a PDF of the Fall 2015 Taft Bulletin
Transcription
a PDF of the Fall 2015 Taft Bulletin
B U L L E T I N rooted Fall 2015 In this issue FALL 2015 12 24 Remembering Taft’s Third Headmaster John Cushing Esty, Jr. 24 Departments Rooted in Place Rooted in Place: From Ancient Olive Trees on Mallorca to Lush Vineyards in Chile By Linda Hedman Beyus and Lori Ferguson 38 In Bloom A Thriving Collaboration Between Taft and The New York Botanical Garden By Debra Meyers 3 5 14 46 On Main Hall Alumni Spotlight Around the Pond Tales of a Taftie: George Ripley Cutler Class of 1912 48 Alumni Notes 91Milestones 96 From the Archives: Farming for Golf 38 12 m Director of Facilities Jim Shepard surveys Bingham Auditorium before the new seats are installed, along with Taft carpenter Roger Pelletier, far right, and a contractor. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 1 On Main Hall Fall 2015 A Word from Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 Volume 86, Number 1 Editor Linda Hedman Beyus Director of Marketing and Communications Kaitlin Thomas Orfitelli Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications Debra Meyers photography Robert Falcetti Alumni Notes Assistant Natasha Schwartz On the Cover Liz Barratt-Brown ’77 at her family’s working olive oil finca on the island of Mallorca, in Spain. An abcMallorca Production www.abc-mallorca.com Taft online Find a friend or past Bulletin: taftalumni.com Visit us on your phone: taftschool.org/m What happened at today’s game? taftsports.com Shop online: taftstore.com facebook.com/thetaftschool twitter.com/taftschool instagram.com/taftschool Design Good Design, LLC | www.gooddesignusa.com Send alumni news to Taft Bulletin | Alumni Office The Taft School 110 Woodbury Road, Watertown, CT 06795-2100 [email protected] Deadlines for Alumni Notes Fall–August 30 | Winter–November 15 | Spring–February 15 | Summer–May 15 Send address corrections to Cathy Mancini | Alumni Records The Taft School 110 Woodbury Road, Watertown, CT 06795-2100 [email protected] 860-945-7777 | www.TaftAlumni.com Comments? Tell us! We’d love to hear what you think about the stories in this Bulletin. We may edit your letters for length, clarity and content, but please write. Linda Hedman Beyus, editor Taft Bulletin 110 Woodbury Road Watertown, CT 06795-2100 [email protected] The Taft Bulletin (ISSN 0148-0855) is published quarterly, in February, May, August, and November, by The Taft School, 110 Woodbury Road, Watertown, CT 06795-2100, and is distributed free of charge to alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends of the school. All rights reserved. bit.ly/taftlinkedin Why We Do What We Do: The “Why” of Taft A really successful organization has a very clear answer to the question, “Why do we do what we do?” That’s the argument Simon Sinek makes in his book Start with Why. And while the book’s focus is on the corporate world—on successful companies with effective leaders—there’s a lot for us here at Taft. Why we do what we do is where we should start every academic year, and that’s how the faculty and I started in the last week of August, when we gathered together for our opening faculty meeting. Sinek argues that it’s pretty easy to describe what an organization does (its services, offerings, practices, and so on), and not much harder to explain how it does it (its traditions and beliefs). And to be clear, what and how are important. But what and how don’t excite people, especially as most organizations—and even schools—have plenty of competitors that offer pretty much the same what and how. Great organizations understand something really profound: that they have to be able to confidently and clearly answer the question, “Why do we do what we do?” “People don’t buy WHAT you do,” Sinek writes repeatedly, “they buy WHY you do it.” It’s inside-out communication. When an organization “defines itself by what it does, that’s all it will ever be able to do….” But, he writes, when an organization “clearly communicates their WHY, what they believe” [emphasis mine], and then, in turn, “we believe what they believe, then we will sometimes go to extraordinary lengths to include that product in our lives.” You end up with people lining up a day in advance for the new iPhone, flying only Southwest Airlines, and tattooing the Harley-Davidson logo on their bodies. Putting aside the corporate “product” language, that’s what we want to be as a school: an organization that is clear, consistent, and compelling in articulating WHY we do what we do. It’s something we have done really well throughout our history—our mission has never changed. And we will remain a great school long into the future so long as everything we do—from the design of a course to the practices in our dormitories to the counsel we give an advisee—flows from a clear and shared sense of why we do what we do. I like to think that if you asked anyone in the Taft family—student, trustee, alumnus/ae, teacher, or parent—you would hear a lot of versions of the same thing. You would hear lots of iterations of “the education of the whole student.” I think Horace Taft had a really clear understanding of why he founded his school, and my guess is that he would be comfortable with the answer I offered the faculty when I asked myself why we did what we did: Because we believe that when we educate the whole student we shape the kind of people the world needs. It’s a pretty good answer, I said at our meeting, but it’s only one answer. Answering the question “Why do we do “Because we believe that when we educate the whole student we shape the kind of people the world needs.” vimeo.com/taftschool Explore Taft: get the app on iTunes Please recycle this Bulletin or share with a friend. 2 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 3 From the Headmaster “I looked out on a group of 123 of the most extraordinary teachers I have known, men and women of passion, caring, and commitment, all of us about to start the beautiful work of a school year.” what we do?” is where we should start every year and each day, I suggested. Is there a better place to start? Under each chair I had placed an index card and pencil. I asked my colleagues to write a single sentence, their answer to this essential question. The room went quiet. We were students again. We all scribbled responses. I looked out on a group of 123 of the most extraordinary teachers I have known, men and women of passion, caring, and commitment, all of us about to start the beautiful work of a school year. We stopped writing. I gathered the cards at the end of my remarks, and today they sit on my desk, wrapped in a rubber band like a wad of bills. It’s a kind of currency in aspiration, idealism, and hope. I leaf through them often. Most mornings begin with an email to the faculty, and I share a teacher’s response to the question on why we do what we do. The why is seminal. It’s existential. It’s a belief, and not just any belief. It’s the belief. It’s what that rests like bedrock beneath everything. In a school like Taft, it’s what awakens and inflames us each day. Here are a few. Can you imagine what it is like to be at a school where every teacher wakes up every day thinking like this? Alumni Spotlight Game Day Every Day Teaching the whole student helps them become the best individual they can be, and they then, in turn, make their communities better, use a strong moral compass to improve conditions for those less fortunate, and pass on to all they meet the passion for lifelong learning instilled at Taft. To send out into the world well-educated and thoughtful and finely tuned minds to fulfill Horace Taft’s dream, “Not to be served but to serve.” To educate the whole student, beyond books and labs, and instill in them the courage to know and act on what is right. An annual tradition, Weinberger (third from left) poses with his Game Day Morning crew (including former NFL coach Steve Mariucci, host Rich Eisen, and NFL legends Marshall Faulk, Michael Irvin, and Kurt Warner) before the start of his 12th season with NFL Network. NFL Network To share the love of my discipline, to be a good role model, and to be involved with teenagers every day. Because our students benefit so greatly from experiencing risk-taking and the failure or success that comes with it. Because we believe that helping these students become the best possible versions of themselves—smart, informed, thoughtful, critical, compassionate, with a deep sense of community connection and responsibility to use their gifts and time for the betterment of others—will make them, our world, and our collective future better. Because we love it. Summer seems to keep getting Willy MacMullen ’78 shorter for Eric Weinberger ’90, the executive producer of the NFL Network, the channel devoted to covering the league 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The six weeks between June 1 and July 15 are the quietest days on the NFL calendar, but it’s all relative. Aiming to please more than 70 million subscribers—all craving constant updates on their favorite teams and players—as Weinberger puts it, “there is no slow period.” The collective anticipation for the start of another NFL season has only intensified since Weinberger helped launched the network in November 2003. He was there when host Rich Eisen opened the first broadcast with the line that captured so many feelings: “Your dreams have indeed come true.” Standing in the control room, Weinberger might have sworn that Eisen was speaking directly about him. A New Jersey native, Weinberger captained the baseball team at Taft and played varsity hockey his junior and senior years (Weinberger never played football). After his hockey career dissolved a couple years later at Union College, he jumped into broadcasting, continued on page 9— 4 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 5 Alumni Spotlight Alumni Spotlight Interpreting the Natural World—Playfully An interactive elephant ears exhibit is a playful way to combine learning and fun at a zoo. Bridging the gap between science Jill Bermingham Isenhart ’82 and Chip Isenhart, with lifesized sculptures they designed for the Denver Zoo’s new entry plaza and courtyard. 6 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 and storytelling is where Jill Bermingham Isenhart ’82 and her husband, Chip, find the most satisfaction, and their lifelong love of environmental science and biology has translated into their business, ECOS Communications. Their firm, based in Boulder, Colorado, takes complex scientific information and translates that into compelling, interesting, and fun exhibits. “We wanted to bridge the gap” between scientists and graphic designers who were trying to communicate information about particular species or areas of conservation, she says. Their clients include parks, museums, nature centers, zoos, and research centers across the globe. “We’re always looking for that sweet spot with our clients: what story do they want their visitors to know, what’s unique about their sites,” she says. “Typically there are way too many stories. Our real mission is to instill conservation action. That’s why we got into it.” After graduating from Taft, Isenhart majored in environmental science at Bowdoin College and received a master’s degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with an emphasis on environmental communication. She and Chip founded ECOS in 1991. “We did a bunch of interesting work with the Environmental Protection Agency on Superfund sites, but it wasn’t very rewarding personally,” she says. The couple wondered, “Is this where we want to put our energy?” As the company grew, the Isenharts decided to put their love of conservation of endangered species and habitats into their company. “It’s science and art combined—a transformation that leads visitors to new discoveries about their world, their lives, and themselves,” according to the company’s website. The company has created informational signage and exhibits for many different clients in the United States, but an urge to continue their m Working with senior park managers in Tanzania, Isenhart evaluates elements of the visitor experience at Serengeti National Park’s main entrance. work on an international level led to a remarkable journey that found them designing interpretive material in Kenya and China with their children. “We wanted to expose our kids to what our passion was about,” she says. “It was an incredible six months and life-changing in many ways. We wanted to be in areas that could inspire us and where we could really make a difference and give back in our field of conservation education.” Their work led to the creation of visitor center and trail designs for the Nature Conservancy at China’s first-ever private nature preserve. While in China, the family lived for two months with a local Chinese family that didn’t speak any English. “We had this grandmother who’d lived through the Cultural Revolution and knew how to live off the plants and nuts in the forest preserve,” Isenhart says. “It was just an amazing experience.” This past June found the family working for Tanzania’s national parks. The Isenharts consulted on ways to improve the visitor experience in five different national parks, including the Serengeti. “We’re pinching ourselves,” Isenhart says. “I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s a great blend of avocation and vocation.” The company has a variety of both international and American clients, especially the Denver Zoo, where they designed interpretive experiences and the conservation storylines for the Toyota Elephant Passage and Primate Panorama. ECOS also developed the identity and signage for the zoo’s Janus Welcome Center, along with a brand and exterior identity for one of the most important revenue-generating components of the institution—its gift shop. Currently, while ECOS is finalizing its master planning work in Tanzania, the company is also working on an interpretive center in Oakland, California, where endangered species will be the focus (for more about their work see www.ecos.us). “It’s one thing when [visitors] are reading the interpretive signs,” she says. “But our goal is to instill appreciation, then move them up the spectrum to take conservation action.” “That’s what keeps us going day to day,” she adds. “We don’t take on any projects unless they’re tied to our mission. You’ve got to start with having people care. That’s where we try to make it fun and accurate. It’s a tricky balance— they’re not thinking they are there to learn. We try to angle it so it’s empowering and [can] change the world.” j —Bonnie Blackburn-Penhollow ’84 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 7 Alumni Spotlight wrote poetry. A course with renowned Taft English teacher William Nicholson cemented his passions. “Mr. Nicholson communicated his passion for great literature so fervently that he inspired me to create my own,” he observes. The world is a vast cultural mosaic, George notes, and traveling has not only made him a keener observer of everyday life but also, he believes, a bigger human being with a bigger heart. “Writing about my travels has doubly reinforced my experiences for me, because I have to digest what I’ve learned and distill the lesson, for myself and for my readers.” This can be challenging, George concedes, since as a writer you’re trying to convey a personal, subjective experience in a way that resonates with someone who hasn’t had that experience, or perhaps even visited the place you’re describing. But in the end, he says, no matter the subject, you’re striving to say something about the meaning of life. “The experiences you choose to highlight and the methods you invoke to make that message resonate with your reader, these are the things that make travel writing both challenging and incredibly rewarding.” George recently published a new book, The Way of Wanderlust, a series of essays that represent a culmination of 40 years of traveling and 38 years of publishing stories. “Producing this book gave me a wonderful chance to reflect on years past,” he notes, “and I’m filled with gratitude for the life that I’ve led—so many people have shown me such incredible kindnesses over the years. I came away from the project with a profound sense of wonder and gratitude. I hold the book and think, ‘This is my life!’ I’m thrilled that it’s out in the world.” j —Lori Ferguson Don George ’71 takes in the C’est magnifique! George fully “at home” landscape and culture of Bali. in France. Wanderlust For Don George ’71, life has been a magnificent journey so far, in every sense of the word. His travels have taken him to exotic locales both near and far, from the sheer rock face of Yosemite’s beloved Half Dome to a lonely stretch of sand in the Galápagos inhabited by red-footed boobies, black marine iguanas, and a family of sea lions, and on to Pakistan’s legendary Karakoram Highway, where he confronted the very real prospect of death through natural disaster or civil unrest. Throughout it all, George has maintained his sense of wonder and delight, sharing his observations and experiences in more than 700 published articles. Characterized as the most influential travel writer and editor of his generation, George has visited more than 90 countries in 40 years, sharing his adventures in publications from the San Francisco Examiner to National Geographic Traveler. Yet, when questioned, he seems genuinely astonished at his success and good 8 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 fortune. “The path I’ve traveled in my career has been a very organic journey,” he says. “I’ve never thought of the end point of my career—I’ve always just followed the road to see where it goes. And as fate would have it, I’ve been able to do what I love my whole life.” After graduating from Princeton with degrees in English and comparative literature, George set off for a year abroad—beginning with a Summer Work Abroad internship in Paris and then moving on to a teaching fellowship in Athens. It was during this period that the travel bug bit, and hard. Immersed in the language, literature, and life of these foreign cultures, George realized this way of learning delighted him as nothing had before. Upon returning to the States, he entered a one-year master’s program in creative writing, and when his essay on climbing Mount Kilimanjaro—written for a class assignment—was picked up by a national magazine, he realized he had found his calling. Three-plus decades later, George’s enthusiasm for his craft shows no signs of abating. “I never tire of traveling,” he says with a rush of enthusiasm. “Every trip is a new experience. Each time I set out on a journey, I’m a different person than I was the last time, so even if I’m going to a place I know intimately, my interest in the adventure is fresh—return trips just provide a wonderful layering of experience.” And, George says, his response to each journey is visceral. “I have an amazing response to learning in this way,” he confesses. “I’m energized by being on the road. There’s all this newness to apprehend, and when you’re in a foreign place, you can be whomever you want, refashion yourself. I absolutely love the anonymity—it’s very liberating. ” George first fell under the thrall of the writing life while still a student at Taft, where he served as editor of the student-produced literary magazine and —Weinberger, continued from page 5 specifically directing and producing shows and events. His professional career began at ESPN before he and his wife, Alexandra, moved to Los Angeles to join a Fox Sports crew that launched national programming in 1996. “I’ve always been, even in my teenage years, producing performances,” Weinberger said. A noteworthy example of this was when he arranged a gameshow-like production modeled off of Hollywood Squares while at Taft, using the dorm room windows of HDT. When the opportunity arose in 2003 to leave Fox and join the burgeoning NFL Network, he considered it a “no-brainer.” Since its inception, the NFL Network’s audience has grown far beyond its initial reach of only 11.5 million homes to now commanding more than $1.1 billion in revenue. Its production staff ballooned from 20 people to over 150 in 2015, which is partly why it was necessary to expand their original studio space in Culver City, California, into a sprawling complex of 135,000 square feet. The network also now televises 16 games a season, each of which Weinberger attends, normally sitting in the production trucks. On a daily basis, he oversees and manages all aspects of the network’s productions and has been responsible for recruiting and hiring the network’s considerable on-air talent. “We’re really proud of how far we’ve come,” Weinberger said. “I don’t think we really envisioned the scope of where we’re at right now.” Weinberger said the best parts of his job are when he gets to travel for major events like the Super Bowl or the Draft— and a signed Eli Manning jersey for his youngest son, Eli, could be considered a nice perk. (He also has three other children, Jack, Emma, and Charlotte.) But it can be a stressful job with long hours. On Sundays during the season, Weinberger is at his office by 4 a.m., when the first pregame show airs for viewers just waking up on the East Coast. He stays until the last postgame show wraps up, a 19-hour workday. “I monitor the games, and the pregame and postgame shows,” Weinberger said. “Just to make sure technically, operationally, and editorially that we’re going down the right path.” On the other hand, he said he’s fulfilling a lifelong dream: producing sports entertainment for millions to enjoy, so a shorter summer may just be worth it. j —Zach Schonbrun ’05 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 9 Alumni Spotlight Odd Mom Out is In Jill Kopelman Kargman ’92 describes her Bravo television show Odd Mom Out as “a love letter to New York.” The same could be said of “Wednesday Addams in Barbietown,” an essay in Kargman’s 2011 memoir Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut—although in the case of that essay, the love letter would be addressed to Taft. “When I got there in the late ’80s, Taft was not diverse at all,” Kargman says. “I was in the two Jew club. I [evoked] this darkness with my motorcycle jacket and I think people probably thought I was kind of an odd bird…. I felt like an outsider even though I was steeped in it.” (She grew up in New York City attending Spence and as the daughter of Arie Kopelman, an ad executive who went on to become the president of Chanel.) But now she credits Taft with being “the place where I came together as a person.” “Everything that made me came together at Taft and the codification of my personality happened at Taft,” she says. “Even though Yale is considered this challenging, academic apex of intellectual thought, I totally came together as a student at Taft.” Odd Mom Out, which is Bravo’s first scripted series and has been renewed for a second season, is really “kind of an echo of my Taft days,” she says. Jill Kopelman Kargman ’92 on the set of her show Odd Mom Out. Bravo Most of the show’s action takes place on the Upper East Side. “I’m in it and I love it and I appreciate it for what it is, especially the beauty and the quiet and the architecture and some of the traditional aspects,” Kargman says. “I like how children are well-mannered and...people are polished, [but] I can also recognize the excess and some of the over-thetop behavior, so I see it for what it is.” Like Kargman’s Taft essay, the show doesn’t put anyone down and she doesn’t believe any part of it is mean-spirited. Rather, it’s “all observations made with love.” Kargman plays a fictionalized version of herself whose sister-in-law Brooke, played by Saturday Night Live alum Abby Elliott, is a perky, blonde “momzilla” (Momzillas is the title of Kargman’s 2014 novel) who never shows during her pregnancy. (Kargman’s actual sister-in-law is another blonde, the actress Drew Barrymore.) “That came up as the symbol of the show for me,” Kargman says, “because I meet women who say, ‘I’m due any day now,’ and they just look like me after a Mexican meal. I swear their kid is going to be the size of a Diet Coke can and be on life support. Every time I say, ‘Wow, you are like a supermodel! You don’t even look three months pregnant!’ They’re like, ‘Please, I’m Shamu. Please, I’m Oprah and Gayle tied together.’ No one can take a compliment.” The show, therefore, is a “hyperbolized version of reality” in which Brooklyn mothers are still breastfeeding their children at age four. And there’s perhaps no one better than Kargman to be writing and starring in it. “I’m steeped in it, but I’ve always felt like I have one foot in and one foot out,” she says. After finding her writing voice in Barclay Johnson’s English classes at Taft and graduating with an art history degree after just three years at Yale, Kargman embarked on a tour of Europe that included filing a story for Vogue from Singapore at the ripe age of 20. A few years on the staff of Interview magazine followed before Kargman teamed up with Carrie Doyle Karasyov ’90, who at the time worked at Harper’s Bazaar, to write Intern, a movie based on their horror stories of the magazine world. It was shown at Sundance in 2000 and got the duo an agent, but they had no creative control during production and soon realized they preferred writing books. More books followed. Kargman eventually ended up as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather, where a client told her she could have a television show of her own. Her office mates helped her make a sizzle reel for a “morning show with more edge” called Wake the F--k Up. It never got off the ground, but it caught the eye of Bravo’s Andy Cohen, who said the network wanted to work with Kargman after seeing what she could do. Odd Mom Out is the result: “A show in the world of Momzillas but in the voice of Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut,” Kargman says. “It’s really just about fitting in and catching up…and being a black sheep, essentially.” j —Sam Dangremond ’05 in Print The Way of Wanderlust: The Best Travel Writing of Don George Don George ’71 As a professional travel writer and editor for the past 40 years, Don George has been paid to explore the world. Through the decades, his articles have been published in magazines, newspapers, and websites around the globe and have won numerous awards, yet his pieces have never been collected into one volume until now. The Way of Wanderlust: The Best Travel Writing of Don George is a moving and inspiring collection of tales and reflections from his traveling experiences and is inspired and visually rich writing. From his high-spirited account of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on a whim when he was 22 years old to his moving description of a home-stay in a muddy compound in Cambodia as a 61-year-old, this collection ranges widely. As renowned for his insightful observations as for his poetic prose, George always absorbs the essence of the places he’s visiting. Other stories include a moving encounter with Australia’s sacred red rock monolith, Uluru; an immersion in kindness on the Japanese island of Shikoku; the trials and triumph of ascending Yosemite’s Half Dome with his wife and children; and a magical morning at Machu Picchu. Read more about Don George in this issue’s Spotlight section (see page 8). Henry Clay: America’s The East Is Black: Cold Greatest Statesman War China in the Black Harlow Giles Unger ’49 In a critical and little-known chapter of early American history, Harlow Giles Unger tells how a fearless young Kentucky lawyer threw open the doors of Congress during the nation’s formative years and prevented dissolution of the infant American republic. The only freshman congressman ever elected speaker of the house, Henry Clay brought an arsenal of rhetorical weapons to subdue feuding members of the House of Representatives and established the speaker as the most powerful elected official after the president. During 50 years in public service— as congressman, senator, secretary of state, and four-time presidential candidate—Clay constantly battled to save the Union, summoning uncanny negotiating skills to force bitter foes from North and South to compromise on slavery and forego secession. His famous Missouri Compromise and four other compromises thwarted civil war “by a power and influence,” Lincoln said, “which belonged to no other statesman of his age and times.” Radical Imagination Robeson Taj Frazier ’99 During the Cold War, several prominent African American radical activistintellectuals—including W.E.B. Du Bois and Shirley Graham Du Bois, journalist William Worthy, Marxist feminist Vicki Garvin, and freedom fighters Mabel and Robert Williams— traveled and lived in China. There, they used a variety of media to express their solidarity with Chinese communism and to redefine the relationship between Asian struggles against imperialism and black American movements against social, racial, and economic injustice. In The East Is Black, Taj Frazier examines the ways in which these figures and the Chinese government embraced the idea of shared struggle against U.S. policies at home and abroad. He analyzes their diverse cultural output (newsletters, print journalism, radio broadcasts, political cartoons, lectures, and documentaries) to document how they imagined communist China’s role within a broader vision of a worldwide anticapitalist coalition against racism and imperialism. Frazier is an assistant professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at USC. j If you would like your work added to the Hulbert Taft Library’s Alumni Authors Collection and considered for this column, please send a copy to: Taft Bulletin | The Taft School | 110 Woodbury Road | Watertown, CT 06795-2100 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 11 Remembering Taft’s Third Headmaster John Cushing Esty, Jr. August 8, 1928–October 22, 2015 John Cushing Esty, Jr., Taft’s headmaster from 1963 to 1972, died on October 22 in Concord, Massachusetts, from complications related to stroke at the age of 87. He was known as an educator and foundation executive who spearheaded a number of national reform movements in a career spanning six decades. Esty was known as a modernizer of institutions, a leader who sought to integrate the best practices of the private and public school worlds, and a voice for the inclusion of women and people of color into educational and leadership opportunities of all kinds. After serving in the Air Force, he began his career as an admissions officer, mathematics teacher, and associate dean at Amherst College. In 1963, he was named headmaster of the Taft School. At Taft, Esty led the drive to admit girls and updated the curriculum to include an innovative independent studies program. Former Headmaster Lance Odden, Esty’s immediate successor at Taft, said, “John was the profound mentor who changed the course of my life. I will forever be grateful for his farsighted vision and wonderful sense of humor, so necessary in the tumultuous 1960s. That Taft survived and is a great school today is a testimony to his transformational leadership in difficult times.” According to Headmaster Willy MacMulllen ’78, Esty, “with his boldness and his restless intellect, took a school of 12 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 the 1950s and ushered it into the modern era. A product of several great and traditional schools—Deerfield, Amherst, and Yale—John was a nontraditional thinker.” “He was really concerned with how students learned,” MacMullen said. “This was a man who was brilliant, but at the same time had the right temperament to lead the school through a very turbulent period.” Esty served as board chair of A Better Chance, a nonprofit group whose mandate was to increase access to independent schools for people of color. A number of high-profile people benefitted from the nonprofit’s initiative, including President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. In the early 1970s, as a young trustee at Amherst College, he pushed for coeducation and a broader social mission for elite liberal arts colleges. “His own father denounced him for it,” Dan Esty, Esty’s son and a Yale University professor, said of his father’s efforts to get Amherst to admit women. “People don’t realize it now, but what he did at Taft and at Amherst was tremendously difficult, given the time period. It took tremendous personal courage for him to do that.” After leaving Taft in 1972, he switched gears to work in the philanthropic world as a grantmaker and educational program officer at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in New York. “John’s capacity for and commitment to friendship made him a hero to those of us privileged to have worked for him and with him,” said William Dietel, former president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Moving between the worlds of nonprofit organizations, higher education, and secondary schools, Esty developed a national profile as a writer, thinker, and reformer on educational issues. In 1978, he was appointed president of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). As president of NAIS, he sought to reenergize a traditional organization and to respond to the national challenges facing both public and private schools in the 1980s. His brother, Peter Esty, said, “As president of NAIS, John led scores of independent schools in bringing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity to their enrollments, broadening their profiles, and expanding their reputation as beyond the old elite labels.” Esty also helped launch, and served as a founding board member for, the Recruiting New Teachers initiative, a national public service advertising campaign designed to rebuild the teaching ranks; it paved the way for successor organizations such as Teach for America. After his retirement from NAIS, Esty taught the course Strategies for Institutional Change to public school administrators at the University of Massachusetts. Having devoted years to the independent school world, he nonetheless sent his four sons to public schools and served on the Concord school board. In recent years, he worked closely with Fenway High School, a Boston pilot school, as an advisor on administration and institutional advancement. According to Peggy Kemp, the head of Fenway, Esty’s “wisdom and warmth, his kindness to all, and his passion for bringing great education to young people of limited means, were an inspiration to teachers, students, and administrators. [An] endowed fund at Fenway, which has enabled skilled college counseling for hundreds of students, was named in his honor: the John C. Esty, Jr. College Advisory Fund.” He was known as a gifted writer and public speaker, and a committed, sometimes irreverent, executive who excelled at leading organizations to, and through, real change. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, as military services advisor at Amherst College, he wrote several widely read articles in The Nation and The New York Times aimed at rethinking the draft process for American college students. He was the author of Choosing a Private School (1974) and many editorials and essays on school issues ranging from tuition tax credits for private schools and the voucher movement to public and private school collaboration and the future of the teaching profession. Esty served as a trustee or advisor to dozens of school and foundation boards, including Amherst College, Camp Agawam in Raymond, Maine, Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey, the Harlem Ministers Conference, the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, and the Charles Hayden Foundation. He was a longtime member of the Century Association in New York. He was born on August 9, 1928, in White Plains, New York, to John Cushing Esty and Virginia Place Esty. His father was an advertising executive in New York, then an apple grower and furniture maker in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Esty family has been in New England since the 1600s and includes Mary Towne Esty, who was hanged in Salem on charges of witchcraft in 1692. He was educated in the Chappaqua, New York, public schools, then at Deerfield Academy, before earning degrees at Amherst College and Yale. At Amherst, he was a member of the soccer team and the Double Quartet singing group. He served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1953 and then as a captain in the reserves until 1958. In 1959 to 1960, he did graduate work at UC Berkeley in the history of science; he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Amherst in 1970, and he was awarded Taft’s highest alumni honor in 1972, the Horace D. Taft Alumni Medal, then known as the Citation of Merit. A resident of Concord since 1972, he was a dedicated town citizen, having served over the years as board chair for the Greeley Foundation for Peace and Justice; as an enthusiastic tenor in the Concord Chorus; as an avid participant in a retired men’s ping-pong club; a corporator of Emerson Hospital; a devoted member of the First Parish Unitarian church; and a longtime member of the Concord Social Circle, a civic issues group dating back to the 1780s. Known for his antic wit and curious mind, Esty visited every continent, studied mathematics and astronomy, built radios, made home-pressed cider in his driveway for family and friends, and always shopped at small, independent stores in Concord to support local entrepreneurs. He enjoyed singing, reading, writing, gardening, and traveling with his wife and family. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend with an unusual gift for music, magic, and merriment. He had a special capacity to connect with people from all walks of life, especially children. “My father was one of those miraculous, multitalented people whose skills appear to come as if from nowhere: he could pick up musical instruments and new languages with ease; he could fix engines and charm dogs; he was as happy on the floor doing card tricks for his grandchildren as he was testifying before Congress on educational policy,” notes his son, Jed Esty. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Katharine, and their four sons, Dan, Paul, Ben, and Jed. He is also survived by his brothers, David and Peter, and by 10 grandchildren. j Courtesy of the MacRae-Tunnicliffe Concord Funeral Home and the New Haven Register. Photographs courtesy of The Leslie D. Manning Archives at Taft. This past summer, a record number of students enrolled in the Taft-PAL Summer Enrichment Academy. For more information, visit www.taftschool.org/news Around the Pond The music elective brought By Debra Meyers students (from left) Mia Parker, Genesis Mir, and Morrgan Damia to their feet this past summer. Partners, PALs, and Summer Prep Gerry Calles ’18 is a middler at Taft, but has been attending classes here much longer. A rising eighth grader in the summer of 2012, Gerry was among the first local students to participate in a unique program uniting Taft and the Waterbury Police Activity League (PAL), and preparing PAL students for the rigors of the SSAT. Gerry joined the Taft School-Police Activity League Summer Enrichment Academy in its second year, and has been part of it ever since. This past summer Gerry took on the role of teaching assistant and mentor. “From the first day of the PAL program, I realized that Taft was where I wanted to be,” said Gerry. “The summer school teachers were extremely helpful through the years in preparing me to meet that goal. Now I am able to help people in the same way—to give that same experience to other PAL students. It makes me very proud.” The Academy was the brainchild of Waterbury native and Taft alumna Laura Monti ’89. Before it was established in 2011, two PAL students each summer were awarded admission and full scholarships to Taft’s traditional five-week Summer School program. But there were always more than 20 applicants for the two prized spots, leading Monti to wonder, what can we do for the rest of them? Monti, along with husband and fellow faculty member Jeremy Clifford, began thinking about more and meaningful ways to provide not just summer opportunities for area students, but to open educational doors. “A lot of Waterbury students are 14 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Taft’s Tamara Sinclair ’05 gives Janelle Obuobi-Djan tips on balancing her budget. interested in applying to Taft, and schools like Taft,” said Clifford, “but sometimes do not do well on the required standardized testing. These are highly motivated learners with very good grades who are just not familiar with the kinds of questions they will see on the SSAT. It is not a question of ability so much as it is exposure to the type of material presented on the test.” With financial support from a Palamar Fellowship and boots-on-the-ground support from then Waterbury Police Lieutenant and PAL team member Robert Cizauskas, Monti and Clifford launched the Academy in 2011. There were seven rising eighth graders in the classroom, working primarily on SSAT preparation. Successful in both concept and execution, Monti was able to garner additional m Program participant Anjavie Thompson finds the summer program both fun and rewarding. financial resources to not only bring the program back in 2012, but to expand it to include rising seventh graders, as well. “We had past participants complete surveys about their experience with us,” explained Monti. “Overwhelmingly they complained about aging out—they wanted to stay with us longer, and mounted a campaign to add an academic enrichment component that would allow them to stay another year.” Today, the Academy welcomes rising sixth through ninth graders. The curriculum has expanded to include academic enrichment across the board, in addition to the SSAT mentoring at the heart of the initial program. Nearly 60 PAL students spent four weeks on campus this past summer, the largest group to date. They were taught and mentored by 17 current and former Taft students, including Gerry Calles. And in each of the last three years, multiple Academy graduates have been admitted to Taft. “What I love about this program—and what parents tell us all the time—is that it helps students recognize that they have the academic ability to strive for things they might not otherwise have thought possible,” explains Monti. “I want them to see that they have academic choices; that there is an environment where being nerdy can be a cool thing.” Jia LiAn Stolfi completed her second year at the Academy this past summer. Her mother, Christine, has seen the impact of the program. “Jia enrolled in the program to expand her academic knowledge,” Stolfi said. “This is something she wanted to do—she really enjoys learning. She’s been challenged, which is great. She gained new focus and really, fully realized how much she loves to learn. Jia uses her new vocabulary words spontaneously, then laughs and says, ‘I used one of my new words.’ That’s what is important for me—that what she is learning here carries over into the real world.” The Academy goes a long way in preparing participants for the real world. Students attend three classes each day: math, English, and an elective of their choosing. Electives this past summer included astronomy, public speaking, and the enormously popular “Game of Life.” Led by Taft Director of Multicultural Recruitment Tamara Sinclair ’05, “Game of Life” was a crash course in real-world living. Sinclair randomly assigned each student a job and a corresponding salary; students got paid—and visited their banker—each day. They built budgets and, just like in the real world, paid bills, which might include mortgage or rent, insurance, utilities, and car payments. They also needed to budget for gas, savings, charitable donations, entertainment, and, of course, a cell phone bill. “Just starting this kind of conversation is so important,” says Sinclair. The real-world applications also extend to the current and former Taft students working as teachers and mentors at the Academy. “It has been very important to me to share with them what a great career teaching is,” says Monti. “They have embraced the opportunity. Those students who have returned for multiple summers have taken the lead in updating and implementing curriculum, and in mentoring the firstyear teaching assistants. Their growth and autonomy as teachers is also incredible.” PAL student turned PAL mentor and assistant teacher Gerry Calles agrees. “The teachers have taught me strategies; they show me what helped them and what didn’t, and now I use those strategies with other PAL students. This program is filled with amazing people, challenging academics, and it is even a lot of fun. It has been rewarding to share my experience and to show people the school I’m so proud of.” j The Taft School-PAL Summer Enrichment Academy is funded in part by grants from the Edward E. Ford Foundation, and the Ion Bank Foundation. The Waterbury Police Activity League (PAL) is a not-for-profit organization which promotes partnerships between youth, law enforcement, and the community through educational, athletic, and recreational programs designed to encourage team building and foster positive relationships. For more information, visit www.waterburypal.org. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 15 Around the POND Around the POND Playing to Win Eight budding squash players from around the country traveled to Watertown in July as part of an expanded partnership between Taft’s Summer School program and the National Urban Squash and Education Association (NUSEA). Based in New York City, NUSEA provides structure, guidance, and organizational know-how to 22 member programs across the globe. Those programs engage more than 2,000 students at every grade level through intensive after-school, weekend, and summer programming, which includes academic support and enrichment, squash instruction and competition, community service programming, college guidance, and mentoring. Seeds for the Taft/NUSEA partnership were first sown in 2009, when Taft Summer School hosted Andrew Cadienhead ’13. A rising lower mid, Andrew was also a member of CitySquash, NUSEA’s Bronx, New York, program. “The concept is to provide students with a window into the world of private liberal education at a top-tier boarding school,” explained Taft Summer School Director Tom Antonucci. “It is a wonderful opportunity for students to see what academic life would be like at a school like Taft.” In 2013, Taft Summer School hosted a student from Squash Haven, NUSEA’s New Haven, Connecticut, affiliate; another Squash Haven student arrived in 2014. Last fall, Taft trustee Drummond Bell ’63, a member of NUSEA’s board of directors, met with Antonucci and Taft Admissions Director Peter Frew ’75 to talk about not only growing the number of NUSEA students attending Taft’s five-week summer session, but about expanding the geographic reach of the partnership, as well. Together, the team developed and executed a plan that brought eight squash scholars to Taft this summer. “Summer School agreed to provide half-scholarships to each of the students,” notes Antonucci. “Drum and the Bell Foundation generously donated a large portion of the remaining cost. It shows the kind of person he is—always working to do more for Taft and for the community.” Christopher Olsen ’98 also helped sponsor the eight student athletes, who came to Watertown from NUSEA programs in New Haven, Detroit, San Diego, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the Bronx. “Thanks to Tom, Peter, Christopher, and Willy MacMullen, this summer’s program for these youngsters certainly reflects our school’s motto, non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret—not to be served, but to serve,” said Bell. “When we met with all eight of the participants, they talked about the community atmosphere and how thankful they were for the opportunity Taft now extends throughout the NUSEA organization.” The students also talked about the solid academic preparation the program provides. “I’ve had a lot of fun, but also learned a lot while I’ve been here,” said San Diego native Angela Guzman. “I’m studying biology, which I know is really going to help me get ahead when I get back to school. I’ve also learned how to organize my time and plan my studying. It is very fast paced.” According to Antonucci, the academic impact of the program is powerful: One hundred percent of graduating Urban Squash seniors go on to four-year colleges and universities. But for the students attending Summer School, the academics are just one piece of the pie. “For me, this has been all about taking a chance,” explained Duane Rodgers, who took up squash a year ago through Philadelphia’s SquashSmarts program. “I am putting myself out there to meet new people, see new places, and learn new things. And I’m grateful to have accomplished that.” j A school’s success and advance Taft culture—in word and in deed—throughout the new year. And culture, MacMullen notes, is not something that happens by chance. “You should recognize the root here, the Latin word ‘cultura,’ meaning to cultivate; meaning to till the land,” explained MacMullen. “I like that image. It reminds us that culture is something that is created seasonally, and it takes hard work by everybody.” Culture is created collectively through practices and traditions, MacMullen noted, and carried forth not only through those actions, but also through storytelling. “We tell stories because they carry meaning, because they transmit the From left, NUSEA Executive Director Tim Wyant, Taft and NUSEA board member Drummond Bell ’63, and Taft Summer School Director Tom Antonucci. m NUSEA program participants during their To learn more about NUSEA and its member programs, visit www.NationalUrbanSquash.org. time at Taft this past summer: Back row, left to right: Trina Madziwa, Alexandra Estrada, Angela Guzman, Khalip Dunston, and Christopher Lucero; front row, left to right: Dolores Brown, Duane Rodgers, and Retia Patton. Haley Kulikauskas Tilling the Soil: 2015 Convocation Address its achievement—the happiness of students and faculty and staff—it cannot be separated from culture…. It is created by each one of us in the room in a thousand acts, through a hundred practices, in scores of traditions. Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 explored Taft’s rich culture during his convocation address in September. 16 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 With those words, Headmaster William R. MacMullen ’78 opened the 2015–16 school year for 594 Taft students. In a convocation address that was at once instructive and inspiring, students, faculty, and staff were encouraged and empowered to embrace, build, and culture, and they carry on the values we share.” And through a series of powerful stories, MacMullen brought Taft’s culture into clear focus for all in the Taft community. The story of Taft faculty members, who, under no directive other than their understanding of a culture “of almost unfathomable care” and compassion, wandered the halls, watching over students as they spent their first night at Taft amid the confusion, fear, and sadness of 9/11. Students embracing a culture of respect, empathy, and leadership, letting peers know in no uncertain terms that unkind, thoughtless, or derogatory remarks or actions are simply things that will not be tolerated. Stories of new students surprised by the warmth and genuine caring of faculty, of a culture where it is “cool” to be successful both academically and athletically, where “resilience and grit are prized,” and of a culture where, MacMullen said, “honor means everything.” “I hope that you will be a teller and also a listener. I hope that every teacher and student becomes part of the story that we tell years from now that holds some deep truth about our culture…. Remember, we cultivate culture. We till the soil of the school in hopes that something rare and beautiful might spring.” j For a video of the headmaster’s convocation address and other recent speakers at Taft, visit www.vimeo.com/taftschool. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 17 Around the POND Rising to the Top: Tafties Enjoy Success on AP Testing Advanced Placement (AP) courses offer college-level learning in a wide range of disciplines. AP exams offer students the opportunity to earn college credit by proving they have effectively mastered that college-level material. AP exam scoring is on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (top), with many colleges and universities requiring a grade of 4 or 5 to merit college credit. Taft currently offers 31 AP courses. Last May, 372 Tafties took a total of 856 AP exams. More than 60% of our students prepared to take the college-level tests this year. Among the results: 60% of those 856 scores were 4s and 5s, indicating the high caliber of both teacher and learning that are hallmarks of a Taft education. Also of note: Luz Lara saw each of her 12 students in AP Spanish Language and Culture earn a 5. This was a first for any teacher in the Modern Language Department. Over in the Wu building, Al Reiff ’80 had all 23 students across two sections of BC Calculus bring home the highest scores available. “You let yourself daydream about results like these,” said Reiff, “but the credit has to go to the students who do the amazing work of producing such tremendous results.” j m The Global Leadership Institute (GLI) is a program of the Center for Global Leadership and Service, a partnership between Taft School and the City of Waterbury. The program’s mission is to develop a generation of global leaders with a genuine concern for world problems, multiple perspectives on global issues, and skills to contribute toward the resolution of these issues. Each year, 10 students from Taft and 10 students from Waterbury schools are selected to participate in the program as GLI Scholars. A number of participants were honored for their work this summer with the Waterbury Department of Health and Brass City Harvest service internship program. Pictured, from left, are Jamella Lee, dean of global and diversity education; Shasha Alvares ’17; Lauren Fadiman ’17; Sue Pronovost, executive director of Brass City Harvest; Bill Quinn, director of health, city of Waterbury; Brennan Engelhard; Cynthia Vitone P’17; Waterbury Health Department; Christian Milian; Kevin Walston, instructional leadership director for Waterbury public high schools; and Darren Schwartz, chief academic officer for Waterbury public schools. j e Music for aWhilSeries 2015–16 Taft School Performance NOVEMBER 20 Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company 7pm • Bingham Auditorium DECEMBER 15 The Taft School’s 80th Service of Lessons and Carols 6pm & 8pm • Woodward Chapel JANUARY 8 Michael Davis, guitar; Jake Jolliff, mandolin (Bluegrass) 7pm • Walker Hall JANUARY 22 Crossover Jazz: Concerto Claude Bolling, composer 7pm • Walker Hall FEBRUARY 26 Ken Nigro Big Band 7pm • Walker Hall MARCH 4 Pianist Andrew Armstrong and Friends 7pm • Walker Hall MARCH 13 The King of Instruments, Daniel Scifo, organist 5pm • Woodward Chapel APRIL 15 7:30pm • Woodward Chapel & APRIL 17 3pm • Grace Church in New York City Music for a Great Space with Taft Collegium Musicum, Cantus Excelsus, Woodward Brass Ensemble; Bruce Fifer, conductor s Visit www.taftschool.org/concert 18 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Alumna Opens Gallery Year Jessica Wynne ’90 kicked off the Mark W. Potter ’48 Gallery exhibition year with her photography show, 6. Wynne, a photography professor at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and a Taft Rockwell Visiting Artist, also spoke at Morning Meeting in September, and worked with Taft students in the classroom. Six years ago Wynne started photographing her newborn daughter. Over time, she came to realize that these pictures, along with those she was taking of her mother, allowed her to examine the cyclical nature of life by looking at the beginning and later stages, and to show in these images the universality of such a natural phenomenon. “As an observer and documentarian, I am witnessing what it looks like for a child to be set free in nature,” Wynne notes. “There is a wildness, or abandon, that the children in these pictures inhabit— having spent the rest of the year amid the organized chaos of a city, here they are liberated. But liberated to what? A natural world that is unknown and unpredictable. It is at once lush and mysterious, scary and dangerous. I want to get at the vulnerability intrinsic to childhood, especially in the face of nature’s grandeur.” After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute, Wynne continued her studies at Yale University School of Art, where she earned a Master in Fine Arts in 1999. Her work, which has been exhibited around the world, is housed in a number of collections, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Wynne’s editorial and advertising clients include a wide array of magazines and corporations, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, W, BlackBook, Details, Fortune, Newsweek, and Kodak. Wynne currently resides in New York City. j To see more of her work, visit www.jessicawynnephoto.com. For a full gallery schedule, visit www.taftschool.org/pottergallery. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 19 Around the POND New Faculty Residences Bingham Auditorium Renovations Summer Renewal The summer months are a time to refresh and renew, not only for Taft faculty but for the campus, as well. The Martin Health Center, Horace D. Taft Hall, and Bingham Auditorium were among the Taft spaces getting fresh looks and functional improvements over the past few months. Housed on the first floor of the recently renovated Congdon House, the Martin Health Center was completely gutted, redesigned, and rebuilt. “The new infirmary is configured to optimize the way the facility is used,” explained architect David Thompson, who worked on both the Congdon and Mac House renovations. “Ninety percent of the services provided here are outpatient; that naturally shaped the design of the facility.” There are two exam rooms, a waiting area, offices, and a dispensary around the main foyer, with patient rooms down a hallway and away from the hub, for privacy and comfort. Each room has beds, a sink, and soft lighting for healing and relaxation. The effect is a warm but professional environment, reminiscent of a neighborhood physician’s office. “We wanted to create a space that not only met state regulations, but that also elevated the space aesthetically,” noted Thompson. “It was important that it not feel like a normal hospital environment.” HDT also underwent substantial renovation, though less obviously so: Much of the work done in the living space was groundwork for the massive facelift the dorm will get next summer. “The amount of work coordinated here was huge,” said Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 during a recent tour of the updated dormitory. “Much of the work done here was infrastructure improvement for the next phase of this two-phase project.” Those infrastructure improvements include the installation of a flush-head sprinkler system, upgraded insulation in the exterior walls, new electrical components—including lighting and power—and an improved data system. Most significantly, the heating system was converted from steam to hot water. “The upgraded heating system was very badly needed,” noted Jim Shepard, Taft’s director of facilities. “It provides for more heating zones throughout the building, giving us better control of heat distribution.” It also eliminated the old, bulky radiators from each dorm room. The units have been replaced by sleeker components with a European flair that pair aesthetically with the complete Phase II room renovations planned for next summer. “The Phase II work will be comparable in quality to what we have done in Congdon and Mac House, but will keep the original character of HDT,” said Shepard. The summer 2015 project with perhaps the broadest impact was the refurbishment of Bingham Auditorium. The light fixtures were removed and sent out for cleaning, the luster of the wood walls was revived and restored, the beauty of the ceilings rejuvenated and preserved, and windows enhanced with remotely controlled window treatments that include blackout shades. The most dramatic change, however, was the installation of new, custom seating. Every chair in the auditorium was replaced. An adapted installation configuration allowed for a much-needed net gain of 22 theater seats; Bingham now has a seating capacity of 592. “Bingham has always been one of the more beautiful spots,” said Shepard. “But preserving the wood and ceilings was a challenge. The work that was done here this summer really brought the original beauty back to the space.” The former Alumni and Development Office, with Wade House attached, was also completely renovated this summer, and converted to two faculty residences. j Health Center Renovations Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 21 Around the POND New York Times bestselling author, clinical psychologist, and school consultant Dr. Michael Thompson visited campus in September, the first of three visits he will make to Taft this year. Thompson spent time talking with both faculty and students. His work is focused on topics that include the emotional lives of boys, friendships and social cruelty in childhood, the impact of summer camp experiences on child development, the tensions that arise in parent-teacher relationships, and psychological aspects of school leadership. j Faculty members David Dethlefs, Kerry Bracco, and Matt Mullane traveled to Guatemala this summer with 16 students, marking Taft’s eighth service trip to the country. This year’s group built four houses in addition to other service projects (and challenge soccer matches!) in association with The God’s Child Project. Once the houses were finished, the group traveled to Lake Atitlán and the indigenous market at Chichicastenango. Along the way they visited the Mayan ruins at Iximche. j m Tafties showed their true colors during the annual and beloved “Super Sunday” celebration. The tradition helps start each new year with a spirit of collegiality and fun. Perennial favorites like the Crisco slide, egg toss, three-legged race, human pyramid, and tug-of-war continue to bring students together. j Taft Earns Accolades for Going Green LED Initiative Underway The newest rankings published by the Environmental Protection Agency place Taft at No. 4 on the list of the top 30 K-12 schools participating in the Green Power Partnership. The Partnership, which currently has more than 1,400 members, is a voluntary program that helps organizations secure electricity generated from renewable sources; it also provides support for groups working to expand and promote their green power leadership. The top 30 list represents the largest green power users among the Partnership’s K-12 member schools; rankings are updated quarterly. The combined green power used by this group totals more than 103 million kilowatt-hours of green power each year, which translates to roughly the same amount of electricity used by 10,000 average American homes. Since 2010, Taft has been purchasing 100 percent of its electricity as green power. According to the EPA, Taft’s annual green power usage of more than 4.5 million kilowatt-hours is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 22 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 of nearly 700 passenger vehicles per year, or the CO2 emissions from the electricity use of nearly 500 average American homes annually. Taft’s newest green initiative began in earnest earlier this year and involves replacing all lighting on campus with LED fixtures and components. LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, can be more efficient, durable, versatile, and longer lasting than traditional lighting. “The installation of the LED lighting will save the school over $200,000 each year in electricity usage costs, with additional savings in avoided maintenance,” said Gil Thornfeldt, Taft’s CFO and business manager. “We were able to get a zero percent interest loan from Wells Fargo to initiate the project. The cost savings we will realize, in conjunction with supplier incentives, make this a self-funding project; it will pay for itself in the next four years.” Thornfeldt also notes that Taft is the first prep school to move completely to LED components. Both Hotchkiss and Canterbury have made smaller-scale LED conversions. j m The girls’ cross country team wrapped up their preseason-training week this year with a community service trip to Waterbury’s Acts 4 Ministry, a nondenominational, charitable organization that offers comfort while supporting the physical needs of families and individuals in financial distress in the Greater Waterbury area. Acts 4 Ministry distributes clothing to nearly 4,000 people each year, and provides over 1,000 pieces of furniture and housewares. The Taft runners helped sort through donations— folding clothes, organizing housewares, and testing donated electronics. j “Recognize that hard work matters, have grit and perseverance, and get off to a good start,” Headmaster William R. MacMullen ’78 advised new students during his welcome address on move-in day, Wednesday, September 9. Nearly 200 new students joined the Taft community this year, selected from a pool of more than 1,700 applicants. In all, 594 students hailing from 33 states and 47 countries bring their talent, diversity, passions, and enthusiasm to campus. j Deep roots aren’t only about olive trees winding through the earth on an island for 500 to 1,000 years, or grapevines being pruned and thriving on five vineyards in the Southern Hemisphere. For two Taft alumni, roots are both inherited and embraced. Liz Barratt-Brown ’77 restored her family’s historic olive oil estate, and Alex Huber ’83 has created a new business in winemaking. Roots run deep for both, and their roll-up-your-sleeves commitment is starting to reap benefits that are both tangible and internally rewarding. rooted in place from ancient olive trees on mallorca to lush vineyards in chile rooted grounding a life among olive trees and sheep by Linda Hedman Beyus w The historic stone olive press or tafona, which presses esportins (flat baskets) filled with mash under the oak beam for the final pressing. Liz Barratt-Brown ’77 gathers some garden greens at her family’s 13th-century working finca on Mallorca. ith its ancient olive trees, a watch tower and aqueduct built by the Moors (still carrying water), and traditional ways of harvesting, Liz BarrattBrown’s finca deserves the care she and her family have given it for 40 years. Pedruxella Gran, which means “place among the stones, sits high on a mountainside in Mallorca, Spain, and is the passion and business of Liz Barratt-Brown ’77. Several months each year, Barratt-Brown, together with her husband and their children, is there to work as well as unwind. The large working estate overlooking the Mediterranean has as many facets to it as the jagged mountains around it. The property is a certified organic farm, an olive oil estate, an inn and conference facility, and is home to an organic farming volunteer program off-season. “We work hard to respect nature and reduce our impact,” says Barratt-Brown, about their life and business at Pedruxella. Barratt-Brown has worked for many years as an environmental attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in the United States, and now serves as a senior advisor. Her dual-country work and home life has been going on since she and her husband took over the property in 1997, and they’ve put in years of upgrading the estate. Guests can rent houses on the property when the farming program is quieter, and some spaces may be rented for events. “My late British father, Hilary Barratt-Brown, and American stepmother, Patricia, made Pedruxella their home after falling in love with Mallorca in the mid-1970s,” Barratt-Brown says. “He spent a good part of the next 25 years of his life restoring the property, including the ancient olive press. He loved Pedruxella—its history, its tranquility, and the immersion in nature.” Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 27 rooted “After decades of battling some of our most contentious environmental challenges, I can look around me on Mallorca and feel that I am still in the nature that has surrounded this place for over thousands of years.” The vista from Pedruxella Gran over the Val d’en March, an area so unique it is a UNESCO Heritage Site. An olive tree at Pedruxella—many are 500 years old and some are as old as 1,000 years. The working estate produces a high-quality, artisanal extra virgin oil that is organic and “slow food” registered. Situated on the south-facing slope above the Val d’en March, its terraces get plenty of sun and are protected from weather. The estate’s roots date back to the 13th century when terraces were built and olive trees planted. The area is so unique that it is now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of the olive trees are 500 to 1,000 years old. Pedruxella Gran is one of the last olive estates on the island to operate its own ancient tafona or olive press. (Its olive press, aqueduct, and Moorish Tower are included in Spain’s historic catalog.) During the fall olive season, it hosts tafonas, or olive pressings, for friends and guests. The day starts with traditional olive collecting on the farm, using nets and long sticks, and ends with a pa amb oli, a Mallorquin dish of farm bread, tomatoes, garlic, salt, and the oil freshly made by stone and oak beam presses. The key to Pedruxella Gran’s uniqueness is that it has preserved a way of making oil that is rapidly disappearing. “Around us, the ancient trees are either abandoned or are pulled out to make way for younger, more productive trees that can be mechanically harvested,” Barratt-Brown says. The estate supports a herd of Mallorquin sheep, wild and domesticated goats, and carob trees. The farm also has fields for growing feed for the sheep, a large vegetable garden, fruit trees, and grapevines. And their farm manager, Tolo, does a superb job keeping everything going on the estate, she says. Barratt-Brown and her husband collaborate with World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), a global organization that links people who want to volunteer on organic farms with those who are looking for volunteer help. Over the past nine years, more than 200 volunteers— including Taft alums Casey Nolen Jackson ’77 and Evelyn Windhager-Swanson ’77 and their families—have come from around the world to work at Pedruxella Gran. Friends and guests assist with the olive harvest during a special fall tafona or olive-pressing gathering. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 29 rooted Over that time, we not only made significant upgrades and renovations to the house and property, but we started to put our imprint on its long history. We bottled and labeled our olive oil then, and we launched our volunteer program through WWOOF. We also decided to do more to make the farm available for events and for holiday rentals. Basically, we started down the long road to make it the self-sufficient enterprise it needs to be. We often joke about the myriad of books about buying the quaint little farm in southern France or Italy and restoring it. Well, those houses or farms are all on a few acres. Our farm is on over 600 acres. I guess that is why we haven’t had time to write one of those books!” We asked Barratt-Brown a few questions about her life on and off Pedruxella Gran: When you inherited the property from your father, were you sure you would want to continue overseeing and owning it? An interior courtyard at Pedruxella Gran, with the Moorish tower on the left. Center: High up in the “place among the stones,” Barratt-Brown takes in the views. An abcMallorca Production 30 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 “I visited my father many times over the years but I had never really put myself in his shoes. I had little understanding of how the farm worked and spoke no Spanish. The first few years were hard. In the beginning, I felt an obligation to carry on his vision. I missed my dad, and this was also a way of keeping him alive. The interesting thing is that we concluded around [that] time that we should sell the farm. I had recently married and had two little babies. And I was still working full time for NRDC, so it just didn’t seem practical to be in a long-distance relationship with a large working farm. Then, as a result of the feedback from prospective buyers that it was too big a project, we decided to move there and focus on the farm with 100 percent of our time and energy [for a given period of time]. We thought we would be there a year, but it stretched longer. What is it like to have a dual home and work life in two countries? It has to be a huge challenge. “In many ways, it has been a huge challenge, but it has also made our family life much richer and stronger. Our children grew up scaling rocks and ledges on our mountaintop and were left to explore on their own from an early age. They grew up with a house full of guests and volunteers from around the world, who would join our family to pick olives and help on the farm. They were plunked full immersion into summer camps and schools where Mallorquin (a dialect of Catalan) was the only language spoken. There is no doubt in my mind that it has fundamentally shaped who they are today. For many environmental activists, it is hard to find peace in the nature that we are fighting to preserve. Spain has given me that lovely place where I can relax and be at peace. I have my hands in our green garden or am chasing after sheep that need to be corralled, or am hitting olive trees with sticks while surrounded by friends and family, something so rooted in time and place that that grounding comes back to ground me too. After decades of battling some of our most contentious environmental challenges, I can look around me [on Mallorca] and feel that I am still in the nature that has surrounded this place for over thousands of years. When I inherited the farm, I had already worked for nearly two decades for NRDC, [which] gave me a lot of flexibility that I might not have had in another job. My team at NRDC is incredibly understanding, and we make the most of my time when I am in D.C. Luckily, the issues I have worked most on over the last nearly 10 years—tar sands oil and the Keystone XL pipeline—have somehow worked timing-wise with my need to be in Spain. That is not to say I haven’t had moments when I have been on a call with a [Capitol] Hill staffer or reporter [who may] think I am in D.C., when in fact I am searching for phone coverage outside one of our ancient stone houses whose thick walls preclude cell coverage. Instead of [being] in an office, I am instead looking up at falcons and eagles flying overhead and hoping that some wild goat doesn’t snort (they are big snorters). It’s a trade-off that on most days I am glad I have to make.” j Learn more about Pedruxella Gran at www.pedruxella.com. “ We not only made significant upgrades and renovations to the house and property, but we started to put our imprint on its long history.” rooted Alex Huber ’83 building a business from vine to bottle by Lori Ferguson I InVina’s modern facility houses its fermentation, aging, and bottling facilities, all aimed at capturing the flavors and complexity of its diverse vineyard production. Alex Huber ’83 in one InVina’s five robust vineyards in Chile’s Maule Valley. t takes only a few minutes of conversation with vintner Alex Huber ’83 to realize that this is an individual who thrives on variety. As managing partner of InVina, a family-owned winery and five vineyards scattered across 900 acres in Talca, Chile—a thriving wine region approximately 150 miles south of the capital city of Santiago—Huber is as likely to face questions about malbec and merlot as he is about spider mites and sustainability, and he couldn’t be happier. “I’ve always been a jack of all trades, master of none,” Huber says with a chuckle, “so running a vineyard and winery is the ideal job for me. I have a wide array of issues to master and manage and a tremendous amount of things to get done each day, which I love. The job is extremely fulfilling.” Huber came to the wine business in a roundabout way. Born in Argentina to American parents, Huber was raised in Brazil and Japan and educated in the United States. After earning a bachelor’s degree in history and diplomacy from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and an MBA from Columbia, he worked briefly in the financial sector, spent time as an administrator with United Nations Peacekeeping operations in Cambodia, Mozambique, and Guatemala, and then returned to Brazil as a management consultant. He was living in São Paulo when his father broached the idea of launching a winemaking business in Chile. A short time later, the family became minority founding partners of VIA Wines and in 2001, Huber left the consulting world and joined the VIA team on-site in Chile, bringing his managerial expertise to the fast-growing organization. Living on the vineyard, Huber became increasingly interested in the grape-growing side of the business, and when he and his family were presented with an opportunity to create something wholly their own, they jumped at it. In 2007, they founded InVina and have never looked back. Huber has lived in Chile with his wife and two children year-round for more than 14 years now, Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 33 rooted “ We have ample rainfall from snowmelt in the Andes, and our summers are very dry, with cool nights and very warm days, conditions that help to concentrate flavors in the grapes.” and he says they’re unlikely to move anytime soon. His father and brother, both InVina investors, visit the country three or four times a year. “This region is ideal for growing grapes and making wines,” Huber explains. “The winters aren’t extremely cold, so we don’t lose vines; we have ample rainfall from snowmelt in the Andes; and our summers are very dry, with cool nights and very warm days, conditions that help to concentrate flavors in the grapes.” Land in Chile also costs a fraction of what it does in other parts of the world, Huber notes, so owning vineyards and operating a winery there is even more appealing. “The wine industry is extremely vertically integrated—there are very few industries where the farmer who scrapes the earth is also the 34 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 individual putting the product on the table,” Huber points out, “but that’s the way it is for many in the wine business—the grape producer is telling the story.” This isn’t always the case, Huber says. There are many different avenues to involvement in the industry: some people grow the grapes, but don’t make any wine, while others make wine from grapes purchased elsewhere, and still others simply bottle and label the finished product. But at InVina, Huber and his team participate in every step of the process. “I’m involved at every level, from growing vines and making wines to selling the product and managing the marketing and finances for InVina,” Huber says. On a recent trip back to the U.S., for example, Huber spent several days traveling around Massachusetts with A view of the Batuco Vineyard in Maule’s coastal range, known for its deep clay soils, and warm days, with cool afternoon sea breezes and cold nights. InVina’s vineyard workers harvesting lush fruit. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 35 rooted “ I want to grow the company wisely, and our family believes deeply in the quality of Chilean wines.” the sales team for one of his distributors, talking with store owners about InVina’s lines and offering insights into the quality and diversity of the wines produced in the Maule Valley. “Any given day can be filled with many different tasks, and I find that variety incredibly compelling.” InVina offers consumers an exciting range of wines, Huber proudly notes, including many international award winners such as the Sierra Batuco Gran Reserva Lone Rider 2011, named a 2014 Gold Medal & Best Buy winner by the Beverage Testing Institute; and the Luma Chequén Reserva Carménère 2012, a 2014 Double Gold winner and recipient of the Best Carménère (94 points) at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. For those unfamiliar with InVina’s offerings, Huber recommends starting with wines that possess clear varietal characteristics, such as a sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, or carménère, a varietal that he explains is now virtually unique to Chile. “Our sauvignon blancs are delightful, with familiar herbal, grass, and citrus notes, and our Chilean pinot noirs are wonderful as well, a bit different than American pinot noirs, which tend to be more robust. And of course, the carménère is not to be missed.” While Huber is understandably proud of the quality wines he and his family create, he also concedes that making good wine does not guarantee success. “Great winemaking is just the beginning; you also have to package, market, and sell your product. Getting started in the industry is relatively easy—if you’ve got money to spend, you can buy a vineyard or a winery and turn out great wines.” But the marketplace is extremely competitive, Huber continues, so even though you have a good product and space on the shelf, you may not be selling enough wine to make a living. “The choices are so varied that I think it’s difficult for the average consumer to understand—it’s even difficult for me, and this is what I do! Many people have a romantic idea about winemaking, but at the end of the day, it’s a business, and you must understand this if you hope to succeed.” Huber never loses sight of this fact, and under his watchful eye, InVina is thriving. In less than a Far left: InVina’s crew brings in the harvest at El Peral Vineyard, usually from late February to mid-May. Bottom left: Vines before the quiet, dormant season at Batuco Vineyard. 36 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 decade, the winery has built an international customer base and is profitable—company assets have doubled over the course of the last five years—and in 2013, the Hubers built a state-of-the-art winery, complete with a full bottling and labeling line as well as sufficient storage to age their wines on-site. Now that the foundation is solid, Huber is starting to think about the next phase of operations. He’s increasingly delegating authority for day-to-day growing and winemaking operations to other members of his team and turning more of his attention to the marketing and sales side of the business. “My goal is to create value for our shareholders, and at this point, the best way to do that is to increase our market strength, probably through some sort of consolidation with another winery.” That said, Huber says no immediate changes are in the cards. “I want to grow the company wisely,” he concludes. “Our family believes deeply in the quality of Chilean wines, and we plan to be producing them for years to come.” j Lori Ferguson is a freelance writer based in southern New Hampshire. Photos courtesy of InVina. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 37 “Having the opportunity to work with thoughtful and creative young minds is inspiring to us.” —Dr. Barbara Thiers, NYBG in bloom A Thriving Collaboration Between Taft and The New York Botanical Garden By Debra Meyers he end of the 19th century was a time of great innovation in both science and the arts. From the discovery of radioactivity and X-rays, to the publication of literary classics penned by the likes of Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling, and Thomas Hardy, the 1890s brought scientific advancement and cultural evolution to new and lasting heights. It was in this age— this context—that Horace Dutton Taft began preparing young men for well-rounded lives of intellectual, artistic, and athletic achievement. Taft’s mission to “educate the whole boy” was the heart and soul of life at his school in The William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, the centerpiece of NYBG’s botanical research program, is the fourth largest herbarium in the Pelham Manor, New York. world and the largest in the Western Hemisphere, with a collection of more than seven million preserved specimens, some of which were collected by Taft student interns. ROBERT BENSON The iconic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 39 in bloom reach though a partnership between NYBG and Taft, and the short walk from the train station became a long journey toward a compelling collaboration. “Even in those early conversations we had a fairly clear idea of what we thought the partnership should look like,” explains Mori. “The components we envisioned are the components that are, for the most part, in place today.” Parvis and Mori talked about a lecture series at Taft featuring NYBG scientists. They envisioned regular lectures on topics that complemented work being done in Taft’s classrooms, and an internship program that would allow Taft students to engage in real-world research at the Garden. They also talked about eco-travel programs led by NYBG experts. Before his Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 1. www.nybg.org first day on the job at Taft, Parvis pitched the idea to Development Director Chris Latham. An enthusiastic Latham took it to Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 and Science Department Head Jim Lehner. “Everyone was wholeheartedly intrigued by the idea,” says Parvis. “It bodes well for the school to be aligned with one of the best research and education institutions in the world. It demonstrates not only the tremendous opportunities available to Taft students, but also the esteemed position Taft enjoys in the larger community.” While Parvis worked to grow support for the partnership at Taft, Mori was busy with legwork at the Garden. He spoke with his colleagues and supervisors, including the Garden’s CEO and President Gregory Long. All agreed that it was an excellent concept. “We were excited about the idea of a partnership with the Taft School because education is a primary commitment of our Science Division, in order to mold the next generation of plant scientists,” says Dr. Barbara Thiers, the Garden’s vice president for science administration. “Most of our educational activities involve students at the graduate level, R.F. Naczi share and complement their efforts,” says Taft Director of Planned Giving Paul Parvis. “It makes good sense for two organizations that are both very keen about opportunities in education to join forces.” Parvis came to Taft in the fall of 2010, after spending four and a half years as director of planned giving at The New York Botanical Garden. During that time, he not only came to know the scope of the science and the breadth of the educational resources that defined the Garden, but Parvis also came to know NYBG scientist Dr. Scott Mori. On their daily walks from the train station to the office, the two would talk about the Garden’s reach in the community. With Parvis moving on to Taft and the daily walks nearing an end, the talk turned to expanding the Garden’s Natasha Batten ’15 spent time working on several “mini projects,” with the goal of understanding the genetic basis of fruit diversity. During the first summer, Batten focused on the structural elements of fruits using classical botanical techniques. Last summer she focused on the molecular side, which involved extracting DNA, cloning, subcloning, and sequence analysis. Batten, who is now studying chemical and biological engineering at MIT, believes that her time at NYBG will be important moving forward. “The experience gave me a good introduction to molecular genetics. Though the work was with plants, the principles are really universal and will extend to human biology,” says Batten. “This experience has been an integral step in my academic and career path.” 40 Camila Jingchen Jiang —Paul Parvis, Taft School Camila Jingchen Jiang Around the same time, and not more than a few miles down the road, another visionary leader was laying the groundwork for what would, like Mr. Taft’s School, become an iconic and enduring institution, “distinguished by the beauty of its landscape” and the “excellence of its programs.”1 Inspired by the Royal Botanic Gardens near London, England, Columbia University botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton and his wife, Elizabeth, led a public campaign to establish what would become The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). In 1891, the Garden was chartered as a private, nonprofit corporation, on grounds owned by the city of New York. Now, 125 years since their founding, Taft School and The New York Botanical Garden have risen in prominence and expanded their missions, while fulfilling the promise of their founders. They have also come together in a unique partnership that brings NYBG scientists to the Taft campus and opens Garden doors for Taft students to work and to learn. “It seems fitting that two premier institutions should come together to “It bodes well for the school to be aligned with one of the best research and education institutions in the world. It demonstrates not only the tremendous opportunities available to Taft students, but also the esteemed position Taft enjoys in the larger community.” From field to physical file, Camila Jiang ’14 collected, processed, and created permanent records for more than 50 plant specimens during the summer of 2013. Herbarium records give Jiang sole credit for indentifying several specimens, including the Viburnum dilatatum (above), a perennial shrub in the Caprifoliaceae family. Opened in 2002, the Steere Herbarium is the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and is home to 7.3 million plant and fungi specimens, of which 2.3 million are currently digitized and searchable through the Virtual Herbarium system. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 41 in bloom and so extending our outreach to high school students contributes to one of our core missions. Having the opportunity to work with thoughtful and creative young minds is inspiring to us.” Between late 2010 and early 2012, Parvis and Mori worked in earnest to build a foundation and structure for the partnership. Meetings, site visits, and conference calls gave way to detailed proposals, action plans, and, finally, in February of 2012, the first event that cemented the pathway between Taft and the Garden: the debut of the scientific lecture series at Taft. Mori, then the Nathaniel Lord Britton Curator of Botany at The New York Botanical Garden, delivered the inaugural lecture. Around the same time, science teacher Laura Monti ’89 was working with a group of eight Taft students engaged in an independent, biomedical research tutorial. “Because of our relationship with NYBG, I was able to tour the Garden a few months earlier with other Taft teachers,” explains Monti. “I thought my students would also appreciate seeing a modern lab doing leading edge research, especially from a different perspective than the biomedical angle they more commonly see.” Monti arranged for the group to visit the Garden, where they had access to sights most of NYBG’s nearly one million visitors each year rarely get to see, including the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium and the molecular genetics lab in the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory. The seeds Parvis and Mori had sown were not only taking root, but beginning to grow, one bloom nurturing the next: Dr. Amy Litt was the tour guide for Monti’s group; Litt later traveled to Taft as a lecture series speaker. Inspired by what she heard during that lecture, Natasha Batten ’15 wrote to Litt to inquire about internship opportunities at NYBG; Batten spent the next two summers interning at the Garden. And the synergistic growth continues. To date, Taft has hosted seven lectures featuring Garden scientists—now 42 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 “ The Pfizer lab is a fantastic ” place to work notes Ezra Levy ’15. “There aren’t many labs in the world populated with a community of scientists so invested in both their work and the work of their mentees, be they graduate students or summer interns. I will be hard-pressed to find another lab so comfortable to work in, flooded with natural light, with a beautiful view over part of the Garden. “I hope my time at the Garden will be useful not only for me but for other scientists who may benefit from my tidbit of work. The project should help improve some results collected in the field, as it would nearly eliminate the need for transporting lab materials, while collating the same data more quickly and just as effectively. As for me, there is no question that my internship this summer has helped to shape my notions of what I want to accomplish in college and in a career in the sciences. I am exceedingly grateful to Taft, The New York Botanical Garden, and everyone involved in their partnership for this opportunity.” sponsored by the Yerkes Family Botanical Art and Sciences Speakers Fund—with several more scheduled for the current academic year. In February of each year, Monti takes students to visit the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and the Garden’s molecular labs. Which is where Ezra Levy ’15 met Dr. Damon Little, with whom he interned this past summer. “The internship is both the most complex and most successful component of the partnership,” explains Mori, who, along with Dr. Robert Naczi, the Arthur J. Cronquist Curator of North American Botany, mentored Taft’s first NYBG intern, Camila Jingchen Jiang ’14. Jiang spent the summer of 2013 helping to build a botanical inventory of plant life found at the Zofnass Family Preserve of the Westchester County Land Trust, near Bedford Hills, New York. Assigned to ferns, mosses, and lichens, Jiang not only collected and processed fertile specimens, but created a detailed and permanent record of each new specimen she found, scanning and photographing the plants, recording GPS coordinates for the plant locations, and in some cases, mounting, barcoding, and labeling her finds. Jiang’s records live physically in the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, and electronically in the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium. Like the 2.3 million digitized specimens housed in the Virtual Herbarium, Jiang’s specimens are searchable by scientists and others throughout the world. Jiang’s successful internship solidified the program, opening doors for future interns. Natasha Batten ’15 spent the past two summers working with Dr. Barbara Ambrose, associate curator of plant genomics, while Ezra Levy ’15 was mentored by Cullman Associate Curator of Bioinformatics Dr. Damon Little. Batten’s research projects were designed to expand scientific knowledge of the molecular genetic basis for plant diversity. Levy hoped to improve options for collecting plant samples. For seven weeks, Levy worked on devising a rapid DNA extractor for use by botanists in the field. Isolating plant DNA usually takes place in a laboratory, where equipment, like the centrifuges needed to separate DNA from tissue, is readily available. Preserving sensitive samples between field and lab may also require specialized treatment, like refrigeration. Levy’s work involved developing a buffer solution that would Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 43 in bloom Dr. Scott Mori, right, of The New York Botanical Garden, with artist Michael Rothman at Taft’s Potter Gallery show, Fields and Forests Afar: A New York Botanical Garden Scientific Expedition through Illustration. defer the need for that equipment in the field by allowing scientists to sample plant DNA at collection, and preserve its stability for later sequencing. “I prepared solutions, tested them on plant samples, then recorded and interpreted the data,” Levy explains. “I needed to consider how chemicals optimize the pH or the buffer-base of the solution, and how solutions affect plants of different varieties, textures, chemistries, or morphologies. It was an opportunity for exposure to real-world science—to effectively move beyond the classroom.” And Levy’s work could have far-reaching implications for field researchers. “Researchers are always trying to find a more efficient way to do our research,” said Little. “The protocol that Ezra is developing will provide a faster and cheaper option.” Now in its third year, the partnership between Taft and The New York Botanical Garden has never been stronger, or had more support. Donors, including Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78, Linda and Andy Safran ’71, and the Yerkes family, have stepped forward to fund student “We are eager to build on the successes of the past three years, for the benefit of both Taft students and The New York Botanical Garden. It’s a win-win scenario that we hope will continue.” —Dr. Robert Naczi, NYBG internships. The Yerkes family has also established the Yerkes Family Botanical Art and Sciences Speakers Fund, which has sponsored all seven lectures to date, and which ensures the continuity and longevity of the program. And while the ecotourism component of the partnership envisioned by Parvis and Mori remains in development, new opportunities have been added to the mix, including an exhibition of botanical art in the Mark W. Potter ’48 Gallery. Known for both the beauty and scientific accuracy of his work, artist Michael Rothman travels the world with NYBG scientists documenting their field discoveries. Taft’s curated exhibition marked the first time Rothman’s work was collectively shown. There have also been changes. Mori has retired, turning the partnership reigns over to Naczi. “We are eager to build on the successes of the past three years, for the benefit of both Taft students and The New York Botanical Garden,” Lecythis pisonis Pollination in French Guiana by Michael Rothman was commissioned by Dr. Scott Mori and exhibited in the artist’s month-long show at Taft’s Potter Gallery. said Naczi. “It’s a win-win scenario that we hope will continue.” It is that win-win scenario—the give and take of the program—that all involved recognize as the deepest value of the relationship. “The true intent of the partnership is to give a new generation access to the science and the scientists, and in doing so, foster an interest in science; we hope to transfer, in some measure, these ‘gifts’ from one generation to the next,” explains Parvis. “I think we have done that, and done it well.” j Photography by Robert Falcetti and courtesy of The New York Botanical Garden Taft’s Paul Parvis with Rain Forest Canopy in Central French Guiana, which artist Michael Rothman gave to the Taft School after his 2012 exhibit in Potter Gallery; the print is now displayed in the Lady Ivy Kwok Wu Science and Mathematics Center. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 45 Tales of a Taftie Ambulances frequently transported the wounded at Tales of a Taftie night, without headlights, over treacherous roads. The Ford Model Ts were reconfigured to carry three stretchers or four ambulatory patients, though they often held many more. Archives of the American By Julie Reiff Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs George Ripley Cutler, Class of 1912 Of Battles Long Ago: Memoirs of an American Ambulance Driver in World War I Corporal G. Ripley Cutler wearing the Croix de Guerre in 1919 46 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 In December 1916, as a graduate student at Yale studying English and music theory, G. Ripley Cutler signed on to be an ambulance driver in France. A ROTC student at Yale as an undergraduate, he’d had six weeks of basic military training in 1915 and was fluent in French, but the first thing he’d have to do when he arrived in Paris was learn to drive. Although Ford had introduced its Model T in 1908, most Americans still didn’t own cars. And since the United States had not yet entered the war, he joined the American Field Service (AFS), a private philanthropy created in 1914 to help the war effort. American volunteers were attached to French army units. They were expected to buy their own uniforms and pay their own travel expenses to Europe. The French army provided housing and meals (although Cutler frequently sought out local markets and cafes to supplement the often meager fare). Arriving in France in April 1917, Cutler would serve far longer than his six-month tour, receiving his U.S. Army discharge in April 1919. By the time U.S. troops arrive, Cutler reports that he felt “felt more like a French veteran than an American private.” Although he appreciated the local expertise of the French soldiers—or poilus, as French infantryman were known—they were tired after three years of war. “Having steeled themselves to regard their own lives and deaths as a matter of no consequence, they applied the same philosophy to everybody else. The effect of a long war is not galvanizing,” he wrote, “but paralyzing.” (page 80) Ambulance drivers were usually stationed a few kilometers away from the fighting and shuttled the wounded from aid posts back to the hospitals. Although they could hear and even see German artillery, their days were often routine. Only once did Cutler encounter a gas attack, a diffused one that caused no damage. Seeking adventure, Cutler and some friends walked to the front on their day off in hopes of seeing the actual trenches. When they reached the trenches, or boyaux, an “amiable and courteous” captain offered them the best coffee they’d tasted outside of Paris and happily provided them with a guide. The driving, however, was treacherous. Finding the way through unknown villages, landmarks often destroyed, to the front (without overrunning the aid posts and winding up at the trenches. Frequently in the dark, with no headlights, over muddy roads pockmarked by artillery and bridges only wide enough for a single vehicle. Flat tires, broken fan belts and other mechanical woes could strand a driver—and his passengers—in less than ideal locations. Cutler made another run to the front at Les Tueries on what seemed a quiet day, to transport a number of walking wounded back to the main hospital. Just as he turned the ambulance around there came a whistle: “…this time with a frightful crescendo. We dove out and crouched by the roadside. There was no place to hide. The next few seconds were nothing but noise and smell, crashes of explosions, a highpitched ringing in the ears, an acrid hot sulphuric smell. Three shells broke, one in the middle of the road. I vividly recall the fine view I had of the nearest explosion—an eruption of mud instantly engulfed in a cloud of black smoke.” (page 210) One of the stretcher-bearers was killed. Only back in the dugout did Cutler realize he himself was hit. The wound seeming minor, he asked to stay on duty, but a doctor sent him back with the gas patients. After being X-rayed (“a prickly process”) the surgeon gave Cutler an injection of cocaine before operating. A few days later, a French lieutenant came by “to present a small piece of dry goods”—the French Croix de Guerre. In the end, Cutler estimates the total number of wounded he transported at more than 500. He saw three major engagements—the French offensive at Verdun in 1917, the German breakthrough to the Marne in May 1918, and the Franco-American offensive in the fall of 1918. The two units in which he served both received citations for bravery. Cutler later married and became an investment counselor, living in Massachusetts and Maine. His nephew Charles Knickerbocker edited the final transcript of the memoir, which was finally published in 1979, 60 years after Cutler’s return from France. j Sources: Of Battles Long Ago: Memoirs of an American Ambulance Driver in World War I and American Field Service Archives, www.afs.org. What successful Taftie, no longer living, would you like to see profiled in this space? Send your suggestions to [email protected]. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 47 Alumni notes two-masted schooner, and visited some old haunts dear to us—particularly the town of Friendship, where we first met in 1946. The weather was just about perfect, and we all had a great time. It meant a lot to us, particularly because long-distance travel is getting more difficult for us, and it may have been our last long trip.” A call to the home of Bob Lewis brought the unwelcome news of his passing last Nov. (see In Memoriam). 1945 Class Secretary: John C. Carson, 1703 Soledad Ave., La Jolla, CA 92037-3819, [email protected] Alumni Notes 1940 Geg Buttenheim sent a reminiscence, especially for any Princeton-alum Tafties: Geg and teammate Dick Bender won the Eastern Intercollegiate tennis tournament in 1942 and acquired enough points to retire the tournament’s team trophy to Princeton for permanent residence. 1942 Head Class Agent: Cheves McC. Smythe, 1 Bishop Gadsden Way, Apt. 103, Charleston, SC 29412-3506, [email protected] 1943 Head Class Agent: Ted Pratt, 171 Newtown Tpke., Westport, CT 06880-1019 48 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 1944 Class Secretary: Baaron B. Pittenger Jr., 4930 Newstead Pl., Colorado Springs, CO 809065977, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Jack Lyman, 33 Lyman Rd., Middlefield, CT 06455-0453, [email protected] The 90s club keeps growing. Herb Frisbie, Del Ladd, and Bill King are the latest additions. Del reports that his children put together a family celebration in Sept. He’s doing OK, although dealing with diabetes, and enjoying the warmth of Fla., where he plans to stay. Bill King celebrated his 90th on Martha’s Vineyard in mid-Aug. Bill and his wife, Barbara, had a “superb” seven-day cruise across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary from Brooklyn to Southampton. Crew, food, and lectures all great, he reports—“highly recommended.” They followed the cruise with two days in the Cotswolds and four days in London. See p. 87 for a photo of Bill King with several other Tafties at the Gasparilla Anyone know what year this photo (circa-1980) of the Taft girls’ hockey team was taken and why they were in Canada? We love those hats! The coach appears to be outnumbered. CP Air Inn in Boca Grande, Fla. Dud Blanchard’s summer was a busy one, the Cape being a magnet for many of his 22 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. He says it is wonderful because he and Barbara can stay put while family members parade through for most of July and Aug. Dud says he is living proof of his dad’s words that “Your legs are the first thing to go as you age.” Still walking, but “it ain’t easy.” Roger MacKinnon and wife Cynthia have focused their attention on their yard and house since his retirement in Jan., making many updates and changes. They planned to spend some summer time at his long-time beach house in Southold, way out on the North Fork of Long Island. They, too, have enjoyed visits from family members. Still in the early days of retirement, Roger spends considerable time thinking about his rewarding academic career. Bee and Rich Soderberg, accompanied by seven other family members, enjoyed a two-week vacation at a small hotel in Camden, Maine. “We hiked on several short trails, went on a Those of you who are packrats can understand the situation: 55 years in the same house, which contains files from Taft years to the present, and books which, in spite of donations to UCSD and La Jolla’s Athenaeum, would preclude the thought of moving to smaller quarters. I feel—almost— certain that it is a task I could complete in five years, or perhaps six years. Twenty-nine large, three-pronged notebooks are filed with this accumulation, in transparent sheet protectors and indexed. There are probably another 29 volumes to go. Every day is one of discovery as I find things forgotten for years—from reviews of Craig Claiborne’s cookbook, to the magic of the Cloisters at the Met, to obituaries of all kinds—the real reason the daily New York Times is a must—and documentation of the closing of Poughkeepsie’s Smith Brothers Co. cough drop factory. All Vassar devotees from the early 1950s will remember the Smith family’s restaurant that closed in 1957. There are fascinating letters from Paul Cruikshank in 1975 and from Edith Cruikshank in 1984, and an issue of the Taft Bulletin from 2000, which I had missed, and a submission by Jonathan Willson ’82—a Taft faculty member on sabbatical this year—on integration during his boyhood years. It was so well done. I wondered if he knew of Dixie Willson, sister of Meredith from The Music Man and author of Honey Bear, a story found in a P.F Volland volume, which is one of the treasures of children’s literature. And, not to be missed is Alexander Burnham’s “Okinawa, Harry Truman and the Atomic Bomb” in We Write for Our Own Time: Selected Essays from Seventy-Five Years of the Virginia Quarterly Review. Sir William Osler said that a library reflected the mind of its collector. Is anyone but me going to be interested in what amounts to many volumes of a commonplace book? Some months ago, before he retired as UCLA librarian, Gary Strong took a few of us through that great Lawrence Clark Powell edifice. He stopped at one section and said, “This is the room with the rented typewriters where Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451.” To everyone but me this meant something. And that was the week I discovered Ray Bradbury. And what a discovery! The title derives from the temperature at which books burn, and takes one back to Animal Farm and 1984. 1946/70th Reunion Class Secretary: Rev. P. Kingsley Smith, 8339 Carrbridge Circle, Baltimore, MD 21204-1814, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: John R. Welchli, 185 Earl Ct., Grosse Pointe, MI 48236 With our 70th Reunion coming up, our thoughts turn back to the wondrous events of June 6–7, 1946, with central Conn. garbed in spring. As the Papyrus reported, “The precommencement festivities…featured the Glee Club, directed by Mr. Morgan, concluding with Romberg’s stirring Stout-Hearted Men.” That song has been embedded in my brain ever since, perhaps because we did indeed go forth into the brave new postwar world. George Morgan was a memorable teacher, having been at Taft since 1923, playing at daily Vespers, conducting the orchestra, and giving lessons in many instruments as he tried to produce real music out of a gang of boys who were, to say the least, of mixed talents. He also opened the music room for students to listen to his great collection of classical 78 rpms (remember those?). Alan Ward, whose family seems to specialize in “twinning,” reports after his heart surgery, “My Calif. son came with his wife and three daughters, including twins, for a 10-day visit at my house on Cape Cod, followed by a weeklong visit by his twin brother, who heads the psychology department at Swarthmore. My other son, who lives locally, also came with his family, so I had lots of relatives to keep me entertained. [As for our reminiscences of our music teacher, Alan adds,] Mr. Morgan let me play the organ at Vespers a few times when he was away.” Jim McKelvey’s memory was not so positive: “I hated Mr. Morgan’s classical music classes, but not anymore! Tony Allerton stayed with Dixie and me while he attended an AA convention in Atlanta. Fun seeing each other after so long! I think he wants to go to the reunion. I am still OK and hope to go as well. I do recall many of those Taft names, especially Mr. Olmstead, who said I would be bald early—he was right on that one.” Tony also reported that he had gone to Calif. for his son’s wedding—no golf this time. Jackie and Ken Griggs are leading the quiet life in Palos Verdes, Calif., after his busy career as a neurologist, here and abroad, including China, with the Army, Germany, and at Walter Reed. He and Jackie met when he was at Univ. of Rochester Medical Center and she was in training as a medical artist and adds, “We literally courted over cadavers.” Leg and ankle ailments keep him on a walker, but they have children and grandchildren in the Bay area and he “sees lots of people, but not professionally anymore.” Dave Ward remembers VE Day, May 8, 1945, as much more solemn than celebratory—classes as usual, except one was replaced by a service at Christ Church. For us, WWII was far from over, and we were only a year short of being drafted ourselves. Instead, we “stout-hearted men” left Watertown in peace, seven decades ago! We scored a hat trick this issue—all of our Wards reported in: Alan, David, and, just in time, Albert Ward. After 30 years as a combat pilot with the Air Force, outdoing even Steve Canyon (you remember him, don’t you?), he had a number of government jobs. Now he is fully retired, even from golf. He and Emily are in a senior living facility in Harleysville, Pa., near their daughter and grandsons, and Emily’s hometown, Dover, Del. (also home of the big Air Force base). He remembers Taft fondly, especially Beanie Weld, who “labored mightily for me to graduate in two years” but he regrets that “Beanie did not teach me typing.” (We doubt if there are many of today’s students who don’t know their way around a QWERTY keyboard.) Finally, a sad note from Dave Wallace: After his wife, Betty, passed away a few years ago, he was blessed to fall in love with and marry an old friend and classmate of hers, Joella, merging their families. Sadly, Joella died in Aug. Now, still good looking as he is, at 87, he plans to stay single, but he has a good life with children, greats, and Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 49 Alumni Notes grands (four of them), all in the San Antonio area, raising horses and working on the Texas Transportation Museum, restoring both steam and diesel engines. 1947 Class Secretary: Robert D. Gries, Gries Investments, Suite 1600, 1801 E. Ninth St., Cleveland, OH 44114-3100, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Paul F. Bergmann Jr., 746 Ruddiman Dr., N. Muskegon, MI 49445-2876, [email protected] My urgent appeal produced an interesting life recap from John “Doc” Gibson and a brief note from Tom Daniel. Surely there must be some others of you alive and kicking but not responding. John writes, “After retiring as a VP of the Hartford Insurance Group in 1994, I spent the next 13 years as an unpaid Coast Guard Auxiliarist teaching at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. As a Taftie, I felt right at home. The student body was outstanding—the best 250 or so of 5,000 applicants—outstanding scholars, athletes, etc. Their scholastic discipline equaled what you and I experienced at Taft, as did their intolerance of losing on the athletic field. When they graduated, they had had an outstanding academic education, no student loans, and guaranteed employment for five years. Not a bad deal. I would have hired any of them for a business. Then (in my 80s) I took a job as an adjunct instructor at the local community college. What a culture shift. After scraping up the money, or loans, to attend, many of these students did their best not to get an education. Absences, tardiness, and poor homework habits for many of them. After five years I gave up. I hope Taft’s present students understand how blessed they are to have the ‘kind firm moulder’ experience.” Tom sent a note that he and his wife, Janet, are, “Hale and hearty and just back from the second of our grandchildren weddings as grandson Tim Marrs married Sara Binder in Calif. Yours truly is currently writing a book on his 104 athletic adventures in 43 countries on seven continents. After a toe amputation and a back operation at the end of last year, my writing skills exceed my athletic prowess, and whether there are more adventures in the future is still questionable.” 50 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Dave Fenton ’48 at the wedding of his granddaughter, Elizabeth Shepherd Bourgeois ’05. 1948 Class Secretary: Larry Leonard, 1 Salem St., Apt. 5, Swampscott, MA 01907-1314, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Dave Fenton, 119 Beechwood Dr., Oakland, CA 94618-2013, [email protected] Summers seem to fly by at the speed of sound. A mystery! A puzzlement! Something to do with age? The news from Lake Wobegon is that your scribe has signed on with a continuing care facility in Naples, Fla. After debating the issue for a while, Joan and I decided it was best if we took this step while we had reasonable control of our mental and physical abilities. We once could invite you for room and board; it now will be cocktails and dinner. The welcome door will still be open, so don’t hold back if you are in the area. Perhaps a small gathering of ’48 is possible in Fla. Pat and Bill Hatch expect to be in Vero Beach this Feb. and March. They both are in good shape and have endorsed our move, having joined a retirement community in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, three years ago. Dave Fenton said he was thinking of a Fla. trip in late Feb. or early March too. He writes that he and Jackie enjoyed the summer at Lake Tahoe and have plans to celebrate his 85th birthday in Carmel in Nov. with 18 family members. He didn’t mention inviting his 1948 classmates, but I’m sure we are welcome! See above for a photo of Dave at the marriage of his granddaughter, Liz Shepherd Bourgeois ’05. Other than serious bronchitis, a troublesome right foot, and still trying to master the French language, George Gershel from Switzerland comments, “As usual, life is peaceful here in the mountains, and I love the quiet and beauty of where we live.” He was off to London for a few days and then to Ohio in Nov. with family. George reports on becoming a great-grandfather of a little girl. He now has two great-grandchildren and, as he says, “Naturally this means more gifts.” Here is Bill Kissell’s take on my query on age: “I’m applauding little everyday dramas I wouldn’t have at another time of life: The dogs wrestling with abandon on the back lawn, the bluebird coming in for a landing— I’m home, kids! My grandson running with the bulls in Spain, a little girl stopping in the middle of a school crossing to hug the smiling guard, the dark shadow we brushed against while driving a Va. back road that turned out to be a black bear.” Interesting thoughts. I close these class notes with sadness having just learned of the passing of Peter Gardiner in July (see In Memoriam). 1949 Class Secretary: William E. Hoblitzelle III, 3108 N. Page Ave., Hernando, FL 344422977, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: James N. Baker, 777 Bluff St., Glencoe, IL 60022-1504, [email protected] Tap Pryor emailed early to respond to my regular pitch for updates from the class, when I, your scribe, wrote, “I know it is hard sometimes when it seems that the ruts we’re in can’t be of interest to anyone else.” Tap responded, “I am not in a rut. I am doing what many, including the media, in Maine find to be interesting.” I immediately called Tap to say that no offense was meant, and I think we ended as friends again. A few of us have wondered how John Potter is and how to contact him. After a few phone calls to his NYC and Pa. phone numbers, I was told John was at an assisted living facility in Armonk, N.Y. I reached John on his cell phone we had a good talk. We who made it to Watertown in May 2014 knew that he had broken his hip in a fall while in Stroudsburg, Pa., in Feb. 2014, and that he still hoped to be with us for our 65th. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. He spent several months in Pa. with a hip repair and physical therapy. He has been in the Armonk facility for over a year now and gets physical therapy every day, but still needs a walker to get around. He does go down to his NYC apartment (sounds like frequently) to get his mail there. A nice long note from Bob King ’49 and his traveling companion, Jane Jarcho, above the Seine while in Paris. Dave Penning reads as follows, “My wife, Joyce, and I have just returned from two weeks of vacation in Maui, Hawaii. Traveling from the West Coast is easy and fast. We have also been spending time in the Palo Alto, Calif., area with my daughter, Piper, her husband, and two grandsons. They are almost Taft-age, but want to stay in the area for schooling. No East Coast for them! You no doubt have read about the technology boom in Silicon Valley. I have personally seen autonomous Google cars moving around Palo Alto with no driver in sight. Small houses on tiny property lots sell for $2-5 million. All you have to do is own some real estate and get rich. For example, I purchased my home in 1963 for $63,000. It recently sold, in less than two weeks listing, for $3.5 million, with no upgrades since originally built. The money for all this is coming mainly from Asian immigrants who buy property for 100 percent cash instantly at the full asking price. Here in Reno, we have a new gigafactory for batteries for Tesla cars and solar energy storage. Individual homeowners have their own energy collection and storage capabilities, so the connections from the utilities to individual homes are no longer needed. The end of utility bills! I still hold four flight instructor ratings: Single-engine, multi-engine, instrument, and glider. I fly infrequently however, as FAA regulations have become unbearably burdensome for independent instructors. Government inefficiency and bureaucratic stupidity is rampant. I think it all will come crashing down sometime soon (pardon the pun). I miss seeing all our friends from Taft, but airline travel is not pleasant for me anymore. Don’t know when, or if, I will see you.” Dick Moyer writes, “Little to report except to say the stock market crash shouldn’t be a big surprise. Some stocks just got ahead of the economy, and key money managers and some individuals decided to take their profits and run. People have learned that Apple and stocks like it are not a one-way street. What concerns me is individuals who are getting ready to retire may see their funds depleted at a bad time. This may force them to put off retirement for a while, or change their living standards when they retire. I just hope this crash doesn’t snowball and cause a lot more damage.” Harlow Unger, our most prolific author, reports, “I shall be speaking at the National Archives in Washington and the Kennedy Center in Boston in Oct., on my new book, Henry Clay, America’s Greatest Statesman. Abraham Lincoln called Henry Clay ‘the man for whom I fought all my humble life’ and my new book tells why.” (For more see In Print on p. 11.) From George Sawyer: “I am duly shamed to write a very small piece and attach a few recent photos of my local family and our Eastern Shore so-called ‘summer house.’ Actually we go there all year on my now usual long weekends, unless the snow is falling heavily. I am still working, but fairly leisurely, and my wife, Martha, and I are still in good health. We both work out regularly in Alexandria and Chestertown, Md., where the Washington College athletic folks let us use their new fitness center. My work these days can be summed up as just one of the grizzled grey beards that give advice to a few Navy people on their ship acquisition programs, plus a few remaining BOD memberships. But as long as my health remains at or above par, I believe I will stay at it. Simply, I really like being around younger, smarter, and more energetic peers—and in more than a few instances, they seem to like it too. Next week I will be in the Mich. Upper Peninsula to see one of ‘my’ company’s newest products go on test. A few years ago, this would be a two-day visit at the most. Now I’m stretching it out to a week and—mon dieu—with my wife along.” A good note from head mon Scott Pierce, who wrote, “We are currently on a large paddle boat called the American Empress cruising up the Columbia and Snake Rivers, generally following the Lewis and Clark path. How they survived their trip and reached the Pacific Ocean through some of this topography is truly miraculous. The Cascade Mountains are rugged, and the Columbia Gorge spectacular. Right now we are docked at Richmond, Wash., a farming community that was evacuated in 1940 by the government for the Manhattan Project in nearby Hanaford. The first atomic bombs were made here, and they are still cleaning up the radioactive waste. The weather, rainfall, and temperatures on the eastern side of the mountains are completely different than the Portland side. Here it’s very dry, like most of Calif., with the days well into the 90s. You can smell the smoke from the fires north of the area. This region is hurting economically, as it is where the fruit and nut trees are grown, as well as being the location of most of the Wash. wineries. We will end the trip in Clarkston, Wash., after a visit to several vineyards, and a jet boat trip into Hell’s Canyon, Idaho. I have always been fascinated by Lewis and Clark’s trip, and finally got to see a little of it. Other than that, Hobe, we are as well as could be expected. I gimp around and will probably have my other knee done this winter. Janice is in better shape. Summering in Maine works for us, as we have three sons and seven grands close by. We have been quite blessed. I trust you and Ro are also.” Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 51 Alumni Notes 52 Alumni notes Mike Druitt ’50 with son Chris. Archie Fletcher ’50 with wife Kathy in Jasper, Alberta. And from Bob King, “We visited Hong Kong, Stockholm, and Paris among other places over past months. I have been fortunate to have a great companion, Jane Jarcho. We have been to so many wonderful places: Canada, Alaska, Far East, Paris, London, and the Baltic. Recently ruined my shoulder, which was deteriorating from age, trying to make up golf distance. Now focus on travel, bridge, vegetable gardening, opera, and bocce. I have five grandkids—three about to enter college, one at the Naval Academy, and one at Yale medical school progressing for an MD and a PhD. I officially live in Stuart, Fla., but most time spent in the W. Palm Beach area. Best wishes to classmates. Taft seems a lot more interesting now than when we were there.” Your secretary is reminded by Bob’s note that I ruined my rotator cuff over a year ago. [After some discussion] my orthopedic surgeon and I agreed to not pursue surgery and so, following his advice, I’m doing as much exercise as feels good and sitting down for a rest when tired. I now have very good mobility, easily lifting the damaged arm overhead, but can’t lift more than a damp towel. But I like cutting grass, and use my nice new 48-inch-swath riding mower on our two and a half acres. Ro and I went to Conn. in June and to Hessel, Mich. in July, and we have season tickets to a local theater group’s productions. It’s about time for the snowbirds to drive down here for the winter. Finally, some sad news from Buz Lydon: “Mary, wife of Jim Baker, called to tell me that dear Jim had passed away after several heart operations. Jim was a very special person, a loving husband, a devoted father of Ann and Lanny, and a special friend to me. For more than a few years, Jim was our super head class agent, who, year after year, accounted for our class’s participation in the Annual Fund of 78 to 83 percent, a record surpassed only by the Class of ’43. I tried to help out where I could. In business, Jim became president and CEO of the Railroad Assoc. of America. He was a gifted writer, and I was on the receiving end of several letters in recent years. If a few classmates wish to drop a note to Jim’s dear Mary, her address is: 777 Bluff St., Glencoe, Ill., 60022-1504.” Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 1950 Class Secretary: Archie Fletcher, 323 Park Ln., Lake Bluff, IL 60044-2320, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Arthur J. Stock, 865 Central Ave., Apt. E305, Needham, MA 024921373, [email protected] No issue would be complete without knowing where the 1954 Whiffenpoofs, featuring John Franciscus and Chuck Bullock, will sing next: It’s going to be Palm Beach in Jan. at a Yale mini-reunion. John’s youngest daughter, Adrien, was married on Sept. 10 to Cisco Gonzalez at Le Rayol, France. John is still hustling his Haitian paintings and his pocket watch collection by now offering a 10-percent discount to all Tafties. Fred Chesman is through with extensive traveling—especially by air. He and his wife, Marsha, did take a long motor trip to Mexico in Aug.—an enjoyable trip until the AC went out on the return trip with the temperature being 104 degrees. They were able to get it fixed once they got to Texas. The Chesmans’ next journey was to Pa. to visit their children over the Labor Day weekend, and then on to Vt., where they have a second home. From across the pond in England, Michael Druitt sends his warmest wishes to all his old friends from Taft. He and Dorothy spent a week at the end of April staying with friends in Portugal, who built a marvelous home 30 years ago on a hill overlooking Lagos in the Algarve. The Druitts had a lovely relaxing time, including lazing by the swimming pool surrounded by lemon trees bursting with ripe fruit, which seemed remarkably early by U.K. standards. Their son, Chris, 27, is planning to work in wineries in Australia and New Zealand for the next year to enhance his overall experience in the wine business. Bruce Byrolly was getting in shape in Aug. for his Sept. trip to Paris by walking 32 blocks in NYC. While in France, Bruce planned to visit Henry Crapo, who lives in La Vacquerie in the northern part of the country in the Normandy region. Lu Picher reports that he and his wife, Joanna, took a 10-day boat trip in Peru on two tributaries of the Amazon sponsored by the Nature Conservatory. They saw many birds and seven different types of monkeys, including a pygmy one that was the size of a softball. They enjoyed the trip but were glad to return home and to their own beds to recover from the journey. Art Stock writes that he finally was able to have open-heart surgery on June 25, and remained in the recovery phase for another three months. He continues to have limited mobility and remains in a cardio rehab program—his second one after the first one was unsatisfactory. Art is very proud of his grandson, a 2014 Harvard graduate, who entered Stanford Medical School in Aug., while his granddaughter, a Dartmouth senior, spent seven weeks of her summer vacation cross-country skiing on a glacier in Alaska with the U.S. Olympic Development Team. All these events happened with Art barely getting outdoors, along with canceling his summer vacation. Art’s son-in-law published two major works recently regarding the economic effects of climate change and a long-term study as to the effects of the low cost of oil. Chick Treadway writes that his summer was uneventful, but his health is good and he had an enjoyable time on Cape Cod in Aug. Your scribe, Archie Fletcher, is happy to report that wife Kathy’s foot has finally healed after six surgeries, two infections, and a fusion of her toe. We spent a lovely 10 days on a Tauck tour of the Canadian Rockies starting in Vancouver, and then taking an overnight Verena and John Franciscus ’50 celebrating Verena’s birthday. train to Jasper, Alberta, to spend two days at a resort lodge. From there our tour traveled southward by bus, allowing us to see glaciers within the majestic national parks of Canada on one of most scenic rides we’ve ever taken in this country or in Europe. We spent a day each at Lake Louise and Banff before flying home from Calgary. From a distance, the mountains were even more beautiful after it snowed overnight on our last day (third week in Aug.). No further trips are planned just yet, but we are searching to find some tours that have little or no walking. Many classmates have expressed their condolences regarding the passing of Tony Carpenter in Vero Beach, Fla., on July 18. Please see In Memoriam in this issue to read his obituary. Jay Greer reports that the summer flew by rapidly this year. He kept busy sailing his little 15-foot, 6-inch sailboat, Bullseye, which is tied up in a tidal pond near his wife’s summer house in Osterville on Cape Cod. Jay also kept busy shooting skeet with a nearby friend, who is an expert in the sport. Jay and Ellie continue to travel. In Aug., they went to Maine to celebrate Jay’s 83rd birthday and spent the rest of the week catching up with two friends whose house he had been renting for the past 10 years. They traditionally have freshly caught lobsters for dinner on his birthday—very rich but equally satisfying. Their destination in Oct. is France for a weeklong barge trip with Jay’s two daughters. This will be his first experience on a river cruise. Not to be done with traveling, the Greers are planning to travel to New Zealand next spring. Neither Jay nor Ellie have ever been there, but they will not be disappointed even though it’s a long way to go and is not inexpensive. Ellie and Jay have been dividing their time—she between their Brookline condo and her Cape Cod house, and he between both those and his New Haven apartment. Jay still spends several days a month there, principally for hearings of the Conn. Board of Firearms, of which he is a member. The board mostly hears appeals from people whose pistol permit applications have been revoked. This public service uses up at least 20 hours each month, but the stories the denied applicants tell are better than reality TV. For example, one of Jay’s favorites is one in which the appellant was a legally blind woman whose pistol permit was denied. They heard her impassioned story for about an hour but concluded that the police had correctly found she was not a suitable person to carry a handgun in public. The best exchange came when she volunteered she had given up driving because an auto was a “lethal weapon.” The police chief, who sits on the board, asked, “And you don’t think a handgun is a lethal weapon?” Since that case was so interesting, your secretary wants to add another sad tale from Jay regarding an additional character whose gun permit was revoked. This case was from a young man whose permit was denied after he left his gun in an unlocked car—engine running—while he ran into a haberdashery store because he didn’t know how to tie the necktie he wanted to wear for the funeral of a man he deeply respected. The haberdasher reportedly did the job quickly, but not before someone drove off with the car and the gun. He didn’t get his permit back. If he had gone to Taft in our time, he’d have known how to tie a tie. (What about today?) 1951/65th Reunion Class Secretary: Robert D. Weeks, 7 Greens Way, New Rochelle, NY 10805, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Dan R. Davis, 12247 Tildenwood Dr., Rockville, MD 20852-4161, [email protected]; Robert M. Govin, 18809 Oakland Hill Dr., Hialeah, FL 33015-2252, [email protected]; Aaron E. Simon, 3805 Cathedral Bell Rd., Raleigh, NC 27614-8453, [email protected]; Reunion Chair: Charles L. Wolf, [email protected] Bob Govin reports that at last May’s Alumni Weekend, our class received the Class of 1920 Award for most improved contribution to the Annual Fund. Congratulations, and thanks to our class agents Dan Davis, Bob Govin, and Charlie Wolf. Your scribe recalls that the Class of ’51 previously received this award in 1974 when he was class agent. Coincidentally, my father, Robert Doughty Weeks ’20, was head monitor, varsity football captain, etc. The late Tom Christy’s father was also a member of the Class of 1920. The following fascinating news comes from Walter Blogoslawski about his investment successes: “It has definitely been a very long adventure, but as of today, my book is listed on Amazon. It is called Creating a Portable Money Machine. The book is definitely not for everybody, but only for those people willing to make the effort to create a very high return on their assets. While nobody can predict the future, I have been flawlessly applying the mathematical approach outlined in my book for the past 32 months, without one loss. My positions are rarely longer than two weeks, but 60 percent of the gains are considered long term. I try to avoid all stocks, ETFs, and especially mutual funds.” The alumni office has asked Charlie Wolf to serve as chair of our 65th Reunion next May since he had done so for our last reunion. Charlie writes, “If nobody objects, I will consent, although with my 84-year-old brain, I told the school it had to be simple. Would the class like a lunch or dinner prepared for just our class either Thursday night or Friday afternoon? [Please advise Charlie of your preferences.] This would be in addition to the regular meals prepared for reunion classes on the Taft campus.” The Alumni Office shared the sad news that our classmate, Michael Galullo, died earlier in 2015. Also, sad news reached us from Dick Dillon’s wife, Margaret, that Dick passed away in Colo. in April. Margaret wrote, “Bob, I’m sending you news of Dick’s death along with the picture of the four of us—our chance meeting in Arles in 2014—as a reminder. I want you to know that the chance meeting with you and Sara in France was on the last trip we were to make. After brain surgery in 2010 to remove a malignant tumor and successful periodic chemotherapy, Dick was able to maintain his usual active lifestyle until the lymphomas’ last recurrence this spring. I’m sorry to be so late with the information. My email is margaret.dillon@colorado. edu. You really do an excellent job with the alumni news, and I hope to continue receiving the Taft Bulletin. Good wishes to you and Sara.” For more about both Dick and Michael, see this issue’s In Memoriam section. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 53 Alumni Notes 1952 Class Secretary: Alan N. Marshall, 3854 McDivitt Dr., Orchard Lake, MI 48323-1628, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Harry Hyde, 506 E. Cooke Rd., Columbus, OH 43214-2856, [email protected] Jim Coyle responded to Rudy Chelminski’s recent comments on Taft with, “I have admired your career from afar, and read your Bulletin comments with interest and admiration for their content and style. Your perspective from a foreign culture is especially valuable. I’ll respond to your suggestion for a dialogue: I spent almost all of my first 38 years in all-male institutions—schools, college, the Army, and schools again. For the final 26 of my working years, I was head of a coed K-12 independent day school. You’re right that both single-sex and coeducation have their plusses and minuses, but on balance, I’d favor the latter—especially if one can arrange to have the boys be a year or so older than the girls (we did). Is Taft a better place for being coed? Better to ask (as you do) whether the world is a better place, for the school’s switch was inescapable in that world. The answer really lies in the profound changes in American society and culture that followed the upheavals of the ’60s—and on that subject I really am ambivalent. Certainly we were sheltered from the underbelly of our society in those ‘complacent’ years. Who among us knew (or even thought) about the awful state of race relations? And we (at least I) had no sense of the unfairness with which we treated women. All of that—and so much more—began to change while we were in our late 20s, and the changing, accelerated by the technological revolution (and, I think, by the apparent end of the Cold War) has continued at such a pace as to leave at least one member of that generation deeply concerned about where we are and where we are going. I don’t doubt that for large segments of our (American) society, life is better now than it was 59 years ago. But I think that progress has come at an awful price. Somewhere along the line, we dispensed with a lot of the rules that kindly and firmly molded my part of our generation—to the extent that ethical boundaries have become largely irrelevant. (I think the revival of intolerant religiosity has been an unfortunate reaction to that.) Not only is our culture less self-restrained, 54 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Alumni notes but our children (and now our grandchildren) are exposed at far too young an age to this new ‘real world,’ and the lessons they see, the vision they develop of what kind of people they are supposed to become, has largely lost its moral component. Was all of it inevitable? Bruce Catton wrote that nothing in history is inevitable until after it happens, and I agree. I think the complacency of our part of our generation, our failure to stand up for the‘good rules,’ permitted them go by the boards along with the stuff that needed to change. I do look back with a perhaps naïve nostalgia to a more reasonable and civil culture where disillusionment came, if at all, when one was old enough to put it in perspective and hold true to some basic values. For me, Taft (even though I spent only two years there) played an important role in that molding. As much as the school meant to my intellectual development—and it was a lot—it was more in helping me figure out the kind of person that I wanted to be that Taft had its real impact. (I don’t think Bill Sullivan introduced me to parentheses, and I suspect he would be appalled at my reckless use of them.) I’d be happy to continue this. It’s been fun to make myself think about it. I suspect your perspective from France may differ substantially from my much more provincial outlook.” I, Alan Marshall, visited Michael Ginsburg in Solana Beach, Calif., early in March and found him in good health, but with an amazing story. When not playing tennis, Michael is riding his bike. Returning from a long ride and about to make a left turn on a four-lane road a year or so ago, Michael heard the screech of brakes, noticed he was flying over his handlebars, and awoke to his head in a pool of blood and EMS personnel and others surrounding him. Next he came to in the emergency room, this time surrounded by doctors and nurses. The lead doctor asked him if he could move the fingers in his right hand. He obliged. The left hand? He did. Move his right foot, the left foot, the arms, the legs? He did. Could he raise his head? Yes. Sit up? Yes. Stand up? He stood up and walked around the room. After giving him a couple tests to make sure there were no internal injuries, and putting two stitches in the small laceration on the top of his head, they sent him home in a cab. He ate some supper and went to bed. The local bike shop suggested he buy a new bike. Michael found a couple 2x4-inch pieces of wood, leveraged two out-of-line parts of the bike frame back into alignment, spray painted the frame, installed a new rear tire, and now has what the store manager decreed looks like a new bike. Oh, by the way, Michael is now wearing a helmet. Lucky man! 1953 Class Secretary: Peter C. Greer, 3761 Blue Heron Dr., Gulf Shores, AL 36542, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: George H. Stephenson, CarletonWillard Village, 29 Concord Ct., Bedford, MA 01730-2906, [email protected]; Richard S. Durham ’54, with his daughter, Cliona Durham Gunter ’80, and son Richard B. Durham ’83, in Corpus Christi, Texas. John W. Watling III, 680 Steamboat Rd., Greenwich, CT 06830, [email protected] Just as the Taft graduates of the 1890s were probably amazed and awed by the state of the school in 1953, so too should we, the graduates of the 1950s, be awed and amazed by what Taft has transformed into now. The physical plant has increased substantially, and the little city beauty has indeed become a medium-size city that has retained its lovely character. Congratulations to all those who have helped along the way, faculty, alums, heads of school, trustees, and support people, all of whom have contributed to Taft’s growth and impact on so many people worldwide. I’m amazed at the diversity of Taft today and impressed by the overall excellence of the school’s development, and am proud to be able to say that’s where I went to school, and I hope my classmates feel the same way. I also hope that for those who have not been back to Taft for a number of years, or ever for that matter, that you will feel the pull to return and place a visit high on your bucket list of things to achieve. Now for some news about us. I heard from Jim Goldsmith, who wrote of a recent gettogether and golf outing in Norwalk, Conn., where he, Mike Brenner, Paul Deuvel, and Bob Smith got together for more practice and camaraderie in their efforts to wrest the Class of ’53 Taft cup from Nat Smith at our next reunion. The foursome decided to have another go in the fall. Following Goldsmith’s note came a long note from Mike Brenner referencing said golf game, but including news that he (Mike) had taken up teaching a course in writing (Writing 101 for retirees, he calls it), and in an effort to continue giving back, has been mentoring two young men: one African-American and one ChineseAmerican. Congratulations, Mike, on your continuing gifts to others, in the spirit of sed ut ministret. Mike relayed that his bride, Roberta, had undergone a hip replacement, but it won’t hold either of them back from a planned trip to Paris. See p. 87 for a photo of John Watling with several other Tafties at the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Fla. Dick Geldard has for many years devoted himself to passing on the knowledge, wisdom, and humor of such notables from our past as William Sullivan, Dick Lovelace, “Jocko” Reardon, and Joe Cunningham to his philosophy students, and following a visit to the Sagamore on Lake George, has returned to these endeavors, while wife Astrid returned to her creative works in her studio. It’s enjoyable to hear that a goodly number of our class is still actively engaged and enjoying life and making a contribution. Your scribe, other than playing a bit of golf, working out at the gym regularly, and pursuing the art of cooking edible meals, stays occupied with yard work and other chores and enjoying family visits from two daughters who live not too far away (Fairhope and Tuscaloosa), and plans on visiting the Marine Corps Heritage Museum (devoted to Marine Corps history from 1775-present), and then on to visit another daughter in R.I. and brother Jay ’50 and his bride on the Cape this fall. 1954 Class Secretary: Bill Sprague, 187 Concord Dr., Madison, CT 06443, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Sted Sweet, 31 Woodbury Rd., Watertown, CT 06795-2123, [email protected] My email requesting information for this edition of class notes included a challenge to find out if anyone could guess the classmate of ours who was running for a political office. To my surprise, no one gave me the correct answer—including the candidate himself. The correct answer, at the time, was Rocky Fawcett, who is a candidate for a seat on the board of legislators, Lewis County, N.Y., District 9. Rocky has held the elective office of town manager in Lewis Falls, served on many boards of civic organizations in the area, and will do a great job, I am sure. After Sandy and Bill Fitzgerald returned from their trip to Northern Italy, Switzerland, and Germany last May, he decided to toss his hat in the ring and run for the top job of president of the U.S. After lack of endorsement by both the Democratic and Republican parties, he found support from the “Constipational Independent Party”—they don’t take any crap from either the left or the right. Bill is putting together a very impressive team. Tad Lincoln has signed on to run as Bill’s vice president. After completing the renovation of a small attached cabin, reminiscent of Abraham Lincoln’s in Ill., to their summer home in Maine—where he and Lanie find refuge when their grandchildren, cousins, and friends buzz around the main house— he made the decision to go for it. He met with Geo Hefferan and a couple of other Yale classmates to craft their catchy slogan, “People that think vote for Fitz & Linc.” Dave Burke is way too busy to get involved even though he is well equipped to serve as our French ambassador. His literary walking tours in Paris have become very well known, having been recognized on the list of the top 10 literary walking tours in the world by Lonely Planet. He is also very involved helping his wife, Joanne, complete a new film of theirs, and promoting her series of documentaries about African-Americans in Paris in the early 20th century. They did take time to enjoy a wonderful five weeks with their grandson, Robert, and daughter-inlaw, Maggie, during their visit to Paris this past summer. Maggie’s parents also came for part of that time. Dave tells me that they are sensationally good cooks and delighted them all with exceptionally good Chinese cuisine. Arnold Margolin has also been too busy to jump into the political fray. To begin with, he and Ellen Cornfield were married in Dec. 2013, and are still honeymooning at their home in Manhattan. Ellen is a very accomplished choreographer, modern dancer, and teacher. Arnold says that he is “finding the fine balance between attending no more dance concerts than is good for my mental health and enough to be good for my marriage.” One of their neighbors in the Big Apple who Arnold sees in the park is Bernard Goetz. If you do not remember him, he is the person acquitted of shooting four persons who tried to mug him on the subway in 1984. For anyone desiring Bernie’s autograph, Arnold would be reluctant to ask as he is not sure if there is anything other than bread crumbs in the brown paper bag that Bernie carries to the park to feed the pigeons. Barbara Ann and Tom Griggs and, our other newlyweds, are also doing quite well. They returned to Matinicus Island, 20 miles off the coast of Maine, last summer for a very relaxing vacation. They are well settled in their new home in Orange, Conn. Wally Inglis is through with political campaigns, reporting, “I learned my lesson—running unsuccessfully for the Hawaii House of Representatives some 30 years ago. I can’t imagine anyone at our age wanting to jump into that quagmire.” He did spend a week this past summer attending a nonviolence conference in N.M. marking the 70th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I was glad to hear from Dick Durham, who offered his best wishes for Bill’s campaign, and the sound advice that he should be very careful with his emails and fully answer all questions presented by the media. Henry Pope was speechless when he heard of Bill’s ambition. When I heard that from him, I immediately thought that he would be an excellent speechwriter or White House spokesman for Bill. However, Henry and Mary are too busy with their pottery making in Calif. to lend a hand. Sheila and Bob Gast survived their annual vacation with 20 or more family members in Calif. last summer, and as usual, had a great time. Following their time of rest and relaxation, he put the finishing touches on hosting the annual conference for 500-plus retired FBI agents held over Labor Day weekend in his hometown of Reno, Nev. Bob’s note included this: “Sheila tells me quite forcefully that I have to learn to say No, No, No when asked to take on more jobs.” I guess that rules him out for secretary of Homeland Security. Penny and Bill Allyn had a wonderful start to the summer when Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 55 Alumni Notes they celebrated the graduation of two grandchildren from college—one from Dartmouth, the other from Hampshire College. Both are now in Denver, Colo., starting their careers. The Allyns also enjoyed a great vacation in Italy and Sicily, and relaxing at their summer home in the N.Y. Finger Lakes. The summer ended with the bittersweet occasion of celebrating the 100th anniversary of their family business, Welch Allyn Inc., and selling the company in Sept. to Hill-Rom, another medical technology manufacturer. Finally, I want to thank the Class of ’54 for the many prayers and expressions of love that you sent to Sally and me following the death of our son, Dan. 1955 Class Secretary: Lee H. Smith, 1867 Mintwood Pl. NW, Apt. 4, Washington, DC 20009, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: John W.G. Ogilvie Jr., 4144 Great Oak Rd., Rockville, MD 20853-1854, [email protected] The adventure continues. As we have observed previously, advancing age does not mean that our curiosity and quest for excitement have been extinguished. Ted Ladd spent 10 days in Greenland, in the company of his 14-year-old grandson, where they watched polar bears and whales, and walked on a portion of the ice cap. If it all melts, Ted reminds us soberly, the world sea level rises 23 feet. “I have also been to Antarctica three times and would go again,” says Ted, who is very interested in climate change. “It is also terrific to spend a large amount of concentrated time with a grandchild when you are dependent on each other for company.” Their Lindblad/National Geographic expedition began with a four-hour charter flight from Ottawa to Kangerlussuaq on the west coast of Greenland, where they boarded a ship and sailed to Devon Island about 75 degrees north latitude, then south along the Baffin Island coast. They spent the nights on the ship, where good lecturers educated and entertained them. They had lots of opportunities for dry and wet landings by Zodiac, and ample supplies of chardonnay. Ted says, “I personally had about six polar bear sightings, including one of a very curious bear who came within 10 to 15 feet of the hull of the ship, and seemed to want to know why we were there in his space. When you are on land with bears around, your guides carry 56 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 John Cashman ’56 paragliding about 2,000 feet over Interlaken, Switzerland. “Who says 76-yearolds have to stay at home in their rocking chairs?” John says. Charlie van Over ’56 and Chip Spencer ’56 enjoy lunch during the summer. flare guns and rifles because polar bears are hungry and don’t have nice dispositions.” From the still-frozen North to the parched West where Chic Gast remains happy in Calif.’s Sonoma wine country, although summer fires make things a little dodgy. Reports Chic, “Calif. is suffering from the drought in many ways and is hardly the golden state it once was. One large mid-summer fire burned as close as 30 miles away, creating several very smoky and scary days. We’d appreciate a couple thousand water tankers from the East Coast,” Chic proposes. As a more practical gesture, he suggests classmates click onto Amazon and buy a copy of his novel Magnolia Café. “It’s about sex, drugs and… well, we really don’t have rock and roll anymore, so I’ll have to say redemption,” is how Chic describes his work. “It is the first book in what was proposed to be a trilogy, but with the publishing business in the toilet and my agent running off to Hawaii to live in a mud hut, things ground to a halt.” Janet and Nick Ciriello spent an Aug. week in Santa Fe, timed to hear all five of the operas presented this year. Nick writes, “As our country’s most ambitious opera festival, Santa Fe draws a sophisticated international audience—and well it should, with a judiciously mixed program, apprentice singers to superb artists, and a beautiful town as a backdrop. It was a great time to be with friends and follow the course of the art form.” And in the Northeast, as they do many summers, Jane and Thad Carver joined dozens of cousins and other relatives on Vinalhaven, an island 15 miles off the coast of Rockland, Maine, where in 1766 Thad’s ancestor, Thaddeus, moved from Mass. and founded the island’s first permanent English settlement. (Earlier, the French and Indian War had made it too dangerous to YMCA in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he pedals a stationary bike. The resistance level is set very low and George pedals at the rate of 80 to 90 rpms for about 40 minutes. One of George’s most troubling Parkinson’s symptoms is a pronounced loss of energy. George says, “This procedure is like magic. After only two sessions I began to feel the benefits, much more energy.” This fall Frank Johnson began his 12th year of teaching history to high school students. “I’ll keep going as long as I can,” promises Frank. He has recently gone through radiation therapy for prostate cancer, but that has not diminished his capacity to be exasperated. “I am still amazed at the decline of our political parties, as evidenced by the clown car full of Republican candidates,’” barks Frank, an observation that will not surprise his classmates. More happily, Frank notes that his granddaughter, 11, is starring in the off Broadway show, Ruthless! The Musical. The sad news reached us that John Cruikshank passed away on May 23, and that Ed Burke passed away in July. (See In Memoriam.) Ed’s wife, Anne, wrote, “Ed was always grateful for his years at Taft and spoke fondly of all his classmates.” Finally, as we went to press, we were very sorry to learn that Johnny Ring passed away on October 24. More information will be included in the winter issue. Our sincere condolences to the families of our classmates. live along the Maine coast.) In time the island was one of Maine’s most important quarries, sending granite, for example, to NYC for the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. These days Carver’s Harbor, named for the founder, is home to Maine’s largest lobster fishing fleet of 100 or so boats. The Carvers also spent a night visiting Lorraine and Johnny Ring in Brunswick. Johnny took them on a tour of a section of the 160-acre spread that he donated on behalf of the Ring family as a campus for Mid Coast Hospital. John Jenkins took his two daughters, their husbands, and four grandchildren to Nantucket, where grandsons Ben and West demonstrated that they might someday challenge John’s preeminence as the family’s ruling chef. Both boys had come from summer jobs working for Mexican restaurants in Atlanta, so Ben can make fine tacos from scratch and West whips up an excellent guacamole. “Why would a reasonably sane man of 78 crawl up on his roof on a hot summer day to clean the eaves?” Bob Hill asks. Beats us. Anyhow, Bob twisted his lumbar and, as of this writing, was considering surgery. The prognosis is good but in the meantime, he says, “I am taking weird, powerful pain-killing drugs that make me hum and skip when I do the marketing, and I feel a general malaise that is very unnerving. On the plus side, I can sit, read, eat, play my fiddle, drink a glass of wine, and be at rest comfortably. Further, I can actually bike 15 miles with no discomfort.” Speaking of bikes, George Allen, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, is taking part in a research program designed to relieve the symptoms: Pedaling for Parkinson’s, a procedure initiated by a doctor from the Cleveland Clinic. Since early this year, George has been going three times a week to the 1956/60th Reunion Class Secretary/Head Class Agent: Jack McLeod, 275 Heron’s Run Dr., #710, Sarasota, FL 34232-1749, [email protected]; Reunion Chairs: Jack McLeod, Chip Spencer, [email protected] Sandra and Dick McGavern ’57 with their vintage Austin Healey at Head Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada. Tom Schellin ’57 and crew on board the Preussen VII in Norway. John Cashman went on a “not-quite-threeweek trip around the world.” He reports, “Went from San Francisco to Newark to visit my elder son and his family and to celebrate eldest granddaughter’s fifth birthday. Then from Newark to Zurich, where I divided my time between Interlaken and Lugano. As you can see in this photo (on p. 56), I went paragliding in Interlaken. Interesting to look down and see nothing but 2,000 feet of air between your shoes and the city. Maximum weight for a passenger is 100 kilos, 220 pounds. I was 4 kilos over—I lied (figured they had a safety factor). Did the ‘007’ bungee jump north of Locarno, which created a bit of interest as not many 76-year-old males drop 220 meters (about 720 feet) tied to a rubber band. Traveled on to Hong Kong, where I had a guest card at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. I was there on a race day and introduced myself to the principal race officer as someone familiar with sail race committees and was invited on board the committee boat, where I watched the sail races on Victoria Bay. Hong Kong is still one big construction zone. Real estate hideously expensive; a good condominium will run about $3,000 USD per square foot. Then it was back home to Calif. Hope to make it to our 60th Reunion in May. I was at our 30th, so once every 30 years.” Chip Spencer got together this past summer for lunch with Charlie van Over. 1957 Class Secretary: Dick McGavern, 4335 Tichenor Point Dr., Canandaigua, NY 14424-8230, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: William C. Weeks, 11 Fresenius Rd., Westport, CT 068803821, [email protected] Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 57 Alumni Notes Roger Hartley has been traveling and writes, “My wife, Sandra, and I spent three great weeks in June in New Zealand with her daughter Liz, a Wellington resident. We spent one week on the North and two weeks on the South Island. A long trip there, but so well worth it. And we broke up the travel with three days in Honolulu on the way there and four days in Costa Mesa on the way back. A side story: We went to watch the sunset on the Huntington Beach pier one beautiful evening. When we got home, I found that my good friend while at Taft, Larry Pryor ’56, had just moved to Huntington Beach. Missed that connection. Maybe next time. Other news is that we see Charley Voss from time to time and Rusty Ingersoll comes from Greensboro, N.C., to see us as well as his sister at least twice a year. Now that this hot summer has passed, let’s see some snow, eh?” Tom Schellin had an adventure too and writes, “Just got back from the yearly sailboat trip on Preussen VII, the two-masted family ketch of our son-in-law, Nikolas Brüggen. Cruising in southern Norway’s coastal waters, we also encountered heavy weather. But under the experienced command of captain Nikolas, we managed always to return to port safely. Otherwise, things have not changed much for me.” And while we are still at sea, Bill Offutt was on board having a great time on the 39-foot Concordia winning Classic B in the Eggemoggin Reach Classic Wooden Boat Regatta, Naskeag, Maine. “A perfect going, wing on wing with a mizzen staysail on final reach. Others flew spinnakers with difficulty in strong wind—a great day.” Look out, Taft, here comes another Taftie from Nick Gotten’s family: “Pamela and I have a new granddaughter, Poppy Elizabeth, born July 2 to Judy and Nick III ’93, who live and work in LA. Needless to say, Poppy is a beautiful baby, just like her mother.” Pete O’Boyle writes, “Enjoying my retirement years doing whatever I want with no prior commitments! Hope all my fellow classmates are enjoying the same. My tax attorney, who graduated in 1974, is trying to convince me to attend a reunion. I told him I would think about it!” Jim Bruno wrote in Aug., “Am winding down life in Vt., and going to Aspen, Colo., to enjoy my children and grandkids, who go to a charter school there. I can’t believe how great it is academically; they also do ski racing and play soccer. I’m headed to Calif. and hope to see Dick 58 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Alumni notes Crane.” Sam Wasson report, “A couple of years ago I related a story of running into Art Johnson at the Clark Museum in Williamstown, Mass., for a Winslow Homer exhibit, I think. Suzy and I stopped there again on Sept. 1 for Van Gogh and Whistler exhibits on our way to Kennebunkport for a two-week rental.” As I finalize the fall notes, Sandra and I, Dick McGavern, drove my 1967 Austin Healey to Prince Edward Island with two other members of the Canandaigua Red Car Club, including a stop to climb Mt. Washington. And currently we are packing for a river cruise on the Danube. 1958 Class Secretary: T. Francis Jackson III, 232 S. Highland St., Apt. 1202, Memphis, TN 38111-4540, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Charlie Yonkers, 3131 Connecticut Ave. NW, Apt. 2710, Washington, DC 20008-5029, [email protected] John Allen has a new computer, which has unleashed the communicator we know him to be. His wide-ranging interests go from local politics to national environmental policies to food. John has now contacted many of us, so give him a shout. Sadly, Barbara Geller, the wife of Ted Baldwin, passed away Aug. 30. Classmates Steve Usher and Mike Gray, together with their wives, Marne and Danielle, attended the memorial service at Yale’s Hillel Chapel, as well as the shiva at the family home. Ted was surrounded by his large, talented, and beloved family and Barbara received outstanding recognition by many, recognition deserved by her long career in public service. We are pleased that the Ushers and Grays could attend, comfort Ted, and applaud Barbara’s life of service. Dick “Drano” Dranitzke and his wife, Bjorg, took a trip of a lifetime to Australia for three weeks in the summer. We delight to remember that Drano is a retired surgeon of distinction as well as a photographer. Their travels and discovery of Australia’s beauties gave him endless opportunities for photography. The good doctor is also an indefatigable internet communicator, collecting and forwarding useful, humorous, and inspirational pieces through his network of friends. Gil Fields writes that all is reasonably well in the Northeast, and reports that one grandchild graduated from college this year, while two others attend Georgetown. He attended the U.S. Open, and then went, by invitation, to Dallas to the opening game with the Giants. He has taken courses at NYU after retiring seven or eight years ago. After overcoming prostate cancer some 10 years ago, it has metastasized, but he reports that he found a great oncologist at Dana Farber, and will be a chronic cancer patient who won’t die from it. He counts his blessings! He states that retelling his 40 years of living and working in Italy is worthy of a book he may write, but not in our class notes. We were saddened to learn that Rawson Foreman passed away last June after a long illness. Rawson and his family were lifelong, prominent Atlantans. He served as an attorney there for many years, received many awards for his public and pro bono services to many. Rawson left a legacy of outstanding public service to others, who remember him with love and gratitude. He was especially passionate about art and served as the chair of many preeminent committees of the High Museum of Art, where he completed his career there as chairman of the board of directors and a life member. He leaves his lovely wife, Peggy Reeves Foreman, a native Atlantan and graduate of Finch College, and daughters Margaret and Mary Rawson (see In Memoriam). Al Gilman retired from his prominent positions at Univ. of Texas Southwest Medical Center and other organizations. Al remains in Dallas and loves playing golf and enjoying his family nearby. His son gave him a driver that permits weight adjustments in its head to straighten out Al’s fades and hooks. He loves it. Fritz Green evidences on Facebook his very active life in the outdoors of N.H. Antonia and Jack Grumbach spent their summer at Wellfleet on the Cape and hosted family, particularly a grandson, 16, who had a job for six weeks nearby. Max Johnson lets us know that his July began with “a flight from our home in Belgium to Charlottesville, Va., where my wife, Michele, was enrolled in a Law of Armed Conflict two-week course at the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s School. I tagged along, having never been there during my military/civilian career as a Dept. of the Army attorney adviser, prior to becoming a NATO civilian attorney. I had never been to Charlottesville in any capacity before, and the local attractions connected with America’s pre- and post-revolution history Max Johnson ’58, his wife, Michele, and her daughter, Florence, in the Danny Thomas Research Tower in Memphis. The bust portrays founder Danny Thomas, whose nose is bright from being rubbed for good luck, similar to the one in Taft’s Lincoln Lobby. and several of its key players were incentive enough to tag along. Michele’s daughter, Florence Hanard, joined us after a week, and at the end of the course, the three of us struck out for Memphis to pay a visit to our class secretary, Frank Jackson. The 800mile journey took us first to Nashville, where, as one would expect, taking in some country music was de rigueur. Local bistros vied for our patronage with live music at decibel readings that would make any ENT doctor shudder. With a few beers under our belts and half deaf, we left Nashville without succumbing to the temptation to buy some western boots. Two pairs for the price of one! After the relatively cool and cloudy weather that dominated Charlottesville for almost the entire two weeks we were there, we were overwhelmed by the heat wave during mid-July in Memphis. Frank had warned us, so it was not a total shock, and air conditioning mitigated the issue. Frank, a most gracious host, arranged a number of things to make the visit special. Principal among those were a private, guided tour of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (SJCRH), whose major founder was Danny Thomas, who had prayed as a youth to St. Jude Thaddeus for guidance, and we know the outcome of that. Dedicated to research related to maladies, foremost cancer, that afflict children, touring the public areas and corridors sets the hospital apart from any that each of us had ever visited. It seems all the painting and decorations are aimed at creating a happy environment. The modus operandi of medical treatment is unique, and the approach to medical research was inspirational. The hospital does not charge patients. It relies on charitable contributions for the vast majority of its financing, so if you’re looking for a good cause to get a tax break, consider SJCRH. The average individual contribution is $33. The daily operating budget is $2.5 million, and SJCRH donates worldwide without charge, all medical advances and pharmaceutical discoveries achieved. Apart from arranging for me to play golf at the Memphis Country Club, an experience in and of itself, Frank arranged a private, VIP tour for us at FedEx, headquartered in Memphis, and its airport operations. The highlight of that tour was being exceptionally admitted to the top of the ground-control tower overlooking the incoming and outgoing domestic air fleet. Imagine 93 large aircraft parked or taxiing, virtually at your feet. The handling of incoming express packages was fast, continuous, and fascinating, requiring immediate attention of handlers to sort never-ending, fast-moving packages to make certain that automated equipment could read each bar code on each package, and send it on its way worldwide. In all, we’ll never see another FedEx Express truck without remembering our visit. The best vantage point to see downtown Memphis and the river is the observation deck atop the 32-story pyramid (seventh largest in the world) on the waterfront, now the property of Bass Pro Shops (no, they don’t make Weejuns). The interior is a cornucopia of attractions, including live fish and alligators, exhibitions, a hotel, and naturally, sporting merchandise. Highly worth the visit. The visit was too short, but a three-week absence from the office for Michele was stretching it, so it was back to Richmond to return home. Our non-work vacation was mid-Sept. when we sojourned in Majorca for a week.” Neal Love writes, “So far, it has been a busy year. We traveled to Hawaii, then onto Papeete, on Tahiti. Cruised home, stopping at Easter Island, the Pitcairn Islands, then the Panama Canal to NYC. Next year we do the Arctic cruise from Anchorage, Alaska, then the Bering Straits, Greenland to NYC. As you can see, we love adventure! I have a few health issues such as a new pacemaker and blood clots, but I keep on going. If any of you are in the Md. area, do drop by.” Jay Parsons left Jakarta, Indonesia, in mid-June to spend two and a half months in the States, helping his daughter and family with an 1880s fixerupper in Kalamazoo, Mich. He reports, “It was an enjoyable but tiring month with my six-year old grandson. Had our annual family reunion on the lake in southern Ontario with the rest of the family.” Thereafter he traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, and then to Sakon Nakhon in the northeast to take up a pro bono job at a university helping young Thai faculty get their research papers into acceptable English for publication in international journals, “An exciting new chapter in my gypsy life!” Jay says. Stay tuned for further developments. As we go to press, Ann and Charlie Yonkers will be enjoying a bike tour of Sicily with their friends. Ann intends to retire after 18 years as founder and executive director of FreshFarm Markets, the nonprofit organization that now runs 13 producer-only farmers markets in the greater D.C. area. They will likely remove to their Chesapeake Bay home on the Eastern Shore, Pot Pie Farm, but Charlie intends to continue teaching at Georgetown through spring 2016, rounding out 10 years as an adjunct professor. Charlie happily reports that 67 percent of our class contributed to the Annual Fund last year, placing us high in the rankings of the classes of Taft. That said, he and others of the class hope we can do better as a percentage-contribution and thus show our loyalty, appreciation, and support for the school and its outstanding, lifetime contribution to us and other graduates. Bill Youngs, who is a history professor at East Washington Univ., writes, “I want to tell the stories of American history as though I were among friends sitting beside a fire.” He maintains an active Facebook page, especially informative of his sailing the San Juan Islands, giving talks on Henry David Thoreau in New England, attending conferences in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and developing online courses about our national park system. Olivia and John Milholland celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a cruise to the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe in June. John writes, “Cruising is a lazy man’s way of seeing a very limited perspective, but it is relaxing, and we got to some great places like Malta, which always has intrigued me, and overnight in Istanbul, which Olivia and I loved once before and did so again. The ship was tied up on the Bosphorus, where we had probably the best view of the city. Most spectacular of all though was Meteora with its Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 59 Alumni Notes Alumni notes monasteries on top of gigantic rocks, about a two-hour ride from the port of Volos, Greece. If you haven’t seen pictures, you’ll see what I mean if you look up the monasteries of Meteora on YouTube.” John planned to see some classmates in Oct. on a trip to New England from Raleigh, N.C. 1959 Class Secretary: Stallworth McG. Larson, 6845 N. Ocean Blvd., Mews South 5, Ocean Ridge, FL 33435, [email protected]; Sue and Steve Buckley ’59 happily celebrated their 50th anniversary in France. Wink McKinnon ’60 with his son, Robert ’93, daughter-in-law Elizabeth, and granddaughter Maezie in Ottawa, Canada, in front of the Parliament Buildings. C.D. Smith ’60 in Lovell, Wyo., during his coast-to-coast, 3,700-mile bicycle ride. said that doing so is very invigorating, and that one of the best collaborations he has had had at Microsoft was with a 2003 Yale graduate. She was the program manager for the Microsoft Office math project, and Murray was a key developer and idea person with his many years as an active theoretical physicist. More recently, Murray has been working with a young generation of software engineers on text editing in Microsoft Excel, and that he will certainly miss such stimulating interactions when he retires in 2017. For a deeper insight into Murray’s world see his blog, Math in Office, which has lots of stories and documentation on the work he does. to find out how the rest of C.D.’s ride went! I, Sam Crocker, caught up with Steve Plume, who, like C.D., is flexing muscles that belie his “young” age. In early June, Steve spent two exhilarating weeks kayaking and camping along the Green and Yampa Rivers, which “wind their way across sagebrush-covered plains before reaching the outstretched arm of the Unita Mountains on the border between Colo. and Utah, and entering Dinosaur National Mountain’s remote canyons.” The rivers feature class three and class four rapids, and Steve said he “rolled out twice.” Wink McKinnon, wife Barbara, their son Robert ’93, his wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter, Maezie, visited Canada in early Aug. Wink and family then left Ottawa and traveled north to their private fishing club near Maniwaki, Quebec, where they spent a few days before returning home. Jim Rule reported, “I’ve been playing a good bit of tennis in 95-plus degree heat. So far no strokes while stroking the ball—even winning once in a while.” He also spent time tending to his garden and planned to take a master gardener’s course. Jim had a few choice comments about weeds and aging, which cannot be repeated in this column even though I, Sam, would like to! Let your imagination run wild! Tim Breen advised, “I will hold the resident research fellowship at the Thomas Jefferson International Center at Monticello for the month of Nov.” His newest book, George Washington’s Journey, will be released in Jan. Lastly, a group of classmates gathered at Mory’s in New Haven in June—a minireunion of sorts. In attendance were Burt Sonenstein, Dave Robinson, Bob Hilliard, Dick Walsh, Phelps Platt, Jim Goulard, Don Challis, and me, Sam. Everyone is doing well, and we all had a good time catching up with each other. Dick recounted how much he enjoyed his time at our 55th Reunion in May: “I was pleased with the freedom I was given to view aspects of Taft that I hadn’t seen before.” With a touch of humor in his voice, he said, “The Jigger House still exists and is now located in an area that used to be the gym in 1960. Egad, man! It even has a pool table!” Yes, we had a good time and a lot of laughs! Head Class Agent: Bob Barry, 74 Scuppo Rd., Woodbury, CT 067983813, [email protected] In case you missed John Merrow’s more timely email to us, he has hung up his spurs at PBS News Hour, his home since 1985, and the setting of so much of his outstanding career, promoting the best in education for our country. He deserves our thanks as fellow citizens for all of his hard work. Fortunately, the end of John’s star TV career is not to be the end of his life’s work and mission. Those wishing to keep up with John on this should sign up at his Taking Note blog at takingnote. learningmatters.tv/. Steve Buckley writes that he and Sue recently celebrated their 50th anniversary in France. After visiting the chateaux in the Loire Valley and touring the burgundy vineyards around Beaune, they spent a week in a Paris apartment, from which they walked five to six miles each day to enjoy the many treats of the city. Steve says he still plays some golf, fishes, and follows his wonderful bird dog, Britt, during the season, and that other than articles published recently in Atlantic Salmon Journal and the Ruffed Grouse Society magazine, he is retired. Finally, your hard-working class secretary exercised the full prerogatives of his position to ask two follow-up questions concerning Murray Sargent’s news from the last issue, that he hiked the Grand Canyon and is still working at Microsoft. First: How long did the hike take, to which Murray replied it took him 10.5 hours, after which he slept pretty well following a delicious meal of buffalo filet mignon and some fine red wine. The second question: How does a 74-year old man stay competitive at Microsoft with all of the no doubt very young and very talented software engineers there? To this, Murray 60 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 1960 Class Secretary/Head Class Agent: Samuel E.M. Crocker, [email protected] Check out the picture of C.D. Smith arriving in Lovell, Wyo., on day 14 of his 45-day, 3,700-mile bicycle ride from Astoria, Ore. to Portland, Maine. On Aug. 23, C.D. and 18 other riders representing four countries (Switzerland, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands) and 10 states dipped their back wheels into the Pacific Ocean before embarking the next day on an eight-hour ride covering 99.5 miles from Astoria to Portland, Ore. C.D. said in his blog that it was “the longest ride of my life.” As C.D. would soon learn, that would be nothing compared to the 100-mile days that lay ahead. As of this writing, C.D. arrived in Rapid City, S.D., on day 18, having ridden 1,524 miles, climbed 62,062 feet, and spending 103 hours “in the saddle.” Stay tuned for the next issue’s notes 1961/55th Reunion Class Secretary: Jack Hill, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: John T. Shively, [email protected]; Reunion Chair: Jerry Mitchell, [email protected] Kinda sparse this time around. I made an attempt at seeing Jerry Mitchell who said, “Unfortunately, Margaret and I won’t be there next week. We enjoy the get-togethers so we’re disappointed to miss you and Nancy.” Tried also to see Brad Tomlinson, who Jerry reports is fine, and Al Aydelott, who politely declined—he was at their place in Maine and thanked your scribe for thinking of them. So that was a swing and a miss.... We enjoyed our traditional summer outing with Cheryl and Herb Carlson. Nancy was interested to hear Herb say that he has seen far more of me during our summer visits than when we were classmates at Dartmouth! I turned 73 this summer and Phil Smith sent a really enjoyable note that reminded me of the wonder of our voyage through life: “I refuse to add yet another of those really banal ‘Happy Birthday’comments on your Facebook page! How about ‘Welcome to upper-middle age!’ Or, ‘OK, how long ’til Social Security cuts in?’ Or, in another language, bonne anniversaire, buon natale! Anyway, at our age, one should really ignore these kinds of ‘marker events’ because all they really do is remind one that ‘the clock is ticking!’ Better make the best of what’s left! Admittedly, not the mainstream, pathetic, as said, banal Happy Birthday–ugh! Nonetheless, Jack, do try to glean as much love, enjoyment, and pleasure as you can today, and absolutely necessary, hug your bride and thank her for being your companion on this voyage so wonderful!” Eric Vanderpoel reports, “Well you just beat me...I turned 73 on Aug. 21. My wife is a Hollins Univ. alum, and we are attending their celebration of 100 years of Hollins Abroad with a trip to Paris and London in Nov. There will be some arm-twisting involved I’m sure, but they have arranged some really neat private tours in both cities. We plan to do side trips to Mont St. Michel and Normandy while we are there. We took a National Geographic cruise of Alaska’s Inner Passage in June—only 64 passengers rather than the crowds on most ships these days. We saw eagles and whales everywhere. Marnie was walking with one of the naturalists and came within about 15 yards of a large brown bear. The guides carry a form of mace, but fortunately didn’t need to use it. At the time I was on one of the more adventurous hikes and saw nothing more than a few squirrels....darn the luck.” I miss my travels from West to East, and Bo Chapin let me know he misses them as well: “Missed you passing through Colo. on the way to/from Taft last summer now that your home is ‘back East.’ Sandy and I purchased an old patented mining claim in Teller County not far from Cripple Creek, on the West side of Pike’s Peak. Last summer, during the week when we were not there, a bear ripped out the door, entered the travel trailer, took the dog food outside, and ate it. Other than the bear leaving a mess, the door was the only damage. This summer when up there during the week with Sandy’s sister and brother-in-law from the Chicago area, a good-sized black bear sauntered through the camp just as we were getting out of bed. It was startled by movement in the camper and left the area. We sleep with the car fob on the bedside table, activating the panic button as a noise and light deterrent. I used it then to be more assured that the critter had departed the area. It was not seen again. Hope you are well, and that Nancy’s knee is healing well.” Ah yes, Nancy’s knee. She hurt it before we left for Taft and dealt with it painfully in Watertown. After X-rays and an MRI noted the damage, we learned the selected “orthopod” was booked eight weeks out, so I was faced with quickly finding a good one in Nashville for when we got home. So I did what any brave Taftie would do, I called my ex-wife, asked her for her boyfriend’s phone number, and called him for a local recommendation for when we got back! (No big deal...he retired from his orthopedic practice in June.) Operation now complete, pain greatly reduced, but she isn’t as mobile as she thinks she should be...yet. I was particularly pleased to hear from Tom Wright, who wrote a note that strikes a chord, certainly with me, and perhaps others: “Lynn and I moved to Savannah, Ga., after I retired from the Navy in 1987. I helped start a shipyard, Intermarine USA, and built, tested, and delivered eight composite minehunters for the U.S. Navy. When that project ended, I worked in several shipyards, first as a project manager, and then in safety, security, and environmental and human resources for another 10 years or so. Now, I manage the Savannah Maritime Assoc. and support the Navy League, Propeller Club, and several other local organizations. A year or so ago, in my 70s and with continuing medical issues, Lynn and I considered moving to Salem, Ore., to be closer to our daughter. We took a look, and the amount of ‘stuff’ in our house was overwhelming. It’s going Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 61 Alumni Notes to take another year or two to clean out the house so we can move to a smaller, simpler place in the Great Pacific Northwest. You can watch your parents, but you never really understand getting old until it happens to you. Give my regards to all our classmates. It’s a great group that has contributed a lot to our country.” As Tom hints, getting old ain’t for sissies! Hard to believe 50 years out of college was this spring, and 55 from Taft comes up in 2016. I hope to see all of my classmates there, yes, all of you! 1962 Class Secretary: David Forster, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Fred Nagle, [email protected] From Larry Fenton, yes, our long-lost classmate, we hear, “Surprise, do not go into shock, but I am sending you something. Janice and I decided it was time to move from our colonial in Harvard, Mass., so we have built a house in Alton, N.H., and are in the process of moving in. No, we are not retired, and are still working, but a more limited schedule. Janice’s family has had a cottage for many years very near our new home that we have summered at. We are just over the town line from Wolfeboro, and across the street is Lake Winnipesaukee, and there is a common dock for our boats. Harvard was probably not a destination many considered, but if anyone is in the area please feel free to give a call.” Joe Freeman writes, “So far 2015 has been a difficult year for me, in part due to the extremely harsh winter here in Boston, which finally convinced me to get a new knee. That surgery was very successful, but I have been plagued with a pesky set of GI problems that have me on a bland diet and seeing altogether too many doctors, none of who seem to have any answers. Tests, drugs, office visits, and stomach upset have become the norm, preventing me from doing some of the things I really love: Racing my cars, fishing, spending time on Nantucket, and generally enjoying life. Part of getting old, I guess. I certainly have done a lot of reading, though! Nonetheless, my business, Racemaker Press, continues to do fairly well (a couple of new books out every year with decent sales) and occupies more of my time than it really should. On the up 62 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Alumni notes side, my ‘adopted’ son, Zack, graduated from Miami of Ohio this spring and has a real paying job!” From Pete Adams we hear, “This past summer was the summer of construction of the ‘Chaos Shed,’ to house all the piles of disorganized papers, gear, tools, etc. that encumber my living quarters. The theory being that concentrating the patches diminishes the effects of entropy in and of itself, and will facilitate further organizing efforts. Time will tell. Summer was also notable for prodigious wax bean production. My house ain’t neat, but I can put some delicious veggies on the dinner table for any of you venturing up this way.” David Oldfield writes, “Marti and I are serving as a host family for a Chinese student, Evan, 17, who is enrolled in a St. Louis prep school. We have become fully immersed in his school activities and have already attended early morning parent coffees to meet his academic advisors. We take him to school each day and make sure he gets to soccer practice on time, as he has just made the varsity team. Now we are being asked to volunteer at his chess club meets. We have played chess twice, and it’s Evan 2 vs. David 0! Evan reminds me a lot of myself 54 years ago when I too, was a foreign student at Taft. I feel as if I’m taking a refresher course in American history as I help him with his homework! Needless to say we are learning a great deal about Chinese culture and eating habits. He is taking three AP classes including calculus and just got an A on his biology exam. All this academic achievement at 17 and in a foreign language! Well, it’s keeping us young!” Mike Swires writes, “Judy and I were in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., at our condo, until the last week of Sept. Then we drove back to Houston, a three-day drive. We arrived in Calif. in early June, and it was a busy three-plus months. It was warmer than usual in Calif., but still not like Houston. Calif. was still dry as a desert, the whole state. The natives there are hoping for heavy El Niño rains this winter (then they’ll probably get mudslides). We redid the kitchen in our condo—the last major redo on the condo, we hope. We hosted all of our kids and grandkids (three kids, eight grandkids) for 10 days in July, which was fun and exhausting as always. We had 14 people staying in our condo; one night we had 19 people for dinner. I also had to make a number of business trips while we were in Bryn and Jace, grandchildren of Cronan Minton ’62, ready for their golf and tennis camp. Calif. We’re trying to figure out where to go on a foreign trip next year, maybe a cruise somewhere we haven’t been yet. We’re also trying to figure out something special to do for our anniversary on Dec. 19. It’s another milestone, number 50! Maybe a few days in Las Vegas.” From Marty Keller we hear, “Our daughter, Megan, was married on July 3. What a glorious occasion. A new family was formed. So Megan went from Keller, meaning ‘cellar’ or ‘foundation’ in German, to Wieszcholek, which in Polish means ‘pinnacle’ or ‘the top of a wedding cake.’” Bob Chandler writes, “No trek this year as I am reorganizing my practice and doing more grandparenting while my partner takes delivery of his new house in Stresa, Italy. On the former note, our eighth grandchild, Camila, arrived Aug. 28 in Aventura, Fla. Lalio was in attendance. Had one great round of golf last month: Shot an 85 with four birdies! Handicap at 20 and headed south, slowly.” Paul Ehrlich writes, “Nine months left on my practice contract, and Labor Day seemed like a pleasure. But, practicing seems like something I’m not yet ready to give up.” From Jay Owen, “My hematologist recently told me that my NK cell reading was halved. The NK cell reading, which can only be done every three months, is by far the most important reading. The cells are the nemeses that contribute to everything else (red blood cell fall, anemia, liver and/or kidney dysfunction, etc.). It’s the first really positive news I have had (in a long time) regarding this debilitating disease—just thought I’d share the good news. I’m fighting as hard as I can to make the best quality of life I can. It’s been almost five years since this battle was commenced. It’s been tough at times, but I’ve seen the birth of four granddaughters (a fifth is on the way early next year). So, I’ll keep on plugging. I appreciate all the support from my old Taft friends from the class, especially Marty Keller and Cliff Brown. I’ll keep you up to date with things from time to time.” Cronan Minton writes, “Our Calif. grandkids, Bryn, 11, and Jace, 9, were all dressed up in their new clothes for a golf and tennis camp in the photo I submitted.” From Vin Badger, typed by Jenny Badger, read and approved by Vin: “We left a message this summer for Gail Collins of the New York Times—with a very nice young office assistant or intern—a suggested Randian (Ayn, not Paul) column head: ‘Who is Donald Pelt?’ There was a great New Yorker cartoon some years ago by Lorenz of a very disgruntled Donald Duck sitting in a fancy bar alone and grousing, “I remember when I was The Donald.” I remember when I was the Donald, too: I did a more than passable Donald Duck voice when younger.” Albert Simms writes, “Hope you’re sitting down for this one: I got married in Aug. to a super lady, Catherine Danilov, from the Portland Ore. area. I told the local probate judge we’d like it very short and simple, something like ‘we each swear to love each other forever.’ The judge did even better with, ‘Do you want to be married? (Yes.) I pronounce you married.’ I’d say it took about 15 seconds or less. After decades of bragging about being a recluse, I’m really digging it. I’m not moving to Portland, however. Catherine has moved to Pilar. She loves to farm and make pickles, loves our little house on the prairie, doesn’t like parties, loves to get up at 4 a.m., and the list of compatibilities goes on and on. When her dad came to Taos to check me out a couple of months ago, he said he liked the ‘unpretentious simplicity’ of my office, which I rank among the top compliments I have occasionally received over the years.” Bryan Remer writes, “After a couple of years of searching, Karen and I have bought a home in the Silverado community in Napa Valley. Now we can sell and vacate the condo she bought before we met, she not expecting yours truly to come along to mess up her life plans. And now we have a place of our own, situated a short walk from the Silverado North course 8th tee, just in time for the PGA tournament in Oct. Speaking of golf, I always need to remember that golf spelled backwards is flog, and that’s about the way I play it. I rationalize I’m a late bloomer.” As I mentioned to Albert when I heard the good news, the only thing I can say about the subject of marriage is this, I’m married over 30 years and consider myself very lucky. During all that time I’ve never considered divorce. Murder maybe, but not divorce! Congratulations to you, Albert, and thank you, all contributors and readers alike, for keeping us connected in word and in spirit. Get Social the Easy Way Not a social media fan, but want to keep up with Taft? We now have a social mash-up page that will allow you to follow the day-to-day images, videos, and news updates from campus without having to create multiple social media accounts. Just visit www.taftschool.org/social to see postings from Taft’s various social accounts. No logins or passwords needed! 1963 Class Secretary: Mark H. Fromm, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Robert F. “Rick” Muhlhauser, [email protected] Your correspondent had the pleasure of the company of John Lord on a trip to the Boston area. John very kindly gave me lunch at his club in Boston and, after a first-class meal, I received a tour that included the famous table in the library where he wrote most of his poetry. Thereafter, we were joined by his wife, Mary, after which the Lords departed for N.H. where, John informs me, three weeks earlier he had lunched with Tim More. He reports that Tim was alive, well, and headed towards the North. I also spent a very pleasant hour or so on the terrace behind Lynne and Frank Minard’s very lovely home adjacent to the Oyster Harbors Club golf course in Osterville, Mass. The adventures of Frank’s daughter, Mick ’91, continue as she is in discussions about her book The Poetry of Purpose: A Portrait of Women Leaders of India being made into a film. Meanwhile, she has taken a senior marketing job with REI in N.Y. Her sister, Rachel, continues to operate Minard Capital in San Francisco, a fee-based marketing consultancy for alternative investment funds. A look at her website would impress anyone in the investment world. Certainly, to my jaded ears, callused from many too many decades of listening to “corporate speak,” it was very refreshing. The third Minard daughter, Sara, teaches social entrepreneurship and sustainable development at Columbia and Northeastern. I caught up with Peter McDonald in Marion, Mass., one of the most pleasant towns imaginable. Peter spent much of an afternoon showing me the sights, including Tabor Academy, where he spent his senior year, and his boyhood home on Converse Point, one of the more stunningly beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It was as though we had been deposited into a late 19th-century Impressionist vision of sea, sky, coast, and white sails. Roy O’Neil reports, “I have spent a lot of time this past year pitching my musical, Eddie and The Palaceades, to community, small professional, and academic theaters around the country. Mostly it has been no reply or pass, but I have raised some interest, and a few theaters have the script Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 63 Alumni Notes under consideration. The show will be highlighted in the National Report section of the Sept./Oct. issue of The Dramatist, the magazine of the Dramatist Guild. Sample tunes can be heard at eddieandthepalaceades.com, and we have a Facebook page that could use some ‘likes.’” Derek Brereton just returned from five weeks in Spain. There he worked on his latest book, Seven Keys to Spanish Treasure, a collection of essays on aspects of Spanish culture. He met with flamenco singers and guitarists, matadors, and guitar makers, and studied romanticism, the brotherhoods (think: Holy Week in Seville), Moorish architecture, and equestrian training schools for the nobility. See p. 78 for a photo of Drum Bell’s grandson, Max. From Jim Strubell: “Playing a bit of golf of course. The New England Junior Amateur was at my club this week. I am so amazed at how lithe these kids are and how much better they are than this old, decrepit swinger. I’ve spent several weekends on Cape Cod chasing tuna with my cousin and uncle, Marty McDonald ’54, to no avail, though we were awarded with incredible whale shows, breaching, tail whacking, etc.” Phil Cerny checked in just to say hello, and Paul Clark regularly reminds me of the joys (and other aspects) of growing old. Finally, Biff Barnard posted a picture on Facebook of his and Connie’s wedding 35 years ago. To our immense relief he was not wearing sideburns and bell-bottoms, but the glasses, clearly, had to go. Connie, as usual, looked lovely. Biff added the following comment on a different subject: “As some classmates know, for almost 15 years I have been involved with the United Religions Initiative (URI, uri.org), which is now the largest grassroots interfaith organization in the world, and whose purpose is to ‘promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice, and healing for the earth and all living beings.’ The work of URI is done by volunteers organized in local communities through what we call cooperation circles—made up of at least seven people from at least three different religions. We have 700 cooperation circles in 80 countries around the world and growing. We have been asked to produce a one-hour interfaith celebration of Christmas for CBS to be shown on network and CBS affiliates nationwide at 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. We have engaged Jonathan Dann ’70, one 64 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Alumni notes Peter McDonald ’63 proudly displays his alma mater on his car. Ted Ely ’64 with his grandson, Everett, aboard a pirate ship in Presque Isle Bay, on Lake Erie. of the monitors on my corridor when I was on the faculty, as our executive producer. I hope all of my classmates will watch of the program—or at least record it and watch it later if you can’t stay up that late.” Biff received a letter from one of his former students, whom Biff taught while on the faculty at Taft, stating what integrity Biff had always shown as a teacher. In reference to a controversial incident in the news about St. Paul’s, the student said that Biff would have done the right thing, had he been there. We, his classmates, know we are fortunate to have him as a classmate and friend. “You, Biff, were the essential man. Still are. Ask any of the old gang. Your kids and granddaughters have an honorable old school gentlemen for a patriarch. Lucky people.” of my fellow citizens who see these as viable leaders!” Donald Trump, anyone? From Colo., Bruce Gammill writes, “Seemed like a very short summer this year in Colo. as we were still dealing with the occasional snow (on Mother’s Day!) in late spring, which confused all the plants as well as many people (me). I enjoyed tracking my two youngest (twin girls, 21) who were doing summer internships this year in investment banking and in international relations. They’re now in their senior year of college. Should be interesting to see what happens, career-wise, when they graduate this coming May. My summer was uneventful (dormant? like the plants). My hockey team sucked (last place) but was still fun. And I’ve signed on for another year of doing economic development for Torbay in the U.K. We’re heavily focused on developing their photonics industry. If you’re like me, not engineering inclined, it makes for a pretty esoteric experience.” And from Scott Farley, another Western classmate: “Dick Loughran spent three nights at my modest cabin on Flathead Lake, Mont. He traveled from Fla. to see family and friends. He saw Cam Duncan in N.M. before coming to Mont., and saw Sandy Mason in Idaho on his way back. We had several nice meals. The wine, views, and good sleeping weather didn’t hurt. He left just before the smoke from the regional fires got really bad.” Charlie Jessopp contributes, “We moved to Bonita Springs, Fla., last year and now are all settled in as full-time residents. I’d love to hear from anyone in the area.” From Tom “Mouse” McCready Tudor, “Visited with son Jan ’00 and his wife, whom live in Oxford, England, with daughter Leonora and another on the way. Maya ’94 also lives (and teaches) in Oxford. I just retired from the 1964 Class Secretary: Christopher “Kit” Brown, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Carl Wies, [email protected] Thanks to those of you who responded to my plea for news. It’s great to hear from you. Frosty Hicks writes, “Sydney and I spent three weeks in Italy in May looking at all the ruins, art, palaces, and more. Then in July we visited Joanne and Hugh Caldara in Stonington, Conn., for four days. Lots of fun for us.” Kit Galton has a political observation, as of Aug., when he wrote in: “While I continue to work part-time as a mental health counselor, I am horrified as I watch what looks like craziness gone wild in our political system. Unfortunately, I do not know how to bring calmness or sensibility to those aspiring to be elected to run our nation, and I shudder to think of the millions Defense Security Cooperation Agency where I was a deputy general counsel. Now having a blast doing absolutely nothing!” We received a great note from Bert Barnes: “I have three wonderful children and five wonderful grandchildren. Their achievements are very good, but they won’t be very special to our readers. Also, a wonderful golden retriever and two lovable cats (OMG!). I am in transition toward retirement; my wife Martha and I live a very good life in Springfield, Ohio. We recently purchased her family cottage on Mullett Lake, Mich., 25 miles south of Mackinac Bridge. Regarding Taft ‘what’s on my mind,’ my reflections on 1961–64 at Taft are overwhelmingly positive! It was three years of astounding growth for me, and I cherish the endless memories of people and events and more. Many kids and their parents took me into their Conn. homes (Boynton, Klaben, and others). Very pleasant for an Ohio kid 700 miles from home. Again, endless great memories from those three years…Coach John Small, one of the great ones. Rod Maynard, and so many other good friends. Vespers, church, singing, academics…great memories of Joseph Cunningham, James Logan, my physics teacher and soccer coach, and many other faculty. When I left Taft in 1964, I still had a long way to go, but I left a much stronger person than I was in Sept. 1961. The school motto is in Latin, and I cannot quote it, but it’s worth noting that it is taken directly from the Gospel of Mark 10:45, and I don’t think in three years anyone ever said that out loud. My dominant thought about Taft is one of deep gratitude for the three years spent there.” And here’s another great note, this one from Ted Ely: “I had a wonderful summer. I have two grandchildren, Everett, 6, and Lila, 2. We see them frequently, in fact, almost every other day. We take Everett to a club where there is a pool. He loves the water and is in the process of learning to swim. It is so satisfying to teach a willing and eager student, as I am sure that you are aware. We also play baseball (by his rules) and have little excursions that my wife plans. Yesterday we took him on a faux pirate ship and to the library (his school has a summer reading list, just like Taft). We also went to Conneaut, Ohio, for a WWII reenactment of D-Day. We take him to the Erie Art Museum, the Children’s Museum, and even to the Philharmonic concerts. My wife and I are teaching him to read, which I believe is the cornerstone to learning. I am kept busy with the four boards that I sit on. All of them are charitable, and three have to do with the arts. I sit on the board of the Erie Art Museum, the Philharmonic, and my Rotary Club. My favorite organization though is JazzErie. It is the smallest organization but needs me the most. I feel that the arts are the soul of the community. I seem to have meetings with all of these boards two or three times a week. I am currently helping the Erie Art Museum with a lease for one of its properties to another nonprofit. I think that we all should give back to the community that we live in. ‘Not to be served, but to serve.’ I am also trying to lose some weight—a challenge. I have lost 20 pounds, mostly because of a spin class that I take at a local health club two times a week. I ride my bike around the peninsula on the off days when I get a chance. I am also reading a lot more. Currently, I am rereading the classics. I read The Movable Feast and am currently rereading Moby Dick. I am interested in my impressions now versus when I was in my teens.” On a related subject, Ted is very much interested in starting a class online book club. He would create a blog and act as moderator. Classmates’ spouses would be welcome to join, too. The name of the blog would be the Taft Alumni Reading Club. He suggests that I give him a list of the books I’m reading with my upper mid and senior AP classes as a start, and I’d be glad to do so (sample books: The Scarlet Letter, The Stranger, A Clockwork Orange, The Bluest Eye, Go Down, Moses, maybe even a Shakespeare play). It sounds like a good idea, and I’d be happy to join in from time to time with my observations when I’m not teaching, grading, or trying to get all of you to send in news. Please email me if you’re interested, and I’ll pass your names and emails along to Ted. That’s all for this issue. They’re your notes. Please keep them coming! 1965 Class Secretary: Carl P. Hennrich, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Kemp Bohlen, [email protected] “There’s no such thing as a perfect piece of writing. Just as there’s no such thing as perfect despair.” Know you agree with Haruki Murakami’s opening statement of his novel Hear the Wind Sing; there’s certainly “no perfect piece of writing” in these quarterly class notes, vaingloriously hard as we scribes may strive. We aspire to mitigate any despair you classmates may be enduring, as we navigate the vicissitudes of our human coil. George Schade eased some recent despair of mine, with these uplifting, encouraging words, “Stay well, Carl. I know some 85 people, many back east, and all about 69 years old, who really need you.” George, your timely kind words are appreciated. Fall seven times, stand up eight—Japanese proverb. Hope you and Lillian avoided the horrific Aug. dust storm in Phoenix that stranded several people on the top of Camelback Mountain. Please make sure to check the Ariz. weather report, and stay hydrated before embarking on your next long bike sojourn my friend. Our miraculous classmate striving to provide succor, encouragement, and relief from despair to needy souls in faraway places throughout the world, Ward Mailliard, was espied hosting a hot dog party for underprivileged children in South Africa in a photo. Ward wrote, “Every now and then we have moments on the learning journeys we take with the Mount Madonna student. I think we have had more than our share this time in the Botshabelo Children’s Aid’s village outside of Johannesburg. Hopefully the students are beginning to understand the true concept of a global society that is not about commerce, but rather about our common responsibility to each other as human beings. We certainly have learned about being welcomed in into the communities here.” Never cease your tireless humanitarian efforts, Ward, because Buddha and others are blessing you. This scribe is in awe of you and Kranti. Should any of you find yourself confronted with the frightful despair of a household intruder, fiery Tim Carew, who taught firearms, recommends keeping a Raid wasp spray can by your bed and near the entrance to your home. Tim claims wasp spray is the best home defense weapon as it fires 20 feet, “far better than a pistol or long gun.” Tim’s myriad of humorous emails, including some amazing pictures of, and jokes directed at Hillary Clinton (H.C.) always brighten my work-a-day world. Tim and I may move to Canada if H.C. becomes our next president. Despite Murakami’s belief there is no perfect writing, scribe Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 65 Alumni Notes Peter Corrigan ’66, agrees that Joseph Mitchell’s Up in the Old Hotel comes close with his amazing stories of the “visionaries, obsessives, imposters, fanatics, lost souls, street preachers, old Gypsy kings and queens, and the out-and-out freak show freaks” of NYC. No, don’t worry readers, Mitchell never wrote about our class or my beloved roommate Roger Kirby. Mitchell possessed an amazing talent for human and reportorial listening, as “Kirbs” did with his writing at Taft, Columbia, and beyond. Mitchell referred to his favorite subjects as “ear benders” which, henceforth, is what Corrigan and I will affectionately label all notes readers and classmates. So keep bending our ears, and those of you whom have been shining scribes for decades, kindly come bend our ears, and blow our minds? ’Scuse me, while I kiss the sky—Jimi Hendrix. Enjoyed hearing from one enlightening ’65 “ear bender,” another erudite classmate, John Kleeman, who shared some of his favorite poems. Klee’s emails are always extremely well written, educational, humorous without being sarcastic, and eagerly awaited. If you haven’t done so, google John and his family’s website: spaceagemuseum.com. On son Peter’s, Jan. 4, 1984, fourth birthday, the Kleemans commenced their Space Age Museum, when John gifted Peter with an 8-foot X-Wing fighter that he had constructed out of plywood and odd pieces. There are some great pictures of John, Veronica, and Peter throughout their website. Hey, Mr. Spaceman / Won’t you please take me along / For a ride.—The Byrds. Nietzsche once mused, “How can those who live in the light of day possibly comprehend the depth of night,” or the depths of outer space? Fellow football fan Jeff Levy emailed me to say, “I, too, am looking forward to the start of the football season, especially considering that the baseball season ended in Boston two months ago.” Jeff also related this exciting family news: “Craig ’01 and Alison delivered another boy to the Levy clan on July 7. His brother, Chase, is learning the meaning of the word share.” Three cheers for new baby James “Jake” Morse Levy. We enjoyed an ensuing congratulatory phone call wherein Jeff provided your scribe with several good, boisterous laughs that would have made Walt Costello shudder, in remembrance of the strange noises that ensued from your scribe during his Taft years. Chris Schroll 66 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Alumni notes and I still enjoy exchanging some of those memorable frightening sounds together. As promised, Jeff, some scribe family news: My oldest daughter, Seneca, and her musician husband, Trevor Brooks, are expecting baby girl Charley Jasmine Brooks any day now. And, we just found out earlier this week that our youngest daughter, Emily, and her handsome husband Robert “Bono” Boniface, are expecting their, as yet unnamed, beautiful baby girl toward the end of Feb. Let’s see, that brings the number of females in my life up to eight now, with Bono and Trevor being my only male amigos. Am vaingloriously attempting to catch up with all you classmates whom are already proud grandparents, realizing full well it will be impossible to lap the prolific, dynamic duo of Cathy and Greg Oneglia, who enjoy a commanding lead in the joyous world of grandchildren. Speaking of beautiful grandchildren, George Lamb reported that his granddaughter, Nola Cesarina, is growing up rapidly, and doing well. Nola’s middle name is her mother’s great-great-grandmother’s name, not George’s relative, as erroneously reported in one of my earlier class notes. George adds, “My father was a genealogy fanatic, thus I was able to scan his records back to the mid-1500s and found no Italian ancestry. Puritans all; mostly arriving on the Mayflower, later to invade Maine, Conn., and apparently most of Nantucket.” George’s email also stated, “This is something you likely never experience in Hawaii…a few days ago we had some snow on the higher peaks which reminded me to play some more tennis before I get out my skis.” Whilst George waxes his skis, your scribe is looking for his surfboard wax in anticipation of post-hurricane high surf. Enjoyed a fantastic “Back in the Day” Hawaiian music concert at the Waikiki Shell with Emily and Bono on the last day of their summer visit to Honolulu. Will close these fall notes with lyrics from the Rough Riders’ (Henry Kapono, John Cruz, and Brother Noland) song Ku’u Home O Kahalu’u: “I remember days when we were younger. I remember days when we were smiling. When we laughed and sang the whole night long. And I will greet you as I find you. With the sharing of a brand new song. Last night I dreamt I was returning, and my heart called out to you. To please accept me as you’ll find me.” Thanks for accepting my imperfect notes as you find them all these years. Hope this issue of the Bulletin finds you anticipating autumn after a rewarding summer. Aloha, your scribe. 1966/50th Reunion Class Secretary: Peter Corrigan, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: McKim Symington, [email protected]; Reunion Committee: Eduardo Mestre, chair, [email protected]; Warren Dean, Jim Fessenden, Rick Ford, Jim Hedges, Jim Murfey, Andres Pastoriza, Buzz Seeley, Hal Werner; Directory Committee: Peter Corrigan, McKim Symington, BobWhitcomb; Gift Committee: McKim Symington, co-chair; Chip Cinnamond, co-chair; Ray DuBois, Rick Ford, Alec Gerster, Dick Ginman, Tony Guernsey, Phil Howard, Buzz Seeley After a long and respected career taking bad guys off the street, Van Midgley has exchanged legal pad and court calendar for fly rod and sunscreen. Unless he returns for future Iron Man events in Moab, Utah is now in the rearview mirror, as he and Corinne will divide their year between Darby, Mont., and Punta Gorda, Fla. The toughest problem now will be adjusting from lodgepole pines to palmetto trees, and from trout in the creel to bonefish in the boat…pretty much the way a city kid from Scarsdale would choose to draw up retirement. Another Westchester County refugee, Chip Cinnamon, writes, “The big news is the arrival of our first two grandchildren, boys Reid and Jack, on April 7 and May 27, respectively. The better news is that we see a lot of them. They live in Swampscott, Mass., and our beach house in Narragansett, R.I., is less than two hours away. The key word of the year is ‘simplify.’ We sold our family home of 29 years in Westchester, sold the big boat (then bought a smaller one), and reduced the auto count from four to two. Susan and I look forward to dividing our time between R.I. and our condo in Naples, Fla., and seeing classmates for our 50th next May. Good health and happiness to all.” On a visit to his brother Ben’s home nearby, Jake Russell stopped in Longmeadow, Mass., to see Paul Cowie over the summer. Catching up with Paul usually means a round at Paul’s golf club, where he saves the best for last which, in Jake’s case, meant recalling how to ski so he could slalom down a steep precipice from the 18th hole. Like Chip and Van, Jake also maintains a seasonal residence in Fla., but when he left Paul’s, he was on his way to the far end of Atlantic Seaboard to visit relatives on the coast in Down East Maine. Speaking of skiing, Paul and Lisa’s younger son, Tim, left his current base of operations in Girdwood, Alaska, to spend part of his summer where it’s winter in Argentina for snowboarding on an eastern slope of an Andes ski resort in Patagonia. The Cowies also enjoyed a visit from Sissy, the wife of George Stearns, who was traveling from Cincinnati to spend time with friends and former neighbors from Stowe on Cape Cod. Susan and McKim Symington were scheduled for a river excursion through Europe in Oct., beginning on the Danube in Budapest, and finishing with a cruise up the Rhine; details to follow. The Symington offspring are gainfully remaining stateside, Hilary in Austin, Texas, and Ian in D.C., where he is interning with the Royal Bank of Canada and hopes to secure a permanent position. His father, and our Anglophile of a class agent, let it slip that any employer with the word “royal” in its title is fine by him. By the time you read this issue, all ’66 classmates we can reach will know that Eduardo Mestre has graciously stepped up once again to be our reunion chair, and this time it’s for our watershed 50th. I think we can unanimously agree that we have the right man for the job. Thank you from all of us, Eduardo. When Paul and Jake got together, it brought to mind that they and five other Taft classmates attended UNC at the same time. Eight classmates was easily the greatest number who went to the same college, they being Ferdie Wandelt, John Maloney, Doug Johnson, Al d’Ossche, Greg McCullough, Eugene Wang, Paul Cowie, and Jake Russell. Sad to say, three of those eight are no longer with us, as are 15 members from the entire class. Some of us grunts (Symington’s word), assisting Eduardo behind the scenes—with significant help from the school—plan to put a Reunion Directory together and would greatly appreciate any thoughts, brief anecdotes, or facts worth sharing about departed classmates. A letter has or will be sent with a list of these classmates. We hope to honor their memory if we possibly can. 1967 Class Secretary: Bruce E. Johnson, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: George W.C. “Bill” McCarter II, [email protected] 1968 Class Secretary: Mac Whiteman, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: James A. Sterling, [email protected] Get connected Taft has a variety of social media channels to help you stay up to date with the latest news from campus and classmates. Whether you still live in the area and want to know about upcoming events, or you live overseas and want to see what is happening in our classrooms through videos, social media is our way of bringing The Taft School to you. Here are just a few ways that you can stay connected: Become a fan of The Taft School Facebook page. See posts about upcoming events and connect with Taft’s Online Community: facebook.com/thetaftschool Catch breaking news about events, lectures, and more when you follow The Taft School on Twitter: twitter.com/taftschool Visit The Taft School on Instagram to see the latest photos from games, performances, and school life: instagram.com/taftschool Connect with Tafties on LinkedIn: bit.ly/taftlinkedin Watch videos of students, faculty, alumni, and parents experiencing a real-world education: vimeo.com/taftschool For those of you looking for good food, Jim Sterling has good news: “I have a record garlic crop this year—100 percent organic from Romanian stock.” He will be visited by Hunt Collins in the near future, who sent in the following news and inquiry, “I didn’t go anywhere last summer, but am finally going to Portland, Maine, soon, so I will, of course, look up our HM Jim Sterling then, he just doesn’t know it yet, and then I will head up to Auburn to visit my sister. Jim comes out here occasionally as I think he’s got two sons here in East Bay, one who’s about to get married. [In the 125th Anniversary feature in the summer Bulletin] I thought that the shot for year 1969 was actually Guy Erdman carrying a load of books to the new library. What do you think?” It is hard for me to put together the idea of Guy Erdman carrying books anywhere. However, I can report that Guy is, or was, a terrific water skier, as evidenced during our last encounter on a speedboat off of the Vineyard some 30 years ago. Jim Unland continues his efforts to organize an Oriocos reunion for our 50th. One of the biggest obstacles is identifying which members of our class were actually part of that illustrious group. If anyone knows, please let me know! Fred Jennes has already reported that he was not in the group. I remember a concert we gave in NYC at the invitation of Larry Bergreen’s father, Morris. Perhaps with Jim’s help we can relive that moment. Larry Legg reports that he and his family enjoyed a sailing vacation in and around Long Beach, Calif., which included hearing good music at a club in the hills above Santa Monica. He says that surfing opportunities were limited due to the possible presence of sharks, but nonetheless they all had a great time. Our honorary member Colter Rule ’69 reports, “My son, Colter III, headed to Suffield Academy on Sept. 12, not a moment too soon… The spoiled brat needs some come-uppance (Capri for three weeks this summer, with rich friends...that kind of brat!). Then into the Coast Guard, if I have my druthers.” Finally, your secretary is happy to report that I attended the baptism of my granddaughter, Olivia, this past July. This was followed by a terrific luncheon hosted by my son, Jamie, and his wife Megha. All of this took place near Prospect Park in Brooklyn, not too far from where I lived in Brooklyn Heights during our first year at Taft, Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 67 Alumni Notes Tom McDonald ’69 at the 30th birthday party for his son, Tom; from left, daughter Beth, Tom ’69, wife Mary Ann, son Tom, and daughter Sarah. Jim Meeker ’69 with his son, Will ’16. George Potts ’69 and Alan Denzer ’69 with jazz legend Bucky Pizzarelli. Charles Safran ’69 (aka “Bapa”) with grandchildren Alexa and Zachary. Dennis Vitrella ’69, center, on a canoeing adventure in Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario. 1964–65. It is an experience I will highly recommend to anyone with grandchildren. It takes some of the bite of turning 65 away! frequent travels to Kuwait to help improve diabetic care in the region. I was promoted to prof. of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and I helped create a new medical subspecialty called ‘clinical informatics.’ At Taft, when the woodworking shop was converted to a computer room, I found a lifelong interest. I won the golf club championship for old people with handicaps. So for any of you visiting Cape Cod, I’d be happy to host you on our Jack Nicklaus course in Brewster, Mass.” V. Manuel Rocha digs and pens, “While many of my classmates enjoy retirement and being grandfathers, I am still in the process of getting my kids through college, with my daughter starting at Babson in Boston, and my son in his second year at Bryant in R.I. Luckily, I just renewed my contract for another three years running the large gold mining operation in the Dominican Republic, with the added responsibility of exploring the Cuban mining market now that relations with the U.S. have been reestablished.” Tommy McDonald pitches in, “The McDonald clan has two bits of news. First, after 40-plus years on Wall Street (literally and figuratively) I have decided to retire from the fray, joining many of my contemporaneous colleagues on Uneasy Street. The second news item is the recent engagement of our daughter Beth to Jimmy Burke with a wedding planned for Oct. 2016. So my first year of retirement will be consumed with check writing.” Jim Meeker shuttled son Will ’16 back to Taft for his senior year. “It seems like yesterday he was a freshman, and when he graduates this spring, we will miss our years at Taft. The events at Taft are really fun, especially Parents’ Weekend and Taft/Hotchkiss Day. William spent time this past summer in Turkey with three Taft students, one of whom is from Istanbul.” Jay Geary reports that he remains off the streets and out of trouble with his law practice, church involvement, and music and fitness commitments. He reports, “I recently had the honor of testifying as an expert witness on behalf of Robert Walton ’73, in a case in St. Petersburg, Fla. As often as time and opportunity permit, I visit my daughter in Charleston, S.C., and my significant other in Middletown, R.I.” Paul Tomkins clears the air that he and “his lovely bride, Sylvie, have survived the most painful drought that the Northwest has had in years.” Paul stays busy carving up land for residential and commercial developments, but is grateful when opportunities arise to lay out conservation or forest management tracts, or provide support and guidance for individuals needing to sort through estate settlements or defense from unethical development schemes. Gary Cookson pays tuition all around, and writes a note not a check, “Everyone got off to a good fall start. Spencer settled in nicely at Curry College. Oliver headed up to Cardigan. The family made their annual sojourn to Basin Harbor on Lake Champlain. My wife, Janet, and I have settled into our Boston apartment located in the developing and lively Seaport area while Janet returns to school.” Jim Reed sweated out the summer in Chapel Hill and scribbled, “I did manage a trip to see my daughter in LA, plus a trip to N.Y. where I spent time with Alan “The Dow” Denzer. I leave in mid-Sept. for a two-week trip to Tanzania and Kenya. I promise to supply a photo for the next issue.” Mike Macy writes, “Lauri and I drove to the North Slope in Aug. Civilization ends 11 miles north of Fairbanks. Aside from truck stops at the Yukon River, Coldfoot, and maintenance camps and pump stations, there are no services and only two villages for 475 miles. Over five million acres burned this summer, again. Smoke—visibility 25 yards at times—8-, 9-, 10-percent grades—Prospect Creek -75°F—record low for U.S. in Wiseman, Alaska—‘Population: Frozen,’ according to the sign, but friendly—everywhere, glaciers being ravaged by climate change—and always, trucks and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, a marvel slinky-ing across the landscape. 1,700 bumpy, dusty, muddy miles later, we are happy to be home. The Haul Road is a mere sliver, thread, a hair reminding us ice road truckers just how gianormous Alaska is.” John Bria sketches his summer for us, “I’m working on 20 paintings or so of Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon, their final brilliant brush strokes proving elusive, and I’m heading out West with my dog Skye in midOct., looking for more material. In July, I walked onto the tennis court with a hopper of balls and began hitting left-handed. This is noteworthy only because I’ve logged about 55 years playing tennis right-handed. After Taft, I whipped my game into shape, played in college, then spent some time as a teaching pro. Recently, if nothing else, I at least still looked pretty good even when hitting the ball out or into the net. My right shoulder, though, suddenly needed a few months of easy living with perhaps a repair, followed by a few more months of recovery. The rest of me was not inclined to take a layoff, and so I did the obvious: I picked up my racquet with the other hand. I’m now a beginner. Serving is tough, and I hope our school will forgive me for this, but I blatantly disregard our motto and always choose to receive rather than to serve.” Charles Albert still works at play and reports that it was, “A very busy year at Creativity, Inc. We are proud to have contributed to the most recent Toy of the Year (and a few hundred others). Son Eugene (‘DJ Yooj’) is still in Berlin for the foreseeable future, but we did get a visit, and had a short vacation in Mendocino together. Son Miles continues work on his Physics PhD at UCSD. We have three cats, and a ridiculously prolific vegetable garden, with over eight heirloom tomato, squash, and pepper varieties each (place your hot sauce orders early), as well as beans, eggplants, herbs, etc. Life is good! All the best to everyone, and all are welcome to visit us anytime here in Redwood City, where the town motto is ‘Climate Best by Government Test.’” I, Dennis Vitrella, your class secretary, shaker of classmates’ notes and photos, and mover in all three North American countries, can report good health and conditioning. In Aug., with three experienced wilderness buddies, we returned to the Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario for an eight-day canoe adventure. This is the same spectacularly beautiful and remote area where Jay Geary joined us twice to paddle lakes and rivers and to portage heavy packs. Our two grandchildren live in Minneapolis but even more so in our hearts. We visit them “upriver” often. Angeles and I have been in our Puebla, Mexico, home even more often. Angeles’ sister and soul mate Alice’s illness and death have shaken our family’s foundation and our spirits here in Mexico, and thus we remain to support and heal. Alice lives in us. Viva Alice! ¡Viva México! Viva Taft ’69! 1969 Class Secretary: Dennis A. Vitrella, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Robert W. Leary, [email protected] Now that it’s fall, some of us are back to school and work routines, one switching rackets, another back from the North Slope to the Far North, one musician meets a jazz legend, one still our own golden legend, a pitcher retires for a second time, a carpenter on “vitamin I,” a Harvard prof. swinging on the Cape, law keeps a weightlifter off the streets, a Taft dad in his senior year, one off to Africa, another carves up land, tuition trebled for an actor, a Toy of the Year award winner, a Canadian paddler and Mexican resident, nicknames combined for Allons-y, the Dow Flake! George Potts caught up with Al Denzer in Aug. at the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Conn., and thanks to Mary and Al Pizzarelli, he was able to spend a few minutes with one of his all-time guitar heroes, Bucky Pizzarelli, who is “still performing at age 89, and out-dressing both of us.” Glenn Tucker swishes “vitamin I” and reports, “At this age, life has taken on a certain rhythm and simplicity. I wake up, take a couple of Ibuprofen, swing a hammer and haul lumber all day, take a small handful of Ibuprofen and fall into bed. I’m building a small house for my 90-year-old dad.” Charles Safran finds time to teach, practice, travel, and swing a club championship and writes, “It’s been a busy year with our new granddaughter and 68 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 1970 Class Secretary/Class Agent: Tom R. Strumolo, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Barnaby Conrad III, [email protected] I, Tom Strumolo, was in touch with Ed Cavazuti, who was visiting with Charlie Flynn on Martha’s Vineyard. I have been in touch separately with a bunch of classmates and many other Taft friends, like Molly Baldrige ’72 and Colter Rule ’69, on the occasion of my 40th wedding anniversary. Ann Havemeyer and I met in NYC in Dec. of 1970, went to Yale together, got married in 1975, raised five kids here in Norfolk, Conn., and managed to get Addie ’98, Will ’01, Pete (sensibly went to Westminster 2002), Andrew ’06, and Lizzie ’07 educated and out of the house. Barney Conrad had a hand in getting Ann and I together so Taft did, too, “once removed.” 1971/45th Reunion Class Secretary/Head Class Agent: Thomas W. Gronauer, [email protected]; Class Agents: Donald J. Lorenzet, Charles N. Stolper; Reunion Chair: Louis Frank, [email protected] Dunstan Sheldon retired in Oct. and is moving home to Hamiton, New Zealand. Richard Bell reports that his son, Christopher, is in Denver and works at the Call to Arms Brewery located at 4526 Tennyson St. They make 13 beers, and Richard encourages any alumni in the Denver area to give them a try. Read about our travel writer classmate, Don George in Spotlight on p. 8. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 69 Alumni Notes Alumni notes 1972 Class Secretary/Head Class Agent: Peter H. Miller, [email protected] We pick up where we left off last spring by talking about Nelson Denis. He has written a best-selling book called War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America’s Colony, which is now Amazon’s No. 3 on Colonialism and number eight on Latin America. When I see Nelson in the New York Times or on talk shows, I can’t help thinking, “I knew him when.” With this in mind, we change up our class notes. The timing seems right; all the weddings, birth announcements, and job promotions are behind us, I think. Instead, I’m asking classmates to share their memories about fellow classmates. Let’s see if your accomplishments today can be traced back to who you were at Taft, 43 years ago. Take Nelson for example. His past and current friend, fellow Upper Westside New Yorker, Al Kingenstein, had this to share: “Nelson has always been an original. From the first day of our lower mid year, it was obvious: Nelson was not like the rest of us. He made a big impression on me with his outsized personality, big heart, and mischievous spirit. He’s doing the same thing in the world today.” And this about “Nelsone” from Bob Golfman: “Nelson told me I needed more exercise. He was like Jack LaLanne, doing one-armed push-ups, for an audience, in Congdon. He took me on a five-mile run, but I’d never run more than a mile and a half. Before too long, I wanted to give up. But Nelson encouraged me with, ‘don’t stop!’ He’d run ahead really fast about 200 yards, then circle back and ask ‘how you doin’? Come on, you can do it, don’t stop! Keep breathing!’ To this day, whenever I run five miles, I think of Nelson, because without him, I never would have pushed myself that hard.” Since that run with Bob in 1970, Nelson has been on the go ever since: an acclaimed author, filmmaker, lawyer, N.Y. assemblyman from Spanish Harlem, and editor of El Diario/La Prensa, the largest Spanish language newspaper in NYC, for which he won awards from the National Assoc. of Hispanic Journalists. All this takes brains and concentration, something Nelson demonstrated to Jon Turak, his mid-year roommate who remembers, “My desk, in the room I shared with Jeff Lord and ‘Nelsone,’ 70 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 The daughters and grandchildren of Suzanne Bean Cooper ’73. 1973 alums Michael Scott, Peter White, and John Seelye at Peter’s home in Cold Springs Harbor, N.Y. was against the wall at the end of my bed. I woke up from a nap one afternoon to find Nelson sitting on my legs while he used my desk to play chess. This is all the use that desk ever got, as I was not often seen utilizing it.” Nelson’s book is about the clash between the Puerto Rican independence movement and the commonwealth’s U.S.-appointed stewards, national police force, the FBI, and ultimately the U.S. Army. The independence movement, led by Pedro Campos, was put down, marking the only time in U.S. history that the U.S. government bombed its own citizens. That Nelson could present this history from both sides of the conflict reminded me of his spiritual state of being, even at age 15. He made us all just a little uncomfortable when he prayed in public and didn’t begrudge our kidding him about it, which we did, in retrospect, unmercifully! Worth MacMurray remembers, “Nelson would come into our room to pray, kneeling against Kiwi’s Lay-Z-Boy chair. This had the effect of causing the chair to tilt back so that the upper part was pointing out the window. Kiwi and I came up with the only plausible explanation for Nelson’s daily ritual: Pointing the chair back’s metal frame out the window caused it to act as an antenna, and Nelson found that he got better ‘reception.’” My own memory of Nelson is of Sunday afternoon on the athletic field, him juggling a soccer ball from knee to knee, head to foot. I would ask him to sing the Schaefer beer commercial in Spanish, over and over, which he did happily, while juggling that soccer ball, as if to dance to his own music. And this, in conclusion, from Al Klingenstein who provides both a personal past and present-day perspective on Nelson: “Nelson has enjoyed stirring up the hornets’ nests his whole life. But he is not a rabble-rouser. He confronts his enemies with knowledge, insight, and disarming humor, with entertaining and effective results. I have enjoyed watching Nelson weave his web, knowing he’s doing good. I take pride in my friendship with Nelson Denis.” I’d like to thank Al, Jon, Worth, and Bob for their application of the Dick Lovelace grammatical corrections that I’ve long forgotten. If you’d like to share your own memories of classmates, as these good fellas have, please write me, Peter Miller. 1973 Class Secretary: Sherrard Upham Côté, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Marti Stine Boyd, [email protected] Bruce Turbow checked in, saying that his son, Ben, attended his first concert to see his favorite band, Phish, with Trey Anastasio ’83. His son, Robert, is going to make him a grandfather in Jan. 2016! Keep us posted… Marti Stine Boyd, our head class agent, sends a big “thank you” to all who supported the Annual Fund this year. Ted Judson writes, “TrustedPeer just enlisted a new expert, Worth MacMurray ’72, to go along with Steve Potter. Peter White has joined the TrustedPeer board of directors.” Michel Scott checked in with the following, “Peter White hosted my wife, Barbara, and me, and John Seelye at his fabulous home in Cold Springs Harbor on Aug. 19. I was on my way to Europe via NYC and Peter suggested we try and pull in some old Taft ’73 buddies for a gathering. Rick Schnier dropped by with his wife, Peach, also. First time I’d seen Peter and Rick in eight years, and John in over 30! Waistlines and hairlines looked quite impressive (except for mine on both counts), and I’m looking forward to taking John’s advice and getting on a regular yoga program. It was a fabulous night we’ll all remember for years to come. Hopefully we can make a regular yearly date of this!” From Geoff Blum: “Took some time off in June to travel with friends to Germany then cruise down the Danube, ending in Budapest. In July had my annual weekend in Martha’s Vineyard with Wyatt Stevens and his wife, Giselle.” Jock Yellott has been in touch with Tony Howe, a prize pupil of Mark Potter ’48 (Tony won the art award in 1973). Tony is now doing kinetic sculpture on Orcas Island, Wash., where he lives with his wife. Jock also regularly keeps up with Bruce Thompson, who alternates between summers at Chautauqua, N.Y., and winters in Fort Lauderdale. Jock became a lawyer, something he regrets—he should have become a cartoonist, he said! He practiced law in D.C. and retired to Charlottesville, Va. Hugh “Cubby” Downe checked in with this exciting news, “Daughter Chloe, after graduating from UVa, and working at Sotheby’s in NYC for four years and the National Museum in D.C. for the past one and one-half years, is back at UVa as one of only five persons admitted to their art and architectural history postgraduate program. She will emerge after five years with a MA and PhD—very exciting!” Kudos to Chloe! Life goes on in Andover, Mass. Our son is in his third year of law school. He will work for Latham and Watkins, in D.C., after graduation. His wife will move back to D.C. in the fall of 2016, when her two-year stint in NYC as assistant to the U.S. ambassador to the UN is done. Our daughter and son-in-law still run their watersports business in the summer and are busy chasing our two grandsons around! Thanks to all of you who responded to my plea for news! 1974 Class Secretary: Cynthia Post Stone, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Brian C. Lincoln, [email protected] Folks had busy summers. From Charlie Johnson: “After 32 years as a corporate lawyer in Boston, I changed careers to become a full time prof. at the business Tyler Humphrey, new grandchild for Clare Pierson ’74, born in June. More new grandchildren for Clare Pierson ’74: twins Ava and Austin Smith, born in Aug. school at Univ. of Mass. Amherst, where I will teach entrepreneurship and help lead the new entrepreneurship center on campus. My wife and I recently moved to Northampton with the invaluable assistance of our favorite real estate broker, Cindi Post Stone.” Peter Cohen sends this update, “We were able to get to Spain this summer and spent time on the Mediterranean. Being untethered from email can be very relaxing! We brought son Max back to college late summer.” Clare Pierson sent in photos of her new grandchildren. Congratulations, Clare! Mary and Phil Sneve have moved to a different home in Duluth, with a big lawn and a long driveway. Phil adds, “I foresee a lot of manly activity ahead. Our daughter, Caroline, gave birth to a son, Philip, and daughter, Ellen, had baby girl Fiona. That makes five grandkids.” From Craig Sellers, “I’m happy to report that I’ve been promoted to the position of prof. of clinical nursing at the Univ. of Rochester School of Nursing, where I have been on the faculty for the past 19 years. I’m also celebrating three years as director of our masters’ programs. It was also great to see David McColgin in Waterbury, Vt., where we caught up over dinner in July.” Jamie Oppenheimer reports, “Shauna and I have become very active volunteers in a local community radio station in Huntsville, Ontario, called Hunter’s Bay Radio (muskokaonline.com). FM range is limited to about 120 miles, but great programming. Yours truly hosts a three-hour show on Thursday nights highlighting songwriters who have influenced my songwriting. Proud to have had classmates Steve Engle and Gil Walker listening in from time to time. Never thought early retirement would steer me towards radio, but I’m having a good time with it.” Bob O’Connor had a lot of news to share: “I was in Panama City, Fla., last week filming the trailer for my book Gumptionade: The Booster for Your Self-Improvement Plan. Decided to drive there from my home in Memphis. Classmates: Have you tried 78 East through Birmingham, Ala.? By all means do. You get to see lots and lots of neighborhoods the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce does not feature on their website. And then—if you play your cards wrong—parts of rural Ala. also not on your itinerary. A blurb from Richard Smoley will be featured in my book video and on the back cover of the book. Class of ’74, we still look out for each other. (No one else will!) If you watch the video (www.gumptionade.com), you’ll see I look just like I did at Taft. But much, much older. I was in Woods Hole on Cape Cod in July. Saw no Tafties except Hank B., who sailed by again this year. He does not wave. My youngest started at Georgetown Law School this fall. He’s always been argumentative…why not get paid for it? I had a great conversation with Dick Cobb in June about John Small and Larry Stone, who—for me—were the dominant personalities at school while we were there. I am considering writing an article about them for the Bulletin. Let me know of any stories you would like to share, if you please.” Karl Rockwell was doing some reminiscing after seeing the picture of Fred Murolo, Marian Reiff Cheevers, and Bob Parsons in the summer Bulletin, “Reminds me of Summer Jam ’73, when I hung out with Bob and Fred at an epic outdoor concert featuring The Band, Grateful Dead, and Allman Brothers Band. We left at about 2 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 71 Alumni Notes a.m. with the Allmans still playing, but it was about a five-mile hike to my car, and we wanted to beat the 300,000 concertgoers leaving at the same time. We got to my house about sunrise, where my mom made a huge bacon and egg breakfast before I dropped off Fred and Bob on the interstate so they could hitch a ride back to Conn. Joe Giuliano did not make it to that concert, but a few years later I got Joe to go with me to see Miles Davis in a tiny basement night club in D.C. We were seated to the side of the stage, literally five feet from the legendary, frail, bent-over trumpet player glaring at us with dark sunglasses. Unforgettable Taftie moments!” Wonderful news from Holly Ross: “I married John Adolphsen on May 9. John accompanied me to our last big reunion, so some people might remember him. We had a small backyard wedding. Our honeymoon was a cruise from Vancouver to Alaska, with some time in Alaska and then in Seattle, where I met more of his family. Early fall we cruised up the East Coast to Canada, and then it was back to the usual work routine for a while!” Congratulations, Holly! And from Glenn Blakney, “I have accepted a position at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, teaching 7th and 8th grade mathematics in their new middle school. It’s a great opportunity at a great time—lots of work, but very exciting! So, I spent most of the summer, all of July and some of Aug., in orientation with curriculum planning, learning some new technology, and doing some team-building.” At this writing, Mike and I, Cindi Post Stone, have happily celebrated the marriage of our daughter Kylie, to Max Mean in July, and are celebrating the marriage of our other daughter Jamie, soon to Paul Feingold. We were so sorry to learn that Carlie Shields Dandridge passed away in Maine on Aug. 27 and offer our condolences to her family. (See In Memoriam.) 1975 Class Secretary: Fred McGaughan, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Robert C. Barber, 10 Llewelyn Rd., Summit, NJ 079012014, [email protected] See p. 87 for a photo of “Jinx” Howe with several other Tafties at the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Fla. 72 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Alumni notes 1976/40th Reunion Class Secretary: Donna Eldridge, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: John Welch, [email protected]; Class Agents: Kitty Herrlinger Hillman, David Jennison, Charles Santos-Buch, Don Taylor, Andrew Wertheim; Reunion Committee: Bob Campbell, Jocelyn Gamble Childs, Donna Eldridge, Kitty Herrlinger Hillman, David Jennison, Charlie Santos-Buch, Don Taylor, Helen Weeden, John Welch With our reunion on the horizon, news is coming in from faraway places…classmates who have been off the radar for many years are reconnecting and popping up on social media, at dinner parties, and when their kids force them to go and do what they might not have normally done. I will not “out” my sources, but will happily report news from Peter Lally: “Can you believe it? Son Brendan is an MD and is going to NYC for a three-year residency in emergency medicine.” Liz Miller is happy and healthy and has been in Vt. for the last 30 years, where she has a landscape design company. Bob Bova and his wife Kim, who is a neuropsychologist, and their boys, 16 and 13, and Bob’s dad live in Orange County, Calif. Bob did a stint in NYC but after visiting Calif. on a cold winter’s day in the mid-1980s, moved there and never looked back. Bob credits history teacher, mentor, and wrestling coach John Wynne with encouraging him to go to his alma mater, Syracuse, which helped put him on course to a great life. He and his family are very involved in scouting, water polo, baseball, martial arts, and music. During a recent trip to Brown for their older son’s summer program, he dropped by Taft. Steve Dayton was a PG student during senior year. He uncovered two beer mugs in his storage unit—does anyone from the class want them? Maybe we could get Steve to put them in a box to send to Watertown and we could raffle them off during reunion weekend! Jim McDonough’s recent excitement includes waterslides, zip lines, and jumping off a 25-foot tower into a giant airbag. It was, he says, “all to show my kids that I’m not too old to do that kind of thing, even though I am. I recently attended a Santana concert 40 years after seeing them on a Taft excursion to Hartford. Had a great time both occasions. Only change was that I opted for antacid this time.” Thanks to the McDonough connection, Skip Hidlay is among the recently found. He is living part-time in Fort Collins, Colo., in the Horsetooth Reservoir area, and in Kan. the rest of the year. One nudge led to another, and it prompted Skip to connect with Joe Leiper and Dave Thomas ’77. Skip planned to get together with Dave in mid-Sept. in Denver, and hoped to reunite with Joe after that. He even suggested that he would make the trip to Watertown in May. Kitty Herrlinger Hillman moved into her new home in Ketchum, Idaho, in Aug. after a five-month renovation. She writes, “It is a dream come true to live in my own real estate here in Sun Valley (SV)! Going to Peru in Nov. with some SV locals to trek the Salkantay lodge-to-lodge trail from Cuzco to Machu Picchu. I’m on board for the reunion.” Duncan Judson is now a grandfather to three—his daughter’s twins were born on July 5, girls Aislyn and Hadley. He is playing local amateur golf in Savannah, leading a tough life, and loving every minute of it. Andrew Wertheim’s big news is daughter Lucy’s Aug. wedding to Alex Palmer in NYC. David Jennison and Andrew’s cousin, Julia Cole ’09, were in attendance. Lucy started a new job at Architizer, a start-up web company that matches architects to designers and vendors. Sibyl is working part time for a French bank in Manhattan, Andrew is still flogging tea, and son Warren is at Spotify. I, Donna Eldridge, had a short visit in Salem, Ore., with Kris Ramstad while my daughter moved into her room at Willamette. Kris gave us a huge jar of her own bees’ honey, and Maddie has been enjoying it ever since. After 40 years separation, Kris and I found many things to connect us—trees, gardens, kids, West Coast transplants—and catching up was bittersweet as we remembered our mutual friend, Abby Jacobson ’77. Talking about small world, two weeks later, I was at a dinner party and met the Cal roommate of Ann Magnin. She is still working in fashion PR, which has changed quite a bit since she started her agency. Periscope! Snapchat! Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! Yes, times have changed. In other news, Ann’s daughter, Elena Stein ’09, lives in LA and works for Sony Pictures, and Emma ’12 is finishing up her senior year at College of Charleston. Husband Michael Stein ’73 keeps in touch with a core Taft group, which includes golf excursions both near and far. Tori Johnson Vincent reports from Arlington, Va., where she has been living with her husband for the last 29 years, that she is now an empty nester with two grown daughters. “It can’t be 40 years already because I still feel 20! Look forward to seeing everyone in May.” Kristin and Don Taylor still live in Nashville, “an IT city.” They have seen both Reg and Lynn Creviston Shiverick in Cleveland last December, and Suzanne and Bob Campbell and Tina Shealy in N.H. this past summer. The Taylor boys continue to explore the world. Chase, 25, after spending three years in Mombasa, Kenya, headed to graduate school in London in September to get a master’s in foreign policy and diplomacy. Younger son Brooks ’10, 23, works for Backroads, an adventure travel company, and biked with his classmate, John Wyman ’10, from Athens to Seville this past spring, wearing Taft gear the whole way! They had a great adventure. Don looks forward to seeing many of you at our reunion in May. Watch for emails and letters from our reunion committee and encourage your connections to come—we really are a pretty nice group now that we’ve grown up! 1977 Class Secretary: Wendy Wurtzburger Schmid, [email protected] Thank you to everyone who wrote in and gave me the thumbs up for stepping up to the class secretary position, especially past secretaries Bridget Taylor and Laura Laughlin Johnson. I finally figured out how to get the class email list onto my computer, and then actually get it sent out, which was a miracle in itself! Thank you to my husband for his tech knowledge! I never thought I would join Facebook, but I put up a page for our class (Taft School Class of 1977), so I hope everyone will check in. Hopefully we can stay in touch there. Does anyone remember the real “Facebook” at Taft? I want to dig up one of those! That’s Taft Student Magazines Taft students publish two magazines, in addition to the Papyrus newspaper. Global Journal is a four-color magazine with articles on international topics, and Red Inc. is an arts and literary magazine. Read them on their websites: Global Journal www.taftschool.org/globaljournal Red Inc. http://bit.ly/1NQ9dpK Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 73 Alumni Notes where we used to check each other out. Wade Johnson sends in news that he is out my way, on Long Island, and has an architecture firm, R. Wade Johnson Design AIA. Wade does restaurant and hotel work in the NYC area. Parker Mauck is busy processing 60 million pounds of cranberries in Southeastern Mass. Oct. is harvest season, so Parker has been working very hard! Casey Nolan Jackson has just moved from Vietnam to Belgium, and says she is on Facebook to stay in touch. Betsey Mott St. Onge is in Cambridge, Mass. Betsey is very involved with her yoga practice and guiding her two girls into post-college life. Betsey and I get together when she visits her parents in Quogue on Long Island. Liza Moore says she is busy teaching computer science in an elementary school in Freeport, Maine. Her two youngest sons are at Wesleyan. We are going to try to have a little reunion in the city. Bridget Taylor is in on it, and it would be fun if anybody else wanted to join. Look for details on the Taft School Class of 1977 Facebook page! Laura Laughlin Johnson wrote in from Baltimore, Md. Laura has four boys; her youngest son is at Davidson College and another is at Duke. Her two other sons are currently living in Richmond, Va., and NYC. Read more in this issue about Liz Barratt-Brown and her family’s 13th-century olive oil finca in Mallorca on p. 24. Many thanks to Dave Thomas, who wrote in to give me a pat on the back for being the new class secretary! As for me, I am still running my horseboarding stable in Bridgehampton, N.Y. I received a new horse client this past spring, not knowing, initially, that it belonged to Carol Leatherman Brett ’98. My friend, neighbor, and fellow alum Joanna Wölffer ’00 is also in the horse biz out here. Many thanks to everyone who wrote in! 1978 Class Secretary: John B. Mooney, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: William B. “Chris” Smylie, [email protected] For Mike Smith, the first memory of Taft was a boy with a “big wavy mop” leading his tour: “Hotchkiss never had a chance. Way to go Padgett!” For Chip Bristol, it was Paul Leibfried, inviting him with an outstretched hand to come out and play soccer. And for 74 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Alumni notes Chip Bristol ’78 and Tim Connors ’78 at Red Rocks, Colo. Steve Molder ’78 and son Kevin ’16 with Randy Stone ’78 (far right). Amy Upjohn ’79 with her daughter, Elyse ’08, and Conor Holland ’08 on Gull Lake, in Mich. Ashley Ransom ’83, her partner, Jan, and son Bodie during a summer visit to Long Island. Alums Ed Fowler ’84 and Jonathan Selkowitz ’84 catch up in Victor, Idaho. Ginna Rose, it was connecting with Maggie Knox Gombas, drawn together in their new school by their common Pittsburgh roots. In a further effort to get things in historical record before our synapses are completely shot, the Class of ’78 poll asked the question: “What was your first impression of Taft?” Often, it was an individual. John Tracey remembered Ferdie Wandelt ’66 and his admissions interview: “I can still hear his accent when he said the word ‘hah-key.’” Russ LeDonne had a quote: “My roommate Rico Cooke saying, ‘Cool. I can dig that.’ New Haven hipster ahead of, or behind, his time.” For me, John Mooney, it was the sight of all the wall tapestries when walking into my first room in CPT, sweetly decorated by my new roommate Robin Gahagan—and soon to be divulged, hiding a contraband television and refrigerator! Casey Padgett had never been east of St. Louis and described his arrival by plane to Hartford: “Arriving a week early for preseason soccer practice, there was no official school transportation provided. Instead, a very large, rumpled man with a large, rumpled golden retriever was waiting at the gate. Oscie had no trouble picking out the unaccompanied 15-year-old from the crowd. We rode down to Watertown in his old, wood-paneled station wagon, the three of us sharing the front seat. Caesar spent the time stretched across my lap, drooling slightly.” Making an even longer journey, Cliff Cunningham described the jolt of moving from Panama: “My first view of the Gothic lobby under CPT felt very grim, and the blank walls of my room even grimmer,” he wrote. Chris Smylie went through his own culture shock: “I arrived with my dad to ‘check out the reform school’ on Spring Weekend 1975. Problem was, no one mentioned it was a ‘special weekend.’ Business as usual, I assumed. But it was kinda interesting with live music all day, and girls tossing grapes into their mouths…from across the fields!? On the plane ride home to Atlanta, dad asked what I thought. ‘It’s alright…not Texas,’ I said. Nope, it ain’t.” Keep the stories coming, while you can, but enough about then. We have a few fun connections to share from the 21st century, too. Chip Bristol spent a couple days this past summer with Tim Connors in Denver and adds, “We visited Red Rocks (sober), went to a rodeo, and basically caught up on everything.” Randy Stone and Steve Molder have gotten together a couple of times, once at Randy’s place in Orlando, Fla., and then last summer at Steve’s home in Middlebury, Conn. Steve has triplet sons at Taft (yikes!). And, Russ LeDonne has been all over the place, spending time with Firkins Reed in Boston (“she remains a bundle of energy and idealism”) and Alix Manny biking around Va. and Tenn. Russ himself went back to school to get his degree in counseling and boasts that he was a model student for his sons. “Fortunately, they have not had access to my Taft grades or my yearbook page.” Bill Dowd, his wife, Susan, and their family on the Vineyard this summer. He is doing great, same hilarious personality.” Jon and his family are also doing well. His daughter, Sarah ’09, graduated from Amherst two years ago and is an analyst at JP Morgan’s investment bank. She is best friends with Charlie Demmon’s daughter, Kathy ’09. Jon’s son, Jake ’11, just graduated from Amherst and began working for a private real estate investment firm based in Manhattan. No surprise, he sees a lot of Todd Albert and his family, who are in NYC and doing well. Bill (Woodworth) and I, Lisa Zonino, caught up with Amy Upjohn when we were in Mich. last summer. Amy is doing great and has as much energy and enthusiasm as ever. Amy writes, “Things here in Kalamazoo are great. All three of our children are successfully launched. Our boys, Bradley and Charlie, live and work in Chicago in graphic design and wealth management, respectively, and daughter Elyse ’08 is a director at Kalamazoo Communities in Schools. Brad is director of business development for Greenleaf Hospitality. I am loving my work with nonprofits here, currently as a trustee at Kalamazoo College and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. We spend most of the winter at Ocean Reef in Key Largo, Fla., and Brad commutes on the weekends.” for his son with epilepsy. See photo on p. 55 of Cliona Durham Gunter with her father, Richard Durham ’54. Jill Bermingham Isenhart and her business ECOS Communications on p. 6. 1979 Class Secretary: Lisa Zonino, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Patty Buttenheim, [email protected]; Pamela Cole, [email protected] Hoping to get more of you to contribute to our class notes, I reached out to a few classmates who are fortunate enough to spend their summers at the beach or lakefront, figuring they might have some leisure time to update us. Jon Albert wrote, “We saw 1980 1981/35th Reunion Class Secretary: Ashley B. Ransom, Class Secretary: Richard A. Scully, [email protected]; Head [email protected]; Class Agents: Alexandria Lawrence Head Class Agent: Joseph R. Wagner, Ross, [email protected]; William W. [email protected]; Tillinghast, [email protected] Reunion Chairs: Jan Chayes Peterson, [email protected]; Jane L. Rosenberg, [email protected] Jane Rosenberg writes, “I am living in Greenwich Village with my husband and three kids. Our son, Will, 17, is in boarding school out west. Our twin daughters, Remy and Sydney, 14, just started high school here in NYC. I left Kaplan, Inc. eight years ago but have remained involved with the Kaplan Educational Foundation, which I started during my years at the company. I’m also involved with real estate here in the city. Keeping busy! I see Debra Bogen on her semiannual trips to NYC and saw Chris Hunter ’82 last spring when he came in for a bike race. And, of course, am keeping up with others via Facebook. Look forward to seeing everyone at our 35th Reunion this spring!” 1982 Class Secretary: Joy Rosenberg Horstmann, Class Secretary: Jeff Thompson, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Brendan Fitzgerald, [email protected] Rob Peterson Jr., [email protected] Fred Vogelstein wrote an article called “Boy, Interrupted,” in Wired about seeking alternative medical treatments in London 1983 Marcus Murphy reports that he is still in Madison, Wis., running a day treatment program for adolescents as well as facilitating groups for men convicted of domestic violence. He adds, “Dianna and I would welcome a visit from anyone who happens to be in Madison.” Read about the impressive wine operation owned by Alex Huber and his family in Chile on p. 33 in this issue. Jenny Glenn Wuerker is teaching a variety of art classes in Buffalo and Sheridan, Wyo., and had fall exhibits at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper and at the Brinton Museum in Bighorn. See p. 55 for a photo of Richard Durham with his dad, Richard ’54. I, Ashley Ransom, just retired from full-time teaching after 24 years. I’m hoping to do some part-time work in both education and the marine biology field, and mostly to have a little more time with my family. 1984 Class Secretary: Ginny Sisson, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Ed Fowler, [email protected]; Jeanne Congratulations to Tina and Brendan Fitzgerald, who welcomed daughter Alessandra Cristina on Sept. 15. Learn more about the fascinating work of Pocras, [email protected] Reid Curley shared some very uplifting news: “I am now running a software company Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 75 Alumni Notes in the ‘warehouse management and control systems’ space. We have a small, but impressive, list of customers that includes Global 1000 manufacturers as well as smaller companies. Companies across the spectrum like us because we have functionality that is as good as or better than the huge players in the space at a better price point. Another big selling feature is that we modify our software based on the customer’s requirements, so we are able to help companies regardless of what other systems they have in place or equipment that they use. While I have spent a lot of time in and around technology, this is the first time that I have had to take a deep dive into logistics, and I’m having a lot of fun.” Congrats Reid—it sounds like you have found your calling! Sherman Durfee writes, “All good with Katie and me. Our kids are on the high school scene (hard to believe!), although Taft is not in the cards much to my ‘chagrin.’ Ginny is at Westminster, and our son Teddy is going to Deerfield this fall. Funny enough, ran into David Hicks’ wife, Margaret, and his daughter, Helen, at Deerfield on revisit day, and his daughter is attending there as well. Had Tim “Smiley” Adair to a paddle member/guest tourney in Feb. in Bedford, and ended up playing against a bunch of younger Tafties like Bryce O’Brien ’90, Peter Hallock ’95, Roddy Tilt ’02, Nick Finn ’87, etc. Suffice it to say that the Class of ’84 represented well on and off the court.” While on vacation with his family in Aug., Ed Fowler just missed seeing both Ted Kelley and Mark Herrlinger in Sun Valley, Idaho. Commenting on his disappointment, he remarked, “I’ll be back.” On a higher note, he was able to drop in on Jonathan Selkowitz in Victor, Idaho, while en route to Jackson, Wyo. Ed writes, “Jon lives near one of the best micro-breweries in the Rocky Mountains (no surprise) and commutes over the pass to Jackson, where I found a copy of Jackson Hole Style Magazine, which had a great feature on Jon and his amazing work as a photographer, go Selk!” Also from the “near miss” department, Jonathan and Laura Ellis Dworken were in Jackson, Wyo., with their family in Aug. and just missed running into Ed, though Laura suspected that some of the cans they picked up while hiking in Grand Teton National Park may have been left by him. Finally, I received some great news from Joe Zipoli—he is now teaching at our alma mater. Congrats Zip! 76 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 1985 Class Secretary: Oliver B. Spencer, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Jeffrey B. Atwood, [email protected] 1986/30th Reunion Class Secretaries: Patience Smith Bloom, [email protected]; Amy M. Butler, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Sarah Elisabeth Curi, [email protected]; Matthew H. Park, [email protected]; Class Agents: Patience Smith Bloom, Winston Bao Lord, Chadwick S. Parson, Netty H. Tsai; Reunion Chair: Amy M. Butler, [email protected] From the Northeast, John Billingsley reports, “I am doing great in Vt. My wife, Laura, and I have three wonderful kids, Izzy, 10, Luke, 9, and Elise, 7. We live in the foothills of Camel’s Hump. We took a three-month sabbatical last winter and ‘home schooled’ the kids while traveling in Central America. It was an amazing experience! We are back settled in the Green Mountains. I produce a music video series at Vt. Public Radio called ‘Live from the Fort,’ and play music around town with my band REDadmiral. If anyone makes it up to the North Country, look me up.” On the other coast, Alison Clapp Bower has an update on life in Seattle and other Tafties: “Though I ‘see’ a lot of classmates on Facebook, I also get to actually spend time with Halsey Bell, a fellow Seattle dweller, which is such a blessing, really. He and his wife, Liz Gorton, and their two adorable boys live just five minutes away, so we get our families together—my son babysits their sons. Plus, Halsey is an educator, like me, and his children attended the school where I was assistant head. I also get to visit with Marnie Burke de Guzman ’85, Emily Robertson Smith ’85, Franny Stroh ’85, and Gwen Fairweather Dumont ’85 on a yearly ‘retreat’ where we just sink into sofas, take long walks in the mountains, and laugh our heads off. I am so, so grateful for these weekends, as they remind all of us that we have friendships and love in our lives that are boundless. I am in Seattle with my sweet husband of 17 years, Crai Bower, a travel writer and photographer. Our boys, Aodhan, 15, and Malcolm, 12, are true Seattleites. When the rain starts, they celebrate! Our oldest, my stepson, Tally, 27, is working as an artist in R.I. I work as an education expert for a nonprofit technology company called Enlearn, and then as the instructional coordinator for the North Seattle French School (Monsieur LeTendre would be shocked!). Finally, I have a private practice in which I do parent education through the Positive Discipline Assoc. So, you could say that I ‘went into’ education. Let me know if you are in Seattle and we can hop on a ferry or go grab a coffee. It is pretty swell up here in our big, beautiful corner of the world.” Lastly, one fact remains: in five months, we will converge to celebrate our 30th Reunion. We’re looking forward to seeing you there! 1987 Class Secretary: Suzy Wall Sensbach, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Lucinda Goulard Lord, [email protected] I, Suzy Wall Sensbach, had a great visit back to Taft in June to have lunch with the director of college counseling: our very own Alison Hoffman Almasian. When we walked around touring the school, I still felt a little nervous entering the Faculty Room, even after almost 30 years! Later in the summer, Alison also caught up with Beth Long Shaw, who was back in Watertown for a visit. 1988 Class Secretary: J. Kingman Gordon, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Darcy Bentley Frisch, [email protected] I hope this finds you all well, enjoying the fall. Here is some recent news from far and wide…It’s great to hear from Jeanie Lundbom, who reports, “After 13 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, I was feeling too settled, so I accepted a 10-month fellowship with the U.S. State Dept. to spend the coming academic year in Ukraine. I will teach English and American culture at a university, developing programs and giving presentations in the community, and partnering with the U.S. Embassy to meet needs and strengthen U.S. relations with Ukraine. I’m looking forward to making a difference in this country and to learning a great deal along the way.” Jen Drubner Eagen ’88, Andy Sheridan ’88, and Rob Blabey ’88 get together during Jen’s visit to the East Coast. Colin Aymond, Doug Freedman, and Paul Kessenich got together (again) at the Snake River Shootout, in Jackson, Wyo. Jen Drubner Eagen spent some quality time on the East Coast this past summer, and got to catch up with many old Taft friends. She and her kids enjoyed a barbecue at Andrew Sheridan’s house in Darien, Conn. Also in attendance were Rob Blabey and his family, who were in town avoiding the sultry Naples, Fla., summer. Along the way, Jen spent time with Elizabeth Matzkin in Boston. Congratulations go to Kraig Williamson and his wife, Amy, who celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary! (I credit Facebook for this information.) For years my family and I, Kingman, have gone to the HF Bar Ranch in Saddlestring, Wyo. (see photo). This year was no different, except that we got to spend our time in cowboy country with Darcey Callender, wife of Nick Yerkes, who was there with her two kids and fellow Tafties, McKenzie ’17 and incoming lower mid Peyton ’19. Also on hand working at the ranch was Abby Purcell ’11. 1989 Class Secretary: Katie Fischer Cutler, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Dylan T. Simonds, [email protected] I’m excited to take over the class secretary role from Dylan Simonds, and look forward to hearing from you all! Again, a huge “thank you” to Dyl for all he has done for our class over the years. I was thrilled to hear from a bunch of classmates. Christina Flood Kane reports that life in San Francisco is pretty steady. She teaches middle school Spanish, A family friend, Peyton Yerkes ’19, McKenzie Yerkes ’17, Abby Purcell ’11, Kingman Gordon ’88, and Darcey Callender, wife of the late Nick Yerkes ’88, together at the HF Bar Dude Ranch in Saddlestring, Wyo., in Aug. Colin Aymond ’88, Doug Freedman ’88, and Paul Kessenich ’88 at Wyo.’s Snake River Shootout. and does high school counseling at her alma mater, the Hamlin School, there. Her littlest, Claire, started kindergarten this fall, and joins her two big sisters, who entered 4th and 6th grade. She had a summer road trip to Jackson, Sun Valley, British Columbia, and the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. No one killed each other in the car, so she considered it a successful trip! It was great to hear from Davis Liu, who is doing some amazing work. He writes, “After 15 amazing years as a practicing family physician and serving on my medical group’s board of directors for nearly a decade at Kaiser Permanente (KP) in Sacramento, I’ve thrown caution into the wind to join a health care start-up, where I develop smartphone apps to provide care to patients more quickly and efficiently. Compared to the 8,000 doctors at KP, the start-up Icebreaker Health has a total team Christina Flood Kane ’89, with daughters Charlotte, Claire, and Caitlin in front of the Tetons in Wyo. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 77 Alumni Notes Alumni notes Monkey Business Images /Shutterstock.com since Jennifer Rhudy Cowenhoven stepped down after the summer issue. Especially important since it’s a big reunion year! Anyone interested can email [email protected]. 1992 Class Secretary: Jennifer Ciarlo Pacholek, [email protected]; 78 Mary Jane and Dave Kirkpatrick ’89 with daughters Mary Elizabeth, 10, and Sarah, 7. Max, son of Drum Bell ’90 and grandson of Drum ’63, on Cape Cod. Lana, Findley, and Annabel, daughters of 1990 alums John Utley, Bryce O’Brien, and Bill Carifa, respectively, at a Taylor Swift concert for Lana’s 13th birthday. Maverick Paul, son of Kim and Todd Barnes ’92. Luke, Sofia, and Stella, children of Greta Brogna Campanale ’92, hiking outside Minturn, Colo. 1993 alums James Stanton, Rebeccah Shierson Wickerham, and A.J. Mleczko Griswold at Taft’s Nantucket gathering. of 15! Thank goodness Megabus makes my daily commute to San Francisco easier. Was in Boston in July. Great museums—kids Emma and Alex (10 and 7), loved the Boston Museum of Science.” Dave Kirkpatrick writes from Atlanta, “After a fun summer, Mary Elizabeth, 10, and Sarah, 7, Mary Jane and I are back in the routine of fall. Some highlights from past year include a visit with Dyllan McGee at McGee Media world HQ in NYC, two days of turns in Colo. with brothers Anthony Precourt, Donovan Smith, and Adam Yonkers, as well as Dick Williams providing the Kirkpatrick family with the red carpet treatment at Wrigley Field for a Cubs/ Reds game. Looking forward to reunion in 2019!” And, congratulations to Dick, who reports that he and his wife welcomed baby No. 4—two boys and two girls. He just finished putting up a zip line in the backyard to keep the four of them entertained, but hasn’t figured out yet where to hang the liability waivers! Dick wrote, “At the end of June, I caught up with Rocky Mould and Jeff Klinge for a happy hour in Manhattan before we (the Reds) took on the Mets for a weekend series. Mike Lynch and his son came to Cincinnati and stayed with us for the MLB All-Star Game in July. I played in a golf outing the other day with Andrew DeWitt. He continues to kill it in the pizza business, he has over 20 stores and counting.” Thanks to everyone for all the good news, keep it coming, and hope your fall is going well. in New Orleans and a private equity investor, and meets weekly with participants to offer advice as the program’s entrepreneurin-residence. See p. 5 in Spotlight for more about Eric Weinberger and NFL Network. [Ed. note: We apologize for the caption error in the photo on p. 86 of the summer issue, which should have noted that Amy Holbrook is pictured with Logan Orlando.] Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 1990 1991/25th Reunion Head Class Agent: Peter C. Bowden, Class Secretary: Logan E. Orlando, [email protected]; Class Agents: B. [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Deane Kreitler, William N. Offutt V, Alexis Benjamin S. Levin, [email protected] Goulard Powers, E. Todd Savage, T. Brett Schweizer, Talbott L. Simonds, Juanita Hank Torbert was featured in an Aug. article in the Times-Picayune (NOLA.com). Hank joined local industry leaders and Idea Village, a New Orleans start-up incubator, to launch ENERGYx, a 12-week business accelerator geared toward La. oil and gas start-ups. He is a partner at RLMcCall Capital Partners Vero; Reunion Chairs: Emily Hopper Carifa, [email protected]; Melissa Lee Madden, [email protected]; Holly Martin Wendell, [email protected] Ed. note: We’re still hoping someone will enjoy taking on the class secretary role never too young pay it forward by giving back As a Taft young working professional, there are many ways for you to leave a legacy gift to Taft, regardless of one’s resources, which can support scholarships, programs, faculty, and the campus for future generations. Naming the school in your 401(k), 403(b), IRA, life insurance policy, or mutual fund account takes very little time to do and only requires a change-of-beneficiary form from your provider. The Horace Dutton Taft Legacy Society welcomes additional young alumni, and the above would entitle you to membership in the Society. Plus, your intention, which can be changed, would count toward the Ever Taft, Even Stronger campaign. For other options visit www.taftschool.planyourlegacy.org. For more information, please contact Director of Development Chris Latham at 860-945-5923 or [email protected], or Major Gifts Officer Beth Ann Semeraro at 860-945-7940 or [email protected]. Head Class Agent: Andrew M. Solomon, [email protected] Todd McDonald wrote that he just ran into Phil Ryan at a conference. Looks like we have both become that annoying guy at a cocktail party that talks about Bitcoin. Kim and Todd Barnes welcomed Maverick Paul on April 20, ushering in an era of good vibes and chill smiles. He’s an instinctive pilot but his family name isn’t the best in the Navy. As his old pappy used to say, “It’s not how fast you draw that counts. It’s what you draw and when you draw.” Big brother Auggie loves the new baby and is doing great too. Barnes brothers redux! Greta Brogna Campanale wrote that she and her children, Luke, Sofia, and Stella, have been hiking near Minturn, Colo. Jennifer Ciarlo Pacholek traveled to Conn. to visit with Gina Iannuzzi-Devaux over Labor Day weekend. Jill Kopelman Kargman’s Odd Mom Out is now in its second season. Read more about Jill and her work on the show on p. 10. 1993 Class Secretary: James B. Stanton, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Eric R. Hidy, [email protected] Hello, fellow friends of the Taft order. It seems that everyone’s summer was extraordinarily fun and busy, especially since there were only a few responses received for our class notes! Wendy Treynor wrote, “I am on my way to give a retreat in Taipei. A meaningful milestone: I got invited to blog for Psychology Today. In Oct., I am delighted to be cruising to Turkey, Greece, Italy, Israel, and Malta on a tour of sacred places. I miss you all, and am sending love and joy every Taftie’s way!” Good karma is always a well-received present in my book, so thanks Wendy. Kyle Reis reports, “Things are good here in the Pacific Northwest. After four-plus years at Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 79 Alumni Notes Thomas Jackson ’94 runs into Francie Madsen Maletis ’95 while camping over Labor Day weekend. Teddy Crispino ’95 with the world’s largest buffalo in Jamestown, N.D., during a summer road trip out west. Target, I started a new job with Starbucks in operations in June. Ironic thing is that I now work for the largest purveyor of coffee in the world, and I don’t even drink coffee! But...Starbucks owns Teavana, and I drink tons of tea, so it’s all good. Attended David Colby’s wedding in July in La Jolla, Calif. Awesome ceremony and party right on the ocean, and it was great to catch up with Connor Kerr and Andy DeSomma.” See a photo of Robert Hale-MacKinnon on p. 60 with his family and his dad, Wink ’60, on a trip to Ottawa, Canada. On a personal note, I, your class secretary, finally got to live a lifelong dream of spending my entire summer on Nantucket. Well, to be accurate, my family got to spend the entire summer, and I commuted out of 80 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Che Borders ’95 married Rosalind Bogan in April 2014. Zelda, daughter of Rosalind and Che Borders ’95, arrived in June. Josephine, daughter of Erin Krivicky ’95, on her first day of school. Logan Leo, son of Kristen and Greg Mucci ’95. my company’s Boston office…but pretty sweet nonetheless! I did get a good dose of Taft in July when Mr. Mac came for a Taft reception at the Nantucket Yacht Club. I got to catch up with a multigenerational Taft crew, including Rebecca Shierson Wickerham and A.J. Mleczco Griswold, who both look fantastic, and are enjoying meaningful lives filled with work, children, and good times. If you did not receive my request for notes, please send me, and [email protected], your updated email address. Until next time, Moose out! Jackson. T.J., his wife, Lisa, and their three boys (Connor, 8, Lawler, 6, and Chase, 3) moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., a few years ago and love the area. Thomas’s office is still in LA, and he goes back and forth pretty often, but the commute is clearly worth it. He reports on a couple of Taft run-ins: Mary Firestone Tandy ’95 at her cousin’s 40th in July; and on Labor Day, he went camping with a bunch of old friends from the Bay Area, and it turned out that Francie Madsen Maletis ’99 was on the same trip. Also on the West Coast, Anthony Gibbs recently set up the Northwest Civil Law Group (NCLG) as a Wash. state nonprofit law firm. NCLG’s mission is to provide legal services on a sliding scale fee basis to moderate-means individuals and small businesses. They will serve the civil law needs of people earning between 125 to 600 percent of the federal poverty limit (which is most people), and small businesses grossing less than three million and employing fewer than 20 people (which is the vast majority of small 1994 Class Secretary: Andrew P. Hertzmark, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Andrew N. Bernard, [email protected]; Chauncey J. Upson II, [email protected] This edition is a bit brief, but that just means there will be tons of news in the next issue. Checking in is Thomas “T.J.” Emily Israel Pluhar ’96 and Roo Reath ’96 catch up on Martha’s Vineyard. Roo Reath ’96 takes his children, Phoebe and Pip, for a row along with Berkley, daughter of Emily Israel Pluhar ’96. businesses). Take a look at his website to learn more: northwestcivillawgroup.org. You can also donate through Indiegogo. The organization is trying to raise a little money to keep the doors open as it builds a client base with the goal of being self-funding. Muchie Dagliere reports that this past spring, he coached the North Haven HS baseball team to the Class L state championship. It was an improbable run as North Haven was seeded 22nd and had to knock off several teams. Justin Martin checks in from Vt. where his wife and boys (Sullivan, 7, and Tucker, 5) have spent much of their summer on shores of Lake Champlain, as well as some time in Cape Cod. Justin also recently became COO of a new software company, Parent.co. The company’s first digital parenting utility is called Notabli, a private, secure social network where parents can curate and archive their children’s most precious memories. Check it out. He writes, “I took a two-week road trip out west to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in N.D., then to the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Mont., down to the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore, and then across S.D. and down to Kansas City before heading back. All total, it was 4,500 miles of driving and an absolutely amazing experience.” Andrew Holbrook is proving that you can indeed go home again. He and his wife, Lauren, and their two daughters recently moved back to Conn. from N.C. Their ministry work has taken them to Fairfield, where Andrew and Lauren are planters for the Presbyterian Church of America. Andrew writes, “We are living in Fairfield, Conn., and I’d love to reconnect with anyone in this area. Sorry I missed the (reunion) festivities—we were in the middle of this move.” Che Borders is taking a shine to fatherhood and writes, “Rosalind and I welcomed our daughter, Zelda, to the world on June 24. She was born happy and healthy. I hope that she too will become a Taftie, but her mother went to Hotchkiss!” Summer was one long reunion for me, Neil Vigdor. In July, I visited with Bergin O’Malley and Jessie Hoyt at the beach in their hometown of Stonington, Conn. In Aug., I had dinner with Peter and Amy Julia Becker ’94 and their children, Penny, Marilee, and William, at the Gunnery in Washington Depot. The Beckers are looking forward to the fall after a fun summer at the beach in Madison. On Labor Day weekend, I caught up with Tilden Daniels, who spent five weeks this summer working in Paris, and then traveling in Germany. Tilden is a French teacher and cross-country coach at the Hopkins School in New Haven. 1995 Class Secretary: Neil A. Vigdor, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Daniel S. Oneglia, [email protected]; Anthony W. Pasquariello, [email protected] Greg Mucci is “shipping up to Boston.” As he says, “I took a new job with McGraw Hill Education, moved back to Mass. (after 12 years in NYC), and my wife and I just had another baby boy, Logan Leo, born Aug. 22. Our family of five is enjoying life the ’burbs, our new minivan, and living closer to family!” Teddy Crispino is a regular Lewis and Clark—or Clark Griswold, perhaps. Whitney Barry ’96 married Edward Price in September 2014. 1996/20th Reunion Class Secretary: Anne-Courtney McCraw Bigelow, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Alexander D. “Roo” Reath, [email protected]; Class Agents: Carl J. Brown, Brett H. Chodorow, Molly Hall Dorais, Laura J. Field, Caroline Van Meter Friesen, Harry S. Grand, David A. Lombino, Whitney Tremaine O’Brien, Emily Israel Pluhar, Daniel T. Ryan; Reunion Chairs: Harry S. Grand, [email protected]; Daniel T. Ryan, [email protected]; Alexander D. “Roo” Reath Happy fall, friends! Emily Israel Pluhar reports that she and her husband, Drew, and their kids, Berkley and Cameron, are living Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 81 Alumni notes Owen Muir ’97 married Carlene Macmillan. Eric Schoonmaker ’97 with his wife, Anne, son Frederick, and new son, Thomas. Paloma Lake, daughter of Lindsey Dost Sugar ’97 and her wife, Susan. 82 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Adrian Fadrhonc ’98, wife Keely, and children Charlie and Ferris. William, son of Heather and Peter Van Der Mije ’98. Emerson Irene, daughter of Christopher and Shannon Murphy Weidinger ’98. Alex Dickson ’99 with Taj Frazier ’99 and his two sons in LA. Hugo Grayson, son of Boku and Emily Townsend Prince ’99. in Brookline, Mass., where she is currently working at Boston Children’s Hospital as a pediatric psychologist in adolescent medicine and consulting at Mass General Hospital and Phillips Academy Andover. She sees Whitney Tremaine O’Brien often for girls’ weekends, or when Whitney is in NYC working on her Two Bees Cashmere company. Emily also sees Dave Lombino in NYC, as well as Lindsay Vietor, who is a culinary event planning consultant. This past summer she saw Roo Reath, Helen Froelich Plummer, and Cristin George deVeer on Martha’s Vineyard. Harry Grand writes that Bedford, N.Y., is living up to expectations as a wonderful place for children to grow up. He notes, “Leaving NYC was bittersweet, but returning to the place I grew up feels like the right place to put down roots.” In Bedford, his family enjoys spending time with many Tafties, including the Hallocks (’95), the Randols (’95), the Finns (’87), the Ryans, and more. Harry Grand and Dan Ryan live less than a mile from each other...some things never change! This summer on Fishers Island, Harry reports he “crushed Doug Harris ’97 and Phil Miller ’97 in golf, enjoyed some intense mixed doubles with the Firestone sisters (’95 and ’97), and was fortunate to catch up with the Campbells, sharing many good laughs, reminiscing about Taft.” Roo Reath shares that it’s been a busy and eventful summer. He and his wife, Georgia, and their kids, Pip, 6, and Phoebe, 3, have recently moved to Hamilton, Mass. They love their new life and are thrilled with exploring the beaches and trails the area offers. This summer, the Reath family spent time on Martha’s Vineyard, where they were able to catch up with Emily Israel Pluhar and her team—and also had a large family gathering bringing together multiple generations of past (and future?) Tafties, including Sara Guernsey ’11, Katama Guernsey Eastman ’95, and Tony Guernsey ’66. Roo adds, “I am happy—but also shocked—to say that our 20th is approaching this spring. Note to classmates: Mark it down on your calendar for May 20–21, 2016. History will be made as the Class of ’96 roams the halls again!” Harry adds, “I look forward to seeing everyone this spring at our 20th Reunion. It will be a terrific party chaired by the three amigos: Dan, Roo, and me!” Davis, and Tucker Green. Congratulations, Mike! Lindsey Dost Sugar also got married! Her wedding was on the beach in Pacific Palisades, Calif. to Susan Dost on April 18. Shortly thereafter, they welcomed their daughter, Paloma Lake, on April 25. Another future Taftie arrived to father Erik Schoonmaker and his wife, Anne. They welcomed second son Thomas on June 29. Thomas joins his brother, Frederick, 4. Erik adds, “All is well in Wis., and if anyone finds themselves in the area, feel free to drop me a line.” Congratulations to Erik, Anne, and Frederick! Cait Pollock writes, “I’m still loving Calif. and living in San Francisco—am wrapping up a job at Stanford coauthoring a research initiative on China’s solar energy industry. I made a few trips to China for this project, and also got to travel back to the Northeast a few times (and ran the Boston Marathon in April). I’m currently preparing to start a new job in energy efficiency policy at Pacific Gas &Electric.” Keep the news coming, Class of ’97. ’98 and her kids, Marley and Barrett, and also met her cousins, Keagan and McKayla Murphy (Sean Murphy ’01), during a family reunion in San Diego in Aug. Adrian Fadrhonc, his wife Keely, and son Charlie and daughter Ferris are also holding down the fort in the Bay Area. Adrian got to visit with Charlie Spalding this past summer in Maine and also provided a great account of Morgan Hanger’s wedding to Alex Grodd earlier in the summer: “Morgan’s nontraditional wedding/forest party was such an awesome time, and it was so great to hang out with a million of our classmates that I hadn’t seen in years. Attendees included (but weren’t limited to) Mike Sesko, Jamie Novogrod, Tyler Brooke, Peter Van Der Mije, Louis Costanzo, Charles Cummins, Mallory Cheatham Doremus, Christina Oneglia Rossi, Carrie Swiderski, Mike Reilly ’99 and his dog, all of the Hangers, and at least 25 other people that I can’t remember. Because of that weekend, I’m now back in touch with a whole bunch of people who had a big part in molding me into whatever it is that I am today, and for that I am very grateful.” In Las Vegas, Tony Guerrera reports that it has cracked 110 degrees Fahrenheit only a handful of times, and he’s suffered no major burns removing the sunshade from his car’s windshield. Tony’s summer included a return to tennis, as well as a trip to Calif.’s Central Coast with Dan McArdle, their wives, and Dan’s daughter, 3. Tony writes, “Ample time was spent enjoying the Pacific Ocean—something I haven’t seen since my move to Vegas several years ago. We also went on a whale-watching tour, which featured humpback whales surfacing within 20 feet of our boat, and pods of dolphins leaping from the water alongside our vessel (dolphins are such showoffs—they don’t rank among nature’s most humble creatures). As a member of a species that seems exceptionally skilled at over-complicating things, it was rejuvenating to see creatures capable of such serenity and majesty. An added bonus is that Dan and I weren’t among the 15 percent-ish of people on the 68-person tour who got seasick. Unfortunately, I can’t claim a flawless victory over the seas. The waters were rough, and I wasn’t 100 percent sure if I was going to make it unscathed. Meanwhile, one of us is married to a landlubber who firmly established herself as a 15 percent-er.” Finally, another exciting initiative from Jamie Flaherty Cheney and her family on their farm in Rhinebeck, N.Y. Falcon’s Fields Livestock is focused on breeding and raising the finest Angus and Wagyu beef in N.Y. The farm continues a tradition of raising cattle that dates back to 1914. The small-scale, family-run style means limited stock, but is available for purchase on a first come, first served basis. Check it out at falconsfields.com. 1997 Class Secretary: Caroline Montgelas Elwell, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Charles W.B. Wardell IV, [email protected] I’m always happy to collect such joyous notes to report to you! First, I’m thrilled to announce a few weddings: Owen Muir married Carlene Macmillan on June 19. Carlene is a child psychiatrist and has started working at NYU’s school of medicine on a child psychiatry fellowship. Before the wedding, Owen graduated from the adult psychiatry residency from Hofstra North Shore/ Long Island School of Medicine residency at the end of June, and then opened a private practice in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The wedding was at Brooklyn Bridge Park and Per Se restaurant. Congratulations on many exciting life events, Owen! Another marriage to report: Mike Berens married Victoria Lampley on Harbour Island in the Bahamas in June. Tafties in attendance included Rodman Moorhead, Zack Zweig, Doug Harris, Andrew Kandel, Lanse 1998 Class Secretary: Addie Strumolo, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Devin B. Weisleder, [email protected] In Feb., Julia Pinover-Kupiec was appointed assistant counsel to N.Y. State Governor Andrew Cuomo to handle affordable housing, human services, and serve as the executive chamber ethics officer. Congrats Julia! Shannon Murphy Weidinger and her husband welcomed their daughter, Emerson Irene, on May 26 in San Francisco. Emerson spent some time this summer with Annie Stover Reece 1999 Class Secretaries: Molly Barefoot, [email protected]; Kate Bienen Furst, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Lindsay Tarasuk Aroesty, [email protected] Thank you to those who wrote in! Hope this finds you all having had an eventful and smooth fall. Alex Dickson got to visit with Taj Frazier and his family while Alex was out in LA for a wedding. (For more about Taj’s recent book see p. 11.) Congrats to Emily Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 83 Alumni Notes Alumni notes Jacoby, 3. Lindsay is still enjoying living in Pittsburgh and her work at the Pittsburgh Foundation. Enjoy the winter, Class of ’99! 2000 Class Secretary: Ribby Goodfellow, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Andrew Ford Goodwin, [email protected]; John McCardell, [email protected] At the wedding of Ramsey Brame ’00 and Kelly Murphy in Big Sky, Mont.: from left, Emily Smith ’00, Kelly Sheridan Florentino ’00, best man Will Brame ’02, groom, bride, Andrew Goodwin ’00, Samantha Hall Boggs ’00, and John McCardell ’00. Violet Elizabeth, daughter of Aaron and Julie Pailey Fossi ’00. Charlie, son of John and Jillian Hunt Seredynski ’01. 84 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Courtney Krause ’01 married Jake Taufer in San Pancho, Mexico. Townsend Prince and her husband, Boku, on the Aug. arrival of their son, Hugo. Big sisters Penelope and Piper are just loving having a little brother! Sarah Sicher married Adam Salky in her hometown of Peoria, Ill., on Aug. 30. I, Molly Barefoot, was extremely sad to miss it, but with year seven as a counselor at Norwood HS kicking off the next morning, I couldn’t make it out to the Midwest for the nuptials! Adam Aronson writes, “I was in Portland, Maine, at the end of Aug. with Dave Hotchkiss ’00 and Frank Pickard ’00 and friends. It was a perfect bookend to a summer filled with lobsters, oysters, and proper toasting accoutrement.” Congrats to Lindsay Tarasuk Aroesty, and her husband, Michael, on the arrival of Sydney Adeline on July 26. She joins her brother, Congratulations to Ramsey Brame who writes, “I’m excited to report that Kelly Murphy and I got married in Big Sky, Mont., in July. She looked stunning and we were both incredibly pumped to have a number of Tafties there to celebrate, including my brother, Will ’02, Andrew Goodwin, John McCardell, Samantha Hall Boggs, Kelly Sheridan Florentino, and Emily Smith.” Kirsten Berken has made the exciting change from the corporate world back to the classroom, returning to teaching in Aug. She is now a third-grade special education teacher at a Success Academy charter school in Harlem and loves it. Congratulations, Kirsten! I, Ribby Goodfellow, was very happy to have the chance to see Nicole Dessibourg-Freer and her husband, Jared, during their honeymoon in Switzerland and Italy. The couple flew into Basel and we had a lovely dinner together before they continued to Fribourg, home of Nicole’s father’s family. They then traveled to Italy for the rest of their honeymoon. Congratulations to Aaron and Julie Pailey Fossi, who welcomed Violet Elizabeth to the world on Aug. 20. 2001/15th Reunion Class Secretary: Jessica Goldmark Shannon, [email protected]; Head Class Agent/Reunion Chair: Katharine F. Tuckerman, [email protected]; Tyler Jennings ’02 married Emily Waters Lee in Huntington, Vt. Nadia Zahran ’03 married Derek Anderson. Charlie, son of Tucker and Kitt Squire George ’04, grandson of the late Carlie Shields Dandridge ’74, and great-grandson of the late William Shields ’29. Rhoads Masse shares, “My husband, Brian, and I continue to enjoy life in Boston, and are happy to announce we welcomed our first son, William, in June.” Congratulations, Jaclyn! Jillian Hunt Seredynski noted, “My husband John and I welcomed our son, Charlie, on May 28. He had a fun and busy summer hanging out with the Shannons and meeting Krissy Kraczkowsky and Avery Hanger Westlund. We also visited Victoria Fox Munsill and her adorable girls. Earlier in May, I caught up with Anya Maas Kovacs and her daughter, Paige, as well as Abby King Mathews and her son, Ivan. Looking forward to our 15th Reunion next spring!” Congratulations, Jill! Ryan and I, Jessica Goldmark Shannon, had a fun summer at home in Rowayton, Conn. We enjoyed introducing our son, Owen, to family and friends, and meeting lots of Taft babies, including Leni, the youngest daughter of Jamie Sifers ’02. We are back in Zurich for Ryan’s hockey season. Aleksinas writes, “My wife, Abby, and I welcomed our son, Edward Crockett, into the world on Aug. 26. Everyone is happy, healthy and doing well. We are enjoying life in S.C. and look forward to seeing friends and former Tafties in the area!” From Dan Teicher: “My band, The Ludlow Thieves (www.theludlowthieves.com), released a new music video that we are very proud of (last summer).” He added that the band celebrated their video and the release of two new EPs in July when they headlined the Music Hall of Williamsburg (“where I proposed to Laura”). brushing up on his vocabulary for the SSAT and preparing to join the Class of 2033!” Congratulation to Kitt and Tucker. We were sorry to learn that Kitt’s mother, Carlie Shields Dandridge ’74, passed away in Aug. and we send our sincere condolences. 2002 Class Secretary: Luke J. Labella, Class Agents: Gregory M. de Gunzburg, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Gregory K. Dost, Geddes R. Johnson, Peter R. Hafner, [email protected] Kristen G. Kraczkowsky, Ashley Cecchinato LaBonte, Kathleen Shattuck Markov, Katherine E. O’Connor, John C. Parker, Jillian Hunt Seredynski, Ryan P. Shannon, William N. Toce, G. Corydon Wagner IV Courtney Krause writes, “I married Jake Taufer on May 2 in San Pancho, Mexico. Elise Mariner ’02 and Taylor Snyder ’02 attended.” Best wishes, Courtney! Jaclyn Jess Haberman writes, “My essay on dating was published by Buzzfeed on June 17. This is my first published work. I have also moved to Salem, Mass., and am enjoying my time here.” From Tyler Jennings: “On July 25, I married Emily Waters Lee in the flower gardens of Windekind Farm in Huntington, Vt. Then we honeymooned in Iceland and the Faroe Islands.” Marc 2003 Class Secretaries: Ashley Ciaburri Rainwater, [email protected]; Gabrielle Bidart Sullivan, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Eliza A. Clark, [email protected]; Glenton W. Davis, [email protected] Congratulations to Nadia Zahran, who married Derek Anderson in Egg Harbor, Wis., in July. Glenton Davis was in attendance and sang a wedding song for the ceremony. 2004 Class Secretaries: Robert H. Kneip, [email protected]; Hillary M. Lewis, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Michael A. Palladino, [email protected] Kitt Squire George writes, “Tucker and I were thrilled to welcome our son, Charlie, on Aug. 20! With three generations of Tafties behind him, Charlie’s already 2005 Class Secretaries: Sam Dangremond, [email protected]; Liz Shepherd Bourgeois, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Andrew Foote, [email protected]; Matt Mortara, [email protected] Our classmates had busy summers complete with some mini-reunions. Annie Rauscher writes, “I was lucky enough to spend the 4th of July with Carter Hibbs, Matt Mortara, and Ben Andrysick in Nantucket.” Reisa Bloch and Pete Murphy graduated in the same class from UCLA Anderson School of Management in May. Reisa moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., and reports that she enjoyed catching up with Tafties at the wedding of Alexandra and Renier van Breen in Vt., which included Matt Bloch, Alastair Smith, Andrew Foote, Rob von Althann, Ben Macaskill, Jamie Wheeler, Sam Smythe, Kristen van Breen ’02, and Annelies van Breen ’13. Clare Mooney Lacy writes, “Last summer my husband got home from a deployment so we are back in N.C. and are waiting to hear where our next adventure is going to be. My youngest just started kindergarten!” Sarah Reimers is living in Denver. Freddy Gonzalez completed a master’s in film scoring at the Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 85 2007 classmates enjoy the wedding of Martha Pascoe ’07 and Oke McAndrews (not pictured): from left, Sara Partridge, Maggie Seay, bride, Alex Dodge, Kacey Klonsky, Carola Lovering, and Ned Durgy. Several Tafties enjoyed the wedding of Renier van Breen ’05 to Alexandra (see 2005 notes). Berklee College of Music campus in Valencia, Spain. He is on tour with 18-time Latin Grammy award winner Alejandro Sanz as the band’s trombonist. He will be back in the U.S. in Nov. and would love to hear from any fellow Tafties. And I, now Liz Shepherd Bourgeois, married Michael Paul Bourgeois in San Francisco in June. We were blessed to have my grandfather, David Fenton ’48, not only present for the celebration, but among the last on the dance floor. We’re living in San Francisco and enjoy catching up with the ever-growing group of Tafties in the Bay Area. Please continue sending your updates to Sam Dangremond and me so we can all stay in touch! 2006/10th Reunion Class Secretary: Natalie R. Lescroart, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Su Yeone Jeon, [email protected]; Class Agents: Padget L. Crossman, Brendan C. Gangl, Tyler B. Godoff, Anne T. McGillicuddy, Spyros S. Skouras III, Jerome A. Wallace, Mary C. Walsh, Orlando J. Watson; Reunion Chairs: Brynne M. McNulty, [email protected]; D. Michael Shrubb, [email protected] After taking some time off to work for Renzo Plano in Paris, Abe Bendheim wrapped up his graduate degree in architecture at Columbia Univ. While looking for a full-time position practicing architecture, he’s excited to be teaching at Columbia as an adjunct assistant prof. Ben Ehrlich is joining the Navy and has started medical school. With the 2016 presidential election underway, Orlando Watson had an eventful summer as he continues his work at the Republican National Committee in D.C. He was able to take a break from the heat with a trip to Martha’s Vineyard in Aug., but while there, the Secret Service kept him away from President Obama. In the District, he sees former classmates Brendan Gangl, Pete Holland, and Sophie Quinton, as well as Fabian McNally ’04 and Sha-Kayla Crockett ’05. New to the D.C. scene is Nye Sleeper, who began an MBA program at Georgetown. I, Natalie Lescroart, am also throwing my name onto the list of D.C. Tafties, having relocated from NYC on Labor Day. 2007 Class Secretaries: Grace L. Scott, [email protected]; Elinore F. Van Sant, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Lee S. Ziesing, [email protected] Nate Thompson recently started business school at USC-Marshall. I, Grace, have had the opportunity to see him a couple times here in LA. Penelope Smith made a brief visit to the U.S. and was able to see Holly Donaldson, Johanna Isaac, Teal Kratky, Alex White, and Meta Reycraft in NYC. Kacey Klonsky got to visit with Portland, Ore.’s new Taftie resident, Andrew Parks. Gus Thompson and Hank Wyman attended the wedding of Alex Kremer ’06 to Hope Krause in Sept. with many other Tafties. Finally, congratulations to Max Pacioretty, who was named captain of the Montreal Canadiens in Sept.! Taft TRIVIA Congratulations to Thomas Wopat-Moreau ’05, who correctly guessed the answer to the summer issue Trivia question. The architectural feature adorns the main entrance to Charles Phelps Taft Hall (CPT) and Lincoln Lobby from Main Circle. Watch for a new question in the next issue. Multi-generations of Tafties ran into one another at the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Fla., when the Slocum family stayed there; from left, John Watling ’53, Spencer Slocum ’08, “Jinx” Howe ’75, Bridget Slocum ’17, and Bill King ’44. 2008 Class Secretary/Class Agent: Beth Kessenich, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Max Jacobs, [email protected] Scout Berger and Liz VanPelt visited Tanya Dhamija and her family in Singapore in Aug. They had a blast catching up with the Dhamijas and spending a few weeks traveling to Thailand, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. The photo on this page was taken at the steps of the Tian Tan Buddha, or “Big Buddha,” as it’s called by Hong Kong locals (they informed me that they did successfully make it up to the top!). They already can’t wait for their next visit. Keith Fell, Peter Johnson, Alex Bermingham, and Adam Donaldson got together on Long Island to play golf at Maidstone and had a great time catching up. Jeremy Philipson recently moved to San Francisco and is enjoying it. Kristin Castellano enjoys her new role on the Pine Street Leadership development team at Goldman Sachs. She recently hung out with fellow Tafties Liz VanPelt, Ollie Mittag, Will Asmundson, and Matt Ale on her birthday at PS1 MoMA in Queens, N.Y. Spencer Slocum was at the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Fla., with her family and ran into other Tafties from several class years (see photo). See the photo on p. 75 of Elyse Brey with her mother, Amy Upjohn ’79, and Conor Holland. As for me, Beth Kessenich, I have been enjoying working alongside Soledad O’Brien at Starfish Media Group and excited about some of the upcoming projects that will air this fall. I spent a weekend in Montauk, Long Island, with Alexis Cronin and our mutual friends, which was a ton of fun. I hope everyone had a great summer and is looking forward to catching up at Taft events in NYC this fall and winter! 2009 Class Secretary: Kira A. Parks, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Ben Brauer, [email protected] Scout Berger ’08, Liz VanPelt ’08, and Tanya Dhamija ’08 at the steps of the Tian Tan Buddha in Hong Kong. Mel Mendez recently celebrated working at Weber Shandwick for a year as a communications consultant. Congratulations to Maddie and Bob Manfreda on their wedding! Congratulations also to Robbie Bourdon and Alex Dowling ’10 on their wedding in Niantic, Conn.! Ben Zucker writes, “After finishing my second year teaching science at the Winchendon School in Winchendon, Mass., I accepted a job teaching high school math and science at Maui Preparatory Academy in Hawaii and moved there in Aug. I also spent my fourth summer teaching math and theater at Taft Summer School prior to starting my new position.” Schuyler Metcalf lives in Juneau, Alaska, where he works as an IT consultant for Wostmann & Associates. He began his Alaskan residence after Carleton, working as a glacier guide Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 87 Robbie Bourdon ’09 married Alex Dowling ’10 in Niantic, Conn. Owen Atkins ’10 yo-yo-ing in Rio with quite a view. on the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. In his spare time, Schuyler volunteers for Juneau Mountain Rescue and has learned to fly fish for salmon. If you want an adventure, he’d love a Taftie visit—“just bring your skis, skins, and mountain gear!” I, Kira Parks, am happy to report that I am staying in NYC and working at Mount Sinai as a social worker in their medical/surgical department. America in a unique way and trace parts of Lewis and Clark’s journey over the duration of his month-long camping trip—sounds like an amazing experience! Amanda Turner now works as a cardiovascular surgical ICU nurse at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute and Cleveland Clinic in D.C. She is planning on pursuing an MA within the next year, as well to become an advanced registered nurse practitioner. Amanda is happy to be only a short train ride away from our fellow NYC Tafties. Lastly, Owen Atkins is making big moves as a yo-yo-enthusiast in Rio (see his photo). As for me, Caroline Castellano, I recently started a new job as a 10th-grade mathematics teacher at Vance HS in Charlotte, N.C., with Teach for America. 2010 Class Secretary: Caroline A. Castellano, [email protected]; Head Class Agent: Leigh Anne O’Mealia, [email protected] Not too much to report from our class this round, but there are a few significant life events to commend! A big “congratulations” is in order for newlyweds Alex Dowling and Robbie Bourdon ’09! The couple made it official mid-Aug. in Niantic, Conn. Michael Klein took a new position with AMEC Foster Wheeler, a British multinational engineering and project management firm. Michael is moving to Phoenix, Ariz., where he will manage a 250mw solar power plant project that will provide clean power to over 50,000 homes in the Phoenix Metroplex and Southern Calif. Over the summer Michael shared a mini-reunion dinner with Elizabeth Thompson in Atlanta, where she filled him in on her new life there. Alex Philipson went on an exciting geology field camp trip with Lehigh, driving from Pa. to Mont. and Wyo., with stops along the way, including the Badlands of S.D. Alex and his group also spent three nights in Yellowstone National Park, where they took a 15-mile hike through the center of the park. Alex said he got to see 88 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 2011/5th Reunion Class Secretary: Kate E. Moreau, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Nicholas W. Auer, [email protected]; Sara E. Guernsey, [email protected]; Class Agents: Jake N. Albert, Lauren M. Bly, Meghan E. Boland, Ann E. Cantwell, Amanda T. Crown, Ebony Easley, Andre J. Li, Eleanor F. O’Neill, Annie L. Oppenheim, Xavier L. Reed, Nevada C. Schadler, Alexandra I. Tweedley, Peter J. Tweedley, Julia C. Van Sant, Lillie Belle W.C. Viebranz, Michael J. Williams Jr., Jin Young Yoo; Reunion Chair: Molly A. Lucas, [email protected] Ryan Breen is living in NYC and works for Accenture as a management consultant. Mike Moran reports he is in his senior year at BU, majoring in communications, and also playing Div. I hockey. Bess Lovern, also in NYC, works as an architect at Cookfox Architects Alex Philipson ’10 at the top of Mount Washburn in Yellowstone during a geology field camp with Lehigh. in Chelsea. See p. 77 for a photo of Abby Purcell with several other alums at the HF Bar Dude Ranch in Wyo. last summer. 2013 Class Secretary: Will Pope, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Jagger Riefler, 2012 [email protected]; Elizabeth [email protected]; William F. It’s hard to decide which shined brighter this season, the summer sun or the Class of ’13! Rebecca Bendheim started her semesterlong study abroad program in Cape Town, South Africa, in July. She works with a service program, which conducts life skills and creative writing workshops with young prisoners. Emily Blanchard taught kids about science and nature at a camp on Cape Cod, where the Traina children were some of her campers! Meanwhile, Shelby Meckstroth spent her summer at Yale conducting research at their medical school. Emily and Shelby met up with Jack Simonds, Jane Zorowitz, and Andrew Cadienhead to celebrate Alex McLellan’s 21st birthday. Emily is now spending a semester in Prague. Joining her on the program are Corin Cort, Remo Plunkett, Ames Sheldon, and Cassidy Lowther. Jeff Kratky took a more blue-collar approach to his time at home this past summer, working hard at a manual labor job while getting ready to return to the grind that is being a Div. I athlete. Jack Simonds spent the summer semester in Sydney, Australia, where he met up with Andrew Trevenen, who was also working Down Under. Andrew is playing Sprint football for Cornell this fall. Kramer Peterson says that he really enjoyed his summer semester in Peru, getting to fully immerse himself in the culture by making the trip with only two other Amherst classmates. Liz Demmon is having a great experience at Head Class Agents: Eliza A.S. Davis, Dawson, [email protected] This past summer, Matt Daley interned at KBW Financial Services, and studied Spanish immersion at the Univ. of Alicante in Spain. He was also elected captain of the men’s basketball team for this year at Middlebury College. Eric Metcalf is in his senior year at Lehigh Univ., pursuing a double major in computer engineering and economics. Last summer he completed a Java development internship with 1010Data in NYC. We were sorry to learn that Ben Post’s father passed away in late Feb. and send Ben our thoughts. After three years as your class secretary, I, Caitlin Kennedy, have decided to step down. While I have enjoyed the opportunity to keep in touch with you all and to help our class keep up with the accomplishments of one another, I no longer have the time to dedicate to this position. I would like to thank those of you who took time out of your busy schedules to keep me informed of your various activities and experiences every few months; you made my job much easier and more enjoyable! And to the Class of 2012 as a whole, good luck this year, and I wish you all success in your future endeavors! If you are interested in the position and want to learn more about the responsibilities involved, please email taftbulletin@taftschool. org. [The Bulletin thanks Caitlin Kennedy for her work as class secretary for the past few years—please stay tuned for a new secretary.] Shea, [email protected] Univ. of Colo. Sarah Cassady reports that she had a great time studying in Italy last summer. She traveled every weekend and ran into Tafties in Rome, Barcelona, and Madrid. Last summer Jane Zorowitz completed an internship with NBC Sports. Her article on virtual reality can be found at sportsworld .nbcsports.com/author/jane-zorowitz. Jane is in her junior year at UNC Chapel Hill, majoring in journalism, and is spending the fall semester in Copenhagen, Denmark, along with Erin Wilson, Courtney Jones, and Kyle Considine. Abby Woods is studying at the Univ. of Chicago’s Beijing program for the fall semester. Alexa Colangelo ’13 is studying in Shanghai through a Georgetown University program and also spent a week in Hong Kong and Taiwan. She is in her seventh year of studying Mandarin, which she started as a lower mid with Mr. Liu. Finally, the Worcester Polytechnic Institute football team and I, Will Pope, started off the 2015 season with a thrilling victory over last season’s undefeated MIT team (sorry Nicole Lu). Stay classy, Taft classes. 2014 Class Secretary: Emma A. Lux, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: John MacMullen, [email protected]; Rosey Oppenheim, [email protected] As the fall season begins, our fellow Tafties shared some of their amazing experiences from the past several months. Matt Liebers made it to the semifinals of the MIT Climate CoLab competition this summer with his work for the nonprofit start-up SaveOhno, a “gamified platform for climate change activism.” Tristan Smith joined an a cappella group at Northeastern (“as was probably expected,” he jokes) called the Unisons, and they released an album in mid-Sept. Katie Pfefferle had a great summer working as an associate producer for an upcoming film. While she worked mainly in fundraising, speaking with prospects and investors in the film, she also had the opportunity to shadow the director. She finished off the summer with a skydiving trip in Vt. Jocelyn Kim also had an amazing summer and participated in the U.K.’s biggest game competition, Dare to be Digital, with 15 other teams. They showed their game, Ectoplaza, at the four-day long Protoplay festival in Dundee, Scotland, and won the Audience Award. This fall, Jocelyn has officially changed majors from fine arts to interactive media and games and will study game design from now on, though she says she will continue to pursue art and animation in her free time. Tyler Breen is in his second year at UVa and is on their varsity lacrosse team. Heather Gordon is spending this year at Pepperdine Univ. in Argentina. Dean Foskett completed a summer internship with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) investment firm. He is in his sophomore year at Emory and a proud member of Sigma Chi. Finally, Cornell Tafties Gracie Lyman, Natalie Tam, Elif Korkmaz, Reed Motulsky, and Megan TeeKing ’13 started off the school year strong with a Taft reunion. Double Go Big Red! 2015 Class Secretary: Caroline Leopold, [email protected]; Head Class Agents: Eli Cooper, [email protected]; Talley Hodges, [email protected] Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 89 Alumni Notes What it takes to be Technology Academics Faculty Teamwork Arts Facilities Taft Motto Athletics Friendships Thank you for supporting the Taft Annual Fund. The support of the Taft community www.taftschool.org/give When’s the deadline for Notes? Please send your news/updates for each issue’s class notes before the dates listed below to either your class secretary or [email protected]. You can also submit news online at www.taftschool.org/alumni/submit_alumni.aspx. Fall—August 30 / Winter—November 15 / Spring—February 15 / Summer—May 15 90 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 From internships to international travel, the newest Taft alums kept busy in their first few months as Taft graduates. Athena Wilkinson shared stories of her family travel during a two-week trip down the Colo. River through the Grand Canyon, describing the experience as “Awe-inspiring and incredible.” Ashley Scully and Charlotte Klein chose to expand their creative interests through a painting and drawing course at the School of Visual Arts for three weeks in Manhattan, and Hallie Burke enjoyed interning at the Today Show. Allie Davidge spent the summer on a spectacular road trip around the country, stopping in 17 states from the East Coast to Seattle and down the coast of Calif. Allie is excited to continue her love of travel and adventure in Thailand this fall to begin her gap year, and invites you to check up on further adventures on her new website: adavidge97.wix.com/allieoverseas. Livvy Barnett thoroughly enjoyed interning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, where she “was able to get an idea of what goes on behind the scenes of the museum, as well as enjoy the opportunity to understand art in a new way.” Peyton Swift worked for a nonprofit in Conn. to raise public awareness about pollution, and Eugene Lee studied at Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, taking seminars on Middle Eastern politics, studying Arabic, and exploring interactions between French and Arab cultures in Paris. Zach Ambrosino reports a notable development in his romantic success since starting at UVa, while Trevor McGee shares his remorse regarding the conclusion of another Taftfilled summer in Nantucket. He offers the hashtag #RIP58Nobadeer for those who wish to memorialize their shared, fond experience. Maggie Blatz juggled four jobs all summer without one day off! Tommy Mahoney is studying finance and playing for the Stonehill College Div. II hockey team. At Lafayette, Jeremy Zeitler is playing football and singing with the male a cappella group, The Chorduroys. Polo Shroff was selected for the Heidelberg Univ. soccer team, and Jack Cannata is playing center mid for the USAFA Falcons men’s Div. I soccer team. 2015 Tafties thoroughly enjoyed a productive and educational summer and are fully prepared to take on the challenges of this fall. j Milestones Marriages 1954 Arnold Margolin to Ellen Cornfield December 15, 2013 1997 Michael Berens to Victoria Lampley June 20, 2015 2001 Courtney Krause to Jake Taufer May 2, 2015 2006 Alex Kremer to Hope Krause September 12, 2015 1962 Albert G. Simms III to Catherine Marie Danilov August 2015 Owen Muir to Carlene Macmillan June 19, 2015 2002 Tyler Jennings to Emily Waters Lee July 25, 2015 2009 Robert F. Bourdon to Alexanderson J. Dowling ’10 August 8, 2015 2003 Nadia Zahran to Derek Anderson July 18, 2015 2010 Alexanderson J. Dowling to Robert F. Bourdon ’09 August 8, 2015 1974 Holly W. Ross to John Adolphsen May 9, 2015 1996 Whitney M. Barry to Edward S. Price September 20, 2014 Christopher J. Tucker to Jennifer Foster October 10, 2015 Lindsey Sugar to Susan Dost April 18, 2015 1999 Sarah Sicher to Adam Salky August 30, 2015 2000 Ramsey Brame to Kelly Murphy July 18, 2015 2005 Caroline Coit to Jonathan Fernandez July 11, 2015 Elizabeth W. Shepherd to Michael P. Bourgeois June 2015 Births 1982 Alessandra Cristina to Tina and W. Brendan Fitzgerald III September 15, 2015 1994 Katyal to Jami Buchanan-Dunlop and Irina Prentice July 8, 2015 1989 Mary Blair to Heather and Richard F. Williams August 5, 2015 1995 Zelda to Rosalind and James B. Borders V June 24, 2015 1992 Maverick Paul to Kim and James S. Barnes April 20, 2015 Logan Leo to Kristen and Gregory A. Mucci August 22, 2015 1997 Parker Norey to Peter and Rebecca Belcher Feen March 15, 2015 Thomas to Anne and Eric Schoonmaker June 29, 2015 Paloma Lake to Susan and Lindsey Dost Sugar April 25, 2015 1998 Lucas Wardner to Gregory and Katherine Penberthy Padgett December 6, 2014 Emerson Irene to Christopher and Shannon Murphy Weidinger May 26, 2015 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 91 Milestones 1999 Sydney Adeline to Michael and Lindsay Tarasuk Aroesty July 26, 2015 Hugo to Boku and Emily Townsend Prince August 17, 2015 2000 Violet Elizabeth to Aaron and Julie Pailey Fossi August 20, 2015 2001 James Morse to Alison and Craig M. Levy July 7, 2015 2002 Edward Crockett to Abigail and Marc A. Aleksinas August 26, 2015 William to Brian and Jaclyn Rhoads Masse June 2015 2004 Charlie to Alexander and Katherine Squire George August 20, 2015 Charlie to John and Jillian Hunt Seredynski May 28, 2015 Faculty/Former Faculty James Michael to Panos and Shannon Tarrant Voulgaris August 11, 2015 Emma Shae to Tyler ’04 and Randi Lawlor Whitley ’04 July 26, 2015 1939 Robert H. Feldmeier July 2, 2015 1948 Peter R.K. Gardiner July 24, 2015 1956 Charles L. Goodell June 17, 2015 Frederick Stanton Jr. August 26, 2015 1949 James N. Baker September 2, 2015 1958 Rawson Foreman June 23, 2015 1950 Anthony Carpenter July 12, 2015 1974 Carlotta G. Shields Dandridge August 27, 2015 1951 Richard T. Dillon April 26, 2015 Former Faculty Theodore S. Greene August 29, 2015 1944 Robert F. Lewis November 12, 2014 Michael J. Galullo Jr. April 26, 2015 Henry B. Pennell III July 18, 2015 1945 John W. Elder June 24, 2015 1955 Ed Burke July 27, 2015 Headmaster Emeritus John Cushing Esty Jr. October 22, 2015 1942 Frederick S. Wittich July 2, 2015 Taft Bulletin wishes to express its sincere condolences to all family and friends of the deceased. Robert H. Feldmeier ’39, of Fayetteville, N.Y., died on In Memoriam 1940 William G. Gribbel August 16, 2015 In memoriam Emma Shae to Randi Lawlor Whitley ’04 and Tyler Whitley ’04 July 26, 2015 July 2. After Taft, he went to Princeton, where he was a member of the Cottage Club. He was a proud member of the U.S. Marine Corps, serving as 2nd lt. during WWII with his two brothers. Fiercely curious, delightfully optimistic, and always interested in others, he was full of ideas and driven to make them come true. In 1952, at age 31, he and his wife, Peggy Lou, founded what is now Feldmeier Equipment, Inc., which he expanded to six locations across the U.S. An engineer and inventor to his core, he always tinkered with ways to do things better. He held 19 different patents on designs, most of them for food processing equipment—he received his last two patents at age 92. In 2008, he was inducted into the MACNY Hall of Fame to honor his innovation and leadership in the manufacturing industry. His other great passion was amateur wrestling. In 2008, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, recognized for his lifelong dedication to the sport. In 2009, the National Wrestling Coaches Association gave him their highest honor, the Meritorious Service Award, for his dedication to developing amateur wrestling programs. He and his wife traveled the world attending wrestling matches, including Japan, Iran, Bulgaria, Russia, and the Olympic Games in Munich, Montreal, and Atlanta. He was a member of the Onondaga Country Club and a former member of the Century Club. In the summers, he loved relaxing at their camp in Lake Pleasant, N.Y., with family. He was devoted to his family and friends, and quick to share his kindness, good humor, and generosity with everyone he met. He is survived by his wife, Peggy Lou; August would have marked their 70th anniversary. He is also survived by children Jeanne Jackson, Lisa Clark, Jake, and Robert; six grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren, including Julia Feldmeier ’99; and seven nieces and nephews, including Harvey Feldmeier ’62. Source: Syracuse Post Standard (N.Y.) John P. Cruikshank May 23, 2015 Frederick Stanton Jr. ’39, of Lindenhurst, Ill., and veteran of WWII and the Korean Conflict, passed away on August 26. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Lake Forest. He is survived by his children, Marcia, Fred, and Reid; stepchildren John Mattison and Kathy Bell; his cousin, Nancy Babington; and seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Please Remember to include full names (with maiden name) and dates for marriages and births in order to be included in Milestones. [email protected] 92 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 Source: Chicago Tribune Media Group William G. Gribbel ’40, of Camden, Maine, died on Aug. 16. He was a graduate of Yale Univ., where, through an accelerated program, he graduated in three years and then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. During WWII, he saw combat with the Marines in the Mariana Islands, Pacific Theater. He worked in the Philadelphia area after the war as an investment broker starting off at Benning and Co., retiring and moving to his beloved family home in Rockport permanently in 1976. He was an avid oarsman and small boat enthusiast. In Philadelphia, he was a member of the Undine Barge Club known for rowing on the Schuylkill. For many years he helped and supported the “Short Ship Regatta” and was a member of the Camden Yacht Club and Megunticook Golf Club. Another of his passions was The Apprenticeshop in Rockland, focusing on craftsmanship and seamanship of small boats. He could be seen year-round in Camden and Rockport Harbors. In summer he would be rowing between and around all of the boat traffic. During the cold months he used a small pick axe to break the ice around his dory, peapod, wherry, or Whitehall, rowing out and having the harbor almost to himself. For several years he wrote columns for the Camden Herald called “Across the Bow.” When he couldn’t venture out anymore, he used a rowing machine daily. He was also a huge supporter of the Camden Rockport Animal Rescue League and could often be spotted walking large packs of dogs. He is survived by his third wife, Rhoda; daughter Catharine Gribbel-Beautyman; sons James L. II, Theodore, and William; and 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his siblings, Margaret G. Hubbard, Elizabeth G. Bregy, Katherine G. Carter, John, and his identical twin brother James L. Source: Portland Press Herald (Maine) Frederick S. Wittich ’42 passed away on Sept. 17. He attended Kenyon College but left to serve in the U.S. Navy during WWII. Fred was a salesman by trade, beginning his work experience at Wittich’s Music Store in Reading, Pa. The music store was founded by his father, Carl, and his uncle, Leon. An avid musician, he was able to play many instruments including organ, piano, and violin. Upon the closure of Wittich’s Music Store, he opened his own store in the Muhlenberg Shopping Plaza and is remembered for providing and playing the organ for the accompanying music to Fox Theater’s opening of The Sound of Music in 1965. After the closure of his music store, he pursued real estate, working for several agencies until his retirement. He loved being by the water and was a boating enthusiast his entire life. He considered the Chesapeake Bay, specifically Northeast Md., and Ocean City, N.J., his favorite vacation spots. He loved being a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He is survived by his children, Frederick S. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 93 In memoriam Jr., Kim, Scott, and Carlyn E. Kish. He had six grandchildren and was predeceased by his brother, John J. and sister Kitty Anne. Source: Reading Eagle (Pa.) Robert F. Lewis ’44, of South Woodstock, Vt., died on November 12, 2014. Following in his father’s footsteps, he graduated from MIT in 1948 with a degree in mechanical engineering. While in college, he received a commission in the U.S. Navy at the end of WWII. He spent most of his career in the family business. His great uncle started Anthony Manufacturing in Lynn, Mass., in 1907, which manufactured leather products. Later renamed Robert F. Lewis, Inc., his father moved the business from Mass. to West Woodstock, Vt., in 1956 and it specialized in the binding of fine leather books, especially Bibles. He and his family raised and rode horses on the family farm, and he and his wife drove a pair of carriage horses literally thousands of miles on the back roads of Vt. They loved skiing and spent many happy weekends at Mt. Tom and Suicide Six with family and friends. They were avid tennis players and traveled widely following his retirement. He served the community on the first Woodstock Zoning Board as well as the Ottaquechee Health Center Board, and he was a corporator of Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Nancy, and children Courtland, Susan, Darwin, and Sarah. He also leaves six grandchildren and his sister, Jane Kendall. He was predeceased by his sister, Virginia Harding. John W. Elder ’45 passed away on June 24. After serving in the Army at the end of WWII, he returned to Yale and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. After graduation he moved to Houston with the Atlantic Mutual Co. Shortly thereafter he joined a venerable insurance broking firm which ultimately became known as Wray, Couch, and Elder. The firm merged with Marsh & McLennan in 1969. He rose to become a managing director and ran the southwest region of the company. His responsibilities included managing all operations in Ark., La., Okla., and Texas. His steady leadership helped Marsh grow throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He served on many boards, including the YMCA. He was a member of the Bayou Club, Houston Country Club, Eagle Lake Rod and Gun Club, Allegro, the Bohemian Club in Calif., the Washington County Riding Club, and the Brenham Country Club. He is a past president of the Bayou Club and the Eagle Lake Rod and Gun Club. He enjoyed tennis and started the Bayou Bowl in 1966. He was an avid and experienced sailor and loved flying his own plane, in addition to enjoying golf, hunting, and fishing. Riding at his ranch in Washington County and Estes Park, Colo.,was another of his favorite pastimes as well as following his racing stable and playing late-night piano. Survivors include his wife, Virginia; two nephews and two nieces; and many great-nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Margaret Neuhaus, brother Charles Jr. ’42, and his son, Nick. Source: Houston Chronicle Peter R.K. Gardiner ’48, of Narragansett, R. I., passed away on July 24. He had attended Yale Univ. and was a marketing executive for Gulf Oil Co. for 30 years before retiring. He started Whale Rock Real Estate and later became an agent for Randall Realtors. He served as president of the Narragansett 94 Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 In memoriam Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Narragansett Library board of trustees. He was former director of the South County Museum and worked in marketing for the South County Tourism Council. He was a communicant of St. Thomas More Church, a member of the Point Judith Yacht Club, and an accomplished sailor. He leaves his wife of 44 years, Patty; daughters Susie Kief, Jo Gardiner, Melissa Buchanan, and Elizabeth Akkerman; sister Glena Derby; 13 grandchildren and 13 greatgrandchildren. He was predeceased by his grandson, Jonathan Raba. He will be forever missed by his ever-faithful dog, Puppy. James N. Baker ’49, former chairman of the Western Railroad Traffic Assoc., passed away on Sept. 2. He served Taft for 10 years as a head class agent. He graduated in 1953 from Yale College with a BA. He married Mary Copeland in San Francisco on June 25, 1965, and the two enjoyed their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year. He was the father of Lanny ’85 and Ann and the proud grandfather of six, including Emily Rominger ’15. He spent many long summers on Cape Cod during his youth and served in the U.S. Army in Germany during the Korean War. He was often found skiing with his close group of friends in the Rockies and spending time with family and friends on the French River in northern Ontario and on the beach in Carmel, Calif. Source: Chicago Tribune Media Group Anthony Carpenter ’50 died on July 12 in Vero Beach, Fla. He rose to vice president of Hilton International, which took his family all over the world, including St. Thomas, Istanbul, and Sydney. He and his wife, Lilan, met at the Hotel School in Lausanne, Switzerland, where they embarked on a remarkable life. They returned to the U.S. from Sydney in 1982 to open the Vista International division of Hilton International, settling in Greenwich, Conn., until retirement when they moved permanently to Vero Beach. He leaves his wife of 60 years, Lilan; children Dean, Hilary, and Tracey; and four grandchildren. Source: GreenwichTime (Conn.) Richard T. Dillon ’51 died on April 26, in Denver, Colo. After Taft, Dick graduated from Yale in 1955 with a BA in history. He then went through flight training in Pensacola and served four years in the Navy as a naval aviator. In 1960 Dick returned to school, earning both an MA and PhD in English from UC, Berkeley. He moved from Berkeley to Boulder, where he began teaching at the Univ. of Colo., Denver campus. He was dedicated both to his work as an English professor and to administration, helping establish the thriving urban Denver campus. In 1974, he was appointed committee chair of a group of faculty, staff, and students tasked with writing the first campus master plan. He was later elected chair of the Faculty Assembly for 1974–75, and in 1976 he was appointed as the first acting vice chancellor for academic affairs. When he left the chancellor’s office, he became CLAS associate dean. Always an avid traveler, Dillon was active in promoting and establishing a study abroad program at CU Denver. He retired from the English Department in 1999. To honor him the Richard T. Dillon Scholarship has been established at the Univ. of Colo. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Margaret, as well as two children and two grandchildren. Michael J. Galullo Jr. ’51 died on April 26. He received a BS from Fordham Univ. and worked at ANAMET for 42 years, retiring as an executive vice president. He was a longtime resident of Watertown, Conn., prior to moving to Torrington and was an avid NY Yankees fan. Besides his wife of 58 years, Lucy, he leaves his children, Elisabeth Carpino, Dana Sanderson, Christina Ahlman, Michael, and Peter, and 12 grandchildren. Source: Register Citizen (Conn.) Ed Burke ’55, of Genoa, Neb., passed away on July 27. He graduated from Stanford Univ., where he was enlisted in ROTC. After his commission in the U.S. Navy, he was stationed on the island of Guam. He was in active duty from 1959 to 1962. Following his discharge from the Navy, he worked at the Bank of California, and in 1969 moved back to Genoa and began his career as president of the Genoa National Bank, retiring in 2001. He was proud and grateful for his sobriety of 47 years in AA, and considered his AA friends as part of his family. He was also a devoted member of Christ Episcopal Church in Central City, where he was a lay reader and vestry member for many years. He is survived by his wife, Anne; his son, Tim, who manages the family ranch, Kent and Burke Co.; two grandchildren; a brother, John Burke; and two nieces. Source: Columbus Telegram (Neb.) John P. Cruikshank ’55, of Lady’s Island, S.C., died on May 23. He leaves his wife, Lee; children Nichola Helen Crombie, Esther Cruikshank Stieska, Carolyn Davin Bowman, and Brian Scott Cruikshank; and five grandchildren. Source: Island Packet (S.C.) Charles L. Goodell ’56, of Tukwila, Wash., passed away on June 17. After Taft he went on to attend Bucknell Univ. and chose to leave after a year to join the Air Force, where he proudly served for four years. He was a born salesman and used that gift to work at several different fabric and carpet companies in Conn., Ill., and finally, in Seattle. In his retirement, he couldn’t turn off that desire to meet and get to know new people. Anyone who waited on him in a store or restaurant undoubtedly got to know “Chuck,” and he got to know them. He is survived by his son, Ted, and his daughter, Cary Cuiccio; five grandchildren; his sister, Martha; and a nephew. Source: Seattle Times (Wash.) Rawson Foreman ’58 died on June 23. Known for his humor, intelligence, and wit, he loved his family, friends, and community. He found his love returned a thousandfold. He was a graduate Washington and Lee Univ. and Emory Univ. School of Law. He was a partner in the law firm of Jones, Bird, & Howell, and later, Alston & Bird. He served as president of Atlanta Legal Aid Society and was honored to have been a recipient of a Community Service Award at the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. He was also a member of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, the Old War Horse Lawyers Club, and he held membership in the Piedmont Driving Club, the Nine O’Clocks, and Highlands Country Club. Active in numerous charitable and civic organizations, he served as president of the Atlanta Preservation Center and Midtown Alliance. He was a trustee of Paideia School and Miss Hall’s School. Especially passionate about art, he served the High Museum of Art in many capacities, including as a member of the executive committee, chair of the strategic planning committee, chair of the operations committee, chair of the nominating committee, chair of the long range planning committee, and chair of the board of directors. He was honored to be a life director of the museum. He was a devoted member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, where he served as an advisor to the church’s many outreach programs and also served on the vestry and as senior warden multiple times. He leaves behind his wife of 47 years, Peggy; daughters Margaret Langdon Foreman and Mary Rawson Foreman-Rorrer; two grandchildren; his brother, Robert Jr. ’44; and nephew Robert III ’70 and niece Alexa. He is preceded in death by his nephew, James. Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution Carlotta G. “Carlie” Shields Dandridge ’74 died on Aug. 27 in Kennebunk, Maine, after a valiant battle with MS. After Taft, she attended the Univ. of Colo. Boulder. She made her debut in 1974 at the Debutante Cotillion and Christmas Ball in New York. In 1994, she married Edmund Pendleton “Ted” Dandridge III in Santa Fe. She was a talented watercolorist and rug hooker, a loyal friend, and a devoted mother who never failed to leave smiles in her wake. She is survived by her husband, Ted, daughter Katherine Squire George ’04, a grandson, and brother John Shields. “Sois belle et formidable.” Faculty Emeritus Theodore S. “Ted” Greene, mathematics (1957–91), died on Aug. 29 at his home in Cheshire, Conn. He graduated from Yale Univ. in 1954. After serving in the Army, he joined the faculty at Taft School in 1957, where he would teach mathematics and coach for 34 years until his retirement in 1991. He was an avid birder and longtime member of the Audobon Society. Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 said, “Ted was a popular, loyal, and caring math instructor and lower school soccer coach. He had the affectionate nickname ‘Thumper’ among the boys he coached, and I have visions of him with his decidedly old-school cleats. He loved teaching math, watching games, and talking about students; and even after his retirement, he often returned to campus to spectate, chatting with teachers and students he had known. Over the years I have met many alumni, especially during their 50th Reunions, who have shared fond memories of Ted. He served Taft wonderfully for over three decades.” Headmaster Emeritus John Cushing Esty Jr., Taft’s third headmaster (1963–72), died on October 22. Please see pages 12–13 for a remembrance and obituary. We offer our sincere condolences to his family. j Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015 95 From the Archives Bingham Auditorium Stewarding a Community Space for the Next 125 Years Farming for Golf One curious event in Taft School’s early history merits telling as much for Horace Taft’s account of it as for the story itself. It involved his right-hand man and Latin teacher Harley Roberts (whom Mr. Taft said lacked a sense of humor), and the golf links. Around the time of the First World War, Mr. Roberts, a golf enthusiast, played a key part in relocating the Watertown Golf Club and its course to its present Guernseytown Road location. Some of the Club’s links shared the school’s grounds—and still do—but they had to be mowed. “Waste Nothing!” admonished the posters on the home front. Not manpower to drive the horse-drawn reel mowers. Nor money or mutton. And, the school was in debt. In his 1942 memoir Horace Taft remarked on Mr. Roberts’ solution: “Not many of the older people of Watertown will forget the time when Harley conceived the idea that sheep would be a splendid investment for the golf course. They would save mowing the grass and at the same time be increasing in value. His enthusiasm carried everything before it, and I always thought it hard that one or two farmers who were interested made no objection. Anyhow, Mr. Roberts drafted Mr. Joline (who taught Greek), and 96 Taft Bulletin / FALL 2015 Harley Roberts’ flock grazes on the campus links, ca. 1915. we had the spectacle of these two elderly schoolteachers driving up Academy Hill and through the center an unruly and scraggly flock of sheep amid the hilarity of the neighbors. Not until they were housed in an old barn that stood on the golf links did the farmers suggest that the sheep could hardly live in such confined quarters. Harley had, in his calculations, just about left standing room for the poor creatures. His enthusiasm did not wane—yet. Then came the question of a shepherd. The sheep wandered at will all over the whole golf links, left the grass in clumps, and proved to be the most inefficient mowing machines. They seemed to think that the greens were especially intended as comfort stations, to the intense indignation of the players. Then they (the sheep) began to sicken—through pure cussedness, I think—and as their ranks thinned out the conviction stole upon us that the experiment was not a great success. I forget what the selling price was, except that it differed very much from the purchase price and not in our favor. However, those of us who had contributed felt that we had had our money’s worth in entertainment.” —Horace D. Taft, Memories and Opinions —Alison Gilchrist, The Leslie D. Manning Archives For 85 years, Bingham Auditorium has been home was built into the rear of the auditorium’s lower level. to some of the most important moments in the life of Mr. Taft’s School. Generations of students have met our strategic planning as a high priority, and much each week in the auditorium for Vespers—now called needed in a space that was built in 1929 and has “This is an exciting project, one identified in Morning Meeting—and for special seen very heavy use over its presentations and assemblies, history,” said Headmaster Willy where they have heard new voices MacMullen ’78. “It’s such a lovely and been introduced to new and important space, worthy of ideas. Students have rehearsed, our stewardship and care.” performed, listened to, and spoken At the time that Bingham was before their peers in Bingham. built, Taft’s student body numbered And they have met there in times 323 boys, the faculty 27. Since of loss, as they did on December that time, growth in enrollment 7, 1941—the day Pearl Harbor was has outstripped the number bombed—and again immediately of seats in Bingham. Thanks to following the terrorist attacks on improvements in seating design September 11, 2001. In many ways, and creative layout, the renovation Bingham Auditorium is a sacred has resulted in a net gain of space for the Taft community. seats—Bingham now seats 592, Over the summer, Bingham was including six handicapped seats renovated in preparation for the (up from the 570 total seats pre- next 125 years of Taft students. The renovation). Custom wrought iron auditorium’s wood paneling was in the shape of the Taft “T” adorns cleaned, treated, and refinished, the ends of each row of seats. giving the space a lighter, softer One of the major goals feel. Damaged wood sections and of the Ever Taft Even Stronger decorative pieces were repaired Campaign is to ensure that we and the walls painted. Bingham’s historic light fixtures secure Taft’s endowment at an adequate level to support were refurbished and the blackout panels on the windows ongoing upkeep of the school’s facilities and campus. were removed, allowing natural light into the auditorium for the first time in many years. LED lighting was installed, In appreciation for future gifts of $1,000 through the close of as were remotely controlled window treatments. The the campaign on June 30, 2016, Taft will honor donors with a balcony has a new brass railing, and a soundboard plaque on one of the auditorium’s new seats. Stewardship of Taft’s campus is just one of the priorities of the current campaign. To find out more, visit www.taftschool.org/campaign or contact Director of Development Chris Latham at 860-945-5923 or [email protected] Nonprofit Org bulletin U.S. Postage PAID The Taft School 110 Woodbury Road Watertown, CT 06795-2100 860-945-7777 www.taftalumni.com burlington VT Permit # 101 Change Service Requested winter events At Taft 80th Service of Lessons and Carols—December 15 Alumni Hockey, Basketball, and Squash—February 13 Parents’ Weekend—February 19–20 On the road in December, January, and February New York City • Boston • Washington, D.C. • Asia