Some survivors

Back row- left to right- Carol, Betty Ann, Margaret, Romaine, Walter
Front- Chester, Vernon, Melvin


On Sunday we attended our "Little" (literally) Burkholder reunion. My parents were both Burkholders. But since my mother's family was much smaller than my father's, we dubbed the reunions the Little Burkholder reunion and the Big Burkholder reunion. This year the grand total who attended the Little Burkholder reunion was 14 people! Even my sole surviving aunt who is 96 years old was not able to attend. It is obviously a dying reunion.


However, when you analyze the facts... it is not so bad! Ezra and Lizzie Burkholder had 4 children and 15 grandchildren. There were many times most of us squeezed into their small farm kitchen at once on a Sunday afternoon and/or evening. We have pleasant memories of "them days" as my Dad would say.


Today, of those 15 grandchildren, two are deceased, three do not live in Pennsylvania. If you are doing the math, that leaves ten grandchildren living in our state. Eight of the ten who live in Pennsylvania attended the reunion on Sunday. One lady was there to represent her deceased husband, our cousin. Others who attended were the spouses of some of those in the photo. No one from the next generation attended this time so we could all remember the old days without boring anyone... and just be cousins. It could be the last Little Burkholder reunion, but it was a good one!