Cousin Reunions Added to site February 20, 2003   Every Mother's Day during the early 1960s, my parents and I visited my mother's mother, Emma Buckingham, at her home in Cambridge, Ohio.  On May 13, 1962, we brought a charcoal grill with us, set it up in the back yard near the driveway that led to the basement garage, and cooked Grandma a steak dinner. My father sat at the foot of the table in the basement, while my mother served the food.  Joining us for this 1962 get-together were Grandma's other two children, my Uncle Jim on the far side of the table and my Uncle Ralph with Aunt Esther on the near side. My grandmother died in 1965, but the family wanted to stay in touch.  We started holding a "cousin reunion" each summer, including not only Ralph and Jim but their cousins (the children of Grandma's sisters). “In middle age and older, the cohesion of a whole family can begin to depend on the bonds between cousins,” notes Faith Hill of The Atlantic.  “Along with siblings, cousins become the ones organizing the reunions and the Thanksgiving meals. The slightly random houseguests in your younger years become the stewards of the family in your older ones.” From 1966 through 1969, we met at one of the cousins' homes, in Cambridge or Ann Arbor or Columbus. I was among those who took pictures.  Some of them were posed lineups, such as the one above where I'm sixth from the left.  However, I preferred to try to capture candid moments as they happened, using available light when I could. All these relatives of mine are gone now.  But for what it's worth, here are 14 of my photos of these vanished faces.