Peter Rapelye (Bruce 66)

Peter writes, “Due to Covid-19, we have been hunkered down at our home in Duxbury on the South Shore of Massachusetts across the bay from Plymouth, MA since March. From her home office, Janet continues her work with a select group of 35 colleges and universities across the United States and I remain active on two local boards. The highlight of this past summer was witnessing, by boat, the arrival of Mayflower II to Plymouth, MA after a three-year restoration in Old Mystic, CT. A replica of the original 106ft Mayflower, which transported 102 passengers to America in 1620, Mayflower II sailed into Plymouth harbour with great fanfare and excitement as part of the towns’ 400th anniversary of the original Pilgrim landing in 1620. The Mayflower II was originally a gift from the people of England to America in 1957 in thanks for the United States’ assistance in World War II. It serves as a symbol of an enduring friendship and what Churchill termed a “special relationship” between the US and the UK. I saw this in evidence during my short time at Stowe and continues today.”