Colletts and McKays gather for 117th picnic

     One hundred and seventeen years after the first picnic held by their forefathers, the Colletts and the McKays gathered Saturday in pleasant weather under clear skies for the annual picnic.
     Much was the same this 1983 day as that first picnic in 1866 on the tree-shaded grounds off Gurneyville Road that is the meeting place for the descendants of the two pioneer families.
     The Colletts, who were French, and the McKays, who were Scotch, were united back in 1820 by four marriages and in 1866 began to hold a yearly picnic on an original land grant signed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. It was bought October 16, 1910, by Moses McKay.
     In 1934 bronze tablets proclaiming the Collett-McKay grounds were fastened to brick gate posts marking the entrance to the picnic area bordered in front by Gurneyville Road and on one side by Inwood Road.
     The grounds have remained about as they were for those early picnics. A few of the original trees remain and those that are gone have been replaced, as have past Collett-McKay attenders, by new ones growing straight and strong.
     Some few changes were noted, though this year was not the first for them. The traditional pot of black coffee brewed in an iron kettle has disappeared as has the barrel of drinking water kept on a truck. Modern restrooms signal a surrender to the one modern convenience. A wire fence marks the four acre plot and replaces the log rail fence on Inwood Road. While it restricts the adult movements, it fails, as it has in the past, to limit the young from exploring the creek and hills beyond.
     They start early to attend the Collett-McKay's traditional picnic and this year it was two-week-old Robin Fabian who took the honor as youngest attendant. She was born July 27 and is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fabian of Des Plaines, Ill. Little Robin's great-grandfather was Louis A. Magee, who was an early Collett-McKay descendant.
     Saturday's picnic was called to order by Wilbur McKay. The benediction was given by Rev. Dennis Dinger of the Sharon Methodist Church.
     Before the day was over 262 persons with ties to the Colletts and McKays signed the register. They came from 14 states and the farthest visitor from another country -- Mioko Bori, an exchange student from Tokyo, Japan.
     The day attracted descendants from Missouri, Texas, Arizona, Michigan, Indiana, Washington, North Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, Idaho, Maryland, and Illinois.
     Attending from out of state were Mr. and Mrs. John Becker, Kristen, Kevin, Kimberly, and Jennifer of Ava, Mo.; Mr. and Mrs. James H. Graham and Chad of Rhome, Texas; William C. Doster, Buckeye, Ariz.; Mr. and Mrs. David Doster, Southfield, Mich.; Dr. and Mrs. Howard Doster and Susan of West Lafayette, Ind.; Mr. and Mrs. John Lorenz of West Lafayette, Ind.; Miss Anne Doster, Baytown, Texas; Will Oren of Kokomo, Ind.; Mrs. Douglas Strecker and daughter, Debra, from Spokane, Wash.; Mr. and Mrs. Harold N. Frazier, Miss Elisa Frazier of Henderson, N.C.; Mr. and Mrs. David Sell and Michael of Royalton, Ky.; Richard Assad of Louisville, Ky.; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fabian, Chad, Bart and Robin from Des Plaines, Ill.; Roger Magee of Nez Perce, Idaho; Mr. and Mrs. Everett Baugh of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; Mr. and Mrs. Allen Inwood, Tanya, Brad and Jason of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Mr. and Mrs. Richard Baugh, Steve and Jim of Winchester, Ky.; Mrs. Edna Neff of Cumberland, Md.; and Miss Colleen Wilson of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Moses McKay home to be sold by Corps as government surplus

     WAYNESVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- A 165-year-old house in Ceasars Creek state park, once part of the Underground Railroad, could once again be a home when it is sold by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
     The Moses McKay home was built in 1818 by freed slaves who came west from Virginia with Moses McKay, a Quaker and abolitionist. Its Greek Revival architecture was built with clay bricks dug out of what is now a pond on the property.
     The new owner will be required by deed to restore the home, which will be sold as government surplus. The sale will mark the end of a battle by the McKay-Gons Homestead Society to protect the building, which is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Collett-McKay descendants plan picnic

     The 117th annual Collett-McKay picnic will be Saturday at the Collett-McKay picnic grounds at the corner of Inwood and Gurneyville Roads.
     A basket dinner is planned at noon.