Bob (Robert) McNaughton, Chief of the Year
Nairn Recreation Park, Nairn, ON
Saturday, July 14th, 2018
Welcome to our 91st Reunion of the Stewarts from Glen Lyon, Perthshire, Scotland! Thank you for choosing to attend. You came from near and far, by plane and car to continue the celebration of our rich heritage that unites us all.
It’s an honour and a privilege to be your Chief of the Year for 2018! I’m following in the footsteps of my Grandfather, Alex M Stewart, my Father, Gordon McNaughton, and my Mother, Evelyn McNaughton, who all took their turn as Presidents and Chiefs.
My remarks will be brief, however I trust that my message will be heard.
Thank you to our 2018 Stewart Reunion Committee that I was fortunate to work with. It is a team effort and we are all volunteers who chose to step forward.
The woman behind the scenes for the last four years who makes the Chiefs look good is our Secretary-Treasurer, Jane MacKenzie. Thanks for your dedication and commitment. Unfortunately for us, Jane is moving out of the country and will not be able to continue as Secretary-Treasurer.
Our Social Convenor is Liz McHugh. Thank you for your ongoing dedication and support of our reunion so we all get fed!
Thanks also to Gail McNaughton for assisting behind the scenes on our Social and Planning Committees! She is also our photographer today and drew a welcome doodle art for our reunion.
Our Past Chief, Gay Spooner provided feedback and ideas. Thank you Gay! Her daughter is getting married in England so she was not able to be here today but sent her best wishes last night.
Thank you to Margaret Bennet-Alder for your project management to ensure that our website was updated by your son, David, and your neighbour, Christina. Please thank them for their technical expertise.
Why are we in Nairn? Two Stewart family lines emigrated to Williams Township in Middlesex County from 1831 to 1846. As a child attending East Williams public school across from the Nairn Cemetery, I didn’t know the significance of Nairn and East Williams for the Stewart family! You can find more Stewart family details from my 2014 Chief’s message on our stewartreunion.ca website.
It’s interesting how our priorities and interests change throughout life. As a young boy, I remember being dragged to the Stewart Reunion with our family. In 1962, as a bribe, I was encouraged to take a friend to the Reunion and I’m glad I did as we are both in the group photo holding the Stewart flag. My friend died in a car accident a few years later.
I’m the first born child and my Mother was first born in her family. I noticed that many of our Stewart cousins that are active with our reunion are first born. Is there a statistical significance to this? How many of you are first born? Youngest in the family? Middle children? Perhaps first born children feel a responsibility to carry on the family heritage?
Life is about choices. We all chose to attend this Reunion. Some of us chose to be active as Committee members. Generations before us started and were proud to keep this tradition alive for 91 years, however, our Reunion is now an endangered species.
Unless we have volunteers step forward to continue our Stewart Reunion, there will not be a celebration on the second Saturday of July next year or the year after, or the year after that. Will we make it to 100?
Here are some quotes from former Chiefs and our Secretary-Treasurer:
“To keep having these gatherings requires continued interest and participation”, Mary Alice McCormick Porter, Chief of the Year, 2013.
“Let’s reawaken some old memories while we make new ones”, Jane MacKenzie, Secretary-Treasurer.
“We will all be “ancestors” one day and I hope that the family that comes after us will continue to appreciate that we are all an accumulation of our own life experiences and the lives of those who have gone before. Let us keep the connection. To celebrate THAT is the most important”, Carole Stewart Anderson, Chief in 2016.
Perhaps you have a young adult that could benefit from volunteer hours working with you or a cousin on our Committee?
Many of you completed a brief survey that was sent out a week ago to help keep our annual Stewart Reunion alive. For those of you who haven’t, Liz will pass them out now.
We received encouraging support and suggestions. First I want to share an important story from Don Stewart. He thinks we should remember why the Stewart Reunion began. There were fourteen Stewart brothers and sisters trying to visit one family at a time. Don’s father, Roy, had 96 first cousins, most of them were Stewarts.
The Stewart family siblings decided to have a one day picnic with both dinner and supper so they could see everyone at one time in one place and have lots of time for visiting, sports and stories. This formed the basis for a very strong Reunion for many years.
The early Stewart Reunions started with dinner at 1 pm and supper at 5 pm before everyone went home to do their farm chores. In the early 30s, refrigerators were rare and so was ice cream. An enticement for everyone at the reunion was the Silverwoods ice cream truck that arrived at 5 pm and was the signal to serve supper. The ice cream came in one or two heavy canvas bags, with two gallon drums in each bag. It was kept cold with dry ice and was very hard when it was opened and was a big job for the men who didn’t have proper scoops. Roy Stewart and other men served the ice cream which was a highlight of the Reunion. Don remembers waiting for the ice cream truck to arrive.
Well we don’t have to wait until 5 pm today! The ice cream is already here, courtesy of Bob and Gail McNaughton, and is ready to serve. It is Caramel Turtle Fudge in memory of my Mother, Evelyn’s turtle collection. We have two professional scoopers, Ron and Mary Daniel, who will serve you now.
After you enjoy your ice cream and desserts, please take five minutes and complete the survey. You can also show your interest or nominate someone for any of the volunteer positions. We’d love to have so many that we need an election!
We’ll tally the results of the surveys as they are completed and review them after our ice cream break. They will also be posted on our website for your review.
Gail’s doodle art
2018 Stewart Reunion Survey
Completed – 21 Online + 15 Paper = 36 Total
1. What is the main reason that you attend the Stewart reunion?
2. What is the main reason that you do not/can not attend the Stewart reunion?
3. What date is most convenient for you?
First Saturday in July ____ 5
Second Saturday in July ____ 27
Other ____ 2
4. Where would you like the reunion to be held?
Nairn Pavilion ____ 26
Springbank Park in London ____ 3
Local Restaurant ____ 2
5. How important is it to you and your family to continue with a Stewart Reunion
beyond this year?
Low ____ 8
Medium ____ 11
High ____ 16
6. How often do you see having a reunion?
Every year ____ 20
Every 2 years ____ 12
Every 5 years ____ 3
7. Should we end the reunion at 100 years in 2027?
Yes ____ 18
No ____ 12
8. Would you be willing to volunteer your time to help with 2019 reunion?
Chief ____ 2
Secretary-Treasurer ____
Social/Food ____ 1
Planning Committee ____ 7
9. Who would you nominate to help with the 2019 Stewart reunion?
Chief ____ Gay Spooner X2 and Greg McIntosh X2
Secretary-Treasurer ____ Laurie Pallett
Social/Food ____
Planning Committee ____
10. What suggestions do you have to make it an inspiring event for others to attend?
Gail’s reading: “Family”
Not enough hours in the day, we often say
we watch as the business of life allows time slip away.
Before we know days turn to months and months into years,
Time is mapped with laughter and cheers,
the long road sometimes landmarked with sadness and tears.
Elders pass and children grow,
has it been that long we ask, where does the time go?
Not every chance to gather is taken.
“We’ll see them next time” we say and hope we’re not mistaken.
A chance like now comes once in a lifetime it seems,
when the bright light of family is nurtured and beams,
there will be laughter and time to reminisce
we will all be proud this is a chance we did not miss.
© Ryan Guerrero
Published: August 2008