Apel reunion 2009
In 2009 the Apel reunion took place on Saturday August 8 under the theme: The Vintersbølle forest – A trip in Apel territory. The Apel descendants were to meet at the Dehn hut, which is situated in the outskirts of the forest.
The hut would later in the day be the gathering place, when dinner was to be eaten and the family tree and the photo exhibition were to be studied. Therefore the team in charge of the food met early to make the hut ready. First some attempts to have a go at the late desperate summer wasps.
Thereafter the furniture was rearranged, the family tree rolled out, and the tables laid and the food prepared. The hut was now ready to receive the guests, who soon flowed in along the winding gravel road. The organizers kept the cell phones open so that they could give directions to guests who had lost their way, but also to keep contact to the Beværterhus in order to check that everything was ready.
The party left the Dehn hut at 2.30 p.m. heading for the Beværterhus in the Vintersbølle forest. The remaning Apel descendants would join the party here. The weather was kind to us and the forest looked its very best. For several of the participants it was their first Apel reunion, but it did not take long before they all got talking and the walk to the Beværterhus came to an end almost before it had even started.
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At the Beværterhus we were received by a smiling Anni Rasmussen who according to tradition had put on her apron and together with her helpers had made coffee and made everything ready, so we could sit down outside. Anne-Marie Jacobsen took the floor and welcomed new as well as old participants.
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It was not only the coffee that was ready! This year the cake was not only a cake, but it had been transformed to a real Apel cake.
This year 9 new Apel descendants had found their way to the Apel reunion. Some had heard about us through the mouth-to-mouth method and others happened to find our home page and made contact. It is fun and interesting when the younger generation can have their grand parents described from a new angle as the older generation know them from earlier times where they may have met at parties and other social gatherings. It is also special to see the look in the older generation’s eyes when they realize from whom the younger generations come from . You can literally see how they are reminded of their past.
When all the relations had been sorted out the lively conversation went on. When it is the first time you meet it helps the conversation to unfold when you have a person in common.
According to tradition the Apel song was sung and as you can see the picture radiates with both history and idyll. It easily inspires to a little poem (in Danish).
ved Maren Apels hus
midt i det skønne
ved sangens vingesus
løftes historien af stemmers toner
højt mod himlen og træernes kroner.
(KBH)
After the coffee it was time to go out in the Apel territory. Since the Apel family moved from Køng in connection with the relocation of the Køng factory, they have lived in and around the Vintersbølle forest where they have led their daily lives in the beautiful surroundings. Even though they did not have a lot of money and even though they worked from morning to evening they must have enjoyed the forest, the streams, and the birds singing. We went through the forest and down by the bleaching ground, and we all walked by land and by sea.
The family relations, database, and home page were studied while the feet cooled off.
As mentioned several had found their way to the Apel reunion for the first time. This year 5 Apel descendants had found their way via the home page, which is an interesting development for the future. Therefore the description of the Apel reunion is translated into English in the hope that the descendants in New Zealand read it and possibly visit an Apel reunion in future.
The bleaching ground is waiting for us year after year – this year we see it from the water.
From the bleaching ground we all again moved up into the forest. At King Valdemar’s place we took a little rest. Suddenly a woman dressed in old fashioned clothes appeared from the forest and placed herself in the middle of the crowd.
There in the forest’s fantastic play with the light between branches and leaves Maren Apel stood in front of us. Appearing from time past as a result of the clan’s visit to Apel territory.
She began: 'I thought I had better come by and tell you a little story. Now you have been in the Beværterhus – that’s what they call it. It is strange. My house – I can remember that everybody said: "It is Maren Apel’s house"...'
'..On the fair plains of Zealand ... King Valdemar – he has given his name to this place. We have always called it King Valdemar’s Place – look here this hole has been trodden by King Valdemar’s horse, and his whip has made this groove in the stone. He hunted here in the forest many hundred years before the bleaching factory was built.'
'...The festival place – by little Maren Apel’s house – was called 'Skovbeværtningen'. On Sundays many people came from Vordingborg, Bakkebølle, Ørslev, and Nyråd. The high, beautiful beech trees – they have gone now, but then I sold water and lemonade. There was music and we sang the Danish songs...'
The whole crowd listened intensely to the stories that are connected to the Vintersbølle forest.
The trip in the Apel territory ended at the Dehn hut, where the food team immediately began the remaining preparations for the dinner and others threw themselves into the Star run led by Birgitte Apel Jacobsen. Great enthusiasm and seriousness were demonstrated and many of the adventures and topics of the day were repeated.
In the hut the big family tree was rolled out ready to sort things out.
People ask and explanations are made to young and old.
Close studies are made and a cross is made when you have found yourself.
When dinner was ready and everybody found a place at the tables where the good spirits continued.
This year the menu was potato salad, lentil salad, mix your own salad, and home-made bread.
Also smoked saddle of pork from the butcher, home-made regular, Greek, and lamb 'frikadeller' (a kind of meat balls).
A trip in the Apel territory makes you hungry, so everybody went for it in the Dehn hut, but there was plenty of food and while eating you could enjoy the view to the sea and the conversation.
At this year’s Apel reunion a new tradition was introduced. ‘The Apel family speech’. In 2008 Carsten Warming came up with the idea of an annual family speech, and who else but he could give this tradition the best start. Read: Apel Slægtstalen 2009. (In Danish)
A lovely and eventful day was coming to an end and people began to head home. But yet another new idea had found its way to the 2009 Apel reunion. This year it was possible to spend the night in the Dehn hut of which 11 persons availed themselves. Spread round in beds and on mattresses silence came over the hut. Next morning people woke up at their own pace and had to go out and enjoy the lovely weather and the beautiful view.
First one, but soon more came out.
Before we left the cleaning team set to work. The hall was swept.
The kitchen cleared
And the washing-up was done in a relaxing way in the open air.
A great Apel reunion was over. New descendants had found their way to the reunion and new traditions came into being. A reunion, which would not be possible if we did not have the year’s volunteers: The Hemmingsen and Jacobsen families who were in charge of the food, the hut, the initial arrangements, and the cleaning. Anni and Knud Erik Rasmussen who led the arrangements at the Beværterhus, and Carsten Warming who held the Apel family speech 2009.
Look forward to seeing you next year both newcomers as well as veterans. - 2010.
Material from 2009
Pictures 2009 – Lillian Emma Apel Hansen and Kasper Beck Hemmingsen took the above pictures.
Apel reunion 2009 - folder
- by Anne-Marie Jacobsen.
Contents: Programme, theme: A trip in Apel territory, extract from ’Fra Barndommens land’ by P.F. Sandberg, the Apel song 2006, information and literature.
The Apel family speech 2009 - Speech
- by Carsten Warming.