Divine Detours with Mel Hull: A Family Legacy Biographical Documentary

One year ago today, my family celebrated my Grandpa Hull's 80th birthday. What he didn't know at the time was that I was going to make a full on family legacy biographical documentary about him. Usually, projects like this take a month or month and a half to complete. This project however was a lot more intricate, and required more time.

Rivels before they're boiled

December 8, 2024, it was Mel's birthday, but also a family reunion. Family from all over the U.S. gathered to meet in Buda, Texas. We had a bunch of grand plans for things to do; go see Christmas lights, go to COTA, arcade, but we ended up mostly just spending time together at the airbnb in Buda.

One of the major highlights for me at least--and I know Mel too, was eating Rivels. Its an old German recipe much like pasta with handmade noodles. The Rivels are the big chunks of pasta that look more like dumplings. We accompany the Rivels with a delicious short rib. No doubt its a labor of love but the end result is so worth it.

It's been a tradition in the Hull family, going back to Mel's mom. Our family continues the tradition of rivels and will continue it for generations to come.

Aunt Melanie carrying on the Hull family tradition of making Rivels

As you will see in the video below, Mel dives deeper about rivels and how its been a part of his life since since he was a boy. Don't want to spoil too much about the video, but it goes through a wide range from World War II to Vietnam, kids and church, and his personal life with sports. To me, its really interesting story because he really highlights some of the major struggles, and things that didn't go his way. Like Mel says at one point, "My life turned out okay," which to me says his life is a success because of his experiences and what he's built/building. My favorite moment is when he talks about wanting to be a pilot and never got to fly. If there wasn't a diving detour, he may have been shot down and combat and the majoirty of his family wouldn't be here. Crazy to think about.

As always if you know anyone who has a story to tell, and needs their essence and legacy captured, please reach out to us before its too late. Enjoy!