Information for our 100th reunion July 9, 2023

Hello, Cousins! It’s FINALLY almost here. This year is incredibly special.

We have a bit of information for you to use in planning to join us. The regular flyer will be out in a few months.

First, ordering T-shirts: T-shirts are available in every size. They are a very soft unisex style t shirt in a beautiful blue. To order, please contact John Riley. $10 each. He will need to know how many to order and in what sizes. He can be reached by phone at 614-595-5101 or by e-mail at jomriley@gmail.com. John will let you know how to pay by check, venmo or cash.

Next, recipes: send heirloom and holiday recipes to Marti Brueggeman at mbruegge@insight.rr.com. You can also call (423) 596-5131 or send in the mail (6328 Waterwood Drive, Westerville OH 43082).

We are asking that each clan make a poster with pictures of all descendants of that cousin. If you’re unsure of your clan, PLEASE just ask! I’d be happy to help.

Finally, hotels! Blocks of rooms are reserved at two hotels. The rates are good for July 7 - July 9 (checkout on the 10th). You can stay all the nights or just one. Just
ask for the Brueggeman Family Reunion block: prices cover July7 to July 9.

Comfort Suites, Hartville (choice brand) is 9 minutes from Wingfoot Lake State Park. The phone number is 330-587-4347. The block’s price is variable, as it’s 10% off the current rate when booked. You must book by June 7 to get the rate. 10 rooms are being held, 5 King and 5 with two queen beds. One is fully handicapped

accessible.

Embassy Suites Akron/Canton is 24 minutes from Wingfoot Lake State Park . The phone number is 330-305-0500. The rooms are $155. 15 suites (all King with a pull out couch in separate rooms, includes breakfast) are in the block. Rooms must be booked by June 16th to get the block rate. You can call or use the

following link: https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/brueggemanfamilyreunion2023/ 

Embassy Suites also has a meeting room that can be rented for a full day, should any clan need a dedicated meeting place on Saturday.

Love,

Christina Brueggeman-Blow (brueggemanreunion@gmail.com; 614-704-8094

Not really an update update

 Hi, Cousins!

I love the excitement so many of you have for next year.  T shirts are being designed, key chain made, cookbooks planned, hotels explored and so much more.

We will inform you all when we have our information together.  The plan is to make things easy for you, and that takes a bit of background work.

If you are providing something we'll need to reimburse you for (we'll pass on the cost to those who want whatever you have), please email Brueggemanreunion@gmail.com before August 1.  

If you have pictures of ANY reunion, please also e-mail those!  If you know when the picture was taken and who is in it, that's wonderful, but even if you don't, that's ok!

c

The First Generation

 Clamor had nine children.  I’ve named that generation “The first generation “ because their children are our clan names.  Only 3 of the nine were alive in 1924 when the reunion began.  Cousins and siblings had moved to various parts of the country.  My best guess is that those cousins felt a deep bond and knew that our parents hold our family together.  By gathering once a year, they would stay in touch and their children would know each other.  I wonder if they hoped their great-great-great grandchildren would continue the family bond and the tradition.

About half of the original 9 were born in Germany.  They all came with Clamor to America.  

Gerhart H. Brueggemann (1841-1867)

Marie Louise Brueggemann Bennhoff (1842-1919)

Johann F. Brueggemann (1850-1909)

Anna Mary Ilsbien Brueggemann Barlag (1846-1924)

Anna Louise Brueggemann Hueseman (1859-1915)

Louis Henry Brueggemann (1861-1922)

Ernst August Brueggemann (1846-1937)

Sophie Brueggemann Reinhardt (1864-1925)

Rev. Johann Brueggemann  (1870-1927)

These 9 children bore more than 50 children, 45 of whom survived and bore children.

This photograph has all of the nine except Gerhart.  

Wonderful!

 The 99th annual Brueggeman Family reunion is one of my favorite reunions (I’ve been to at least 40 of them).  While we missed many of our cousins, the more than 80 Brueggemans who gathered were excited for next year.  So many offered their skills, time and talent to help make next year’s a huge success.

You could FEEL the joy and family bonds growing, feel the gratitude, the respect and deepening understanding on how exceptional our family is.  We, my dear cousins, have an incredible legacy.

Jerry Smith took whole reunion and clan pictures.  Snag them!  I will add more in another post.

99th Brueggeman reunion

 Hello, cousins!

Our reunion is July 10, 2022 at Wingfoot Lake State Park (Mogadore, Ohio). We will gather at the Pinetree Lodge at 11:00 am.  We are following our traditional schedule:  fellowship (11:00); service (12:00); potluck style common meal (12:30); meeting (1:30); and games (2:00).

Please spread the word and send any addresses for our family who does not receive the flyer.  We now have just over 300 addresses.  I estimate we should have closer to 1,000!

If you can’t attend, we’d still love to hear from you.  An email to brueggemanreunion@gmail.com can be shared with the family.

Our 100th is next year!  Please help our family make it memorable.  Your ideas and help are needed.  We can also use donations.  Checks can be made payable to John M. Riley with “Brueggeman Reunion” in the note section.  

Please bring your own drinks, place settings, food to share, chairs to watch games, gifts for games, addresses/emails/phone numbers.  FAMILY JOY!

I’m looking forward to seeing my cousins, both those who I know well and cousins I haven’t met.  

Safe travels!

Gathering information -- Ernst August and Emma.

 

This is a photograph of the Ernst August and Emma's mortgage granted January 18, 1924.  As always, I am amazed at our family.  A week or so ago, we had a new member of our Brueggeman Family facebook group.  Joey DiLoreto was a new name to me.  I couldn't find him in my contacts (or anyone with that last name), so I knew he had to be at least the generation below me.  (I am Clamor-Ernst August-Edwin-James).  I think he's TWO or THREE generations below me!  He does hail from Ernst August (Gus, Marie, then I'm not sure).  

A few days after joining the group, Joey sent me a message.  What followed has brought tears to my eyes.  He has this mortgage, as well as letters and envelopes!  He's willing to photograph them and email them to me!  Some of the letters are written in German to Emma (Ernst August's wife) from her mother.  

Joey also gave me his mother's address, so there's another Brueggeman cousin to invite!

Marvelous Phone Calls!

 I just spoke to my 3rd cousin, Christina, for the first time ever!  She lives in Mississippi and has 3 siblings, 4 children and at least one grandchild.  She said she thought she only had 3 cousins, but her father told her she has many more.  I laughed.  I said, yes, you do!  MANY more cousins.

At this time, I have just under 300 addresses.  I think, if my predictions are right, I should have about 2,000.  Yes, Christina, you have cousins!

So, the backstory here needs to be told.

I've been mailing off letters to people I THINK are cousins.  I include a letter, an abbreviated family tree (Clamor Ludwig Victor, his children and grandchildren).  I circle which grandchild my potential cousin descends from and list their genealogy, then do mine.  I also include a copy of a newspaper clipping from the 36th reunion and a picture from the 2nd.  

Yesterday I got a phone call.  "Hi, Christina?  You don't know me, my name is Doug.  I got a letter for Christina, I bought her house 10 years ago.  I didn't throw the letter away because you hand addressed it.  I have her husband's phone number, give him a call and if you don't get ahold of him, call me back, we have mutual friends."

I called the number and left a message.

Today I got a phone call!  It was my long lost 3rd cousin!  Who is very delightful.  It is completely surreal to hear a heavy southern accent and realize we have the same great-great grandfather.  Surreal and delightful.  We talked for a bit.  My dad was in the car, so it was perfect timing.  She told me a bit about her family and who has information, etc.  I told her about the reunion.  She said she thought she just had 3 cousins.  Nope, you have MANY cousins!  I have letters written by her great aunt, I'll share those with her.

I'm praying, of course, that these cousins will make it to reunions and we can really get to know them.  It was delightful to see more cousins this year who had not attended a reunion in years!

If I'm correct, Christina's grandfather and great-grandmother are in this picture!

98th Annual Brueggeman Reunion

 

Despite having a VERY rainy reunion (no one can remember a reunion quite as rainy), the Brueggeman's gathered and had a great time.

While there was plenty of catching up conversation, there were also some shenanigans that we will remember for years to come.

We were very blessed to have cousins join us, even ones who hadn't been to a reunion since 1958!

Yes!  That long!  We also had quite a few that joined in the fun who hadn't visited in 5, 10, 15, 20+ years.  We had cousins travel from Iowa, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Missouri.

At least 85 Cousins gathered, from 9 clans (covering 3 of Clamor's children).

We are hopeful that next year's reunion will have fantastic weather and more cousins.  (And that I'll learn how to put more than one picture up in a row!

ZOOM LINK for 98th annual Brueggeman Reunion!

 Hello, Cousins!

zoom link

For those who are not able to attend the reunion in person, but who would like to "be there" for the meeting, I have a zoom link.  Please be patient!  We don't know exact times (we gather at 11, have a service at noon, eat and then have the meeting), so I'll let people in as I see them in the waiting room.  We'll also try to have a few facebook live clips in our group:  Brueggeman Family.  The main picture in the group is of Clamor.  Of course, we welcome all cousins to join the group!

Topic: 98th Brueggeman Reunion

Time: Jul 11, 2021 11:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

zoom link

Meeting ID: 899 3309 3301

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Are you traveling to the Reunion?

 Hello, Cousins!

I know some of you are traveling and staying in hotels.  I called around this morning to try and find a block of rooms, but MOST hotels in the area seem to be pretty booked up.  If you need help finding somewhere to stay, please reach out!

I can be reached at BrueggemanReunion@gmail.com

Also, if you're not comfortable sharing food, bring food for your family.  If you want to wear a mask, please do so (it would also let us know you'd like distancing).  If you can only pop in for a few minutes, PLEASE come!

If you can not make it, you can either email me an update on your family or you can send us a handwritten note (we have notes from very long ago, it certainly is fun to read them).  We want to know how you're doing.

Blessings,

Christina

98th Annual Family Reunion! 2021

 Hello, Cousins!  Descendants of Clamor Ludwig Brueggeman!

Our 98th Annual Family Reunion will be July 11, 2021 at Wingfoot Lake State Park, Pinetree Lodge.  Flyers will be mailed early this week.  If you did not receive a flyer, PLEASE PLEASE contact me (BrueggemanReunion@gmail.com) so I can update my address list!

We'd love to have you join us (the more cousins, the better the reunions), especially after an entirely virtual reunion last year.  As grateful as I am for zoom, it doesn't replace seeing your faces in actual 3D life.

I'll update on this blog, but for now, here are the highlights:

We begin at 11:00 am and keep our traditional schedule (fellowship, service, common meal, meeting, games).  For the common meal, of course, bring the regular (drinks, napkins, plates, cutlery, etc) for your family.  Please bring food to share.  We realize that not everyone is comfortable sharing food right now (thank you COVID-19), so feel free to just bring food for your family.  We'd like everyone to feel safe and valued.

The games should be more social distance friendly, but still fun (Debra Vasilev and David Vasilev from the Edwin Clan are planning them).

I'll also zoom the meeting so those of you who can't attend in person can be there.  Email for a link!

If you can't attend, please either drop us an email or, even better, a handwritten note, updating us on your family.  We'd love to share it with the rest of the family and to be updated a bit.

Hopefully I'll see MANY cousins soon!