The Boathouse by Eileen McGuire
If there is one person who deserves to wear the mantle of muse to the staff of The Current, my vote would go to Mrs. Roberta Stevens, head of the Monastic Library. Whether it be for the bibliographical advice which Bobbie imparts, or for the clues she passes along on to help us identify campus artists and artworks, historical documents and photographs, anecdotes and esoterica and ephemera, her unfailing detective work and kindness are unmatched. Most recently she has been scanning and sharing paperwork from decades ago which relate to our Artist of the Abbey for October, Eileen Farrell McGuire (1920-2016). Eileen’s career at Portsmouth began in the 1970’s as secretary for the school’s Alumni Association, later she became the assistant to the head of school, Fr. Leo Van Winkle, and ended up serving under six more school heads after him. She is said to have “retired” in her early nineties by that point, to assume the role of Administrative Assistant to the Abbot.