Missouri Birthday Picnic – April 25, 1970

These ladies gathered for a picnic on April 25, 1970 at Bennett Springs, Missouri to celebrate the 70th birthday of Blanche Bennett Shank, seated second from the left.  Blanche was the third wife of my great uncle John Edward “Banty” Shank.  From left the ladies are Laura Sturdevant, Blanche Shank, Agnes Pierce, Loreta McMenus Chandler, Irene Neason and seated Ruthene Shank Calton.  The photo is very faded but a trip through Photoshop helped put some life back into the image.  Ruthene was my mother’s first cousin on the Shank side of the family.  Her father, Joseph Eli Shank, was brother of Ruthene’s father.  Loreta Chandler was also my mother’s first cousin, her father, Willie McMenus, being the brother of my mother’s mother, Inez McMenus Shank.  To make things even more interesting, Loreta’s mother, Minnie Brasier McMenus, was the daughter of Charlotte Jane Massie Brasier Pierce, who was the sister of my mother’s grandmother, Lydia Margaret Massie Shank.  We have second and third cousins who are related on two sides of the family.  Looks a bit chilly for a picnic!