In the 21st century, Glover's Marblehead Regiment and other groups like ours are responding to a growing national need for educating and inspiring Americans about our national heritage.

Each year, we make dozens of appearances at local schools. The Regiment has developed a Colonial Life seminar, which has been presented as a part of the Explorer's Program at Salem State College. In Marblehead, we perform local ceremonies to mark the birth and death of John Glover. We also work with the Veterans of Foreign Wars to commemorate Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Every December, we offer citizens of Marblehead a living reminder of our predecessors' achievement at the Battle of Trenton on Christmas Eve in 1776. We man our longboat and row to the middle of Marblehead Harbor where we fire a blunderbuss salute from our boat, and then row to the opposite shore of Marblehead Harbor and return.

In July, we stage a full Colonial encampment on the outcropping of land that is Marblehead's Fort Sewall, a military installation that dates from the 1660s. For three days and two evenings, we give demonstrations, tours, shanty-sings and kids' activities for as many as 2,000 visitors.

Each year, Glover's Marblehead Regiment offers the non-need-based Richard Cary Williams Jr. Memorial Scholarship to graduating high school seniors planning further studies in history, journalism, or the fine or performing arts. The $1,000 award is given in memory of the late Rich "Quill" Williams of Marblehead who was a writer and producer of broadcast, corporate, and interactive video programs, and an avid student of Revolutionary War history.

Preference is given to applicants who are planning to pursue college-level academic study starting in the fall of 2004. Each applicant must:

• be a graduating high school senior who is a Marblehead resident, or who attends Marblehead High School from another town;

• complete the standard MHS scholarship general application form;

• submit a 300-word typed statement on why he or she deserves the award and how it will be used;

• submit one letter of support from a teacher, administrator, or other adult who knows the student well (excluding parents).

These materials are submitted each year, in the months prior to the MHS graduation date, to the Regiment�s Scholarship Committee.

For information about this scholarship, or about Richard Carey Williams, kindly contact Francie King, 781-631-5967, or fbking@comcast.net.