June 28, 2020

The 59th Annual Kramer Reunion was scheduled to be held on June 27, 2020. Unfortunately, it had to be cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. We were all disappointed that we wouldn't get to gather together this year, but the health of our family members was more important

A last-minute Zoom gathering on Sunday, June 28th was organized by Eileen Bengtson with a few of the cousins who regularly attend the reunions. It was decided to count the Zoom gathering as the 59th Annual Reunion, so that we could keep the annual gathering record intact!

Those who were able to join the Zoom gathering were Eileen & Paul Bengtson, Doris Bossert, Bethanne & Dan Cassidy, Jennifer Crowe, Molly & Joe Fidler, Barry & Betsy Hinkle, Sherry Knapp-Brown, Donna Usavage, and Judie Herb, who joined us by phone.

News that was shared over the gathering included the very recent marriage of Jennifer Crowe to Michael Mellor just a few days earlier on June 20, 2020, which occurred at Lake Tahoe. Jennifer also told us that her son Tyler has become an EMT, and her other son Harmon just graduated high school and was getting ready to attend Arizona State in the fall.

There was lots of talk about what we have been doing to pass our time in quarantine. Many of us were doing lots of gardening and yard work! Molly Fidler said that she had time to go through her dad's (Lloyd Kramer) old slides. Joe Fidler had been elected as a local township official and was having lots of Zoom meetings. Donna Usavage told us about her and Greg's daughters, Allison, Samantha, and Melissa. Melissa lives in Minneapolis and was in the area where the riots were last month. She was okay, thankfully. Samantha came home to stay with Donna and Greg for about 6 weeks. And Allison recently had a baby, so Donna and Greg were doing literal 'drive by' outings to Ithaca, NY to see the baby. Eileen and Paul Bengtson live in a retirement condo, and thankfully have been able to be active enough without having to get around too many people. They have a side entrance door right near their condo door, and their dog Monty has kept them busy with outside activity. Judie Herb was able to give us an update on her dad, Joe Haenn. At 103, he is doing well at the Lutheran Home. The home is on lockdown, but she is able to call or set up a video chat to keep in touch with him. Doris Bossert said that since she has no bus tours happening right now, she has been doing lots of gardening. Bethanne and Dan Cassidy have been lucky enough to be able to continue working through the quarantine, but have also been doing yard work and gardening in the downtime at home. Sherry Knapp-Brown is a recent retiree, and she and Barry have continued to foster some new cats and kittens during this time.

We also had some family members dealing with health issues, not related to COVID. Both Don Herb and Barry Brown have been doing dialysis for kidney issues, and Betsy Hinkle hurt her knee and told us she will probably need a knee replacement. It was nice to be able to get together and see a few family members this way, but we hope that by next year we can gather together in person!

Respectfully Submitted,

Bethanne Cassidy, Secretary