HOELSCHER-BUXKEMPER FAMILY
REUNION MEETING
SAN ANGELO, TEXAS
JUNE 29, 2008
The 28th biennial meeting of the Hoelscher-Buxkemper Family was held at the Wells Fargo Pavilion of the San Angelo Fairgrounds on Sunday, June 29, 2008, with the meeting called to order by President Dottie Frerich at 12:45 p.m. The opening prayer was led by Deacon Wilbur Hoelscher of San Antonio.
Copies of the minutes of the previous reunion meeting held in El Campo, Texas, on June 11, 2006, had been distributed prior to the meeting. It was moved, seconded and approved that the minutes be approved as recorded.
Board members in attendance were introduced: Marjorie Baumbach, Crosby; O. A. Bernsen, Hondo; Linda Binns, San Angelo; Carla Bottorf, Kingsbury; Shirley Burk, Temple; Patti Decker, San Angelo; Clarence Entrop, Temple; Dee Evans, San Antonio; Dottie Frerich, San Angelo; Barbara Fuchs, Midland; Carolyn Gottschalk, Arlington; Johnny Hoelscher, Bryan; Hubert Lange, San Antonio; Lee and Judith Meurer, Slaton; Reba Ott, Austin; and Doris Voltin, Rosebud. It was announced that long-time board member, Gene Hoelscher of Salado, had died in June, 2007; condolences were offered to his wife, Barbara, and family.
President Frerich announced Barbara Hoelscher of Salado had been elected to the board at its meeting on Friday, June 27.
President Frerich also reported that the now completed family book has been mailed to all who ordered them and copies have been sold this weekend and are still available to purchase or order. A total of 3000 books were ordered; currently 1765 copies have been sold, with 1276 on hand (the printer did provide more than the 3000 ordered). Linda Binns and Patti Decker acknowledged the work of the book committee members: Doris Voltin and Dee Evans (Elizabeth section); Dottie Frerich (Anton section); Theresa Gold (not present) (Joe section); Margie Baumbach and Shirley Burk (William section); O.A. Bernsen (Ben section); Hubert Lange; and Carolyn Meiners Heinsohn, who provided many pictures and historical information. All were provided gifts from the family. Carolyn Hoelscher, book designer, was recognized for her tireless work for over 4 years and was also presented a gift on behalf of the family.
Linda Binns, Registration Chairperson, reported registration of 660 family and guests: Elizabeth 127, Anton 217, Joe 339, William 59, Ben 41, and guests 16. (Those in more than one family section are counted in all sections; so total number by family does not add up to 660.)
Clergy and seminarians who presided at the morning’s Mass were recognized and thanked; these include Monsignor Larry Droll, Deacon Wilbur Hoelscher, and seminarian Sam Matthiesen. Another seminarian, Karl Schmidt of Miami, FL was present and recognized.
Those in attendance for the first time at a family reunion were recognized, and invited to return to future reunions. Nathalene Hoelscher of Robstown was recognized as having attended all 28 reunions.
It was announced that family members 80 and over had been recognized earlier with pictures taken before the meeting. Military personnel from all eras were also recognized and had received special thanks at the morning Mass.
Awards were presented to the following:
Oldest Man: Werner Niehues, 91, of San Angelo
Oldest Woman: Esther Strube, 94, of Slaton
Youngest Baby Boy: Reed Muelter, 5 months, son of Richard
and Sabrina Muelter, of Lubbock
Couple Married Longest: Norbert and Lucille Halfmann, 62 years,
of Paint Rock
Newly-Wed Couple Brian and Cristina (Espinoza) Snapka,
14 months, Corpus Christi (married April 21, 2007)
Largest Family: Seven adult children of Walter Andrew and Mary Knoff Hoelscher Grace Beach, Rowena; Clarence Hoelscher, Stephenville; Marilyn Midkiff, Carrollton; Joyce Hoelscher Hoelscher, St. Lawrence; Pat Lange, Rowena; Leroy Hoelscher, St. Lawrence; and Leon Hoelscher, Ballinger
Greatest Distance Traveled: Winkie (Fuchs) Hayes, Wiesbaden, Germany
Oldest Veteran: Elmer Hoelscher, 88, (July 25, 1919) Clovis, California, and Wilbert Gully, 88, (April 12, 1920), San Angelo (brothers-in-law)
Quilts, designed and made by family members, were won by LisaTheriot and Judy Kessler. Family members were reminded to send newspaper clippings of family events to Reba Ott, Custodian of Records; address changes to Hubert Lange, Mailing Chairperson; and to access the family website at www.h-bfamily.org. Webmaster Linda and Quint Binns will add to the website as information is provided them. It was announced Linda Binns will be the representative for the collection of data for Joe’s section of the family; representatives for the other family sections remain the same. Please continue to provide updated information; forms are available for this purpose. Three locations have put in a bid for the next reunion in 2010 – New Braunfels, San Antonio and Columbus. These will be explored and a decision made and then reported to the family in the newsletter. It is anticipated the reunion will be in June (2010). All who helped make this reunion a success were thanked for their hard work. The closing prayer was led by Seminarian Karl Schmidt; meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.
Submitted by:
Shirley
SHIRLEY M. BURK