"This was too delicate to iron," the McHenry great-grandmother mused as she fingered the lace voile material of the bridesmaid dress her mother-in-law, Ella Busse, wore in 1916. The mannequin wearing the frock came courtesy of a Busse-owned retail shop in Mt. Prospect, just one of the many connections that brought together the crowd of 2,500 at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
It was perhaps the largest family reunion in history, one that included descendants of a family that pioneered the northwest suburbs.
The massive undertaking - 2 1/2 years in the making - included a savvy uniform system of color-coded shirts based on affiliation with the six branches of the family. At a time when the nuclear family is prone to scatter to different parts of the globe, the Busses proved that a massive family occasion can bring them back to their roots.
Lavern Benhart of Itasca learned the value of those roots at the 100th Busse reunion in 1948, when he was 5. In the years since, he said, there have been many occasions when he has been glad to bear the Busse name. In fact, Lavern said, he has been at a few business meetings where he was surprised to learn that a new client is actually a distant relative.
"All of a sudden, it's instant friendship and mutual respect because you know where the roots are," said Benhart, who was there with his wife, Nancy, son, Steve, daughter-in-law, Krista, and three grandchildren. "There's a lot of history and a lot of pride."
The Busse family - which began here with Friedrich and Johanna, who had six children - settled in Mt. Prospect in 1848. In addition to dozens of businesses that bear the family name, there is Busse highway and Busse Woods.
Mini-reunions or first-time meetings continued in quick and constant succession throughout the afternoon. A trio of 8-year-olds in orange shirts discovered similar musical styles as they lip-synched the Spice Girls' song "Wannabe" outside the dancing hall; war veterans recalled life beyond the battle lines, and camera flashbulbs sparkled at a dizzying pace.
Greg and Laura Busse's roots are usually in Minnesota - where they roll out the red carpet for fellow Busses at their summer home most weekends - but they made some changes to their usual summer itinerary so they could be at the event Sunday. Their kids, Rhea, 9 1/2, and Zack, 7, also came along.
The eight-generation clan attended a welcoming convocation, ate breakfast together and went elbow to elbow for pictures. Because 2,500 people could not recognizably fit into one picture, attendees were photographed according to clan/shirt color. We had the Chris, we had the Fred, you're the Henry; and next is the Louise. . . . OK, now can we get one of everybody without their glasses?"
About 40 people in the crowd had been at Nora Busse's home in McHenry for dinner Saturday night, including her only granddaughter, Lisa Reser, who called that number above average.
Feeding the crowd Sunday required a considerably large effort, said Lake County Cafe chef Rob Shea, who expected to cook about 500 bratwursts before the day was through.
"For one family, this is the most we've ever cooked," he said.
"Yeah, the Busse family stays hungry," said co-chef Rob Shea, "but it would be pretty cool to be in this family."
(Chicago Tribune June 29, 1998.
author Sarah Downey, Tribune Staff writer -- submitted by Ida Maack Recu)
