Summertime is the popular time for picnics. This basic fact has been a tasty and very social part of life all through the years.

During those years these picnic events have been inspired by several factors. One is a family gathering. Another has to be family reunions and visits by relatives and friends from other localities. Then there were always the picnics sponsored by neighborhood groups, clubs and church groups.

Finding places for the picnic events seems to have never been a challenge. For some folks a backyard or grassy place in the shade provided by a grove of trees became a prime place for outdoor dining.

For Albert Lea residents several generations ago, the most popular places for picnics were evidently based on Pioneer and Frank Hall Parks. In later years, the choices were extended to newer city parks, several county parks and a state park (Helmer Myre, now Myre-Big Island) for picnic gatherings. Then there were places like country schools, churches and parks in other localities that could be used for picnics.

It’s safe to comment that nearly all the food items for those picnics years ago were prepared in home kitchens. Some beverages, like lemonade, may have been homemade; other liquid refreshments were purchased.

Getting to the picnics once involved plenty of walking and the use of horse-drawn buggies, carriages and wagons and even bicycles. For events in other communities that might include picnics, travel for some participants could be based on passenger trains.

A factor for picnics of a earlier era involved travel on mostly rough unpaved roadways that were either dusty or muddy, depending on the weather.

With the advent of horseless carriages or auto buggies, people had a quicker way to travel to the picnics. And in time the roadways became paved and the participants had even more time to enjoy the social and tasty aspects of summertime picnics.