Watch CBS News

Hastings Family Reunion Falls Just Short Of Record

HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) -- A family in Hastings fell just short of breaking the world record for people attending a family reunion.

More than 1,500 members of the Bauer family got together on Sunday. Their story all begins with Christoph and Anna Bauer. The couple came over from Germany in 1873, started farming in Hastings and raising a large Catholic family.

They had 11 children, and 13 of their grandchildren made it to Sunday's reunion.

"Well it's great. I see so many, my family is all purple shirts and I see so many with purple shirts and I've gone up to a lot of them 'Who are you? I knew we're related,'" Tillie Johnson said.

Two families from Germany even made the trip to Hastings. In German, Bauer means farmer.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.