During Kimball Days, and in keeping with the sesquicentennial atmosphere, 49 descendants of pioneers Roger and Ella (Petty) Stanley celebrated their Maine Prairie heritage in a family reunion. Descendants came from all parts of the country – New York, Florida, Texas, California, Washington state and many points between, as well as from South Africa. Most of the participants had never met each other prior to the two-day event. Roger Stanley was 5-years-old when he came to Maine Prairie with his parents, Thomas and Mary Stanley. Thomas arrived the year before statehood, choosing a homestead on the northeast corner of Pearl Lake, although he came with a group from Mecca, Ohio, who were the first settlers in Fair Haven. Ella was only one-year-old when the Pettys arrived from Shelby County, Indiana, a few years later. Roger owned one of the stores at Maine Prairie Corners for 20 years, owned the cheese factory, and farmed on the east shore of Carnelian Lake. Roger and Ella had 11 children; two sons (Lafe and Ewart) continued to farm locally into the 1960s.
