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WEIR —
The Weir Civic Club organizes the town’s annual homecoming festival, but one family in particular holds the show together, officials say.
Civic Club member Gretchen Andrews said the homecoming would difficult to pull off without the hard work of Milt Alexander and his family. His children are scattered across the country, but come home early each year to help make sure everything is ready to go.
“We couldn’t do it without Milt,” Andrews said.
This year is a special year for the Alexanders. Milt and his wife, Lana, are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and all the kids came home this year. There’s son, Matt, who drove his Harley Davidson motorcycle down from Sidney, Montana; son, Mark, who’s up from Marshall, Texas; daughter, Bobbie, who came from Birmingham, Ala.; and daughter Shauna, who’s up from Houston.
“My sisters and I help dad a lot with this,” said Matt, who helped with the baseball and football throws — Mark was the announcer for the parade and kids games. “This is the first time I’ve been this in quite a few years. It’s a family thing for us to get together and help.”
Matt said he arrived Wednesday night and that the Alexander clan was up early Thursday morning hanging banners, decorating light posts and getting the ingredients together for the annual free chili and bean feed.
“It’s nice to see a lot of the people you don’t get to see very often, and people I see on Facebook a lot.”
Andrews said Milt — who wasn’t immediately available to talk — had worked for months to make sure everything but the weather was in line.
“He’s kind of the glue that keeps it all together,” Andrews said. “It’s a good testament to him that his kids come back to help every year. It speaks volumes about his family’s ethics that they’re spending their vacation time keeping the traditions alive. For a lot of these people it’s the time of year we get to see each other.”
The Weir Civic Club organizes the town’s annual homecoming festival, but one family in particular holds the show together, officials say.
Civic Club member Gretchen Andrews said the homecoming would difficult to pull off without the hard work of Milt Alexander and his family. His children are scattered across the country, but come home early each year to help make sure everything is ready to go.
“We couldn’t do it without Milt,” Andrews said.
This year is a special year for the Alexanders. Milt and his wife, Lana, are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and all the kids came home this year. There’s son, Matt, who drove his Harley Davidson motorcycle down from Sidney, Montana; son, Mark, who’s up from Marshall, Texas; daughter, Bobbie, who came from Birmingham, Ala.; and daughter Shauna, who’s up from Houston.
“My sisters and I help dad a lot with this,” said Matt, who helped with the baseball and football throws — Mark was the announcer for the parade and kids games. “This is the first time I’ve been this in quite a few years. It’s a family thing for us to get together and help.”
Matt said he arrived Wednesday night and that the Alexander clan was up early Thursday morning hanging banners, decorating light posts and getting the ingredients together for the annual free chili and bean feed.
“It’s nice to see a lot of the people you don’t get to see very often, and people I see on Facebook a lot.”
Andrews said Milt — who wasn’t immediately available to talk — had worked for months to make sure everything but the weather was in line.
“He’s kind of the glue that keeps it all together,” Andrews said. “It’s a good testament to him that his kids come back to help every year. It speaks volumes about his family’s ethics that they’re spending their vacation time keeping the traditions alive. For a lot of these people it’s the time of year we get to see each other.”
