(Clipping provided courtesy of Jane Collett Newman.)

Nearly 300 Colletts, McKays attend 130th picnic

     They say: "Anticipation is half the enjoyment."
     It was quite obvious last Saturday among the 299 men, women and children arriving at the four acre picnic site in Chester township. They were in a high state of anticipation and many had gone to a lot of trouble to get there. The travel, the clothes, the guests, the food, and the work, all represented tremendous individual planning, and so .. .. anticipation.
     The picnic began at the usual time and place: noon, second Saturday in August, corner of Inwood and Gurneyville. Attendance was limited to descendants of the two farm families, their guests, and the peacefully curious. Sixty-one people came from outside Ohio. Two sisters, from Iowa and South Dakota, made their second annual appearance, in Collett-McKay tee shirts. It's a powerful attraction, family ties that go way back.
     The families' long association with Ohio began in 1812 when Daniel and Mary Collett, and in 1818 when Moses and Abigail McKay moved to Clinton County. The two families were united by four marriages between 1823 and 1830. The first grandchild of this union, Ann Collett McCune, had a daughter, Mary McCune Doster, which led to Esther Doster, now in her nineties and vibrantly present along with 25 of her direct descendants.
     Though the planning is not as elaborate as the Olympics that just ended in Atlanta, nor the Republican Convention that just started in San Diego, this picnic has been held every year since 1866, at the close of the Civil War. It takes a few local reliables, like Don Collett, and Wilbur McKay and their associates to make sure the grounds are mowed and groomed in advance. They set up the 158 feet of beechwood board tables on which are presented the culinary artistry of great chefs from around the country. It's like an enormous grand buffet. Dozens of meat and vegetable specialties, corn pudding, deviled eggs, a whole 10 pound salmon brought by the Inwoods from Pittsburgh; and over 30 different cakes, pies and brownies to sample.
     The parking area was as diverse and almost as interesting as the food. Over a hundred vehicles squeezed between the two brick pillars that proclaim the entrance to the grounds. At one end of the petroleum driven collection (it used to be horses) was an exquisite three-wheeled homebuilt that had the Harley logo on the front, and evidence of a VW engine in the back. At the other end was a shiny red Cadillac with Clark County plates.
     With ceremonial clapping of hands, Wilbur McKay called the gathering to order at 12:30. He announced when and where on the hillside the traditional 10 year group photograph would be taken. Howard Doster invited everyone to his newly acquired "Moses McKay Home" which is now back in the family. And Steven Collett led the prayer for God's continued blessing on the food, the vehicles, the pets (three dogs and a toad), and all the people.
     On the memorabilia table were old photographs, descendancy charts, letters, and Kate Luby's new laptop computer soaking up the new buds and branches on the family tree. Standing there, Greg Stephens reported his Maryland aunt proudly displays a French nobleman-style sword engraved "Daniel McKay Collette - 1758."
     The ultimate example of anticipation is having the baby entitled "youngest person at the Collett McKay picnic". This year the honor went to Damian and Kim (Howell) Snyder, and their two-week-old daughter Raegan, related on both sides, by blood and marriage, to McKays and Colletts. Raegan and her oldest cousins, four in their nineties, were admired by the hundreds of other cousins assembled here from Delaware to Washington.
     And so, as you read this, you can begin anticipating your next family reunion. Anticipation is half the fun.
     Non-Ohioans at the 1996 Collett McKay Picnic were Robert Doster and Mary Lou Doster, Buckeye, Ariz.; Carina Talmadge, Marilyn Talmadge and Timothy Talmadge, Mesa, Ariz.; Carol Collett, Redondo Beach, Calif.; Eugene Collett, Escondido, Calif.; Matt Grubman, Sue Grubman and Colette Grubman, Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Ernest Moore, Burbank, Calif.; Valan Cover, Valerie Cover, Kristen Cover, Littleton, Colo.; Rachel Pidgeon, Denver, Colo.; Virginia Sell, Raymond Sell and Mary Sell, Boulder, Colo.; Daniel Collett, Penny Collett, Hannah Collett and Julia Collett, Wilmington, Del.
     Also, Marjorie Ames and Saundree Ames, Arcadia, Fla.; Ed Cossum, Ellenton, Fla.; Lora Yahnke, Waukee, Iowa; Bart Fabian, Chuck Fabian, Robin Fabian, Chad Fabian and Karen Fabian, Des Plaines, Ill.; Patricia Giesting, and James Giesting, Palatine, Ill.; Pablo Resendi and Dario Resendiz, Evanston, Ill.; and Barbara Doster, W. Lafayette, Ind.; Sally Sell, David Sell, Michael Sell and Alison Sell, Richmond, Ky.; Gregory Stephens, Wilmore, Ky.; Dave Doster, Cindi Doster, Ashlee Doster, Drew Doster and Adam Doster, Novi, Mich.; Ronda Vandenberg and Mary Vandenberg, Grand Rapids, Mich.
     Also Susan Doster, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Lena Magee, Bernice Magee, Brian Magee and Silas Magee, Dryden, N.Y.; Allen Inwood and Karla Inwood, Pittsburg, Pa.; Frances Rempp, Irene, S.D.; Roger Magee, Sequim, Wash.; Doug Strecker and Jane Strecker, Medical Lake, Wash.; and Max Magee and Ellen Magee, Madison, Wis.

     130th Collett-McKay picnic on family grounds, bring memorabilia. Picture to be taken.