Barbeque

We're Bernhardt's so of course we have to eat,

and talk,

and laugh!

2011 Bernhardt Reunion

We had a wonderful time at the reunion this year beginning on Saturday afternoon with a trip to The North Carolina Transportation Museum.

There was something for young and not so old a like!

Pvt. Joseph C. Bearden Completes Basic, Advanced Training

Pvt. Joseph C. Bearden of Kannapolis graduated from U.S. Army Basic Combat Training and Infantry Advanced Individual Training July 8 at Ft. Benning, Ga., where he was in the 3rd Platoon Bravo Company, 2-19 Infantry Division. He was qualified as a sharp shooter.

Bearden will be stationed in Fort Louis, Wash., in the 2nd Infantry Division until February 2012, when he will deploy to Afghanistan.

He is the son of Charles T. Bearden Jr. and Julie Fink Bearden; the grandson of Brenda Bernhardt Lowder, Charles T. Bearden Sr., and Milford and Theresa Fink; and the great-grandson of Joann and Percy Johnson. He has one sister, Shea Nicole Bearden

Joseph is the great-grandson of Crawford Bernhardt, great-great grandson of Leo Bernhardt.
We are proud of you Joe.

Bernhardt Family Reunion - August 6 & 7, 2011

Yes! It’s Bernhardt Reunion time again. Time is really flying by. We hope that you will be there and bring your whole family. Activities have been planned for all ages.

As years pass and our numbers grow, we move farther from our roots, losing contact with many family members. The reunion, that our great grandparents initiated over 50 years ago, was an attempt to strengthen family ties. We honor those intentions by working to maintain those family bonds and attending the family reunion.

But, that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy ourselves, after all, the Bernhardts are a fun lot. Let’s get to know our relatives, introduce our children to their Bernhardt cousins and have a great time. If you and your children don’t enjoy the reunion, we are doing something wrong and it needs to be changed, so get involved and let us know what you want to do. We hope the activities planned for this year will be fun and give you a chance to reconnect with your family.

Are you enjoying the JC Bernhardt blog? If you haven't seen it, please check it out at www.jcbernhardt.blogspot.com. You’ll find lots of pictures and stories from the past, recent family news and plans for the reunion.

Please let Glenna Sears know of births, marriages and deaths so that they may be recorded. glennasears@bellsouth.net

If you have any questions please contact me at kmacc@carolina.rr.com or call 704-797-8964.

Here are the plans for this August. Please let your family members, whose contacts I may not have, know of our plans.

I hope to see you soon!

Karen McConnell

Saturday, August 6

•  North Carolina Transportation Museum Tour (Spencer, N.C.) 4:00 pm

 We will meet at Barber Junction Station, which is the first building you come to when you enter the Museum grounds and parking area (off North Salisbury Avenue/ Spencer’s Main Street), at 4 pm. Glenn Ketner has arranged for the admission fee to be waived for our group. The tour will take about one and a half hours and will include the Roundhouse, the simulated Wright Brothers “first flight” plane, vintage train engines and cars, the “Back Shop” and special exhibits in the Museum proper. I believe the tour will have something of interest for young and old and all those in between. Please let Glenn know if you would like to join us. glenn@ketnerlaw.com A head count would be helpful but you can still come if you have not made reservations. You can read more about the museum at http://www.nctrans.org/

•  Hendrix Barbecue - 6 pm - Dutch treat supper.

Join us at Hendrix, about a mile North of the Museum entrance at 615 North Salisbury Avenue, Spencer. Again, a head count would be useful and you can still join us even if you don’t take the tour of the Transportation Museum. Email Glenn if you would like to join us. glenn@ketnerlaw.com. Don’t hesitate to come even without reservations.

  

Sunday, August 7

•   Worship Service – 10:30 am - St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Salisbury, NC

 Covered Dish Luncheon –12:30 pm - St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Salisbury, NC

 A entertaining and educational program is being planned by Stan Sebastian; and we know those are always fun. Activities for the younger set are planned as well.

•  Tour of the 1845 John Crawford Bernhardt Home – 2:30 – 350 Glover Road, Salisbury, NC

 A tour of the house with some juicy family stories and gossip will be given by the Leo branch of the family.  You will have a chance to sit and talk. Beverages and what dessert might be left from the church will be served. Yard games will be available for the young and young at heart.

Laura Fritts Bernhardt (1916 - 2011)

Glenna Sears sent is this sad news and obituary:

Karen, don’t know if you heard that a member of the Joseph Clarence Bernhardt family died this week.  Laura Fritts Bernhardt died Sunday, July 3, 2011 in Wilson.  She was married to Mother’s brother, Carl Bernhardt, and her children are Kitty Thomas (of Wilson) and Charles Bernhardt (of Lexington).  Her service and visitation were yesterday, July 6^th, in Lexington.  She’s buried beside Uncle Carl at Forest Hill Memorial Park in Lexington.  The service was a celebration of a long life and a wonderful teacher, with lots of stories.  We were out of town until Tuesday evening but retrieved messages in time to head over to Lexington yesterday for the service.  I’ve attached the funeral home obituary.

Laura Fritts Bernhardt, 94, formerly of Yadkin College,NC, died July 3,2011, at Wilson Medical Center.


A graveside service will be held in Forest Hill Memorial Park on Wednesday, July 6, at 2:00 PM. The family will receive friends at Davidson Funeral Home from 12:30 to 1:30 prior to the service.

Mrs. Bernhardt was born October 30, 1916, in Davidson County, to David Thomas Fritts, Sr. and Lenora Belle Davis Fritts. In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her husband, Carl E. Bernhardt, as well as brothers Dr. Olin Grady Fritts, D.T. Fritts, Jr., Charles Ray Fritts, sisters Mary Hoover, Afton Koontz, Willie Carol Brinkley, Ellen Lucille Fritts, Virginia Leonard, and half sister Gladys Wilson. One sister, Wanda Garner of Lexiington, survives, as well as many nieces, nephews, great-nieces/nephews who have memories of being taught in school or tutored by “Aunt Laura”.

Also surviving are her children Catherine (Kitty) Bernhardt Thomas and husband Vincent of Wilson, NC and Charles Bernhardt and wife Carol of Yadkin College, two grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Mrs. Bernhardt was a long time teacher in Lexington City and Davidson County school systems. She was an active member of Yadkin College Methodist Church as long as her health permitted.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Yadkin College Methodist Church, c/o Martha Walser, 465 Center Church Road, Lexington, NC 27295 or to Friends of Barton Library, Endowment Collection, P.O. Box 5000, Wilson, NC 27893, or to the charity of one’s choice.

Reunion August 7th, 2011

Everyone is working hard on plans for the Bernhardt Reunion this year. Details of all events will follow, but for those of you following the blog here is a sneak peak of some of the plans.

Saturday August 6th
We will be taking a tour of the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer. Many Bernhardt men worked on the RR so this will be a special treat for us. We'll see the Wagon Wheels to Wings Exhibit, Tour the Roundhouse and much more. Great fun for all ages.
Afterwards we'll have a great family dinner at Rick's Barbeque; you know about Bernhardts and Barbeque!

Sunday August 7th
Worship at St. Paul's is at 10:30 and it's always wonderful to see the whole family in attendance.
Covered dish dinner will begin at 12:30. We are in for a treat with the program focusing on Bernhardt family sites and scenes. There will be special activities for the kids!

Sunday Afternoon
After lunch you are all invited to the Bernhardt Family Homeplace. Sit on the porch and catch up with your cousins, walk through the rooms your ancestors spent time in, play a game of Corn Hole or Horse Shoes, or take a lazy walk down to the meadow. We might also finish off that dessert that was leftover.

I hope that whets your appetite, it's a full schedule, but remember it's all about family and it won't be the same if you aren't here!

It's Time to Start Thinking about the Reunion 2011

August is fast approaching and we need to get busy on our plans for the reunion. Hopefully we'll have a great crowd and get to renew family ties with those we seldom see. I hope that you are making plans to be with us at St. Paul's on Sunday, August 7th.

If you remember last year we assigned a different activity to different branches of the family. On Saturday afternoon there will be a family oriented event. On Sunday the luncheon and then a event aimed at learning more about the history of our family. We may even throw in an Friday evening event for the 20, 30 & 40 somethings.

Please send me the details about what your group is planning so that I can get the information out to everyone as soon as possible. Let's get this on our calendars and make it a great year for the Bernhardt Reunion.