The Marine Museum of Upper Canada is one of the most respected facilities of its kind in the entire Great Lakes area. That the museum which serves as the meeting-place of the Toronto Marine Historical Society has attained such an enviable reputation is due almost entirely to the efforts of Alan Howard who, as its first curator, has served in that capacity for two decades. Alan, a long-time resident of Toronto Island, came to the museum after having served as managing director of the Cayuga Steamship Company Ltd., the organization that, from 1954 through 1957, operated the reactivated passenger steamer CAYUGA on the Niagara River route. Alan, of course, has long been a steamboat enthusiast and is also a marine artist of considerable talent.

Ever since the official formation of T.M.H.S. in 1968, Alan Howard has acted as our "den father", making the necessary arrangements that we might meet regularly at the museum and ensuring that the necessary equipment was always available. He and his charming wife, Barbara, have always been on hand to greet arriving members with a hearty word of welcome and a cheerful smile.

But, as of January 31, 1981, Alan Howard has retired from his position as curator of the museum. It is difficult to imagine that Alan could possibly have reached the age of retirement but, in fact, he stayed on with special authorization past the normal retirement age. Arrangements have been made, however, for Alan to remain as the museum's official host at the remainder of the T.M.H.S. meetings scheduled for our 1980-81 season.

On behalf of the executive committee and all of the members of the Toronto Marine Historical Society, we should like to extend to Alan our sincere thanks for all of his efforts on our behalf during his tenure as museum curator. We wish both Alan and Barbara all the best for a long and happy retirement, and we look forward to seeing them both, albeit in an unofficial capacity, at T.M.H.S. meetings for many years to come.

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Reproduced for the Web with the permission of the Toronto Marine Historical Society.