COLRAIN — Descendants of Colrain’s original settlers are invited to reminisce on their families’ stories and connections to the town at the 31st reunion of the Catamount Hill Association.
The reunion, which is held every five years, will celebrate 150 years of the association and the people “bound together” by shared familial roots in the hills, Catamount Hill Association historian Prentice Crosier said. Festivities will commence on Saturday, Aug. 9, at 1 p.m. at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center, 53 Main St. in Shelburne Falls.
“It’s important to us, descendants of the settler families,” Crosier said of the association’s reunions. “By 1875, people had started to realize America had a history, and people who had migrated away came back for reunions.”
Crosier said that while Colrain was first settled in 1731 and incorporated in 1761, the town did not really start to grow until after the Revolutionary War ended, at which time soldiers living in Boston and other areas of eastern Massachusetts accessed their bonds from the federal treasury and sought to buy land and develop their own homesteads.
“Really, people didn’t settle on this section of land because it wasn’t very desirable. It wasn’t fertile and it was very hilly,” Crosier said.
Catamount Hill was first settled by roughly 50 families. Descendants of these settlers meet every five years for a reunion, also known as a quinquennial. Crosier said each reunion is opened with a ringing of a cowbell and a roll call of which descendants are present.
“We mostly talk about our genealogy, but we also reminisce on our family stories and catch up because we’re all good friends now,” Crosier said.
The reunion will include Crosier’s historian’s report on research he has done and artifacts collected by the association, and descendants will be invited to read poems and share stories about each family’s experiences living on Catamount Hill. Additionally, this year’s reunion will include a keynote presentation from singer-songwriter Erica Wheeler.
Wheeler’s presentation will “evoke stories and conversation to deepen our appreciation of the hill, and ensure our stories and our places in them endure for future generations,” Crosier said. Descendants are welcome and encouraged to share their family histories with Wheeler ahead of time so they can be incorporated into the presentation.
“It’s open to descendants of the hill and friends with an interest in protecting the hill,” Crosier said. “You don’t have to be a descendant to come.”
Crosier said anyone who is interested in sharing their family’s story and connection to Catamount Hill can email catamounthill1875@gmail.com.
