Thirty-five members of the Wehrenberg family met July 22 at the Loyal Evangelical Church.

They were celebrating the 122nd anniversary of Chas Wehrenberg and his wife Wilhelmine of Palatine, Ill., buying land in Indian Territory near the Cimarron River.

It was a few miles north of the town of Kiel in Oklahoma Territory, now known as Loyal.

Their oldest son, WC Wehrenberg, and Minnie Naggetz were married July 4, 1901, and headed for Dover the next day on the train. They were met there by friends who had already come from their hometown in Palatine.

They were taken to their new home. It was a small shanty near the banks of the Cimarron River.

That farm is still in the family as a Centennial Farm belonging to Phil and Janet Wehrenberg. Their son Erich farms the land.

The other three brothers, George, Charles and Louis, followed a few years later to claim their farms.

Nine children were born to WC and Minnie and eight of these children chose farming as their main profession and grew up around the town now known as Loyal.

Although that generation has passed into eternity, the 18 cousins and their families continue to celebrate. The families of the other brothers of WC are also invited to celebrate with them.

The afternoon was spent visiting and playing Bingo. A silent auction was held to defray expenses of the reunion and help with upkeep of the Venable Cemetery where many of the relatives are buried.

Plans are being made to celebrate the 125th anniversary and family members were encouraged to bring designs of a t-shirt to the next reunion in 2024 to commemorate that occasion.

A potluck dinner was also served.

This year George Wehrenberg was represented by his granddaughter, Edra Hawkins, from Warr Acres, and Larry Bailey from Oklahoma City. Edra was noted to be the oldest relative at the reunion at the age of 89.

Merlan Hoskins, 84, granddaughter of WC, was the oldest member of the WC family. The youngest member was 3-year-old Evie, the daughter of Patrick and Karen Singer and a great-great-granddaughter of WC.

Dwayne and Ruth Cassiday and their families from Ark City, Kan., traveled the farthest to attend. Also from Ark City were Michelle Davis and daughter, Kassadi, and Tammy Cassiday- Minni and children Paige, Hayden and Gabbi.

Ty and Liz Admire came from Mooreland.

Kingfisher attendees were Donnie Wehrenberg, Robert Wehrenberg, Nancy Teders, Brian and Sharon Miller.

Okarche members were Violet Moller, Gary and Sheila Baustert. Yukon attendees were Patrick, Karen and Evie Singer, Justin, Gaylene and Carman and Brian and Dawn Moeller.

From Loyal were Ken and Connie Kimmel. Attending from Edmond were Todd Hoskins, Leann Laubach and Roberta Seaton. Merlan Hoskins and Cheri Velasco came from Guthrie.