Once again, this is the time of year that centers around… yes, family. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots of fun, family and food. I’ve heard from several of you who have served a few dishes from the new Roederer Family Favorites cookbook for your Thanksgiving feast. I’d love to hear from more of you on which recipes you plan to serve this year for Christmas dinner. Personally, I am planning on tackling the Sauerkraut Balls, which were a big hit at our Reunion’s German Feast. I’m guessing that many of you are going to try this recipe also. I know our St. Louis cousin, Linda, is going to share them with her large family on Christmas Eve. I seem to remember her saying more than 50 people are attending, including her brothers’ and sisters’ families and her mother who will be turning 97 on Christmas day!
It’s hard to believe that a month has passed since our Reunion’s first event on Friday, November 2nd – the Treffen und Grüssen (Meet & Greet) which was held at the Holiday Inn East. Our host hotel pulled out all of the stops to accommodate us in EVERY way. About 180 of the Roederer clan took over the large atrium and bar areas. As soon as the doors opened, family members came pouring into our registration room to pick up their name tags and registration packets. Mardi Gras came a few months early in Louisville!
I know I wasn’t able to get to everyone during this event to share the meaning behind the beads and name tags. The colored dots on the name tags were not just random. Everyone’s name tag lanyard was made of Mardi Gras beads which were collected from many Mardi Gras parades over the years… saving the more unique and “coveted” ones (even by local’s standards). Nearly everyone’s beads were different; except for our German cousins, who all sported their German colors with one strand of beads, each of black, red and gold! It was easy to pick them out of the massive crowd!
The name tags were not only festive, but were all tagged with a color-coded dot which was unique for each immigrant ancestor clan. Everyone with the same color dot was a 3rd cousin or closer in relation; different color tags would primarily be 4th, 5th or 6th cousins. A large family tree chart served as the key so all could see how they related to one another and their descendancy from our Diersburg forefather, Conrad Roederer (b. 1697). 
Here is one of our very special cousins, Kurt Roderer, as he points out his place of birth, Diersburg, Germany. He is the only surviving Diersburg immigrant in the US today. We were honored to have Kurt join us from Evanston, IL, along with his wife, Kathy, 4 daughters, a new son-in-law and 2 grandsons.
A special surprise for the family, courtesy of my cohort Linda Pennington… in the registration packets were personalized Lines of Descentfrom their immigrant ancestor, if this ancestor was born in early/mid 1800’s. Again, please contact Linda at lrpenn@yahoo.com if there are any corrections that need to be made.
We had an amazing team of about a dozen people working registration… passing out name tags, handing over neatly bundled pre-ordered Reunion merchandise and explaining all the goodies in registration packets. On the opposite side of the room, was the Reunion Store.
There were so many pre-orders that we decided at the last minute to have items available for purchase onsite. I predict that there will be quite a few of these family treats under the tree this Christmas for some of those who were unable to come. Cookbooks, family charts, cemetery guide, and T-shirts were quickly flying off the shelves! Kudos go to the storekeepers, Patti Jako our Cookbook Cousin, and my husband, Brian. Many thanks again to each and every one of these wonderful volunteers who got people checked in quickly and store items purchased so everyone could have lots of time to eat, drink and meet new family members.
Speaking of meeting new family members… I believe our German visitors were overwhelmed with the warm welcome they received by s
o many family members. Three German sisters, traveling together, arrived several days before the Reunion and stayed for two weeks! Several family members took these adorable ladies (2 were first-timers to the US) and showed them much of what Kentucky is known for… in addition to the bourbon!
So many wonderful connections happened over these three days! And there was one that deserves special mention. During my 30-year research of the Roederer family, I have had very little success in bringing the French Roederer clan into the fold with our German ancestry. Strasbourg, France (only 25 km from Diersburg) continually shifted between German and French rule for centuries and has been part of France since 1944. In my naivety, I though that ill feelings would have disappeared between the two countries after 50+ years. I was saddened to find in some cases that was just not true. Whenever I had a French Roederer descendant on the phone, as soon as I mentioned that I descended from the Diersburg clan, I was met with a curt “We are not related to Germans… click!”
I’m delighted to t
ell everyone that the war is over! I never dreamed that we could have family from all four major Roederer places of origin together under one roof. We accomplished just that with families descending from Roederer ancestors born in Diersburg, Oberschopfheim, Friesenheim and now finally… STRASBOURG!!!
A few months ago while on a business trip to Houston, I had the honor to meet Diane Roederer and her daughter, Victoria. Diane was born in Strasbourg and has lived in the Houston area for over 20 years. During our brief visit, Diane and I were intrigued with one another… wanting to know more about our prospective heritages. She and Victoria decided to join us, tour Louisville and meet lots of Roederers. This is just the beginning of a beautiful blending of cultures, heritage and focus on our commonalities, instead of differences. Diane, affectionately know as the “Truffle Lady”, graciously donated a truffle basket to our silent auction. You can check out her delicious products at www.drdelicacy.com and read more about this interesting French connection. Merci beaucoup, Diane et Victoria!
Several family members brought their family treasures to share with the group. Some brought scrapbooks while others brought meaningful heirlooms in shadowboxes and framed pictures. My biggest regret of the entire reunion is that there was not enough time for me to look at all of these wonderful family treasures that were so graciously shared. Thank you all for sharing.
We have had a great response with the reopening of the Reunion Store. There is still time to get those last minute Christmas gifts, as long as your heart is NOT set on one of the T-shirts. The T-shirts sold out, but we still have a few of the other items left. Get them while they last! Click Roederer Reunion Store.
Also, Art Raderer, who broke a hip just a few short weeks before the Reunion is doing remarkably well. We were thrilled that he was able to join us for our Day 2 event – the German feast. You’ll have to wait for the next newsletter to hear about Art’s appearance and a huge surprise revealed!
Stay tuned… you’re not going to want to miss this next edition of our Reunion Recap.
Cousin Rhonda
Rhonda@RoedererReunion.com
504-452-4370