The Members of the community began with the Sowell family. Every two years this Family would gather at the main family house for one weekend. Their interaction with each other could turn out in multiple ways. For example, angry because food didn’t turn out right, excited because family t-shirts turned out the way they were suppose to or exhausted from riding hay rides all day in the hot humid weather. I can say from personal experience that you are born into this community because the family has grown so large, the function would go from being at the house to the local community center. Other reasons can be because this is part of our history and culture as a people. We feel that coming every year, we are representing and acknowledging our family and its history. I believe we are members automatically because our great grandparents wanted to celebrate and for us to come together as a family.
The Shady grove Community reunion has many different characteristics that some have to grow to love and some fall naturally into it. Most of the relatives that visit this reunion are coming from different states, including myself. The reunion takes place in Shady Grove, Louisiana, about 30 minutes from town and 15 minutes from the main road. The relatives that I know most come from California, specifically San Francisco and Los Angeles. Since California has spoiled us with beautiful weather and a faster paced life, it is completely different going down south because of humidity in the weather, slow and poor living, and rural location to grown up. In my opinion the ghettos in a city don’t compare to the ghetto’s my cousins live in, to me that is a place where everyone knows each other but little opportunity for a child. At the family house we have many different ponds where we can go fishing, but you have to be careful that there are no alligators that could possibly pop up at you. In the back of the house you can also go shooting for practice or just to try a new gun, but be careful to not hit a cow or bull. I believe its successes is the fact that this community has little money to run this community function every two years but finds a way to make the best of it with great food, great music, hay rides for the kids, horseback riding, tracker riding, and four wheeler riding. I would say its disadvantages is that the poor are getting poorer in Shady Grove and very little is being done about it. Another disadvantage is when you become of age to go out to the local club called The Whole in the Wall, a shack in the middle of a black top; it’s not always the best experience. The Whole in the Wall has no security, no liquor license but if you want a drink ask the bartender and he’ll pass you one under the counter from a whole, and if you get into a scuffle people down there in the country shoot first and walk away.
For me what I enjoy about this community is having the chance to experience it. I was four when I first went down there, and even though I’ve missed a couple, I do enjoy visiting and getting out of the city life for awhile. I used to have to spend three months down there with my great grandmother and would miss home so much; I would call my mom almost every day and cry that I wanted to come home. As I got older I wanted to be able to share my experiences with friends who are so used to the city life and have never experience the country life and how much less you have to worry about. Even though it is a lot more forest and far away from anything, I wouldn’t change much. I believe it’s pretty amazing the way it is, the food, the culture, the tradition. As time goes on though the tradition is fading, young adults my age aren’t finding the importance of going back and what they have. I can say when I was younger a lot more people were willing to get this experience and many things are holding them back, including money to even get out there. It’s tough but I know I will never, forget where my family has come from and the importance of what this community has shared with me.
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