In like Flynns: Old Missoula family returns to 1800s homestead for reunion every 5 years on the 4th of July.

Mike and Kate Flynn rolled into town and decided to call Missoula home on July 4, 1872.

The Irish immigrants bought some acreage and moved into a humble log house on the western edge of the valley. Within a decade, their ranch labor and thriftiness enabled them to build a lovely three-story brick farmhouse they turned into a home for their seven children.

The love they felt for their hard-earned home and the beauty that surrounded them spread contagiously to each successive Flynn generation.

Although Mike and Kate were buried long ago beneath Celtic crosses in St. Mary’s Cemetery, the ever-growing Flynn family has continued to gather and celebrate the homestead – and their deep connection to the valley.

It’s hard-wired into the Flynn family’s DNA that every five years on July 4, no matter where each one might be, the Flynns return to Missoula and gather in a giant flock on the front lawn of the family homestead.

By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_675fbba8-87ee-11df-99ea-001cc4c002e0.html