Ohio Family Celebrates 100 Years of Annual Reunions

When Domenico and Lucia Sferra emigrated from Italy in the late 1800s, they couldn't have imagined their descendants would still be gathering a century later. This Sunday, over 260 family members proved them wrong by celebrating the 100th annual Sferra Family Reunion in Canfield, Ohio.

The tradition started in 1926 with a simple family picnic in Mahoning County. Every single year since, through the Great Depression, two world wars, and even a global pandemic, the family has found a way to come together.

This year's gathering spanned five generations. Dan Santon, 92, represented the oldest living member, while 18-month-old Nora Prior Carew toddled around as the youngest. The Sferra Wilson family traveled from Phoenix, making them the farthest guests at the celebration.

Organizer Donna Wainio said the family has been counting down to this milestone for eight years. "Each year we had a sign indicating what reunion we were celebrating, and Uncle Dan has been encouraging us to do something big for the 100th," she explained.

The day unfolded like reunions past, with tables overflowing with Italian favorites. Roasted chicken, cavatelli, eggplant parmesan, and homemade desserts replaced the typical American picnic fare. Family members played bocce, pickleball, and softball between catching up with relatives they might only see once a year.

Sunny's Take

What makes this story special isn't just the impressive 100-year streak. It's that younger generations keep choosing to show up, even as the family tree sprawls across the country and fewer people know each other personally.

Stephen "Sonny" Sferra, a fourth-generation descendant, admitted the tradition has faced uncertain moments. "The bigger each family gets, the fewer people you actually know," he said. "It crosses your mind that maybe it's time to let it go, but our parents encouraged us to go every year."

That encouragement worked. Twenty years ago, family members started taking annual group photos to document the gatherings. Those images now tell a bittersweet story of growth and loss, with new faces appearing as beloved elders slowly disappeared from the frame.

Rather than let the tradition fade with the oldest generation, 15 family members from multiple branches formed a committee to plan this centennial celebration. They assembled family histories, organized activities, and made sure everyone knew this wasn't just another reunion.

The Sferra family's century of gatherings started from values common in Italian-American communities of the early 1900s, when Sundays meant family, shared meals, and strong connections between relatives. Those simple traditions created something that has outlasted nearly everything else from that era.