Once again, a summer has slipped through my fingers before knew it, and as usual I have done less than half of what I set out to do. To be fair, it has been a good summer, and I have accomplished quite a bit; I was killed three times at the 150th anniversary Battle of (1st) Bull Run, I have thoroughly re-vamped the A.P. World course, I have completed at least one small carpentry project, I have visited The County (and seen a moose), and I have paddled extensively on Sheepscot Lake and (less extensively) Penobscot Bay.
I have not, however, done nearly as much on this project as I had planned, which is why there has been no post for over a month. I have been doing some reading and some revising of the draft I have, but I had hoped to do several more interviews. I had great fun (and learned a great deal) chatting with Frank Leavitt '52 (see post below), and I know I need to visit with many more Avonians before I am finished. (Frankly, I don't believe one is ever "finished" with a project such as this; at some point, you write things up and publish them, but you could go right back to work the next day...)
I hope things will pick up a bit in the fall. I'll be busy at school of course, but there a number of people in and around Avon for me to interview, and The Avonian is, I believe, about to let the school community know about this project and invite people to submit material (perhaps you found this blog because of The Avonian). Thus, I hope during my "free time" this year to be awash in vignettes, anecdotes, reminiscences, and stories submitted by alumni, faculty, and friends of the school. (By the way, you can submit your own stories using http://www.avonoldfarms.com/history, the comment function of this blog, email, snail mail, or the Pony Express, but by all means let me know if you have something to share.)
I am always sorry to see the summer end, and it is downright painful to leave Maine, but I find I am already excited about the school year to come; for those of us in education, the fall is like a second spring - a season of renewal filled with enthusiasm and optimism. Time to get started...
