FORESTVILLE – The 54th Annual Smith Schmidt Krawiec Family Reunion took place on the King Road farm of Joseph and Rene Granata in Forestville on Aug. 5 and 6, with 84 members in attendance.

Family members met on Friday evening for a hot dog and corn roast and to dress the large pig for roasting, donated by the hosts, under the guidance of Chef John “Andy” Granata.

The all-night crew of Jashua Woods, Vinny Granata, Michael Granata, Frank Giambra, John Smith, Blaine Burgess and Joe Granata cooked the hot dogs and corn and proceeded to arrange the hog on a large spit, season it and attend to the rotating hog for 16 hours. The stainless steel grills were donated by John Schmidt and Blaine Burgess.

The next morning, the family members set up the tables, decorated with red and white balloons, put the beverages on ice, and set up the scrapbook table, the white elephant stand and the welcoming table which was staffed by Angeline Smith Leone and Stella Granata. The tables, chairs and beverages were donated by Norm Schmidt and greatly appreciated.

The door prizes this year included an artistic gooseneck floor lamp created by George Giambra, an autumn watercolor Amish scene painted by Leone, a beach glass framed creation by Stacey Wdowiasz and two American flag sets. The children’s door prizes consisted of a large, plastic water gun and a yogurt making kit.

The White Elephant booth was organized by Alexis Granata, Laurie Siracuse and Julie Granata and it held a huge array of treasures and one-of-a-kind creations. The youngest members of the family were asked to draw the winning tickets.

Matt Smith obtained a snow cone machine for the youngsters in attendance, but the adults in the group used it as well to make wine slushies to cool off on the very warm and humid day.

Shirley Smith of Bradenton, Fla. donated the Greatest Hits Band from 1 to 4 on Saturday for the musical enjoyment of all in attendance. The Granata hosts started a bocce ball game. Corn hole and ladder golf ball were other games that were provided. With plenty of space available, members played frisbee and baseball catch throughout the day. Alexis Granata, local childcare provider, organized the children’s games with the help of Kerry Leone and Giambra.

Three-legged races, hula hoop contests, yellow duckie bobbing and a Pinata game were some of the games played. To the delight of all the laughing youngsters, all of the participants were awarded prizes. The family pool and large jungle gym set were opened throughout the day.

Besides the roasted pork, the menu consisted of Polish cheese and potato pierogies, Polish sausage and sauerkraut, Polish dill pickles, baked macaroni and meatballs, salads of every combination, egg burdocks and a large assortment of desserts.

Homemade blueberry buckle and chocolate fudge brownies were determined to be the family favorites.

The oldest family member was Paul Giambra of Loveland, Colo., husband of Lillian Smith Giambra and the youngest member was Logan Woods, formerly of Chesapeake, Va. and now residing in Forestville with his parents, Jashua and Steffanie Woods and his brothers.

A circle of love, with everyone holding red and white balloons, was conducted with the recitation of this year’s deceased member names and a joint prayer was recited as family members acknowledged all past members of the Angeline and Andrew Smith family and the balloons were released into the sky.

Sadly, there were several deaths recorded. Carolyn J.Schmidt, wife of James Schmidt of Dunkirk passed on Oct. 28, 2015. Laroy C. Burgess of Dunkirk, husband of Mary Ann Smith Burgess, died on Jan. 10, 2016. Sara J. Schmidt, wife of John Schmidt of Dunkirk passed on March 24, 2016. Willa Reger Smith, mother of Shawn, Nathan, Matthew and Dawn Smith died on July 7, 2016. Linda Smith, wife of Martin Smith of California passed away on July 7, 2016.

There were no births or weddings recorded this year. The 21st anniversary of Laurie and Ron Siracuse was observed on that day.

Out of state family members Toni Marie and Li Houng and their children, Dominic, Damian and Jordan traveled from Eugene, Ore.; Pat Carr and John Smith traveled from Webster, Fla.; David San George traveled from Franklin, Tenn.; Eddie and Diane Gawronski traveled from Warren, Mich.; Jeanette and Charles Martin traveled from Hudson, Ohio; Jennifer Schmidt traveled from Chicago, Ill. and Louis and Kerry Leone and children Gillian and Pete traveled from Valparaiso, Ind.

Kevin Schmidt, a resident of the Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and son of the late Robert Schmidt, was the honored guest.

Throughout the reunion, photos were taken by Historian Stella Granata and later added to the 12th photo remembrance album. Memorabilia from the year’s activities and accomplishments was included.

A meeting for the next reunion will be held in April 2017 at the VFW Club in Sheridan.

All family members are encouraged to attend with suggestions and volunteering offers. Call Stella Granata to report recent address or phone number changes.

Next year’s reunion will start on Aug. 4 in the evening and will continue on until Aug. 5 for a full day of activities. A special thanks goes out to the hosts, Joe and Rene Granata, and to Stella and Joe Granata for communications and organization.