Reunions

Southern Living, May 2001 by Austin, Farrah

The Miller family hosts one of the largest summer celebrations in Dallas.

Every second weekend in July is literally Miller time for more than 1,000 Dallas natives and visitors. But the only thing brewing is love. Since 1975 families and friends, with packed coolers full of sandwiches and hearts full of memories, attend the Miller Family Reunion in the Oak Cliff section of town.

The three-day weekend draws everyone from campaigning politicians to neighborhood teenagers. "We're a family without walls," says family historian and researcher Donald Payton, 53.

The reunion commemorates an 1860 Dallas fire and threatened slave uprising for which their ancestors Old Cato, Sam Smith, and Pat Jennings were hanged. The 600-acre plot of land, once used for farming by the Miller family, is now a city park bearing their name. And less than a mile down the road lies a 70-- year-old pink wooden building, the Old Lisbon Colored School, which many family members attended.

"That school is the reason I don't have eyebrows anymore," jokes O.G. Miller, 76. "Every morning I had to make the fire for the classroom. We used coal back then, and one morning the fire got out of hand and blew me from the door all the way to the wall. But, thank God, no one else was hurt."

After an effort was made to condemn the old building, the Millers decided to save it as one of their family reunion service projects. "It gave us a goal other than the reunion itself," states Donald. "We need to have projects to remind us of why we're here."

One year they helped clean and restore the Honey Springs Cemetery in mid-downtown Dallas, where many of their ancestors lie. And this Sunday the family plans to literally band together for a gospel sing.

But even in the midst of family business, there's still room for old-fashioned fun. With as much rhythm as a Texas two-stepper, a short-statured fellow in cowboy boots and hat sways in front of the deejay booth. Aptly and affectionately named Cowboy, he dips and twists more than a bucking bull at a rodeo. He's even been featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for dancing two weeks nonstop. Not one to brag, Cowboy's only reply to questions about the feat is a low-keyed "I like to dance."

And everyone at the affair likes to eat. Only cousin Lonnie Joe's grill, made from an old refrigerator, can meet the challenge of feeding more than 1,000 hungry folks. From Lonnie Joe's barbecue and secret sauces to Aunt Shuts pecan pies, there's always more than enough.

"Right here under this tree was where my grandmother Momma Roxie's house stood," says Donald, pointing to a spot filled with feasting family members. "The people sitting under Momma Roxie's tree are her crew." He points to other sites where homes of Miller ancestors thrived. Each now acts as a meeting place during reunions.

Children romp in a moonwalk donated to the reunion by the local Church's Chicken franchise. Soon the rambunctious bunch will gather around storyteller Early B. Teal to hear how the lion got its roar. Once the sun goes down, the focus turns to fireworks and dancing. And later, when the moon is high and the barbecue smoke a lingering mist, old men gather to laugh, talk, and reminisce.

Those who might not ever get to personally meet the family can still view testaments of their work around town. The Millermore Mansion at Old City Park, erected in 1855 by William Brown Miller, serves as a legacy that reaches across the Lone Star State and beyond.

"A man traveling from Scotland who knows the Miller family there visited the Millermore Mansion," says Donald. "We met, and I told him to tell the family in Scotland that the Millers are holding it down here. I said, `Tell them we're doing all right in Dallas."' Farrah Austin