The 2008 West Coast
Lauffer (Loffer) Reunion
September 28
Much of Christian's Clan out here has the spelling of Loffer
The 1st West Coast Lauffer Family reunion was a great success!
Many thanks to Barbara (Loffer) and her husband Frank Bua for hosting this reunion at their home. About 75 family members attended this event, including a newly found cousin who drove down from Oregon. Everyone enjoyed comparing notes on the family history. The Loffer "sisters" set up displays of photos showing the history of the Loffer line in California. The food was great and plentiful. After the meal, Jim Lauffer showed photos of our ancestor's, Christian the Pioneer, birth place in Germany, and also showed the family history website and other family information.
Everyone agreed that the West Coast Reunion should be an annual event. Initial discussions indicate this might be scheduled around February to place it about six months from the PA reunion. Many also said they would like to attend the 2009 PA reunion.
The following is the notice and invite for the 2008 West Coast Reunion. More details on the events from this reunion, along with photos, will be posted on the site when they are available.
JRL
LAUFFER FAMILY REUNION
Since 1903, an annual reunion has taken place in Westmoreland Co. Pennsylvania, a gathering of the descendents of Christian Lauffer, the “pioneer”. His descendents are numerous, all across the United States. As there are many of us on the West Coast who are unable to attend the gathering in Pennsylvania, Jim Lauffer has suggested that we hold one here, in California.
As you are a descendent of Christian Lauffer, we would like to invite you to attend the reunion. It will be held on Sunday, September 28, 2008. We will start gathering at noon. It will be a potluck, just bring your favorite dish and some drinks. As soon as everyone arrives, we will have lunch, hopefully by 1 p.m. Jim can give an overview of the Lauffer website, the status of the book, and the highlights of the 2008 reunion, held last month in Pennsylvania.
Over the course of this past year, we have been in contact with many new family members. It is always amazing to us how many new people find us, or we find them, and how interested they are in what this family has accomplished and what it continues to accomplish. It also amazes us how far people will travel to attend the Reunion. It validates that what we are doing is very important and that we need to continue gathering this family's history. You are an important part of this process, and the information you can contribute is vital so that we may correctly document all descendents. We don’t want to leave anyone out.
The publishing of the second edition of the Lauffer Family History Book has turned into much more of a project than ever anticipated but it is continuing to come together. There have been over 5000 family names added to the book since the first of 2008. There are also quite a few corrections coming in on the existing data. This sounds like an endless slip in getting the book released, but the intent is to have a quality and accurate publication that will be cherished for generations to come. Jim will have a better status on this at the reunion. Jim will also provide an overview of his travels, earlier this year, to Christian's birthplace in Germany. This was an exciting event!
We have been collecting photographs for the new Book. It is important that we reproduce the pictures in a way that will best copy when the book is being printed. That can only be accomplished using original photos, not photocopies. We would like you to bring your old family photographs with you. We will have a scanner at the Reunion. You will be able to have your pictures scanned right there, and take them back home with you. This way the originals will not be lost or misplaced. If you have not already provided a picture of each family member for the book, please bring your favorites to be scanned.
We realize this is short notice for some of you, but look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it. You will possibly meet some cousins, for the first time, and this event will also give you a chance to get reacquainted with those you may not have seen for a long time.
When: Sunday, September 28, 2007 at 12:00 P.M.
Where: Home of Frank and Barbara (Loffer) Bua
2798 Shepherd Lane
San Bernardino, Ca.
Hosted By: Jim & Donna Lauffer, Frank & Barbara (Loffer) Bua, Patty (Loffer) Harmon and Susan (Loffer) Widmer.
What to Bring: A dish for potluck, some drinks, and lawn chairs, if you have them. Lunch will be as soon as everyone arrives, preferably before 1 P.M.
It would be helpful to know how many of you plan to attend. Please take the time to contact one of us:
Email: jim@laufferhistory.com
Email: bjbua2@aol.com
Email: pattyhrmn@yahoo.com
We look forward to seeing you all there.