I'm always sad when I have to report we will be missing another of our Joe's Pond community. We received word today that Clara Palmer (Old Homestead Road) passed away recently. Her daughter-in-law, Susan said she had been sick for only a short time. She was 92. Her husband, George, passed away in 2008. Their son, Todd (Susan), four grand children, a sister and nieces and nephews survive her. Our sincere condolences to Clara's family, as well as her many friends at Joe's Pond.

We are wondering how Joe's Ponders are managing as they return to their summer homes here at the pond. It would be interesting to me, and I'm sure to others around the pond) to know your experiences as you are returning - how did you manage the 14-day quarantine period? Are you finding adequate services to keep your supply of food and other necessities available? Have you had any amusing experiences? Any bad experiences or problems associated with coming back this summer?

The Covid-19 virus has affected all of us and since we are all going to be staying at home more and seeing fewer people here at the pond, it is more important than ever to keep in touch with our friends, so please send me an email or attach a comment to this page so your experiences can be shared with others. It's "social distancing" done in a slightly different way. Since we aren't having our usual spring meeting of the Joe's Pond Association, we won't have a chance to see familiar faces and welcome you back properly; I don't even know who is back and who isn't! So help me keep in touch with you. You are important to Fred and me and we would like to know you are here (or not) and that you are safe and well. I am sure many others who are more or less confined to their homes feel the same way. Send photos, write a poem or short story - if it's fit for print, I'll post it.

In the meantime, I have finished my part in writing the West Danville (and Joe's Pond) history book!! It has been almost seven years since I first became involved; and now at the end of this week I will submit the manuscript, photos and captions to our editor for a final read-through! There may be final "tweaking," but the heavy lifting is done. Patty, Dot and I won't know what to do with all our free time! (I'm sure we'll all fill it wisely.)  At this point, with the pandemic going on, we have no idea what the actual publishing date will be, but it will certainly be this summer - perhaps August. Just a guess. the final edit, formatting, design and printing will take some time, but it absolutely will happen in 2020!