During the 1941-42 school year, a young man from Watertown, Massachusetts, completed a task expected of all students of that generation at Proctor. With his own hands, he built a boat to take with him upon graduation.

Nothing distinguished Fred Goodsell's pretty little rowing skiff....until a few months ago, when his cousin found my name, called me, and offered to give it back to Proctor. Fred resides in the Pacific Northwest, is not very well (although he maintains contact with the school via e-mail!), and the little green and white boat he built spent most of the past 60 years in a shed in South Hero, Vermont. "We have this little boat," cousin Nancy explained, "with a plaque that says it was built at Proctor." I hopped in my truck, drove to the shores of Lake Champlain, fetched the craft, and brought it back to the shop where it was built in 1942. Today, under the guidance of Greg Allen, woodshop students are carefully restoring the boat for permanent display on campus.

A rotted stern seat is being replaced, one of the rub rails, too. Otherwise, it is receiving a thorough sanding and is being repainted in the original colors.

No one can guess how many boats have been built at this school, but for those who spend long hours at the Alan Shepard Boathouse in the future, Fred Goodsell's fine little craft will serve as monument to this distinctive piece of Proctor's heritage.