O’Donnell family still going strong

    Forty years ago, the Houlton Pioneer Times commented on Donald and Eileen O’Donnell’s family sending 11 children to school. On August 2, 2008, the O’Donnell family held a reunion and all 13 of the O’Donnell siblings were present. They are, from left: Lucy Kennedy of Plymouth; Gregory O’Donnell of Brunswick; Wayne O’Donnell of Littleton; Andrew O’Donnell of Orono; Avery O’Donnell of Houlton; Ruth Ellis of Barrington, N.H.; Kelley Donahue of Hammond; Michelle Smith of West Palm Beach, Fla.; Donald Jr. of Houlton; and Kimberly Nagle of Bangor.
    Many relatives and friends were there to enjoy the gathering. The most memorable, Eileen O’Donnell’s brother John and Leo Feeney and their families from Bath, N.B. Donald’s brother Francis O’Donnell and his wife Barbara of Houlton and Florence Riley of Skowhegan enjoyed the festivities with the family.
    Coinciding with the reunion was the recognition of 58 years of Donald and Eileen’s marriage, as well as Donald’s 80th and Eileen’s 79th birthdays.
    All had a memorable time. The O’Donnell family looks forward to many more gatherings.
    The original caption from the Wednesday, August 21, 1968 edition was:
    School days – Almost 1,900 days of school for the coming year are represented in the photograph all the family of Mr. and Mrs. Donald O’Donnell, B-Road as eleven children prepare for school pending Tuesday morning. Mrs. O’Donnell holds the youngest child of the family, Kimberly as Donald Jr. stands next to her. Ready for school, from left to right, are: Lucy, grade 11; Susan, grade 11; Carl, grade 10; Phillip, grade nine; Gregory, grade seven; Wayne, grade four; Andrew, grade four; Avery, grade two; Ruth, grade two; Kelley, grade one; and Michelle, entering kindergarten. The family attends St. Mary’s through grades seven, while the others attend Houlton Jr. and Sr. High School.