Adams-Brown Family Reunion Newsletter - June 2018

ISSUE NO. 3

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JUNE 2018

DEADLINE APPROACHING FAST! ALL MONEY IS DUE BY JULY 7TH!!!

Please be sure turn in all money for shirts, tours and banquet on or before July 7th. If you have any questions, please reach out to Penny Hall or Sandra Brewster.

WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE DEADLINE INFORMATION SIBLING SPOTLIGHT HOTEL INFORMATION HEALTH CORNER "UNCONDITIONAL" EPISODE 3 AND MORE!

Thursday, July 26th Get Re-Acquainted Night Friday, July 27th Dinner Banquet Saturday, July 28th DuSable Museum Tour and Six Flags Sunday, July 29th Cookout

Dinner Banquet Once again, the banquet will be held at Drury Lane. The banquet hall is within one mile of the hotel. Dinner will consist of the following: Your choice of entree: Bistro Steak - Merlot Mushroom Sauce ($45/person) Herb Roasted Half Chicken - Rosemary, Oregano, and Thyme ($42/person) Fresh Filet of Salmon - Champagne Dill Sauce ($45/person) Green Garden Salad - Butter Whipped Potatoes - Fresh Vegetable Medley Ice Cream CHILDREN'S MEALS ARE AVAILABLE ($25/child 2 - 8 years old) Your choice of chicken tenders, hamburger, or cheeseburger and fries. Ice cream for dessert.

T-shirt pricing All shirts are unisex Children's S, M, L - $15 Adult S, M, L, XL - $15 Adult XXL and up - $20 This year, everyone is encouraged to wear black bottoms.

Tours DuSable Museum - Ticket Price - $12/person Transportation pricing is still being determined.

Six Flags - Ticket Price - $38/person Transportation pricing is still being determined.

PAYMENT AND ORDERING INFORMATION - DEADLINE JULY 7, 2018 Payments should be sent via check or money order to: Penny Hall 147 N Wood Apartment 3N Chicago, IL 60612 Payments can be made electronically via Google Pay to Penny Hall at HallPenny826@gmail.com

The Hyatt Place Chicago-Lombard $129.00/night including breakfast To book online: https://lombard.place.hyatt.com/chizlgadbr2018.html To book via phone: 888.492. 8847 - Block Code is ADBR Dates: July 26 - July 29, 2018 The rate remains the same for each night.

You don't have to stay all nights to take advantage of the rate.

PAUL HALL Born April 25th, 1951 Spouse: Michelle Hall

Favorites

Color: Black Food: Macaroni and cheese, greens, and chicken Musician: The Temptations

Legacy 6 Children: Areltta Byrd, Donnisia Hall, Eunique Hall, Paul Hall, Jr., Damaris Hall, and Joshua Hall 13 Grandchildren

Interview What does family magic means to you?

Things that happen w/family when you grow & see them grow. Trust the process. Take it how it comes. Watching it unravel. Watching things evolve. Present atmosphere.

Being there when the growth is happening in the present.

Enjoying the growth. Trusting God.ugh, and joke. That's the magic of family - just love.

What do you consider to be your role in the family as it relates to your siblings?

Role model. Pace setter. Voice of reason, justice and God. What is your first memory of Big Mama Hattie?

Very faint relationship, didn’t know her well. She was quiet and nice.

What is your favorite part of the reunion or the part that you look forward to the most?

Meeting & greeting with loved ones, out of town family. Just being able to be with family.

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What is your favorite childhood memory?

Always picked up by my father’s aunt. Being spoiled by them. At the age of 10-12 moving on Richmond and meeting the McGee’s! Family meant a lot. The camaraderie with siblings. Just having family around.

JOANNE HALLLOCKAHART Born April 27, 1960 Spouse: Wayne Lockhart

Favorites

Color: White Food: Fettuccini alfredo with shrimp, chicken and broccoli Musician: Boney James

Legacy 3 Children: Antonio Hall, Brandon Hall, and Ashley Fulton 10 Grandchildren

Interview

What does family magic mean to you?

Time spent together making memories good or bad.

What would you say is your role in the family as it relates to your siblings?

Negotiator, supporter, listener.

What is your first memory of big Mama Hattie?

She used to come and visit, she would say 'come here gal.' She was sitting on Mama's bed and I asked Mama who she was and Mama said that's your grandma. I was little. She used to kill me with saying gal. ☺ I was 8 or 9.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

Christmas time always was a big to do at the house.... Christmas

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What is your gift or talent and how did you discover it?

When I figured out I could do hair. Discovered it because I like doing my own, then sisters/cousins started asking me to do their hair. Somewhere around my early twenties."

KIRK HALL Born November 5, 1960 Spouse: Kerry Hall

Favorites

Color: Powder Blue Food: Chitterlings Song: Slave - Watching You

Legacy 4 Children: Curtis Perry, Harrison Allen, Myrical Hall, Jasmine Hall 3 Grandchildren

Interview

What does family magic mean to you?

Family should always be together, always love one another, look out for one another, and support one another.

What is your role in the family?

Make sure everyone stay together and love one another.

Make sure everything goes straight, be straight, and go straight. You go through me to get to everyone else. I am the glue.

What is your first memory of Big Mama Hattie?

When I went down south and she brought out them brown eggs and I didn't want to eat them because they were brown.

So I took my dumb self in the back yard in the forest and got stung by some bees.

Who was the most influential sibling you have?

Penny. She made me get on my "Ps" and "Qs" - then I find out she was only 5 years older than me.

Tell us about a time where you had to step into the big brother role on behalf of one of your siblings.

I played the big brother role to Donald when his wife called to hunt him down and I had to get him back home safe.

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SANDRA HALL-BREWSTER Born July 24, 1955

Interview

Favorites

Legacy

Color: Black Food: Steak Musician: Boney James and Kirk Whalum (it’s a tie) Song: Kirk Whalum and George Duke (collaboration) – Because You Loved Me

3 Children: Carla Curry, Jeanine Plase, and Arthur Brewster 7 Grandchildren

What does family magic mean to you?

There is magic in almost every aspect of family. The fact that each family is uniquely structured is magical. Families are not defined as having a dad, mom and child(ren). Families identify themselves by the people who come together to love, support, nurture, and give their best selves for each other. Families can be headed by one parent, grandparent, aunt/uncle, sibling, non-relative adult, etc. The possibilities are varied. These are the immediate families, as they are called, that we all are born into or are placed in through divine intervention. The magic is in just knowing that the structure of the family is not as important as what that family means to everyone involved, especially the children. Families know that every day is not going to be easy, you might not always agree, but ultimately you have each other’s back. Magic can also be found in the fact that people in a family are very distinct in the way they are built internally, their strengths, weaknesses and gifts. Considering the 13 of us, we are all very different with our own personality, passions, talents and world view. This is true whether family members are biologically related by sharing a parent or not. With the help of our creator, families find a way to not merely exist, but thrive and prosper on some level. What that looks like for each family is what works for them in their world and that’s magical!

What would you say is your roles in the family, as if relates to your siblings?

First, let me say that this question might best be answered in reverse by asking my siblings what they think my role is in relation to them. But, answering the question before me, I have often been told, and have come to realize and appreciate, that I am most like my father. Daddy was a stern disciplinarian, but he had to be with 13 kids, right? At the same time, Daddy was complex. He was something different to the 13 of us and to others outside of the Hall family who knew him. I feel this applies to most people, and it applies to me as well. Basically, my role is and always has been transitional. The one thing that I try to do is bring something to the table that I think the family needs at that moment in time. I try to offer an alternate perspective by approaching the conversation at hand from a different point of view. This could be something different for each one of my siblings and of course it would also be a function of my perspective of what that need might be, which is always changing and evolving.

What is your 1st memory of Big Mama Hattie?

Unfortunately, my first memories are not sharp. There are snapshots of the times that Big Mama would come to visit before we moved on Fillmore, but they are not very vivid. The memory that is much more graphic for me is sitting on the front porch (on Fillmore) combing Lisa’s hair. Lisa and I were sitting on the stairs, and Big Mama and Mama were sitting in chairs on the porch behind us. If anyone has tried to part hair into sections before putting the rubber band or ponytail holder around the hair, you might know how frustrating that can be. Every time I would part Lisa’s hair and gather it together to put the rubber band on it, the part would shift. After several failed attempts to get it just right (because I can be a little anal at times), Big Mama said something to the effect of, “I ain’t never seen nobody take that long to comb nobody’s hair. Why don’t you just finish combing that baby’s hair and stop pulling on it?” Her comment was a little surprising to me not only because I had no idea that she was watching me that closely, but also because I had not heard her speak with so much exasperation before. She was clearly annoyed! When I think about it, Mama shared this same personality trait with her mother. They were both loving, nurturing soft spoken women, but don’t cross a certain line. If you did, they would not hesitate to escort you right back in your place. I might have a little of that in me, too. Love these women!

What is your fondest childhood memory?

Holidays are my most fondest childhood memories. Daddy and Mama made Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and all the “barbeque days” something to look forward to for us. The music playing in the background with Mama and Daddy singing and dancing together, the meat grilling on the back porch or in the back yard, the smell of the Christmas tree and the dinner, toys, laughter – it was the absolute best. We were oblivious to what had to take place in the background for them to pull it off, but somehow, some way, they made it happen. Since there were so many of us, we did not always get a lot of stuff, but that didn’t matter as much. The whole atmosphere around the house during the holidays were the times when I felt that all was right in my world.

What part of the reunion do you look forward to the most?

I look forward to the coming together. In addition to having family members gather in one place again, this includes having plans come together and seeing everyone’s hard work in trying to pull this thing off actually come to fruition. Those who have done this can appreciate that this is a process that demands a level of commitment, focus, collaboration and even sacrifice like nothing else. Seeing that all come together reminds me of where we, the Chicago group, all started. Hall family holidays did not start on Fillmore, but we as a family spent more time in the house on Fillmore (we moved there in December 1965) than anywhere else. Just to have the opportunity to take the seed that Daddy planted by having holiday celebrations on Fillmore and expanding that to our extended family on Mama’s side of the family is no easy task. When we hear that others outside of the family are looking forward to coming to Chicago to celebrate family yet again really is something to look forward to after all that goes into putting the reunion together. Family members in Arkansas and California probably have similar feelings when the torch is passed to them to host the reunion. The point of it all is to offer great, welcoming hospitality to people with whom we share DNA. It’s always heartwarming to see family from across the country and catch up on where life has taken us. As the reunion has grown, there’s some anticipation about which family members will be participating this time – maybe even for the first time outside of their home town. Coming together gives us another chance to marvel at where the family is now compared to where we were when we, the 13 HFA members, were children growing up – from the time Oscar was born in Arkansas all the way to Lisa filling that 13th slot in Chicago. We have come a long way and based on the many generations of family across the entire Adams-Brown spectrum, this family is destined to keep growing.

Easy Fried Rice

The great thing about this recipe is that you can add whatever you would like! This recipe contains bacon, chicken, and ham. It is the perfect fried rice base and they say the secret ingredient to get the authentic chinese taste is sesame oil. Whatever it may be it is fantastic!

Ingredients 3 cups cooked rice * 2 Tbs sesame oil 1 small white onion, chopped 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce (more or less to taste) 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 Tbsp chopped green onions (optional)

Directions Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Pour sesame oil in the bottom. Add white onion and peas and carrots and fry until tender.

Slide the onion, peas and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.

Add the rice to the veggie and egg mixture. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through and combined. Add chopped green onions if desired.

Homemade Garlic Cheese Breadsticks

This garlic cheese breadsticks recipe puts Pizza Hut and all pizza chains around the country to shame. The breadsticks start with an easy pizza dough recipe which is perfectly chewy and flavorful (thanks to a hint of garlic salt) on the inside but crispy on the outside. Next, brush on a melted garlic and Italian seasoning butter which then completely cover with a thick layer of shredded cheeses, parmesan and parsley. Once baked, it becomes heavenly!

Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour 1½ teaspoon garlic salt 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 1½ teaspoon dry active yeast ¾-1 cup lukewarm water 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 tablespoons salted butter 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 2 cups Italian Shredded Cheese blend ½- 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese parsley for garnish Optional: Warm pizza sauce for serving

Directions In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, garlic salt, sugar, yeast and slowly add in water.

Mix together until dough is created.

Using your hands knead for one minute and form a ball.

Spread 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a separate bowl and transfer pizza dough to that bowl.

Cover with a paper towel for 1 hour or until dough has doubled.

Reheat oven to 425 degrees.

Roll out dough on your pizza stone or baking sheet.

Add butter, garlic powder and Italian seasoning to a small bowl and microwave until melted. Whisk together then brush on dough.

Next sprinkle dough with shredded cheese then parmesan cheese.

Lastly, sprinkle with parsley.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until dough has browned and cheese is melted and golden.

Cut bread into sticks and serve with warm pizza sauce if desired.

I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body but I come alive with wind. What am I?

Unconditional

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:2830 (NIV)

Misunderstood

“I laughed so hard I could barely breathe. My younger brother was funny, but this joy I feel right now is not because he was ranting about our sister Josephine, I feel joy because I missed my family and today Davis reached out to me. It was good to hear his voice. “...Yeah man” Davis laughs “she hung up on me! I didn’t get a chance to tell her what I was calling for....” I sat up in my office chair with tears of laughter rolling down my face “So what been going on?” I asked. I listened for almost 2 hours as he told me all the things good and bad about our family. How Josephine needed to leave Tony and that Rita is still living like a diva and didn’t work. Kirby and Savannah only called when they needed something, on holidays and special occasions. He told me about Zara is going off to college and Kia taking time off to discover herself (whatever that means).

He told me that his daughter Ava was doing well, her boyfriend was good to her and they were expecting a baby. I could not believe that it has been 8 years since I’ve spoken to or heard from anyone in my family.

“Duke, man, we have got to start keeping in touch” Davis told me, I promised him that I would. We hung up and I begin to reflect on my family, I wished that things were different. I missed the times when we would celebrate each holiday with tons of food, laughter and music. Every Sunday my parents prepared a huge meal. We would eat, play games, and listen to

my father and his best friend Uncle G tell stories about the “good ol’ days”. My mother would correct them when they exaggerated. I loved to see her sitting on his lap rubbing his head as he told stories. After a while they would turn on record player and play my father’s favorite music. We listened to Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Little Richard, and, my namesake, Duke Ellington. After a couple songs my mother would play Duke Ellington’s “Take the A Train” and we knew it was time for bed. My parents would turn our living room into a tavern, there was a lot of smoking and drinking, gambling and of course fights. Davis and I would peek out of the room to see our parents dancing together at the end of the party. I loved seeing them, united, my father was good to us.

July 4th 1990, my father was in a fatal car accident. He was on his way home from the grocery store and a semi‐truck hit his car and he slammed into a wall. The driver fell asleep at the wheel, Uncle G was a lawyer and he advised my mother to sue the trucking company, and she did. The judge ordered a wrongful death settlement for $11 M combined, most would think this tragedy would have brought us closer (and for a while it did) but this tragedy was the beginning of the end for us. Each of my father’s children received $1.5 M and my mother received $3.5 M. A year after the annuity payments began to roll in, my mother received a subpoena, she was being sued by my father’s “other” 3 children. They felt that they were entitled to the money as well. My thought was, well if these are his children then they are entitled to something. My family hated me for that. My mother stopped speaking to me. She called me every name but a child of God. My three sisters cursed me out every time I came around. When I walked into the room everyone would stop talking or leave.

Davis and I had a physical fight because he didn’t agree with me either. I understood my mother’s pain, but I believe we are supposed to do what is right. It may not have been the popular thing to do, but it was the right thing to do.

I smiled again as I thought about all the good times, I missed how we laughed. Alright Duke, I told myself, I think it’s time that we reunite. I stood tall behind my desk as I prepared for a business meeting. It feels good to know my brother was thinking about me.

CONGRATULATIONS to Maya Curry, Aniyah Plase, Nyshaun Walker, and Ethan Washington on their 8th Grade graduations!

Congratulations to Kenedi Ebanks on her High School graduation!

Submit all "Celebrations" entries to: The HFA Newsletter Committee hfanewsletter@gmail.com

We hope you have thoroughly enjoyed the third installment of the The Magic Monthly. If you have any questions or feedback, please reach out to the HFA Newsletter Committee. hfanewsletter@gmail.com HFA Newsletter Committee Yolanda Robinson - Tierra Muhammad Antonio Hall - Marisa Dickson - Carla Curry