Christmas in Goshen 2013

We had a festive Christmas dinner at Evergreen. The Stollen was made by Aunt Evelyn, who had flown to Boston for her Christmas.  Mother's shawl was a present from KS, the flowers from MI, and the chocolates from WA.  Not shown was the book (off the photo, to the right) from NY.  Don is guarding the peppernuts from Canada.

Evan enjoyed talking with Aunt Rachel (104.5 and of excellent mind).

 

Mother cutting Aunt Evelyn's beautiful Christmas Stollen for our banquet's dessert.

Evan showed Virginia how to get TuneIn Radio on her iPad. This is just before she broke out in a big smile, hearing some good music from around the world.

The second part of Kreider Christmas 2013 took place in Philadelphia.  On Boxing Day (26th), we met Mark and Amy at the B&B:

A few shots from our 'over-the-top' B&B.  Our hostess was just wonderful, giving us every attention, making breakfast early for travelers, getting whatever we needed.  She gave us the table for 8 in case Julia or Aaron wanted to join us.  (Aaron . . . before noon???)

The evening meal on Boxing Day was at a local Thai restaurant (too dark for my poor phone's camera, but it's all I have). The Stone family drove in to meet us.  You can see Julia's brother, David.  He would then drive back to his place in Charlottesville, VA.

Left to right:  Julia, David, Harriet, Vivian Amy, Aaron, Stephen, Mark, Janice and Larry.

This red and green scene was in Aaron's and Julia's home on December 27th showing Amy meeting Sue Groff, Janice's sister. Sue and her family joined us for an evening meal at a local Ethiopian restaurant. There were 14 of us. (You can see why 14 people need to go elsewhere to eat!)
 

This time, the cuisine was Ethiopian.  

Counterclockwise around the table: Mark, Amy, Vivian, Julia (from the back), Anna, Celeste, Josiah, Brian, Aaron, Janice, Sue, Marlin

On Saturday, we eight were invited to visit Julia's parents' home, which is called Powdermill Farm.  The "mill was built by Thomas Heimberger in 1776 with a grant from the Committee of Safety of the Continental Congress" (from the Stone's Holiday Letter).  We got to see the work being done on their powder mill which had been active during the Revolution, supplying powder for the continental army.  The mill was never discovered by the British (and therefore not destroyed by them).  During the Civil War era, it produced plaster.  An old oak tree fell directly on it several decades ago, causing considerable damage.  The Stones now have a mason rebuilding the walls of this historic building.

 

We then processed by foot over to Aunt Sara's home.  She (with help from Harriet and Larry) prepared a wonderful meal for the extended family.  Her home is nicely designed for entertaining.  She was having all the neighbours join her for a New Year's Eve celebration.

After the New York and Seattle portions of the family returned home, we ate with Julia and Aaron at a local Lebanese restaurant.  We love the local ethnic establishments (and their prices!)

We missed the other Kreiders who were celebrating their Christmases in Newton, Chicago, Florida, and Seattle.

Family Memorial for Kay in Goshen

On July 22nd, many of the descendants of Virginia and J. Robert met in Goshen to remember Kay.  We gathered mid-afternoon in Greencroft's Evergreen's chapel, supported by a number of Stalter and Kreider cousins, as well as Aunt Evelyn (98) and Aunt Rachel (104).  Some of the Stalter cousins drove a considerable distance for this reunion, which meant a lot to all of us, but it was especially important for Paul and their sole surviving Stalter Aunt, Virginia (Grandma).

Earlier, on Saturday, July 20th, the Dayton Mennonite Fellowship kindly held a potluck supper in honour of Paul's family.  This was then followed by a Memorial Service with the Fellowship on Sunday afternoon.

The gathering in Goshen the next day did not attempt to duplicate the Dayton event, and instead focused on readings drawn from scripture and more recent writers, as well as written prayers.  Both Memorials provided time for people to give thanks for Kay and to remember how she had helped them.  I will mention only two comments made in Goshen, though many were memorable and moving. 

Amy gave thanks for the way Kay suggested, encouraged, and made it possible for "We Five Brothers" to spend a few days together in her Dayton home many years ago.  During that first brothers-only reunion, the brothers bonded in ways nobody could have anticipated.  In a similar vein, Grandma gave thanks that Kay devoted so much time and creativity to organizing the larger family reunions for Grandpa, Grandma and their descendants in Tennessee and Georgia Bay, Ontario (Mark and Amy also organized the memorable reunion at their home in Cutchogue--complete with tornado).

Here are some photos from the Goshen Memorial for Kay:

During the Memorial in Goshen, people paused to look at photographs of Kay and to admire a table cloth that had been signed by all their friends in the Dayton Fellowship.  Paul also asked that Alan's recent photo of Stephen and Gretchen be displayed on the table.  We knew that Cousin Stephen's time of remission from his cancer had concluded, but we never suspected that he would pass away less than 24 hours later in Hawaii.  Paul and Gretchen both know what it is like to wait while helplessly watching a loved one slip away.

After the moving Memorial, everybody drove to Middlebury, where Grandma hosted a reception in a private room at Das Dutchman Essenhaus.  This enabled the entire clan to visit while eating Amish food "family style".

On days surrounding the Memorial, we tended to gather in the Social Room on Grandma's floor in Evergreen.  We found the room suitable for games and even meals, so we brought in food from various stores.

Grandma and Grandpa's first date more than 70 years ago was over a board of Chinese checkers.  They played games the rest of their lives, especially during the retirement years.  A reunion of this family would be unthinkable without games--especially Scrabble.

Each day, we tended to gather in Grandma's apartment until we ran out of chairs and had to move elsewhere.

The various iPad-ers in the family usually manage to find time to share new discoveries.  It is possible for nonagenarians to learn new tricks.

We managed to take a few photos of people, either in groups in the shade of the gazebo, in hallways, or wherever we happened to remember to shoot.  Sadly, there is no photo showing everybody.  I know others were shooting casually, and hope they will also share photos with us. 

Grandma and Don wanted to show us their ride out to the pond and some garden allotments.  Can you can tell from the way they dress that it was mid-July in the Midwest?  Convertibles can be breezy.

When possible, people would meet at Goshen's Electric Brew for something to get the blood going for another day.  Even folks from Kreiderland (our nickname for Seattle) find the coffee to their liking.

Some evenings, those still awake would gather either by the indoor pool at Hampton Inn or in their lounge.

Some of us look best out-of-focus.