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 looked forward to the Chamberlain Picnic, but I was not thrilled that the next day was the first day of school. In later years, the Chamberlain picnic switched to Sunday of the Labour Day weekend which gave me Monday to prepare myself mentally for the upcoming school year. More importantly, it allowed those who were travelling from afar more time to prepare for school on the holiday Monday.
As a preteen and teenager, I remember being very strategic when it came to mealtimes. I wanted to be near the front of the line so that I could guarantee myself a piece of Kentucky fried chicken, which was faithfully brought every year by Gordon Bradfield. It was very important to eat your first course promptly to ensure that you were one of the first ones to go for the homemade desserts. My favorite dessert was homemade raspberry pie. The day was a success if I managed to get a piece of this pie.
Being a child from the baby boomer years, there was always a tremendous amount of excitement and competition for the various races and contests. The running race, the three-legged race, the potato sack race, the wheelbarrow race and the one-minute race were all hotly contested. For many years, Maggie Payne organized and marshaled these races. (Maggie Payne was my great-aunt, but our family affectionately called her Aunt Maggie.)
During the afternoon, there was a baseball game played by the teenagers and adults. As preteens and teenagers, we often climbed the big hill in the late afternoon to wear off some energy. The day ended with a supper, consisting of the leftover food from the lunchtime meal.
