I had considered posting this under the update thread but the gathering was so special I decided to give it one of its own.

When I visited with Jean and Jon last fall in Berea, Kentucky, it was clear that Jean was wondering about her friends back east and if she would see them again. I made my mind up that I would do what I could to try and make that happen. In discussions with Dan Schatz a few months ago, we decided that now was the time. So I set out to invite folks that were true friends of Jean's to come to a small gathering in Berea, have a potluck, and sit and sing songs and share memories. The criteria was that they had to be friends. Given Jean's health, this was not to be a place to meet "Jean Ritchie" but rather a gathering of folks who knew Jean and that she probably thought she would not see again. I know I missed folks, but we did the best we could.

That gathering was wonderful. Billy Ed Wheeler came from N. Carolina, Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, Charlie Baum, Lisa Null, Dan Schatz, Jerry Epstein, Lorraine Lee Hammond and Sally Rogers came from the east coast. Folks like Nancy Barker, Anne McFie, Debbie Grizzell, Richard and Lila Bellando, and Loyal Jones came from around Kentucky. We met at the Friends meeting house, broke bread and sang songs for hours. Jean gets tired easily these days, so we figured if we had her an hour, maybe two, we would be lucky. She stayed nearly five hours, sang along as we moved around the circle, and at one point led us in a song. When asked by Jon if she was OK, her response was "this is wonderful".

Special thanks are due to the wonderful Ritchie and Pickow family. Jon and Peter were so helpful in coming up with the list of invitees, as was Jean's niece Judy. Judy and Frank Hudson are purely the best. I could not have accomplished organizing this without their wonderful assistance. They love Aunt Jean with all their hearts. I watched Judy's face when she was sitting beside Jean in the circle, and the love just filled the room. These are very special people. And I am here to tell you, Judy can sing very well.

I hope this glow continues for a good while......

All the best,

Mick