They spilled out of SUVs, all parked on a big lawn, and grabbed supplies from the back, like ice and pasta salad and drinks.
They shucked corn, five dozens ears. They marched to the flag pole in single file, about 20 family members, wearing funny hats and flip flops. They raised the American flag and sang the national anthem, and when a cannon the size of a shoebox released a pet-scaring, chest-vibrating boom, the annual Whittemore family reunion in Pembroke, held last Saturday, had signaled its return after a COVID-caused cancelation last summer.
Family members lived in town nearly 300 years ago, before Pembroke was Pembroke. The Whittemore Homestead was built on land granted to Aaron Whittemore in 1738. Harvard-educated, he was the first minister of the town’s Congregational Church, and that, essentially, meant he was top dog.
Aarons II and III, also well-educated and key figures in Pembroke’s early decision-making process, built the house that sits off of Route 3 early in the 19th century. The reunion started in 1903, adding new members to the event through the years.
People have reached out upon hearing about the tradition. But also nutty coincidences have created bonds. Family bonds. Like two Whittemores discovering one another at a business luncheon in Boston, or two others at a Girl Scout Camp in Maine.
That’s what happened to Patty Jenkins. She’s 76 and lives in Braintree, Mass. She had a friend at scout camp.
“Her mother was a Whittemore,” Jenkins said, “so my father’s generation and mine were both invited starting in the late ‘60s and we’ve been coming to the picnic ever since.”
Maybe you’ve driven by the “Whittemore Homestead” sign on busy Route 3, caught a glimpse of the complex and wondered. It includes the white main house out front, an attached part remodeled for use today, a red barn full of antiques that are important to the family and a camp.
People connected to the Whittemores come and go every so often, taking advantage of 77 acres and history at every turn. The main house has a smoking room, called the South Parlor, once used by men only. There’s a bread oven built into the stone next to the fireplace. There’s a photo of Laurence Whittemore with Sherman Adams and President Dwight Eisenhower. Laurence had recommended Adams for Chief of Staff.
The barn features a blueprint of American history, with a ground floor and a loft displaying items from other centuries, plows and signs and tools and a canoe.
Land is leased to farmers who grow corn, and the rows and rows that extend as far as the eye can see could double for the dreamlike home of the 1919 Chicago White Sox of “Field of Dreams” fame.
The family cemetery sits 200 feet away and includes five of the earliest Aarons. The property remains in the family, owned by Fred Whittemore, who lives in New York City and who, at 90, is no longer strong enough to attend the reunions.
Fred and his two late brothers – Charles and Bert – grew up down the street and went to Pembroke Academy. His son, Ted Whittemore, a semi-retired lawyer who lives in Connecticut, manages the property now. He comes here each year and called it “a rhythmic event.”
While Ted has replaced his father on the business end, his first cousin, Ayn Whytemare, is the face behind the event, the organizer, the coordinator, the one who inherited the role from her late father, Bert Whittemore.
Always rebellious, never one to hide her opinions, Ayn changed the spelling of her surname in her 20s and now pronounces it “WHITE-mare.”
“Everybody else on the planet spells it the other way,” Whytemare said, proudly.
She’s the president of the Pembroke Historical Society. She used the reunion to promote a picnic on Saturday at the Homestead. The Society will meet at noon. Then there’s a catered picnic and later a tour of the home and barn.
“People want to know about this house because they drive by every day,” Whytemare said. “This has deep historical roots. I want to show it off.”
Now, with Whytemare leading the charge (she mentioned she could use some help organizing the event), only a pandemic has stopped this tradition. About two dozen people showed up Saturday. The list sometimes extends to 40 or more. Name tags were worn and needed.
Jesse Ransom, Charles Whittemore’s daughter and Whytemare’s first cousin, brought her three children. They all shucked corn.
“The first time here was as a baby,” Ransom said. “It was the best thing as a kid, all the cousins gathering. First cousins lived here in Pembroke, but other family is spread all over the place, so this is our time, our highlight of the year.”
Aaron Donovan is Whytemare’s 15-year-old son. He’s a 10th generation Aaron. He missed a few reunions recently while working as a camp counselor.
“But I’m here now,” Aaron said. “I remember the egg toss.”
He played cornhole. Three grills were smoking with burgers. The cornfield, thick and healthy, waited to steal yet another Frisbee, as it’s done in years past. Or maybe a football.
Noon approached. Funny hats were fetched from the barn by Whytemare’s other son, 19-year-old Duncan Donovan. There were fedoras, derbies, berets, Viking horns.
Whytemare said her toughest job each year was gathering everybody in one spot for the family photo. Reunion photos are everywhere, framed on walls inside.
She led a line of about 20 people and her dog to the flagpole and snapped the picture. Aaron pulled the rope, raising a limp flag on a windless day.
Ex-Navy man Tom Davis shot the cannon. Then, in a big part of the tradition, Whytemare made a few announcements, updating everyone on recent news.
Sadly, someone in the family, 7-years-old, lost her battle with cancer in the spring.
Elsewhere, though, Duncan Donovan, Whytemare’s son, was accepted to college in Washington State. Patty Jenkins, a cousin, welcomed her third grandchild.
More news next summer.
“We have been gathering to celebrate our family connections for over 100 years,” Whytemare said, “and I hope to do so for many more.”