Not one, but two very talented Chutes are now members of the top 10 ranked Harvard University's Crimson Tide Women's Ice Hockey team, which will begin its playing season in October of 2009. On the left: #15-Katharine Chute. Position: Forward. Year: Junior. Hometown: Wayzata, Minn. High School: Blake School. Height: 5-7. On the right: #7-Margaret Chute, sister of Katharine. Position: Forward. Year: incoming Freshman. Hometown: Wayzata, Minn. High School: The Blake School. Height: 5-6.

Both are daughters of Edmund Phelps Chute of the Minnesota Chutes; brother Donald Chute is right behind them, also playing forward for The Blake School, where Katharine and Margaret attended prior to Harvard. All three are among the sixteen grandchildren of Frederick Hawley Chute.

Yet another Chute daughter is famous for her sports prowess. That would be Valerie Nainima, daughter of Betty Chute Nainima of Fiji. Now playing for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, the school paper reports, "Valerie played for the Fijian National Team and the U-20 team ... averaged 23 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists at the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games, helping her team to the gold medal ... Led Fiji to a gold medal at the 2007 South Pacific Games, averaging 25.7 points per game."

In the action photo (left), published 23 NOV 2009, the caption reads, "Junior Valerie Nainima attempts a shot Sunday against Penn State." End result? "Gamecocks down Penn State in home opener! Nainima nets 18 points as Carolina pushes past Nittany Lions".

An article on The Two Wives of Lionel Chute, published by William Wyman Fiske for NEHGS in their quarterly journal in April of 2009. Response and reactions from Chute family genealogists followed soon thereafter. Again, all Chute family members are encouraged to read and respond. Many of us have seen the record of Lionel marrying Thomasine Barker on the Family History.org website, and generally assumed that Thomasine and Rose Barker were in fact the same person. Do you think author is correct and Thomasine and Rose were in fact two different people?

For those of you with Facebook, Windows Live or Twitter accounts, you can also find a few of us - although the list is growing - on these networks. You can join the usual babble by sending me a request (be sure and let me know which network you're on and that you're a Chute Family member) and I'll be pleased to send you an invite. You'll find a few other Chutes to chat with, and hopefully the network will grow even larger. Of course, these networking sites are not meant to replace this website, by any means, although I do use them to mention that the website has been updated.