Juniper and McKown Points: Tennis, celebrations and more
Sean Dack and Lucy Swope. Courtesy photo
Sean Dack and Lucy Swope. Courtesy photo
Well known columnist, Anne Dooley, left Boothbay Harbor briefly for the mecca of summer opera in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She asked me to write the JPVIS column during her absence. I have labored long and hard over this lofty mission, ever mindful of the possibility of Russian disinformation seeking to influence our news. Anne will return to the JPVIS column next week, with her well appreciated wit and elocution.
The Chowder cook off, previously reported on by Anne, was a great time thanks to Jose and other volunteers.
There was terrific news from the Taylor family as daughters, Catherine, Claire and Abby, consolidated their life savings and purchased an Opti. All three attended the BHYC Junior Sailing Program this summer, and love to sail. They are thrilled to own their own boat. The previous owners are a Boothbay summer family that reside abroad they named the boat Das kleine Schweine. The translation happens to be "The Little Pig." The girls are pondering a name change.
The tennis competition has necessitated the coining of a new term — the GoldenFecta as Azhur Meyer has completed the JPVIS Golden Grand Slam winning the Men’s Double Champion, Mixed Doubles Champion and the Men’s Singles Finalist. Azhar has set a new bar of community engagement with his tennis skills plus culinary excellence (Chowder finalist). his participation in tennis, as well as so many other JPVIS activities, has been a most welcome addition to our community.
The tennis program kicked off the week with an exciting Women’s Singles Tournament on Monday, Aug. 12. Six of our athletic ladies played each other for a couple hours in a round robin format, culminating in a 6-4 win for Susie Uitti over defending champion Kendra Davis. Congratulations to Susie and everyone who participated!
Thanks to steady hands of Lee Corbin and Gordon Scowcroft, all 2024 JPVIS tournament champions have been painted on the boards and hung on the Wall of Fame at the Community House! These proud legacies will live on for all to see! Special thanks to Dave Peterson for donating the trophies, as he has done for so many years.
Thanks to Matt Himes for transporting our Junior Interclub Team on their boat M.E.G. to Christmas Cove for our final match of the season. We combined forces with a handful of BHYC players and competed well against a strong Christmas Cove team. The final score was 12-7 in favor of CCIA! It was such a memorable and fun trip and we will be ready for them next year!
Thursday, Aug. 15 at 5:30 we were offered a “Mixed Drinks, Mixed Doubles” Tennis Social, our final tennis event of the season. The courts were packed with fun tennis and socializing!
Congratulations go to Emily Whiting and her family who celebrated the marriage of her daughter on Saturday. It was a spectacular day for a wedding at the lavender farm in Wiscasset..
On Aug. 10, Ann and Carey Swope hosted a gathering at the Chowder House/Boat Bar to celebrate Lucy Swope and Sean Dack’s wedding last October in NYC. Long time friends gathered at the Boat Bar, a sentimental favorite of the crowd. Everyone enjoyed fabulous food prepared by Chef Alison Hearn (Kate Swope’s wife), a delicious lemon, blueberry tarts prepared by Terry Petzold, and wiped away tears, listening to Kate’s heartfelt toast for her sister and Sean. Words fail to express the family's gratitude to Alison for a feast beyond compare, and Terry for her stellar dessert. And a most gracious thank you to Sally and Bob Maroon, owners of the Chowder House, Alva for tending bar, Annabel, Phoebe and Mary for babysitting and serving, and to all the guests and the whole Swope, Dack, Hearn crew, for pitching in start to finish to make this celebration truly magical.
It is with a heavy heart to report on the passing of any member of our community. Very sadly we lost Fred Morrison on Aug. 16. To list Fred's many professional accomplishments would take up a full page of this newspaper. He was a highly regarded scholar, recognized nationally and internationally for his work and contributions to international law. Fred joined the University of Minnesota Law School faculty in 1969, teaching thousands of law students for more than 50 years. He served as interim dean of the Law School in 1994-95 and as interim co-dean from 2006 to 2008. He contributed considerably to many improvements in governance and policy at various levels at the Law School. The following link offers an insight into Fred's many achievements. Visit https://law.umn.edu/news/2024-08-21-minnesota-law-mourns-passing-professor-emeritus-fred-morrison-trusted-colleague
But we all knew Fred as an engaging, soft spoken family man who, along with his wife Charlotte, enjoyed so many summers with his four boys on Juniper Point. He served as a president of JPVIS and was a wonderful neighbor for all of us on Pooler Road. Fred will be very missed, but not forgotten.
David and Becky Taylor and family left for their New Hampshire home on Saturday, Aug. 24. Needless to say, JPVIS enjoyed another terrific summer with Daved and Becky doing so much to make the tennis program such a success, along with the many other activities that they organize. A footnote to the Taylor family, and a story many of us can relate to, was when chatting with Dave and Becky at the tennis courts after the conclusion of the chowder event, I asked where his kids were at 7 p.m.? Dave and Becky looked at each other and without a sense of urgency said, I don't know! This is because his kids are old enough to enjoy the freedom of wandering around Juniper Point on our paths that go in and out of so many homes and their parents know they are safe. This liberty is such a maturing experience for so many of our kids, and a powerful part of what makes our community so great.
