On October 1, I wrote a page called A Little Boat Comes Home which was followed--on May 26--with one entitled History Remembered, telling the story of a little rowboat built by Al Goodsell '43 sixty years ago, and how it came home for restoration this year. Today, it was placed on display in the atrium of the Fowler Learning Center in a ceremony attended by dozens of alumni, and Al's cousin, Nancy Boileau, who donated the boat last year.

It was the culmination of a year-long dream. Boatbuilding instructor Greg Allen fashioned a cradle to tilt the boat for easy inspection, and spoke to the group regarding the restoration process.

A plaque positioned inside the skiff reads: "#56 This 9'2" rowboat was built at Proctor by Alfred Goodsell '43 under the instruction of Captain Walter Rounds. Enjoyed on Lake Champlain, it later spent decades in a garage at the family's camp in South Hero, Vermont. Donated to the school in 2002 by Alfred's cousin, Nancy Heywood Boileau and her husband, Paul, it was restored by Proctor students under the guidance of Greg Allen. Built at a time when every student constructed a boat, it reminds us of the long and valued heritage of boatbuilding at Proctor Academy. June 14, 2003"

Greg, Chuck, Nancy and Paul:

Yesterday, in an email from his home in Camano Island, Washington, Al wrote, "Saturday is the big day. I will be watching even if only on the internet. I never expected to be remembered in Proctor's past except as the one who fell off the ski jump and was carried off the ski slopes on a stretcher." The students who worked on this project did so with a special sense of pride and honor. Through a little boat, they were linked to a man distant to them both in physical space and in time. We thank everyone involved--including Al and Nancy--for their encouragement, excitement and joy at the prospect of this special day.