News is scarce, but here are a few items of note.

At the October board meeting of the Bigelow Labs out on McKown Point, Campbell Niven was among seven past members who were elected to Trustees Emeritus for exemplary service and support of the Labs. We send our congratulations Cam. What a nice Christmas present.

Our superintendent Mike has a new e-mail address. It's a result of Time-Warner buying out the former Adelphia system. It is now lmt@roadrunner.com . Please note it on your island list, and if you need an up-to-date list, plead with our clerk, Deb who responds ASAP.

I don't know when she has time for e-mailing, because she and Art seem to be on the mountain more than home. On Dec. 3 Art said they had spent their seventh day of skiing this season. They were enjoying a foot of freshly fallen show on top of many inches of machine-produced stuff. The Sugarloaf lifts are open early so they were on the slopes at 8:30 a.m.! During the Davis Cup finals, which the U.S. won, Deb spent her afternoons glued to the TV, a rarity for her. And on Dec. 4 Art indicated that they had spied son Carl ski-patrolling as they rode that early lift. Art allowed as how Carl must have had to get up quite early to get from his home in Fairfield in order to be on the slopes at 8 a.m.

Hannah Morehouse sent a card filled with extras. First was the postcard announcing the Annual Artist and Celebrity Plate Auction in October, and Rachel Welty was one of the contributors for those on-of-a-kind artistic offerings. Proceeds from the auction support REACH which provides prevention, intervention, and advocacy programs for those who experience domestic or relationship violence. It serves 27 towns in the Greater Boston area with emergency shelter, a 24-hour hotline service. Judging from the amount of this kind of news in all the media now, I hope Rachel's plate brought in a huge amount.

The second piece of extra was a copy of an invitation to a "Soiree" to celebrate the marriage of Bill and Kathy Thomas' son James and his bride, Esa. They were married out in San Francisco last spring in a very small wedding, but put off a reception until they could do it in a BIG way. And that came on October 13 in a movie theater in Madison, Wis. They had rented the entire theater, which was where Hannah went to the movies as a child. The lobby was set up as a reception area with small tables and a bar, etc. Then the dinner was served on tables in the real theater part, set between the seats and the movie screen. Tom and Diane Thomas were there supplying more family, plus Esa's parents and many, many friends of the couple from Chicago, where the bridal couple now live. After all the speeches, toasts, and a traditional wedding cake, then folks were treated to a movie. What else in a movie theater? Hannah did not stay for the movie, nor did she identify what movie was shown. Hannah had driven out on a circuitous route, visiting son Rob in Lexington, Ky. and friends in Delaware, Ohio and Fort Wayne, Ind. Yikes, that girl really does like to drive, all over, and with her dogs too. sounds like it was a great affair.