With the Centennial year just a couple days away I put together a slideshow presentation that highlights his final home, Stormfield, and the Mark Twain Library which he funded and founded for his "fellow farmers" in Redding. http://www.historyofredding.com/Twain-Redding.ppt We here in Redding owe a great deal to Samuel L. Clemens and we plan to pay him back by making an effort to raise awareness and interest in Mark Twain's time not only in Redding, Connecticut but across the State of Connecticut. The long term goal of our 2010 project is to make Connecticut a destination for Mark Twain tourism and research. With 53 Connecticut towns and cities (out of 169) now connected to Mark Twain, and many of these connections relating to existing museums, libraries and/or public buildings there is very little effort required to bring this plan to fruition. By connecting 53 Connecticut towns and cities to Mark Twain: - We increase the chances of a significant Mark Twain Conference/Convention being held here in Connecticut. Hartford would be the host city with our 'Twain Connections' providing plenty of sight seeing opportunities for conference attendees. - We increase the foot traffic to Connecticut museums, libraries, and public buildings. - We provide a tourism program that can be expanded upon in the future. i.e. If the Twain Tourism angle works we could expand the idea to showcase 'Connecticut's Greatest Residents'. - We raise Redding, Twain's final home, to the level and status of the other Mark Twain Sites- Hartford, Hannibal, Buffalo, Berkeley, Elmira. This is important as Twain2010.org doesn't even list Redding at the present. A special Thank You to all those that made this PowerPoint Presentation possible. Thank you to Barbara Schmidt and her amazing Twain resource site. www.TwainQuotes.com Thank you to David Thompson and his collection of Twain photos and montages. http://www.twainquotes.com/DaveThomson.html & http://steamboats.com/museum/davet.html Thank you to Kevin Mac Donnell for his knowledge, insights, rare photos and books. www.MacDonnellRareBooks.com Thank you to Susan Boone Durkee for her knowledge, photos, artwork and parties. Two of Susan's portraits appear in the slideshow- Jean and Sam in his Oxford Gown. www.SusanDurkee.com Thank you to The Mark Twain House, for their truly amazing museum, and priceless photos. Thank you to Patti Phillippon for access and usage. www.MarkTwainHouse.org Thank you to Heather Morgan and her staff at the Mark Twain Library for access and usage to their collections. The MTL is a treasure trove of new information on Twain's Final years and I am amazed by its contents on each and every visit. www.MarkTwainLibrary.org Thank you to The Mark Twain Forum and all its members for sharing their knowledge and bringing Twainiacs together. www.TwainWeb.net Thank you to The Mark Twain Journal, for promoting Stormfield and Redding in Volume 44. www.MarkTwainJournal.com Thank you to The Mark Twain Project, for access to Sam's letters. Your work has allowed for the research that fuels us all to keep searching and sharing. www.MarkTwainProject.org