Relatively remarkable: 125th family reunion

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Katie Rickman | The Vindicator: The Cyrus-Ormes-Manzilla 125th Annual Reunion (COMAR) took place July 26 at Centennial Park in Salem. Many generations of family members have gathered there over the years to celebrate a rich family legacy.

By Sean Barron | Special to The Vindicator

SALEM

If you ask Gayle Ormes-Hawthorne how a longtime family reunion has been able to continue unabated through two world wars, 21 presidencies and parts or all of three centuries, don’t expect a complicated, drawn-out reply.

“They believed in tradition and being with family and coming together once a year,” the Youngstown woman said, referring to those who started COMAR, which represents the Cyrus, Ormes and Manzilla Annual Reunion, in 1890 near Beloit. Ormes-Hawthorne serves as the organization’s president.

One hundred twenty-five years later, an estimated 65 to 70 members of all three families came to Centennial Park, off East Pershing Street, from near and far to celebrate the latest gathering, which takes place the last Saturday in July. It didn’t take long for everyone to settle in for a barbecued meal, to enjoy one another’s company and catch up a bit.

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Katie Rickman | The Vindicator: Joann Armes of Pittsburgh looks at an old photograph of Edward Howard, whose son Charles Howard, according to family members, is the namesake of Howard Street in Salem. Joann celebrated with roughly 65 relatives when they gathered in Salem.

Many attendees wore light-blue T-shirts that read, “Benjamin Harrison-Barack Obama,” referring to the fact that Harrison, the nation’s 23rd president, was in office when the reunion got underway. Also on hand were several poster boards displaying newspaper articles and photographs of family members around the turn of the 20th century.

The reunion began after Miles Manzillo, a wealthy farmer who owned about 80 acres near Beloit, accompanied Quakers from Virginia to the Mahoning Valley. Manzillo and his second wife, Anna M. Cyrus, had twin daughters, Martha and Margaretta. Martha started the first reunion on the Manzillo farm close to Beloit, noted Ormes-Hawthorne, a retired bookkeeper.

Edinboro Cyrus, the family patriarch who was a barber by trade, brought eight of his 10 children to Augustus, Ohio, in Carroll County. Two of the children, John and Lavina Cyrus, married Elizabeth Ormes and William P. Ormes Jr., who also were brother and sister, said Ormes-Hawthorne, adding that Lavina was her great-great grandmother.

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Katie Rickman | The Vindicator: Vicki Adams-Hill of Toledo, above right, commemorates the moment with her relative Terri Whipple of Youngstown by taking their picture together at the family reunion.

In addition, some early Ormes family members came to Northeast Ohio from Maryland and, fearing he might be forced back into slavery, one fled to Canada, she said. William P. Ormes Sr., who is Ormes-Hawthorne’s great-great-grandfather, was an oil pioneer who drilled many wells in Pennsylvania, she said.

Maintaining tradition may have been highly revered and valued by family members of long ago, but it was no less important to those today, including Vicki Adams-Hill of Toledo.

“I’ve been coming to this reunion since I was 2 that I know of,” said the 62-year-old retired consultant, who had served in the mental-health and wellness fields.

Adams-Hill, who is an Ormes descendant, recalled during last month’s reunion that a commitment to family was instilled in her at an early age. That’s something she’s tried to pass on, she said.

“There’s so much love in this family,” Adams-Hill said while savoring a meal of ribs, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, green beans and chicken. “It’s our expanded family.”

“I look forward to it and see it as comparable to Christmas,” said Renee Wade, 59, of Marietta, Ga., who is the granddaughter of Mabel Ormes-Clark.

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Katie Rickman | The Vindicator: The Sharper siblings of Youngstown, from left, Keisha, Bryan and Davon, look at a quilt containing family photos from the many years of the Cyrus-Ormes-Manzilla Annual Reunion.

Wade also expressed concern that those of the youngest generation may not be as interested in and passionate about carrying on the tradition. Compounding that worry is that many people in the three families are quite spread out, she said.

If you think that what happens in the three families stays in the three families, think again. Wade also had downloaded on her iPhone a congratulatory note from the White House – with President Obama’s signature – praising the relatives for keeping their reunion and good times going.

Also, visitors to Centennial Park may notice a small plaque that Key Bank and the Salem Historical Society had dedicated July 25, 1998. The inscription called for celebrating a mere 108 years of COMAR.