Müllerleile Family Reunion 2017 in Seattle
From July 14 to 16, 2017, the Seventh Müllerleile Family reunion took place in SeaTac South of Seattle/WA. 49 members of the Müllerleile families took part, among them eight from Germany, the others from all over the US, most of them from Washington. The reunion was preceded by a one week cruise on the Explorer of the Seas vessel to Alaska glaciers. After the reunion participants were invited to a five-days tour program.
The reunion was very well organized by Rose Marie "Sue" Mullerleile from Spokane.
Venue of reunion was the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, International Boulevard, SeaTac. It started Friday evening with a welcome reception. The arriving participants checked-in and picked up name tags, welcome packets and swag bags. Local caricaturist Steve Hartley portrayed the visitors with excellent cartoons.
On Saturday Sue Mullerleile welcomed the guests. Mark and Debb Moldenhauer were the MCs throughout the reunion.
Evelyn Russ told the story of her father Bernhard Müllerleile (1904-1965) who migrated in 1929 from Schuttertal to Canada and the US and never returned home for a visit. Even Ev did not know about her relatives in the black forest before she got in touch with her cousin Hermann Müllerleile after the first reunion in 1997. Her lecture is recorded on Youtube.
After this the participants introduced themselves, their families and their pets. An interesting exchange about how the couples met and moved developed.
Karl Woodall told the story of Louis Müllerleile in Quincy/WA where he became known as the Watermelon King. Daniel Joseph Muellerleile presented a PowerPoint exhibit that had been prepared by Sue Mullerleile in an August 1932 newspaper article from the Wenatchee Daily World about Louis Mullerleile as a tribute to the Watermelon King and showed more pictures.
Magician Nate Jester entertained the audience well. Wolfgang Müllerleile surprised the artist himself with some tricks.
The guests drew door prizes and everybody became a winner. The reunion guests were full of praise for Sue Mullerleile who organised all this. The German visitors presented her with an original Black Forest Cuckoo clock. The reunion participants gave their signature for a memory cartoon of Sue from Steve Hartley.
After Sunday mass in St. Philomena in Des Moines/WA the participants met for brunch and farewell ceremonies. The family reunion ended with the official reunion picture.
The official Müllerleile 2017 Reunion photo: Front row from left Christoph Müllerleile, Marian Gerst, Heidi Bierek, Ryan and behind him Anna Fletcher,Abby Smith, Riley Fletcher, Marianne Muellerleile, Rose Marie "Sue" Mullerleile, Becki and Steve Mullerleile. Second row Ursula Locke, Tyler Smith,Angela Mullerleile, Carol Mullerleile, Karl Woodall, Michael Woodall, Claudia Müllerleile, Tom Norris, Cecilia Castellano, Elisabeth Müllerleile. Third row Ed Mullerleile, Sam Mullerleile, behind him Bernhard Mullerleile, Mary Ann Mullerleile, Hubert Mullerleile, behind him Angela Müllerleile, Manuela and Anton Müllerleile, Joe Castellano. Fourth row Leah, Julie and Adam Kramer, Wolfgang Müllerleile, Jack and Sue Muellerleile, Daniel Muellerleile, Jean Maffia. Upper row Brian Kramer, Mark and Debb Moldenhauer, JoAnn Swanson, Lori Oliverius, Don and Evelyn Russ, Dominik, Martina and David Muellerleile.
Pre-Reunion program
The Pre-Reunion program led by Sue Mullerleile with nine attending began with a Tour of Seattle, including Pioneer Square and the Waterfall Gardens where UPS started, passing by the old fire house, the Klondike Goldrush Museum, the Ballard Locks and Fish Ladder, Kerry Park on Queen Ann Hill with a breathtaking view on the city, passing by Pike Place Market, Olympic Sculpture Park, the waterfront, Stadiums, International District, Fisherman's Terminal, Fremont, and more.
In the afternoon MS Explorer of the Seas departed Seattle for the seven night Alaska Sawyer Glacier Tour. On the route was Alaska's capital Juneau with Mendenhall glacier, Skagway with a breathtaking Ocean Rafting Adventure in a speed boat, B.C.'s capital Victoria and in between the Tracy Arm Fjord with the Sawyer glaciers. The 1,020 feet cruiseship with 3.300 passengers and more than 1.000 crew members got so close to the glaciers that you felt you could touch them.
Post-Reunion program
The post-reunion program started with a second Seattle tour for those who had not done it before.On Monday, July 17, the program continued with the Boeing Factory tour. Modern and future aviation is what this tour was all about. Participants were escorted through a look at cutting-edge airline production. They experienced the largest production line in the world. Mark Moldenhauer who is an employee in the factory used his lunch break to brieflie join the group.
On Tuesday the tour went to Mt. Rainier reserve with glaciers, wildflowers, waterfalls, wildlife - the wonders of this statuesque 14,411-foot mountain. Mount Rainier is the nation's third tallest peak, but many people believe it stands alone as America's most beautiful mountain. This majestic peak has much magic to reveal. Deer, elk, birds, bear and other wildlife are often spotted. The pristine nature of the alpine wonderland was a spectacle worthy of the drive from Seattle. The bus went up to Paradise Park and many used the opportunity to watch a video in the visitor's center or take a walk to the glaciers' edge.
Wednesday's and Thursday' road trip led to Central Washington State, with stops in town of Cashmere for a tour of Aplets and Cotlets candy factory, and in Wenatchee for lunch. The group was joined by Ken Lacy who provided a history of the geology of the area with interesting stops along the way as the group travelled to the town of Quincy and its Historical Society museum. There the group was welcomed by a special welcome sign and treated to a presentation of the history of early Quincy and a tour of a pioneer home and the Pioneer Church and demos of butter churning, making sauerkraut, tasting various flavors of kuchen the way the Germans in Quincy make it, tool sharpening, and wheat grinding. Dave and Harriett Weber with former mayor Dick Zimbleman, and others had prepared everything very well. They were also aware of Louie (Ludwig) Müllerleile, the watermelon king, because one mural on the historic main street always displays Louis loading watermelons onto his truck to sell at the marketplace. His house and shop have disappeared, but in their memories he is still alive.
Then on to the town of Grand Coulee with more interesting stops along the way, again directed by Ken Lacy, the travellers spent the night in the town of Grand Coulee with a BBQ/picnic catered at a local park right in front of the dam's panorama. The Dam’s visitor center offered very interesting exhibits. At the beginning of the night there was a laser light show on the dam.
On Thursday the Colville Tribal Museum in Grand Coulee was the first stop. After a brief visit an escorted tour of the pumping plant and spill way on top of the dam began. An elevator took the group to the bottom of the dam into one of several electricity plants, with turbines.
On the return trip there was time for Ken Lacy to show other interesting geological sights. The group stopped over in the Bavarian style town of Leavenworth for lunch, shopping and exploring.
On Friday the group visited the Museum of Flight in Seattle. This world-renowned 15-acre campus includes over 160 air and spacecraft, the original Boeing Aircraft factory, flight simulators, and dozens of fun, interactive exhibits and family activities. Everyone enjoyed the museum’s magical presentation of the worlds of flight. Many stepped inside Air Force One, Concorde, NASA’s Space Shuttle Trainer, a Boeing 787 and a B17F Bomber.