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Kraynak Reunion

It all started with George

George and Anna Kraynak came to America in the early 1900s and made their home in the coal region of upstate Pennsylvania. They raised thirteen children there. George, the oldest, came first. Joe, a D-Day veteran, was second. Paul, the youngest, is the boy sitting cross-legged in front of his brothers and sisters in the family portrait. Uncle Paul is the last of the thirteen still with us, and he'll be at the reunion.

Those thirteen children gave George and Anna dozens of grandchildren, the cousins, who scattered across the country and now have children and grandchildren of their own. Well over a hundred of us trace back to one couple in the coal region.

The thirteen children of George and Anna. Uncle Paul, the youngest, sits cross-legged in front.
George and Anna out in the yard, with three of the little ones in front.
Grandpop George: cardigan on, shot glass in hand.

Five generations and counting

  1. George and AnnaCame to America in the early 1900s and settled in the coal region.
  2. 1st generation: the thirteenTheir thirteen children. Uncle Paul is still with us; Aunt Bonnie and Aunt Nancy represent the 1st generation too.
  3. 2nd generation: the cousinsThe grandchildren. Most of the folks planning this reunion.
  4. 3rd generationThe cousins' children.
  5. 4th generationTheir children, from babies up to young adults.

The thirteen

In birth order, oldest first.

  1. GeorgeThe oldest of the thirteen
  2. JoeD-Day veteran
  3. PaulThe youngest, and still with us

We're filling in the rest of the thirteen. Know the order? Tell one of the organizers.

Family names you'll see at the reunion: Kraynak, Beck, Billie, Burch, Gamberdella, Kociolek, Valentino, Wilde and Williams.