We flew to Indiana to spend the weekend with Susie and Uncle Curt and family in order to attend a special concert in honor of Grandpa Carl's 100th birthday. Here's a link to information on the "Carl Kumpf Centennial Concert," held on July 3rd in Brazil, Indiana.
We were able to meet Susie at the airport and all drive to meet the crew in time for dinner and a Euchre tournament. Susie and I hadn't seen Curt, Linda, and Chris for a long time so it was great to catch up.
We made it to Forest Park for the concert early- time enough to get to enjoy Dad's bench project for the first time. Dad has spent the last two years changing out the parks old, uncomfortable benches, with personalized benches donated by people in the community. The benches were officially dedicated last year, but this year he had sold the complete 200- enough to replace all of the old benches. Dad spent tons of hours and sweat on this project- working with the bench manufacturer to make and deliver them, with the community to sell all of those benches, and he personally installed the majority of them. The community rallied around the project and it was a huge success and a wonderful improvement to the park.
The Fourth of July concert was packed with Grandpa's favorite marches and all the elements needed to make it feel like the holiday, including a military salute, the piccolos during Stars and Stripes Forever, and an abrupt ending to the concert due to a oncoming summer thunderstorm. Dad and Curt played with the band, and Susie and I got to catch up with family we hadn't seen in years. Dad was honored during the concert for the bench project, and Matt Huber gave a touching introduction to the concert, detailing Grandpa's history and importance to the band and community.
It was a quick side trip to Indiana, but one I will always remember. A proud weekend to be a Kumpf.
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