Ellendale Picnic Association (Southern California)

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Below is a roster of names of attendees at the March 1927 Ellendale Picnic Association event at Brookside Park in Pasadena. If you are able to match any of the names below with the faces in the photo, please contact the Ellendale Historical Society President Ken Smith via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or by Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ellendalehistoricalsociety/

Below the roster is an article about the Ellendale Picnic Association published in the Dickey County Leader in March 2810. If you have any firsthand knowledge of any of these picnics or if your parents were involved, it would be wonderful to hear from you.

Sincerely, Ken Smith
President of the Ellendale Historical Society
March 1, 2018

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MARCH 13, 1927

Donald Wentzel\u2013 1144 N. Commonwealth, Hollywood
Mr. & Mrs. Joy Stiles \u2013 1154 Raymond, Glendale
Mr. & Mrs. A.W. Lane
Mr. & Mrs. D.E. Geer\u2014Ellendale, N. Dak
William O. Wentzel & Family \u2013 1144 N. Commonwealth, Hollywood
Mrs & Mr. S. Pearson 1311 W. 9th, L.A.
H.C. McMasters & Family \u2013220 No. Bright, Whittier
J.M. Shoemaker, Orange
Mr. & Mrs. E.F. Bodel \u2013 723 Franklin Ave.
Mrs. & Mr. A.F. Withee, 900 N. Lemon, Anaheim
Mr. & Mrs. G.H. Winfield 824 \u00bd Sunshine Ave, L.A.
Fred Countryman & Wife \u2013 El Monte, Rt. 2
--?
--?
A.F. Withee, Anaheim
R.K. Morrison \u2013 526 Standard Oil Building, Los Angeles
Mr. & Mrs. W.J. Magoon \u2013 605 Atkinson St., El Monte CA
Mr. & Mrs. Fred Countryman , 1207 Rt. 2 (crossed out)
Mrs. H.P. Master ? Sask, Canada
Mrs. D.E. Geer, Ellendale N.D.
Mr. & Mrs, J.E. Baker
Mr. & Mrs. W.R. Ball
Mr. & Mrs. George Saufrey
Mr. & Mrs. _____ Ritmiller 661 Arizona Ave., L.A.
S.A. Dawson \u2013 734 Venice Blvd, L.A.
Clara Mendlesohn \u2013 3830 Campbell Ave., Culver City
Mr. & Mrs. Henry Grub \u2013 1005 Sartoma?
Eva Libby Millham - -- Santa Paula, Calif.
Vernon D. Lesh \u2013 1348, Fargo N.D.
Mr. & Mrs. W.J. Magoon \u2013 605 Atchison
Mr. & Mrs. R.W. Walker \u2013 1163 N. Mary? L.A.
Eddie Meacham \u2013 6109 Afton Place, L.A.


"Area Residents Stick Together Over Time and Distance"
Dickey County Leader
By Ken Smith

People who\u2019ve lived in Ellendale for any length of time often comment on the instant camaraderie they share with other area residents they happen to meet while traveling or in the course of everyday life. The bonds that draw them together are real, and they aren\u2019t new. They are perhaps best illustrated by a largely forgotten organization called the Ellendale Picnic Association. Twice a year for more than four decades, it gathered together southern Californians with Ellendale roots\u2014and visitors from the hometown\u2014for fellowship, recreation, and reminiscing.

The idea came from former area resident Clara Mae Wentzel (1858-1957), wife of Mrs. William O. Wentzel. Clara invited her Dickey County acquaintances to a March 22, 1924 picnic at Brookside Park in Pasadena. \u201cSo many former Ellendale residents were present and such an enjoyable occasion took place,\u201d she wrote, \u201cthat it was decided to form an Ellendale Association, and thereafter hold two picnics each year, one during the month of March and one during the month of September. By unanimous vote H.C. McMaster was elected President, said office to be held one year. So evolved our Ellendale Association.\u201d

Mrs. Wentzel and her friends kept the picnics going for more than 40 years. The Association\u2019s two ledgers, which now belong to the Coleman Museum, recorded attendance, mailing addresses, activities, and expenses of each picnic. Turnout varied from year to year, but a core membership of nearly 100 members soon developed, and attendance of 130 to 180 was common. Newcomers were introduced at nearly every picnic. Part of each picnic was devoted to sharing the latest news from the hometown and members\u2019 travels. In 1932, for example, Mrs. Leslie Millham \u201cgave a most interesting and complete resumé of her motor trip to New York via North Dakota. She stressed the cheerful attitude of Ellendale citizens despite the depression.\u201d

The ledgers also record collections taken up, and amounts paid for picnic-related supplies. For their September 1927 gathering, four pounds of \u201cRalph\u2019s Best Coffee\u201d were purchased for $1.60, and \u201c8 cans milk\u201d for 80 cents. In 1931, a shop in Whittier, California supplied 250 invitation postcards for a total price (postage included) of $5.25. It was not an expensive operation: the typical account balance over all four decades typically stayed between ten and twenty dollars. In advance of picnics, officers placed notices in numerous southern California newspapers, and in the Dickey County Leader. They also kept members informed of deaths and births and other transitions, and sent cards and flowers to those who were ill or grieving. Indeed, flowers seem to have been the single largest non-food expense covered by the organization.

While the Ellendale Picnic Association was not the only such transplant group with roots in our area, it was probably the largest and longest-lived. In the early 1960s attendance began to drop, and the ledger records picnics only up to 1966. Attendees doubtless kept meeting informally after that. In any case, it was a highly successful group, and provides an example that could be imitated without much difficulty. Transplanted natives who value their hometown might do well to consider taking deliberate initiative to create or maintain formal organizations to better ensure that the connections are kept up. Though thanks are seldom expressed adequately for such efforts, the time and effort invested in them is extremely worthwhile, and is appreciated.

Perhaps the most tangible record of the Ellendale Picnic Association are two photographs from the Coleman Museum. The first (shown here) was taken at Pasadena\u2019s Brookside Park Pasadena March 1927. The Ellendale banner was part of the Association\u2019s regular picnic equipment. Another photo (not shown) has no date or other information, but appears to be from the 1950s. The Ellendale Historical Society requests your assistance in identifying any acquaintances or relatives that may be on those photos. High resolution versions of both photos reveal identifiable faces, with often revealing expressions. Names of attendees to the March 1927 event can be viewed, along with the photos and information for contacting the historical society, at the archive.org page devoted tothe Ellendale Picnic Association.

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