Isaac Rideout purchased a ledger in 1897 for the family’s first reunion, planning to use successive gatherings to record important details of family history.

By the 57th reunion in 1953, that ledger was showing wear and a few loose pages, but it contained a genealogist's treasure trove of the Rideout family tree.

In this 1953 Blade archive photo, relatives sit down for a picnic during a reunion at Ottawa Park.

Attendance varied over the years, with 36 people participating in 1953, and as many as 250 in years past.

The picnic provided many favorite dishes, including a big white tub of homemade lemonade, stirred to sweet and sour perfection with an oar-sized wooden paddle.

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