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"They grew up in Franklin County and met when my mother and her family lived in Washington," recalled ?. "They were married at St Francis Borgia and we found out that day that they went back to this house and farm for the chicken dinner after their wedding. We thought it would be nice to 're-create' that event."
The Weiskopfs lived most of their life in Bel Ridge but several years ago moved to Lake St. Louis.
They have six children all married, 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren:
Debbie (and Dean) Lawler from Bel Aire, Md., and their three children, Shannon, Brandon (Kerri and their daughter Kailyn) and Shane Lawler; Connie (and Tom) Prendergast from St Peters and their two children, Jeff Prendergast and Erin (and Stan) Ponder;
Diana (and Bob) Kester from St Charles and their two children Sarah (and Andrew) Brubaker and Charis Kester and her daughter Ellie;
Jim (and Mary) Weiskopf from Ferguson and their two children, Eileen and Michael Weiskopf;
Monica (and Jim) Barnes from St Charles and their two children, Ryan and Michaela Barnes; and
Brad and Anna Weiskopf from Chesterfield and their two children, Isabella and Nicolas Weiskopf.
About 100 people attended the anniversary celebration. Some came from as far away as Baltimore and Alabama, but most relatives still live in the Franklin County area.
In addition to celebrating the Weiskopfs' anniversary, many of the relatives enjoyed getting a tour of the Kohmueller house, which is under the care of Washinton Preservation Inc. Dorris Keeven-Franke, president of the nonprofit group, gave relatives a tour of the circa 1878 home, which has been carefully restored to its original design.
A couple of the Clover family relatives who lived in the house shared their memories of the property as well.
"I remember how we had to walk through the woods to get up to Fifth Street," said Ruth (Clover) Marquart. "And if it rained, you couldn't get to the house because the road in was a dirt road.
"I had a date once and when I told him I would walk home, he said, 'No, I'll drive you.' I told him he was going to get stuck, and he did."
When the Clover family lived in the house, they slept upstairs, said Marquart, noting the space was unfinished.
"In the winter, there was no heat and all the nail heads would frost over . . . we didn't sleep in much."
Looking at the house today, the Clovers commented on how some things were the same and others, different.
"The smokehouse is changed, and the lake wasn't here - that was all field," said Betty (Clover) Stuesse. "We always entered from up there where the Y is now."
It had been years since the Clovers were back at the Kohmueller homestead, and Dot (Clover) Weiskopf had forgotten how small the home really was. "When I look at that house, I don't know how my parents had enough room to cook the food and serve everyone (for the original reception in 1949)," she said. "It's really just the two rooms, because we didn't serve anything outside.
"If Mom and Dad could realize this became an historic site, they wouldn't believe it," she remarked. "It was really pretty rustic when we were here."
The Weiskopf anniversary celebration was the first private event held at the Kohmueller homestead, and Keeven-Franke said she hopes more people will consider it for other activities.
