(Submitted by D. Howard Doster to Webmaster and Newspaper at the same time.)

360° View of the 152nd Collett-McKay Picnic taken on Saturday 12 Aug 2017 courtesy of Missy Inwood.

     One hundred seventy cousins from nineteen states met together at the family owned 4-acre picnic site, located at 5353 Gurneyville Road, a dozen miles NW of Wilmington, Ohio. The weather was great, and we didn't need to use the Chester Township Fire House as a rain site.
     After leading them in a traditional Quaker silent prayer, Susan Doster called the group together. She thanked cousins, Steve and Doug Pidgeon for bringing water for the bathrooms, Steve Collett for all he does to prepare the grounds, Ashley and Allen Inwood, and John Mothersole for mowing the grass. Then Doster directed the cousins to the three long 1879 tables for lunch under the old maple trees.
     Mary Dudley led children's activities. She also baked the black walnut cake recipe from her late grandfather, McKay Collette. Daniel Collette, McKay's son, was seen taking the last pieces home to Delaware.
     For the second year, the picnic celebration actually started at 5 pm on Friday evening. That's when four cars arrived with their own sandwich suppers at the picnic site. This year, we started by touring the Mt Pisgah Methodist Church site, the location of the first five picnics a half mile NW of the present picnic site on Gurneyville Road. We toured McKay houses, and a George McKay cemetery on Clinton County New Burlington Road. We also visited the Moses Collett house near Roxanna on Greene County Roxanna-New Burlington Road. Finally, we toured the Quaker cemetery on Warren County New Burlington Road where Revolutionary Private Daniel Collett, never a Quaker, was buried by his five Quaker daughters-in-law. We're already planning another Friday evening tour for next year. Bring your sandwiches and join us.
     Count me among the "crippled cousins". I'm now in a wheel chair, following a freak accident the day after I had cancer surgery in May. You probably didn't notice, but I stayed in one place during the picnic; thus, I didn't get out to meet different groups. As I study who signed the ledger, I see Ernie Wengler, now 88; and Jeanette McKay Musser, now 89. I also see that Rosale Shelby, born 2/7/17, may have been the youngest cousin present.
     Other first time attendees include Kate Jackson Dargon, William J. Doster, and Lindiwe Phiri. After I met and invited Jonathan McKay, in Wilmington, he brought his father, Rod McKay. Also, after discovering an announcement on the McKay website, Grace Jacobson, Ivan Jacobson, and Mark Jacobson came to their first picnic from California.
     Out of state cousins included: Robert "Buzz" and Louella Ramsey, Opelika, Alabama; W. Robert Doster, Buckeye, and William J. Doster, Goodyear, AZ; Grace and Mark Jacobson, Davis, and Ivan Lee Jacobson, Santa Monica, California; Rachel Pidgeon, Denver, Colorado; Daniel and Seth Collett, Wilmington, Delaware; Fred, Robin, Evan, Cory Maker, Elk Grove Village, and Chad, Charlie Karen Fabian, Des Plaines, Illinois; Gail and Parry Lindsey, Marion, and Susan Doster, West Lafayette, Indiana; Greg Stephens, Glen Burnie, Bradley Collett, Brenda, and Todd Stephens, Linthicum, Maryland; Daniel James Doster, Boston, Massachusetts; Dave Doster, Novi, Michigan; Marilyn Talmadge, Freehold, New Jersey; Brian and Bernice Magee, Dryden, New York; Kate Jorden Dargen, Incline Valley, Nevada; Dan, Melody, and Lizzie Doster, Raleigh, North Carolina; Krystal Billingsley, Logan Blacker, and Natalie Puckett, Marysville, Tennessee; Doug and Jane Doster Strecker, Medical Lake, Washington; Guy Lee Fields, Elizabeth, Gary, Ben, Megan, Charlie, and Mollie Schow, Taylorsville, Utah, and Ellen Magee, Madison, Wisconsin.

Descendants of the Colletts and McKays will gather for their 152nd consecutive annual family picnic. Picnic is held at their family picnic grounds at 5353 Gurneyville Road in Clinton County. Cousins wanting to drive their own cars for a guided tour of ancestors' homes and cemeteries should bring their supper and meet at the picnic grounds at 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 11. Tour is to be led by DH Doster and his daughter, Susan.