The Oskaloosa herald., 1914-09-17
THE PICKEN REUNION
Large and Pleasant Gathering of a
Notable Family.


neighbOThood a reunion of some kind
takes place annually, and in every in
stance they are a source of much
pleasure and social enjoyment. The
descendants of Matthew and Susanna
Picken had their first reunion fifteen
years ago and with the exception OF
1913 have had a reunion every year
since This year the function took
place at the home of Mr.. and Mrs.
John l.. Picken, seven miles south OF
Fremont on Thursday. Sept. 3.
Ii was an ideal autumn day and
just the kind that usually favors this
reunion. The Picken home is a de-
house standing in the center of for.
est Of shade-and everything around
the place as neat and trim as work
can make it. Mr. and Mrs. Picken
welcomed the guests who began to ar
rive early in the morning and by noon
the house and yard were filled with
relatives from far and near. They
mingled with the company and were
busy attending to the comfort of those
who had come to their home and all
during the day their genuine hospi-
tally was manifest. The forenoon
old acquaintances, visiting and get
ting acquainted with those who had
not attended reunion before or had
grown out of the memory of the occa-
sional attendant.
At / o'clock dinner was announced.
A large tent had been provided for a
diningrOom and the two tables ex-
tending the entire length of the tent
were soon filled with a jolly, hungry
crowd. Pres. NJ. Fl. Picken raped
for order and introduced Jas l.. Pick
en-, who welcomed the folks to the
fourteenth annual reunion in a neat
little speech, after which he asked
the blessing of the Deity upon the
meal about to be partaken of and the
events of the day. In former write
ups of the reunion we have given
much praise to the culinary arts of
the women folks and we cannot add
much to what we have said before.
They certainly are good cooks. There
was an abundance of everything.
Fried chicken was much in evidence
for time and when the 100 were
fed there was some left. Delicious po-
tato salad, baked beans, cold meats,
good bread and butter, jellies, picked
and develed eggs, cabbage salad, all
kinds of pies, cake until you could eat
no more, and last, but not least, ice
cream, and plenty of it. 1t was a
fine layout, indeed, and those who
had to wait for the second table must
have suffered some from hunger be-
fore the first table managed to get
their appetites appeased. We forgot
to mention that coffee was served,
and those who drank it said 1t was
fine Those who didn't drink coffee
were furnished with a plentitude Of
good water. o, yes, there were olives,
pickles, beets, cheese, and it was fine,
too, and lots of other good things, in
Guiding honey. The Gazette man had
the pleasure of escorting Mrs. Eliza
B. Picken, of Boulder, Colo, to the
first table, and we enjoyed a delight
full visit with her during the meal.
She is not much of an eater, so we
allowed her to do the talking while
we feasted. She formerly lived about
half way between Fremont and OF
tumwa, but moved west about six
years ago She delights to get back
among her old friends.
About 3 o'clock the regular bust
ness was called for by Pres. Picken.
The secretary, Mrs. Geo. W. Argan-
bright read the minutes which were
approved without correction. She
also made a report as treasurer, show
ing a balance In the treasury. The
next order Of business was the cleo
ton of officers. The old officers who
had performed their duties so well
for a number Of years were anxious to
be relieved of the arduous work, and
give way to the younger set, and Mrs.
Jasper Warner, assistant secretary,
explained it to those within her hear
ing. 1t met with the approval Of the
majority, not that the old officers had
not done their work to the satisfaction
of all, but that 1t might be possible
that younger officers would have a
tendency to interest the younger
members of the Picken family in the
reunions. M. H. Picken, who has
served for a number Of years as pres
ident, desired to be relieved, but 1t
was thought best to have a Picken at
the head and, anyway, it would be
inexpedient to change all the officers
at the same meeting, so he was unanl
mously reelected. The other officers
are:
Will Picken, OF Fairfield, Vice-Pres-
ident.
Miss Ferne Picken, OF Cedar, Sec.
rotary and Treasurer.
Miss Lena Picken, Of Cedar, Assist.
ant Secretary.
The question of the time and place
of the next meeting was then raised
and it was the unanimous opinion
that the reunions be held annually,
and H. p McFadden, Of near Chilli.
cothe, will have the honor Of enter
tanning the reunion in the year 1915.
President Picken then called upon
a number for short talks. w. A.
Brown was the first to be called upon
and he told Of the pleasure he en-
joyed at the meeting and the honor
conferred by being asked to address
so intelligent class of people as the
Picken family. To illustrate the point
q he told of a man starting down the
street to get $50 bill changed and
meeting a shabbily dressed darkey,
asked him II he had the change. The
darkey replied that he had not, but
he thanked him for the honor. He
ventured a guess that If the Brown
j. n IN