mag ss02 - The Thacher School

Transcription

O
HO L
THE T H
C
HER S
AC
1889
News
Spring / Summer 2002
Volume XV, Number 1
Editor
Jane D. McCarthy
Design
Timothy R. Ditch and Jane D. McCarthy
Contributors
David V. Babbott, Elizabeth A. Bowman, Monique L. DeVane,
Alisa D. McCoy, Kurt R. Meyer, Samuel A. “Pete” Pond CdeP
1932, Sara Sackner, Joy Sawyer-Mulligan, and Peggy Whyte
Photography
Phil Channing, Elizabeth Reynolds Mahoney CdeP 1988,
Jane D. McCarthy, Sara Sackner, Joy Sawyer-Mulligan, and
Timothy O Teaque
Cover Photo
Cricket and Terry Twichell end 33 years of service to Thacher
and enter retirement this summer
From the Head
Alumni Profiles
3
28 The Tutt Bowl Winners:
What’s Become of Them?
The Here—The Now
Campus Activities
5
Tea for the Twichells
8
The Common Book:
The Color of Water
10 Tidbits, Numeracy Puzzle
11 Grand Days with Grandparents
12 Gymkhana Weekend
14 Gymkhana Chapel Message:
Shared Disasters
16 Spring Sports
Photo by Elizabeth R. Mahoney CdeP 1988
18 Commencement 2002
The Thacher News magazine is published
twice a year by The Thacher School, and is
sent free of charge to alumni, parents, and
friends of the School. In preparing this
report, every effort was made to ensure
that it is accurate and complete. If there is
an omission or an error in spelling, please
accept our apologies and notify the Head
of School’s Office at The Thacher School,
5025 Thacher Road, Ojai, California
93023-9001, call (805) 646-4377, or email
jmccarthy@thacher.org.
Third Class postage is paid at the Oxnard
Post Office.
POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to
the preceding address.
NAIS
MEMBER
C Printed by Ventura Printing with soy-based
inks on recycled paper.
21 Awards
22 Senior Exhibitions,
College Matriculation
23 School Chair Address:
Building a New School Year
24 Senior Banquet Address:
A Time of Reflection
26 The Campaign for Thacher
30 W. Denys Purcell CdeP 1967
Building on Lessons Learned
32 Benjamin F. Carter CdeP 1974
Returning to His Roots
34 William S. Anderson CdeP 1976
An Enduring and Endearing Friendship
36 Erin J. Rosen CdeP 1988
Reading Between the Lines
38 David O. Amuda CdeP 1990
Opening a World of Opportunities
40 Joshua Jade CdeP 1991
The Beat Goes On
42 Cesar G. Gerardo, Jr. CdeP 1998
Inspired Wanderlust
44 William R. Barkan CdeP 2002
Overcoming Challenges with Panache
Alumni News
46 Bookshelf:
I Was There: Rumor Fable Exploit
48 Class Notes
52 Obituaries
54 Reunion
57 Historical Society
59 Calendar
From the Head of School
Head
The Here—The Now
The Best Year Yet
The following remarks were
given by Michael K. Mulligan,
Head of School, at the conclusion of the All-School Banquet, May 30, 2002. Held on
The Pergola under the pepper
trees and served by the freshman class, the event is the
final moment during which
the whole student-faculty
community is together, a natural book-end to September’s
New Year’s Banquet.
ccasionally, parts of the
school year—sometimes
even at Thacher—can be
characterized by an overwhelming sense of “Let’s just
get this whole thing over
with.” In saying this, I have
no doubt that many of you,
seniors especially, have felt
this, especially as the year has
gained momentum towards
its end: as you meticulously
crafted your college applications, as you prepared for your Senior Exhibitions and your final examinations, as you
waded through your final weeks prior to graduation. And, there’s no embarrassment in feeling this impatience. How natural it is, while
slogging through our present work, to look eagerly to the next challenge and opportunity.
O
Michael Mulligan with Cowboy
by Michael K. Mulligan
this was indeed “the best year yet.” More of
us, faculty and students, seemed to enjoy this
year as it unfolded. Somehow we embraced
each moment as it occurred. We celebrated
each other’s company, we laughed together, we
mourned together (even as the academic year
was literally just beginning, on September 11),
we gained strength from each other’s successes,
and we found a sense of well being and
achievement in the unique activities of this
School.
I recall dances and Assemblies and even Formal
Dinners where repartees, jibes, and retorts
brought peals of laughter echoing through the
Dining Room. I think of those electric moments at Gymkhanas and at any number of
athletic contests throughout the year. (Consider for a moment about the stunning competitiveness and sportsmanship at the Cate Fall
Weekend varsity soccer game, or the comefrom-behind-victory of the baseball team at
the CIF semi-finals, or the Varsity Girls’ Soccer
success in the playoffs.) Think of those moments which I know you experienced on your
various outdoor expeditions—even in your discomfort— where you persevered despite the
conditions (heat, cold, altitude, fatigue) knowing that the challenge, the growing itself, is ultimately what it is all about. I think of Leland
Franklin, new to Thacher, trudging up Mt.
Langley, croaking, “Mr. Mulligan, I am way
beyond my limits.” Yet, he made that ascent
and descent, and we both agreed that limits
are not what we think they are.
Despite this most natural tendency, though, I
think that this year has been qualitatively different for us as a School. Many of you—both
seniors and underclassmen—have evinced an
appreciation of the experience of Thacher in
the here and now. I know this because you
have told me so, and because I have watched
you celebrate, in both quiet and boisterous
ways, your time together—a healthy counterpoint to what I often hear alumni say when
they return: “Oh how I wish I had appreciated
what Thacher had to offer while I was here!”
My personal favorite moment of the School
year (clearly a “here and now” kind of event)
took place just last week on my camping trip.
After a long and beautiful horseback ride
through the canopied oak forests and over the
high portreros and mountain ridges of the central California coastal mountains, we worked
our way down to the windswept, unspoiled
beaches of Point Conception. Monique Gaskins, Matt O’Meara, Heidi Cole, Libby Rauner,
Andrew Ma, Rob Bray, Amanda Grumman,
and I raced down into the ocean, acquainted
My friends, to enjoy what you have while you our horses with the charging sea and the dehave it: that is sublime, and it is living the best cidedly—from the horses’ point of view—
kind of life. To be able to appreciate the mo- nerve-wracking surf. We met the seals as they
ment; to find the beauty in each day; to hold arched their heads out of the waves to ask,
nuance; to embrace success and failure and “Who are these strange creatures?” And we
harmony and conflict as each unfolds: enlight- were even so fortunate as to look out upon a
pod of gray whales spouting.
enment begins in such gesture.
In looking back over this year, I can say with Monique and Matt raced hell-bent-for-leather
some certitude that from my vantage point, down the coastline while Heidi Cole bareSpring / Summer 2002 page 3
backed on Classic down to the surf—and then
raced back out twice as fast. (She decided that
wisdom dictated it best to bail out on the
beach before Classic did his 60-to-0 stop at the
other horses.) Libby Rauner and I took our
horses through the breaking waves out over
their heads, which is, as you might imagine,
no mean feat. We had to make it through that
point where the waves were crashing over all
of our heads. The horses weren’t so sure about
that part. When we got beyond the breaking
waves and in the deep, we slid off our horses
backs, firmly grabbed their tails, and were
given equine water tows as we—horses and
cargo—rose and fell with the rollers, lifted
from trough to peak through the cresting sea.
On this exhilarating trip, our small band of
horse campers were fully alive, caught neither
in anticipation of the future nor contemplation of the past; we were uplifted with energy
and happiness. The ocean, the high-stepping
horses, the seals and whales, the camraderie.
Could it get any better? It was a day of grace,
to be sure.
Not to be forgotten, however, is that we were
able to enjoy this experience because we had
planned this trip for weeks, because we had
ridden all day, and most importantly, because
we were among friends who supported each
other and looked for the best in each other.
And now to draw a not-so—subtle point:
Great experiences and positive memories, harmony, happiness, and well-being in our lives
are not a matter of luck. They don’t just happen. We had those experiences that day, and
we’ve had a great year here because, by and
large, we’ve been willing to work hard, to
place our emphasis on the good, and to look
for the best in each other and each situation.
page 4 The Thacher News
We’ve tried to make the right decisions (a
School year with so few major problems? Fabulous!), to extend ourselves, to do the right
thing, to try to live for what this School stands
for. This has made all the difference.
I recently heard a story recounted originally
by the Cherokee. An elder tells his grandchild
that there is a fight going on inside himself. He
says that it is between two wolves. One wolf is
evil and is driven by anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, superiority, lies, and ego. The opposing
wolf is all goodness: joy, peace, love, hope,
serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
The child looks at the elder and says, “Which
wolf wins?”
The elder replies, “The one I feed.”
Our happiness depends on that which we
nourish inside of ourselves, where we put our
attention, what we think is important, and
how we spend our energy. It makes all the difference to who we are and who we become.
As a passage in the New Testament states:
“Wheresoever your thoughts dwell, there so
you live.” This year, collectively speaking, we
have nourished the better part of ourselves and
we’ve been rewarded with a sense of grace as a
result.
As the School Head, I wish to thank you, the
students, the seniors particularly, and this incredibly dedicated and loving faculty and staff
for making an effort to feed only the good wolf.
This truly has been “the best year yet,” and it
has been one, miraculously enough, that we
were, collectively speaking, able to enjoy as it
unfolded. As I said, that is sublime, indeed. e
Campus Activities
Tribute
Tea for the Twichells
On a Roll with Cricket and Terry Twichell
by Denise C. Miller
with help from Janet Miller Cipriano CdeP 1978,
Christopher “Kit” B. Miller CdeP 1980, and Nichole “Nicki” D. Miller CdeP 1983
The Twichell Clan: Katie, Molly with daughter Jordan, Jonathan, Cricket, Derick Perry with daughter Evan, and Terry
rederick C. Twichell, his wife Marian, and
their three children, Molly, Jonathan, and
Katie, arrived in Ojai, California, in 1969,
seeking warmer winter temperatures among
other things. It was not their original plan to
make this move a permanent one but rather it
was seen as a temporary venture. Then it
would be back to New England or some place
back East, to the more tried and
true and to family roots. Terry was
coming to Thacher as chairman of
the Mathematics Department,
bringing with him the experience of
being a boarding school student at
the Berkshire School in Sheffield,
Massachusetts, and after Middlebury, returning to Berkshire as a
teacher of mathematics.
F
Kit Miller CdeP 1980 wrote: “I once spent a
summer working with Terry in the Maintenance Department at School, cutting brush,
hauling hay and furniture, and doing odd jobs.
Although not intellectually challenging to be
sure, we managed to have fun doing everyday
jobs; the work was always done on time and
done right.
It was apparent from the first that
Terry would be a welcome addition
to The Thacher School faculty. He
was comfortable and at ease, and
the students who were in his classes Former Director of Annual Giving Nick Lefferts was on hand
enjoyed his humor and expertise. for the Twichells’ Retirement Tea
Spring / Summer 2002 page 5
“I’ve never figured out how Terry does it, and
I’ve been a student in his classroom, a prefect
in his dormitory, and a fundraiser on his
telethons. He has a rare ability to instill his
imagination and his energy into any task and,
when it is completed, the work is invariably
done with precision. More remarkable though
is that students and co-participants are often
surprised to discover that the process was lighthearted and often uproarious.
“I am sure I learned a lot in Terry’s freshman
math class, but my enduring memories are of
contests to see who could draw the most perfect circle on the chalkboard. Incredibly, Terry,
who was both the loudest contestant and the
only person with a vote, never lost.”
Terry and Cricket moved into the Upper
School apartment when they first arrived at
Thacher and shortly thereafter to the house on
the hill where Terry could cultivate his garden
and Cricket could cook for mobs, and they
could both do their work as counselors and Jonathan Twichell CdeP 1983 (and his brother-in-law Derick Perry CdeP 1983, not pictured) tells tall
tales of Twichell life at Thacher
writing articles about alumni for School pub- and they moved into the dorms that Terry
lications, realizing a talent which she has de- oversaw. Although the change was welcomed,
there was much to learn that first year. Terry
veloped into an art.
rose to the challenge, and he and Cricket
The foreign students at Thacher were looking played an “integral part in making being a girl
for a way to meet and share some of their in- at Thacher a great experience,” says Janet
terests, foods, traditions, and concerns. Cricket Miller Cipriano, one of Terry’s dorm prefects
and Terry opened their home to them and that first year.
Cricket became the advisor to the Foreign Student Club which met regularly and was an im- In 1983, Terry moved from the classroom to
portant part of the School experience for many. the Development Office, first as Director of
Cricket and Terry made a big and welcome dif- Annual Giving and Alumni Affairs and, in
ference to these young people.
1986, to be the Director of Development;
and he has remained in that capacity until
now. He learned to make the telephone an
extension of himself and could often be seen
talking away, establishing contacts and renewing friendships. Fortunately, he didn’t
give up the classroom entirely, teaching some
mathematics when there was a need and willingly coaching lacrosse during the winter season. Even as the busy head of Development,
Cricket Twichell: a lady of many hats
however, Terry was always willing to help
students. And his garden continued to grow,
friends. Terry as head of a dormitory was firm;
thanks to his determination and effort. Fresh
he never compromised his principles of kindvegetables and flowers and grapes were—and
ness, fairness, and truth, and his charges in the
are—his relaxation and delight.
dorm and in the classroom respected him and,
importantly, liked him.
Both Twichells love the mountains. Cricket’s
Cricket, meanwhile, was finding a place for
admonition that “them hills is loaded with
herself as well. Her house was always open
varmints” has not stopped them from going
and inviting, a bit of New England in the midon many Extra-Day Trips, walking to Twin
dle of an orchard in Southern California. Her
Peaks for breakfast, leading friends into the
dry sense of humor often had us laughing at
hills around Thacher. Those walks are enjokes and stories. Cricket became involved
livened by explanations about local fauna and
with doings in Ojai, becoming an active parflora and legend, and they are never dull.
ticipant in Toastmasters where she learned to
Golden Trout Camp, however, is an important
overcome a reluctance to speak in public. And,
part of the Twichells’ contribution to the
as her children and family matured, she be- Terry’s New York Letterman’s jacket for 33 years
School. Alumni families have joined Cricket
of service to Thacher
came more involved in The Thacher School.
and Terry there for a week at a time, sitting
She worked in the Admission Office for a num- We all agree that coeducation was a welcome around the campfire in the evening after a good
ber of years, putting applicants and their fam- change at The Thacher School. In 1977 girls meal, reliving memories and forming new ones.
ilies at ease. She began interviewing and were admitted to the School for the first time Cricket and Terry have helped make Golden
Trout a memorable experience for those who
make their reservations early.
Today the Twichells have their own house in
Ojai and grandchildren nearby. The house
has an orchard and a garden to tend. The
pocket gophers and Terry may have reached
an agreement so that there will be vegetables
and fruit to eat and enjoy. Cricket has flowers in pots to enjoy as well, and there is a
spectacular rose garden. The sound of children laughing and playing adds to a feeling
of comfort. It feels right.
Molly, Jonathan, and Katie will see to it that
there is a tire swing for the young children to
twirl on just as there was at Thacher. Nicki
remembers “… raiding the Twichell kitchen
for tasty after-school snacks, celebrating
birthdays together, and always laughing.”
That will continue. The Twichell family has
touched many people, making them feel welcome and encouraging them to set goals and Edgar “Ted” Rhodes CdeP 1965 roasts Cricket and Terry
to reach for them. “There are not many people who have shared as much as we all have
as faculty brats—both before we were students at Thacher and while we were enrolled
at the School. It was a special time,” Nicki
Head of School Michael Mulligan with Cricket and Terry
says. Nicki is particularly grateful to Terry
for having patiently taught her mathematics,
without drawing a perfect circle on the
chalkboard, and to Cricket for her warm and
welcoming smile.
Cricket and Terry are now very involved with
community affairs. Terry is a Rotarian, he
and Cricket are involved members of the
Ojai Museum, and both are active members
of their church. Ojai and The Thacher School
are fortunate that the Twichells decided
that their move to the West should be a
permanent one after all. It only took them
30-odd years! e
Campus Activities
Reading
The Common Book
James McBrides’ The Color of Water
henever any of Ruth
M c B r i d e - J o r d a n ’s
mixed-race children
asked about her race she always told them she was the
color of water. An extremely
private woman, McBride-Jordan’s refusal to admit any detail of her past, marked her
incredible journey from
daughter of an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, to widow of two
black men—including a Baptist minister with whom she
founded a church in the Red
Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn—and mother of 12.
W
The Common Book for the summer of
2002 is Gretel Ehrlich’s beautifully written
book, The Solace of Open Spaces. Written
by a “local” author and Thacher friend
(Ms. Ehrlich splits her time between Goleta
and Wyoming, and she has spoken at
Thacher), this selection was made because
of the piece’s interdisciplinary nature, its
potential for teaching and discussion, and
its thematic relevance, namely: personal
growth, the West, land, and its stewardship.
Ms. Ehrlich discovered the therapeutic qualities of the West in 1976, a time of personal
crisis, when she moved from the East to a
small farm in Wyoming to find peace of
mind and inspiration. Originally, she had
gone west to make a film for PBS; she returned to work with neighbors at cattleand sheep-ranching, taking pleasure in open
spaces. She writes with sensitivity and affection about people, the seasons, and the
landscape. Whether she is enjoying solitude
or companionship, her writing evokes the
romance and timelessness of the West. She’ll
share more about The Solace of Open
Spaces when she visits Thacher later this
school year.
page 8
The Thacher News
After her second husband
died, McBride-Jordan struggled to put all 12 children
through college and most of
them through graduate school.
All of her children pursued successful careers in
medicine, chemistry, education, journalism,
and teaching, before they knew their mother’s
maiden name. What is remarkable about her
story—and that of her family—is not the
prominent role race or religion plays in it, but
a mother’s love for her children and how that
love translates into their accomplishments.
by Yasmin T. Tong CdeP 1984
ligious home. In McBride’s world, humanity
transcends race, class, and gender. Many are
predisposed to categorize his latest book, Miracle at St. Anna, a work of fiction based on
real events during World War II, as a war story,
but it is fundamentally about the commonality
of the human experience.
Miracle at St. Anna explores the subject [universality of the human experience] through the
journey of two human beings who, on the face
of things, have nothing in common: an illiterate black soldier from the American South, “a
colossus of a man and a six-year-old Italian
boy who has lost his memory after witnessing
a horrible atrocity. In fact they are both innocents. And they are both victims.”
McBride is an awe-inspiring combination of
diligence and creativity. He needed 14 years to
collect his mother’s story in its entirety, and to
interview family friends, siblings, and other relatives to complete The Color of Water, which
was published in 1996. That same year he
began work on his second book, and received
not only the American Arts and Letters Richard
Rodgers Award, but also the ASCAP Richard
Rodgers Horizons Award, for his compositions
for musical theater. As a musician, McBride is
an accomplished jazz saxophonist, composer,
and arranger, who has written music for Anita
Baker, Grover Washington, Jr., and other wellRuth’s eighth child, James McBride, chronicles known recording artists. He has toured with nuher story and his own—a struggle to make merous artists, including Little Jimmy Scott
peace with his mixed race heritage—in the and Michael Jackson.
best-selling memoir, The Color of Water: A
Black Man’s Tribute to his White Mother. McBride managed to shoe horn a brief visit to
McBride visited the Thacher campus this Thacher into his extremely busy schedule. He
spring to talk about his work, his family, and appeared at the School shortly after winding
his hopes.
down a 39-day 30-city tour to promote The
Miracle at St. Anna. Two days later he was
McBride is the first author to appear at scheduled to leave for Australia for another seThacher in connection with the School’s new ries of appearances.
summer book program, The Common Book,
in which all students and faculty are responsi- McBride at Thacher
ble for reading the same book, to encourage
discussion and to provide a common reference McBride arrives at The Thacher School in a
point. Works by living authors are chosen so bright yellow, rented convertible Mustang on a
that the authors can be invited to the School to sunny Saturday afternoon when the heady
interact with students and faculty. The Color of aroma of orange blossoms hangs thick in the
Water is a popular selection among compara- air. “People are really casual here,” he says.
ble community reading programs and is re- “Nobody in California dresses.” McBride, in
quired reading at countless universities and contrast, is self-consciously stylish wearing a
schools.
fedora, suede tennis shoes the color of a Hershey chocolate bar, and a gold ring in his left
McBride’s life and work radiate with the ex- ear. He is the epitome of 1940s jazz cool, howperience of growing up poor and black in ever, he seems out of place and out of step at
Brooklyn with 11 siblings in a profoundly re- Thacher.
But McBride has much more to say about the
morals and future of this country throughout
the afternoon and evening he spends at the
School. “You make a mistake when you commit to this American life of excess. We ask
young people to change the world. We talk
about peace and love, and going to school. Yet
our heroes are people who have made avarice
a high-class form of thuggery.”
As he is escorted to the auditorium, a faculty
member drives by and yells at him, “I’d recognize that hat anywhere.”
“Were they talking to me?” he asks. “How do
they know this hat? I have lots of hats.”
After a quick tour of the auditorium where he
will be speaking later in the evening, he takes
a look around at the three grand pianos, appraises the room where he will give his presentation and says, “This sure ain’t Brooklyn,
man.” McBride is at home in the public
schools of the South Bronx or the Red Hook
neighborhood of Brooklyn where he grew up.
“I share with them the same thing,” says
McBride of those inner-city students. “There’s
nothing unique about me. Success is relative. It
is the result of learning how to fail, and that’s
something that anyone can identify with.”
McBride’s ambitious schedule of concerts, book
tours, and personal appearances would exhaust
even the most energetic of people, and it is obvious that the hectic pace is taking its toll on him.
A non-smoker, he starts puffing on a cigarette
within 10 minutes of arriving at the School,
after a five-hour drive from San Diego.
When McBride greets his Thacher audience,
the nearly-full auditorium responds with
laughter. “It’s a pleasure to see so many white
people, I mean nice people in the audience
tonight,” he says. A less engaging and compelling guest would have run the risk of offending, but McBride instantly warmed up to
his enthusiastic audience and explained the aftermath of his memoir among his family,
specifically his mother (whom he still calls
Mommy at the age of 46).
After giving his mother an advance copy of
The Color of Water, McBride called to hear
her reaction. On two consecutive days his sister answered the phone, “Mommy’s locked
herself in the bedroom and won’t stop crying.”
McBride does not claim to have any answers to
solve the world’s problems, but he does know
how to fix cars. He reads how-to manuals to
relax, and rebuilds cars in his spare time—he
sold a ’63 Chevy and ’68 Volvo after completing the repairs. He re-writes everything, including letters and notes, and wastes no time
sleeping: “I get up at 4:30 a.m., write for a
couple of hours, and play [saxophone] for an
hour.”
Towards the end of his speech, McBride shares
his songwriting philosophy
McBride’s disciplined creative practice also relies on absorbing the details of everyday life. “I
Finally, “on the third day, biblically, Mommy observe and listen at bars, restaurants,
came out of the room,” explains McBride, and foundries, rock quarries, barber shops, everywith dry eyes gave her highly anticipated as- where. Listening is a big part of being an
sessment of the book, her life story. “It’s artist.”
okay,”she said.
These days, McBride is focusing more attenThe Color of Water created new opportunities tion to music since completing his second
for McBride, personally and professionally, but book, and draws inspiration from a wide vait also helped his mother reunite with a close riety of musical traditions, including Jewish
high school friend, and make peace with the klezmer, country and western, bluegrass, and
sister she abandoned. That first book also en- jazz. “I’m partial to jazz, but country musiabled the author to meet and to establish a re- cians are the last real American songwriters.
lationship with some of his Jewish relatives. They use real instruments and stories in their
McBride is grateful for these opportunities, but songs. “There’s lots of humantity.” He tours
is wary of the implications for his public per- New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania with
sona. “People want to paint me into this corner a 12-piece jazz R&B band, of which he is the
of being the Deepak Chopra of black-white re- leader, and travels around the country and inlations. Authors have a responsibility to share ternationally with a jazz quartet. A documenwhat they have to say with people. I accept it tary film about the 12-piece ensemble is
in particular circumstances.”
currently in the works. “I hate being a bandleader, but it’s the only way I can get my music
“People want jewels of wisdom,” says played.”
McBride. “It’s real simple. Be nice to people.”
McBride embodies the contradictions of a man
at odds with himself. Although he guards his
privacy and inner thoughts, he has also written
an extremely honest expose of his family and
himself, which has sold more than 1.3 million
copies. He is a reluctant role model who hates
leading a band yet dreams of starting a youth
marching band in Red Hook; cynical enough
to admit that money is the primary motivation
for his Thacher appearance, but enough of a
dreamer to write a book about miracles and
to perform his piano composition entitled
“Nothing is Impossible,” for his Thacher audience. His music is hopeful, abrupt, and complex, much like the man himself.
McBride autographs copies of his book for juniors Mel Morris and Nikke Alex
While McBride tries to downplay his accomplishments—graduate of Oberlin College, Columbia’s School of Journalism, former staff
writer for People Magazine, Boston Globe,
and The Washington Post, best-selling author,
and award-winning musician—he is after all,
“just a dude from Brooklyn.” e
page 9
Campus Activities
Tidbits
Snippets of News
Budding Astronaut? In follow-up to the fall/winter edition of The Thacher News, here’s the
latest about cover boy Ian Whittinghill ’03.
After hours of interviews over two
day, Ian won first
place in the aerodynamics/hydrodynamics category
of the California
State Science Fair
for his home-built
rocket that utilizes
a combustion stability system he designed. He also
Ian Whittinghill demonwon the Arnold O. strates his rocket assembly
Beckman prize for
best project of the year and the US Navy’s prize
for best research paper in the Fair. And if all that
wasn’t enough, Ian became an Eagle Scout this
spring and he will serve as the Senior Class
President starting in September. Way to go!
Early in March, The Thacher Masquers presented Oklahoma!, the Rogers and Hammerstein musical about courting in the Oklahoma
Territory just before Oklahoma’s statehood in
1907. Music Director Greg Haggard worked
wonders with the students’ voices for the familiar songs including “Oh What a Beautiful
Mornin’,” “The Surrey with the Fringe on the
Top,” and “Many a New Day”; Dance Instructor Gallia Vickery’s special choreography
during the song “Farmer and the Cowman”
evoked the spirit of the American West during
this transitional era. Jake Jacobsen’s worked
with actors from every grade and honed their
talents into a fine performance. As junior Lucy
Hodgman noted: “The effect produced by the
outstanding cast and crew of Oklahoma! was
such that students went through their daily activities for quite a while afterwards singing or
humming the songs from the musical. This
should definitely be taken as an indication of
the popularity of the musical and high quality
of the effort of those involved.”
Numeracy Puzzle
consistent with our notion about the real situation: that each prisoner has a 2⁄3 chance of being
Last issue’s numeracy puzzle attracted no contribu- released.
tors (wonder why?), so we’ll give an explanation here
and hope that our next puzzle brings more participation. Our intuition tells us (correctly) that this number is
constant regardless of the guard’s utterances. So
Here was the puzzle:
why is this incorrect: “The Probability of A being
released, given that the guard says B will be reThe Prisoner’s Dilemma
leased, is 1⁄2?”
Three prisoners are locked away but two of them
are to be released, and they know this. The identi- To examine this, consider the four outcomes: O1 =
{A and B released with the guard announcing B’s reties of the two, however, are unknown.
lease}; O2 = {A and C released with the guard anPrisoner A asks the guard to tell him the identity of nouncing C’s release}; O3 = {B and C released with
one prisoner other than himself who is to be re- the guard announcing B’s release}; O4 = {B and C
leased. The guard refuses and explains himself by released with the guard announcing C’s release}.
saying, “your probability of being released is now
2
⁄3. If I tell you that B, say, is to be released, then you These are the only four possibilities that are conwould be one of the only two prisoners whose fate sistent with the problem situation, so they must
is unknown and your probability of release would have probabilities that sum to 1.
consequently decrease to 1⁄2. Since I don’t want to
probability of O1 is 1⁄3 and the probability of O2
hurt your chances for release I am not going to tell The
is 1⁄3. But what about O3 and O4? Together they are
you.” Is the guard correct in his reasoning?
what’s left after considering O1 and O2, so P(O3 U
1
Clearly the guard is not correct in his reasoning. O4) must be ⁄3. For convenience, we’ll take the
probability
of
O3 to be exactly half of this numThe parole board, let us say, has determined which
1
pair of prisoners is to be released (and let us say ber, ⁄6.
they do this at random) so that the guard’s statement and A’s release are unrelated. In probability Now, the probability of A’s release given that the
guard utters B’s name is:
lingo, we say they are “independent events.”
P(O1)
=
P(guard says B’s name)
⁄3
= 2⁄3
The parole board has only three options: {A,B},
1
⁄3 + 1⁄6
{A,C} or {B,C} which, as suggested above, we will
take to be equally likely. That is, the probability and we see that the guard’s announcement makes
of any pair of prisoners being released is 1⁄3. This is no difference in A’s fate.
1
Just before Extra-Day Trips departed in May,
Head of School Michael Mulligan issued a
challenge for groups to create their own camp
songs for performance at Assembly following
the trips. Three groups rose to the occasion to
offer rearranged lyrics, various props and costumes, and amusing skits. The winners—the
group that traveled to a Navajo reservation led
by Melissa Johnson (Admission) and Julie
Manson (Casa advisor)—came out on top,
thereby winning a group dinner. Let’s hope this
idea catches on in the future.
For the second spring in a row, a pair of owls
made their home in the upper reaches of the
palm tree just west of the Dining Room. Administrators, students, and staff crammed into
the offices of Peter Robinson and Chris Mazzola to catch glimpses of the parents roosting
the eggs and feeding the two owlets after they
hatched. When big and strong enough, the
proud parents pushed their offspring off the
perch to fly into independent lives of their own.
The New Puzzle
Not only do we (typically) receive solutions to puzzles, we receive new puzzles, as well. This one was
contributed by Richard Myrick CdeP 1939 of
Washington, DC, and requires a fair amount of fiddling to get it!
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
Arrange the first 15 positive integers in the given
pattern (each used exactly once) so that every entry
is the difference (subtract smaller from larger) of
the two entries just above it diagonally. For example, this would be a good beginning:
12
5
7
8
3
4
9
1
2
2
15
6
5
3
1
except that the values, 5, 3, 2, and 1 are repeated,
and 10, 11, 13, and 14 seem to be missing.
Send your solution to Kurt Meyer in the Thacher
Math Department via email at kmeyer@thacher.org,
or via US mail at the School address. Good Luck!
Campus Activities
Grand
Back to School
Grand Days with Grandparents
ver 80 grandparents of current
Thacher students arrived on
campus Tuesday,
April 16, for a twoday
whirlwind
event. Starting with
the tour of the Library and Archives
and ending with JV
and Varsity sports,
the grandparents
were busy every
minute.
O
Head of School Michael Mulligan makes an
announcement at Assembly during
Grandparents’ Days
by Sara Sackner
Performing Arts at Thacher were another highlight for the grandparents. This year’s program
included performances by the Dance Ensemble, Jazz Band, and Chorus. All were then
treated to a sumptuous buffet followed by
dessert at the home of Head of School Michael
Mulligan and his wife Joy Sawyer-Mulligan.
Mr. Mulligan thanked the grandparents for not
only visiting the Ojai, but for sharing in their
grandchildren’s unique experience at The
Thacher School. He closed with thoughts of
his own grandparents and the blessing of a
grandchild-grandparent relationship—wisdom
coupled with unconditional love.
Day Two! The grandparents arrived on camThe Library Direc- pus for an early breakfast with their grandtor, Elizabeth Bow- children and then tagged along to morning
man, made a presen- classes. Some remarked that they hadn’t been
tation about
the history of The Thacher School and
how our School’s Archives preserve this
history. She demonstrated how objects,
photographs, manuscripts, newspapers,
a few strange toads, and dance cards
were utilized during the years. Immediately after the presentation, grandparents were able to tour the Archives and
see the broad scope of fascinating items
in the collection and meet with the
School’s Archivist, Alisa McCoy. According to Ms. Bowman, “Speaking to
the grandparents is a highlight of our
year because, in preparation for the talk,
we are able to review how the use of the Grandparents chat between classes
Archives has brought the School’s history alive for our students and how much in a classroom for decades and all were most
we’re been able to accomplish. All this, to an impressed with the faculty and the enthusiastic
audience appreciative of history.”
student participation.
To round out the Thacher
experience, vanloads of
grandparents hit the trail
to watch the Gymkhana.
And, many stayed on into
the late afternoon to cheer
on JV and Varsity Tennis,
Baseball, and Lacrosse
Teams. A special thanks
goes to the Parent Committee who made these
two days so memorable
for both the students and
their Grandparents! e
Grahammies, fruit, and milk remain the traditional after-Assembly snack
Campus Life
Gymkhana
Gymkhana Weekend
Three Days of Yee-haw, Fun, and Festivities
by Jane D. McCarthy
ollowing two days of Trustee meetings,
record-breaking numbers of families and
friends joined students and faculty for the
Annual Family Gymkhana Weekend and
Auction. Friday afternoon was marked with
English and Trail Riding Events along with
Boys’ Varsity Tennis, Baseball, and Varsity
Girls’ Lacrosse Teams playing against Cate
(the latter two were undefeated going into
these matches, each team beat Cate, and all
of these teams continued on to post-season
play). An Italian Buffet whet appetites for the
Art Gallery Opening Reception and the traditional Cabaret of student acting, singing, and
dancing.
F
Nearly 150 people gathered Saturday morning to dedicate the 38-stall Huyler/Myers
Friendship Barn. John Myers CdeP 1929 gave
the barn to recognize his 47-year friendship
with Jack, as well as Jack’s service to Thacher
during the past half-plus century. Generous
friends of Thacher donated funds for site
preparation and landscaping. Senior Jamie
Hastings gave a roping demonstration while
folks arrived; then dear Thacher friends told
camping tales, horse stories, and of the closeness and friendship Thacher students share
with each other, the faculty, and staff while
participating in the Horse Program. Comments
from Former Horse Department Directors
Jesse Kahle and Bruce Oxley CdeP 1954, Executive Secretary of Paint Horse Association
Ed Roberts, and Norman “Ike” Livermore
CdeP 1928 made this a uniquely memorable
occasion. Mounted on his steed, Cat, Jack
proudly noted that this is the barn of his
dreams.
Overall Team Totals
Jack Huyler CdeP 1951(H) and John Myers CdeP 1929 at the Huyler/Myers Friendship Barn
Dedication Ceremony
Meanwhile, many juniors toiled over SAT’s
and some folks hiked the surrounding trails
with Cricket Twichell. Parents of juniors and
sophomores met with College Counselor
Maria Morales-Kent to start gearing up for the
application and matriculation process that
awaits their children. Those involved in the afternoon’s equine events readied their steeds by
Top 10 Season Riders
Top 10 Freshman Riders
1 Orange
5933
Jamie Hastings ’02
967
Conner Schryver
903
2 Green
5407
Conner Schryver ’05
903
Toby Nathan
567
3 Blue
5279
Luke Myers ’03
719
Lisa Frasse
557
Michael Dachs ’03
710
Michael Yun
446
Katherine Bechtel ’03
645
Becky Horton
430
Duncan Winecoff ’02
616
Hazel Ruiz
264
Eric Fiske ’02
569
Barrett Brown
254
Toby Nathan ’05
567
Zach Behar
245
Lisa Frasse ’05
557
Davie Connick
224
Phoebe Barkan ’03
494
Dillon Valadez
220
festooning them with green, orange, and blue
to show their team’s spirit.
Out at the Gymkhana Fields, spectators enjoyed the annual barbecue lunch and the rip
snortin’ completion of the equine year for
freshmen and older riders. Competition included rescuing, jumping, holding ribbons, and
weaving in and out of poles and barrels, all
performed with flying hooves racing against
Seniors Patty Abou-Samra and Ben Heilveil
compete in the ribbon race
the clock. Conner Schryver earned Top Freshman Rider kudos while Top Overall Rider for
the day was Jamie Hastings; Jamie also tied
with the previous record for number of firsts
placed in a single gymkhana (6), held for years
solely by John Huyler, Jr. CdeP 1963. Katherine Bechtel ’03 and Michael Dachs ’03 won
bridles for most promising sophomore or junior riders; Katherine was also awarded the Top
English Rider prize. Eight students will soon
proudly display their belt buckles made from
the silver dollars they plucked from the sand at
a gallop: Patrick Bates ’04, Becky Horton ’05,
Toby Nathan ’05, Anne O’Donnell ’04 Conner
Schryver ’05, Annie Strachan ’05, Dillon
Valadez ’05, and Willie Wilder ’05.
Yummy hors d’oeuvres, a barbecue dinner,
and fresh strawberry shortcake put smiles on
Emily Nathan ’03, Joy Bergeron ’02, and Ali Barbieri ’03 perform in
Friday evening’s Cabaret
piece of furniture.
Another highly sought
item was a “downhome ranch weekend”
at John Myers’ Merced
cattle ranch, where participants will ride the
range, herd cattle, and
enjoy glorious vistas
of pasture and the Sierras. After tallying the
proceeds, the Auction
set a new high watermark for net proceeds: it netted over
$85,000.
Annie Strachan ’05 rides Topeka in the sack pick-up race
The Chapel Service on
Sunday morning featured the Chamber
Singers and T. Newlin
Hastings Jr. CdeP
1970 (father of Jamie ’02 and Shannon CdeP
1999) presenting his message entitled
“Thacher: Inspiration to Leading a Great
Life.” He spoke of how sharing disasters at
Thacher bond the students and faculty; build
self-confidence, self-reliance, and resiliency;
and develop character in ways that few other
schools can offer. The complete text of this engaging talk appears on page 14.
Various parent-student netters took to the
courts for a full-blown tennis tournament.
When it came down to the final match, it was
truly a family affair: Director of Special Gifts
and Planned Giving David Babbott and son
Ben ’05, edged out Nancy Babbott and son
John ’03. And, as a parting shot for the Weekend, Jamie and Newlin Hastings CdeP 1970
were the high scorers out at the Trap Range.
This year’s Gymkhana Weekend was a whirlwind of family fun, smiles, and hugs that will
long be remembered. e
the faces of bidders during the fast-paced,
three-hour Silent Auction. Western garb,
stays at exotic places, and darling puppies
were among the hot items available. A new
aspect of the Parents’ Auction was a “community-oriented” gift/donation, in which ten
students names were chosen; in addition to
receiving a gift certificate to the Pacific View
Mall or Best Buy, a donation of equal value
was made to Thacher for a fund of the winners’ choice. In this way, it’s hoped that the
students will more fully understand the importance of benevolence, and, in time, will
continue this effort on their own. During the
Auction, a craft table kept the younger
crowd busy creating all sorts of items such as
masks, puppets, and drawings.
One of the Auction highlights was a cherry-wood
table that English and Woodshop Instructor Bo
Manson and John Bueti (father of Grace ’04)
made in the Royal Barney Hogan Wood Shop.
Thoughtfully and graciously, parents purchased
this table and gave it to the Library so that all
Community members can see and appreciate the
fine craftsmanship that went into creating this
“Faculty brats” and other li’l partners watch Gymkhana events
Spring/Summer 2002 page 13
Alumni News
1939
Dick Myrick is living on Deer Isle, Maine, for
five months. “Washington, DC, is just too darned
hot in the summer.”
1942
Peter Arnold is still running his vineyard, building
his own fly rod, and “contending with the biggest
German wirehair pointer in God’s green acres.”
Class
Notes
by Jane D. McCarthy
1970
1943
Jackie and Roy Holland have achieved a longtime goal: They sold their home in Wyoming and
started wheeling fulltime on May 1. They plan
to “roam the country, wherever the Lord leads
us, working as volunteers at Bible camps and
churches without concern for our home, since
home will be with us all the time!” Happy trails!
Chris Henze and George Clyde, both CdeP 1959,
enjoying Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny,
France
1961
1945
Fortunately, Carlton E. (Gene) Russell is recovering nicely from quadruple by-pass heart surgery last October. “I’ll keep practicing maritime
law in Los Angeles/Long Beach harbor until I get
it right. Very sad to learn of Bill Webster’s passing.
He very much enjoyed returning to the School
and the Ojai upon retirement.”
1946
Now that his daughter has taken over his pediatric practice in New York, Nick Cunningham
has time to travel to Albania and Ethiopia. He’s
also writing, and teaching people how to prevent
child abuse. His wife is a child psychiatrist.
Casey Escher just finished adding additional bedrooms to his residence which his parents had originally built in 1965. He bought it back in 2000
and hopes that Thacher friends will come visit
him in Napa Valley.
1966
Resurfacing in Irvine is Doug Grimes, who is
working full time on a doctorate in Information
and Computer Sciences. Life is much like “Dave
Barry in Cyberspace.”
1967
Jim Swinerton joined a Zen Buddhist construction
company last fall.
1947
Nancy and David Garden were the guests of
honor at the Napa Valley Show Jumping classic
on Saturday July 20. Members of the Napa Valley Community saluted the Gardens for their 30
years of stewardship in the Valley.
1949
Merrill Brown retired from Crane & Co. in 1997.
Even though he turned 71, he still enjoys competing in 10K races. He’s writing a book on
graphic communications, and lectures at colleges
on graphic design application. He seems to be
busier now than when he was employed.
Another retiree who’s very busy is Bob Robbins.
He retired from his law practice in July 2000 and
is living at an active retirement community called
Lincoln Del Webb. With over 100 activities available there, “we all wonder how we had time to go
to work.”
1969
Jesse Adams’s oldest son is finishing his freshman
year at Stanford, and his two other kids are now
in high school.
C. Scott Kennedy was impressed to hear a great
collection of songs that Jim Munger wrote and
recorded on a personal disc and sent to him! He
also enjoyed having Marshall Milligan spend the
night on a recent trip to Oregon and to hear from
Peter Goodrich by email from Australia—he likes
to ski Mt. Bachelor in Oregon!
Ames Anderson married Mary Anne Randl under
the redwoods at Henry Miller Library in Big Sur
on September 22, 2001. Fellow Thacher 1970
alums (John Boswell, Dave Gilpin, and John
Wright) were in attendance. Mary Anne is an ESL
teacher to adults; Ames is a general contractor.
They live in Pacific Grove and play music together
as “Simple Pleasures.” They’d love to have visitors; they even have Aquarium passes!
1971
In his usual style, Todd Oppenheimer arrived late
to the party by hatching his first child this year.
Abraham John (A.J.) arrived on May 29 and
weighed in at 10 lbs, 2 oz. The very same week,
Random House bought Todd’s first book about
the injurious ways that technology has been used
in America’s schools.
1974
Ciao, Bill Rubenstein! He spent the fall in northern Italy working as creative consultant on the
film FERRARI, about the race-car legend, directed by Carlo Carlei. Bill did the English adaptation and rewrote the script on the set as the
movie was being shot. The film will air on Italian
television in 2002 and will be released internationally as a feature film. Now Bill is writing a
feature script for New Line Cinema (set in 17th
century France and Italy) and another for Partizan/Midi-Minuit, an Anglo/French production
company, set in Vietnam and New Mexico. He
maintains two homes in Malibu and Italy.
A baby girl, Lili, joined the home of Judit and
Lance Ignon in April 2001; another baby is due in
December. Lance and Toby Odell recently finished the AIDS/Lifecycle, a bicycle ride from San
Francisco to Los Angeles to raise funds for AIDS
services.
1976
Adding to the offices at UCLA and Irvine, Don
Osborne just opened one in Berkeley, CA. He’s
found that helping college students select and
apply to graduate schools is very fulfilling. Check
out his website (premedhelp.com) that over 500
clients have already utilized.
Bill Anderson CdeP 1976 with wife Kelly and
sons Max and Spencer
Stan Penton held a get together for Thacher
Alums at his stables in Littleton, CO, on Saturday,
August 17. The day included their Seventh Annual Country Classic Hunter Jumper Show. Normandy Farms has had the honor of providing the
community equestrian training and services for
100 years. A rich history includes being a large
farm, a stable for the lay-up of the Tivoli Brewing
Company Draft horses, raising miniature horses
as well as raising and housing race horses. Most
recently some of the best horses… and riders in
the area call Normandy Farms “home.”
(www.normandyfarmandstables.com)
After 18 years, Josh Rosenblatt and his wife Kate
(Emma Willard 1976) decided to leave the congestion and humidity of Washington, D.C. and
head for western Massachusetts. As of July 1 they
are official New Englanders and only 1.5 hours
from daughter Sarah, who is attending Emma
Willard. Their daughter Ali may become a fiveday boarder at Benent School in Deerfield.
1977
Last Halloween, Helen and Meridan Bennett welcomed a baby boy into their family: Carson
Wood Bennett.
Fred Burrows thoroughly enjoyed the 25th Reunion!
Brad Smith and wife Renee welcomed their first
child, Noah Oliver, on May Day 2002.
1978
According to the LA Times of Thursday, May 23:
Jeanne Tripplehorn and Leland Orser welcomed
August Tripplehorn Orser into the world at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He weighed in at 7
lbs, 8 oz…Jeanne and Leland met on the set of
“Very Bad Things.”
1979
Joey (age 61⁄2) joined his father Glenn Glass at
Golden Trout August 4-9. They were very excited
about it but hoped other classmates and their
families could attend. Little brothers—Nicky (4)
and Evan (1) stayed home to take care of Mom
and await their turn in the coming years.
LeLe Galer is finally feeling very at home in Pennsylvania after nearly two years since their move
from New York. Alex is 11, Peter 9, Simon 6.
Take a gander at the photo of the three
Williamson cowboys/children: Freddy 11, Hilary
9, and Hughes 6 (Katie and Fred Williamson’s
brood). This was taken at the family’s annual
summer trip to Colorado with grandpa (Norman
Williamson CdeP 1951) and grandma, when
horseback riding and fishing are the prime activities. “Freddy is looking forward to his campout
pack trip into the wilderness with his dad and
grandfather. All three love to fish and ride! Future
toads? Katie went to Marlborough School (all
girls), another great school. She may have something to say about Hilary when it comes time.
Our family resides in Pasadena. Our three children all attend the same school, Polytechnic here
in Pasadena. We are busy with the usual school
stuff, soccer, baseball, etc. Our lives got a little
crazier this year, our children joined the Mammoth Mountain Ski Team. We were in Mammoth
almost every weekend this season!”
Greg and Greta Lyders
Greenway CdeP 1983 have
a new addition to the family: Milo was born July 8,
2002. He weighed in at 6
lbs., 9 oz.
Milo Lyders Greenway, son
of Greg and Greta Lyders
Greenway CdeP 1983
If all went according to plan, the renovation on a
house in Brentwood is complete and Bruce
Somers moved during June.
Charlotte Lee Cole was born to Jarka KavnovaCole and Peter Cole on January 6, 2002. Jarka,
who is from Czechoslovakia, also found time to
complete a collection of handbags and camisole
tops to be sold in Europe. Peter finished co-authoring a book, Christmas Trees, that is due in the
fall from Chronicle Books.
1984
Bayard Hollins and his wife Karen have two little ones now. Jackson Wolfe Hollins arrived on
March 26, 2002 and big sister Samantha May
Hollins, is very fond of him. They reside in the
small town of Millbrook, NY.
Freddy, Hilary, and Hughes, children of Katie and
Fred Williamson CdeP 1979
The Robert S. Livermore, Jr., family still resides in
Arizona with four horses and five dogs. Alex (11)
is playing basketball and is her 5th grade class
representative. Jason (19) is in the business program at ASU. Now that he’s the new Class Representative, he’s heard from the Orricks, Nick
Harvey, Leydecker, and others.
According to Carol McConnell CdeP 1981, Sara
Livermore Dunsford sang the “National Anthem”
at the Napa Valley Show Jumping Classic on Saturday July 20. Sara impressed the audience with
her remarkable range and inspirational vocal talent.
1981
The next time you’re in Nipomo, check out John
Godfrey’s second nursery on Thompson Road:
Lone Pine Nursery.
1982
Paul and Louise Rose Curcio relocated their family to Portland, OR. “We will miss sunny southern California, but look forward to the beautiful
surroundings of Oregon. Ryan is now 16 months
and Michael is three.”
1983
All is well with Sibyll and Rodrigo Catalan. Son
Nicholas turns two in July and, as of May 7, he’s
a big brother to Sophie. Congratulations!
Number 2 child for Margi Richards Barrie is
Mya; meanwhile, Drew is almost four. Margi’s
husband Scott runs the recently expanded “Down
Home Furnishings” to include custom furniture
and Indonesian imports. Margi kept her day job
running the local GAP in Jackson, Wyoming.
Peter Thacher’s three kids in two years have
moved his hairline back a bit, but he hopes “y’all
come visit in Savannah!”
1985
Sarah Konrad finished her doctorate in Geology
last fall and is currently working part time as a
post-doc while pursuing her dual racing career in
Cross Country skiing and road cycling. She visited with both Kate Wright CdeP 1986 and Tony
Thatcher while racing in Bozeman, MT, and with
Sarah Peapples after a race near Boulder, CO. By
the way, Tony and his family moved into a new
house and have plenty of room for guests.
Melissa and Seth Shaw added a daughter to their
family in mid-August. Savannah joins older
brother Seth (2) at home in Lakewood, CA.
Dave Griffith loves medical school at UCSF.
1986
Julie Huntington de Polo is busy with kids and
community service. She volunteers for the California Commission on Children and Family in
Napa, and chases after Olivia (2) and Sydney (3)
who is already playing soccer.
Campus Activities
Living
Shared Disasters
Thacher: Inspiration to Leading a Great Life
s I think back upon the motivating inspirational talks which I have heard from this
pulpit over the years, I am honored to be
here with you in this Outdoor Chapel overlooking this gorgeous valley.
A
I feel particularly blessed to have with me at
this gathering, three generations of Hastings,
especially my Dad, (Snooks, as he was called
when he was here in 1934 as a Thacher student) who, with my uncle Bob Hastings [CdeP
1929], started the whole Hastings clan acomin’ to Thacher. I am also so pleased to be
joined here today by so many of my masters
(as we called them in my day): Jack Huyler,
Terry Twichell, Jesse Kahle, Chuck Warren,
Marvin Shagam, Bob Miller, and Bob Chesley.
Their presence here provides evidence of their
long love and commitment to all of us and to
this School.
I was asked yesterday, “How come they picked
you to give this talk?” and I have thought
about that ever since. My only answer is that
to the extent that my love for Thacher is any
criteria, I may, in fact, be overqualified for the
job.
It has come to me, standing here, that I would
not be doing my job well, if I did not recognize
that perhaps the most important thing you
need to take in from my talk is the awesome
view behind me. So I hope I can take up just
enough of your time so that you can appreciate
fully for a few minutes the unbelievable gift
afforded to us as parents, students, and faculty. We are all blessed and honored to be sharing the gifts of this School and this Valley.
In preparation for this talk, I visited this
Chapel a few weeks ago, wandering up the
path, like you did today. I was struck by the
bronze plaques that are placed in The Pergola
honoring those Thacher boys who have been
lost. You see, prior to this Chapel being built,
The Pergola was first constructed after World
War I as a memorial to those 12 Thacher boys
who lost their lives in that War. And then, since
the first World War failed to end all wars, there
was added unto it a second plaque to those 12
who were sacrificed in World War II and finally the memorial to those two Thacher boys
sacrificed during Vietnam. They all represent
rightly those who have gone before us, those
who sacrificed, and more important—in whose
memory it is the Thacher tradition—to live better lives, to make a difference in this world,
and to be men and women of character. We
by T. Newlin Hastings CdeP 1970
cannot help but by their sacrifice to be so mo- chamiso-covered hillsides, or packing at sunset
tivated.
over the Topa Topa into the Sespe, or even
sleeping soundly under the stars with the
And then in the late forties, this Chapel was sounds of their horses, which they love so
added to the Memorial Pergola. These rock much, munching in their feed bag on the tie
and rough-hewn benches were carved out of line nearby.
this mountainside. This, Thacher’s Outdoor
Memorial Chapel, is about as churchy as Although I nostalgically remember these times
Thacher gets. I only now wish I had spent a and I trust that they do in fact happen, what
bit more time here when I was a student. This Liz and I have heard from our kids are more
Chapel, together with The Pergola, the Study like…
Hall (or School Building as it used to be
called), and the horse barns seem to evoke the Tim Lu, class of 1999, whose horse simply fell
soul of the School. It is here in this Chapel that off the Phelps Trail from underneath him and
we have been asked to consider aspects of life careened down the mountainside. Fearing that
much greater than the daily tasks at hand. We somehow he had killed his horse, Tim found
have gathered in this Chapel over the years to later that his trusty steed had, in fact, died of a
remember Thacher founders and teachers heart attack.
when they have gone on. We have read during Annual Reunions those classmates names Or Trinity Sudweeks CdeP 1999, who, on a
who are no longer with us.
camping trip, was rolled over in her sleeping
bag by a mountain lion.
As I prepared for today’s talk, I asked myself as
Alumnus and Parent: What is it that makes Or Jamie Hastings [’02], Brady Johnstone
Thacher unique? Why in heaven’s name did [CdeP 1999], and Cam Schryver camping at
Liz and I send our kids so far away to 10 Sycamores to awaken with all the stock
Thacher?
simply missing. They spent hours and hours
tracking them for several miles down the
First, I have a secret that you will never hear canyon. And upon finding their now unloved
from Monique and the Admission Office, but steeds and undertaking a several-hour hard
which I believe is the unpublished life-changing ride bareback to return to camp, they had a
ingredient of the Thacher experience. It is what new definition for saddle sore.
I call shared disasters.
Or that famous trip led by Ben Carter [CdeP
Now I know some of you may still be under 1974] with Headmaster Ted Sanford. On their
the idealistic delusion that horses and camp- way over to the Sespe, George Arnold’s horse,
ing must be the neatest thing a 14-year-old Judy, was stung by a bee and after raising a
could ask for. That what you saw yesterday in fuss, proceeded to run all the way back to
the “Big Gymkhana” (the culmination of a Thacher. To his credit, Ted Sanford became the
year of practice and training) seems remark- one on foot for the rest of this trip. As if this
ably like perfection accomplished. But I can weren’t enough, later in the trip, their mule,
assure you that there were more than a few Wendy, lost her footing on a steep shale trail,
disasters as these Thacher students worked and careened down the mountainside, dumped
with their horses up to the Big Gymkhana. her entire load and received too many lacerations to continue and was left with enough
You were told by Ms. DeVane and Mr. Mulli- food and water until Jesse Kahle could come to
gan that mucking corrals and mastering the doctor and to retrieve her. By chance, an A
horse, packing, and camping would be so Camper Trip happened along consisting of
meaningful. We have heard over and over Walt Foster, David Livermore, and Rob Montagain that there is something about the out- gomery [all CdeP 1973] who instructed Ben
side of a horse that does great things for the in- how to pack a riding saddle since Judy’s pack
side of a kid. But I am here to tell you that saddle had been damaged beyond repair. Now
before it affects the inside of the kid, it will they had a second walker and this must have
first likely affect the outside of the kid—usually seemed less and less like a horse-pack trip.
in the form of scrapes and bruises—the almost
cruel and unjust punishment between beast Then there are those marathon pack trips with
and man. I have not once heard my kids de- Mr. Warren. Four passes and peaks in four
scribe a magical morning ride on these days. Has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it? The
first day they topped Cottonwood Pass at
10,900 feet. Then climbed Cirque Peak at
12,400 and New Army Pass at 11,000, and finally up to Mt. Langley at 14,040, all in just
four days. And all nourished by meals consisting of a few measly power bars.
And the School calls these Extra-Day Trips.
Doesn’t that sound nice? As a parent, you
probably figure that it is great that they give
the kids an extra day off from school. Somehow I think if the kids were naming these trips
they would have some other names such as
“extra-pain trips” or “a whole lot less than a
week trips.” Whatever they call them, clearly,
all arrive back at Thacher to tell of challenges
not only survived, but overcome and mastered
to everyone’s surprise. My wife, Liz, has a saying: “If it doesn’t kill you, it will make you
stronger.”
But this education of shared disasters does not
end when one graduates. There is the now infamous Golden Trout Alumni Camp, headed
for so many years by Terry and Cricket
Twichell and Brian Driscoll.
There, too, are memories of beginning to spend
a delightful overnight with Liz and the kids together with my classmate John Broome and
his kids, high up at Cirque Lake…only to be
attacked by the most violent thunder and lightning storm of our lives. Trees exploded within
a stone’s throw; burros and children brayed
and screamed; and John and I won our first
packing race to find lower ground.
So why would a parent consciously choose to
send a loved one into the midst of such disasters? It may be that we didn’t have a clue about
this reality. But I venture to guess that we, on
our own, would not have the faith on a daily
basis and at this precious age to let my own
children face such difficulties; to experience
real hardships while we watch… to experience
the thrills of victory AND the agony of defeat.
We, in fact, would not knowingly let our kids
do half the things for which we have signed
waivers here at Thacher… waivers so that they
can have the Thacher Experience. How much
easier it is for us, alumni parents, but how
much greater faith you the—spouses and parents without prior Thacher connection— make
such a leap. I can assure you that, given your
faith, your kids are having the ride of their
lives!
to leave this world a little better than we found
it. This is an inner quality of mind and spirit
and if per chance we miss this challenge... if
we allow self centeredness to deny the world of
the fruits of our calling, then in fact we will
be robbed of both future usefulness and hapAnd yet we are motivated by the overwhelming piness.
desire to allow our kids to be prepared for, as
Sherman D. Thacher is quoted, “Living a Reverend Lewis goes on with a second key ingredient to living “happy useful lives” which is
happy, useful life.”
‘like unto it.’
What is it that Thacher does to serve this lofty
To have and to hold empathy towards others.
goal?
To identify ourselves with the sorrows and joy
First, and perhaps most obvious, is the and hopes and struggles, the ups and downs
prospect of exposing kids to the educational of our fellow mortals. What can I do to make
inspiration so consistently provided by the your life richer? To raise the hopes and strugThacher faculty. As Mr. Mulligan is so great gles of those around me, especially those less
at describing, the Thacher faculty serves both fortunate than me. How can I be of service?
as role models and mentors to the students. This spirit of giving is “indispensable to great
living!” All men and women who we recogTheir enthusiasm is infectious. Their demands nize to have lived truly great lives, have posare testing beyond the limits kids would set for sessed this spirit.
themselves. And their support assures successes
that are builders of confidence. This is inspired And it will not happen overnight. It doesn’t
begin when you finish school or join a church,
teaching!
or magically appear when you become a parNow unless you think for two seconds that the ent. Such generosity of spirit must be develteaching I am talking about is limited to the oped as you grow and mature. I believe that
classroom, I found an informative a talk given these goals are very well achieved by the time
by Dr. Deutch from Berkeley to the school Thacher seniors graduate.
back in 1939. He asked, “Who were the teachers who made the greatest impression on you? If you listen carefully to the blessings showWhose instruction you still recall? Whose ered upon our graduating seniors from notes
teaching has to some extent entered into the gathered from the Thacher faculty, you will
very bone and marrow of your lives? These are hear less about their accomplishments for their
the teachers who projected their own rich own gain and more about their character and
selves into their teaching… and thence into our contributions to Thacher and the community,
leaving Thacher a better place than they found
lives.”
it as freshmen. The lack of self-centeredness is
I know I am preaching to the choir as I ask completely evident. You will be struck, as Liz
you to consider the relationship between fac- and I have been, just how unique and in fact
ulty and students at the barns, on the “authentic” each graduating senior has begymkhana field, on the climbing wall or rock, come. We, as parents, having sent our kids
on the athletic fields, in the photo lab or studio, here, have the utter joy and fascination to
kayak surfing on river or ocean, packing to the watch our kids become amazingly well-preSespe or Sierra, in the outdoor theater, dance pared to live happy and useful lives.
studio, or trap range. The list is endless but
this inspiration is alive and well at Thacher. So in parting:
It reminds me of some lines from some Country Western songs: “How can I miss you, if
you won’t go away?” or “If the phone doesn’t
ring, its me.” Ah! This is the price of raising independent kids.
But Sherman Thacher’s goal is actually loftier. • To you, the faculty gathered here, I sing
praises for the gift of your lives to those of
He asks us to lead “happy, useful lives.”
ours;
In searching for the key to this goal, I was
struck by a talk given by Reverend Henry • To you, Thacher parents, I compliment you
on your faith and courage; and
Lewis at the event of Thacher’s 50th Anniversary. He asked the question, what is it “that
produces truly great living?” Truly great liv- • To you, Thacher students, I urge you to have
the ride of your lives, to take stock of all that
Liz and I have been asked constantly over these ing! When I read that, I couldn’t help but think
is given you, and to take a bit of time to recpast seven years, “How could you send your that this summarizes almost everything I want
ognize the gift of this magical time and place
child away, right when they need you the for our kids. Lewis describes the two key inin your lives so that Casa de Piedra will, in
most?” But while our kids have been at gredients for such great living and if you will
fact, “never fade from your hearts.” e
Thacher, I must admit that, at least for Liz and bear with me I will paraphrase his thoughts.
myself, it is us, left home alone, who are making the big sacrifice. Right as we hit middle First is to understand that we are incredibly
age, our kids are off and we must go it alone. blessed to be alive. And out of this blessing we
have debt both to ourselves, and, if you like, to
And once our kids get here, they are so happy. the powers that brought us to pass to make
the noblest expenditure of ourselves… To try
They never seem to call.
Campus Activities
Three undefeated Condor League Championship Teams
Baseball Team plays in CIF Finals
One Tony Dunn Award
Sports
SPRING
by Joy Sawyer-Mulligan
Owili Eison ’03 smacks a line drive at a home game this spring
Baseball
Junior Varsity Girls’ Lacrosse
Coaches: Rich Mazzola and Robert Torres
Captains: Jimmy Madigan ’03 and Charlie Munzig ’03
Coach: Diana Garcia
Captains: Claire Faggioli ’02, Laurel Peterson ’02, and
Stephanie Hubbard ’02
Fused by a magical combination of camaraderie and
iron will, this team achieved one of the finest seasons
in Thacher’s history, a tradition that spans well over
a century. Their undefeated 9-0 Condor League
Record swelled to an astonishing 17-game winning
streak, besting all baseball records in Ventura County
in the past 20 years and propelling them to the CIF
Championship game in Long Beach. Recognizing the
sagacity of Head Coach Rich Mazzola, the CIF
named him “Baseball Coach of the Year.” [Please
note the letter on page 17 written about this Team.]
Varsity Girls’ Lacrosse
Coaches: Emily Etchells and Peter Robinson
Captain: Brooke Toeller ’02
Predictions, schmedictions: losing too many seniors
last year to count, this team might have been relegated to “It was a building season”-ville. But no.
Added to the powerhouse captain (and ultimate
MVP) Brooke Toeller were junior scoring threat
Annie Wheatley, backed up by the invaluable Bessie
Hatch at midfield and veteran keeper Carrie
Blayney, who more than once kept the Toads in the
game. “The sophomore class—eight strong—provided tremendous strength,” said Coach Etchells—
and that group included Jennie Tucker, who was
selected to the Pacific-West Under-19 squad to represent the region at the nationals over Memorial
Day weekend. Outstanding leadership by Brooke
was bolstered by the experience and dedication of
the other seniors, Charlotte Lord, Laura Neville,
and Bea Staley. Continued their coach: “No question that one of the spring’s highlights was a resounding stomping of Cate here on Gymkhana
Weekend, after two close matches earlier in the season.” Most Improved Players were sophomores
Sabrina Lee and MacKenna Chase.
Everyone on this Team would agree that the highlight of the season came in their final game, in which
the girls beat Midland 11-10. (Said Coach Garcia:
“It’s a good thing I don’t have a weak heart!”) Senior
Evan Dawson was leading scorer, followed by juniors
Jackie Au and Jacey Roche and sophomore Elizabeth
Jackson. Top defenders included Captain Hubbard
and sophomores Steffi Rauner, Jessica Cornwell, and
Kelly Percival. Though not technically a JV player,
freshman Chandler Pease played in nearly every
game. “We witnessed great improvement in each ensuing game,” said the coach. “Better still, we got the
most out of many players, not just a select few.”
for the Division IV CIFs, broke the 36-year School
record in the mile with a time of 4:25:69, and also finished an amazing third in the 1600M finals. Also
qualifying for and then competing in the CIFs were
Annie O’Donnell and Katie Frykman (both in the
mile), each of whom achieved personal bests during
the competition. “The great team spirit this season
can be directly credited to our captains, who effectively and enthusiastically led a slew of new runners
who decided to test themselves,” said Coach Perry.
Winning the David Lavender Trophy for Most Improved Runner was Julien Rhodes; taking away The
Track Cup (high-point girl or boy and MVP) was
Katie Frykman, an every-time member of the 4×400
relay and someone “who tried many different
events—and successfully!” according to her coach.
Icing on the cake: these athletes also won a Tony
Dunn Sportsmanship Award.
Freshman Girls’ Lacrosse
Varsity Boys’ Tennis
Coach: Phoebe Larson
Captains: Chandler Pease and Cindy Sorrick
Coach: Jim Kasser
Captain:Tim Stenovec ’02
“It was a great season full of high energy,” said
Coach Larson of her spring with the 15 girls who
came out essentially to learn the sport. Repeated drills
and improved skills proved fairly proportional, as
the girls learned about ground balls and the crease.
“What was most exciting was watching their hard
work pay off by their participation on several pivotal JV games. As a coach, I was so impressed with
how quickly the girls took to the sport. There is some
fabulous talent in this enthusiastic group.”
Although no one watching had any nails left after
the last point was scored, the concluding Condor
League match of the season against Cate—which
came down to the final set—saw Thacher emerge victorious and undefeated in season play, securing the
Condor League Championship for themselves and,
by extension, the School. Match play outside of the
League featured victories over tough opponents that
included Oakwood, Ventura, St. Bonaventure, and
Viewpoint. Stellar singles play by Tim Stenovec and
Troy Pollet ’03 was certainly part of the Team’s success; but so was their partnership when the two
joined forces in doubles when they competed through
the first round at the prestigious Ojai Valley Tennis
Tournament. Tim and Troy also played together in
the CIF doubles playoffs, while Ali Arastu ’04 represented CdeP in the singles playoff. As a Team,
Thacher qualified for the CIF’s but lost in the opening round to a talented team from Crossroads School.
Track and Field
Coaches: Derick Perry CdeP 1983 and Theana Hancock
Captains: Andrew Poole ’02 and Hilary White ’02
In the Condor League meet, both teams finished second, with John Babbott and Katie Frykman voted
MVP, sharing the honors with two Cate runners. The
intense and speedy John, in the process of qualifying
Junior Varsity
Boys’ Tennis
Coach: David Johnston
Captains: Robert Brownell ’02 and
Jose Estrada ’02
May 9, 2002
Richard Mazzola
The Thacher School
The members of this Team cheerfully
made the most of their afternoon time,
putting together a record of 6-4 over
the course of their three months together. With 20 players rotating through
the Team’s roster, the sheer numbers
out for the squad proved that tennis
has never been more popular here at
the School. The true measure of this
Team’s success, though was neither in the
number of players manning the courts,
nor in the Team’s winning record. Look
rather to the sheer enjoyment these boys
had out there, whether giving their all
in a heartbreaking loss to Cate (tied 99 in sets lost by 6 overall point), or
emerging victorious over those same
Rams in the midst of a six-match winning streak. “Lots of energetic fun”
characterized the group, according to
their coach, who watched as the lads
apparently developed and refined rules
for a fast-emerging game called “Xtreme
Tennis.”
Gentlemen:
Kayaking
It is a tremendous blessing to watch young men play who love the game. Mr. Sullivan loves the game of baseball. His character, however, is what shines both on and off the field. He is the first to be courteous while behind the plate toward the umpire, the pitcher, and the other players on BOTH teams. He continually
demonstrates good sportsmanship. Mr. Sullivan prefers others over self. Mr. Sullivan is the only catcher that I
have observed who takes the initiative to pick up the opponent’s bat and hand it to him. He helps the other
team by throwing their bats back toward their dugout. (Most catchers have the “Get it yourself!” mentality toward the opposing team.) He is honest and humble as evidenced by his quickness yesterday to take personal
responsibility for a play that went “bad” (“That play was my fault.”). The pitcher, Graham, also did the same
thing on another play, taking personal responsibility for a play that went “bad.” It is completely refreshing to
hear honest evaluation and a mature acceptance of when things go well and when they do not...and the ability to recover and keep going. There was no blaming; no excuses; no sullen “attitude”; there was personal responsibility. Mr. Sullivan is constantly “talking” to the infield—calling plays, and offering words of
encouragement and guidance from behind his catcher’s mask. He is alert and bold in his playing. He is highly
competitive while recognizing the individual dignity of the other players involved in the game. He shows constant thought to the game at large rather than seeking personal glory in individual plays. Both times that I have
spoken to Mr. Sullivan after the game, he has been polite, sincere, and genuine. He acts like a gentleman,
both on and off the field. He has had great eye contact and conversation skills with me—a total stranger. It is
refreshing to watch and speak to such a fine young man. He is an exemplary leader on your team. It is a genuine pleasure to watch him play. It is a genuine pleasure to watch your whole team play.
Coach: Kurt Supplee
Armed with the goal of each Team
member’s becoming sufficiently skilled
to have successfully attempted at least
one river trip by season’s end, this
group was “full of zest and zeal,” as
witnessed by their leader, day in and
day out, from the pool to the ocean to
the rivers of the lower Sierra. To raise
money for their adventures, the kayakers hosted a roll-a-thon during Family
Weekend, which witnessed participation by many; junior Kyle Dumont set
a record of going under and coming up
67 times. Incidentally, Kyle, Cameron
Goodman ’04, and Robert Neville ’04
recently embarked on Thacher’s first
summer kayaking camp, a tour (de
force) of Northern California’s waterways, led by Mr. Supplee.
You make Thacher fans out of your opponents.
It was a genuine pleasure to watch your team play at Grace Brethren High School yesterday afternoon. I am
the lady who spoke with you after the game. My name is Pam Gill. My daughter attends Oaks Christian High
School in Westlake Village. I spoke to you after the Oaks Christian baseball game, too.
As I said yesterday, our family has two daughters—no sons—but we love to watch baseball being played by
young men who love the game. We specifically came to see your team play against our friends’ team yesterday. We do not live close to either Oaks Christian or Grace Brethren, but we remembered your fine team and
welcomed another opportunity to see you play. We were not disappointed.
As a parent and a teacher, I must tell you again how impressive your team is. Your coaches are excellent...and
encouraging—a great combination. The coaches did not demean, yell, degrade or humiliate the players. On
the contrary, the coaches kept their cool during tense times, and encouraged and inspired the team to keep
focused and on track. Your players demonstrate true teamwork. You work together as a team; you encourage
each other as a team; you inspire each other as a team; you play hard as a team; you are focused as a team.
When you come on the field, it is evident that you have a love for the game and the desire to win. You win with
honor and graciousness.
I wish that I could single out each of your players individually, but sitting in the stands, the best opportunity to
observe your team is through your catcher, Mr. Sullivan. Not wishing to single him out and not praise the other
team members, I hope that you will allow me to use Mr. Sullivan as an example of the integrity I have now observed twice on the ball field.
I wish that you all could sit in your opponents’ stands and hear the words that they say about you and your
team:
“They encourage each other.”
“They are constantly talking to each other while up at bat. I wish our team would do that!”
“They came to win.”
“The catcher is excellent. Look how polite he is.”
“Impressive.”
“Our team needs to take a lesson from Thacher.”
“Wow!”…
My daughter and I appreciated the sincere courteousness of #8 [Owili Eison] when he thanked us for coming
to watch you play. The pleasure was all ours. Thank you for the genuine pleasure of watching a fine team
composed of fine coaches and players play the game of baseball.
Nick Horton ’02 competing in the
Roll-A-Thon during Family Weekend
We look forward to future opportunities to watch you play.
Blessings to you!
Mrs. Pam Gill for the Gill Family
Not only did Thacher’s Baseball Team enjoy a winning season, the Team won admiration from fans
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Senior Exhibitions
Hints that the school year was drawing to a
close came late in April when seniors presented
their year-long findings on a topic of their
choice during a three-day weekend of Senior
Exhibitions. Community members filled their
“dance cards” with selections as wide-ranging
as architecture to the role of women in Islamic
culture; from hydrogen fuel cells to organic
ranching;
from nanotechnology
to the sociology of
lying. Seniors employed
various audiovisual
aids—including
barbecues
and foreign
cars—to
share their
research
and display their
Hilary White presents her Senior
expertise
Exhibition on photography
of multidisciplinary/dimensional topics. After spending the weekend attending a variety of
presentations, Missy Peterson (mother of Laurel ’02 who considered whether Esperanto is
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the language for us all) wrote: “This was absolutely the best of many Thacher weekends!
What a treat for senior parents to see such accomplishment in their child and in their child’s
friends! The Senior Exhibition has so many
merits…we learned in three days as much as in
three weeks of school—easily. It was a spectacular event.” Next year’s seniors are already
narrowing their thinking about their projects
which they will work on earnestly once autumn arrives. A complete listing of this year’s
Senior Exhibitions appears on page 22.
Advanced Placement Exams
Next on the docket were Advanced Placement
exams. Nearly 300 exams were administered
to 129 students in 19 disciplines. Many seniors took three or more exams. Results indicate that two-thirds of the exams received four
or five points on a five-point scale, thereby
earning the students four college-credit units
per exam and advanced standing when they
matriculate to college.
Extra-Day Trips
Whether kayaking across lakes, hiking transSierra trails, clearing non-native brush
species from Santa Cruz Island, or horseback
riding on a Central Coast Ranch bordered by
the ocean and Los Padres Forest, everyone
enjoyed their own style of Spring Extra-Day
Trips. The treks weren’t, however, without
incident. Several bands of horses broke camp
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and headed back to the barn after only a few
days in the Sespe, thereby requiring their riders/packers to hoof it. When Highway 33
closed south of the pick-up point for the A
Camper trip, they got to hike an extra 12
miles out of the Sespe. Regardless of the
“shared disasters,” students and faculty returned with favorite memories of riding
horses through crashing ocean waves, spying
migrating whales spouting, and swimming in
cool fishing holes to relieve achy muscles.
Vespers
On Memorial Day eve, Head of School
Michael Mulligan read the names of Thacher
students who died while fighting for America’s
freedom. History Chair David Johnston then
shared his perspectives on the process of living
well: 1.) cultivate your garden; 2.) create yourself; and 3.) be kind. A brief discussion of these
points follows. While gardening, St. Francis of
Assisi was asked how he would spend the rest
of his day if he knew he would die that
evening; he replied, without hesitation, that he
would continue gardening. David suggested
that we spend our lives doing what is fulfilling
and has value in its own right; that the various
activities of life should be blended and in harmony for an ideal life in which each aspect reinforces and contributes to the fulfillment of
the central purpose. To create ourselves, he
suggested that we have the courage and insight
to determine the purpose of life and determine
it for ourselves. Finally, David suggested that
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people be kind to others since our actions are
the one sure form of immortality. He concluded his advice this way: “Every act of individual self creation has an effect, however
slight, on the context in which we all live together; the nature of your acts—whether cruel
or kind or neutral—determines the nature of
your immortal legacy. The more your acts are
kind, the more they will influence others to be
kind…and will live beyond you and along with
those…[to] become our shared gift to future
generations—again, our shared immortality.”
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of our lives or give us a clearer understanding
of who we are.” He suggested to seniors that
they are rising into the work force at an advantageous time in which technological, biological, and medical advances are skyrocketing, thereby opening new frontiers for
exploration and discovery. He urged seniors to
seek or study areas of “forbidden knowledge”
and to develop a balanced character of virtuous attributes while managing scientific abilities for the betterment of all creatures of the
School Year Ends
The last week of School found students studying and taking final exams prior to the AllSchool Banquet, the one time of the year when
awards are presented for outstanding achievement. In a departure from routine, this closing Banquet was actually held before all final
exams were given and tallied since Thacher’s
Baseball Team was playing in the CIF Finals
in Long Beach during the traditional slot for the
Banquet. Under the pepper trees on The Pergola
as the sun dipped to the west, amid note-passing and freshmen serving, the entire community
gathered to dine and to wish Thacher’s Nine
good luck on the diamond. This chapter of the
Cum Laude Society added its new members All-School Banquet head table: David Gal
and the named academic, equine, and Marvin (Senior Class President), Robert Brownell
Shagam Awards were bestowed. Finally, School (School Chair),Terry Twichell, Michael Mulligan,
Chair Robert Brownell gave a thoughtful and Charlie Munzig (School Chair ’02-’03)
farewell address to the student body; his
thoughts can be found on page 23.
world. The complete text of Dr. Sophocles’ talk appears on Thacher’s website: www.thacher.org.
Baccalaureate Service
In a departure from Thacher’s traditional commencement festivities, the Baccalaureate Service was held Friday evening as the sun began
its descent below the horizon. As birds soared
overhead and horses brayed, Aristotle Sophocles, MD, gave an inspiring speech entitled
“Mission Possible.” A physician, attorney, university professor, businessman, and owner of his
own medical software company, Dr. Sophocles
spoke of high school graduation being a defining moments that can “either change the course
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Joy Sawyer-Mulligan, who serves as the president of Thacher’s Cum Laude Society, announced this chapter’s newest members; a list
of those members who “hold dear the qualities
of excellence, justice, and honor” (the Society’s
motto) may be found on page 20.
Other special awards followed and concluded
the evening. While being an accomplished
athlete is an integral part of earning The Elizabeth Helms Adams Perpetual Sportswomanship Award (often referred to as the award
given to the best female athlete in the graduating class), athleticism is, by no means, this
honor’s most important criterion. The commitment to excellence, teamwork, ability to elevate the play of others, and, above all,
sportsmanship were key determinants in selecting Elizabeth Toeller for this Award. She
served as Captain of both Soccer and Lacrosse
Teams, won “Most Inspirational Player”
kudos, was inducted into Ventura County’s
Hall of Fame for Athletes, and was chosen for
the Third Team All-CIF Team in soccer.
The Perpetual Sportsmanship Award follows criteria similar to that of the previous Award; this
year it was presented to two senior male athletes. The first displayed steely-eyed determination
and powerful leadership through championship
seasons in soccer and lacrosse this year. Jaime
Everett served as Captain of the Soccer Team,
was voted “Most Inspirational,” and brought
tremendous intensity to the level of play. He car-
Senior Banquet
From the Outdoor Chapel, seniors accompanied their guests to the Forest
Cooke Lawn for the Senior Banquet.
The audience glimpsed into the
keynote speaker’s tenure at Thacher
when senior Claire Faggioli reiterated
some phrases employed by Thacher’s
teachers in describing her father’s studies here. She wove these tidbits into an
amusing introduction of
the geologist-turnedwinemaker-Dad with
whom she’s grown up; it
was a beautifully crafted
introduction that brought
smiles, laughter, and
praise from him. Justin
thanked the faculty and
administration for creating a community that has
“educated, nurtured, and
mentored students in the Seniors Mercedes Farrell and Eita Hatayama arrive for
classroom, on playing graduation
fields, in the dorms, and
in the outdoors, through times of ried that commitment to excellence and leadillness, injury, and personal ership onto the lacrosse field in the winter
need.” The complete text of where, once again, he captained his Team to the
Aristotle Sophocles, MD, shares his Baccalaureate Address,
Justin’s speech begins on page 24. top of the Condor League and was placed in the
“Mission Possible”
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School. Whether in difficult Judicial Council cases
or leading a particularly
tempestuous Community
Council Meeting, Robert
has been fair and balanced
and willing to hear and
weigh all sides of every
story… He will be missed
for his fun-loving nature
and his commitment to
this School.”
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rived, arm in arm, to the wild applause and
camera shutters of the enthusiastic crowd.
Once in place, Michael Mulligan explained
that a statement—woven from what teachers,
advisors, and coaches, and even other students
have said throughout the years about the
members of this class—would be read about
each senior. The intent is to relate what these
young men and women have meant to the
Thacher Community, what special qualities
they have brought to make Thacher the unique
place it has been this year and the three years
preceding because of their contributions, and
what will long be remembered about them.
Each senior arrived at the podium to hear the
remarks and bask in the adoration and appreciation that is felt for them. Seniors expressed
the whole gamut of emotions—sadness to joy,
fear of the unknown to pride, poise to nervousness—while listening to the comments. Following the awarding of the last diploma, the
crowd sang “America the Beautiful,” and the
seniors jumped, hugged, cried, and congratulated each other on becoming Thacher’s newest
alumni. e
The Charles L. Tutt Silver
Bowl for Integrity and
Responsibility was awarded
to Will Barkan because of
his many accomplishments
in all aspects of the School
program despite personal
challenges. From accomplished camper to talented
actor, from determined athlete to dependable prefect,
Will “is a really swell guy
who brightens spirits and
situations by his mere presence. He is a credit to
Will Barkan receives The Tutt Bowl
himself and our School.”
An in-depth
Ventura County Hall of Fame. Jaime shared the profile of Will begins on
Award with Will Barkan who is “inspiration in page 44.
motion” on the Cross Country and Track
Teams. He always did what it took to be a team Finally, The Thacher Cup was
player by encouraging others around him; he presented to that senior who
was always constructive, determined, and en- best demonstrates those qualithusiastic; and he put the Team’s success in front ties the School holds as central:
his own.
academic excellence, extracurricular achievement, moral
The Newton K. Chase Community Service leadership, and concern for
Award was given to junior Laurel Back for giv- others. “Without showboating
ing of her time and energy by not only serving or self-aggrandizement of any
others in the Community, but in organizing sort, she has quietly influenced
others to participate in this School Program. peers and faculty in every class
Robert Brownell was given the School Chair of which she’s been part, on
Award “in honor of his kind, hard-working, every team on which she’s
humble, earnest, respected, respectful, intel- played, in every dormitory in
lectually engaged and interested, and unfail- which she’s lived. She has been
ingly honest and honorable year leading the uniformly committed to excellence, eager to invest the energy
requisite to its realization. Patient, kind, thoughtful, and
Cum Laude Society
wise, she has been a caregiver
to those around her, supportElected in May 2001, their junior year:
ing students of all ages, proStephanie Hubbard
viding calm stability in the
Youna Kim
midst of any chaos. She is Stephanie Hubbard receives TheThacher Cup
Claire Milligan
warm and generous, and steady
as a rock…She has been to us precious, solid,
Elected in this, their senior year:
and shimmering.” This year’s winner was
Elizabeth Bradford
Stephanie Hubbard.
Charlotte Lord
Madeleine McQuillan
Laura Neville
Commencement
Laurel Peterson
Bright and early on Saturday morning, the junLeigh Salem
iors swept the aisle to begin the CommenceLaura Slattery
ment Exercises. Faculty followed and formed a
Brooke Toeller
gauntlet for the seniors to walk through. To
Ronald Wu
the strains of student music, the seniors arpage 20 The Thacher News
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Awards
Perpetual Sportsmanship Award
William Barkan
James Everett
Elizabeth Helms-Adams
Perpetual Sportswoman Award
Brooke Toeller
The Newton K. Chase Community Service Award
Laurel Back
The Thacher Cup
Stephanie Hubbard
The William Bishop Nixon Poetry Prize
Iyana Reid
The Nash Robbins Short Story Award
Julia Robinson
The Language Prize
Stephanie Hubbard
The Morgan Ward Prize for Mathematics
Claire Milligan
The Charles L. Tutt Silver Bowl for
Integrity and Responsibility
William Barkan
The Science Award
Martin Sawyer (Physics)
Jacqueline Au (Chemistry)
Elizabeth Bradford (Biology)
Claire Faggioli (Biology)
School Chair Award
Robert Brownell
The Rensselaer Polytech Institute Award
Christopher Cahill
The Edward R. Spaulding Tennis Cup
Evan Dawson
Timothy Stenovec
The History Prize
Elizabeth Bradford
The George Beckwith Gymkhana Trophy (Blue Team)
Benjamin Heilveil
Duncan Winecoff
The Bissell Gymkhana Trophy
James Hastings
The Vaquero Cup
James Hastings
The Charles Pratt Trapshoot Plate
James Everett (47/50)
Jesse Kahle Horse Camping Award
Phoebe Barkan
Best Camper Award
Phoebe Barkan
Katherine Bechtel
The Marvin H. Shagam Award
Laurel Back
The Junior English Award
Kylie Manson
The Darah Corbett, Jr., Studio Art Prize
Laura Neville
Rhode Island School of Design Award
Tamima Al-Awar
The Agnes M. Lord Music Award
Youna Kim
The Marcus Hele Dall Photography Award
Erik Fiske
The Harry Llewellyn Bixby Dramatic Cup
William Barkan
Stephanie Hubbard
The Eric Bechtel Dachs Technical Theatre Prize
Hugh Gordon
The Munro Palmer Public Speaking and Debate Award
David Gal
The Hollister Wheaton Trapshoot Award
Newlin Hastings, Jr. CdeP 1970 and
son James Hastings (21/25)
The Jack Boyd English Award
Stephanie Hubbard
Madeleine McQuillan
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page 22
The Thacher News
Senior
Senior Exhibition
School Attending
Patty Abou-Samra
Tamima Al-Awar
Will Barkan
Daniel Bartlett
Chelsea Bauch
Joy Bergeron
Betsy Bradford
Rob Bray
Robert Brownell
Heidi Cole
Evan Dawson
José Estrada
James Everett
Claire Faggioli
Mercedes Farrell
Erik Fiske
David Gal
Monique Gaskins
Chris Grant
Amanda Grumman
Jamie Hastings
Eita Hatayama
Ben Heilveil
Alex Herbert
Nick Horton
Stephanie Hubbard
Bobby Kellogg
Youna Kim
Jane Kwett
Max Leeds
Charlotte Lord
Alex Lurie
Andrew Ma
Maddy McQuillan
Claire Milligan
Dan Moore
Laura Neville
Laurel Peterson
Andrew Poole
Libby Rauner
Iyana Reid
Julien Rhodes
Leigh Salem
Laura Slattery
Matt Spille
Bea Staley
Tim Stenovec
Maggie Tillman
Brooke Toeller
Zoë Towns
Noël Vietor
Nathan Wallace
Natalie Warren
Daniel Weems
Hilary White
Duncan Winecoff
Ronald Wu
Modern Furniture and Architecture
Che Guevara
Osama bin Laden
Israel and Palestine: the Roots
Picasso and Goya
Fashion Retailing and Merchandising
Yucca Mountain
String Theory
Hiroshima
Writing a Screenplay
Sleep Disorders
Stealth Technology
Retinal Rivalry: How the Horse Views the World
Mass Extinctions
Social Anxiety Disorder
Biometric Technologies
Arab-Israeli Peace: Dream of the Past or Vision of the Future?
Public Education/ Public Policy
Economic Revolutions
Starting a Colt
Organic Ranching
Leading Musical Ensembles
Plato
The Psychology of Deceit
Special Operations Forces
US Space Program
Shark Attacks
Opera
Teaching Autistic Children
Institutionalized Violence
Ancient Roman Popular Entertainment
California Government
20th Century American Architecture
Translation and Adaptation
ETA: Ethnic Violence in the North of Spain
Nano-machinery
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Enneagram
Esperanto: Can It Speak for Us All?
Germany and Italy: Automobile Design and Culture
Stem-Cell Research
In The Rain Forest
Renewable Energy Sources
Land Development and Conservation
The Changing Role of Women in Saudi Arabia
Psycho/social Gender Comparison
The Plight of Native Americans in US History
Christian and Islamic Fundamentalism
Muslim Influence on Spanish Architecture
Martyrdom in Islam
Film Noire
Designs for Modern Living: The Los Angeles Case Study Houses
Physics of Paragliding
Pheromones
Nikola Tesla: His Life and Works
Man Ray, Cindy Sherman, and Annie Leibovitz: A Photographic Study
12th Century France and the Notre Dame Cathedral
China: WTO or No?
Otis School of Design
The Academy of Art
Colorado, Boulder
UC Santa Barbara
New York University
NY Fashion Institute of Technology
Bowdoin
UC Berkeley
Northwestern
UC Berkeley
Trinity College (CN)
U of Illinois
Naval Acad. Prep. School
Cornell
Carnegie Mellon
Emory
Brown
Pomona
Wheaton
Cazenovia
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Pomona
St. Johns, Santa Fe
Stanford
Davidson
Stanford
UC Santa Cruz
Georgetown
McGill
University of Southern California
Dartmouth
Northwestern
Colorado, Boulder
Brown
Stanford
UC Santa Barbara
Brown
Yale
Whitman
Dartmouth
Santa Monica
Lehigh
Dartmouth
Colorado State University
Trinity University (TX)
Emory
Colby
New York University
UC Berkeley
Columbia
UC Santa Cruz
Trinity University (TX)
Colorado College
Colorado, Boulder
UC Santa Cruz
Whittier
University of Pennsylvania
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All-School Banquet
Building a New School Year
ell, we’ve done it, another year has passed
us by. I stand in stark
disbelief that my four years
here are coming to an end
this Saturday. The whole situation is rather bittersweet.
While it is sad to say goodbye to a place that has become as much of a home as
my real one, and people who
are as much of a family as
my own, it is also exciting to
think of the new possibilities
we will be presented next
year. On that note, I want to
thank you, the graduating
class of 2002, for a wonderful four years.
W
Over the next couple of years, you will all be
witness to changes that occur on the Thacher
campus. Change may be something some of
you are afraid of, but rest assured it can be a
good thing. Some of the changes you may be
seeing when you come back to visit are the
new student center and the new performing
arts center. Even though Thacher may undergo
some cosmetic changes, it will still remain the
same place you have grown to cherish and respect. The values—honesty, fairness, kindness,
and truth—that you have come to know and
love are the same values that your fathers and
grandfathers learned here. As the juniors become seniors, the sophomores become juniors,
and the freshmen become sophomores, there
will certainly be a different feel to the campus.
Let’s not forget how great the School has felt
this year and try to duplicate those great times
next year and beyond. Make friends with people you don’t know or don’t have anything in
common with; reach out to the faculty for help
and guidance—they are here because they want
to be and because they value each of you. Take
a class in something you may not know a lot
about: challenge yourself. Enjoy your Senior
Exhibitions. Do a project of which you can be
proud for many years to come. I think it’s important to pass on the friendship and mentorship that you received upon your arrival at
Casa de Piedra to next year’s freshmen. Remember, they will have many of the same
qualms you had when you first came here.
by Robert S. Brownell ’02, School Chair 2001-02
course of next year. I would like to offer you
some advice on dealing with your senior year.
It is a busy time, but I ask you to find time to
do the things you haven’t yet tried. Set goals
and make lists, whatever works for you. As I
said in my September speech, it is important to
try new things. I promise you that your year
will go by quicker than you would like, and
soon Charlie will be standing where I stand.
So I wish you the best of luck in all of your
endeavors next year and I implore you never to
lose sight of your goals.
Sophomores, as juniors next year, you will be
given new responsibilities as well as an increased workload. It will be a time of high
stress with the threat of college applications
looming on the horizon, but I promise you will
make it through in one piece. Just remember to
have fun once in a while and take a step back
to look at the big picture. You are no longer
wise fools and so you should not act like them.
Freshmen, you will be filling the shoes of this
year’s sophomore class. While the responsibility of having a horse is now optional, you will
be given new responsibilities in its place. You
will no longer be able to use the “but I’m a
freshman” excuse for instance.
Seniors—or, should I say, freshmen—I think
back to my first day on campus when Michael
Chang [CdeP 1999] took me to my “room.” It
seems so long ago that we were just frosh, and
here we are again, as freshmen. While we
won’t be together for the next four years,
which is a good thing for I fear that that would
have a negative effect on our sanity, I will definitely be sad to see us go our separate ways.
Next year and for the years after, our lives will
be full of opportunities, hopes, dreams, and
aspirations. The lessons we have learned here
at Thacher over our four years will be crucial
to our success both as people and as students.
University will be a novel experience; I, for
one, don’t know what I’ll do without Formal
Dinner. As we move out of Thacher, because
after all, we are all just “interchangeable units”
as Mr. Robinson has said, there will be a class
stepping up to fill our shoes. I like to think that
we have left some pretty big shoes for them to
fill. e
I speak now to you, next year’s senior class. It
is all on your shoulders as of now. The quality
of next year will be your responsibility. You
will be the ones to set the tone during the
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Address
Senior Banquet Address
A Time of Reflection
t is an honor and a pleasure to be able to
speak to you tonight in celebration of the
graduating Class of 2002. When Michael
asked me if I would make this address, I
warned him that I tend to get emotional in
events such as this. But I am sure that I am not
the only person here tonight who is feeling a
surge of emotion.
I
Each one of us, whether we are parents, family members or friends, fellow students, members of the graduating class, faculty, or
administrators, will feel waves of emotion…
bursting elation, relief, overwhelming pride,
sadness, and incomparable joy, to mention a
few. This very special event, your graduation
from The Thacher School, generates these
emotions. Not to be overly dramatic, it is an
event that marks the threshold of what will arguably be one of the most important transitions in your lives: the transition from high
school to college.
I realize that the members of the graduating
class may not be too interested in sitting
through another speech. You may be concentrating on tomorrow and the days beyond. You
may not even be listening. If you aren’t, I understand. If you are, I thank you.
Many of you may be thinking about tomorrow’s ceremony. In only a few short hours
you will receive your diploma. You will walk
to your seats. Your diplomas will be stacked
on the table and one by one your name will
be called. As you know, it is a random
process. There is no predetermined order.
Consequently, one of you will be last. It will
be an agonizing wait for that “lucky” last
person. The lucky one will think that their
diploma is lost, that they forgot to take an
exam, that some infraction that they aren’t
even aware of was discovered, that they
won’t graduate. I know all these feelings, because I was the last person to get a diploma
at my graduation 33 years ago in 1969.
Whoever that last person will be, I feel for
you, and for your family; however, let me assure you that the emotional scars will heal in
time. It may take years, but you will recover.
As we anticipate tomorrow’s ceremony, many
of us will reflect upon the changes that have occurred to you, the graduates, in four short
years. There is the obvious physical evolution
from boys and girls to young men and young
women. There is the transformation in your
mental and intellectual capabilities. And there
by Justin M. Faggioli CdeP 1969
is the transformation in your outlooks on the
world and breadth of perspective that you have
accumulated as a result of your Thacher experience.
These transformations are partly the result of
the natural process of maturing and your individual efforts. They are also the direct result
of the relationships you have developed with
Thacher’s faculty and the administrators. In
addition to the graduating class, it is the faculty
and administration of The Thacher School that
deserve special recognition tonight.
While I do not want to be presumptive, I believe that I speak for the parents, families, and
members of the graduating class as I thank
you, the members of Thacher’s faculty and
administration, for all that you have con-
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• Become comfortable with uncertainty
• Value the richness of your Thacher experience
• Understand others as well as yourself
• Serve others
Become comfortable with uncertainty
Your future will be full of uncertainty. You will
be able to control some of it, much of it you
will not. Sometimes you will feel anxious about
the array of options. Other times you will be
excited by the potential inherent in the choices.
Many people avoid uncertainty because it is
uncomfortable. They strive to control every aspect of their lives; however, in trying to exert
control, they often limit the ultimate outcome
and overlook many opportunities.
Thus, learning to accept uncertainty helps position you to take advantage of a broader spectrum of opportunities. You will learn to accept
the uneasy, queasy feeling of the unknown.
You will also realize that as long as you have a
good idea of where you are going and what
you hope to achieve, the path will usually become clear even if it isn’t readily apparent from
the onset. Ultimately, you will see that by embracing uncertainty you will be better prepared
to deal with life’s challenges than by retiring to
the illusory safety zone of an overly controlled
existence.
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tions of hatred, oppression, and discrimination. Peaceful homogeneity is being achieved in
certain regions while there is the hardening of
differences in others. The chasm between the
advantaged and the disadvantaged continues
to widen. These stalemates occur at all levels of
the society, from the macro to the micro.
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few of you can safely drive golf carts and some
of you have difficulty in remembering when it
is time to stop wandering. But we can now disregard these minor flaws.
You are more than ready to move on. You have
already discovered your own paths and are
anxious to begin the journey. All of you have
I do not pretend to have the answers, nor can the ability to contribute to our world in whatI be particularly insightful in a few short min- ever manner you choose. We share in your exutes; however, in many of these instances, I citement and are thrilled to be part of it.
think that much good could be achieved
Members of the Class of 2002, tonight is your
through mutual understanding.
night. Tomorrow will be your day. An exciting
Part of the problem stems from the fact that future beckons you thereafter. We give you our
many of the protagonists are so entrenched in heartfelt congratulations and extend our best
their own ideologies that they do not want to wishes for your futures. e
understand the plights or positions of their
supposed adversaries. Thus, I think that it is essential to take the time to understand the situation from the other person’s or group’s
perspective when you are confronted with potential conflict or by a stance that seems foreign
to you. Mutual understanding will lead to mutual respect, however begrudging. Mutual respect will ultimately provide common ground
upon which problems can be solved.
This is not to say you must necessarily agree
with the competing perspective. It is to say that
by understanding others you are more likely
to reach a reasonable resolution. In addition,
you may develop a richer understanding of
your own sense of self and will be less inclined
to belittle or dismiss the beliefs of others.
Value the richness of your Thacher experience
Serve others
No, this is not a pitch for money! Most of you
have packed up your things and will return to
empty rooms for your last night as a student of
The Thacher School. Our cars are groaning
under the weight of four years of accumulated
stuff that must be dragged home, sorted, and
cleaned. Even though you are focused on tomorrow, in the hours that remain, take some
time to reflect upon what you have learned and
accomplished while here at Thacher.
Think upon your experience at Thacher. All
members of the Thacher Community have, in
their own way, helped to serve others. It is inherent in the culture of the School. It is also a
deep-seated value that extends beyond the
boundaries of the School. As you live your
lives, I encourage each of you to continue with
this tradition. You have the skill, the aptitude,
and the interest to help others.
As you reflect upon your time at Thacher, you
may realize that few of your peers have received equal preparation in terms of education,
a sense of community, understanding people,
and developing a set of personal values. This is
a tremendous privilege, one that should be
cherished. It should not be taken lightly,
abused, nor taken for granted. Use this privilege, this advantage, to your and others’ benefits. And remember that honor, fairness,
kindness, and truth are the cornerstones of any
society, regardless of one’s spiritual orientation.
T
Almost every segment of our society is begging
for assistance from qualified, motivated, enthusiastic people like yourselves. It doesn’t
matter whether it is at the local, regional, national, or international level as long as you
conscientiously serve for the benefit of others.
With a little effort you can have noticeable impact. With a significant effort you can have a
substantial effect.
Serving others has its own selfish reward. You
can’t help but learn. It also gives you a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. Importantly, it
provides an example for others to follow.
I would like to conclude by redirecting our attention to the Class of 2002. While at Thacher,
The world and its peoples are a complex you demonstrated your strength of character,
melange of cultures and beliefs. Some peoples your keen sense of humor and fun, your intelare rapidly assimilating cultures while others ligence, your convictions, your depth of unare needlessly reveling in centuries-old tradi- derstanding, and your patience. Unfortunately,
Understand others as well as yourself
The Campaign for Thacher
Campaign
Investing in Thacher
Continuing the Legacy
nvestment in The
Thacher School has
been going on since
1889, when Henry
Farnham’s father entrusted his son to
the care of Sherman
Day Thacher with
the goal of preparing
young Henry for
Ya l e . I f m o n e y
changed hands, it
was secondary to
Samuel A. “Pete” Pond
the essential investments: a family investing in an educational vision, a teacher investing in a student.
I
In the ensuing 113 years, the same investments
have been made countless times as new students and families have joined the School community. Each Thacher class has been both
unique and representative of the School’s transformative power. My class—a weird and
scrawny group of 12 boys ranging in size from
Roy Makepeace at 5′2″ to George Livermore
at over 6′—is a fine example of the alchemy
that takes place at Thacher when the wisdom
of adults is invested in bright young people.
For the first time we were on our own, overwhelmed with a sense of independence. What
a wonderful feeling! Responsible only for a
room in the Smut Joint (now dignified as
Olympus) and a horse, we played soccer, tennis, and baseball, made new friends, explored
the Sespe, and studied as need be. We were free
to invest our time as we saw fit. At least it
seemed that way.
Our parents saw the situation differently, of
course, as did Mr. Thacher’s faculty. Unbeknownst to us, there was serious business at
hand. Homework assignments, though sometimes onerous, gave only a hint of the preparation that went into the academic program of
the School. The thrill of sharing a trail with
best friends—both human and equine—
masked lessons of self-discipline and responsibility. The outcome of our games at recess
lunch and after classes never seemed to matter
as much as teamwork and sportsmanship.
Every Thursday night we sang the words; during the rest of the week, in myriad ways, we
learned their meaning: Honor and Fairness and
Kindness and Truth.
These opportunities for lessons did not happen by accident. They were a product of many
by Samuel A. “Pete” Pond CdeP 1932
investments, beginning with Mr. Thacher’s
contribution of 42 years of leadership and his
vision of the unique value of combining an outstanding academic program with Western values and traditions in a small residential
community.
Faculty members, many of whom invested
their entire adult lives to the enterprise, were
extraordinarily committed to their students
and their profession. From my era, I think of
O.E. McBride and Doc Lowry, who helped establish the Thacher tradition of advising students outside of class. I think of Eddie
O’Connell who came to the School every week
to teach us wrestling and boxing in the ring
on the third floor of the Upper School. I think
of Herr Cooke (Forest H.) who contributed so
much to the literary life of the School and captured its essence in his “Thacher Litany,” describing “the seven best teachers” so
eloquently: “Your horse; the library; a lonely
trail; a fair game; the friend you most admire;
corrected mistakes; curiosity.”
When the alchemy was complete for the class
of ’32, our parents were pleased with the transformation of those 12 scrawny Smuts, who
went on to become four lawyers (two of them
ultimately judges), an airline pilot, a banker,
two doctors, an architect, a retailer, an educator, and a diplomat—and life-long friends.
The School and time do not stand still.
Thacher has grown, and now brings in nearly
70 new students each year. The costs of running a first-rate program have grown as well.
As a result, the ranks of investors in Thacher
have swelled to include thousands of alumni,
parents, and friends who are committed to
the long-term health of this distinctive
School.
Thacher depends on all of us as investors, be
we parents, faculty, students, alumni, friends,
trustees, or even a few horses. If we continue
to invest generously, the returns of the
Thacher experience will accrue to many future generations.
Giving to Thacher: Frequently As
What is The Campaign for Thacher?
The Campaign for Thacher is a milestone effort to secure the resources necessary to
strengthen Thacher’s programs and facilities and
to safeguard its financial well-being for future
generations. Begun in 1999, it is a comprehensive campaign that seeks gifts for both the operating budget and Thacher’s endowment to
support the people, programs, and places that
make Thacher unique.
Why is it called a “comprehensive campaign”?
In a comprehensive campaign, all gifts to
Thacher—including those to the Annual Fund,
to the Endowment, to building projects, and to
special needs—count towards the Campaign’s
goal. Thacher depends on a strong Annual Fund
and hopes to make it the foundation for this
Campaign. We hope that you will support the Annual Fund throughout The Campaign for
Thacher. If you are able to do so, we hope that
you will make an additional contribution to a renovation or building project, or to the Endowment.
Every gift is appreciated and helps to insure the
present and future strength of the School.
What is the Annual Fund and why is it so
important?
The Annual Fund is the umbrella for the four
funds that are supported by the Thacher family: Alumni Fund, Parents’ Fund, Grandparents’ Fund, and Past Parents’ & Friends’
Fund. The combined gifts to these Funds are
the total raised each year for the Annual
Fund. Because tuition alone does not meet the
full cost of a Thacher education, the School
depends on the Annual Fund to cover approximately 15% of the School’s operating budget.
Your tax-deductible gift to the Annual Fund
helps balance the budget and moderate tuition
increases. The School uses these gifts in the
year they are contributed, enabling Thacher to
support the best faculty, financial aid for its
students, the physical plant, and the Horse
and Camping Programs.
What is an endowment?
Endowment funds are similar to savings accounts or other financial assets that generate income through wise investment of the principal.
Although most of this income is used to offset
Honoring Friendships
A Special Thank-You
by Sara Sackner
hen medicine is practiced well, the doctor and patient relationship is primary.
Another relationship of great importance is between a young doctor and his men-
W
ked Questions
costs in Thacher’s annual operating budget, gifts
to the endowment do not count towards the
Annual Fund. In addition to its general endowment, Thacher has over 170 named endowments designated by their founders for specific
purposes. A new endowment can be created
with a founding gift of $25,000. Whether you
create a new endowment fund or make a gift
to an existing one, you are supporting The
Campaign for Thacher. Endowment funds that
support faculty salaries and financial aid are
among the top priorities for this Campaign.
What if I want to give to a capital or building
project?
Thacher is committed to maintaining and improving its historic facility in ways that support
its program but never overshadow its ranch culture. Building projects will commence in accordance with Thacher’s Campus Master Plan;
funds for both building costs and for establishing sufficient endowment for on-going maintenance must be in hand before new construction
begins. The first project to be addressed will be
the renewal of the campus center, including the
construction of the Thacher Commons and an
tor. Dr. John Saidy, father of John CdeP 1979
and Tom CdeP 1982, has been blessed with
both experiences in his long career. In a
serendipitous moment, these significant connections sparked a wonderful gift to
The Campaign for Thacher.
only had his two
sons graduated from
Casa de Piedra, so
did his friend and
senior associate Dr.
Oscar Hills CdeP
1934 and his two
sons, Oscar CdeP
1973 and Stephen
C d e P 1 9 7 7 . D r.
Saidy knew that
there could be no
better way to honor Oscar W. Hills
Dr. Hills, who passed
away in 1989, than with a gift to Thacher.
Last August, Dr. Saidy received an unexpected call informing him that a longtime patient, Hazel Baumeister, had
passed away and that he was to distribute half of her estate to his choice
of worthy causes. “It’s an amazing experience to be a philanthropist of this
magnitude,” Dr. Saidy remarked. “Not
much is known about Hazel, a former
executive secretary who passed away Dr. Oscar W. Hills was born in Chefoo, China,
from Alzheimer’s, leaving no heirs.” where his father, also a doctor, practiced medicine. He returned to Pasadena, California, a
Dr. Saidy immediately thought of Thacher young boy with an English accent (from his govamong several other fine institutions. Not erness) and complete control of Mandarin.
Following his time at Thacher, Dr. Hills attended
Yale and Harvard Medical School, and worked
Hannah Uscinski ’05 (Hong Kong) and
at the Mayo Clinic where he and Dr. Saidy met.
Montana Caset ’05 (Argentina)
“Dr. Hills was well-educated, not only because
of the fine schools he attended, but because he
continued to study throughout his life. He was
very pragmatic and incisive in his thinking. A
good bridge player, he was also one of the great
sports fans of all times, favoring the Red Sox
and 49ers for many years. Dr. Hills loved the
outdoors, both hunting and fishing, and remained
Arts Center, the renovation of the Hills Dining
much more interested in the natural world
Hall, and the relocation of the Chase Infirmary.
than in man’s monuments.”
Other priorities include the construction of additional faculty homes and the renovation of
Dr. Saidy came to California several years after
The Hill, the Lower School, and the Casa de
Dr. Hills; they practiced at Stanford, UC San
Piedra Dormitories. Your gift for a particular
Francisco, and in private practice together.
building or renovation of existing facilities supThrough the years, their professional and perports The Campaign for Thacher, but is not
sonal friendship grew. In honor of Dr. Hills,
credited toward the Annual Fund.
Dr. Saidy directed $100,000 from the Hazel
Reed Baumeister Trust to The Thacher EnWhat if I want to include Thacher in my estate
dowment for scholarships. The School sends
plans?
a special thank-you to Dr. Saidy for sharing
the best of medicine and philanthropy.
There are several ways that you might consider
remembering Thacher in your estate plans. One
of the most common is through an outright bequest or by naming Thacher as the beneficiary
of your retirement plan. Planned gifts such as
If you are interested in learning more about
Charitable Remainder Trusts or The Thacher
planned giving, or any other ways to support
School Pooled Income Fund may allow you to
The Campaign for Thacher, we invite you to
make a larger gift to Thacher than you thought
contact:
possible and potentially enjoy benefits such as
increased income, reduced income taxes, or reThe Alumni and Development Office
duced capital gains or estate taxes. Irrevocable
Phone 805-646-4377
planned gifts made during the Campaign are
www.thacher.org
credited to The Campaign for Thacher at their
alumni@thacher.org
e
present value.
Tutt Bowl
The Tutt Bowl Winners:
What’s Become of Them?
This issue of The Thacher News features recipients of The Tutt Bowl Award, one of
Thacher’s most prestigious honors presented to a graduating senior each year. The Tutt
Bowl honors integrity and responsibility rather than academic, athletic, or leadership
qualities that are the hallmarks of most school awards. These winners, by means of their
character and ways in which they conducted themselves throughout their tenure at
Thacher, embody the ideals of a Thacher education.
The prize dates back to 1963 when Mili, the wife of Charles L. Tutt CdeP 1907, honored
qualities that she had always admired in her husband. According to Mrs. Tutt, “regardless of the situation, Charley demonstrated integrity, responsibility, fortitude in the face
of adversity, and of consideration for others.” It is awarded to a senior (or two, on occasion) who displays these exceptional “second scoreboard” characteristics. Each spring,
Thacher’s faculty submits nominations for this Award; each nominee is discussed at a
Faculty Meeting, and the slate is whittled down to several candidates. The faculty then
votes, and the winner is announced at the Senior Banquet the evening before Commencement.
The Head of School commends the winner by giving the audience a glimpse of the candidate’s character and how he or she has overcome some sort of adversity while maintaining integrity and considering others’ needs and feelings. The Tutt Bowl recipient
receives a silver bowl engraved with the key features of the Award, and the winner’s
name is memorialized on the brass plaque beneath The Tutt Bowl that resides in the
Alumni Room showcase.
The first recipient was Bruce B. Donnell CdeP 1963, a young man from Sonoma, California, who matriculated to Columbia College, where he earned both bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in French. He became a theatre and screen director and has worked internationally (Austria, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, and Canada) as well as in the States (San
Francisco, New Jersey, New York, and, most recently, Santa Fe, New Mexico), directing
various plays, musicals, and operas. He also serves on the boards of several foundations
and sometimes works at The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. The most recent winner is William R. Barkan CdeP 2002 who hails from San Francisco and will enter
the University of Colorado at Boulder this fall. During his senior year, he earned the
Eagle Scout designation in Boy Scouts, captained the Cross Country Team, which helped
him win the Perpetual Sportsman Award, and won the Bixby Dramatic Cup.
Intrigued by the diversity of characteristics displayed by various Tutt Bowl winners, we
sent questionnaires to all recipients. Although we didn’t hear from every recipient (only
bare sketches are included for some), those who replied allowed us to develop this
theme for the magazine. We hope you find their stories as intriguing to read as we found
them to research and to chronicle.
Deneys Purcell
Ben Carter
Charley and Mili Tutt
The Tutt Bowl Winners
Bruce B. Donnell ”I was surprised
to receive the Bowl as I did not
know it existed. I had not expected to win any
award; an athletic award was out of the question (suffice it to say that enduring four years of
recess baseball is not my favorite memory of
Thacher…). My interests at the time were not
as widely shared as they might be today. Having been raised on a ranch in northern California, I, of course, loved the outdoors and horses
and still do. I did, however, feel a strong pull
towards the arts. Receiving the Bowl so unexpectedly seemed to make it all right at the time
to feel as differently as I did from many of my
classmates. I think back with gratitude to some
of the teachers (and later friends) who sparked
interest that are central to my life today and
encouraged me to follow my own muse: Donald MacDougall, Fred Lamb, Gui Ignon,
Michael Ehrhardt, Marvin Shagam, among others. Donald ignited my love of theater and languages. I was never a great painter, but Gui
would let me spend my Saturdays in his studio
happily applying paint to canvas and listening
to the Met broadcasts. Despite Michael’s best
efforts, I was never much of a pianist, but I
have managed to continue a career at the
Metropolitan Opera for over a quarter of a century. I have become something of a specialist
in the operas of Richard Strauss (I directed
Der Rosenkavalier for the Met tour to Japan
last spring and have directed obscure Strass
operas that no one else knows or does for the
Santa Fe Opera). I received my first Strauss
recording from Fred Lamb, which I still have. I
think that he might have thought it was not
quite proper just to give it to me so it was, “the
best record in my collection going for 25
cents!” So that all started with Fred. Anybody
who has been at Thacher in the last generation
knows what it means to have been lucky
enough to know Marvin and how he remains a
part of your life; I am so glad that my nephew
and niece [Nathaniel Faggioli CdeP 2000 and
Claire Faggioli ’02] were at Thacher when he
was there. To pursue my interests I did go as
1963
Bill Anderson
David Amuda
Cesar Gerardo, Jr.
Erin Rosen
Joshua Jade
Will Barkan
Alumni Profiles
far away from Ojai as I could (New York), but
the values I learned at Thacher, like my
wardrobe, have not changed very much since
I graduated. I remain close to some classmates and faculty members and their families.
I am always amazed by the “Shangri-La effect” of Thacher and Ojai when I return in that
no one seems to have aged at all.
Bruce earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in French from Columbia
College. He worked in the press office of
the United Nations for two years as an alternative service to Vietnam (he was a
conscientious objector), then lived in
Geneva for three years. He moved to
Santa Fe a decade ago to work as a freelance stage director. Bruce’s brother-inlaw Justin Faggioli CdeP 1969 is serving
on Thacher’s Board of Trustees.
Archibald M. Look Archi was
born and raised in California
until his family moved to Japan when he
was seven; he attended an all-Japanese
elementary school that continues to serve him
well in his work today.
1964
“I came to Thacher, sight unseen; a school,
chosen by my parents, with an older brother
already attending. The decision for me to attend Thacher was one of the best of many
good decisions made by my parents in my best
interest. I treasure the memories of the horses
and camping while at Thacher, as I treasure
the friendships, both fellow-student and faculty I had the honor of making while there. The
memory stands out when my previously
abused and wary horse, Dixie, learned that she
could trust me and we could work truly as one.
The pepper trees on the Pergola are a lasting
memory! Thacher taught me the importance
of having one’s own values and being true to
them. I also found that the joy of learning was
not just in the classroom, but during discussions at the round dining room tables, while on
horseback, or around the campfire.
“I was one of early recipients of The Tutt Bowl,
so I did not know much about the background
and meaning of the Award until afterwards.
Thacher, at the time, was in a state of change,
with a new headmaster and new policies, etc.
I was in a state of flux, working out what I
stood for, what my core values were. My receipt of The Tutt Bowl was a validation to me,
that my values were correct and that I may be
using the right compass as I travel down the
road of life.
“What makes Thacher special to me was the
blending of the love of the outdoors with the
love of learning and instilling in me the desire to
do my best in what I do.”
Archi attended the University of Pennsylvania
because of its strong Oriental Studies Department. He lives in Tokyo and works for a Japan-
page 30
The Thacher News
W. Deneys Purcell CdeP 1967
Building on Lessons Learned
by Robert W. Johnson CdeP 1967,
Harvey R. Kaslow CdeP 1967, and Jane D. McCarthy
’ll never forget my
first thought as I rose
to receive The Tutt
Award… ‘What is a Tut
[sic] Bowl?’ I believe I was
thinking along the lines of
Egyptian antiquity at the
time. I really had no idea
what the Award was for
or why I had won it; however, when I saw Norm
Livermore’s [CdeP 1966]
name engraved on the
Bowl, the value
of the Award
immediately
went up in my
estimation.”
“I
Being only the
fourth person to
receive The Tutt
Bowl Award,
Deneys Purcell’s
puzzlement is
similar to the reaction of many
Tutt Bowl winners profiled herein. During the
nascent years of the Award in the sixties, Community members weren’t aware of the characteristics being honored; and even though it’s better known now—some call it “The Good Guy
Award,” coined by Campaign Director Brian
Driscoll—it’s still a surprise for recipients since
it’s determined by faculty vote and is kept secret until the Senior Banquet. Each profile describes that initial puzzlement of the recipient
that then grows into an appreciation of the great
honor in being selected for this Award. As
Deneys recalls, “My greatest joy in receiving the
Award was not in trying to deduce what I had
done to receive it—since it appeared to me that
I had done nothing—but in realizing that the
teachers I admired and loved had seen fit to bestow this honor upon me.”
The “love affair” between Deneys and Thacher
actually began when his brother, John—nine
years his senior—attended Thacher. During periodic trips home, John recounted tales of outof-control horses, stormy camping trips,
practical jokes, and epic soccer victories. From
age six, Deneys counted down the days until
he, too, could become a Toad. Once on campus, Deneys was not disappointed, even while
suffering a severe, two-month bout of homesickness. Thankfully, Bob and Denise Miller
were pros at nursing young boys from this mal-
ady while developing a fondness for the fun of
Thacher: getting bucked from horses but immediately remounting; being the perpetrator
and “perpetratee” of practical jokes; and surviving outdoor adventures even though they
don’t transpire according to plan.
On a hike to Ostrander Lake in Yosemite with
Marvin Shagam, for instance, Deneys and five
or six classmates camped out in a snowbound
cabin for a week. They made good use of their
plight, however, by tobogganing the surrounding hills and skidding across the frozen
lake by day, and cooking their dinners over the
fire by candlelight in the evenings.
Deneys also remembers the night he spent
under a tarp outside a barn near Pine Mountain because of his allergy to hay. While the
others slept soundly and warmly through the
thunder, sleet, and snow that arrived that
night, Deneys slept in his boots since they were
so wet and frozen that he couldn’t pry them
from his feet. When he finally saw his toes two
days later, they were black and—thanks to
Fred Lamb’s reading to students of the first ascent of Annapurna—Deneys was convinced
that his toes would soon require amputation.
Deneys was wrong, fortunately, and all 10
metatarsals remain in place.
And, on a horsepacking trip into the Sespe,
Deneys learned firsthand why the lead rope of
a pack animal should not be tied to the pommel of one’s horse. The mule he led stumbled
and fell off the side of a narrow trail, down
into the canyon; the mule and gear survived,
but in marginal shape.
As many Thacher students agree, outdoor adventures at Thacher are critical to maturing
into independent adulthood; classroom academics are equally important and often just as
challenging. The excitement of classroom
learning came as an unexpected and joyful surprise to Deneys. Before Thacher, school was
“a long dull slog.” In junior high—early in the
school-busing program—he was bused from
his Pasadena home across town to a school 30
times the size of Thacher. “Although it was a
most valuable education in its way—opening
my eyes to the width and breadth of society,
both in racial and socioeconomic terms that I
had never before been aware of—the academic
part of school continued to be a boring, meaningless duty.” Thacher changed that. Learning
suddenly became exciting to Deneys. Teachers
taught in new ways; he found the material ab-
sorbing, the teachers passionate. “Fred Lamb
turned European history into a gothic horror
story,” he recalls. “His descriptions of flesh
being stripped off heretics with red-hot forceps
appeared in my dreams at night. Mr. Chesley’s
demonstration of kinetic energy that sent
chalkboard erasers flying past my head kept
me on the edge of my seat (and my eyes forward) and Mr. Nicholson’s readings of the experience of giving birth, written by a new
mother of his acquaintance, helped me realize
the power of the written word for the first
time. His readings of MacBeth literally made
the hair stand up on the back of my neck.”
That joy of learning never died for Deneys. He
matriculated to Dartmouth College, ostensibly majoring in Engineering and Art. His
“minor” was rowing, and he was rewarded for
the long hours of training by winning the US
National Rowing Championships in 1971; that
summer, he represented the US in the European Rowing Championships. Deneys worked
variously as a photographer, handyman, mailorder clerk, and draftsman for the next five
years before enrolling at Harvard Graduate
School of Design in 1975. He received a master’s degree in Architecture in 1978 and married Polly Bell—his true love to this day—the
following year. Even though he has attended
top-flight schools (including UCLA for an
MBA in the mid-eighties), Thacher remains the
most intensely exciting academic experience
he ever had, “mainly because it was the first
time I experienced the sheer thrill of learning.”
Beyond the outdoor and academic rigors of
Thacher, Deneys appreciated the moral challenges that Thacher offered. He remembers a
trip to Baja California with Marvin and several
other students to build a well and houses for a
small village. Some classmates bought beer one
evening and invited Deneys to partake. He was
caught in a dilemma of knowing it was wrong
to break the bond of trust with Mr. Shagam,
but he also felt he couldn’t say “No,” to his
friends. He compromised by going along and
pretending to drink when he actually didn’t.
(Many years later, Deneys saw this as an embarrassingly “Clintonesque experience.”)
Somehow, Mr. Shagam discovered what had
occurred and talked to each student, individually, to find the truth. “He asked me if I had
drunk beer the previous night. I realized that
though I hadn’t drunk, I had failed as badly
as any of my classmates by participating and
not speaking up for what I thought was right.
So I said I had drunk the beer and suffered the
consequences. But I learned a lesson on that
trip about the allure and dangers of remaining
silent on issues of moral conviction for the sake
of being accepted. I never told anyone at
Thacher this story so I’m fairly sure it didn’t
figure into The Tutt Bowl decision.
“In the end I never did figure out why I was
given the honor of receiving The Tutt Bowl.
My fantasy is that it was awarded to me because I so completely absorbed the Thacher
experience. Thacher did for me what I hope a
school will do for my children in their high
school years: show them the excitement and
joy that can be found in learning, and help
them make the sometimes difficult transition
from adolescence to young adulthood by exposing them to challenges—academic, moral,
and physical—which they will meet, sometimes
successfully, and sometimes not. In the process,
I hope they will learn, as I did, to trust and to
have confidence in their own abilities.”
Deneys and his wife Polly have three children:
Claire, 14, Nick and Sam, 13. They live in Hidden Hills, a small, rural suburb in the western
hills of the San Fernando Valley, accompanied
by their dog, Jasmine, and horse, Kobe
(Deneys still can’t handle the hay in the barn,
though…). Deneys is a principal of RBB Architects, an 85-person architectural firm specializing in healthcare and university
architecture that he began 18 years ago when
he and Polly first moved to Los Angeles. A few
years back, the Purcells spent a week at Golden
Trout Camp, where they enjoyed hiking to the
top of Cirque Peak and the nearby lakes. It
was a nostalgic trip for Deneys since he and
some classmates were the among the first visitors to GTC after it was acquired in 1966.
“Mark Gahagan, Bob Kendig, Howard Lewis,
Mr. Peter Reid, and I spent our first week as
Thacher graduates clearing out disused buildings and making minor repairs before driving
the 1000-mile gravel road known as the
Alaskan Highway to spend our summer in
Alaska. GTC is just as beautiful as it ever was;
quite a treasure for Thacher and its students
and alumni.” e
ese manufacturer of precision production
equipment that is used in the assembly of integrated circuits and electronic components.
He is currently the Director of the Corporation
and Manager of the Disco’s International
Strategy. Archi and his wife Sophie have
two children: Archibald (16) and Mari (14).
TokyoLooks@aol.com, amlook@disco.co.jp
S. Lawrence Holmgren, Jr. “Shortly
after moving to Telluride, I contracted with the town to remove the old ‘Cog
Train’ from the Broadmore Hotel in Colorado
Springs and bring it to Telluride. The purchase
of this train was facilitated by John Tutt CdeP
1958, whose family was involved with the Colorado Springs Resort. Owing to John, a few of
us were invited to stay at his Mother’s house.
I told John that I had been awarded The Tutt
Bowl at Thacher which he relayed to his
mother. Mrs. Tutt was thrilled to meet a recipient of The Tutt Bowl which she had donated in
honor of her late husband, one of six Tutts to attend Thacher. It was a thrill for me to gain some
insight and history of the Award.
1965
“The work on the train was exhausting and incredibly greasy. It contrasted sharply with the
luxury and hospitality of the Tutt home. After
finishing work for the day I showered, extensively scrubbing my dirty body. After dinner,
exhausted, I climbed between the white satin
sheets provided on the guest beds. Mrs. Tutt
was a great lady and wonderful hostess; but
I’m afraid that, in spite of my cleansing efforts,
my lasting impression was a dark, full body,
greasy outline on her white satin sheets.”
Larry graduated from Stanford University, and,
while searching for the ideal career, attended
the Golden Gate School of Bartending in San
Francisco. In an effort to utilize a scholastic
degree, he joined with former Thacher teacher,
John Dixon, in the purchase of a bar in Telluride, CO. Although originally intended to be a
short excursion outside the mainstream, some
30 years later, he’s entrenched in Telluride “and
loving it. Thankfully, no longer in the bar business.”
Norman B. Livermore III, MD “To receive The Tutt Bowl was to be honored for true character and was a mark of
highest esteem from the faculty… [It] gave me
a strong sense of pride in who I had become and
gave me a boost of confidence that I would continue to show good values in the future. While
I know that my winning The Tutt Bowl did not
specifically influence what I did with my life, it
certainly did bolster my self-confidence. Such
a mark of honor frequently reminds me of who
I was then and makes me regularly measure who
I have become. The values that I strive to uphold every day are embodied in the wording of
The Tutt Bowl description, and the knowledge
that the most important adults in my life at that
time chose me as that embodiment continues
to encourage me to strive for the best. These
1966
page 31
Alumni Profiles
are the values that I, in turn, am hopefully now
teaching my daughter as she moves through
Thacher and prepares to give the world what
she has to offer.
“After attending Thacher, I attended Dartmouth, graduating in June of 1970 with a major
in Engineering Science. I thought I wanted to
be an electrical engineer…but when I became
aware that the real work would likely be
collaborating on more esoteric projects, I
decided to become a doctor. I was accepted to UC San Francisco, where I finished in 1974. I chose orthopedics
because I enjoyed relating to active patients and getting them back on the sports
fields or other active venues. I finished my
orthopedic training in 1979, and then a fellowship in Spinal Surgery finally in 1980. I
worked for a year as an Assistant Clinical
Professor at University of California at San
Francisco before finally entering private
practice in Walnut Creek in July of 1982,
where I have been ever since.
“I recently made a great and difficult change in
my life, as I split from the medical partnership
of which I had been a part for 20 years and
opened my own individual practice. My former
partners were making business decisions that
I, personally and singularly, felt were unwise and
against my values. Therefore, with the love and
support of my family and with the help of my
wise and talented wife, I made the very difficult
decision to go out on my own. But the morals
and ideals which both Thacher and my family
helped me to develop have kept me moving in
the right direction, and I have regained the satisfaction of treating patients which I had lost in
the bigger, revenue-oriented practice setting.
“I strongly feel that it is the Thacher faculty,
both past and present, who deserve the greatest of thanks for making my experiences, and
those of students after me, so rich and empowering. The independence which Thacher
students develop, not only from their parents,
but also from the security and predictability of
suburban life, as they struggle to deal with their
horse responsibilities and learn how to deal
with inclement weather while camping in the
wilderness enables them to seek beyond the
normal confines of standard learning venues.
They can then get more out of their college experience and can better prepare themselves to
give back to their communities and to the
world. As my daughter continues to thrive at
Thacher and I find our experiences there in a
strong parallel, I am increasingly thankful that
I was lucky enough to do and feel what she is
doing and feeling. My Thacher experience was
a gift of the highest value, for which I thank the
faculty, and, of course, my parents. Receiving
The Tutt Bowl just crowned my wonderful four
years of memories and spurred my to try to
continue to evidence those personal values
and ideals which the Bowl represents.”
page 32
The Thacher News
Benjamin F. Carter CdeP 1974
Returning to His Roots
robably not a typical
farmer, Ben is up by
6:00 a.m., grabs some
toast and yogurt and bolts
out the door to start the
crew at 7:00. No day is
typical given the diversity
of commodities grown by
BENDEN (short for Ben
and Denise). After checking on the rice, wheat, safflower, beans, alfalfa,
vegetable seed, plums,
and cattle, Ben
retreats to the
house around
8:00 or 9:00
p.m.
P
by Brian N. Beckham CdeP 1974
to pursue an MBA at The Wharton School, at
University of Pennsylvania. Here his concentration was in strategic management and his
supporting studies were in finance and accounting.
Career moves took him through some highpowered and high-tech doors: Morgan Guaranty Trust Company in New York; The Mac
Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and
Apple Computer in Cupertino, California.
Something about family ties, an opportunity
to become self-employed, and the tranquil meandering flow of the Sacrament River Valley
must have been calling him home. In 1993,
Ben and Denise founded BENDEN Farms and
by 1994, he and the family would be full-time
on the farm in Colusa County. The following
year, Ben’s father became ill and passed away
at which time BENDEN expanded its operation to include that of Ben’s parents. In addition to the aforementioned grains and produce,
this 3000-acre farm includes a warehousing
operation and the Home Ranch Duck Club.
After leaving the
Ojai in June of
1974, Ben started down a long
academic and
business path
that would lead
him full circle He is active in a number of civic and private
back to his family farming roots in Colusa organization including Chairman of the Board
of the Sacramento River Conservation Area,
County, California.
Fellow, California Agricultural Leadership ProIn the fall of 1974 Ben would head off to an- gram, Director of the 44th District Agriculother “farm”, Stanford University, to com- tural Association in Colusa, Rotary
mence studies, which would concentrate in the International, California Farm Bureau, and Los
thermo sciences with supporting studies in Caballeros. Ben is an instrument-rated private
physical sciences. He added Italian language pilot, which helps when making frequent trips
studies to his plate to allow for a sophomore between Palo Alto and Colusa.
Stanford aboard program in Florence, Italy.
It’s quite an impressive résumé and track
During his college days in Palo Alto, Ben re- record over the almost 30 years since Ben’s
ceived the prestigious Mary A. Earl McKinney days at Casa de Piedra. But what experiences
Prize for Writing from the School of Engineer- and stepping-stones encountered at Thacher in
ing. The subject was “An Alternative Braking the early seventies guided him to those future
System for the San Francisco Cable Car.” If accomplishments? Was it his upbringing in a
most people knew how the old system worked, strong, traditional family-farm setting, innate
they probably would not have ridden the Hyde intelligence and drive, or something else more
Street line. Other highlights were spending six elusive learned perhaps at Thacher? Answer:
months at Stanford’s campus in Florence; serv- Horses and camping trips.
ing as president of his fraternity, Delta Kappa
Epsilon; and playing the tuba in the renowned Ben arrived as a freshman with more horse experience than most in his class. He also had a
Stanford Marching Band.
secret weapon to boot; her name was Lollipop.
Upon graduation (on time!) Ben joined the This gentle, little (14.2 hand) sorrel mare was
work force with Chevron USA, Inc. in their just plain sweet and forgiving. Well-trained and
Southern California division as a Design Engi- trusting, she was Ben’s pride. Going out to feed
neer. It was there that Ben met and married in the early misty morning Ben would call to
Denise Jennings who was an engineer for Tex- her and Loli would inevitability nicker her
aco. After three years it was time to rejoin the good day. She was short enough and Ben was
academic realm. A change of coasts leads him tall enough to pull off the old west stunt of
dred feet below the trail, staggered to her feet
and seem to wait in blind submission for what
would happen next. Hours later and with Herculean efforts the little band was again on its
way minus one pack animal. Wendy was left
with food and water, with instructions to another passing Thacher group of “A” Campers
to get help from School. But now forced to
pack on “Calliope,” Mr. Sanford’s less-thannoble bloodlines mount, Ben would have to
fight the gear all the way to the next stop at
Pine Mountain. The event may be best summarized in Mr. Sanford’s own words: “The
boys had been wonderful all along, argumentative and contentious with one another when
things went well, as is the natural tendency of
14-year-olds when unobserved in their natural habitat, but level-headed, generous, and uncomplaining whenever things were difficult.
An example of this was Ben, our young packer.
His patience never wore thin no matter how
exasperatingly often it was necessary to stop
and repack or adjust the loads or how much
criticism this occasioned. One occasion, when
Ben recounted some of his favorite memories; it seemed frustration must surely result in a
bareback riding the trails behind campus under blowup, he paused as though deciding, then, of
a full moon with a few discrete classmates. all things, giggled, explaining, ‘This is ridicuThese freshman jaunts were not necessarily lous.’”
sanctioned by rule or regulation. But with
some bold ambition coupled with some basic Perhaps the final blow as recounted by Ben
“Smut” luck, a few boys could wrangle their was when their group pulled into Pine Mounmounts and slip out in the cool evening back tain, expecting a well-organized food drop that
lighted by natural moon for a commanding would replenish their diminishing supplies only
view of the Casa de Piedra Ranch and the Ojai to find: 14 loaves of rye bread, 5 loaves of
Valley below. Or, great hearty breakfasts of white, 2 dozen dinner rolls, and 100 tea bags!
bacon and fresh eggs hot off the campfire in Even 14-year-old boys know “Man does not
the Sespe. Nothing like the long rides of an live by bread alone.” After the experiences of
Extra-Day Trip to make hunger really kick in. that trip, it would be safe to conclude the boys
It was on such a horse trip that Ben discov- had turned the corner to becoming men.
ered what it was like to face adversity. His
freshman Extra-Day Trip was chaperoned by Ben served as a Prefect in the Lower School
the new headmaster, Ted Sanford. Now Mr. Dorm his senior year, the same dorm where
Sanford entered the School with about as much his son Brian resided as a freshman last year.
horse experience as the least experienced fresh- Ben was a member of the Horse Club, Gun
man. Jack Huyler in his The Stamp of the Club, Outdoor Committee, Thacher Tutors,
School reprints Ted Sanford’s account of that and Glee Club. He was also a member of the
challenging pack trip. Nine boys, two pack an- “Honeytones,”a five-member vocal group
imals, and Mr. Sanford were to ride for five whose performances delighted the student
days through the Sespe (via the Mutau) to Shei- body and faculty. Other members were Peter
deck campground, where they were to be met James, David Graham, Hank Wagner, and
by Jug Reynolds and The Green Machine to John Pickering. Who could forget their punbe driven back to campus at the end of a pleas- gent rendition of “Horses and Manure”?
ure-filled horse-camping trip. If one thing could
go wrong, then everything would go wrong Ben Carter hit the mark in several other areas
with for this Thacher Trip #13! From forget- as well. He won the Charles Pratt Trap Shoot
ting to pack milk for the planned menu of pan- Plate junior and senior years, the Dawson-Milcakes on the first morning to several wrecks bank Rifle Trophy senior year, The Bissell
with the pack animals, this trip would test the Gymkhana Trophy for high-point rider junior
metal of each member of the group. Ben was and senior years, and The Vaquero Cup for
the only member who could throw a diamond riding, shooting, and gymkhana his senior year.
hitch or had any advanced knowledge of how On graduation weekend, Ben’s family was ento care for the stock. On the third day out, Ben joying lunch at a corner table in the Hills Dindirected the group to stop in order to adjust the ing Room when his father stood up and
load on Wendy, the pack burro. No sooner had toasted Ben and his sister Ann as “the finest
Ben stepped off to the upper side of the narrow crop Carter Farms had ever produced.” Both
shale trail, then Wendy lost her footing rolling Ben and Ann were dumbfounded, as praise
over and over down the steep embankment, such as this was unheard of from Ben’s father.
jettisoning her load generously over the mouncontinued on page 47
tainside. Finally she came to rest several hunvaulting into the saddle with one push off her
rump. She was already trained as an excellent
trail horse but Ben added regular Gymkhana
events to her options. This horse was smart.
She learned to pull a cart in just six weeks
under Ben’s careful training. Jesse Kahle offered many well-placed pointers but this was a
capable team on their own. Ben and Lollipop
were among the first to reach bareback rider
and horseman, and later, Top Horseman. Ben
capitalized on the vast knowledge that Jesse
Kahle imparted. Hour after hour of just plain
hanging around the barns or doing chores with
Jesse would allow some of that time-tested
“black magic” to seep into the boy. Jesse,
today at age 95, commented at the Gymkhana
this May that training of a horse requires a
firm but gentle and understanding hand. The
horse, he explained, has to know who is the
boss, but also has to trust the boss. A fair
amount of patience was required when teaching a young horse. Ben and Lolli caught the
essences of that wisdom.
Nori is married to Marion Orrick “Mo”; they
have a daughter, Whitney, who is beginning
her junior year at Thacher this fall. Nbl3@onemain.com
W. Deneys Purcell He earned a
bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth,
received a master’s from Harvard in 1979, and
an MBA from UCLA in 1985. He is the principal
architect with RBB Architects in Los Angeles.
He and his wife Polly have three children:
Claire, Nicholas, and Samuel. They live in Hidden Hills. dpurcell@ rbbinc.com. Please see
profile beginning on page 30.
1967
John D. Gilpin “Last fall my mother
moved from our Northern California
home of 50 years to a condo nearby. She found
The Tutt Bowl (slightly tarnished, but shiny after some polishing) and the statement that Mr.
Twitchell said at the honors ceremony. It was
a memory of a very proud moment of my youth
and a reminder of what values and beliefs that
have been important to me. The values of high
integrity and responsibility have helped me
through difficult times, celebrating successes,
making important decisions, being a positive role
model, and improving my community.
1968
“After Thacher, I graduated from Lawrence
University, Appleton, WI, in 1972 and received
an MBA from Stanford in 1974. I have worked
in the field of finance, doing commercial and
investment banking at US Bancorp and currently as the senior financial officer of a privately owned Twin Cities building supply
company. I have been married to Cindy for 29
years living in the Twin Cities area for that time.
We have two children: Michael, a high school
senior in the college selection process, and
Megan 14, a high school freshman. Our family
enjoys water and snow skiing, biking, tennis,
gardening and travel. We take annual trips to
Northern California to see my family including
my brother David CdeP 1970 and cousin John
Barkan CdeP 1967, who provide updates on
Thacher. It is wonderful that Thacher continues to recognize and reinforce the values and
beliefs bestowed in The Tutt Award. Such qualities are so needed to be supported in today’s
turbulent world. So many of my friends at
Thacher and since are equally deserving of
the same recognition.” jlgilpin@cs.com
Marshall C.Milligan “I was so
painfully straight and naïve that I
can’t help but believe that the faculty gave me
the Award out of sympathy. The quote on my
senior page says it all: ‘What a belief in the
rightness of things!’ (Ellison) I guess that sort of
stood out in those days.
1969
“Let’s be honest; the late sixties were dark
days for those who trade in traditions, relationships, and values. It is baffling to realize
that, in spite of those times, the traditions, the
relationships, and the values are what we recall most fondly today.
page 33
Alumni Profiles
“Being a parent has brought these recollections to the fore. I watch scared kids become
Thacher students—on stage, on a camping
trip, at Assembly, on the fields, speaking or
singing at chapel, presenting a Senior Exhibition, just bantering with faculty—and the richness of our shared experience brings tears to
my eyes.
“How fortunate we all are, to have found
our way to Thacher and to have each
other as lifelong friends! How impressive
are the many ways we have used what
we learned to help others!”
Marsh earned his BA at Yale in political
science, but really enjoyed architecture,
history, and literature. He earned an MBA
at Stanford and spent 20 years in banking. He is now the Retired President and
CEO of the Bank of A. Levy, and serves as
President of Thacher’s Board of Trustees.
He is married to Gretchen; they have two
daughters: Lucy CdeP 2000 (Princeton),
and Claire CdeP 2002 (beginning at Stanford this fall). They live in Santa Barbara.
mgmilligan@worldnet.att.net
Thomas W. Ames, Jr. Tom is a selfemployed commercial photographer who lives in Norwich, VT. He has three
children. www.thomasames. com
1970
James B. Allis Jim earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth and
a master’s from the University of Pittsburgh.
Assistant Professor at Hope College in Holland
MI. He is married to Jeri, and they live in West
Olive, MI. allis@hope.edu
1971
Hans Peter Nielsen Hans developed a mortgage banking business
that he sold last year; now he enjoys playing
with his grandson. He spends time in Mexico
and Washington. “Sharing The Tutt Award with
Jim Allis was a moment I’ll never forget. Truly
a wonderful time at Thacher. Much better than
college life. My hero is still Newt Chase.”
1971
Hans graduated from Claremont-McKenna
Men’s College in 1975 with dual majors in economics and psychology. He spent one year at
Claremont Graduate School with Peter
Drucker. Hans and his wife Nancy have a
daughter Jessica and a grandson. The live in
Bremerton, WA.
Thomas S. Thacher Tom earned a
bachelor’s degree from Trinity College and attended UC Davis. He is a Software
Developer. He is married to Joanne (a mobile
veterinarian) and they have one child, Adrian
(16). They live in Fallbrook, CA.
1972
Senior Class The faculty liked
everyone in this great class, and
couldn’t designate one specific winner.
1973
page 34
The Thacher News
William S. Anderson CdeP 1976
An Enduring and Endearing Friendship by Harry D. “Peter” Conkey III CdeP 1979
hen I was asked to
write about my old
friend Bill Anderson,
the first thing that popped
into my mind was how my
time at Thacher might have
been different if I never
met Bill. That was possible,
after all, simply because of
our age difference. When I
arrived at the School in
the fall of 1975 as a Smut,
Bill was beginning his senior year. If not
for those nine
months in which
he presided over
Lower School as
my Head Perfect, I might never have had the
good fortune to
have him as a
life-long friend.
W
when necessary, approachable, someone you
could count on in a rough patch when you’re
2000 miles from home. He was genuine and
completely unselfish. In short, a true friend,
who happened also to be my Prefect. At a time
when a three-year age difference seems infinitely greater then most periods in life, he made
me feel a contemporary.
In the years following Thacher, Billy and I remained close and, once again, my friend and
mentor was always there for me. He tried to
recruit me to Bowdoin (where he earned a
Bachelor’s Degree in English and Government
in 1980) and spent time helping me learn about
the school. (Unfortunately, “exceptionally
bright” had not yet materialized and I wasn’t
able to gain admission!) He worked for US
Senator George Mitchell from Maine after
graduating from Bowdoin. While earning a
master’s degree in Journalism from Boston
University in 1984, he welcomed me to stay at
his apartment in Boston when I was interviewing for my first job in the real world. I recall that I didn’t actually have a bed to sleep in,
In many ways, but rather a mattress on the floor, which was
Billy was the perfectly fine because Billy didn’t have a bed eiideal mentor for me. You see, he didn’t par- ther. He, too, slept on a mattress on the floor,
ticularly like horses; nor did I. He appeared probable because by this time this “old” man
(from the perspective of this 14 year old) to had come down with a bad back.
be exceptionally bright, particularly in the
humanities. I wasn’t exceptionally bright in Then, predictably, life’s evolution took over.
anything and I needed an example of what Billy moved back to his hometown of Los An“exceptionally bright” was. He was political: geles and earned his Juris Doctorate from
a California-style Democrat who enjoyed ar- UCLA in 1988. There were weddings, folguing with conservative Republicans (even lowed by children (ever the mentor, my wife
though he came from a very Republican fam- Brooke and I have two boys, just like Kelly
ily!). I was in the process of being raised a and Bill), and before we knew it, fortieth-birthconservative Republican from the cornbelt day parties (his long before mine, of course.)
(Illinois) who did not know anything about And always during these occasions Billy reCalifornia-style Democrats. He was an ex- mained more interested in learning about how
ceptional athlete who wore “Coach I was doing, and then how we were doing,
Wooden” sneakers and was captain of the than talking about himself or how he was
Varsity Basketball Team. I was a long and doing. Over the years he has remained perhaps
lanky 5′10″ who aspired to make the Fresh- the most unselfish person I know. He is most
men Basketball Team even though I had no certainly one of the kindest; and he remains to
idea who Coach Wooden was. Luckily, dur- this day the friend I most admire.
ing my “formable” freshman year that followed, my room was next door to his in the Billy’s extraordinary energy and commitment
hallowed first floor hall of the Lower School! to his family and community continues today.
He now works with his father, brother, and
My memories of Billy during that school year sister in the family’s business, Topa Equities,
are poignant. My “mentor” recruited me for in Los Angeles. He also serves on the Boards of
the Religion Committee and inspired my in- Directors for Mellon First Business Bank,
terest in journalism (the subject of my senior Urban Box Office Network, and Southland
project three years later). He was absolutely Title Company. Finally, he is Vice-Chairman
what a Senior Prefect should be to a Smut: of the Weingart Center Association, a facility
kind, forthright, able to dispense discipline for the homeless on Skid Row in Los Angeles.
Looking back, I now know that during those
impressionable nine months in my earliest year
at Thacher, Billy’s example inspired me to earn
The Tutt Bowl upon graduation three years
later. My mentor exemplified Thacher values of
honor, fairness, kindness, and truth, and I
know that I set my sights on The Tutt Bowl
largely because Billy too had earned it.
As I prepared this memoir of my old friend
who received The Charles L. Tutt Bowl in June
of 1976, I talked with him frequently about
his Thacher days and how much receiving The
Tutt Bowl meant to him—then and now. He
agreed only part way with my appraisal of his
horsemanship. Agreeing that he was not much
of a horseman, he nevertheless admitted to
“wonderful memories of rides on my sweet,
old (and slow) horse, Trixie.”
Billy spoke of “the incredible sense of community which taught me (more than any other
educational experience) personal responsibility and a love for learning.” He talked fondly
of his teachers, like Marvin Shagam “who inspired a sense of mental curiosity and a strong
interest in politics and law (particularly during Watergate).” He recalled his memories of
being part of the debating society and remembers vividly Bonnie Robinson telling him “he
needed to be a little less competitive with his
opponents!”
And, of course, there was (thank goodness!)
Billy’s beautiful wife Kelly. Billy told me his favorite memory to this day was meeting Kelly at
Thacher during the first year of the Emma
Willard exchange in 1974. They met in a
French class taught by a Emma Willard teacher
who was French and, as Billy recalls, “a little
snobby.” Sometime during the first week of
class the teacher proclaimed the girls “brilliant” and all of the boys “a little stupid.” Despite the apparent intellectual gap, the two of
them became great friends during the exchange, and later, while they both attended
Bowdoin and then lived and worked in Washington D.C.
Today, life’s incredible journey continues with
Bill’s older son, Max, at Thacher (his younger
son Spencer is 12). I occasionally receive a
voice mail from my old pal describing a current
Thacher experience he is having while visiting
Max that brings to mind memories from our
CdeP days. Billy told me of the enormous feeling and impact of having Max attend Thacher.
He talked about how proud he and Kelly are
of Max and about how special it is to know
that he is in “a place that holds many special
memories for both of them.” And once again,
ever my mentor, we, too would love to follow
and have our children be fortunate enough to
experience Thacher.
What an extraordinary life-long friend my
mentor has become, and how fortunate I am to
have his example and his friendship even to
this day, all those many years later. e
Benjamin F. Carter “I was very surprised and honored to be chosen
for The Tutt Bowl. I was not a stand out leader
in my class and felt there were many others
who were worthy and deserving.”
1974
“Some of my fondest memories at Thacher:
Taking Mr. Twichell on an airplane ride over
the School and the Sespe at 17 years of age
with the ink still wet on my license; taking my
parents on a wagon ride on Family Weekend
my freshman year after teaching my horse to
pull a wagon in just six weeks, followed by crying as I watched my parents leave; and bareback rides under the full moon.”
Although trained as a Mechanical Engineer
with an MBA from Wharton, Ben has returned
to his roots on the family farm (and then some)
in Colusa County, California. He married Denise
Jennings (former engineer for Texaco) and
they have two children: Brian ’05 and Kendra
(11). carter.b@colusanet.com. See Ben’s profile that begins on page 32.
Frank W. Tyler Frank attended
Claremont-McKenna, but we have
no further information.
1974
Guru Amrit S. Khalsa né David
Marvin “My strongest memory of
Thacher is the smell. On a cool evening when
things were very still and there was a slight
breeze coming up the valley carrying a hint of
sage and orange…that has stuck in my
mind…along with the time I tried to smoke a
pack of Camels in 20 minutes…”
1975
Amrit studied religion at Princeton and attained
a bachelor’s degree in 1981. He became very
interested in yoga and eventually became a
Sikh. He continues to practice yoga and meditation and teaches. He has started two companies: President of HealthScribe, Inc. that
provides medical transcription services to hospitals. His second and current position is with
First Ring, which provides customer service
outsourcing to large corporations. Both companies’ labor pools are in India, which offers
challenges of cross-cultural, global business.
He married Ong Kar and they have two children: Saibhang (14) and Sat Mandir (12). They
live in Herndon, VA. Guru.Amrit.Khalsa@
usa.net
William S. Anderson ”I was proud
to have received the Award but I remember being a little awed by it just the same.
1976
“I remember that incredible smell of orange
blossoms after an afternoon practice, the view
of the sun going down from the Pergola, sitting for a few minutes at the outdoor chapel
on an early morning after feeding my horse.
“I was in the last all-boys class, and I’d say
without a doubt that all of the changes brought
on by coeducation, along with all of what the
page 35
Alumni Profiles
Mulligans have brought to Thacher, have made
Thacher a much better, richer, brighter place.”
Bill earned a bachelor’s degree in English from
Bowdoin College in 1980; a master’s degree in
Journalism from Boston University in 1984; and
his Juris Doctorate from UCLA in 1988. He
works for Topa Equities, Ltd., in Los Angeles
and serves on the boards of Mellon First Business Bank and Weingart Center Association. Bill and his wife Kelly have two sons:
Maxwell ’05 and Spencer (12).
bill@topa.com. Please see Bill’s profile
that begins on page 34.
Bradley L. Smith Brad is conducting research on “smart”
drugs, or molecular therapeutics to correct biological errors that cause cancer
in order to restore normal regulation to
the patient’s cellular systems. A detailed
Alumni Profile on Brad’s work was included in the Fall 2001/Winter 2002 issue
of The Thacher News. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at UC Santa Cruz
in 1986 and a doctorate in biotechnology from
Stanford in 1990.
1977
He and his wife Renee live in Marblehead, MA,
and their first baby, Noah Oliver, arrived this
year on May Day. blrsmith@mediaone.net
Bradley N. Hanson “Some of my favorite memories are the many great
trail rides I took over the years with classmates
such as John Hoover, Steve Benioff, and Kurt
Huebner. I believe Thacher is a special place because of its ability to mix a great academic environment with a commitment to exploring the
outdoors. I think also it is a wonderful way to
teach kids how to take responsibility for their
own lives.
1978
“The Class of 1978 was such a good class, with
so many outstanding people it never occurred
to me that I might win. I was surprised and very
happy.”
Brad grew up in the Bay Area. His parents
chose Thacher because of the strong outdoors
and academic program. After Thacher, Brad
had two separate college years abroad in
Quito, Ecuador, and in Madrid, Spain, where
he attended the University of Madrid. He
earned a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley
in 1983 in Political Science and Spanish Literature, and an MBA from UCLA in 1989. He
worked for Franklin Templeton Private Client
Group for his entire 18-year career; first as a
municipal bond trader, then mutual fund sales
manager in Southern California, then last year
as Vice President and Portfolio Consultant for
the Franklin Templeton Private Client Group.
He loves to travel to such places as Africa,
Cuba, and Europe. He also plays golf and tends
to his rose garden, an important task for the
“City of Roses,” otherwise known as
Pasadena, where he lives not far from Cal
page 36
The Thacher News
Erin J. Rosen CdeP 1988
Reading Between the Lines
y fondest memory of
Erin is reading poetry together outside
of the old Student Union
Building (aka SUB) and in
the old Thacher library.
William Butler Yeats or
Robert Frost set the tone for
a pleasant dining experience, regardless of the dinner menu. Some may think
it odd to associate Yeats and
Frost with food; more importantly, I associate those poets with one of
the nicest young
ladies that I have
ever known:
Erin Rosen.
M
We have kept in
touch intermittently since we
graduated and
never skip a
beat when we
talk. More importantly, we do not solely recollect the days of yesteryear. The insights we
gained from reading poetry together remain a
compass for our lives in uniquely different directions, albeit paths whose relevance allows
them to easily be bridged through correspondence. Thacher fostered our love for poetry
and helped it flourish.
To Erin, Thacher is a place where it was possible to achieve a balance between the personal
and the communal. “By providing hours on
end for independent thought, solitude, and reflection, Thacher allowed me to attend to my
personal pursuits, whether they were academic
or creative or simply introspective,” Erin recalls. “At the same time, Thacher provided an
incredible community of friends. Whether in
the dorms or in the Dining Hall, during sports,
or between 9:30 and 10:00, in the middle of
chorus or camping, I was always delighted by
my friends. This balance between the personal
and the communal is something I have tried
my best to recreate in every stage of my life
since Thacher.”
Erin finds similarities in experiences at Thacher
and her ongoing engagement with poetry. She
describes poetry as a medium that is both intensely personal and a vehicle for creating community. When she was young, Erin’s mother
by Mark A.T. Holman CdeP 1986
copied poems in calligraphy script and tacked
them on the refrigerator door for the family
to memorize and recite at dinner. At Thacher,
the serenity made understanding poetry a palpable experience. Among her most vivid memories of Thacher were the evenings she spent,
alone in a classroom, putting together a paper
on Yeats for Mr. Robinson. Although she can’t
remember what the poem was, she recalls
working far too long on it– she even needed an
extension–because she couldn’t stop analyzing
it. A concerned Mr. Robinson suggested she
should make hard decisions earlier in the
analysis; although she agreed, the time flew.
Erin was having fun.
In her senior year, Erin tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during the first
game of the soccer season. Rehabilitation in
those days meant six months on crutches, confined to chairs and couches; it allowed, however, for extended time to read. She became
particularly interested in writers who grew up
outside the U.S., including Nabokov, Czeslaw
Milosz, Kundera, Marquez, and Paul Celan.
What impressed her most was not only their
ability to write fiction and poetry, but to discuss the changing economic and social conditions in their native countries.
Influenced by the extent of knowledge from
which these writers could write, Erin decided
that even though her heart was still tied to literature, she should try to learn as much as possible about areas of study more unfamiliar to
her. Her first freshman class at Stanford was Chinese, which she describes as another study of poetry. For example, the word for “good” is the
picture of a woman with a child; the word for
“peace” is the symbol of a woman under that
of a roof; the word for “leisure” reveals a crescent moon peeking through a crack in a door.
Intrigued by what she glimpsed of the Chinese
culture through the language alone, she enrolled in Chinese history, politics, religion, and
literature to learn more. By the time she realized
that East Asian Studies was a major, she had
nearly completed all the requirements. She
added on a co-terminal degree in International
Policy Studies, and focused on the rise of income
inequality in contemporary China.
During her second year at Stanford (1989)—
post-Tiananmen Square—Erin was introduced
to the poetry of Bei Dao. Born in 1949, Bei
Dao was a teenager at the start of the Cultural
Revolution. He served briefly as a reluctant
but hard-working Red Guard when he would
have preferred studying at university. Assigned
to a factory in Beijing, Bei Dao began writing.
He joined the active underground poetry
movement that not only provided him with a
community of writers but also access to a network by which foreign literature was shared
among readers hungry for something other
than Maoist propaganda. Since the libraries
and universities were all boarded up, the few
copies of non-Maoist literature were circulated
according to a strict schedule, with each reader
possessing a book for only a few hours. Later,
during the brief relaxation of political controls
that followed the close of the Cultural Revolution, Bei Dao and a few friends founded the
first independent (non-political) poetry magazine in China, Today. Collectively known as
the “misty poets,” the founders of Today both
asserted and inserted a sense of self into the
public discourse, thereby creating a completely
new cultural genre in China. In his famous
poem, “Answer,” Bei Dao wrote what became
a mantra both for his generation and then later,
for the students in 1989: “I—do—not—believe!” At a time when Maoist China was replete with groupthink and propaganda, Bei
Dao’s statement was radical and liberating. He
was immediately propelled into fame and this
phrase became as central to the time as Dylan’s
“Blowin’ in the Wind.” During the Tiananmen
demonstrations in 1989, students marched
with posters quoting Bei Dao’s poetry, and thus
he was seen to have incited the demonstrations.
Bei Dao happened to be overseas at the time
and has remained in exile ever since. In 1992,
Erin wrote her senior thesis on Bei Dao’s poetry and its political importance in China at
the time of Tiananmen.
informal literature—and how it is perceived
by the rest of the world. Through her concern
regarding Taiwan’s position in international
law, she began considering law school. She
found a job with a joint Taiwanese/US law firm
and worked on a project involving Taiwan’s
effort to reconstruct its alcohol market in order
to improve its bid for the World Trade Organization (WTO). Although nearly a teetotaler,
she became fluent in the Chinese terms of trade
for whisky; she helped draft legislation and attended meetings with the Ministry of Finance
to lobby for its passage. Although in over her
head since she hadn’t yet attended law school,
Erin discovered another passion: the field of
international negotiation and mediation. The
summer after her first year of law school, she
worked for an international law firm in Beijing, also on issues involving the WTO, but
this time, as it pertained to China’s bid for
membership. Meanwhile, she continued studying Chinese, translating poetry during her free
time and reciting poems to entertain her friends
and unsuspecting neighbors.
Law School
Although Erin experienced the frustrations that
typically accompany the first year of law
school, ultimately Boalt provided Erin with
what she loved about Thacher–a time for challenging personal study, and a fantastic community of friends. In her second year, she wrote
an article on the Violence Against Women Act
to fulfill her membership requirements for the
law review; it was selected for publication the
following summer. The editing process reminded her of being back at Thacher as professors’ office doors opened to her and she had
opportunities to engage with professors and
Evaluating Education in the States and Her
other students about the intricacies of her
Own Education in the Far East
topic. She was pleased to find that these deAfter graduating from Stanford, Erin worked bates often focused on the nuances of language
from 1992 until1995 evaluating programs at- and principles of interpretation, topics that
tempting education reform. Her largest project often came up in her explorations of poetry.
involved a program sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) that And Back to Poetry
gave public school teachers a year’s sabbatical
from their teaching duties to take courses of With most of her law school requirements fultheir choice at a sponsoring university. The filled by her third year, Erin took the opportuteachers met on a weekly basis with professors nity to take a few courses on Berkeley’s main
and the other teachers from their site to discuss campus. Words cannot describe the shock Erin
current issues in the humanities–everything experienced when, upon visiting the Asian
from postmodernism and historiography to Languages Department, she learned that Bei Dao
multiculturalism and feminism. Each teacher was to be a visiting professor on the campus durdeveloped curriculum materials based on the- ing her last semester at Boalt. It had been a decade
ories they had studied. To Erin, the ACLS pro- since she had written her senior thesis on his pogram provided teachers with the same balance etry, and she had kept apprised of his exile, first
that she appreciated at Thacher—that is, time in several different countries in Europe and then
for private study as well as opportunities to across the States, making his home finally in
engage ideas in a communal setting.
Davis, California. But she had not imagined he
would be teaching at Berkeley while she was a
Travelling a lot for work, Erin earned enough student there. Bei Dao’s course, ¨Modern Chifrequent-flyer miles to make her first visit to nese Poetry,¨ focused on three interlocking asAsia in 1996. In Taipei, she studied Mandarin pects: first, the socio-political history of China,
in the mornings and worked in the afternoons, including the conditions leading up to Mao and
initially volunteering at two economics think the changes that occurred after his death; sectanks. She became interested in Taiwanese
continued on page 47
identity—both as it is expressed in official and
Tech. Brad hopes to take a sabbatical after 20
years at Franklin Templeton. bhanson@frk.com
Harry D. Conkey III Peter earned a
bachelor’s degree in history from
Denison University in 1983. He is a builder for
HDC Partners LLC in Chicago. His wife’s name
is Brooke; they have two sons: Harry (7) and
Donald (5). hdc@earthlink.net.
1979
Anand “Arnie” S. Tolani Anand
came to Thacher from Hong Kong,
where his parents still live, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Deepak CdeP 1977.
Theirs is a Hindu family living in the Chinese
culture. Although he’d never ridden a horse,
he rode all four years at Thacher. Anand attended UC Davis and now works as a computer software engineer for Yahoo. He lives in
Saratoga with wife Rie; they have two
daughters: Sarah (12) and Shannon (9).
anand@four11.com
1980
Captain Kenneth A. Chance
Ken earned a bachelor’s degree in
business economics in 1985 from UC Santa
Barbara; he then earned a master’s degree in
Russian/Ukranian Area Studies from Kansas
University in 1995. He works as a Russian &
East European Area Specialist in the US Army
and is presently stationed in Naples, Italy. He
is married to Coleen and they have two children: Cole (12) and Kendall (8). chancekc@
compuserve.com
1981
Daniel E. Ryan Dan attended
Davidson College and graduated
from UC Davis. He lives in Baltimore, MD.
Dryan2000@aol.com
1981
Jennifer A. Drescher Jennifer
earned a bachelor’s degree in business from UC Berkeley in 1986. She serves as
Director of Marketing for SRS Labs Inc. in
Santa Ana, and she lives in Huntington
Beach, CA. jenniferd@srslabs.com, jennifer@
srswowcast.com
1982
Janet Carroll Richardson “I was
very surprised and amused to receive The Tutt Bowl as it was a running joke in
our class as to who would be the recipient. I
was also proud and honored. I remember my
family almost didn’t make it as they were delayed in LAX and, when my Dad called Mr.
Shagam to tell him of the delay, Mr. Shagam
told him he should make every effort to get to
the awards ceremony. My family did make it,
and they were very proud.
1983
“My favorite memories of Thacher are picking
and eating avocadoes and oranges; riding
bareback to the reservoir; and singing ridiculous ditties with buddies. My only regret about
my high school experience is that I did not appreciate it enough while I was going through it.
Every time I return to Thacher, I have an increased love and appreciation of the place.”
page 37
Alumni Profiles
Janie majored in history at Middlebury because she fell in love with history after having
Jerry Fleishhacker as a teacher at Thacher;
she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She taught
Spanish and history at Cate for three years before earning her Juris Doctorate at Stanford;
she graduated in the top 10% of her class. She
now works as Deputy City Attorney in San
Francisco. She serves as president of
Thacher’s Diamond Hitch Club and as
Class Representative. She is married to
Weston Richardson CdeP 1980; they have
two sons: Frederick “Jack” (5) and
Samuel (3). Janie_Richardson@ci.sf.ca.us
Elizabeth (“Beth”) K. Roberts
Farley “As I was musing over
Thacher and what The Tutt Bowl meant
to me, I wondered if the majority of these
winners were first born. As I watch my
own first born as he struggles with parental
expectations (spoken and unspoken), I remember my own childhood. Going to
Thacher meant a lot to me. As a horse ‘fanatic’ and a strong academic student, I
knew (as my parents did) that going to the local
public high school was not an option. I was
overjoyed to be accepted to attend Thacher.
1984
“My senior year was one of great turmoil.
Being a part of the infamous class of ‘84
(‘Sheahan’s Revenge’) created an interesting
dichotomy. On one side were the students who
were being judged and on the other side were
their peers acting as sentencing judges.
“Did it surprise me to receive The Tutt Bowl?
Yes… and I treasured that Award for years,
listed it on my résumé, and polished my silver
bowl often. Now, it simply is part of who I am.
As a business owner, wife, and mother, I make
choices every day that reflect integrity and responsibility. I agonize for days over some decisions that really should take hours. Why?
Just a part of me and who I am.
“Thacher is a treasured piece of my character
and upbringing. Camping trips, the Horse Program, Wednesday afternoon trips into Ojai,
watching lacrosse, soccer, and basketball
games, dances, plays, services at the Outdoor
Chapel, late night chats in the dorm, Formal
Dinners, graham crackers and milk at Assemblies, Beaux Arts balls, gathering on The Pergola, every teacher I had contact with, all of
these memories evoke emotions. Perhaps I will
be able to finally attend a reunion (in two
years), and yet knowing all the changes that
have occurred physically on campus and all
the teachers that have come and gone, will I
be able to evoke those memories as clearly as
I can just reflecting here at my keyboard?”
Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology
from UC Davis in 1988. She is the owner of Futurekids of Snohomish County (technology in
education franchise). She and her husband
Jim live in Kirkland, WA, with their two chil-
page 38
The Thacher News
David O. Amuda CdeP 1990
Opening a World of Opportunities
by Andrew R. Shakman CdeP 1990
Even as he excitedly received the acceptance
letter from Thacher, David knew he was facing
a significant challenge. He was moving from
the crowded Los Angeles public schools to the
contained Thacher community and its remote
campus. As a new sophomore, he was entering
a close-knit group of returning students with
established relationships. There was also an
age gap—David, at 14, was over a year
younger than his Thacher peers. Most significantly, David had to confront the unexpected
loss of his foster mother the summer before he
matriculated at Thacher. This had a profound
Let me intro- impact, but did not shake David’s resolve to
duce you to move to Ojai.
David Olufemi
David found Thacher to be very demanding
Amuda.
academically and recalled that it was difficult
Known to his “getting used to the routine and the structure
f r i e n d s a n d of life…It just felt overwhelming. I had doubts
classmates for about whether or not I could keep up, or
h i s h u m i l i t y, whether I deserved to be there.”
d i p l o m a c y,
friendship, com- To make matters even more complicated, just
munity spirit, months after starting at Thacher David learned
and integrity, the Los Angeles County Department of ChilD a v i d h o l d s dren’s Services wanted to assign him to a difhimself to daunting personal standards. He’s not ferent foster home and remove him from
prepared to declare any kind of victory yet— Thacher. David’s recollection of the situation
to do so would be inconsistent with the quiet belies his natural diplomatic instincts: “They
determination at his core and contrary to his bal- approached the situation using the same soluanced, self-disciplined approach to life. It might tion they use for everything else. In my case it
also contradict lessons learned in his youth about was different. I was in a good home and wasn’t a problem. They didn’t know who I was.
inevitable adversity.
Their actions were well-intentioned, but misDavid was raised in South Central Los Ange- guided.”
les, a first generation American of South Korean and Nigerian descent. Neither his natural Thacher protested the Department’s plan and
mother nor his natural father was closely in- a hearing was scheduled in the Los Angeles Juvolved in his upbringing. Instead, David spent venile Courts. David thought he would attend
most of his childhood in a loving, stable foster the hearing alone with a court-appointed casehome where he developed close familial bonds worker; he prepared himself mentally for the
possibility of withdrawing from Thacher. He
with his foster parents.
had underestimated Thacher’s resolve. HeadDavid was an exceptional student and stood master Bill Wyman, then-Assistant Headmaster
out among his peers at James A. Foshay Ju- Michael Mulligan, James Greene (President of
nior High School. One of his teachers, Wil- Thacher’s Board of Trustees), and several other
fred Smith (the uncle of Thacher graduates administrators surprised David by attending
Chaka Small CdeP 1991 and Gatsha Small the hearing. A Better Chance representative
CdeP 1992) recognized David’s potential and Michael Anderson also attended the meeting to
referred him to A Better Chance, the Boston- demonstrate his organization’s support of
based organization that provides educational David.
opportunities to talented students of color
through recruitment into some of the nation’s David will “never forget my case being called
most outstanding secondary schools. David by the court clerk and seeing the impressive
made the decision to apply to Thacher based entourage of supporters behind me.” He
on its sincere enthusiasm about his candi- wasn’t the only one impressed by the strong
showing of support. The Judge, surprised by
dacy.
e never expected to
win any awards at
Thacher, let alone The
Charles L. Tutt Bowl. He
believed he’d “been fairly
anonymous” and not “a
standout in a class of overachievers.” He even states,
emphatically, that 12 years
after Thacher he “hasn’t
accomplished much so
far.”
H
such a crowd for a seemingly routine case, invited introductions. When his turn came,
Michael Mulligan offered an impassioned, impromptu speech about David’s academic merits and enumerated the reasons why he should
be allowed to pursue an education at Thacher.
parted—but not for long. He returned a short
while later—this time brandishing a gun—and
proceeded to steal their money, the keys to the
Thacher van parked at the trailhead, and a
peanut-butter sandwich. The gunman warned
them not to follow or he might “shoot them in
the leg.” In hindsight, David finds this comment somewhat amusing, an odd threat indicative of more bark than bite from this
“polished” criminal. When he and Emma Lipton reached the Lone Pine Sheriff to report the
crime, David recalls it was “like the first big
thing that had ever happened to them.” Certainly it was a big deal for Bill Wyman, too.
His well-meaning vision of mountaintop serenity proved ironically inaccurate for David.
After hearing from the Thacher contingent, the
Judge commented that this was an unprecedented level of support for a youth in the L.A.
foster care system. She ruled that Thacher
would have temporary custody of David.
Shortly thereafter, Bill Wyman introduced
David to Carmen and Jack Robertson, longtime Thacher family members in Ojai. They
became David’s official foster parents and
David continued, on course, with this Thacher
education. David reflects, “I’m ever grateful After two nights in a Lone Pine Hotel, David
that people cared enough to fight to keep me at regained his confidence and returned to the
mountains. He was still only 15 in actual years,
Thacher.”
but perhaps a few years older in experience
David had a very successful Thacher experi- after the ordeal. David ended up spending the
ence, excelling academically and competing in entire summer at Golden Trout—including a
cross-country, basketball, and baseball, each number of nights alone in the wilderness.
at the varsity level. During his junior year,
David’s seven-person cross-country team be- David took much from his Thacher experience.
came the first Thacher team to qualify for Cal- After so much instability in his life, he says, “I
ifornia Interscholastic Federation State Finals never felt relationships were indefinite. I
in the School’s history. The team finished thought there was always a beginning and an
end. Starting at Thacher I began to see there
fourth in the statewide competition.
was longevity to relationships.”
David was known among his classmates for
his endless supply of “cheesy” bad jokes. He David graduated from Thacher in 1990 and
exhibited deep affection for groan-inducing, enrolled at Santa Clara University. Peers recon-the-nose, low-quality humor. David found ognized David’s leadership strengths and
great amusement in the reactions provoked by elected him as a senior class senator, one of the
these jokes and was motivated to deliver more. top posts in the Santa Clara student governThey became a signature trademark, a bit of ment. He was also the Chair of the Student Afshowmanship from an otherwise quiet indi- fairs Committee that oversaw all campus
student groups. David studied mechanical envidual.
gineering and helped found the Santa Clara
David’s Thacher experience reached its student chapter of the National Society of
metaphorical peak in the summer of 1989 in Black Engineers, an organization that seeks to
the Sierra Nevada. He’d intended to return to increase the number of black engineers in the
Los Angeles that summer, but Bill Wyman U.S. He graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of
touted the clean air and tranquil setting of the Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
mountains as a better alternative to the
rougher side of Los Angeles. David accepted David decided to join a large firm where he
a summer position at Golden Trout Camp. could put his mechanical engineering knowledge to use. In the spring of 1994, he accepted
He soon found himself in a stock truck, with an offer to join Eaton Corporation, a Fortune
no air-conditioning, traveling towards Lone 500 manufacturer of electrical power distribuPine, accompanied by Thacher’s burros. After tion equipment. After training in North Carcompleting camp set-up with a group of stu- olina as a technical sales and marketing
dents, David was scheduled to spend several engineer, David transferred to Los Angeles to
nights alone at the Camp until the caretaker be closer to his family. He worked with enterarrived for the full summer season. He had prise customers helping them acquire largereservations about spending so long by him- scale industrial control systems. After three
self, three miles by foot and ten miles by car years David determined it was time for a career
change out of sales into manufacturing engifrom the nearest town, Lone Pine.
neering.
Faculty member Emma Lipton was set to depart the next day so she and David made a In 1998, David became a manufacturing engifinal supply run to Lone Pine. As they returned neer in the Simi Valley, California, semiconto Camp they discovered fresh footprints in ductor test equipment division of Schlumberger
the late spring snow and found a man inside Ltd. For the next four years, he focused on
the lodge. He claimed to have lost his way in manufacturing processes and quality managethe snow and David and Emma provided dicontinued on page 47
rections and said goodbye. The traveler de-
dren, Ethan (8) and Julianne (1). elizabeth farley@hotmail.com
Seth R. Shaw “Thacher takes students and teaches them to approach life’s travails with grace and dignity. I
hope I am doing the same.” Seth attended
Thacher as A Better Chance student. He went
on to earn a bachelor’s degree from UCLA in
1990. He works with the LA County Probation
Department. His wife Mellissa is also a Deputy
Probation Officer. Mellissa and Seth added a
daughter to their family in mid-August. Savannah joins older brother Seth (2) at home in
Lakewood, CA. shawsnlakewood@attbi.com
1985
Julian N. Pridmore-Brown Julian
earned a bachelor of science degree in Environmental Planning from UC Davis
in 1991. He is a pilot for United Airlines and lives
in Bend, OR. julian@pridmorebrown.com
1986
Alexandra Wyle Eastman Alex
earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Colby College in 1991, followed by a
master’s degree in animal science from Cal
Poly Pomona in 1993. She earned a doctorate
in veterinary medicine from UC Davis in 1997.
She lives in Salinas and works as a veterinarian. She is married to Tim, also a veterinarian.
They have one child: Devin (2). awyle@aol.com
1986
Brian A. Lewis Brian earned a
bachelor’s degree from Lawrence
University in 1991. He works as Director of Educational Services, Graduate Division at Northwestern University. He lives in Evanston, IL
rocafuerte@mindspring.com
1987
Erin J. Rosen “My Thacher years
coincided with a very difficult time
for my family. During this vulnerable time in my
life, the faculty offered a great deal of care
while also treating me with enormous respect.
Mrs. Bird made me cookies during my first
week at Thacher, and Ms. Mulligan made me
a graduation dress during my last week! Mr.
Robinson challenged my faith, and our soccer
coach always made us remember the big picture. I will always be extremely grateful for
everyone’s generosity and kindness.
1988
Erin’s favorite Thacher memories: “Being
awakened for morning horse stall cleaning by
Emily Loomis, only to find that it was the middle
of the night and she was sleepwalking; Mr.
Lamb’s lectures on movies; graham crackers
on The Pergola; being a new sophomore and
going through an evening orientation with Mr.
Shagam, myself, and all the freshman boys; finally reaching the Tassajara hotsprings with
the Coleman camping gang and eating the
monks’ freshly made peanut butter; putting
someone’s mixed tape into a boom box at the
SUB and having a school dance; munch outs;
sharing poetry with Mark Holman; Wednesdays; my friends’ sense of humor. My favorite
memory of all has got to be dancing to George
page 39
Alumni Profiles
Michael with the Ladies of The Apartment, a
ritual we all should repeat at least on a yearly
basis.”
Erin earned a bachelor’s degree in East Asian
Studies from Stanford in 1992; she then earned
a master’s degree in International Policy Studies from Stanford in 1996. She earned her Juris
Doctorate at UC Berkeley’s Boalt School in
2002. rosenerin@hotmail.com. See Erin’s
profile that begins on page 36.
Robert C.C. Morrill “I was
completely shocked to receive
the Award. I mean, I literally nearly fell out
of my chair and onto the lawn. Later, the
meaning of The Tutt Bowl seeped in, and
I felt incredibly honored that the faculty had
decided that I exhibited the traits the
Award reflects. It’s interesting because the
faculty and the community had really
helped me develop the qualities they were
rewarding. Another aspect of my reaction
was guilt, actually. I pored over a couple
of incidents in my time at Thacher when I
felt I hadn’t exhibited leadership and/or good ethical decision-making. Those incidents are ultimately an important part of developing a strong
character. If you don’t voice an unpopular opinion in a group when you feel you should, for example, the next time you are in that situation you’ll
have all the more courage to do so.
1989
“The aspect of Thacher that influenced me
most was the sense of community. Of course,
I had some adolescent rebellion going on, and
I felt that this or that policy was horrendously
unjust, but I was certainly very aware while a
student at Thacher that for the most part it was
an excellent community. The value placed on
people, character, education, and the environment was uniquely nurturing. It’s ironic because I was very shy in high school, and that
shyness kept me from delving into the community in some ways. However, Thacher drew
me out and had a profound effect upon my values and relationships. Part of the reason I became a high school teacher is that I found the
social and intellectual environment at Thacher
so stimulating. The School was tremendously
helpful to me as a developing teenager. I still
frequently recall memories of my four years at
Thacher: long runs with Fred Coleman, long
debates with Ellen Kohler, long rides with Geoff
Clarke, and the strong ties and important experiences with my classmates.
“One of my main goals is to build the sort of
community-oriented school with the kind of
goals and values and approaches that I prize
so highly. Another goal is to write more fiction.
As a teacher I always feel that I can prepare
more and read more, so it has been difficult
for me to find time to write short stories and, of
course, The Great American Novel. A teaching
goal of mine is to continue to find avenues to
integrate technology into my classroom in a
meaningful fashion.”
page 40
The Thacher News
Joshua Jade CdeP 1991
The Beat Goes On
he beginning of JJ’s career at Thacher could
have been smoother.
From struggling with
grades, social pressures,
and homesickness, to simply not knowing how to prioritize in a boarding school
environment, JJ felt he was
a few steps behind his peers
and “perhaps just a little
more countryish.” From
afar but in concert with
his advisor, JJ’s
mother grounded him from his
skateboard for
poor grades, and
forced him to
“endure” tutorials in Spanish
and typing. The
tables started
turning after two
years, though,
and the extra
work finally
started paying off. By the time he graduated, JJ
was a very strong student academically, a star
athlete, Prefect, and great friend and role model to his peers. More importantly than the external accomplishments, the struggles of the first
years at Thacher helped JJ develop a remarkable work ethic and sense of responsibility
that have stayed with him ever since.
T
by Benjamin Freeman CdeP 1991
for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. JJ
also gave private percussion lessons, played in
several bands, and put out two independent
albums with local groups with whom he
played.
JJ’s next stop was graduate school at the California Institute of the Arts, where he earned
a master’s degree in multi-focus percussion.
By working in non-musical pursuits—the interdisciplinary and theatre departments—he
was qualified to become the technical director of a theater company called About Productions, based in Los Angeles, that has
taken him to Chicago, Seattle, and Canada.
Right out of school he became the Technical
Director for a highly regarded (and very controversial) performance space called Highways. Started in the late eighties by
internationally acclaimed performance artist
Tim Miller, Highways was at the forefront of
National Education Association controversy
in the mid-nineties; Joshua helped produce
250 performances in one year in what is
often referred to as “the peace corps of theatre, the hardest job you’ll ever love.”
As in his past, JJ wasn’t content with just one
very demanding job. To keep busy and current
with his music and drumming, he formed a
band, performed with the LA Philharmonic in
their Green Umbrella series, and was hired for
recording sessions in the Capitol Records
building. He also took various freelance lighting design jobs and performed with his
improvisatory chamber music ensemble “NiceFollowing Thacher, JJ studied music perform- Jaquet.”
ance and education at Lewis and Clark in
Portland, Oregon. During his time there, JJ Following Highways, JJ became the Produccontinued to distinguish himself in his aca- tion Manager—and later the Assistant Prodemic field, while further defining his values gram Director—at the Skirball Cultural Center
and ethics. “I felt doubly obligated (because in Los Angeles. Dedicated to exploring the conof receiving The Tutt Award) to be a better nections between the age-old Jewish heritage
person—from the smallest gestures or inter- and American democracy, the Center offers edactions, I am deeply aware of my responsibil- ucational outreach, museum exhibits, private
ity to be the best that I can be.” In the eyes of events sites (weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and
many who have worked or spent time with corporate events), and performances from
him, JJ has done this with remarkable every genre. Joshua handles the myriad details
on performance day to ensure that all of the
aplomb.
artists, musicians, dancers, speakers, performFor three years after graduating from Lewis ers, and the staff and crew as well as the puband Clark, JJ worked for Millennium Enter- lic attending the event have the best possible
prises as their international music representa- experience. He especially enjoys working with
tive, stage manager/sound technician, and diverse organizations and credits Thacher with
customer-service agent. He kept up with his broadening his perspectives and expanding his
true passion by serving as the Principal Per- acceptance of people, particularly since he
cussionist for the Rose City Chamber Orches- came from a more “culturally-limited state,
tra and the Assistant Principal Percussionist Idaho. That extended outlook has allowed me
with The Tutt Bowl Award. Naturally, he was
quite surprised to be the recipient. In his
words, “My reaction to the Award was one of
the most emotional experiences of my life. I
was certain that I knew who should be given
the Award and when that person was not
named, I was pretty shocked, and then to have
the realization that it was me in their place just
absolutely blew me away.” His classmates, esThough his public endeavors are significant, pecially me, thought Joshua was the perfect
JJ’s personal and behind-the-scenes accom- choice. e
plishments are the most impressive aspects of
his character, in my mind. As a long-time
friend, I have always been impressed with his
incredible commitment to family and friends,
somewhat oddly coupled with a fierce sense
of personal independence. As long as I can
remember, JJ has been a pillar in his circle of
family and friends, acting variously and with
equal capacity as friend, mentor, and counselor. An example might be a Thacher memory that actually occurred two years after he
graduated. He drove straight through from
Portland, Oregon, to Ojai to see his sister
Cami [CdeP 1993], the Captain of the Varsity Soccer Team, play against Cate in a big
rivalry match. “I don’t remember who won
but I remember how proud I was to see my
sister command the field and the shared experience we had for being apart of such a
strong tradition, both on and off the field. It
must have been challenging for Cami to follow in my footsteps at Thacher, but I think
that having that shared experience has
strengthened our already strong relationship.” A few years later, Cami met her future
husband, JJ’s best friend and roommate from
college, and JJ served as her Man of Honor.
to work with organizations that represent a
wide array of Angeleno voices from the Gay
Performance Community and the elder Jewish
Community to the Mexican-American Community…I only see my horizons expanding as
a result of the seeds sown at Thacher to seek
new experiences and interact with people of
various backgrounds.”
JJ has always been insistent on standing on his
own—paying his own way and making his
own connections, ever conscious of the privileges he has been awarded from his schooling.
Although JJ and I speak infrequently, at best,
he is someone I know I can always call on; he’s
a friend who will always be there when it
counts. I hoped that he would consider the
same of me and last Thanksgiving, it came to
pass. JJ visited me in the Bahamas where I now
teach at the Island School. Just after he arrived,
I told him Cami had called to inform him that
their father had passed away. Although the
news tainted his visit, our long-term friendship, respect for each other, and understanding
of the family dynamics seemed to help him
handle his disparate feelings of sadness and
sorrow of his loss, mixed with his joy and excitement of seeing Jenny and me in our new
home in this gorgeous tropical paradise.
JJ confessed to me once that, outside of
Thacher, he never felt as though he had a lot of
friends, but he felt he always had great friends.
Likely that’s because he is such a good friend to
others; his personal attributes of integrity, respect, and generosity have set him apart from
his peers for many years, and, perhaps most
significantly and eloquently, when he was recognized upon his graduation from Thacher
Rob was born and raised in San Francisco. He
majored in Literature/Creative Writing at UC
Santa Cruz and earned his bachelor’s degree
in 1993. He then spent six months living in
Seville, Spain, before earning a master’s degree in English/Creative Writing at Northern
Arizona University in 1996. He teaches 11th and
12th grade English at the Harker School and
coaches cross-country. He lives in Los Gatos,
CA. robm@harker.org
David O. Amuda “‘Did I just hear
my name?’ That quote summarizes
my surprise at receiving The Charles L. Tutt
Bowl for Honesty and Integrity. I vividly recall
spending countless minutes staring at the
names on the various honorariums hanging on
the walls on the dining hall while eating meals.
I never thought that my name would accompany those who came before me.”
1990
David graduated from Santa Clara University
with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and
then spent seven years in technical sales and
marketing and manufacturing engineering
roles with two Fortune 500 industrial firms. He
is currently pursuing his Masters in Business
Administration at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. doamuda@aol.com. Please
see David’s profile that begins on page 38.
Joshua Jade (né Carley) JJ earned
a bachelor’s degree in music from
Lewis & Clark in 1995 and then a master’s degree from California Institute of the Arts in 2000.
He is the Production Manager for public events
at the Skirball Cultural Center and lives in Venice,
CA. jjade@skirball.org. Please see Joshua’s
profile that begins on page 40.
1991
Kwabena Serebour Kwabena
was born in Liberia. He had to attain citizenship and a passport from Ghanian
Supreme Court to be granted a visa to be educated in the US; he also had to promise he
would return home to help the nation. As of
1993, he was teaching mathematics in Suame,
Kumasi, Ghana. He hopes to return to the US
for college someday.
1992
Javier Delgadillo “I was completely surprised to receive the
Award. My parents were very proud of me and
it made me happy that my name would be up
on the wall for future generations of Thacher
students to see.
1993
“I saw Thacher as a way to improve my life in
the long run, and judging by my position, the
gamble paid off. So I showed up never having
seen the campus nor meeting anyone in my
class. I did talk to one fellow ABC student, Don
Flores CdeP 1993, before arriving at the School
as well as conversations over the phone with
Ms. Sawyer-Mulligan.”
Javier grew up in Compton (“Yes, the Compton
that all the ‘gangsta’ rappers rap about”) and
page 41
Alumni Profiles
had planned to continue in the local school
system. He was accepted to Thacher as an A
Better Chance student after being turned
down at Webb. Following Thacher, Javier received a bachelor of science degree in Computer Science from Stanford in 1997. He works
as a Software Senior Engineer at Netscape
Communications Corporation, developing security/encryption technology in Netscape
products. He lives in Mountain View; his
hobbies include salsa dancing, basketball, and tennis. javi@netscape.com,
javi@cs.stanford.edu
Laura A. Brinton “I was quite
surprised [to receive The Tutt
Bowl]. I never thought of myself as standing out for any reason. I knew I stood out in
the Riding Program, but I mostly attributed
that to my very tall horse! I didn’t know
anything about The Tutt Bowl until that
night when Mr. Mulligan read the history
about it. I was very impressed with what it
stood for; I was completely floored when
he read my name as the recipient.
1994
“One of my favorite memories of Thacher was
a surprise birthday party my senior year put on
by my freshman section and fellow seniors in
Casa. I was caught totally unaware by their
generosity and creativity.
“The best skill I learned at Thacher was problem solving. It was important in school and extremely important in my line of work. Also, I
found that bonds made with friends at Thacher
are stronger than any other. Even though we all
went to different places, it doesn’t seem to
matter. When I saw my classmates at my fiveyear Reunion, it was just like we had graduated. Everyone had changed, but there were
so many things in common from experiences
at Thacher that it seemed hard to grow apart.”
Laura grew up in Jackson, WY, where she became addicted to riding horses. She still rides
and competes, despite endless hours spent at
school. She chose Thacher because of the
Horse Program and outdoor quality of the
School. Following Thacher, she attended Colorado State for her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. She spent a summer working for
CSU’s Biotechnology lab on a few projects involving in vitro fertilization. There were also
projects using sexed semen in cattle to get the
desired sex in the offspring. Last summer she
was the assistant trainer on a horse farm in
Sun Valley, ID. She is presently living in Fort
Collins while completing her doctorate of
veterinary medicine at Colorado State. She
hopes to do an internship at a large equine
hospital, followed by a surgical residency.
Lbrinton920@cs.com
Catalina Saenz “Thacher had a
huge impact on my life. It literally
changed the possibilities for what my life could
become and I am forever grateful.”
1995
page 42
The Thacher News
Cesar G. Gerardo, Jr. CdeP 1998
Inspired Wanderlust
t seems fitting that a Tutt
Bowl recipient should feel
undeserving of the Award.
After all, one who exhibits
integrity, responsibility, fortitude in the face of adversity, and consideration of
others does not typically
wish to call attention to
these traits, but rather considers them a normal part
of life, for which everyone
should strive. The same is
true of Cesar
Gerardo, Jr., the
1998 recipient
of the prestigious
silver cup. I
don’t think anyone in CdeP
1998 was surprised to hear
Cesar’s name
announced for
The Tutt Bowl
Award on the
eve of our graduation, except perhaps for Cesar himself. After four “post-Thacher” years, Cesar still believes
that the virtues listed by Mrs. Tutt are goals many
people strive for, but can never fully attain. In
this way, he goes on, The Tutt Bowl is more of
a challenge than an Award: “to become what
it claims you already are.”
I
by Ryan M. Meyer CdeP 1998
on Family Weekend as an example of a welldone I-search project. He had certainly not
procrastinated, and it didn’t seem he ever
would.
Cesar involved himself in quite an amazing
number of activities at Thacher, on top of an
impressive academic load each and every semester. Most people I have talked to mentioned
the fact that Cesar seemed to pour himself into
everything he did regardless of how much he
took on and seemingly never spread thin.
Whether training a new mustang, getting rides
to his Filipino martial arts classes, studying
Chinese, playing pool with friends after checkin, or even rehearsing for the spring musical,
Cesar always seemed happy with what he was
doing, and never afraid to take on something
new. On top of these, Cesar devoted himself
to the freshman boys in the Lower School
Dorm. His good nature, dedication, and inquisitive mind made him someone you’d like to
include in whatever you were doing.
The pattern has continued beyond the Thacher
years. Cesar completed majors in Anthropology and Psychology in three years, while supporting himself with a 30-hour-a-week job. He
finished every semester in his sophomore and
junior years with honors, and graduated with
the Distinction in Scholarship label. Beyond
this, Cesar immersed himself in Filipino, becoming a local star in traditional theatre and
dance productions with roles from a Muslim
warrior to a singing Filipino worker singing to
Perhaps those of us who know this Philippines- his wife from overseas.
born Hayward local would modify that statement, insisting that Cesar continues to meet As though Spanish, Chinese, Tagalag, and Engthe challenge of being what the Award right- lish weren’t enough for him, Cesar arranged
fully proclaimed him to be. While his interests to spend his final academic semester in Vietand pursuits tend to change frequently, we nam, broadening every horizon he had. As we
know that he will apply himself diligently in would expect, Cesar immersed himself in all
whatever new pursuit he has before him with aspects of the Vietnamese life and society. He
unbridled enthusiasm. He regards any new has returned home from his refreshing break
task or problem as an opportunity to learn and from American culture officially graduated and
grow, inevitably expanding his horizons and officially unemployed.
his circle of friends and admirers.
When Cesar’s parents ask him, ”What are you
I think the faculty of Thacher recognized this going to do with a BA in anthro and psych?
fact early in Cesar’s high school career, realiz- Analyze fossils?” his characteristic reply is
ing that with academic freedom he would only something like “Heck, sounds like fun! It’s
excel. After all, not every Thacher freshman more of a plan than I’ve got.” Some recent
would be trusted with a research project (the graduates might approach their lack of a
famous freshman “I-search”) on the topic of “plan” with a sort of desperate anxiety, en“procrastination.” Cesar, however, was hanced by parental badgering and social presgranted permission to pursue this marginally sure to have a focus, but not Cesar. Instead he
academic project, and the very next year I seems to relish the uncertainty in life, taking
watched him present his project to the parents comfort in the fact that he can not only excel
in whatever situation that presents itself, but
that he’ll have a great time doing it.
Cesar has been receiving academic distinctions
for as long as he’s been in school, and its clear
that he places little importance in them. This
was probably part of the reason he was so
eager to finish school and get out into the
world. Unlike his academic achievements,
however, Cesar cannot ignore the implications
of The Tutt Bowl regardless of what he ends up
doing. He may wonder why the silver bowl
sits on his desk, and not the desk of any other
good-natured person, but the rest of us know
that Cesar was not only the most deserving of
the recognition, but that he was up to the lifechallenge it presented him. e
Catalina was A Better Chance student at
Thacher. She matriculated to Wellesley College. csaenz@wellesley.edu
Peter F. Marlantes “No other period of my life was as defining as
my time at Thacher. I learned and grew into
the person that I am today, and I am so grateful that I became me at Thacher and nowhere
else. Receiving The Tutt Bowl at graduation
was recognition of my devotion to the School
that had given me so much over my four years
as a student. When I attended my five-year Reunion, I was struck by what an amazing experience Thacher had been. It was incredible,
albeit a little strange, to see all my old friends in
the dorms again. Of the 12 schools and universities that I attended, Thacher is the only one I
continue to feel loyalty and gratitude.”
1996
Peter was born in Portland, OR, but lived in five
countries before coming to Thacher. He matriculated to Haverford College, but spent one
year at the University of Salamanca in Spain
and 1.5 years at UC Santa Barbara, before
graduating with a Business Economics degree. For about two years, he’s been working
with a consulting firm in Los Angeles. He plans
to do graduate work in the future. pmarlant@
hotmail.com
Nancy P. Moser Nancy attended
Macalester College for one year
and graduated from Georgetown University.
mosern@gunet.georgetown.edu
1996
Christopher W. Labbe “The Tutt
Bowl was the best Award I have
ever received; it was a great honor. To be recognized for honesty and integrity is truly an
honor. My time spent at Thacher and, more
specifically, with Mr. Swan shaped me into the
person I am today. He taught me, whether he
knows it or not, that with hard work and honesty, integrity will follow.
1997
“I chose Thacher because, quite frankly, my
dad and brothers went there. I had no idea that
the horses would change my path in life and
point me into the agriculture world I am in
today. I wasn’t the ideal Thacher student when
it came to the books or grades, and definitely
wasn’t off to any Ivy League School. I remember many parent-teacher conferences in Mt.
Olympus about my grades and how I was
spending too much time at the barns. But, I
pulled my grades up with determination and
help and came through. If it weren’t for
Thacher and the Horse Department’s belief in
me, I would not be where I am today.”
Chris was born and raised in Portland, OR. He
studied Animal Science at Montana State University in Bozeman and received his bachelor’s degree this spring. He hopes to manage a
cattle or horse ranch, or acquire one of his
own some day. cwlabbe@montana.edu
page 43
Alumni Profiles
Cesar G. Gerardo “The Tutt Bowl
can only be appreciated as a challenge, rather than an award of success—a
challenge to become what it claims you already are…sometimes, the most important
things in life are those that can fit inside little
trophies from little schools.”
1998
Born in Manila, Philippines, Cesar was raised
in Angeles City until his family immigrated
to the Bay Area in 1988. He spent a semester in Hanoi before completing his
bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley in Anthropology and Psychology in 2001. He
also worked as a lab assistant for two
years in an entomology/virology research
laboratory while finishing his degrees.
Kaliador18@yahoo.com. Please see
Cesar’s profile that begins on page 42.
Alexander L. Kitnick “When
they called my name [for the
Tutt Bowl], I had to maneuver through all
the people in their folding chairs beneath
the massive tent on the Forest Cooke
Lawn. I was quite nervous but felt good about
it. The next day I felt a little burdened by it, like
I had to uphold all these lofty virtues that had
been bestowed on me. In retrospect, however,
I am greatly honored by it. It serves as a kind of
reminder of what we can aim for. “
1999
“I liked Thacher because it’s filled with interesting, interested people. I like to come back to
Thacher occasionally to see some people and
get a tangerine from behind Maintenance.”
Alex is attending and majoring in College of
Letters—an interdisciplinary major focusing
on the history, literature, and philosophy of
Europe—at Wesleyan in Middletown, CT. He
chose this major because it coincides with his
lifelong interests and seemed so vague that he
could never answer the question of what to do
when he gets older. He returns to the Carpinteria/Santa Barbara coastal area each
summer to work for the Santa Barbara Independent and the Environmental Defense Center. He spent a semester of his sophomore year
in Spain. Long term, Alex is considering a career in journalism and/or education.
akitnick@wesleyan.edu
Jonathan R. LePlastrier Jon initially attended UC Santa Cruz and
then transferred to Santa Clara University; he’s
studying computer science. jleplastrier@
scu.edu
2000
Nichole R. Silverman Nicki followed in two older sisters’ footsteps
by coming to Thacher. While visiting them on
weekends and seeing how friendly the students were, she decided to come to Thacher.
2001
Her favorite memories: “I loved going to school
with my sisters. I think we must have set some
kind of record for having three siblings at the
page 44
The Thacher News
William R. Barkan ’02
Overcoming Challenges with Panache
his year’s Tutt Bowl recipient is the epitome
of the qualities stressed
by Mrs. Tutt in giving this
Award for he displays integrity, responsibility, fortitude, and concern for
others despite adverse situations or personal difficulties. The comment read
in awarding his diploma
this June sums up Will
Barkan’s impact on the
School
and
what will long
be remembered
by this Community:
T
by Jane D. McCarthy
deciphering signs. Will was eight when he was
diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, a condition
characterized by loss of central vision that diminishes visual acuity and color perception.
Peripheral vision is better, but no cure exists
for this genetic form of macular degeneration.
Despite this malady, Will has accomplished
more in his 18 years than many adults; he
thrives on challenges and hard work and embraces all that life offers.
When Will applied to Thacher, he wrote of the
cloud’s silver lining in living with his visual impairment: maintaining a positive outlook on
life and a good attitude towards activities, both
academic and extra-curricular; respecting and
helping others with disabilities or difficulties
in achieving a goal; and becoming self-reliant
and independent. Will demonstrated these
No stop-watch characteristics throughout his Thacher career
will catch time in every aspect of his endeavors:
elapsed
between a need • Will was a dependable, conscientious Prefect who balanced dry wit with consistent
expressed and
concern and care for all of his charges, even
Will’s stepping
in prickly situations. His sense of the deliin to do what
cate equilibrium between justice and comneeds doing:
passion and his willingness to stand up
wash the dirty cookie sheets at Open House,
quietly but firmly for what is right made a
race to the side of a fellow runner—or comdemonstrable difference in the quality of
petitor—crumbled in exhaustion to do a
this school year.
bonafide EMT check, provide the name of an
obscure rock specimen on a geology field trip,
get the Whisperlites going in the frigid morning • With a marvelous range of voices and accents, Will enlivened our stage with some
air of a Sierra backpacking trip (after having
memorable performances. Specializing early
organized the expedition), pitch a line to anin his career in some interesting butler roles,
other actor who’s momentarily forgotten what
Will branched out into Shakespeare in As
comes next in the script, or create the perfect
You Like It and ultimately accepted the chalpoignancy through a character he’s playing.
lenge of the role of the narrator in Dancing
Stoically, even heroically, Will provides serious
at Lughnasa, where, as Michael, he took us
stuff when the going gets rough—yet Saturday
back into a dream summer of his childhood.
Night (or Senior Night) Live and Monty
Will’s talents and dedication made him a
Python routines reveal the other side of Will:
Masquers mainstay throughout his years at
his steel-trap mind, talent for bulls-eye mimThacher and earned him the Bixby Drama
icry, and razor wit keep us rolling in the aisles.
Award.
Will was born with his sleeves rolled up and his
running shoes tied; he’s perpetually ready and
eager, determined to live life in the most com- • As an impressive, dedicated athlete, Will’s
leadership for our Cross Country and Track
plete way possible. Lagging far behind, we, his
and Field Teams inspired teammates to run
admirers, simply watch his heels, beating a
faster, jump higher, and never give up. He
steady rhythm up hill and down, leaving clear
wouldn’t hesitate sacrificing some of his perand definitive prints that will last a long, long
sonal goals for the good of the team. Even
time.
when injured this spring and unable to compete, Will was determined to help his teamThis comment does not, however, mention that
mates by encouraging them to improve and
Will is legally blind. His vision is 20:350, and
enthusiastically cheering them on. He shared
he must hold printed material within a few
the Lettermen’s Perpetual Trophy upon gradinches of his eyes to read. He sees in basic
uation.
shapes and colors and sometimes has difficulty
Will loves the outdoors and is a proficient skier,
rock climber, backpacker, whitewater rafter,
and canoeist. Boy Scouts offered him opportunities to indulge in these activities while
teaching young Scouts and learning from older
ones. Just after Christmas 2001, Will reached
the highest rank of Boy Scouts: Eagle Scout.
Fewer than three percent of all Scouts attain
this level in which a rigorous set of standards
must be completed, including six continuous
months of troop or patrol leadership. This was
especially difficult while boarding at Thacher
and being absent from his troop in San Francisco.
Beginning this fall, Will plans to major in environmental education or political science at
the University of Colorado at Boulder. At some
point, Will wants to trek the 1,560-mile Pacific Coast Trail from Baja to Canada. He
thinks it will take five months, but his athletic
and wilderness training will help him overcome
any untoward events along the way. If they
don’t, his humor surely will. e
School all at the same time. Winning The Tutt
Bowl is another favorite moment. I was so surprised and happy at the same time. It meant
so much to me. I also think that one of my lasting memories came from my very first dorm
meeting freshman year in Casa. Mr. Manson
opened the meeting by saying, ‘It is a known
fact that someone in this room will be a bride’s
maid at someone else’s wedding, and someone here will be the godmother of someone
else’s child…’ I remember looking around the
room. I didn’t know anyone. I barely even knew
anyone’s name. It’s funny that this made such
a lasting impression on me, but when I tell this
story, a lot of people ask about Thacher. And I
always add, ‘It really is so true.’
“The friends that you make at Thacher are
such unique people. Now that I’m in college, I
realize that Thacher people really are a different kind of people. There’s no others like them.”
Nicki just finished her freshman year at Scripps
College in Claremont. nsilverm@ScrippsCollege.edu
William R. Barkan Will followed
in the footsteps of his father, John
CdeP 1967 and his older brother Andrew CdeP
1998 to Thacher; his sister Phoebe will be a
senior this fall. Upon receiving The Tutt Bowl,
Will said, “I was gratified to be chosen for this
very special Award. I tried to live a moral life,
and it felt good to realize that others, especially
the faculty, noticed.” william.barkan@
colorado.edu. Please see Will’s profile that begins on page 44.
2002
page 45
Alumni News
Brittany L. Sanders CdeP 1996
I Was There: Rumor Fable Exploit
by Jane D. McCarthy
Santa Monica: Bonnie & Morgan Press, 2001, bonniemorganpress@hotmail.com
Youthfulness with a sophisticated side
Adventurousness with an attachment to home,
family, and friends
Discipline with an easy-going style
Passion with equanimity
These comparisons describe Brittany Sanders’s
characteristics and contributions to The
Thacher School Community. Such phrases
apply equally to Brittany’s most recent work, I
Was There, a collection of personal truths and
perceptions, contrasts and creativity.
“I Was There, Brittany Sanders’s little anthology jewelbox of an artist’s book, is a veritable
wondercabinet, brimming over with daft marvels and somber delights—stories, drawings,
rumors, fables, photos, dreamscapes—all of
them exquisitely fashioned and sumptuously
presented. The ‘Kinda Sutra’ by itself is kinda
priceless—at any rate well worth the price of
admission for the whole thing. So: Quick!
Don’t Tarry! You be there, too!”
—Lawrence Weschler
author and New Yorker Contributor
Handmade and mouldmade papers from
France, England, Germany, and Japan in
shades of blue, white, and taupe…
Letterpress-printed so one can feel the text embossed into the page…
The Dialogue between woodcuts from the
twenties and modern line drawings interspersed with text…
A book that brings emerging writers and artists
together with established writers and artists,
such as Rick Ridgeway, Anne Lamott, Mark
Salzman and Naomi Shihab Nye…
A book that gives equal attention and recognition to both art and text…
A book that brings the art form of the handprinted, hand-made book to a contemporary
setting.
And, throughout all, a sensual experience of
texture, text, and intrigue: pop-up poems, hidden booklets of gems, and love notes written
between the lines…
The pieces within I Was There can be read as
individual stories or as collections within a narrative, moving from Rumor (youthful innocence;
unclouded views of experiences) to Fable (fantastic truths; deeper understanding through
experience) to Exploit (frontiers of thought; no
objectivity in truth). Contributions in the Rumor section include Anne Lamott’s “Tummler’s
Dog” about a child
breaking through
her fear of dogs;
Mark Salzman’s
“A Case Study:
The Pre & Post
Brain of a New Father” the author’s
changed brain after the birth of his
daughter; and
Aracelís Girmay’s
CdeP 1995 “Girl
Medusa” about the
sexual discovery of
a young girl. The
Fable section includes the pop-up
poem “Another
Brittany using a 1939
Apology” by Lau- Vandercook letterpress to
rel Braitman CdeP create I Was There
1996 in response
to Richard Wilbur’s poem “Apology”; Oscarwinner Richard Chew’s perceptions while filming Woodstock; and a return to reality in Rick
Ridgeway’s “A Jungle Mirror” in which he writes,
“for the first time in my life I had seen Homo
Sapien. For the first time in my life, I had seen
who I used to be.” The Exploit section begins
with a letter written by Albert Einstein to Dr.
Eric Barrett (Brittany’s grandfather) and ends
with the upbeat poem “Big Head, Big Face” written by Naomi Shihab Nye, who “is always looking for more connection and peace among people of the world.” Throughout the book are paintings and drawings by Ashley Thayer CdeP
1996 and the continual theme of personal experience.
One of the most heart-breaking stories in the
book is “A Packet of Letters” by the artist and
Brown University Professor, Walter Feldman.
Walter has taught at Brown for the last 50
years, and it was at Brown that Brittany encountered his class, “Art of the Book,” which
introduced her to the world of artist books and
led to this project. “A Packet of Letters” is
about Walter’s experience as a young soldier at
the Battle of the Bulge. “It was, as we now
know, the last bloody thrust of the Nazi armies
in Europe.” Wounded and frightened, Walter’s
only consolation was the letters he received
from his mother, an illiterate immigrant from
Eastern Europe who learned to read and write
in order to stay in touch with her son. Upon
transfer to a hospital in Paris, Walter writes, his
“two most precious possessions, my jump
boots and my packet of letters disappeared.
They never turned up again.” After the death
of his mother in 1981, Walter discovered an
old stenographer’s notebook in his mother’s
attic. “At some level, as a child, I must have
known that my mom, called ‘Fegele’ or ‘Little
Bird’ was illiterate. As a young infantryman I
had not the maturity nor time to question the
miracle of her letters. The old notebook was
her practice book…The list of words and
phrases that she practiced over and over were
revealing of hopes, of silent prayers, of an
aching heart.” The last practice letter in her
steno pad bared her most private feelings:
Dearest Kids, her I am alon and I am so
lonely for you I know I have know rite
to say that but it is so woth can I do I
love you very mouch your mother see
you soon
The narrative journey of I Was There is propelled by images of the New York Skyline as it
moves from dawn to nightfall. The series of
photographs, titled “Crossing the Upper New
York Bay: A Passage from Lower Manhattan
to Staten Island, June 11, 2001,” are by Stefan
Hagen, who rode the Staten Island ferry every
trip in the course of a day and pointed his camera at the Manhattan Skyline. For each journey
back and forth on the ferry, Hagen took a single photograph with the shutter left open for
the duration of the 16-minute trip. Hagen
writes, “After the exposure, an object is no
longer clearly defined. Even the skyline becomes a vague cloud. What stands out are repeating occurrences of the waves in the back of
the ferry, the lines of the sun and the lights of
the city after sunset. Distinct shapes appear
only if these lights were present at a single moment in time. The focus of this series is the
quality of light, its general color as well as its
momentary character.” Perhaps most evocative of all are the abstract lights of the World
Trade Center photographed exactly three
months before 9/11.
When Brittany arrived at Thacher early in May
to discuss her book, she had just finished hand
binding the last copy of I Was There, a threemonth-long task. She had taken little time off
except to teach a class on bookmaking during
Departmental Weekend in February. This project nicely caps a chapter of her life that began
Ben Carter
Erin Rosen
David Amuda
continued from page 33
The crowning achievement of Ben’s four years
at Thacher was receiving The Charles L. Tutt
Silver Bowl for Integrity and Responsibility.
He says he was surprised but honored to have
been chosen for the Award, claiming he was
not a stand-out leader in the class and felt others were more worthy and deserving. Ironically, if one reads the inscription it is apparent
why Benjamin F. Carter would be the choice.
ond, the work of over 30 key modern poets—
most of whom Bei Dao knew personally—
who have transformed the genre of Chinese poetry; and finally, the skill of “close reading” whereby students learned to analyze poems in a
“reverse-funnel” approach, from the words
outward to meaning. Outside of class, Erin was
a frequent attendee at Bei Dao’s office hours.
At first he seemed a bit overwhelmed by her 10
year’s worth of questions; but by the second week,
Somehow Ben’s return to his roots set the path upon viewing that day’s list of questions, he smiled
for his wonderful and diverse life. From farm and said, “You’re really interested in this stuff,
laborer to engineer to management consultant aren’t you?”
to high-tech manager to agribusiness owner
(really another way to label a farm laborer!) During office hours one day at the end of the
semester, Bei Dao asked Erin why she hadn’t spoPerhaps the words of “The Banquet Song,” ken more in class that day. She replied that she
sung by so many of diverse backgrounds and had found the poem for that day to be quite long
career paths in life, can help to explain why and difficult, and that because she had translated
Ben Carter was chosen for The Tutt Bowl.
the poem into English, she had a hard time
going back and forth quickly between the two
versions. Bei Dao expressed his surprise that
May old Casa Piedra not fade from our hearts,
she had translated the poem; Erin just shrugged
Till our hearts cease their restless tattoo!
and said that she had translated all the poems
May honor, and fairness, and kindness, and truth
they had read thus far so she thought it was natBe ours till life’s struggle is through.
ural to translate this one, too. Bei Dao looked
May the stamp of the School
even more surprised; he was quiet for a moment,
Be the stamp of our lives
and then said, “Well, we should see if we can’t
Whose honesty carries us on,
get them published.” Subsequently, Bei Dao
To do the best work in the world that we can
arranged for the translations of 30 to 40 poems
Till the best we can do is all done. e
to be published in the March 2003 issue of
New American Writing, for which he will write
the preface. Erin never imagined that any kind
of publication would result from taking Bei
Dao’s class, and she feels lucky to have the opportunity to continue to work with him and
his poetry.
ment. In his free time, he became involved in
his community as a basketball referee for the
California Interscholastic Federation and the
local YMCA.
Erin’s interest in poetry and China endures; as
at Thacher, she continues to seek experiences
that provide her both with personal and communal sustenance. She completed the Bar Exam
this summer and will clerk for a federal judge
in southern California this coming year. When
asked how she felt when she was awarded The
Tutt Bowl, she said that although she wasn’t certain what the Award meant, she was very humbled to have received it. As she explains, perhaps the humbling feeling arises “because The
Tutt Bowl is meant to recognize something intangible and seemingly elusive, yet also something essential about a person. It is quite humbling to step back and consider who you are,
to think at the end of the day upon the summation of a day’s flights of emotion, and fancy,
and impulse, and to try to assess who it is that
is now falling asleep. Knowing one’s own weaknesses and failings, it is even more humbling to
think of others considering your character, and
then honoring it. This realm of thoughts leaves
me with a deep sense of undeservedness. And
yet gratefulness, too.”
David looks back and views his Thacher experience as “exceptional [good] fortune”, and
his post-collegiate years as a time when he was
“operating without a safety net.” He needed to
become self-supporting the moment he left college and had to forgo some enrichment opportunities in the process.
Bookshelf
even before Thacher. Being the daughter of two
documentary filmmakers (Academy-Awardwinners Terry Sanders and Frieda Lee Mock,
daughter of long-time Thacher chef Lee
Quong), Brittany traveled extensively as a
child, worked in various film-related projects,
became an accomplished photographer, and
garnered commendation for her artwork. Her
camera became the means for discovery and
capturing stories, be it her eleventh-grade
photo essay “Break the Mirror” a look at the
similarities between the old and young; her Senior Exhibition “Artists of Ojai;” her Brown
thesis, a children’s book, Pickle the Parrot,
about a lonely parrot in Los Angeles who
dreams of flying with the wild LA Parrots; or
her latest work, I Was There. Throughout
these projects, Brittany demonstrates artistic
sensibility and natural talent in the visual arts
balanced with a deep understanding of human
perception that is remarkable for one so young.
David notes a common theme between his academic and professional experience. He was
attracted to Thacher, Santa Clara University
and his two employers because they each had
strong values. Thacher and Santa Clara each
stressed community service, integrity, and leadership. Eaton and Schlumberger were both
companies that “allowed him to be honest.”
One of the reasons he left sales, however, was
because he found it trying on an ethical level.
David notes, “I always adhered to my own
personal code of values but that can be a liability in the work place.”
While continuing with Schlumberger, David
decided to continue his education. He enrolled
in evening certificate programs at UCLA Extension in Manufacturing Engineering and at
Cal State Northridge in Production and Inventory Management. That experience cemented his plan to pursue an MBA and he
applied to a number of top business schools in
2000. David was accepted everywhere he applied and selected University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, based on the cultural fit,
moving east once again in 2001.
David is now focused on expanding his international experience. He recently returned from
an MBA trip to Asia and plans to study abroad
in Barcelona next spring. He’s considering
postgraduate opportunities in South America.
With seven years of work behind him, David’s
taking more chances and doing those things
that will build his global perspective. He claims
he doesn’t “have a clear vision for the future,
but [is] headed in the direction he wants to go.
I’m doing something different that will pay
off.”
When will he finally believe he’s accomplished
something significant? David considers the
question carefully and responds: “I will feel
that I’ve been successful if I can help someone
else achieve success the same way others helped
me to beat the odds.”
While David may still anticipate adversity, he’s
proven his ability to overcome obstacles as
Leaf through I Was There. Savor each nuance, Erin’s manner of living has been—and will con- they arise. His quiet focus and solid values
treat every sense, and explore others’ percep- tinue to be—intellectually stimulating poetry have taken him from South Central Los Anin motion. e
geles to a world of opportunity. e
tions and truths. e
Sarah Lavender Smith wrote: “Here’s some exciting news…Raul Pacheco and his band
Ozomatli won the Grammy award in the category Best Latin Rock/Alternative. Our classmates
remember when he was in the Homeboyz band at
Thacher. Way to go!”
1989
Beth Grossman Besch and her husband, Holger,
are delighted parents of Katya (Katherine Annecy
Besch) as of September 2, 2001.
Keep a lookout
for a Fruit of the
Loom TV commercial featuring JP Manoux.
Cinzia and Mark Holman are celebrating
the birth on August 8
of their daughter,
Maya. She weighed in
at 6 lbs., 14oz.
JP Manoux
CdeP 1989 with
girlfriend Susan
Mark Holman CdeP
1986 with new
daughter, Maya
Lupe Nickell sent this photo of some “younger”
Toads at the May Wine Tasting event in Napa.
They are, from left to right: Jorge Motoshige and
Lawrence Hollins CdeP 1992; Justin Stephens
CdeP 1994; and Guadalupe Nickell,Ty Gabriel,
Jung Lee, and John LaGatta, all CdeP 1992
If you need to talk with someone in the legal department at Hewlett Packard, ask for Jennifer
Brown Rogers. Son Max is 4 and another baby
arrived not long ago.
1993
1987
Lyn Dawson CdeP
1989 shows off a
just-caught
cutthroat trout
Julie Osterling and Natasha Rosenblatt are
thrilled to announce the birth of their son,
Reuben Rosenblatt on April 18, 2001.
Children update from David Bressie: Mackenzie
(4), Gillian (2), and Jacqueline (5 months). The
girls stayed at home for the Reunion, but he
brought photos so all could ooh and ahh over the
cuties.
Because Michele Barnett Berg started a new job
at the State Department as Senior Advisor to the
CFO on Human Capital issues in Washington this
spring, she didn’t make it to the Reunion in June.
Besides, she and her husband had to visit family
in Sweden before their first child arrives early in
the fall.
1988
1990
Jennifer Utman Sommer’s life changed dramatically on August 6, 2002, when a baby girl arrived
on the scene. She’s taking an LOA from her work
at Food and Wine Magazine in Brentwood, CA.
Also in Jennifer and husband Mark’s family is a
lab named Charlie.
Even though Win Burleson is still working on his
doctorate at MIT, he finds time to go sailing.
David Van Slyke is nearly done with his second
novel and looking for a publisher. More news at
dvsgames.com.
Cindy Casteñeda and
husband David happily
announce the birth of
another son: Tomas
Aidan Fanning.
Daniel Declan Fanning
(2) with new brother
Tomas (2 months).They
are the sons of Cindy
Casteñeda CeP 1988 and
David Fanning
Newlyweds Doug
and Denise Daniel
CdeP 1993
1994
According to his parents, Will Scoular left the
Texas plains to fly planes in Alaska.
Betsy Taylor Schamberger is still living in Allentown, PA, and working in Reading, PA, as an environmental consultant. She and her husband Pat
will be visiting Montana this summer to see family (James Taylor, Jr. CdeP 1985, Susan Taylor
Hance CdeP 1982, Deborah Taylor McAtee CdeP
1981, and James C. Taylor, Sr. CdeP 1955). She’d
love to hear from any other East Coast Toads!
Jaime Araujo was recently promoted and is moving to Paris. New contact-details to follow, but
suffice it to say, “I’m very excited!”
There’s no moss growing under Denise Daniel’s
feet. She’s had a very exciting summer in Fort
Collins, CO, building gas chromatographs, and
training for her first
marathon. A week
later, she walked
down the aisle to
marry Doug Morland, a teacher from
Estes Park. The following weekend
they moved into
their new house in
Brighton. Congrats
on all accounts!
Fiona McLaughlin,
daughter of Mike and
Christine Carter
McLaughlin CdeP 1990
1992
Hope Kyle was very excited to hear about
Thacher’s online means of keeping in touch with
the School and fellow classmates, especially since
she’s living and working in Jamaica. She moved
from Chicago in March of last year and has
found the experience very rewarding and interesting. Her teaching load includes ninth and
twelfth grade English, Algebra 2, and a World
History course to ninth graders. She loves the
endless warm weather as well as a wonderful Jamaican man, Lennox. They plan to marry sometime next summer. Nice to know you’ve
resurfaced and are doing so well!
Nick Mast matched with his Numero Uno choice
for his Orthopaedic Surgery residency at the University of Utah! Good choice on both parts!
Meredith Bressie loves her work at BAT architects. She has some interesting projects such as
the National Audio Video Conservation Center
for David Packard and the Library of Congress.
Michael Isaac is in the Santa Barbara area with
his Chesapeake named Hobie. He’s “uncut, so if
any of you out there happen to have another
Chessie female, do look him up. He’s quite a
looker. He likes playing with the cat and going for
long walks on the beach. Hobbies are retrieving
and chewing on shoes. Look us up if you are in
town.”
Laura Brinton recently completed her Doctor of
Veterinary Medicine Degree with a specialty in
large-animal medicine at Colordo State University
School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical
Sciences. Now she’s completing a post-graduate internship at the Specifically
Equine Clinic in Buellton,
CA. Maybe she won’t be
such a stranger to campus
now that she’s on California’s central coast. lbrinton920@cs.com
Laura Brinton CdeP 1994
Justin Stephens is living in St. Helena (Napa Valley) and has been working for several wineries in
various capacities for nearly a year now: “I finally found what I want to be a part of and do. If
anyone is ever interested in visiting Napa let me
know (707-963-2908).” He’s seen Alex Slawson
CdeP 1995, Tim Carter CdeP 1993, Jung Lee
CdeP 1992, and Max Stepanian CdeP 1995 quite
a bit. He spent August in New York for a wine
event and hoped to see Sara Robboy. Sara is
working in the advertising industry. She’s doing
business development for TBWA/Chiat/Day in
Latin America. She travels through the region a
fair amount and uses her Spanish.
According to his folks, Josh Kurlinski is looking
at graduate school in computer science.
Rika and Nate Toll continue to enjoy Georgia,
especially now that spring is in the air. The climate is amazing. They visited Abby Ramsden in
Santa Rosa, CA, when there to celebrate the graduation of the first service dog that they raised for
Canine Companions for Independence.
Mary Everett still lives in Denver, CO, and loves
it. She’s one quarter away from having a Masters
in Sports Management. She’s currently an intern
with the Colorado Rapids soccer team and continues to play soccer on a semi-pro women’s team.
Diana Garcia CdeP 1995 and Mary’s brother Bill
Everett CdeP 1992 were visiting when Mary
penned this note.
1995
Margot Goodan runs into a lot of Thacher folks
such as James Kirkpatrick in San Francisco, who
is studying for his degree in Tribal Law. She also
saw Tony Leung, who is working as a volunteer
at the Steinhart Aquarium, taking care of injured
birds. Jamey Ramsey Palmer is pursuing a degree
in Interior Design in New York City, but planned
to spend part of August in Jackson Hole. He
hoped to see Annie Jack, Jason Hui, and Wil Reniers. “We all had Jamey pegged as an actor, but
he seems to have chosen a different profession.”
Margot also bumped into Zac Clammer; he is
currently volunteering at his local soup kitchen,
but he’s interested in pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine.
Annie Jack loves living in Jackson, WY. She’s
working and playing hard, enjoying the mountains and community that surround her. “Just got
a home and a dog, so it looks like I’ll be here for
awhile!!”
Emily Wilson has a new job and home at Midland School in Santa Ynez. She also has an eightweek-old Australian Shepherd puppy named
Cyrus.
The new Head Athletic Trainer at Nicholls State
University in Thibodaux, LA, is none other than
Jed Siebel. Nicholls State is a smallish—about
7500 students—Division I school deep in the Cajun bayou country, including alligators. Jed is excited about this great opportunity before making
ATC scale and thinks it will provide a more solid
background for a transition to graduate school.
1996
“Thanks to Thacher, I had a job training two
Arabian stallions,” wrote Alexia Allen. In May,
she started tracking cougars for the Washington
Fish & Wildlife Department.
Olivia Roanhorse is settled in Chicago for now.
She wants to get an MAT in Elementary Education and teach a little. Her email address is roanhorse@hotmail.com.
1997
As of Monday, March 4, Erica Moore is a married woman; the lucky guy is Norbert Morvan.
Best wishes to the happy couple!
Mark Forte graduated from Morehouse College
in May 2001 and enrolled in the Prudential California Realty Course.
Amy Purdie graduated in June from Carleton
with a degree in mathematics. She’s hoping for a
job with the National Parks as she still enjoys
camping.
Neil Daniel Lancefield presented his thesis entitled, “An Economic Analysis of Converting Claritin to Over-the-Counter Status” (Reed College’s
own brand of Senior Exhibitions), thereby earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in May.
Margrit Lent graduated, with honors, from Colorado State University in May 2002, with a double major in Zoology and Equine Science. She
started an internship at a thoroughbred farm in
Kentucky in July.
According to his folks, Ryan Kurlinski is considering graduate school in alternate energy engineering.
1998
Jennifer Silverman graduated from Stanford and
is engaged to be married.
Vanessa Theroux graduated from college and is
“off to rock the world!”
Margarethe Javellana just graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College
in Bronxville, NY.
All done with her academic life and starting her
“real world” path is Alexis MacDonald. She completed her bachelor’s with a degree in philosophy
from Oxford and now she’s pursuing acting at
the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in
London. Jolly good show, Alexis!
Brendan Bechtel hosted an informal Class of
1999 BBQ/Party in the Bay Area over the summer. He can be reached at bbechtel@middlebury.edu.
One of the juniors at Arizona State is Chris Holland; he’s working on becoming a landscape architect. He spent six weeks in Europe last summer
studying the landscapes from the past, and hopes
to get an internship this coming summer. He’s
also adopted a more active lifestyle and has lost
over 100 pounds.
Alex Kitnick bumped into Dan Lancefield CdeP
1997 about a year ago on a street corner in
Madrid, and went on to paddle boats together
and take in the Spanish nightlife. More recently,
Tim Liu opened up his house for a New Year’s
Party and many people attended.
Jamie Abou-Samra is happy and full of news. She
reported that Shauna Nyborg is enjoying her time
with the Kiwis in New Zealand. Katie Isaacson
and Mary Craver are next door in Australia. Kim
Cahill is in love. Evan Kanaly is in Spain. Mollie
Gardner is somewhere in Africa, and Sarah
Sawyer is still in Paris. And, Catherine Pinkerton
was married in August!
Sarah Bruss is majoring in Environmental Studies
and East Asian Studies with a focus on China at
Bowdoin in Maine. As of now, she plans on being
a teacher.
2000
Margaux Lloyd spends her dance time as a member of Goucher’s Choreographie Antique. This
spring they performed at an historical dance conference in New York City. The professional company New York Barque asked Margaux to
audition for them when she is done with school.
Ella Goodbrod took the year off to transfer
schools and play. She went on a NOLS course in
Baja, became certified as a Wilderness EMT, and
worked at a food booth at the Olympics. She’ll
start at Prescott College next fall. Ella reported
that Juliette White spent the spring semester in
Hawaii, sailing, and learning about ocean life.
According to his parents, Seth Kurlinski just finished his sophomore year at Bates College in
Lewiston, ME.
2001
Matt Cohen is at USC, on the lacrosse team, and
is a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi.
August 22 was the first day of school for Claire
Chouinard at the Otis Art Institute of Parsons
School of Design in Los Angeles. Best of luck,
Claire!
1999
Eliza Gregory worked hard to finish her junior
year without collapsing. She studied in Cuba in
June and worked in NYC over the summer. She
hoped to see anyone who was in the area.
Recent CdeP 2001 graduates Hannah Carney, Lily
Mitchem, and Meredith Walker
Alumni News
Gordon D. Stott (CdeP
1928) Gordo came to
Thacher from Pasadena, and attended all
but his senior year here.
He worked in banking,
investments, and management. He is survived
by his wife Betsy of
Farmington, CT, and
three children: Peter, Janet, and Sarah.
Dugald MacGregor CdeP
1930 passed away on September 30, 2001. Dugy
was known for his athleticism—especially on the
track and baseball diamond—but he was the
best tilter and saddler on
the First Gymkhana Team.
He was one of the best
campers at School and was awarded the KKK
Camping Cup at Commencement for being
the best camper as voted by his fellow A
Campers. Dugy also served as secretary of the
Bit and Spur, and on the Indoor, Outdoor, and
Camping Committee along with the Committee of Ten. He matriculated to the University of
Washington and graduated from USC, having
majored in business and accounting. He lived
in Colorado Springs and is survived by his brother James CdeP 1936 and son Scott CdeP 1967.
Stable Manager and Prefect. Jim matriculated
to Yale and was attending Harvard Law
School when World War II began. He served in
the 324th regiment of the 44th Infantry Division of the Army in France, Germany, and Austria. He was an intelligence officer and then a
captain at the War’s end; he received two
Bronze Stars. He served as vice president of
McCormick & Baxter Creosoting Company
from 1945 until his retirement in 1987. He
was a member of Waverley Country Club and
a past member of Lake Oswego Hunt Club,
The Racquet Club, and The Arlington Club.
Jim is survived by his wife of 55 years, Mary
Laura Allen; four daughters: Anita Galloway,
Sandy Mack, Nancy Bennetts, and Laura
Wiley; and nine grandchildren.
F.J. Denis Beatty CdeP
1937 died February
2002. While here, Joe
was thought to be the
Upper Upper’s candidate
for the Robert Taylor of
Thacher. He participated
on the First Soccer, Second Baseball, Track, Tennis, and Shooting Teams.
As well, Joe served on the Tennis, Ojai Tournament, and Indoor Committees and the
Committee of Ten. He then earned bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in Fine Arts (architecture)
from Princeton. He worked as a sports consultant/trip coordinator for Unravel Travel, a
Roger Scattergood (CdeP 1930) Roger at- company he and his wife Martha started. They
tended Thacher for his junior year before he at- lived in San Francisco and have two daughtained his bachelor’s degree from Haverford, a ters: Deirdri and Victoria.
master’s from Harvard, and a bachelor’s of law
Edward R. Foote CdeP
degree and MCP from the University of Penn1941, who attended
sylvania. Roger is survived by his wife ElizaThacher for his two upbeth of Kennett Square, PA.
perclass years, has died.
According the 1941 El
James A. MacGregor
Archivero, “Edawa” has
CdeP 1936 of Portland,
“done as much to eduOR, died July 4, 2002.
cate the School socially
During his three years at
and in the ways of the
Thacher, Jim became a
great world as the School
champion rider and polo
player; he also was has done to educate him.” His versatility was
known as a practical apparent: he appeared as Benjamin Franklin
joker and pleasantly sur- in a movie of the same name, he was a licensed
prised folks as “the cra- pilot, he had in-depth knowledge of the Rolls
ziest boy” they’d ever met. In addition to being Royce, and he was an expert teller of tales, inan “A” Camper, Jim distinguished himself by cluding “anecdotes about Boston debs” whom
winning letters in nearly every sport (soccer, he knew. His charm, wit, and smoothness entennis, baseball) and serving on the Pack and deared him to all. He matriculated to Boston
Saddle Club, Committee of X, Outdoor Com- University and received his bachelor’s degree
mittee, Ojai Tournament Committee, and as in 1947; he then earned a master’s from Yale in
1952. Ed had hoped to attend his 45th Repage 52
The Thacher News
union, but he was producing John Irving’s The
Cider House Rules in Dorset, VT for Miramax. He remembered his time at Thacher as
being “happy, constructive, and contributing
to freedom of thought.” Ed lived in Charlotte,
NC, and served on the Board of Directors of
the International Film Seminars. He was predeceased by his wife, Nancy, and his two children: Cassandra and Abbot; he is survived by
four grandchildren.
George F. Zaninovich (CdeP 1947) George’s
wife Betty informed us in August that her husband died November 7, 2001. He attended
Thacher for only his freshman and sophomore
years (1943-1945). They lived in Dinuba, CA.
Robert Austin Smith, MD CdeP 1948, who attended Thacher for his junior year only, died in
April 2002. He matriculated to USC for his
undergraduate work; he earned his MD at the
University of Louisville, and did post-doctoral
work at UCLA. He had an orthopedic surgery
practice in San Pedro. Robert and his wife
Paula have four children: David, Rachael, Sara,
and Leigh.
Eugene Macy Barton
CdeP 1952 attended
Thacher for his senior
year only, but distinguished himself in Dramatics, Glee Club, and on
the athletic field. Nicknamed “Racy Macy,” he
succeeded in firmly establishing himself as an
integral member of the class with his “South of
the Border” humor and unforgettable mannerisms. Although he was devoted to the Smoke
Shack, Macy displayed his athletic prowess by
taking letters in track, basketball, and soccer;
in the last, he played the key center position and
occasionally made “famous” head shots.
Macy matriculated to Stanford. He worked for
Computer Sciences for several years and became Vice President of Finance for the Communications and Data Processing Division. He
then worked from Hughes Aircraft in a similar
position until his retirement in April 1993. Initially, he and his wife Norma moved to Boise,
ID, where she had been raised. Not fond of
the cold weather, they moved to Jalisco in the
Lake Chapala District of Mexico. This was a
very happy move for them and they made
friends with other ex-patriots of the US and
Canada who reside there. Norma informed
Thacher of Macy's passing in April 2002.
Douglas M. Boyd CdeP
1955 died in February
2002. During his two
years at Thacher, Doug
played on the First Soccer Team and rode for
the Green Gymkhana
Team, acted with the
Masquers, earned B
Camper status, and
served on the Indoor (chair), Outdoor, and Library Committees. He dreamed of studying architecture at Yale; indeed, Doug became an Eli
and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in
1959; he also earned an MBA from Stanford in
1962. He worked as a Real Estate Builder and
lived in Balboa, CA. He is survived by his wife
Jean, and three children: Heather, Matthew,
and Elizabeth.
Class Notes
In July, Michael Hammer, Chelsea Bauch ’02, and
Peter Frykman completed a 737-kilometer pilgrimage
through Northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela.
Michael
Hammer and
Peter Frykman,
both CdeP 2001
Faculty News: Past and Present
Thacher Friends
Marion Ballou—grandmother of Katie Ballou
Calhoun CdeP 1983 and Sanford IV (who
worked as an intern in Thacher’s riding program in 1989-90), and mother of the late Sanford Ballou III CdeP 1952—died in January
2002. Jack Huyler remembers Marion and
Sanford Ballou II driving from Pomona to
Thacher in a Stanley Steamer, and Sanford
sending off a cannon ball on the Upper School
on the occasion of his son’s commencement.
Edith “Edie” Thacher Dane, daughter of Hilda
B. and William Larned Thacher, died on Sunday, June 23, 2002. She was born on campus
on May 4, 1913; she attended Vassar College
and settled in Sierra Madre, where her maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John George
Blumer, were of the original group of residents
when they arrived in 1886. She is survived by
her children: Bill of Albany, CA, Frank of
Forestville, CA, and Nancy Dane Pena of San
Jose.
Saul Pick, father of Mark L. Pick CdeP 1971,
died May 8, 2002. He was one of the largest
land owners in Hollywood, built the Cinerama
Dome, redeveloped a corner of Sunset and
Vine, and turned the abandoned Columbia
Studios into the biggest independently owned
television and movie facility in Los Angeles,
the Sunset-Gower Studios, of which Mark is
now the managing partner. e
Greg Courter
with bride Mara
and daughter
Sienna
Mara and Greg Courter enjoyed their happy marriage at Kent Denver School, where Greg is the
Director of Admission. His girls' lacrosse team
played an undefeated season and ranked #1 in
Colorado; Greg was named Coach of the Year
by the Denver Post. Sadly, Mara died on September 1, 2002, of melanoma. Greg has adopted
Mara’s daughter Sienna, and they plan to stay at
Kent Denver.
Joining Greg at Kent Denver are Annie and Nick
Lefferts; Nick is teaching English.
Speaking of English, George Pratt was named the
English Department Chair at Sagehill Academy
in Costa Mesa; Sydney Robertson is teaching history part-time.
As of this summer, Sarah and John Reimers have
a daughter: Molly. John is teaching at Brentwood.
Rae Ann Sines loves her new life in San Francisco, teaching at University High School. She’s
sharing her apartment with Abby Davis who is
applying to graduate schools in hopes of becoming a nurse practitioner.
Marilee Lin came out west to attend Catherine
Pinkerton's wedding in mid-August and to catch
up on news of her former students and advisees.
Margo Buddhu has returned to Monica Ros
(where her sons are students) and is teaching third
grade.
On campus...
Marc and Phoebe Larson welcomed Audrey into
their family in May. Other couples who are expecting babies in mid-September: Jason (Admission) and Megan (English) Carney, and Austin
(History) and Alison (Study Skills) Curwen.
page 53
Reunion
weekend
1932
1942
1947
1957
1952
1962
1967
1972
1982
1977
1987
1992
1997
Alumni News
Reunion
Memorial Service Meditation
Remembering the Journey
by Rev. D. Andrew Kille, PhD CdeP 1967
and have now reached the end of their journey
in this life.
good we have received, and the evil we have
suffered.
We bring the memories of the events, the
places, and the people we cherished. Often
those memories get more rosy as time passes–
did we really trounce Cate so completely?;
were our grades really that good?; did we really handle that horse so masterfully?; was our
sense of humor really funny?– maybe we don’t
We have re-called, calling again to memory always remember exactly how it was, but if it
some of the most formative years of our young wasn’t that way, it should have been!
lives. It has been fascinating to me to overhear
the fragments of conversation around campus– We bring the memories that occasioned later
this was my room, there was where that revelations—the “aha!” made possible by mateacher lived, that wasn’t there before, we turity or experience that enabled us to say,
didn’t have grass on the playing field. Appro- “that’s what happened; now I understand!”
priately enough, much of what we have done
in the past two days has centered on our own We bring the memories we might wish we didpersonal concerns, our own experiences, our n’t have; the ones not often shared or retold
particular friends, and special places.
of the hurts we endured, the pain that we
caused, intentionally or unintentionally, the
The word “sacred” means “set apart.” And mistakes made and opportunities missed.
so, in this place set apart from the rest of the
campus, in this time set apart from the rest of We bring the memories we don’t know we
the weekend, we gather to triangulate our have—some just below the surface, waiting
memories, to put them into new perspective. only to be evoked by a word, a sound, a smell
The psychologist Paul Pruyser once remarked (think of the smell of the ground this morning
that the psychological function of God is to after the rain), others imbedded deep in our
remind us that we are not it.
being without our knowing. We don’t see it,
but perhaps others see it in us. The Stamp of
Perhaps it is the fair valley in its loveliness be- the School has been the stamp of our lives
fore us or the firm mountains in their silence more than we can ever know.
towering over us;
At times we may sympathize with what Rita
It may be the feeling (as one of my classmates Mae Brown meant when she said, “one of the
expressed it) of being able to sit here and feel keys to happiness is a bad memory,” and yet,
the earth turn beneath us;
we have come after a while to understand that
there are things in this life far more important
Perhaps it is a sense of the history and tradition and more enduring than happiness.
and continuity of this School;
It is the capacity of memory to preserve, susIt may be the felt presence of God, the divine, tain, and heal human life that Elie Wiesel, the
the eternal, or whatever names we may use to Holocaust survivor and writer, alluded to in
speak of that dimension within which we live his 1986 Nobel lecture:
and move and have our being and are deeply,
fundamentally and irrevocably bound each to Without memory, our existence would be bareach, known and unknown, past, present, and ren and opaque, like a prison cell into which
yet to be.
no light penetrates; like a tomb which rejects
the living. ...if anything can, it is memory that
In so many ways we are challenged to remem- will save humanity. For me, hope without
ber that we are not it. And so we bring our memory is like memory without hope...
memories together, to see them anew in
broader perspective. We offer them up in these Remembering is a noble and necessary act. The
moments.
call of memory, the call to memory, reaches us
from the very dawn of history. No commandWe bring the names and the memories of those ment figures so frequently, so insistently, in the
who have died; who traveled with us for a time Bible. It is incumbent upon us to remember the
It is through remembering that human communities sustain and reconstruct themselves—
remembering is literally “re-membering”—a
gathering together of all the scattered members of the body. Each of us carries a word in
the eternal telling of a story of this community; we each carry a piece of this Thacher in
our hearts and our souls. Our memories preserve, renew, and reshape those pieces.
t is perhaps most fitting that by tradition we
climb the hill to this place at the end of our
time of retuning to the School. Over the past
days we have re-experienced this special place
called Thacher. We have told the stories (some
of them getting quite hoary by this time); we have
renewed acquaintances (when did they all get
so old?); we have revisited the places (at least
the ones that still exist).
I
One piece that I carried forward from this
place was a love for camping and the outdoors,
and over the years I had many opportunities to
take groups of young people backpacking. Out
of those experiences came these words that I
share with you now:
Lord, I thank you for the journey
and for the journey’s end.
Lord, I thank you for the mountain,
for the rocks, the trees and land.
Lord I thank you for the people
and the moments that we’ve shared
On the journey, on the mountain,
in the people
You are there.
Holy journey; holy mountain; holy people.
You are there. e
Alumni News
Historical Society News
Times Change…and Stay the Same
by Elizabeth A. Bowman
he rich history of Thacher is
evident in the school archives
and on display throughout the
year in exhibits, open houses,
alumni and family events.
T
To give you a snapshot of how
things have changed—or not—at
the School, here’s a look at some
points in time.
100 years ago: Riders try polo for
the first time at Thacher, though
tennis, claims the Archivero, was
again the most popular game at
the School. Among the clubs
available during this year which
have now disappeared:The
Shakespeare Club,The Trappers (6
wildcats caught), Fencers, and The
Camera Club (pictured here)
50 years ago: Camping is stymied by poor weather, but
the gymkhana team triumphs in Colorado
25 years ago:The impact of co-education is felt in
admissions, in sports, and in camping. Anne Green
CdeP 1978 was one of the first eight girls to receive a
diploma;Willard Wyman is doing the honors
75 years ago: A new library is being built and has an
opening planned in November [library opened officially
in January 1928]
page 57
Calendar
Thacher Gatherings and Events
Fall 2002/Winter 2003
Monday, September 9
New Year's Banquet
Tuesday, September 24
Santa Barbara Gathering
Friday-Saturday, October 4-5
Autumn Board of Trustees Meeting
Tuesday, October 8
New York Gathering
Thursday, October 10
Washington, D.C. Gathering
Tuesday, October 15
San Francisco Gathering
Thursday, October 17
Pasadena Gathering
Friday-Sunday, October 25-27
Family Weekend
Wednesday, November 6
Chicago Gathering
Thursday, November 14
Orange County Gathering
Friday-Sunday, November 15-17
Cultural Weekend
Friday, December 13
Holiday Concert
Saturday, January 11
Winter Alumni Day
Friday-Saturday, January 31-February 1
Winter Board of Trustees Meeting
Friday-Sunday, February 14-16
Departmental Weekend
Mounted Color Guard
before Thacher’s semifinals Baseball match:
Katherine Bechtel ’03,
Alex Herbert ’02, and
Jamie Hastings ’02
The Thacher School
5025 Thacher Road
Ojai, CA 93023
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