Makes Great The Life

Mactech-husband's family (maternal side) held a reunion this weekend. We gathered in an Elk's club on the shores of the Navesink River in Red Bank, NJ, the scene of the last family reunion (paternal side)
It was a warm and humid night by that pretty river where the rows of shrink-wrapped boats seemed prematurely hoisted out of the water. I brought my camera but both batteries were dead (a testament to the generally chaotic nature of my life during September) I'll have to wait for the shared family photos on this one.
The picture that appears here is of the invitation. "Strive, strive I urge..." which balloons from that serious gentleman's face paraphrases a Robert Browning quote that was a favorite mantra of Tim's grandfather.

"But try," you urge, "the trying shall suffice;
The aim, if reached or not, makes great the life."

"Grandpa" was born on the south side of Chicago near the stockyards before the turn of the century. he died in the late seventies. He was a self-made man who yearned to be a priest early in his life but was told by his parish pastor, a wise and practical sort, that his family needed him to help support them financially. He took it to heart.
He started by selling newspapers on the street (while his mother sold sanitary belts, a new invention, door to door). He eventually became the Secretary of Agriculture for the State of Illinois. He might have gone to Washington, but a Republican, Warren G. Harding, won the 1920 presidential election.
He moved his family east, to NJ, sometime around the stock market crash and while the story that's told has him going flat broke three times - he landed on his feet each time and the family prospered. He was a larger than life presence in the lives of his grandchildren and they told the stories, funny and poignant to prove it. One of my favorites is my sister-in-law's story about her first job after college in the early seventies. He was passionate about education, travel and career choices. She was afraid to tell him that she had landed a job as a sex-educator. When she finally sheepishly told him, he bellowed throwing his arms in the air, "Why I think that's wonderful! Your nana and I didn't know anything when we got married."

Three of Peter Emmet's six children are living. There are thirty-three grandchildren, forty-five great-grandchildren and six great-greats (one of which makes an appearance on this blog quite often.