Days 5 and 6

We did not stop for many roadside attractions during our trip, but now that we had seen Pisek and Mahnomen, we had a little time to do things less centered on the Rumreichs. On our drive to Collegeville, MN, we stopped at a Suess-like set of buildings. Upon closer inspection, we could see that they were entirely made out of twings and smaller branches.  Interestingly, the artists only took 19 days to create these “houses” and they had been standing for almost two years. 

We arrived in Collegeville, the home of St. John’s University, by mid-morning. John K., Doc, and Cy had all attended the University, as well as Aunt Mary’s son, John. The church had a honeycomb structure that appealed to the bee-lover in me. Although most of the buildings were closed, we were able to see the majestic campus and buy some bread made by one of the monks. 

For lunch we went to an Indian restaurant, and I was finally able to realize my goal of eating something besides pizza or a hamburger on this trip. Aunt Mary had a friend in St. Cloud, MN that joined us for our meal. At first Nathan and Kyle felt some trepidation about the food, but the delicious smells of naan bread and curry wafting from the buffet changed their minds.

 After the long drive back to Milwaukee, we said goodbye to Aunt Mary. As we were getting back into the van, a google street-view van drove past us. We will all be eagerly checking to see if you can make out our faces with the newest update!

In the morning, my dad and I woke up early to visit the world’s largest Menards store, located in Waukesha, WI. It had two stories, complete with escalators and a pair of glass elevators. There was even a grocery section! It was my dad’s dream come true. 

Video: Inside the elevator

We had a little bit of extra time before we went to meet Aunt Donna and the boys, so we decided to stop at a nearby car show. My dad was excited to see a Chevy Vega there. 

We made a few stops to get supplies for Sunday dinner and some crullers, along with two Baker’s Square pies. Our final stop of the trip was at Barnaby’s pizza, home of my dad’s favorite pizza. 

This trip had many adventures, stories, and discoveries, lots of food, and a few disappointments. It was nice to see the spot where my ancestors settled and began their lives in America. Things must have been much less restricted than they are today. Sometimes family members would move across the country and back with a gust of wind. Families were bigger, deaths came earlier, and sometimes all they would have to eat for a year was potatoes. Things aren’t as difficult for us now. This journey was a nice reminder of the less tumultuous, though more complicated, lives we are able to have because of our ancestors. Frank P. Rumreich worked hard to send his sons to college and Doc, in turn, send all of his children (adopted or otherwise) to college, and Rumreichs still get an education at St. John’s. What may be the most surprising tradition, though, is that we still have Frank Rumreichs, even in my generation. It’s almost impossible not to chuckle when you see the family tree bristling with them; they appeared wherever we went! Many things change over the generations, but after six days in the car and hours spent going through family history, I can assuredly say that a Rumreich will always be a Rumreich.