December 26, 2025 

Hi Family,

Here’s an update on the proposed family reunion.   So far, I’ve heard from 7 people.  Since the cutoff date is December 31st, there is still time for people to respond.  However, only seven people is disappointing and hopefully doesn’t reflect the interest (or lack of) most of our relatives.

If my perceived lack of interest is due to the reunion’s location, what do you think of my switching it from Florence to Myrtle Beach? Florence was chosen because it guarantees better turnout and cheaper lodging costs. If none of that matters to you, then should I change the location to the beach?

Share this information with other relatives in your local area and let me know if they are interested in attending the reunion.  By the way, I have decided to have the reunion in 2027.

Bobby

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November 18, 2025

Hi Family,

It’s Bob McElwain again. I hope you all are doing well.  As for me, I’m doing about as well as an old man could be, considering I’ve been battling cancer for the past two or three years.  My doctors say I’m cancer-free, but based on how I feel at times, I have doubts.   I want to run something by everyone that I think is very important.

Cousin Jeannett and I recently celebrated our November 4^th birthdates together in Las Vegas, NV, when the subject of a family reunion came up.  My first thought was that our family reunions died after the passing of some of our senior family members. When Aunts Sadie, Eunice, and Uncle Rufus were still with us, we’d try to have a family reunion about every two years. Some of you who live near each other got together even sooner, even if only for a holiday. Now, however, it doesn’t seem like the Baby Boomer generation is interested in keeping up the tradition of a large family reunion.

Social media, COVID, and disagreements have contributed to the decline of our family reunions. The recent loss of so many of our family members has not helped and should have reminded us of how precious time together is.  Have we forgotten how vital it is to come together to strengthen our bonds and create fond memories, or is it that we just don’t care anymore?

Is this true on both sides of the family, or am I just imagining things? Wouldn’t it be nice if your dad’s side of your immediate family had reunions in even-numbered years and your mom’s side had reunions in the odd-numbered years? Just a thought, but a nice one for sure.

Well, after saying all that, I have decided to make another attempt at putting together a family reunion (even though I swore I would never do it again).  If you recall, a few years ago, I tried to organize a reunion in the place where I thought we would get the most participation: Florence, SC.  To my surprise, that attempt failed, and here I am again with the same idea. Would you support it?

We are not getting any younger, and I think it’s time we get together again with what’s left of our family. With that in mind, I am currently planning a family reunion in Florence, SC, for either the summer of 2026 or 2027, and need to know whether you and your family will attend.  Please reply with your answer as soon as possible, but not later than 31 December of this year.

If you receive duplicate copies of this message, it’s because I don’t have everyone’s email address. I will text it to those for whom I don’t have a current email address, and that might be you.

I look forward to hearing from everyone.

Cousin Bobby