Bettye's Blue Sea Chest

Bettye Noyes inherited the family homestead in 1960. As she began to sort through the family's possessions and long forgotten furniture, she noticed a blue chest amongst the dust and spider webs. Having no knowledge of the chest, she climbed over the detritus to open it. Inside, she discovered hundreds of letters wrapped neatly, and tied with blue ribbon. As she searched through the envelopes, she realized her family saved their letters for almost 200 years. Her imagination ran wild as to what she might discover about her past. Although she did not find any prominent politicians or scientists, she discovered something about her family that was even better. This is Bettye's story. Kenneth Knott studied writing at Maryland Writers Center and New School University. He has been published in The New York Law Journal, Legal Times, and The New Jersey Law Journal. He wrote for and edited the book "Best Practices in Legal Management." He is on the faculty of the University of Rhode Island Osher Lifetime Learning Institute, where he holds classes on how classic literature shapes our lives. Ken loved Bettye's story, and saved it for us all.