Everyone knows that Independence Day is celebrated in July, but a lot of us don't know that July is also National Month. While have been advertised, romanticized, and commercialized ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF over the years, the start of this simple tradition dates back to LINDA JOHNSON Executive Director expeditions of the Middle Ages. Affluent hunters engaging in a day of [email protected] sport would bring a to enjoy in the great outdoors. We can imagine a medieval hunting party taking an afternoon respite in the shade of lofty JULIE DIDION oak trees and enjoying a simple meal before venturing on in their Community Relations Director www.glendaleassistedliving.com expedition. [email protected] However, the earliest form of the word ‘picnic’ didn’t appear until 1692 – and was first documented in the French language. Then in 1748, a little KRYSTAL ADKINS more than 50 years later, the term found its way into the English Resident Care Coordinator [email protected] language in a letter from Lord Chesterfield to his son, in reference to an outdoor social get-together. BETSY KONOFF From then on, picnics have been held on blankets, in lawn chairs, aboard Business Office Manager boats, and at picnic tables on both sides of the Atlantic. The term is now [email protected] synonymous with relaxed , time spent with a special JODI KIMBALL someone or a large group of friends, and simple fare like bread and Activity Director cheese or hot items fresh off the park grill. [email protected] A checked red-and-white blanket, a wicker basket, and an open patch of KILEY CULKOWSKI grass may be the quintessential concept of the classic picnic. But imagine Manager trying to enjoy an afternoon of delight with these classic components – [email protected] and three hungry children in tow, plus Grandma, a puppy dog, and a sore ELLEN MATTESON back from working all week. That patch of grass may not be looking so Housekeeping inviting after all. PETE MOLINA Enter a modern convenience often taken for granted: picnic tables. All of Maintenance the wrinkles in your picnic problem have suddenly been released. Give the kids a spot to sit on the benches along either side of the table – and 5020 Ryan Rd. now Grandma has a spot to rest too. The dog stays out of the way of the Toledo, Ohio 43614 tempting treats. And you can spread out the feast, then take a place at PH 419-389-0800 the picnic table yourself. With your meal above ground zero, you’ll spend FAX 419-389-0819 less time combating the army of ants, too! PICNIC TABLES Picnic Word Search Picnic tables emerged from the Victorian tradition of picnics, which often involved either simply T E K N A L B C I N C I P F S spreading a blanket on the ground or bringing the Y Q G A D Y J O F P Y M V S N whole apparatus of indoor dining to the outdoors. P G E U W L E N I C G K A T W This early approach to picnicking suffered the drawback R E L O O C M M E A W R E Y D that indoor dining furniture could not be carried far from the home and Ball Grass was often unsuited to outdoor use. G F R I S B E E L Z G K E X T Basket Park The first known modern picnic table was documented in a 1903 patent K P W P H T A P D T S H J S F Berries Path application by Charles H. Nielsen of Kreischerville, New York. Nielsen's N T I V L L A T I A A D O E F Cooler Picnic Cups table was designed to be portable and collapsible, so that picnickers could O R A E A O L R B L U R S I O Plates carry it wherever they wished. While the Nielsen table design derived its Cutlery Blanket leg structure from the 18th-century sawbuck table, its built-in seating was D W W Y N A L J L R K I O R P Sunny innovative. Y P T K P L E O I L N N M R I Field Thermos Umbrella With the rise of US national parks and forests in the early 20th century, the N L I C A L R V A A W K R E W Frisbee Walk use of fixed picnic tables as a park amenity became increasingly common. N A A B R G B W H I S S E B C In many cases picnic tables were used specifically to restrict human U T U E K T M C Z L P V H N L impacts on the surrounding natural area and were accordingly designed to be as heavy and immovable as possible. S E X R L Y U E N B U T T H P Initially, a variety of picnic table designs were attempted. A sawbuck table C S C U T L E R Y J C F O O D with detached benches was popular in the early 1920s but proved unsatisfactory in public parks because the benches tended to disappear. Yogi Bear, American cartoon Other designs failed because they were either structurally unsound or HAPPY BIRTHDAY character, a walking, talking bear in difficult to construct. Betty Kinsel 7/1 a necktie and porkpie hat who Donna Lawrence 7/13 The classic A-frame picnic table design, which overcame these early roamed fictional Jellystone National Bill Bacher 7/18 difficulties, originated at Lassen National Forest in California in 1926, and Park. His accoutrements and Gloria Werling 7/21 was accordingly known within the US Forest Service as a "Lassen table". personality were based on the Margaret Fazekas 7/25 The now-iconic Lassen tables became character of Ed Norton in Jackie Leonard Glasson 7/26 common across the United States through Gleason’s television series The Barbara Williams 7/27 the work of the Civilian Conservation Honeymooners, and his byword Herman Anderson 7/29 Corps in the 1930s. was “Smarter than the average The first known roadside picnic table was Monthly Birthday Cake bear!” Yogi Bear spent his days in erected in 1929 in Boston Township, provided by search of food, which he usually Michigan, using planks reclaimed from obtained by gleefully snatching highway guardrails. picnic baskets from park visitors. PICNIC TRADITIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD PICNIC PREDECESSOR: THE CHRISTMAS PICNIC // ARGENTINA One of the older picnic traditions that continues to this day, the potluck While the upper hemisphere mostly dreams of a white Christmas is the direct ancestor of the picnic with roots that go all the way back to during the snowflake and cold-weather season, Argentineans medieval Europe. The potluck as we know it first came about during the celebrate the holiday outdoors with Christmas picnics. These Great Depression of the 1930s. With everyone pinching pennies where holiday events often take place on beaches or at home on they could, it was an unbeatable way to share the cost of a meal while patios, complete with roasted or feeding many mouths. Each guest brings a to contribute to the barbecued turkey, pork, or goat. spread–after all, we can’t have the hostess doing all the work! NAKED FRISBEE // GERMANY ACCORDING TO GUINNESS Picnics aren’t just for —there are games to be played, too. But The largest picnic was set by 22,232 people and was Germans take it one step further by disrobing before competition. It’s not organized by Realizar Impact Marketing and Modelo unusual for picnic activities like a friendly Frisbee toss, a few kicks of a (Portugal), at the Parque da Bela Vista, in Lisbon, Portugal, soccer ball, or a quick swim to be done au natural. on 20 June 2009. The longest picnic table measures 407.27 m (1,336 ft 2 in) and was PICNIC // NEW ZEALAND achieved by the City of Memphis with the support of Memphis in May Below the equator, New Zealanders have historically enjoyed outdoor International Festival (both USA) in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, on 25 with standard picnic like sandwiches and pies. But during the May 2019. 19th century, picnics mimicked with whole-roasted oxen and The longest picnic line measures 2,277 m (7,470 ft 4 in) and was baked potatoes cooked over fire pits. organized by the City of Kitchener: as part of the Centennial Celebration BERRY PICKING // ICELAND of Cityhood in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, on 15 July 2012. Not all picnics have to celebrate a holiday. Some are just for good fun and Approximately 4,000 people participated in this picnic and ate pizzas, a day in the countryside. In Iceland, berry hunters often pack picnic bananas and bearpaws. to take along on their search as berries ripen throughout the The largest picnic blanket measured 1,760 m² (18,944.41 ft²); it was summer months. But besides the meats and cheeses, the most woven at the Melin Tregwynt Mill in Wales, UK, for Waitrose Ltd and was important ingredient for an Icelandic picnic is secrecy: laid out for the first time in Durban, South Africa, in April 2008. Keeping berry picking spots under wraps means more for your own harvest. DID YOU KNOW? Picnic is a state of mind. The first and After an ant has GLAMOUROUS PICNICS // TURKEY visited your picnic, it most important ingredient of a perfect Turkey has a reputation for superb picnics, and it could have something to lays down a scent as picnic, generally, is “good company.” do with the country’s thousands of picnic grounds open to the public. it returns to the nest It’s simple. Surround yourself with Many Turkish families bring along cushions, rugs, and furniture to set up for the other ants to comfortable picnicking spots, along with games, string lighting, and a follow. people you love and be present. potluck-style selection of stuffed veggies, grilled meats, and . Ole Evinrude had the idea for the outboard motor while rowing a boat to a picnic.