Ranch Centennial Celebration

In 1908, my great-grandfather, James Wilson, left the coal mines of Tennessee to come to the Sandhills of Nebraska to seek a better life for his family. Under the Kincaid Act of 1904, he took over a relinquished homestead and over the years built up what is now my family ranch—the Lazy Five.

This Saturday, my family held a centennial celebration for the ranch at my parents’ house. Let me just say, it was a wonderful time. My parents had invited all the descendants of my great-grandfather, neighbors, friends, and business associates. We didn’t know how many people to expect and still aren’t sure of the final count, but Jon (who is good at estimating such things) said there were easily over 200 people there.

After a soaking all-day rain on Friday, the weather was sunny, clear, and beautiful. My brother did a lot of work putting together a slide show of the history of the ranch, which constantly ran throughout the day. There was also a varied display of photos showing ancestors, the ranch throughout the years, Hereford bulls, etc., plus several photo albums, historical documents, scrapbooks, and more.

Following a huge lunch with almost every kind of salad and dessert you can imagine, plus some yummy meat my parents’ had catered, Dusty gave a short talk on the history of the Lazy Five. Then, my cousin Ryan played some of my grandparents’ favorites on the guitar and my cousins Wheeler, Kelton, and Weston (with accompaniment from their dad, Troy) entertained us with some down-home fiddle playing. I organized a scavenger hunt for the kids, which gave them a little history while taking them from place to place hunting for clues. Wheeler (the ring bearer in our wedding who’s now 12!), told me it was fun and educational.

I saw cousins and family friends whom I hadn’t seen in years, plus got to meet new friends of my family. We ate good food, played with the umpteen kids who were running all over the place, laughed at jokes and stories, and just plain had a good time.

My immediate family (who planned all of this) didn’t know what to expect, but we were so pleased with how the day turned out. There were a few times when my parents almost decided not to have a party, but now they’re glad they did. Because as my mom said, it’s not as if we’ll be around to do it again in 100 years!