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86th Annual Reunion of the Penn Colony of Nebraska - 2007

139 descendants of the Penn Colony attended the 86th reunion on Sunday, August 11 and 12.  A catered picnic dinner was served, topped off by a table featuring desserts made from traditional family recipes brought by attendees.    A business meeting was conducted by President Dan Pleiss.  Special recognition was given to Marian and Wayne Leatherman of Dawson celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary.  Fern Heim, 91, of Lincoln was the oldest in attendance and Sophie Hill, age 2 months from Solomon, Kansas was the youngest.  Gary Georgi of Temecula, California traveled the farthest.    The afternoon on Sunday was spent viewing displays of family photos, keepsakes and visiting.  Susan Latusek of Dike, Iowa and Cindy Callaway of Lincoln provided crafts and games for the children.    Saturday evening over 60 attended an old fashioned cold water melon feed at the Henry Heim home north of Dawson.  Guests toured the Heim House, future site of the museum.    The traditional Sunday morning memorial service was attended by 110 individuals at the Dawson United Methodist Church.  John Dallmann of Illinois delivered the morning sermon.  A pancake feed prepared by Sue Seaton of Kearney was held prior to the service.    Relatives attended the two day reunion from the states of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Connect, Oklahoma, Florida, Colorado, Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Near-record numbers attend Penn Colony reunion 2006 by Mark Novak and Keith Heim

The weekend of 12–13 August, 2006 saw an outstanding turnout for the 85th consecutive reunion of the Pennsylvania Colony of Nebraska. The Sunday morning service at the Dawson United Methodist Church was attended by more than a hundred family members and featured a memorial talk given by Donna Heim Epley and Martha DeWeese Hoig (see below).      Following the service, excitement built as more and more people came in the door of the Ag Hall in Humboldt. At least 146 members attended the picnic there and enjoyed a catered lunch and delicious old fashioned desserts furnished by members of the Colony. A business meeting was conducted by President Dan Pleiss, followed by the usual visiting and viewing of displays. Mark Novak conducted tours of the Henry Heim house, site of the future museum, in the late afternoon.      The oldest person attending was Fern Heim, 90, of Lincoln, while the youngest was Lauren Ogle, seven months, daughter of Scott and Kris Ogle of Dawson. Shirley and Neal Pierce traveled the farthest, and Keith Heim won the Best Dessert contest. The attendees were treated to a new photo CD created by Jenny Binder, containing over 200 pictures taken from many Colony scrapbooks.      The Saturday night watermelon feed at the Henry Heim house just northwest of Dawson, attended by over 70 people, afforded most members the first chance to see the outstand-ing work that has been accomplished on the house under the watchful eye of Michelle Heim. Over the weekend, more than fifty families toured the house. A Grand Opening is planned later this year for the community to see the progress on the house and also to learn about the Penn Colony’s future museum plans.      More than 50 members turned out Saturday for a work/visiting day at the Ag Building. Mr. Michael Smith, Director of the Nebraska State Historical Society, paid the reunion a visit on Saturday afternoon and talked to the Board of Directors and interested members about state and local level support for Historical Societies like the Penn Colony. Former State Senator Floyd Vrtiska also attended, offering encouragement to the Board. He talked about Pawnee County’s Historical sites.