street over a small dune and down to the
beach. Perfect!
Mornings at the beach are
time for the kids to build sand castles, and the older kids to swim or surf on
boogie boards. Walks down the beach
while hunting for shells and fossilized shark teeth are popular. The afternoons are time for beer drinking and
more social activities such as beach baseball, bocci ball, or sitting in
circles in the shallow pools just off the beach at low tide.
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| Topsail Roller Rink - unchanged in 50 years |
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| Kids love sand |
This year there are about 80
of the Watkins clan here, along with another 40 family friends who have joined
us. We were fortunate to have two large
gatherings of the clan – one night with the 14 remaining first cousins and
their spouses, and one night with the whole fam-dam-ily to celebrate a 50th
wedding anniversary of one cousin and his wife.
These times are very special, and it’s quite amazing that everyone can
get along cordially even though our politics and other beliefs are widely
different. No arguments or hard feelings
that I saw anyway.
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| 1994 Group Photo - we are much larger now! |
The week came to an end
sooner than we wanted, but we left with an inner glow of warm family love. Our insight for this week is that there is
nothing more important than family relationships. You may not see each other very often, but
the deep ties are always there, and when you need support it can be quickly
found in family.
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| Sunset over the Sound |
