Bader Family Reunion 2019

ALMOST ALL THE BADER'S IN ATTENDANCE AT THIS YEAR'S REUNION

This year's reunion was quick and full of laughter and memories. It's only the second year I have gone to the reunion with research and plans under my belt. Some of the things I had brainstormed I did complete, some I didn't. But the great thing is, I have next year! Let me tell you show you some of what I did for the reunion.


1. Guestbook

In addition to doing genealogy research, I also love to create. I make journals! More specifically, junk journals. These eclectic little books are hand stitched by me and are made up of patterned paper, book pages, ledger papers, and a whole random assortment of papers I can get my hands on that fits my theme... and makes me happy.

This year, I made a small booklet with the year (2019) written proudly on the front cover. Next year I will do the same. Eventually I hope to bind them in the shell of a vintage book. I may have to explain more about that later... but for now I will say that when I get 3 or so years done in the small booklets, I will put them into one volume. This will condense the books and make it to where we can easily go through the years within one book.

During the reunion, the guestbook was placed front and center at the family museum. As the signatures are abundant, I think this worked well! Though I think next year I will find a way to better explain that I was hoping for a nice entry about their year as well as their signature.

Now that I am back home and the business has settled, I am filling in blank pages with my own entries about the family reunion, with events that happened during this past year, and with pictures of the event.


2. Handouts

At the end of one picnic table, I supplied three stacks of papers.

The first stack was just basic copies of our family tree. This helped ensure that people knew what photos they were seeing in our "Family Museum" and were able to more quickly understand their connection to the items, documents, and photos displayed. These came in handy often.

Another stack was a list of "Known Bader Family Burials" with some beautiful Victorian page decorations (thanks to the wonderful copyright free websites you can find online). I stuck to direct ancestors, which for my family includes an aunt who adopted my great grandmother. I hope that with these pages circulating, more family members will be inspired to put flowers or honor more of our ancestors graves. Many of these ancestors were never met by living descendants but I still believe they could and should be honored and celebrated as some of our own.

The last stack was construction paper and sketch paper and a little sign that said "Create Your Own Family Tree". Attendees were encouraged to get creative and draw out the tree for themselves. The only stipulation was that they were asked to take pictures and send them to me. Sadly, this didn't seem to get nearly the amount of attention that other items did and therefore I'm not sure it was used. This is something I plan to work on for next year.

3. The Family Museum

As I've alluded to all along, my family museum became real this year! I was so excited (and also very overwhelmed) while putting this together. I felt a lot of insecurity..... would anyone care to see this? What if anything would they care to see the most? What are the most important stories I want them to walk away with? It was a lot of throwing together what I could and hoping for the best.. and honestly it was really fun  in the end! The family loved it, especially the older folks. My cousin, Chelsea, was the greatest help I could have asked for and she kept my creative, rambunctious brain in check with her cool, organized one! Hah. While I was fluttering back and forth between family members and "stations" she was fixing everything up, taking photos that are invaluable now, and making sure that everyone signed the guestbook. I would not have been successful without her.

The big hit of the family museum was a "community quilt" our family put together in the early 2000's. Back then, the matriarchs had every family unit bring their own quilt block to the family reunion. It was to be decorated however they saw fit. All the blocks were gathered at the reunion and a drawing was done to see who would take the quilt home. The blocks were sewn together that year and it was professionally quilted together and sent to the winner. Well, guess who that was! Yes, me! I call it foreshadowing because who would have ever imagined that little girl who never came in to talk to the older folks would be the family historian? I've had this quilt stored in a quilt cabinet for over a decade and brought it with me this year to serve as part of our reunion. Out of all the amazing artifacts, this one brought out audible gasps, broad faced smiles, and some bittersweet tears. Many of these family members have been gone for quite a while, many have left home and started families of their own, and all have changed and grown through the years since we made this quilt together. It was prominent and stood tall as you entered the pavilion. It brought all to witness its history. It's a treasure of our family.

In conclusion,

It's not the end all be all of what I hope to accomplish at the family reunion, but it is a good start. I'm proud of my new role as the family historian and I hope that my grandma would be too. I have a feeling she is.

What are your family reunions like?

What sorts of fun and engaging activities do you plan to keep your family history relevant?

What has worked and what hasn't?


I know this is long and might be just for me... but if it helps any of you then it is worth it. Thank you for reading!


Love always and happy hunting,
Morgan