I'm a bit tardy with news these days, but here are a couple of things I want JPA members in particular to know in case they didn't see the items in the Caledonian Record last week. Many of our members will be saddened to learn of the death of Margaret Ide on July 21, at age 92. The Ide family have owned the cottage on 140 Island Drive for many years, and Margaret was a dedicated volunteer and supporter of her Danville and Joe's Pond communities. A memorial service was held on Saturday; memorial gifts may be made in Margaret's name to the Danville Congregational Church Memorial Fund, PO Box 161, Danville VT 05828, or the Danville Senior Action Center, PO Box 173, Danville VT 05828. You may send condolences to the family on-line at Sayles Funeral Home We shall miss Margaret.

On July 22, Martin Maynard, of Danville, passed away. Martin was 84, and grew up on Cabot Plain on a farm near where I grew up. We went to the same one-room school, and those of us who knew him were very proud when he enlisted in the U. S. Marines in 1942. Martin was a very kind and decent man. His family, friends and the community will miss him.

Another Cabot person, May (Walbridge) Wheeler, died this month. May had lived in Cabot, Marashfield, Hardwick and Barre during her 97 years. At the time of her death she was living at the Mayo Manor in Northfield. May and her friend, Laura "Peg" Abbott, were responsible for recording burial sites in all of Cabot's seven cemeteries, finishing their work in 1984. With their permission, then sexton Velma Smith and I, in the 1990's continued and expanded Peg and May's work, updating and remapping all the cemeteries and creating a data base for the Cabot Cemetery Commission. We will forever be indebted to Peg and May, for without their careful planning and expert organization of information as a starting point, we would probably never have undertaken such a huge project. I'll miss being able to contact May for historical information, and miss her as a friend.

Here is some happy news - the engagement of Lindsey Luneau, daughter of Marc and Patrice Luneau who have a cottage at 67 Point Comfort Rd, to Frank Gelormini. Both Lindsey and Frank live and work in New Jersey. They plan to be married on Lake Champlain in September. We wish the couple every happiness.

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A friend sent me a clipping a while back written about the Vermont Paddlers Club for the Valley News. The article was about kayakers and canoeists navigating whitewater rivers throughout the state. Among the "obscure" waterways mentioned was Joe's Brook. I was surprised, as apparently my friend was, to learn anyone would attempt to navigate Joe's Brook in any kind of vessel. Club member Eric Bishop of Jericho said Joe's Brook in Danville is ". . . a river that went under the radar and now is a whitewater gem." Who knew?

Tony Shaw of Williston was quoted as saying, "[Joe's Brook] drains Joe's Pond and flows to the Passumpsic. In 10 miles, it drops 100 feet per mile. There isn't a river like it in Vermont." I knew it was downhill all the way along Joe's Brook, but had no idea the drop was so steep.

There's more: Bishop continued, "Just in the last five or six years, we discovered Joe's Brook which we never heard of. It runs along the road in places and was still unknown. It was hard to believe that in the 21st century we were still finding 10-mile long rivers in Vermont with spectacular whitewater."

The article explained that the kayakers and canoeists wait for spring or heavy rains before attempting many of the streams, and that could explain how they chose Joe's Brook as one of Vermont's "whitewater gems." After all the rain this summer, perhaps now would be an good time to try the whitewater ride down Joe's Brook - but according to these experienced paddlers, Joe's Brook should only be attempted by advanced class IV boaters.

That's enough to keep most kayakers and canoeists content to ply the waters of Joe's Pond and leave Joe's Brook to the experts.