Monday Memories--The Tennessee Reunions of Northern Illinois

I’ve written at this blog about the Tennessee connections based on the memories of my father.  After my great-grandfather moved to Illinois, he helped a number of families come north and get settled.  They would meet for picnics when a visiting relative was in the area, and it came to be known as the Tennessee Reunion.  The first my dad remembered was around 1924.  All the people who attended (with the exception of the children born in Illinois) had known each other back in Tennessee--Martins, Millers, Ballards, Corbetts, Biggs, Vessers, and Willifords and some others.  Most were related by blood or marriage.
Today I received a photo, too long for my scanner of the reunion held at Lawrence Park, Sterling, Illinois on July 14, 1929.  As near as I can tell, the Ballards and Corbetts are at the left.  Since I didn’t know any of these people when they were this young, I haven’t identified all of them. 

I think the two girls with dark hair sitting with the children, about 6 people from the left, might be Dorothy and Gladys Corbett, with possibly their cousin Phil Ballard between them.  Their mother Bessie is directly behind them, and maybe her mother Leanor Ballard is next to her.  It’s possible that Roy and Helen Ballard are next to Art and Myrtle Ballard. I can’t pick out my great-grandfather, but he was usually the tallest one.
Imagine being so dressed up for a picnic? People had some pride in appearances in those days.