Pioneer - The Thacher School

Transcription

The Thacher School
5025 Thacher Road
Ojai, CA 93023
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Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
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Oxnard, CA
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Overview
In every issue
Six months of life at Thacher are chronicled in this Fall/Winter issue of The
Thacher News. From Opening School activities to Departmental Weekend,
from sports to plays, it has been a busy half year.
3 From the Head of School
The Good High School: A Reflection
by Michael K. Mulligan
Profiles: Thacher Pioneers
5 Letters
In this issue
Campus
Life
campus
life
6 Acquaintances Renewed
8 Footlights, Moonlight, and Charity
9 Pack up Your Horse and
Head for the Hills
10 Music Weekend
11 Learning from the Earth
12 Reflections on Becoming a Parent
13 Tidbits, Numeracy Puzzle
14 Thacher’s Initial Public Offering
16 Fall/Winter Sports
ALUMNI
TRUSTEE
22 Bertel M. Ekman, CdeP ’51
Content at Day’s End
37 Terdema L. Ussery, CdeP ’77
Making the Most of Hoops
and Hopes
24 Klaus Schubert, CdeP ’56
Trading One Casa Rustica
for Another
26 Hisakazu Hirose, CdeP ’66
Learning in an American Dream
28 Cynthia F. Hunter, CdeP ’80
Lessons Learned amid Manure Piles
30 Carol J. McConnell, CdeP ’81
A Product of Her Environment
36 Hubert Honanie, Jr., CdeP ’57
Dances with Snakes, Toads,
Sunlight, and Gems
O
HO L
THE T H
C
HER S
AC
1889
Alumni
alumni
The Thacher News
Fall 1999/Winter 2000
Volume XII, Number 1
44 Class Notes
Editor
Jane D. McCarthy
54 Obituaries
Design
J. Bert Mahoney, Tim Ditch, and Jane D. McCarthy
56 Bookshelf
Contributors
W. Austin Curwen, Camilla Evans-Hensey, Gregory T. Haggard, John
S. Huyler ‘51H, Rod M. “Jake” Jacobsen, Jane D. McCarthy, Alice
P. Meyer, Kurt R. Meyer, Joy Sawyer-Mulligan, Michael K. Mulligan,
Molly T. Perry, CdeP ‘85, Cricket Twichell, Frederick C. Twichell, Gallia
K. Vickery, and William C. Vickery
57 Calendar
Cover Photo
Science Department Chair Rae Ann Sines and her
Environmental Science students set up grids on the hills
overlooking the Gymkhana Field to track regrowth of
vegetation following the Ranch Fire.
42 No Man Is an Island
Edgardo Recalls a Weekend Pack
Trip of 30 Years Past
34 Stephen M. Batts, CdeP ’76
Flying His Dreams
22 Alumni
40 Former Faculty Member
40 Edgardo Catalan
Artistic Endeavors
32 Cindy Castañeda, CdeP ’88
“The Banquet Song” Becomes
a Lullaby
Profiles
profiles
37 Trustee
FORMER FACULTY MEMBER
Class Notes
Cricket Twichell
Sports Section
Joy Sawyer-Mulligan
Photography
Camilla Evans-Hensey, Jane D. McCarthy, Joy Sawyer-Mulligan,
Wendi Parker-Dial, and Timothy O Teague
The Thacher News magazine is published twice a
year by The Thacher School, and is sent free of
charge to alumni, parents, and friends of the School.
In preparing this report, every effort was made to
ensure that it is accurate and complete. If there is an
omission or an error in spelling, please accept our
apologies and notify the Head of School’s Office at
The Thacher School, 5025 Thacher Road, Ojai,
California 93023, or call (805) 646-4377.
Third Class postage is paid at the Oxnard Post Office.
POSTMASTER:
Please send form 3579 to the preceding address.
NAIS
MEMBER
Printed with soy-based inks.
From the Head of School
by Michael K. Mulligan
n 1983, Harvard professor Sara
Lawrence Lightfoot published her
award-winning book The Good
High School: Portrait of Character and Culture. I was fortunate
enough to have been part of a
small group of school heads
who had the opportunity to
talk to Dr. Lightfoot about
her research and writing
when I first became Head of
Thacher in 1992. At that
time, I took close notes on
what she defined as “signposts” of a healthy and vigorous school community. I
resolved that I would return to
these notes after a few years “on
the job” to see how The Thacher
School was faring relative to Dr.
Lightfoot’s list of critical indicators of
school excellence. You will note that Dr. Lightfoot’s hallmarks of health are virtually all about
school values—a far cry from those who insist that
excellence be measured only by government-mandated standardized test scores.
I
Michael Mulligan,
Head of School
Not surprisingly, first on Ms. Lightfoot’s list of The
Good High School was the concept of core values:
the school must have these at its center, and, furthermore, they must be well-understood. I thought
at that time—and continue to feel strongly—that
Thacher is one of the best examples there is of a
school with well-defined, well-understood, and longestablished core values. How do I know? Stop any
Thacher student, staff, or faculty member on The
Pergola and ask him or her: What are the core values of The Thacher School? Most often, they will recite without the blink of an eye the litany of virtues
given to us by our founder Sherman Day Thacher:
Honor, Fairness, Kindness, and Truth. They will
then note Thacher’s program wherein these virtues
find their expression: academic excellence, Our
Honor Code (repeatedly debated and endorsed), and
our distinctive Outdoor and Horse Program.
The hint of the long-standing critical examination of
the Honor Code is further evidence of the vibrancy
of Ms. Lightfoot’s second road sign regarding school
excellence, that of being “endlessly self-critical while
being simultaneously deeply rooted in the institution.” Following several years of internal and external assessments, directed by our Strategic
Planning agenda, I am confident in saying that
Thacher has set the industry standard for self-critical examination and feedback. Fourteen studies,
later followed by ongoing debate and discussion,
have resulted in the shining Strategic Plan, 1999-
Head of School
Head
The Good High School:
A Reflection
2005, mailed to all those interested in our School.
This document is the ultimate expression of our
being “endlessly self-critical.” (“Endlessly” is not
used lightly here because we intend to follow up several of the studies with biannual survey with students, parents, and alumni/ae to make sure we are
continuing to actually achieve what we have set out
to accomplish.) This Plan was driven by good business sense, by an overwhelming desire to make sure
that we are doing the best we can for the present
student body and for future generations of Thacher
students, and by the abiding devotion of the Thacher
community to this School.
Dr. Lightfoot’s third criterion of school is that good
schools have “permeable-boundaries within the
larger social context—boundaries crossed by families
while the school remains a world unto itself: safe,
healthy, challenging, demanding, lively.” Time was
that Thacher, like nearly all independent national
boarding schools, would have fallen short of this
goal—and happily so, given the tastes of sometimes
iconoclastic school heads. Families—both faculty
and student—were to be seen only occasionally, and
heard from as little as possible. Dropping off Junior
on opening day and picking him up at Christmas
was quite sufficient, thank you. The truth and the
practice now at Thacher are quite different: Parents
don’t lose Junior to Thacher; rather parents (and
often grandparents) join The Thacher School Family. School events—on and off campus—are enlivened by enthusiastic parent participation. Some
parents of alumni/e have even taken to creating their
own reunions given the friendships they developed at
Thacher. From Family Weekends, Grandparents’
Days, and School sporting events, lectures and concerts all the way to the weekly Mulligan Open
House are fully subscribed to by our families, old
and new. When we say times have changed, I can
think of no better example than our Open House
where parents drop by for cookies, ice cream sundaes, and occasional foosball and Ping-Pong games
frequently. Truthfully, I am not sure what my reaction would have been as a teenager at boarding
school having my parents drop in at the Head’s
Open Home, (were he to have had an Open
House—which he didn’t.) That Thacher kids are
generally genuinely pleased that their folks have
come by is even more impressive. Indeed, even at
the annual fall and spring Parent Hootenanny, the
young Toads get over their embarrassment at having
mom lead the crowd in a rousing Pete Seeger protest
song. It is at times like these that School and Family
come together almost seamlessly, and happily so.
Parents are now officially represented on the Board
of Trustees as well as through several arms of the Parents’ Committee. Thacher is not simply more hosFall 1999 / Winter 2000
page 3
Head of School
pitable to parents because parents want more
intimacy with the School; rather, we rely upon
parents to help us critically examine our policies of in loco parentis (the current example
being our look at the pros and cons of wandering), and we seek to link arms with parents
as we jointly share in the all important task of
raising these adolescents. This team approach
is most often seen during those trying but important times when students lose their way and
teachers, parents, and teens pull together to
make sense of what happened. In fact, shared
values between parents and the School are ultimately the single most significant factor in
whether a student succeeds here or not.
It remains true, nonetheless, that there are
boundaries between the greater world of families and the School itself. Thacher has its own
culture, its own rules—based upon universal
principles of good conduct, to be sure, but not
always held by the “outside world”—and its
own idiosyncratic customs and practices. It
provides safety and risks, rewards and challenges, problems and opportunities to its students that go beyond and transcend the culture
of families and most other schools. And this
is the value-added of the Thacher experience. It
is the fertile ground from which springs rich
growth, and it is why character development is
paramount here.
Dr. Lightfoot then addressed directly the issue
of School leadership. She said, “The work of
the leaders is most importantly to define the
parameters of meaning: How is it people
should be in this community?” This work falls
directly on my shoulders. Barely a day goes
by when I do not think or talk about what
and how we should be at this School. This is
unrelenting and critical work, and the opportunity for modeling this behavior is not something I take lightly. I have come to experience
directly the veracity of her words. The obligation falls most heavily upon my shoulders as
Head, and then fall proportionately to the administration and faculty, the seniors, and there
on down.
Dr. Lightfoot emphasized that good schools
have at their core teaching. She refined this to
say that the “learning in the moment, attending to the moment” should take precedence
over always “anticipating where you are
going.” Now this is an art. As leaders, we are
expected to always be pointing to the future, to
be spelling out where we are going and why,
and then showing how we are going to get
there. All of our planning, research, and fundraising have me always looking to the next day
for change, growth, and improvement. Yet if I
as a Head and we as a School do not attend to
the moment, we have lost our teaching opportunity. We will have created a school environDr. Lightfoot went on to make the argument ment where we are always looking forward to,
that excellent schools reflect the pluralism of rather than experiencing the richness of, this
our society as a whole and the globalism of very moment.
the world in which our students will live and
work. Not long ago, independent schools were Sometimes crises are the best venues for learngenerally one color, one sex, one religion, and ing in the moment: How must we be? How
one gender. Pick the school and assign the cat- have we fallen short? Where must we go? Over
egories. Now independent boarding schools— the years I have had more than sufficient opand Thacher is no exception—are oftentimes portunities for this kind of teaching. Tough
more pluralistic than some colleges and any times are powerful learning moments for all.
number of suburban and rural high schools. That is why they are tough: they require more
Thacher’s student body, as noted by one visitor than the usual insight and energy. And there
this year, looks like the United Nations. The are almost always difficult decisions to be
faculty, on the other hand, while increasingly made at these times, and then communicated,
gender balanced, is still overwhelmingly white. defined, and sometimes defended and then disAs Ms. Lightfoot would be quick to point out, cussed ad infinitum and ad nauseam. But as
students need to look at the adults in their Dr. Lightfoot notes, these are rich times for
community and be able to witness success sto- communities.
ries of those who were once in their shoes. As
noted in our Strategic Plan, we still have sig- But relying on crises as a means of teaching
nificant work to do here despite having Asian, how we should be is rather like relying on a
Latino, and African American role models. Ms. sprint to get you up Mount Everest. The jourLightfoot warned that “one of anything in a ney is too long and treacherous to maintain
school is treacherous…One token releases the such a pace. Defining, modeling, explaining,
core faculty from the real responsibility of and teaching just what it is that defines our
‘dealing with it.’” “Dealing with it” means, of best selves must be done every day, in all ways,
course, that it is the responsibility of every fac- sometimes at a sprint, but more often at a jog,
ulty member to take prejudice, head-on, not a walk, or simply by sitting down and reflectto turn this and related thorny issues over to ing. My favorite time for discussions about
the “race or gender representatives” on the fac- meanings with students is the “Fireside Chat”
ulty. Beyond this, she noted, we must provide where I, once a season, meet with students and
to them leaders and models on the faculty have an open dialogue and free exchange with
whose very presence suggests that this world is them on some topic of importance to them.
now one where anyone so motivated can stake Topics have included teen sexuality, campus
a claim of ownership and leadership. We are after check-in freedom privilege “wandering,”
working on this at Thacher, but there remains the Honor Code, and the “two strike” punlots of work to do.
ishment system. I have found these open fopage 4
The Thacher News
rums to be powerful: Students are given strong
footings to express opinions; thoughtful listening on all sides is the norm; and I can talk
about what our ideal vision is and how we
should be by virtue of specific example. This is,
after all, far better than sermonizing, and I
learn much from our students at every session.
Yet I do not fool myself for a moment: I can do
this work better being a meaning-maker. Every
moment presents an opportunity that should
be seized. Do you think that one can overdo
this? I will know when faculty and students
start avoiding me at lunch.
To a Zennist, of course, there exists only this
moment. The future is a mere mental construction. To put it otherwise, I quote Nick
Thacher, CdeP ’63, Head of New Canaan
Country Day School, in his recent essay “Reflections on Stepping Down”: “Time is a precious commodity. Carpe Diem; seize the day!
It’s not a new idea, that: Every parent knows it;
every teacher appreciates it…Time once lost
can never be recaptured.” The job of a leader
is at once to attend to the moment and yet be
sure that every moment is invested with those
seeds that sprout into the healthy fruits of the
next day. It is an ageless paradox: to live this
moment fully while ensuring that the next does
not leave us bankrupt.
Sara Lawrence Lightfoot’s admonitions to
school leaders are particularly striking to me
these several years later because their relevance
seems not to have been diminished a bit. Indeed, our public officials would do well to read
The Good High School once again because
Ms. Lightfoot’s definitions of excellence transcend that hobgoblin and deceit put forth by
our politicians that excellence is measured primarily in test scores. She contends, and I concur, that we would be far wiser to examine the
values of our schools since everything emanates
from these values. She asks: What are those
core values? Are they understood? Does the
school seek to improve? Does it have it have
well defined albeit permeable boundaries?
Does it provide a global perspective and rich
role modeling to a pluralistic community? Do
the leaders define how people should be in the
school community? Are learning and teaching
at the center of the school? Does the school
attend to learning in the moment?
Ask these questions about a school and you
will learn a lot more about the school than
anything standardized scores will tell you. It
will tell, first and foremost, whether it is the
kind of school you would like your child to
attend or not.
Thacher measures up well, but not perfectly
to these questions. We have work to do, but we
knew that. And that work is also part of the
fun of enjoying this moment for every school,
like every person, is on a “journey.” There is
no arriving at the end of the journey really;
there is only the travel and, we hope, the cherishing of each moment along the way. e
Letters
To the Thacher Alumni Magazine:
When I read Marshall Milligan’s speech from
the Outdoor Chapel, reprinted in the last issue,
I felt so relieved that someone else could put
into understandable words the sense of spirituality that we all received at Thacher.
And you all are the only people in the world
who can understand what happened to me
years ago, as I broke up with a girlfriend. She
said, “You are not spiritual!” Again, I say to
you, my brothers and sisters, only you can understand how my mind went that very moment
to the past, to a hilltop overlooking the Ojai
Valley, sitting on top of my horse, and soaking
in the very essence of spirituality—the nature
around us, as Marshall said, and as he alluded
to the sensibilities of Sherman Day Thacher
(and his aversion to organized religions). I
knew my girlfriend was totally wrong, but how
could I explain it to her?
Marshall Milligan responds: I wanted to talk
about the spirituality of the Thacher experience, because I think we too seldom acknowledge it and because our non-Thacher friends
too seldom appreciate it. Apparently, Ken’s experience is just such a case. I’m wondering if
there are others among us who might have recollections or comments on the subject of spirituality and the Thacher experience. Let us
hear from you.
January 27, 2000
Dear Ms. McCarthy,
I felt nostalgic reading the latest Thacher
News. My family and I had some good years
there in the 1960s. I fondly remember doubles
matches with Hub Segur, Tim Carey, and Bob
Then, just yesterday, I found the following Chesley, faculty gatherings at the Sheahans’ or
poem in an old long-forgotten box. It was writ- Betty Saunders’, early years with the Halsey
clan, Upper School management with Milt
ten my Junior year at Thacher:
Frye and Roy Bobby, and so much more. I
came at a time of change for the School,
OJAI SUNSET
change that now seems relatively insignificant
given where Thacher stands today. However, I
With the sun in my eyes
do have the feeling from reading The News
And the wind in my ears
that much of what was Thacher then remains.
On a mountain top.
My cheeks are stretched cold
And my coat keeps me warm
On a mountain top.
January sunset seen at its peak
From atop a horse called Rufus
On a mountain top.
Rufus and I admire the sky
And listen to the world below
From a mountain top.
Hungry, Rufe? Just another minute
While I sort things out
On a mountain top.
Letters
Letters
Lakehurst, NJ
February 16, 2000
Dear Jane,
This is a brief note to say what a splendid job
you did on the latest Thacher News—
Spring/Summer ’99. You always do a fine job,
but this time I was prompted to write. The layout is excellent, because it is both artistic and
compelling.
The Headmaster’s words constitute truth at a
deep level. News of the School is full of interesting reports and vignettes. I am always happy
to read of people I have known and worked
with: Tom May on the past Buildings and
Grounds Committee; John Lewis and his
100% loyalty; Herb Moffitt, former hardworking Board member, whose sons, Jim and
David, were mathematics students of mine;
Bob Hunter, Board Member in my day; David
Garden of 1999 Shangri-la whose son, David,
was another of my students; Tony Thacher;
Marshall Milligan.
Your section, “From the Earth,” is fascinating…digging out interesting material about
alumni…
Very best wishes,
David Koth,
But life moves on. I now live in Brookline, MA, Mathematics Instructor, Business Manager
a psychologist with a second family (my wife 1970-71, 1972-74, 1975, 1976-78, 1980-83
Peg, 12-year-old Sam, and 9-year-old Anna),
and I have lost touch with many of those I
knew in The Ojai. I’d like them all to know
they remain in my mind and heart and it would
be a pleasure, over time, to talk together and to
remember.
Fondly,
Dick Burhoe
English Teacher, 1959-67
Long ride down to dinner and bed
I won’t forget he peace I had
On a mountain top.
You know what I mean?
Ken Jacobs, CdeP ’68
Fall 1999 / Winter 2000
page 5
Family Weekend
Campus Life
Family Weekend
Acquaintances Renewed
t Class Barbecues scattered across campus
on Friday evening, parents donned chef hats
and aprons to barbecue tri-tip and chicken
for the assembled children,
families, and faculty members.
They also brought copious
amounts of desserts to share
before the community gathered in the Lamb Auditorium
for Friday evening’s impressive Sampler of Performing
Arts. The Chamber Music
Ensemble played Mozart’s
“Romanza” from Eine Kleine
Nachtmusik and “Gavotte”
from J.S. Bach’s Suite #3 in D
Major. The Dance Ensemble
performed “Interplay,” choreographed by Gallia Vickery,
an intricate modern piece
complete with special lighting
effects. Jake
Jacobsen directed his cast
i n a “ Te n Minute Earnest,” a synopsis of Oscar
Wilde’s play
The Importance of Being
Earnest. The
Chamber
Singers, directed by Gregory Haggard, sang a
traditional
chantey enti-
A
Freshman parents:
Helen Keane (mother of
Brian ’03); Carolyn and
Randy Tapscott (parents
of Sarah); John and Betsy
Grether (parents of
Robert, CdeP ’99, Ted
’01, and Russell ’03), and
Sally Pollet, mother of
Troy ’03
Susan and Tom Stenovec
(parents of Tim ’02) and
Liz and Newlin Hastings,
CdeP ’70, (parents of
Shannon, CdeP ’99, and
Jamie ’02) gear up for the
Sophomore Class
Barbecue
Columbia University Senior
Associate Director of Admissions
Diane McKoy served as Saturday’s
Keynote Speaker
page 6
The Thacher News
by Jane D. McCarthy
tled “A Roving” and William Shield’s “O Happy Fair”; the Thacher Chorus wrapped up the
evening with the traditional folk song, “The Water is Wide” and “Matilda,” a traditional calypso folk song. An equally impressive array of
desserts including brownies, assorted bars, and
coffee on The Pergola was the evening’s finale.
At the Outdoor Amphitheatre on Saturday
morning, parents witnessed what students do
at 10:30 a.m. three times each week: Assembly.
Features included the debut of a new faculty
singing group, Locus Vocus, various reminders
about the Weekend’s activities, and Wayne
Chang giving a Senior Reading. Students led
their families to classrooms, where they were
reincarnated into teachers to explain chemical
reactions, write/draw Chinese characters, or
share solutions and rationales for statistics
questions. Throughout the morning, the library
staff displayed books on topics as wide ranging
as modern art to Cold War archives, and Chinese philosophy to the history of cryptography. People purchased and donated these 86
volumes that can now be found in the library
stacks. The Parents’ Committee did a swift
business at the Thacher gear sales table: caps,
sweat shirts, and t-shirts were this year’s big
sellers. Some families found their way to the
Sidney Brody Gallery to enjoy the extensive
exhibit of student art that ran the gamut of
sculpture to photography, water color to pencil sketches.
Towards the end of Saturday morning, Michael
Mulligan spoke to the families of the sense of
peace and well-being of the Ojai which are beneficial for students as they face pressures of
work, sexual experimentation, drugs and alcohol use, and peer acceptance. Beyond Ojai’s
healing powers, however, Michael enforced
that “Teens need to be known and held accountable for learning, homework, and writing.
They learn through connections with caring
adults…who can help mentor them to adulthood.” He emphasized the need for smaller
classes and schools that create a community
where every individual offers his unique talents, gifts, and strengths to the betterment of the
community. Michael then introduced Diane
McKoy, Senior Associate Director of Admissions at Columbia University. Beyond recommendations to bear in mind about the collegeapplication process, Diane reiterated the
importance of reciprocal involvement by all
community members to better society. Since
she came to the balance of the Family Weekend
activities, seniors applying to Columbia and
their families could individually discuss
Columbia’s admission process with her.
Celeste Thomas (’00)
and her father, John
Family Weekend
Color Guard leads the
Horse Exhibition
Grand Entry
There was barely enough time for all of the
parent/student teams to shoot trap on Saturday
afternoon. Chris Brown ’01 and father Fred,
who shot 46 out of 50, achieved the highest
overall score for the Weekend, while Michael
Dachs ’03 hit every disc thrown his way. Just
as the shooting wound up, the athletic events
began with four Boys’ Soccer teams playing
against Cate and Ojai Valley School, and the
Girls’ Tennis and Volleyball teams duking it
out against Cate. A highlight was the Varsity
Soccer team’s win over Cate, 5-1, just one
week after losing during Cate’s Parents’ Weekend game.
Li Li watches Chance
Phelps ’03 write “Hello”
in Chinese
Art and Riding Instructor
Steve Carter watches as his
riding group, the “Low
Riders,” square dance their
horses to Jesse Kahle’s
calling from Jack Huyler’s
golf cart
New this year was an information/questionanswer session for parents and students to
learn about the various exchange programs
available to juniors: English-Speaking Union,
School Year Abroad, and Maine Coast Semester. This meeting adjourned in time for parents
to sample the local Ojai cuisine or head to the
Dining Hall for a spread of Prime Rib, Vegetarian Quiche, and Chocolate Mousse Cake.
The traditional hootenanny at the Mulligan
Open House got underway around eight and
featured parents embarrassing their children
with their musical talents.
treated to the well-known
strain’s of Pachelbel’s
“Canon in D,” played by
a quintet of flutes, viola,
and cello. Nan GrandJean, mother of Addie
Hearst ’01, spoke about
three important lessons
that she learned between
the ages of 15 and 50.
First, Nan spoke of the
difference between the inside and the outside of
Bright and early Sunday morning at the Out- ourselves and of her atdoor Chapel, the Thacher Community was tempts “to give as much
love as possible to the
ones I love.“ Next, she
spoke of discovering our
giftedness and developing
whatever gifts/talents to the best of our ability.” Third, she talked of our limited life span
and the importance of spending it on the people and things that we love. In closing Nan
said: “Always look inside. You will find infinite
fun and energy, plus eventually a sustaining
passion that will pull you joyously through life
and make you wish that you could have more
than only one lifetime.”
An astounding exhibition of riding expertise
was Sunday morning’s main event. Following
the traditional entrance of the Color Guard
(Seniors Lucinda Brown, Devon Tarasevic, and
Wallis Adams), Esther Guzman ’01 led the audience in singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Next, seven riding teams led by the Horse Department faculty displayed equestrian skills
that ranged from square dancing on horseback
to the calls of Jesse Kahle to weaving in and
out of each other in intricate patterns that required coordination and timing, to bare-back
stunts and standing on saddles. Given that the
majority of riders had ridden for only seven
weeks at the time of this display, they were
amazingly composed and well-heeled. As one
parent observed, “only one spill [a bareback
rider who immediately remounted, unscathed]
and definitely no chills”: the thermometer
reached the century mark. Horses, feet, and
buses brought the group back for a final
brunch at The Pergola before families wound
their way down Thacher Road with happy but
tired hearts from this jam-packed three-day
Weekend. e
Nan Grand-Jean, mother of Addie Hearst ’01,
gives her message at Sunday’s Chapel Service:
“What I Learned Between 15 and 50”
page 7
Campus Life
Campus Life
Plays
Footlights, Moonlight,
and Charity
he Thacher Masquers performed two plays
this year: The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde in the fall, and the musical
Sweet Charity by Neil Simon (choreography
by Bob Fosse) in the winter. Although these
plays represent settings
and characters as different as one can imagine,
the Masquers portrayed
their roles deftly, to the
delight of the audiences.
Employed as a hostess at a New York dance
hall in the late 1960s, Charity Hope Valentine
displays her innocent vulnerability repeatedly
throughout Sweet Charity as she tries to find
happiness with various unimpressive
boyfriends. Her “real” chance for marriage
comes when the “fickle finger of fate” traps
her in an elevator with a claustrophobic tax
accountant (Oscar Lindquist) who also seems
to be in search of “something.” Romance blossoms only to falter when Oscar discovers
Charity’s true occupation and dating history.
The Outdoor Theatre Through trials and tribulations, Sweet Charity
was a perfect backdrop continues searching for love, wide-eyed and
for the witty Impor- hopeful.
tance of Being Earnest,
a play that was first per- Oscar, etc.: Paul Bonewitz ’00
formed at Thacher in Vittorio, etc.: Chris Bonewitz ’01
the same spot in 1913 Charity: Mariposa Widdoes ’00
with boys playing the Herman, etc.: Emmett Hopkins ’01
women’s roles in full Daddy Brubeck, etc.: Kirby Williams ’00
Victorian dress. At Daddy’s Assistants, etc.: Andrew Warren ’00
Drama Director Jake Ja- and Peter Warman ’00
cobsen’s side (and, in his Cops, Customers, Street People: Will Barkan
words, “significant in ’02, Alden Blair ’01, and Emery Mitchem ’01
the establishment of cast Lead Hostesses: Margaux Lloyd ’00, Esther
unity, focus, and trust”) Guzman ’01, and Julia Erdman ’03
Chris Bonewitz ’01, Paul Bonewitz ’00, was Associate Director Mariposa Widdoes ’00, Ursula, Hostess: Monique Gaskins ’02
Logan Clark ’01, and Grace Carter ’01 who put to use many of the techniques and Hostesses, Street people, etc.: Lily Mitchem
in The Importance of Being Earnest.
skills she honed last summer at the compre- ’01, Lacey Gordon ’00, Zoe Towns ’02,
hensive National High School Institute The- Heidi Cole ’02, Youna Kim ’02, Meredith
atre Arts Program, held at Northwestern Walker ’01, and Emma White ’01 e
University. The fantastic plot and ironic twists
display Wilde’s wit in what he understatedly
called a “somewhat farcical comedy” about
the amorous misadventures of two young English gentlemen.
T
Emery Mitchem ’03, Youna
Kim ’02, Margaux Lloyd ’00,
and Kirby Williams ’00 in
Sweet Charity.
Lane: Will Barkan ’02
Merriman: Alden Blair ’01
Algernon Moncrieff: Chris
Bonewitz ’01
John Worthing: Paul
Bonewitz ’00
Lady Bracknell: Anthea
Tjuanakis ’01
Gwendolen Fairfax:
Logan Clark ’01
Miss Prism: Meredith
Walker ’01
Cecily Cardew: Grace
Carter ’01
Rev. Canon Chausible:
Kirby Williams ’00
Sound and lighting technicians Kevin Schmidt ’01, Matt Schuman ’00,
and Sara Thacher ’00
page 8
The Thacher News
Campus Life
Campus Life
Packing
Pack up Your Horse
and Head for the Hills
W. Austin Curwen, Director of the Horse Camping Program
yon’s Camp. Ladybug. Pine Mountain
Lodge. Ten Sycamores. To some these are
just words on a page. To others, they are
indelibly etched in their minds from horse
camping trips harking back to the
founding of the School. In many
ways, these names are as much a
part of one’s Thacher career as
Upper School or Chick Barn
Alley, and there is no reason to
believe they won’t continue to
make their mark on our students.
The Thacher Horse Camping
program met its goal of getting
all of this year’s freshmen class
out on a trip during the year.
L
Austin Curwen and Brian Pidduck,
CdeP ’92, entice all students to
participate in the Outdoor
Program during Assembly
and over The Ridge. On the home front, the
pack station is getting ready for some reorganization to complement the new barn project. Meanwhile, on the other side of The
This year’s smuts seem to be especially keen on getting back into
the Sespe. Several members of the
class of ’03 have reflected on the impact of Ridge, work continued at Patton’s Cabin. A
their experiences. Robert Cerda likened his ex- new tie-rail was installed, along with a fence in
perience to “taking the step into the unknown front of the cabin to create a more permanent
campsite and to allow for easier loading and
unloading. In addition, the enclosure was expanded toward the river to allow easier access
to water.
With a vast wilderness as our backyard, along
with the School’s continued commitment to
bringing students into the backcountry, the
Thacher Horse Camping Program is poised to
continue providing camping opportunities far
into the next millennium. e
Chris Bonewitz ’01, Emma White
’01, Alex Herbert ’02, and David
Gal ’02 enjoy breakfast before
hitting the trail
and unraveling the mysteries as they lie on the
path ahead.” Russell Grether enjoyed being
part of a group: “I think that the main focus of
our trip—after we found out what we had
done—was unity.” Katie Kuhl summed up her
feelings: “My trip never failed to be exciting,
and I won’t ever forget it.” Clearly the value of
our outdoor excursions remains as strong as
ever.
While the terrain was a bit dry in the fall, trips
went off without a hitch, relying on packed
feed and careful planning to go where the
water was, namely Patton’s and Willett’s. Once
the rains came in the winter, the river rose and
native grass grew, thereby assuring adequate
horse feeding through the spring into EDTs.
In addition to motivated students and good
luck with the weather, the Horse Camping pro- Sophomores Alex Herbert and Maddie McQuillan
gram has done some fine tuning both at home see how much they can stuff into a pack
page 9
Campus Life
Campus Life
Music
Weekend
Alexander String Quartet
kicks off February’s
Departmental Weekend
of a coyote. The
pair then
struggles
against
overwhelming odds,
frustrations, and
tragedies to realize
their dreams. The film’s writers,
usic Weekend” is a more apt name for Anna Thomas and Greg Nava (both of whom
this year’s Departmental Weekend in live in Ojai and Greg was also the film’s direcFebruary, since it featured a wide vari- tor) conducted the discussion portion of the mornety of musical performances. Kicking off the ing’s events.
festivities Thursday afternoon was a master
class for the AP Music Theory students con- Later that afternoon, Van Dyke Parks, father
ducted by the Alexander String Quartet. In that of Richard ’00 and songwriter, led his trio
the class had been studying Beethoven’s style through an eclectic mix of musical pieces with
and how his composing differed from others of themes ranging from the Marines to Califorhis era, the Quartet demonstrated what nia, with nuances of Randy Newman, Gordon
Beethoven was trying to achieve. They then Lightfoot, and Bob Marley that crossed the
played the same music as if it had been written borders between pop, Broadway musical, clasby one of his peers so that the students could sical music, and jazz. He interspersed his songs
identify the differences in style. This was a fas- with amusing banter about the origin of ideas
cinating exercise for these young musicians and that spawned the songs and funny incidents
gave them a greater appreciation for the con- from when he’s previously performed them.
cert that the Quartet presented to the entire The students and faculty were captivated by
community following dinner. It featured music
by Beethoven, Bartok and Mendelsohn, and
proved to be an interesting comparison of
styles that spanned from the Late
Baroque/Early Classical era to the atonal pattern of Modern Music. This Quartet is widely
admired for its interpretations of Beethoven
and Bartok and has established itself as an important advocate of new music through over
25 commissions and numerous premier performances. Many students had never heard a
string quartet before and were impressed by
the variety and intensity of sound that the ensemble made.
“
M
The entire School assembled at the Ojai Playhouse on Friday morning for a private screening of El Norte, and a question-and-answer discussion about the director’s use of indigenous
Latin American music. This gripping story follows two teenage siblings who are forced to leave
their Guatamalan homeland because of political turmoil during the 1980’s. Their arduous
journey north—El Norte—to America contin- Joy Bergeron ’02 and Nate Wallace ’02 learn some
ues with their crossing the border with the help swing-step basics on Saturday afternoon
page 10
The Thacher News
his rich piano style,
mesmerizing stories,
and charming personality.
Speaking of piano, Friday night featured Boogie Woogie pianists Rob
Rio and Clark Sonny
Horton. Their coming
from different stylistic
schools of Boogie Woogie
added intrigue and excitement to their performances,
especially when the two pianos
were dueling with left-hand bass lines and dazzling right-hand riffs. They stretched the limits
of what can be done on 88’s and inspired budding Thacher pianists to further their studies.
Ever since, the sound of fledgling Boogie Woogie enthusiasts can be heard from the various
pianos around campus.
On Saturday morning, science teacher and
world-class dance competitor Andrew Ho and
senior Margaux Lloyd taught swing dancing
to a full auditorium of
students in
preparation
for the big
dance Saturday night
featuring
swing band
Lee PressOn and the
Nails from
San Francisco. Stud e n t s
perfected
their peek-aboos, rock
steps, and
arch turns,
and then displayed their
best moves
that evening.
The dance
floor was a Science teacher and world-class
bit
tight dance competitor Andrew Ho and
since nearly Margaux Lloyd ’00 demonstrate
e v e r y o n e dance steps to the students
danced continuously, but that didn’t stop the smiles and
cheers for a terrific Music Weekend. e
Campus Life
Learning from the Earth
Campus Life
Science
Environmental Science
problems, and examine alternative solutions randomly selected from a 100-meter transect
for resolving and/or preventing them.
line. Monthly, the class visits the quadrants
to observe the re-growth of various plants.
Thacher’s location adjacent to the Los Padres Two months after the fire—following the rainy
National Forest—brimming with streams and months of February and March—the seedlings
fields, flora and fauna—offers an extensive and began to sprout. The following month, stuvaried stage for environmental dents found up to a dozen different types of
field studies. For instance, the plants growing, including burr clover and wild
class tested and compared the hyacinth and peonies. Visual inspection indiwater quality of the Ventura cates that where goats had grazed before the
River watershed. Thacher Creek fire, more burr clover is evident; fewer plants
on campus is virtually the head- seem to be sprouting where the fire burned hotwaters of the Ventura River water and the goats had not grazed. This study
tershed while the Main Street field will continue for the next 10-15 years or until
site in Ventura is the mouth of the the hill returns to its natural chaparral-covered
Ventura River and the final desti- state.
nation of the waters from the
Ojai Valley. Students noted the Another ongoing study employs ozone-detectmoderate increase in nutrients ining patches hung across campus to determine
cluding nitrates, phosphates, and ambient levels of anthropogenic ozone gas.
ammonia that were most likely Foggy, humid versus dry, warm days; copier
from treated sewage, fertilizer, machine versus Perimeter Road vehicle exand agricultural runoff from the haust; orchard versus classroom sites: oneOjai Valley. More impressive was inch-square swatches will yield air pollution
Seniors Carlos Soriano and Marley Orr detect oxygenation of the
the increase in the biological oxy- data that this class can compare with last year’s
Math-Science Courtyard stream
gen demand in
agement in the mid-80s, she was intrigued with the waters between the two
expanding her one-semester elective course to sites, indicative of what is
a full-year Advanced Placement course. An en- otherwise known as euthusiastic group of students greeted Rae Ann trophic conditions found
upon her return and anxiously learned about commonly after water has
environmental problems through both didactic passed through farms, fields,
and hands-on field studies. Employing various and towns. Last year when
scientific principles, concepts, and methodolo- Thacher Creek ran year
gies, they could further understand interrela- round, class studies focussed
tionships of the natural world. By identifying on the insect larva and their
and analyzing environmental problems—both food preferences, specifically
natural and human-made—they would evalu- leaf detritus.
ate the relative risks associated with these
This year’s
Ranch Fire
offered the
perfect
backdrop Seniors Lauren Fraim and Cheryl Lynn Horton receive instruction on
for observ- setting up ozone-detecting patches
ing the regrowth of vegetation on the data and subsequent classes can use for comhills overlooking the Gym- parison studies.
khana Field, otherwise
known as secondary succes- This successful and interesting course rounds
sion. While the earth was still out the Advanced Placement course offerings
blackened in January, four at Thacher and gives students practical techone-square-meter grids were niques from which to examine their environment. This mindset not only benefits the
students, but shows students how they can preSeniors Carlos Soriano,
Cheryl Lynn Horton,
serve and restore their environment for future
Wayne Chang, and Justin
generations to enjoy. e
ust before leaving on sabbatical a few years
back, Science Chair Rae Ann Sines spotted
an ACORN course outline for a year-long
Advanced Placement Environmental Science
course. Having received a Masters from Duke’s
School of Forestry and Environmental Man-
J
Arnold with Science Chair
Rae Ann Sines
page 11
Campus Life
TOAD Talk
Toad
Reflections on
Becoming a Parent
Molly Twichell Perry, CdeP ’85
hen I was eight months pregnant with Jordan and big as
a barn, I ran into the mother
of Califia Davis, [CdeP ’98], a former Thacher student. Seeing a
pregnant woman always seems to
elicit words of parenting wisdom
from the observer, and this case
was no exception. Califia’s mom,
Lorraine, said something that
struck me as odd at the time, but it
has stuck with me ever since. She
said: “The love you have for your
children is a strange thing. They
can light up your life or they can
drive you to drink, but, without a
doubt, my child is the only being
for whom I would willingly throw
myself in front of a bus and be
happy that I did.”
W
TOAD Talks are those oftenmemorable addresses given
by a faculty member who is
on duty for the week.
We will print one of those
most topical TOAD talks in
each issue.
page 12
The Thacher News
“Oh yes, I’m sure.” I replied, just
as I had replied to those who had
said that I would never sleep more
than three hours in a row again, or
that breast-fed babies’ diapers didn’t smell, or that stretch marks
were sexy. I thought “There must
Molly, Derick, and Jordan Perry
be something about parenting that
addles the brain. I’m sure that I will
love my baby, but it would be sheer
lunacy to pick a fight with a ten-ton moving mother thought that it was the friendliest place
vehicle. Self-sacrifice is not a pastime in which on Earth because everyone waved at us as we
drove up the Main Street—only later did we
I frequently engage.”
discover that, in fact, the street was one way, in
Yet, here I stand, just short of a year later, the other direction. Needless to say, I didn’t
ready to admit that my nine-month-old baby apply. Someone on the Admission Committee
has me wrapped around her one-and-a-half- might have remembered my face. It was too
inch-long little finger. The logical conclusion— large of a risk to take.) Remember that they
parenting does, in fact, warp your brain. I are the ones who love you so deeply that they
don’t know how it happened. I don’t know would sacrifice (and most likely already have)
what changed, but now I know that I wouldn’t themselves for you. Are a few hours of your
think twice about hurling myself into the path time too much to give up for the ones who
of any rapid transit vehicle if I knew that by might be the only thing standing between you
and ten tons of steel? I doubt it. e
doing so I would save my little girl.
So, you’re thinking… “Interesting, masochistic,
but interesting. But what does this have to do
with me?” My point is this: In five short days
we will depart for a long-awaited vacation.
Most of you will spend at least some of the
time during these precious two weeks—when
you aren’t sleeping—with a parent or two.
When you are with them, you may be tempted
to walk five yards ahead and pretend that they
don’t exist. (College trips provide priceless fodder for embarrassing parental encounters. Take
my experience at Dartmouth, for example. My
Molly Twichell Perry, CdeP ’85, is a Pioneer in
her own right: She is the first Fac Brat to come
back and teach at Thacher since Anson S.
Thacher, CdeP ’23, and she is the only one
with the additional title of “Mom.”
Tidbits
he calm of Thacher’s winter break ended before dawn on December 21,when a brush
fire threatened the eastern side of campus.
Known as the Ranch Fire, it began in the
Upper Ojai when some firecrackers were set
off, and quickly spread west (at one point in
the night it moved one mile in fifteen minutes
due to 80 m.p.h. winds) towards Meditation
Mount, Ojai Valley School’s upper campus,
and Thacher’s Gymkhana area. Fortunately,
Dennis Hill, one of the Maintenance workers,
aroused various co-workers who met him on
campus to fight the fire shortly after midnight.
They cut fire breaks, took a stand at Diamond
Hitch Campground, employed the School’s
water truck to fight the flying embers, and saw
how important the end-of-season brush removal was in saving the campus. Several faculty homes closest to the flames were sprayed
with fire retardant; the fire came within yards
of these structures but they were saved. The
School’s remuda of 120 horses was shuttled
from Carpenters Orchard to the safety of the
corrals and arenas with the help of various faculty families, staff, students, and neighbors in
the early morning hours. Miraculously, the prevailing winds shifted easterly at dawn and the
fire turned towards the Los Padres Forest
where it continued blazing for nearly a week.
Only one tack shed in Carpenters Orchard—
the School’s latest piece of construction—was
lost, but the outlying foothills that Thacher
students have climbed and ridden on for over
a century resemble a gray moonscape. Work
crew spends its time re-establishing lost and
forgotten trails and trying to avert major erosion problems.
T
View of Gymkhana area two days following the
Ranch Fire
Numeracy Puzzle
Last issue’s question was attempted, but
not completed. Here was the question…
A courier starting at the rear of a moving
army 100 miles long rides to the front, delivers a message, and rides immediately to
the rear, where he finds he is 100 miles
ahead of his starting point. In all, how far
did he ride? Of course, the army was moving at a steady pace and the courier’s speed
was constant…and here is the solution.
100
Army
x
Army
Courier’s Route
100
Army
Let the Army’s rate be 1; the courier’s
rate be r. Then
Rate · Time = Distance
Courier up
r · (100+x)/r = 100 + x
Courier back
r·
(x/r) = x
The time for the Army to move x miles is
x. Therefore:
100 + x = x
x = 100 – x
and
r
r
So: r = 100 + x
x
and r =
x
100 - x
and x2 = 1002 – x2
x = 50 √ 2
x = 70.70 miles
Distance travelled:
To the front: 100 + 70.7 miles
To the rear: 70.7 miles
So the courier rides a total of
100 + 70.7 + 70.7 = 241.4 miles
Our thanks to Richard Myrick, CdeP ’39,
of Washington, D.C., and former math
teacher Stephen Hauge (1976-81) for
sending us their attempts to solve this
puzzle.
Tidbits
Tidbits
ive seniors received word recently that they
are Finalists in the 2000 Competition for National Merit Scholarship Awards. Lucinda
Brown from Chevy Chase, Maryland; Brooke
Halsey from Ojai; Clay Pell from Tucson, Arizona; Allegra Towns from Santa Paula, CA;
and Juliette White from Colusa, CA, will hear
later if they will receive scholarships toward
their college education.
F
allia Vickery, one of Thacher’s mathematics
teachers and Dance Instructor, choreographed and then danced in “Cantatas: An
Evening of Contemporary Dance and Renaissance Song” at the Ojai Art Center in January.
This same show premiered at Santa Barbara’s
Center Stage Theater last June. Gallia is a
member of the Ajiva Dance Theater—a troupe
of seven dancers, aged 25 to 50, who also
choreograph their dances. In “Cantatas,” they
danced to Renaissance songs performed by the
Madrigali Singers, an eleven-voice, co-ed group
based in Ojai.
G
echnology Director and Mathematics Instructor Kurt Meyer was named Educator of
the Year by Ojai’s Chamber of Commerce. At
a celebratory dinner/dance at the Ojai Valley
Inn, Kurt was honored for his dedication to
his profession, his efforts to establish state-ofthe-art technology skills for teachers and students throughout Southern California, and for
being instrumental in providing Internet connections for many local community organizations including the public library and schools.
T
e
Here’s the new question:
This is an old chestnut that people may
have seen in various forms:
Position eight checkers on a standard 8×8
checkerboard so that no row, column, or
diagonal contains more than one checker.
There are many solutions, some of which
are just rotations or reflections of one another.
Now for a twist…Postition sixteen checkers
on a standard board so that no column,
row, or diagonal contains more than two
checkers. This one is a little more fun!
page 13
Technology
Technology
TEACH THE
TEACHERS
COLLABORATIVE
Thacher’s Initial
Public Offering
by Kurt R. Meyer
ioneers are forever exploring
boundaries; pioneers in education
are no exception. The last century’s
legacy of Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg, and
Gilligan leave us with firmer understanding of human development and
challenge us ever to improve the educational experience of our children. In
recent years, Ted Sizer and Howard
Gardner also have contributed significantly to our thinking about schools
and schooling. And, as the Internet
continues to erode traditional boundaries—international, socio-economic,
legal, and even generational (grown
adults are addicted to video games; preteens are trading stocks)—it is no surprise to find pioneers at the forefront of
its myriad applications. When barriers
or allegiances that traditionally delineate groups are disassembled—or reassembled—new possibilities for teams
arise and, with them, new potential for
learning and achievement.
P
Chris Grant ’02 unpacks laptops
lent by Gateway Computer
Corporation for participants to
use this summer
Benjamin Wallace,
CdeP ’99, helps
configure the network
page 14
The Thacher News
Such has been Thacher’s experience
with the Vons/Pavilions Teach The
Teachers Collaborative (TTTC), an
ambitious, groundbreaking teachertraining program for K-12 educators
in a fourteen-county region in Southern
California. A little boarding school in a rural
community has found a partner in a very unlikely place: the enormous Los Angeles County
Office of Education (LACOE). As the largest
public education agency n
the U.S., this
800-pound
gorilla not
only engages
in, but often
dictates, the
agenda of California State
education policy-making
and fiduciary
funneling.
With influence
that extends
to the heart of
Sacramento
politics,
LACOE is as
unlikely
a
Thacher bedfellow as it has been a favorable one. How—
and why—has this partnership worked and,
most importantly, what does this success mean
for private education and boarding schools in
particular?
Necessity—in this case, size—mothered the inventive partnering of these two venerable
schooling institutions, but it has been the enduring quality of our mutual respect that keeps
us together. The sheer scope of the Teach The
Teachers project—as dictated by Vons’ market
area (328 stores in 14 counties)—required that
Thacher seek out an institution with “reach”
whose name represented quality and credibility, and LACOE was it. After all, forming an
eight-week training program for 1,344 public
school teachers this summer was not to be accomplished by Casa de Piedra alone. Coordinating with 14 county offices of education in
Southern California; selecting participants;
identifying instructors; auguring course content for—and teaching—twenty-five unique
seminars; feeding and housing our guests (no,
not a chocolate on every pillow); organizing
software and hardware—these tasks require a
staff of over 120.
LACOE’s mission—to provide support services to 1,700 Los Angeles County schools—
fits hand in glove with that of Teach The
Teachers. To help meet the organizational challenge of TTTC, LACOE retains a full-time staff
member, Cheryl Lee, who is the project manager there for the Vons/Pavilions Teach The
Teachers Collaborative. With Thacher’s Program Manager Alice Meyer, Cheryl helps bring
together the course content and instructional
staff that comprises this summer’s program. A
great deal of the trust between Thacher and
LACOE stems from the extremely positive
working relationship these women have
achieved. Their effectiveness as a team is reflected in both the strength of the summer curriculum and the quality of the staff we’ve
assembled to teach it.
From our “first date” Thacher and LACOE
have viewed each other as extraordinary. When
we first approached the County Office leadership, Thacher was immediately seen as peculiar. We were not selling something; we were
not asking for something; we had no political
axe to grind; we had no turf to protect. Instead, we were offering to help build an allexpenses-paid summer program for LACOE’s
constituents! Thacher was the mouse removing
the technology training thorn from the great
lion’s paw—and we have been treated like
kings. In partnering with Thacher, LACOE is
able to enhance its leadership throughout both
fessionally contented
teachers back to their
communities in Compton, East L.A., Imperial County, Fresno, and
Bakersfield, for example, Thacher becomes
much more than a
mailing, a poster, or
even a video segment
can make us. Thacher
is understood as a
home where scholarly
As public education comes under increasing pursuits and personal
scrutiny (and California’s educational ranking reflection go hand in
continues to languish in 49th place in the U.S.), hand.
the importance of program credibility cannot
be over emphasized. School leaders and teacher Head of School
participants are desperate to produce results, Michael Mulligan has
and they will spend their time only on pro- been heard to quote Shakespeare often enough:
grams that do so. This means that TTTC must “a rising tide lifts all boats.” What TTTC
be “aligned” with the State Academic Content achieves for teachers and youngsters in our imStandards (the “what”) as well as the Subject mediate California neighborhood will come
Frameworks for pedagogy (the “how”). We back to help Thacher; as a lesson, we hope, it
are able to achieve this through LACOE’s con- will help public and independent schools
siderable resources that already committed to across the entire United States. Michael’s work
these standards (another indication of their pi- with NAIS committees and other national
oneering spirit), and as a partner they are able groups will help to preserve and protect the
to share them advantageously with TTTC. future of boarding schools; let our public-priWith such a “standards-based” foundation, vate partnership experience at Thacher be a
TTTC is a program LACOE can proudly pro- guiding beacon. e
mote throughout its vast sphere of influence—
a benefit of great value to Thacher. Meanwhile,
LACOE is happily discovering the organizational agility, programming creativity, and the
special opportunities that Thacher’s premier
residential facilities offer our program. Together, the institutions are auguring a unique
solution to the professional development goals
for California teachers. We have a healthy appreciation for the essential nature of our respective contributions—and with this a frontier
is crossed; a new allegiance is born. We are
combining the best of what’s “private” with
the best of what’s “public” to create a program that achieves both soundness and flexibility.
Technology
the County and Southern California by its
partly “owning” a flagship program that no
other public education agency can match.
LACOE’s pioneering spirit—to extend a hand
toward the “peculiar”—and wholeheartedly
embrace of this experiment to combine educational resources in unusual ways—was absolutely key to the early success of TTTC. One
need only a marginal sense of public education bureaucracy to understand the degree of
risk-taking that was required of the LACOE
leadership; to say “yes” to this project.
TTT participants last
summer
The benefits for Thacher are enormous—as, I
believe, they are for education in general.
Through TTTC, a broad spectrum of educational leaders in Southern California live for a
week at Thacher and return to their colleagues
and students with a strong, positive message
about residential education. Like a throwback
to their college days, the Thacher experience
engenders strong social and professional contacts among TTTC participants that enrich
each teacher’s work well after they leave CdeP.
And, they express a corresponding loyalty to
the Program. As Diane Tengan of Gahr High
School puts it, “I could feel the traditions of
Thacher—honesty, trust, diligence, creativity—
in the room.”
In population centers most boarding schools can
only dream of breaking into, Thacher not only
creates a name for itself, it earns a position of
esteem—and even affection. By sending proFall 1999 / Winter 2000
page 15
Sports
Fall/Winter Sports
BOYS’ FRESHMAN
SOCCER
by Joy Sawyer-Mulligan
Varsity Soccer Team celebrates 5-0 victory
over Cate at this Fall’s Family Weekend
Fall Sports
BOYS’ VARSITY SOCCER
Captains: Michael Back ’01, Jake
Braitman ‘00, and Todd Meyer ‘00
League Record: 7-10
Season Record: 2-13
Coach: Fred Coleman
“In all of the ways we look at the concept of team
at Thacher, this was a great one,” said Fred Coleman of this group of 15. “They balanced tough competitiveness and tenacity with support of each other
and of the unit as a whole.” The season’s highlight
had to have been the squad’s whistle-to-whistle
domination of Cate on Family Weekend, a dramatic
rebound from a loss on the Mesa the preceding
Saturday. High goal scorer and high point player was
Matty Wilson ’01 (9), who shared most assists honors with Todd Meyer. Most Valuable Players were
Jake Braitman and goalkeeper Andrew Warren ’00,
while Justin Arnold ‘00 won Most Improved Player.
“This team played with passion and mental toughness,” Mr. Coleman went on to say, “carrying on
the tradition of Thacher soccer in a way that would
make former players proud.”
page 16
The Thacher News
BOYS’ JUNIOR VARSITY
SOCCER
Captain: Darren Bechtel ’00
League Record: 6-0-2
Season Record: 6-0-3
Coach: Jack Crawford
The JV Boys’ Soccer team posted a 6-0-3 season
record, ending with the Condor League Championship title held tight in their hands. According to
Coach Crawford, the team’s success was “a great
credit to the captain, whose enthusiasm, diligence,
and rapport with his teammates qualify him as a
leader par excellence.” Notable scoring performances came at the feet of Dave Babbott ’01, Trevor
McProud ’00, Blake Caldwell ’01, Chris Bonewitz
’01, and Kevin Cahill ’01; Dan Bartlett ’02 and Matt
Brewer ’01 were standouts on defense.
Captains: Tyler Caldwell ’03, Owili
Eison ’03, and Troy Pollet ’03
League and Season Record: 2-1
Coach: Michael Mulligan
This team’s only loss came in its season opener (to
Happy Valley’s Varsity team); from that moment forward, there were no more goals for the opposition
(great credit to goaltender Richard Smith ’03). Especially sweet were two victories (2-0 and 3-0) over
Cate on their Parents’ Weekend and ours. Though
often overmatched in size and necessarily limited in
practice time (their trusty steeds being their first
priority), this group, nonetheless, revealed a powerful team concept and some significant talent. High
Scorer was Owili Eison; “his speed and goal hunger
mark him as someone to watch in coming years,”
said his coach. Of the season as a whole, Coach
Mully had just three words: “Another banner year!”
GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY
BOYS’ THIRD SOCCER
Captain: Juliette White ’00
Captains: Peter Hartnack ’00, Jon Le
Plastrier ’00, and Fritz Rice ’00
Coach: Sarah DelVecchio
League and Season Record: 2-4-3
Coach: Andrew Ho
Season’s highlights including tying a very strong
Cate team on their Parents’ Weekend without the
team’s usual goalie and with only a baker’s dozen of
players and beating OVS 3-zip on our own Family
Weekend. Chris Grant ’02 was a champion in the
goal; memorable, too, were Dan Moore’s ’02 continuous sprinting, bicycle kicks, and flying headers.
Kevin Schmidt ’01 won particular praise for his significant improvement on defense during the course
of the fall.
This team of spirited harriers won all their meets
but one (against Cate, when half the girls were out),
including the culminating Condor League Meet at
Dunn, where Logan Clark (Most Valuable of the season) placed first and set a course record. They then
went on to run at Mt. SAC (San Antonio College—
where they’d run two times previously) in the CIFs,
placing tenth in their division. “This was, handsdown, the strongest team I’ve ever worked with,”
said Dr. D. Seniors included Juliette White, Marley
Orr, Mia Silverman, Hannah Hooper, Felicity Howe,
and Allegra Towns. Named Most Improved was Carina Fisher ’01. Returning varsity runners in Fall ’00:
Logan Clark ’01, Laura Neville ’02, Lily Mitchem ’01,
Claire Cichy ’01, and Deloria Many Grey Horses
Lane ’01 who, according to her coach, is “the athlete to watch next year” and was voted next year’s
captain.
GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL
Captain: Fred Kim ’00
Captains: Evy Disner ’00 and Cheryl
Lynn Horton ’00
Coach: Pierre Yoo
This cohesive and highly focused group of runners—heavy on the juniors—ended its season 1-1 in
dual/ tri-meets, and third in the Condor League. Having graduated five of seven varsity runners last year,
the team relied on experienced sophomore Will
Barkan, captain Fred Kim, and new-to-the-sport
Chris Brown ’01 (who also won MVP); also proving
his mettle was Canyon Cody ’01, who finished sixth
in the league finals. In addition to Fred, other seniors
who provided critical leadership were Justin Mulholland, Eric Reeser, and Matt Schuman. Junior
Matt Cohen won Most Improved. With ten of the
fourteen runners returning to the team next fall and
at least a few freshmen rising to the ranks, the future of the team looks promising.
Coach: Chuck Warren
Coach: Fred Coleman
A building year if ever there were one, yet this team
kept its collective shoulder to the wheel, working hard
to improve and genuinely did, maintaining exemplary enthusiasm in the face of some close matches
that ended in defeat. As their coach said, “This suggests a depth of character—among the younger
players especially—that, when combined with the
gradual improvement of their skills, should carry
them to future victories, even when a narrow loss
is a possibility.” Varsity letter winners included captains Cheryl Lynn and Evy, Jennifer Bowie ’01, Heidi
Cole ’02 (named Most Improved), Mercedes Farrell
’02, Betsy Bradford ’02, and Alex Herbert ’02.
Captains: Besse Gardner ’00 and
Samantha Grumman (’00)
Coach: Chris Mazzola
Landing a season record of 10-5, this team won
several important matches against large public
schools, most notably over Dos Pueblos (Santa Barbara) and Rhigetti (Santa Maria). The team finished
second in the Condor League. The team greatly
benefited from the experience of talented sophomore newcomers Bea Staley at #2 singles and
Libby Rauner at #2 doubles. Elizabeth Sanseau ‘01
was named Most Valuable Player (and captain for
next fall’s team); Emily Dachs ’01 and Meredith
Flannery ’01 shared Most Improved honors.
GIRLS’ JUNIOR VARSITY
TENNIS
Captain: Marisa Binder ’00
Season Record: 2, 3
Coach: David Johnston
“The whole team was most valuable!” said Dr. J at
season’s end. Led by a committed and optimistic
captain, seasoned players Emma White ’01, Smitha
Reddy ’01, Yasmine Arastu ’01, and Laura Allen (’01)
joined spirited sophomores Claire Faggioli, Laurel
Peterson, Satya Peake, and Chelsea Bauch to form
the core of the team; their opposition was most
often varsity squads. Promising rookies included
Nikki Silverman ’01, Jane Kwett ’02, and Iyana
Reid ’02.
Captain: Felicity Howe ’00
League Record: 2, 10
Season Record: 3, 13
GIRLS’ VARSITY TENNIS
League Record: 2, 2
Season Record: 10, 5
SOCCER
Winter Sports
GIRLS’ VARSITY SOCCER
Captain: Sarah Morrow ’00
Coaches: Bill Vickery and Mary
Everett, CdeP ’94
Led by five seniors—Sarah Morrow, Kristin Berona,
Erin Blankenship, Besse Gardner, and Mia Silverman—started the season bound and determined to
be a better team by playoff time. They started in
November emphasizing precise
passing and a possession-style
of attack while moving players
around to different positions to
find their most successful formation. After some frustrating
results early in the campaign,
persistence and patience paid
off in the end. Individually and
as a team, they made significant
strides, finishing the League
Season with a fine record and
as co-Champions with Villanova.
In the CIF playoffs, the team
won its first-round match 3-1 in
overtime against Viewpoint, but
was upended in the next round
by an exceptionally strong team
from Pasadena Poly—a team
that was seeded first in our division and went on to playing the
tournament final. With nine returning juniors, this group is
primed for continued success
next winter!
Sports
BOYS’ CROSS COUNTRY
According to Coach Coleman, “This team learned to
play a beautiful style of soccer and ended the season as Condor League Champions.” Key ingredients in this team’s success were the inspiration
from Captain Felicity who continued to support the
team at practices and games, despite the disappointment of her season ending due to a shoulder
injury. The Coach’s Award went to Betsy Bradford
‘02 for her help, loyalty, and devotion after her ACL
surgery early in the season. Highlights of the season
were defeating Villanova twice and Cate two out of
three times. Laurel Back ’03 scored the most goals
(11) and had the most points (24). Ellie Fletcher ’00
led the team in assists with five.
GIRLS’ THIRD SOCCER
Captains: Amissa Bongo ’00, Suriya
Jayanti ’00, and Addie Hearst ’01
Coaches: Andrew Ho and
Wendi Parker-Dial
The last game against Midland was the highlight of
the season for many reasons. Thirty Third Teamers
crammed onto a half field, cornered by JV, Varsity,
and Freshman made for a crowded field. The final
score, 7-0, was in large part due to sophomore Meg
Kwan’s five goals scored in two quarters.Meg won
the Most Valuable Player award while Lucy Hodgman ’03 was named Most Improved Player.
JV Soccer player
Ellie Fletcher ’00
page 17
Sports
GIRLS’ VARSITY
BASKETBALL
Captain: Cheryl Lynn Horton ’00
League Record: 7-3
Season Record: 9-4
Coach: Rae Ann Sines
Captain Cheryl Lynn broke all of the individual scoring records set by Katie Russell, CdeP ’99 last year.
Her new records are: Most Career Points: 883;
Most Points in a Single Season: 305; Highest Points
per Game Average: 21.8 point post season. She
qualified for the CIF Statistics Leader for regular
season points per game average of 22.5. Her highest game was 35 points against Cornerstone Christian, with whom this team shared the Tony Dunn
Award. The team also played in CIF Playoffs against
#2 seed Brethren Christian and, unfortunately, lost.
Meredith Walker ’01 earned the Most Improved
Player award.
BASKETBALL
Captains: Lucy Milligan ’00 and
Stephanie Hubbard ’02
Coach: Pierre Yoo
Coach Yoo summarized this season as “Play Basketball and Have Fun. It really did not matter who
won the game, but rather HOW you play the
game.” The team came close to victory when playing against Ojai Valley School, when they outscored
OVS 20-12 in the second half. Unfortunately, the
opponents had enjoyed a great first half and these
Toads couldn’t surpass them. However, the team
was proud of themselves for playing clean, non-violent games even when fouled and hurt by opponents.
Boys’ Varsity Basketball
team became the Condor
League Champions;
pictured here with the
team are Assistant Coach
Rich Mazzola and Coach
Brian Driscoll
nominee and his shot-blocking prowess had him
among the best in the
Southern section. The team
ended its season with a
tough three-point loss to Kilpatrick in the second round
of CIF’s.
BOYS’
JUNIOR
VARSITY BASKETBALL
Captains: Blake Caldwell ’01, Wayne
Chang ’00, and Guido Soracco ’00
League Record: 11-0
Season Record: 11-2
Coach: Derick Perry, CdeP ’83
This was one of the finest seasons in Thacher’s JV
Basketball history. The team’s dedication and diligence paid off in well-earned victories and consistent improvement. All of the players contributed to
an outstanding season. Their teamwork and genuine affection for each other made them a joy to
coach. Blake Caldwell won Most Valuable Player
status, Simon Xi ’01 won Most Improved Player
kudos, and the team won the Tony Dunn Award.
BOYS’ VARSITY
LACROSSE
Captains: Jake Braitman ’00 and Todd
Meyer ’00
BOYS’ VARSITY
BASKETBALL
League Record: 5-4
Season Record: 6-4
Captains: Michael Back ’01, Jay
Thornes ’01, and Anwar White ’00
Coaches: Bo Manson and
Jack Crawford
League Record: 7-1
Season Record: 10-9
Coaches: Brian Driscoll and Rich
Mazzola
This team made it to the second round of the CIF
Playoffs due to its stellar League Record. Andrew
Warren ’00 became more of an offensive force this
season and Anwar White developed as a defender
and shot blocker. Andrew Ma ’02 provided stability
in the middle and, along with Anwar, was a rebounding leader. The lone freshman, Brenton Sullivan, distinguished himself with clutch free throws
and intelligent play throughout the year. Anwar was
mentioned by many opposing coaches as an All-CIF
page 18
The Thacher News
“Improvement” describes and defines this season.
This young team—14 of the 22 players were new to
Varsity—enjoyed positive and enthusiastic support
from the seniors. New Head Coach Crawford
shared his tremendous knowledge and experience
with the team that challenged both returning and
new players to learn more complex systems. The
newer players were so intrigued that many plan to
attend lacrosse camps this summer. A highlight of
the season was beating the alumni team during the
Winter Alumni Days in January.
BOYS’ JUNIOR VARSITY
LACROSSE
Captain: Nate Faggioli ’00
Coaches: Peter Robinson and
Terry Twichell
This was a happy and successful team. Plagued by
injuries and flu, this team never made excuses and
never gave up. The team came from behind in four
of its five victories, including thrilling one-goal victories over Windward and OVS. The defense—anchored by Most Valuable Player Matt Spille ’02 and
Most Improved Player goalie Jose Estrada ’02—
was the key to the team’s success, yielding more
than six goals only twice. The offence—led by goal
scorer Bobby Kellogg ’02 and assist-leader Leigh
Salem ’02—was well-balanced because the midfielders made such a strong contribution, especially
Captain Nate Faggioli, swing man Nathan Wallace ’02, and the powerful Tim Stenovec ’02. According to Coach Robinson, the season’s “high
point came against OVS: We were tied 3-3 with
four minutes to play and scored three goals, one
by Leigh Salem, one by Bobby Kellogg, and one by
Tim Stenovec, to secure the victory 6-3.”
BOYS’ FRESHMAN
LACROSSE
Captains: Tyler Caldwell, Drew Fleck,
and Charlie Munzig
Coach: Greg Courter
This group of neophyte lacrosse players experienced great success due, in part, to the leading
scoring of Charlie Munzig and Tyler Caldwell. Will
Chamberlain became an excellent goal tender and
won kudos as the Most Improved Player. Highlights
were two victories over Cate and a victory at the
league tournament over the Midland team that had
defeated the Toads earlier in the season. e
Development
An Enduring Contribution to Thacher
f you’ve been thinking about making a substantial gift to The Thacher School, perhaps
you should consider real estate. If a cash or
securities gift isn’t practical, your personal residence, farm, vacation home, commercial property, or parcel of undeveloped land might be
more suitable. This gift may offer you the opportunity for valuable income tax and estate
tax savings. You may also free yourself of burdensome management and the problems involved in selling the property or leaving it to
estate liquidation. Whether or not Thacher
keeps or sells the property, you’ll make a satisfying and enduring contribution to the
School’s work.
I
Choose the time of your gift
If convenient for you, you can make a gift of real
estate now. Assuming you itemize deductions on
your return, you’ll receive a substantial income
tax deduction, and have the satisfaction of seeing the results of your generosity.
Perhaps an immediate gift isn’t desirable. You
may want to use the property a while longer, or
even retain lifetime use. In any case, you still
can make the necessary arrangements now and
benefit from a sizable current income tax deduction. Following are various types of gift
possibilities for consideration by you and your
tax advisors.
1. An outright gift of real estate
When you make an outright gift of real property, you obtain an income tax charitable deduction equal to the property’s full fair market
value (if held long-term) instead of the lower
cost basis.
This deduction lets you reduce the cost of making the gift and frees cash that otherwise would
be spent on taxes and upkeep. Also, you avoid
tax on the property’s appreciation, the transfer
isn’t subject to the gift tax, and the gift reduces
your taxable estate. Your deduction for a gift
of appreciated real estate in any year generally
is limited to 30% of your adjusted gross income, with a five-year carryover of the unused
deduction.
Development
Development
Gifts of Real Estate
use and that of any survivor, Thacher must receive the entire property outright.
3. A fractional interest
Tax savings for partial gift
Let’s say you have a home you don’t occupy
year-round. You can make a deductible gift to
Thacher of an undivided interest, allowing the
School exclusive use of the property for part of
each year. A vacation home can be ideal for
2. A retained life estate
this purpose. For example, you could give
Thacher a half interest. You would continue
Give your home but enjoy life
to use the property for six months of each year
while the School, as half owner, would use it
tenancy
You can give Thacher your home and receive a for the remaining six months. As a result,
charitable deduction for it, even though you you’d be entitled to an income tax charitable
continue living there. This is called a “retained deduction based on half the property’s fair
life estate.” Let’s assume you want to continue market value.
using your personal residence for life. You also
may want a survivor (perhaps your spouse) to 4. Generate a life income gift
enjoy life occupancy. But, ultimately you’d like
The Thacher School to get the property. By Give your home to a trust
deeding your home to Thacher now, subject to If you don’t want to live in your unmortgaged
these rights, you may obtain a sizable income home any longer, consider transferring it to a
tax deduction this year. The amount depends Charitable Remainder Trust. The trustee then
on the value of the property and your age (and can sell the property and invest the proceeds in
the age of any person given life use).
income-producing securities. You’ll receive a
life income and so will a survivor named by
you. The trust principal ultimately becomes
You keep rights and
Thacher’s, thus allowing you to reduce and/or
responsibilities
eliminate estate taxes when spouses are the
In addition to the right to live in your home, only income beneficiaries. When you transfer
you retain the right to rent it or make im- appreciated property held long-term, you
provements. You continue to have responsi- won’t pay any tax on the capital gain. Also,
bility for maintenance, insurance, and property you could realize a substantial current income
taxes. Your gift to the School must be an ir- tax deduction.
revocable remainder interest. After your life
Explore the benefits of a Gift of
Real Estate
When you give your home or other real estate
to Thacher, you create an enduring testimonial
to your interest in its important goals. Your
personal satisfaction is complemented by valuable tax benefits. Consult with your accountant
or tax-advisor to determine the best option for
you. If you have any questions, please call
Terry Twichell, Director of Development at
Thacher, at 805-646-4377, extension 224. e
Fred Lamb, CdeP ’40, gave his family
home in Benedict Canyon, California,
to Thacher.
page 19
Thacher Pioneers
EKMAN
SCHUBERT
HIROSE
Thacher
PioneerS
n this issue, we profile alumni, one
Trustee, and one former faculty
member who came to Thacher
from various quarters and walks of
life to benefit—as well as contribute—to the Thacher experience. The School embraces and encourages diversity in its student
body and faculty as a means of
enriching the community and learning to appreciate, respect, and adjust to different people, lifestyles, and
cultures evident in our increasingly diverse society and ever-changing world. We became interested in
how these “pioneers” heard about
Thacher, how their experience here
I
BATTS
page 20
The Thacher News
HONANIE
Thacher Pioneers
HUNTER
shaped their lives, what they are
presently doing, and their future
plans. Profiles include some of the
first minority students, some of the
first female students, and students
from various countries before international travel was commonplace. In the past, profiles were
written by a cadre of volunteers
(friends or relatives of the individuals, or School personnel). This
time, we chose to let those being
profiled write their thoughts and
memories of their experiences at
Thacher, while the Trustee and former faculty member profiles are written in the usual style.
McCONNELL
USSERY
CASTAÑEDA
CATALAN
page 21
Thacher Pioneer
Alumni Profiles
Bertel G. Ekman, CdeP ’51
Content at Day’s End
was born in 1932, the only child of a thirdgeneration hotel and restaurant couple. My
schooling was typical, with a burning interest
for sports. Due to many extracurricular activities (scouting, tennis, riding, sailing), my
scholastic standard should have been even
lower than it was. As my home and my parents’ hotel and restaurant were outside
Helsinki—the capital of Finland—my journeys
back and forth to school were long. Later on,
after the War, my parents sold their
hotel/restaurant and started a new establishment in the City; I continued attending the
same school for boys.
I
It was through the
American Field Service
(A.F.S.) that I first heard
about the possibility of
studying in America. My
parents and my headmaster agreed to let me
try it. Thacher was my
first choice because of
its location in California and its outdoor activities, especially the
equestrian focus. My
parents and the headmaster looked at the
scholastic standard of
Thacher and hoped I
might benefit. I particularly remember reading the prospectus from
Thacher, where it was
mentioned that students were allowed to bring
with them to School one easy-chair, one lamp,
and two horses. Amazing priority!
I arrived in Santa
Barbara after a
four-day-and-night
journey by Greyhound from New
York. Although I
can’t recall who
came to get me on
my day of arrival, I
slept for 24 hours before being picked up and
brought to Thacher. I had arrived before the
opening of term and was guided around campus by one of the teachers who was cleaning
out the baseball cupboards on each field. I was
told there were spiders in the cupboards and
that you could tell if they were poisonous by
turning them upside down to look for a red
spot on their bellies (Black Widows).
I particularly remember reading the prospectus
from Thacher, where it was mentioned that
students were allowed to bring with them to
School one easy-chair, one lamp, and two
horses. Amazing priority!
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 22
The Thacher News
I had not brought a horse from Finland with
me and did not particularly like the idea of
hiking. On various occasions, I had been
warned about a purple horse that nobody liked
to ride. I was also told that this particular
horse never stayed in the big training enclosure; his normal routine was to throw the rider
and charge through the high fence, resulting
in frustrating repair jobs and telltale scars on
the horse. “If you get that horse, refuse it” was
the advice of my fellow students.
One day, Headmaster Newton K. Chase
showed me an extremely dirty horse in a corral. He suggested I groom it and at least get
the feeling for being around horses. A funny
colored creature emerged, purple, with ugly
scar tissue. Mr. Chase informed me later that
day that an anonymous sponsor from Ojai had
made it possible for me to have a horse during
my Thacher year. A strange friendship developed between the purple thing and myself. I
got used to the Western saddle, to being
thrown at the most unexpected moments and
to a thinking animal, kind, but scheming at all
times. Neither of us had any previous
gymkhana experience, but we learned enough
to make the second team. I remember one sack
race in particular. Thimbolina, or the purple
one, had quickly mastered the turn by the sack
when I bent down to pick it up. I did not fall a
single time, except once. I could never figure
out why she chose to go straight when I bent
down. She left me holding the sack—on the
ground. From the Gymkhana Field she continued straight back to her corral. She came to
me when I whistled for her at the big round-up
after the holiday break, and she earned me the
honor of receiving the Dawson Improvement
Vest.
Other fond memories are of the Glee Club, the
togetherness of our choir singing in church in
Santa Barbara, the play As You Like It, the
babysitting at Anson Thacher’s, Douglas the
mule, rattlesnakes, and my right nipple that
was cut off on the spring mattress in a friendly
wrestling bout with Wilbur Cox—I scraped it
off the metal strip, rushed down to the Infirmary, where it was taped back on; to this day,
it is still upside down. Other favorite memories
include my first day in the Upper School, when
I was kindly invited to throw a baseball from
one end of the corridor to the other and how,
when the ball had left my hand, the chap at
the other end of the corridor stepped away and
watched the ball continue its way through the
glass door; how my green rattlesnake skin dis-
I enjoyed studying—probably for the first time
in my life—though unused to it as I was, not
very successfully. It was both helpful and fun to
study with other students. I particularly remember studying for finals in English Literature. Three of us debated over possible test
questions and finally decided on making a résumé containing year, principal author, principal work, historical and religious influences,
as main headings. This covered a time span, if
I remember correctly, from Chaucer to modern
times (1951). Mr. Huyler was ill with a very
sore throat on the day of exams and the test
paper was pushed to us under the door. There
was only one question to the test: name the
principal authors, their main works, and historical and religious facts that influenced them,
from medieval until our time. All three of us
passed the exam, but we had a hard time convincing Jack Huyler that no cheating had taken
place. The combination of outdoor life, camping, sports, and hard studies was unique and
unequalled anywhere in
my experience. The Norman Mackintosh Todd
Memorial Medal for
Sports that was awarded to
me at the graduation ceremony touched me profoundly.
I actually quit school when
I returned to Finland, and
decided to do my military
service in the A.C.A.C. The
Olympics ’52 in Helsinki
saw me as an interpreter
for all of the equestrian
teams. By that time I had
decided to become the fourth generation in the
hotel and restaurant business. I spent a year in
France in order to learn the language and enrolled at the S.S.H., Hotel School in Lausanne,
Switzerland. Following graduation, I worked
at a New York hotel through The Scandinavian Foundation. I spent another eight months
as a night auditor at Holyoke in Massachusetts. I married Majbritt Hjordis in 1959 and
continued working with my parents at their
restaurants in Helsinki. In the meantime, we
had two children, Niklas in 1961 and Maria
three years later.
My wife continued working with her parentsin-law, but I broke away in 1966 to manage a
luxury hotel 50 kilometers from the capital. Four
years later, I was asked to join The Intercontinental Hotels that was about to open a hotel
in Helsinki. I stayed with the hotel as assistant
manager for three years, then was transferred
to The Portman InterContinental in London,
where I worked as resident manager for four
years. In 1978, I was offered the InterContinental
Jerusalem to manage, which I did for five years.
I then moved to Copenhagen in Denmark to manage the Angleterre, also part of the chain.
When InterContinental sold the Angleterre, I
chose to leave the chain in order to stay in Copenhagen. It was the summit of my career. I managed one of the most famous hotels in Europe,
we lived close to Finland, and we had the rest
of Europe close at
hand. What could
be better? The
new owners also
bought another
hotel in Copenhagen and I spent
my time between
the two. But a
new partner was
brought in from a
Swedish hotel
chain. They wanted their own man
in as part of the
Bertel’s son Niklas
deal, and I was without a job! We moved back
and daughter-in-law
to Finland in 1986 when I was 54 years old and
Xiao Yun
had, overnight,
become too old
to get a job in
the hotel industry in Finland. I
was unemployed for a
year and then
worked as a
restaurant manager for half a
year until the
place was sold.
I decided there
and then to give
up my profession. The University
o f Majbritt Ekman,
Helsinki em- Bertel’s wife
ployed me as custodian at the Swedish School
of Social Science where I spent the rest of my
working life in a
happy environment, enjoying my
work immensely.
I became a senior
citizen at the age
of 65 in 1997. e
Thacher Pioneer
appeared during Easter holidays; and how
could I ever forget the Easter camping trip
made by The Four Fools and a Finn!
The Ekmans’ sonin-law Jan and
daughter Maria
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 23
Thacher Pioneer
Alumni Profiles
Klaus Schubert, CdeP ’56
Trading One Casa Rustica for Another
hile writing this I am sitting on the porch
of our “finca” on the beautiful island of
Mallorca, Spain, in the Mediterranean
Sea, where my wife and I live about half of the
year since my retirement three years ago. A
“finca” is a “casa rustica” with a pool and
quite a lot of land surrounded by orange and
almond trees. The climate and the landscape
often remind me of Thacher and my year as a
student at the Casa de Piedra 45 years ago.
W
What was the situation for my family and me
when I became a Thacher student in 1955? The
time immediately after World War II was very
tough for the people living in Germany. Because we had lost our home in Berlin in the
bombings, we went
westward in 1945. My
father, a celebrated architect, was not allowed
to work as an architect
for about four years; instead, in order to survive, he had to stoop to
making—with his own
hands—and selling toys
for children. Germany
was divided into a democratic western part and
a communist eastern
part. Democracy in West
Germany was still a
weak plant, but rooted
firmly and growing
steadily. The industry recovered fast and the
Volkswagen was the most admired and wanted
car in those years. Winston Churchill named the
political border between the two sections the
“Iron Curtain” which, in 1961, became visible
as “The Wall” that divided the city of Berlin into
two parts. Fortunately, this is now history with
the fall of The Wall and the overwhelming reunion of both parts of Germany in 1989-90.
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 24
The Thacher News
off the coast of Bar Harbor, Maine, where they
spent their summers. Driving across America
to their home in Pasadena, I got the first impression of this vast country and I admired the
Purcells’ patience in answering all my questions. Towards the end of vacation John, CdeP
’58 (my foster brother) and I left for Thacher.
What follows is a brief résumé of my year at
Thacher. I believe that at the age of 17, a person’s character is formed more than at any
other time during one’s life. This is the time
when values such as honesty, modesty, team
spirit, and social and multi-cultural understanding are laid and accepted as basic rules
for future behavior. This year was the time
when my interest for outdoor life was roused:
I very much liked horseback riding, camping,
and all kinds of sports. I still remember my
Easter trip in ’56 with seniors Gerry de Santillana, Gordon Chamberlain, Ralph Cross and
Michael Shore, CdeP ’57, when we lost the
trail somewhere in the mountains, but found a
miner’s cabin instead. I remember the rattlesnake we hunted (I still have the rattles), the
condors we saw, and it being pretty cold at
night.
I was fascinated by the landscape of Southern
California, especially the Mojave Desert, which
created my deep love for deserts in general.
(Last year my wife and I toured the Namib
Desert, and this year we will be in Maroc and
the Sahara.)
What impressed me most during that year at
Thacher, however, was the personality of the
teachers. They did not merely teach but felt responsible to transfer those values I mentioned
above, especially Fred Lamb, CdeP ’40, David
Lavender, Bob Miller, Michael Ehrhardt, and
finally Jack Huyler, H ’51, whom I admired
most, and still do. My wife agreed when she
met Jack and his charming wife, Margaret, in
Munich in the late ’60s and later again when
our family visited Thacher in 1987 and we
were guests of Margaret and Jack at their
home in Wyoming. Music Director Michael
Ehrhardt was probably a little disappointed
that I neglected playing my cello; but I think he
finally accepted it when he noticed how much
I liked the outdoor life. I was very happy when
I became a member of the Pack and Saddle
Club and of the Orange Gymkhana Team. I
graduated with the class of ’56.
As a high-school student in Hannover, a city
located 70 miles from the “Iron Curtain,” I
heard of the American Field Service (A.F.S.)
offering scholarships for a one-year stay in the
United States. I applied and—although there
were many applicants—was selected. This was
the start of an unforgettable year at Thacher
and with my host family, the Purcells. I am
very happy to have had this opportunity and I
want to thank Thacher and the Purcell family,
again, for this experience of a lifetime. In that
era the way to America normally was by ship. Our family visited Thacher in 1987 and were
After sailing for ten days I arrived at Quebec, given horses for a trail ride. My wife and our
Canada, and joined my “family” on an island daughters had very little or no experience with
Back home I had another year of school before graduation because of Germany’s different
school system. In 1958 I joined the Navy and
began my career by becoming a Commanding
Officer of a mine-sweeper and a teacher at the
Naval Academy. This “normal” career ended
in 1965 when I was granted a scholarship to
study law at the Universities of Kiel and Munich (which finally took eight years). The West
German Navy at that time needed someone
who, in one person, could estimate both mili- of our daughters grew up with their families
tary and legal aspects concerning personnel travelling around, they speak different lanand sometimes political issues as well. After guages, they think interculturally, and they fremy studies I found myself at a desk within the quently work and live abroad, especially here
Ministry of Defense in Bonn. I worked there in Europe.
for more than a
decade in various positions ranked as a What impressed me most…at Thacher…was the personality
captain; mainly I de- of the teachers. They did not merely teach but felt
veloped rules and regulations on personnel responsible to transfer the…values [of honesty, modesty,
issues not only for the team spirit, and social and multi-cultural understanding]…
Navy, but for the
Armed Forces in gen- as basic rules for future behavior.
eral, prepared laws of
that matter for the Federal Parliament—the My life-long preferred hobby has been blue“Bundestag”—and was an attorney at the water sailing, which I started in the early ’60s,
and finally we called a sailing yacht our own
Supreme Court level.
for many years. We sold it three years ago
At 48, I left the Navy to become the Personnel when we bought that “finca” I spoke of in the
Manager for Bayer, one of the biggest chemical very beginning. This woke up a new and, until
companies in Germany and a global player then, unknown interest in Mediterranean garworld-wide with a headcount of 150,000 dening that I enjoy very much. But since I am
(Bayer produces much more than aspirin!). retired time is running out to get a better golfThis was a challenge I wanted to take and it handicap, watch the oranges grow, visit
worked very well. I was happy to have this re- friends, see other parts of the world, and do so
sponsible job in a very different surrounding, many things I never had time to do before.
which included the introduction of an inter- What a wonderful life! e
national management training and development system
not only for Bayer, but for
the subsidiaries abroad as
well. Besides that, I ran my
bureau as an attorney.
During my studies at the
University of Munich, I married Christiane, and we have
two daughters, who are 30
and 25 years old. Melanie
followed in my footsteps as
an A.F.S. student and graduated from a high school in
Long Beach, California; she
works as a product manager
in Italy with the Benetton
Corp. Sandra, the younger Daughter Melanie, wife Christiane, daughter Sandra, and Klaus Schubert
one, works with an architect’s bureau and lives close to our home near
Bonn. When I was young, international experience was the exception, but the generation
Thacher Pioneer
horses and I hadn’t seen the trails for 30 years!
Jesse Kahle said to me: “Okay, Klaus, you
know the trails!” and off we rode. We all very
much enjoyed the trip and the horses found
their way back alone. In Germany, this would
not have been possible; a licence is required
for everything!
Klaus and his family
riding Thacher trails
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 25
Thacher Pioneer
Alumni Profiles
Hisakazu Hirose, CdeP ’66
Learning in an American Dream
lease let me start with an old, but the most
shining photo of my youth, taken at the
upper soccer field almost 35 years ago. To
many of you who don’t know me, I was an
American Field Service student from Japan in
the year 1965 to ’66. Life at Thacher was, in a
word, terrific. Thanks to all the people who
made that year so precious and so meaningful
for me for the rest of my life.
P
Before getting into any of this, allow me to tell
you a little of my story. I was born in Tokyo in
1947, two years after the end of World War II.
My father, Sanehide Hirose, was a director of
a ceramic company, Noritake, and my mother,
Akiko Hirose was the
daughter of Fusaaki
Uzawa, a famous lawyer
and a President of Meiji
University in Tokyo. My
father died when I was
ten months old and my
mother, who never remarried, had to raise her
three little sons while arranging flowers to support us. Since mother
had lived in the U.S. for
a few years before the
War, she taught us to
look at the world with a
global perspective and
pushed us to learn English. When I was offered
the highly selective American Field Service scholarship during high school, she was glad and
never hesitated to let me go to the U.S. for a year.
For me, a year in America was a big dream
that came true in my first few weeks in California. My host family was the Grimes of Oxnard. Mr. Grimes was a newspaper editor; his
graceful wife enjoyed playing piano to her
unique and brilliant children: Bob, Doug, and
Diana. All of them enjoyed their lives in a
pretty house with two cars and a clean pool
surrounded by a lawn garden. This was really
an “American Dream” for a Japanese high
school boy of the 1960s (and still is!). I owe
much to this family all through the year and especially to Doug with whom I spent my time at
Thacher as a classmate, too.
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 26
The Thacher News
The next stage, at Thacher, was something out
of the dream. I had heard that The Thacher
School was one of the top boarding, preparatory schools in the U.S., located in the mountains, without any girls (at that time). I thought
it might be like a dark, Zen-Buddhist training
temple in the mountains of Kyoto. Reality was
slightly different. Students worked hard when
they studied, but, once finished, they knew how
to have fun [see top photo on page 27]. When
I asked a girl whom I met at A.F.S. parties outside Thacher whether it would be possible for
her and her friends to come to Thacher for a
dance, everyone without exception said, “Yes,
I would love to!” The young Buddhist trainee
in Japan would have been jealous, but I was
happy and thought that the environment was
beyond the American Dream that I had cherished. I have to add, however, that after awhile,
I realized the truly difficult problems that friends
were facing, in a way more difficult than the
questions with which Buddhist trainees were
struggling: the Vietnam War. And, I had to face
a much lighter but also serious reality that the
girl whom I dated undoubtedly wanted to come
to Thacher, but not particularly to see me.
Returning to my year at Thacher: Compared to
the general Japanese high school education,
Thacher’s was substantially advanced (the
textbooks we used for English literature and
Calculus, for example, were college-level which
would hardly ever occur in Japan), more extensive (not only intellectual or athletic training, but included skills for life such as
developing a sense of responsibility, cooperation, and leadership), and perhaps longer lasting. The Thacher education gave me skills to
communicate well enough in English to sustain my later professional life. My thanks to
all the faculty and friends, but particularly to
Mr. Huyler, Mr. Burhoe, and Mr. Shagam, my
Dorm Head. They taught me how joyful it is to
be with nature in the mountains horseback riding, or at the Outdoor Chapel at sunset, or just
lying on the grass quietly looking up at the sky.
My gratitude, as well, to Mr. Erhardt, our
music teacher, who cultivated not only my ears
to enjoy music, but also my heart to feel the
composer’s world.
One last notable episode was a modest but important discovery of an American culture when
soccer season was about to end. The senior
members gathered together one day to decide
on the junior leader for the next season. I
thought in a society like America, a country
of democracy of all people with equal rights
and individual freedom, a vote and its majority rule would prevail over everything. Or, perhaps, as often happened in Japan, the coach
would nominate the new leader. The decision
would, in any case, soon be made. But instead,
a long, serious discussion among the senior
students took place. Everybody spoke out, not
As to international activities, after
two years in France (1986-88), I was
appointed to be a member of a
working group of the International
Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT)—an intergovernmental organization, whose
center is located in Rome—and
worked with, for example, Professor
Classes of 1966 and 1967 on the steps of Upper School
Farnsworth of Columbia University,
for the promulgation of the
for his own sake, nor out of his personal pref- UNIDROIT Principles for the International
erence, but for the future of the team, until fi- Commercial Contracts. In 1995, I started to
nally a decision was agreed upon. At the end, cultivate a new field, Consumer Law, in which
an eye-closed vote was taken. Americans seem we are far behind the U.S.
to respect the majority of opinions, but try to
get the best answer from within for the While attend a Symposium on “De-regulation”
strength of the team. And, once they decide on at U.C. Berkeley last November, I decided to
a leader, they let him take initiative that gives visit Thacher after 33 years of separation. Alhim stronger leadership than would occur in though it was an abrupt and short
Japan. This discovery—which may hit only the visit, I was warmly received by the Compared to the general Japanese high
surface of the deeply rooted complex of Amer- faculty members, including the Head
ican society and its culture—gave me an en- of School, Mr. Mulligan. I was quite school education, Thacher’s was
during interest in studying social sciences.
lucky to see some of my old friends substantially advanced…more extensive…
on the soccer fields, where they
After returning to Japan, I had a hard time watched their children playing games. and perhaps longer lasting.
readjusting to the preparatory study for the Talking with them, sitting on the
Japanese college-entrance examination, and grass, watching the squirrels with the Twin
failed to get into the most difficult one, the law Peaks behind, feeling the soft winds, I rememschool of the University of Tokyo. Although I bered the same precious moment long ago.
could enter into other universities, I decided
to try one year later again and succeeded that And I contemplated quietly as I had done betime. Much later when I thought about this fore. I could gradually regain the spirit I had
failure, I wrote what follows to one of my long forgotten in the midst of the exhausting
Thacher teachers whom I respect very much: everyday life in Tokyo. The beautiful sunset in
“…I have always been proud and never re- the Ojai Valley from a seat in the Outdoor
gretted that I studied a year at Thacher even Chapel was an addithough my entrance into our university was tional present to me.
postponed because of this different experience I was refreshed.
of a year abroad. It was not true that my failure was related to my A.F.S. experience. And Coming back home,
not only for me, but also for so many A.F.S. re- my elderly mother
turnees in Japan—I would say for all of with whom my famthem—one year in America was incomparably ily lives, was so happy
important and fruitful that one or even two to hear my story of
years’ extra work for the preparation to enter Thacher. So were all
into a Japanese university meant nothing. You of my family memmight not believe it and you might think that I bers. Please take a
wrote this to make you feel better. But, I say look at the last photo. Atsuko and Hisakazu Hirose with their
this honestly from my heart. A year in your It was taken in the three sons: Mitsuru, Takayoshi, and
country has supported me directly or indirectly country (“Kiyosato” Kazutoshi
throughout the rest of my life. It is not just the village in Yamanashi)
skill in English or other knowledge, but some- last summer. The green field and the farm was
thing far more important that was given by cultivated more than 60 years ago by an Ameryou and your people.”
ican teacher, Mr. Paul Rosdie. Thanks to him,
this village has become an oasis for those who
When I graduated from university, I was lucky live in the Tokyo area. As The Thacher School
to have a seat in the law faculty of research and Mr. Rosdie did for so many people, I would
assistant on civil law. Four years later I became like to contribute something meaningful to the
associate professor at Sophia University and people around and hopefully to the whole
then at the University of Tokyo. Since 1994, I world, too. e
Thacher Pioneer
have been full professor of this University. My work has been mainly in
contracts and family law. (I have
made some contribution to the law
reform in Japan in these fields as a
member of various governmental
committees.)
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 27
Thacher Pioneer
Alumni Profiles
Cynthia F. Hunter, CdeP ’80
Lessons Learned amid Manure Piles
ou probably haven’t noticed it. The horses
gaze over it from their corrals. In the early
mornings, freshmen stumble by it as they
empty their wheelbarrows of the previous
night’s fresh manure. It’s been there for awhile
now. It’s just a rock. A rock with a fading
plaque.
Y
It wasn’t there when I arrived at Thacher in
1977, among the first group of women “pioneers” to shovel with the boys. But that’s
where I go now when I want to talk with my
father. It’s his rock. The place where his
Thacher friends wanted to remember him and
the place that he would remember the most.
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 28
The Thacher News
teacher, Peter Robinson, who encouraged me
to speak out in the School newspaper about
my feelings on the hot topic of the days: public display of affection or “P.D.A.” I had tried
to avoid taking a stand by making a joke—“If
you have the itch, scratch”—and he called me
on it, saying, “Why don’t you say something
about how you really feel?”
But in those days I didn’t dare show my serious
feelings except in the privacy of Dostoyevsky
papers. But Robi’s words etched my psyche,
inspiring me to trust the power of my own
voice.
The Thacher Legacy
It’s also a reminder of
what I have valued most My father learned such lessons of integrity in
from the early coed days the 1920s at Thacher. When he left the views
at Thacher.
from Topa Topa and the walks through the orange groves, he never let the wisdom of Casa
de Piedra fade from his heart. More than 60
The Values of Manure
years later, as his time grew short from cancer,
I’m sure my Dad, who it was still the Thacher days about which he
graduated in 1924, would reminisced.
appreciate the location
chosen for his rock, adja- When I was 14, he and my mom, the first
cent to the horses’ manure woman honored as a Thacher Trustee and a
pile. He, like the rest of us veteran horsewoman herself, asked me which
Thacher grads, under- high school I wanted to attend. My choices
stood manure. He under- were a Bay Area private girls’ school near
stood that from it came home where we wore uniforms or Thacher, its
many of the greatest joys first coed year, with a ratio of three boys to
in life: a spontaneous one girl. And, of course, you had to have a
nicker from a four-legged horse.
companion, rides with the boys at sunset along
the Sespe, and the wisdom of discipline and I remember how my older sister suggested Cate
and how puzzled I was by my father’s veheresponsibility taught by the shovel.
ment response that under no circumstances
For us Thacher gals,
it also taught us about My father learned such lessons of integrity in the
equality. From the
1920s at Thacher. When he left the views from
first day on campus,
we shoveled right Topa Topa and the walks through the orange
along with the boys,
groves, he never let the wisdom of Casa de Piedra
never questioning our
shared roles. And un- fade from his heart. More than 60 years later, as
like my years after
his time grew short from cancer, it was still the
Thacher, there was no
boys’ club with which Thacher days about which he reminisced.
to contend; they welcomed us. Despite a century of catering to was Cate an option. “But Dad, if you’re giving
boys, camaraderie overcame any lingering me a choice.....” “NO!’”
chauvinism in the transitional years. Unlike the
college I later attended dominated by fraterni- There was no choice in my mind. I was headed
ties, Thacher embraced the opposite sex.
south for the boys and the horses. My parents
trusted that somewhere between the barranca
I remember how I found my voice in those self- and the barns, the education would follow.
conscious high school years. It was a male Then there was Uncle Jack Huyler’s pointed
Thacher Pioneer
acceptance letter about “all play and no work
makes for....”
Of course, from the moment I arrived to this
day, I’ve conveniently forgotten the rest of his
precautionary advice, lost amidst the boys,
horses, camping trips, and other unexpected
adventures.
Boys Will Be Boys
As newcomers and females to Thacher, we
bore the brunt of some remarkable pranks and
School inductions. Several of us were selected
into a secret male society and given instructions to sneak out of our dorms and be at the
Headmaster’s house at midnight. I will never
forget a disheveled Bill Wyman standing before us in blue pajamas asking what we were mate Bob Foss, after his diagnosis with schizophrenia, alall doing in his living room.
ways wanted to talk
Or the time Nick Ault, CdeP ’79, one of the about—his days at Thacher.
senior ringleaders, crashed into my dorm room
at three o’clock in the morning, swearing me to No one except those of us
secrecy. He then delivered the news that he and who have sat at the Outdoor
some friends had just rolled the Headmaster’s Chapel at dusk with the
car after an evening joy ride to Ventura. At the aroma of manure over the hill
time, being in on that secret was an honor as understand the value of this
time and place, and how these
great as unproctored exams.
were the best years of great lives
A few of us had the privilege of appearing in that take us to other people’s
the secret tradition as one of Mr. Shagam’s Shangri-las.
hand-picked ghosts in the twilight hours on
Piedra Blanca. Outfitted in gobs of makeup But when I drive into the Ojai and
and a yellow gown, as if debuting for Gone glimpse the faraway bluffs, they
with the Wind, I was to sway onto the rock seem to mark the passage of time
with classmate David Budlong as Mr. Shagam and the century of lives that have
heralded our spirits before a terrified band of passed under them. It’s then I go
back to the stables, and lean against
freshman. Thrilling!
the rock with the fading plaque
Then there was the Extra-Day Trip that had where I’m reminded of the lessons
the whole School talking: when the young and gathered amid the manure piles. e
handsome Mr. Sutphen
bravely took seven of
us girls on an ExtraDay Trip into the Sespe
our first spring. That
was the trip when, during lunch, I had to pull
my pants down in front
of him to get the red
ants off, a mortifying
experience for a sophomore.
What Remains
Somehow between
these episodes, “allnighter” papers for
Robi, Mr. Miller’s Spanish homework, and
Gymkhana Weekends, when Mom and Dad
would come to check up on me, I managed to
get my horse’s corral shoveled and still receive
my diploma.
Cynthia received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Economics from Trinity before receiving her master’s degree in Journalism from
Columbia University. She now lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, specializing in equine
photography when she’s not on the ski slopes
It is twenty years ago this June that I left the as staff photographer for Steamboat Ski Replace my father remembered so vividly from sort. The images on this page are a sampling of
the 1920s. The place my late friend and class- her equine photography. e
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 29
Thacher Pioneer
Alumni Profiles
Carol J. McConnell, CdeP ’81
A Product of Her Environment
When Jane McCarthy, editor of The Thacher
News, contacted me to ask if I would write about
my experiences as a “pioneer” at Thacher, I kept
thinking, “She must have the wrong person.” Pioneers are people like my great-grandfather, who
attended Thacher at the turn of the century. That
is, the last turn of the century, 1900. James Gifford Kellogg, CdeP ’01, traveled from Chicago
via train and carriage to make the journey into
the Ojai Valley. His physicians hoped that the
warm California winters would improve his troubled breathing. They were right! Not only was
living in Southern California an inspired remedy for his respiratory ailments, but he instantly fell in love with the cultures of California and
the West, as well. From
that time on, he recited
stories of the Native
Americans, orange
groves, and missions to
all who would listen. After graduating from
Thacher and completing an engineering degree
at Cornell University, my
great-grandfather returned to California to
build a “winter home” in
Pasadena. That house
still stands today and
serves as the President’s
Home at Cal Tech. Needless to say, his time at
Thacher changed the
path of his life.
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 30
The Thacher News
California. But Thacher was for boys! What a
disappointment.
Fast forward to the year, 1976: I am a twelveyear-old girl eating breakfast cereal at the dining room table when I happened to read an article in The San Francisco Chronicle: The
Thacher School was admitting girls!!!! My
mind was reeling. Could this really be the same
“Thacher” that I heard family members talk
about for years? Is this the same “Thacher” that
emphasized academics and horses? What a
dream come true! I could leave San Francisco
(city life never really agreed with me) and head
out to the “country.” I could go to school with
boys (a dramatic change from The Hamlin
School for Girls that I was currently attending).
I remember my first visit to the Thacher campus as a prospective student. It was still all
boys. As I was escorted on a campus tour, the
young men stopped and stared at me. Wow!!!
This was sure different. They greeted me with
some apprehension. I sensed that students and
faculty alike were excited about the idea of coeducation but were hesitant to welcome females onto their campus. In this respect, I guess
I really was a “pioneer.” The following September, I arrived to begin my freshman year. I
was thrilled about being assigned my very own
horse. His name was Sky and he was superb at
Gymkhana. Then, there were all of these boys.
Our entering class (CdeP ’81) was composed of
thirteen girls and approximately thirty-five
boys (the ratio was even more skewed amongst
the upperclassmen). It was a little overwhelmHis son, James Hull Kellogg, CdeP ’31, also ing, but I just thought of them all as big
attended Thacher. My grandfather shared his brothers.
love of the open chaparral and his deep affection for animals with all who would listen. It took about a week for me to realize that that
Whether they came from Chicago or from was not how they viewed us. In fact, we were
quite the attraction. All
I realize that one old adage is true: We are, indeed, products of our
the girls lived
environment. I am certainly a product of The Thacher School. I
on “The Hill”
(in the Sespe,
learned that working hard has its rewards; that one should always
Topa Topa,
consider the position, needs, and views of others before making
and Matilija
Dormitories).
decisions; and that the beauty of the environment around us is
Each night,
something to cherish.
Perimeter
Road was the
Pasadena, they heard embellished stories of the boundary beyond which no boy could cross.
grandeur of the Sespe and the uncanny virtues After a few short months, the intersection of
of his faithful horse Sheik. Although my grand- the walking path and Perimeter Road turned
father raised his family in Chicago, he would into “Lover’s Lane:” If a guy walked you up
describe his time in the Ojai Valley with such the hill, everyone in the dormitories above was
merriment and wonder that my mother gossiping about it by the time you arrived at
dreamed of attending the boarding school in your room.
By my fourth year, I started to go through
withdrawal. I loved the Ojai Valley, and the
friendships were priceless; but it was time to
move on. As the spring approached, I found
that the students I would miss the most were
my prefectees. What a wild bunch of sophomore girls! They looked to me for guidance
and friendship, and I loved being a resource
for them. Through their eyes, I could see how
much I had grown in four years.
It was not until I left Thacher that I realized the
importance of my experience there. I was very
independent and not afraid to be away from
home. The academic demands were almost
negligible my first year of college, since my
high school preparation had been so strong. I
majored in Physiology with a concentration in
Nutrition at my great-grandfather’s alma
mater, Cornell University.
I returned to California and applied to the
School of Veterinary Medicine at U.C. Davis. It
had been a lifelong goal of mine to be a veterinarian. Admission into the school, and
therefore the veterinary profession, has always
been very challenging. I literally had to have
straight “A’s” in all of my science classes.
Thank goodness for Mrs. Anne Thacher (wife
of Anson “Tony” CdeP ’58), my Chemistry
teacher, who taught me how to pay attention
to details and think concepts through methodically. I did succeed in gaining admission to the
Veterinary Program, followed by four glorious
years of studying the concepts of medicine and
surgery, as applied to companion animals.
As a practicing small-animal veterinarian, I soon
learned that one’s ability
to make educated decisions and judgments is essential to the “art” of
medicine. Over time, I
found that I had more of
an interest in the management side of things.
How do we keep things organized and working efficiently? How do we ensure
that the veterinary profession receives the recognition and respect it deserves? Hence, I joined
Priority Veterinary Consultants, a veterinary management and legal consulting firm in Philadelphia. Through consulting
with other veterinarians,
public speaking, and publications, I have, I hope,
made a contribution to
my profession.
Thacher Pioneer
For me, the day-to-day experiences were both
exhilarating and exhausting. The homework was
tough, but the trail rides, Gymkhana events, and
sports teams were great fun. I loved the orange
and avocado orchards, the smell of the chaparral, and the sound of wildlife in the mountains
behind us. It really was a dream for me.
James Gifford Kellogg, CdeP 1901, in 1898
As a natural extension of
my consulting experience,
I attended Purdue University’s Executive Business Management Program. I completed my
M.B.A. degree last spring, and I am currently
Associate Manager of Professional Services for
Alza Pharmaceuticals.
As time progresses, I realize that one old adage
is true: We are, indeed, products of our environment. I am certainly a product of The
Thacher School. I learned that working hard
has its rewards; that one should always consider the position, needs, and views of others
before making decisions; and that the beauty of
the environment around us is something to
cherish.
I have always journeyed far from home. I have
lived on the East Coast on two separate occasions, and I lived overseas for two years, with
solo trips in and around the Pacific Rim and
Africa. I attribute my love of travel to Thacher,
as well. One gains a tremendous sense of independence and competence when one treks
off to boarding school at age thirteen. In this
sense, I suppose that I am somewhat of a pioneer. I just see myself as someone who wants to
learn as much as possible and experience as
much as possible, while the clock is still ticking.
e
James Hall Kellogg, CdeP ’31, with Sheik
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 31
Thacher Pioneer
Alumni Profiles
Cindy Castañeda, CdeP ’88
“The Banquet Song” Becomes a Lullaby
n 1983, I was an eighth grader looking for
options. I didn’t want to go to Central Union
High School, the single high school in our
small town of El Centro, California, in part
because I was a bit scared. I had never been
among the social elite and from my observations of high school students it seemed that
those years in school were some kind of runway fashion show, at least for the girls—after
all my older sister took about 11⁄2 hours getting ready for school! Furthermore, I was academically inclined and knew by then that I
wanted to go on to college and not many of the
students from Central were choosing that option. I wanted to go to a high school were students were there to learn and had all made the
decision to go on to college.
I
A Thacher
Pioneer
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The Thacher News
that had a zoo on campus and one in Colorado
that was also outdoor-oriented and had horses.
I completed the applications and sent them on
their way and made a request to have a site set
up nearby to take the SSAT; the closest scheduled location was San Diego, 120 miles away.
Not many people from my county attend
boarding school; I only know of one other and
he attended The Webb School. Needless to say,
I am indebted to all of the folks who helped me
along the way: my teachers, especially, Mr.
Thomas W. Henderson and my best friend’s
mother, Karen Stiegler, who wrote letters of
reference on my behalf. My Uncle Frank, a
custodian for a school in the Los Angeles area,
also tried to help me by arranging for me to
meet with a counselor who knew something
I did not know anyone about a school named Cate. And, who knows,
who had ever attended if it had not been for a mix-up in directions
boarding school either. So and the fact that we were never able to find
where did my inspiration his home, I might have ended up there!
come from? Believe it or not
from the long-ago can- My first news back was from the school in New
celled sitcom The Facts of York. They would love to have had me join
Life—really! After all, them but were unable to meet the level of fiwhere else would the nancial aid that my family required (read “full
daughter of a migrant farm- scholarship” here). I was devastated. I felt sure
worker dad and a home- that the others would turn out the same way.
maker mom get such no- Again I waited. I heard from Thacher, or more
tions? My dad had dropped precisely, Mr. Stephenson, next. They had read
out of school at sixth grade my application and were interested in having me
to work in the fields and my visit. However, it was late in the application
mom had dropped out in process and they couldn’t wait until April when
tenth grade because she my SSAT scores would be ready. Did I have
felt her English wasn’t good any other scores I could send them? I had taken
enough after spending most an IQ test to be admitted into the gifted proof her elementary years in Mexico. Of course, gram, but it had been five years prior. I was reI didn’t think life at boarding school would be tested despite being discouraged by the school
like the television show and I was not interest- psychologist who pronounced, “Well, your
ed in going to an all-girls school either.
score will probably go down because you are
older now. People rarely do better on these
My next stop was the public library where I things the second time around.” Whatever my
looked up boarding schools in the card catalog score was, it actually went up and my scores
and found only one entry, Boarding School were sent to Thacher; I never did take the SSAT.
Guide 1975. I found it in the reference section
and skimmed through it. I discovered they had My family and I visited Thacher on a beautiful
a helpful index in the back with special topics spring day in 1984. It was a six-hour drive
taught at each school. At the time I was fo- from our desert home to Ojai on the foothills
cused on becoming a veterinarian and was of the Sespe. I’m not sure, but I think the oroverjoyed to find an entry titled “Veterinary ange trees were blooming and a light rain had
Sciences.” As I recall, only one school was recently washed the campus and left small pudlisted: The Thacher School. The School dles. Of course, the campus was stunning. The
sounded great, but, unfortunately it was listed huge pepper trees on the Pergola, the students
as being an all-boys school. Undaunted, I gathered at Assembly, milk and grahmmies,
copied the address of the National Association people in cowboy boots and blue jeans: an odd
of Boarding Schools and requested an updated collection all in all. We toured the campus and
copy. When it arrived a few weeks later I was my family and I were awestruck by the vast
elated to find that Thacher had gone co-ed! I resources, dorm rooms, small classes, hundreds
also chose two other schools, one in New York of horses, delightful Spanish architecture and
The Horse Program, camping, and senior year
serving as a freshman prefect were the extracurricular focuses of my life at Thacher. I
rode every season, all four years—back in the
day when you could still get by without participating in a team sport. Still there were many
notable moments that seem particularly vivid
in my memory. When riding the trails, either
alone or with company, it seemed that the hills
of the Sespe were a revitalizing force and spurred
reflection on the fact that each of us is a very
small part of a larger community. The packing contest in which classmates Christine Johnson, Patrick Chu, and I landed first place in
the humor category with our “Breakfast at the
Country Chicken,” with Patrick as the female
lead and I as the male. We packed a small table
onto the horse and glued food and paper plates
from the dining hall onto it for our winning
entry. Christine served as the maitre d’. I also
recall having a conversation with Mr. Robinson
freshman year discussing colleges in which he
boldly predicted, “Sure, in four years you’ll be
at Harvard.” How did he know? Catching
bluegill in the Sespe with Wonsik Choi, CdeP
’88, with nothing more than a line and hook—
not even any bait—and then having to eat them
for dinner. Drifting down the Colorado River
in a kayak my freshman year with Seth Shaw,
CdeP ’85, as team “Cinnamon Toast,” in a trip
led by Mr. Wales and Mrs. Edwards. Unforgettable food feasts (a.k.a. munchouts) with
my charges in my senior year. Navigating my
way through Thai culture, during my summer
as an A.F.S. student in Bangkok.
Of course, there were other less pleasant memories as well. Having to ride to the ranger station with Jennifer Ybarra, CdeP ’88, to find a
ranger and request a helicopter evaluation for
Christine Johnson who had been kicked in the
face by her horse, Caribou. After getting on
our horses, Jen fell when her saddle slipped
down to the horse’s belly. By the way, Christine
went back to riding as soon as she was able,
earned the ranks of Top Horseman and “A”
Camper senior year, and is now a veterinarian
in Oakland. Trudging out of the Sespe on foot
during a pouring rainstorm and crossing the
creek which was running fast and about thigh
high. It was also no fun when a particularly
mean burro bit Shoshi Asnis, CdeP ’88 and me
on a trip sophomore year. Finally, the School’s
collective sadness and grief when we learned
that Amy Klausler had died as a result of a
horse riding accident is also a poignant memory. Each memory is a reminder that a very
good life can also have its low moments.
Thacher Pioneer
modern science labs. On the way home we all
talked about the beautiful campus and how
friendly everyone seemed to be. I was thrilled
by the horses as was my younger sister, Liliana, who was three at the time. We headed
home to wait again. But it was not too long
before Mr. Stephenson called us again with the
good news that I had been admitted. My family was thrilled but we held our breath until
we received the financial aid offer. A generous
financial aid offer made it possible for me to attend Thacher and I enrolled in the fall of 1984.
I was also admitted to the school in Colorado
although it was a rather moot point after
Thacher captured our hearts. I am fortunate
that my parents placed education above the
traditional Mexican norm of keeping their
daughters at home and supported me in attending Thacher; they’re the best!
My twelve years since graduation have led me
in unexpected directions. As Mr. Robinson
predicted, I attended Harvard and picked up a
degree in Social Studies. During my junior year
I was selected as a Truman Scholar and won a
$30,000 scholarship for graduate studies with
a goal of pursuing public service. That led me
to work at the Truman Foundation and the
U.S. Department of Education for a year after
college before I enrolled at the University of
Chicago and earned a Master’s in Public Policy with an emphasis in higher-education policy. In my professional life since, I have worked
for the Chicago Community Trust, DePaul
University, a consortium of Big Ten Schools, and
most recently at the University of Illinois as
Assistant Dean at the School of Social Work.
I take pride in the work I’ve done in higher
education, even if it is a far cry from being the
veterinarian I once thought I would become.
Now, I’m preparing for my greatest challenge
to date: parenthood. My husband, David Fanning, and I are expecting our first child in June.
[Editor’s note: At press time, Cindy and David
announced that Daniel Declan Fanning arrived
on May 23 at 5:07 p.m. All is well.] Dave and
I have been married for almost five years and
started dating over ten years ago thanks to
Patrick Chu, CdeP ’88, who enrolled at M.I.T.
the year before David. Dave completed his doctorate in physics last year and started as a senior research scientist at TriQuint Semiconductor in Dallas, Texas, last October. When I left
my position as Assistant Dean and moved to
Texas to join my husband, I was concerned
about making the transition to being at home.
However, I’m enjoying myself by taking time to
learn things that I had deferred until now: gardening, sewing, cake decorating, country/western dancing, and preparing for the baby. I wonder now, just like when I was working, how
will I get everything done?
When riding the trails…it seemed
that the hills of the Sespe were a
revitalizing force and spurred
reflection on the fact that each
of us is a very small part of a
larger community.
I may return to graduate school in a couple of
years to pursue a doctorate in education or
public policy, return to higher education administration, or perhaps life will take me in
another direction altogether. After all, I never
thought I’d be the first in my family to graduate from college and get a master’s degree to
boot! Or that my high school years would be
the last time I lived in California.
I cannot imagine how much more hectic things
will be when our baby arrives, but I’m looking
forward to finding out. One thing is certain:
this child and any who may follow will grow up
hearing stories about horses, camping, and avocado and orange orchards, and thinking “The
Banquet Song” is a children’s lullaby. e
A Thacher
Pioneer
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Thacher Pioneer
Alumni Profiles
Stephen M. Batts, CdeP ’76
Flying His Dreams
guess I would have to say that I took an uncommon path to Thacher. Born to a lower
middle class family in Los Angeles, California, I grew up in the San Fernando Valley. I attended public schools prior to my exposure to
Thacher. I say exposure, because I had not a
clue of the place until I was called before my
counselor one day as a ninth grader at San Fernando Junior High School. My counselor told
me that my academic record made me a candidate to take advantage of a scholarship offer
by The Thacher School. As soon as she explained to me what Thacher was, I immediately told her I wanted
to go. At that time in
my life, I was on a path
to fulfill my dream of
becoming a fighter pilot
in the United States Air
Force. Many thought
this to be unusual
since—although my father, brother, and uncles
served briefly in the
Army—there were no
career military people
in my family. I like to
think that I became enamored with the idea
because of my favorite
television show at the
time (12 O’clock High).
Around the time I was
eight years old, I seriously embraced the concept of “strapping on
an airplane” and going into battle. I later
formed a plan by which I would attend the Air
Force Academy, play football there, and become a fighter pilot upon graduation. Therefore, the offer by my junior high counselor
merely required a quick “cost-benefit analysis,” comparing my chances for admission to
the Academy as a public high school graduate
I
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The Thacher News
of the personally enriching experience that
awaited me at Thacher. As I look back upon
my experience there, I fondly recall the sense of
caring and family that I felt among the faculty,
students, and staff. I never doubted the genuine concern for my well-being and my future
that virtually all of my teachers exhibited.
From what I have witnessed during recent returns to the campus, some of these same individuals—Peter and Bonnie Robinson, Terry
and Cricket Twichell, Marvin Shagam, to
name a few—are still there, not just molding
young minds, but also shaping extremely wellprepared world-class citizens.
Apparently, my logic while in junior high was
sound, as I gained Congressional appointments
to both the Air Force Academy and the Naval
Academy (my back-up plan). I entered the
Class of 1980, the first class to admit women
to the service academies. Thacher had made
its indelible mark upon my soul. Thanks to the
painstaking efforts of folks like Steve Griggs
and Geoff Bird, I did so well on my French
language placement examination that I was
not required to take any French classes. The
highly rewarding experience I enjoyed with
Marvin Shagam during debate exercises surely
had something to do with my selection of Humanities as a major. Those many nights of
agony I endured as David Koth welcomed me
to his humble home in the shadow of Upper
School and patiently explained to me the
foibles of higher math also paid off, as I was
placed in the accelerated math program at the
Academy. Thanks to Peter Robinson and Terry
Twichell, I played lacrosse well enough to
make the Varsity Air Force team for all four
years. I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science
degree in Humanities in 1980.
Then began my odyssey of travel. First was a
stop in Columbus, Mississippi, to earn my
wings. During that
year I not only
Finally and perhaps the most profound gift of all for me has
learned to fly a jet
but I met the
been the development of the drive to never tire of learning.
woman who would
This drive was not only nurtured in me while at Thacher, but
later become my
wife,
Moteshia
also fortified with a type of fearlessness that tells me that I
Odom (she was atcan learn anything if I want to.
tending the Mississippi University for
versus my chances as a Thacher graduate; the Women). I graduated from pilot training and
was assigned to Anchorage, Alaska, where I
choice was a no-brainer.
flew C-130 transports and re-supplied the
While I immediately realized the prestige ad- string of early-warning radar sites along our
vantage I would gain for college admission by extreme northern border with the Soviet
attending Thacher, I had no idea of the depth Union. I married Moteshia and we were trans-
God has truly blessed me throughout my life.
Not the least of these blessings was the opportunity to attend Thacher. In addition to the
things I have already identified, Thacher subtly prepared me in many other ways to deal
with various other adventures. I learned humility, which served me well as our crew landed
under fire by enemy forces during the invasion
of Panama in 1989. I developed compassion,
which came into play as I traveled to the jungles of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam to aid
in the search for answers regarding the over
2,000 American servicemen who did not return from the war in Southeast Asia. The discipline I developed (thank you Bob Coombs)
surely saved my life in the skies over Iraq and
Kuwait, as we flew through the oily black
plumes caused by the burning oil wells set
ablaze by Saddam Hussein’s forces during Desert
Storm. Finally and perhaps the most profound
gift of all for me has been the development of
the drive never to tire of learning. This drive was
not only nurtured in me while at Thacher, but
also fortified with a type of fearlessness that
tells me that I can learn anything if I want to.
While in Argentina this past year, I realized
that I have not yet lost that drive. Today, I am
a Lieutenant Colonel, preparing again to fly
my airplane, this time in a Combat Search and
Rescue role. My only remaining military goal
is to become a Commander. The time is rapidly
approaching when I will have to leave my military adventure and pursue something else. I
don’t yet know how I will transition, but I do
know that whatever new career I take, it will
have to make me excited to get up in the morning and go to work everyday. e
Thacher Pioneer
ferred to Frankfurt, West Germany. There I became a Special Operations pilot, and I trained
to use the C-130 to infiltrate, re-supply, and
exfiltrate highly-trained, special-operations
forces hundreds of miles behind enemy lines
(the Cold War was still very much in effect, so
you can imagine which enemy we trained to
counter). We thoroughly enjoyed Europe and
saw the birth of our first daughter, Marlena.
Then, we were off to the panhandle of Florida
for more flying and the birth of our second
daughter, Marion. I have also been assigned to
Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Washington,
D.C. Perhaps my most challenging assignment
has been the one I just completed: after studying Spanish for six months I was sent to the
Argentine School of National Defense, in
Buenos Aires, for the entire year of 1999.
Stephen played on the Varsity
Lacrosse team during his upperclass years at Thacher
A Thacher
Pioneer
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Thacher Pioneer
Alumni Profiles
Hubert Honanie, Jr., CdeP ’57
Dances with Snakes, Toads, Sunlight, and Gems
write this letter with a mind filled with fond
memories. My name is Hubert Honanie, Jr.,
CdeP ’57. Honanie is a Hopi Indian name
meaning “badger.” The Hopi are people, few
in number, who live on the chilly plateau of
Northern Arizona. We are the people who
never change our last names and who are the
strange ones who dance with snakes to make
the rain. Even other Indians are in awe of us.
I
I will always remember my
classmates…studying, horse
riding, shoveling, and running
soccer…the young men of Athens.
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 36
The Thacher News
eling, living daily life, and running soccer with
me. Thacher was the best time of my life. My
friends are the young men of Athens. A hello to
Peter Henze, Paul Helms, Fred Shore, and
Leslie Roos.
From Jack Huyler’s book The Stamp of the
School:
Hubert Honanie...a Hopi, was Thacher’s first
Thanks to classmates Richard Grant and Aldwyn Native American. Hubert was a leader; a good
Hewitt, I have kept in touch with Thacher. We student who went on to Stanford; and a talented artist; but it is for his sophomore English
all work in downtown Los Angeles.
themes and for his camping skills that I reWith deliberate and slow pace, I am stepping member him with special fondness.
into the dimension of Millennium 2000. I have
a new wife and new In English II boys were encouraged from timelife. This lady is from to-time to describe real-life experiences. On
the far-away land of such occasions, Hubert would usually write
Guatemala. Her town fascinating accounts of trips shared with his
is Santa Lucia, Cotzu- grandfather; attending the ancient tribal ritual
malguapa, a southern dances, going into the mountains to seek a
province on the Pacific totem for young Hubert…
side. Her name is
Marisol that translates I learned much from camping with Hubert,
to “dancing sunlight on who gained the coveted “A” classification early
the ocean waves.” in his Lower Upper year. As well as being a
Upon reading this in- fine camper, he was an outstanding camp cook.
formation, I suspect His apple pies, tacos, and tortillas were espeamused smiles will cially tasty...
cross the faces of my
Hubert had learned from his grandfather never
former classmates.
to lie on his face to drink from a stream, but to
For 22 years, I origi- hunker at stream’s edge and with a very rapid
nated a fine jewelry movement of the hand send a stream of water
concept in the city of up to his mouth. The motion was more rapid
Pasadena. I am a goldsmith and cutter of gem than the lapping of a dog; and I was reminded
crystal and stone. In this time, I constructed of Gideon in the Old Testament, who chose as
original and personal items for Pasadena clien- his commandos those who did not lie face
tele. Being only a short hop from downtown down at the stream when they drank. They
L.A., I launched myself into the international could look about themselves at they drank and
marketplace. I am sensitive to the fact that the were less likely to be taken by surprise. The
world is changing and there is a schism on the bond between Hopi brave and Israelite warperception of world trade. I view the world as rior is intriguing...
a panorama of colors. Armed with my California resale permit, I am able to unlock the During his four years at Thacher, Hubert was
doors of superior gem dealers and designers, chosen captain of the Second Baseball Team
from the diamond to the pearl. With conven- in his sophomore year and of the Second Socient appointment by home phone, I can meet cer Team his senior year. He was elected memclientele in the lobby of the International Mart ber of the Student Council, the Honor
Committee, and of the Outdoor Committee,
on Hill Street in Los Angeles.
secretary of the Bit and Spur, and Prefect in
I love the high energy and the comings and go- both junior and senior years.
ings of world people in this marketplace. The
world of nature’s gems is always interesting The quotation which appears beside his phoand the unlocking of nature’s secrets is sur- tograph in El Archivero is from “After Sunset” by Grace Hazard Conkling. It is clear that
prising and never-ending.
the classmate who selected the passage knew
I will always remember my classmates who Hubert well: “I have an understanding with
stood beside me, studying, horse riding, shov- the hills…” e
Trustee Profile
Trustee Profile
Terdema L. Ussery, Jr., CdeP ’77
Making the Most of Hoops and Hopes
t first glance, it may appear that Terdema
Ussery, CdeP ’77, was born under a lucky
star. This President and Chief Executive
Officer of the Dallas Mavericks holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs,
a master’s degree from the John F. Kennedy
School of Government at Harvard University,
and a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where he also attained the
coveted position of executive editor of the California Law Review.
A
Terdema, however, wasn’t spoon-fed any of these
educational or subsequent business opportunities.
Instead, he employed his diligence and perseverance to overcome the obstacles of growing
up in the poor Compton/Watts section of Los
Angeles, and to fulfill his goals. Terdema recalls
his parents telling him he could do anything he
wanted, but it was up to him and that the decisions he made would determine his destiny.
Terdema faced a significant destiny-directing
choice towards the end of his junior high school
years, when a school counselor suggested that,
as a promising minority student, he should apply for a scholarship to Thacher. He accepted
the challenge only to find that his shining-star
status in Watts fell to mediocre standings at
Thacher. “I was woefully behind,” he remembers, “and I had to work very hard to catch up
academically. There were a lot of kids who had
been in private schools all of their lives and who
were better students; better prepared.”
On Terdema’s first day at Thacher, he and his
parents headed to the barn area to choose a
horse since Horse Director Hal Johnson felt a
stronger bond between horse and rider would
result if the students classified themselves and
had a choice in their equine companions. Hal
indicated the level of horses on the corrals—
“Bunny” for beginners, “Patches” for intermediate, and “Rowdy” for advanced. Terdema
saw “Beethoven-Beginner” and grabbed for
the tag at the same time freshman Loren
Churchman reached for it. Both held on firmly
to the tag and Loren asked Terdema, “How
are we going to decide this?”
Resorting to his childhood ways, Terdema said,
“I guess we’ll have to fight for it.”
Loren thought better of that idea: “I’m not
going to fight you over a horse!” and relinquished the tag. Terdema kept Beethoven
throughout his first year and presently says
that one of his most thrilling memories of
Thacher was the first time he and Beethoven
ventured out of the ring and up onto the trails
alone: “There was a feeling of accomplish-
by Jane D. McCarthy
ment, freedom, and bonding between myself
and the animal, which I will never forget.”
Terdema’s struggles with the Thacher lifestyle
were pervasive. When first accepted to Thacher,
his long-time boyhood friends warned him,
“You’re gonna be a white boy when you come
back.” Indeed, upon returning to his hometown
during school breaks, toting his lacrosse stick,
his friends told him, “You’re in a different
world. We don’t want to hang with you anymore.” Terdema found himself in a different
world at Thacher, as well; he didn’t know
many things that most take for granted such as
what a goose down jacket is; that a stereo can
have more than one component; and that some
cameras have detachable
lenses. “I remember asking Loren if I could take
his Nikon camera home
for a weekend,” Terdema
remembers. “I had no
intention of taking pictures; I just wanted to
show my neighbors that
you could actually remove and change lenses.”
The socio-economic disparity between his
worlds at home and at
Thacher put Terdema
squarely on the fence
and uncomfortable in
both settings. As he remembers: “The Thacher
kids were wealthy. They had never seen anyone
like me before and I was one of only two
blacks in my class and seven in the entire
School. I missed girls! I couldn’t stop staring at
the wet hair of some of my classmates. It was
strange to see it lay down and change colors
when it was wet. Simple things, but dramatically different for me.”
To fit in better at Thacher, Terdema toned
down his Afro, threw away his steel comb, expanded his music selections, and polished his
manner of speech (“I’m trilingual: Spanish,
English, and ‘Hood,’” he says with a smile.).
He became involved with “The Notes,” Indoor
Committee, and Judicial Committee, and
played Varsity Lacrosse. Still, in his sophomore
year, Terdema confided in Terry Twichell that
he was seriously considering returning to Watts
High School, where he could become an A student again and concentrate on sports, especially football in which he excelled. “If you’re
a quitter,” Terry told Terdema, “go ahead and
quit. But, I don’t think you are. You think
you’re working hard now, but if you worked
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 37
Trustee Profile
even harder, you’d have the grades you want.”
Terdema credits Terry with saving his Thacher
career, and challenging him to overcome his
academic deficit. Through perseverance and
extensive studying, he gradually surpassed
some of his peers academically, earned Commendations in Algebra and U.S. History; and
he began considering Ivy League schools. Part
of his junior year was spent as an exchange
student with other boys who traveled to the
Emma Willard School in Troy, New York; at
least he could interact with girls again. The
ratio wasn’t bad either: 40 boys to 440 girls.
He learned a lot about camaraderie, the diverse intellectual prowess of bright women,
and the intimidating feeling of being a threat
(along with all the other Thacher boys) to what
the girls at Emma Willard held dear. “It was
the perfect point/counter-point to the argument
that Thacher should remain single-sex.”
A Thacher
Pioneer
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The Thacher News
returning to Harvard that same night after
spending his winter break at home, and walked
into his room to hear this news. He took the
next plane home since the only thing that really
mattered to him was that his father—his best
friend—live. Mr. Ussery recovered and continues to run his store. Terdema transferred to
the University of California’s Bolt Hall, where
he was elected Executive Editor of the Law
Review, the most prestigious position available
to law students. He told his new bride, Debra,
that because he made Law Review he wouldn’t see her for a couple of years. That omen
came true, but she stood by him through those
years, as she had done from the time they were
adolescents back in Watts. (In fact, their first
“date” away from home had been at Thacher
when they were only 13 years old.)
This string of degrees resulted in numerous job
offers once Terdema finished law school. He
accepted a position at the Los Angeles office of
the prestigious San Francisco-based law firm,
Morrison and Foerster, initially focusing on
corporate banking. He gradually shifted his
practice to entertainment law when his musician friends (Terdema plays the drums) periodically asked for his help. He expanded into
sports law in the same manner, always intending to work on the business side rather than
the representative/agent angle of the field.
Terdema matriculated at Princeton, where he,
once again, found himself among very bright,
hard-working students. During his first semester there, he spent time fundraising for his
Thacher class, but came up with only average
academic results. “I thought being at Princeton
was enough, but I encountered competition as
I had at Thacher all over again; this time, however, I was prepared and knew how to study.”
It’s unusual for a Thacher graduate to make a
university football team, but Terdema did, and
during his freshman year. All of his roommates This journey through a mostly white and privwere football players, except for one classical ileged world forced Terdema to learn diplomacy and to accept different
points of view. “I’ve never reI thought being at Princeton was enough, but I encountered ally been accepted in the white
man’s world,” he says, “and
competition as I had at Thacher… this time, however, I…
I’m not totally accepted back
knew how to study.
in Watts anymore either.”
While searching for a way to
cellist. “I tired of spending my evenings alone help youngsters bridge this same gap through
with him, listening to him play Mozart on the the Constitutional Rights Foundation, he discello, especially since Mozart never wrote a covered the Continental Basketball Associapiece for the cello.” Off the football field, he tion, a “farm” league with teams in cities
had made the academic team, joined the without a National Basketball Association
Princeton Forensics Team, worked a couple franchise. Through his volunteer work in a
jobs to pay bills, and rediscovered girls. He program that taught youngsters about law
gained admission to the Woodrow Wilson through sports, he met then-C.B.A. CommisSchool of Public and International Affairs in sioner Irv Kaze, who eventually offered him
his junior year. He graduated from Princeton the job of deputy commissioner and general
with high honors and thought he would delay counsel.
entering graduate school to try professional
football. Weighing in at 210-plus and physi- Terdema joined the C.B.A. and a year later becally fit from lifting weights and playing sports, came C.B.A. Commissioner, the first Africanhe reported to training camp. That didn’t last American to serve in that capacity of any
long: he was “scraped off the field and put major sports league. Terdema’s work there
back together after a few days.” Pondering a brought unprecedented recognition and succareer in politics, Terdema entered John F. cess to the league as he negotiated licensing
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, agreements, national sponsorships, and lucrabut found his interests lay in law. He took the tive media contracts as well a three-year agreeentrance exams and entered Harvard Law ment with the N.B.A. for the two leagues to
School, as well.
work together closely. These circumstances
brought rapid growth and much needed staTerdema had just been elected to the Harvard bility to the C.B.A. He also pioneered C.B.A.’s
Law Review and had received his first assign- anti-drug and player education programs.
ment when tragedy struck. At his family’s N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern says this of
neighborhood grocery store, his father was Terdema’s management style: “From the first
shot in a holdup—fortunately not killed like time I met him, ‘T’ impressed me as that special
the stores’ security guard, but badly injured kind of sports executive—[he] has a firm grasp
and bleeding on the street. Terdema had been on the financial and marketing sides of sports
Trustee Profile
while never forgetting that what takes place This $350-million project, scheduled to open
on the basketball court is the core of your busi- next year, will be the core of a retail/entertainness. He likes people and they like him—for ment center in the image of Times Square.
his manner, his competence, and his integrity.”
The Dallas Mavericks is about a $100-million
Ultimately, Terdema’s accomplishments with business, and Terdema runs the daily operathe C.B.A. brought him to the attention of tions. In order to secure fans from every segment
sports marketing giant Nike. He served as pres- of the community, he carefully manages every
ident of Nike Sports Management, where he aspect of business, from the way they market
was responsible for marketing Nike’s elite pro themselves to the way they design their licensed
athletes and negotiating contracts. “We re- merchandise. He wants to use sports to reach
structured that side of the business,” said Ter- the community’s youth and make a positive
dema, “and it evolved into what is now Nike impact. When he first worked at the MaverSports and Entertainment.” Twice during this icks, he heard gripes about the team’s lack of
stint, he was included on The National Sport- presence in the city’s minority neighborhoods.
ing News’ annual list of the top-100 most pow- He also heard rumblings that the only reason
erful people in sports.
occasional sports clinics were held was to garner support for the new arena. He was very
While the accolades were piling up, however, familiar with these complaints, as he’d heard
Terdema realized that something was missing similar grumblings back in Watts. He sought to
in his life. Extensive traveling (logging 300,000 greatly expand the Maverick’s presence in every
miles annually on cross-country and overseas Dallas community and to make a positive imtrips), coddling rich athletes, and spending pact on kids’ lives. Besides having his athletes
more time in the airport than at home with his offer routine clinics, he feels it’s important for
family was not the way he wanted to live. He the city’s youth—especially African-Amerireflected on the quality time he’d spent with cans—to see African-Americans who are suchis father: “It was just being around him, see- cessful even though they don’t play sports. “Ining how he carried himself, being exposed to stead of hero worship,” he said, “I think we
his values, and watching him interact with peo- should respect and applaud professional athletes
ple,” Terdema remembers. “You only get one who have gone on to do great things. But there’s
shot at fatherhood and I didn’t want to mess it no equilibrium. We don’t applaud the physiup for our two children.” He left Nike and cians, the journalists, the teachers, and the sciplanned to take a year off to shift his focus, entists who are also doing great jobs.”
starting with a family vacation to Mexico.
As if the daily management of the Mavericks
Just a short time later, Ross Perot, Jr., had pur- weren’t enough for Terdema, he is intimately
chased the Dallas Mavericks and wanted to involved in the Dallas/Fort Worth business
round out the organization’s leadership struc- community. He sits on the boards of the
ture with someone who possessed a strong fi- Greater Dallas Chamber, Dallas Museum of
nancial background and could provide a major Art, Dallas County Advisory Board of The Salmarketing boost to a brand name that ranked vation Army, Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs of Greater
at the bottom of N.B.A. merchandising. De- Dallas, California Science Center, Y.M.C.A. of
spite his apprehensions, Terdema interviewed Metropolitan Dallas, N.B.A. Board of Goverfor the position and gradually warmed to the nors, and W.N.B.A. Operating Committee.
notion of joining the Mavericks through sub- This past summer, Governor George W. Bush
sequent discussions with Perot at the N.B.A. announced the appointment of Terdema as one
All-Star Game. One of the major reasons for of six new additions to the Texas Higher Eduhis change of heart was Perot’s emphasis on cation Coordinating Board.
family. “As always, I took my father to the AllStar Game and we talked with Ross,” Terdema This is the second year that Terdema has served
recalled. “Later, we sat in chapel together and on Thacher’s Board of Trustees, focusing on
my father talked with him awhile. When the Program and Development Committees.
everyone walked away, my father talked about He felt compelled to join this Board because he
Ross’s family values and how impressed he was wanted to help Thacher continue its tradition
with them. This man works at a very quick of uniqueness in secondary education, and, in
pace and still finds time to focus on raising his some small way, give back to the School that
family. That was an inspiration to me because changed his life. He wants to do all he can to
most of the people I have met talk about being ensure the long-term health and well-being of
successful, but they regret that they lost their the School and its students, and to acquaint as
families in the process. So, I would pray, many people as possible with the unique insti‘Where are the successful Christian people?’ tution that is Thacher. The special strengths
Then I slammed into one. The opportunity to that he brings to the Board are his marketing
work with him took it over the top.”
and his sports expertise, along with a sensitivity to low-income students and their needs. He
Perot is mutually complimentary about work- hopes to impart his personal philosophy to
ing with Terdema: “[He] is an innovator and a these students: Don’t ever quit; don’t ever give
dynamic leader with phenomenal contacts.” up; pursue your dream. “As my father always
In his first season with the Mavericks, Terdema told me: ‘The higher up you go, the bigger the
played a key role in the campaign that led to bullseye on your back.’ I just hope I can make
the early January 1998 election by City of Dal- a big enough difference in the lives of others
las voters to help fund a new downtown arena. before I get ‘hit.’” e
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 39
Former Faculty Profile
Edgardo Catalan, 1964-75
Artistic Endeavors
ith Headmaster Newton Chase’s blessing, Thacher’s Art Director of the ’50s
and ’60s, Gui Ignon, reincarnated the
old Bixby Handball Court into the Bixby Fine
Arts Studio. He also got a large proportion of
the student body involved in artistic pursuits.
Upon Gui’s death in the summer of 1963,
Thacher’s new Headmaster David Twichell
scrambled to find a replacement art teacher to
continue the momentum of the Fine Arts Program. Hearing of David’s predicament, Otis
Wickenhaeuser, CdeP ’49, suggested that
Thacher consider hiring a young Chilean artist
whom Otis had met while overseeing an academic program for some Lewis and Clark College students who were studying in Valpairiso.
So impressed with the
paintings was Otis that he
tracked down the artist to
his studio at the School of
Fine Arts of Viña del Mar,
where he’d just begun
teaching. Otis purchased
several of Edgardo’s
paintings and kept in
touch with him when he
returned to the States.
Sight unseen, David hired
Edgardo; so began his introduction to the States.
W
Pioneer
page 40
The Thacher News
were somewhat difficult to comprehend. But,
as Bob Miller remembers, “he was a quick
study,” and the language barrier wasn’t a difficulty for long. Beyond that, when he set his
brush, crayon, or pencil to paper, he communicated beautifully. Edgardo’s philosophy
about teaching art to teenagers in a high school
setting, was that “talent is not as important as
the development and expression of the creative
process itself. That is why so many students
who felt they didn’t have any ‘artistic talent’
whatsover, discovered that they could do—and
did—so many interesting things in art.” He
expanded the art curriculum by offering handson courses in photography, cinematography,
ceramics, sculpture, and jewelry making, as
well as more non-traditional art forms such as
non-tie-dying, silk screening, and “junk” sculpture. He also added art history and appreciation courses, complemented by seminars about
art in society. At his peak, three-fourths of the
School were studying or creating art in studios
and darkrooms. Finally, he initiated a program
of guest artists (to conduct workshops) that
brought to the School, among others, the black
sculptor Noa Purifoy; the actors Karl Malden
(being a cousin of Les Larsen helped), Woody
Chambers, and Vincent Price; and a director of
cinematography, his dear friend Floyd Crosby.
Some remember Edgardo as a somber fellow;
it’s likely that those people didn’t experience
his lively sense of humor and the occasional
zany comments that he often sequestered.
Many students sought his companionship for
horse camping trips, treks that didn’t always
turn out as planned. Among the more unforgettable trips was an Extra-Day Trip with a
group of “A” Campers and a backpack trip
with
Jim
Watts, Steve
Some of his fondest memories are of those early years at Thacher. From the Abercrombie,
viewpoint of an artist and an immigrant, trying to keep up with his art while Neil Howe,
and others to
teaching, learning a new language, and starting not only a family but also
the
upper
lakes in Yoa new life was difficult, but those years were some of the most important
semite. A trip
and happiest of his life.
that falls in
the “interestNormand from France; and shortly thereafter, ing” category was a backpack Extra–Day Trip
Peter Reid from Scotland. The Catalans to the High Sierra, when a bear strolled
quickly acclimated to the new language, cus- through camp on the first night out, taking adtoms, and boarding school lifestyle. “The vantage of the full stock of food. Edgardo witThacher values of honesty, integrity, hard nessed the pillaging, but was so worried about
work, and concern for others,” recalls freezing to death if he climbed out of his sleepEdgardo, “were already part of our own up- ing bag (there was plenty of snow on the
bringing so we felt right at home with them.” ground) that he opted to stay bundled up and
English was a struggle in the beginning for try to relax.
Edgardo and his announcements at Assemblies
Edgardo and his bride of
a few weeks AnaMaria,
were part of a “miniature
United Nations” that
started working at
Thacher in 1963: Betty Saunders from New
Zealand; Jorge Ramos, an exchange teacher
from Peru; Wilfred Tims from England; Michel
A Thacher
by Jane D. McCarthy
in Hollywood for five years before attaining a
master’s degree in economics at Thunderbird.
He and Thacher classmate Sibyll Carnochan
married a few years back and reside in Santa
Monica; Rodrigo now works for Epson Company.
During his second year at Thacher, Edgardo
took a bunch of freshmen on what became
known during a subsequent Reunion Weekend
as an “infamous” weekend horse camping trip.
Edgardo remembers it as a disaster from beginning to end. One of the “survivors,” Phil
Angelides, CdeP ’70—a California Congressman when the story was retold at Reunion—
quoted Edgardo as yelling as all hell broke
loose at Dynamite Canyon Camp: “It’s every
man for himself!” (see an abbreviated version
of this story beginning on page 42.)
Finally, Edgardo keeps in touch with a few of
his former students. Some of his fondest memories are of those early years at Thacher. From
the viewpoint of an artist and an immigrant,
trying to keep up with his art while teaching,
learning a new language, and starting not only
After 11 years of teaching at Thacher and rais- a family but also a new life was difficult, but
ing two children here, the Catalans moved to those years were some of the most important
Santa Barbara, where AnaMaria pursued a and happiest of his life. e
doctorate in Spanish (she had taught some
Spanish classes while they lived at Thacher)
and Edguardo pursued his artistic career. He
works primarily in oil and watercolor, mostly
with glazes, seeking transparency and luminosity in his colors. He strives for order and
clarity in his compositions. His iconography
comes from nature and he works mostly with
the landscape and the human figure in a nonrealistic manner. A decade after leaving
Thacher, Edgardo and his wife divorced;
Edgardo moved back to Chile, where he joined
the faculty of the University of Valparaiso, set
up a studio on a hill overlooking the bay, and
began teaching at the School of Architecture
and the School of Design. Pinochet was still in
power; Edgardo found his repression harsh,
brutal, and not conducive to creative endeavors. Therefore, while maintaining his home
base in Chile, Edgardo periodically came to
the United States to exhibit his art and traveled
throughout Europe.
Five years ago, Edgardo received a phone call
from his dear friend and former Thacher colleague, Les Larson, who said: “It is lonely here
in Tennessee. Would you like to join me at the
Webb School?” Edgardo joined Les, but, unfortunately, a good match didn’t gel between
him and Webb. Two years felt much more like
several to him and he returned to Europe.
There he encountered an old friend, a German
musician from Hamburg, Heike. A year later
they were married in Denmark and then
moved back to Chile in 1997. He has devoted
his life to painting, teaching (at the University
of Valparaiso, one course at the School of Architecture and one course at the School of Design), the directorship of the University gallery,
and the organization of its annual national art
and poetry contest for young people. Lately he
has been working on a poetic recreation of the
landscape of his hometown of Valparaiso, and
also with the human figure in autobiographical
or social themes, sometimes quoting from old
masters. Since childhood, he has enjoyed literature poetry, cinema, music politics sciences,
history and, lately, physics.
Edgardo’s children still reside in California.
Lorena, a pre-school teacher in Santa Barbara,
draws and paints in her free time. Rodrigo,
CdeP ’83 matriculated to Brown, then worked
Edgardo’s painting,
Economia de mercado
(Market Economy)
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 41
No Man Is an Island
Edgardo Catalan Recalls a Weekend Packing Trip from 30 Years Past
every man for himself.” Some Thacher
“ t’salumni
attending a School Reunion a few
I
years back say they heard that phrase during a horse-packing trip. I swear I never said
such a thing.
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 42
The Thacher News
the mountains of the Los Padres National Forest stretch towards the east and disappear
under some dark clouds. Patches of snow were
everywhere and the ground was soft, moist,
and slippery from the recent rains. We crossed
a creek and reached another narrow trail,
about 15 inches wide, that went down and
around the slope of a mountain towards a deep
canyon. It was dangerous, even under normal
weather conditions, cut on the side of the
mountain; the left-hand side was sheer straight
up, and the right went down via a steep cliff to
the bottom of a canyon. It was the infamous
Shell Cliff.
Let’s go back to the beginning when I came to
Thacher from a narrow country in the tip of
south America, having just married the most
beautiful girl in town. Horses were part of the
School’s important Camping Program. Horses
were not strange animals to me since I had
learned to ride before I learned to walk on a
farm in southern Chile. That is why I wasn’t
worried when a group of freshmen asked me to
take them on a three-day camping trip into the After about 200 yards, the slope was covered
with loose, white gravel—hence the name—
Topa Topa mountains in late January.
which made for very precarious terrain. Here
Flattered, I said yes. Little did I know that I was and there, a stubborn bush or small tree clung
their last choice. Everybody else on the facul- to the slope. It was getting dark very fast. The
ty had found an air-tight excuse to turn them kids were apprehensive. The thought of turndown. This group of four freshmen and one soph- ing back crossed my mind, but the School’s
omore was the most disorganized, helpless, motto, “The stamp of the School is the stamp
and incompetent lot in the Horse Program. of the man,” was pretty strong stuff. We would
be the laughing stock for generations to come
It was a gloomy, cold, windy, and heavily over- if we did return. I wouldn’t mind that, but it
cast morning when we assembled in front of would be tough on the kids.
the camping depot. We had had plenty of rain
the week before and my southern instinct was I decided to take the lead with one of the mules
telling me that more was on the way. Every- in case the trail gave way. I mumbled “Geronbody laughed when I asked the supply master imo” under my breath and pushed forward.
for a tent. Cowboys didn’t use tents. Still, I in- We were half way through the trail, and I
sisted and secured a large piece of black tarp to thought we were going to make it, when the
ground gave way just behind me. My horse
one of our two pack mules.
jumped forward, the rope slipped from my
After a final check, we said goodbye to a hand- hand and the mule I was pulling went down
ful of friends and curious onlookers. Nobody the cliff.
could have mistaken us for the Wild Bunch.
The “A” Camper led the way up the narrow In the moment of panic, everybody yelled. I
trail that twisted up the hill and bent on the looked back thinking that half the group had
side of the mountain on the edge of a deep gone down. A big chunk of the trail had colravine. During the first couple of hours every- lapsed, but the group—all shook up—was still
body was jolly, talking, singing, and telling there. Only my mule was missing. I looked
jokes, until, slowly everybody fell silent, lis- down the canyon. By some miracle, the fall of
tening to the huffing and puffing of the horses. the mule had been cut short by a scrubby little
tree about 50 feet from the trail. Caught beHalf way up the mountain, we took our first tween the branches, her four legs up in the air,
rest. The “A” Camper told me we had forgot- she was trying to free herself. I pulled out a
ten an important piece of equipment and asked large hunting knife, secured myself with a rope,
permission to return to School for it; “No need and slid down. There was a unanimous cry
to wait, I’ll catch up in a jiffy.” Two hours later from the wild bunch: “Please don’t kill her!”
when we reached the summit, the storm was (The only time I had tried to kill anything had
about to break. An icy cold wind had begun to been in that farm in Chile when I was asked to
blow and everybody, except for two boys, had kill a chicken by wringing his neck. I did such
on their ponchos. The “A” Camper hadn’t re- a lousy job that the poor thing wandered about
in a daze for days afterward, until he collapsed
turned yet; he never would.
and died of sheer exhaustion.) All I wanted
We pushed through some thick bushes and was to free the animal from the tangled harness
came to an opening from which we could see and pull her out of there before it was too
boys took the ends of it and shook it. The big
black thing flapped in the air loudly, scaring
the already nervous horses and mules, sending
them running every which way. One of the
mules ran up the canyon and got the packs all
tangled up in the bushes. The other jumped
back and fell flat on her back into the torrent,
With a stretch of the trail gone, the group was smashing the packs on the rocks. For a few
cut in two. Using Army shovels, we started seconds there was pandemonium. Looking at
working to build up the trail again. By the time the mess I thought, “What the heck am I doing
we finished, it had started drizzling and it was in this God-forsaken canyon?”
pretty dark. We repacked the mule any way
we could and kept going. We reached Dyna- By the time we got everything under control, it
mite Canyon, our first stop, about six in the had started to rain again. I thought we would
evening and set up camp in a narrow clearance never manage to get the mule out of the creek
by a small creek. Since there was not enough and pack everything in the damaged packs, but
room for the horses, we took them across the we did. I was finally trying to saddle the last horse
with numb fingers and feet because I’d given my
creek and tied them up.
poncho to one of the students. The kids pulling
Assignments for camp set-up were given to the the mules were already picking up the trail out
students, including digging a trench around the of the canyon. I thought I was the last one leavtent to prevent water from coming into our ing the camp when I heard, “Please don’t leave
sleeping ground. By the time camp was ready, my brother! He can’t get on his horse. Please
the rain was coming down heavily, and it was don’t leave him here.” The boy was too small,
pitch dark. We ate a warm meal, and crowded too tired, too cold, to get on his horse, but I knew
under the tarp, braced for a long cold, stormy if I got down from mine, I would never be able
night. With my saddle as a pillow, I fell asleep. to get back on it. That’s the moment when I supposedly yelled the infamous phrase, “It’s every
The rain on my face woke me up: the wind was man for himself!”
threatening to blow the tarp away and somebody cried, “There’s water in my sleeping The young, small brother moved his horse near
bag!” I turned on my flashlight to see two boys a rock so he could climb on it. The rest of the
sitting in a puddle, shivering and looking mis- group, in the meantime, had disappeared up
erable. The trench hadn’t been completed and the hill into the thick fog that now hung over
water was coming straight into their side of the the canyon. We moved fast to catch up with
tent. For the next five hours, we tried to sleep them on steep, narrow, slippery trail. We were
and keep dry by bailing water, but the rain, thun- finally coming out of the canyon when a horse
slipped on some wet rocks. I yelled for him to
der, and a roaring sound kept us awake.
jump. He leaped from the saddle and the horse
After what seemed an eternity, I got up at first slipped down the hill several feet, but free of
light to find a mess under the tarp. All the area rider, managed to hold on, climbed back to the
unprotected by the unfinished trench was a trail and ran away. The boy then rode on the
pool of water, mud, wet sleeping bags, and back of my horse; we reached the spine of the
shivering kids. The rain had subsided a bit and hill where lay the dreadful Shell Cliff again.
I told everybody to get dressed. The blasted We dismounted to let the horses rest and to
trip was over. We were going back to School tighten up the saddles. The packs on the mules
were getting loose and I prayed they would
no matter what. Everybody agreed.
hold until we crossed the Shell Cliff. I told the
The little creek was no more. It was now a kids to pull their horses, but I decided to stay
roaring torrent coming down the canyon and on mine. We began to cross. It had stopped
the source of the roar we had heard during the raining, but suddenly, a loud thunder clap
night. “Impossible to cross it, sir.” With ropes echoed through the mountains. My horse tried
tied around my waist, I began to cross the ice to climb the side of the mountain and I went
cold water with a current so strong I thought I the other way. My fall down the cliff was cut
would be swept away. The water came up short by some bushes I managed to hold on to
above my knees, but I managed to cross and a few feet down the trail. I couldn’t see what
began to pull the horses and mules across the was happening up there, but some pots and
creek. The water kept rising and by the time pans were clattering down the mountain.
When I managed to climb back to the trail, I
we finished, it came up to my waist.
saw the mules trampling on the packs. The
The camp was a mess. There would be no hot trail was in shambles. One horse was running
breakfast since the matches had been left out in with the saddle on his belly. I could see some
the rain. One student’s feet were so swollen he kids and horses in the distance. My own horse
couldn’t get his boots on. We hurried to pack was nowhere to be seen. By now the tattered
the mules before the rain started again. We packs were rolling down the cliff to the dispacked up the camp, but couldn’t feed the tant bottom of the canyon. I couldn’t care less.
horses because all the grain had been used the “To hell with it,” I thought and tried to catch
night before for two horses. The tarp was cav- up with the group. We crossed the Shell Cliff
ing in under the weight of a pool of water. Two and stopped on the other side to assess the
late—that was, if she didn’t have a broken
bone. With relief I noticed that, except for
some bloody cuts and bruises, she was otherwise unhurt, but terribly frightened. I cut her
loose and with the help of some of the kids
and lots of luck, hauled her out of there.
damage. My horse had been caught, but we
were missing the two mules and two other
horses. One boy had stayed on his, but had
been unable to control it and had galloped out
of sight.
Free of the mules, we moved fast getting to the
crest of The Ridge about two in the afternoon.
It had taken us six hours to get there. The rain
had stopped and among some low clouds, we
could see the Valley. We had almost made it.
Then I saw the boy whose horse had galloped
off. Half a mile down the trail, he was lying
face down on some flat rocks and was not
moving. I thought the worst. The kids started
yelling at him, and, to my relief, he got up and
waved at us. With a limp, he started hiking
down. His horse was gone.
We arrived at the School at about five in the afternoon. It was getting dark and the rain was
coming down heavily again. A pitiful sight: the
sorriest, most miserable looking bunch that
ever came back from a camping trip in the 80
years of the School’s history. Wet, dirty, muddy,
tired, ponchos in tatters, no hats, no mules, no
equipment, and two kids on foot. A group of
students and teachers, including the headmaster, had congregated at the camp supply store
to meet us. When we got there, a big cheer
went up in the air. For years it has reverberated
in my ears.
John Donne said that “no man is an island.” I,
myself, have never liked groups, associations,
fraternities, and the like. I get suspicious whenever I see more than two people getting together. With Mark Twain, I would say—but
for different reasons—that I’ll never join a club
that would have me for a member. Throughout
my life, I have been branded as an antisocial, a
loner, a misanthrope. But even now, I have to
recognize that man is a social animal, and that
most of the time, his subsistence, his wellbeing, and his fulfillment in life depends on
this.
No, it is not every man for himself. As one of
the members of the real Wild Bunch in the Sam
Peckinpah movie said, “We either hang together or we hang separate.” I hope the kids in
that trip learned that lesson.
A week after our return, Jug Reynolds and Jesse
Kahle, the two cowboys in charge of the Horse
Program, found the two mules and the two
horses in a valley five miles away. They also
went down the canyon at the Shell Cliff and
brought back the smashed packs and every piece
of equipment we had lost, down to the last spoon
and fork. It only added insult to injury. e
A Thacher
Pioneer
page 43
Class Notes
Class
Notes
by Cricket Twichell
1931
Sad news came from Bill Lisle: On November 7,
1999, Lambert “Larry” Hopkins, Jr., died. For
the past few years, he had been living with his
son, Lambert, CdeP ’60, in Eugene, OR.
1937
News from John Ferry: “Still keeping six sheep—
our last horse became like the Thacher symbol.
Paul Fay keeps us in touch with the survivors of
our class when we see him at our annual Naval
War College symposium in Newport”
We are sorry to report that Jon Frost’s wife Mary
died in October 1999. “I’m now living alone
(with help) in the same house on the ranch in
Colorado.”
1938
“I’m grateful for good health and a wonderful
family,” writes Duncan Patty. Last June all 23
members of his family (including 13 grandchildren) spent a week scuba diving, fishing and
snorkeling at Kona Village on the Big Island. In
1999 he also took a trip to Mainland China.
1940
REUNION YEAR
From Wheeler North: “I am retired and slowly
gathering moss.”
Bill Hufstader was reminiscing about Todd MacTodd (Norman Mackintosh Todd) and Crellin
Griffith and “some guy named Don Maron, CdeP
’38, who had a box of raisins grafted to his right
hand. They have all departed for that big corral in
the sky.”
Donald Allen is begging off his 60th Thacher reunion to attend his daughter’s wedding in Italy.
page 44
The Thacher News
Roderick Carpenter, CdeP ’47, outside his new studio
1943
“We’re staying home and getting ready to sell a
house that is too big for part-time residents,”
writes Roy Holland, who spent five months in
1999 riding the blue highways from Washington
state to Maine with SOWERS—a ministry of retired RVers who work at Bible camps.
1946
Anthony Arnold reports that his most unusual
visitor of last year was Leigh Cross, CdeP ’47,
who appeared on their doorstep for a quick bite
of lunch on his way south to Mexico for Christmas. He was accompanied by a charming lady,
Velma, and a large German Shepherd. Leigh is
presently transforming a building in an industrial
part of Vancouver, B.C., into living quarters.
Nicholas Cunningham just finished two decades
as head of outpatient pediatrics at Columbia University College of P.T.S. Seeing patients, doing research, starting programs, teaching child
development and abuse prevention, and consulting for George Soros’s Open Society Institute in
Eastern Europe fill his days when he’s not playing
squash, tennis, and chamber music, or tending to
wild grape vines, cutting trees, mowing lawns, or
reading Born to Rebel by Frank Galloway. We
feel fortunate to have heard from him at all.
Class Notes
1954
Cowboy poetry was the drawing card for Carol
and Bill Oxley, “Buckshot” Bill Crawford, and
Jim Griffith, CdeP ’53, when they met in Elko,
NV, to bask in poetry written by and for ranch
folks.
Retired, but not really, Brewster Knight is teaching part-time in the mathematics department of
George Washington University.
Janet and Dan Crotty keep busy on the JESUS
Film Development Board. This film portrays the
life of Jesus and has been seen by three-billion
people around the world, many of whom have
never seen a film before.
Cassandra and Rich Look, CdeP ’62
1947
Roderick Carpenter placed his shingle outside a
new studio in Amesbury, MA, last fall. As you
may recall from a previous issue of The Thacher
News, Rod is an art conservator who cleans and
repairs works of art and frames.
1948
Chris Boyle explored the down-under of Down
Under when he went SCUBA diving for 16 glorious days in Australia in October. Our condolences to Chris whose 94-year-old mother died
this past year.
Michael F. Dorst sees classmates Sam Wright,
Peter Dunne, Bill Bucklin, Sandy Walker, and Elliot Hayne from time to time in San Francisco.
1951
Their five children and seven grandchildren are
seeing a bit more of Nancy and Bill Cox now that
Bill has retired as pastor of the Christ Presbyterian church in Telluride, CO, and moved to nearby Santa Barbara.
1953
“Looks like I’ll have fun, fun, fun till Daddy takes
my T-Bird away,” says Jim Griffith, who is having
a good old time in his retirement, making a CD of
border corriolos (Mexican ballads) and writing
books on the traditional arts of Tucson’s Mexican-American community, another on the folk
saints of the US/Mexico borderlands, and a third
about the public religious art of the state of
Sonora, Mexico.
1958
South of the border is luring Alexandra and Mike
Ward, who have visited Mexico three times this
year in addition to taking a trip to Ecuador and
another foray to Chile.
Sheri and George Clyde, CdeP ’59
1960
Richard Walden is enjoying the good life these
days. His pecan business at Farmers Investment
Company is thriving; his daughter, Deborah, married a great guy in December; and his divorce finally went through after a 21⁄2-year struggle. Now
he’s found the love of his life in Nan Stockholm,
Stanford ’76, Stanford Law ’80, and a horse lover
to boot.
1959
From Harry Wyeth: “I took a shot at climbing
Mt. Aconcagua (6,964 meters) in Argentina in
January. It’s a huge, cold, and windy mountain. I
was in the 60-70% of those climbers who didn’t
make it, and was done in by a combination of altitude, 25-kg packs, cold, and wind. But I had a
great experience!”
From September through February, Sheri and
George Clyde were hanging out in Auckland,
New Zealand, where George worked as General
Counsel for America True, one of the boats that
competed for the coveted America’s Cup. George
was the rules guy: the person consulted on rules
issues. And, he was the protest guy: the one who
dealt with the protests that are infamous in the America’s Cup. “Being a part of this bizarre, high-tech,
and enormously expensive sport—and the international yachting scene that accompanies it—has
been quite a kick.”
Jim Acquistapace,
CdeP ’61
1963
Deanne and John Huyler went trekking in the
Atlas Mountains of Morocco after traveling in
Spain.
ganizations serving the sick and the poor such
as homes for the aged, AIDS hospice centers,
and free clinics serving poor neighborhoods
in large cities. In addition, Knights and
Dames of Malta from San Francisco and Los
Angeles enable over 100 critically ill men,
women, and children, known as Malades, from
the western United States to join thousands
of Knights and Malades from the rest of the
The Knights of Malta was founded as a re- Catholic world in making a religious pilgrimage
ligious order in 1099 to care for the pilgrims to Lourdes, France, each year. Membership
who became ill while traveling to the Holy is confined to practicing Roman Catholics.
Land. Over time it became a formidable military force defending western Christianity The world-wide order is ruled from Rome
against the followers of Islam. In the Great by a Grand Master and a Sovereign Council.
Siege of 1565 on the island of Malta, 900 Applicants must serve a probationary peKnights and 1000 soldiers delivered a crush- riod, make at least one pilgrimage to Louring defeat to 80,000 of the Sultan’s forces. des to care for the sick and poor who
accompany them, and be approved by their
Today the Order provides financial and vol- Bishop and the Sovereign Council. Conuntary help to many Roman Catholic or- gratulations, Peter.
If all goes according to plan, J. Peter Baumgartner, CdeP ’51 will be invested in the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John
of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta on
June 23 in Los Angeles. Presiding over the
ceremony will be Archbishop Cardinal
Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles and Archbishop William Leveda of San Francisco.
page 45
Class Notes
1964
CFO-for-hire Kip Witter is working in Silicon Valley with The Brenner Group.
Jim Preston and his family spent a wonderful holiday in Cancun, where they went snorkeling and
did some sight-seeing and lots of relaxing. According to their Christmas letter, another highlight was their trip to Ojai for Jim’s 35th reunion:
“For Jim, the pleasure of seeing classmates again
was a treat beyond words.” Their daughter
Kayla, a 7th grader, is doing some competitive
skating, taking piano lessons, and has a very active social and telephone life.”
Jesse and Rachel Rhodes, kids of Joni and Ted
Rhodes, CdeP ’65
Mo, Whitney, and Nori Livermore III, CdeP ’66
Hill, CdeP ’66, Peiper, Laurel ’01, and Bettie
Hastings and the Sundance Gang
page 46
The Thacher News
At Pedernales Village
by Bob Isaacson, CdeP ’66
Near Point Arguello,
below the domed sage hill,
we park our cars at Pedernales,
on the windy Sudden Flats
where sixty to eighty Chumash
lived for thousands of years,
the place where Portola’s men
found flints
for their black-powder muskets
in the outcroppings along
a crumbling sea cliff
We gaze to the southeast:
a gray-white watercolor fog sweeps
the low mound of Point Conception,
the long hills and mesas summer-dry,
bright, weirdly yellow,
framing the dark sea,
whale path and white cap,
cliff-tearing, deep indigo.
On the village terraces
wild oat, rip-gut brome,
milk thistle, datura
conceal the ancient paths
between huts, meeting place,
fire pit, and grinding stone.
We walk gingerly,
but only to cluster cautiously
around our parked cars:
below the tall, wind-thrown grasses,
Rattlesnake now warms
his liquid, dark skin
among the rounded
half-buried pestles,
the hand-curved fragments
of shattered, empty hoyas,
the smooth stones
of ancient fire rings
that held nighttime heat.
1965
REUNION YEAR
Stephen Gardner’s son, Stephen, Jr., is ensconced
in “Make Way for Ducklings” territory now that
he is a student at Harvard University.
It’s been a long, up-hill battle, but the Citizens
for the Carpinteria Bluffs, under the aegis of president Ted Rhodes, has successfully raised the $4.5
million necessary to insure this special coastal
land—“82 acres of sweetly undeveloped land offering unobstructed vistas of the mountains and
the sea”—will be preserved forever as a passive
nature preserve. Ted quipped, “I was on top of a
wild elephant. My job was to make sure it was
charging in the right direction.” This meant quitting his day job and spending an entire year leading the fund-raising effort.
1966
Slovakia’s Peace Corps Country Director is
Nelson Chase, who, prior to this assignment, was
Peace Corps Country Director in Moldova (199496) and Albania (1996-97). “We anticipate moving back to the USA in 2000.”
1967
Karl Kroeber, the new Executive Director of the
Sierra Madre Foundation, has two boys in college—Gavin in his last year at Reed and Logan in
his first years at Sonoma State.
Bob, CdeP ’67, Ali, Matt, and Nick Johnson
1968
The traveling Jordans have pulled up stakes once
more and after “living around” the state of California have returned to the southland, where
Alexandra is studying Industrial Design at CSU
Long Beach and Peter Jordan is working from
their home in Long Beach. “Come see us.”
Class Notes
Hailey, Trevor,
and Henry
Harmon,
children of
Kimberley and
Mark, CdeP ’73
Claire ’02 and
Lucy ’00, daughters
of Gretchen and
Marshall Milligan
CdeP ’69
1969
For four years, Jim Munger has been the numero
uno at the Dunn School and keeps in touch with
Thacher through the Condor League.
Jutta and Andi Rossman with their four kinder
came all the way from Germany to visit the
Huylers in the summer of 1999. “Andy was our
AFS son in 1968-69,” writes Jack Huyler. “He and
Jutta came to us for their honeymoon, and most of
our family have visited them more than once.”
From Scott Kennedy: “After 31 years of careful
evaluation, I have given the OK for a first baby.”
Stay tuned for the next episode.
The Hastings
Family—Newlin,
CdeP ’70, Liz,
Shannon, CdeP
’99, and Jamie
’02—waiting for
snow in Taos,
New Mexico
Paul, CdeP ’71, Kimberleigh, Claude, and Chloe
Gavin
1972
Dodie and Bill Dawson
plus their two boys are
coping with a major
home renovation that
has meant “moving into
the Marin County
equivalent of married
student housing” while
the contractors work
their magic on the Dawsons’ digs. The whole
family took off for Bora
Bora to celebrate Dodie Wils and Parker Dawand Bill’s 10th wedding son, sons of Dodie and
Bill Dawson, CdeP ’72
anniversary.
“My research has been published in the U.S.G.S.
Bulletin on local geology (20 page manuscript
with map) and I’m willing to share it with interested Thacher students,” writes Art Wahl. His wife
of seven years, Diane, spends her time chasing
two-month old Derek and two-year-old AJ when
she’s not working as a geologist for the County
of Ventura. Art builds “ultra-custom” homes in
Santa Barbara.
Rod Turner,
CdeP ’70, and
family
Thacher and baseball. Fathers and sons. The tradition continues when John Busterud and his
Kentfield neighbor, classmate, teammate on
Thacher’s 1972 CIF tournament baseball team,
Bill Dawson coach their sons Tommy Busterud
and Wills Dawson in Ross Valley Little league.
John is an attorney for Pacific Gas and Electric
company where he supervises the corporate and
environmental section of the Law Department.
He also continues to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve, where he is a Major in the Army’s Special
Operations command. Tommy also has a sister,
Becky, who is now 11.
Sam, Louisa, and Tom, children of Annie and
Harry Hanson, CdeP ’74, at Walden Pond
Bryan, CdeP
’74, Louise,
Maggie, and
Annie Beckham
1973
Boun Ly and those ladies in his life are keeping
busy. Alicia (7) is a tennis player, Megan (9) is a
competitive figure skater; Suzanne is taking a sabbatical from college teaching to do work on research and curriculum development; Boun works
for State Farm and in his free time runs, and plays
tennis and basketball. This past year Boun took a
trip to Paris to be with his father; the whole family went to Hawaii for a week and the “girls” enjoyed the Cascade Mountains.
Jacquie, Charlie, and Winston Neville, children of
Jeanne and Steven, CdeP ’74
Philip Angelides, CdeP ’70, and family
page 47
Class Notes
Roberta and
Noah Rifkins,
CdeP ’75
Catherine and Rachel, daughters of Nancy and
Robert Rex, CdeP ’74
1975
REUNION YEAR
While in San Francisco on business recently, Liz
Westbrook Hydes (Emma Willard ’75) stayed
with Jen and Carmaig de Forest. “We had a mini
25th Reunion with a few classmates (Noah
Rifkin, Joe Dignan, and Carmaig) on St. Patty’s
Day at the Beach Chalet. Liz also reconnected
with Tim Bowman, CdeP ’77 while on business in
Salt Lake City. “We went for a 5.5-hour crosscountry ski trip on April Fool’s Day.”
1976
Ned, CdeP ’74, Laura,
and Schemmy Banning
Lieutenant Colonel Steve Batts has returned from
Buenos Aires, where he completed The National
War College of Argentina (taught in Spanish). His
wife Moteshia and their daughters Marlena (12)
and Marion (9) traveled to Buenos Aires to visit
Steve and came back with wonderful stories of
life below the Equator. Steve is now Stateside at
Moody Air force Base in Valdosta, Georgia.
Congratulations to Barry Kaye, who married
Laurel Robinson in Telluride, CO, last November.
Caitlin, Molly, and
Carey, kids of
Michele and Will
Wyman, CdeP ’78
1977
New house, new job, new puppy. “Life has just
been getting better and better!” writes Peter
Downey, Financial Policy Manager for the Washington State Department of Transportation.
1978
It was wonderful to see
Ken Everett charging
down the Thacher lacrosse field just like old
times (well, almost like
old times) when the
alumni played the Varsity Lacrosse team in
January. Ken’s son Jaime
Everett is a sophomore at
Thacher this year. Ken
was itching to play Ken Everett, CdeP ’78
against his son’s team
and survive; he did.
Annie and Charlie, kids
of Susan and Scott
LeFevre, CdeP ’75
Alexandra and Katherine, daughters of Sophie and
Kendric Foultz, CdeP ’77
Harry IV and
Donald, sons of
Brooke and Peter
Conkey, CdeP ’79
Robert and Will, sons
of Vickie and Carl
Costigan, CdeP ’77
1979
Noah Rifkin, CdeP ’75, Joe Dignan, CdeP ’75, Liz
Westbrook Hydes ’75, and Carmaig de Forest,
CdeP ’75, at The Beach Chalet, San Francisco.
While reading an article in the San Diego Tribune, we learned that Itsushi Wakabayashi is living just north of Rancho Bernardo. Itsushi and
his wife Masako have two boys, Ken (3) and
James (1).
J.E.B. Pickett was best man for Larkin BertramCox when he married Amy Forest on October
29, 1999, at Mauna Lani on the Big Island of
Hawaii. Congratulations to Larkin and his ladylove.
Liz Westbrook
Hydes ’75 and Tim
Bowman, CdeP ’77
page 48
The Thacher News
Ally, daughter of Angie
and Murray Orrick,
CdeP ’77
Adriana Schwartz, Mollie and Cabot Brown
caught up with Diane Downey over dinner in
San Francisco. Diane’s older daughter Courtney is
matriculating to Brown this fall.
Class Notes
Carmen Marysue
Pratt, daughter of
Sydney Robertson,
CdeP ’80, and
George Pratt
1980
REUNION YEAR
All the way from Bejing, an e-mail message came
to Thacher on January 4, 2000 announcing that
Sydney Robertson had given birth to Carmen
Marysue Pratt. All their friends at Thacher are
feeling bereft since they’re missing out on seeing
little Carmen in action. Sydney and her husband
George Pratt are spending the year in China
where George is teaching English with the School
Year Abroad Program and Sydney is doing college
counseling and snuggling with Carmen. Carmen
will be multi-lingual early on as the RobertsonPratt family will be stationed at SYA in Rennes,
France, starting in the fall.
John, Gus, and Eve Stacey, CdeP ’83
Leigh and Katharine, daughters of Rob Thomas
and Belinda Hanson, CdeP ’82
Baby Robert, son of Don
and Marian Schinske,
CdeP ’82
1982
Hannah, Liam, and Sarah, children of Anthony
and Mary Everett Bourkes, CdeP ’81
1981
This summer watch for a CBS series called “Survivor.” Mike Sears, who has been commuting to
Borneo, is shooting and directing 13 one-hour
Survivor shows.
With his five-month tour in Bosnia finished, Ken
Chance writes, “We’re moving to Baumholder,
Germany, right near the French border; so if
you’re looking to hit both France and Germany,
our place makes for a great way-station!”
From Mike Voevodsky: “Big year for the Voevodsky family—Mia turned 3, Paule turned 5,
Therese started both an Internet company and a
private consulting practice, and Mike completed
his first 1⁄2 Ironman in 5:38.31 with virtually no
training given the entire family’s busy schedules.
E-mail us at voevodsky@dnx.net.”
Twichell male bonding—Jon ’83, Cameron, and
Terry
More Moores: Erica Fiedler Moore and Sam
Moore’s ’79 new baby, Kendrick Clifford Leader
Moore, was born in August, 1999, and is little
brother to Richard Moore.
And more Nikitopouloses: Alison Terbell Nikitopoulos gave birth to Anthony in February 1999.
Vaki, his big bro, is four years old. Alison, who is
teaching music appreciation and music history
part-time at Louisana State University, considers
herself “blessed to have found an ideal balance
between working and mothering.”
Alex, CdeP ’81, and
Katie Ballon Calhoun, CdeP ’83
At the end of November, Christy, MacGregor,
and Brad Yates welcomed the newest member to
their family, a beautiful girl named Bailey Brophy Yates. They returned to northern California
where Brad continues his practice as a personal
coach and hypnotherapist.
Christine,
Kiki, Lara,
and Jake
Cunningham,
CdeP ’83
Anthony Aristides and Evangelos “Vaki”
Nikitopoulos, sons of Alison Terbell, CdeP ’82
page 49
Class Notes
1985
REUNION YEAR
Hina and Manish Bhakta are looking forward to
the—gulp!—15th Reunion in June. Their son
Tern was born in April, 1999.
Sophie Brown Twichell took a business trip to
Peru in March; and it looks as if she’ll be returning to South America in April, all part and parcel
of her job with the Field Museum in Chicago. Sophie, Jon, and Cameron will be in the Ojai for
the Reunion in June.
Camelia and Violet, daughters of Caroline and
Bruce Somers, CdeP ’83
Vicki Nesbitt Palor, CdeP ’84, and family
1983
Ellen Loebl, who lives in Palo Alto, is making a
difference in people’s lives. She’s teaching adults in
recovery and alternative sentencing programs
how to read as part of the Santa Clara County Library Reading program. In her free time, she goes
hiking, rides her bike, and goes to Giants games.
Teresa, Thomas, and Ed Sanchez have returned to
Reno by way of St. Louis, MO, and Charlotte,
NC. Ed is responsible for the training and development of Bank of America’s retail brokerage
unit in the western United States; Thomas is doing
the WEBELOS, soccer, baseball thing; and Teresa
is exercising her green thumb and assisting in
Thomas’s classroom.
1984
If you happen to have a copy of the 1999-2000
California Association of Independent Schools
Directory, Elise Edwards Ruiz-Ramon’s son is
smack dab on the front cover. “He’s the young
boy being read to by the older girl. At the time, he
was in Kindergarten and she was his ‘eighth grade
buddy’ at Sonoma Country Day School in Santa
Rosa.”
“All is going great for us!” wrote Vicki Nesbitt
Palor, who is keeping busy with their three children. She also finds time to serve as Treasurer for
the East Las Vegas Mothers of Multiples Club.
Her e-mail address is lvpalor@hotmail.com.
Dilys Bart saw his way clear of San Francisco to
attend this year’s Academy Awards. He has a private ophthalmology practice.
Even a Florida hurricane couldn’t keep Michelle
Warren from attending Sarah Peapples’ wedding
in Boulder, CO—well, not exactly. She did miss
the wedding but arrived in time for the reception
that was “beautiful and snowy.” Sarah Konrad,
Stephania Serena, and Betsy McAtee, CdeP ’81,
were also there when Sarah and Vahe Derounian
joined forces.
“I took a year off from teaching to build my own
house,” wrote Eric Gross last fall. He is serving
on the Steering Committee of the Resource Center for Non Violence in Santa Cruz, CA, but
found time to travel to China last November.
Santiago, Chile, is the present stomping ground
for Pancho (Francis) Barassi, his wife Anamaria
Orellana, and their two sons: Sebastian (3) and
Francis (2). They expect to be there three years
while he works for Xerox. Brother Ted Barassi is
married to Christine Kim and is just starting a
new e-business: Phlair.com.
Diogba Erick G’bye and his wife are expecting
their second child in mid-October. They bought a
new home in Aliso Viejo in Orange County. He’s
currently working for Federated Mutual Insurance as a Marketing Representative.
Elizabeth Chiu Gould and her husband Peter
are the proud parents of Nicholas Harrison, who
was born on December 28, 1999. She is on leave
from her investment banking career and thoroughly enjoys motherhood.
Bride Sarah Peapples, CdeP ’85, with Michelle
Peter Cole recently sculpted and co-authored a Warren, CdeP ’85, Stephanie Serena, CdeP ’85,
book on snowmen for Chronicle Books. Come
July, Peter will spend time with his sweetheart in
Vienna and in Kiel, Germany, to set up an art installation about travels to Guyana, South America.
and Sara Kendras, CdeP ’85
Liam Kirkpatrick, son of Carolyn Reed, CdeP ’86,
and Doug Kirkpatrick, CdeP ’86, in London
Bobby and Liz Huntington, CdeP ’84
Jordan Perry, daughter
of Molly, CdeP ’85,
and Derick, CdeP ’83
Julie Huntington dePolo, CdeP ’86, with husband
Dan and daughter Sydney
David and Lukas, sons
of Amanda and David
Chao, CdeP ’84
page 50
The Thacher News
Devon Speer Eastman,
daughter of Alexandra
Wyle, CdeP ’86
Tom, CdeP
’87, and
RJ Thacher
1986
“Carolyn and I are planning the wedding,” writes
Alex Wyle Eastman after their daughter Devon
was introduced to that dashing Liam Kirkpatrick,
son of Doug and Carolyn Kirkpatrick.
Paul Bressie proposed to Claudia Goria while
perched on the top of a mountain at Squaw Valley. They were married in a small village in the
north of Italy where “the procession wound
through town with the bride and groom in a
horse-drawn carriage tossing traditional candied
almonds to the children.” Now Paul and the Mrs.
are ensconced in San Francisco where he is establishing his company called Boulevard Investments.
PC Magazine knows a good Toad when seeing
one. It just awarded its coveted Editor’s Choice
Award to David Richardson and his web company, Zkey.com.
Nancy Nichols hiked around Italy, starting in
Zurich to Pompeii and back. Then she zipped off
to San Jose de Cabo and to Guatemala. When
she’s not enlightening her high school freshman
with tales of her adventures, Nancy is working
towards her M.A. in Colonial American History
and running 30 miles a week.
Rebecca Clyde Tenant is juggling her residency
in family practice at U.C.S.F., motherhood (Joey
is now 3) and domestic engineering (settling into
their new home in Berkeley). Husband J.P. is
studying at U.C.’s Haas Business School.
Kate Twichell is putting finishing touches on her
Master’s thesis while running training programs
at Mypoints.com in San Francisco.
Dan and Julie Huntington dePolo pulled up
stakes in Portland, OR, and moved to the Napa
Valley where Dan is working for Beringer Wine
Estates while Julie is settling into their new home
and riding herd on little Sydney (16 months).
“Please call (707-226-7586)—we have plenty of
room, and of course, plenty of that Napa Valley
nectar to share!”
Stephen Kong is working with his brother
Michael, CdeP ’83, on magazines in L.A. and
Chicago: Angelino and Chicago Social, respec-
tively.
1987
Jennifer and David Bressie have been married five
years, have one child, and have “zero home,” at
the moment. They’ve become vagabonds while
their house is being renovated and enlarged in
preparation for the arrival of another little
Bressie. David, with his Real Estate Brokers License in hand, has been running things at Intereal, a real estate company in the Bay Area.
Michele Barnett joined the East Coast contingents when she moved to Annapolis this year. She
sees Ami Becker, CdeP ’86 quite often, but looks
forward to meeting other Eastern Toads. Planning her wedding for September and making business trips to San Francisco every month or so
occupies the majority of her free time.
REUNION YEAR
After graduating from Scripps in 1994, Sadie
Harrison-Fincher lived in L.A. for a year and then
returned to Texas, where she ran the Hallmark division of a family business. Highlights since then
include marrying a Texan, remodeling an old
house, and making plans to start law school in the
fall of 2000. “I often wonder where all my old
friends are and what they are doing. Please contact me at sadiefincher@yahoo.com.”
Class Notes
1990
In June 2000, Jonathan Feldman is due to complete his Masters in Middle Eastern Studies at
Princeton. What’s next? A Ph.D. in Art History.
In June 1999, Oak Strawbridge became a married man when he said “I do” to Susan Buck. His
next monumental event is graduating from
Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business
this spring.
Alexa Wilson married John Maley last December
4. They are “torturing as many cows as possible” on her folks’ cattle ranch, and tending to
“six horses, two cow dogs, a passel of aloof barn
cats, and one cranky green parakeet.”
Jordana Munk is working toward a Master’s of
Fine Arts at the Rhode Island School of Design,
where she will be joined by her fellow classmate
Amy Bird this coming fall. She is engaged to Ross
Martin, whom she met at Brandeis University,
and plans to marry this coming November.
1988
Big year for Cindy Castañeda: After her husband,
David Fanning, completed his Ph.D. in physics
from the University of Illinois, he accepted a job
as Senior Research Scientist at TriQuint Semiconductors in Dallas, TX. Cindy is now busy fixing up their new home in Texas, and is getting
used to being a full-time mom. As of May 23,
Daniel Declan Fanning is keeping his folks up at
night. Send your congrats to them via e-mail at
thacheralum@hotmail.com.
Eric Anderson left Seattle to attend his sister’s
graduation from Harvard. Then he kept travelling
eastward to England where he delivered a talk at
Oxford’s Statistics Department. “Taking an academic leave of absence to escape the Seattle winter (and spend the months in the mountains of
CA!).”
C.P.A. David Callaghan has been commuting
from L.A. to N.Y. as a litigation consultant with
Ernst and Young. Home Sweet Home is in El Segundo.
1991
After eight years of undergrad and graduate
school, Dan Callaghan graduated last May from
Case Western Dental School. With California
doing its magnet thing, Dan was drawn to Cedar
Sinai in Beverly Hills for his residency.
1992
“I like living in Oakland and have become a huge
Oakland A’s fan,” writes Jessica Bliss, who is fund
raising for a private high school in San Francisco.
What a year for Anne Berube Gard. Right after
her marriage to Steve Gard, she began teaching
kindergarten at Monica Ros School (right down
the hill from Thacher on McNell Road). After
school she dashes off to take courses at Cal State
Channel Islands where she’s in a credentialing
program. As if that’s not enough on her plate,
they recently moved to the East End within walking distance of her job. A good move for Steve
as well since he’s teaching at Ojai’s Matilija Junior
High. Their new address: 3350 Thacher Road,
Ojai 93023.
Kendra Schmidt has a to-die-for job which requires her to travel to Italy and France several
times a year to check out potential villas and castles for a vacation rental business. Blossom Beatty
was able to join her in France when one of
Kendra’s trips coincided with Blossom’s vacation
from teaching high school English in Los Angeles.
page 51
Class Notes
1995
REUNION YEAR
Between classes at Hanover, med. school applications, and thesis writing, Kacey Perkins found
time to send a photo of gathered Toads to Brian
Driscoll in the Alumni Office.
James, CdeP
’98, and Jennifer ’01 Bowie
1998
An assistant teacher in a freshman seminar class
at M.I.T., Casey Muller, according to his mother,
“lives in a co-op dorm whose members maintain
their ramshackle old house, clean, and cook.”
Anne Berube, CdeP ’92, and Steve Gard
1993
Allison Glass is a marine naturalist guide for
whale watching trips out of Gloucester, MA.
“I particularly enjoyed coaching against Bo Manson last year, “ writes Jesse Wooten, who is teaching social studies and coaching lacrosse at Dunn
Middle School. Jesse reports that Jay Gudebski is
living in Oakland and running a landscaping
company with his brother, Jordan Gudebski,
CdeP ’90.
Having finished her student teaching and about to
finish her Masters, Laura Wentworth is now
teaching second and third grade in a job-share
program. “This school is two blocks from my
house so I am very excited.”
Gerin River worked for Americorps and America’s Promise in Madison, WI, after graduating
from Brown University. Now he’s off to spend
two years with the Peace Corps in Panama, where
little guys will be learning science under Gerin’s
tutelage.
Kerryn Sanan is still singing in New York City. If
passing through NYC, drop her an e-mail at
KJSsing@aol.com. She and Dee Donahue are
heading to Oregon for Helen Homes’ wedding in
June.
Kacey Perkins, CdeP ’95, Emily Wilson, CdeP ’95,
Betsey Greennay, CdeP ’97, Sarah Perkins, CdeP
’97, Jamie Hastings ’02, Graham Donath, CdeP
’97, Newie Hastings, CdeP ’70, Shannon Hastings,
CdeP ’99, Kim Turner, CdeP ’98, Katie Kochandorfer, CdeP ’97
1996
Brooke MacDonald, Aurige Bork, Catherine
Pinkerton, Laurel Braitman, Leyla Abou-Samra,
Quinn Kanaly, Maria Banman, and Stefanie Warren celebrated Mardi Gras in the Big Easy with
David Ross. “Ask Pinky about the light pole.”
Even at Duke, Ashley Wick can’t escape her father’s uncontrollable screaming during her
lacrosse games.
1999
This past fall, Erin Campbell left Waterville, ME,
to spend a semester in Salamanca, Spain, where
she brushed up her Spanish. “I am thinking of
majoring in philosophy and environmental policy.”
From Tim Johnson in Hanover, NH: “Dartmouth
is great, but I still miss everyone.”
Nathan Holmes is currently in the process of
getting the city of Davis to finance a monument to
ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. “Funds are low,
so send money!”
1997
Chris Labbe reports that all is well at Montana
State University, where he is a sophomore.
Natural builder and traveler Kenn Young thinks
that a straw-bale guest house would be ideal for
Thacher.
Bobby ’02, Cynthia ’99, and Jaime ’97 Kellogg
1994
Meredith Bressie is due to graduate this spring
from Cal Poly with a degree in architecture. She’s
been on the Dean’s List and was an intern with
the Arthur Gensler firm this past summer.
Rita Howe and Nate Toll are busy planning a
June wedding in Ojai. They spent time with
Devon Brown in Lake Tahoe recently; Devon
lives in Seattle now.
Philipe Manoux is working as a product designer
for a privately held medical equipment manufacturer in the New York Hudson Valley.
Along with Caitlin Crounse, CdeP ’95, and
Quinn Kanaly, CdeP ’96, Brian Bennett will
graduate from Princeton this spring. In July, he’ll
leave for Hong Kong, where he’ll work for
TIME Magazine’s Asia bureau and start his career in journalism.
page 52
The Thacher News
Seth ’00, Josh ’94, and Ryan ’97 Kurlinski
Ashley, CdeP ’98, and Ian Wick
Class Notes
FORMER FACULTY NEWS
On December 27 C. Michael Ehrhardt passed
away in Georgia, where his entire family had
gathered to celebrate Christmas with him.
Michael had been a music teacher at Thacher for
31 years (1946-77). A talented musician, a fine
teacher, an excellent role model for generations of
Thacher students, he left his mark on the Thacher
community.
Roger and Barbara Marvin Nozaki added one
more little guy to their family line-up when Jacob
was born on September 26, 1999. Now living in
Fairfield, CT, Barb has put her teaching talents
on hold to be a full-time mother for Jacob and his
big bro Samuel (2).
Jenn and John Friborg have a new “star” in their
home, little Samantha Taylor Friborg, who made
her appearance this winter in Concord, MA.
Samuel and Jacob Nozaki, sons of Barbara and
Roger
uke Kai Lin has a new baby brother, Noa, who
arrived this winter. John Lin is still Assistant Head
of the Middlesex School in Concord, MA, while
Marilee runs herd over the boys.
John and Jenn Friborg with Samantha
Noa and big brother Luke, sons of John and
Marilee Lin
page 53
Obituaries
Obituaries
Obits
Colin Gillespie Jameson, CdeP ’25, passed
away on Saturday, February 5, 2000. Born in
Winnetka, Illinois, and
raised in Santa Barbara, CA, Colin arrived
at Thacher in 1923.
According to the 1925
El Archivero, “When
great clouds of smoke and evil smelling gases
roll out of the doors and windows of the laboratory and huge pots of bubbling liquid are
borne outdoors, you can be pretty sure Jameson is making up a few chemistry experiments.
His researches with [Paul] Harwood in the lab
are either going to blow the place up or make
them both famous.” Colin was an Honor man,
went on to win top commendations in Chemistry, as well as German and U.S. History, and
spent his non-academic time working on “The
Notes” and the El Archivero Board, as manager of the Track Team, and in the Drama and
Glee Clubs.
Colin matriculated at Williams College and
then to Harvard Law School. He began a first
career with a New York City law firm, then
happily became a copywriter for J. Walter
Thompson in Chicago. After many years at
that advertising agency, he pursued his shortstory writing career. His stint in the U.S. Navy
Intelligence Department in Washington, D.C.,
during World War II spawned his science fiction story that focused on the premise of the
Chinese developing an atomic bomb. After that
story was published, the F.B.I. discovered that
Colin had, indeed, guessed correctly. His book,
I Do Not Own a Pornograph, Fiction and Fantasy, a collection of his short stories, was published in 1967.
Colin and his wife, Nancy, were married in
Washington, D.C. more than 25 years ago and
made their home in Key West. He operated a
boat sales, maintenance, and service business
on Stock Island during the late 1950s. Colin
was active in the Key West Humane Society,
Friends of the Library, and the Key West Art
and Historical Society, where he served as
treasurer for many years, and the Old Island
Restoration Foundation. He was also recording secretary of Arcturus, a Key West men’s
group.
Colin is survived by his wife Nancy of Key
West; his brother, Owen, of San Francisco; a
son Colin, Jr., of Alturas, CA; a daughter Adair
Jameson of Townshend, VT; and grandchilpage 54
The Thacher News
doctorate. He served in the Navy as a Lieutenant before finishing his medical training;
eight months at Yale working with Drs.
Gazelle and Amuda; residency in pediatric surgery at Children’s Hospital in Boston; research
Lambert Arundel Hopkins, CdeP ’31, died No- in cardiac therapy; and further surgical training
at Peter Brigham Hospital in Boston. He then
vember 7, 1999. His senreturned to the West Coast to set up his pracior page in the 1931 El
tice, and worked at Children’s Hospital in Los
Archivero, quotes GoldAngeles, Pasadena Huntington Medical Center,
smith: “with meek and
and St. Luke’s Hospital.
unaffected grace. His
looks adorned the venerBeing a great horseman, Bud was a member
able place.” To sum up
of the El Rancheros, and rode throughout
Lambert’s two years
Santa Barbara County with that group until
here: He was Captain of
just a few years ago. He loved his days at
the Second Baseball
Team during his junior year, and played on the Thacher and spoke highly of his two years in
First Baseball Team in his senior year. Other The Ojai throughout his life.
sports-oriented pursuits included track, tennis,
soccer, and the Bit and Spur Team; he was also Bud is survived by his wife Gloria Taylor,
a member of the Cabinet, “The Notes” and El whom he married in 1947. They had five chilArchivero Board, Honor Man, Indoor Com- dren: Theodore, Ann, Irving III, Claire, and
mittee, and Big Tournament Committee mem- Jane (who died in 1980); they also have ten
grandchildren and one great grandson. The
ber, and Prefect.
family home is in Pasadena, where his widow
Lambert matriculated at Williams, where he still resides.
earned a Bachelor of Arts degree; he later
earned a Masters in Business Administration Charles Carey Donworth,
from Stanford. For many years he was in the CdeP ’42, died of cancer at
Army or working for the Department of the his Seattle home on NovemArmy as a civilian, and he spent a number of ber 30, 1999. Arriving at
years in Athens. He spent his retirement in We- Thacher from Seattle, Carey
ston, Connecticut. He is survived by his wife, spent two years here and beMajorie; a son, Lambert, CdeP ‘60, and a came known as a “dynamic
daughter, Constance; and several grandchil- fellow with a rare ability of excelling in both
athletics and studies and at the same time helpdren.
ing in every way he can the School he loves.
Irving Avard “Bud” Meeker, Jr., M.D., CdeP Fairness and wit are two of Charlie’s out’36, passed away on standing attributes, and it is no wonder that
February 12, 2000. he is so popular; he is also continually steady
Although he spent and dependable.” During his junior year, he
only two years at played Second Team soccer, basketball, and
Thacher, Bud was en- baseball, but progressed to First Team in all of
deared to his class- these as well as track in his senior year. He
mates as a result of his managed “The Notes” in a “business-like
“sparkling humor and way,” served on the Cabinet, Outdoor and
feigned cynicism,” ac- Ojai Tennis Tournament Committees, and was
cording to the 1936 El a Prefect both years.
Archivero. “He was a
hard worker and, by virtue of this peculiar- Following Thacher, Carey earned a Bachelor
ity,” he served on the boards of both “The of Science degree in Industrial Administration
Notes” and El Archivero. He also played on at Yale. He became a self-employed management
the Second Soccer team, captained the Second consultant and labor negotiator for Personnel
Baseball team, and established himself as a Strategies in Seattle. He was credited as being
a key player in creating and leading metro, the
miler on the Track team.
agency that cleaned up Lake Washington. “He
Bud matriculated at Princeton for his bache- was one of the key people in this community in
lor’s degree and then to Columbia Pediatric the last half-century,” said Jim Ellis, who also
Medical School, where he received his medical was a member of the group that worked to credren and great-grandchildren. Reportedly,
Colin’s final parting words were: “Ave atque
vale: Veni, vidi sed nihilum vici”: Hail and
farewell! I came, I saw, I conquered nothing.”
Carey is survived by his wife Martha “Marty”
Lemming Donworth; three children: James,
Elizabeth “Betsy”, and Cynthia “Cindy”; and
six grandchildren.
Peter Morrison, CdeP ’44,
died at his home in San
Rafael, CA, on December
12, 1999. He was the son
of the late Stanley Morrison, professor at Stanford
Law School, and Carroll
Morrison of San Francisco.
He attended Thacher for
three years and earned a reputation for “his
quickness of mind that won him many arguments.” He served as the captain of the Tennis
team in his senior year and was one of the Top
Ten Tennis Players during both of his upper
school years. He participated in the Outdoor and
Parlor Committees, Second Soccer team, National Rifle Association, and was the Associate
Editor of “The Notes.”
Following Thacher, he served in the Navy during World War II, before receiving a Bachelor
of Arts degree from Yale University in 1950,
and a Bachelor of Law degree from Stanford
University in 1953. He retired from Salomon
Smith Barney. He was a stamp collector and
an avid railroad enthusiast throughout his
years at Thacher and beyond.
Peter is survived by his wife, Susanne; his brother
Stephen, CdeP ’41; his children, Stanley, CdeP
’76, Elizabeth Wessel, Stephen, and Madeleine
Morrison Young; and three grandchildren. A
memorial service was held on Friday, December 17, 1999, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin Church in San Rafael.
David Lightfoot Milbank, CdeP ’47, died in
the company of his family on March 2, 2000,
at his home in Sandy, Utah. He was born February 22, 1930 in Vancouver, B.C. to Mary
and Robbins Milbank of New Hampshire and
California.
In his two years at Thacher, Dave established
himself as an ardent camper and excellent
horseman, passions that continued throughout
his life. “Very quiet and conscientious in his
schoolwork,” according to the 1947 El
Archivero, “he achieved the ‘All Privileges List
many times, and became one of the top students in his class. Dave matriculated at Princeton and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He then earned his
Master’s degree in International Relations at
Johns Hopkins University in 1966. He was a
Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1974 and was
honored by the Industrial College of the Armed
Forces as the top civilian graduate in 1982.
page 55 Fall 1999 / Winter 2000
From 1951 to 1957, Dave was on active duty
in enlisted and commissioned service in the
U.S. Army Infantry and was a veteran of the
Korean War. In 1957, he transferred to military
intelligence in the active reserve from which
he retired as Lieutenant Colonel in 1982. From
1957 until his retirement in 1985, he worked
for the C.I.A. in the Directorate of Plans, the
Directorate of Operations, the Office of National Estimates, the Directorate of Intelligence, and the Intelligence Community Staff.
While working for the C.I.A. and later for various private defense contractors, he published
several articles on international terrorism.
supporter of Planned Parenthood, volunteered
for the Pasadena AIDS Service Center, and was
a member and past president of the Pasadena
Art Alliance. She is preceded in death by one
son, Carl, CdeP ’62; she is survived by three
children: Natalie, Sarah, and James, Jr., CdeP
’71; three grandchildren; one great grandchild;
and her sister, Caroline Rollins. A celebration
of Liz’s life was held on February 4 at The
Athenaeum in Pasadena.
Class Notes
ate Meteor. In the year before he died, he formed
a new corporation, Donworth/McReynolds
Inc., that advises corporate boards and executives on governance issues.
Marjorie “Midge” Soule Orrick, wife of attorney and former Securities and Exchange
Commission member Andrew Downey Orrick,
CdeP ’35, died on December 13, 1999. She
was a socially prominent member of several
San Francisco civic and charitable organizations, including the University of California at
San Francisco Hospital Women’s Auxiliary, St.
Luke’s Hospital Women’s Auxiliary and Foundation, and Children’s Theater Association of
San Francisco. In addition to her husband,
Midge is survived by their five children, two
brothers, and five grandchildren.
He married Sally Louise Thomas on September
26, 1959, and spent three years as vice consul
in Zagreb, Croatia. He made his home in
McLean, VA, for the next 35 years before retiring to Sandy, UT. Dave was an avid golfer
and a distinguished leader of the Boy Scouts
of America in the national capital area. A benefactor of environmental funds, education programs and the arts, his generosity was
superceded only by his depth of character and
caring.
Anne Elizabeth Mayhew Pfau, wife of 25 years
of George Pfau, CdeP ’42, died at her home in
David is survived by his wife; his children San Francisco on April 5, 2000. She sucMichelle Robbins Milbank, Karen Milbank cumbed after a courageous but lengthy fight
Quackenbush, and Thomas Lightfoot Milbank; against cancer. Anne grew up in Piedmont, and
two grandsons, and a sister, Daphne Milbank attended U.C. Berkeley. She worked as an exWhite. A memorial service was held at 3:00 ecutive secretary for 20 years, working for
on Sunday, April 30, 2000, at the Immanuel SPUR and the Junior League of San Francisco.
Presbyterian Church in McLean, VA.
She also managed her apartment building in
San Francisco, but considered her primary and
most important profession to be that of mother
for her only son, George III, who is 17. She
also found time for her favorite hobby, tennis.
Thacher Friends
Her husband served on the Board of Trustees
as the President of the Alumni Association
C. Michael Ehrhardt, who
from 1967 through 1973. In addition to her
served as Thacher’s Music
husband and son, Anne is survived by her sisDirector from 1946 until
ter, John Mayhew Beales of Tiburon; and her
1977, died two days after
mother, Joan Rapp Mayhew of San Rafael.
Christmas following a
Her father is the late Clarence W.W. Mayhew,
lengthy illness. Last Feba well-know architect.
ruary, he had a severe case
of pneumonia. He also
Elizabeth “Betty” Fleming Rhodes, commuhad pulmonary fibrosis
nity leader, social service agency volunteer, and
and other complications. Michael’s wife, Flo- wife for 61 years of Kenneth O. Rhodes, CdeP
rence, and their four children were with him ’30, died January 15, 2000, two months after
when he died. At Thacher’s Reunion Weekend suffering a major stroke. She had served as
in June, his life and contributions to the School president of the Pasadena Y.W.C.A. board, vice
were celebrated.
president of the Junior League, and on the
boards or advisory boards of Caltech UniverElizabeth “Liz” Rollins Greene, wife of James sity, Westridge School, the Child Guidance
C. Greene, CdeP ’32 (an attorney for O’Mel- Clinic, the Pasadena Settlement, Pacific Clinics,
veny & Myers of Los Angeles, who died in Hospice of Pasadena, and Las Familias del
August 1997) died on Pueblo, and was recently honored as a 50-year
January 21, 2000. Born member of the League of Women Voters. She is
in Montague, MA, Liz survived by her husband, four children, seven
graduated from Smith grandchildren, and three brothers. A memoCollege in 1938 and rial service was held on Saturday, February 5 at
married Jim in 1940. All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. e
Liz sang in the choir at
the
Neighborhood
Church, was a member
of the Junior League of
Pasadena, was an active
page 55
Bookshelf
Bookshelf
Stephen P. Huyler, CdeP ’69
Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion
by Jane D. McCarthy
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999
his October, Stephen P. Huyler, CdeP ’69,
spoke to the Thacher community about his
most recent book, Meeting God: Elements
of Hindu Devotion. Ten years in the writing,
Meeting God is really a culmination of nearly
three decades of study that began soon after
Steve graduated from Thacher. The world-reknowned, elderly ceramicist Beatrice “Beato”
Wood, who lived in the Upper Ojai and was
one of the founders of Dada, had befriended
Steve and invited him to travel with her to
India the following year. She had traveled extensively there and embodied the Hindu culture and ethics in her lifestyle and artwork.
Before his trip, Steve consulted various scholars at the University of Denver to develop a
plan for his upcoming trip and research. When
Steve arrived in India on his 20th birthday,
Beato’s wide circle of friends immediately embraced him and became the foundation of his
kinship with India during his subsequent travels there.
T
Through his extensive studies and experiences—as a doctoral student at the University
of London, as co-curator of the exhibition
“Puja: Expressions of Human Devotion,” at
the Smithsonian since 1996, as a teacher of
graduate courses on Hindu ritual at the Ohio
State University, and while living and working
with some of the 800 million Hindi in India—
Steve expanded from anthropologist to admiring believer of this faith. In Meeting God, Steve
gives a first-person, detailed account of the
daily devotional practices, or puja, that anchor Hindus in the
divinity of the universe, and give meaning and balance to
their daily existence.
Household rituals and
community festivals
circumscribe Hindu
life and prayers embrace the day from
the sacred dawn to
honoring the spirits
within one’s work and
seeking the security of
deities in the evenings.
The book’s vivid vignettes of individual
Hindus practicing
their various rituals,
coupled with captivating color photographs, offer an
excellent introduction to this religion practiced
by one-sixth of the world’s people. They also
page 56
The Thacher News
help the reader visualize the heart of Hindu
belief: the moment of worship known as darshan or “seeing and being seen by God.”
Steve’s personal accounts of Hindu practices
and descriptions of contemporary Hinduism
help the reader to appreciate this often confusing faith. His clear explanations, stories,
and stunning photographs of Hindus worshipping lead the reader to understand the central Hindu concept in which many gods
express a single, universal divine principle.
After listening to Steve’s talk and slide show
regarding his book at Thacher, English teacher
Jake Jacobsen said, “What impressed me the
most, besides the photography, was that he
stills speaks with such obvious passion, let
alone expertise, on a subject that is not new
to him. It was wonderful for students and faculty to hear Steve’s own devotion to the cultures of India; he is a teacher who clearly
enjoys sharing with others his love for that
country.” e
Meeting God is Steve’s fourth book on India,
the others being Gifts of Earth; Terracottas
and Clay Sculptures of India (1997), Painted
Prayers: Women’s Art in Village India (1994),
and Village India (1985). Publisher’s Weekly
named Meeting God as one of the top ten
books published in 1999 on religion, and one
of the 100 most worthwhile books of 1999.
Calendar
Thacher Gatherings and Events
Summer and Fall…
Sunday, June 18 through Friday, August 11
Teach The Teachers Collaborative
Saturday, July 15 through Friday, August 4
Golden Trout Alumni Camp
Friday, September 1
School Begins
Thursday, September 14
Ventura/Santa Barbara Gathering
Saturday, September 16
Class Representative/Decade Chair Meeting
Fall Alumni Day
Sunday, September 24
Pasadena Gathering (brunch)
Tuesday, September 26
Portland Gathering
Thursday, September 28
Seattle Gathering
Tuesday, October 17
Chicago Gathering
Thursday, October 19
New York City Gathering
Tuesday, October 24
San Francisco Gathering
Friday, October 27 through Sunday, October 29
Family Weekend
Saturday, January 6, 2001
Winter Alumni Day
Bay Area Soccer Fans:
Take note and come cheer on Thacher’s
Boys’ Varsity Soccer team at pre-season
practice games in the Bay Area:
Monday, August 28, at 3:00
vs. The Urban School of San Francisco
(Polo Field)
Tuesday, August 29, at 2:30
vs. University High School
(Kezan Stadium)
Wednesday, August 30, at 4:00
vs. The Branson School
(in Marin County)
Shayla Cooke ’03 riding Cascade
Photo by art instructor Wendi Parker-Dial

Pioneer - The Thacher School

Transcription

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