73rd Picnic

	73rd Reunion

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Doraville Whitney was the first Black settler in Isabella County in 1860. The first documentation of an African-American settler in Mecosta County Michigan was James Guy. His deed was signed by Abraham Lincoln. He obtained 160 acres in Wheatland Township on May 30, 1861. Lloyd & Margaret Guy were the first Black settlers in Montcalm County in 1861. The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed each settler 160 acres in Michigan. By 1873 African-Americans owned 1,392 acres in the three counties of Isabella, Mecosta and Montcalm. In the 1860's most of the land in Remus was owned by the Old Settlers.

Link: 72nd Reunion

Link: 71st Reunion

Link: 70th Reunion

73rd Annual

Old Settlers' Reunion

August 18, 2007

Carol Norman

Diana Green

Benny Pointer

Arlo Guy - Welcome

Musical Selection: All The Children

Memorial - Pat Burns & Betty Shelby

Marvin Lett - Recognition of Graduates

Kenneth Todd - Master of Ceremony

Seniors 70 and Over

King and Queen Jack Flowers

& Helen Johnson-Morgan

Jumping the Broom

The Cake Walk

One of the Many Children's Races

Families Enjoy the Picnic

Cake Donated by Jon Haywood and Wife

An Article that appeared in the Grand Rapids Press on Sunday, August 19, 2007, stated "the Old Settlers just celebrated its 74th Reunion." That was an error. If you look at The Old Settlers: A Nation Within Itself on Page 179, and also look at the Memoirs Page on this website, the postcards posted say that the First Old Settlers Reunion took place August 17, 1935.

It was decided at a meeting in 1934 to change the name of the Picnic to The Old Settlers' Reunion, although the first Old Settlers Reunion was to start the next year in 1935. There is also an ongoing error in stating the reunion was started by Leslie Guy, Art Cross, and Emmet Porter. William Todd was also one of the founders. His name has been inadvertently left off over the years. This information is being written so that these "mis-quotes" will not continue to happen.

Contact Webmaster: Marsha (Todd) Stewart


	73rd Reunion

There are "Old Settlers" who came from Canada via "The Underground Railroad." It was the most dramatic nonviolent protest against slavery in the United States that began in the Colonial Era and reached its peak between 1830 and 1865. An estimated 30,000 to 100,000 slaves used the "railroad" to get to Canada; many others escaped to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe.