While we’re in the vicinity of 1914, I thought it might be fun to see what was going on on the other side of our family tree at that time.

Here is Mom (on the right) with her cousin Mary McClain. They appear to be using an old apple box as a table for a tea party. Mom and Mary were both born in 1910, so were about four years old in this photo. This picture was taken in North Albany on the property of the girl’s grandparents, Nathan and Mary McClain (not far from where I’m writing this, actually).

Cousin Mary’s parents were Jim and Susan McClain. Jim was our Grandpa (Arthur) McClain’s next older brother. As far as I know Jim and Susan lived in Nebraska at this time, so must have been out to Oregon to visit his parents (the previously mentioned Nathan and Mary) and his siblings.

Cousin Mary eventually married Carl Rundback and continued to live in Nebraska. I believe some of you may have visited her there at some point.

Mom and her cousins remained close all their lives, and got together on a regular basis. Sometime after Mom passed away in 2002, I had occasion to take Aunt Betty (Mom’s younger sister) to what must have been one of the last cousin get-togethers. It was held at the home of Shirley Dahlin in Silverton (Shirley was the youngest of the cousins). There weren’t many of the cousins still living by then. But those that remained still made the effort to get together. Quite the clannish group, those McClains!