Rena Rolfsrud Veeder and the Rev. Ben Veeder had two sons, Gerald and Ben. Last weekend they flew from their homes on the East coast to the Rolfsrud Reunion, along with some family members. Gerald worked for 32 years for Carolina Freight Carrier Corp. in Cherryville, North Carolina. Ben is an ordained minister and served parishes in a variety of locations throughout the country. Ben & Jerry's Dad, Ben, was also a minister and once served a congregation in Deadwood, South Dakota. Erling Rolfsrud brought his whole family out there to see his sister on a summer vacation, back in the 50s. The eight of us rode in style... a 1958 Edsel station wagon. Didn't Chevy Chase do a movie about that? But we digress.
That's Gerald's daughter, Pamela Maze, with her daughter, Caitlyn Rebecca, in the upper left photo. Caitlyn Rebecca is Rebecca Rolfsrud's great great granddaughter. Her mom has a master's in school psychology. On the right are Nancy and Gen, Gerald and Ben's wives. Below, Gerald and Nancy's daughter, Teresa, looked over some sage with JoHanna Weltzin. Lower right, Ben and Jerry's group got ready for its closeup.
This is Gerald Veeder, left, with his daughter, Teresa. The man in the middle is David Veeder. Here's where it gets complicated. David Veeder is Gerald Veeder's two-way cousin. David is Agnes Rolfsrud Veeder's son. Gerald is Rena Rolfsrud Veeder's son. The reason they are double cousins is that sisters Agnes and Rena married two brothers, Ben and Sidney Veeder in a double ring ceremony on May 29, 1930. They have confused family geneologists ever since. David and Gerald share genes from two distinct pools. And, while we are at it, to make things more confusing, there are a long line of Ben Veeders -- five I think. So the Ben Veeder you see in the top photo is the son of Ben Veeder. He is also the father of Ben Veeder -- who -- only has daughters, Heather, Megan and Dalynne.
