Reunion highlights multigenerational history
Published 1:48 pm Thursday, November 12, 2026
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On July 5, the Kuester family celebrated 160 years of history and a milestone birthday.
Six miles west of West Point, there is a farm Gary Kuester and his ancestors have lived on for decades. Their history reaches all the way back to the Homestead Act.
In 1853, Gary’s ancestors migrated from Germany to Wisconsin where they lived for nearly 10 years. They then decided to try settling Nebraska and working the 160 acres from the Homestead Act in 1866. On July 4, 1866, they crossed the Elkhorn River and began a settlement.
Though much of the original 160 acres was lost in the 1920s, the family began expanding again in 1989. Now every 10 years, the Kuesters get together to celebrate the long history of the family’s ties to Nebraska. During their last reunion, they built replicas of buildings their ancestors would have lived in back in the 1800s.
“We saw what they may have lived in, with, and used, such as artifacts and machine parts,” Gary said. “We saw how a large family would have tried to live in a small area.”
This year, Gary’s sister traveled from Denver and nephew traveled from Seattle. The Kuesters celebrated 160 years of the settlement, but they also celebrated his grandson’s first birthday, which was on July 7.
They also did a hayrack ride around the farm and took a caravan down to the Elkhorn River to see where their ancestors’ crossing was.
Gary said he’s thankful the family continues the reunion to highlight history. The Kuesters have even found old remnants of artifacts on the land including parts from the first den type cabin they built to survive the first winter in Nebraska.
“We’re proud of our farm, to see it keep going,” he added. “My ancestors always told me about where [the den] was on the farm. A few years ago we decided to build a cattle shed and had to dig into that spot. We hit a layer of stuff, and it was obvious to me that’s where the dugout was.”
They found broken pottery, bricks and nails, artifacts the family was glad to have found.
The Kuesters are looking forward to their next reunion where their grandson will be a little older to start learning about the history of the family’s international and local ties.
