When the voice at the other end of the telephone answered "hello", I knew that I would not have to make a long- winded introduction. I was prepared to explain who I am, and that I was looking for a Harriet Merton Webster, etc, etc... With her one word though, I remembered the mirthful giggle that still seems to play within her voice.

Harriet has been a writer; "commercial stuff", as she described it. She has written for several magazines and wrote two children's books, among other things. More recently she has held seats on the school board and city council.

Presently she is the director of the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, a local museum that is being developed to show the life and times of the city's era as a major fishing port. It is also a living history museum and shows present day waterfront operations and the continuing importance of the Atlantic fisheries. She is enjoying it.

I sent Harriet an email of the posting I had written, and included a few thoughts, excerpted here:
...My recollection of the class is that by the middle of our senior year, the clique lines were rapidly dissolving, and at the end, we were all "one". I have always credited Pratt with that sense of cohesion, because he had the credibility to bridge the gaps between us. My only regret has been that there were cliques at all, but I guess that that is what high school is all about.

Excerpts of her reply:
...I took a look at what you posted and it's fine, although I might like to add/change a bit as soon as I've got a moment (I'm working on a truly dull freelance project with a pretty immediate deadline).

I agree with you about the coming together that happened in our last year (also, whatever I may have led you to believe on the phone last night, my ambivalence about Friends doesn't have much to do with cliques/kids, but was much more tied with the attitudes of some of the adults involved). For me, Jonathan was the glue that tied me in to the rest of the class because he just seemed to like everyone.