The Record Books

2009 Lilly Family Reunion sets world record

By Amelia A. Pridemore

The 80th anniversary Lilly reunion is on its way to the record books — literally.

The Lilly Family Reunion in Flat Top set a new world record for the largest family reunion Sunday afternoon. Darrell Lilly, reunion president, said 2,500 members of the Lilly family had attended the reunion during its three days. The 1998 Busse Family Reunion in Grayslake, Ill., was the former record holder.

Lilly said hundreds more could be added to that total when organizers count the numbers of people who signed up to be counted. Officials with the Guinness Book of World Records will have to make the official determination, and Lilly noted some entries may not qualify.

“But I believe we have enough of a number to break it,” he said.

To be counted, Lilly said someone had to be connected to the Lilly family, with those connections generally defined as blood, adoption or marriage. The scores of non-Lilly visitors who show up at the reunion anyway could not be counted. Saturday, he estimated 2,500 to 3,000 people altogether attended. About 1,000 arrived Sunday. Attendees came from 24 states that included California, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon — as well as foreign countries like Sudan, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Lilly said board members brought him onto the reunion grounds’ stage that afternoon without telling him what was happening. There, they presented him with a T-shirt commemorating the record set.

“I think, like everyone else, I just had a huge smile on my face,” he said. “I’m very happy to know we broke the record. Even if we didn’t, we were going to enjoy our time trying to break it. There was just a glow on everyone’s face.”

The Guinness publicity likely brought out more people, Lilly said, adding that much lower gas prices compared to last year also helped. Organizers called practically everyone with the Lilly last name, trying to get them to the reunion and break the record.

Lilly credited filmmaker Chad Morgan Meador, a Lilly cousin whose company Good Old Boy Productions was filming a documentary, with higher attendance as well.

Meador said all West Virginians should be proud that a historic family reunion like the Lillys’ has been this successful.

“The people here have done something extraordinary, and they have worked for it,” Meador said. “...They have the same blood in their veins, but there are so many different people with different talents and different skills. It’s fascinating.”

As they relaxed in the shade, Wayside residents Eddie and Jill Lilly said they were honored to have been part of a new world record. Just days ago, they were in Mexico. Saturday, they drove back from Florida to be a part of Sunday’s festivities and to help the family set the record.

“It’s good fun and good music — even if you’re not a Lilly,” Eddie Lilly said.

Eddie Lilly, who grew up in Summers County, is a “Lilly cousin” and a part of four branches of the Lilly family. His wife, Jill, is a Shady Spring native.

“I had to go out of Hinton to Shady Spring to find a date,” he said, laughing. “It was hard to find someone you weren’t kin to.”

“And I think we had 10 Lillys in our graduating class of 200,” Jill Lilly added. “Even there, his chances were slim.”

The couple’s children played as they caught up with relatives, which they do every year. Their 9-year-old son Christian ran to his parents laughing after an egg tossing game — where an egg cracked in his hands. He noted he did manage to catch an egg without breaking it five times before.

The reunion’s inflatable obstacle course, Eddie Lilly said, was a blast for his son — and himself. He playfully bragged about how he made it through the course first.

“It was like on ‘Gladiator.’ I beat him.” Eddie Lilly said.

But his son pointed at another relative and blamed the man for his loss.

“That’s only because he kept knocking the walls down and made me fall,” Christian said.

To order a copy of Meador’s documentary, send an e-mail to chadmeador@gmail.com or call Good Old Boy Productions’ office at 304-787-3342.

— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com