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wonderful musical and social weekend together. The event became a custom we all observed every Labor Day weekend
(well, maybe I had to miss it once or twice because of a schedule conflict). It’s a time for all of us to see one another and
catch up on family matters, and it’s also a time to make music in long and happy sessions that bring out all the old tunes we
had let lie for a while.
We usually convene at the home of Dean and Billie Sue Reed in Rich Creek, VA. Several of the children of Henry Reed live
in the area, not far from where they grew up in Glen Lyn, VA. But others of that generation come from farther away – James
Reed from near Parkersburg, WV, Neal Reed from near Statesboro, GA. Often the grandchildren and great grandchildren of
Henry Reed come, too. There may be other events. We sometimes start the weekend early by attending the Thursday
oldtime music jam at Anna’s Restaurant in Narrows, VA, and some Fridays a group of us plays at the nearby Mountain Lake
resort. We often visit other family members who live nearby. But the big music gatherings are customarily in Dean and Billie
Sue’s backyard and carport.
This event is not the annual Reed Family Reunion, which occurs earlier in the summer. Nor is it the annual public festival in
Glen Lyn, VA – the Henry Reed Memorial Fiddlers Convention, which was launched in 2003
(http://www.gilesmountainstringband.com/henryreed.html). But it has a bit of the feeling of a reunion – a musical reunion that
also attracts friends from the community and from farther away. When James Reed, Bertram Levy, and I produced a CD of
tunes from Henry Reed a few years ago, both the CD itself and the name we gave it – A Henry Reed Reunion – were
inspired by our all having been at the Labor Day get-together the previous year.
The Labor Day gatherings were first celebrated by Dean Reed’s son, Terry Reed, on the website he created as a Henry
Reed Memorial (www.henryreed.org). There are some photographs from earlier Labor Day get-togethers on that site. Here
is a modest sheaf of photographs from the 2005 Labor Day weekend. All the photographs were taken by my wife, Karen
Singer Jabbour.
Alan Jabbour
(l to r) at the Thursday night jam, Anna's Restaurant, Narrows, VA,
September 1, 2005
September 3, 2005
