Day 12 Custer

Friday, July 7

We drove through the Badlands to Mt. Rushmore. The weather has been amazing so far, the reunion days were a little warm and humid, but not bad. The temperatures have been at the mid-80s and sunny. But as we drove into Rushmore, it began to rain. We sat in our car and waited for the shower to abate. Will told the boys about his bad memories of the last time we were there 14 years ago. They had been sleeping in the car and woke up cranky, not wanting to get out. They were very whiny. I have a picture of Eric eating an ice cream cone and Craig climbing on rocks, but no pictures of Mt. Rushmore for some reason.

It has been completely redone since then, and there is about a half mile of board walk to walk around for views, including many steps. So we got our exercise and many pictures. Speaking of pictures, as I got the boys and Will into the obligatory pose I mentioned to Will that sometime perhaps he should take a picture of me with the boys so that future generations could confirm that I had actually been along on the trip. So of course he had to take one then and there, and me with wet hair. I checked the picture when I got the camera back and had to laugh. The boys and I looked ok, but he cut off the heads of Mt. Rushmore! So we re-did it. The boys believed it must be a tradition for us to get ice cream there, so we indulged, sitting in the dining room with a great view of the mountain.

The boys really wanted to drive through Bear Country USA. It was fun, lots of close up views of elk, buffalo, antelope, and of course bears. At the end of the driving tour, there’s an area to walk around and look at the baby bears. There were two climbing a tree. Soon another joined them. Then another. After awhile there were ten little bears up the tree. Can you find them all? They were very cute and entertaining.

We did more touristy things then drove to Custer to spend the night.

Day 11 Valentine

Thursday, July 6

We had a great time with Lela and Gary, but we left them after breakfast. She and Will were still going around about the proper way to give directions - she says corner, Will says intersection. After a morning on the road, we had lunch at Niobrara State Park with a panoramic view that overlooked the Missouri River. The view was great and it was good that we are all large people, because the wind kept attempting to blow us all away! As we headed down the road, we stopped and took a little walk to see the state’s highest waterfall at Smith Falls State Park. Later we drove through the Fort Niobrara Wildlife preserve, seeing mostly elk and prairie dogs. We spent the night in Valentine, where they really play up their name. It’s a good thing I like hearts.

We went to dinner at a local restaurant, and the boys decided a man was stalking us, because they had seen him at the falls, the motel, and the restaurant. Nick knocked over a full glass of water and we were amazed at Will’s quick reflexes as ice water splattered toward him. Now Will is the only one who hasn’t spilled water on this trip…We’re waiting.

Reunion Trip Day 10

Wednesday, July 5

All of us Troyer siblings went on a tour of the area to see some places where my parents and grandparents lived and went to my Uncle Ron’s grave. Then we met a cousin and her husband in Lincoln for lunch. The guys went on a tour of the state capitol and rode go carts, and the women went to the mall. In the evening, we had a room at the local pizza parlor where some cousins and my Uncle Kenny, Aunt Phyllis and Aunt Grace, who got back from a trip to Oregon late the night before, joined us. I learned that 50 some years ago, Phyllis had stayed with my parents helping with their three small children after my mom fell and hurt her back. They paid her $5 a week, which she used to buy her $75 wedding dress! After dinner, I finally got to see Uncle Kenny’s woodshop and some of his creations. I had to have the music box pictured that says "Peace on earth".

He also had a wall of old family pictures. Wow. Pictured here is my Troyer grandparents wedding picture and flowers and ribbon from the wedding. The original marriage certificate is in the frame above.
There were many beautiful and interesting things to look at, but we soon went back to Lela’s for dessert with the relatives.

Reunion Trip Day 9

Tuesday, July 4

At breakfast, Uncle Gary and Will were discussing the malfunctioning hot water heater in the 5th wheel. Our RV hot water heater had recently quit working also, and Will had figured out it had a re-set switch that needed to be flipped. He looked this one over – same thing. A flip of the switch and it fired up. The shower is nice and big so we are living very well. Will really wants a 5th wheel!

We really enjoy sitting at the table watching the birds at all their birdfeeders. We saw many beautiful ones, including Baltimore orioles, red-winged blackbirds, meadowlarks, and cardinals. I think Will will be getting our birdfeeders out when we get home.

The boys made several trips down the street to a fireworks stand and were on the front driveway making a lot of noise all afternoon. For some reason the boys enjoyed tossing them in the culvert. Very annoying, and they have lots of the noisy ones left. I think they’re probably both broke now. Eric couldn’t believe his good fortune that he could buy Roman candles.

The boys and Will went out to my cousin Jim’s place where my brothers Dave and Doug were staying. They have a dog business, breeding and selling pugs, Yorkshire terriers, toy poodles and standard poodles. Right now they have 35 dogs, including 11 puppies. One was born just before they got there. They spent a good bit of time there holding puppies. When they came back, I heard Nick was looking for me. He gave me a big hug, patting my arms and rubbing my head, a little more enthusiastic than a normal hug. Then Eric came along and said, Nick did you give mom a hug yet? Then I understood. I have an odd little quirk about animal germs and I always want them to wash their hands after they’ve been holding dogs or pet rats, etc. The little brat was spreading dog germs all over me. Then he had the nerve to tell me that Jim had a retarded Pomeranian and he would give it to us for free. It would make a perfect birthday present. Ha.

Aunt Lela hosted a big barbecue potluck in the evening and many cousins and the one aunt and uncle who were in town came. We took a group picture of the cousins and their spouses. That was quite an experience. I hope someone else’s turned out better than mine but here it is. Will tried to stand in the front row and I was perfectly willing to stand behind him but it didn’t seem to work out for everyone else. Can my brothers identify all these people?


Then there was quite a fireworks show on the front driveway. We learned there is a good reason some of these are illegal when one that shoots high in the sky tipped over and was still spinning, shooting fire at the spectators. One cousin was burned on her foot, another one’s shirt caught on fire and her side was burned. Yikes!

That evening, Will asked Eric for his impression of the past two day. Eric said they’ve gone really fast. Why is that? “Maybe because I didn’t get up til 11:00 both days!”

Reunion Trip Day 8

Monday July 3,

We woke up to find Aunt Jeannine bustling around the kitchen frying bacon and cooking pancakes. After breakfast she insisted I bring her my shirt from the day before so she could get the stain out. (Becky had dropped a fork and splattered me in an unmentionable place.) So Jeannine Sprayed and Washed, scrubbed vigorously, rinsed and hung it to dry after I declined her offer to bring the rest of my laundry out so she could do it for me.

The boys and I went shopping and lunching in Grand Island with cousins while Will took a solitary exploratory drive. Occasional solitude is necessary for him to maintain his customary good humor. The mall had a Best Buy so the boys were very happy. I unsuccessfully continued my quest for a store that a carries shoes for freaks. We went to a great book store that had new and used books and CDs. They were having a sale of used books 4/$10. Wow. Aunt Jeannine loves to read, and it seemed a little tacky to buy used books as a hostess gift, but I knew her thrifty soul would appreciate them more than new books. Eric was please to buy two CDs that cost a total of $5.

Then to a grocery store to buy a birthday cake for Nicholas. Happy 15th, Nick. If he wouldn’t have been right there, I could have bought a day-old, half price cake decorated with pink flowers. But no, he didn’t like it so we had to buy him a fresh appropriately decorated one for full price. I guess he’s worth it.

Upon our return to Cairo, we met up with my four brothers and went on a driving tour of some of the places we used to live. Will was a bit shocked when Galen drove into the driveway of the farm house east of Cairo and got out, greeting the homeowner who was in the midst of an outdoor party of many people. We didn’t know that our cousin knew the homeowner and had made arrangements for Galen to buy bratwurst from him. He showed us his meat shop and offered to take us inside the house, but we declined. The barn, chicken coop and other outbuildings were gone, as well as the grove of trees that I used to consider a “forest”.

As I looked at this house where I had lived from about age 5 to 9, I recalled a time that I had prayed on the front steps. My mother had received a card with the verse about God moving mountains if you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, and it included a tiny mustard seed. I had never seen a mountain, but I thought it would be great to have one in my back yard. So I sat on the front steps and asked God to please move a mountain into my back yard. I also asked him to make my older sister Linda be normal instead of mentally retarded. I went into the house to check on Linda – no change. I waited awhile and checked the back yard. Nothing. I still had faith, though! I kept watching for a mountain to show up in the back yard and I continued to pray for Linda.


My cousin Jon and his wife Bert hosted a barbecue for the extended family in the evening. Great food and company again. Nick had a blast driving their go cart (pictured with his cousin McKenna) and jumping off a shed on their tire swing.

My cousin Sharon told me that after my mom's cancer surgery, they used to come over and help us clean house on Saturdays. She used to get mad at me because I would come across a book and sit down and read when we were supposed to be cleaning my room. I appreciate her forgiving me for that!

Once again we had to say goodbyes. Time to head for the Troyer relatives. We left for Aunt Lela and Uncle Gary’s house in Milford after dinner, arriving around 10 PM. My brother Mark and his family are also staying there. We get to stay in Gary's large comfortable 5th wheel, which has a slide out and queen size bed. Will really wants a 5th wheel!

Reunion Trip Day 7

Sunday, July 2

Sunday morning we had a worship service in the little chapel building. Eric played the guitar with the worship team which was mostly made up of teens. Once again my heart was warmed with thankfulness for this spiritual heritage as my aunts, uncles and cousins shared about God’s faithfulness and blessings in their lives. My Aunt Jeannine talked about the year that each of the six Oswalds siblings had a baby. (My brother Doug was one of them.) Her 7th child born that year was “such a poor-looking baby –tiny and bald”! You would never guess from looking at Jewel now that she was a poor-looking baby!

It’s always so hard to say good-byes when it’s time to leave. Will found a good place to be when they dragged on a bit too long for him. He's relaxing in that lovely gazebo.

Fortunately, we were heading to my old hometown of Cairo where my Aunt Jeannine’s family still lives. There were five of my original eight siblings back for the reunion, and the Cairo relatives put us all up for a night. We were honored to get to stay with Aunt Jeannine and Uncle Lester. I believe they are age 76 and 80, and they have survived and thrived in spite of many different health issues. Lester has had a seed and grain trucking business for over 50 years there in Cairo, and he still runs a branch of it in Arizona They live in Arizona and have a cute “summer home” (a small mobile home) in Cairo. Aunt Jeannine is quite petite, and her husband is not a tall man. Their furniture is chosen for comfort for small people, and my men had to duck to avoid the ceiling fans. As Eric was ducking his way out of the house that night, he said, “This is like a little gingerbread house!”

Aunt Jeannine is quite a hostess, and you would never leave her place hungry, thirsty, or with dirty laundry if she could help it. We got our digital voice recorder out and recorded the stories she told of the old days. I learned a lot of things about my family that I had never heard before. She and my mom were the oldest siblings, and their families both lived in Cairo for many years.

Their daughter Becky and her husband Scott from Oregon also stayed there in their RV. Becky was writing in her RV journal, and she looked back to the Colorado Reunion in 2000, where she had written that the price of gas was outrageous - $1.52!

Reunion Trip Day 6

Saturday, July 1

We had found the gravel road (there are so many of them in Nebraska!) that led to the place where the reunion was to be held Friday afternoon after making an unscheduled stop at the Arch Monument. It was very educational and interesting about the westward trail up to today's transportation with big screen video allowing us to experience a buffalo stampede coming at us and witness a Pony Express rider exchange. The Chuckwagon restaurant there was reasonable priced and our boys enjoyed a late lunch of buffalo burgers.

We made sure we were not late for breakfast. Our aunts warned us several times the night before that this place required everyone be there by 8:00 sharp. I was concerned because our boys didn’t show up. We had big dorm-style rooms with bunk beds, and Uncle Doug had invited them to stay in his room. When I checked on them after breakfast, the room was dark and they all groaned when I turned on the lights. What would they do without mom/big sister to wake them up? (Anisa wasn’t there to take care of Doug so I had to help out.)

The day passed quickly with so many wonderful people to talk to. The kids enjoyed the lake with nifty toys like a water trampoline and an inflated floating climbing wall. We had the zip line from 2:00-4:00 p.m. There were two lines, and Nick and Venisa went at the same time. Apparently it was quite thrilling. I was happy to just watch. Somehow Nick talked his Aunt Carol into going with him the second time. Nick enjoyed it much more than Carol, but she wasn’t the only one to back out once she had the view from the top.’’

Three of my lovely aunts watch the preparations for a jump.


Saturday evening was the auction to raise money for the next reunion. As the auctioneer’s helper, Will displayed a talent for suggesting unique ways to use various items. When a lovely teapot lamp was up for bidding, he said if it raised a certain amount, he’d sing “I’m a Little Teapot.” It was quite a performance, and I really hope we have it on video. My family history scrapbook went to my uncle Lester for $100, and he expressed his belief that it was worth much more. I gave each of my aunts and uncles a photocopy of it. They all expressed appreciation for it which made me very happy.