May 29 may have dawned as a dismal, foggy, cloudy day at the home of Hardy and June Pickett, in Clarksville, but when nine of Hardy's classmates from the 1949 graduating class of Clarksville High School, along with their spouses, children, grandchildren and a former teacher descended upon the Pickett home for a 60th year reunion, things changed in a hurry.

Coming from the greatest distances were Bill Leber and his wife, Marge, who traveled from Andover, N.H.; Ruth Bassler Bohlen traveling from Stewartville, Minn., and Ed Chitwood traveled from Longwood, Fla., accompanied by his son, Dave.

A former teacher, Richard Jones (accompanied by his grandson, Jason), who still lives in the Baltimore area, also attended the reunion. Jones taught agriculture, shop, driver's education and was the FFA adviser 60 years ago.

Others in attendance included Kori and Chris Pickett (grandchildren of June and Hardy); Sally Sullivan Kone; Dorothy Brown Frank and husband, Ed; Gerald Isaacs; Bueford Newton (accompanied by his son, Joe); Russell Bailey and wife, Ann; and Betty Blucher Miller and husband, Ken.

Of the 10 classmates who attended, Leber and Chitwood both served in the Vietnam War and Bailey served in Korea.

The class of 1949 had 30 graduates. Eleven are now deceased, but the 10 members attending remembered them fondly with stories of their school days. The afternoon was spent reminiscing, fellowshipping, and eating, with a lot of laughter thrown in.

Mark your calendar -- the 131st Clarksville Picnic will take place June 27 from noon to 9 p.m. on the grounds of St. Louis Church on Route 108 in Clarksville.

This year, 7,000-10,000 people are expected to attend this family friendly event, which features free admission and free parking.

The Clarksville Picnic was first held in 1878. The St. Louis Church community (founded in 1855) and the Clarksville community were one and the same. As such, the Clarksville Picnic was never just your usual church picnic -- it's always been the biggest local event of the year for the area. In the 1800s, Clarksville was a rural farming area.

The picnic was always the last Wednesday in June, because farmers needed Saturday as a day to run their "town" errands. Now that the community is more a part of suburbia, it is held every year on the last Saturday in June.

There has also been some other changes to the picnic through the years. A surviving poster that promoted the event in the early 1900s promised airplane rides as one picnic feature. Apparently, one daring parishioner from that time not only owned a bi-plane and used it to thrill picnic-ers that year, but he (or she) actually used the open field behind the church for takeoffs and landings. (The Federal Aviation Administration was not created until the 1950s.)

Today, the picnic requires as many as 1,000 volunteers and several months to plan and execute. The one-day event includes live music, crafts, a silent auction, bingo, a plant sale, a dunking booth, hay rides, a massive white elephant and used book sale, a bake sale, pony rides, face painting, kids games, plus the usual offerings of cotton candy, snow cones, ice cream, funnel cakes, hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza.

Rides, games and refreshments can all be purchased with a specified number of tickets that sell for 50 cents each.

Fostering community spirit and having lots of fun are the primary purposes of the Clarksville Picnic, but it's also the largest single fundraising event of the year for the church. A $20,000 raffle and the white elephant sale are the biggest contributors. A $20,000 raffle winner will be announced by the end of the evening.

A major draw of the event is the family style chicken and ham dinner served from noon to 6:30. Last year, volunteers served more than 3,000 such dinners, with some families driving to the church specifically to purchase takeout orders.

All-you-can-eat chicken and ham dinners are $12 for ages 11 and older, and $6 for children 5-10. Children younger than 5 eat free.

Don't forget to show your support for the Western Howard County Relay for Life, to be held at the Western Regional Park June 19. The evening will kick off with a free concert -- the Howard County Department of Parks and Recreation Travelin' Bands Concert Series, featuring Junkyard Saints at 7 p.m.

Edy's/Dreyers Grand Ice Cream helps to sponsor the concert, and also will be handing out free ice cream. There will be a quilt raffle -- winner to be drawn at 9 p.m. -- donated by Team Sam.

To learn more about Relay for Life, to make a donation or join a team, go to www.relayforlife.org/westernhoward.

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