Five hundred has quickly ballooned into 3,500 for the Lincoln City Reunion over the years.
Kinston will host the Memorial Day weekend event for a sixth year starting Saturday afternoon, drawing hundreds in some way connected to the city’s historic neighborhood.
Lincoln City was one of the first concentrated, black neighborhoods in Kinston, dating back as early as 1914. The area was located east of Maplewood Cemetery and included about 12 streets.
While some of its schools and businesses faded from existence as Lincoln City grew, the wrath of Hurricane Floyd wiped the historically black neighborhood off Kinston grounds in 1999.
Former residents said it’s currently unrecognizable.
“It devastated everything,” said Ressie Williams, who is primarily responsible for starting the annual gathering in Lincoln City. “It was good living here. It was peaceful. We played together, we laughed together; everybody just helped raise the city.”
The absence of such fellowship ignited the idea of a reunion. Williams said after she discussed it with her sister, Eartha Mumford, the event immediately grew in support and numbers.
Last year, Mumford said nearly 3,500 people from as far as Michigan and Texas gathered at the Lincoln City Reunion — which could grow to more than 4,000 this weekend.
“We want to make sure that the families near and far always have a connection,” Mumford said. “The flood tore us apart, but the community keeps us together.”
Former Lincoln City residents, their family and friends will meet for the reunion’s welcoming day Saturday at Pearson Park from 1-7 p.m. The starter day will prepare visitors for the grand picnic and ceremony Sunday at Holloway Center beginning at 2 p.m.
Reunion-goers will make presentations about the neighborhood’s history, and organizers have various activities set in place for people of all age groups. Nine committee members helped organize the reunion.
“It’s just been family, food and fun — the three ‘Fs,” Williams said of the two-day celebration. “We’ve just been having a wonderful time.”
The event is always hosted on Memorial Day weekend, and coordinators said they are planning to eventually have the Lincoln City area cleaned up. They would like to see some type of memorial placed and to hold the reunion on the site in the future.
“The reason we keep it going is because it’s a family community that has never been broken,” Mumford said. “When they come on this ground Sunday … all they will see in Lincoln City — where we come from, how we’re established, the love and the unity and the relationships that we have handed down through the years.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
For more information about the Lincoln City Reunion, contact
Eartha Mumford at 252-320-5211 or Ressie Williams at 919-583-1559