Another fun activity over our Memorial Day weekend was attending the Scheper family reunion . This is the second time in 5 years that all the descendants of John and Elizabeth Scheper (my great-grandparents) got together! It was a massive amount of work on everyone's part, and, in my opinion, well worth the effort. Not only because I'm super geeky and like geneology and such, but also because I'm uber proud to be a part of such a rich heritage, here are some facts about my family history.
John and Elizabeth Scheper had 8 children: Elizabeth (Betty), Margie, Mariam, Bim (Virginia), Patty, Jack, Jerry, and my grandfather, Bill. Of all 8 children, only 2 are still living, however, the Scheper siblings have left behind quite a crew. I may not have my stats 100% here, but bear with me, as I know it's pretty close. If ALL the descendants were able to make the reunion, there would have been 190 people there, and we actually had 162 people come! That is amazing! What is even crazier is that I think we determined that roughly 80% of all the descendants still live within the 20 mile radius that would encompass N. Kentucky! How remarkable!!
So, to continue with the history lesson: my grandfather met the belle of the ball, Marianne, and they had 8 children themselves: Jane, Nancy (mi madre), Bill, Guy, Tim (Re-Run), Steve, Joe, and Louie (Jennifer). What is crazy is that my mom, and her siblings have 36 1st cousins! Insane! I'm sure there were very few fights in that household.
My mom met the BMOC, Paul Kubala, and together they produced 4 lovely children: Brian, Joel, Emily (me!), and Swing (Katie). (NOTE: No one in any of these generations seem to call people by their birth names, if you haven't noticed. Apparently once you get a nickname, it sticks for life). So, there you have it. Whew!
Ok, now, onto the reunion. The way it was organized was nothing short of brilliant, in my opinion. There was a committee (of course there was a committee - did I mention that my Aunt Jane was pseudo-in charge of reunion organization - enough said) of 1 person (delegate) from each family, and they met periodically (once a month?) to organize all the details. Let me tell you, there wasn't a detail left out. Part of me wonders if these same 8 people should begin to work on the current debt crisis, but I'll let them volunteer on their own. The committee thought of everything - food, drinks, games, pictures/slide show, colored shirts for each family, name tags with not only names, but what generation and also what "Scheper" you belonged to, prizes, goodie bags for the little people, professional photographer - you name it, it was done. And it was wonderful.
The day started out with mass at St. Pius in Edgewood, with Scheper family members participating in readings, Eucharistic Ministers, etc. Then the party moved to the Edgewood Senior Center and Park, where a professional photographer was waiting to take family shots. There were introductions of each family, and then we ate. Can you imagine feeding that many people? It was delicious. Then the games began - everything from CornHole, to Free-Throw Contest, it was included. The only slight deterrent on the day was the 90-degree temps, but we all still seemed to manage. It was a culmination of a lot of work, and it was a lot of fun. I didn't have much time for my own picture-taking, but here are few shots:
I'm not sure who's the most-tired in this picture. Yes, my mom was her family's delegate.
Passed-out #1
Passed-out #2
