Roundhouse Reunion a growing celebration

Posted: Saturday, September 18, 2010 8:53 am
By: By JOHN BRANNON

The Messenger 09.16.10

By JOHN BRANNON
Staff Reporter
William Green of Union City remembers September 1983 and the first Roundhouse Reunion September at Reelfoot Lake.
“Only seven people showed up,” he said.
Green, who founded the annual fall outdoor celebration, has been associated with the event 27 years.
“I’ll never forget that first one,” he continued. “The next year, 125 showed up. That was a good sign. Each year, it got better and better.”
Green and his wife, Betty, are promoting the 2010 reunion. It, too, will be held at Blue Bank picnic area on the south shore of Reelfoot Lake. The fun gets under way at noon Sunday and continues until 5.
 “We have five bands that will perform,” Green said. “One of them is Wayne Worley and the Worleybirds of Jacksonville, Fla. Another is the Country Renegades of Obion. The Renegades have been with us at least 20 years.”
Parking spaces for vehicles and concession stands and nearby restaurants will be available.
“We hope there’s good weather Sunday,” Green said. “We got rained out last year and had to reschedule it. But the weather’s been pretty and it’s not as hot as a couple of weeks ago.”
Remember when
“Back in the 1950s when I was growing up, the Roundhouse was the only place we teenagers could go to have a little fun, and it didn’t cost us anything to hang out there,” Green said. “There were three beaches and the wash-out. On a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, we’d gather and dance to a juke box music and ‘hang out,’ as they say today. That’s where all the young ladies hung out, too. If you wanted to get a date with one, that’s where you went to meet her.”
Green said all good things come to an end sooner or later, and that’s what happened to the Roundhouse get-togethers, which were discontinued in 1963.
“That was the last year, as far as concession stands and all,” he said. “The juke box was still there, but there were no more get-togethers until we started what we call the Roundhouse Reunion.
“Now, with the Roundhouse reunions, we just go back and live a day out of the past.”
Come on down
Green has a message to anyone considering taking part in this year’s event.
“Come on down, as they say. Bring a picnic lunch or visit the concession stands or restaurants,” he said. “Bring folding chairs, sit in the shade. You can sit and visit with friends and family. If you want, you can do some dancing. It’s all in the spirit of good, clean fun and a time for reunion.”
Admission is free.