June 27, 2015

The 54th Annual Kramer Reunion was held on June 27, 2015 at Reese Park in Silverdale, PA. There were 23 people in attendance.

We had a pretty rainy day for our reunion, but luckily we had the use of the borough building. We set up tables and chairs for eating and gathering, and had tables for family history items, mementos and the Auction items. We also made use of the kitchen area to place all our food.

Paul Bengtson gave the blessing, and then we all joined in on enjoying the great food shared by our family members, and lots of socializing. After our meal, we held the annual business meeting.

In ‘Old News’, Bethanne Cassidy read the minutes from last year. As there were no changes or corrections, the minute were approved. Bob Hinkle then gave the Treasurer’s report. He reported that he took the money out of our bank account and closed the account, since we didn’t earn much interest each year, and we began getting an inactivity fee that was more than our interest earned, so we were basically losing money. We ended up with a current balance of $374.39. The Treasurer’s report was accepted.

In other Old News, we revisited the idea of a possible new location for our reunions, due to the price increase to $100 (plus $100 security deposit) at Reese Park. Bob Hinkle, Donna Usavage and Liz Knapp reported on information about Menlo Park in Perkasie, Green Lane Park in Green Lane, and Molasses Creek Park in Quakertown. Each of the parks had lower or equal reservation fees, and similar other features, but did not have any indoor options in case of bad weather. As the rain on this day was a great example, the vote was decided to stay with using Reese Park and having the option of using the Borough building if/when needed, in addition to the fact that there were indoor restroom facilities and the kitchen, if needed. It was noted that with our annual Auction activities, we usually make enough money to cover the cost of the rental, so we can afford to stay here. And since we have never had a problem with any damages and we always clean everything up, there should not be any problem with getting our security deposit back. Nancy Knapp agreed to continue reserving the park, and Marilyn Kramer agreed to continue to let us reserve the park in her name for the Resident price.

We continued the meeting, going into ‘New News’. Eileen Bengtson gave an update and reported that all the service dogs she had trained were now all working with special needs people, and were doing well. She also gave an update on her sons’ families. Dan & Laurie Garrett’s daughter Emily is started preschool this year. Dan & Laurie are also fostering Emily’s half-sister and are hoping to be able to adopt her also. Bill & Paula Garrett and family sent greetings to everyone from the Las Vegas area, too.

Donna Usavage announced that her daughter Allison is engaged to Tyler Fink. No wedding date was mentioned yet. Doris Bossert reported that her daughter Tara Cross earned her Physician’s Assistant degree at Lockhaven University. Bethanne also read greetings from Kurt & Nancy Kramer, Andrew Kramer (son of Karl Kramer), and from Mark & Ginny Kramer in England.

In other New News, there was one birth reported this year. Marilyn Kramer announced that her grandson Matthew Kramer and wife Corey welcomed a son, Neham Kramer on March 18, 2014. Also, the Kramer Cousins Weekend at Janice Kramer’s place in Tioga County, PA was scheduled for the weekend of October 3 this year. Emails will go out to start the planning for the weekend.

A reminder was made about the Silent Auction items still available for bidding and the Guessing Games to get your chance to win. Also, Bethanne Cassidy mentioned that there were a number of Kramer family related items on display that were available for anyone to take with them. These items came from Nancy & Leonard Knapp’s attic, which Leonard had acquired from his mother, Grace Kramer Knapp, over many years. Since Len’s passing, Nancy wanted to pass the items over to other family members who might be interested in having them.

The Election of Officers was held, and all current officers were re-elected: President – Barry Hinkle, Vice-President – Janice Kramer, Treasurer – Bob Hinkle, Secretary – Bethanne Cassidy, Entertainment Coordinator – Rhonda Geyer.

The meeting was turned over to Rhonda Geyer and she presented the Awards for the day. Oldest Woman Present was Nancy Knapp, age 77; Oldest Man Present was Paul Bengtson, age 87; Most Recently Married was Barry & Sherry Brown, 10 years; Longest Married was Molly & Joe Fidler, 49 years; Traveled the Farthest was Eileen & Paul Bengtson from Connecticut; Birthday Closest to Today, June 26th was Kenny Knapp, July 5.

The day then continued with our fun-filled and competitive Auction, and awarding the winners of the Silent Auction items. Winners were announced in the Guessing games. How Many Candies In The Jar - there were 420 candies and the winner, with an EXACT guess, was Kenny Knapp. What’s In The Box – there were no correct guesses, so after a few clues and audience participation, Janice Kramer finally guessed the item was a tube of toothpaste!

The day continued with more socializing and checking out the family mementos, with all of them finding new homes!

Those in attendance were: Liz & Kenneth Knapp, Paul & Eileen Bengtson, Bob Hinkle, Barry Hinkle, Molly & Joe Fidler, Janice Kramer, Donna & Greg Usavage, Doris Bossert, Marilyn Kramer, Nancy Knapp, Rhonda & Brian Geyer, Bethanne & Dan Cassidy, Don Herb, Sherry Knapp-Brown & Barry Brown, Glen Kramer, Ken Knapp

Respectfully Submitted,

Bethanne Cassidy