Reunion food

These are some ideas for feeding your reunions. Some reunions do their own cooking, others find many other sources for food, restaurants, caterers, delis, carry out. You need to decide how to best feed your group at the most affordable price. Some groups pool their resources and buy food together, others pay individually. These are all decisions that have to be made based on your individual needs. How did you do it? E-mail us.

Recipe for a great family reunion
  Patience, persistence, planning and favorite dairy foods, according to Wisconsin’s Dairy Council. Like no other family celebration, a reunion is a special time to celebrate heritage and kinship. It's a time to take a break from the sometimes frantic pace of life to reconnect with your past while looking ahead to the future.
  Once you’ve managed to get everyone together, you must feed them. With over 500 mouths to feed, the Seidemans of Newburg, Wisconsin, offer a variety of mealtime options. Refreshment stands provide hot dogs, bratwurst, beer, candy, popcorn and ice cream. Some families bring their own picnic lunches. Others join together for an old-fashioned potluck meal. "Some of us make family favorites like potato salad or shrimp salad," says Phyllis Naumann. "It's tradition."
Vera Brooks of Richmond Township, Wisconsin, helps plan two family reunions each year. The Helling Family Reunion, in its 50th year, brings together relatives from her father's side. On the fourth Sunday of every July, the Klug Family (Brooks' mother's side) gets together. Each reunion includes from 30 to 50 people and a potluck meal is the norm. "You get a good variety of food with a potluck and because everyone makes just one dish, there's not a lot of expense involved, either," says Brooks. When deciding what to serve at your family reunion, the trick is to choose a menu with something for everyone. Think hearty, wholesome and home-cooked, not fussy and fancy.

Knapp/Napp family is nourished
  August 2001, 250 descendants of Conrad and Maria Napp gathered at the Beetown Hall in Grant County, Wisconsin. At high noon it was time for lunch. Lines formed and Sister Maria Hill offered grace. Thanks to the planning and coordination of cousin Beth McCullick, a resplendent German-American buffet was laid out by caterers from the Red Top Supper Club in Hazel Green, Wisconsin. On the menu were beef rouladen, broiled fish, bratwurst in sauerkraut, German potato salad, green beans and spaetzle, rye bread and rolls, plus hot dogs for the less adventurous appetites among the younger set. In addition to the catered meal, many family members contributed pot-lucked salads and desserts. Several large tubs set under shade trees offered self-serve beverages on ice.
  Following lunch the buffet tables were cleared to make way for desserts. A wide assortment of pot-lucked goodies surrounded the centerpiece, a beautiful three-tiered cake inscribed with “Happy 180th Anniversary, Conrad & Maria Napp.”
  Reunion hindsight offers some ideas for future gatherings: If you’re serving a buffet meal, call people into line in some sort of order. (Those who don’t have a prayer of getting food for 15 or 20 minutes might as well stay comfortably chatting somewhere rather than standing in line.) One good idea would be to say “Everyone over 60 and under 12, line up for lunch!” Naturally, mom or dad should go through the line to assist youngsters who need help choosing and carrying. In our case — if we’d thought of it in advance — we could have called the group to lunch according to generation, as this was noted on their nametags.
  Reported by Mary Thiele Fobian, Pacific Grove, California.
Food wisdom
“Food is probably the easiest way to preserve a sense of family and heritage,” says Diana Baird N'Diaye, program curator for the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. “Most people love to prepare favorite dishes from childhood and share with others. Recipes are passed down, stories are told. Kids are usually involved in the easy parts of preparation, so they absorb it all.”
from the Washington Post

Food as décor
  No money for centerpieces? Use food! A bowl of fruit can be arranged in a pyramid or fill a large platter beautifully. The fruit can be used as between-meal snacks or dessert. Other centerpiece-worthy food arrangements include platters of cookies or a colorful trifle in a beautiful bowl. Fancy decorated cakes will intrigue those who look forward to digging into them.


Tailgate tips
  If your reunion activities include “a game,” take your picnic to the ballpark.

• Safe tailgating means keeping hot food hot and cold food cold.
• Pack food in airtight containers or bags that seal tight.
• Chill cooked foods in the refrigerator before packing them in the cooler.
• Pack highly perishable foods right next to ice in the cooler.
• Transport the cooler in your car’s interior, not in the hot trunk.
• Put cooler in the shade and keep the lid closed

Using restaurants
Planning your reunion in your city, where you have lots of favorite restaurants? Which one(s) to choose? How to choose? How about a dine-around? Take your reunion to more than one of your favorites. Introduce your guests around town.

• Consider your group’s demographics.
• Work only with restaurants that understand group business.
• Determine a budget, then find out if restaurants can work within those limits.
• Be sure each has appropriate staffing levels.
• Decide whether an open or cash bar will suit your needs. Consider limiting drinks to beer and wine if cost is a factor.
• Are restaurants able to accommodate food allergies or dietary restrictions?
• Hold a tasting; don’t rely on reviews or reputation.
• To enhance the experience, add music, décor, entry signage.
• Have servers welcome guests with pre-poured libations and hors d’oeuvres.
• Proofread all printed menus.
• If time is an issue, pre-set a schedule to expedite food service.
• Have someone travel about an hour in advance to ensure that the restaurant is on schedule and that tables are properly set.
  
  

Short-cuts for party planning

• Use only finger foods so no utensils are needed.
• Pick up baked goods.
• Decorate with bowls of fresh fruit such as colored grapes.
• Pick up prearranged flowers.

Picnic spot
The ideal picnic setting is an area with large shade trees, on-site parking and necessary permits for entertainment (alcohol, fireworks). This venue should have sufficient liability insurance, paved access for wheelchairs, clean water fountains in working order, electrical outlets and safe boundaries. Have a backup location in the event of inclement weather.

It really takes a lot of help
  When the Buet(t)schell family met in Texas, many family members from Texas took responsibility for making sure everyone was fed. Consider this list.
Marie and Tom Holsworth of Palacios took charge of the kitchen for morning drinks and snacks and all-day desserts. Sisters Diane Caddell of Kingsbury and Donna Culton of Mentz helped in the kitchen, as did their mother, Adeline Heintschel of Columbus. Many families contributed desserts.
  The wonderful food was prepared by the Brod family under the leadership of Karen and Bobbie Brod of Cat Spring. Other family members who helped included Ray and Hazel Brod Braden of Alleyton, Marvin and Frances Brod of Cat Spring, Cecil and Beverly Brod of El Campo, Bobby and Irene Brod Morgan of Katy, Kent Brod of Cat Spring, Charles Harbich of Mentz and John Buettschell of Sealy. They charged actual cost for food; labor was their contribution to the picnic.
  Their generosity helped meet most of our expenses from registration fees and donations. If we had hired a caterer, the meal would have cost at least twice as much.
Reported by Arliss Treybig, Buet(t)schell Family Reunion, El Campo, Texas.


Cut food and beverage costs
Spend your money wisely. A big platter of potato skins might cost the same as a small dish of mushroom caps.
If you’re at a seaside resort, the day’s catch is more affordable than steaks.
Buy produce in season.
Buy as much food as you can in bulk.
For the first evening, when everyone is arriving, have “heavy hors d’oeuvres” and call it a night.
Choose from last year’s wine list.
Serve a selection of beer, wine and soft drinks, rather than costlier bar drinks. Beer in kegs is less expensive than bottles.
  From an article by Loren G. Edelstein in Meetings & Conventions.

Malsam Family Reunion enjoys
  We stayed in a motel in nearby South Haven, Michigan, a short 15-minute commute to the lake place of our hosts, Tom and Lavetta Kazda. The Kazdas and a sister lovingly prepared favorite family foods before the reunion: sauerkraut and dumplings, spiced beef, pork loin roast, baked pasta with meat sauce and dozens of homemade gingersnap, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. Everyone loved the food. Perishables were stored in two refrigerators.
  For two days, we ate complimentary breakfasts at our hotel and feasted on one big meal at midday. Between meals, we grabbed leftovers, which simplified food preparation and serving. On the last day, the Kazdas cooked a hearty brunch before everyone departed.
  Reported by Margaret Malsam, Denver, Colorado.

Can you help?
  We received this query from Kathy in Florida and wonder if you have any suggestions for her.
“I have a family reunion in Illinois coming up. Everyone who attends travels some distance. I'm looking for new food ideas that are easy to travel with and fix. I can't count on an outdoor grill at this resort. Can you send me some ideas of food that can travel, be different and good and easy to fix?”
  We responded that we had no recipes specifically that can travel other than sweets and desserts. We suggested she check into catering, carry-out and deli foods. Rather than not counting on an outdoor grill, check and tell them it's important.
  What are your ideas? Email to reunions@execpc.com.

Family Reunions Yesterday
by Frances E. Hanson
In earlier days family members may have lived in the same state or county, but they were lucky to see other family members once a year. The choice of transportation was foot, horse and buggy, stagecoach or slow train 'cross country. Twenty or thirty miles was considered a far piece and family gatherings were rare. Many families had loved ones who traveled the Oregon Trail West. Their return visits were cause for huge family celebrations.

Journals and pictures from the early 1880s reveal how such a family reunion was held on a Colorado farmstead "down in the Grove on Willow Creek." The week-long event was so important that neighbors pitched in to ready the Grove and food.

A main cooking fireplace was built. Tent and wagon spaces were staked out so the family could put up tarp-flys and sleep beneath their wagons. The ladies area was built to the south, gents to the north. Lanterns were hung among the trees and a post installed for each camp's lantern. Long tables with benches were fashioned from planks and saw horses, along with blocks of wood for chairs for older family members. Young people sat on brightly colored crazy quilts for their "dinner on the ground." A small platform was constructed for musicians and a dance floor roped off with several lantern posts.

Rooms were prepared for the oldest family members. Horseshoe stakes were set. Burlap sacks were gathered for sack races. Down in the creek under a big cottonwood tree, a hole was boxed in for watermelons. A pasture area was readied for lawn tennis and baseball. Barrel hoops were rounded up for the youngsters to roll and a swing hung in a tall shade tree. A quilting frame was assembled and sat waiting beneath tall shade trees. The icehouse was checked to insure a supply to keep ice cream and drinks cold.

Late in the afternoon and long into the night wagons and buggies were heard arriving. Long before daylight, host family women with women of early arrivals began preparing the afternoon family dinner. Bread dough for dinner rolls, light bread and wheat bread were mixed. Tea cakes were baked. There would be jellied chicken, cold fried chicken, baked chicken, and chicken roasted over the campfire. In addition, the menu included cold baked hams, jellied tongue, pickled salmon, cold veal loaf, green boiled corn, new potatoes fried on a open fire, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumber in vinegar water, camp salad, French and Spanish pickles, tomato preserves, peach and pear sweet pickles, lemon and orange jelly, freshly churned butter, pickled beets and hard boiled eggs. And there were cakes: Minnehaha, Old Fashioned Loaf, Buckeye, Lemon and Sponge. Bowls of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries were set out to nibble on all day. Lemon and strawberry ice cream were cranked out by the gallon. Tall cool glasses of iced tea, iced coffee, lemonade, soda-beer, ginger beer and raspberry vinegar, made the day before, awaited guests.

Baskets were packed for the trip to the Grove. First in were the oil cloths to cover tables. A coarse white flannel bag held extra serving ware and cooking spoons, forks, and sauce dishes. Coffee tied into small bags were tucked inside the tea-pot with "tea papers'; tin boxes of salt, pepper and sugar. A tin of butter was placed in a small bucket and covered with ice, then wrapped in a blanket. The tin water bucket held a bottle of coffee cream and fruit. Remaining baskets were packed with food and one-by-one loaded into wagons for the trip to the Grove where they were placed in order of serving on the long tables.

By noon, the Grove had become a sea of wide-brimmed ribbon and flower bedecked hats and sun bonnets, moving around in calico basque gowns. Long sleeves protected from the sun and insects. The men wore chambray shirts, bibs, denims and alpaca shirts. Little boys ran around in knee britches and straw boaters. Children were rubbed with kerosene to ward off mosquitoes.

The family dinner was laid and a group of nearly 100 did their best to empty the dishes set before them. The afternoon was spent playing games, quilting, hymn singing and story telling. Toward sunset the remaining food was set before those who lingered. Some left to do evening chores but would return for dancing and fiddle playing.
Hanson Family Reunion meal is enjoyed in the Grove. At the close of these family reunions someone photographed the family together. Here they remain, over 100 years later, together in the Grove – standing and sitting around the long tables with happy smiles for the generations to come.

About the author
Frances E. Hanson, the fifth generation of writers in her family, writes a weekly newspaper column for the Casper (WY) Journal. Other writing credits include feature articles, plays, newletters, articles, books, and research work. She has compiled family genealogies, ghost-written three books and is author of three books including An American Treasury of Heirloom Fruitcakes and Puddings, Vol. I, Para Publishing.

Remember summer reunion food
Share your special reunion recipes now; while they're still fresh in your mind or recipes you look forward to at your next reunion. We're looking for a potpourri of favorites and why they are. Include an anecdote, vignette, story, even pictures to go with the recipe to ensure our serious consideration. Recipes and stories may constitute as articles in Reunions magazine and sometimes as reprints. Winners receive a year's subscription to Reunions magazine. Send to Reunions Magazine, Inc., PO Box 11727, Milwaukee WI 53211-0727; fax 414-263-6331; or e-mail us.

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