Home from the family reunion

Last week we (Mom, Dad and I) spent five days with folks I hardly ever see – my Dad’s three sisters and three brothers. It was time for the Rust Family Reunion.

We traveled 1,361 miles to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to meet up with everyone. Home base was the Best Western – actually a very lovely place to stay. They let us make our own waffles at the continental breakfast bar.

One morning Aunt Ann and Uncle Bob, two enthusiastic amateur photographers, got up early to catch the morning light – the “golden hour,” as photographers call it.  I decided, why not? and trekked to Sioux Falls with them. I’m glad I went.

Why Sioux Falls? Since the majority of Dad’s brothers and sisters still live within a day’s drive of Sioux Falls, that’s where they meet. And since it’s been 25 years since I’ve seen most of these people, I decided to come too.

I got reacquainted with all my aunts and uncles, and several of my cousins, too, including my cousins John and Laura. We drove out to the Rust family farmhouse outside Adrian, Minnesota, about 45-50 minutes from Sioux Falls. John now lives there with his family, on the farmstead the Rusts bought in 1889.

There was more sightseeing … here’s the gravestone for the first Rust to come over from Germany, Harm Rust:

It’s late, so I’ll stop now and break this into multiple posts. But one thing I know: I won’t let another 25 years go by before I see my kith and kin again.