Metro family celebrates 100th family reunion, a Fourth of July tradition
The reunion is a chance for the younger generation to connect with their elders, share stories, food, party, and create memories.
LITHONIA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A metro Atlanta family celebrated the Fourth of July in a way that’s sure to make anyone smile.
Ollie ‘Jo’ Atkins told Atlanta News First her grandparents would be extremely proud to know a Fourth of July tradition they started in 1923 is still going strong today. The Summerour Family celebrated their 100th family reunion in Lithonia on Tuesday.
“It’s just a beautiful thing,” said Atkins. “My granddad always wanted family around. We were raised to love one another.”
Atkins grandparents, Sam and Essie Summerour, saw Independence Day as the perfect opportunity to bring their families together to see one another. Even as time passed and relatives passed or moved away, the annual gathering continued.
“It is so much love,” said Atkins. “Don’t get me wrong, we have disagreements but through these four days we have, it has been beautiful.”
100 years later Atkins, who is almost 80, is now the matriarch. Her granddaughter, Brittany Burch, is thankful to be back together in person. The family not only lost loved ones to COVID-19, but the pandemic also forced a few virtual reunions.
“It’s so heartwarming because this has probably been the biggest turnout, we’ve had in the last 10 years because the older generation is gone,” Burch said.
The reunion is a chance for the younger generation to connect with their elders, share stories, food, party, and create memories.
“[The reunions] mean so much more to be able to see the generations and we have pictures up and they see themselves in the pictures, ‘Like, I look like her’ and so I think those things matter more than anything,” Burch said.
It’s the one single tradition that continues to hold the Summerour Family together – one they hope to carry on for the next 100 years.
“Family is everything,” said Burch. “They always will be everything.”
The Summerour Family alternate their family reunions between metro Atlanta and Michigan, where a good amount of them now live.
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