We Are Family

This past weekend was the August Schell's Family Reunion in New Ulm (150 years!). We drove down to spend Saturday there. It is amazing to think how many people I'm "related" to. I think the official RSVP count was 375 people. And the seventh generation is just getting started (Baby Roy will be in that generation).

It was a perfect day for an outdoor event. The sun was out, but it wasn't that hot. We got there around noon and had a lunch of brats, German potato salad, fruit, and chips. And all the beer or root beer you wanted. (Side note - the last time we had a reunion was in 1995 and I was too young to have beer. This time I was old enough but still couldn't have any. Oh, well. 1919 root beer is so yummy!!!).

I took a tour of the family "mansion." I put mansion in quotes because it's not that large of a house. But back in the day (1885) it was pretty nice sized, I guess. The tour was pretty cool. In each of the rooms a descendant was there to talk about the room. The guy in the kitchen is the grandson of the last people that lived there. He remembers visiting Grandpa and Grandma in the house. The front parlor guy remembers being chased out of that room by the aunts and uncles because kids weren't allowed in that room. It was neat to have first hand stories of that house. They are working on restoring it. That should be pretty cool.

This family event was so different than the Storm Lake trip. I think mainly because it is so big, but also the people there are mostly so far removed I didn't know hardly anyone. My two great aunts that are still around made it. And a few of their kids I know. And that was about it. So, I just soaked up the history of the place and the chance to hang with my family. All in all, not a bad way to spend the day.