Enoch and Jimmie Lou Cowen had 10 children who were pretty much the ages of the 7 children in our family and we lived near each other. She is pictured here (in red) with two of her children, Jeff (wife Sharon) and Mary. Other children in her family attending were Ed, Ramona and Helen, along with several of their spouses, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Mrs. Cowen will be 89 in December. Her husband died many years ago.
Dot Daniels has been a member at Curtis for many, many years after she married her husband Dick and moved to the Curtis community. Her son Jim came with her, and daughter-in-law, Martha who is married to Frank (Bub). Miss Dot as we all call her, is a very busy lady. Until about a year ago when she fell and broke some ribs, she was still cutting her grass with a tractor and bush hog. She has a daughter Judy, and another son, Fred.
Another long-time family in the Curtis Community is the
Frank Donaldson family.
Pictured here are children of Jessie Lee and Frank Donaldson (all seated).
Mack and his wife Mary Dean, Syble Henderson and Linda Newman. Their mother died this year at the age of 99. Not present today were daughters Frankie and Mary Ella. A brother, Buck, is deceased. The lady in red is a cousin, Helen Cowen Murphy.
Also pictured here is Sara Calhoun Donaldson, wife of Buck Donaldson. She and Buck lived near his mother. She recently sold her home and moved to Enterprise after Buck died. Sara grew up in Elba. Her brother Fred married Edith Jones, sister of Earl, Ned and Evelyn.
And who can forget the Jones family and the two Jacobs families. Pictured here is Earl Jones, son of J.C. and Lena Jones. On the right is his wife Dorothy (Dot) Jacobs Jones, daughter of Bud and Jewel Jacobs. Between them is their daughter Susan. Dot and Earl spent their married life in Opp but still count New Ebenezer as their "home" church. I remember going to their wedding on a hot summer evening in the old church.
Pictured here are two other members of the Cowen and Jacobs families - Helen Cowen Murphy and Dollie Jacobs Moore.No doubt they are "catching up" with things going on with their families. Helen lives in Smiths, AL and Dollie lives in Dothan.
Dollie has 4 deceased siblings: Dora, Richard, Charlie and Cassidy.
One sister Annie "Boots" lives in Dallas, TX. and another sister, Dot Jones was at the reunion today.
These are just a few of the many families represented at the homecoming today. I was the only one of 7 members of my family attending. My 5 sisters live in FL, NC, and MD. My only brother Perry Wilson lives in Elba but doesn't come to the homecomings at Curtis very often.
I love going to homecomings, whether it is church, school or family reunions. I remember reading a poem one time that was something like this:
Homecoming notes the reality that the more each of us is rooted in a community where we feel at home, the more joyful energy we have available for this journey of transformation of self, church and world. As Anne Peterson’s Homecoming poem reads, “If home is where the heart is—Some safe, comfortable place Where one is loved as-is, without condition—Then you are home.”I guess that in today's world it will be difficult for children to claim a "hometown" as families are so mobile. I have to think that our boys call Paris, TX their hometown since this is where they spent their early years and graduated from high school there. They went to college in Texas also. Son Ron lives in Austin, TX and Bill has been in Florence, SC for the past 15 years.
