It all began 80 years ago when John and Katie Jenkins of 188 Shetland Ave., East Liberty, staged the first Jenkins family reunion at Riverview Park on the North Side.

"My mother and father started it to keep the family together," said Marian DeVaughn, now 81 and the only survivor of 13 siblings.

On July 17, Ms. DeVaughn and about 160 Jenkins descendants, most of who live out-of-state, gathered at the Cottage grove in South Park wearing gold commemorative T-shirts lettered with: "We are family."

Shaneece Jones, 21, drove five hours with her mother and aunt from Ypsilanti, Mich.

"It's important to see family. This is more than a gathering; we're making history," she said.

Barbara Minor, 72, of East Liberty, a niece of Ms. DeVaughn, called the reunions "my life's blood ... I've been coming since I can remember."

For Ms. DeVaughn, of Beltzhoover, whose memory of the reunions extends back to age six at Highland Park, where she ate grilled hamburgers for lunch and played egg toss and hunted for pennies in the sand, nothing much has changed.

"The only difference is we now have catered dinner and there's e-mail contact," said Ms. DeVaughn, who attended all reunions except one and helped organize them for about 50 years.

Also, while the early ones were held in Pittsburgh, the last two were held in Atlanta, Ga., and Virginia Beach, Va., to accommodate members residing near those areas.

The reunion began July 16 with a dinner banquet featuring singing, dancing, and skits by family members.

During the evening's "Reflections" segment, in which attendees spoke of what the reunions meant to them, Dorothy Jones, 78, of Augusta, Ga., paid tribute to her aunt, Ms. DeVaughn, whose love and mentoring were akin to that of an older sister while she was growing up.

"Everyone needs an aunt like her," she said.

The morning of the picnic, about 50 family members took a bus tour of former homes and past picnic sites.

The weekend concluded with a July 18 brunch and family meeting during which next year's coordinator and site were selected.

Picnic-goers included Ms. Minor's son, Collus Smith, 53, of Belle Vernon, and his sons Bryce, 11, and Collus Jr., 19.

Mr. Smith called the reunion "a monumental event that I look forward to every summer." While he enjoys playing basketball and softball, his younger son said he liked the food and water games.

"I've learned respect, and shown a path of how to live my life," Collus Jr. said.

Jerry Alexander, 58, of Glen Ridge, N.J., who married into the family, drove with seven other people, plus luggage, in one car.

"I like the family concept of the Jenkins'. I like the natural high we all get from getting together like this," he said.

"I hope we have eighty more," he said.

Karen Vinston, 50, of Carrick, said that while the reunions have remained virtually unchanged, time has touched her.

"I'm setting up the games instead of playing them," she said of the relay races, water contests, tug-of-war and more that are typically the domain of youths.

But nothing can keep her away.

"I come out of love, respect and family commitment. And if I didn't, my parents would kill me," she said.

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