2020 Brubaker Family Reunion

Will we or won’t we?

98th Annual Reunion, scheduled for August 1st, 2020

 

It has been an eventful several months since the start of the year.  We all have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Even as the situation is stabilizing, we will be feeling the effects of it for a long time to come.  There have been additional casualties besides those who have lost their lives from this.  When we return to “normal”, whatever that might be, it will certainly be a different normal. 

One of those aforementioned casualties might be our 98th annual Brubaker Family Reunion in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, PA.  Scheduled for Saturday August 1st, 2020, our event is on the land of the original property patented and warranted from William Penn to Hans Brubaker.  You will find our meeting place, Bachman Hall, on the campus of Homestead Village Retirement Community, located at 633 Community Way.  Our venue is also near the Church of the Apostles United Church of Christ.

Opportunities and Challenges

The Board of Directors of the Brubaker Families of America are giving careful consideration as to what will happen for this year’s event.  First and foremost, if we have the event, we need to consider health safety.  Social distancing issues and what exposures might present themselves to both residents and staff at Homestead Village are top priorities.  If later this summer the CDC guidelines and government restrictions have been eased, will we have enough cousins planning to attend to make it a viable event?

Possibly we could consider having a ‘virtual’ reunion where we would go live with our speakers and presenters and make them available for viewing on social media such as Facebook.  However, for as many of our cousins who participate in social media, there are quite many who do not.  Regardless, if we have the event we plan on recording our presenters and posting them online for people to see, whether they could attend or not.

If we do have the event we are pleased to have cousin Dennis Oberholtzer who will be presenting on what it was like when our Swiss families immigrated to America in the 18th century.  In addition, cousin and Family Association Historian Elaine Renkin will be sharing about the mystery of Brubaker cousin Gideon P. Brubaker whose headstone was unearthed in the yard of a home in Charlotte County, Florida.  His family is buried in one of the Brubaker cemeteries in Virginia.  So how did it get from there to Florida? 

Robert Brubaker Noll and daughter Alice Harder

Robert Brubaker Noll and daughter Alice.

We also hope to have a very special 100th birthday celebration for Robert Brubaker Noll, who lived and farmed nearby on part of the original  property patented and warranted from William Penn.  

If we stay the course and have the event, please be sure to come and join us on August 1st!  If you can, bring photos and memorabilia to show! Take the time to join us and renew relationships and make new ones too! 

If we postpone or cancel the event, we will be sure to notify people via email and postings here on the Family Association website, and on social media.  Stay tuned!