Andy's family reunion in Iowa

This blog will be a duo effort by Andy and I.  Can you guess who did what?

Last year, cousin Sue and Andy thought it would be great to have a family reunion. A local gallery was planning "a showing" of their grandfather, Fred Bombach's, paintings & sketches, so what a perfect time to have the family get together to celebrate this accolade to their grandfather. Fred & Betty (grandma) had three children, Otto (Andy's dad), Viola and Elsie. They were all in attendance for this momentous occasion!!

Sue planned....everything! Our reunion consisted of 4 days of wonderful activities which she planned, coordinated, and made reservations for.

The plan was...to have several days of activities to choose from, so that the cousins would have plenty of time to spend together and get to know one another.  Andy and Tammy hadn't seen their cousins,  except for Sue in 45 years, Larry, Andy's brother, 30 some years!

A little bit about my grandfather, Fred Bombach.  He was born in Germany and came to the states in 1910 at the age of 22. A couple of years later he moved to Iowa and lived there for the rest of his life. In 1921 he married my grandmother and  decided to raise chickens. He then started a hatchery and raised crops which he did until the age of 65 when he retired.  He always enjoyed writing and as you will see further along here was an extremely gifted artist.  He and my grandma then moved to LaPorte City, where I went to visit as a child.  My grandma died while I was in high school, but Grandpa lived to be 100 years old!!

Fred Bombach

Self Portrait

Sketch of Grandma, Elizabeth (Betty) Bombach

Cousin Dan, had a surprise for us!  When he knew we were planning the reunion he did a little snooping around & found  these pictures hanging in the local American Legion Hall in Blairstown, Iowa, where the Bombach family lived and grew up.  How lucky and amazing it was to find these photo's and history.

His High School Graduation picture

Aunt Vi High School Graduation Picture

Aunt Elsie's High School Graduation picture

Here they are 70 plus years later and still going strong ! Dang they have good genes, hope that carries on to me, lol!

Otto,(front), Viola,(right) and Elsie (Left)

Our first event was the private reception to view Grandpa's art work.

The Whole Family at the art show

The Whole Family having fun at the art show!

My family!

Mom and Dad  with, Ernie, Larry, Tammy & you know those other two on the end

This is Aunt Vi's Family-left to right

 Lori, Bud, Sue, Robin, Ned, Fran and Dan

Aunt Vi & Sue..no doubt they are mother & daughter!

Aunt Elsie's Family;

Grandson Mark, Linda, Terry, and Janet

These are all of the first cousins together.  How amazing it was to get to know them!  Presented here youngest to oldest.

Larry, Tammy, Lori, Me, Ned, Janet, Linda, Dan and Sue

Hanging with my sis, bro's and cuz

Our name it lights...well chalk, lol

Just for our family, how cool is that!

Some of the many, many paintings my grandfather did.  

And sketches

Dad and Grandpa

Day 2 was an all day trip. First stop was Blairstown and then onto the farm where my dad was raised. However, the farm is no longer there.

The tree that is prevalent in many of my grandfathers paintings

The house burnt down many years ago and all that's left is a pile of bricks and rubble.  It was cool though because we could all take a brick, or part of one, to keep as a memento of the house.

Family checking out the sight where the house used to be

Andy and her daddy

The "REAL TROUBLE MAKERS" !

Next stop was the "Amana Colonies" since Andy's Grandmother came from there. There is often a misconception that the people of the Amana Colonies are Amish - this is not the case. The residents of the Colonies live a contemporary lifestyle - you will not see horse-drawn buggies.

The Amana people and the Old Order Amish are two distinct groups with very different historical traditions and religious teachings.  There is, furthermore, no ethnic relationship between the the two groups, nor has there been much interaction over the years.

The history of the Amana Colonies, a National Historic Landmark and one of the longest-lived communal societies, begins in 1714 in the villages of Germany and continues today on the Iowa Prairie.
Persecution and an economic depression in Germany forced the community to begin searching for a new home.  The left Germany in 1843-44 and arrived  in Buffalo, New York. As the community grew they need more farmland so in 1855 they arrived in Iowa.

In the seven villages, residents received housing, medical care, meals, all household necessities and schooling for their children.  Property and resources were shared.  Men and woman were assigned jobs by their village council of brethren.  No one received a wage.  No one needed one.

In 1932 during America's Depression, Amana set aside its communal way of life. The communal way of life was seen as a barrier to achieving individual goals, so rather than leave or watch their  children leave, they changed.

Evocation of another age, the streets of the Amana Colonies with their historic brick, stone and clapboard homes, their flower and vegetable gardens, their lanterns and walkways recall a Amana of yesterday.

Today the seven villages represent an American Dream come true.  Thousands of visitors annually come to see and enjoy a place where the past is cherished and where hospitality is a way of life.

Of course she "HAD' to go in there. That meant me too !

Yes you guessed it...there too !

I call this, the wool weaving factory...lol

Hail Hail..The Queen has arrived ! Forgive me   "me Lord"  !

Barbara is one tough lady... that's for sure !

and at his age...hard to find !

What the heck is he doing here ? Dang she looks good !

My mom and dad's best friends of 60 years came from Illinois just for the occasion!

Lifelong Best Friends. .. Real  BFF's ...Barbara & Beth .   Honey, I got ya ! 

Best friends for most of their lives, Otto & Ruoff

Day 3, since Preston didn't go, there are virtually no pictures except this one.  We spent a couple of hours at the local Veteran's museum, so interesting.  Robin, my cousin Ned's wife, works there so we got the VIP tour!  Lunch followed at the local art museum.

Otto's "Silver Star" earned in WWII displayed in the Veteran's Museum

What a wonderful place to call home. Sue's and Buds home along the Cedar River.  What a gorgeous place! Can't thank you guys enough !!

Oh, is that our RV?  Yes it is.  Our home now too!  Seriously who gets to lives like this??

Our daily jaunt!

We are wild and crazy.  Oh yes..we like wine too ! 

Otto and his little girl Tammy

Very rare picture...very rare!  He has an empty Wine Glass !

Sisters...need I say more !

I am sure she is thinking...thank goodness they are gone ! !  I need a drink !

The last day we had a family BBQ at Bud and Sue's home.  I guess Preston was getting really tired of picture taking as there are none! ( Hey now..doesn't anyone else no how to snap a picture).

Twenty-eight (28) family members were here. Four generations of Bombach's! ( Preston here; it was exhausting)  The reunion was perfect. After much reflection, we decided there literally was nothing else that could have made it any better. All of the cousins are SO NICE and easy to hang with. I will be forever grateful that everyone that could attend was here to celebrate our family and heritage.


A HUGE thank you to Sue for pulling all of this together and to both her and Bud for the amazing hospitality they have shown us for the past week we've been parked in there driveway.

Preston here; Sue wasn't all the nice but was just a little bit nicer than that grumpy Bud !  All he could do was grump around and complain.  Complain ...complain...complain.  Preston get me a beer....Preston cut the grass...Preston you need to BBQ the steaks first before the chicken...etc...way bossy !  Of course I am kidding...thank you guys you are truly amazing people whom I call a friend.

Love you both!!!!

Tomorrow we head southeast to Keith and Bert's place in the Chicago area for a day and then Andy will head home to Portland for a bit and I will head to Michigan to see my family and fish with my brother.

Good times just keep on rolling  !