by Charles Frankish As a preteen, I was always keen to participate in any contest for which I qualified. One particular picnic, it was announced that we were having a balloon breaking contest. Without thinking, I enthusiastically joined in on the contest. A balloon was attached to the ankle of each child. The winner was […]
Author: chamberlain100
My Fond Memories
by Charles Frankish As a child growing up, the Chamberlain picnic was one of the highlights of my year. I looked forward to the picnic – the food, the games and friends – with great anticipation. During my childhood, the picnic was celebrated on Labour Day Monday. This was a bittersweet day for me. I […]
Family Picnic
Hands full Food to share, lawn chair Tiny, lovely hands in ours Or a new love to welcome in. With a cane or on our own, We climb to share our lives One day a year. Talk of jobs, kids, joys and at times, fear. Race a little, laugh a lot, eat plenty, and praise. […]
Peterborough Examiner, September 1951
The Peterborough Examiner reported on the 30th annual Chamberlain picnic and interviewed the 90-year-old co-founder, TD Chamberlain. The unnamed reporter writes, “to the older members of the family, it is an event to be compared with past gatherings; to the children it is the last chance to play ball, run races and gorge themselves with […]
100+ Picnics (1921-2023, inclusive)
The online memory book was a response to pandemic lock-downs. Let’s keep the stories flowing.
Baseball and Pie
by Denton Ward As a young boy, I always attended Aunt Ethel’s picnic (that’s what we always called it) with my mom and dad (Art and Mabel Ward) and my brothers Ted, Dave, Tom and Ron. For me, playing ball in the field was a highlight of the picnic. I remember one picnic where Dave […]
Ready for School
by Susan Ward As a kid my favourite thing about the picnic was playing the games and winning school supplies. We never had to shop for back to school –we always won our pencils, rulers and markers. My favourite games were the water balloon toss and the shoe kick. We used to always practice at […]
A Child’s Picnic
by Alison, Aged 7 I love the swing and playing with the dog (Pepper).
Congratulations!
by Carmela and Doug Farmer Although we have participated at this great event only once, we were very surprised at how well organized it was. There was participation from all – whether it was games for old or young, a smorgasbord of food, or simply reminiscing on past stories. What struck us the most was […]
Welcomed Far from Home
by Zdenka Sabata Each time I came to Chamberlain’s Family Picnic I was amazed how well it was organized, always great food, entertainment, interesting games for all ages and good company. Thank you Fran and Bill for including me and my family. Since all of our relatives are overseas, I know how important it is […]