NYSAA Bulletin No. 52 — Archaic Sites: Croton Point & Dogan Point — Passage 5

[Various (1971)] concluded 47 years of continuous work in northeastern archeology. It seems impossible, within the space allotted here, to do justice to this long and extremely productive career. It is hoped that the reader will at least be able to obtain some overall perspective of Bill Ritchie's life and contributions from these brief pages. Not surprisingly, the period best known to me comprises the 11 years, which followed my joining the staff of the New York State Museum and Science Service in June, 1960. In July, I assisted him in fieldwork in central New York as part of a four-man crew. The experiences of that summer were to set the pattern for all of our subsequent endeavors together. Those who have worked with Bill in the field can draw on a rich legacy of memories, probably typical in large part of any North American field party but indelibly colored by the force of Bill's personality.

I remember, for example, the rest breaks during which we all sat alongside the excavations and listened to the usually hilarious, sometimes mind-boggling, anecdotes selected from Bill's infinite storehouse. Sometimes during the day we were treated to spontaneous orations, word for word, from the world's great literature, especially his favorite, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Even during the off-seasons in our State Museum office life could not be considered dull. There was an atmosphere of constant tension as we strove to maintain the breakneck pace of productivity to which Bill was accustomed.