After seeing the first niece at the Elmira Jazz Festival, I realized that the connections made became a reunion of Rebecca Jade and the Walkers, her ancestors on her mother’s side. But it wasn’t easy.
Rebecca performed on Friday, August 16, at the Norfolk Jazz Festival in Town Point Park in downtown Norfolk Waterfront, VA. She was supposed to take a flight from Norfolk, VA, to Scranton, PA, stay at a Scranton hotel, then drive the 120 miles (193 km)/two hours to Horseheads.
Oh, yes, the Elmira Jazz Festival is in Horseheads, NY. Why is it called Horseheads? “The name is derived from the number of bleached skulls of pack horses left behind by the Sullivan Expedition” during the American Revolutionary War in 1779.
But the time frame was too tight that night RJ, and a morning flight made the festival organizers nervous. Instead, the husband of RJ’s agent drove them to a hotel in Harrisburg, PA, where they slept for about five hours. They traveled about 500 miles over 8-plus hours to the Elmira Jazz Festival.
It was POURING in north-central Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier of New York. My family, including my father’s cousin Ruth and her daughters, were traveling separately from the Binghamton area, which is only about 60 miles/96 km and one hour away.
But it was as bad as what Louis XV reportedly predicted after his reign. We pulled off Route 17/I-86 at the Lowman exit for about 20 minutes.
Genealogy
The gates at the festival were to open at 11:00 a.m., with local band Top Shelf playing from noon to 12:45 p.m., followed by Marcus Johnson, Ben Tankard, and Rebecca Jade in rotation. Except for Top Shelf, which started over an hour late, the schedule was wrecked. Ben Tankard was up next, followed by Rebecca Jade.
Other than her originals, the highlights of her set were the reimaged covers of Pure Imagination and I Will Survive. We got to see her after her segment, as did Ruth and her family. To my surprise, another Walker had already made contact with her.
My great-grandfather Samuel Walker (d. 1963, so I remember him) and his wife Mary Eugenia (d. 1944, before I was born) had several children. Three of those lines came to Horseheads.
Agatha’s line: I am the son of her son Les, and my daughter was there as well. Les’ elder daughter is Leslie, and her daughter is, of course, Rebecca Jade.
Vera’s line: Vera’s daughter was Patricia. Her daughter was Arlene, but I knew her only as Kitten, and she was there.
Earl’s line: Earl’s daughter is Ruth, and she was there, along with her two daughters, Jean and Jackie. My father was at Ruth’s house the day I was born, figuring out my name and initials. Ruth is the oldest living relative I have.
This is the closest thing to a Walker family reunion I had been to in decades.
Also
A guy named Jim from Binghamton was also there. We were elementary and junior high classmates at Daniel S. Dickinson for several years. Since it was his 72nd birthday, I thought I’d share his selfie with RJ.
Also, there was a raffle at the event. I won a $50 gift certificate from Ray’s Jewelers, a local business. But my handwriting is so bad that they mangled my name as Roger Grue. I hope Ray offers mail order.
That morning, I got my 600th Wordle in a row. It helped that I read WordleBot’s suggestions and compared notes afterward with my wife and my Wordle buddy Matthew. Then I played my 400th game of Quordle and moved from 98% to 99% correct. I have my longest win streak, 128 games.
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Author: Roger
I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto.
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