(Clipping provided courtesy of Jane Collett Newman.)

Collett-McKay reunion draws 252 family members

     The Visitors Register was duly placed in position on the shelf nailed to the ancient sugar maple snag, and "the 1986 picnic" was under way. Cars streamed through the narrow gate, at Inwood and Gurneyville Roads, to unload people and provisions at the four acre site used only for this Second-Saturday-in-August event.
     John and Carol Doster, with their three daughters, arrived in their brand-new minivan packed for direct departure from the picnic to the Atlantic Ocean for vacation.
     Neil Reid, from Tarbet, Scotland, and student at Miami University, came to visit fellow highlanders on the McKay side, and to load up on an incredible array of home-cooked specialties including a dozen versions of fried chicken, fresh sliced tomatoes of every known variety, meat loaf, bean casseroles, wild blackberry pie and black walnut cake.
     Mrs. McKay was there, still glowing from the recent celebration of her 86th birthday, and so was her great grandnephew Jonathan, gurgling and cooing his way through his 34th day.
     Robert McKay attended his first picnic in 36 years, and gave the opening thanks to God in behalf of the 251 people who were there with him.
     Nelson Dohm and family were there, principally to herd this laughing, chattering, well-stuffed crowd into rows and columns for a group portrait. The Californians, clad in short-shorts and suntans; some in Free Methodist garb covered head to toe; one on crutches; the babies in diapers. All were finally exhorted away from the tables filled with family memorabilia and genealogical data on Collett, McKay, Inwood, Babb connections; away from the Visitors Registers going back to 1866 where a 10-year-old boy could see how his great-grandparents signed their names when they were 10.
     They gathered in the warm sun on this perfect day for a family picture. A family that, according to Kathryn Becker, daughter of Lucille Hackney, granddaughter... goes back to John Crispin in the year 1550, thence (except for a little 527 year gap) to Rolf, Duke of Normandy, and finally, with a left and a right, to Adam (of the famous Adam and Eve.)
     In addition to the many delegates from Ohio, these 24 came from out-of-state:
     Carol and Sue Collett of Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Eugene and Evelyn Collett of Phoenix, Ariz.; Diane Doster of Boise, Idaho; Howard and Barbara Doster of West Lafayette, Ind.; Brad, Jason, Tonya, Allen and Karla Inwood of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Ellen and Max Magee of Madison, Wis.; Constance McKay of Logansport, Ind.; Neil Reid of Tarbet, Scotland; Raymond and Mary Sell of Boulder, Colo.; David Sell of Royalton, Ky.; Jane Doster Strecker and Debbie of Medical, Wash.; and Marilyn Talmage of Mesa, Ariz.;

Collett-McKay picnic planned

     The 120th Collett-McKay picnic will be Saturday at the family picnic grounds on Gurneyville-Inwood Road.
     A basket dinner will be shared at noon.