a PDF of the Fall 2015 Taft Bulletin

Transcription

B U L L E T I N
rooted
Fall 2015
In this issue
FALL 2015
12
24
Remembering Taft’s
Third Headmaster
John Cushing Esty, Jr.
24
Departments
Rooted in Place
Rooted in Place: From Ancient
Olive Trees on Mallorca to
Lush Vineyards in Chile
By Linda Hedman Beyus and Lori Ferguson
38
In Bloom
A Thriving Collaboration Between Taft
and The New York Botanical Garden
By Debra Meyers
3
5
14
46
On Main Hall
Alumni Spotlight
Around the Pond
Tales of a Taftie:
George Ripley Cutler
Class of 1912
48 Alumni Notes
91Milestones
96 From the Archives:
Farming for Golf
38
12
m Director of Facilities Jim Shepard surveys Bingham Auditorium before the new seats are installed,
along with Taft carpenter Roger Pelletier, far right, and a contractor.
Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015
1
On Main Hall
Fall 2015
A Word from Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78
Volume 86, Number 1
Editor
Linda Hedman Beyus
Director of Marketing and Communications
Kaitlin Thomas Orfitelli
Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications
Debra Meyers
photography
Robert Falcetti
Alumni Notes Assistant
Natasha Schwartz
On the Cover
Liz Barratt-Brown ’77 at her family’s
working olive oil finca on the island
of Mallorca, in Spain.
An abcMallorca Production
www.abc-mallorca.com
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Taft Bulletin
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Why We Do What We Do: The “Why” of Taft
A really successful organization has a very clear answer to the question, “Why do we do what we
do?” That’s the argument Simon Sinek makes in his book Start with Why. And while the book’s
focus is on the corporate world—on successful companies with effective leaders—there’s a lot for
us here at Taft. Why we do what we do is where we should start every academic year, and that’s
how the faculty and I started in the last week of August, when we gathered together for our opening faculty meeting.
Sinek argues that it’s pretty easy to describe what an organization does (its services, offerings,
practices, and so on), and not much harder to explain how it does it (its traditions and beliefs). And
to be clear, what and how are important. But what and how don’t excite people, especially as most
organizations—and even schools—have plenty of competitors that offer pretty much the same
what and how. Great organizations understand something really profound: that they have to be
able to confidently and clearly answer the question, “Why do we do what we do?” “People don’t buy
WHAT you do,” Sinek writes repeatedly, “they buy WHY you do it.” It’s inside-out communication.
When an organization “defines itself by what it does, that’s all it will ever be able to do….”
But, he writes, when an organization “clearly communicates their WHY, what they believe”
[emphasis mine], and then, in turn, “we believe what they believe, then we will sometimes go to
extraordinary lengths to include that product in our lives.” You end up with people lining up a day
in advance for the new iPhone, flying only Southwest Airlines, and tattooing the Harley-Davidson
logo on their bodies.
Putting aside the corporate “product” language, that’s what we want to be as a school: an
organization that is clear, consistent, and compelling in articulating WHY we do what we do. It’s
something we have done really well throughout our history—our mission has never changed. And
we will remain a great school long into the future so long as everything we do—from the design of
a course to the practices in our dormitories to the counsel we give an advisee—flows from a clear
and shared sense of why we do what we do. I like to think that if you asked anyone in the Taft
family—student, trustee, alumnus/ae, teacher, or parent—you would hear a lot of versions of the same thing.
You would hear lots of iterations of “the education of the
whole student.”
I think Horace Taft had a really clear understanding of
why he founded his school, and my guess is that he would
be comfortable with the answer I offered the faculty when
I asked myself why we did what we did: Because we believe
that when we educate the whole student we shape the kind of
people the world needs.
It’s a pretty good answer, I said at our meeting, but it’s
only one answer. Answering the question “Why do we do
“Because we
believe that
when we
educate the
whole student
we shape the
kind of people
the world
needs.”
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2
3
From the
Headmaster
“I looked out
on a group of
123 of the most
extraordinary
teachers I have
known, men
and women
of passion,
caring, and
commitment,
all of us about
to start the
beautiful work
of a school
year.”
what we do?” is where we should start every year and each day, I suggested. Is there a better place
to start? Under each chair I had placed an index card and pencil. I asked my colleagues to write a
single sentence, their answer to this essential question. The room went quiet. We were students
again. We all scribbled responses. I looked out on a group of 123 of the most extraordinary teachers I have known, men and women of passion, caring, and commitment, all of us about to start the
beautiful work of a school year. We stopped writing.
I gathered the cards at the end of my remarks, and today they sit on my desk, wrapped in a rubber band like a wad of bills. It’s a kind of currency in aspiration, idealism, and hope. I leaf through
them often. Most mornings begin with an email to the faculty, and I share a teacher’s response to
the question on why we do what we do. The why is seminal. It’s existential. It’s a belief, and not just
any belief. It’s the belief. It’s what that rests like bedrock beneath everything. In a school like Taft,
it’s what awakens and inflames us each day. Here are a few. Can you imagine what it is like to be at
a school where every teacher wakes up every day thinking like this?
Alumni Spotlight
Game Day Every Day
Teaching the whole student helps them become the best individual they can be, and they then, in
turn, make their communities better, use a strong moral compass to improve conditions for those
less fortunate, and pass on to all they meet the passion for lifelong learning instilled at Taft.
To send out into the world well-educated and thoughtful and finely tuned
minds to fulfill Horace Taft’s dream, “Not to be served but to serve.”
To educate the whole student, beyond books and labs, and instill in
them the courage to know and act on what is right.
An annual tradition, Weinberger
(third from left) poses with
his Game Day Morning crew
(including former NFL coach
Steve Mariucci, host Rich Eisen,
and NFL legends Marshall
Faulk, Michael Irvin, and Kurt
Warner) before the start of
his 12th season with NFL
Network. NFL Network
To share the love of my discipline, to be a good role model, and to be involved with teenagers every day.
Because our students benefit so greatly from experiencing risk-taking
and the failure or success that comes with it.
Because we believe that helping these students become the best possible versions of
themselves—smart, informed, thoughtful, critical, compassionate, with a deep sense
of community connection and responsibility to use their gifts and time for the betterment of others—will make them, our world, and our collective future better.
Because we love it.
Summer seems to keep getting
Willy MacMullen ’78
shorter for Eric Weinberger ’90, the
executive producer of the NFL Network,
the channel devoted to covering the
league 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The six weeks between June 1 and July
15 are the quietest days on the NFL calendar, but it’s all relative. Aiming to please
more than 70 million subscribers—all
craving constant updates on their favorite
teams and players—as Weinberger
puts it, “there is no slow period.”
The collective anticipation for the
start of another NFL season has only
intensified since Weinberger helped
launched the network in November
2003. He was there when host Rich
Eisen opened the first broadcast with
the line that captured so many feelings:
“Your dreams have indeed come true.”
Standing in the control room,
Weinberger might have sworn that
Eisen was speaking directly about him.
A New Jersey native, Weinberger captained the baseball team at Taft and
played varsity hockey his junior and
senior years (Weinberger never played
football). After his hockey career dissolved a couple years later at Union
College, he jumped into broadcasting,
continued on page 9—
4
5
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
Interpreting the Natural World—Playfully
 An interactive elephant ears exhibit is a
playful way to combine learning and fun
at a zoo.
Bridging the gap between science
Jill Bermingham
Isenhart ’82 and Chip
Isenhart, with lifesized sculptures they
designed for the Denver
Zoo’s new entry plaza
and courtyard.
6
and storytelling is where Jill Bermingham
Isenhart ’82 and her husband, Chip, find
the most satisfaction, and their lifelong
love of environmental science and biology
has translated into their business, ECOS
Communications. Their firm, based in
Boulder, Colorado, takes complex scientific information and translates that into
compelling, interesting, and fun exhibits.
“We wanted to bridge the gap” between
scientists and graphic designers who
were trying to communicate information
about particular species or areas of conservation, she says. Their clients include
parks, museums, nature centers, zoos,
and research centers across the globe.
“We’re always looking for that sweet
spot with our clients: what story do
they want their visitors to know, what’s
unique about their sites,” she says.
“Typically there are way too many stories.
Our real mission is to instill conservation action. That’s why we got into it.”
After graduating from Taft, Isenhart
majored in environmental science at
Bowdoin College and received a master’s
degree from the Yale School of Forestry
and Environmental Studies with an
emphasis on environmental communication. She and Chip founded ECOS in 1991.
“We did a bunch of interesting work
with the Environmental Protection
Agency on Superfund sites, but it
wasn’t very rewarding personally,” she
says. The couple wondered, “Is this
where we want to put our energy?”
As the company grew, the Isenharts
decided to put their love of conservation of endangered species and habitats
into their company. “It’s science and
art combined—a transformation that
leads visitors to new discoveries about
their world, their lives, and themselves,”
according to the company’s website.
The company has created informational signage and exhibits for
many different clients in the United
States, but an urge to continue their
m Working with senior park managers in Tanzania, Isenhart evaluates elements of the visitor
experience at Serengeti National Park’s main entrance.
work on an international level led to a
remarkable journey that found them
designing interpretive material in
Kenya and China with their children.
“We wanted to expose our kids to what
our passion was about,” she says. “It was
an incredible six months and life-changing
in many ways. We wanted to be in areas
that could inspire us and where we could
really make a difference and give back in
our field of conservation education.”
Their work led to the creation of
visitor center and trail designs for
the Nature Conservancy at China’s
first-ever private nature preserve.
While in China, the family lived for
two months with a local Chinese family that didn’t speak any English.
“We had this grandmother who’d lived
through the Cultural Revolution and
knew how to live off the plants and nuts
in the forest preserve,” Isenhart says.
“It was just an amazing experience.”
This past June found the family working for Tanzania’s national parks. The
Isenharts consulted on ways to improve
the visitor experience in five different
national parks, including the Serengeti.
“We’re pinching ourselves,”
Isenhart says. “I can’t imagine doing
anything else. It’s a great blend
of avocation and vocation.”
The company has a variety of both
international and American clients,
especially the Denver Zoo, where they
designed interpretive experiences and
the conservation storylines for the
Toyota Elephant Passage and Primate
Panorama. ECOS also developed the
identity and signage for the zoo’s Janus
Welcome Center, along with a brand and
exterior identity for one of the most
important revenue-generating components of the institution—its gift shop.
Currently, while ECOS is finalizing its
master planning work in Tanzania, the
company is also working on an interpretive center in Oakland, California, where
endangered species will be the focus (for
more about their work see www.ecos.us).
“It’s one thing when [visitors] are
reading the interpretive signs,” she
says. “But our goal is to instill appreciation, then move them up the spectrum
to take conservation action.”
“That’s what keeps us going day to
day,” she adds. “We don’t take on any
projects unless they’re tied to our mission. You’ve got to start with having
people care. That’s where we try to make
it fun and accurate. It’s a tricky balance—
they’re not thinking they are there to
learn. We try to angle it so it’s empowering and [can] change the world.” j
—Bonnie Blackburn-Penhollow ’84
7
Alumni Spotlight
wrote poetry. A course with renowned
Taft English teacher William Nicholson
cemented his passions. “Mr. Nicholson
communicated his passion for great
literature so fervently that he inspired
me to create my own,” he observes.
The world is a vast cultural mosaic,
George notes, and traveling has not only
made him a keener observer of everyday
life but also, he believes, a bigger human
being with a bigger heart. “Writing about
my travels has doubly reinforced my
experiences for me, because I have to
digest what I’ve learned and distill the
lesson, for myself and for my readers.”
This can be challenging, George concedes,
since as a writer you’re trying to convey
a personal, subjective experience in a
way that resonates with someone who
hasn’t had that experience, or perhaps
even visited the place you’re describing.
But in the end, he says, no matter the
subject, you’re striving to say something
about the meaning of life. “The experiences you choose to highlight and the
methods you invoke to make that message resonate with your reader, these are
the things that make travel writing both
challenging and incredibly rewarding.”
George recently published a new
book, The Way of Wanderlust, a series
of essays that represent a culmination
of 40 years of traveling and 38 years of
publishing stories. “Producing this book
gave me a wonderful chance to reflect on
years past,” he notes, “and I’m filled with
gratitude for the life that I’ve led—so
many people have shown me such incredible kindnesses over the years. I came
away from the project with a profound
sense of wonder and gratitude. I hold
the book and think, ‘This is my life!’ I’m
thrilled that it’s out in the world.” j
—Lori Ferguson
 Don George ’71 takes in the
 C’est magnifique! George fully “at home”
landscape and culture of Bali.
in France.
Wanderlust
For Don George ’71, life has been a
magnificent journey so far, in every sense
of the word. His travels have taken him
to exotic locales both near and far, from
the sheer rock face of Yosemite’s beloved
Half Dome to a lonely stretch of sand in
the Galápagos inhabited by red-footed
boobies, black marine iguanas, and a
family of sea lions, and on to Pakistan’s
legendary Karakoram Highway, where he
confronted the very real prospect of death
through natural disaster or civil unrest.
Throughout it all, George has maintained his sense of wonder and delight,
sharing his observations and experiences
in more than 700 published articles.
Characterized as the most influential
travel writer and editor of his generation,
George has visited more than 90 countries in 40 years, sharing his adventures
in publications from the San Francisco
Examiner to National Geographic Traveler.
Yet, when questioned, he seems genuinely astonished at his success and good
8
fortune. “The path I’ve traveled in my
career has been a very organic journey,”
he says. “I’ve never thought of the end
point of my career—I’ve always just
followed the road to see where it goes.
And as fate would have it, I’ve been
able to do what I love my whole life.”
After graduating from Princeton
with degrees in English and comparative literature, George set off for a year
abroad—beginning with a Summer Work
Abroad internship in Paris and then
moving on to a teaching fellowship in
Athens. It was during this period that
the travel bug bit, and hard. Immersed in
the language, literature, and life of these
foreign cultures, George realized this way
of learning delighted him as nothing had
before. Upon returning to the States,
he entered a one-year master’s program
in creative writing, and when his essay
on climbing Mount Kilimanjaro—written for a class assignment—was picked
up by a national magazine, he realized
he had found his calling. Three-plus
decades later, George’s enthusiasm for
his craft shows no signs of abating.
“I never tire of traveling,” he says with
a rush of enthusiasm. “Every trip is a
new experience. Each time I set out on
a journey, I’m a different person than I
was the last time, so even if I’m going to a
place I know intimately, my interest in the
adventure is fresh—return trips just provide a wonderful layering of experience.”
And, George says, his response to
each journey is visceral. “I have an amazing response to learning in this way,”
he confesses. “I’m energized by being
on the road. There’s all this newness to
apprehend, and when you’re in a foreign
place, you can be whomever you want,
refashion yourself. I absolutely love
the anonymity—it’s very liberating. ”
George first fell under the thrall of
the writing life while still a student at
Taft, where he served as editor of the
student-produced literary magazine and
—Weinberger, continued from page 5
specifically directing and producing
shows and events. His professional
career began at ESPN before he and his
wife, Alexandra, moved to Los Angeles
to join a Fox Sports crew that launched
national programming in 1996.
“I’ve always been, even in my teenage years, producing performances,”
Weinberger said. A noteworthy example
of this was when he arranged a gameshow-like production modeled off of
Hollywood Squares while at Taft, using
the dorm room windows of HDT.
When the opportunity arose in 2003
to leave Fox and join the burgeoning NFL
Network, he considered it a “no-brainer.”
Since its inception, the NFL Network’s
audience has grown far beyond its initial
reach of only 11.5 million homes to now
commanding more than $1.1 billion in
revenue. Its production staff ballooned
from 20 people to over 150 in 2015,
which is partly why it was necessary to
expand their original studio space in
Culver City, California, into a sprawling complex of 135,000 square feet.
The network also now televises
16 games a season, each of which
Weinberger attends, normally sitting in
the production trucks. On a daily basis,
he oversees and manages all aspects of
the network’s productions and has been
responsible for recruiting and hiring the
network’s considerable on-air talent.
“We’re really proud of how far
we’ve come,” Weinberger said. “I
don’t think we really envisioned the
scope of where we’re at right now.”
Weinberger said the best parts of his
job are when he gets to travel for major
events like the Super Bowl or the Draft—
and a signed Eli Manning jersey for his
youngest son, Eli, could be considered a
nice perk. (He also has three other children, Jack, Emma, and Charlotte.) But it
can be a stressful job with long hours.
On Sundays during the season,
Weinberger is at his office by 4 a.m.,
when the first pregame show airs for
viewers just waking up on the East
Coast. He stays until the last postgame
show wraps up, a 19-hour workday.
“I monitor the games, and the pregame and postgame shows,” Weinberger
said. “Just to make sure technically,
operationally, and editorially that
we’re going down the right path.”
On the other hand, he said he’s fulfilling a lifelong dream: producing sports
entertainment for millions to enjoy, so a
shorter summer may just be worth it. j
—Zach Schonbrun ’05
9
Alumni Spotlight
Odd Mom Out is In
Jill Kopelman Kargman ’92
describes her Bravo television show Odd
Mom Out as “a love letter to New York.”
The same could be said of “Wednesday
Addams in Barbietown,” an essay in
Kargman’s 2011 memoir Sometimes I
Feel Like a Nut—although in the case
of that essay, the love letter would be
addressed to Taft.
“When I got there in the late ’80s, Taft
was not diverse at all,” Kargman says. “I
was in the two Jew club. I [evoked] this
darkness with my motorcycle jacket and
I think people probably thought I was
kind of an odd bird…. I felt like an outsider even though I was steeped in it.”
(She grew up in New York City attending Spence and as the daughter of Arie
Kopelman, an ad executive who went on
to become the president of Chanel.)
But now she credits Taft with being “the
place where I came together as a person.”
“Everything that made me came
together at Taft and the codification of my personality happened at
Taft,” she says. “Even though Yale is
considered this challenging, academic
apex of intellectual thought, I totally
came together as a student at Taft.”
Odd Mom Out, which is Bravo’s first
scripted series and has been renewed
for a second season, is really “kind of
an echo of my Taft days,” she says.
Jill Kopelman
Kargman ’92
on the set
of her show
Odd Mom Out.
Bravo
Most of the show’s action takes place
on the Upper East Side. “I’m in it and I
love it and I appreciate it for what it is,
especially the beauty and the quiet and
the architecture and some of the traditional aspects,” Kargman says. “I like how
children are well-mannered and...people
are polished, [but] I can also recognize
the excess and some of the over-thetop behavior, so I see it for what it is.”
Like Kargman’s Taft essay, the
show doesn’t put anyone down and
she doesn’t believe any part of it
is mean-spirited. Rather, it’s “all
observations made with love.”
Kargman plays a fictionalized version of herself whose sister-in-law
Brooke, played by Saturday Night Live
alum Abby Elliott, is a perky, blonde
“momzilla” (Momzillas is the title of
Kargman’s 2014 novel) who never
shows during her pregnancy. (Kargman’s
actual sister-in-law is another blonde,
the actress Drew Barrymore.)
“That came up as the symbol of the
show for me,” Kargman says, “because I
meet women who say, ‘I’m due any day
now,’ and they just look like me after a
Mexican meal. I swear their kid is going
to be the size of a Diet Coke can and be
on life support. Every time I say, ‘Wow,
you are like a supermodel! You don’t
even look three months pregnant!’
They’re like, ‘Please, I’m Shamu. Please,
I’m Oprah and Gayle tied together.’
No one can take a compliment.”
The show, therefore, is a “hyperbolized version of reality” in which
Brooklyn mothers are still breastfeeding their children at age four.
And there’s perhaps no one better than
Kargman to be writing and starring in it.
“I’m steeped in it, but I’ve
always felt like I have one foot in
and one foot out,” she says.
After finding her writing voice in
Barclay Johnson’s English classes at
Taft and graduating with an art history
degree after just three years at Yale,
Kargman embarked on a tour of Europe
that included filing a story for Vogue
from Singapore at the ripe age of 20.
A few years on the staff of Interview
magazine followed before Kargman
teamed up with Carrie Doyle Karasyov
’90, who at the time worked at Harper’s
Bazaar, to write Intern, a movie based
on their horror stories of the magazine world. It was shown at Sundance
in 2000 and got the duo an agent,
but they had no creative control during production and soon realized
they preferred writing books.
More books followed. Kargman
eventually ended up as a copywriter at
Ogilvy & Mather, where a client told her
she could have a television show of her
own. Her office mates helped her make
a sizzle reel for a “morning show with
more edge” called Wake the F--k Up. It
never got off the ground, but it caught
the eye of Bravo’s Andy Cohen, who
said the network wanted to work with
Kargman after seeing what she could do.
Odd Mom Out is the result: “A
show in the world of Momzillas but
in the voice of Sometimes I Feel Like a
Nut,” Kargman says. “It’s really just
about fitting in and catching up…and
being a black sheep, essentially.” j
—Sam Dangremond ’05
in
Print
The Way of Wanderlust:
The Best Travel Writing
of Don George
Don George ’71
As a professional travel writer and editor for the past 40 years, Don George
has been paid to explore the world.
Through the decades, his articles have
been published in magazines, newspapers, and websites around the globe
and have won numerous awards, yet
his pieces have never been collected
into one volume until now. The Way
of Wanderlust: The Best Travel Writing
of Don George is a moving and inspiring collection of tales and reflections
from his traveling experiences and is
inspired and visually rich writing.
From his high-spirited account of
climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on a whim
when he was 22 years old to his moving
description of a home-stay in a muddy
compound in Cambodia as a 61-year-old,
this collection ranges widely. As renowned
for his insightful observations as for
his poetic prose, George always absorbs
the essence of the places he’s visiting.
Other stories include a moving
encounter with Australia’s sacred red
rock monolith, Uluru; an immersion
in kindness on the Japanese island
of Shikoku; the trials and triumph of
ascending Yosemite’s Half Dome with
his wife and children; and a magical morning at Machu Picchu.
Read more about Don George in this
issue’s Spotlight section (see page 8).
Henry Clay: America’s
The East Is Black: Cold
Greatest Statesman
War China in the Black
Harlow Giles Unger ’49
In a critical and little-known chapter of early American history, Harlow
Giles Unger tells how a fearless young
Kentucky lawyer threw open the doors
of Congress during the nation’s formative years and prevented dissolution
of the infant American republic.
The only freshman congressman
ever elected speaker of the house, Henry
Clay brought an arsenal of rhetorical
weapons to subdue feuding members of
the House of Representatives and established the speaker as the most powerful
elected official after the president.
During 50 years in public service—
as congressman, senator, secretary
of state, and four-time presidential
candidate—Clay constantly battled to
save the Union, summoning uncanny
negotiating skills to force bitter foes
from North and South to compromise
on slavery and forego secession. His
famous Missouri Compromise and
four other compromises thwarted
civil war “by a power and influence,”
Lincoln said, “which belonged to no
other statesman of his age and times.”
Radical Imagination
Robeson Taj Frazier ’99
During the Cold War, several prominent
African American radical activistintellectuals—including W.E.B. Du
Bois and Shirley Graham Du Bois,
journalist William Worthy, Marxist
feminist Vicki Garvin, and freedom
fighters Mabel and Robert Williams—
traveled and lived in China.
There, they used a variety of
media to express their solidarity with
Chinese communism and to redefine the relationship between Asian
struggles against imperialism and
black American movements against
social, racial, and economic injustice.
In The East Is Black, Taj Frazier examines the ways in which these figures
and the Chinese government embraced
the idea of shared struggle against U.S.
policies at home and abroad. He analyzes
their diverse cultural output (newsletters, print journalism, radio broadcasts,
political cartoons, lectures, and documentaries) to document how they imagined
communist China’s role within a broader
vision of a worldwide anticapitalist coalition against racism and imperialism.
Frazier is an assistant professor at the
Annenberg School for Communication
and Journalism at USC. j
If you would like your work added to the Hulbert Taft Library’s Alumni Authors Collection and considered for this column, please send a copy to:
Taft Bulletin | The Taft School | 110 Woodbury Road | Watertown, CT 06795-2100
11
Remembering Taft’s Third Headmaster
John Cushing Esty, Jr.
August 8, 1928–October 22, 2015
John Cushing Esty, Jr., Taft’s
headmaster from 1963 to 1972, died on
October 22 in Concord, Massachusetts,
from complications related to stroke at the
age of 87. He was known as an educator
and foundation executive who spearheaded
a number of national reform movements in a career spanning six decades.
Esty was known as a modernizer
of institutions, a leader who sought
to integrate the best practices of the
private and public school worlds, and
a voice for the inclusion of women and
people of color into educational and
leadership opportunities of all kinds.
After serving in the Air Force, he
began his career as an admissions officer, mathematics teacher, and associate
dean at Amherst College. In 1963, he was
named headmaster of the Taft School.
At Taft, Esty led the drive to admit girls
and updated the curriculum to include an
innovative independent studies program.
Former Headmaster Lance Odden,
Esty’s immediate successor at Taft, said,
“John was the profound mentor who
changed the course of my life. I will
forever be grateful for his farsighted
vision and wonderful sense of humor,
so necessary in the tumultuous 1960s.
That Taft survived and is a great school
today is a testimony to his transformational leadership in difficult times.”
According to Headmaster Willy
MacMulllen ’78, Esty, “with his boldness
and his restless intellect, took a school of
12
the 1950s and ushered it into the modern
era. A product of several great and traditional schools—Deerfield, Amherst, and
Yale—John was a nontraditional thinker.”
“He was really concerned with how students learned,” MacMullen said. “This was
a man who was brilliant, but at the same
time had the right temperament to lead the
school through a very turbulent period.”
Esty served as board chair of A
Better Chance, a nonprofit group whose
mandate was to increase access to independent schools for people of color. A
number of high-profile people benefitted
from the nonprofit’s initiative, including President Barack Obama and former
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
In the early 1970s, as a young trustee
at Amherst College, he pushed for coeducation and a broader social mission for
elite liberal arts colleges. “His own father
denounced him for it,” Dan Esty, Esty’s
son and a Yale University professor, said
of his father’s efforts to get Amherst
to admit women. “People don’t realize
it now, but what he did at Taft and at
Amherst was tremendously difficult,
given the time period. It took tremendous
personal courage for him to do that.”
After leaving Taft in 1972, he switched
gears to work in the philanthropic world
as a grantmaker and educational program officer at the Rockefeller Brothers
Fund in New York. “John’s capacity for
and commitment to friendship made
him a hero to those of us privileged to
have worked for him and with him,”
said William Dietel, former president of
the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Moving
between the worlds of nonprofit organizations, higher education, and secondary
schools, Esty developed a national profile
as a writer, thinker, and reformer on educational issues. In 1978, he was appointed
president of the National Association
of Independent Schools (NAIS).
As president of NAIS, he sought to
reenergize a traditional organization and
to respond to the national challenges facing both public and private schools in the
1980s. His brother, Peter Esty, said, “As
president of NAIS, John led scores of independent schools in bringing racial, ethnic,
and socioeconomic diversity to their
enrollments, broadening their profiles, and
expanding their reputation as beyond the
old elite labels.” Esty also helped launch,
and served as a founding board member
for, the Recruiting New Teachers initiative, a national public service advertising
campaign designed to rebuild the teaching
ranks; it paved the way for successor
organizations such as Teach for America.
After his retirement from NAIS,
Esty taught the course Strategies for
Institutional Change to public school
administrators at the University of
Massachusetts. Having devoted years to
the independent school world, he nonetheless sent his four sons to public schools
and served on the Concord school board.
In recent years, he worked closely
with Fenway High School, a Boston pilot
school, as an advisor on administration
and institutional advancement. According
to Peggy Kemp, the head of Fenway, Esty’s
“wisdom and warmth, his kindness to all,
and his passion for bringing great education to young people of limited means,
were an inspiration to teachers, students,
and administrators. [An] endowed fund
at Fenway, which has enabled skilled
college counseling for hundreds of students, was named in his honor: the John
C. Esty, Jr. College Advisory Fund.”
He was known as a gifted writer and
public speaker, and a committed, sometimes irreverent, executive who excelled at
leading organizations to, and through, real
change. In the late 1950s and early 1960s,
as military services advisor at Amherst
College, he wrote several widely read
articles in The Nation and The New York
Times aimed at rethinking the draft process
for American college students. He was the
author of Choosing a Private School (1974)
and many editorials and essays on school
issues ranging from tuition tax credits for
private schools and the voucher movement
to public and private school collaboration
and the future of the teaching profession.
Esty served as a trustee or advisor to
dozens of school and foundation boards,
including Amherst College, Camp Agawam
in Raymond, Maine, Robert College in
Istanbul, Turkey, the Harlem Ministers
Conference, the National Center for
Nonprofit Boards, and the Charles Hayden
Foundation. He was a longtime member
of the Century Association in New York.
He was born on August 9, 1928, in
White Plains, New York, to John Cushing
Esty and Virginia Place Esty. His father
was an advertising executive in New
York, then an apple grower and furniture
maker in Amherst, Massachusetts. The
Esty family has been in New England
since the 1600s and includes Mary
Towne Esty, who was hanged in Salem
on charges of witchcraft in 1692.
He was educated in the Chappaqua,
New York, public schools, then at
Deerfield Academy, before earning
degrees at Amherst College and Yale. At
Amherst, he was a member of the soccer
team and the Double Quartet singing
group. He served as a first lieutenant in
the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1953 and
then as a captain in the reserves until
1958. In 1959 to 1960, he did graduate work at UC Berkeley in the history
of science; he was awarded an honorary
doctorate from Amherst in 1970, and he
was awarded Taft’s highest alumni honor
in 1972, the Horace D. Taft Alumni Medal,
then known as the Citation of Merit.
A resident of Concord since 1972,
he was a dedicated town citizen, having served over the years as board chair
for the Greeley Foundation for Peace
and Justice; as an enthusiastic tenor
in the Concord Chorus; as an avid participant in a retired men’s ping-pong
club; a corporator of Emerson Hospital;
a devoted member of the First Parish
Unitarian church; and a longtime member of the Concord Social Circle, a civic
issues group dating back to the 1780s.
Known for his antic wit and curious
mind, Esty visited every continent, studied
mathematics and astronomy, built radios,
made home-pressed cider in his driveway
for family and friends, and always shopped
at small, independent stores in Concord to
support local entrepreneurs. He enjoyed
singing, reading, writing, gardening,
and traveling with his wife and family.
He was a beloved husband, father,
grandfather, brother, and friend with
an unusual gift for music, magic, and
merriment. He had a special capacity to
connect with people from all walks of
life, especially children. “My father was
one of those miraculous, multitalented
people whose skills appear to come as if
from nowhere: he could pick up musical instruments and new languages with
ease; he could fix engines and charm
dogs; he was as happy on the floor doing
card tricks for his grandchildren as he
was testifying before Congress on educational policy,” notes his son, Jed Esty.
He is survived by his wife of 60
years, Katharine, and their four sons,
Dan, Paul, Ben, and Jed. He is also
survived by his brothers, David and
Peter, and by 10 grandchildren. j
Courtesy of the MacRae-Tunnicliffe Concord
Funeral Home and the New Haven Register.
Photographs courtesy of The Leslie D.
Manning Archives at Taft.
This past summer,
a record number of
students enrolled in
the Taft-PAL Summer
Enrichment Academy.
For more information, visit
www.taftschool.org/news
Around the Pond
 The music elective brought
By Debra Meyers
students (from left) Mia Parker,
Genesis Mir, and Morrgan Damia
to their feet this past summer.
Partners, PALs, and Summer Prep
Gerry Calles ’18 is a middler at Taft,
but has been attending classes here much
longer. A rising eighth grader in the summer of 2012, Gerry was among the first
local students to participate in a unique
program uniting Taft and the Waterbury
Police Activity League (PAL), and preparing
PAL students for the rigors of the SSAT.
Gerry joined the Taft School-Police
Activity League Summer Enrichment
Academy in its second year, and has
been part of it ever since. This past
summer Gerry took on the role of
teaching assistant and mentor.
“From the first day of the PAL program, I realized that Taft was where I
wanted to be,” said Gerry. “The summer school teachers were extremely
helpful through the years in preparing
me to meet that goal. Now I am able
to help people in the same way—to
give that same experience to other PAL
students. It makes me very proud.”
The Academy was the brainchild of
Waterbury native and Taft alumna Laura
Monti ’89. Before it was established in
2011, two PAL students each summer
were awarded admission and full scholarships to Taft’s traditional five-week
Summer School program. But there were
always more than 20 applicants for the
two prized spots, leading Monti to wonder, what can we do for the rest of them?
Monti, along with husband and fellow faculty member Jeremy Clifford,
began thinking about more and
meaningful ways to provide not just
summer opportunities for area students, but to open educational doors.
“A lot of Waterbury students are
14
Taft’s Tamara Sinclair ’05 gives
Janelle Obuobi-Djan tips on
balancing her budget.
interested in applying to Taft, and schools
like Taft,” said Clifford, “but sometimes do
not do well on the required standardized
testing. These are highly motivated learners with very good grades who are just not
familiar with the kinds of questions they
will see on the SSAT. It is not a question
of ability so much as it is exposure to the
type of material presented on the test.”
With financial support from a Palamar
Fellowship and boots-on-the-ground
support from then Waterbury Police
Lieutenant and PAL team member Robert
Cizauskas, Monti and Clifford launched
the Academy in 2011. There were seven
rising eighth graders in the classroom,
working primarily on SSAT preparation.
Successful in both concept and execution, Monti was able to garner additional
m Program participant Anjavie Thompson
finds the summer program both fun
and rewarding.
financial resources to not only bring the
program back in 2012, but to expand it to
include rising seventh graders, as well.
“We had past participants complete
surveys about their experience with
us,” explained Monti. “Overwhelmingly
they complained about aging out—they
wanted to stay with us longer, and
mounted a campaign to add an academic
enrichment component that would
allow them to stay another year.”
Today, the Academy welcomes rising
sixth through ninth graders. The curriculum has expanded to include academic
enrichment across the board, in addition to the SSAT mentoring at the heart
of the initial program. Nearly 60 PAL
students spent four weeks on campus
this past summer, the largest group to
date. They were taught and mentored
by 17 current and former Taft students,
including Gerry Calles. And in each of
the last three years, multiple Academy
graduates have been admitted to Taft.
“What I love about this program—and
what parents tell us all the time—is that
it helps students recognize that they
have the academic ability to strive for
things they might not otherwise have
thought possible,” explains Monti. “I
want them to see that they have academic
choices; that there is an environment
where being nerdy can be a cool thing.”
Jia LiAn Stolfi completed her second year at the Academy this past
summer. Her mother, Christine, has
seen the impact of the program.
“Jia enrolled in the program to expand
her academic knowledge,” Stolfi said. “This
is something she wanted to do—she really
enjoys learning. She’s been challenged,
which is great. She gained new focus and
really, fully realized how much she loves to
learn. Jia uses her new vocabulary words
spontaneously, then laughs and says, ‘I
used one of my new words.’ That’s what is
important for me—that what she is learning here carries over into the real world.”
The Academy goes a long way in preparing participants for the real world.
Students attend three classes each day:
math, English, and an elective of their
choosing. Electives this past summer
included astronomy, public speaking, and
the enormously popular “Game of Life.”
Led by Taft Director of Multicultural
Recruitment Tamara Sinclair ’05, “Game
of Life” was a crash course in real-world
living. Sinclair randomly assigned each
student a job and a corresponding salary; students got paid—and visited their
banker—each day. They built budgets
and, just like in the real world, paid bills,
which might include mortgage or rent,
insurance, utilities, and car payments.
They also needed to budget for gas,
savings, charitable donations, entertainment, and, of course, a cell phone bill.
“Just starting this kind of conversation is so important,” says Sinclair.
The real-world applications also
extend to the current and former
Taft students working as teachers
and mentors at the Academy.
“It has been very important to me to
share with them what a great career teaching is,” says Monti. “They have embraced
the opportunity. Those students who have
returned for multiple summers have taken
the lead in updating and implementing
curriculum, and in mentoring the firstyear teaching assistants. Their growth and
autonomy as teachers is also incredible.”
PAL student turned PAL mentor and
assistant teacher Gerry Calles agrees.
“The teachers have taught me strategies; they show me what helped them
and what didn’t, and now I use those
strategies with other PAL students.
This program is filled with amazing
people, challenging academics, and it
is even a lot of fun. It has been rewarding to share my experience and to show
people the school I’m so proud of.” j
The Taft School-PAL Summer Enrichment
Academy is funded in part by grants from the
Edward E. Ford Foundation, and the Ion Bank
Foundation. The Waterbury Police Activity
League (PAL) is a not-for-profit organization
which promotes partnerships between youth,
law enforcement, and the community through
educational, athletic, and recreational programs designed to encourage team building
and foster positive relationships. For more
information, visit www.waterburypal.org. Taft Bulletin / Fall 2015
15
Around the POND
Around the POND
Playing to Win
Eight budding squash players from around the country traveled
to Watertown in July as part of
an expanded partnership between
Taft’s Summer School program and
the National Urban Squash and
Education Association (NUSEA).
Based in New York City, NUSEA
provides structure, guidance, and
organizational know-how to 22 member programs across the globe. Those
programs engage more than 2,000
students at every grade level through
intensive after-school, weekend, and
summer programming, which includes
academic support and enrichment,
squash instruction and competition,
community service programming,
college guidance, and mentoring.
Seeds for the Taft/NUSEA partnership were first sown in 2009, when
Taft Summer School hosted Andrew
Cadienhead ’13. A rising lower mid,
Andrew was also a member of CitySquash,
NUSEA’s Bronx, New York, program.
“The concept is to provide students
with a window into the world of private
liberal education at a top-tier boarding school,” explained Taft Summer
School Director Tom Antonucci.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for
students to see what academic life
would be like at a school like Taft.”
In 2013, Taft Summer School
hosted a student from Squash Haven,
NUSEA’s New Haven, Connecticut,
affiliate; another Squash Haven student arrived in 2014. Last fall, Taft
trustee Drummond Bell ’63, a member
of NUSEA’s board of directors, met
with Antonucci and Taft Admissions
Director Peter Frew ’75 to talk about
not only growing the number of NUSEA
students attending Taft’s five-week summer session, but about expanding the
geographic reach of the partnership,
as well. Together, the team developed
and executed a plan that brought eight
squash scholars to Taft this summer.
“Summer School agreed to provide
half-scholarships to each of the students,” notes Antonucci. “Drum and
the Bell Foundation generously
donated a large portion of the remaining cost. It shows the kind of person
he is—always working to do more for
Taft and for the community.”
Christopher Olsen ’98 also helped
sponsor the eight student athletes,
who came to Watertown from NUSEA
programs in New Haven, Detroit,
San Diego, Chicago, New York City,
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the Bronx.
“Thanks to Tom, Peter, Christopher,
and Willy MacMullen, this summer’s
program for these youngsters certainly
reflects our school’s motto, non ut sibi
ministretur sed ut ministret—not to be
served, but to serve,” said Bell. “When
we met with all eight of the participants, they talked about the community
atmosphere and how thankful they were
for the opportunity Taft now extends
throughout the NUSEA organization.”
The students also talked about the
solid academic preparation the
program provides.
“I’ve had a lot of fun, but also
learned a lot while I’ve been here,”
said San Diego native Angela Guzman.
“I’m studying biology, which I know is
really going to help me get ahead when
I get back to school. I’ve also learned
how to organize my time and plan
my studying. It is very fast paced.”
According to Antonucci, the academic
impact of the program is powerful:
One hundred percent of graduating
Urban Squash seniors go on to four-year
colleges and universities. But for the
students attending Summer School, the
academics are just one piece of the pie.
“For me, this has been all about taking a chance,” explained Duane Rodgers,
who took up squash a year ago through
Philadelphia’s SquashSmarts program. “I am putting myself out there
to meet new people, see new places,
and learn new things. And I’m grateful to have accomplished that.” j
A school’s success and
advance Taft culture—in word and
in deed—throughout the new year.
And culture, MacMullen notes, is not
something that happens by chance.
“You should recognize the root
here, the Latin word ‘cultura,’ meaning to cultivate; meaning to till the
land,” explained MacMullen. “I like
that image. It reminds us that culture
is something that is created seasonally,
and it takes hard work by everybody.”
Culture is created collectively
through practices and traditions,
MacMullen noted, and carried forth
not only through those actions,
but also through storytelling.
“We tell stories because they carry
meaning, because they transmit the
From left, NUSEA Executive Director
Tim Wyant, Taft and NUSEA board
member Drummond Bell ’63, and Taft
Summer School Director Tom Antonucci.
m NUSEA program participants during their
To learn more about NUSEA and
its member programs, visit
www.NationalUrbanSquash.org.
time at Taft this past summer: Back row,
left to right: Trina Madziwa, Alexandra
Estrada, Angela Guzman, Khalip Dunston,
and Christopher Lucero; front row, left to
right: Dolores Brown, Duane Rodgers, and
Retia Patton. Haley Kulikauskas
Tilling the Soil: 2015 Convocation Address
its achievement—the
happiness of students and
faculty and staff—it cannot
be separated from culture….
It is created by each one
of us in the room in a
thousand acts, through
a hundred practices, in
scores of traditions.
Headmaster Willy
MacMullen ’78
explored Taft’s rich
culture during his
convocation address
in September.
16
With those words, Headmaster William
R. MacMullen ’78 opened the 2015–16
school year for 594 Taft students. In a
convocation address that was at once
instructive and inspiring, students,
faculty, and staff were encouraged and
empowered to embrace, build, and
culture, and they carry on the values
we share.”
And through a series of powerful stories, MacMullen brought Taft’s culture
into clear focus for all in the Taft community. The story of Taft faculty members,
who, under no directive other than their
understanding of a culture “of almost
unfathomable care” and compassion, wandered the halls, watching over students as
they spent their first night at Taft amid
the confusion, fear, and sadness of 9/11.
Students embracing a culture of respect,
empathy, and leadership, letting peers
know in no uncertain terms that unkind,
thoughtless, or derogatory remarks or
actions are simply things that will not
be tolerated. Stories of new students
surprised by the warmth and genuine caring of faculty, of a culture where it is “cool”
to be successful both academically and
athletically, where “resilience and grit are
prized,” and of a culture where, MacMullen
said, “honor means everything.”
“I hope that you will be a teller and
also a listener. I hope that every teacher
and student becomes part of the story
that we tell years from now that holds
some deep truth about our culture….
Remember, we cultivate culture. We till
the soil of the school in hopes that something rare and beautiful might spring.” j
For a video of the headmaster’s convocation
address and other recent speakers at Taft,
visit www.vimeo.com/taftschool.
17
Around the POND
Rising to the Top:
Tafties Enjoy Success
on AP Testing
Advanced Placement (AP)
courses offer college-level learning in
a wide range of disciplines. AP exams
offer students the opportunity to earn
college credit by proving they have
effectively mastered that college-level
material. AP exam scoring is on a
scale of 1 (low) to 5 (top), with many
colleges and universities requiring a
grade of 4 or 5 to merit college credit.
Taft currently offers 31 AP courses.
Last May, 372 Tafties took a total
of 856 AP exams. More than 60% of
our students prepared to take the
college-level tests this year. Among the
results: 60% of those 856 scores were
4s and 5s, indicating the high caliber
of both teacher and learning that are
hallmarks of a Taft education. Also
of note: Luz Lara saw each of her 12
students in AP Spanish Language and
Culture earn a 5. This was a first for
any teacher in the Modern Language
Department. Over in the Wu building,
Al Reiff ’80 had all 23 students across
two sections of BC Calculus bring
home the highest scores available.
“You let yourself
daydream about
results like these,”
said Reiff, “but the
credit has to go to
the students who do
the amazing work of
producing such tremendous results.” j
m The Global Leadership Institute (GLI) is a program of the Center for Global
Leadership and Service, a partnership between Taft School and the City of Waterbury.
The program’s mission is to develop a generation of global leaders with a genuine concern for
world problems, multiple perspectives on global issues, and skills to contribute toward the
resolution of these issues. Each year, 10 students from Taft and 10 students from Waterbury
schools are selected to participate in the program as GLI Scholars. A number of participants
were honored for their work this summer with the Waterbury Department of Health and
Brass City Harvest service internship program. Pictured, from left, are Jamella Lee, dean
of global and diversity education; Shasha Alvares ’17; Lauren Fadiman ’17; Sue Pronovost,
executive director of Brass City Harvest; Bill Quinn, director of health, city of Waterbury;
Brennan Engelhard; Cynthia Vitone P’17; Waterbury Health Department; Christian Milian;
Kevin Walston, instructional leadership director for Waterbury public high schools; and
Darren Schwartz, chief academic officer for Waterbury public schools. j
e
Music for aWhilSeries
2015–16 Taft School Performance
NOVEMBER 20
Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company
7pm • Bingham Auditorium
DECEMBER 15
The Taft School’s 80th Service
of Lessons and Carols
6pm & 8pm • Woodward Chapel
JANUARY 8
Michael Davis, guitar;
Jake Jolliff, mandolin (Bluegrass)
7pm • Walker Hall
JANUARY 22
Crossover Jazz: Concerto
Claude Bolling, composer
7pm • Walker Hall
FEBRUARY 26
Ken Nigro Big Band
7pm • Walker Hall
MARCH 4
Pianist Andrew Armstrong
and Friends
7pm • Walker Hall
MARCH 13
The King of Instruments,
Daniel Scifo, organist
5pm • Woodward Chapel
APRIL 15
7:30pm • Woodward Chapel
&
APRIL 17
3pm • Grace Church in
New York City
Music for a Great Space
with Taft Collegium Musicum,
Cantus Excelsus, Woodward
Brass Ensemble; Bruce Fifer,
conductor
s
Visit www.taftschool.org/concert
18
Alumna Opens Gallery Year
Jessica Wynne ’90 kicked off the Mark
W. Potter ’48 Gallery exhibition year with
her photography show, 6. Wynne, a photography professor at New York’s Fashion
Institute of Technology and a Taft Rockwell
Visiting Artist, also spoke at Morning
Meeting in September, and worked
with Taft students in the classroom.
Six years ago Wynne started photographing her newborn daughter. Over
time, she came to realize that these pictures, along with those she was taking
of her mother, allowed her to examine
the cyclical nature of life by looking at
the beginning and later stages, and to
show in these images the universality of such a natural phenomenon.
“As an observer and documentarian, I am
witnessing what it looks like for a child
to be set free in nature,” Wynne notes.
“There is a wildness, or abandon, that
the children in these pictures inhabit—
having spent the rest of the year amid
the organized chaos of a city, here they
are liberated. But liberated to what? A
natural world that is unknown and unpredictable. It is at once lush and mysterious,
scary and dangerous. I want to get at the
vulnerability intrinsic to childhood, especially in the face of nature’s grandeur.”
After earning a Bachelor of Fine
Arts degree from the San Francisco Art
Institute, Wynne continued her studies
at Yale University School of Art, where
she earned a Master in Fine Arts in
1999. Her work, which has been exhibited around the world, is housed in a
number of collections, including the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Wynne’s editorial and advertising
clients include a wide array of magazines
and corporations, including The New
Yorker, The New York Times Magazine,
Wired, W, BlackBook, Details, Fortune,
Newsweek, and Kodak. Wynne currently resides in New York City. j
To see more of her work, visit
www.jessicawynnephoto.com.
For a full gallery schedule, visit
www.taftschool.org/pottergallery.
19
Around the POND
New Faculty Residences
Bingham Auditorium
Renovations
Summer Renewal
The summer months are a time
to refresh and renew, not only for Taft
faculty but for the campus, as well.
The Martin Health Center, Horace D.
Taft Hall, and Bingham Auditorium
were among the Taft spaces getting
fresh looks and functional improvements over the past few months.
Housed on the first floor of the
recently renovated Congdon House, the
Martin Health Center was completely
gutted, redesigned, and rebuilt.
“The new infirmary is configured to
optimize the way the facility is used,”
explained architect David Thompson,
who worked on both the Congdon
and Mac House renovations. “Ninety
percent of the services provided
here are outpatient; that naturally
shaped the design of the facility.”
There are two exam rooms, a waiting
area, offices, and a dispensary around
the main foyer, with patient rooms
down a hallway and away from the hub,
for privacy and comfort. Each room has
beds, a sink, and soft lighting for healing
and relaxation. The effect is a warm but
professional environment, reminiscent
of a neighborhood physician’s office.
“We wanted to create a space that not
only met state regulations, but that also
elevated the space aesthetically,” noted
Thompson. “It was important that it not
feel like a normal hospital environment.”
HDT also underwent substantial
renovation, though less obviously so:
Much of the work done in the living
space was groundwork for the massive
facelift the dorm will get next summer.
“The amount of work coordinated
here was huge,” said Headmaster Willy
MacMullen ’78 during a recent tour
of the updated dormitory. “Much
of the work done here was infrastructure improvement for the next
phase of this two-phase project.”
Those infrastructure improvements
include the installation of a flush-head
sprinkler system, upgraded insulation
in the exterior walls, new electrical
components—including lighting and
power—and an improved data system.
Most significantly, the heating system
was converted from steam to hot water.
“The upgraded heating system
was very badly needed,” noted Jim
Shepard, Taft’s director of facilities.
“It provides for more heating zones
throughout the building, giving us better control of heat distribution.”
It also eliminated the old, bulky
radiators from each dorm room. The
units have been replaced by sleeker
components with a European flair
that pair aesthetically with the
complete Phase II room renovations planned for next summer.
“The Phase II work will be comparable in quality to what we have
done in Congdon and Mac House,
but will keep the original character of HDT,” said Shepard.
The summer 2015 project with
perhaps the broadest impact was the
refurbishment of Bingham Auditorium.
The light fixtures were removed and
sent out for cleaning, the luster of the
wood walls was revived and restored,
the beauty of the ceilings rejuvenated
and preserved, and windows enhanced
with remotely controlled window treatments that include blackout shades.
The most dramatic change, however,
was the installation of new, custom
seating. Every chair in the auditorium
was replaced. An adapted installation
configuration allowed for a much-needed
net gain of 22 theater seats; Bingham
now has a seating capacity of 592.
“Bingham has always been one of
the more beautiful spots,” said Shepard.
“But preserving the wood and ceilings
was a challenge. The work that was
done here this summer really brought
the original beauty back to the space.”
The former Alumni and Development
Office, with Wade House attached, was
also completely renovated this summer,
and converted to two faculty residences. j
Health Center Renovations
21
Around the POND
 New York Times bestselling author, clinical psychologist, and school consultant
Dr. Michael Thompson visited
campus in September, the first
of three visits he will make to
Taft this year. Thompson spent
time talking with both faculty
and students. His work is
focused on topics that include
the emotional lives of boys,
friendships and social cruelty in
childhood, the impact of summer camp experiences on child
development, the tensions
that arise in parent-teacher
relationships, and psychological
aspects of school leadership. j
Faculty members David
Dethlefs, Kerry Bracco, and Matt
Mullane traveled to Guatemala this
summer with 16 students, marking Taft’s eighth service trip to the
country. This year’s group built four
houses in addition to other service
projects (and challenge soccer
matches!) in association with The
God’s Child Project. Once the houses
were finished, the group traveled
to Lake Atitlán and the indigenous
market at Chichicastenango. Along
the way they visited the Mayan
ruins at Iximche. j
m Tafties showed their true
colors during the annual and beloved
“Super Sunday” celebration. The tradition
helps start each new year with a spirit of
collegiality and fun. Perennial favorites like
the Crisco slide, egg toss, three-legged race,
human pyramid, and tug-of-war continue to
bring students together. j
Taft Earns Accolades for Going Green
LED Initiative Underway
The newest rankings published by the
Environmental Protection Agency place Taft
at No. 4 on the list of the top 30 K-12 schools
participating in the Green Power Partnership.
The Partnership, which currently has more
than 1,400 members, is a voluntary program
that helps organizations secure electricity
generated from renewable sources; it also provides support for groups working to expand
and promote their green power leadership.
The top 30 list represents the largest green
power users among the Partnership’s K-12 member schools; rankings are updated quarterly.
The combined green power used by this group
totals more than 103 million kilowatt-hours
of green power each year, which translates
to roughly the same amount of electricity
used by 10,000 average American homes.
Since 2010, Taft has been purchasing 100 percent of its electricity as green power. According
to the EPA, Taft’s annual green power usage of
more than 4.5 million kilowatt-hours is equivalent
to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
22
of nearly 700 passenger vehicles per year, or
the CO2 emissions from the electricity use of
nearly 500 average American homes annually.
Taft’s newest green initiative began in earnest earlier this year and involves replacing
all lighting on campus with LED fixtures and
components. LEDs, or light-emitting diodes,
can be more efficient, durable, versatile, and
longer lasting than traditional lighting.
“The installation of the LED lighting will
save the school over $200,000 each year in
electricity usage costs, with additional savings
in avoided maintenance,” said Gil Thornfeldt,
Taft’s CFO and business manager. “We were able
to get a zero percent interest loan from Wells
Fargo to initiate the project. The cost savings
we will realize, in conjunction with supplier
incentives, make this a self-funding project;
it will pay for itself in the next four years.”
Thornfeldt also notes that Taft is the first
prep school to move completely to LED components. Both Hotchkiss and Canterbury have
made smaller-scale LED conversions. j
m The girls’ cross
country team wrapped up
their preseason-training week this
year with a community service trip
to Waterbury’s Acts 4 Ministry, a
nondenominational, charitable
organization that offers comfort
while supporting the physical needs
of families and individuals in financial distress in the Greater Waterbury
area. Acts 4 Ministry distributes
clothing to nearly 4,000 people
each year, and provides over 1,000
pieces of furniture and housewares.
The Taft runners helped sort
through donations— folding clothes,
organizing housewares, and testing
donated electronics. j
“Recognize that
hard work matters,
have grit and perseverance,
and get off to a good start,”
Headmaster William R.
MacMullen ’78 advised new
students during his welcome
address on move-in day,
Wednesday, September 9.
Nearly 200 new students
joined the Taft community
this year, selected from a
pool of more than 1,700 applicants. In all, 594 students
hailing from 33 states and
47 countries bring their talent, diversity, passions, and
enthusiasm to campus. j
Deep roots aren’t only about olive trees winding
through the earth on an island for 500 to 1,000
years, or grapevines being pruned and thriving on
five vineyards in the Southern Hemisphere.
For two Taft alumni, roots are both inherited and
embraced. Liz Barratt-Brown ’77 restored her
family’s historic olive oil estate, and Alex Huber ’83
has created a new business in winemaking.
Roots run deep for both, and their roll-up-your-sleeves
commitment is starting to reap benefits that are both
tangible and internally rewarding.
rooted in place
from ancient olive trees on mallorca
to lush vineyards in chile
rooted
grounding a
life among
olive trees
and sheep
by Linda Hedman Beyus
w
The historic stone olive
press or tafona, which
presses esportins (flat
baskets) filled with mash
under the oak beam for
the final pressing.
Liz Barratt-Brown ’77
gathers some garden
greens at her family’s
13th-century working
finca on Mallorca.
ith its ancient olive trees, a watch tower and
aqueduct built by the Moors (still carrying water),
and traditional ways of harvesting, Liz BarrattBrown’s finca deserves the care she and her family
have given it for 40 years.
Pedruxella Gran, which means “place among
the stones, sits high on a mountainside in
Mallorca, Spain, and is the passion and business
of Liz Barratt-Brown ’77. Several months each
year, Barratt-Brown, together with her husband
and their children, is there to work as well as
unwind. The large working estate overlooking the
Mediterranean has as many facets to it as the jagged mountains around it.
The property is a certified organic farm, an
olive oil estate, an inn and conference facility, and
is home to an organic farming volunteer program
off-season. “We work hard to respect nature and
reduce our impact,” says Barratt-Brown, about
their life and business at Pedruxella.
Barratt-Brown has worked for many years as an
environmental attorney for the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) in the United States, and
now serves as a senior advisor. Her dual-country
work and home life has been going on since she
and her husband took over the property in 1997,
and they’ve put in years of upgrading the estate.
Guests can rent houses on the property when the
farming program is quieter, and some spaces may
be rented for events.
“My late British father, Hilary Barratt-Brown,
and American stepmother, Patricia, made
Pedruxella their home after falling in love with
Mallorca in the mid-1970s,” Barratt-Brown says.
“He spent a good part of the next 25 years of his
life restoring the property, including the ancient
olive press. He loved Pedruxella—its history, its
tranquility, and the immersion in nature.”
27
rooted
“After decades of battling some
of our most contentious
environmental challenges, I can
look around me on Mallorca
and feel that I am still
in the nature that has
surrounded this place for
over thousands of years.”
The vista from
Pedruxella Gran over
the Val d’en March, an
area so unique it is a
UNESCO Heritage Site.
An olive tree at
Pedruxella—many are
500 years old and some
are as old as 1,000 years.
The working estate produces a high-quality, artisanal extra virgin oil that is organic and “slow food”
registered. Situated on the south-facing slope above
the Val d’en March, its terraces get plenty of sun and
are protected from weather. The estate’s roots date
back to the 13th century when terraces were built
and olive trees planted. The area is so unique that it
is now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Some of the olive trees are 500 to 1,000 years old.
Pedruxella Gran is one of the last olive estates
on the island to operate its own ancient tafona or
olive press. (Its olive press, aqueduct, and Moorish
Tower are included in Spain’s historic catalog.)
During the fall olive season, it hosts tafonas, or
olive pressings, for friends and guests. The day
starts with traditional olive collecting on the farm,
using nets and long sticks, and ends with a pa amb
oli, a Mallorquin dish of farm bread, tomatoes, garlic, salt, and the oil freshly made by stone and oak
beam presses.
The key to Pedruxella Gran’s uniqueness is that
it has preserved a way of making oil that is rapidly
disappearing. “Around us, the ancient trees are
either abandoned or are pulled out to make way
for younger, more productive trees that can be
mechanically harvested,” Barratt-Brown says.
The estate supports a herd of Mallorquin sheep,
wild and domesticated goats, and carob trees. The
farm also has fields for growing feed for the sheep,
a large vegetable garden, fruit trees, and grapevines.
And their farm manager, Tolo, does a superb job
keeping everything going on the estate, she says.
Barratt-Brown and her husband collaborate
with World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms
(WWOOF), a global organization that links people
who want to volunteer on organic farms with
those who are looking for volunteer help. Over
the past nine years, more than 200 volunteers—
including Taft alums Casey Nolen Jackson ’77 and
Evelyn Windhager-Swanson ’77 and their families—have come from around the world to work at
Pedruxella Gran.
Friends and guests
assist with the olive
harvest during a
special fall tafona
or olive-pressing
gathering.
29
rooted
Over that time, we not only made significant
upgrades and renovations to the house and property, but we started to put our imprint on its long
history. We bottled and labeled our olive oil then,
and we launched our volunteer program through
WWOOF. We also decided to do more to make the
farm available for events and for holiday rentals.
Basically, we started down the long road to make it
the self-sufficient enterprise it needs to be.
We often joke about the myriad of books about
buying the quaint little farm in southern France or
Italy and restoring it. Well, those houses or farms
are all on a few acres. Our farm is on over 600
acres. I guess that is why we haven’t had time to
write one of those books!”
We asked Barratt-Brown a few questions
about her life on and off Pedruxella Gran:
When you inherited the property
from your father, were you
sure you would want to continue
overseeing and owning it?
An interior courtyard at
Pedruxella Gran, with
the Moorish tower on
the left.
Center: High up
in the “place
among the stones,”
Barratt-Brown
takes in the views.
An abcMallorca
Production
30
“I visited my father many times over the years but
I had never really put myself in his shoes. I had
little understanding of how the farm worked and
spoke no Spanish. The first few years were hard. In
the beginning, I felt an obligation to carry on his
vision. I missed my dad, and this was also a way of
keeping him alive.
The interesting thing is that we concluded
around [that] time that we should sell the farm. I
had recently married and had two little babies. And
I was still working full time for NRDC, so it just
didn’t seem practical to be in a long-distance relationship with a large working farm.
Then, as a result of the feedback from prospective buyers that it was too big a project, we decided
to move there and focus on the farm with 100 percent of our time and energy [for a given period of
time]. We thought we would be there a year, but it
stretched longer.
What is it like to have
a dual home and work
life in two countries?
It has to be a huge challenge.
“In many ways, it has been a huge challenge, but
it has also made our family life much richer and
stronger. Our children grew up scaling rocks and
ledges on our mountaintop and were left to explore
on their own from an early age. They grew up with
a house full of guests and volunteers from around
the world, who would join our family to pick olives
and help on the farm. They were plunked full
immersion into summer camps and schools where
Mallorquin (a dialect of Catalan) was the only language spoken. There is no doubt in my mind that it
has fundamentally shaped who they are today.
For many environmental activists, it is hard to
find peace in the nature that we are fighting to preserve. Spain has given me that lovely place where
I can relax and be at peace. I have my hands in our
green garden or am chasing after sheep that need
to be corralled, or am hitting olive trees with sticks
while surrounded by friends and family, something
so rooted in time and place that that grounding
comes back to ground me too.
After decades of battling some of our most
contentious environmental challenges, I can look
around me [on Mallorca] and feel that I am still in
the nature that has surrounded this place for over
thousands of years.
When I inherited the farm, I had already worked
for nearly two decades for NRDC, [which] gave me a
lot of flexibility that I might not have had in another
job. My team at NRDC is incredibly understanding,
and we make the most of my time when I am in D.C.
Luckily, the issues I have worked most on over
the last nearly 10 years—tar sands oil and the
Keystone XL pipeline—have somehow worked
timing-wise with my need to be in Spain.
That is not to say I haven’t had moments when
I have been on a call with a [Capitol] Hill staffer
or reporter [who may] think I am in D.C., when in
fact I am searching for phone coverage outside one
of our ancient stone houses whose thick walls preclude cell coverage. Instead of [being] in an office, I
am instead looking up at falcons and eagles flying
overhead and hoping that some wild goat doesn’t
snort (they are big snorters). It’s a trade-off that on
most days I am glad I have to make.” j
Learn more about Pedruxella Gran
at www.pedruxella.com.
“ We not only
made significant
upgrades and
renovations to
the house and
property, but
we started to
put our imprint
on its long
history.”
rooted
Alex Huber ’83
building a business
from vine to bottle
by Lori Ferguson
I
InVina’s modern facility
houses its fermentation,
aging, and bottling
facilities, all aimed at
capturing the flavors and
complexity of its diverse
vineyard production.
Alex Huber ’83 in one
InVina’s five robust
vineyards in Chile’s
Maule Valley.
t takes only a few minutes of conversation
with vintner Alex Huber ’83 to realize that this is
an individual who thrives on variety. As managing partner of InVina, a family-owned winery and
five vineyards scattered across 900 acres in Talca,
Chile—a thriving wine region approximately 150
miles south of the capital city of Santiago—Huber
is as likely to face questions about malbec and
merlot as he is about spider mites and sustainability, and he couldn’t be happier. “I’ve always
been a jack of all trades, master of none,” Huber
says with a chuckle, “so running a vineyard and
winery is the ideal job for me. I have a wide array
of issues to master and manage and a tremendous amount of things to get done each day,
which I love. The job is extremely fulfilling.”
Huber came to the wine business in a roundabout way. Born in Argentina to American parents,
Huber was raised in Brazil and Japan and educated
in the United States. After earning a bachelor’s
degree in history and diplomacy from Georgetown
University’s School of Foreign Service and an MBA
from Columbia, he worked briefly in the financial
sector, spent time as an administrator with United
Nations Peacekeeping operations in Cambodia,
Mozambique, and Guatemala, and then returned
to Brazil as a management consultant. He was
living in São Paulo when his father broached the
idea of launching a winemaking business in Chile.
A short time later, the family became minority
founding partners of VIA Wines and in 2001,
Huber left the consulting world and joined the
VIA team on-site in Chile, bringing his managerial expertise to the fast-growing organization.
Living on the vineyard, Huber became increasingly interested in the grape-growing side of the
business, and when he and his family were presented with an opportunity to create something
wholly their own, they jumped at it. In 2007,
they founded InVina and have never looked back.
Huber has lived in Chile with his wife and two
children year-round for more than 14 years now,
33
rooted
“ We have ample rainfall from
snowmelt in the Andes,
and our summers are very dry,
with cool nights and very
warm days, conditions that
help to concentrate
flavors in the grapes.”
and he says they’re unlikely to move anytime
soon. His father and brother, both InVina investors, visit the country three or four times a year.
“This region is ideal for growing grapes and
making wines,” Huber explains. “The winters
aren’t extremely cold, so we don’t lose vines; we
have ample rainfall from snowmelt in the Andes;
and our summers are very dry, with cool nights
and very warm days, conditions that help to concentrate flavors in the grapes.” Land in Chile also
costs a fraction of what it does in other parts of
the world, Huber notes, so owning vineyards and
operating a winery there is even more appealing.
“The wine industry is extremely vertically
integrated—there are very few industries where
the farmer who scrapes the earth is also the
34
individual putting the product on the table,” Huber
points out, “but that’s the way it is for many in
the wine business—the grape producer is telling
the story.” This isn’t always the case, Huber says.
There are many different avenues to involvement
in the industry: some people grow the grapes,
but don’t make any wine, while others make wine
from grapes purchased elsewhere, and still others simply bottle and label the finished product.
But at InVina, Huber and his team participate in
every step of the process. “I’m involved at every
level, from growing vines and making wines to
selling the product and managing the marketing
and finances for InVina,” Huber says. On a recent
trip back to the U.S., for example, Huber spent
several days traveling around Massachusetts with
A view of the Batuco
Vineyard in Maule’s
coastal range, known
for its deep clay
soils, and warm
days, with cool afternoon sea breezes
and cold nights.
InVina’s vineyard
workers harvesting
lush fruit.
35
rooted
“ I want to grow the company wisely, and our family
believes deeply in the quality of Chilean wines.”
the sales team for one of his distributors, talking with store owners about InVina’s lines and
offering insights into the quality and diversity
of the wines produced in the Maule Valley. “Any
given day can be filled with many different tasks,
and I find that variety incredibly compelling.”
InVina offers consumers an exciting range of
wines, Huber proudly notes, including many international award winners such as the Sierra Batuco
Gran Reserva Lone Rider 2011, named a 2014
Gold Medal & Best Buy winner by the Beverage
Testing Institute; and the Luma Chequén Reserva
Carménère 2012, a 2014 Double Gold winner and
recipient of the Best Carménère (94 points) at the
San Francisco International Wine Competition.
For those unfamiliar with InVina’s offerings, Huber recommends starting with wines
that possess clear varietal characteristics, such
as a sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, or carménère, a
varietal that he explains is now virtually unique
to Chile. “Our sauvignon blancs are delightful,
with familiar herbal, grass, and citrus notes,
and our Chilean pinot noirs are wonderful
as well, a bit different than American pinot
noirs, which tend to be more robust. And of
course, the carménère is not to be missed.”
While Huber is understandably proud of the
quality wines he and his family create, he also
concedes that making good wine does not guarantee success. “Great winemaking is just the
beginning; you also have to package, market, and
sell your product. Getting started in the industry
is relatively easy—if you’ve got money to spend,
you can buy a vineyard or a winery and turn out
great wines.” But the marketplace is extremely
competitive, Huber continues, so even though you
have a good product and space on the shelf, you
may not be selling enough wine to make a living.
“The choices are so varied that I think it’s difficult
for the average consumer to understand—it’s
even difficult for me, and this is what I do! Many
people have a romantic idea about winemaking,
but at the end of the day, it’s a business, and you
must understand this if you hope to succeed.”
Huber never loses sight of this fact, and under
his watchful eye, InVina is thriving. In less than a
Far left: InVina’s crew
brings in the harvest
at El Peral Vineyard,
usually from late
February to mid-May.
Bottom left: Vines
before the quiet,
dormant season at
Batuco Vineyard.
36
decade, the winery has built an international customer base and is profitable—company assets have
doubled over the course of the last five years—and
in 2013, the Hubers built a state-of-the-art winery,
complete with a full bottling and labeling line as
well as sufficient storage to age their wines on-site.
Now that the foundation is solid, Huber is
starting to think about the next phase of operations. He’s increasingly delegating authority for
day-to-day growing and winemaking operations to
other members of his team and turning more of
his attention to the marketing and sales side of the
business. “My goal is to create value for our shareholders, and at this point, the best way to do that is
to increase our market strength, probably through
some sort of consolidation with another winery.”
That said, Huber says no immediate changes
are in the cards. “I want to grow the company
wisely,” he concludes. “Our family believes deeply
in the quality of Chilean wines, and we plan
to be producing them for years to come.” j
Lori Ferguson is a freelance writer based in southern
New Hampshire. Photos courtesy of InVina.
37
“Having the opportunity to work
with thoughtful and creative
young minds is inspiring to us.”
—Dr. Barbara Thiers, NYBG
in bloom
A Thriving Collaboration Between Taft
and The New York Botanical Garden
By Debra Meyers
he end of the 19th century was a time of great innovation in both science and the
arts. From the discovery of radioactivity and X-rays, to the publication of literary
classics penned by the likes of Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling, and Thomas Hardy,
the 1890s brought scientific
advancement and cultural
evolution to new and lasting
heights. It was in this age—
this context—that Horace
Dutton Taft began preparing
young men for well-rounded
lives of intellectual, artistic,
and athletic achievement.
Taft’s mission to “educate the
whole boy” was the heart and
soul of life at his school in
The William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, the centerpiece of NYBG’s
botanical research program, is the fourth largest herbarium in the
Pelham Manor, New York.
world and the largest in the Western Hemisphere, with a collection of
more than seven million preserved specimens, some of which were
collected by Taft student interns. ROBERT BENSON
The iconic Enid A.
Haupt Conservatory.
39
in bloom
reach though a partnership between
NYBG and Taft, and the short walk from
the train station became a long journey
toward a compelling collaboration.
“Even in those early conversations
we had a fairly clear idea of what we
thought the partnership should look
like,” explains Mori. “The components
we envisioned are the components that
are, for the most part, in place today.”
Parvis and Mori talked about a lecture
series at Taft featuring NYBG scientists.
They envisioned regular lectures on topics that complemented work being done
in Taft’s classrooms, and an internship
program that would allow Taft students
to engage in real-world research at the
Garden. They also talked about eco-travel
programs led by NYBG experts. Before his
1. www.nybg.org
first day on the job at Taft, Parvis pitched
the idea to Development Director Chris
Latham. An enthusiastic Latham took it
to Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 and
Science Department Head Jim Lehner.
“Everyone was wholeheartedly
intrigued by the idea,” says Parvis. “It
bodes well for the school to be aligned
with one of the best research and education institutions in the world. It
demonstrates not only the tremendous
opportunities available to Taft students, but also the esteemed position
Taft enjoys in the larger community.”
While Parvis worked to grow support
for the partnership at Taft, Mori was
busy with legwork at the Garden. He
spoke with his colleagues and supervisors, including the Garden’s CEO and
President Gregory Long. All agreed
that it was an excellent concept.
“We were excited about the idea of a
partnership with the Taft School because
education is a primary commitment of
our Science Division, in order to mold
the next generation of plant scientists,”
says Dr. Barbara Thiers, the Garden’s
vice president for science administration. “Most of our educational activities
involve students at the graduate level,
R.F. Naczi
share and complement their efforts,”
says Taft Director of Planned Giving Paul
Parvis. “It makes good sense for two organizations that are both very keen about
opportunities in education to join forces.”
Parvis came to Taft in the fall of 2010,
after spending four and a half years as
director of planned giving at The New
York Botanical Garden. During that time,
he not only came to know the scope of the
science and the breadth of the educational
resources that defined the Garden, but
Parvis also came to know NYBG scientist
Dr. Scott Mori. On their daily walks from
the train station to the office, the two
would talk about the Garden’s reach in
the community. With Parvis moving on to
Taft and the daily walks nearing an end,
the talk turned to expanding the Garden’s
Natasha Batten ’15 spent time working on several “mini projects,” with the
goal of understanding the genetic basis of fruit diversity. During the first
summer, Batten focused on the structural elements of fruits using classical botanical techniques. Last summer she focused on the molecular side,
which involved extracting DNA, cloning, subcloning, and sequence analysis.
Batten, who is now studying chemical and biological engineering at MIT,
believes that her time at NYBG will be important moving forward. “The
experience gave me a good introduction to molecular genetics. Though the
work was with plants, the principles are really universal and will extend to
human biology,” says Batten. “This experience has been an integral step in
my academic and career path.”
40
Camila Jingchen Jiang
—Paul Parvis, Taft School
Camila Jingchen Jiang
Around the same time, and not
more than a few miles down the road,
another visionary leader was laying the
groundwork for what would, like Mr.
Taft’s School, become an iconic and
enduring institution, “distinguished
by the beauty of its landscape” and the
“excellence of its programs.”1 Inspired
by the Royal Botanic Gardens near
London, England, Columbia University
botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton and his
wife, Elizabeth, led a public campaign
to establish what would become The
New York Botanical Garden (NYBG).
In 1891, the Garden was chartered as
a private, nonprofit corporation, on
grounds owned by the city of New York.
Now, 125 years since their founding,
Taft School and The New York Botanical
Garden have risen in prominence and
expanded their missions, while fulfilling
the promise of their founders. They have
also come together in a unique partnership that brings NYBG scientists to the
Taft campus and opens Garden doors
for Taft students to work and to learn.
“It seems fitting that two premier
institutions should come together to
“It bodes well for the school to be aligned
with one of the best research and
education institutions in the world. It
demonstrates not only the tremendous
opportunities available to Taft students,
but also the esteemed position Taft enjoys
in the larger community.”
From field to physical file,
Camila Jiang ’14 collected,
processed, and created permanent records for more
than 50 plant specimens
during the summer of 2013.
Herbarium records give Jiang
sole credit for indentifying
several specimens, including the Viburnum dilatatum
(above), a perennial shrub
in the Caprifoliaceae family.
Opened in 2002, the Steere
Herbarium is the largest in
the Western Hemisphere, and
is home to 7.3 million plant
and fungi specimens, of which
2.3 million are currently digitized and searchable through
the Virtual Herbarium system.
41
in bloom
and so extending our outreach to high
school students contributes to one of
our core missions. Having the opportunity to work with thoughtful and
creative young minds is inspiring to us.”
Between late 2010 and early 2012,
Parvis and Mori worked in earnest to
build a foundation and structure for the
partnership. Meetings, site visits, and
conference calls gave way to detailed
proposals, action plans, and, finally, in
February of 2012, the first event that
cemented the pathway between Taft
and the Garden: the debut of the scientific lecture series at Taft. Mori, then
the Nathaniel Lord Britton Curator
of Botany at The New York Botanical
Garden, delivered the inaugural lecture.
Around the same time, science teacher
Laura Monti ’89 was working with a group
of eight Taft students engaged in an independent, biomedical research tutorial.
“Because of our relationship with
NYBG, I was able to tour the Garden a few
months earlier with other Taft teachers,”
explains Monti. “I thought my students
would also appreciate seeing a modern
lab doing leading edge research, especially
from a different perspective than the biomedical angle they more commonly see.”
Monti arranged for the group to visit
the Garden, where they had access to
sights most of NYBG’s nearly one million visitors each year rarely get to see,
including the William and Lynda Steere
Herbarium and the molecular genetics lab
in the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory.
The seeds Parvis and Mori had sown
were not only taking root, but beginning to grow, one bloom nurturing the
next: Dr. Amy Litt was the tour guide for
Monti’s group; Litt later traveled to Taft as
a lecture series speaker. Inspired by what
she heard during that lecture, Natasha
Batten ’15 wrote to Litt to inquire about
internship opportunities at NYBG; Batten
spent the next two summers interning at
the Garden. And the synergistic growth
continues. To date, Taft has hosted seven
lectures featuring Garden scientists—now
42
“
The Pfizer lab
is a fantastic
”
place to work
notes Ezra Levy ’15. “There aren’t many labs in the
world populated with a community of scientists so
invested in both their work and the work of their
mentees, be they graduate students or summer
interns. I will be hard-pressed to find another lab so
comfortable to work in, flooded with natural light,
with a beautiful view over part of the Garden.
“I hope my time at the Garden will be useful not
only for me but for other scientists who may benefit from my tidbit of work. The project should help
improve some results collected in the field, as it would
nearly eliminate the need for transporting lab materials, while collating the same data more quickly and
just as effectively. As for me, there is no question that
my internship this summer has helped to shape my
notions of what I want to accomplish in college and in
a career in the sciences. I am exceedingly grateful to
Taft, The New York Botanical Garden, and everyone
involved in their partnership for this opportunity.”
sponsored by the Yerkes Family Botanical
Art and Sciences Speakers Fund—with
several more scheduled for the current
academic year. In February of each year,
Monti takes students to visit the Enid
A. Haupt Conservatory and the Garden’s
molecular labs. Which is where Ezra
Levy ’15 met Dr. Damon Little, with
whom he interned this past summer.
“The internship is both the most
complex and most successful component
of the partnership,” explains Mori, who,
along with Dr. Robert Naczi, the Arthur
J. Cronquist Curator of North American
Botany, mentored Taft’s first NYBG
intern, Camila Jingchen Jiang ’14.
Jiang spent the summer of 2013 helping to build a botanical inventory of plant
life found at the Zofnass Family Preserve
of the Westchester County Land Trust,
near Bedford Hills, New York. Assigned to
ferns, mosses, and lichens, Jiang not only
collected and processed fertile specimens,
but created a detailed and permanent
record of each new specimen she found,
scanning and photographing the plants,
recording GPS coordinates for the plant
locations, and in some cases, mounting,
barcoding, and labeling her finds. Jiang’s
records live physically in the William and
Lynda Steere Herbarium, and electronically in the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium.
Like the 2.3 million digitized specimens
housed in the Virtual Herbarium, Jiang’s
specimens are searchable by scientists
and others throughout the world.
Jiang’s successful internship solidified the program, opening doors for
future interns. Natasha Batten ’15 spent
the past two summers working with
Dr. Barbara Ambrose, associate curator of plant genomics, while Ezra Levy
’15 was mentored by Cullman Associate
Curator of Bioinformatics Dr. Damon
Little. Batten’s research projects were
designed to expand scientific knowledge of the molecular genetic basis for
plant diversity. Levy hoped to improve
options for collecting plant samples.
For seven weeks, Levy worked on
devising a rapid DNA extractor for use
by botanists in the field. Isolating plant
DNA usually takes place in a laboratory,
where equipment, like the centrifuges
needed to separate DNA from tissue,
is readily available. Preserving sensitive samples between field and lab may
also require specialized treatment, like
refrigeration. Levy’s work involved
developing a buffer solution that would
43
in bloom
Dr. Scott Mori, right, of
The New York Botanical
Garden, with artist Michael
Rothman at Taft’s Potter
Gallery show, Fields and
Forests Afar: A New York
Botanical Garden Scientific
Expedition through
Illustration.
defer the need for that equipment in the
field by allowing scientists to sample
plant DNA at collection, and preserve
its stability for later sequencing.
“I prepared solutions, tested them on
plant samples, then recorded and interpreted the data,” Levy explains. “I needed
to consider how chemicals optimize the
pH or the buffer-base of the solution,
and how solutions affect plants of different varieties, textures, chemistries,
or morphologies. It was an opportunity
for exposure to real-world science—to
effectively move beyond the classroom.”
And Levy’s work could have far-reaching
implications for field researchers.
“Researchers are always trying to
find a more efficient way to do our
research,” said Little. “The protocol
that Ezra is developing will provide
a faster and cheaper option.”
Now in its third year, the partnership between Taft and The New York
Botanical Garden has never been stronger,
or had more support. Donors, including
Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78, Linda
and Andy Safran ’71, and the Yerkes family, have stepped forward to fund student
“We are eager to build on the successes
of the past three years, for the benefit
of both Taft students and The New
York Botanical Garden. It’s a win-win
scenario that we hope will continue.”
—Dr. Robert Naczi, NYBG
internships. The Yerkes family has also
established the Yerkes Family Botanical
Art and Sciences Speakers Fund, which
has sponsored all seven lectures to date,
and which ensures the continuity and
longevity of the program. And while the
ecotourism component of the partnership
envisioned by Parvis and Mori remains
in development, new opportunities have
been added to the mix, including an
exhibition of botanical art in the Mark
W. Potter ’48 Gallery. Known for both
the beauty and scientific accuracy of his
work, artist Michael Rothman travels
the world with NYBG scientists documenting their field discoveries. Taft’s
curated exhibition marked the first time
Rothman’s work was collectively shown.
There have also been changes.
Mori has retired, turning the partnership reigns over to Naczi.
“We are eager to build on the successes of the past three years, for the
benefit of both Taft students and
The New York Botanical Garden,”
Lecythis pisonis Pollination
in French Guiana by Michael
Rothman was commissioned
by Dr. Scott Mori and exhibited in the artist’s month-long
show at Taft’s Potter Gallery.
said Naczi. “It’s a win-win scenario
that we hope will continue.”
It is that win-win scenario—the
give and take of the program—that
all involved recognize as the deepest value of the relationship.
“The true intent of the partnership
is to give a new generation access to
the science and the scientists, and in
doing so, foster an interest in science;
we hope to transfer, in some measure,
these ‘gifts’ from one generation to
the next,” explains Parvis. “I think we
have done that, and done it well.” j
Photography by Robert Falcetti and
courtesy of The New York Botanical Garden
Taft’s Paul
Parvis with Rain
Forest Canopy in
Central French
Guiana, which
artist Michael
Rothman gave
to the Taft
School after his
2012 exhibit in
Potter Gallery;
the print is now
displayed in the
Lady Ivy Kwok
Wu Science and
Mathematics
Center.
45
Tales of a Taftie
 Ambulances frequently transported the wounded at
Tales of a Taftie
night, without headlights, over treacherous roads.
The Ford Model Ts were reconfigured to carry three
stretchers or four ambulatory patients, though they
often held many more. Archives of the American
By Julie Reiff
Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs
George Ripley Cutler, Class of 1912
Of Battles Long Ago: Memoirs of an American Ambulance Driver
in World War I
Corporal G. Ripley
Cutler wearing the
Croix de Guerre in 1919
46
In December 1916, as a graduate
student at Yale studying English
and music theory, G. Ripley Cutler
signed on to be an ambulance
driver in France. A ROTC student
at Yale as an undergraduate, he’d
had six weeks of basic military
training in 1915 and was fluent
in French, but the first thing
he’d have to do when he arrived
in Paris was learn to drive.
Although Ford had introduced its Model T in 1908,
most Americans still didn’t
own cars. And since the
United States had not yet
entered the war, he joined
the American Field Service
(AFS), a private philanthropy created in 1914 to
help the war effort. American volunteers were
attached to French army units. They were
expected to buy their own uniforms and pay
their own travel expenses to Europe. The French
army provided housing and meals (although
Cutler frequently sought out local markets and
cafes to supplement the often meager fare).
Arriving in France in April 1917, Cutler
would serve far longer than his six-month
tour, receiving his U.S. Army discharge in
April 1919. By the time U.S. troops arrive,
Cutler reports that he felt “felt more like a
French veteran than an American private.”
Although he appreciated the local expertise
of the French soldiers—or poilus, as French
infantryman were known—they were tired after
three years of war. “Having steeled themselves to
regard their own lives and deaths as a matter of
no consequence, they applied the same philosophy
to everybody else. The effect of a long war is not
galvanizing,” he wrote, “but paralyzing.” (page 80)
Ambulance drivers were usually stationed
a few kilometers away from the fighting and
shuttled the wounded from aid posts back to
the hospitals. Although they could hear and
even see German artillery, their days were often
routine. Only once did Cutler encounter a gas
attack, a diffused one that caused no damage.
Seeking adventure, Cutler and some friends
walked to the front on their day off in hopes
of seeing the actual trenches. When they
reached the trenches, or boyaux, an “amiable and courteous” captain offered them
the best coffee they’d tasted outside of Paris
and happily provided them with a guide.
The driving, however, was treacherous.
Finding the way through unknown villages,
landmarks often destroyed, to the front (without overrunning the aid posts and winding up
at the trenches. Frequently in the dark, with
no headlights, over muddy roads pockmarked
by artillery and bridges only wide enough for a
single vehicle. Flat tires, broken fan belts and
other mechanical woes could strand a driver—and
his passengers—in less than ideal locations.
Cutler made another run to the front at
Les Tueries on what seemed a quiet day, to
transport a number of walking wounded back
to the main hospital. Just as he turned the
ambulance around there came a whistle:
“…this time with a frightful crescendo. We dove
out and crouched by the roadside. There was no
place to hide. The next few seconds were nothing
but noise and smell, crashes of explosions, a highpitched ringing in the ears, an acrid hot sulphuric
smell. Three shells broke, one in the middle of
the road. I vividly recall the fine view I had of the
nearest explosion—an eruption of mud instantly
engulfed in a cloud of black smoke.” (page 210)
One of the stretcher-bearers was killed. Only
back in the dugout did Cutler realize he himself
was hit. The wound seeming minor, he asked to
stay on duty, but a doctor sent him back with
the gas patients. After being X-rayed (“a prickly
process”) the surgeon gave Cutler an injection
of cocaine before operating. A few days later, a
French lieutenant came by “to present a small
piece of dry goods”—the French Croix de Guerre.
In the end, Cutler estimates the total number of
wounded he transported at more than 500. He saw
three major engagements—the French offensive
at Verdun in 1917, the German breakthrough to
the Marne in May 1918, and the Franco-American
offensive in the fall of 1918. The two units in
which he served both received citations for bravery.
Cutler later married and became an investment
counselor, living in Massachusetts and Maine.
His nephew Charles Knickerbocker edited the
final transcript of the memoir, which was finally
published in 1979, 60 years after Cutler’s return
from France. j
Sources: Of Battles Long Ago: Memoirs of an American
Ambulance Driver in World War I and American Field
Service Archives, www.afs.org.
What successful Taftie,
no longer living, would
you like to see profiled
in this space? Send
your suggestions to
beyusl@taftschool.org.
47
Alumni notes
two-masted schooner, and visited some old
haunts dear to us—particularly the town of
Friendship, where we first met in 1946. The
weather was just about perfect, and we all
had a great time. It meant a lot to us, particularly because long-distance travel is getting
more difficult for us, and it may have been
our last long trip.” A call to the home of Bob
Lewis brought the unwelcome news of his
passing last Nov. (see In Memoriam).
1945
Class Secretary: John C. Carson,
1703 Soledad Ave., La Jolla, CA 92037-3819,
johnccarsonmd@gmail.com
Alumni Notes
1940
Geg Buttenheim sent a reminiscence,
especially for any Princeton-alum Tafties:
Geg and teammate Dick Bender won the
Eastern Intercollegiate tennis tournament in 1942 and acquired enough points
to retire the tournament’s team trophy
to Princeton for permanent residence.
1942
Head Class Agent: Cheves McC. Smythe,
1 Bishop Gadsden Way, Apt. 103,
Charleston, SC 29412-3506,
cheves.m.smythe@uth.tmc.edu
1943
Head Class Agent: Ted Pratt,
171 Newtown Tpke., Westport, CT 06880-1019
48
1944
Class Secretary: Baaron B. Pittenger Jr., 4930
Newstead Pl., Colorado Springs, CO 809065977, BPTNGR36@comcast.net; Head Class
Agent: Jack Lyman, 33 Lyman Rd., Middlefield,
CT 06455-0453, jaclyman@sbcglobal.net
The 90s club keeps growing. Herb Frisbie,
Del Ladd, and Bill King are the latest
additions. Del reports that his children put
together a family celebration in Sept. He’s
doing OK, although dealing with diabetes,
and enjoying the warmth of Fla., where he
plans to stay. Bill King celebrated his 90th
on Martha’s Vineyard in mid-Aug. Bill and
his wife, Barbara, had a “superb” seven-day
cruise across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary
from Brooklyn to Southampton. Crew, food,
and lectures all great, he reports—“highly
recommended.” They followed the cruise
with two days in the Cotswolds and four days
in London. See p. 87 for a photo of Bill King
with several other Tafties at the Gasparilla
Anyone know what year this
photo (circa-1980) of the
Taft girls’ hockey team was
taken and why they were in
Canada? We love those hats!
The coach appears to be
outnumbered. CP Air
Inn in Boca Grande, Fla. Dud Blanchard’s
summer was a busy one, the Cape being a
magnet for many of his 22 grandchildren
and 20 great-grandchildren. He says it is
wonderful because he and Barbara can stay
put while family members parade through for
most of July and Aug. Dud says he is living
proof of his dad’s words that “Your legs are
the first thing to go as you age.” Still walking,
but “it ain’t easy.” Roger MacKinnon and
wife Cynthia have focused their attention
on their yard and house since his retirement
in Jan., making many updates and changes.
They planned to spend some summer time at
his long-time beach house in Southold, way
out on the North Fork of Long Island. They,
too, have enjoyed visits from family members. Still in the early days of retirement,
Roger spends considerable time thinking
about his rewarding academic career. Bee
and Rich Soderberg, accompanied by seven
other family members, enjoyed a two-week
vacation at a small hotel in Camden, Maine.
“We hiked on several short trails, went on a
Those of you who are packrats can understand the situation: 55 years in the same
house, which contains files from Taft
years to the present, and books which, in
spite of donations to UCSD and La Jolla’s
Athenaeum, would preclude the thought of
moving to smaller quarters. I feel—almost—
certain that it is a task I could complete in
five years, or perhaps six years. Twenty-nine
large, three-pronged notebooks are filed
with this accumulation, in transparent sheet
protectors and indexed. There are probably
another 29 volumes to go. Every day is one
of discovery as I find things forgotten for
years—from reviews of Craig Claiborne’s
cookbook, to the magic of the Cloisters at
the Met, to obituaries of all kinds—the
real reason the daily New York Times is a
must—and documentation of the closing of
Poughkeepsie’s Smith Brothers Co. cough
drop factory. All Vassar devotees from the
early 1950s will remember the Smith family’s restaurant that closed in 1957. There are
fascinating letters from Paul Cruikshank
in 1975 and from Edith Cruikshank in 1984,
and an issue of the Taft Bulletin from 2000,
which I had missed, and a submission by
Jonathan Willson ’82—a Taft faculty
member on sabbatical this year—on integration during his boyhood years. It was so
well done. I wondered if he knew of Dixie
Willson, sister of Meredith from The Music
Man and author of Honey Bear, a story found
in a P.F Volland volume, which is one of the
treasures of children’s literature. And, not to
be missed is Alexander Burnham’s “Okinawa,
Harry Truman and the Atomic Bomb” in We
Write for Our Own Time: Selected Essays from
Seventy-Five Years of the Virginia Quarterly
Review. Sir William Osler said that a library
reflected the mind of its collector. Is anyone but me going to be interested in what
amounts to many volumes of a commonplace
book? Some months ago, before he retired
as UCLA librarian, Gary Strong took a few of
us through that great Lawrence Clark Powell
edifice. He stopped at one section and said,
“This is the room with the rented typewriters where Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit
451.” To everyone but me this meant something. And that was the week I discovered
Ray Bradbury. And what a discovery! The
title derives from the temperature at which
books burn, and takes one back to Animal
Farm and 1984.
1946/70th Reunion
Class Secretary: Rev. P. Kingsley Smith, 8339
Carrbridge Circle, Baltimore, MD 21204-1814,
pksmi@comcast.net; Head Class Agent: John
R. Welchli, 185 Earl Ct., Grosse Pointe, MI 48236
With our 70th Reunion coming up, our
thoughts turn back to the wondrous events
of June 6–7, 1946, with central Conn. garbed
in spring. As the Papyrus reported, “The precommencement festivities…featured the Glee
Club, directed by Mr. Morgan, concluding
with Romberg’s stirring Stout-Hearted Men.”
That song has been embedded in my brain
ever since, perhaps because we did indeed
go forth into the brave new postwar world.
George Morgan was a memorable teacher,
having been at Taft since 1923, playing at
daily Vespers, conducting the orchestra, and
giving lessons in many instruments as he
tried to produce real music out of a gang of
boys who were, to say the least, of mixed
talents. He also opened the music room for
students to listen to his great collection of
classical 78 rpms (remember those?). Alan
Ward, whose family seems to specialize in
“twinning,” reports after his heart surgery,
“My Calif. son came with his wife and three
daughters, including twins, for a 10-day
visit at my house on Cape Cod, followed
by a weeklong visit by his twin brother,
who heads the psychology department at
Swarthmore. My other son, who lives locally,
also came with his family, so I had lots of
relatives to keep me entertained. [As for our
reminiscences of our music teacher, Alan
adds,] Mr. Morgan let me play the organ at
Vespers a few times when he was away.” Jim
McKelvey’s memory was not so positive: “I
hated Mr. Morgan’s classical music classes,
but not anymore! Tony Allerton stayed
with Dixie and me while he attended an AA
convention in Atlanta. Fun seeing each other
after so long! I think he wants to go to the
reunion. I am still OK and hope to go as well.
I do recall many of those Taft names, especially Mr. Olmstead, who said I would be
bald early—he was right on that one.” Tony
also reported that he had gone to Calif. for
his son’s wedding—no golf this time. Jackie
and Ken Griggs are leading the quiet life
in Palos Verdes, Calif., after his busy career
as a neurologist, here and abroad, including China, with the Army, Germany, and at
Walter Reed. He and Jackie met when he was
at Univ. of Rochester Medical Center and
she was in training as a medical artist and
adds, “We literally courted over cadavers.”
Leg and ankle ailments keep him on a walker,
but they have children and grandchildren in
the Bay area and he “sees lots of people, but
not professionally anymore.” Dave Ward
remembers VE Day, May 8, 1945, as much
more solemn than celebratory—classes as
usual, except one was replaced by a service
at Christ Church. For us, WWII was far from
over, and we were only a year short of being
drafted ourselves. Instead, we “stout-hearted
men” left Watertown in peace, seven decades
ago! We scored a hat trick this issue—all of
our Wards reported in: Alan, David, and,
just in time, Albert Ward. After 30 years
as a combat pilot with the Air Force, outdoing even Steve Canyon (you remember him,
don’t you?), he had a number of government
jobs. Now he is fully retired, even from golf.
He and Emily are in a senior living facility
in Harleysville, Pa., near their daughter and
grandsons, and Emily’s hometown, Dover,
Del. (also home of the big Air Force base). He
remembers Taft fondly, especially Beanie
Weld, who “labored mightily for me to
graduate in two years” but he regrets that
“Beanie did not teach me typing.” (We doubt
if there are many of today’s students who
don’t know their way around a QWERTY
keyboard.) Finally, a sad note from Dave
Wallace: After his wife, Betty, passed away
a few years ago, he was blessed to fall in love
with and marry an old friend and classmate
of hers, Joella, merging their families. Sadly,
Joella died in Aug. Now, still good looking
as he is, at 87, he plans to stay single, but
he has a good life with children, greats, and
49
Alumni Notes
grands (four of them), all in the San Antonio
area, raising horses and working on the Texas
Transportation Museum, restoring both
steam and diesel engines.
1947
Class Secretary: Robert D. Gries,
Gries Investments, Suite 1600, 1801 E.
Ninth St., Cleveland, OH 44114-3100,
rdg@gries.com; Head Class Agent: Paul F.
Bergmann Jr., 746 Ruddiman Dr., N. Muskegon,
MI 49445-2876, pjbergmann85@yahoo.com
My urgent appeal produced an interesting life recap from John “Doc” Gibson
and a brief note from Tom Daniel.
Surely there must be some others of you
alive and kicking but not responding.
John writes, “After retiring as a VP of the
Hartford Insurance Group in 1994, I spent
the next 13 years as an unpaid Coast Guard
Auxiliarist teaching at the U.S. Coast Guard
Academy in New London, Conn. As a Taftie,
I felt right at home. The student body was
outstanding—the best 250 or so of 5,000
applicants—outstanding scholars, athletes,
etc. Their scholastic discipline equaled
what you and I experienced at Taft, as did
their intolerance of losing on the athletic
field. When they graduated, they had had
an outstanding academic education, no
student loans, and guaranteed employment
for five years. Not a bad deal. I would have
hired any of them for a business. Then (in
my 80s) I took a job as an adjunct instructor at the local community college. What a
culture shift. After scraping up the money,
or loans, to attend, many of these students
did their best not to get an education.
Absences, tardiness, and poor homework
habits for many of them. After five years
I gave up. I hope Taft’s present students
understand how blessed they are to have the
‘kind firm moulder’ experience.” Tom sent a
note that he and his wife, Janet, are, “Hale
and hearty and just back from the second
of our grandchildren weddings as grandson
Tim Marrs married Sara Binder in Calif.
Yours truly is currently writing a book on
his 104 athletic adventures in 43 countries
on seven continents. After a toe amputation and a back operation at the end of last
year, my writing skills exceed my athletic
prowess, and whether there are more adventures in the future is still questionable.”
50
Dave Fenton ’48 at the wedding of his granddaughter, Elizabeth Shepherd Bourgeois ’05.
1948
Class Secretary: Larry Leonard, 1 Salem
St., Apt. 5, Swampscott, MA 01907-1314,
lbleonards@comcast.net; Head Class Agent:
Dave Fenton, 119 Beechwood Dr., Oakland,
CA 94618-2013, dwfgolf@sbcglobal.net
Summers seem to fly by at the speed of
sound. A mystery! A puzzlement! Something
to do with age? The news from Lake
Wobegon is that your scribe has signed on
with a continuing care facility in Naples, Fla.
After debating the issue for a while, Joan
and I decided it was best if we took this
step while we had reasonable control of our
mental and physical abilities. We once could
invite you for room and board; it now will be
cocktails and dinner. The welcome door will
still be open, so don’t hold back if you are in
the area. Perhaps a small gathering of ’48 is
possible in Fla. Pat and Bill Hatch expect to
be in Vero Beach this Feb. and March. They
both are in good shape and have endorsed
our move, having joined a retirement community in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, three years
ago. Dave Fenton said he was thinking of
a Fla. trip in late Feb. or early March too.
He writes that he and Jackie enjoyed the
summer at Lake Tahoe and have plans to
celebrate his 85th birthday in Carmel in
Nov. with 18 family members. He didn’t
mention inviting his 1948 classmates, but
I’m sure we are welcome! See above for a
photo of Dave at the marriage of his granddaughter, Liz Shepherd Bourgeois ’05.
Other than serious bronchitis, a troublesome right foot, and still trying to master
the French language, George Gershel from
Switzerland comments, “As usual, life is
peaceful here in the mountains, and I love
the quiet and beauty of where we live.” He
was off to London for a few days and then to
Ohio in Nov. with family. George reports on
becoming a great-grandfather of a little girl.
He now has two great-grandchildren and, as
he says, “Naturally this means more gifts.”
Here is Bill Kissell’s take on my query on
age: “I’m applauding little everyday dramas
I wouldn’t have at another time of life: The
dogs wrestling with abandon on the back
lawn, the bluebird coming in for a landing—
I’m home, kids! My grandson running with
the bulls in Spain, a little girl stopping in
the middle of a school crossing to hug the
smiling guard, the dark shadow we brushed
against while driving a Va. back road that
turned out to be a black bear.” Interesting
thoughts. I close these class notes with sadness having just learned of the passing of
Peter Gardiner in July (see In Memoriam).
1949
Class Secretary: William E. Hoblitzelle III,
3108 N. Page Ave., Hernando, FL 344422977, rohob@aol.com; Head Class Agent:
James N. Baker, 777 Bluff St., Glencoe,
IL 60022-1504, bluff7@aol.com
Tap Pryor emailed early to respond to my
regular pitch for updates from the class,
when I, your scribe, wrote, “I know it is hard
sometimes when it seems that the ruts we’re
in can’t be of interest to anyone else.” Tap
responded, “I am not in a rut. I am doing
what many, including the media, in Maine
find to be interesting.” I immediately called
Tap to say that no offense was meant, and I
think we ended as friends again. A few of us
have wondered how John Potter is and how
to contact him. After a few phone calls to his
NYC and Pa. phone numbers, I was told John
was at an assisted living facility in Armonk,
N.Y. I reached John on his cell phone we had
a good talk. We who made it to Watertown in
May 2014 knew that he had broken his hip in
a fall while in Stroudsburg, Pa., in Feb. 2014,
and that he still hoped to be with us for our
65th. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. He
spent several months in Pa. with a hip repair
and physical therapy. He has been in the
Armonk facility for over a year now and gets
physical therapy every day, but still needs a
walker to get around. He does go down to his
NYC apartment (sounds like frequently) to
get his mail there. A nice long note from
Bob King ’49 and his traveling companion, Jane Jarcho, above the Seine while in Paris.
Dave Penning reads as follows, “My wife,
Joyce, and I have just returned from two
weeks of vacation in Maui, Hawaii. Traveling
from the West Coast is easy and fast. We
have also been spending time in the Palo
Alto, Calif., area with my daughter, Piper, her
husband, and two grandsons. They are
almost Taft-age, but want to stay in the area
for schooling. No East Coast for them! You
no doubt have read about the technology
boom in Silicon Valley. I have personally seen
autonomous Google cars moving around Palo
Alto with no driver in sight. Small houses on
tiny property lots sell for $2-5 million. All
you have to do is own some real estate and
get rich. For example, I purchased my home
in 1963 for $63,000. It recently sold, in less
than two weeks listing, for $3.5 million, with
no upgrades since originally built. The money
for all this is coming mainly from Asian
immigrants who buy property for 100 percent cash instantly at the full asking price.
Here in Reno, we have a new gigafactory for
batteries for Tesla cars and solar energy storage. Individual homeowners have their own
energy collection and storage capabilities, so
the connections from the utilities to individual homes are no longer needed. The end
of utility bills! I still hold four flight instructor ratings: Single-engine, multi-engine,
instrument, and glider. I fly infrequently
however, as FAA regulations have become
unbearably burdensome for independent
instructors. Government inefficiency and
bureaucratic stupidity is rampant. I think it
all will come crashing down sometime soon
(pardon the pun). I miss seeing all our friends
from Taft, but airline travel is not pleasant
for me anymore. Don’t know when, or if, I
will see you.” Dick Moyer writes, “Little to
report except to say the stock market crash
shouldn’t be a big surprise. Some stocks just
got ahead of the economy, and key money
managers and some individuals decided to
take their profits and run. People have
learned that Apple and stocks like it are not a
one-way street. What concerns me is individuals who are getting ready to retire may
see their funds depleted at a bad time. This
may force them to put off retirement for a
while, or change their living standards when
they retire. I just hope this crash doesn’t
snowball and cause a lot more damage.”
Harlow Unger, our most prolific author,
reports, “I shall be speaking at the National
Archives in Washington and the Kennedy
Center in Boston in Oct., on my new book,
Henry Clay, America’s Greatest Statesman.
Abraham Lincoln called Henry Clay ‘the man
for whom I fought all my humble life’ and my
new book tells why.” (For more see In Print
on p. 11.) From George Sawyer: “I am duly
shamed to write a very small piece and attach
a few recent photos of my local family and
our Eastern Shore so-called ‘summer house.’
Actually we go there all year on my now usual
long weekends, unless the snow is falling
heavily. I am still working, but fairly leisurely,
and my wife, Martha, and I are still in good
health. We both work out regularly in
Alexandria and Chestertown, Md., where the
Washington College athletic folks let us use
their new fitness center. My work these days
can be summed up as just one of the grizzled
grey beards that give advice to a few Navy
people on their ship acquisition programs,
plus a few remaining BOD memberships. But
as long as my health remains at or above par,
I believe I will stay at it. Simply, I really like
being around younger, smarter, and more
energetic peers—and in more than a few
instances, they seem to like it too. Next week
I will be in the Mich. Upper Peninsula to see
one of ‘my’ company’s newest products go on
test. A few years ago, this would be a two-day
visit at the most. Now I’m stretching it out to
a week and—mon dieu—with my wife along.”
A good note from head mon Scott Pierce,
who wrote, “We are currently on a large paddle boat called the American Empress
cruising up the Columbia and Snake Rivers,
generally following the Lewis and Clark path.
How they survived their trip and reached the
Pacific Ocean through some of this topography is truly miraculous. The Cascade
Mountains are rugged, and the Columbia
Gorge spectacular. Right now we are docked
at Richmond, Wash., a farming community
that was evacuated in 1940 by the government for the Manhattan Project in nearby
Hanaford. The first atomic bombs were made
here, and they are still cleaning up the radioactive waste. The weather, rainfall, and
temperatures on the eastern side of the
mountains are completely different than the
Portland side. Here it’s very dry, like most of
Calif., with the days well into the 90s. You
can smell the smoke from the fires north of
the area. This region is hurting economically,
as it is where the fruit and nut trees are
grown, as well as being the location of most
of the Wash. wineries. We will end the trip in
Clarkston, Wash., after a visit to several vineyards, and a jet boat trip into Hell’s Canyon,
Idaho. I have always been fascinated by Lewis
and Clark’s trip, and finally got to see a little
of it. Other than that, Hobe, we are as well as
could be expected. I gimp around and will
probably have my other knee done this winter. Janice is in better shape. Summering in
Maine works for us, as we have three sons
and seven grands close by. We have been
quite blessed. I trust you and Ro are also.”
51
Alumni Notes
52
Alumni notes
Mike Druitt ’50 with son Chris.
Archie Fletcher ’50 with wife Kathy in
Jasper, Alberta.
And from Bob King, “We visited Hong Kong,
Stockholm, and Paris among other places
over past months. I have been fortunate to
have a great companion, Jane Jarcho. We
have been to so many wonderful places:
Canada, Alaska, Far East, Paris, London, and
the Baltic. Recently ruined my shoulder,
which was deteriorating from age, trying to
make up golf distance. Now focus on travel,
bridge, vegetable gardening, opera, and
bocce. I have five grandkids—three about to
enter college, one at the Naval Academy, and
one at Yale medical school progressing for an
MD and a PhD. I officially live in Stuart, Fla.,
but most time spent in the W. Palm Beach
area. Best wishes to classmates. Taft seems a
lot more interesting now than when we were
there.” Your secretary is reminded by Bob’s
note that I ruined my rotator cuff over a year
ago. [After some discussion] my orthopedic
surgeon and I agreed to not pursue surgery
and so, following his advice, I’m doing as
much exercise as feels good and sitting down
for a rest when tired. I now have very good
mobility, easily lifting the damaged arm overhead, but can’t lift more than a damp towel.
But I like cutting grass, and use my nice new
48-inch-swath riding mower on our two and
a half acres. Ro and I went to Conn. in June
and to Hessel, Mich. in July, and we have
season tickets to a local theater group’s productions. It’s about time for the snowbirds to
drive down here for the winter. Finally, some
sad news from Buz Lydon: “Mary, wife of
Jim Baker, called to tell me that dear Jim
had passed away after several heart operations. Jim was a very special person, a loving
husband, a devoted father of Ann and Lanny,
and a special friend to me. For more than a
few years, Jim was our super head class
agent, who, year after year, accounted for our
class’s participation in the Annual Fund of 78
to 83 percent, a record surpassed only by the
Class of ’43. I tried to help out where I could.
In business, Jim became president and CEO
of the Railroad Assoc. of America. He was a
gifted writer, and I was on the receiving end
of several letters in recent years. If a few
classmates wish to drop a note to Jim’s dear
Mary, her address is: 777 Bluff St., Glencoe,
Ill., 60022-1504.”
1950
Class Secretary: Archie Fletcher,
323 Park Ln., Lake Bluff, IL 60044-2320,
archie@fletch.com; Head Class Agent:
Arthur J. Stock, 865 Central Ave.,
Apt. E305, Needham, MA 024921373, ajstock@earthlink.net
No issue would be complete without knowing where the 1954 Whiffenpoofs, featuring
John Franciscus and Chuck Bullock, will
sing next: It’s going to be Palm Beach in
Jan. at a Yale mini-reunion. John’s youngest daughter, Adrien, was married on Sept.
10 to Cisco Gonzalez at Le Rayol, France.
John is still hustling his Haitian paintings
and his pocket watch collection by now
offering a 10-percent discount to all Tafties.
Fred Chesman is through with extensive
traveling—especially by air. He and his wife,
Marsha, did take a long motor trip to Mexico
in Aug.—an enjoyable trip until the AC went
out on the return trip with the temperature
being 104 degrees. They were able to get it
fixed once they got to Texas. The Chesmans’
next journey was to Pa. to visit their children
over the Labor Day weekend, and then on to
Vt., where they have a second home. From
across the pond in England, Michael Druitt
sends his warmest wishes to all his old
friends from Taft. He and Dorothy spent a
week at the end of April staying with friends
in Portugal, who built a marvelous home 30
years ago on a hill overlooking Lagos in the
Algarve. The Druitts had a lovely relaxing
time, including lazing by the swimming pool
surrounded by lemon trees bursting with
ripe fruit, which seemed remarkably early
by U.K. standards. Their son, Chris, 27, is
planning to work in wineries in Australia and
New Zealand for the next year to enhance
his overall experience in the wine business. Bruce Byrolly was getting in shape
in Aug. for his Sept. trip to Paris by walking
32 blocks in NYC. While in France, Bruce
planned to visit Henry Crapo, who lives
in La Vacquerie in the northern part of the
country in the Normandy region. Lu Picher
reports that he and his wife, Joanna, took
a 10-day boat trip in Peru on two tributaries of the Amazon sponsored by the Nature
Conservatory. They saw many birds and
seven different types of monkeys, including
a pygmy one that was the size of a softball.
They enjoyed the trip but were glad to return
home and to their own beds to recover
from the journey. Art Stock writes that he
finally was able to have open-heart surgery
on June 25, and remained in the recovery
phase for another three months. He continues to have limited mobility and remains
in a cardio rehab program—his second one
after the first one was unsatisfactory. Art is
very proud of his grandson, a 2014 Harvard
graduate, who entered Stanford Medical
School in Aug., while his granddaughter, a
Dartmouth senior, spent seven weeks of
her summer vacation cross-country skiing
on a glacier in Alaska with the U.S. Olympic
Development Team. All these events happened with Art barely getting outdoors,
along with canceling his summer vacation.
Art’s son-in-law published two major works
recently regarding the economic effects of
climate change and a long-term study as
to the effects of the low cost of oil. Chick
Treadway writes that his summer was
uneventful, but his health is good and he had
an enjoyable time on Cape Cod in Aug. Your
scribe, Archie Fletcher, is happy to report
that wife Kathy’s foot has finally healed after
six surgeries, two infections, and a fusion
of her toe. We spent a lovely 10 days on a
Tauck tour of the Canadian Rockies starting
in Vancouver, and then taking an overnight
Verena and John Franciscus ’50 celebrating
Verena’s birthday.
train to Jasper, Alberta, to spend two days at
a resort lodge. From there our tour traveled
southward by bus, allowing us to see glaciers
within the majestic national parks of Canada
on one of most scenic rides we’ve ever taken
in this country or in Europe. We spent a day
each at Lake Louise and Banff before flying
home from Calgary. From a distance, the
mountains were even more beautiful after
it snowed overnight on our last day (third
week in Aug.). No further trips are planned
just yet, but we are searching to find some
tours that have little or no walking. Many
classmates have expressed their condolences
regarding the passing of Tony Carpenter
in Vero Beach, Fla., on July 18. Please see In
Memoriam in this issue to read his obituary.
Jay Greer reports that the summer flew by
rapidly this year. He kept busy sailing his
little 15-foot, 6-inch sailboat, Bullseye, which
is tied up in a tidal pond near his wife’s summer house in Osterville on Cape Cod. Jay
also kept busy shooting skeet with a nearby
friend, who is an expert in the sport. Jay and
Ellie continue to travel. In Aug., they went to
Maine to celebrate Jay’s 83rd birthday and
spent the rest of the week catching up with
two friends whose house he had been renting for the past 10 years. They traditionally
have freshly caught lobsters for dinner on
his birthday—very rich but equally satisfying. Their destination in Oct. is France for a
weeklong barge trip with Jay’s two daughters. This will be his first experience on a
river cruise. Not to be done with traveling,
the Greers are planning to travel to New
Zealand next spring. Neither Jay nor Ellie
have ever been there, but they will not be
disappointed even though it’s a long way to
go and is not inexpensive. Ellie and Jay have
been dividing their time—she between their
Brookline condo and her Cape Cod house,
and he between both those and his New
Haven apartment. Jay still spends several
days a month there, principally for hearings
of the Conn. Board of Firearms, of which he
is a member. The board mostly hears appeals
from people whose pistol permit applications
have been revoked. This public service uses
up at least 20 hours each month, but the
stories the denied applicants tell are better
than reality TV. For example, one of Jay’s
favorites is one in which the appellant was
a legally blind woman whose pistol permit
was denied. They heard her impassioned
story for about an hour but concluded that
the police had correctly found she was not a
suitable person to carry a handgun in public.
The best exchange came when she volunteered she had given up driving because an
auto was a “lethal weapon.” The police chief,
who sits on the board, asked, “And you don’t
think a handgun is a lethal weapon?” Since
that case was so interesting, your secretary
wants to add another sad tale from Jay
regarding an additional character whose gun
permit was revoked. This case was from a
young man whose permit was denied after
he left his gun in an unlocked car—engine
running—while he ran into a haberdashery
store because he didn’t know how to tie the
necktie he wanted to wear for the funeral
of a man he deeply respected. The haberdasher reportedly did the job quickly, but
not before someone drove off with the car
and the gun. He didn’t get his permit back.
If he had gone to Taft in our time, he’d have
known how to tie a tie. (What about today?)
1951/65th Reunion
Class Secretary: Robert D. Weeks, 7
Greens Way, New Rochelle, NY 10805,
rdweeksjr@aol.com; Head Class Agents:
Dan R. Davis, 12247 Tildenwood Dr., Rockville,
MD 20852-4161, davisdr1@verizon.net; Robert
M. Govin, 18809 Oakland Hill Dr., Hialeah, FL
33015-2252, rgovin1223@gmail.com; Aaron E.
Simon, 3805 Cathedral Bell Rd., Raleigh, NC
27614-8453, thegoodbud@aol.com; Reunion
Chair: Charles L. Wolf, cwolf@uvm.edu
Bob Govin reports that at last May’s Alumni
Weekend, our class received the Class of 1920
Award for most improved contribution to the
Annual Fund. Congratulations, and thanks
to our class agents Dan Davis, Bob Govin,
and Charlie Wolf. Your scribe recalls that the
Class of ’51 previously received this award in
1974 when he was class agent. Coincidentally,
my father, Robert Doughty Weeks ’20,
was head monitor, varsity football captain,
etc. The late Tom Christy’s father was also
a member of the Class of 1920. The following fascinating news comes from Walter
Blogoslawski about his investment successes: “It has definitely been a very long
adventure, but as of today, my book is listed
on Amazon. It is called Creating a Portable
Money Machine. The book is definitely not for
everybody, but only for those people willing
to make the effort to create a very high return
on their assets. While nobody can predict the
future, I have been flawlessly applying the
mathematical approach outlined in my book
for the past 32 months, without one loss. My
positions are rarely longer than two weeks,
but 60 percent of the gains are considered
long term. I try to avoid all stocks, ETFs, and
especially mutual funds.” The alumni office
has asked Charlie Wolf to serve as chair
of our 65th Reunion next May since he had
done so for our last reunion. Charlie writes,
“If nobody objects, I will consent, although
with my 84-year-old brain, I told the school it
had to be simple. Would the class like a lunch
or dinner prepared for just our class either
Thursday night or Friday afternoon? [Please
advise Charlie of your preferences.] This
would be in addition to the regular meals prepared for reunion classes on the Taft campus.”
The Alumni Office shared the sad news that
our classmate, Michael Galullo, died earlier
in 2015. Also, sad news reached us from Dick
Dillon’s wife, Margaret, that Dick passed
away in Colo. in April. Margaret wrote, “Bob,
I’m sending you news of Dick’s death along
with the picture of the four of us—our chance
meeting in Arles in 2014—as a reminder. I
want you to know that the chance meeting
with you and Sara in France was on the last
trip we were to make. After brain surgery in
2010 to remove a malignant tumor and successful periodic chemotherapy, Dick was able
to maintain his usual active lifestyle until
the lymphomas’ last recurrence this spring.
I’m sorry to be so late with the information. My email is margaret.dillon@colorado.
edu. You really do an excellent job with the
alumni news, and I hope to continue receiving the Taft Bulletin. Good wishes to you and
Sara.” For more about both Dick and Michael,
see this issue’s In Memoriam section.
53
Alumni Notes
1952
Class Secretary: Alan N. Marshall, 3854
McDivitt Dr., Orchard Lake, MI 48323-1628,
alannmar@juno.com; Head Class Agent:
Harry Hyde, 506 E. Cooke Rd., Columbus, OH
43214-2856, hhydepfa@columbus.rr.com
Jim Coyle responded to Rudy Chelminski’s
recent comments on Taft with, “I have
admired your career from afar, and read
your Bulletin comments with interest and
admiration for their content and style. Your
perspective from a foreign culture is especially valuable. I’ll respond to your suggestion
for a dialogue: I spent almost all of my first
38 years in all-male institutions—schools,
college, the Army, and schools again. For the
final 26 of my working years, I was head of
a coed K-12 independent day school. You’re
right that both single-sex and coeducation
have their plusses and minuses, but on balance, I’d favor the latter—especially if one
can arrange to have the boys be a year or so
older than the girls (we did). Is Taft a better
place for being coed? Better to ask (as you
do) whether the world is a better place, for
the school’s switch was inescapable in that
world. The answer really lies in the profound
changes in American society and culture that
followed the upheavals of the ’60s—and on
that subject I really am ambivalent. Certainly
we were sheltered from the underbelly of
our society in those ‘complacent’ years. Who
among us knew (or even thought) about the
awful state of race relations? And we (at least
I) had no sense of the unfairness with which
we treated women. All of that—and so much
more—began to change while we were in our
late 20s, and the changing, accelerated by
the technological revolution (and, I think, by
the apparent end of the Cold War) has continued at such a pace as to leave at least one
member of that generation deeply concerned
about where we are and where we are going.
I don’t doubt that for large segments of our
(American) society, life is better now than it
was 59 years ago. But I think that progress
has come at an awful price. Somewhere along
the line, we dispensed with a lot of the rules
that kindly and firmly molded my part of
our generation—to the extent that ethical
boundaries have become largely irrelevant.
(I think the revival of intolerant religiosity
has been an unfortunate reaction to that.)
Not only is our culture less self-restrained,
54
Alumni notes
but our children (and now our grandchildren)
are exposed at far too young an age to this
new ‘real world,’ and the lessons they see, the
vision they develop of what kind of people
they are supposed to become, has largely
lost its moral component. Was all of it inevitable? Bruce Catton wrote that nothing in
history is inevitable until after it happens,
and I agree. I think the complacency of our
part of our generation, our failure to stand
up for the‘good rules,’ permitted them go by
the boards along with the stuff that needed
to change. I do look back with a perhaps
naïve nostalgia to a more reasonable and
civil culture where disillusionment came, if
at all, when one was old enough to put it in
perspective and hold true to some basic values. For me, Taft (even though I spent only
two years there) played an important role in
that molding. As much as the school meant
to my intellectual development—and it was
a lot—it was more in helping me figure out
the kind of person that I wanted to be that
Taft had its real impact. (I don’t think Bill
Sullivan introduced me to parentheses, and
I suspect he would be appalled at my reckless
use of them.) I’d be happy to continue this.
It’s been fun to make myself think about it.
I suspect your perspective from France may
differ substantially from my much more
provincial outlook.” I, Alan Marshall, visited Michael Ginsburg in Solana Beach,
Calif., early in March and found him in good
health, but with an amazing story. When not
playing tennis, Michael is riding his bike.
Returning from a long ride and about to
make a left turn on a four-lane road a year or
so ago, Michael heard the screech of brakes,
noticed he was flying over his handlebars,
and awoke to his head in a pool of blood and
EMS personnel and others surrounding him.
Next he came to in the emergency room, this
time surrounded by doctors and nurses. The
lead doctor asked him if he could move the
fingers in his right hand. He obliged. The
left hand? He did. Move his right foot, the
left foot, the arms, the legs? He did. Could
he raise his head? Yes. Sit up? Yes. Stand up?
He stood up and walked around the room.
After giving him a couple tests to make sure
there were no internal injuries, and putting two stitches in the small laceration on
the top of his head, they sent him home in
a cab. He ate some supper and went to bed.
The local bike shop suggested he buy a new
bike. Michael found a couple 2x4-inch pieces
of wood, leveraged two out-of-line parts of
the bike frame back into alignment, spray
painted the frame, installed a new rear tire,
and now has what the store manager decreed
looks like a new bike. Oh, by the way, Michael
is now wearing a helmet. Lucky man!
1953
Class Secretary: Peter C. Greer, 3761
Blue Heron Dr., Gulf Shores, AL 36542,
petegreer35@gmail.com; Head Class
Agents: George H. Stephenson, CarletonWillard Village, 29 Concord Ct., Bedford,
MA 01730-2906, geos1935@aol.com;
Richard S. Durham ’54, with his daughter,
Cliona Durham Gunter ’80, and son Richard B.
Durham ’83, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
John W. Watling III, 680 Steamboat Rd.,
Greenwich, CT 06830, jwwsbr@gmail.com
Just as the Taft graduates of the 1890s were
probably amazed and awed by the state of
the school in 1953, so too should we, the
graduates of the 1950s, be awed and amazed
by what Taft has transformed into now. The
physical plant has increased substantially,
and the little city beauty has indeed become
a medium-size city that has retained its
lovely character. Congratulations to all those
who have helped along the way, faculty,
alums, heads of school, trustees, and support people, all of whom have contributed to
Taft’s growth and impact on so many people
worldwide. I’m amazed at the diversity of
Taft today and impressed by the overall excellence of the school’s development, and am
proud to be able to say that’s where I went
to school, and I hope my classmates feel the
same way. I also hope that for those who
have not been back to Taft for a number of
years, or ever for that matter, that you will
feel the pull to return and place a visit high
on your bucket list of things to achieve.
Now for some news about us. I heard from
Jim Goldsmith, who wrote of a recent gettogether and golf outing in Norwalk, Conn.,
where he, Mike Brenner, Paul Deuvel, and
Bob Smith got together for more practice
and camaraderie in their efforts to wrest the
Class of ’53 Taft cup from Nat Smith at our
next reunion. The foursome decided to have
another go in the fall. Following Goldsmith’s
note came a long note from Mike Brenner
referencing said golf game, but including
news that he (Mike) had taken up teaching a
course in writing (Writing 101 for retirees,
he calls it), and in an effort to continue giving back, has been mentoring two young
men: one African-American and one ChineseAmerican. Congratulations, Mike, on your
continuing gifts to others, in the spirit of
sed ut ministret. Mike relayed that his bride,
Roberta, had undergone a hip replacement,
but it won’t hold either of them back from a
planned trip to Paris. See p. 87 for a photo of
John Watling with several other Tafties at
the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Fla. Dick
Geldard has for many years devoted himself
to passing on the knowledge, wisdom, and
humor of such notables from our past as
William Sullivan, Dick Lovelace, “Jocko”
Reardon, and Joe Cunningham to his philosophy students, and following a visit to the
Sagamore on Lake George, has returned to
these endeavors, while wife Astrid returned
to her creative works in her studio. It’s enjoyable to hear that a goodly number of our
class is still actively engaged and enjoying
life and making a contribution. Your scribe,
other than playing a bit of golf, working out
at the gym regularly, and pursuing the art
of cooking edible meals, stays occupied with
yard work and other chores and enjoying
family visits from two daughters who live
not too far away (Fairhope and Tuscaloosa),
and plans on visiting the Marine Corps
Heritage Museum (devoted to Marine Corps
history from 1775-present), and then on to
visit another daughter in R.I. and brother
Jay ’50 and his bride on the Cape this fall.
1954
Class Secretary: Bill Sprague, 187
Concord Dr., Madison, CT 06443,
bill-sprague@comcast.net; Head Class Agent:
Sted Sweet, 31 Woodbury Rd., Watertown,
CT 06795-2123, stedsweet@hotmail.com
My email requesting information for this
edition of class notes included a challenge to
find out if anyone could guess the classmate
of ours who was running for a political office.
To my surprise, no one gave me the correct
answer—including the candidate himself.
The correct answer, at the time, was Rocky
Fawcett, who is a candidate for a seat on
the board of legislators, Lewis County, N.Y.,
District 9. Rocky has held the elective office
of town manager in Lewis Falls, served on
many boards of civic organizations in the
area, and will do a great job, I am sure. After
Sandy and Bill Fitzgerald returned from
their trip to Northern Italy, Switzerland, and
Germany last May, he decided to toss his hat
in the ring and run for the top job of president of the U.S. After lack of endorsement by
both the Democratic and Republican parties,
he found support from the “Constipational
Independent Party”—they don’t take any
crap from either the left or the right. Bill is
putting together a very impressive team.
Tad Lincoln has signed on to run as Bill’s
vice president. After completing the renovation of a small attached cabin, reminiscent
of Abraham Lincoln’s in Ill., to their summer
home in Maine—where he and Lanie find
refuge when their grandchildren, cousins,
and friends buzz around the main house—
he made the decision to go for it. He met
with Geo Hefferan and a couple of other
Yale classmates to craft their catchy slogan,
“People that think vote for Fitz & Linc.”
Dave Burke is way too busy to get involved
even though he is well equipped to serve as
our French ambassador. His literary walking
tours in Paris have become very well known,
having been recognized on the list of the
top 10 literary walking tours in the world
by Lonely Planet. He is also very involved
helping his wife, Joanne, complete a new
film of theirs, and promoting her series of
documentaries about African-Americans in
Paris in the early 20th century. They did take
time to enjoy a wonderful five weeks with
their grandson, Robert, and daughter-inlaw, Maggie, during their visit to Paris this
past summer. Maggie’s parents also came
for part of that time. Dave tells me that they
are sensationally good cooks and delighted
them all with exceptionally good Chinese
cuisine. Arnold Margolin has also been too
busy to jump into the political fray. To begin
with, he and Ellen Cornfield were married
in Dec. 2013, and are still honeymooning
at their home in Manhattan. Ellen is a very
accomplished choreographer, modern dancer,
and teacher. Arnold says that he is “finding the fine balance between attending no
more dance concerts than is good for my
mental health and enough to be good for
my marriage.” One of their neighbors in the
Big Apple who Arnold sees in the park is
Bernard Goetz. If you do not remember him,
he is the person acquitted of shooting four
persons who tried to mug him on the subway
in 1984. For anyone desiring Bernie’s autograph, Arnold would be reluctant to ask as
he is not sure if there is anything other than
bread crumbs in the brown paper bag that
Bernie carries to the park to feed the pigeons.
Barbara Ann and Tom Griggs and, our other
newlyweds, are also doing quite well. They
returned to Matinicus Island, 20 miles off the
coast of Maine, last summer for a very relaxing vacation. They are well settled in their
new home in Orange, Conn. Wally Inglis is
through with political campaigns, reporting,
“I learned my lesson—running unsuccessfully for the Hawaii House of Representatives
some 30 years ago. I can’t imagine anyone
at our age wanting to jump into that quagmire.” He did spend a week this past summer
attending a nonviolence conference in N.M.
marking the 70th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I was glad
to hear from Dick Durham, who offered
his best wishes for Bill’s campaign, and the
sound advice that he should be very careful
with his emails and fully answer all questions
presented by the media. Henry Pope was
speechless when he heard of Bill’s ambition.
When I heard that from him, I immediately thought that he would be an excellent
speechwriter or White House spokesman
for Bill. However, Henry and Mary are too
busy with their pottery making in Calif. to
lend a hand. Sheila and Bob Gast survived
their annual vacation with 20 or more family members in Calif. last summer, and as
usual, had a great time. Following their time
of rest and relaxation, he put the finishing
touches on hosting the annual conference for
500-plus retired FBI agents held over Labor
Day weekend in his hometown of Reno, Nev.
Bob’s note included this: “Sheila tells me
quite forcefully that I have to learn to say No,
No, No when asked to take on more jobs.”
I guess that rules him out for secretary of
Homeland Security. Penny and Bill Allyn
had a wonderful start to the summer when
55
Alumni Notes
they celebrated the graduation of two grandchildren from college—one from Dartmouth,
the other from Hampshire College. Both are
now in Denver, Colo., starting their careers.
The Allyns also enjoyed a great vacation in
Italy and Sicily, and relaxing at their summer
home in the N.Y. Finger Lakes. The summer
ended with the bittersweet occasion of celebrating the 100th anniversary of their family
business, Welch Allyn Inc., and selling the
company in Sept. to Hill-Rom, another medical technology manufacturer. Finally, I want
to thank the Class of ’54 for the many prayers
and expressions of love that you sent to Sally
and me following the death of our son, Dan.
1955
Class Secretary: Lee H. Smith, 1867 Mintwood
Pl. NW, Apt. 4, Washington, DC 20009,
lhswrite@yahoo.com; Head Class Agent: John
W.G. Ogilvie Jr., 4144 Great Oak Rd., Rockville,
MD 20853-1854, jogilvie356@gmail.com
The adventure continues. As we have
observed previously, advancing age does not
mean that our curiosity and quest for excitement have been extinguished. Ted Ladd
spent 10 days in Greenland, in the company
of his 14-year-old grandson, where they
watched polar bears and whales, and walked
on a portion of the ice cap. If it all melts,
Ted reminds us soberly, the world sea level
rises 23 feet. “I have also been to Antarctica
three times and would go again,” says Ted,
who is very interested in climate change.
“It is also terrific to spend a large amount of
concentrated time with a grandchild when
you are dependent on each other for company.” Their Lindblad/National Geographic
expedition began with a four-hour charter
flight from Ottawa to Kangerlussuaq on the
west coast of Greenland, where they boarded
a ship and sailed to Devon Island about 75
degrees north latitude, then south along the
Baffin Island coast. They spent the nights on
the ship, where good lecturers educated and
entertained them. They had lots of opportunities for dry and wet landings by Zodiac,
and ample supplies of chardonnay. Ted says,
“I personally had about six polar bear sightings, including one of a very curious bear
who came within 10 to 15 feet of the hull of
the ship, and seemed to want to know why
we were there in his space. When you are on
land with bears around, your guides carry
56
John Cashman ’56 paragliding about 2,000 feet over Interlaken, Switzerland. “Who says 76-yearolds have to stay at home in their rocking chairs?” John says.
Charlie van Over ’56 and Chip Spencer ’56
enjoy lunch during the summer.
flare guns and rifles because polar bears are
hungry and don’t have nice dispositions.”
From the still-frozen North to the parched
West where Chic Gast remains happy in
Calif.’s Sonoma wine country, although summer fires make things a little dodgy. Reports
Chic, “Calif. is suffering from the drought in
many ways and is hardly the golden state it
once was. One large mid-summer fire burned
as close as 30 miles away, creating several
very smoky and scary days. We’d appreciate
a couple thousand water tankers from the
East Coast,” Chic proposes. As a more practical gesture, he suggests classmates click
onto Amazon and buy a copy of his novel
Magnolia Café. “It’s about sex, drugs and…
well, we really don’t have rock and roll anymore, so I’ll have to say redemption,” is how
Chic describes his work. “It is the first book
in what was proposed to be a trilogy, but with
the publishing business in the toilet and my
agent running off to Hawaii to live in a mud
hut, things ground to a halt.” Janet and Nick
Ciriello spent an Aug. week in Santa Fe,
timed to hear all five of the operas presented
this year. Nick writes, “As our country’s most
ambitious opera festival, Santa Fe draws a
sophisticated international audience—and
well it should, with a judiciously mixed program, apprentice singers to superb artists,
and a beautiful town as a backdrop. It was a
great time to be with friends and follow the
course of the art form.” And in the Northeast,
as they do many summers, Jane and Thad
Carver joined dozens of cousins and other
relatives on Vinalhaven, an island 15 miles
off the coast of Rockland, Maine, where in
1766 Thad’s ancestor, Thaddeus, moved from
Mass. and founded the island’s first permanent English settlement. (Earlier, the French
and Indian War had made it too dangerous to
YMCA in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he pedals a stationary bike. The resistance level is
set very low and George pedals at the rate of
80 to 90 rpms for about 40 minutes. One of
George’s most troubling Parkinson’s symptoms is a pronounced loss of energy. George
says, “This procedure is like magic. After
only two sessions I began to feel the benefits,
much more energy.” This fall Frank Johnson
began his 12th year of teaching history to
high school students. “I’ll keep going as long
as I can,” promises Frank. He has recently
gone through radiation therapy for prostate
cancer, but that has not diminished his capacity to be exasperated. “I am still amazed at
the decline of our political parties, as evidenced by the clown car full of Republican
candidates,’” barks Frank, an observation
that will not surprise his classmates. More
happily, Frank notes that his granddaughter,
11, is starring in the off Broadway show,
Ruthless! The Musical. The sad news reached
us that John Cruikshank passed away on
May 23, and that Ed Burke passed away in
July. (See In Memoriam.) Ed’s wife, Anne,
wrote, “Ed was always grateful for his years at
Taft and spoke fondly of all his classmates.”
Finally, as we went to press, we were very
sorry to learn that Johnny Ring passed
away on October 24. More information will
be included in the winter issue. Our sincere
condolences to the families of our classmates.
live along the Maine coast.) In time the island
was one of Maine’s most important quarries,
sending granite, for example, to NYC for the
Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. These
days Carver’s Harbor, named for the founder,
is home to Maine’s largest lobster fishing
fleet of 100 or so boats. The Carvers also
spent a night visiting Lorraine and Johnny
Ring in Brunswick. Johnny took them on
a tour of a section of the 160-acre spread
that he donated on behalf of the Ring family
as a campus for Mid Coast Hospital. John
Jenkins took his two daughters, their husbands, and four grandchildren to Nantucket,
where grandsons Ben and West demonstrated
that they might someday challenge John’s
preeminence as the family’s ruling chef. Both
boys had come from summer jobs working
for Mexican restaurants in Atlanta, so Ben
can make fine tacos from scratch and West
whips up an excellent guacamole. “Why
would a reasonably sane man of 78 crawl up
on his roof on a hot summer day to clean the
eaves?” Bob Hill asks. Beats us. Anyhow,
Bob twisted his lumbar and, as of this writing, was considering surgery. The prognosis
is good but in the meantime, he says, “I am
taking weird, powerful pain-killing drugs
that make me hum and skip when I do the
marketing, and I feel a general malaise that
is very unnerving. On the plus side, I can
sit, read, eat, play my fiddle, drink a glass of
wine, and be at rest comfortably. Further, I
can actually bike 15 miles with no discomfort.” Speaking of bikes, George Allen, who
suffers from Parkinson’s disease, is taking
part in a research program designed to relieve
the symptoms: Pedaling for Parkinson’s,
a procedure initiated by a doctor from the
Cleveland Clinic. Since early this year, George
has been going three times a week to the
1956/60th Reunion
Class Secretary/Head Class Agent:
Jack McLeod, 275 Heron’s Run Dr.,
#710, Sarasota, FL 34232-1749,
jackhighlander38@gmail.com;
Reunion Chairs: Jack McLeod, Chip
Spencer, spencerc@taftschool.org
Sandra and Dick McGavern ’57 with their vintage Austin Healey at Head Harbour, New
Brunswick, Canada.
Tom Schellin ’57 and crew on board the Preussen VII in Norway.
John Cashman went on a “not-quite-threeweek trip around the world.” He reports,
“Went from San Francisco to Newark to visit
my elder son and his family and to celebrate
eldest granddaughter’s fifth birthday. Then
from Newark to Zurich, where I divided
my time between Interlaken and Lugano.
As you can see in this photo (on p. 56), I
went paragliding in Interlaken. Interesting
to look down and see nothing but 2,000
feet of air between your shoes and the city.
Maximum weight for a passenger is 100
kilos, 220 pounds. I was 4 kilos over—I
lied (figured they had a safety factor). Did
the ‘007’ bungee jump north of Locarno,
which created a bit of interest as not many
76-year-old males drop 220 meters (about
720 feet) tied to a rubber band. Traveled
on to Hong Kong, where I had a guest card
at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. I was
there on a race day and introduced myself
to the principal race officer as someone
familiar with sail race committees and was
invited on board the committee boat, where
I watched the sail races on Victoria Bay.
Hong Kong is still one big construction zone.
Real estate hideously expensive; a good
condominium will run about $3,000 USD
per square foot. Then it was back home to
Calif. Hope to make it to our 60th Reunion
in May. I was at our 30th, so once every 30
years.” Chip Spencer got together this past
summer for lunch with Charlie van Over.
1957
Class Secretary: Dick McGavern, 4335
Tichenor Point Dr., Canandaigua, NY
14424-8230, rmcgaver@rochester.rr.com;
Head Class Agent: William C. Weeks,
11 Fresenius Rd., Westport, CT 068803821, cindybill@optonline.net
57
Alumni Notes
Roger Hartley has been traveling and
writes, “My wife, Sandra, and I spent three
great weeks in June in New Zealand with
her daughter Liz, a Wellington resident. We
spent one week on the North and two weeks
on the South Island. A long trip there, but
so well worth it. And we broke up the travel
with three days in Honolulu on the way there
and four days in Costa Mesa on the way back.
A side story: We went to watch the sunset
on the Huntington Beach pier one beautiful
evening. When we got home, I found that my
good friend while at Taft, Larry Pryor ’56,
had just moved to Huntington Beach. Missed
that connection. Maybe next time. Other
news is that we see Charley Voss from time
to time and Rusty Ingersoll comes from
Greensboro, N.C., to see us as well as his
sister at least twice a year. Now that this hot
summer has passed, let’s see some snow, eh?”
Tom Schellin had an adventure too and
writes, “Just got back from the yearly sailboat
trip on Preussen VII, the two-masted family
ketch of our son-in-law, Nikolas Brüggen.
Cruising in southern Norway’s coastal
waters, we also encountered heavy weather.
But under the experienced command of captain Nikolas, we managed always to return
to port safely. Otherwise, things have not
changed much for me.” And while we are still
at sea, Bill Offutt was on board having a
great time on the 39-foot Concordia winning
Classic B in the Eggemoggin Reach Classic
Wooden Boat Regatta, Naskeag, Maine. “A
perfect going, wing on wing with a mizzen
staysail on final reach. Others flew spinnakers with difficulty in strong wind—a great
day.” Look out, Taft, here comes another
Taftie from Nick Gotten’s family: “Pamela
and I have a new granddaughter, Poppy
Elizabeth, born July 2 to Judy and Nick III
’93, who live and work in LA. Needless to
say, Poppy is a beautiful baby, just like her
mother.” Pete O’Boyle writes, “Enjoying my
retirement years doing whatever I want with
no prior commitments! Hope all my fellow
classmates are enjoying the same. My tax
attorney, who graduated in 1974, is trying to
convince me to attend a reunion. I told him
I would think about it!” Jim Bruno wrote
in Aug., “Am winding down life in Vt., and
going to Aspen, Colo., to enjoy my children
and grandkids, who go to a charter school
there. I can’t believe how great it is academically; they also do ski racing and play soccer.
I’m headed to Calif. and hope to see Dick
58
Alumni notes
Crane.” Sam Wasson report, “A couple
of years ago I related a story of running
into Art Johnson at the Clark Museum in
Williamstown, Mass., for a Winslow Homer
exhibit, I think. Suzy and I stopped there
again on Sept. 1 for Van Gogh and Whistler
exhibits on our way to Kennebunkport for a
two-week rental.” As I finalize the fall notes,
Sandra and I, Dick McGavern, drove my
1967 Austin Healey to Prince Edward Island
with two other members of the Canandaigua
Red Car Club, including a stop to climb Mt.
Washington. And currently we are packing for a river cruise on the Danube.
1958
Class Secretary: T. Francis Jackson III,
232 S. Highland St., Apt. 1202, Memphis,
TN 38111-4540, lawtenn@gmail.com;
Head Class Agent: Charlie Yonkers, 3131
Connecticut Ave. NW, Apt. 2710, Washington,
DC 20008-5029, ceyonkers@gmail.com
John Allen has a new computer, which has
unleashed the communicator we know him
to be. His wide-ranging interests go from
local politics to national environmental policies to food. John has now contacted many
of us, so give him a shout. Sadly, Barbara
Geller, the wife of Ted Baldwin, passed away
Aug. 30. Classmates Steve Usher and Mike
Gray, together with their wives, Marne and
Danielle, attended the memorial service at
Yale’s Hillel Chapel, as well as the shiva at
the family home. Ted was surrounded by his
large, talented, and beloved family and
Barbara received outstanding recognition by
many, recognition deserved by her long
career in public service. We are pleased that
the Ushers and Grays could attend, comfort
Ted, and applaud Barbara’s life of service.
Dick “Drano” Dranitzke and his wife,
Bjorg, took a trip of a lifetime to Australia
for three weeks in the summer. We delight to
remember that Drano is a retired surgeon of
distinction as well as a photographer. Their
travels and discovery of Australia’s beauties
gave him endless opportunities for photography. The good doctor is also an indefatigable
internet communicator, collecting and forwarding useful, humorous, and inspirational
pieces through his network of friends. Gil
Fields writes that all is reasonably well in
the Northeast, and reports that one grandchild graduated from college this year, while
two others attend Georgetown. He attended
the U.S. Open, and then went, by invitation,
to Dallas to the opening game with the
Giants. He has taken courses at NYU after
retiring seven or eight years ago. After overcoming prostate cancer some 10 years ago, it
has metastasized, but he reports that he
found a great oncologist at Dana Farber, and
will be a chronic cancer patient who won’t
die from it. He counts his blessings! He
states that retelling his 40 years of living and
working in Italy is worthy of a book he may
write, but not in our class notes. We were
saddened to learn that Rawson Foreman
passed away last June after a long illness.
Rawson and his family were lifelong, prominent Atlantans. He served as an attorney
there for many years, received many awards
for his public and pro bono services to many.
Rawson left a legacy of outstanding public
service to others, who remember him with
love and gratitude. He was especially passionate about art and served as the chair of
many preeminent committees of the High
Museum of Art, where he completed his
career there as chairman of the board of
directors and a life member. He leaves his
lovely wife, Peggy Reeves Foreman, a native
Atlantan and graduate of Finch College, and
daughters Margaret and Mary Rawson (see
In Memoriam). Al Gilman retired from his
prominent positions at Univ. of Texas
Southwest Medical Center and other organizations. Al remains in Dallas and loves
playing golf and enjoying his family nearby.
His son gave him a driver that permits
weight adjustments in its head to straighten
out Al’s fades and hooks. He loves it. Fritz
Green evidences on Facebook his very active
life in the outdoors of N.H. Antonia and
Jack Grumbach spent their summer at
Wellfleet on the Cape and hosted family,
particularly a grandson, 16, who had a job
for six weeks nearby. Max Johnson lets us
know that his July began with “a flight from
our home in Belgium to Charlottesville, Va.,
where my wife, Michele, was enrolled in a
Law of Armed Conflict two-week course at
the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s School.
I tagged along, having never been there during my military/civilian career as a Dept. of
the Army attorney adviser, prior to becoming
a NATO civilian attorney. I had never been to
Charlottesville in any capacity before, and
the local attractions connected with
America’s pre- and post-revolution history
Max Johnson ’58, his wife, Michele, and her
daughter, Florence, in the Danny Thomas
Research Tower in Memphis. The bust portrays
founder Danny Thomas, whose nose is bright
from being rubbed for good luck, similar to the
one in Taft’s Lincoln Lobby.
and several of its key players were incentive
enough to tag along. Michele’s daughter,
Florence Hanard, joined us after a week, and
at the end of the course, the three of us
struck out for Memphis to pay a visit to our
class secretary, Frank Jackson. The 800mile journey took us first to Nashville,
where, as one would expect, taking in some
country music was de rigueur. Local bistros
vied for our patronage with live music at
decibel readings that would make any ENT
doctor shudder. With a few beers under our
belts and half deaf, we left Nashville without
succumbing to the temptation to buy some
western boots. Two pairs for the price of
one! After the relatively cool and cloudy
weather that dominated Charlottesville for
almost the entire two weeks we were there,
we were overwhelmed by the heat wave during mid-July in Memphis. Frank had warned
us, so it was not a total shock, and air conditioning mitigated the issue. Frank, a most
gracious host, arranged a number of things
to make the visit special. Principal among
those were a private, guided tour of St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital (SJCRH), whose
major founder was Danny Thomas, who had
prayed as a youth to St. Jude Thaddeus for
guidance, and we know the outcome of that.
Dedicated to research related to maladies,
foremost cancer, that afflict children, touring the public areas and corridors sets the
hospital apart from any that each of us had
ever visited. It seems all the painting and
decorations are aimed at creating a happy
environment. The modus operandi of medical
treatment is unique, and the approach to
medical research was inspirational. The hospital does not charge patients. It relies on
charitable contributions for the vast majority of its financing, so if you’re looking for a
good cause to get a tax break, consider
SJCRH. The average individual contribution
is $33. The daily operating budget is $2.5
million, and SJCRH donates worldwide without charge, all medical advances and
pharmaceutical discoveries achieved. Apart
from arranging for me to play golf at the
Memphis Country Club, an experience in and
of itself, Frank arranged a private, VIP tour
for us at FedEx, headquartered in Memphis,
and its airport operations. The highlight of
that tour was being exceptionally admitted
to the top of the ground-control tower overlooking the incoming and outgoing domestic
air fleet. Imagine 93 large aircraft parked or
taxiing, virtually at your feet. The handling
of incoming express packages was fast, continuous, and fascinating, requiring
immediate attention of handlers to sort
never-ending, fast-moving packages to make
certain that automated equipment could
read each bar code on each package, and send
it on its way worldwide. In all, we’ll never see
another FedEx Express truck without
remembering our visit. The best vantage
point to see downtown Memphis and the
river is the observation deck atop the
32-story pyramid (seventh largest in the
world) on the waterfront, now the property
of Bass Pro Shops (no, they don’t make
Weejuns). The interior is a cornucopia of
attractions, including live fish and alligators,
exhibitions, a hotel, and naturally, sporting
merchandise. Highly worth the visit. The
visit was too short, but a three-week absence
from the office for Michele was stretching it,
so it was back to Richmond to return home.
Our non-work vacation was mid-Sept. when
we sojourned in Majorca for a week.” Neal
Love writes, “So far, it has been a busy year.
We traveled to Hawaii, then onto Papeete, on
Tahiti. Cruised home, stopping at Easter
Island, the Pitcairn Islands, then the Panama
Canal to NYC. Next year we do the Arctic
cruise from Anchorage, Alaska, then the
Bering Straits, Greenland to NYC. As you can
see, we love adventure! I have a few health
issues such as a new pacemaker and blood
clots, but I keep on going. If any of you are in
the Md. area, do drop by.” Jay Parsons left
Jakarta, Indonesia, in mid-June to spend
two and a half months in the States, helping
his daughter and family with an 1880s fixerupper in Kalamazoo, Mich. He reports, “It
was an enjoyable but tiring month with my
six-year old grandson. Had our annual family
reunion on the lake in southern Ontario with
the rest of the family.” Thereafter he traveled
to Bangkok, Thailand, and then to Sakon
Nakhon in the northeast to take up a pro
bono job at a university helping young Thai
faculty get their research papers into acceptable English for publication in international
journals, “An exciting new chapter in my
gypsy life!” Jay says. Stay tuned for further
developments. As we go to press, Ann and
Charlie Yonkers will be enjoying a bike tour
of Sicily with their friends. Ann intends to
retire after 18 years as founder and executive
director of FreshFarm Markets, the nonprofit organization that now runs 13
producer-only farmers markets in the greater
D.C. area. They will likely remove to their
Chesapeake Bay home on the Eastern Shore,
Pot Pie Farm, but Charlie intends to continue
teaching at Georgetown through spring
2016, rounding out 10 years as an adjunct
professor. Charlie happily reports that
67 percent of our class contributed to the
Annual Fund last year, placing us high in the
rankings of the classes of Taft. That said, he
and others of the class hope we can do better
as a percentage-contribution and thus show
our loyalty, appreciation, and support for the
school and its outstanding, lifetime contribution to us and other graduates. Bill
Youngs, who is a history professor at East
Washington Univ., writes, “I want to tell the
stories of American history as though I were
among friends sitting beside a fire.” He
maintains an active Facebook page, especially informative of his sailing the San Juan
Islands, giving talks on Henry David Thoreau
in New England, attending conferences in
Jackson Hole, Wyo., and developing online
courses about our national park system.
Olivia and John Milholland celebrated their
50th wedding anniversary with a cruise to
the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe in
June. John writes, “Cruising is a lazy man’s
way of seeing a very limited perspective, but
it is relaxing, and we got to some great places
like Malta, which always has intrigued me,
and overnight in Istanbul, which Olivia and I
loved once before and did so again. The ship
was tied up on the Bosphorus, where we had
probably the best view of the city. Most spectacular of all though was Meteora with its
59
Alumni Notes
Alumni notes
monasteries on top of gigantic rocks, about a
two-hour ride from the port of Volos, Greece.
If you haven’t seen pictures, you’ll see what I
mean if you look up the monasteries of
Meteora on YouTube.” John planned to see
some classmates in Oct. on a trip to New
England from Raleigh, N.C.
1959
Class Secretary: Stallworth McG.
Larson, 6845 N. Ocean Blvd., Mews
South 5, Ocean Ridge, FL 33435,
slarson@corporate-growth-services.com;
Sue and Steve Buckley ’59 happily celebrated
their 50th anniversary in France.
Wink McKinnon ’60 with his son, Robert ’93,
daughter-in-law Elizabeth, and granddaughter Maezie in Ottawa, Canada, in front of the
Parliament Buildings.
C.D. Smith ’60 in Lovell, Wyo., during his coast-to-coast, 3,700-mile bicycle ride.
said that doing so is very invigorating, and
that one of the best collaborations he has
had had at Microsoft was with a 2003 Yale
graduate. She was the program manager
for the Microsoft Office math project, and
Murray was a key developer and idea person
with his many years as an active theoretical
physicist. More recently, Murray has been
working with a young generation of software
engineers on text editing in Microsoft Excel,
and that he will certainly miss such stimulating interactions when he retires in 2017. For
a deeper insight into Murray’s world see his
blog, Math in Office, which has lots of stories
and documentation on the work he does.
to find out how the rest of C.D.’s ride went! I,
Sam Crocker, caught up with Steve Plume,
who, like C.D., is flexing muscles that belie
his “young” age. In early June, Steve spent
two exhilarating weeks kayaking and camping along the Green and Yampa Rivers, which
“wind their way across sagebrush-covered
plains before reaching the outstretched
arm of the Unita Mountains on the border between Colo. and Utah, and entering
Dinosaur National Mountain’s remote
canyons.” The rivers feature class three and
class four rapids, and Steve said he “rolled
out twice.” Wink McKinnon, wife Barbara,
their son Robert ’93, his wife, Elizabeth,
and their daughter, Maezie, visited Canada in
early Aug. Wink and family then left Ottawa
and traveled north to their private fishing
club near Maniwaki, Quebec, where they
spent a few days before returning home. Jim
Rule reported, “I’ve been playing a good bit
of tennis in 95-plus degree heat. So far no
strokes while stroking the ball—even winning
once in a while.” He also spent time tending
to his garden and planned to take a master
gardener’s course. Jim had a few choice comments about weeds and aging, which cannot
be repeated in this column even though I,
Sam, would like to! Let your imagination run
wild! Tim Breen advised, “I will hold the
resident research fellowship at the Thomas
Jefferson International Center at Monticello
for the month of Nov.” His newest book,
George Washington’s Journey, will be released
in Jan. Lastly, a group of classmates gathered
at Mory’s in New Haven in June—a minireunion of sorts. In attendance were Burt
Sonenstein, Dave Robinson, Bob Hilliard,
Dick Walsh, Phelps Platt, Jim Goulard,
Don Challis, and me, Sam. Everyone is doing
well, and we all had a good time catching up
with each other. Dick recounted how much he
enjoyed his time at our 55th Reunion in May:
“I was pleased with the freedom I was given to
view aspects of Taft that I hadn’t seen before.”
With a touch of humor in his voice, he said,
“The Jigger House still exists and is now
located in an area that used to be the gym in
1960. Egad, man! It even has a pool table!”
Yes, we had a good time and a lot of laughs!
Head Class Agent: Bob Barry, 74
Scuppo Rd., Woodbury, CT 067983813, rjbarry@sturgesmathes.com
In case you missed John Merrow’s more
timely email to us, he has hung up his spurs
at PBS News Hour, his home since 1985, and
the setting of so much of his outstanding
career, promoting the best in education for
our country. He deserves our thanks as fellow
citizens for all of his hard work. Fortunately,
the end of John’s star TV career is not to be
the end of his life’s work and mission. Those
wishing to keep up with John on this should
sign up at his Taking Note blog at takingnote.
learningmatters.tv/. Steve Buckley writes
that he and Sue recently celebrated their
50th anniversary in France. After visiting
the chateaux in the Loire Valley and touring the burgundy vineyards around Beaune,
they spent a week in a Paris apartment, from
which they walked five to six miles each day
to enjoy the many treats of the city. Steve
says he still plays some golf, fishes, and
follows his wonderful bird dog, Britt, during the season, and that other than articles
published recently in Atlantic Salmon Journal
and the Ruffed Grouse Society magazine, he
is retired. Finally, your hard-working class
secretary exercised the full prerogatives of
his position to ask two follow-up questions
concerning Murray Sargent’s news from the
last issue, that he hiked the Grand Canyon
and is still working at Microsoft. First: How
long did the hike take, to which Murray
replied it took him 10.5 hours, after which he
slept pretty well following a delicious meal of
buffalo filet mignon and some fine red wine.
The second question: How does a 74-year old
man stay competitive at Microsoft with all of
the no doubt very young and very talented
software engineers there? To this, Murray
60
1960
Class Secretary/Head Class Agent: Samuel
E.M. Crocker, scrocker42@gmail.com
Check out the picture of C.D. Smith arriving in Lovell, Wyo., on day 14 of his 45-day,
3,700-mile bicycle ride from Astoria, Ore.
to Portland, Maine. On Aug. 23, C.D. and
18 other riders representing four countries
(Switzerland, Australia, Canada, and the
Netherlands) and 10 states dipped their
back wheels into the Pacific Ocean before
embarking the next day on an eight-hour ride
covering 99.5 miles from Astoria to Portland,
Ore. C.D. said in his blog that it was “the
longest ride of my life.” As C.D. would soon
learn, that would be nothing compared to
the 100-mile days that lay ahead. As of this
writing, C.D. arrived in Rapid City, S.D., on
day 18, having ridden 1,524 miles, climbed
62,062 feet, and spending 103 hours “in the
saddle.” Stay tuned for the next issue’s notes
1961/55th Reunion
Class Secretary: Jack Hill, taft61@yahoo.com;
Head Class Agent: John T. Shively,
jtshively@att.net; Reunion Chair:
Jerry Mitchell, jcmit@comcast.net
Kinda sparse this time around. I made an
attempt at seeing Jerry Mitchell who said,
“Unfortunately, Margaret and I won’t be
there next week. We enjoy the get-togethers
so we’re disappointed to miss you and
Nancy.” Tried also to see Brad Tomlinson,
who Jerry reports is fine, and Al Aydelott,
who politely declined—he was at their
place in Maine and thanked your scribe for
thinking of them. So that was a swing and
a miss.... We enjoyed our traditional summer outing with Cheryl and Herb Carlson.
Nancy was interested to hear Herb say that
he has seen far more of me during our summer visits than when we were classmates
at Dartmouth! I turned 73 this summer
and Phil Smith sent a really enjoyable
note that reminded me of the wonder of
our voyage through life: “I refuse to add
yet another of those really banal ‘Happy
Birthday’comments on your Facebook page!
How about ‘Welcome to upper-middle age!’
Or, ‘OK, how long ’til Social Security cuts
in?’ Or, in another language, bonne anniversaire, buon natale! Anyway, at our age, one
should really ignore these kinds of ‘marker
events’ because all they really do is remind
one that ‘the clock is ticking!’ Better make
the best of what’s left! Admittedly, not the
mainstream, pathetic, as said, banal Happy
Birthday–ugh! Nonetheless, Jack, do try to
glean as much love, enjoyment, and pleasure
as you can today, and absolutely necessary,
hug your bride and thank her for being your
companion on this voyage so wonderful!”
Eric Vanderpoel reports, “Well you just
beat me...I turned 73 on Aug. 21. My wife
is a Hollins Univ. alum, and we are attending their celebration of 100 years of Hollins
Abroad with a trip to Paris and London
in Nov. There will be some arm-twisting
involved I’m sure, but they have arranged
some really neat private tours in both cities. We plan to do side trips to Mont St.
Michel and Normandy while we are there.
We took a National Geographic cruise of
Alaska’s Inner Passage in June—only 64
passengers rather than the crowds on most
ships these days. We saw eagles and whales
everywhere. Marnie was walking with one
of the naturalists and came within about
15 yards of a large brown bear. The guides
carry a form of mace, but fortunately didn’t
need to use it. At the time I was on one of
the more adventurous hikes and saw nothing more than a few squirrels....darn the
luck.” I miss my travels from West to East,
and Bo Chapin let me know he misses them
as well: “Missed you passing through Colo.
on the way to/from Taft last summer now
that your home is ‘back East.’ Sandy and I
purchased an old patented mining claim in
Teller County not far from Cripple Creek, on
the West side of Pike’s Peak. Last summer,
during the week when we were not there, a
bear ripped out the door, entered the travel
trailer, took the dog food outside, and ate it.
Other than the bear leaving a mess, the door
was the only damage. This summer when up
there during the week with Sandy’s sister
and brother-in-law from the Chicago area,
a good-sized black bear sauntered through
the camp just as we were getting out of bed.
It was startled by movement in the camper
and left the area. We sleep with the car fob
on the bedside table, activating the panic
button as a noise and light deterrent. I used
it then to be more assured that the critter
had departed the area. It was not seen again.
Hope you are well, and that Nancy’s knee
is healing well.” Ah yes, Nancy’s knee. She
hurt it before we left for Taft and dealt with
it painfully in Watertown. After X-rays and
an MRI noted the damage, we learned the
selected “orthopod” was booked eight weeks
out, so I was faced with quickly finding a
good one in Nashville for when we got home.
So I did what any brave Taftie would do, I
called my ex-wife, asked her for her boyfriend’s phone number, and called him for a
local recommendation for when we got back!
(No big deal...he retired from his orthopedic
practice in June.) Operation now complete,
pain greatly reduced, but she isn’t as mobile
as she thinks she should be...yet. I was particularly pleased to hear from Tom Wright,
who wrote a note that strikes a chord, certainly with me, and perhaps others: “Lynn
and I moved to Savannah, Ga., after I retired
from the Navy in 1987. I helped start a shipyard, Intermarine USA, and built, tested,
and delivered eight composite minehunters
for the U.S. Navy. When that project ended,
I worked in several shipyards, first as a project manager, and then in safety, security,
and environmental and human resources
for another 10 years or so. Now, I manage
the Savannah Maritime Assoc. and support the Navy League, Propeller Club, and
several other local organizations. A year or
so ago, in my 70s and with continuing medical issues, Lynn and I considered moving to
Salem, Ore., to be closer to our daughter.
We took a look, and the amount of ‘stuff’
in our house was overwhelming. It’s going
61
Alumni Notes
to take another year or two to clean out the
house so we can move to a smaller, simpler
place in the Great Pacific Northwest. You
can watch your parents, but you never really
understand getting old until it happens to
you. Give my regards to all our classmates.
It’s a great group that has contributed a lot
to our country.” As Tom hints, getting old
ain’t for sissies! Hard to believe 50 years
out of college was this spring, and 55 from
Taft comes up in 2016. I hope to see all
of my classmates there, yes, all of you!
1962
Class Secretary: David Forster,
david4str@optonline.net; Head Class
Agent: Fred Nagle, n052378@verizon.net
From Larry Fenton, yes, our long-lost
classmate, we hear, “Surprise, do not go into
shock, but I am sending you something.
Janice and I decided it was time to move
from our colonial in Harvard, Mass., so we
have built a house in Alton, N.H., and are in
the process of moving in. No, we are not
retired, and are still working, but a more
limited schedule. Janice’s family has had a
cottage for many years very near our new
home that we have summered at. We are
just over the town line from Wolfeboro, and
across the street is Lake Winnipesaukee,
and there is a common dock for our boats.
Harvard was probably not a destination
many considered, but if anyone is in the
area please feel free to give a call.” Joe
Freeman writes, “So far 2015 has been a
difficult year for me, in part due to the
extremely harsh winter here in Boston,
which finally convinced me to get a new
knee. That surgery was very successful, but I
have been plagued with a pesky set of GI
problems that have me on a bland diet and
seeing altogether too many doctors, none of
who seem to have any answers. Tests, drugs,
office visits, and stomach upset have
become the norm, preventing me from
doing some of the things I really love:
Racing my cars, fishing, spending time on
Nantucket, and generally enjoying life. Part
of getting old, I guess. I certainly have done
a lot of reading, though! Nonetheless, my
business, Racemaker Press, continues to do
fairly well (a couple of new books out every
year with decent sales) and occupies more of
my time than it really should. On the up
62
Alumni notes
side, my ‘adopted’ son, Zack, graduated
from Miami of Ohio this spring and has a
real paying job!” From Pete Adams we hear,
“This past summer was the summer of construction of the ‘Chaos Shed,’ to house all
the piles of disorganized papers, gear, tools,
etc. that encumber my living quarters. The
theory being that concentrating the patches
diminishes the effects of entropy in and of
itself, and will facilitate further organizing
efforts. Time will tell. Summer was also
notable for prodigious wax bean production.
My house ain’t neat, but I can put some delicious veggies on the dinner table for any of
you venturing up this way.” David Oldfield
writes, “Marti and I are serving as a host
family for a Chinese student, Evan, 17, who
is enrolled in a St. Louis prep school. We
have become fully immersed in his school
activities and have already attended early
morning parent coffees to meet his academic advisors. We take him to school each
day and make sure he gets to soccer practice
on time, as he has just made the varsity
team. Now we are being asked to volunteer
at his chess club meets. We have played
chess twice, and it’s Evan 2 vs. David 0!
Evan reminds me a lot of myself 54 years
ago when I too, was a foreign student at
Taft. I feel as if I’m taking a refresher course
in American history as I help him with his
homework! Needless to say we are learning a
great deal about Chinese culture and eating
habits. He is taking three AP classes including calculus and just got an A on his biology
exam. All this academic achievement at 17
and in a foreign language! Well, it’s keeping
us young!” Mike Swires writes, “Judy and I
were in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., at our
condo, until the last week of Sept. Then we
drove back to Houston, a three-day drive.
We arrived in Calif. in early June, and it was
a busy three-plus months. It was warmer
than usual in Calif., but still not like
Houston. Calif. was still dry as a desert, the
whole state. The natives there are hoping
for heavy El Niño rains this winter (then
they’ll probably get mudslides). We redid
the kitchen in our condo—the last major
redo on the condo, we hope. We hosted all
of our kids and grandkids (three kids, eight
grandkids) for 10 days in July, which was
fun and exhausting as always. We had 14
people staying in our condo; one night we
had 19 people for dinner. I also had to make
a number of business trips while we were in
Bryn and Jace, grandchildren of Cronan Minton
’62, ready for their golf and tennis camp.
Calif. We’re trying to figure out where to go
on a foreign trip next year, maybe a cruise
somewhere we haven’t been yet. We’re also
trying to figure out something special to do
for our anniversary on Dec. 19. It’s another
milestone, number 50! Maybe a few days in
Las Vegas.” From Marty Keller we hear,
“Our daughter, Megan, was married on July
3. What a glorious occasion. A new family
was formed. So Megan went from Keller,
meaning ‘cellar’ or ‘foundation’ in German,
to Wieszcholek, which in Polish means ‘pinnacle’ or ‘the top of a wedding cake.’” Bob
Chandler writes, “No trek this year as I am
reorganizing my practice and doing more
grandparenting while my partner takes
delivery of his new house in Stresa, Italy. On
the former note, our eighth grandchild,
Camila, arrived Aug. 28 in Aventura, Fla.
Lalio was in attendance. Had one great
round of golf last month: Shot an 85 with
four birdies! Handicap at 20 and headed
south, slowly.” Paul Ehrlich writes, “Nine
months left on my practice contract, and
Labor Day seemed like a pleasure. But, practicing seems like something I’m not yet
ready to give up.” From Jay Owen, “My
hematologist recently told me that my NK
cell reading was halved. The NK cell reading,
which can only be done every three months,
is by far the most important reading. The
cells are the nemeses that contribute to
everything else (red blood cell fall, anemia,
liver and/or kidney dysfunction, etc.). It’s
the first really positive news I have had (in a
long time) regarding this debilitating disease—just thought I’d share the good news.
I’m fighting as hard as I can to make the
best quality of life I can. It’s been almost
five years since this battle was commenced.
It’s been tough at times, but I’ve seen the
birth of four granddaughters (a fifth is on
the way early next year). So, I’ll keep on
plugging. I appreciate all the support from
my old Taft friends from the class, especially
Marty Keller and Cliff Brown. I’ll keep
you up to date with things from time to
time.” Cronan Minton writes, “Our Calif.
grandkids, Bryn, 11, and Jace, 9, were all
dressed up in their new clothes for a golf
and tennis camp in the photo I submitted.”
From Vin Badger, typed by Jenny Badger,
read and approved by Vin: “We left a message this summer for Gail Collins of the New
York Times—with a very nice young office
assistant or intern—a suggested Randian
(Ayn, not Paul) column head: ‘Who is
Donald Pelt?’ There was a great New Yorker
cartoon some years ago by Lorenz of a very
disgruntled Donald Duck sitting in a fancy
bar alone and grousing, “I remember when I
was The Donald.” I remember when I was
the Donald, too: I did a more than passable
Donald Duck voice when younger.” Albert
Simms writes, “Hope you’re sitting down
for this one: I got married in Aug. to a super
lady, Catherine Danilov, from the Portland
Ore. area. I told the local probate judge we’d
like it very short and simple, something like
‘we each swear to love each other forever.’
The judge did even better with, ‘Do you
want to be married? (Yes.) I pronounce you
married.’ I’d say it took about 15 seconds or
less. After decades of bragging about being a
recluse, I’m really digging it. I’m not moving
to Portland, however. Catherine has moved
to Pilar. She loves to farm and make pickles,
loves our little house on the prairie, doesn’t
like parties, loves to get up at 4 a.m., and the
list of compatibilities goes on and on. When
her dad came to Taos to check me out a couple of months ago, he said he liked the
‘unpretentious simplicity’ of my office,
which I rank among the top compliments I
have occasionally received over the years.”
Bryan Remer writes, “After a couple of
years of searching, Karen and I have bought
a home in the Silverado community in Napa
Valley. Now we can sell and vacate the condo
she bought before we met, she not expecting
yours truly to come along to mess up her life
plans. And now we have a place of our own,
situated a short walk from the Silverado
North course 8th tee, just in time for the
PGA tournament in Oct. Speaking of golf, I
always need to remember that golf spelled
backwards is flog, and that’s about the way I
play it. I rationalize I’m a late bloomer.” As I
mentioned to Albert when I heard the good
news, the only thing I can say about the
subject of marriage is this, I’m married over
30 years and consider myself very lucky.
During all that time I’ve never considered
divorce. Murder maybe, but not divorce!
Congratulations to you, Albert, and thank
you, all contributors and readers alike, for
keeping us connected in word and in spirit.
Get Social
the Easy Way
Not a social media fan, but want to keep up with Taft?
We now have a social mash-up page that will allow you to
follow the day-to-day images, videos, and news updates from
campus without having to create multiple social media accounts.
Just visit www.taftschool.org/social to see postings from
Taft’s various social accounts. No logins or passwords needed!
1963
Class Secretary: Mark H. Fromm,
markfromm1@gmail.com; Head Class
Agent: Robert F. “Rick” Muhlhauser,
rickmuhlhauser@yahoo.com
Your correspondent had the pleasure of
the company of John Lord on a trip to the
Boston area. John very kindly gave me lunch
at his club in Boston and, after a first-class
meal, I received a tour that included the
famous table in the library where he wrote
most of his poetry. Thereafter, we were
joined by his wife, Mary, after which the
Lords departed for N.H. where, John informs
me, three weeks earlier he had lunched with
Tim More. He reports that Tim was alive,
well, and headed towards the North. I also
spent a very pleasant hour or so on the terrace behind Lynne and Frank Minard’s
very lovely home adjacent to the Oyster
Harbors Club golf course in Osterville, Mass.
The adventures of Frank’s daughter, Mick
’91, continue as she is in discussions about
her book The Poetry of Purpose: A Portrait
of Women Leaders of India being made into
a film. Meanwhile, she has taken a senior
marketing job with REI in N.Y. Her sister,
Rachel, continues to operate Minard Capital
in San Francisco, a fee-based marketing consultancy for alternative investment funds.
A look at her website would impress anyone
in the investment world. Certainly, to my
jaded ears, callused from many too many
decades of listening to “corporate speak,”
it was very refreshing. The third Minard
daughter, Sara, teaches social entrepreneurship and sustainable development at
Columbia and Northeastern. I caught up with
Peter McDonald in Marion, Mass., one of
the most pleasant towns imaginable. Peter
spent much of an afternoon showing me the
sights, including Tabor Academy, where he
spent his senior year, and his boyhood home
on Converse Point, one of the more stunningly beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It was
as though we had been deposited into a late
19th-century Impressionist vision of sea, sky,
coast, and white sails. Roy O’Neil reports, “I
have spent a lot of time this past year pitching my musical, Eddie and The Palaceades, to
community, small professional, and academic
theaters around the country. Mostly it has
been no reply or pass, but I have raised some
interest, and a few theaters have the script
63
Alumni Notes
under consideration. The show will be highlighted in the National Report section of the
Sept./Oct. issue of The Dramatist, the magazine of the Dramatist Guild. Sample tunes
can be heard at eddieandthepalaceades.com,
and we have a Facebook page that could use
some ‘likes.’” Derek Brereton just returned
from five weeks in Spain. There he worked
on his latest book, Seven Keys to Spanish
Treasure, a collection of essays on aspects
of Spanish culture. He met with flamenco
singers and guitarists, matadors, and guitar makers, and studied romanticism, the
brotherhoods (think: Holy Week in Seville),
Moorish architecture, and equestrian training schools for the nobility. See p. 78 for a
photo of Drum Bell’s grandson, Max. From
Jim Strubell: “Playing a bit of golf of course.
The New England Junior Amateur was at my
club this week. I am so amazed at how lithe
these kids are and how much better they are
than this old, decrepit swinger. I’ve spent
several weekends on Cape Cod chasing tuna
with my cousin and uncle, Marty McDonald
’54, to no avail, though we were awarded
with incredible whale shows, breaching, tail
whacking, etc.” Phil Cerny checked in just to
say hello, and Paul Clark regularly reminds
me of the joys (and other aspects) of growing
old. Finally, Biff Barnard posted a picture
on Facebook of his and Connie’s wedding
35 years ago. To our immense relief he was
not wearing sideburns and bell-bottoms,
but the glasses, clearly, had to go. Connie,
as usual, looked lovely. Biff added the following comment on a different subject: “As
some classmates know, for almost 15 years I
have been involved with the United Religions
Initiative (URI, uri.org), which is now the
largest grassroots interfaith organization in
the world, and whose purpose is to ‘promote
enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to
end religiously motivated violence and to
create cultures of peace, justice, and healing for the earth and all living beings.’ The
work of URI is done by volunteers organized
in local communities through what we call
cooperation circles—made up of at least
seven people from at least three different
religions. We have 700 cooperation circles in
80 countries around the world and growing.
We have been asked to produce a one-hour
interfaith celebration of Christmas for CBS
to be shown on network and CBS affiliates
nationwide at 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
We have engaged Jonathan Dann ’70, one
64
Alumni notes
Peter McDonald ’63 proudly displays his alma
mater on his car.
Ted Ely ’64 with his grandson, Everett, aboard a
pirate ship in Presque Isle Bay, on Lake Erie.
of the monitors on my corridor when I was
on the faculty, as our executive producer. I
hope all of my classmates will watch of the
program—or at least record it and watch
it later if you can’t stay up that late.” Biff
received a letter from one of his former
students, whom Biff taught while on the
faculty at Taft, stating what integrity Biff
had always shown as a teacher. In reference
to a controversial incident in the news about
St. Paul’s, the student said that Biff would
have done the right thing, had he been there.
We, his classmates, know we are fortunate
to have him as a classmate and friend. “You,
Biff, were the essential man. Still are. Ask
any of the old gang. Your kids and granddaughters have an honorable old school
gentlemen for a patriarch. Lucky people.”
of my fellow citizens who see these as viable
leaders!” Donald Trump, anyone? From
Colo., Bruce Gammill writes, “Seemed like
a very short summer this year in Colo. as we
were still dealing with the occasional snow
(on Mother’s Day!) in late spring, which confused all the plants as well as many people
(me). I enjoyed tracking my two youngest
(twin girls, 21) who were doing summer
internships this year in investment banking
and in international relations. They’re now
in their senior year of college. Should be
interesting to see what happens, career-wise,
when they graduate this coming May. My
summer was uneventful (dormant? like the
plants). My hockey team sucked (last place)
but was still fun. And I’ve signed on for
another year of doing economic development
for Torbay in the U.K. We’re heavily focused
on developing their photonics industry. If
you’re like me, not engineering inclined, it
makes for a pretty esoteric experience.” And
from Scott Farley, another Western classmate: “Dick Loughran spent three nights
at my modest cabin on Flathead Lake, Mont.
He traveled from Fla. to see family and
friends. He saw Cam Duncan in N.M. before
coming to Mont., and saw Sandy Mason in
Idaho on his way back. We had several nice
meals. The wine, views, and good sleeping
weather didn’t hurt. He left just before the
smoke from the regional fires got really bad.”
Charlie Jessopp contributes, “We moved
to Bonita Springs, Fla., last year and now
are all settled in as full-time residents. I’d
love to hear from anyone in the area.” From
Tom “Mouse” McCready Tudor, “Visited
with son Jan ’00 and his wife, whom live in
Oxford, England, with daughter Leonora and
another on the way. Maya ’94 also lives (and
teaches) in Oxford. I just retired from the
1964
Class Secretary: Christopher “Kit”
Brown, cwb322@gmail.com; Head Class
Agent: Carl Wies, carlwies@live.com
Thanks to those of you who responded to
my plea for news. It’s great to hear from you.
Frosty Hicks writes, “Sydney and I spent
three weeks in Italy in May looking at all
the ruins, art, palaces, and more. Then in
July we visited Joanne and Hugh Caldara
in Stonington, Conn., for four days. Lots
of fun for us.” Kit Galton has a political
observation, as of Aug., when he wrote in:
“While I continue to work part-time as a
mental health counselor, I am horrified as
I watch what looks like craziness gone wild
in our political system. Unfortunately, I do
not know how to bring calmness or sensibility to those aspiring to be elected to run our
nation, and I shudder to think of the millions
Defense Security Cooperation Agency where
I was a deputy general counsel. Now having a
blast doing absolutely nothing!” We received
a great note from Bert Barnes: “I have
three wonderful children and five wonderful
grandchildren. Their achievements are very
good, but they won’t be very special to our
readers. Also, a wonderful golden retriever
and two lovable cats (OMG!). I am in transition toward retirement; my wife Martha and
I live a very good life in Springfield, Ohio.
We recently purchased her family cottage
on Mullett Lake, Mich., 25 miles south of
Mackinac Bridge. Regarding Taft ‘what’s
on my mind,’ my reflections on 1961–64
at Taft are overwhelmingly positive! It was
three years of astounding growth for me,
and I cherish the endless memories of people
and events and more. Many kids and their
parents took me into their Conn. homes
(Boynton, Klaben, and others). Very pleasant for an Ohio kid 700 miles from home.
Again, endless great memories from those
three years…Coach John Small, one of the
great ones. Rod Maynard, and so many
other good friends. Vespers, church, singing, academics…great memories of Joseph
Cunningham, James Logan, my physics
teacher and soccer coach, and many other
faculty. When I left Taft in 1964, I still had
a long way to go, but I left a much stronger
person than I was in Sept. 1961. The school
motto is in Latin, and I cannot quote it, but
it’s worth noting that it is taken directly
from the Gospel of Mark 10:45, and I don’t
think in three years anyone ever said that
out loud. My dominant thought about Taft
is one of deep gratitude for the three years
spent there.” And here’s another great note,
this one from Ted Ely: “I had a wonderful
summer. I have two grandchildren, Everett,
6, and Lila, 2. We see them frequently, in
fact, almost every other day. We take Everett
to a club where there is a pool. He loves the
water and is in the process of learning to
swim. It is so satisfying to teach a willing
and eager student, as I am sure that you are
aware. We also play baseball (by his rules)
and have little excursions that my wife plans.
Yesterday we took him on a faux pirate ship
and to the library (his school has a summer
reading list, just like Taft). We also went to
Conneaut, Ohio, for a WWII reenactment of
D-Day. We take him to the Erie Art Museum,
the Children’s Museum, and even to the
Philharmonic concerts. My wife and I are
teaching him to read, which I believe is the
cornerstone to learning. I am kept busy with
the four boards that I sit on. All of them
are charitable, and three have to do with
the arts. I sit on the board of the Erie Art
Museum, the Philharmonic, and my Rotary
Club. My favorite organization though is
JazzErie. It is the smallest organization but
needs me the most. I feel that the arts are
the soul of the community. I seem to have
meetings with all of these boards two or
three times a week. I am currently helping
the Erie Art Museum with a lease for one of
its properties to another nonprofit. I think
that we all should give back to the community that we live in. ‘Not to be served,
but to serve.’ I am also trying to lose some
weight—a challenge. I have lost 20 pounds,
mostly because of a spin class that I take at
a local health club two times a week. I ride
my bike around the peninsula on the off days
when I get a chance. I am also reading a lot
more. Currently, I am rereading the classics.
I read The Movable Feast and am currently
rereading Moby Dick. I am interested in my
impressions now versus when I was in my
teens.” On a related subject, Ted is very
much interested in starting a class online
book club. He would create a blog and act as
moderator. Classmates’ spouses would be
welcome to join, too. The name of the blog
would be the Taft Alumni Reading Club. He
suggests that I give him a list of the books
I’m reading with my upper mid and senior
AP classes as a start, and I’d be glad to do
so (sample books: The Scarlet Letter, The
Stranger, A Clockwork Orange, The Bluest Eye,
Go Down, Moses, maybe even a Shakespeare
play). It sounds like a good idea, and I’d be
happy to join in from time to time with my
observations when I’m not teaching, grading, or trying to get all of you to send in
news. Please email me if you’re interested,
and I’ll pass your names and emails along
to Ted. That’s all for this issue. They’re
your notes. Please keep them coming!
1965
Class Secretary: Carl P. Hennrich,
carl.hennrich@insure-hi.com; Head Class
Agent: Kemp Bohlen, kempbohlen@gmail.com
“There’s no such thing as a perfect piece of
writing. Just as there’s no such thing as perfect despair.” Know you agree with Haruki
Murakami’s opening statement of his novel
Hear the Wind Sing; there’s certainly “no perfect piece of writing” in these quarterly class
notes, vaingloriously hard as we scribes may
strive. We aspire to mitigate any despair you
classmates may be enduring, as we navigate
the vicissitudes of our human coil. George
Schade eased some recent despair of mine,
with these uplifting, encouraging words,
“Stay well, Carl. I know some 85 people,
many back east, and all about 69 years old,
who really need you.” George, your timely
kind words are appreciated. Fall seven times,
stand up eight—Japanese proverb. Hope you
and Lillian avoided the horrific Aug. dust
storm in Phoenix that stranded several
people on the top of Camelback Mountain.
Please make sure to check the Ariz. weather
report, and stay hydrated before embarking
on your next long bike sojourn my friend.
Our miraculous classmate striving to provide succor, encouragement, and relief from
despair to needy souls in faraway places
throughout the world, Ward Mailliard,
was espied hosting a hot dog party for
underprivileged children in South Africa in
a photo. Ward wrote, “Every now and then
we have moments on the learning journeys
we take with the Mount Madonna student. I
think we have had more than our share this
time in the Botshabelo Children’s Aid’s village outside of Johannesburg. Hopefully the
students are beginning to understand the
true concept of a global society that is not
about commerce, but rather about our common responsibility to each other as human
beings. We certainly have learned about
being welcomed in into the communities
here.” Never cease your tireless humanitarian
efforts, Ward, because Buddha and others
are blessing you. This scribe is in awe of you
and Kranti. Should any of you find yourself
confronted with the frightful despair of a
household intruder, fiery Tim Carew, who
taught firearms, recommends keeping a
Raid wasp spray can by your bed and near
the entrance to your home. Tim claims wasp
spray is the best home defense weapon
as it fires 20 feet, “far better than a pistol
or long gun.” Tim’s myriad of humorous
emails, including some amazing pictures of,
and jokes directed at Hillary Clinton (H.C.)
always brighten my work-a-day world. Tim
and I may move to Canada if H.C. becomes
our next president. Despite Murakami’s
belief there is no perfect writing, scribe
65
Alumni Notes
Peter Corrigan ’66, agrees that Joseph
Mitchell’s Up in the Old Hotel comes close
with his amazing stories of the “visionaries, obsessives, imposters, fanatics, lost
souls, street preachers, old Gypsy kings and
queens, and the out-and-out freak show
freaks” of NYC. No, don’t worry readers,
Mitchell never wrote about our class or my
beloved roommate Roger Kirby. Mitchell
possessed an amazing talent for human and
reportorial listening, as “Kirbs” did with
his writing at Taft, Columbia, and beyond.
Mitchell referred to his favorite subjects as
“ear benders” which, henceforth, is what
Corrigan and I will affectionately label all
notes readers and classmates. So keep bending our ears, and those of you whom have
been shining scribes for decades, kindly come
bend our ears, and blow our minds? ’Scuse
me, while I kiss the sky—Jimi Hendrix. Enjoyed
hearing from one enlightening ’65 “ear
bender,” another erudite classmate, John
Kleeman, who shared some of his favorite
poems. Klee’s emails are always extremely
well written, educational, humorous without
being sarcastic, and eagerly awaited. If you
haven’t done so, google John and his
family’s website: spaceagemuseum.com.
On son Peter’s, Jan. 4, 1984, fourth birthday, the Kleemans commenced their Space
Age Museum, when John gifted Peter with
an 8-foot X-Wing fighter that he had constructed out of plywood and odd pieces.
There are some great pictures of John,
Veronica, and Peter throughout their website. Hey, Mr. Spaceman / Won’t you please take
me along / For a ride.—The Byrds. Nietzsche
once mused, “How can those who live in the
light of day possibly comprehend the depth
of night,” or the depths of outer space?
Fellow football fan Jeff Levy emailed me to
say, “I, too, am looking forward to the start
of the football season, especially considering
that the baseball season ended in Boston two
months ago.” Jeff also related this exciting
family news: “Craig ’01 and Alison delivered
another boy to the Levy clan on July 7. His
brother, Chase, is learning the meaning of
the word share.” Three cheers for new baby
James “Jake” Morse Levy. We enjoyed an
ensuing congratulatory phone call wherein
Jeff provided your scribe with several good,
boisterous laughs that would have made
Walt Costello shudder, in remembrance of
the strange noises that ensued from your
scribe during his Taft years. Chris Schroll
66
Alumni notes
and I still enjoy exchanging some of those
memorable frightening sounds together. As
promised, Jeff, some scribe family news: My
oldest daughter, Seneca, and her musician
husband, Trevor Brooks, are expecting baby
girl Charley Jasmine Brooks any day now.
And, we just found out earlier this week
that our youngest daughter, Emily, and her
handsome husband Robert “Bono” Boniface,
are expecting their, as yet unnamed, beautiful baby girl toward the end of Feb. Let’s
see, that brings the number of females in
my life up to eight now, with Bono and
Trevor being my only male amigos. Am
vaingloriously attempting to catch up with
all you classmates whom are already proud
grandparents, realizing full well it will be
impossible to lap the prolific, dynamic duo
of Cathy and Greg Oneglia, who enjoy a
commanding lead in the joyous world of
grandchildren. Speaking of beautiful grandchildren, George Lamb reported that his
granddaughter, Nola Cesarina, is growing up
rapidly, and doing well. Nola’s middle name
is her mother’s great-great-grandmother’s
name, not George’s relative, as erroneously
reported in one of my earlier class notes.
George adds, “My father was a genealogy
fanatic, thus I was able to scan his records
back to the mid-1500s and found no Italian
ancestry. Puritans all; mostly arriving on the
Mayflower, later to invade Maine, Conn.,
and apparently most of Nantucket.” George’s
email also stated, “This is something you
likely never experience in Hawaii…a few
days ago we had some snow on the higher
peaks which reminded me to play some
more tennis before I get out my skis.” Whilst
George waxes his skis, your scribe is looking for his surfboard wax in anticipation of
post-hurricane high surf. Enjoyed a fantastic
“Back in the Day” Hawaiian music concert at
the Waikiki Shell with Emily and Bono on the
last day of their summer visit to Honolulu.
Will close these fall notes with lyrics from
the Rough Riders’ (Henry Kapono, John
Cruz, and Brother Noland) song Ku’u Home
O Kahalu’u: “I remember days when we were
younger. I remember days when we were
smiling. When we laughed and sang the
whole night long. And I will greet you as I
find you. With the sharing of a brand new
song. Last night I dreamt I was returning,
and my heart called out to you. To please
accept me as you’ll find me.” Thanks for
accepting my imperfect notes as you find
them all these years. Hope this issue of the
Bulletin finds you anticipating autumn after
a rewarding summer. Aloha, your scribe.
1966/50th Reunion
Class Secretary: Peter Corrigan,
petercorrigan3@gmail.com; Head
Class Agent: McKim Symington,
jmckims@hotmail.com; Reunion Committee:
Eduardo Mestre, chair, mestre@evercore.com;
Warren Dean, Jim Fessenden, Rick
Ford, Jim Hedges, Jim Murfey, Andres
Pastoriza, Buzz Seeley, Hal Werner;
Directory Committee: Peter Corrigan,
McKim Symington, BobWhitcomb; Gift
Committee: McKim Symington, co-chair;
Chip Cinnamond, co-chair; Ray DuBois,
Rick Ford, Alec Gerster, Dick Ginman, Tony
Guernsey, Phil Howard, Buzz Seeley
After a long and respected career taking
bad guys off the street, Van Midgley has
exchanged legal pad and court calendar for
fly rod and sunscreen. Unless he returns for
future Iron Man events in Moab, Utah is now
in the rearview mirror, as he and Corinne
will divide their year between Darby, Mont.,
and Punta Gorda, Fla. The toughest problem
now will be adjusting from lodgepole pines to
palmetto trees, and from trout in the creel to
bonefish in the boat…pretty much the way a
city kid from Scarsdale would choose to draw
up retirement. Another Westchester County
refugee, Chip Cinnamon, writes, “The big
news is the arrival of our first two grandchildren, boys Reid and Jack, on April 7 and May
27, respectively. The better news is that we
see a lot of them. They live in Swampscott,
Mass., and our beach house in Narragansett,
R.I., is less than two hours away. The key
word of the year is ‘simplify.’ We sold our
family home of 29 years in Westchester, sold
the big boat (then bought a smaller one), and
reduced the auto count from four to two.
Susan and I look forward to dividing our
time between R.I. and our condo in Naples,
Fla., and seeing classmates for our 50th next
May. Good health and happiness to all.” On a
visit to his brother Ben’s home nearby, Jake
Russell stopped in Longmeadow, Mass., to
see Paul Cowie over the summer. Catching
up with Paul usually means a round at Paul’s
golf club, where he saves the best for last
which, in Jake’s case, meant recalling how to
ski so he could slalom down a steep precipice
from the 18th hole. Like Chip and Van, Jake
also maintains a seasonal residence in Fla.,
but when he left Paul’s, he was on his way
to the far end of Atlantic Seaboard to visit
relatives on the coast in Down East Maine.
Speaking of skiing, Paul and Lisa’s younger
son, Tim, left his current base of operations in Girdwood, Alaska, to spend part of
his summer where it’s winter in Argentina
for snowboarding on an eastern slope of an
Andes ski resort in Patagonia. The Cowies
also enjoyed a visit from Sissy, the wife of
George Stearns, who was traveling from
Cincinnati to spend time with friends and
former neighbors from Stowe on Cape Cod.
Susan and McKim Symington were scheduled for a river excursion through Europe in
Oct., beginning on the Danube in Budapest,
and finishing with a cruise up the Rhine;
details to follow. The Symington offspring
are gainfully remaining stateside, Hilary in
Austin, Texas, and Ian in D.C., where he is
interning with the Royal Bank of Canada and
hopes to secure a permanent position. His
father, and our Anglophile of a class agent,
let it slip that any employer with the word
“royal” in its title is fine by him. By the time
you read this issue, all ’66 classmates we
can reach will know that Eduardo Mestre
has graciously stepped up once again to be
our reunion chair, and this time it’s for our
watershed 50th. I think we can unanimously
agree that we have the right man for the job.
Thank you from all of us, Eduardo. When
Paul and Jake got together, it brought to
mind that they and five other Taft classmates
attended UNC at the same time. Eight classmates was easily the greatest number who
went to the same college, they being Ferdie
Wandelt, John Maloney, Doug Johnson,
Al d’Ossche, Greg McCullough, Eugene
Wang, Paul Cowie, and Jake Russell. Sad
to say, three of those eight are no longer
with us, as are 15 members from the entire
class. Some of us grunts (Symington’s word),
assisting Eduardo behind the scenes—with
significant help from the school—plan
to put a Reunion Directory together and
would greatly appreciate any thoughts, brief
anecdotes, or facts worth sharing about
departed classmates. A letter has or will be
sent with a list of these classmates. We hope
to honor their memory if we possibly can.
1967
Class Secretary: Bruce E. Johnson,
bjaia@charter.net; Head Class
Agent: George W.C. “Bill” McCarter II,
billmccarter@earthlink.net
1968
Class Secretary: Mac Whiteman,
nummer99@yahoo.com; Head Class Agent:
James A. Sterling, cheehaak@gmail.com
Get connected
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Here are just a few ways that you can stay connected:
Become a fan of The Taft School Facebook page. See posts about upcoming events and
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Connect with Tafties on LinkedIn: bit.ly/taftlinkedin
Watch videos of students, faculty, alumni, and parents experiencing a real-world
education: vimeo.com/taftschool
For those of you looking for good food, Jim
Sterling has good news: “I have a record
garlic crop this year—100 percent organic
from Romanian stock.” He will be visited by
Hunt Collins in the near future, who sent in
the following news and inquiry, “I didn’t go
anywhere last summer, but am finally going
to Portland, Maine, soon, so I will, of course,
look up our HM Jim Sterling then, he just
doesn’t know it yet, and then I will head
up to Auburn to visit my sister. Jim comes
out here occasionally as I think he’s got two
sons here in East Bay, one who’s about to get
married. [In the 125th Anniversary feature
in the summer Bulletin] I thought that the
shot for year 1969 was actually Guy Erdman
carrying a load of books to the new library.
What do you think?” It is hard for me to
put together the idea of Guy Erdman carrying books anywhere. However, I can report
that Guy is, or was, a terrific water skier, as
evidenced during our last encounter on a
speedboat off of the Vineyard some 30 years
ago. Jim Unland continues his efforts to
organize an Oriocos reunion for our 50th.
One of the biggest obstacles is identifying
which members of our class were actually
part of that illustrious group. If anyone
knows, please let me know! Fred Jennes
has already reported that he was not in the
group. I remember a concert we gave in
NYC at the invitation of Larry Bergreen’s
father, Morris. Perhaps with Jim’s help we
can relive that moment. Larry Legg reports
that he and his family enjoyed a sailing vacation in and around Long Beach, Calif., which
included hearing good music at a club in the
hills above Santa Monica. He says that surfing opportunities were limited due to the
possible presence of sharks, but nonetheless they all had a great time. Our honorary
member Colter Rule ’69 reports, “My son,
Colter III, headed to Suffield Academy on
Sept. 12, not a moment too soon… The
spoiled brat needs some come-uppance
(Capri for three weeks this summer, with
rich friends...that kind of brat!). Then into
the Coast Guard, if I have my druthers.”
Finally, your secretary is happy to report
that I attended the baptism of my granddaughter, Olivia, this past July. This was
followed by a terrific luncheon hosted by my
son, Jamie, and his wife Megha. All of this
took place near Prospect Park in Brooklyn,
not too far from where I lived in Brooklyn
Heights during our first year at Taft,
67
Alumni Notes
Tom McDonald ’69 at the 30th birthday party for
his son, Tom; from left, daughter Beth, Tom ’69,
wife Mary Ann, son Tom, and daughter Sarah.
Jim Meeker ’69 with his son, Will ’16.
George Potts ’69 and Alan Denzer ’69 with jazz
legend Bucky Pizzarelli.
Charles Safran ’69 (aka “Bapa”) with grandchildren Alexa and Zachary.
Dennis Vitrella ’69, center, on a canoeing adventure in Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario.
1964–65. It is an experience I will highly
recommend to anyone with grandchildren. It
takes some of the bite of turning 65 away!
frequent travels to Kuwait to help improve
diabetic care in the region. I was promoted to
prof. of medicine at Harvard Medical School,
and I helped create a new medical subspecialty called ‘clinical informatics.’ At Taft,
when the woodworking shop was converted
to a computer room, I found a lifelong interest. I won the golf club championship for old
people with handicaps. So for any of you
visiting Cape Cod, I’d be happy to host you
on our Jack Nicklaus course in Brewster,
Mass.” V. Manuel Rocha digs and pens,
“While many of my classmates enjoy retirement and being grandfathers, I am still in
the process of getting my kids through college, with my daughter starting at Babson in
Boston, and my son in his second year at
Bryant in R.I. Luckily, I just renewed my contract for another three years running the
large gold mining operation in the
Dominican Republic, with the added responsibility of exploring the Cuban mining
market now that relations with the U.S. have
been reestablished.” Tommy McDonald
pitches in, “The McDonald clan has two bits
of news. First, after 40-plus years on Wall
Street (literally and figuratively) I have
decided to retire from the fray, joining many
of my contemporaneous colleagues on
Uneasy Street. The second news item is the
recent engagement of our daughter Beth to
Jimmy Burke with a wedding planned for
Oct. 2016. So my first year of retirement will
be consumed with check writing.” Jim
Meeker shuttled son Will ’16 back to Taft
for his senior year. “It seems like yesterday
he was a freshman, and when he graduates
this spring, we will miss our years at Taft.
The events at Taft are really fun, especially
Parents’ Weekend and Taft/Hotchkiss Day.
William spent time this past summer in
Turkey with three Taft students, one of
whom is from Istanbul.” Jay Geary reports
that he remains off the streets and out of
trouble with his law practice, church involvement, and music and fitness commitments.
He reports, “I recently had the honor of testifying as an expert witness on behalf of
Robert Walton ’73, in a case in St.
Petersburg, Fla. As often as time and opportunity permit, I visit my daughter in
Charleston, S.C., and my significant other in
Middletown, R.I.” Paul Tomkins clears the
air that he and “his lovely bride, Sylvie, have
survived the most painful drought that the
Northwest has had in years.” Paul stays busy
carving up land for residential and commercial developments, but is grateful when
opportunities arise to lay out conservation
or forest management tracts, or provide support and guidance for individuals needing to
sort through estate settlements or defense
from unethical development schemes. Gary
Cookson pays tuition all around, and writes
a note not a check, “Everyone got off to a
good fall start. Spencer settled in nicely at
Curry College. Oliver headed up to Cardigan.
The family made their annual sojourn to
Basin Harbor on Lake Champlain. My wife,
Janet, and I have settled into our Boston
apartment located in the developing and
lively Seaport area while Janet returns to
school.” Jim Reed sweated out the summer
in Chapel Hill and scribbled, “I did manage a
trip to see my daughter in LA, plus a trip to
N.Y. where I spent time with Alan “The
Dow” Denzer. I leave in mid-Sept. for a
two-week trip to Tanzania and Kenya. I
promise to supply a photo for the next issue.”
Mike Macy writes, “Lauri and I drove to the
North Slope in Aug. Civilization ends 11
miles north of Fairbanks. Aside from truck
stops at the Yukon River, Coldfoot, and
maintenance camps and pump stations, there
are no services and only two villages for 475
miles. Over five million acres burned this
summer, again. Smoke—visibility 25 yards at
times—8-, 9-, 10-percent grades—Prospect
Creek -75°F—record low for U.S. in Wiseman,
Alaska—‘Population: Frozen,’ according to
the sign, but friendly—everywhere, glaciers
being ravaged by climate change—and
always, trucks and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline,
a marvel slinky-ing across the landscape.
1,700 bumpy, dusty, muddy miles later, we
are happy to be home. The Haul Road is a
mere sliver, thread, a hair reminding us ice
road truckers just how gianormous Alaska is.”
John Bria sketches his summer for us, “I’m
working on 20 paintings or so of Monument
Valley and the Grand Canyon, their final brilliant brush strokes proving elusive, and I’m
heading out West with my dog Skye in midOct., looking for more material. In July, I
walked onto the tennis court with a hopper
of balls and began hitting left-handed. This is
noteworthy only because I’ve logged about
55 years playing tennis right-handed. After
Taft, I whipped my game into shape, played
in college, then spent some time as a teaching pro. Recently, if nothing else, I at least
still looked pretty good even when hitting
the ball out or into the net. My right shoulder, though, suddenly needed a few months
of easy living with perhaps a repair, followed
by a few more months of recovery. The rest
of me was not inclined to take a layoff, and
so I did the obvious: I picked up my racquet
with the other hand. I’m now a beginner.
Serving is tough, and I hope our school will
forgive me for this, but I blatantly disregard
our motto and always choose to receive
rather than to serve.” Charles Albert still
works at play and reports that it was, “A very
busy year at Creativity, Inc. We are proud to
have contributed to the most recent Toy of
the Year (and a few hundred others). Son
Eugene (‘DJ Yooj’) is still in Berlin for the
foreseeable future, but we did get a visit, and
had a short vacation in Mendocino together.
Son Miles continues work on his Physics PhD
at UCSD. We have three cats, and a ridiculously prolific vegetable garden, with over
eight heirloom tomato, squash, and pepper
varieties each (place your hot sauce orders
early), as well as beans, eggplants, herbs, etc.
Life is good! All the best to everyone, and all
are welcome to visit us anytime here in
Redwood City, where the town motto is
‘Climate Best by Government Test.’” I,
Dennis Vitrella, your class secretary, shaker
of classmates’ notes and photos, and mover
in all three North American countries, can
report good health and conditioning. In Aug.,
with three experienced wilderness buddies,
we returned to the Quetico Provincial Park in
Ontario for an eight-day canoe adventure.
This is the same spectacularly beautiful and
remote area where Jay Geary joined us twice
to paddle lakes and rivers and to portage
heavy packs. Our two grandchildren live in
Minneapolis but even more so in our hearts.
We visit them “upriver” often. Angeles and I
have been in our Puebla, Mexico, home even
more often. Angeles’ sister and soul mate
Alice’s illness and death have shaken our
family’s foundation and our spirits here in
Mexico, and thus we remain to support and
heal. Alice lives in us. Viva Alice! ¡Viva México!
Viva Taft ’69!
1969
Class Secretary: Dennis A. Vitrella,
dvitrella@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
Robert W. Leary, bleary14@verizon.net
Now that it’s fall, some of us are back to
school and work routines, one switching
rackets, another back from the North Slope
to the Far North, one musician meets a jazz
legend, one still our own golden legend, a
pitcher retires for a second time, a carpenter
on “vitamin I,” a Harvard prof. swinging on
the Cape, law keeps a weightlifter off the
streets, a Taft dad in his senior year, one off
to Africa, another carves up land, tuition
trebled for an actor, a Toy of the Year award
winner, a Canadian paddler and Mexican
resident, nicknames combined for Allons-y,
the Dow Flake! George Potts caught up with
Al Denzer in Aug. at the Litchfield Jazz
Festival in Conn., and thanks to Mary and Al
Pizzarelli, he was able to spend a few minutes with one of his all-time guitar heroes,
Bucky Pizzarelli, who is “still performing at
age 89, and out-dressing both of us.” Glenn
Tucker swishes “vitamin I” and reports, “At
this age, life has taken on a certain rhythm
and simplicity. I wake up, take a couple of
Ibuprofen, swing a hammer and haul lumber
all day, take a small handful of Ibuprofen and
fall into bed. I’m building a small house for
my 90-year-old dad.” Charles Safran finds
time to teach, practice, travel, and swing a
club championship and writes, “It’s been a
busy year with our new granddaughter and
68
1970
Class Secretary/Class Agent: Tom R.
Strumolo, tstrum@yahoo.com; Head Class
Agent: Barnaby Conrad III, barnabyc@aol.com
I, Tom Strumolo, was in touch with Ed
Cavazuti, who was visiting with Charlie
Flynn on Martha’s Vineyard. I have been
in touch separately with a bunch of classmates and many other Taft friends, like
Molly Baldrige ’72 and Colter Rule ’69,
on the occasion of my 40th wedding anniversary. Ann Havemeyer and I met in NYC
in Dec. of 1970, went to Yale together,
got married in 1975, raised five kids here
in Norfolk, Conn., and managed to get
Addie ’98, Will ’01, Pete (sensibly went to
Westminster 2002), Andrew ’06, and Lizzie
’07 educated and out of the house. Barney
Conrad had a hand in getting Ann and I
together so Taft did, too, “once removed.”
1971/45th Reunion
Class Secretary/Head Class Agent:
Thomas W. Gronauer, tgronauer@cbi.com;
Class Agents: Donald J. Lorenzet,
Charles N. Stolper; Reunion Chair:
Louis Frank, lou@loufrank.com
Dunstan Sheldon retired in Oct. and is moving home to Hamiton, New Zealand. Richard
Bell reports that his son, Christopher, is
in Denver and works at the Call to Arms
Brewery located at 4526 Tennyson St. They
make 13 beers, and Richard encourages
any alumni in the Denver area to give them
a try. Read about our travel writer classmate, Don George in Spotlight on p. 8.
69
Alumni Notes
Alumni notes
1972
Class Secretary/Head Class Agent: Peter
H. Miller, pmiller@aimmedia.com
We pick up where we left off last spring by
talking about Nelson Denis. He has written a best-selling book called War Against
All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in
America’s Colony, which is now Amazon’s
No. 3 on Colonialism and number eight on
Latin America. When I see Nelson in the
New York Times or on talk shows, I can’t help
thinking, “I knew him when.” With this in
mind, we change up our class notes. The
timing seems right; all the weddings, birth
announcements, and job promotions are
behind us, I think. Instead, I’m asking classmates to share their memories about fellow
classmates. Let’s see if your accomplishments
today can be traced back to who you were at
Taft, 43 years ago. Take Nelson for example.
His past and current friend, fellow Upper
Westside New Yorker, Al Kingenstein, had
this to share: “Nelson has always been an
original. From the first day of our lower mid
year, it was obvious: Nelson was not like
the rest of us. He made a big impression on
me with his outsized personality, big heart,
and mischievous spirit. He’s doing the same
thing in the world today.” And this about
“Nelsone” from Bob Golfman: “Nelson told
me I needed more exercise. He was like Jack
LaLanne, doing one-armed push-ups, for
an audience, in Congdon. He took me on a
five-mile run, but I’d never run more than
a mile and a half. Before too long, I wanted
to give up. But Nelson encouraged me with,
‘don’t stop!’ He’d run ahead really fast about
200 yards, then circle back and ask ‘how you
doin’? Come on, you can do it, don’t stop!
Keep breathing!’ To this day, whenever I
run five miles, I think of Nelson, because
without him, I never would have pushed
myself that hard.” Since that run with Bob in
1970, Nelson has been on the go ever since:
an acclaimed author, filmmaker, lawyer,
N.Y. assemblyman from Spanish Harlem,
and editor of El Diario/La Prensa, the largest Spanish language newspaper in NYC,
for which he won awards from the National
Assoc. of Hispanic Journalists. All this takes
brains and concentration, something Nelson
demonstrated to Jon Turak, his mid-year
roommate who remembers, “My desk, in the
room I shared with Jeff Lord and ‘Nelsone,’
70
The daughters and grandchildren of Suzanne
Bean Cooper ’73.
1973 alums Michael Scott, Peter White, and
John Seelye at Peter’s home in Cold Springs
Harbor, N.Y.
was against the wall at the end of my bed. I
woke up from a nap one afternoon to find
Nelson sitting on my legs while he used my
desk to play chess. This is all the use that desk
ever got, as I was not often seen utilizing it.”
Nelson’s book is about the clash between the
Puerto Rican independence movement and
the commonwealth’s U.S.-appointed stewards,
national police force, the FBI, and ultimately
the U.S. Army. The independence movement,
led by Pedro Campos, was put down, marking the only time in U.S. history that the U.S.
government bombed its own citizens. That
Nelson could present this history from both
sides of the conflict reminded me of his spiritual state of being, even at age 15. He made
us all just a little uncomfortable when he
prayed in public and didn’t begrudge our kidding him about it, which we did, in retrospect,
unmercifully! Worth MacMurray remembers, “Nelson would come into our room to
pray, kneeling against Kiwi’s Lay-Z-Boy chair.
This had the effect of causing the chair to
tilt back so that the upper part was pointing out the window. Kiwi and I came up with
the only plausible explanation for Nelson’s
daily ritual: Pointing the chair back’s metal
frame out the window caused it to act as an
antenna, and Nelson found that he got better
‘reception.’” My own memory of Nelson is of
Sunday afternoon on the athletic field, him
juggling a soccer ball from knee to knee, head
to foot. I would ask him to sing the Schaefer
beer commercial in Spanish, over and over,
which he did happily, while juggling that soccer ball, as if to dance to his own music. And
this, in conclusion, from Al Klingenstein
who provides both a personal past and
present-day perspective on Nelson: “Nelson
has enjoyed stirring up the hornets’ nests
his whole life. But he is not a rabble-rouser.
He confronts his enemies with knowledge,
insight, and disarming humor, with entertaining and effective results. I have enjoyed
watching Nelson weave his web, knowing
he’s doing good. I take pride in my friendship
with Nelson Denis.” I’d like to thank Al, Jon,
Worth, and Bob for their application of the
Dick Lovelace grammatical corrections that
I’ve long forgotten. If you’d like to share your
own memories of classmates, as these good
fellas have, please write me, Peter Miller.
1973
Class Secretary: Sherrard Upham Côté,
sherrard-cote@comcast.net; Head
Class Agent: Marti Stine Boyd,
marti.boyd55@gmail.com
Bruce Turbow checked in, saying that his
son, Ben, attended his first concert to see his
favorite band, Phish, with Trey Anastasio
’83. His son, Robert, is going to make him a
grandfather in Jan. 2016! Keep us posted…
Marti Stine Boyd, our head class agent,
sends a big “thank you” to all who supported
the Annual Fund this year. Ted Judson
writes, “TrustedPeer just enlisted a new
expert, Worth MacMurray ’72, to go along
with Steve Potter. Peter White has joined
the TrustedPeer board of directors.” Michel
Scott checked in with the following, “Peter
White hosted my wife, Barbara, and me, and
John Seelye at his fabulous home in Cold
Springs Harbor on Aug. 19. I was on my way
to Europe via NYC and Peter suggested we
try and pull in some old Taft ’73 buddies for
a gathering. Rick Schnier dropped by with
his wife, Peach, also. First time I’d seen Peter
and Rick in eight years, and John in over 30!
Waistlines and hairlines looked quite impressive (except for mine on both counts), and
I’m looking forward to taking John’s advice
and getting on a regular yoga program. It
was a fabulous night we’ll all remember for
years to come. Hopefully we can make a regular yearly date of this!” From Geoff Blum:
“Took some time off in June to travel with
friends to Germany then cruise down the
Danube, ending in Budapest. In July had my
annual weekend in Martha’s Vineyard with
Wyatt Stevens and his wife, Giselle.” Jock
Yellott has been in touch with Tony Howe,
a prize pupil of Mark Potter ’48 (Tony won
the art award in 1973). Tony is now doing
kinetic sculpture on Orcas Island, Wash.,
where he lives with his wife. Jock also regularly keeps up with Bruce Thompson, who
alternates between summers at Chautauqua,
N.Y., and winters in Fort Lauderdale. Jock
became a lawyer, something he regrets—he
should have become a cartoonist, he said!
He practiced law in D.C. and retired to
Charlottesville, Va. Hugh “Cubby” Downe
checked in with this exciting news, “Daughter
Chloe, after graduating from UVa, and working at Sotheby’s in NYC for four years and
the National Museum in D.C. for the past
one and one-half years, is back at UVa as
one of only five persons admitted to their
art and architectural history postgraduate
program. She will emerge after five years
with a MA and PhD—very exciting!” Kudos
to Chloe! Life goes on in Andover, Mass.
Our son is in his third year of law school. He
will work for Latham and Watkins, in D.C.,
after graduation. His wife will move back to
D.C. in the fall of 2016, when her two-year
stint in NYC as assistant to the U.S. ambassador to the UN is done. Our daughter and
son-in-law still run their watersports business in the summer and are busy chasing
our two grandsons around! Thanks to all of
you who responded to my plea for news!
1974
Class Secretary: Cynthia Post Stone,
stonecindi@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
Brian C. Lincoln, brian.lincoln@yahoo.com
Folks had busy summers. From Charlie
Johnson: “After 32 years as a corporate
lawyer in Boston, I changed careers to
become a full time prof. at the business
Tyler Humphrey, new grandchild for Clare
Pierson ’74, born in June.
More new grandchildren for Clare Pierson ’74:
twins Ava and Austin Smith, born in Aug.
school at Univ. of Mass. Amherst, where I
will teach entrepreneurship and help lead the
new entrepreneurship center on campus. My
wife and I recently moved to Northampton
with the invaluable assistance of our favorite
real estate broker, Cindi Post Stone.” Peter
Cohen sends this update, “We were able to
get to Spain this summer and spent time on
the Mediterranean. Being untethered from
email can be very relaxing! We brought son
Max back to college late summer.” Clare
Pierson sent in photos of her new grandchildren. Congratulations, Clare! Mary
and Phil Sneve have moved to a different
home in Duluth, with a big lawn and a long
driveway. Phil adds, “I foresee a lot of manly
activity ahead. Our daughter, Caroline, gave
birth to a son, Philip, and daughter, Ellen,
had baby girl Fiona. That makes five grandkids.” From Craig Sellers, “I’m happy to
report that I’ve been promoted to the position of prof. of clinical nursing at the Univ.
of Rochester School of Nursing, where I have
been on the faculty for the past 19 years.
I’m also celebrating three years as director
of our masters’ programs. It was also great
to see David McColgin in Waterbury, Vt.,
where we caught up over dinner in July.”
Jamie Oppenheimer reports, “Shauna and
I have become very active volunteers in a
local community radio station in Huntsville,
Ontario, called Hunter’s Bay Radio
(muskokaonline.com). FM range is limited
to about 120 miles, but great programming. Yours truly hosts a three-hour show
on Thursday nights highlighting songwriters who have influenced my songwriting.
Proud to have had classmates Steve Engle
and Gil Walker listening in from time to
time. Never thought early retirement would
steer me towards radio, but I’m having a
good time with it.” Bob O’Connor had
a lot of news to share: “I was in Panama
City, Fla., last week filming the trailer
for my book Gumptionade: The Booster for
Your Self-Improvement Plan. Decided to
drive there from my home in Memphis.
Classmates: Have you tried 78 East through
Birmingham, Ala.? By all means do. You get
to see lots and lots of neighborhoods the
Birmingham Chamber of Commerce does
not feature on their website. And then—if
you play your cards wrong—parts of rural
Ala. also not on your itinerary. A blurb from
Richard Smoley will be featured in my book
video and on the back cover of the book.
Class of ’74, we still look out for each other.
(No one else will!) If you watch the video
(www.gumptionade.com), you’ll see I look
just like I did at Taft. But much, much older. I
was in Woods Hole on Cape Cod in July. Saw
no Tafties except Hank B., who sailed by
again this year. He does not wave. My youngest started at Georgetown Law School this
fall. He’s always been argumentative…why
not get paid for it? I had a great conversation
with Dick Cobb in June about John Small
and Larry Stone, who—for me—were the
dominant personalities at school while we
were there. I am considering writing an article about them for the Bulletin. Let me know
of any stories you would like to share, if you
please.” Karl Rockwell was doing some
reminiscing after seeing the picture of Fred
Murolo, Marian Reiff Cheevers, and Bob
Parsons in the summer Bulletin, “Reminds
me of Summer Jam ’73, when I hung out
with Bob and Fred at an epic outdoor concert featuring The Band, Grateful Dead, and
Allman Brothers Band. We left at about 2
71
Alumni Notes
a.m. with the Allmans still playing, but it
was about a five-mile hike to my car, and we
wanted to beat the 300,000 concertgoers
leaving at the same time. We got to my
house about sunrise, where my mom made
a huge bacon and egg breakfast before I
dropped off Fred and Bob on the interstate
so they could hitch a ride back to Conn. Joe
Giuliano did not make it to that concert,
but a few years later I got Joe to go with me
to see Miles Davis in a tiny basement night
club in D.C. We were seated to the side of
the stage, literally five feet from the legendary, frail, bent-over trumpet player glaring
at us with dark sunglasses. Unforgettable
Taftie moments!” Wonderful news from
Holly Ross: “I married John Adolphsen on
May 9. John accompanied me to our last big
reunion, so some people might remember
him. We had a small backyard wedding. Our
honeymoon was a cruise from Vancouver to
Alaska, with some time in Alaska and then
in Seattle, where I met more of his family.
Early fall we cruised up the East Coast to
Canada, and then it was back to the usual
work routine for a while!” Congratulations,
Holly! And from Glenn Blakney, “I have
accepted a position at St. John’s Prep in
Danvers, teaching 7th and 8th grade mathematics in their new middle school. It’s a
great opportunity at a great time—lots of
work, but very exciting! So, I spent most of
the summer, all of July and some of Aug., in
orientation with curriculum planning, learning some new technology, and doing some
team-building.” At this writing, Mike and I,
Cindi Post Stone, have happily celebrated
the marriage of our daughter Kylie, to Max
Mean in July, and are celebrating the marriage of our other daughter Jamie, soon to
Paul Feingold. We were so sorry to learn that
Carlie Shields Dandridge passed away
in Maine on Aug. 27 and offer our condolences to her family. (See In Memoriam.)
1975
Class Secretary: Fred McGaughan,
fmcgaughan@princetonacademy.org;
Head Class Agent: Robert C. Barber,
10 Llewelyn Rd., Summit, NJ 079012014, barber.robertc@gmail.com
See p. 87 for a photo of “Jinx” Howe
with several other Tafties at the
Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Fla.
72
Alumni notes
1976/40th Reunion
Class Secretary: Donna Eldridge,
taft.1976@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
John Welch, mdog311@msn.com; Class
Agents: Kitty Herrlinger Hillman, David
Jennison, Charles Santos-Buch, Don Taylor,
Andrew Wertheim; Reunion Committee:
Bob Campbell, Jocelyn Gamble Childs,
Donna Eldridge, Kitty Herrlinger Hillman,
David Jennison, Charlie Santos-Buch, Don
Taylor, Helen Weeden, John Welch
With our reunion on the horizon, news is
coming in from faraway places…classmates
who have been off the radar for many years
are reconnecting and popping up on social
media, at dinner parties, and when their kids
force them to go and do what they might
not have normally done. I will not “out” my
sources, but will happily report news from
Peter Lally: “Can you believe it? Son Brendan
is an MD and is going to NYC for a three-year
residency in emergency medicine.” Liz Miller
is happy and healthy and has been in Vt. for
the last 30 years, where she has a landscape
design company. Bob Bova and his wife
Kim, who is a neuropsychologist, and their
boys, 16 and 13, and Bob’s dad live in Orange
County, Calif. Bob did a stint in NYC but after
visiting Calif. on a cold winter’s day in the
mid-1980s, moved there and never looked
back. Bob credits history teacher, mentor, and
wrestling coach John Wynne with encouraging him to go to his alma mater, Syracuse,
which helped put him on course to a great life.
He and his family are very involved in scouting, water polo, baseball, martial arts, and
music. During a recent trip to Brown for their
older son’s summer program, he dropped by
Taft. Steve Dayton was a PG student during
senior year. He uncovered two beer mugs in
his storage unit—does anyone from the class
want them? Maybe we could get Steve to put
them in a box to send to Watertown and we
could raffle them off during reunion weekend! Jim McDonough’s recent excitement
includes waterslides, zip lines, and jumping
off a 25-foot tower into a giant airbag. It was,
he says, “all to show my kids that I’m not too
old to do that kind of thing, even though I
am. I recently attended a Santana concert 40
years after seeing them on a Taft excursion
to Hartford. Had a great time both occasions.
Only change was that I opted for antacid this
time.” Thanks to the McDonough connection,
Skip Hidlay is among the recently found.
He is living part-time in Fort Collins, Colo.,
in the Horsetooth Reservoir area, and in
Kan. the rest of the year. One nudge led to
another, and it prompted Skip to connect
with Joe Leiper and Dave Thomas ’77.
Skip planned to get together with Dave in
mid-Sept. in Denver, and hoped to reunite
with Joe after that. He even suggested that
he would make the trip to Watertown in
May. Kitty Herrlinger Hillman moved into
her new home in Ketchum, Idaho, in Aug.
after a five-month renovation. She writes,
“It is a dream come true to live in my own
real estate here in Sun Valley (SV)! Going to
Peru in Nov. with some SV locals to trek the
Salkantay lodge-to-lodge trail from Cuzco to
Machu Picchu. I’m on board for the reunion.”
Duncan Judson is now a grandfather to
three—his daughter’s twins were born on
July 5, girls Aislyn and Hadley. He is playing local amateur golf in Savannah, leading
a tough life, and loving every minute of it.
Andrew Wertheim’s big news is daughter
Lucy’s Aug. wedding to Alex Palmer in NYC.
David Jennison and Andrew’s cousin, Julia
Cole ’09, were in attendance. Lucy started
a new job at Architizer, a start-up web company that matches architects to designers
and vendors. Sibyl is working part time for
a French bank in Manhattan, Andrew is still
flogging tea, and son Warren is at Spotify. I,
Donna Eldridge, had a short visit in Salem,
Ore., with Kris Ramstad while my daughter
moved into her room at Willamette. Kris
gave us a huge jar of her own bees’ honey,
and Maddie has been enjoying it ever since.
After 40 years separation, Kris and I found
many things to connect us—trees, gardens,
kids, West Coast transplants—and catching
up was bittersweet as we remembered our
mutual friend, Abby Jacobson ’77. Talking
about small world, two weeks later, I was at
a dinner party and met the Cal roommate of
Ann Magnin. She is still working in fashion
PR, which has changed quite a bit since she
started her agency. Periscope! Snapchat!
Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! Yes, times
have changed. In other news, Ann’s daughter,
Elena Stein ’09, lives in LA and works for
Sony Pictures, and Emma ’12 is finishing
up her senior year at College of Charleston.
Husband Michael Stein ’73 keeps in touch
with a core Taft group, which includes golf
excursions both near and far. Tori Johnson
Vincent reports from Arlington, Va., where
she has been living with her husband for
the last 29 years, that she is now an empty
nester with two grown daughters. “It can’t
be 40 years already because I still feel 20!
Look forward to seeing everyone in May.”
Kristin and Don Taylor still live in Nashville,
“an IT city.” They have seen both Reg and
Lynn Creviston Shiverick in Cleveland last
December, and Suzanne and Bob Campbell
and Tina Shealy in N.H. this past summer.
The Taylor boys continue to explore the
world. Chase, 25, after spending three years
in Mombasa, Kenya, headed to graduate
school in London in September to get a master’s in foreign policy and diplomacy. Younger
son Brooks ’10, 23, works for Backroads, an
adventure travel company, and biked with his
classmate, John Wyman ’10, from Athens to
Seville this past spring, wearing Taft gear the
whole way! They had a great adventure. Don
looks forward to seeing many of you at our
reunion in May. Watch for emails and letters
from our reunion committee and encourage
your connections to come—we really are a
pretty nice group now that we’ve grown up!
1977
Class Secretary: Wendy Wurtzburger
Schmid, wwschmid@optonline.net
Thank you to everyone who wrote in and
gave me the thumbs up for stepping up to
the class secretary position, especially past
secretaries Bridget Taylor and Laura
Laughlin Johnson. I finally figured out
how to get the class email list onto my
computer, and then actually get it sent out,
which was a miracle in itself! Thank you to
my husband for his tech knowledge! I never
thought I would join Facebook, but I put
up a page for our class (Taft School Class
of 1977), so I hope everyone will check in.
Hopefully we can stay in touch there. Does
anyone remember the real “Facebook” at
Taft? I want to dig up one of those! That’s
Taft Student Magazines
Taft students publish two magazines, in addition to the
Papyrus newspaper. Global Journal is a four-color magazine
with articles on international topics, and Red Inc. is an arts
and literary magazine. Read them on their websites:
Global Journal
www.taftschool.org/globaljournal
Red Inc.
http://bit.ly/1NQ9dpK
73
Alumni Notes
where we used to check each other out.
Wade Johnson sends in news that he is
out my way, on Long Island, and has an
architecture firm, R. Wade Johnson Design
AIA. Wade does restaurant and hotel work
in the NYC area. Parker Mauck is busy
processing 60 million pounds of cranberries in Southeastern Mass. Oct. is harvest
season, so Parker has been working very
hard! Casey Nolan Jackson has just moved
from Vietnam to Belgium, and says she is on
Facebook to stay in touch. Betsey Mott St.
Onge is in Cambridge, Mass. Betsey is very
involved with her yoga practice and guiding
her two girls into post-college life. Betsey
and I get together when she visits her parents in Quogue on Long Island. Liza Moore
says she is busy teaching computer science
in an elementary school in Freeport, Maine.
Her two youngest sons are at Wesleyan. We
are going to try to have a little reunion in
the city. Bridget Taylor is in on it, and it
would be fun if anybody else wanted to join.
Look for details on the Taft School Class
of 1977 Facebook page! Laura Laughlin
Johnson wrote in from Baltimore, Md.
Laura has four boys; her youngest son is at
Davidson College and another is at Duke.
Her two other sons are currently living in
Richmond, Va., and NYC. Read more in
this issue about Liz Barratt-Brown and
her family’s 13th-century olive oil finca in
Mallorca on p. 24. Many thanks to Dave
Thomas, who wrote in to give me a pat on
the back for being the new class secretary!
As for me, I am still running my horseboarding stable in Bridgehampton, N.Y. I
received a new horse client this past spring,
not knowing, initially, that it belonged
to Carol Leatherman Brett ’98. My
friend, neighbor, and fellow alum Joanna
Wölffer ’00 is also in the horse biz out here.
Many thanks to everyone who wrote in!
1978
Class Secretary: John B. Mooney,
jmooney22@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
William B. “Chris” Smylie, wbsmylie@aol.com
For Mike Smith, the first memory of Taft
was a boy with a “big wavy mop” leading his
tour: “Hotchkiss never had a chance. Way to
go Padgett!” For Chip Bristol, it was Paul
Leibfried, inviting him with an outstretched
hand to come out and play soccer. And for
74
Alumni notes
Chip Bristol ’78 and Tim Connors ’78 at Red
Rocks, Colo.
Steve Molder ’78 and son Kevin ’16 with Randy
Stone ’78 (far right).
Amy Upjohn ’79 with her daughter, Elyse ’08,
and Conor Holland ’08 on Gull Lake, in Mich.
Ashley Ransom ’83, her partner, Jan, and son
Bodie during a summer visit to Long Island.
Alums Ed Fowler ’84 and Jonathan Selkowitz ’84
catch up in Victor, Idaho.
Ginna Rose, it was connecting with Maggie
Knox Gombas, drawn together in their new
school by their common Pittsburgh roots.
In a further effort to get things in historical
record before our synapses are completely
shot, the Class of ’78 poll asked the question:
“What was your first impression of Taft?”
Often, it was an individual. John Tracey
remembered Ferdie Wandelt ’66 and his
admissions interview: “I can still hear his
accent when he said the word ‘hah-key.’”
Russ LeDonne had a quote: “My roommate
Rico Cooke saying, ‘Cool. I can dig that.’ New
Haven hipster ahead of, or behind, his time.”
For me, John Mooney, it was the sight of
all the wall tapestries when walking into my
first room in CPT, sweetly decorated by my
new roommate Robin Gahagan—and soon
to be divulged, hiding a contraband television and refrigerator! Casey Padgett had
never been east of St. Louis and described
his arrival by plane to Hartford: “Arriving
a week early for preseason soccer practice,
there was no official school transportation
provided. Instead, a very large, rumpled man
with a large, rumpled golden retriever was
waiting at the gate. Oscie had no trouble
picking out the unaccompanied 15-year-old
from the crowd. We rode down to Watertown
in his old, wood-paneled station wagon, the
three of us sharing the front seat. Caesar
spent the time stretched across my lap, drooling slightly.” Making an even longer journey,
Cliff Cunningham described the jolt of
moving from Panama: “My first view of the
Gothic lobby under CPT felt very grim, and
the blank walls of my room even grimmer,” he
wrote. Chris Smylie went through his own
culture shock: “I arrived with my dad to ‘check
out the reform school’ on Spring Weekend
1975. Problem was, no one mentioned it
was a ‘special weekend.’ Business as usual, I
assumed. But it was kinda interesting with
live music all day, and girls tossing grapes
into their mouths…from across the fields!?
On the plane ride home to Atlanta, dad asked
what I thought. ‘It’s alright…not Texas,’ I
said. Nope, it ain’t.” Keep the stories coming, while you can, but enough about then.
We have a few fun connections to share from
the 21st century, too. Chip Bristol spent
a couple days this past summer with Tim
Connors in Denver and adds, “We visited Red
Rocks (sober), went to a rodeo, and basically
caught up on everything.” Randy Stone and
Steve Molder have gotten together a couple
of times, once at Randy’s place in Orlando,
Fla., and then last summer at Steve’s home in
Middlebury, Conn. Steve has triplet sons at
Taft (yikes!). And, Russ LeDonne has been
all over the place, spending time with Firkins
Reed in Boston (“she remains a bundle of
energy and idealism”) and Alix Manny biking
around Va. and Tenn. Russ himself went back
to school to get his degree in counseling and
boasts that he was a model student for his
sons. “Fortunately, they have not had access
to my Taft grades or my yearbook page.”
Bill Dowd, his wife, Susan, and their family
on the Vineyard this summer. He is doing
great, same hilarious personality.” Jon and
his family are also doing well. His daughter,
Sarah ’09, graduated from Amherst two
years ago and is an analyst at JP Morgan’s
investment bank. She is best friends with
Charlie Demmon’s daughter, Kathy ’09.
Jon’s son, Jake ’11, just graduated from
Amherst and began working for a private real
estate investment firm based in Manhattan.
No surprise, he sees a lot of Todd Albert
and his family, who are in NYC and doing
well. Bill (Woodworth) and I, Lisa Zonino,
caught up with Amy Upjohn when we were
in Mich. last summer. Amy is doing great
and has as much energy and enthusiasm as
ever. Amy writes, “Things here in Kalamazoo
are great. All three of our children are successfully launched. Our boys, Bradley and
Charlie, live and work in Chicago in graphic
design and wealth management, respectively, and daughter Elyse ’08 is a director
at Kalamazoo Communities in Schools.
Brad is director of business development for
Greenleaf Hospitality. I am loving my work
with nonprofits here, currently as a trustee
at Kalamazoo College and the Kalamazoo
Community Foundation. We spend most of
the winter at Ocean Reef in Key Largo, Fla.,
and Brad commutes on the weekends.”
for his son with epilepsy. See photo on
p. 55 of Cliona Durham Gunter with
her father, Richard Durham ’54.
Jill Bermingham Isenhart and her
business ECOS Communications on p. 6.
1979
Class Secretary: Lisa Zonino,
lzonino@aol.com; Head Class Agents: Patty
Buttenheim, pmbuttenheim@hotmail.com;
Pamela Cole, colewolins@yahoo.com
Hoping to get more of you to contribute to
our class notes, I reached out to a few classmates who are fortunate enough to spend
their summers at the beach or lakefront,
figuring they might have some leisure time
to update us. Jon Albert wrote, “We saw
1980
1981/35th Reunion
Class Secretary: Ashley B. Ransom,
Class Secretary: Richard A. Scully,
ashleyransom@comcast.net; Head
scullyrich@gmail.com;
Class Agents: Alexandria Lawrence
Head Class Agent: Joseph R. Wagner,
Ross, aliexl@aol.com; William W.
jwagner@hartfordspecialists.org;
Tillinghast, tillb1@aol.com
Reunion Chairs: Jan Chayes Peterson,
jpeterson190@cox.net; Jane L. Rosenberg,
janerosenbergNY@gmail.com
Jane Rosenberg writes, “I am living in
Greenwich Village with my husband and
three kids. Our son, Will, 17, is in boarding school out west. Our twin daughters,
Remy and Sydney, 14, just started high
school here in NYC. I left Kaplan, Inc. eight
years ago but have remained involved with
the Kaplan Educational Foundation, which
I started during my years at the company.
I’m also involved with real estate here in the
city. Keeping busy! I see Debra Bogen on
her semiannual trips to NYC and saw Chris
Hunter ’82 last spring when he came in for a
bike race. And, of course, am keeping up with
others via Facebook. Look forward to seeing
everyone at our 35th Reunion this spring!”
1982
Class Secretary: Joy Rosenberg Horstmann,
Class Secretary: Jeff Thompson,
joy@fancyfirepit.com; Head Class Agent:
fatkick@yahoo.com; Head Class Agent:
Brendan Fitzgerald, wbfitzgerald@gmail.com
Rob Peterson Jr., robpeterson@snet.net
Fred Vogelstein wrote an article called
“Boy, Interrupted,” in Wired about seeking
alternative medical treatments in London
1983
Marcus Murphy reports that he is still in
Madison, Wis., running a day treatment
program for adolescents as well as facilitating groups for men convicted of domestic
violence. He adds, “Dianna and I would
welcome a visit from anyone who happens
to be in Madison.” Read about the impressive wine operation owned by Alex Huber
and his family in Chile on p. 33 in this issue.
Jenny Glenn Wuerker is teaching a variety of art classes in Buffalo and Sheridan,
Wyo., and had fall exhibits at the Nicolaysen
Art Museum in Casper and at the Brinton
Museum in Bighorn. See p. 55 for a photo
of Richard Durham with his dad, Richard
’54. I, Ashley Ransom, just retired from
full-time teaching after 24 years. I’m hoping
to do some part-time work in both education and the marine biology field, and mostly
to have a little more time with my family.
1984
Class Secretary: Ginny Sisson,
vsisson@aol.com; Head Class Agents:
Ed Fowler, fowlered@yahoo.com; Jeanne
Congratulations to Tina and Brendan
Fitzgerald, who welcomed daughter
Alessandra Cristina on Sept. 15. Learn
more about the fascinating work of
Pocras, jeanne5678@yahoo.com
Reid Curley shared some very uplifting
news: “I am now running a software company
75
Alumni Notes
in the ‘warehouse management and control
systems’ space. We have a small, but impressive, list of customers that includes Global
1000 manufacturers as well as smaller companies. Companies across the spectrum like
us because we have functionality that is as
good as or better than the huge players in
the space at a better price point. Another big
selling feature is that we modify our software
based on the customer’s requirements, so we
are able to help companies regardless of what
other systems they have in place or equipment that they use. While I have spent a lot
of time in and around technology, this is the
first time that I have had to take a deep dive
into logistics, and I’m having a lot of fun.”
Congrats Reid—it sounds like you have found
your calling! Sherman Durfee writes, “All
good with Katie and me. Our kids are on the
high school scene (hard to believe!), although
Taft is not in the cards much to my ‘chagrin.’
Ginny is at Westminster, and our son Teddy
is going to Deerfield this fall. Funny enough,
ran into David Hicks’ wife, Margaret, and
his daughter, Helen, at Deerfield on revisit
day, and his daughter is attending there as
well. Had Tim “Smiley” Adair to a paddle
member/guest tourney in Feb. in Bedford,
and ended up playing against a bunch of
younger Tafties like Bryce O’Brien ’90,
Peter Hallock ’95, Roddy Tilt ’02, Nick
Finn ’87, etc. Suffice it to say that the Class
of ’84 represented well on and off the court.”
While on vacation with his family in Aug.,
Ed Fowler just missed seeing both Ted
Kelley and Mark Herrlinger in Sun Valley,
Idaho. Commenting on his disappointment,
he remarked, “I’ll be back.” On a higher
note, he was able to drop in on Jonathan
Selkowitz in Victor, Idaho, while en route
to Jackson, Wyo. Ed writes, “Jon lives near
one of the best micro-breweries in the Rocky
Mountains (no surprise) and commutes over
the pass to Jackson, where I found a copy
of Jackson Hole Style Magazine, which had a
great feature on Jon and his amazing work
as a photographer, go Selk!” Also from the
“near miss” department, Jonathan and
Laura Ellis Dworken were in Jackson, Wyo.,
with their family in Aug. and just missed
running into Ed, though Laura suspected
that some of the cans they picked up while
hiking in Grand Teton National Park may
have been left by him. Finally, I received
some great news from Joe Zipoli—he is now
teaching at our alma mater. Congrats Zip!
76
1985
Class Secretary: Oliver B. Spencer, stillwatercove2@yahoo.com; Head Class Agent:
Jeffrey B. Atwood, jeff_atwood@ml.com
1986/30th Reunion
Class Secretaries: Patience Smith Bloom,
patiencebloom@hotmail.com; Amy M. Butler,
taft1986@aol.com; Head Class Agents:
Sarah Elisabeth Curi, scuri14@yahoo.com;
Matthew H. Park, matthew.h.park@gmail.com;
Class Agents: Patience Smith Bloom,
Winston Bao Lord, Chadwick S. Parson,
Netty H. Tsai; Reunion Chair: Amy M.
Butler, butleramym@gmail.com
From the Northeast, John Billingsley
reports, “I am doing great in Vt. My wife,
Laura, and I have three wonderful kids,
Izzy, 10, Luke, 9, and Elise, 7. We live in
the foothills of Camel’s Hump. We took
a three-month sabbatical last winter and
‘home schooled’ the kids while traveling in
Central America. It was an amazing experience! We are back settled in the Green
Mountains. I produce a music video series
at Vt. Public Radio called ‘Live from the
Fort,’ and play music around town with
my band REDadmiral. If anyone makes
it up to the North Country, look me up.”
On the other coast, Alison Clapp Bower
has an update on life in Seattle and other
Tafties: “Though I ‘see’ a lot of classmates on
Facebook, I also get to actually spend time
with Halsey Bell, a fellow Seattle dweller,
which is such a blessing, really. He and his
wife, Liz Gorton, and their two adorable
boys live just five minutes away, so we get
our families together—my son babysits their
sons. Plus, Halsey is an educator, like me,
and his children attended the school where
I was assistant head. I also get to visit with
Marnie Burke de Guzman ’85, Emily
Robertson Smith ’85, Franny Stroh ’85,
and Gwen Fairweather Dumont ’85 on a
yearly ‘retreat’ where we just sink into sofas,
take long walks in the mountains, and laugh
our heads off. I am so, so grateful for these
weekends, as they remind all of us that we
have friendships and love in our lives that
are boundless. I am in Seattle with my sweet
husband of 17 years, Crai Bower, a travel
writer and photographer. Our boys, Aodhan,
15, and Malcolm, 12, are true Seattleites.
When the rain starts, they celebrate! Our
oldest, my stepson, Tally, 27, is working as
an artist in R.I. I work as an education expert
for a nonprofit technology company called
Enlearn, and then as the instructional coordinator for the North Seattle French School
(Monsieur LeTendre would be shocked!).
Finally, I have a private practice in which I
do parent education through the Positive
Discipline Assoc. So, you could say that I
‘went into’ education. Let me know if you
are in Seattle and we can hop on a ferry or
go grab a coffee. It is pretty swell up here
in our big, beautiful corner of the world.”
Lastly, one fact remains: in five months, we
will converge to celebrate our 30th Reunion.
We’re looking forward to seeing you there!
1987
Class Secretary: Suzy Wall Sensbach,
suzywall@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
Lucinda Goulard Lord, lucindalord@icloud.com
I, Suzy Wall Sensbach, had a great visit
back to Taft in June to have lunch with the
director of college counseling: our very own
Alison Hoffman Almasian. When we
walked around touring the school, I still felt
a little nervous entering the Faculty Room,
even after almost 30 years! Later in the summer, Alison also caught up with Beth Long
Shaw, who was back in Watertown for a visit.
1988
Class Secretary: J. Kingman Gordon,
kingmangordon@hotmail.com;
Head Class Agent: Darcy Bentley
Frisch, darcybentley@gmail.com
I hope this finds you all well, enjoying the
fall. Here is some recent news from far
and wide…It’s great to hear from Jeanie
Lundbom, who reports, “After 13 years in
the San Francisco Bay Area, I was feeling too
settled, so I accepted a 10-month fellowship
with the U.S. State Dept. to spend the coming
academic year in Ukraine. I will teach English
and American culture at a university, developing programs and giving presentations
in the community, and partnering with the
U.S. Embassy to meet needs and strengthen
U.S. relations with Ukraine. I’m looking forward to making a difference in this country
and to learning a great deal along the way.”
Jen Drubner Eagen ’88, Andy Sheridan ’88, and
Rob Blabey ’88 get together during Jen’s visit to
the East Coast.
Colin Aymond, Doug Freedman, and
Paul Kessenich got together (again) at the
Snake River Shootout, in Jackson, Wyo. Jen
Drubner Eagen spent some quality time
on the East Coast this past summer, and got
to catch up with many old Taft friends. She
and her kids enjoyed a barbecue at Andrew
Sheridan’s house in Darien, Conn. Also in
attendance were Rob Blabey and his family,
who were in town avoiding the sultry Naples,
Fla., summer. Along the way, Jen spent
time with Elizabeth Matzkin in Boston.
Congratulations go to Kraig Williamson
and his wife, Amy, who celebrated their 10th
wedding anniversary! (I credit Facebook
for this information.) For years my family
and I, Kingman, have gone to the HF Bar
Ranch in Saddlestring, Wyo. (see photo).
This year was no different, except that we got
to spend our time in cowboy country with
Darcey Callender, wife of Nick Yerkes,
who was there with her two kids and fellow Tafties, McKenzie ’17 and incoming
lower mid Peyton ’19. Also on hand working at the ranch was Abby Purcell ’11.
1989
Class Secretary: Katie Fischer Cutler,
katiefcutler@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
Dylan T. Simonds, dylan@dylansimonds.com
I’m excited to take over the class secretary
role from Dylan Simonds, and look forward
to hearing from you all! Again, a huge “thank
you” to Dyl for all he has done for our class
over the years. I was thrilled to hear from a
bunch of classmates. Christina Flood Kane
reports that life in San Francisco is pretty
steady. She teaches middle school Spanish,
A family friend, Peyton Yerkes ’19, McKenzie Yerkes ’17, Abby Purcell ’11, Kingman Gordon ’88,
and Darcey Callender, wife of the late Nick Yerkes ’88, together at the HF Bar Dude Ranch in
Saddlestring, Wyo., in Aug.
Colin Aymond ’88, Doug Freedman ’88, and Paul Kessenich ’88 at Wyo.’s Snake River Shootout.
and does high school counseling at her alma
mater, the Hamlin School, there. Her littlest,
Claire, started kindergarten this fall, and
joins her two big sisters, who entered 4th
and 6th grade. She had a summer road trip
to Jackson, Sun Valley, British Columbia, and
the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. No one
killed each other in the car, so she considered it a successful trip! It was great to hear
from Davis Liu, who is doing some amazing
work. He writes, “After 15 amazing years as
a practicing family physician and serving on
my medical group’s board of directors for
nearly a decade at Kaiser Permanente (KP)
in Sacramento, I’ve thrown caution into the
wind to join a health care start-up, where I
develop smartphone apps to provide care
to patients more quickly and efficiently.
Compared to the 8,000 doctors at KP, the
start-up Icebreaker Health has a total team
Christina Flood Kane ’89, with daughters
Charlotte, Claire, and Caitlin in front of the
Tetons in Wyo.
77
Alumni Notes
Alumni notes
Monkey Business Images /Shutterstock.com
since Jennifer Rhudy Cowenhoven
stepped down after the summer issue.
Especially important since it’s a big
reunion year! Anyone interested can
email taftbulletin@taftschool.org.
1992
Class Secretary: Jennifer Ciarlo
Pacholek, jlc@diamond-robinson.com;
78
Mary Jane and Dave Kirkpatrick ’89 with daughters Mary Elizabeth, 10, and Sarah, 7.
Max, son of Drum Bell ’90 and grandson of
Drum ’63, on Cape Cod.
Lana, Findley, and Annabel, daughters of 1990
alums John Utley, Bryce O’Brien, and Bill Carifa,
respectively, at a Taylor Swift concert for Lana’s
13th birthday.
Maverick Paul, son of Kim and Todd Barnes ’92.
Luke, Sofia, and Stella, children of Greta Brogna
Campanale ’92, hiking outside Minturn, Colo.
1993 alums James Stanton, Rebeccah Shierson
Wickerham, and A.J. Mleczko Griswold at
Taft’s Nantucket gathering.
of 15! Thank goodness Megabus makes my
daily commute to San Francisco easier. Was
in Boston in July. Great museums—kids
Emma and Alex (10 and 7), loved the Boston
Museum of Science.” Dave Kirkpatrick
writes from Atlanta, “After a fun summer,
Mary Elizabeth, 10, and Sarah, 7, Mary Jane
and I are back in the routine of fall. Some
highlights from past year include a visit with
Dyllan McGee at McGee Media world HQ in
NYC, two days of turns in Colo. with brothers
Anthony Precourt, Donovan Smith, and
Adam Yonkers, as well as Dick Williams
providing the Kirkpatrick family with the red
carpet treatment at Wrigley Field for a Cubs/
Reds game. Looking forward to reunion in
2019!” And, congratulations to Dick, who
reports that he and his wife welcomed baby
No. 4—two boys and two girls. He just finished putting up a zip line in the backyard
to keep the four of them entertained, but
hasn’t figured out yet where to hang the
liability waivers! Dick wrote, “At the end of
June, I caught up with Rocky Mould and
Jeff Klinge for a happy hour in Manhattan
before we (the Reds) took on the Mets for
a weekend series. Mike Lynch and his son
came to Cincinnati and stayed with us for the
MLB All-Star Game in July. I played in a golf
outing the other day with Andrew DeWitt.
He continues to kill it in the pizza business,
he has over 20 stores and counting.” Thanks
to everyone for all the good news, keep it
coming, and hope your fall is going well.
in New Orleans and a private equity investor, and meets weekly with participants to
offer advice as the program’s entrepreneurin-residence. See p. 5 in Spotlight for more
about Eric Weinberger and NFL Network.
[Ed. note: We apologize for the caption
error in the photo on p. 86 of the summer
issue, which should have noted that Amy
Holbrook is pictured with Logan Orlando.]
1990
1991/25th Reunion
Head Class Agent: Peter C. Bowden,
Class Secretary: Logan E. Orlando,
pbowden@jefferies.com; Class Agents: B.
loganeorlando@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
Deane Kreitler, William N. Offutt V, Alexis
Benjamin S. Levin, blevin@levelequity.com
Goulard Powers, E. Todd Savage, T. Brett
Schweizer, Talbott L. Simonds, Juanita
Hank Torbert was featured in an Aug. article
in the Times-Picayune (NOLA.com). Hank
joined local industry leaders and Idea Village,
a New Orleans start-up incubator, to launch
ENERGYx, a 12-week business accelerator
geared toward La. oil and gas start-ups. He
is a partner at RLMcCall Capital Partners
Vero; Reunion Chairs: Emily Hopper
Carifa, ehcarifa@mac.com; Melissa Lee
Madden, melissa@mellym.com; Holly Martin
Wendell, hollywendell@yahoo.com
Ed. note: We’re still hoping someone will
enjoy taking on the class secretary role
never
too
young
pay it forward
by giving back
As a Taft young working professional, there are many ways for you to leave
a legacy gift to Taft, regardless of one’s resources, which can support
scholarships, programs, faculty, and the campus for future generations.
Naming the school in your 401(k), 403(b), IRA, life insurance policy,
or mutual fund account takes very little time to do and only requires a
change-of-beneficiary form from your provider.
The Horace Dutton Taft Legacy Society welcomes additional young
alumni, and the above would entitle you to membership in the Society.
Plus, your intention, which can be changed, would count toward the
Ever Taft, Even Stronger campaign.
For other options visit www.taftschool.planyourlegacy.org.
For more information, please contact Director of Development
Chris Latham at 860-945-5923 or chrislatham@taftschool.org,
or Major Gifts Officer Beth Ann Semeraro at 860-945-7940 or
bsemeraro@taftschool.org.
Head Class Agent: Andrew M. Solomon,
andrewsolomon25@yahoo.com
Todd McDonald wrote that he just ran
into Phil Ryan at a conference. Looks like
we have both become that annoying guy
at a cocktail party that talks about Bitcoin.
Kim and Todd Barnes welcomed Maverick
Paul on April 20, ushering in an era of good
vibes and chill smiles. He’s an instinctive
pilot but his family name isn’t the best in
the Navy. As his old pappy used to say, “It’s
not how fast you draw that counts. It’s what
you draw and when you draw.” Big brother
Auggie loves the new baby and is doing
great too. Barnes brothers redux! Greta
Brogna Campanale wrote that she and her
children, Luke, Sofia, and Stella, have been
hiking near Minturn, Colo. Jennifer Ciarlo
Pacholek traveled to Conn. to visit with Gina
Iannuzzi-Devaux over Labor Day weekend.
Jill Kopelman Kargman’s Odd Mom Out is
now in its second season. Read more about
Jill and her work on the show on p. 10.
1993
Class Secretary: James B. Stanton,
james.b.stanton@gmail.com; Head Class
Agent: Eric R. Hidy, erichidy@gmail.com
Hello, fellow friends of the Taft order. It
seems that everyone’s summer was extraordinarily fun and busy, especially since there
were only a few responses received for our
class notes! Wendy Treynor wrote, “I am on
my way to give a retreat in Taipei. A meaningful milestone: I got invited to blog for
Psychology Today. In Oct., I am delighted to be
cruising to Turkey, Greece, Italy, Israel, and
Malta on a tour of sacred places. I miss you
all, and am sending love and joy every Taftie’s
way!” Good karma is always a well-received
present in my book, so thanks Wendy. Kyle
Reis reports, “Things are good here in the
Pacific Northwest. After four-plus years at
79
Alumni Notes
Thomas Jackson ’94 runs into Francie
Madsen Maletis ’95 while camping over
Labor Day weekend.
Teddy Crispino ’95 with the world’s largest buffalo in Jamestown, N.D., during a summer road
trip out west.
Target, I started a new job with Starbucks
in operations in June. Ironic thing is that I
now work for the largest purveyor of coffee
in the world, and I don’t even drink coffee! But...Starbucks owns Teavana, and I
drink tons of tea, so it’s all good. Attended
David Colby’s wedding in July in La Jolla,
Calif. Awesome ceremony and party right
on the ocean, and it was great to catch up
with Connor Kerr and Andy DeSomma.”
See a photo of Robert Hale-MacKinnon
on p. 60 with his family and his dad,
Wink ’60, on a trip to Ottawa, Canada.
On a personal note, I, your class secretary,
finally got to live a lifelong dream of spending my entire summer on Nantucket. Well,
to be accurate, my family got to spend the
entire summer, and I commuted out of
80
Che Borders ’95 married Rosalind Bogan in
April 2014.
Zelda, daughter of Rosalind and Che
Borders ’95, arrived in June.
Josephine, daughter of Erin Krivicky ’95, on her
first day of school.
Logan Leo, son of Kristen and Greg Mucci ’95.
my company’s Boston office…but pretty
sweet nonetheless! I did get a good dose of
Taft in July when Mr. Mac came for a Taft
reception at the Nantucket Yacht Club. I
got to catch up with a multigenerational
Taft crew, including Rebecca Shierson
Wickerham and A.J. Mleczco Griswold,
who both look fantastic, and are enjoying
meaningful lives filled with work, children,
and good times. If you did not receive my
request for notes, please send me, and
taftbulletin@taftschool.org, your updated
email address. Until next time, Moose out!
Jackson. T.J., his wife, Lisa, and their three
boys (Connor, 8, Lawler, 6, and Chase, 3)
moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., a few years
ago and love the area. Thomas’s office is
still in LA, and he goes back and forth
pretty often, but the commute is clearly
worth it. He reports on a couple of Taft
run-ins: Mary Firestone Tandy ’95 at
her cousin’s 40th in July; and on Labor
Day, he went camping with a bunch of old
friends from the Bay Area, and it turned
out that Francie Madsen Maletis ’99
was on the same trip. Also on the West
Coast, Anthony Gibbs recently set up the
Northwest Civil Law Group (NCLG) as a
Wash. state nonprofit law firm. NCLG’s
mission is to provide legal services on a
sliding scale fee basis to moderate-means
individuals and small businesses. They will
serve the civil law needs of people earning
between 125 to 600 percent of the federal
poverty limit (which is most people), and
small businesses grossing less than three
million and employing fewer than 20
people (which is the vast majority of small
1994
Class Secretary: Andrew P. Hertzmark,
hertzmark@gmail.com; Head
Class Agents: Andrew N. Bernard,
andybernard2244@gmail.com; Chauncey J.
Upson II, chaunceyupson@hotmail.com
This edition is a bit brief, but that just
means there will be tons of news in the
next issue. Checking in is Thomas “T.J.”
Emily Israel Pluhar ’96 and Roo Reath ’96 catch
up on Martha’s Vineyard.
Roo Reath ’96 takes his children, Phoebe and Pip, for a row along with Berkley, daughter of Emily
Israel Pluhar ’96.
businesses). Take a look at his website to
learn more: northwestcivillawgroup.org.
You can also donate through Indiegogo. The
organization is trying to raise a little money
to keep the doors open as it builds a client
base with the goal of being self-funding.
Muchie Dagliere reports that this past
spring, he coached the North Haven HS
baseball team to the Class L state championship. It was an improbable run as North
Haven was seeded 22nd and had to knock
off several teams. Justin Martin checks in
from Vt. where his wife and boys (Sullivan,
7, and Tucker, 5) have spent much of their
summer on shores of Lake Champlain, as
well as some time in Cape Cod. Justin also
recently became COO of a new software
company, Parent.co. The company’s first
digital parenting utility is called Notabli, a
private, secure social network where parents can curate and archive their children’s
most precious memories. Check it out.
He writes, “I took a two-week road trip
out west to Theodore Roosevelt National
Park in N.D., then to the site of the Battle
of the Little Bighorn in Mont., down to
the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore, and
then across S.D. and down to Kansas City
before heading back. All total, it was 4,500
miles of driving and an absolutely amazing
experience.” Andrew Holbrook is proving
that you can indeed go home again. He and
his wife, Lauren, and their two daughters
recently moved back to Conn. from N.C.
Their ministry work has taken them to
Fairfield, where Andrew and Lauren are
planters for the Presbyterian Church of
America. Andrew writes, “We are living in
Fairfield, Conn., and I’d love to reconnect
with anyone in this area. Sorry I missed
the (reunion) festivities—we were in the
middle of this move.” Che Borders is taking
a shine to fatherhood and writes, “Rosalind
and I welcomed our daughter, Zelda, to the
world on June 24. She was born happy and
healthy. I hope that she too will become a
Taftie, but her mother went to Hotchkiss!”
Summer was one long reunion for me,
Neil Vigdor. In July, I visited with Bergin
O’Malley and Jessie Hoyt at the beach
in their hometown of Stonington, Conn.
In Aug., I had dinner with Peter and Amy
Julia Becker ’94 and their children, Penny,
Marilee, and William, at the Gunnery in
Washington Depot. The Beckers are looking
forward to the fall after a fun summer at the
beach in Madison. On Labor Day weekend, I
caught up with Tilden Daniels, who spent
five weeks this summer working in Paris,
and then traveling in Germany. Tilden is
a French teacher and cross-country coach
at the Hopkins School in New Haven.
1995
Class Secretary: Neil A. Vigdor,
neil.vigdor@gmail.com; Head
Class Agents: Daniel S. Oneglia,
daniel.oneglia@gs.com; Anthony W.
Pasquariello, tony.pasquariello@gs.com
Greg Mucci is “shipping up to Boston.” As
he says, “I took a new job with McGraw Hill
Education, moved back to Mass. (after 12
years in NYC), and my wife and I just had
another baby boy, Logan Leo, born Aug.
22. Our family of five is enjoying life the
’burbs, our new minivan, and living closer to
family!” Teddy Crispino is a regular Lewis
and Clark—or Clark Griswold, perhaps.
Whitney Barry ’96 married Edward Price in
September 2014.
1996/20th Reunion
Class Secretary: Anne-Courtney McCraw
Bigelow, courtney.mccraw@gmail.com; Head
Class Agent: Alexander D. “Roo” Reath,
rooreath@yahoo.com; Class Agents: Carl
J. Brown, Brett H. Chodorow, Molly Hall
Dorais, Laura J. Field, Caroline Van Meter
Friesen, Harry S. Grand, David A. Lombino,
Whitney Tremaine O’Brien, Emily Israel
Pluhar, Daniel T. Ryan; Reunion Chairs:
Harry S. Grand, harrysgrand@yahoo.com;
Daniel T. Ryan, danieltryan@gmail.com;
Alexander D. “Roo” Reath
Happy fall, friends! Emily Israel Pluhar
reports that she and her husband, Drew, and
their kids, Berkley and Cameron, are living
81
Alumni notes
Owen Muir ’97 married Carlene Macmillan.
Eric Schoonmaker ’97 with his wife, Anne, son
Frederick, and new son, Thomas.
Paloma Lake, daughter of Lindsey Dost
Sugar ’97 and her wife, Susan.
82
Adrian Fadrhonc ’98, wife Keely, and children
Charlie and Ferris.
William, son of Heather and Peter Van Der
Mije ’98.
Emerson Irene, daughter of Christopher and
Shannon Murphy Weidinger ’98.
Alex Dickson ’99 with Taj Frazier ’99 and his two
sons in LA.
Hugo Grayson, son of Boku and Emily
Townsend Prince ’99.
in Brookline, Mass., where she is currently
working at Boston Children’s Hospital as a
pediatric psychologist in adolescent medicine
and consulting at Mass General Hospital
and Phillips Academy Andover. She sees
Whitney Tremaine O’Brien often for girls’
weekends, or when Whitney is in NYC working on her Two Bees Cashmere company.
Emily also sees Dave Lombino in NYC, as
well as Lindsay Vietor, who is a culinary
event planning consultant. This past summer she saw Roo Reath, Helen Froelich
Plummer, and Cristin George deVeer on
Martha’s Vineyard. Harry Grand writes that
Bedford, N.Y., is living up to expectations as
a wonderful place for children to grow up.
He notes, “Leaving NYC was bittersweet, but
returning to the place I grew up feels like the
right place to put down roots.” In Bedford,
his family enjoys spending time with many
Tafties, including the Hallocks (’95), the
Randols (’95), the Finns (’87), the Ryans,
and more. Harry Grand and Dan Ryan live
less than a mile from each other...some things
never change! This summer on Fishers Island,
Harry reports he “crushed Doug Harris ’97
and Phil Miller ’97 in golf, enjoyed some
intense mixed doubles with the Firestone
sisters (’95 and ’97), and was fortunate
to catch up with the Campbells, sharing
many good laughs, reminiscing about Taft.”
Roo Reath shares that it’s been a busy and
eventful summer. He and his wife, Georgia,
and their kids, Pip, 6, and Phoebe, 3, have
recently moved to Hamilton, Mass. They love
their new life and are thrilled with exploring the beaches and trails the area offers.
This summer, the Reath family spent time
on Martha’s Vineyard, where they were
able to catch up with Emily Israel Pluhar
and her team—and also had a large family
gathering bringing together multiple generations of past (and future?) Tafties, including
Sara Guernsey ’11, Katama Guernsey
Eastman ’95, and Tony Guernsey ’66. Roo
adds, “I am happy—but also shocked—to
say that our 20th is approaching this spring.
Note to classmates: Mark it down on your
calendar for May 20–21, 2016. History
will be made as the Class of ’96 roams the
halls again!” Harry adds, “I look forward
to seeing everyone this spring at our 20th
Reunion. It will be a terrific party chaired
by the three amigos: Dan, Roo, and me!”
Davis, and Tucker Green. Congratulations,
Mike! Lindsey Dost Sugar also got married! Her wedding was on the beach in
Pacific Palisades, Calif. to Susan Dost on
April 18. Shortly thereafter, they welcomed
their daughter, Paloma Lake, on April 25.
Another future Taftie arrived to father Erik
Schoonmaker and his wife, Anne. They
welcomed second son Thomas on June 29.
Thomas joins his brother, Frederick, 4. Erik
adds, “All is well in Wis., and if anyone finds
themselves in the area, feel free to drop me
a line.” Congratulations to Erik, Anne, and
Frederick! Cait Pollock writes, “I’m still loving Calif. and living in San Francisco—am
wrapping up a job at Stanford coauthoring
a research initiative on China’s solar energy
industry. I made a few trips to China for
this project, and also got to travel back to
the Northeast a few times (and ran the
Boston Marathon in April). I’m currently
preparing to start a new job in energy
efficiency policy at Pacific Gas &Electric.”
Keep the news coming, Class of ’97.
’98 and her kids, Marley and Barrett, and
also met her cousins, Keagan and McKayla
Murphy (Sean Murphy ’01), during a family reunion in San Diego in Aug. Adrian
Fadrhonc, his wife Keely, and son Charlie
and daughter Ferris are also holding down
the fort in the Bay Area. Adrian got to visit
with Charlie Spalding this past summer in
Maine and also provided a great account of
Morgan Hanger’s wedding to Alex Grodd
earlier in the summer: “Morgan’s nontraditional wedding/forest party was such an
awesome time, and it was so great to hang
out with a million of our classmates that
I hadn’t seen in years. Attendees included
(but weren’t limited to) Mike Sesko, Jamie
Novogrod, Tyler Brooke, Peter Van Der
Mije, Louis Costanzo, Charles Cummins,
Mallory Cheatham Doremus, Christina
Oneglia Rossi, Carrie Swiderski, Mike
Reilly ’99 and his dog, all of the Hangers,
and at least 25 other people that I can’t
remember. Because of that weekend, I’m
now back in touch with a whole bunch of
people who had a big part in molding me
into whatever it is that I am today, and for
that I am very grateful.” In Las Vegas, Tony
Guerrera reports that it has cracked 110
degrees Fahrenheit only a handful of times,
and he’s suffered no major burns removing the sunshade from his car’s windshield.
Tony’s summer included a return to tennis,
as well as a trip to Calif.’s Central Coast
with Dan McArdle, their wives, and Dan’s
daughter, 3. Tony writes, “Ample time was
spent enjoying the Pacific Ocean—something I haven’t seen since my move to
Vegas several years ago. We also went on
a whale-watching tour, which featured
humpback whales surfacing within 20 feet
of our boat, and pods of dolphins leaping
from the water alongside our vessel (dolphins are such showoffs—they don’t rank
among nature’s most humble creatures). As
a member of a species that seems exceptionally skilled at over-complicating things, it
was rejuvenating to see creatures capable
of such serenity and majesty. An added
bonus is that Dan and I weren’t among the
15 percent-ish of people on the 68-person
tour who got seasick. Unfortunately, I can’t
claim a flawless victory over the seas. The
waters were rough, and I wasn’t 100 percent
sure if I was going to make it unscathed.
Meanwhile, one of us is married to a landlubber who firmly established herself as
a 15 percent-er.” Finally, another exciting
initiative from Jamie Flaherty Cheney
and her family on their farm in Rhinebeck,
N.Y. Falcon’s Fields Livestock is focused
on breeding and raising the finest Angus
and Wagyu beef in N.Y. The farm continues a tradition of raising cattle that dates
back to 1914. The small-scale, family-run
style means limited stock, but is available
for purchase on a first come, first served
basis. Check it out at falconsfields.com.
1997
Class Secretary: Caroline Montgelas
Elwell, caroline@elwell.com; Head Class
Agent: Charles W.B. Wardell IV,
charliewardell@aol.com
I’m always happy to collect such joyous
notes to report to you! First, I’m thrilled to
announce a few weddings: Owen Muir married Carlene Macmillan on June 19. Carlene
is a child psychiatrist and has started working at NYU’s school of medicine on a child
psychiatry fellowship. Before the wedding,
Owen graduated from the adult psychiatry residency from Hofstra North Shore/
Long Island School of Medicine residency
at the end of June, and then opened a private practice in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The wedding was at Brooklyn Bridge Park
and Per Se restaurant. Congratulations on
many exciting life events, Owen! Another
marriage to report: Mike Berens married
Victoria Lampley on Harbour Island in the
Bahamas in June. Tafties in attendance
included Rodman Moorhead, Zack Zweig,
Doug Harris, Andrew Kandel, Lanse
1998
Class Secretary: Addie Strumolo,
strumolo@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
Devin B. Weisleder, devin@weisleder.com
In Feb., Julia Pinover-Kupiec was
appointed assistant counsel to N.Y. State
Governor Andrew Cuomo to handle affordable housing, human services, and serve
as the executive chamber ethics officer. Congrats Julia! Shannon Murphy
Weidinger and her husband welcomed
their daughter, Emerson Irene, on May 26
in San Francisco. Emerson spent some time
this summer with Annie Stover Reece
1999
Class Secretaries: Molly Barefoot,
mollybarefoot@gmail.com; Kate
Bienen Furst, kbfurst@gmail.com;
Head Class Agent: Lindsay Tarasuk
Aroesty, lindsayaroesty@gmail.com
Thank you to those who wrote in! Hope this
finds you all having had an eventful and
smooth fall. Alex Dickson got to visit with
Taj Frazier and his family while Alex was out
in LA for a wedding. (For more about Taj’s
recent book see p. 11.) Congrats to Emily
83
Alumni Notes
Alumni notes
Jacoby, 3. Lindsay is still enjoying living in
Pittsburgh and her work at the Pittsburgh
Foundation. Enjoy the winter, Class of ’99!
2000
Class Secretary: Ribby Goodfellow,
rbgoodfellow@gmail.com; Head Class Agents:
Andrew Ford Goodwin, afgoodwin@gmail.com;
John McCardell, john.m.mccardell@gmail.com
At the wedding of Ramsey Brame ’00 and Kelly Murphy in Big Sky, Mont.: from left, Emily Smith
’00, Kelly Sheridan Florentino ’00, best man Will Brame ’02, groom, bride, Andrew Goodwin ’00,
Samantha Hall Boggs ’00, and John McCardell ’00.
Violet Elizabeth, daughter of Aaron and Julie
Pailey Fossi ’00.
Charlie, son of John and Jillian Hunt Seredynski ’01.
84
Courtney Krause ’01 married Jake Taufer in
San Pancho, Mexico.
Townsend Prince and her husband, Boku,
on the Aug. arrival of their son, Hugo. Big sisters Penelope and Piper are just loving having
a little brother! Sarah Sicher married Adam
Salky in her hometown of Peoria, Ill., on Aug.
30. I, Molly Barefoot, was extremely sad to
miss it, but with year seven as a counselor
at Norwood HS kicking off the next morning, I couldn’t make it out to the Midwest for
the nuptials! Adam Aronson writes, “I was
in Portland, Maine, at the end of Aug. with
Dave Hotchkiss ’00 and Frank Pickard
’00 and friends. It was a perfect bookend to
a summer filled with lobsters, oysters, and
proper toasting accoutrement.” Congrats
to Lindsay Tarasuk Aroesty, and her
husband, Michael, on the arrival of Sydney
Adeline on July 26. She joins her brother,
Congratulations to Ramsey Brame who
writes, “I’m excited to report that Kelly
Murphy and I got married in Big Sky, Mont.,
in July. She looked stunning and we were
both incredibly pumped to have a number
of Tafties there to celebrate, including my
brother, Will ’02, Andrew Goodwin, John
McCardell, Samantha Hall Boggs, Kelly
Sheridan Florentino, and Emily Smith.”
Kirsten Berken has made the exciting
change from the corporate world back to
the classroom, returning to teaching in Aug.
She is now a third-grade special education
teacher at a Success Academy charter school
in Harlem and loves it. Congratulations,
Kirsten! I, Ribby Goodfellow, was very
happy to have the chance to see Nicole
Dessibourg-Freer and her husband, Jared,
during their honeymoon in Switzerland and
Italy. The couple flew into Basel and we had
a lovely dinner together before they continued to Fribourg, home of Nicole’s father’s
family. They then traveled to Italy for the
rest of their honeymoon. Congratulations to
Aaron and Julie Pailey Fossi, who welcomed
Violet Elizabeth to the world on Aug. 20.
2001/15th Reunion
Class Secretary: Jessica Goldmark Shannon,
jessicagoldmark@gmail.com; Head
Class Agent/Reunion Chair: Katharine
F. Tuckerman, ktuckerman@gmail.com;
Tyler Jennings ’02 married Emily Waters Lee in
Huntington, Vt.
Nadia Zahran ’03 married Derek Anderson.
Charlie, son of Tucker and Kitt Squire
George ’04, grandson of the late Carlie
Shields Dandridge ’74, and great-grandson
of the late William Shields ’29.
Rhoads Masse shares, “My husband, Brian,
and I continue to enjoy life in Boston, and
are happy to announce we welcomed our
first son, William, in June.” Congratulations,
Jaclyn! Jillian Hunt Seredynski noted,
“My husband John and I welcomed our son,
Charlie, on May 28. He had a fun and busy
summer hanging out with the Shannons
and meeting Krissy Kraczkowsky and
Avery Hanger Westlund. We also visited
Victoria Fox Munsill and her adorable
girls. Earlier in May, I caught up with Anya
Maas Kovacs and her daughter, Paige, as
well as Abby King Mathews and her son,
Ivan. Looking forward to our 15th Reunion
next spring!” Congratulations, Jill! Ryan
and I, Jessica Goldmark Shannon, had a
fun summer at home in Rowayton, Conn.
We enjoyed introducing our son, Owen,
to family and friends, and meeting lots
of Taft babies, including Leni, the youngest daughter of Jamie Sifers ’02. We are
back in Zurich for Ryan’s hockey season.
Aleksinas writes, “My wife, Abby, and I
welcomed our son, Edward Crockett, into
the world on Aug. 26. Everyone is happy,
healthy and doing well. We are enjoying life
in S.C. and look forward to seeing friends
and former Tafties in the area!” From Dan
Teicher: “My band, The Ludlow Thieves
(www.theludlowthieves.com), released a new
music video that we are very proud of (last
summer).” He added that the band celebrated
their video and the release of two new EPs in
July when they headlined the Music Hall of
Williamsburg (“where I proposed to Laura”).
brushing up on his vocabulary for the SSAT
and preparing to join the Class of 2033!”
Congratulation to Kitt and Tucker. We were
sorry to learn that Kitt’s mother, Carlie
Shields Dandridge ’74, passed away in
Aug. and we send our sincere condolences.
2002
Class Secretary: Luke J. Labella,
Class Agents: Gregory M. de Gunzburg,
luke.labella@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
Gregory K. Dost, Geddes R. Johnson,
Peter R. Hafner, peter.hafner@gmail.com
Kristen G. Kraczkowsky, Ashley Cecchinato
LaBonte, Kathleen Shattuck Markov,
Katherine E. O’Connor, John C. Parker,
Jillian Hunt Seredynski, Ryan P. Shannon,
William N. Toce, G. Corydon Wagner IV
Courtney Krause writes, “I married Jake
Taufer on May 2 in San Pancho, Mexico.
Elise Mariner ’02 and Taylor Snyder ’02
attended.” Best wishes, Courtney! Jaclyn
Jess Haberman writes, “My essay on dating was published by Buzzfeed on June
17. This is my first published work. I have
also moved to Salem, Mass., and am enjoying my time here.” From Tyler Jennings:
“On July 25, I married Emily Waters Lee
in the flower gardens of Windekind Farm
in Huntington, Vt. Then we honeymooned
in Iceland and the Faroe Islands.” Marc
2003
Class Secretaries: Ashley Ciaburri Rainwater,
ashley.c.rainwater@gmail.com; Gabrielle
Bidart Sullivan, bidart@gmail.com;
Head Class Agents: Eliza A. Clark,
eliza.a.clark@gmail.com; Glenton W.
Davis, glentondavis@gmail.com
Congratulations to Nadia Zahran, who married Derek Anderson in Egg Harbor, Wis.,
in July. Glenton Davis was in attendance
and sang a wedding song for the ceremony.
2004
Class Secretaries: Robert H. Kneip,
rob.kneip@gmail.com; Hillary M. Lewis,
hillarymlewis@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
Michael A. Palladino, mike@evertrue.com
Kitt Squire George writes, “Tucker
and I were thrilled to welcome our son,
Charlie, on Aug. 20! With three generations
of Tafties behind him, Charlie’s already
2005
Class Secretaries: Sam Dangremond,
sdangremond@gmail.com; Liz Shepherd
Bourgeois, elizabeth.s.bourgeois@gmail.com;
Head Class Agent: Andrew Foote,
andrew.foote@morganstanley.com; Matt
Mortara, matt.mortara@gmail.com
Our classmates had busy summers complete
with some mini-reunions. Annie Rauscher
writes, “I was lucky enough to spend the 4th
of July with Carter Hibbs, Matt Mortara,
and Ben Andrysick in Nantucket.” Reisa
Bloch and Pete Murphy graduated in the
same class from UCLA Anderson School of
Management in May. Reisa moved to Ann
Arbor, Mich., and reports that she enjoyed
catching up with Tafties at the wedding
of Alexandra and Renier van Breen in
Vt., which included Matt Bloch, Alastair
Smith, Andrew Foote, Rob von Althann,
Ben Macaskill, Jamie Wheeler, Sam
Smythe, Kristen van Breen ’02, and
Annelies van Breen ’13. Clare Mooney
Lacy writes, “Last summer my husband got
home from a deployment so we are back
in N.C. and are waiting to hear where our
next adventure is going to be. My youngest
just started kindergarten!” Sarah Reimers
is living in Denver. Freddy Gonzalez
completed a master’s in film scoring at the
85
2007 classmates enjoy the wedding of Martha Pascoe ’07 and Oke McAndrews (not pictured): from left, Sara Partridge, Maggie Seay, bride, Alex
Dodge, Kacey Klonsky, Carola Lovering, and Ned Durgy.
Several Tafties enjoyed the wedding of Renier van Breen ’05 to Alexandra (see 2005 notes).
Berklee College of Music campus in Valencia,
Spain. He is on tour with 18-time Latin
Grammy award winner Alejandro Sanz as
the band’s trombonist. He will be back in
the U.S. in Nov. and would love to hear from
any fellow Tafties. And I, now Liz Shepherd
Bourgeois, married Michael Paul Bourgeois
in San Francisco in June. We were blessed
to have my grandfather, David Fenton ’48,
not only present for the celebration, but
among the last on the dance floor. We’re
living in San Francisco and enjoy catching
up with the ever-growing group of Tafties
in the Bay Area. Please continue sending your updates to Sam Dangremond
and me so we can all stay in touch!
2006/10th Reunion
Class Secretary: Natalie R. Lescroart,
natalie.lescroart@gmail.com; Head
Class Agent: Su Yeone Jeon,
sj2468@columbia.edu; Class Agents:
Padget L. Crossman, Brendan C. Gangl,
Tyler B. Godoff, Anne T. McGillicuddy,
Spyros S. Skouras III, Jerome A. Wallace,
Mary C. Walsh, Orlando J. Watson;
Reunion Chairs: Brynne M. McNulty,
brynnemcnulty@gmail.com;
D. Michael Shrubb, m.shrubb@gmail.com
After taking some time off to work for Renzo
Plano in Paris, Abe Bendheim wrapped up his
graduate degree in architecture at Columbia
Univ. While looking for a full-time position
practicing architecture, he’s excited to be
teaching at Columbia as an adjunct assistant
prof. Ben Ehrlich is joining the Navy and
has started medical school. With the 2016
presidential election underway, Orlando
Watson had an eventful summer as he continues his work at the Republican National
Committee in D.C. He was able to take a
break from the heat with a trip to Martha’s
Vineyard in Aug., but while there, the Secret
Service kept him away from President
Obama. In the District, he sees former
classmates Brendan Gangl, Pete Holland,
and Sophie Quinton, as well as Fabian
McNally ’04 and Sha-Kayla Crockett ’05.
New to the D.C. scene is Nye Sleeper, who
began an MBA program at Georgetown.
I, Natalie Lescroart, am also throwing
my name onto the list of D.C. Tafties, having relocated from NYC on Labor Day.
2007
Class Secretaries: Grace L. Scott,
gscott156@gmail.com; Elinore F. Van Sant,
elinorefvansant@gmail.com; Head Class
Agent: Lee S. Ziesing, lee.ziesing@gmail.com
Nate Thompson recently started business
school at USC-Marshall. I, Grace, have had the
opportunity to see him a couple times here in
LA. Penelope Smith made a brief visit to the
U.S. and was able to see Holly Donaldson,
Johanna Isaac, Teal Kratky, Alex White,
and Meta Reycraft in NYC. Kacey Klonsky
got to visit with Portland, Ore.’s new Taftie
resident, Andrew Parks. Gus Thompson
and Hank Wyman attended the wedding of
Alex Kremer ’06 to Hope Krause in Sept.
with many other Tafties. Finally, congratulations to Max Pacioretty, who was named
captain of the Montreal Canadiens in Sept.!
Taft TRIVIA
Congratulations to Thomas Wopat-Moreau ’05, who correctly guessed the answer
to the summer issue Trivia question. The architectural feature adorns the main
entrance to Charles Phelps Taft Hall (CPT) and Lincoln Lobby from Main Circle.
Watch for a new question in the next issue.
Multi-generations of Tafties ran into one another at the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Fla., when
the Slocum family stayed there; from left, John Watling ’53, Spencer Slocum ’08, “Jinx” Howe ’75,
Bridget Slocum ’17, and Bill King ’44.
2008
Class Secretary/Class Agent: Beth Kessenich,
ekessenich@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
Max Jacobs, maxkjacobs@gmail.com
Scout Berger and Liz VanPelt visited
Tanya Dhamija and her family in Singapore
in Aug. They had a blast catching up with
the Dhamijas and spending a few weeks
traveling to Thailand, Indonesia, and Hong
Kong. The photo on this page was taken at
the steps of the Tian Tan Buddha, or “Big
Buddha,” as it’s called by Hong Kong locals
(they informed me that they did successfully
make it up to the top!). They already can’t
wait for their next visit. Keith Fell, Peter
Johnson, Alex Bermingham, and Adam
Donaldson got together on Long Island to
play golf at Maidstone and had a great time
catching up. Jeremy Philipson recently
moved to San Francisco and is enjoying it.
Kristin Castellano enjoys her new role
on the Pine Street Leadership development
team at Goldman Sachs. She recently hung
out with fellow Tafties Liz VanPelt, Ollie
Mittag, Will Asmundson, and Matt Ale
on her birthday at PS1 MoMA in Queens,
N.Y. Spencer Slocum was at the Gasparilla
Inn in Boca Grande, Fla., with her family and ran into other Tafties from several
class years (see photo). See the photo on
p. 75 of Elyse Brey with her mother, Amy
Upjohn ’79, and Conor Holland. As for
me, Beth Kessenich, I have been enjoying working alongside Soledad O’Brien at
Starfish Media Group and excited about
some of the upcoming projects that will air
this fall. I spent a weekend in Montauk,
Long Island, with Alexis Cronin and
our mutual friends, which was a ton of
fun. I hope everyone had a great summer
and is looking forward to catching up at
Taft events in NYC this fall and winter!
2009
Class Secretary: Kira A. Parks,
kiraaparks@gmail.com; Head Class Agent:
Ben Brauer, bbrauer90@gmail.com
Scout Berger ’08, Liz VanPelt ’08, and Tanya
Dhamija ’08 at the steps of the Tian Tan
Buddha in Hong Kong.
Mel Mendez recently celebrated working at
Weber Shandwick for a year as a communications consultant. Congratulations to Maddie
and Bob Manfreda on their wedding!
Congratulations also to Robbie Bourdon
and Alex Dowling ’10 on their wedding in
Niantic, Conn.! Ben Zucker writes, “After
finishing my second year teaching science
at the Winchendon School in Winchendon,
Mass., I accepted a job teaching high school
math and science at Maui Preparatory
Academy in Hawaii and moved there in Aug.
I also spent my fourth summer teaching
math and theater at Taft Summer School
prior to starting my new position.” Schuyler
Metcalf lives in Juneau, Alaska, where he
works as an IT consultant for Wostmann &
Associates. He began his Alaskan residence
after Carleton, working as a glacier guide
87
Robbie Bourdon ’09 married Alex Dowling ’10 in
Niantic, Conn.
Owen Atkins ’10 yo-yo-ing in Rio with quite a view.
on the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. In his
spare time, Schuyler volunteers for Juneau
Mountain Rescue and has learned to fly fish
for salmon. If you want an adventure, he’d
love a Taftie visit—“just bring your skis,
skins, and mountain gear!” I, Kira Parks,
am happy to report that I am staying in
NYC and working at Mount Sinai as a social
worker in their medical/surgical department.
America in a unique way and trace parts of
Lewis and Clark’s journey over the duration
of his month-long camping trip—sounds like
an amazing experience! Amanda Turner
now works as a cardiovascular surgical ICU
nurse at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute
and Cleveland Clinic in D.C. She is planning
on pursuing an MA within the next year,
as well to become an advanced registered
nurse practitioner. Amanda is happy to be
only a short train ride away from our fellow NYC Tafties. Lastly, Owen Atkins is
making big moves as a yo-yo-enthusiast in
Rio (see his photo). As for me, Caroline
Castellano, I recently started a new job as a
10th-grade mathematics teacher at Vance HS
in Charlotte, N.C., with Teach for America.
2010
Class Secretary: Caroline A.
Castellano, ccastel@umich.edu; Head
Class Agent: Leigh Anne O’Mealia,
Leigh.Anne.OMealia@morganstanley.com
Not too much to report from our class this
round, but there are a few significant life
events to commend! A big “congratulations”
is in order for newlyweds Alex Dowling and
Robbie Bourdon ’09! The couple made it
official mid-Aug. in Niantic, Conn. Michael
Klein took a new position with AMEC Foster
Wheeler, a British multinational engineering and project management firm. Michael
is moving to Phoenix, Ariz., where he will
manage a 250mw solar power plant project that will provide clean power to over
50,000 homes in the Phoenix Metroplex and
Southern Calif. Over the summer Michael
shared a mini-reunion dinner with Elizabeth
Thompson in Atlanta, where she filled him
in on her new life there. Alex Philipson
went on an exciting geology field camp trip
with Lehigh, driving from Pa. to Mont. and
Wyo., with stops along the way, including
the Badlands of S.D. Alex and his group also
spent three nights in Yellowstone National
Park, where they took a 15-mile hike through
the center of the park. Alex said he got to see
88
2011/5th Reunion
Class Secretary: Kate E. Moreau,
katemoreau25@gmail.com;
Head Class Agents: Nicholas W. Auer,
nauer@bates.edu; Sara E. Guernsey,
sguernsey@wesleyan.edu; Class Agents:
Jake N. Albert, Lauren M. Bly, Meghan
E. Boland, Ann E. Cantwell, Amanda T.
Crown, Ebony Easley, Andre J. Li, Eleanor
F. O’Neill, Annie L. Oppenheim, Xavier L.
Reed, Nevada C. Schadler, Alexandra I.
Tweedley, Peter J. Tweedley, Julia C. Van
Sant, Lillie Belle W.C. Viebranz, Michael J.
Williams Jr., Jin Young Yoo; Reunion Chair:
Molly A. Lucas, malucas@colby.edu
Ryan Breen is living in NYC and works for
Accenture as a management consultant. Mike
Moran reports he is in his senior year at BU,
majoring in communications, and also playing Div. I hockey. Bess Lovern, also in NYC,
works as an architect at Cookfox Architects
Alex Philipson ’10 at the top of Mount Washburn in Yellowstone during a geology field camp with Lehigh.
in Chelsea. See p. 77 for a photo of Abby
Purcell with several other alums at the HF
Bar Dude Ranch in Wyo. last summer.
2013
Class Secretary: Will Pope, wcpope@wpi.edu;
Head Class Agents: Jagger Riefler,
2012
jagger.riefler@trincoll.edu; Elizabeth
easdavis@princeton.edu; William F.
It’s hard to decide which shined brighter this
season, the summer sun or the Class of ’13!
Rebecca Bendheim started her semesterlong study abroad program in Cape Town,
South Africa, in July. She works with a service program, which conducts life skills and
creative writing workshops with young prisoners. Emily Blanchard taught kids about
science and nature at a camp on Cape Cod,
where the Traina children were some of her
campers! Meanwhile, Shelby Meckstroth
spent her summer at Yale conducting
research at their medical school. Emily and
Shelby met up with Jack Simonds, Jane
Zorowitz, and Andrew Cadienhead to
celebrate Alex McLellan’s 21st birthday.
Emily is now spending a semester in Prague.
Joining her on the program are Corin Cort,
Remo Plunkett, Ames Sheldon, and
Cassidy Lowther. Jeff Kratky took a more
blue-collar approach to his time at home
this past summer, working hard at a manual
labor job while getting ready to return to
the grind that is being a Div. I athlete. Jack
Simonds spent the summer semester in
Sydney, Australia, where he met up with
Andrew Trevenen, who was also working
Down Under. Andrew is playing Sprint football for Cornell this fall. Kramer Peterson
says that he really enjoyed his summer
semester in Peru, getting to fully immerse
himself in the culture by making the trip
with only two other Amherst classmates.
Liz Demmon is having a great experience at
Head Class Agents: Eliza A.S. Davis,
Dawson, dawsonw@kenyon.edu
This past summer, Matt Daley interned at
KBW Financial Services, and studied Spanish
immersion at the Univ. of Alicante in Spain. He
was also elected captain of the men’s basketball team for this year at Middlebury College.
Eric Metcalf is in his senior year at Lehigh
Univ., pursuing a double major in computer
engineering and economics. Last summer he
completed a Java development internship with
1010Data in NYC. We were sorry to learn that
Ben Post’s father passed away in late Feb. and
send Ben our thoughts. After three years as
your class secretary, I, Caitlin Kennedy, have
decided to step down. While I have enjoyed
the opportunity to keep in touch with you all
and to help our class keep up with the accomplishments of one another, I no longer have
the time to dedicate to this position. I would
like to thank those of you who took time out
of your busy schedules to keep me informed
of your various activities and experiences
every few months; you made my job much
easier and more enjoyable! And to the Class
of 2012 as a whole, good luck this year, and
I wish you all success in your future endeavors! If you are interested in the position and
want to learn more about the responsibilities
involved, please email taftbulletin@taftschool.
org. [The Bulletin thanks Caitlin Kennedy
for her work as class secretary for the past few
years—please stay tuned for a new secretary.]
Shea, els19@me.com
Univ. of Colo. Sarah Cassady reports that
she had a great time studying in Italy last
summer. She traveled every weekend and ran
into Tafties in Rome, Barcelona, and Madrid.
Last summer Jane Zorowitz completed an
internship with NBC Sports. Her article on
virtual reality can be found at sportsworld
.nbcsports.com/author/jane-zorowitz. Jane
is in her junior year at UNC Chapel Hill,
majoring in journalism, and is spending the
fall semester in Copenhagen, Denmark, along
with Erin Wilson, Courtney Jones, and
Kyle Considine. Abby Woods is studying
at the Univ. of Chicago’s Beijing program for
the fall semester. Alexa Colangelo ’13 is
studying in Shanghai through a Georgetown
University program and also spent a week
in Hong Kong and Taiwan. She is in her
seventh year of studying Mandarin, which
she started as a lower mid with Mr. Liu.
Finally, the Worcester Polytechnic Institute
football team and I, Will Pope, started off
the 2015 season with a thrilling victory
over last season’s undefeated MIT team
(sorry Nicole Lu). Stay classy, Taft classes.
2014
Class Secretary: Emma A. Lux,
ealux012@sbcglobal.net; Head
Class Agents: John MacMullen,
john_macmullen@brown.edu; Rosey
Oppenheim, rosey.oppenheim@gmail.com
As the fall season begins, our fellow Tafties
shared some of their amazing experiences
from the past several months. Matt Liebers
made it to the semifinals of the MIT Climate
CoLab competition this summer with his
work for the nonprofit start-up SaveOhno,
a “gamified platform for climate change
activism.” Tristan Smith joined an a cappella group at Northeastern (“as was probably
expected,” he jokes) called the Unisons, and
they released an album in mid-Sept. Katie
Pfefferle had a great summer working as
an associate producer for an upcoming film.
While she worked mainly in fundraising,
speaking with prospects and investors in the
film, she also had the opportunity to shadow
the director. She finished off the summer
with a skydiving trip in Vt. Jocelyn Kim also
had an amazing summer and participated in
the U.K.’s biggest game competition, Dare to
be Digital, with 15 other teams. They showed
their game, Ectoplaza, at the four-day long
Protoplay festival in Dundee, Scotland, and
won the Audience Award. This fall, Jocelyn
has officially changed majors from fine arts
to interactive media and games and will
study game design from now on, though
she says she will continue to pursue art and
animation in her free time. Tyler Breen
is in his second year at UVa and is on their
varsity lacrosse team. Heather Gordon
is spending this year at Pepperdine Univ.
in Argentina. Dean Foskett completed a
summer internship with Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts (KKR) investment firm. He is in
his sophomore year at Emory and a proud
member of Sigma Chi. Finally, Cornell Tafties
Gracie Lyman, Natalie Tam, Elif Korkmaz,
Reed Motulsky, and Megan TeeKing
’13 started off the school year strong
with a Taft reunion. Double Go Big Red!
2015
Class Secretary: Caroline Leopold,
cleopold@live.unc.edu; Head Class Agents:
Eli Cooper, ecooper3@bates.edu; Talley
Hodges, talley@brookerhouse.com
89
Alumni Notes
What it
takes to be
Technology
Academics
Faculty
Teamwork
Arts
Facilities
Taft Motto
Athletics
Friendships
Thank you for
supporting the Taft
Annual Fund.
The support of the Taft community
www.taftschool.org/give
When’s the deadline for Notes?
Please send your news/updates for each issue’s class notes before the dates listed
below to either your class secretary or taftbulletin@taftschool.org. You can also submit
news online at www.taftschool.org/alumni/submit_alumni.aspx.
Fall—August 30 / Winter—November 15 / Spring—February 15 / Summer—May 15
90
From internships to international travel,
the newest Taft alums kept busy in their
first few months as Taft graduates. Athena
Wilkinson shared stories of her family
travel during a two-week trip down the
Colo. River through the Grand Canyon,
describing the experience as “Awe-inspiring
and incredible.” Ashley Scully and
Charlotte Klein chose to expand their
creative interests through a painting and
drawing course at the School of Visual Arts
for three weeks in Manhattan, and Hallie
Burke enjoyed interning at the Today Show.
Allie Davidge spent the summer on a
spectacular road trip around the country,
stopping in 17 states from the East Coast
to Seattle and down the coast of Calif. Allie
is excited to continue her love of travel and
adventure in Thailand this fall to begin
her gap year, and invites you to check up
on further adventures on her new website:
adavidge97.wix.com/allieoverseas. Livvy
Barnett thoroughly enjoyed interning
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
NYC, where she “was able to get an idea
of what goes on behind the scenes of the
museum, as well as enjoy the opportunity
to understand art in a new way.” Peyton
Swift worked for a nonprofit in Conn. to
raise public awareness about pollution, and
Eugene Lee studied at Institut du Monde
Arabe in Paris, taking seminars on Middle
Eastern politics, studying Arabic, and
exploring interactions between French and
Arab cultures in Paris. Zach Ambrosino
reports a notable development in his
romantic success since starting at UVa,
while Trevor McGee shares his remorse
regarding the conclusion of another Taftfilled summer in Nantucket. He offers the
hashtag #RIP58Nobadeer for those who
wish to memorialize their shared, fond
experience. Maggie Blatz juggled four jobs
all summer without one day off! Tommy
Mahoney is studying finance and playing for the Stonehill College Div. II hockey
team. At Lafayette, Jeremy Zeitler is
playing football and singing with the male
a cappella group, The Chorduroys. Polo
Shroff was selected for the Heidelberg
Univ. soccer team, and Jack Cannata is
playing center mid for the USAFA Falcons
men’s Div. I soccer team. 2015 Tafties
thoroughly enjoyed a productive and educational summer and are fully prepared
to take on the challenges of this fall. j
Milestones
Marriages
1954
Arnold Margolin to
Ellen Cornfield
December 15, 2013
1997
Michael Berens to
Victoria Lampley
June 20, 2015
2001
Courtney Krause to
Jake Taufer
May 2, 2015
2006
Alex Kremer to
Hope Krause
September 12, 2015
1962
Albert G. Simms III to
Catherine Marie Danilov
August 2015
Owen Muir to
Carlene Macmillan
June 19, 2015
2002
Tyler Jennings to
Emily Waters Lee
July 25, 2015
2009
Robert F. Bourdon to
Alexanderson J. Dowling ’10
August 8, 2015
2003
Nadia Zahran to
Derek Anderson
July 18, 2015
2010
Alexanderson J. Dowling to
Robert F. Bourdon ’09
August 8, 2015
1974
Holly W. Ross to
John Adolphsen
May 9, 2015
1996
Whitney M. Barry to
Edward S. Price
September 20, 2014
Christopher J. Tucker to
Jennifer Foster
October 10, 2015
Lindsey Sugar to
Susan Dost
April 18, 2015
1999
Sarah Sicher to
Adam Salky
August 30, 2015
2000
Ramsey Brame to
Kelly Murphy
July 18, 2015
2005
Caroline Coit to
Jonathan Fernandez
July 11, 2015
Elizabeth W. Shepherd to
Michael P. Bourgeois
June 2015
Births
1982
Alessandra Cristina to
Tina and W. Brendan
Fitzgerald III
September 15, 2015
1994
Katyal to
Jami Buchanan-Dunlop
and Irina Prentice
July 8, 2015
1989
Mary Blair to
Heather and Richard
F. Williams
August 5, 2015
1995
Zelda to
Rosalind and James
B. Borders V
June 24, 2015
1992
Maverick Paul to
Kim and James S. Barnes
April 20, 2015
Logan Leo to
Kristen and Gregory A. Mucci
August 22, 2015
1997
Parker Norey to
Peter and Rebecca Belcher Feen
March 15, 2015
Thomas to
Anne and Eric Schoonmaker
June 29, 2015
Paloma Lake to
Susan and Lindsey Dost Sugar
April 25, 2015
1998
Lucas Wardner to
Gregory and Katherine
Penberthy Padgett
December 6, 2014
Emerson Irene to
Christopher and Shannon
Murphy Weidinger
May 26, 2015
91
Milestones
1999
Sydney Adeline to
Michael and Lindsay
Tarasuk Aroesty
July 26, 2015
Hugo to
Boku and Emily
Townsend Prince
August 17, 2015
2000
Violet Elizabeth to
Aaron and Julie Pailey Fossi
August 20, 2015
2001
James Morse to
Alison and Craig M. Levy
July 7, 2015
2002
Edward Crockett to
Abigail and Marc A. Aleksinas
August 26, 2015
William to
Brian and Jaclyn Rhoads Masse
June 2015
2004
Charlie to
Alexander and Katherine
Squire George
August 20, 2015
Charlie to
John and Jillian Hunt
Seredynski
May 28, 2015
Faculty/Former Faculty
James Michael to
Panos and Shannon
Tarrant Voulgaris
August 11, 2015
Emma Shae to
Tyler ’04 and Randi
Lawlor Whitley ’04
July 26, 2015
1939
Robert H. Feldmeier
July 2, 2015
1948
Peter R.K. Gardiner
July 24, 2015
1956
Charles L. Goodell
June 17, 2015
Frederick Stanton Jr.
August 26, 2015
1949
James N. Baker
September 2, 2015
1958
Rawson Foreman
June 23, 2015
1950
Anthony Carpenter
July 12, 2015
1974
Carlotta G. Shields Dandridge
August 27, 2015
1951
Richard T. Dillon
April 26, 2015
Former Faculty
Theodore S. Greene
August 29, 2015
1944
Robert F. Lewis
November 12, 2014
Michael J. Galullo Jr.
April 26, 2015
Henry B. Pennell III
July 18, 2015
1945
John W. Elder
June 24, 2015
1955
Ed Burke
July 27, 2015
Headmaster Emeritus
John Cushing Esty Jr.
October 22, 2015
1942
Frederick S. Wittich
July 2, 2015
Taft Bulletin wishes to express its sincere condolences to all family and friends of the deceased.
Robert H. Feldmeier ’39, of Fayetteville, N.Y., died on
In Memoriam
1940
William G. Gribbel
August 16, 2015
In memoriam
Emma Shae to
Randi Lawlor Whitley ’04
and Tyler Whitley ’04
July 26, 2015
July 2. After Taft, he went to Princeton, where he was a member of
the Cottage Club. He was a proud member of the U.S. Marine Corps,
serving as 2nd lt. during WWII with his two brothers. Fiercely curious, delightfully optimistic, and always interested in others, he
was full of ideas and driven to make them come true. In 1952, at
age 31, he and his wife, Peggy Lou, founded what is now Feldmeier
Equipment, Inc., which he expanded to six locations across the U.S.
An engineer and inventor to his core, he always tinkered with ways
to do things better. He held 19 different patents on designs, most
of them for food processing equipment—he received his last two
patents at age 92. In 2008, he was inducted into the MACNY Hall of
Fame to honor his innovation and leadership in the manufacturing
industry. His other great passion was amateur wrestling. In 2008,
he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, recognized for his lifelong dedication to the sport. In 2009, the National
Wrestling Coaches Association gave him their highest honor, the
Meritorious Service Award, for his dedication to developing amateur
wrestling programs. He and his wife traveled the world attending
wrestling matches, including Japan, Iran, Bulgaria, Russia, and the
Olympic Games in Munich, Montreal, and Atlanta. He was a member of the Onondaga Country Club and a former member of the
Century Club. In the summers, he loved relaxing at their camp in
Lake Pleasant, N.Y., with family. He was devoted to his family and
friends, and quick to share his kindness, good humor, and generosity
with everyone he met. He is survived by his wife, Peggy Lou; August
would have marked their 70th anniversary. He is also survived by
children Jeanne Jackson, Lisa Clark, Jake, and Robert; six grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren, including Julia Feldmeier ’99;
and seven nieces and nephews, including Harvey Feldmeier ’62.
Source: Syracuse Post Standard (N.Y.)
John P. Cruikshank
May 23, 2015
Frederick Stanton Jr. ’39, of Lindenhurst, Ill., and
veteran of WWII and the Korean Conflict, passed away on August
26. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Lake
Forest. He is survived by his children, Marcia, Fred, and Reid;
stepchildren John Mattison and Kathy Bell; his cousin, Nancy
Babington; and seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Please Remember
to include full names (with maiden name)
and dates for marriages and births in
order to be included in Milestones.
taftbulletin@taftschool.org
92
Source: Chicago Tribune Media Group
William G. Gribbel ’40, of Camden, Maine, died on Aug.
16. He was a graduate of Yale Univ., where, through an accelerated program, he graduated in three years and then enlisted in
the U.S. Marine Corps. During WWII, he saw combat with the
Marines in the Mariana Islands, Pacific Theater. He worked in the
Philadelphia area after the war as an investment broker starting
off at Benning and Co., retiring and moving to his beloved family
home in Rockport permanently in 1976. He was an avid oarsman
and small boat enthusiast. In Philadelphia, he was a member of the
Undine Barge Club known for rowing on the Schuylkill. For many
years he helped and supported the “Short Ship Regatta” and was
a member of the Camden Yacht Club and Megunticook Golf Club.
Another of his passions was The Apprenticeshop in Rockland, focusing on craftsmanship and seamanship of small boats. He could be
seen year-round in Camden and Rockport Harbors. In summer
he would be rowing between and around all of the boat traffic.
During the cold months he used a small pick axe to break the ice
around his dory, peapod, wherry, or Whitehall, rowing out and
having the harbor almost to himself. For several years he wrote
columns for the Camden Herald called “Across the Bow.” When he
couldn’t venture out anymore, he used a rowing machine daily.
He was also a huge supporter of the Camden Rockport Animal
Rescue League and could often be spotted walking large packs of
dogs. He is survived by his third wife, Rhoda; daughter Catharine
Gribbel-Beautyman; sons James L. II, Theodore, and William;
and 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his siblings, Margaret G. Hubbard, Elizabeth G. Bregy,
Katherine G. Carter, John, and his identical twin brother James L.
Source: Portland Press Herald (Maine)
Frederick S. Wittich ’42 passed away on Sept. 17. He
attended Kenyon College but left to serve in the U.S. Navy during
WWII. Fred was a salesman by trade, beginning his work experience at Wittich’s Music Store in Reading, Pa. The music store was
founded by his father, Carl, and his uncle, Leon. An avid musician,
he was able to play many instruments including organ, piano, and
violin. Upon the closure of Wittich’s Music Store, he opened his
own store in the Muhlenberg Shopping Plaza and is remembered
for providing and playing the organ for the accompanying music
to Fox Theater’s opening of The Sound of Music in 1965. After the
closure of his music store, he pursued real estate, working for several agencies until his retirement. He loved being by the water
and was a boating enthusiast his entire life. He considered the
Chesapeake Bay, specifically Northeast Md., and Ocean City, N.J.,
his favorite vacation spots. He loved being a father, grandfather,
and great-grandfather. He is survived by his children, Frederick S.
93
In memoriam
Jr., Kim, Scott, and Carlyn E. Kish. He had six grandchildren and
was predeceased by his brother, John J. and sister Kitty Anne.
Source: Reading Eagle (Pa.)
Robert F. Lewis ’44, of South Woodstock, Vt., died on
November 12, 2014. Following in his father’s footsteps, he graduated from MIT in 1948 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
While in college, he received a commission in the U.S. Navy at the
end of WWII. He spent most of his career in the family business.
His great uncle started Anthony Manufacturing in Lynn, Mass., in
1907, which manufactured leather products. Later renamed Robert
F. Lewis, Inc., his father moved the business from Mass. to West
Woodstock, Vt., in 1956 and it specialized in the binding of fine
leather books, especially Bibles. He and his family raised and rode
horses on the family farm, and he and his wife drove a pair of carriage horses literally thousands of miles on the back roads of Vt.
They loved skiing and spent many happy weekends at Mt. Tom and
Suicide Six with family and friends. They were avid tennis players and
traveled widely following his retirement. He served the community
on the first Woodstock Zoning Board as well as the Ottaquechee
Health Center Board, and he was a corporator of Mt. Ascutney
Hospital and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. He is survived
by his wife of 63 years, Nancy, and children Courtland, Susan,
Darwin, and Sarah. He also leaves six grandchildren and his sister,
Jane Kendall. He was predeceased by his sister, Virginia Harding.
John W. Elder ’45 passed away on June 24. After serving
in the Army at the end of WWII, he returned to Yale and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. After graduation he moved
to Houston with the Atlantic Mutual Co. Shortly thereafter he
joined a venerable insurance broking firm which ultimately became
known as Wray, Couch, and Elder. The firm merged with Marsh &
McLennan in 1969. He rose to become a managing director and ran
the southwest region of the company. His responsibilities included
managing all operations in Ark., La., Okla., and Texas. His steady
leadership helped Marsh grow throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He
served on many boards, including the YMCA. He was a member of
the Bayou Club, Houston Country Club, Eagle Lake Rod and Gun
Club, Allegro, the Bohemian Club in Calif., the Washington County
Riding Club, and the Brenham Country Club. He is a past president
of the Bayou Club and the Eagle Lake Rod and Gun Club. He enjoyed
tennis and started the Bayou Bowl in 1966. He was an avid and
experienced sailor and loved flying his own plane, in addition to
enjoying golf, hunting, and fishing. Riding at his ranch in Washington
County and Estes Park, Colo.,was another of his favorite pastimes
as well as following his racing stable and playing late-night piano.
Survivors include his wife, Virginia; two nephews and two nieces;
and many great-nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Margaret Neuhaus, brother Charles Jr. ’42, and his son, Nick.
Source: Houston Chronicle
Peter R.K. Gardiner ’48, of Narragansett, R. I., passed
away on July 24. He had attended Yale Univ. and was a marketing executive for Gulf Oil Co. for 30 years before retiring. He
started Whale Rock Real Estate and later became an agent for
Randall Realtors. He served as president of the Narragansett
94
In memoriam
Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Narragansett
Library board of trustees. He was former director of the South
County Museum and worked in marketing for the South County
Tourism Council. He was a communicant of St. Thomas More
Church, a member of the Point Judith Yacht Club, and an
accomplished sailor. He leaves his wife of 44 years, Patty; daughters Susie Kief, Jo Gardiner, Melissa Buchanan, and Elizabeth
Akkerman; sister Glena Derby; 13 grandchildren and 13 greatgrandchildren. He was predeceased by his grandson, Jonathan
Raba. He will be forever missed by his ever-faithful dog, Puppy.
James N. Baker ’49, former chairman of the Western
Railroad Traffic Assoc., passed away on Sept. 2. He served Taft
for 10 years as a head class agent. He graduated in 1953 from Yale
College with a BA. He married Mary Copeland in San Francisco
on June 25, 1965, and the two enjoyed their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year. He was the father of Lanny ’85 and Ann
and the proud grandfather of six, including Emily Rominger ’15.
He spent many long summers on Cape Cod during his youth
and served in the U.S. Army in Germany during the Korean War.
He was often found skiing with his close group of friends in the
Rockies and spending time with family and friends on the French
River in northern Ontario and on the beach in Carmel, Calif.
Source: Chicago Tribune Media Group
Anthony Carpenter ’50 died on July 12 in Vero Beach,
Fla. He rose to vice president of Hilton International, which took
his family all over the world, including St. Thomas, Istanbul,
and Sydney. He and his wife, Lilan, met at the Hotel School in
Lausanne, Switzerland, where they embarked on a remarkable
life. They returned to the U.S. from Sydney in 1982 to open the
Vista International division of Hilton International, settling
in Greenwich, Conn., until retirement when they moved permanently to Vero Beach. He leaves his wife of 60 years, Lilan;
children Dean, Hilary, and Tracey; and four grandchildren.
Source: GreenwichTime (Conn.)
Richard T. Dillon ’51 died on April 26, in Denver, Colo.
After Taft, Dick graduated from Yale in 1955 with a BA in history.
He then went through flight training in Pensacola and served four
years in the Navy as a naval aviator. In 1960 Dick returned to school,
earning both an MA and PhD in English from UC, Berkeley. He
moved from Berkeley to Boulder, where he began teaching at the
Univ. of Colo., Denver campus. He was dedicated both to his work
as an English professor and to administration, helping establish the
thriving urban Denver campus. In 1974, he was appointed committee chair of a group of faculty, staff, and students tasked with
writing the first campus master plan. He was later elected chair of
the Faculty Assembly for 1974–75, and in 1976 he was appointed
as the first acting vice chancellor for academic affairs. When he
left the chancellor’s office, he became CLAS associate dean. Always
an avid traveler, Dillon was active in promoting and establishing a
study abroad program at CU Denver. He retired from the English
Department in 1999. To honor him the Richard T. Dillon Scholarship
has been established at the Univ. of Colo. He is survived by his wife of
54 years, Margaret, as well as two children and two grandchildren.
Michael J. Galullo Jr. ’51 died on April 26. He received
a BS from Fordham Univ. and worked at ANAMET for 42 years,
retiring as an executive vice president. He was a longtime resident of Watertown, Conn., prior to moving to Torrington and
was an avid NY Yankees fan. Besides his wife of 58 years, Lucy,
he leaves his children, Elisabeth Carpino, Dana Sanderson,
Christina Ahlman, Michael, and Peter, and 12 grandchildren.
Source: Register Citizen (Conn.)
Ed Burke ’55, of Genoa, Neb., passed away on July 27. He
graduated from Stanford Univ., where he was enlisted in ROTC.
After his commission in the U.S. Navy, he was stationed on the
island of Guam. He was in active duty from 1959 to 1962. Following
his discharge from the Navy, he worked at the Bank of California,
and in 1969 moved back to Genoa and began his career as president of the Genoa National Bank, retiring in 2001. He was proud
and grateful for his sobriety of 47 years in AA, and considered his
AA friends as part of his family. He was also a devoted member of
Christ Episcopal Church in Central City, where he was a lay reader
and vestry member for many years. He is survived by his wife,
Anne; his son, Tim, who manages the family ranch, Kent and Burke
Co.; two grandchildren; a brother, John Burke; and two nieces.
Source: Columbus Telegram (Neb.)
John P. Cruikshank ’55, of Lady’s Island, S.C., died
on May 23. He leaves his wife, Lee; children Nichola Helen
Crombie, Esther Cruikshank Stieska, Carolyn Davin Bowman,
and Brian Scott Cruikshank; and five grandchildren.
Source: Island Packet (S.C.)
Charles L. Goodell ’56, of Tukwila, Wash., passed away
on June 17. After Taft he went on to attend Bucknell Univ. and chose
to leave after a year to join the Air Force, where he proudly served
for four years. He was a born salesman and used that gift to work
at several different fabric and carpet companies in Conn., Ill., and
finally, in Seattle. In his retirement, he couldn’t turn off that desire
to meet and get to know new people. Anyone who waited on him
in a store or restaurant undoubtedly got to know “Chuck,” and he
got to know them. He is survived by his son, Ted, and his daughter,
Cary Cuiccio; five grandchildren; his sister, Martha; and a nephew.
Source: Seattle Times (Wash.)
Rawson Foreman ’58 died on June 23. Known for his
humor, intelligence, and wit, he loved his family, friends, and
community. He found his love returned a thousandfold. He was
a graduate Washington and Lee Univ. and Emory Univ. School of
Law. He was a partner in the law firm of Jones, Bird, & Howell, and
later, Alston & Bird. He served as president of Atlanta Legal Aid
Society and was honored to have been a recipient of a Community
Service Award at the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent
Social Change. He was also a member of the Lawyers Club of
Atlanta, the Old War Horse Lawyers Club, and he held membership
in the Piedmont Driving Club, the Nine O’Clocks, and Highlands
Country Club. Active in numerous charitable and civic organizations, he served as president of the Atlanta Preservation Center
and Midtown Alliance. He was a trustee of Paideia School and Miss
Hall’s School. Especially passionate about art, he served the High
Museum of Art in many capacities, including as a member of the
executive committee, chair of the strategic planning committee, chair
of the operations committee, chair of the nominating committee,
chair of the long range planning committee, and chair of the board
of directors. He was honored to be a life director of the museum.
He was a devoted member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, where
he served as an advisor to the church’s many outreach programs
and also served on the vestry and as senior warden multiple times.
He leaves behind his wife of 47 years, Peggy; daughters Margaret
Langdon Foreman and Mary Rawson Foreman-Rorrer; two grandchildren; his brother, Robert Jr. ’44; and nephew Robert III ’70
and niece Alexa. He is preceded in death by his nephew, James.
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Carlotta G. “Carlie” Shields Dandridge ’74
died on Aug. 27 in Kennebunk, Maine, after a valiant battle with
MS. After Taft, she attended the Univ. of Colo. Boulder. She made
her debut in 1974 at the Debutante Cotillion and Christmas
Ball in New York. In 1994, she married Edmund Pendleton
“Ted” Dandridge III in Santa Fe. She was a talented watercolorist and rug hooker, a loyal friend, and a devoted mother who
never failed to leave smiles in her wake. She is survived by her
husband, Ted, daughter Katherine Squire George ’04, a grandson, and brother John Shields. “Sois belle et formidable.”
Faculty Emeritus
Theodore S. “Ted” Greene, mathematics (1957–91),
died on Aug. 29 at his home in Cheshire, Conn.
He graduated from Yale Univ. in 1954. After
serving in the Army, he joined the faculty at
Taft School in 1957, where he would teach
mathematics and coach for 34 years until his
retirement in 1991. He was an avid birder and
longtime member of the Audobon Society.
Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 said, “Ted
was a popular, loyal, and caring math instructor and lower school
soccer coach. He had the affectionate nickname ‘Thumper’ among
the boys he coached, and I have visions of him with his decidedly old-school cleats. He loved teaching math, watching games,
and talking about students; and even after his retirement, he
often returned to campus to spectate, chatting with teachers and
students he had known. Over the years I have met many alumni,
especially during their 50th Reunions, who have shared fond memories of Ted. He served Taft wonderfully for over three decades.”
Headmaster Emeritus
John Cushing Esty Jr., Taft’s third headmaster (1963–72),
died on October 22. Please see pages 12–13
for a remembrance and obituary. We offer
our sincere condolences to his family. j
95
From the
Archives
Bingham Auditorium
Stewarding a Community Space
for the Next 125 Years
Farming for Golf
One curious event in Taft School’s early history merits telling
as much for Horace Taft’s account of it as for the story itself. It
involved his right-hand man and Latin teacher Harley Roberts
(whom Mr. Taft said lacked a sense of humor), and the golf links.
Around the time of the First World War, Mr. Roberts, a
golf enthusiast, played a key part in relocating the Watertown
Golf Club and its course to its present Guernseytown
Road location. Some of the Club’s links shared the school’s
grounds—and still do—but they had to be mowed.
“Waste Nothing!” admonished the posters on the home
front. Not manpower to drive the horse-drawn reel
mowers. Nor money or mutton. And, the school was in debt.
In his 1942 memoir Horace Taft remarked on
Mr. Roberts’ solution:
“Not many of the older people of Watertown will forget the
time when Harley conceived the idea that sheep would be a
splendid investment for the golf course. They would save mowing
the grass and at the same time be increasing in value. His enthusiasm carried everything before it, and I always thought it hard
that one or two farmers who were interested made no objection.
Anyhow, Mr. Roberts drafted Mr. Joline (who taught Greek), and
96
Taft Bulletin / FALL 2015
 Harley Roberts’ flock grazes on
the campus links, ca. 1915.
we had the spectacle of these two elderly schoolteachers driving
up Academy Hill and through the center an unruly and scraggly
flock of sheep amid the hilarity of the neighbors. Not until they
were housed in an old barn that stood on the golf links did the
farmers suggest that the sheep could hardly live in such confined
quarters. Harley had, in his calculations, just about left standing
room for the poor creatures. His enthusiasm did not wane—yet.
Then came the question of a shepherd. The sheep wandered
at will all over the whole golf links, left the grass in clumps,
and proved to be the most inefficient mowing machines. They
seemed to think that the greens were especially intended as
comfort stations, to the intense indignation of the players. Then
they (the sheep) began to sicken—through pure cussedness, I
think—and as their ranks thinned out the conviction stole upon
us that the experiment was not a great success. I forget what
the selling price was, except that it differed very much from
the purchase price and not in our favor. However, those of us
who had contributed felt that we had had our money’s worth
in entertainment.” —Horace D. Taft, Memories and Opinions
—Alison Gilchrist, The Leslie D. Manning Archives
For 85 years, Bingham Auditorium has been home
was built into the rear of the auditorium’s lower level.
to some of the most important moments in the life of
Mr. Taft’s School. Generations of students have met
our strategic planning as a high priority, and much
each week in the auditorium for Vespers—now called
needed in a space that was built in 1929 and has
“This is an exciting project, one identified in
Morning Meeting—and for special
seen very heavy use over its
presentations and assemblies,
history,” said Headmaster Willy
where they have heard new voices
MacMullen ’78. “It’s such a lovely
and been introduced to new
and important space, worthy of
ideas. Students have rehearsed,
our stewardship and care.”
performed, listened to, and spoken
At the time that Bingham was
before their peers in Bingham.
built, Taft’s student body numbered
And they have met there in times
323 boys, the faculty 27. Since
of loss, as they did on December
that time, growth in enrollment
7, 1941—the day Pearl Harbor was
has outstripped the number
bombed—and again immediately
of seats in Bingham. Thanks to
following the terrorist attacks on
improvements in seating design
September 11, 2001. In many ways,
and creative layout, the renovation
Bingham Auditorium is a sacred
has resulted in a net gain of
space for the Taft community.
seats—Bingham now seats 592,
Over the summer, Bingham was
including six handicapped seats
renovated in preparation for the
(up from the 570 total seats pre-
next 125 years of Taft students. The
renovation). Custom wrought iron
auditorium’s wood paneling was
in the shape of the Taft “T” adorns
cleaned, treated, and refinished,
the ends of each row of seats.
giving the space a lighter, softer
One of the major goals
feel. Damaged wood sections and
of the Ever Taft Even Stronger
decorative pieces were repaired
Campaign is to ensure that we
and the walls painted. Bingham’s historic light fixtures
secure Taft’s endowment at an adequate level to support
were refurbished and the blackout panels on the windows
ongoing upkeep of the school’s facilities and campus.
were removed, allowing natural light into the auditorium
for the first time in many years. LED lighting was installed,
In appreciation for future gifts of $1,000 through the close of
as were remotely controlled window treatments. The
the campaign on June 30, 2016, Taft will honor donors with a
balcony has a new brass railing, and a soundboard
plaque on one of the auditorium’s new seats.
Stewardship of Taft’s campus is just one of the priorities of the current campaign.
To find out more, visit www.taftschool.org/campaign
or contact Director of Development Chris Latham at 860-945-5923 or chrislatham@taftschool.org
Nonprofit Org
bulletin
U.S. Postage
PAID
The Taft School
110 Woodbury Road
Watertown, CT 06795-2100
860-945-7777
www.taftalumni.com
burlington VT
Permit # 101
Change Service Requested
winter events
At Taft
80th Service of Lessons and Carols—December 15
Alumni Hockey, Basketball, and Squash—February 13
Parents’ Weekend—February 19–20
On the road in December, January, and February
New York City • Boston • Washington, D.C. • Asia

a PDF of the Fall 2015 Taft Bulletin

Transcription

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