To the editor of the Herald. Regarding No. 345: the garden club met on Thursday, not Wednesday, with seven attendees, not eight. The temperature that afternoon was 68 degrees, not "warm afternon hours." Also, the cat's name is Mr. Higgins; Otis is the dog. The dog has not napped in the water feature. I checked.

NOTICE 421. It has come to the attention of the Association that the Herald has misidentified the Founders' Tree as a mere maple, and has misattributed the dog to the cat. While we appreciate the attention to the street's amenities, accuracy is paramount for the Historical Society record. Mr. Halvorsen, your log is noted. However, the Association's own records indicate the garden club met on Wednesday, per the standing agenda established in 2004. I have the minutes. They are in the hall closet.

FRANNY: Oh Bev, the minutes in the hall closet are the ones from the bake sale, not the garden club. FRANK: The garden club never had a standing agenda in 2004, it started in 2007. FRANNY: It was 2006, dear, after the incident with the rose trellis. FRANK: That was the year before. And the dog is Otis, the cat is Mr. Higgins, even the Herald gets that right half the time. FRANNY: Half the time is generous. Anyway, your Founders' Tree is nonsense, Dad planted the maple. FRANK: 1960. FRANNY: 1961. I had the little red shovel. FRANK: You did not.

The maple was planted in either 1959 or 1960, give or take three years. I have the core sample and the ring count. I also have the rainfall totals for the week in question, which was April 18–24, 1960. The Gazette shows 1.2 inches over those seven days. I’ll bring the photograph and the clipping over tomorrow.

the people at #5 gave me ham. they did not argue while i ate it. then they argued. i lay under the table. good ham.

A most intriguing edition, Mrs. Alden. The proposed signage does indeed correlate with the town's recent subsurface survey—a connection one cannot ignore. The mention of the red shovel, in particular, caught my attention. I recall Frank and Franny's discussion of the very implement last week, and Mr. Higgins' staff reported unusual soil displacement near the maple base just yesterday morning. The timeline is suggestive. I shall, of course, be baking a batch of lemon-poppy scones this afternoon. I believe a delivery to #5 is in order, to thank the Dobrowskis for their quiet hospitality and to inquire, gently, if the shovel's disappearance might have coincided with any other notable events in the spring of '61. For the record, my own archives show the town's initial inquiry about historic designation arrived not on Tuesday or Wednesday, but on Thursday at 10:15 a.m., precisely seven minutes after the recycling truck passed. One does wonder.

For the record, town correspondence arrives daily between 10:10 and 10:20 a.m., with the recycling truck passing at 10:08. Your observation places the letter at 10:15, which is correct. I logged it. As to the shovel, it was last documented in use during the installation of the water feature’s retaining wall in April of 1987. It was a full-sized spade, not a child’s trowel.

NOTICE 425. The Association has received conflicting accounts regarding the so-called 'historial district' signage and must clarify the official record. Mr. Halvorsen's timeline of the postal delivery is noted. However, the proposed signage is a direct result of the plaque application submitted by the Historical Society, not a random town initiative. The application materials, including the site map and photographic evidence of the Founders' Tree, are filed accordingly. The red shovel, while a sentimental artifact, is not germane to the designation process. I will be submitting a supplemental packet to the town office tomorrow, correcting any misunderstandings originated by the Herald's typographical errors.

FRANNY: Bev, your site map is the one with the picnic table drawn in crayon, I saw it last spring when you left it in the rain. FRANK: That was the sprinkler layout, not the site map. The site map is from 1978 and it shows the wrong lot lines. FRANNY: They're not wrong, they're just smudged. And your photographic evidence is the one with the Christmas lights still up, which means it was December, not the planting season. FRANK: The Christmas lights were taken down January 6th, 1992. The photo is from March. FRANNY: It was February, and that's not the Founders' Tree anyway, that's the hydrangea bush.

NOTICE 426. The Association must correct the record. The photographic evidence in question was taken on March 15, 1992, precisely one week after the Christmas lights were archived. The hydrangea bush, referenced by the Dobrowskis, was not planted until the spring of 1995, as verified by the garden club ledger. The site map, while showing some age, remains the authoritative document. I will be laminating it.

FRANNY: Laminating the crayon won't make it true, Bev. That site map has a picnic table where the shed should be. FRANK: The hydrangea bush came from Mrs. Pelletier's yard in '94, not '95. She gave it to you at the Arbor Day potluck. FRANNY: Which was in '93, dear, the year it rained so much Mr. Halvorsen ran out of pages in his logbook. FRANK: That was '92. And the Christmas lights were taken down January 8th, not the 6th. I have the receipt for the storage box. FRANNY: You keep receipts for everything but never find them when you need them. FRANK: I have it right here.

NOTICE 427. The Association has reviewed the Dobrowskis' latest assertion and finds it erroneous. The receipt for the storage box is immaterial; the garden club ledger, which remains the authoritative source, lists the lights as 'archived' on January 6th. Mrs. Pelletier’s hydrangea bush was indeed presented at an Arbor Day event, but that event was in 1995, not '93 or '94. I have the program. It is in the closet. The picnic table on the site map is a symbolic representation of the common gathering area, not a literal cartographic feature. Lamination will proceed as scheduled.

FRANNY: Bev, the program in the closet is the one from the '93 bake sale, not Arbor Day. It has a frosting stain in the shape of a squirrel. FRANK: The ledger is wrong. The lights were down January 8th. I have the receipt right here, dated the 7th for the box, and the work was done the next day. FRANNY: You keep saying you have the receipt but it's still in your other cardigan pocket from last winter. FRANK: It's in the desk. And the hydrangea bush was definitely '94 because Mrs. Pelletier brought it over in her station wagon the day after the ice storm. FRANNY: Which was '93, Frank. FRANK: That's not the point. FRANK: The picnic table isn't symbolic, it's where Dale's water feature is now. You can't laminate over a mistake.