Jen Brodal/MDN The cousins are enjoying their two-year anniversary of the weekly “Coffee with Cousins Club.” From left to right, back row, are James and Jane Jundt, Janice Miller, Diane Miller, Lexi Miller, Emma Miller, Don Miller, Bella Burckhard, Kevin Burckhard, Nole Burckhard, Mike Monson and Magic Bean Coffee shop owner, Jaala Deprist. From left to right, front row, are Jerome Burckhard, Constance Monson, Dave Burckhard (front), John Burckhard (behind Dave Burckhard), and Patrick Miller.

First cousins of several local families meet every Friday morning to enjoy each other over coffee.

The local “Coffee with Cousins Club” is for up to 65 local first cousins, said June Jundt.

The gathering began with the original eight siblings born and raised around the Minot and Towner areas, ranging in ages from the eldest cousin, Jerome Burckhard, 80, to most frequent attendee and youngest member, Kevin Burckhard, 58, who share more similar balding patterns, laughed Jerome Burckhard. They are also godfather and godson to each other. This is not the only commonality between cousins. Through marriages and families, many of the coffee clubbers are double relations as well.

The cousins like to get together and reminisce about large Sunday dinners as kids, that they never needed an invite too, said Janice Miller.

All the visiting and, of course, gossiping goes on about the ones that can’t be there weekly or have since passed.

“Whoever can show up, shows up. Our last aunt passed away a little over two years ago and we then decided it’s just us — no more aunts or uncles — so rather than only catch up at funerals, we should try and see each other more often,” said Kevin Burckhard.

“We love in the summer months when we have more cousins visiting from out of the area so we can see them too,” said Constance Monson.

Kevin Burckhard describes the weekly coffee hour as “typically breaking into several mini conversations with the idea being to learn new things about our family and each other. I would have not known several things about my parents, had we not begun this tradition.”

“The best part is catching up on each other’s lives. Even the cousins that are not here, we find out other stories about siblings or other family and what they are doing. It is fun,” said Constance Monson.