b"C H A P T E R F O U RWaterways. Directors felt that the young association should be concerned about all the communitys rivers, harbors, ponds, and, to be sure, even Pleasant Bay. And it should not be overlooked that the original Statement of Purpose dictated that members stand up not only to problems (in the first instance) of Stage Harbors waters, but also on the adjoining lands. That propositionthat what happens on adjacent turf will impact the waterways -has rubbed some citizens the wrong way. But Friends adherents, convinced that that premise was far from flimsy, have stuck to their guns.Again, it would be wrong to assume that internal matters like these and generatingthe septic system regulation were all that FCW was doing in its earliest years. Far from it. From the start, Friends boards have aimed routinely at more than one objective, so much so that in recent time at least two directors have stated that the organization was juggling too many balls at once. But thats become the way of the Friends.This readiness to pluralize commitments manifested itself as early as the seminal Friends executive committee meeting of November 27, 1983. Eight different voices offered thoughts on how Sam Streibert should proceed with his mapping mission. Five directors made points of record about the pollution issue; that led eventually to giving life to the septic-system inspection regulation. And several had something to say about the overall condition of Chathams waterways. Said Joan Kimball on that topic, There will be a need for input from our group with documentation regarding waterways usage. Then she joined Doug Wells in underlining some specifics, such as mooring and anchoring; dredging; Stage Harbor entrance. Of general concern, they added, were which areas are for 'recreational use such as wind-surfing.Out of this exchange about town waterways came the Friendss extensive engagement in helping to finance and draft Chathams Stage Harbor Management Plan, setting a precedent for all the smaller seaside communities in the Commonwealth. That major project was to keep many town volunteers busy from the late Eighties into the Nineties; inevitably, it will continue to do so until well into the future. At any rate, the birth of that plan helped establish FCW as one of the major figures among all the towns volunteer committees.54"