(Clipping provided courtesy of Jane Collett Newman.)

Collett/McKay reunion and picnic held again

     The Collett/McKay Picnic, an event that has been repeated, without much interruption, for 128 years, came again the second Saturday in August. Four Colletts and four McKays intermarried before the Civil War. Then in 1866, when their children began having children, the picnic was started to give the widening families a chance to get together at least once a year. It was such a good idea that now people come from all over the country, to "fluff-up their roots" at the 4-acre permanent picnic ground on Gurneyville Road in Chester Township.
     Wallace Collett and Wilbur McKay, the picnic elders, clapped their hands for attention, reviewed the history that all the attendees share, listed some new artifacts on display, and closed with the inevitable reminder that it costs a few hundred dollars to maintain the site, and contributions are cheerfully received.
     Eugene Collett led the prayer for grace, and shortly after noon the eating began at the 158 feet of walnut tables, holding over 400 dishes of food.
     "Ernestine Moore, 90 years old" is how she signed the massive register book mounted on the old maple tree. She wasn't the only one present over the 90 mark. Esther Doster and Helen Feike are also up there.
     Ruth Pidgeon missed her first picnic in 1913. But she was only 2 days old, and she hasn't missed one since. The year before that Alice Lockmiller attended her first picnic at age 2. She remembers this doggerel: "Ohio, pride of the Western plain; Where fruit and grain abound; Columbus is thy capital; and fertile is thy ground."
     It was my unpleasant task to inform Elizabeth Hahn, through her mother, that she was simply too old to receive the coveted "youngest attendee" award. Lila Ann Wengler, born June 29, 1994, had beaten her by four months.
     A popular topic of conversation is always: "How to improve on the picnic." Although none of these suggestions has ever been fully implemented, the people keep coming, and the 289 count this year is the highest since 1946.
     Suggestions included: Valet parking to get cars out of the way; pony rides for the tots; central hot coffee, this was an old tradition that died with Hiram Poor; colored T-shirts, armbands, badges to identify family branches; a hand painted family tree on the large wall of the restroom building, so people could find their branch; and early reminders to encourage bringing of genealogical memorabilia.
     Earl and Dorothy Holtgrefe, from the McCune branch, supplied their 26 close relatives with red T-shirts, making an impressive splash of continuity in the otherwise varicolored crowd.
     Another popular topic of conversation was: "Surgical procedures I have endured." Bypass, aneurysm, transplant... medical terms that would have mystified our ancestors... are commonly accepted in picnic conversation. Even the vasectomy, though a somewhat more delicate topic, was heard among the younger married set.
     Most recently married were Damian Snyder and Kim Howe. They have attended many picnics before (as relatives by marriage not blood), but this was their first picnic as a couple. Their thick wedding picture books were admired by cousins from New York to California.
     Perhaps the most innovative and useful addition to the ceremonies came as an extension to the picnic. Attendees were invited on a driving tour, mapped and guided by Howard Doster, of family landmarks in the area including ancient homesites and gravesites of Moses McKay, Daniel Collett, and many others. Eighty-one people took the tour and were richly rewarded with a first hand look at the land of their ancestors in and around Chester Township.
     Ninety-eight people came from outside Ohio, double the number that have come from out-of-state in any of the past 5 years, they were Marjorie and Saundra Ames and Ben Cline of Arcadia, Fla.; Eric Bogan of Las Vegas, Nev.; Stephen Bun of Ontario, Canada; Eugene, Evelyn and Samuel Collett of Escondido, Calif.; Carol and Sue Collett of Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Jonathan and Stephen Collett of New York City, N.Y.; Stella and Wallace Collett of Rosemont, Pa.; Arlene, Christine, David and William Cossum of Ellenton, Fla.; Barbara and Jack Deppner of Indialantic, Fla.; Barbara and Howard Doster of West Lafayette, Ind.; Clifford Doster of Louisiana; Adam, Ashlee, Cynthia, David and Drew Doster of Novi, Mich.; and Susan Doster of Brooklyn, N.Y.
     Also, Bart, Chad, Charles, Karen and Robin Fabian of Des Plains, Ill.; Alexander and Helen Fray of Pasadena, Calif.; Patricia Giesting of Palatine, Ill.; Keiran, Neisan and Tajilli Greengus of Evanston, Ill.; Matthew Grubman of Hollywood, Calif.; Elizabeth, Joe and Karen Hahn of Saline, Mich.; Dorrie and Earl Holtgrefe of Longwood, Fla.; James Holtgrefe of Erie, Pa.; Kathie Hynds of Glencoe, Va.; and Allen, Bradford, Karla, Nathan and Tonya Inwood of Pittsburg, Pa.
     Also, Richard Koehler of Las Vegas, Nev.; Byron Leaser of New Castle, Ind.; Alice Lockmiller of Ft. Myers, Fla.; Ellen and Max Magee of Madison, Wis.; Roger Magee of Seguim, Wash.; Henrietta Miller of Gwynedd, Pa.; William Miller of Arlington, Va.; Clark and Jane Moeller of Towanda, Pa.; Marjorie Monson of Ellenton, Fla.; Jennifer, Nancy and Stephen Pian of Port Charlotte, Fla.; and Rachel Pidgeon of Denver, Colo.
     Also, Carolyn and Ed Powell of Venice, Fla.; Alexander, Jane, Laura and Mark Reed of Tucson, Ariz.; Anna and Pablo Rosendiz of Evanston, Ill.; Becky, Christopher, Hannah, Michael and Ruth Smith of Birmingham, Ala.; Doug and Jane Strecker of Medical Lake, Wash.; Carina, Marilyn and Timothy Talmage of Mesa, Ariz.; and George Tuggle of Brooklyn, Wis.
     Finally, Christina Turner of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Elise, Margarite and Vernon Tuxbury of S. Burlington, Vt.; Patricia Tuxbury of Atlanta, Ga.; Collette Vandenberg of Winston Salem, N.C.; Mary and Rhinda Vandenberg of Grand Rapids, Mich.; Randy Vandenberg of Powell, Ind.; and Jim and Joan Vogel of Knightstown, Ind.

(Clipping provided courtesy of Kim Becker Price.)

RETURNING TO THE FAMILY TREE
Story by CHERYL WALKER/ Photography by DAN RIOS

Gene Collett, above, looks over a photo album as he reminisces about his family reunions. Below, one of Collett's photos is a group shot from the 1966 reunion, the centennial picnic.
(Referring to the two photos in the write-up.)
     Same time, same place: Nothing changes, only the people who show up.
     For more than 100 years, rain or shine, Gene Collett's relatives have gathered for a family reunion the second Saturday in August at a site 40 miles north of Cincinnati. No invitations are sent and no one is in charge of planning the event.
     "We don't ever have to ask what time or where to go," said Collett, a retired Methodist minister in Escondido. "I think that's one of the reasons it's been so successful. There's no work involved with it. It's really unique that it's been going on for so long."
     The Collett-McKay family picnic has been fodder for many of Collett's sermons in discussing the value of having roots.
     "I think family is something that's important to all of us," he said. "It's been a significant part of my life.
     Collett, 69, was one month old when he attended his first picnic. He went to every one for 20 years until he left home and became a minister. Collett tried to make it to Ohio as often as he could, but his ministerial duties wouldn't always allow him time away.
     "I'd guess I've probably been to at least 40 of them," said Collett, who has three daughters and three grandchildren. "Now that I'm retired, it's a lot easier to get there. We all plan to go together this year."
     Collett has two brothers who remained in Ohio and nine cousins he enjoys reminiscing with at the reunion.
     "My cousins were like brothers and sisters," he said. "We did a lot of things together and always played together. I remember those days fondly. I always regretted that my chil dren never got to grow up and be with their cousins."
     The woods where the annual picnic is held was owned at one time by a relative. When it was sold, a fenced four-acre corner section in an oak and maple grove was deeded to the Collett-McKay picnic.
     New Burlington, Ohio, was the town closest to the picnic site. Several years ago, the state needed to build a dam in that area and now the town no longer exists. But before the people left, author John Baskin interviewed residents and wrote a book about the town: "New Burlington: The Life and Death of an American Village." A chapter was devoted to the Collett-McKay picnic.
     "It (the book) was reviewed as a good study of a small Midwestern town," said Collett. "I found it to be pretty accurate."
     Collett history has been traced back 200 years, when a man, his wife and baby set sail from the coast of France to America. A famine broke out aboard ship and adults were allowed only one biscuit a day. The mother died, but the father and the child survived and settled in Ohio.
     In 1866, the reunion was started with the marriage of two families---the Colletts and the McKays. More than 100 people attended that first picnic.
     "The largest was in 1888 when there were 542," Collett said. "We usually have a pretty good turnout. Last summer we had 260."
     Relatives take pictures at every reunion, but the only time everyone gathered for a large group shot was for the centennial celebration in 1966. A register has been kept since the first reunion, and everyone signs in when they arrive.
     "I remember taking my daughters and showing them the book where my dad had signed my name for me until I was old enough to write it myself."
     The reunion is only lasts one day with picnicking usually begins at noon.
     "Around noon someone claps their hands and we all join for prayer," Collett said. "There's always a minister in the family who is there to say grace. And for the whole affair, that's about as much formality as we have."
     In the morning, those who live nearby go and set up the picnic tables --- the same ones made out of saw horses and long boards that were used in the 1800s.
     "It seems that it's the older generation that always assumes whatever responsibilities there are, such as setting up the tables," Collett said. "Those tables used to be kept in somebody's barn but now we have a little building on the grounds to store them in. There's two restrooms, too. In the old days there were no facilities and no water or electricity.
     "When I was a child, we had a water wagon and that was our supply. It was always a tradition to make coffee. Coffee was put in cloth bags and brewed in a huge iron kettle over a wood fire. Other than the coffee, everyone brings their own food and chairs."
     Word of the Collett-McKay family reunion has spread throughout the Midwest.
     "Some will show up with the name of Collett or McKay, but don't know where they fit in the family tree," said Collett. "There was a couple who came a few years ago who had heard about the picnic. Before they left, they found out where they fit into the family."
     Every year there are new faces at the picnic --- those who have newly married or added a little twig to the family tree.
     "There's always lots of children," Collett said. "And there's no signs of this ever dying out."

     If you aren't already having family reunions like the Colletts, it's not too difficult to begin the tradition.
     A first reunion may be nothing more than a barbecue in Grandma's back yard. Reunions from that point on can become more elaborate and may be held in such places as a hotel banquet room or at a state park. Activities can range from simple "Who came the farthest" contests and sack races to treasure hunts or annual softball games.
     Whatever type of reunion you may plan, here are some suggestions before you start, from "Family Reunion Handbook," by Barbara Brown and Tom Ninkovich (1992, Reunion Research, San Francisco):

• Decide on the type of reunion (a picnic? a formal gathering? a time to share activities and side trips?).
• Decide how often a reunion should be held (yearly? every other year?) and how long it should last (a weekend, a week).
• Decide on the size of the reunion (brothers and sisters? uncles, aunts and cousins?).
• Decide where to have it (a hotel, a state park, an amusement park with lodging nearby).
• Make a check list of requirements for choosing a site (do you need picnic grounds? room for kids to run around in? a golf course nearby?).