Steinbroner family celebrates 85 years of reunions
SALAMANCA — The Steinbroner family celebrated five generations of memories at their 85th annual reunion last weekend when descendants of George and Alice Steinbroner met new cousins and got reacquainted with familiar faces.
The three-day event kicked off Friday evening with a family reception, attended by 68, at the Ellicottville Brewing Company in Little Valley. Saturday’s main event took place at Allegany State Park with 100 attendees who enjoyed the day-long gathering. A goodbye breakfast, catered by Katie‘s Fly-In at the Kill Buck Pavilion, was enjoyed by 61 on Sunday morning, followed by the annual Euchre tournament.
Paula Fucarino, reunion president and a grandchild of George and Alice, said the Steinbroner family currently has 305 living descendants across 26 states with 10 states represented this year. She said 361 were originally part of George and Alice’s branch of the family tree.
In 2015, Fucarino expanded the scope of the Steinbroner Family Reunion to include the families of George’s three other adult siblings, John, Arthur and Irene. She said the family welcomed a few newcomers this year.
“More people came to our 75th reunion, but so many have moved away or passed on, and the younger kids don’t have the investment of a family reunion,” she said.
Fucarino’s great-grandparents, George Steinbroner and Catherine Mahoney, who married in July 1886 in Meadville, Pa., had five children together — Joseph Wilhelm, George Patrick, John Frederick, Arthur Lawrence and Irene Catherine — with a total of 581 descendants. She said their son, George, and his wife, Alice, had the majority of descendants with 361.
The annual Steinbroner reunion began in 1940 with the families of George Steinbroner and the former Alice Hogue, who married in November 1907. Together, they had 14 children, 12 of whom reached adulthood — Mary, Lucille, Alice, Jeanette, Ruth, Marjorie, Sue, Gerald, Thomas, Frederick, John (Jack), George, Daniel and Frances (Lord), who was the youngest child and only one still living.
Fucarino said George and Alice lived and raised their family in Salamanca, living on Penn Avenue and River Street. All their children attended the former St. Patrick’s Catholic School through graduation, and George was a railroader like most men in the family.
“All the children remained very close, but it was primarily the three sisters, Alice, Lucille and Jeanette, who have since passed on, that kept the traditional gatherings going throughout the years,” she said.
Provided
SOCIAL MEDIA HAS made it easier to find more family members. Fucarino said they have found many more cousins through their Facebook page — “I’m a Steinbroner.”
The Steinbroner family even has its own logo and song. Fucarino said her two cousins, Tom and Joe of California, brought guitars to the 2004 reunion to play a song they wrote, and it has been “The Steinbroner Spirit Song” ever since, embodying the family’s unity and commitment.
A verse of the song goes, “The Steinbroner spirit, it’s been growing through the years. Who else can you count on, to share the laughter and the tears? Our family has lost and mourned, but we have gained and grown. We will always have each other, we will never be alone.”
Fucarino said her love for Reunion developed when she was a child, as the annual event was often the only time she got to spend with many of her cousins.
“Allegany State Park is where the memories (of reunion) for me began. Since I was a young child playing in the creek, I knew one day I wanted to be the one to continue the fun for all the cousins to come,” she said. “Even today, it’s still often the only time we see each other. Everyone’s lives are busy, but Reunion brings everyone together. Give that one day to your children that your parents gave to you, full of memories and bonding.”
As reunion president, Fucarino said she always encourages all the family members to come, especially the younger generations, because it develops a sense of identity as part of a family with a shared past.
“Changing things up helps keep the younger generations interested and, if you can get the parents involved, hopefully the children will stay involved,” she said. “I know for me, it’s comforting to know that I’m part of something so much bigger.”
Fucarino, who resides in Florida, has served as full-time president since 1991. She said creating those memories for her aunt and uncles and all the cousins is why she has dedicated as much of herself to the reunion all these years. She said it’s important to keep the family together, especially now, because of her Aunt Fran, their matriarch and everyone’s love for her.
“Think about it — God, faith and family — that is really it,” she said. “To keep this going, it takes energy, enthusiasm and passion that influences everybody. Family is so important.”
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