Coming Home
Meridian ’ s diaspora returns for the 55th convention & picnic
Story by Glenda Sanders
Sitting in Highland Park on a spring day , Mable Oatis and Alinda Rush Brown are excited about the coming summer and the promise it brings of reconnecting with old friends when the National Council of Meridianites Inc . holds its 55th convention and picnic in the Queen City .
The convention , more commonly known as the Meridianite picnic , brings home Meridian ’ s diaspora , those native to the city who have left over the decades to pursue an education and better job opportunities .
Hundreds of these former residents and their families will come home for the picnic and the chance it brings
For me living away from Meridian , it was a way to just still stay connected to home .
- Alinda Rush Brown
to reunite and reconnect with family , friends and former neighbors , classmates and co-workers .
“ I left Meridian at a fairly young age , when I graduated from high school and Meridian Junior College ,” said Brown , who serves as the national vice president of the Meridianite council . She first moved to New Orleans to finish college and earn a mathematics degree , before moving to Houston , Texas , to work at the Johnson Space Center and later for Southwestern Bell . She lived in Houston for 40 years before returning to Meridian to care for family . “ For me , living away from Meridian , it was a way to just still stay connected to home ,” she said of the convention . “ Through the picnic , you meet people that you haven ’ t seen in forever . I ’ ll never forget , one year we were in California in San Francisco … and I ran into a girl who grew up right next door to me . We grew up as children together , but I had not seen her in years ,” Brown said . “ So it ’ s that coming back www . meridianstar . com
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