One of my fond memories as a kid was attending the annual VerStrate family reunions, held at Long Lake Park.

On our way to Mackinac Island, Mary Jo and I stopped at Long Lake County Park, which is just a few miles west of 131 at the Cedar Springs exit. The visit allowed me to wander down memory lane. My guess is that I attended with my family the reunions from the early 1960s up until the mid-1970s, when I was in high school.

My strongest memories are the food and the games. There must have been prizes for the games, as I recall winning a socket set that Uncle Don Jager really wanted and didn’t think a 13-year-old needed. We must have swum in the lake, although I don’t remember that very much. I was also the kind of kid to wander off and just explore on my own. I remember the large electrical towers that run through the park. These reunions were really my only contact with the VerStrate side of the family, except for Bernice Vanderheide, who took lots of trips with Aunt Ruth and seemed to hang out with her.

When Aunt Ruth Jager died this past summer, I became the keeper of the family photographs and history. Part of those family archives was the spiral notebook that recorded the history of the VerStrate reunions down through the years. Here’s the list of VerStrate reunions, by year and location:

1943–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1944–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1945–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1946–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1947–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1948–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1949–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1950–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1951–Silver Lake Grange Hall

1952–Silver Lake Grange Hall

1953–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park?

1954–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1955–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1956–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1957–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1958–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1959–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1960–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1961–School Section Lake, Mecosta County Park

1962–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1963–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1964–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1965–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1966–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1967–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1968–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1969–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1970–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1971–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1972–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1973–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1974–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1975–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1976–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1977–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1978–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1979–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1980–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1981–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1982–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1983–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1984–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1985–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1986–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1987–Long Lake, Kent County Park

1988–Long Lake, Kent County Park

Was 1988 the last Verstrate reunion? Perhaps someone who knows can share in the comments.

Hidden among Aunt Ruth’s family history materials was an old composition book (10 cents!)

Inside is the history of each reunion from 1943 to 1988. The clan always conducted a business meeting, and these are the minutes. They elected officers and had a fund of money that carried over from year to year. Here are minutes from 1943:

“The Ver Strate Reunion was held at Long Lake, Kent County Park, on August 21, 1943. There were about forty persons present.

“In the absence of the president, Addie Dalstra conducted the short business meeting. It was decided that we have a reunion in 1944 at Schoolcraft Park the first Saturday in August provided the war does not make it necessary to postpone it. The people from Hudsonville were appointed as the food committee and they can also get up games if they want them.

“No collection was taken because there was sufficient money in the treasury to cover all bills.”

In 1944 Bert Jager (Ruth’s father) was elected vice-president and Freda Jager the secretary-treasurer. Mrs. Lambert Jager (Sarah) was appointed chairman of the food and game committee in 1945. This is also the year the leftover hamburgs and buns were auctioned off, with $4.75 going into the treasury. Richard Jager was the vice president in 1949. In this same year, “There wasn’t anything in the treasury, so a collection was made to meet expenses.” Richard Jager moved up to president in 1950 and 1951. 57 people attended in 1955. That year the question of a group picture was raised and voted down. In 1961, Aunt Ruth made a motion to have the next year’s reunion held at Gun Lake. The motion was defeated. The motion to have the reunion at Long Lake passed with the amendment that the committee would find out if the lake was good for swimming. 1963 saw the highest attendance ever with 106 people present.

In 1975, new business included “a motion made and approved to put a marker on the grave of Grandfather and Grandmother Ver Strate in Riverside Cemetery. Shirley will check family Bible for birth and death dates. Interest was shown in starting a family tree.” Noted guests included Uncle Chris Ver Strate from Florida, Ken and Sena VanderHeide from South Dakota, Robbie Jager from Arizona, and Ruth VanderHeide from Washington State. In 1980, the minutes noted two deaths–Richard Jager, August 29, 1979, and Walter Mullen, October 2, 1979. It was noted, “We are grateful and comforted by their faith in Christ and the knowledge that they live on in Him.”

By 1988, only 32 family members attended the reunion at Long Lake. A motion was made to hold the reunion again in two years, in 1990, in order to try for a larger crowd.

Was that reunion ever held? Did they continue? This is the last entry in the Ver Strate family notebook.