Huls Family Reunion

The Thorp Courier (Thorp, WI)
July 18, 2007
Transcribed by Dolores Mohr Kenyon

On September 15, 1906, four brothers, Hendrik, Bernardus, Mauritz & William Huls, met in Thorp, Wisconsin to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of Hendrik and his wife Catherine Sieverding.  The brothers had emigrated from the Netherlands between 1856 and 1871.  Bernardus had settled in Reading, Pennsylvania, Mauritz in Salem, South Dakota, William in St. Wendel, Minnesota and Henry in Brillion, Wisconsin, moving to Thorp after retirement.

Over 100 years later, on Saturday, June 30th, 2007, 57 descendents of these brothers met at the Thorp Area Senior Citizens Center to celbr4ate that event.  The event started at 11:00 a.m. with registration, followed by a viewing of photos and documents pertaining to the brothers and their families, with many items from the Netherlands. At noon a catered lunch of baked chicken, cole slaw, pasta salad, baked beans and dessert was served.

Following the lunch, Ronald Huls, a great-grandson of Mauritz, told how he had received copies of four old family photographs. These photos were only minimally identified and not all that information was accurate.  When searching the internet he got in touch with the William Huls branch through the Brown Co., WI website and one of those descendants led him to the Clark Co., WI website and the September 20, 1906 article on The Golden Anniversary of Mr. & Mrs. Henry Huls. Two of the photos were from that event but the individuals were not identified.  Ron then contacted Nancy Anderson of The Thorp Courier who published one of the photos along with a copy of the 1906 article in the “Way Back When” Column of the October 25, 2006 issue.  This led to contacts with the remaining branches and this reunion.  The Thorp Courier was instrumental in setting the stage for this reunion.

Descendants of all four brothers attending the event were: Lowell & Lawanda Huls from Humboldt, SD; Barbara & Darrel Tverberg, and Jerry & Lavonne Huls, Sioux Falls, SD; Vincent & Yvonne Huls, Boyden, IA; John & Barbara Huls, Glenmoore, PA; Earl, Lisa & Kate Haas, Harrisburg, PA; Margaret Huls, Holdingford, MN; Rita Kostreba, Farwell, MN; Ann Tollefson, Maple Grove, MN; Ronald Huls, Minneapolis, MN; Robin, Brad & Jillian Bichanicz, Abbotsford, WI; Janet & Rich Heidtke, Boyd, WI; Lucy Haas, Vernon & Corinne Haas, Cadott, WI; Theresa Huls, Chippewa Falls, WI; Del & Debbie Haas, Elkhart Lake, WI; Art & Terry Rabuck, Hayward, WI; Judy & Ray Atkinson, Janet Poppe, & Kiley Greenwald, Loyal, WI; Sue Kwiesielewicz, Mosinee, WI; Phyllis Johnson and Mary Henke, Stanley, WI; Ann Huls, Judy Jacque, Ginnie Kiewra, Lucretia Paff, Gary & Warren Borowiski, Tiko & Leisser Raether, Zack, Darren & Samantha Borowiski, and Richard & Ester Rosemeyer, Thorp, WI; Marie, Dean, Jaysy, Dakota, Skyler & Hunter Schalow, Wausau, WI; and Heidi Huls, Woodruff, WI.

The youngest person attending was Warren Taylor Borowski, 7 months old.  The oldest person was Margaret Huls at the age of 89, Born September 30, 1917. John & Barbara Huls from Glenmoore, Pennsylvania, traveled the furthest, 1,042 miles.  All these people received awards.  There was also a door prize drawing for commemorative mugs, Christmas tree ornaments, playing cards & puzzles featuring a photo from the 1906 event.

Everyone had a great time visiting with their newly found relatives and looks forward to future reunions.

The following notice was posted in the June 6, 2007 Thorp Courier: