Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1959

Well it's not the most detailed of the Cayemberg reunion articles, but at least it was put in the newspaper. I always like seeing the number of people in attendance although it was missing from this clipping. It gives you an idea of any fluctuations throughout the years especially in a reunion that has been going on as long as the Cayemberg reunion has been (80 next year).

Using attendance statistics can reassure a reunion committee that down cycles may be normal. They can also show you what changes in a reunion may have brought about those down turns and help you to fix a potential problem before it becomes too big. Of course you don't necessarily need to find this in a newspaper article. Attendance records and changes to family reunion itinerary should be found in the minutes of your committee and those minutes should be kept forever.

"Family Reunion of Cayembergs Held 22 Times

(Handwritten '1959')

Officers of the Cayemberg family were elected recently at the 22nd annual reunion held at Pamperin Park.

The group to plan next year's reunion includes: Pat Cayemberg Sr., Green Bay, president; Mrs. Harvey Maureau (sic), Green Bay, treasurer; Mrs. Lucy Anderson, Green Bay, trustee; Mrs. Lewis Lemens, Tonet, secretary.

Mrs. Elmer Guillette, Casco, and Mrs. Ben Matuszak, Algoma, served as chairmen of this year's picnic attended by 131 members of the family.  The group agreed to hold next year's reunion at the same location on June 19.  Mrs. Lewis Lemens and Mrs. Wallace Guillette, Tonet, will serve as co-chairmen.

Among communities represented by the family are Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Green Bay, Tonet, Algoma, Casco and two families from Michigan and Minnesota."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1955

The clipping for this reunion is short, sweet, and to the point. I don't know if it was published in any other newspapers. It may have been, but Pampering Park is in the Green Bay area so the Press-Gazette would be the closest newspaper.

There are no extraordinary details in this year's clipping, but if we didn't know Florence Cayemberg nee Villers' age we'd be able to glean it here. Of course we wouldn't get "Florence" from the clipping, but it was most likely more important to acknowledge her marriage to Eli, mention him by name and that he had passed. We can also see that all of her children were in attendance. I guess short and sweet and still tell you quite a bit if you know where to look.

"18th Reunion Held By Cayemberg Family

Handwritten '1955'

Special to Press-Gazette

PULASKI, Wis. - The Cayemberg family held its 18th reunion Sunday at Pamperin Park with 138 guests present for dinner.

The 10 children of Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, Pulaski, Rt. 2, were in the group.  She is the widow of the late Eli Cayemberg and reached her 83rd birthday anniversary in January.

Mrs. Pat Cayemberg, Mrs. Lucy Anderson and Frank Cayemberg were in charge of the arrangements. It was planned to meet at the same place next year, with Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fellows and Mrs. Frank Cayemberg as chairmen."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  It appears to be taken from the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1954, part 2

I previously transcribed an article for the 1954 reunion from a scrapbook that was passed on to me.  As I made my way through scanning and transcribing the articles I saw that there was a second and much longer article from a paper on this particular reunion so instead of including it in the first transcription and making that über-long I figured I'd do a separate post.

When you read the transcription below you'll notice that the guest of honor spoke to the reunion. What I found significant about this was the fact that she hoped they would all be back the following year. Florence Cayemberg was 84 at the time of this reunion. She most likely knew that there was a chance that she wouldn't be there, but she still wanted the reunions to continue. Florence would only make two more reunions. She died in 1956. In what she said she made her wishes known to all in attendance.

Another part of significance in the clipping was the while there were 120 in attendance (a fairly good turn-out) there were many that were missing because the reunion conflicted with another event. This can't always be avoided, but you should try to whenever possible. Don't be of the mind that the reunion comes first because this won't be the case for everyone. Sure it would be nice if it was, but you could have what would be nice or what is reality. Reality has a higher turnout when you accept it.

Now I'm not saying that you need to set a date that is good for everyone. That will never happen. I'm talking about the big stuff that is avoidable. Learn to be flexible and roll with the changes. Inflexibility is a one way ticket to animosity and the end of something good. I'm not being critical of this reunion. Rather I'm using the mention of the conflict as a talking point. Something that could be learned from.

"Cayemberg Family Holds Get-Together

MRS. LEWIS LEMENS

Phone Luxemburg 47F2

(handwritten '1954')

TONET - The annual Cayemberg reunion was held at Pamperin park Sunday.  Mrs.  Eli Cayemberg, 84, was the honored guest.  She was presented with a corsage of red roses and a purse.  She, in turn, spoke to the group, thanked them all and hoped all would be together again next year.  She donated three prizes which were won by Mrs. Byron Gregor, Mrs. Joe Demcak and Miss Helen Weir.

Another special guest was Mrs. Cayemburg's (sic) sister, Mrs. Agnes Tardiff, Duluth, Minn.  She also spoke a few words to the group. 

Potluck dinner and supper were served in the spacious dining room.

Mrs. Harvey Moureau and Mrs. Felix Cayemberg were this year's chairmen.

The smaller children were presented with balloons and enjoyed the swings and other park equipment.

Next year the reunion will again be held the first Sunday in June at Pamperin park.  The chairmen will be Mrs. Lucy Anderson and Mrs. Pat Cayemberg.  Frank Cayemberg will be in charge of the refreshments.

About 120 were present at this reunion.  A number were unable to attned due to the Holy Name Rally at Marinette, also held Sunday.

Present were, 'Grandmother' Cayemberg, Pulaski; Mrs. Agnes Tardiff, Duluth, Minn., Mr. and Mrs. Walter Cayemberg and children, Wally, Merlin, Gaylen, Dennis and Sharon, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Paluch, children, Edward, jr., Hubert, Emily, Mary and Joey, all of Pulaski; Mr. and Mrs. Felix Cayemburg (sic), daughter, Lois, Ensign, Mich.; Earl Cayemberg and Alan Golbraith, Appleton; Robert Cayemberg, Milwaukee; Mr. and Mrs. Wilferd (sic) Cayemberg, daughter Carol, and son, Kenneth, and friend, Mr. and Mrs. Allen Cayemberg, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Cayemberg, son, Donald, and daughter, Nancy, all of Manitowoc.

Mr. and Mrs. Joe Demcak, son, Douglas, and Steve Gregor, Two Rivers; Mr. and Mrs. Harold Christenson, daughters, Judy and Darlene, Sturgeon Bay; Mr. and Mrs. Peter Younk and family, Mrs. William Younk, Kewaunee; Mr. and Mrs. Ben Matuszak, children, Gary, Diane, Danny and Claire, Algoma; Mrs. Elmer Guillette, son, Ronald, Mrs. Rose Christenson, Casco; Mr. and Mrs. Byron Gregor and Mrs. Libbie Wattawa, Rio Creek; Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Guillette and Miss Helen Weir, Anston.

Mrs. Eli Cravillion, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Lemens, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Guillette, daughter, Lila Mae, and son, Adelbert, Tonet; Miss Gladys Glase, Luxemburg; Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Cravillion, daughter, Patsy, Walhain; mrs. Donald Nellis, daughter, Jusy, Dyckesville.

Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Cayemberg, Mrs. Lucy Anderson, son, "Russie", Miss Donna VanCaster, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Cayemberg and children, David, Diane, Gladys and Jean, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Moureau and daughter, Karen, Mr. and Mrs. Pat Cayemberg and children, Wayne and Glen, Mr. and Mrs. Cyril Blohowisk and children James, Carol Jean, Christie and Randy, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fellows, Albert Gouin and children, Robert, Mary and Ronald, Mr. and Mrs. Roland Cayemberg and children, Shirley, Marvin, Dale and Joan, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Moureau and daughter, Kathie, Mr. and Mrs. Darold Cayemberg and daughter, Roxanne, Mrs. Louis Villers, Mrs. Eva Vanbaneden, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Tilkens and children, Carl, Rita, Tommie and Theresa, all of Green Bay. Several other friends also attended."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1954

The clipping below is short, sweet, and to the point. Your newspaper clippings don't have to be very long, but putting something in is important. You can see in the clipping below that a gift was given to the matriarch of the reunion. By this year her husband had passed and the reunion was started for both of them. It continued well past the passing of them both.

Is your patriarch and/or matriarch of your reunion still alive? How do you recognize them? Do you recognize them each year? Perhaps even more importantly, if they have passed do you still acknowledge why you're there? If your reunion has been going on for a really long time (spanning generations) do the newer attendees understand how and why it started? You stand a much greater chance of enlisting the younger generation's help and garnering their support if they understand its origins.

A reunion is a tradition that gets started by a group of people. Traditions are malleable. They can change and they must if you want to keep them going. Without the support of a younger generation your reunion will die out. It's inevitable. If one or a tiny group of people claim ownership of a reunion and don't let anyone else in when they pass on so will the reunion. A reunion isn't about the people that are running it. A reunion is about the family. When you forget that you might as well stop and bury the thing now.

"Cayemberg Family Has Reunion (handwritten '1954')

The 17th reunion of the Cayemberg family was held at Pamperin Park Sunday with Mrs. Harvey Moureau and Mr. and Mrs. Felix Cayemberg, Ensign, Mich. in charge.

Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, 84-year-old mother of the group, received a purse from the members of her family.  At present she is staying with the R. C. Andersons, 875 Shawano Ave.

Green Bay people present at the reunion include Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moureau and family, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Gouin and daughter Susie Ann, and Mr. and Mrs. Roland Cayemberg and daughter Joan Linda.

The 1955 reunion will be held the first Sunday in June at Pamperin Park with Mrs. Pat Cayemberg, Mrs. Russell Anderson and Frank Cayemberg as chairmen."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1953

I've been having fun with this year's Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories and I hope you've enjoyed reading what I've shared as much as I enjoyed sharing it. It's time to get back to another Family Reunion Friday though. Family reunions are so important to genealogists and I don't want to lose focus on that so today I'm transcribing the next clipping for our Cayemberg reunion. It was the 16th and while attendance was down to 83 from the previous year's 131 the Cayembergs continued on.

I love the fact that the clippings not only acknowledged who won prizes, but they also marked the births of the newest members of the family. Do you mention the new births in your reunion articles?  Even if they aren't in newspapers (which they should be in my humble opinion), do you put them in a newsletter so everyone is kept abreast of the latest additions to their family? Do you list who was lost since the last reunion? I'd bet the immediate family of those that lost someone would appreciate the touching tribute.

Ensuring that new family members or new losses are mentioned in writing is important. Just saying something before dinner or before adjourning simply isn't enough. What if someone isn't in the room? What if a family had to leave early or arrived late? What if some people couldn't attend? Publishing it in a newspaper or a newsletter if your paper doesn't include such things lets everyone know about these significant changes. It is a record for the ages. Isn't that one of the reasons we do it?

"Mrs. Eli Cayemberg Is Guest of Honor At Family Reunion

(Handwritten '16th' and '1953')

Special to Press-Gazette

PULASKI, Wis. - Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, 83, of Pulaski, route 2, was guest of honor at the 16th family reunion at Pamperin park Sunday.  A total of 146 persons attended.

Prizes in games were won by Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Cayemberg, Mrs. Joseph Corrigan, Menasha; Mrs. Harold Christenson, Sturgeon Bay; and Mrs. Lloyd Dravillion (sic), Luxemburg.

Harvey Houreau (sic), Mrs. Cyril Blohowiak and Mrs. Donald Nellis were in charge of the arrangements.

It was noted that five babies were born since the last gathering.  They included Dale, son of the Roland Cayembergs, Green Bay; Linda, daughter of the Lloyd Cravillions, New Franken; Michael, son of the Joseph Lorrigans, Menasha; Sharon, daughter of the Walter Cayembergs, Pulaski, and Roland Edward, son of the Albert Govins (sic), Green Bay.

Mrs. Harvey Moureau was elected treasurer and Pat Cayemberg trustee.  The next reunion will be held June 6, 1954, again at Pamperin park.  Mr. and Mrs. Felix Cayemberg of Ensign, Mich., and Mrs. Moureau will make the arrangements.

Guests came from Sturgeon Bay, Casco, Algoma, Tonet, New Franken, Rio Creek, Luxemburg, Two Rivers, Manitowoc, Menasha, Pulaski, Anston, Kunesh, Ensign and Iron River, Mich.; San Francisco, Calif., and Bark River Falls, Mich."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1951

Florence Cayemberg nee Villers with her 7 sons and 3 daughters at the
Cayemberg 14th reunion

Do my eyes deceive me? The "missing" reunion clipping. And by "missing" I mean I must have been tired and missed it because it was a post in my queue waiting to be edited.

This was a pretty significant reunion for me to "miss" in my tired-stupor to prep a post. It wasn't the 15th reunion...just the 14th, but what made it special was that all of Florence's seven sons and three daughters were there and they even got a group photo! Doesn't Florence look like one happy mom!?!?

The clipping is short and sweet, but it gives us a copy of the photo and that is incredibly special. It also says when Florence's husband, Eli, passed away. That's information I already had, but someone else might not have. It also helps to illustrate that Eli was only alive for about two of the reunions. It does make me wonder if they perhaps continued to have them to help Florence deal with his passing. They had been together for so long and perhaps the family getting together each year was a source of showing their love and remembering their parents. No doubt they loved the both to have had it continue for over 75 years!

Do you take pictures at your family reunions? Is one person in charge of taking candid shots? Do you schedule a group photo each reunion? Photos are a great way to remember the event and to show others that may have missed the reunion how much fun everyone had. If your attendance is taking a turn for the worse, make sure that you're having fun events and get pictures taken! You can post them on social media or email them out.** If you let those that missed the current year's reunion see all the fun that they missed perhaps they'll make more of an effort to get there the following year.

Taking pictures is also a great way to keep a history of the event. Create a "Family Reunion Scrapbook." It could be filled with only a few pictures each year and then you continue to add to the scrapbook year after year, or you can have a scrapbook for each year complete with a group photo, candid shots, attendance rosters and news clippings to display at future reunions.

And never forget the opportunity to take a group photo! When you send out your invitations to the reunion make sure that you state where and at what time the group photo will be taken. People like to come and go as they please. Stating when the photo will be taken will result in maximum participation. You don't want the time to be a surprise to attendees who might have other engagements earlier or later in the day that they have to be at. Family members missing a group photo because the information wasn't given to them is a sure fire way to stir up some bad feelings!

**When posting photos to social media make sure that you have permission if the site is open to the public. You especially want to avoid sharing photos of children in a public forum. There are plenty of social media sites that can be invitation only so that the general public cannot see the photos. This may seem unnecessary to many, but most parents will get quite upset about a picture of their child being in the public domain without permission. If you wish to give the local newspaper a copy of the group photo, take two. Get a group photo with everyone present and then let them know that you'll be submitting it to the newspaper and if anyone would like to not be in that photo to please step out while the second photo is taken. Easy solution!

Picture caption reads:  "Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, center in the front row, had her seven sons and three daughters with her recently when the family celebrated its 14th annual reunion in Pamperin park.  Other in the front row, from left, are:  Wilfred, Felix, Henry and Walter.  In the back row, same order, are the rest of the children:  Patrick, Mrs. Harvey Moureau, Mrs. Eli Cravillion, Mrs. Russell Anderson, Frank and Joseph."

Main article:

"Cayemberg Family Has 14th Reunion (handwritten 1951)

When the Cayemberg family reunion was held Sunday in Pamperin park, the seven sons and three daughters of Mrs. Eli Cayemberg of Pulaski were all present.  Grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and other relatives and friends brought the total number of guests at the dinner to 131.

This is the 14th annual reunion of the Cayembergs, who choose several members each year to take charge of the affair.  This year's committee consisted of Wallace Guillette of Tonet, chairman, Mrs. Loyde (sic) Cravillion, Luxemburg, and Mrs. Roland Cayemberg of Green Bay.  The affair is held the first Sunday in June each year.

The seven sons of Mrs Cayemberg are Frank, Joseph and Patrick Cayemberg of Green Bay, Henry and Wilfred, Manitowoc, Felix, Ensign, Mich., and Walter, on the family homestead in Pulaski, where Mrs. Cayemberg, who is 81, makes her home.

The daughters are Mrs. Russell Anderson and Mrs. Harvey Moureau of Green Bay, and Mrs, Eli Cravillion of Tonet.  Mr. Cayemberg died 12 years ago and a daughter, Mrs. Hubert Guillette, 30 years ago.

Eight new grandchildren, all born since the last reunion, were present at the celebration this year.  It is planned to hold it in Pamperin park again next year (sic)."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1952

So my Cayemberg family reunion clippings had a gap between the 1947 and 1952 reunion. The reunion in 1952 was the 15th. Perhaps that was the reason for the gap. Perhaps the missing years were placed somewhere else or lost. Hard to tell, but I'll be looking for those years in the newspapers when I go home this December.

As you can read from the two clippings transcribed below, the Cayemberg reunions were in honor of Eli and Florence Cayemberg nee Villers and after they passed the reunions were for their descendants. Are your family reunions held in honor of someone in particular or of a family event?

"(Handwritten '1952')

Dinner was served to 132 members of the Cayemberg family at Pamperin Park, Green Bay, Sunday, Chairmen of the reunion were Patrick Cayemberg, Green Bay; Mrs. Wilfred Cayemberg and Mrs. Henry Cayemberg, Manitowoc.

A corsage and gift was presented to Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, Pulaski, who is 82 years old.  Her youngest sister, Mrs. Agnes Tardiff, Duluth, Minn., attended the reunion.  Mrs. Tardiff whose last visit to Green Bay was 38 years ago is a guest at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Cayemberg, Green Bay.

Mrs. Eli Cayemberg is the mother of 10 children, three daughters and seven sons.  She has 44 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren.  Two sons, Wilfred and Henry Cayemberg reside in Manitowoc.

One grandchild and five great grandchildren were added to the family during the past year.  Members attended from Algoma, Rio Creek, Casco, Luxemburg, Martinville, Dyckesville, Tonet, Manitowoc, Pulaski, Kunish, Anston, Two Rivers, Duluth, Minn., and Esign, Mich.  Next year's reunion will be held at Pamperin Park, June 7, 1953.  Chairmen of the coming event will be Harvey Mourlau (sic) and Mrs. Cyril Blohowiak, Green Bay, and Mrs. Donald Nellis, Dyckesville."

And another clipping for the same reunion.  Almost verbatim with the only notable change being the address for Martin Cayemberg:

"132 Members of Cayemberg Family Hold Reunion (handwritten '1952')

An 11:30 dinner was served to 132 members of the Cayemberg family at Pamperin park Sunday.  Patrick Cayemberg and Mrs. Henry Cayemberg, Green Bay, and Mrs. Wilfred Cayemberg, Manitowoc, were chairmen of this year's event.

A corsage and gift was presented to Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, Pulaski, who is 82 years olf.  Her youngest sister, Mrs. Agnes Tardiff, came from Duluth, Minn., for the reunion.  Mrs. Tardiff, whose last visit to Green Bay was 38 years ago, is a house guest at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Cayemberg, 875 Shawano avenue.

One grandchild and five great-grandchildren were added to the family during the past year.  Members attended from Algoma, Rio Creek, Casco, Luxemburg, Martinville, Dyckesville, Tonet, Manitowoc, Pulaski, Kunesh, Anston, Two Rivers, Duluth, Minn., and Ensign, Mich., for the annual event.  Next year's reunion will be held at Pamperin park June 7.  Chairmen will be the Mmes. Harvey Moureau and Cyril Blohowiak, Green Bay, and Mrs. Donald Nellis, Dyckesville."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.  One of these clippings was probably from a different paper since it is unlikely that the Press Gazette would have published the same article twice, even on different days.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1947

The Cayemberg reunion in its 10th year reached 114 people in attendance. Not too shabby if you ask me and by the looks of it they had a pretty good time. I talked previously about the need to have games at the reunion. Here you can see that they played baseball and tennis, but they could have played almost anything as long as it appealed to the family. It's important to know what your group enjoys to do!

There are plenty of free tools online that you can use to take a survey. Just do a search and see which one you find most user friendly. If you don't want to deal with creating an online survey just ask people! Does your committee use social media? Put the question out there! If you aren't using social media, why aren't you using social media?!?!?!

If your reunion hasn't made it into the 21st century with technology, that's OK. You can always ask for input at planning meetings or even at the current reunion. What better place to corner a group and ask what they'd like to do to keep them coming back. Just remember that asking and not following through with any of the suggestions is more likely to frustrate than invigorate.

Don't be afraid to ask for input and don't be too big for your britches to use ideas that don't appeal to you. I know that I'm not a tennis player....come to think of it, I'm fairly pathetic at any sport...but if people told me they wanted tennis, or baseball, or arm wrestling for that matter, I'd want to make them happy. Heck, as long as I'm physically able I'd get in there and participate. They'd probably go home with some comical memories of their relative that smacked herself in the face with a tennis racquet! Just make memories and keep them coming back!

"Cayemberg Family Has 10th Reunion

(Handwritten '1947')

Four generations of the Cayemberg family, totaling 114 persons, met at Pemperin park Sunday for the family's tenth family reunion.

The reunion began at noon with a dinner for the family and baseball and tennis were played in the afternoon.  Races were won by Wally Cayemberg, Shelley Jean Guillette, Anston; Ben Matuszak, Algoma; Florence and Cy Blohowiak, Denmark; Bob Fellows, Shirley Cayemberg, Manitowoc, and Marie Cayemberg, Ensign, Mich.

Mrs. Frank Motquin won the door prize which was made by Mrs. Florence Cayemberg, who is the grandmother of the family and spoke at the dinner.  Mrs. Harvey Moureau and Mrs. Russell Anderson were chairmen of this year's reunion.

Mrs. Joseph Wattawa, Reedsville, and Mrs. Rose Christianson, Casco, have been named chairmen of the June, 1948, reunion.

Members of the family from Ensign, Mich., Milwaukee, Reedsville, Casco, New Franken, Luxemberg, Algoma, Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Rosiere, Sawyer, Anston, Pulask, Kunesh and Rio Creek attended the family celebratino (sic)."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1946

The Cayemberg Family Reunion was only in its infancy when this little snippet was published in a Wisconsin newspaper.  It was only the 9th reunion, but 94 family members were in attendance.  They took pictures.  They played games.  They.  Had.  FUN!!!

When reunions begin sure there's lots of enthusiasm.  That's to be expected.  People think keeping the enthusiasm is hard, but why is that?  Do you have an annual water balloon toss?  Baking contest? A family reunion baseball or football game that everyone loved playing in?  A tug-of-war? Why did you stop having them?  Was it because Uncle Bill was getting too old to play?  What about Billy Jr?  Maybe Uncle Bill can't play anymore, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't enjoy cheering on his branch of the family.  That he wouldn't enjoy watching his cousins, children and grandchildren make the same memories he had made in reunions past!

Focusing on what the aging portion of a reunion can and cannot do and basing your itinerary on that is a sure-fire way to bore the heck out of the younger crowd.  Heck...you're probably boring the heck out of the older crowd too!  Make sure you incorporate fun into the day so that the enthusiasm that was at the 9th reunion is still there for the 79th, 89th or 99th reunion!

"Cayemberg Family Has 9th Reunion

('Handwritten 1946')

Pamperin Park was the meeting place for the ninth family reunion of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Cayemberg.

There were 94 members of the family at the dinner Sunday, including great-grandchildren.  The reunion was an all day affair at which the family pictures were taken and those present signed the record book.

Games were played with winner being:  Adelbert Guillette, Tonet; Marie Cayemberg, Ensign, Mich.; Nancy Cayemberg, Manitowos; Gladys Carrie Cayemberg, Green Bay, race winners; Mrs Wallace Guillette, Tonet, door prize; Mrs. Thersia Massert, Rosin and Byron Gregor, Rio Creek, guessing games.

Mrs. Edward Van Ben Den and Mrs Jerry Tilkens were the co-chairmen for the reunion.  Mrs. Florence Cayemberg received a gift from the family.

Next year the family will hold their tenth reunion at Pamperin Park again.  Mrs. Russell Anderson and Mrs. Harvey Moureau have been named as 1947 chairman.  Only one son, Wilfred, Manitowoc, was unable to attend."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1945

As promised I'm continuing my Family Reunion Friday series this week.  The descendants of Eli and Florence Cayemberg nee Villers have been having reunions for about 77 years now and I have many clippings documenting them in an old scrapbook.  This one from 1945 is the earliest I have although I have a mind to go back through old newspapers this winter and see if I can find them all!

Remember that if you're going through the trouble of having a family reunion you should see about getting it into the local newspaper.  If you're having a reunion then you apparently care about your family's history.  Getting it into a newspaper will be a record for generations to come.  Have one person each year in charge of the sign in sheet and doing the write up for the paper.

I'm a Scout leader and one thing they teach us about recruiting new volunteers is to give them something small and easy to accomplish.  If they can see how easy helping out can be they may be more likely to take on other tasks that need to be done.  You can do this with more than just newspaper article submissions.  Remember that "many hands make light work!"  You don't have to do it all yourself!

Finally, if you're having a special reunion (the 25th, 50th, 75th, etc) contact the newspaper before and let them know about it.  They might just send someone out to take pictures and report on it!

"Cayemberg Family Has Large Reunion

(Handwritten '1945')

Pamperin park lodge was the setting for the eighth reunion of the family of Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, Pulaski, Sunday when 73 members gathered for dinner and supper.

As 'mother' of the group, Mrs. Cayemberg was presented with a corsage and prayerbook by the chairman, Mrs. Patrick Cayemberg, during the dinner.  Mrs. Cyril Blohowiak, Tonet, co-chairman, was unable to attend.  M.J. Cayemberg took charge of the pop stand.

Youngest member present was Merten James, two-weeks-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Cayemberg, Pulaski, who was christened that morning in Flintville.

Mrs. Henry Cayemberg, Manitowoc, won the gift given by the elder Mrs. Cayemberg.

The family will again get together next June in Pamperin park with Mmes. Jerry Tilken and Edward VanBenden as chairmen and Jerome Tilkens in charge of the refreshment stand."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.