We are all 10 generations of so removed from John and Elizabeth. But, at every annual meeting an observer would surely be impressed by our congeniality. It must be that the genes that made it possible to survive in the New World are particularly strong and continue to make it possible for people from so many different backgrounds and experienced to get along well together. We also all seem to like a good time.

And, we did have a good time at the meeting. My thanks to everyone who helped organize the meeting; a job well done.

We have four things before us in the next year.

Bob Huber is retiring as editor of the Howland Quarterly. There are not enough superlatives to describe the job he has done over the last 60 issues. The Quarterly is truly the bond that has made us so successful. Gail Adams is our new editor. She has been working with Bob, but hasn’t been an editor before. We must give her all the help she needs. Write letters and articles for her. Send her photos.

The archeological dig at Rocky Nook is back on course. As noted in the June Quarterly, a small dig was organized for August 2000. It was a place on the site that had been labeled a “dew pond.” This was a misnomer. It turned out to be a building site — with many artifacts found. The work at this site has — literally — just scratched the surface. So, we will have a well organized dig next summer with plenty of advance warning so that we can plan to be in Kingston when the work is going on.

Attendance at our annual meeting has grown to the point where we are feeling a little crowded. At the Saturday luncheon, we had so many that we had to use two rooms. It didn’t work out badly, but it was a little awkward and some members were in “standing room only.” This is a problem that we will work out before the next meeting — August 24-25, 2001.

The shallop project is moving along. In a smart breeze, so to speak. I am working on raising the money to build her. We will ask Plimoth Plantation to lend a hand. At the meeting, a number of people suggested that National Geographic or American Heritage might participate and do a story. Good suggestions and we will follow-up on these. A number of sailors have signed up for the voyage to the Kennebec and then up the river to Augusta. More sailors are needed and are welcome. We expect to build the shallop in the spring and summer of 2001 and take our voyage up the Kennebec in 2002. Finally, we have a name for her; I hope you will all like it: Elizabeth Tilley.

This article appeared in the September 2000 issue of The Howland Quarterly.