Kaiser
Reunion 2001
July 23 - July 27, 2001 Olivet Nazarene University,
Kankakee, Illinois
This Page Updated August 1, 2001
Photos
Otto's Story
Family History
Maps
Kaiser Reunion 2001
Reunion Photos
Music Night
Talent Night
Otto Book Glue Party
Space Shuttle Background Sound Team
Hidden Cove
Kaiser History Tour
Picnic in the Park
Kaiser Reunion 2001 Summary
The Richard Kaiser and Lina Brebach Family Reunion was held July 23rd
through July 27th 2001 at Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, Illinois. We had a
wonderful time singing, laughing, playing and visiting together.
Seventy-five years ago, October 1, 1926, Lina and thirty one other Kaisers arrived in New York harbor on the ship Andania to start a new chapter in their lives. Behind them was their small village of Hillesmühle in western Germany, before them the growing city of Hammond in northwestern Indiana. From this beginning the "family" has grown to some 300 descendents, including all the spouses.
We commemorated the 75th anniversary of this turning point in the Kaiser family history. In addition to honoring the past, we celebrated the present by creating an opportunity to get together to meet family members, both new and old. We are a fascinating and diverse lot who need to work at maintaining our awareness and appreciation of our own collective and individual stories. God has been gracious to Oma's family.
Richard and Lina Kaiser Family in 1910. (left to right)
Adolf, Otto, Richard, Elizabeth, Hertha, Fritz, Helene, Siegfried, Ernst, Lina and Ewald.
Richard died in 1908. Richard's head from an old photograph was superimposed on
top of stand-in Uncle Edward.