On the second day of Kwanzaa 2024, Kujichagulia, or Self-Determination, I had the pleasure of interviewing my Cousin Joan Raynor, daughter of Gladys Strange Wilkerson, and granddaughter of Jesse Strange. Her father was Ernest Wilkerson. Cousin Joan shared her quilting passion with me. 

As part of my end-of-year holiday vacation, I had the pleasure of visiting with one of my cousins, Georgia Mulholland. Georgia’s mother, Marion Wheeler, was the daughter of Jessie Strange the Younger, son of Jesse Strange the Elder. Georgia’s father was George Hairston. During our conversation, I asked Cousin Georgia about growing up in Cascade, VA and her cooking traditions. 

For this episode, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to interview the oldest living descendent in the Strange family, Walter “Thel” Strange while taking an intergenerational hayride. Let’s just say, I got an abundance of riches in the form of interweaving conversations, enveloped within a bouquet of sounds.

Once again, Mom and I were busy in the kitchen, when she started dropping some delicious details from her childhood. I’d heard different stories about her learning how to drive, but she added some curious flavor to this retelling.

My Cousin Percy Martin had been a practicing artist for 72 years and had been interviewed so many times that for the first time ever, this interview started without me asking an initial question.

During this year’s Strange Family Reunion, we honored 12 second freeborn generation elders. My mother, Velma Mae Roberson, was one of the honorees, along with two of her older brothers. I managed to pull my Uncle Herbert aside for a short interview.

I had the honor to talk with my 93-year old uncle, Floyd Strange, Jr., son of Floyd and Beatrice Strange, and my mother's oldest brother.

The history of the Stranges has been preserved through oral tradition, court records, and DNA. In this episode, my cousin, Dionne Clark, granddaughter of Jessie Strange, the second oldest of The First Freeborn Generation, explains her genealogy research methods.

Cousin Pleas "Blue" Wilson, son of Catherine and Pleas Wilson, interweaves his coming of age stories with older relatives who shaped him into the man he is today.

Cousin Gwen Strange, daughter of Joe and Margaret Ann Strange, shares stories about her grandfather, Jessie Strange, second child of    Jesse with his second wife, Lucy Strange.

Olander "Charlie" Strange, Jr is one of my first cousins. His namesake, Olander, was one of my maternal uncles.

I invited one of my first cousins, Michael Strange, AKA "Universe," to reminisce about the year he lived with our grandparents, affectionately known as "Mama Bea and Papa."

Once again, Mom took time out of her busy schedule to share her favorite Uncle Daniel, AKA Uncle Down, stories. 

In June 2021, we Stranges celebrated our 80th continuous family reunion during which, my Cousin Ted entertained us with seemingly larger-than-life stories of Uncle Daniel AKA "Uncle Down," who was Great-Grandfather Jesse's third child.  

In this episode, I interview my Cousin Thel Strange and his daughter, Angie Wade. Cousin Thel is the 10th child of Jessie Strange, who is the 2nd child of my Great Grandfather Jesse Strange.

Some of my relatives, other descendants of Jesse Strange, researched our family tree and complied the information in a book called Reflections of a Proud Strange Family, which we simply refer to as “the book.” During this research, my relatives learned more about a family property, Mobley Creek. I asked one of my cousins, Barbara Jean, to tell me more about this property. 

In this episode, I interview my mother, Velma Mae Roberson, one of Jesse Strange’s grandchildren, about some remaining questions I have from reading a book about our family history called, “Reflections of a Proud Strange Family.” We start off by discussing her Uncle Jessie Strange who has the same sounding name as her grandfather, but it’s spelled slightly different. 

In this episode, I interview my mother about her older sister, Marjorie, who they called “Margie.” 

In this episode, I interviewed my mother who was born Velma Mae Strange, the youngest of 6 children born to Floyd B. Strange and Beatrice Adams Strange. My Grandfather Floyd, who Mom still affectionately refers to as "Daddy," was the 11th child of the First Freeborn Generation. Mom's mother was famously known as "Mama Bea," by all her grandchildren, such as me. But what's in a name? Mom attempts to clarify our ancestral family tree, which is full of duplicate names and intermarriages. See if you can keep it straight.