Collett and McKay families gather for 118th picnic

     It looked threatening in the morning but by noon " 'twas a perfect day for a picnic". So thought 237 descendants of two pioneer Clinton and Warren County families, last Saturday, as they repeated a ritual this year of 1984 that began in 1866.
     Without formal notice, enticement, or even program to encourage attendance these people knew where and when to assemble. The second Saturday in August, at the four acre piece of ground used exclusively for the purpose, corner of Inwood and Gurneyville roads.
     Their long association with Ohio began in 1812 when Daniel and Mary Collett, and in 1818 when Moses and Abigail McKay moved here from Virginia. The two families were united by four marriages between 1823 and 1830, and by 1866 the families had grown large enough and close enough to have their first annual reunion picnic.
     Ever since, three long tables (combined length of 158 feet) have been set up to bear the weight of hundreds of hours of cooking skill, and kitchen magic. This time, festivities were opened promptly at noon by Wilbur McKay, with a blessing by Rev. Eugene Collett of Tucson, Ariz. Thus ended the formalities and from then on it was an afternoon of sampling each others culinary artistry, and genealogy.
     William Doster, 85, might have been the oldest in attendance, though that record is not openly sought. He remembered when horses brought the families to this spot. "Every year at least one horse, tethered among the trees got into a bumble bee nest." The youngest attendant was certainly Emma Godfrey, 25 days, great-great-great-grand daughter of Mary McKay Hackney.
     There were still those stalwarts who, after many passes at the food table, were able to play intra-family volleyball and emulate the Olympic stars featured on television all last week. "Going for the tin", one player paraphrased. The audience included a group of cows and calves from the pasture adjoining the picnic site, and one invited dog. Perhaps the occasion was not as thrilling as the Olympic Games, but for those in attendance it was a few hours of sheer delight, a beautiful Ohio summer afternoon, in a family 237 strong.
     In addition to delegations of Colletts and McKays from Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati and many other places in Ohio, 51 came from outside Ohio:
     Don, Kay, and Kristen Ames of Canton, Ga.; Rick Assad of Louisville, Ky.; Steve Baugh of Richmond, Ky.; Ann and Dick Gaugh of Portage, Mich.; Everett and Helen Baugh of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; John, Kevin, Kristen and Jennifer Becker of Ava, Mo.; Gene Collett of Tucson, Ariz.; Howard, Barbara, Susan, Ann Doster, and John Lowery of West Lafayette, Ind.; David and Cynthia Doster of Southfield, Mich.; Daniel and Melody Doster of Mishawaka, Ind.; David Ervin of Sun River, Ore.; Bart, Chad, Chuck, Karen and Robin Fabian of Des Plaines, Ill.; Mary, Joe, Jennifer and Greg Glynn of New Milford, Conn.; Allen, Brad, Karla, Jason and Tonya Inwood of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Bernice, Bryan and Lena Magee of Buckley, Wash.; Ellen and Maxmillian Magee of Madison, Wis.; Dwight and Lynn McKay and Paul and Jeremy Rhineer of Lititz, Pa.; and Mary and Randy VandenBerg of Grand Rapids, Mich.