SUMMER REUNION TIME

My dad’s family got its start on June 21, 1911, with the marriage of the two people pictured below: his parents and my grandparents, Albert and Olga.

Albert and Olga’s Wedding Day, June 21, 1911

Fast forward to the mid-1930s. When the picture below was taken, Albert and Olga had raised six children, including my dad, Elmer:

Front row (left to right): Albert, Sr. (1885 - 1970), Albert, Jr./Al (b. 1927), Olga (1888 - 1998).
Back row: Eunice (1913 – 2007), Alice (b. 1919), Elmer (b. 1917) Mabel (1912 – 2008), and Mildred (b. 1922).

Those six children all married and had a total of 29 children. Last Saturday, we gathered for a “cousin reunion," which 21 of the 29 cousins (Albert and Olga’s grandchildren) as well as many of their spouses were able to attend. Three of Albert and Olga’s children (Alice, Mildred, Al) and their spouses were also there. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I am inserting a “substitute” family reunion picture in here.

Notice: This substitute picture of someone else’s 1962 family reunion will remain here until somebody sends me a real picture of our 2009 cousin reunion.

Earlier in the summer, on August 2, just the “Elmer” branch of the family got together for a reunion (including Elmer’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, plus the spouses) for a total of 60 people:

Elmer and Lena’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and spouses, August 2009

Old question, “How many Norwegians does it take to change a light bulb?”

New question: “How many Norwegians does it take to create a family that grew to well over 200 people from 1911 to 2009?”

The answer is 2.

Way to go, Albert and Olga! Never underestimate the power of lutefisk and lefse!