Logandale Families Celebrate 30-Year New Years Eve Tradition

The families of Moapa Valley enjoy many traditions associated with the holiday season. One of those traditions was celebrated on New Years Eve for the 30th year in a row by the families of Dennis and Paige Reese, Mike and Ann Hardy, and Dr. Terry and Sandy Leavitt; all of Logandale.

It all started as a little New Years Eve Party in Dennis and Paige’s basement with the three young couples and their babies and children sharing a pot-luck supper, followed by games, a ceremonious declaration of predictions for the coming year by each person present, and, at the stroke of midnight the ringing in of the New Year with improvised, homemade noisemakers. Pots and pans were brought out of the kitchen for banging and homemade confetti and paper streamers were created. Then, with the New Year rung in, the group settled down to enjoy rich and gooey three-scoop New Year’s banana splits.

At sometime in the past, the group outgrew the homes of any of the participants so they came up with the idea of reserving the cultural hall of the Logandale LDS church for their party. This gave them room so that their celebration could grow along with the number and sizes of children.

The party held by the three families this past week on New Years Eve was different only in the number and ages of the participants. The traditional activities remained the same and nobody seemed bored by any of them.

The original Reese, Hardy, and Leavitt couples may have aged just a bit and the little ones who then slumbered in blankets and baby seats, are now the parents of babies which are slumbering in blankets and baby seats. However, the third generation was not all in baby seats. They ranged in age from 16 down to at least two yet-to-be-born infants.

All of the children of the original parents (most of this second generation were present) are now parents and the numbers have increased from three couples and a few babies to nearly two dozen adults and twice that many children.

Throughout the evening the hall was filled with the joyful noise of children and adults having a good time. But everyone, young and old alike, became attentive when the carefully recorded list of last year’s predictions were read. Then the “Prediction Book” was passed on to a new scribe who dutifully recorded each person’s prediction for the coming year just as has been done each year for the past 30.

Moapa Valley and these three families are probably not unique in this kind of family celebration on New Years Eve. Moapa Valley is a family community with many such traditions. It is, however, refreshing to see such traditions kept alive that span generations.