HomeMy Public PortalAboutGalloway Family40th annual reunion
McCALL — Ther twenty-third year as cook and "continuity" for the annual Galloway Fam-
ily reunion eds today for Mrs. Sadie Spicer, shown above front with Master John Hellings-
worth, great grand nephew of Dr. Thomas C. Galloway of Evanston, Illinois, the only living
child of Weiser area pioneers Thomas and Ma ry Galloway. In rear, left to right, are Dr. Gal-
loway's niece, Mrs. Joe Dyer of Ontario, a gran dniece, Mrs, Dale Hellingsworth of Grand Junc-
tion, Colorado, a grand -nephew, Tac Craven of Sacramento, and Mrs. Spencer S. Willison,
a niece, of Evanston.
What holds a family together
in our contemporary imperson-
al and technical society? For
the four generations of descen-
dents of the late Thomas C. and
Mary F. Galloway of Weiser
it is the annual ten-day Gallo-
way Reunion at Lakeview Vil-
lage, ending its 40th consecut-
ive session today, and the cook-
ing of McCallite Sadie Spicer,
according to Kay Larson of
Portland, a Galloway grandau-
ghter and family archivist.
Over 70 family members
from Washington, Oregon, Ca-
lifornia, Nevada, Colorado,
Illionis and Idaho checked in
during the July 20-30 "clam-
bake" at Payette Lake, includ-
ing the only living son of the
original Weiser Galloways, Dr.
Thomas C. Galloway of Evans-
ton, Illinois. For the 23rd year
Mrs. Spicer took on the job of
preparing meals for the gang,
ranging from 50 to 85 annually,
and has long been an integral
part of the project. Her mid-
day meal, featuring a special
huckleberry cobbler or straw-
berry shortcake, is served first
to the children, fourth genera-
tion offspring, and then to
their elders.
The Galloways first came to
Payette Lake in the summer
of 1888, a three-day wagon and
team trip from Weiser. Among
the nine children, one son,
Charles Galloway and his fami-
ly, also spent many summers
at Price Valley with bands of
sheep, and another son, James
William Galloway, made a
trek to the Thunder Mountain
gold fields in the spring of 19-
02 via Warren, the South Fork
and Elk Summit. Four genera-
tions later, family members
are scattered "all over the
globe".
The large brick family home
in Weiser, built 69 years ago,
still stands as something of a
historic landmark, recalling
memories of the pioneer fami-
ly, who first came to Idaho in
the 1860's, and McCall is the
long-standing traditional meet-
ing place for the annual re-
newal of family ties and re-
minisses of these memories.