Six of the eight George and Anne MacDonald children of Hessel (from left) Muriel Roeske, Norma Nye, Eileen Nye, Judy Old, Ken MacDonald, and Paul MacDonald, gathered for a family reunion in Cedarville with nearly 100 MacDonald descendants in June. (Photographs courtesy of Paul MacDonald) The children of George and Anne MacDonald, former Hessel residents, gathered in Cedarville in June for the first family reunion in 10 years.

Six of the MacDonalds' eight children attended the reunion, including Ken MacDonald, Paul MacDonald, Eileen Nye, Norma Nye, Judy Old, and Muriel Roeske. Katy Rabe and Margaret Hawkins were unable to attend. Three of the children still live in the area, including Eileen Nye of Hessel, Norma Nye of Hessel, and Judy Old of Sault Ste. Marie and Cedarville. Muriel Roeske lives in Rogers City, and the rest live in other states.

There are 30 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren, and 19 greatgreat grandchildren of the MacDonalds.

An estimated 96 MacDonald family decendants reunited at the Les Cheneaux Community Schools cafeteria and commons in Cedarville. The gathering place was particularly significant to the MacDonald children, as all eight children were graduated from Cedarville High School between 1945 and 1958. Their mother, Anne MacDonald, was a teacher in the Rudyard area, and several of the MacDonalds' descendants maintain a keen interest in education. Norma (nee MacDonald) Nye was a teacher's aide and computer teacher at Les Cheneaux Community Schools for 37 years, and there are seven MacDonald grandchildren and one greatgrandchild who now work as teachers.

Muriel Roeske and Eileen Nye visited their former home on Simmons Road in June, approximately 75 years after they lived there with their family. The home now belongs to Floyd and Nancy Reno. Reunion activities included a family tour of the school. Norma Nye gave the family a tour of the older section of the school, and Gary Tassier gave a tour of the new section of the school that has been renovated since their last reunion.

Some of the family members also visited to the former MacDonald family home on Simmons Road. The home is now owned by Floyd and Nancy Reno.

George and Anne Mac- Donald's daughters, Muriel (nee MacDonald) Roeske and Eileen (nee MacDonald) Nye, as children, are standing in front of their family's home on Simmons Road, north of Hessel, in 1932. Mrs. Roeske was three years old and Mrs. Nye was five when the photograph was taken. (Photograph courtesy of Anne Tassier)