Groton School Quarterly, Fall 2012 by Groton School

Fall 2012 | Vol. LXXiv, No. 3

Change Service Requested

Groton School Quarterly r

P.O. Box 991 Groton, Massachusetts 01450-0991

Non-profit ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID North Reading, MA Permit 140

20 12

Groton School Quarterly

Groton School

Is Congress Broken? Grotonians Explain What’s Wrong— and How Legislators Could Fix It

Tugging for Kelly’s Dorm: (from left, foreground) Ellie Dolan ’14, Ashlin Dolan ’12, Nicole Fronsdahl ’12, Chelsea Alexander ’14, Katie Petroskey ’12, Amy Zhang ’14, and (coaching at right) Tilly Barnett ’12

www.facebook.com/GrotonSchool

@GrotonSchool

www.flickr.com/GrotonSchool

Fall 2012 • Vol. LXXIV, No. 3

Spring Fling 2012

Miracle or Moneyball? The Congleton Era in Groton Football

Remembering Junie O’Brien Reunion Weekend

MIKE SPERLING

Fall 2012 | Vol. LXXIV, No. 3

Features 18

Is Congress Broken? Commentary on the impasse and what might break it by: George C. Lodge ’45 Representative Bobby Scott ’65 Senator Jim Cooper ’72, P’08, ’14 George Holding ’86 Margaret Goodlander ’05

25 25

Prize Day Pomp, tradition, and a keynote speech by Cyrus Vance, Jr. ’73

31 44

Distinguished Grotonian Award Reunion Weekend Reminiscing with graduates from years ending in 2 and 7

Miracle or Moneyball? How Jake Congleton used data and savvy to win with limited resources by William N. Thorndike, Jr. ’82

Departments

Message from the Headmaster

Letters

Circiter | Featured on Campus 4

A bell-ringing tour de force, national accolades in math and science, global trips, and other news from the Circle

hearty thank you to Groton parents for their support of the Parents Fund! When the annual Fund closed on June 30, 94 percent of our parents provided funding for Groton above and beyond tuition. Their dedication helps to ensure that Groton fulfills its mission—to inspire lives of character, learning, leadership, and service. each year alumni, parents, and friends of Groton School give to the School to ensure its fiscal strength. The annual Fund supports such basic operating expenses as faculty compensation, athletics, the Library, technology, and the maintenance of all the buildings that make the campus so beautiful. The importance of annual giving and high levels of participation cannot be underestimated: the dollars raised by gifts to the Parents Fund preserve the endowment—and Groton’s ability to provide an exceptional educational experience for generations to come. Parents play an integral role in the annual Fund; for the 2011-12 year, they provided 45 percent of the total dollars raised or about $1.3 million. These gifts, regardless of size, reflect the passion, commitment, and gratitude that parents have for this School. Thank you to all parents who have shared their gifts with the School.

Hats Off to Our Parents!

Groton School Quarterly Personae | People of Note 8

The Secrets of the Salamander Shannon Pittman ’04

From Darkness, an Artist gordon gund ’57, P’86, ’89

Goodbye, Hoyt Farewell memories for hoyt Taylor P’98, ’01, ’06

Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle 62

The Book Exists A Chapel Talk by Carly m. margolis ’12

“Different, Not Less” A Chapel Talk by Emma E. Thomasch ’12

Empathy, Apartheid, and 21st-Century Skills A Chapel Talk by Diana V. Chigas ’79, Trustee

De Libris | About Books 70

New Releases

Grotoniana | All Things Groton 72 74 75 80

Theater Dance Spring Sports Gallery News

In Memoriam | As We Remember 82 90

Frank “Junie” O’Brien Stanley r. resor ’35

Notabilia | New & Noteworthy

ALEXIS CIAmBOTTI ’14

93 Form Notes 124 Marriages, New Arrivals, Deaths

message from the Headmaster

ach June I present my goals for the upcoming school year to the Board of Trustees. This time, the task felt somehow weightier as I looked back on nearly a decade on the Circle and contemplated how I could best serve Groton in my final year. After significant reflection, I settled on four primary goals. First among my goals is to be as much a presence as ever in the lives of students, faculty, and the rest of the School community. Whether I am speaking in Chapel, playing ping-pong with students at Parlor, meeting with faculty, cheering alongside parents at games and performances, or welcoming alumni back for Lessons and Carols, I will be fully engaged in the rhythms and routines of life on the Circle. In addition to attending to day-to-day experiences and School operations, I am committed to planning and providing for Groton’s future. Primary to this goal will be sustaining the momentum toward a state-of-the-art Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math facility, one that is worthy of our innovative new STEM curriculum as well as the inspiring teaching and learning that will continue in our traditional math and science courses. Raising the necessary funds for this project will have me traveling around the country, asking loyal Groton alumni, parents, and friends to support the renovation of a critical component of a 21st-century academic program. Third, I am eager to contribute to the leadership succession process in ways that will ensure the early and lasting success of the next head of Groton. Regardless of who my successor might be, I look forward to offering full partnership to him or her through the transition and beyond. Just as important, I will prepare the administrative and teaching faculty for the transition, so that they are ready to engage with, advise, and support the new head. My last goal is an echo of the final words traditionally offered to graduating Sixth Formers on Prize Day: “Go well!” Nine times I have called out these words just before Groton graduates have tossed their boaters high in the air, as a simple exhortation to honor the gifts they have been given at Groton even as they depart its gates. I hope to do the very same, as I have been given much by this extraordinary place, and my devotion to it is deep and lasting. There is much to accomplish before I join the Form of 2013 in “going well.” Here’s to an inspiring and fulfilling year!

2 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Groton School Quarterly Fall 2012 | Vol. LXXIV, No. 3

Editor Gail Friedman Design Jeanne Abboud Contributing Editors Julia B. Alling Elizabeth Z. Ginsberg P’16 Elizabeth Wray Lawrence ’82 John D. MacEachern P’10, ’14, ’16 Andrew M. Millikin Melissa J. Ribaudo Amy Sim Photography/Editorial Assistant Christopher Temerson Editorial Offices The Schoolhouse Groton School Groton, MA 01450 978-448-7506 quarterly@groton.org

Other School Offices Alumni Office 978-448-7520 Admission Office 978-448-7510 Groton School publishes the Groton School Quarterly in late summer, fall, winter, and spring. The fall issue is the Annual Report.

LETTERS Groton School Quarterly Winter 2012 | Vol. LXXIV, No. 1

Picture of Health Alumni making a Difference in medical Practice, research, and Policy

New! Groton’s National Day of Service Form Notes

I just wanted to acknowledge what a terrific issue the winter Quarterly was [Winter 2012, “Picture of Health”]! As a surgeonscientist, I found the cover story, recognizing Grotonians in the health sciences, to be fascinating, particularly when comparing my niche in medicine and science. I believe these types of articles are helpful for many reasons but particularly for alumni to learn what other Grotonians are pursuing in their respective professions (i.e., as a networking tool). I further believe these articles provide the in-school Grotonian a sense of the unique types of service being conducted by graduates, both recent and more distant. With this knowledge, students can be inspired to pursue a certain profession, such as the health sciences, and potentially find unique opportunities for medical preceptorship or laboratory investigation as possible summer jobs while in college, to help steer them along a particular career path. Excellent issue! Bo Lovvorn ’83 Groton School Quarterly Spring 2012 | Vol. LXXIV,

No. 2

Dillwyn Parrish Starr, Form of 1904, killed in action during WWI

Glimpses of War Letters, diaries, and other reflections of grotonians who taken cui servire onto the battlefield—from WWI through have today Total Immersion

Tanzanian Students at groton

Form Notes

As one of the relatively few career military grads, I was all the more impressed by—and grateful for—your last issue [Spring 2012, “Glimpses of War”]. Service certainly takes many forms, with service in uniform being one of them. So making notice of those who have so chosen in their careers underscores the core motto and teachings of the School. I would add that I find your recent issues graphically stunning as well. Most hearty congratulations to editor and designer alike. Nick Brown ’49

Well done on the recent Quarterly [Spring 2012, “Glimpses of War”], especially Lt. [David] Lawrence’s and Ann Fox’s stories. David’s stories are familiar; in fact, I guess most war stories are! Ann Fox’s message conveys my sentiments as well. Our son, a career Marine officer, did four tours in Iraq so I expect they overlapped. The side note about Rich Brewer was of interest. I have worked with him on PTS/ TBI [post-traumatic stress/traumatic brain injury] here in Maine. I have been working to expand treatment capacity across the country as well. It is a big issue, as it was back in our day, and it was only acknowledged as a mental condition in 1984. The care was inadequate then and still is now, with a growing need in front of us. Thank you for all your efforts with this issue. Warren C. Cook ’63

Your current issue [Spring 2012, “Glimpses of War”] is superb, but the lack of WW II and Korean information is startling to my generation. Hopefully you will have a long article on Stan Resor, who recently died. Stan was in the Battle of the Bulge during WWII, and then had a distinguished government career afterwards. I would guess there must be letters home from him. There are of course many others who served during WWII, both in the military and OSS. Has anyone started by identifying them? I noted one grad died in the Vietnam War. To the best of my knowledge, two grads died in the Korean War, both Marines: John Gray ’46 and Phil Hobson ’50. John Rhinelander ’51

William Butler Duncan ’22 Robert Sanderson ’22 Richard Sanders Scott ’22 Morton Corcoran Eustis ’24 Reginald Fincke, Jr. ’28 Sherrard Billings II ’29 Frederick Greeley Crocker ’30 Edward Hutchinson Robbins ’31 May Duane Whitney ’32 Robert Thornton Lee, Jr. ’33 Malcolm Crocker ’36 Wyllys Burr Jennings ’36 Joseph Warren Burden, Jr. ’37 Charles Anderson Dana ’37 Westmore Willcox III ’37 Paul Dana ’39 Vincent McClelland ’39 Marshall Hughes ’40 Rufus Lenoir Patterson III ’40 John Howard Cashman, Jr. ’41 Curtis Poillon ’41 Albert Crawford Herring, Jr. ’42 Henry Holt III ’42 George Clifton Myers ’42 Stephen Boyd Curtis ’43

Korean War John Stuart Gray ’46 Philip Noyes Hobson, Jr. ’50

Update: In the Spring Quarterly, we listed Grotonians who are buried at Arlington National Cemetery and asked for names of others. Drew Taylor, a member of the Form of 1982, responded: “My mom, Sally Higgins Taylor, wife of Colonel Cortlandt M. Taylor ’51, is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.”

Editor’s Note: A tribute to Stanley Resor ’35 is on page 90. Even though we were unable to gather any war reminiscences from the many Groton graduates who fought in World War II and the Korean War, they deserved to be honored in a section focused on war. While we don’t have information on all the alumni who served, we do know which Grotonians died during those wars, many of them in combat: World War II

correction

Franklin Delano Roosevelt ’00 Theodore Roosevelt ’06 Kermit Roosevelt ’08 John Stanley Parker ’09 Henry Potter Russell ’12 Warwick Potter Scott ’19

In this photo from The Pirates of Penzance, Genevieve Corman ’13 was misidentified in the Spring 2012 Quarterly. She is second from right.

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 3

Circiter | Featured on Campus

A Lost Art Rediscovered mark gosden P’13, Sam gosden ’13, Lauren Dorsey ’14, greg russell ’77, Paul Windels ’75, and Johnathan Terry ’13

s the Chapel bells heralded Memorial Day morning, Sam Gosden ’13, Johnathan Terry ’13, and Lauren Dorsey ’14 were making Groton history. It’s possible, however, that only the most careful listeners—or those schooled in bell-ringing—noticed. For the first time in several decades, Groton students rang what is known as a quarter peal on the bells of St. John’s Chapel. Paul Windels ’75 conducted the challenging bellringing sequence, the first at Groton since he rang two quarter peals in 1972, with the help of Douglas Brown ’57, Ned Childs ’74, Alan Gregory ’74, Ralph Giles ’75, and Allen Johnson ’75. “A quarter peal,” explains Paul, “consists of at least 1,250 ‘changes’ rung continuously, without repeating any change consecutively.” The art is mathematical. “Each ringer in a quarter peal has to concentrate on a mathematical pattern and control a bell well enough to keep to that pattern—itself

no mean feat—for 45 minutes straight,” Paul says. “Ringers follow a pattern, but the conductor gives directions to vary the pattern so all possible permutations are rung.” Each bell can strike only once every 1.5-2 seconds. It was historic simply to achieve the quarter peal, which has been recorded with the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. But it was also the first time since the 1960s that a quarter peal had been rung only by members of the Groton family (Paul’s 1970s event used a conductor from outside the Groton community). Also participating in the 2012 quarter peal were Greg Russell ’77 and Sam’s father, Mark Gosden P’13. This feat was possible partly because of Sam’s leadership in the bell tower, quietly recruiting and training student bellringers. “He has done wonders getting ringing going again at Groton,” Paul says. “I hope he will be able to leave the School with a solid band in place for the coming years.”

ChrIS TOPhEr TEm ErSON

Understanding the Odds—

and Beating Them

aehoon Lee ’13 and Shangyan Li ’14 beat enormous odds— odds they undoubtedly could calculate in seconds—and qualified to take the national math Olympiad exams. Through an outstanding score on his American Invitational Mathematics Examination, Taehoon became one of 268 students in the U.S. to qualify for the national math Olympiad, a competition for high school students. Shangyan Li ’14 was one of 233 students nationwide to qualify for the USA junior math Olympiad, open to students in the tenth grade and younger. Besides Taehoon and Shangyan, four other Groton students qualified to take the American Invitational math exam: KT Choi ’14, JJ Kim ’14, Bobby Min ’14, and Anita Xu ’13.

4 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Shangyan Li ’14 and Taehoon Lee ’13

mArIuS Du PrEEZ

Circiter | Featured on Campus

Focus on Global Education

groton’s chamber orchestra in Capetown

CINDY BEAmS

traveled to China, to the town of Chengde, a few hundred miles northeast of Beijing, where they taught English and collaborated with two local schools on service projects. In addition to these trips, Groton rowers spent much of June in England, competing at the Henley Regatta and other regattas. During spring break, 22 Groton students and four faculty members took School-sponsored trips to India and France.

hayward Berkowitz ’15 and mzee Sampson, an employee at the Orkeeswa School in Tanzania

CrAIg gEmmELL

he education continued after classes ended, as dozens of Groton students and several faculty members immersed themselves in culture and service around the world through five School-sponsored summer trips. Thirty-two members of the Groton School Chamber Orchestra traveled to South Africa, welcomed by host families from Durbanville High School in Cape Town and Waterkloof High School in Pretoria. Groton performances included concerts at Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre and the Pretoria Botanical Gardens. The musicians learned to play djembe with members of Cape Town’s Drum Café, attended a rehearsal of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, and visited the former home of Nelson Mandela in Soweto and the Mabula Game Reserve. The students also participated in service projects with the Amy Biehl Foundation, Melodi Music Trust, and Grassroots Soccer, where they met with Katie Gannett ’06. Seventeen students and four faculty members headed to Peru, where they lived with families in the town of Ollantaytambo, considered the last living Inca town. Groton has visited Ollantaytambo for four summers, building a relationship with the community and working alongside residents on various projects. Sixteen students and three faculty members traveled to Tanzania, where they stayed at the Orkeeswa Secondary School, completing service projects and engaging in cultural activities with the students. It was Groton’s third trip to Tanzania; two Orkeeswa girls spent spring term at Groton. For the first time, Groton sponsored a trip to Uganda. Seven students and three faculty members spent three weeks in the Rukungiri District in Southwest Uganda, working on educational projects with a local school, spending a week in homestays, and participating in projects involving science, cooking, and the environment. In another global education trip, four students and one faculty member

Above, Daraja Foster ’15, Jobe gemmell-hughes, and Bobby min ’14; right, Katherine mcCreery ’15, in Peru

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 5

ChrISTOPhEr TEmErSON

Circiter | Featured on Campus

Unveiling Afghan Stories

BC World Service journalist Zarghuna Kargar met with Second Form girls and other interested community members in May, explaining her recent film project in Afghanistan and the young women she met there. Amy Atkinson ’79, P’16 and Kargar traveled together in Afghanistan last fall to work on a film for 10x10, an organization devoted to raising awareness about the importance of education for girls in the developing world. Its executive director is Holly Gordon ’89. The film focuses on the lives of 10 girls in 10 different countries; Kargar is writing the screenplay for the Afghanistan segment. During the spring, the Second Form girls read portions of Kargar’s book, Dear Zari: Hidden Stories of Women from Afghanistan, and discussed it with teachers Rachelle Sam and Nancy Hughes. These discussions led the girls to think about how the Afghan girls’ lives vary from their own—and what, if any, responsibility they may have in the face of such differences. After presenting brief details about the history, geography, and customs of Afghanistan, Kargar described how she navigated a culture that systematically oppresses girls and women. She concluded her visit by emphasizing how important it is for students to become more aware of the impediments to education that so many girls and women face. This awareness, Kargar suggested, can help our students value more deeply their own freedoms and opportunities, which, in turn, can lead them to become more responsible citizens of the world.—Nancy Hughes and Christina Strater ’12

KENJI KIKuChI

ChrISTOPhEr TEmErSON

Scientific method: Andrea Fisher ’13 and Jeong Jun “JJ” Kim ’14 earned outstanding scores on the Avery Ashdown High School Chemistry Examination Contest, sponsored by the Northeast Section of the American Chemical Society. JJ tied for third place, competing against 124 students from Greater Boston. Andrea was among about 400 students to qualify for the high school National Chemistry Olympiad, which is only open to U.S. residents.

A Home for STEM

Autumn in springtime: henry Bloomfield ’07 and his band, Enter Autumn, usually play gigs in clubs around Boston and Cambridge, but in march they headlined groton’s annual jazz festival with a concert in the Schoolhouse hall.

6 | Quarterly Fall 2012

fter a competitive bidding process, ShepleyBulfinch—the design firm hired to create a comprehensive master plan for Groton—has been awarded the contract to design a STEM facility for the School. The Boston-based firm will consider various approaches to integrating a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math addition into the Schoolhouse, in ways that both honor the beloved historical building and make it an effective home for the School’s 21stcentury curricular goals.

Circiter | Featured on Campus

VANDErBILT uNIVErSITY

Eating Our Young?

n early May, Groton welcomed Dr. Stacey Floyd-Thomas, associate professor of ethics and society at Vanderbilt University, as this year’s Percy and Eben Pyne Chapel Lecturer. In her provocatively titled evening talk, “America Eats its Young: The Cause and Effects of Social Sin in the 21st Century,” Dr. Floyd-Thomas argued that the current generation, which she dubbed “Generation Next,” is challenged to dismantle the troublesome legacy of previous generations—to not only confront, but also to transform society. Generation Next, grappling with racist ideologies, miseducation, and misappropriation of religion, must be “descriptively diagnostic,” “dialogically engaged,” and “divinely inspired,” she said. Dr. Floyd-Thomas, executive director of the Society of Christian Ethics and the Black Religious Scholars Group, also delivered the Sunday morning Chapel sermon and a Monday Chapel Talk, and spoke with students in a Sacred Texts class. The Percy and Eben Pyne Chapel Lecture was established in 2007 by members of the Pyne family to bring distinguished guests to speak to the Groton community.

JAmIE hAgErmAN

Dr. Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Pyne Lecturer

Habitat for Humanity

n mid-June, 12 Groton students worked alongside a Fitchburg, Massachusetts, family, helping to build them a house under the guidance of Habitat for Humanity. Four adult members of the Groton family joined the students, who stayed on campus and traveled each morning to Fitchburg. Above and bottom right, students dig a twoand-a-half foot deep ditch for an underground electric line. Above right, Ycar Devis ’14 admires the results.

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 7

Personae | People of Note

8 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Thomas Luhring

TITLE PAGE

T he

Secrets of the Salamander

Shannon Pittman ’04

DAVIDSON COLLEgE

On any given night, Shannon might strap on a headlamp and pick up a black light, then head into the darkness of the forest. She searches for fluorescent evidence that her research subjects have moved.

Opposite page, Shannon Pittman ’04; above, Shannon (far right) with colleagues, tranquilizing a python

he tiny trails of fluorescent powder are barely visible to the naked eye, but to Shannon Pittman ’04, they unlock secrets of the salamanders that she has studied for the past four years. Those elusive amphibians, scurrying through a forest in suburban Missouri, provide the doctoral candidate with some pieces that help make sense of the world’s challenging ecological puzzle. Amphibians fascinate Shannon. Slimy, swamp-dwelling reptiles consume her days, her thoughts, her research. For her Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology at University of Missouri, she focuses on pond-breeding salamanders—lizard-like creatures that start life in the water but migrate to land and spend the rest of their lives there. Shannon concentrates on their first few nights on land: where do they travel, and do they get there safely? On any given night, Shannon might strap on a headlamp and pick up a black light, then head into the darkness of the forest. She searches for fluorescent evidence that her research subjects have moved. To track larger animals, scientists generally implant radio transmitters. But Shannon covers the salamanders in the fluorescent powder instead. As they travel, they leave a minute pathway—a trail that helps Shannon draw conclusions about the salamanders’ movements, habits, and habitats. Shannon’s sophomore biology professor at Davidson College helped direct her longtime interest in ecology toward a passion for amphibians. She studied gray tree frogs and bog turtles, analyzing their movement and population patterns in an effort to understand how they were surviving in threatened habitats. What makes many squeamish doesn’t bother Shannon. And what many find repulsive, even terrifying, doesn’t faze her. At Davidson, she assisted a professor who was studying the surging population of Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades. The snakes, likely dumped by people who didn’t realize their pets would grow to 20 feet, are destroying wildlife; a python can consume an alligator, which could turn the Everglades food chain upside down. Shannon emphasizes that she was not a primary researcher on that project; still, she handled the giant constrictors, collected data, and tranquilized the snakes. “We went road cruising, looking for pythons,” she says. “My job was to anesthetize the snake; people would hold them down and I’d put gas in the snakes’ mouths.” Just like that. She emphasizes that her colleagues were snake experts, and that the snakes weren’t all that dangerous. At least not to Shannon. “They’re big but they’re not venomous,” she said. “Their bite won’t kill you.” Today, her research subjects are miniscule by comparison, but their lessons are not. Other doctoral candidates will use some of the data Shannon is collecting, which means that her research is likely to continue, even after she receives her degree next year. “Research is never done,” she says. “My results will help others design their research projects.” This data on salamander movement ultimately may help scientists predict whether a salamander displaced by encroaching development will find a new habitat and survive. Though the work is painstaking, it has its surprises. Shannon did not expect, for instance, to find that the spotted salamander and the ringed salamander—just salamanders to the average person—are actually entirely different from one another, from their basic biology to when they breed to how fast they move (the ringed salamander would win a race with his spotted cousin). Unlike most of us, who recklessly confuse salamanders and lizards, Shannon would never misidentify a species. Even when describing the gecko she kept while a student at Groton—a pet that lived in science teacher David Black’s classroom for years after Shannon graduated—she doesn’t just call it a gecko. “It was a fat-tailed gecko,” she says. To Shannon, years before her nighttime searches for fluorescent salamander trails, a gecko wasn’t simply a gecko. It was an individual—distinctive, intriguing, and worthy of attention. Quarterly Fall 2012

| 9

PhOTOS BY ANNIE CArD

Personae | People of Note

From Darkness,

an Artist gordon gund ’57, P’86, ’89

Whether by destiny or irony, it was only after gordon lost his vision that he became a serious artist.

gordon gund ’57 brought “Lift Off” (above), “moment” (right), and other sculptures to groton for a reunion Weekend display. he created all of his sculptures after he lost his vision.

10 | Quarterly Fall 2012

ost people arrive for Reunion Weekend carrying a small suitcase, perhaps a backpack, and occasionally a child or two. But Gordon Gund sent his belongings several days early—20 sculptures, carefully packed into wooden crates. The sculptures’ smooth lines and peaceful interpretation of nature distinguished Gordon’s exhibit in the Schoolhouse Hall. But it stood apart for another reason: Gordon asked people to touch his sculptures, to close their eyes and experience them just as he had created them. Whether by destiny or irony, it was only after Gordon lost his vision that he became a serious artist. Retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease of the retina, stole his eyesight abruptly. He was diagnosed in 1965 and began a slow slide into darkness, but between March and October of 1970, he says, “my day vision just closed right down.” Since then, he has been blind, with only some limited light sensitivity. In 1971, just a year after losing his eyesight, Gordon and his wife Lulie co-founded the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which he chairs today; it raises more than $30 million annually to fund research. After becoming blind, Gordon felt like an artist long before he expressed it tangibly. “The art I did was in my head,” he says. But a caretaker at his family’s Nantucket home changed that. Noticing the extensive time Gordon spent on his business ventures, the caretaker urged him to seek a diversion. “You’ve got to learn how to carve,” he told Gordon, and began to teach him.

gAIL FrIEDmAN

Gordon’s next door neighbor in Princeton, New Jersey, an accomplished wood sculptor, provided guidance and encouragement, and the patient, determined student grew skillful. “I’ve always like to take risks and I like challenges,” he says. “Some you seek out, and some you have delivered to you. Sculpture represents risk—trying to make different shapes speak to me.” The results of Gordon’s pastime now sit in sculpture gardens, museums, and galleries— at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Mayo Clinic, the Grounds for Sculpture in New Jersey, and in several private collections. During Reunion Weekend and for several days beforehand, the fluid, graceful, and expressive seagulls “Heathcliffe and Gertrude,” a playful dog named “Gus,” and other members of Gordon’s sculptural family were on display in the Hall. Sculpting, Gordon told the group that gathered for his talk during Reunion Weekend, provides a release from tension, “a release from the sense of dependency you have when you lose a sense.” At first, Gordon started small, literally, but when he took some early works to be bronzed, the bronzer suggested he enlarge his sculptures. Six-foot flukes at the New Jersey sculpture garden, the Philadelphia Museum, the Cleveland Clinic, and a Princeton hospital began as four-and-a-half-inch wooden sculptures. When sculpting, Gordon says, he tries to capture “motion, emotion, dynamic tension, a sense of energy. I try to get in a sense of action, the moment in time that tells a story.” Though now an accomplished sculptor, Gordon is best known for his business acumen. He is chairman and CEO of the Gund Investment Corporation, minority owner (and former principal owner) of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, and former co-owner of the San Jose Sharks hockey team. Named 1989’s Distinguished Grotonian, he served as a Groton trustee from 1976 to 1989, acting as president for the final 10 years. When art teacher Beth Van Gelder introduced Gordon during Reunion Weekend, she shared an anecdote about a student who felt stressed while taking an exam in the Hall. He told Beth that by pausing and looking back at the sculptures on display, he regained his sense of calm. Indeed, the simple, elegant lines of Gordon’s sculptures invite a deep breath, as if summoning the ocean air that surrounds his gentle birds and sculpted seashells.

Above, gordon gund ’57 with Jeremy guth ’82; below, “Beached Friends”

hala Lawrence, wife of David Lawrence ’47, touches one of gund’s sculptures. The artist wants others to experience his sculpture by touch, as he does.

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 11

Personae | People of Note

Goodbye, oyt Farewell memories for Hoyt Taylor P’98, ’01, ’06

“

“hoyt is the first to question a hasty conclusion, the first to ask, ‘Wait a minute, are we sure it’s that simple?’”

oyt Taylor arrived at Groton in 1984 and has taught science and math, squash and tennis, character and integrity to generations of Groton students in the 28 years since.” Headmaster Rick Commons began his Prize Day tribute to Hoyt Taylor with those words and ended his tribute by lauding the wise advice that Hoyt has provided—to many faculty members, including the headmaster. “Colleagues have relied on Hoyt for much more than math problems and squash lessons during his three decades of service to Groton,” Rick said. “Like many faculty, I will often seek him out when I am faced with a particularly vexing issue, though I know that his advice will generally not make my life easier. In any meeting or conversation, Hoyt is the first to question a hasty conclusion, the first to ask, ‘Wait a minute, are we sure it’s that simple?’ He has thus served not only as a watchdog in faculty discussions but also as a role model to colleagues and students, encouraging all of us to analyze complex situations with care and patience.” The Groton School Quarterly asked colleagues and former students for comments about their teacher, mentor, friend, and coach:

mIKE SPErLINg

I think about Mr. Taylor all the time. I think about him when I’m playing squash, and I think about him when I’m coaching squash. Years later and miles away from Groton, I hang on my players’ every point and try to make a team out of individuals on separate courts. Mr. Taylor did that. I had five tremendous years of squash at Groton because I was taught to take my time, to know my place, to stay calm when things weren’t going my way. I remember his science lesson from my Groton revisit. The Starbursts flew from a grocery bag and scattered across the desks and classroom floor as newly born stars, and I sat in awe of the teacher who would eventually show me, rather than tell me, what in loco parentis really means. Mr. Taylor treated me like a son. It was hard at times, but his often stern guidance set me on a course of self-discovery, and I learned to work through problems, not around them. I think about Mr. Taylor when I teach my own students now. When they screw up or don’t try hard enough, I talk to them sternly and directly but with love. I try to bring life to the novels we read, to capture their interest and (ideally) their imagination for the 40 minutes I have with them. I try to scatter Starbursts across their desks. —Matt Trowbridge ’99

hoyt Taylor shaking hands with Bo harwood ’12 on Prize Day

12 | Quarterly Fall 2012

* * * Hoyt Taylor was an unlikely mentor for me; as his Second Form science student the periodic table, star charts, and atomic structure eluded me. It was this scientific ineptitude, however, that fostered my adviseedom with Mr. Taylor. I spent hours in his office trying to understand the difference between protons and protozoa, ions and isotopes. As I sat there frustrated and indifferent to the pluses and minuses he scribbled on the chalkboard, our conversations would drift to whatever was on our minds, from an analysis of that day’s Chapel Talk to the foundation and practice of Buddhism. Slowly my visits became more frequent and (thankfully) less based on chemical compounds. At the end of my Second Form year, amid the science buffs and squash stars, Mr. Taylor agreed to take me, a Classics fanatic with more varsity letters from managing than playing, as his advisee. Groton’s intensity is what makes it memorable, and yet trying. One particularly challenging instance was my first AP Latin midterm. I was sure I had aced it. A few days later

the tests were handed back and mine read 82 percent in thick, red, permanent ink. I immediately ran down to Mr. Taylor’s office, tears of injustice, rage, and failure streaming down my face. I expected Mr. Taylor to get me a retest, get my teacher fired, or at least sympathize with my catastrophic situation. Instead, ever the Buddhist, he told me failure was a part of life, life is suffering after all (or so say the Four Noble Truths), and there was nothing I could do besides work harder on the next one. Initially I was outraged by his response; clearly he did not understand the gravity of the situation. Eventually, however, I calmed down and accepted that maybe he was right, and just maybe my life was not over yet. Mr. Taylor’s indelible influence remains with me today as I navigate the equally challenging, but far less bucolic, streets of New York. When the subway is running late or a tourist stops to look at a map right in my path sometimes I feel that hysterical (albeit slightly dramatic) wave of frustration. In those moments I think of Mr. Taylor and what he taught me, and am glad I could never remember the laws of thermodynamics.

“Walking through their doors, I was always guaranteed a warm hug, smile, and conversation around the kitchen table.”

—T.T. Pasanen ’06

* * * A while ago, when Hoyt and Mary Ellen were at our house for dinner, he and I got into a disagreement about whether a sealed plastic jug, filled to the brim with water, would float. I said it would unquestionably nosedive to the bottom. Hoyt replied good-naturedly that it would float. I said that was ridiculous and asked if he really taught science rather than alchemy, and how did he explain the fate of the Titanic? We all trooped to an upstairs bathtub in which we launched a sealed jug full of water. The jug floated. Hoyt smiled gently, and I learned to doubt his statements at my peril. He didn’t crow, he never rubbed it in, nor did he ever say anything to me about the Titanic. Hoyt is not only a fine scientist and mathematician, but also an excellent squash and stickball player. More importantly, he and Mary Ellen are wonderful parents. North Carolina is lucky to have such excellent new citizens, but I hope they don’t develop Southern accents. —Warden Dilworth, former faculty ANNIE CArD

* * * Mr. Taylor was at the heart of my Groton experience in more ways than I can count. Teacher, coach, and friend, here are four things he taught me: First, he taught me to see—literally. During my Second Form year in his science class, I would constantly strain to see the white board. Mr. Taylor picked up on my lack of vision. I was promptly told I needed to get my eyes checked or simply make do with blurriness and bad grades. But for such a stark choice, I would not have gotten glasses. Classic Mr. Taylor tough love. Second, he taught me to see the stars. One of my fondest memories of Second Form was his lecture on astronomy, and its wonderfully colorful explosion of Starbursts—sending us all scampering in a gleeful feeding frenzy. More sublime were the stargazing “expeditions” he led on the Circle. I owe him my sense of wonder every time I look at the night sky. Third, he taught me to see myself. As my squash coach, Mr. Taylor was relentless in practice but ever-stalwart in his faith. After a particularly tough practice in Second Form, he came by my cubicle to apologize for pushing me hard on the court. Initially, I did not know what to make of an adult apologizing to me, but the sentiment meant a great deal. He would remain a constant source of equanimity and self-confidence throughout my time at Groton. Fourth, he taught me see his family as my own. His entire family embraced me in those early years, when my culture shock coming from Pakistan was at its peak. Walking through their doors, I was always guaranteed a warm hug, smile, and conversation around the kitchen table. I wish him nothing but the best as he follows his North Star beyond the Circle.

—Ziad Haider ’99

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 13

Personae | People of Note * * * We all know that Hoyt is brilliant, funny, and even mildly attractive. But did you know that he created the Groton School Disc (Frisbee) Golf Course? The 36-hole course, which winds around and between the school buildings and sports fields on campus, includes a delightful water hole (over the outdoor pool) and the challenging “tunnel hole” (through the Brooks House breezeway). This ever-changing course and slightly silly pastime reflects Hoyt’s vivid imagination and unmatched sense of joy. It has been a pleasure and a privilege spending time with such a remarkable individual. —Tom Lamont, faculty * * *

Bryden ’98, hoyt, and Jade ’01

Until this year, math always came rather easily. The questions were straightforward: learn the process, find the application, and repeat. When one topic was mastered, I moved on to the next and loved that math was both fascinating and simple. Working with Mr. Taylor, however, this pattern changed. We jumped into power series from BC calculus and found within them trigonometric relationships, then moved to complex probability problems, then began experimenting with writing programs for our calculators. I say experimenting because rather than tell us the formula to use, rather than expound the process on the board, rather than lead us down the path of simple regurgitation, Mr. Taylor involved us in the discovery. He gave us problems to tackle with the expectation that we would fail in some of them—but that in some of them, we would succeed. And the triumph and beauty in a “jumping butterballs!” discovery, as he describes them, have no parallel. —Julia Metzger ’11, an excerpt from an essay on an influential teacher

* * *

“hoyt had a captive teaching method of openly wondering about something himself and then telling us just enough to make us want to find the answers.”

As my Fourth Form earth science teacher, Hoyt Taylor introduced me to the wonders of the natural world and inspired me to seriously question scientific hypotheses and theories. I remember acting out the solar system with formmates in our dorm common room in an attempt to unravel the question of why there are seasons and phases of the moon. Hoyt took us stargazing on the Circle after study hall and had us memorize the constellations. To this day, I still remember my Northern Hemisphere winter constellations. He introduced me to plate tectonics, subduction zone volcanoes, and black smokers on the ocean floor—all concepts that I now teach to my college-level geology students. Most importantly, he taught me that it was OK to question science and religion. He showed me how a scientist could be creative. Hoyt had a captive teaching method of openly wondering about something himself and then telling us just enough to make us want to find the answers. I often left his class invigorated, inspired, curious, and confused—all at the same time. He taught me how to ask questions about the natural world. He is a true treasure. —Lyn Gualtieri ’88, geology professor at Seattle University * * * Mr. Taylor was my Second Form science teacher, advisor in Third Form, squash coach through my Upper School years, and math teacher for Fifth and Sixth Forms. Science with Mr. Taylor was hands-on and visual, which was much more interesting than learning only from textbooks, as I had done in Korea. I had always loved science, but Mr. Taylor truly drew me into the world of science through his engaging stories and experiments. My most amusing memory of Mr. Taylor (that he may or may not remember) will always be of when I punched him during my Second Form science class. He had walked up behind me through a door, and I, thinking a friend was trying to surprise me, turned around and threw a punch. Luckily, I saw that it was Mr. Taylor and only lightly punched him, but nonetheless, that memory will always amuse me whenever I think of Mr. Taylor. It’s too bad that I won’t be able to see Mr. Taylor any more when I visit the Circle, but I hope he knows that he will always be welcome at MIT and anywhere else that I might end up in the future. —Steve Cho ’11

14 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Hoyt Taylor is one the colleagues for whom I have the greatest admiration and respect. Years ago, when I became the head of the Discipline Committee, I was allowed to choose two faculty members to help me. Inviting Hoyt was one the best decisions I have ever made. By some fate, we ran into the most unusual and serious disciplinary cases, cases for which there were no precedents. So we had to “invent” punishments instead of looking for solutions in the discipline archives. That never went well with the students on the committee. They, naturally, wanted to be lenient with their peers, and if there were no precedents, they wanted to invent the most lenient punishment. Hoyt always saved the day, or I should say the night (sometimes we were still in my classroom at 1 a.m.). With a mixture of humor, logic, fairness, and calm patience, Hoyt would slowly bring the students to see what made sense. Hoyt, who is also a poet and an artist with a creative mind, “invented” the most unexpected and original punishments. They were never too harsh and they always fit the “crime.” In spite of the late hours, Hoyt kept his sense of fun. I remember going out of the Schoolhouse in the middle of the night and having to stop on the stairs because Hoyt had said something so funny that I was paralyzed with laughter. Working with Hoyt was (apart from teaching) the best experience of my years at Groton. —Micheline Myers, former faculty

* * * One moment stands out from early on in Applied I, when Mr. Taylor introduced the concept of the derivative. Rather than starting from the definition and laboriously working through a few examples, Mr. Taylor presented a few equations right at the end of class, worked his “magic trick” on them to obtain the derivative, and dismissed us for the day. The more engaged among us were left tantalized and stuck around trying to guess the trick or convince Mr. Taylor to reveal it. I don’t think any one anecdote would reveal a particular “eureka” moment; rather, over several years and classes, Mr. Taylor’s perennially childlike —Alex MeVay ’97 sense of wonder and his creative approach proved contagious.

hoyt: always the coach

* * * Hoyt is the very center and essence of Groton School; he understands excellence for students and faculty and possesses an unerring sense for what constitutes the very best in all of us, whether in the classroom, on the athletic fields, or on stage. He is indeed that man for all seasons, and I owe so much of my understanding of how the very best schools work to Hoyt and our many summer conversations. Hoyt and Mary Ellen will be missed. —Janet Hartwell P’00, assistant head of school, 1996-2003

* * * Now a lot of people have loved their advisors over the years. But my advisor never once walked by without a handshake or at least a hello and a smile guaranteed to melt whatever ice builds up upon the heart of the Fifth Former in winter. Mr. Taylor has a way of getting right at you, seeing you, and understanding you—not unlike the penetrating stare of Albus Dumbledore, high praise from a lifelong Harry Potter nerd. There is nothing superficial in that smile or that handshake and more than cheer, it brings security. Somebody’s got your back, somebody’s in your court, somebody actually cares with no ulterior motive. Of all the things I love about Mr. Taylor, this trumps them all. —Evan Hansen-Bundy ’12

* * * Hoyt Taylor epitomized for me and many other students what a teacher should be. He was an outstanding academic instructor but was also much more, a coach and mentor who possessed a calm wisdom. In the classroom, Hoyt set very high standards. His Applied Math class had a reputation as one of the most difficult, but Hoyt’s enthusiasm for conveying the simplicity of numbers in the natural world engrossed his students. Hoyt loved being in the classroom, and his students saw and appreciated this. Hoyt was also a terrific coach and mentor. He either directly or indirectly coached me in three sports, and his steady guidance was always a calming influence. I played goalkeeper for the soccer team, and since Hoyt’s son was a teammate, Hoyt attended every Quarterly Fall 2012

| 15

Personae | People of Note

“my most indelible memory of hoyt is from 1986 when at halloween he appeared in the spookily lit Dining hall having drastically cut and shaved off one whole side of his longish, flaming red hair and beard. I’ve not seen anything like it since. ”

game to root from the sidelines. He would often stop me in the hall the day after a game, sharing his views and some encouraging words. And I remember well when Hoyt himself was stopped—by a policeman for missing a stop sign when he was driving some of us to a tournament. Hoyt talked his way out of the ticket, blaming the distraction on the noise in the van. Needless to say, we didn’t let him live this down easily. Most importantly, Hoyt was able to use the classroom and the field to convey broader lessons. He would talk about how to win and lose the right way, and about rising to challenges. He possessed an inner calm, undoubtedly in part because of his wonderful wife, Mary Ellen, and their terrific family. His serene demeanor encouraged us to focus on what really mattered. It is through these lessons that Hoyt, in his retirement, will continue to influence those who were lucky enough to have him as a teacher. —Justin Muzinich ’96 * * * When the inevitable disagreements crop up among those who work intimately and for long hours with a small group, the response is to smooth over some of these and directly address others. One of Hoyt’s outstanding traits is that he makes the right choice so frequently in these instances. I have therefore enjoyed his friendship for close to three decades, despite (or perhaps enriched by) significant differences of opinion. Uncompromising with regard to integrity yet empathetic about the diverse and often meandering pathway each of us takes en route, Hoyt’s humility and humanity, sometimes lightly camouflaged, have served as a model for many of us trying to be good students, teachers, and parents. And boy, can —Stephen Belsky P’12,’12,’15, faculty he pick life partners! * * * We’ve watched Hoyt Taylor as he’s taught and coached and lived with clarity of purpose since we arrived on campus nearly two decades ago. Many will note with gratitude the extraordinary influence he has had on form after form of Groton students, but we are equally mindful of his huge influence on us as faculty members. In short, through his actions, Hoyt showed us a handful of important truths worth keeping close in work and life: hold self and others to high standards, laugh at absurdity, speak out against injustice, chase down truth, love one’s own children and one’s students mightily, and wear orange, lots of orange. —Craig Gemmell and Nancy Hughes, faculty

* * * My most indelible memory of Hoyt is from 1986 when at Halloween he appeared in the spookily lit Dining Hall having drastically cut and shaved off one whole side of his longish, flaming red hair and beard. I’ve not seen anything like it since. Hoyt’s was a vivid presence here for over a quarter century; in fact, he and Mary Ellen were an institution within the institution. In faculty meetings, he invariably pushed us to consider and then to do things that were uncomfortably right rather than comfortably good, and he was a colleague who could be trusted to follow through on his convictions. It was always appealing, even reassuring, to see how his logically deliberative mind would work in new situations, and I savored conversations with him about details. I will miss being able to stop by his office every so often on my way home through the science wing in order to pick his brain, and I will particularly miss enjoying his breakdowns of what we had just listened to on the walk to the Schoolhouse from Chapel in the mornings (he was sensitive to the wording of the hymns, and after wondering early on why a scientist would question the meaning of “dross,” I realized much later that he was slyly suggesting something else). Most of all, Hoyt provided for me when I needed it the kind of lifeblood essential to a school, for he was a colleague with wit who “got it” and from whom one could always learn. —Elson Harmon, faculty

16 | Quarterly Fall 2012

* * * Mr. Taylor was my Second Form science teacher and my advisor for the next four years. I was a sensitive high school student, and I looked to him for warmth and wisdom. He let me spend snowy nights in the guest room of his family’s home when the roads were too slick for my parents to pick me up. He opened his office whenever I shuffled through the science wing and made time for any conversation, from baseball to bad dreams. On the afternoon of 9/11, we sat in Chapel and simply shared our sadness. We talked through feelings of injustice and guilt. Then we walked out of the building and moved forward into the late day. You can keep your center of gravity, Mr. Taylor still teaches me, while accelerating toward all the good in the world. —Emma Bloomfield ’04

Above, mary Ellen, rees ’06, hoyt, Jack ’01, and Bryden ’98, at their boat’s dedication; below, rick Commons congratulates hoyt on Prize Day

mIKE SPErLINg

* * * In four years at Groton, I learned many things from Hoyt Taylor. Some were about mathematics, others about squash. The two most memorable were about life; they just happened to be learned on the squash court. You might get help from others, and you should be prepared to figure things out by yourself. During a team championship, I was being outplayed and quickly lost the first game. Coming off the court, I was relying on Mr. Taylor to be there, ready with a dose of coaching to help me better tackle my opponent. When he was not there, I began to panic. I promptly lost the next two games, but I focused more on figuring out how to compete. After the defeat, Mr. Taylor told me that I had been relying too much on him to figure out my opponents. He had deliberately disappeared to force me to figure it out on my own. Don’t worry about ensuring others know you are unhappy with your performance; focus that energy on performing better. After a particularly disappointing match, I pulled open the door to one of the squash courts with a bit of additional force, and it banged off the back wall. Mr. Taylor took me aside and explained that my behavior on the court was unacceptable. More importantly, he helped me understand that the energy I was putting into showing spectators that I was unhappy with my performance was wasted and distracting. It was not helping me perform better. As with most life lessons, it took a while for these to set in. I still play squash regularly and can often hear Mr. Taylor quietly coaching me between points. More importantly, I can hear him in personal and professional settings, helping me channel my energy toward performing better, not worrying about what might have been. —Taylor Milner ’94

* * * Mr. Taylor was my teacher for both Second Form science and honors geometry, in which he regularly challenged us with his famous bonus questions at the end of every test. He was also my JV tennis coach and did his best to teach me how to control my emotions when they were getting in the way of my game. Finally, he was my adviser, who had the unenviable task, among others, of running interference between the deans and me, the form leader in demerits by a wide margin. What I remember most about Mr. Taylor, however, has nothing to do with the classroom or the tennis court. In his small office at the end of the science wing, crammed full of math books and squash equipment, I spent countless recesses and free periods. I talked to him there about everything from working through my troubles in AP Chemistry to trying to figure out my passions in life. Like all students, I was exploring and discovering who I was, and his office was a haven where I could share my concerns and seek his wise counsel. In a small community, where the pressure to conform was strong, Mr. Taylor helped me appreciate my differences and my quirkiness. I am grateful for what he did to help me develop as a person and still retain my sanity. —SoonKyu Park ’09 Quarterly Fall 2012

| 17

Is CongressBroken? Grotonians Explain What’s Wrong— and How Legislators Could Fix It

EVGENIA ELISEEVA / HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

by George C. Lodge ’45

18 | Quarterly Fall 2012

ongress isn’t broken, but in my lifetime (I’m 85) I have never seen a situation as destructive as the one we face today. Hobbled by a group for whom ideology is more important than solving problems, the level of unreality is unprecedented. Furthermore, the group’s determination to defeat Obama outweighs any commitment to the welfare of the country. The refusal of the ideologues to cooperate or compromise delays solution of our serious problems: a federal debt of some $17 trillion, mounting budget deficits, unemployment not seen since the Great Depression, income inequality that threatens to unravel confidence in our economic system, and political polarization laced with rage and resentment. Bad as it is, however, the situation is by no means hopeless. Realism, straight thinking, pragmatic recognition of the problems will eventually pull us through. To be pragmatic, however, we must recognize the power of ideology in shaping our assumptions. A definition is essential. The concept of ideology has been muddied by confusing terms—left, right; conservative, liberal; and the like. Ideology is the bridge of ideas that a community uses to carry values into the real world. For example, justice is a value that all communities everywhere have always cherished— some notions about good and bad and how to get more of one than the other. But when it comes to defining good and bad and designing the processes to promote the good in a particular place at a particular time, we are in the highly controversial realm of ideology. Ideology is not dogma, even though many would like to make it so, because as time goes by and the real world changes, practice changes, and the old ideology no longer conforms to the new ways. A new ideology, compatible with practice, emerges, but its formulation is resisted by adherents to the old ideology. America from its inception has had two ideologies. The first, Individualism, is rooted in the thought of John Locke and Thomas Jefferson. But to meet crises and seize opportunities, we have engaged in practices that reflect the second ideology, Communitarianism, familiar to us in the thoughts and deeds of Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt.

A brief description of the two ideologies will help to reveal the problem: Individualism—The community is no more than the sum of the individuals in it. The value of self-fulfillment is achieved through an essentially lonely struggle in which the fit survive. If you don’t survive, you are unfit. There is equality among individuals in the sense of equality of opportunity. Individuals are tied together by contract as buyers and sellers, employers and employees, and, in the old days, husbands and wives. You break this contract at your peril. (This ideology is very good for lawyers.) Under the tenets of Individualism, the individual is protected by property rights, including body and estate. The great corporations of America are legitimate because they are property, owned by their shareholders. This is a sacred right, deriving from nature, that it is the principal duty of government to protect. The uses of property are to be controlled through unfettered competition to satisfy consumer desires in an open marketplace (viz. U.S. antitrust laws). The role of government is strictly limited: the less of it the better; it is a necessary evil. President Reagan espoused Individualism: “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” But government spending grew at record rates during his administration, as it did also under both Bushes in spite of their anti-government rhetoric. (We cannot practice what we preach.) And finally, according to the ideology of Individualism, we perceive reality through scientific specialization. If you want to know about Humpty Dumpty, you inspect the molecules at the bottom of the wall.

View from the Campaign Trail

uring my 10 years serving in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, I saw the underside of politics. Backroom deals. Government contracts swapped for political donations. Elected officials taking cash from special interests. We convicted the speaker of the North Carolina House, the state agricultural commissioner, a congressman, and more than a dozen other state legislators and government officials for public corruption. Those are examples of illegal corruption, but the problems with our politics don’t end there. We’re several years down the road into the “Great Recession,” and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. So how did we land in this mess? The answer is, our politics are broken. Washington politics gave birth to the “housing bubble,” which burst and plummeted the economy into a recession driven by soaring debt—and Washington’s solution has been to spend its way back into prosperity by piling up more debt. Just before Christmas, the General Accounting Office published its 2011 financial report for the U.S. government. The “official deficit” for last year was $1.3 trillion, but buried in the report was another eye-popping number: the GAO calculated the new obligations that the government incurred last year and that it will have to pay down the road. For example, how much liability did the government incur last year for Social Security and Medicaid payments that will have to be made in the future? The answer is $2.9 trillion. Which means President Obama and the Washington politicians borrowed $1.3 trillion to cover

Realism, straight thinking, pragmatic recognition of the problems will eventually pull us through. To be pragmatic, however, we must recognize the power of ideology in shaping our assumptions.

By George E. Holding ’86

the “official deficit” and incurred an additional $2.9 trillion in liabilities that they will have to pay later, which brings the total deficit for last year to $4.2 trillion! Congress (and sometimes it doesn’t seem to matter whether Democrats or Republicans are in charge) has turned itself into an ATM machine passing out cash to special interests from oil companies to unions. This is all part of a problem no one has been able to solve in the history of our republic: how to stop one group of people who can muster sufficient votes in Congress from using government to get their hands on other people’s money. Our history is full of examples of this problem. During the 19th century, railroad tycoons received government subsidies of over 12,000 acres of land for each mile of track laid. Today our tax code is riddled with loopholes and tax breaks for special interests. Government subsidizes everything from green energy companies to farmers who are paid not to raise crops, and as a result of our out-of-control spending, Congress now borrows 40 cents of every dollar it spends. Is borrowing 40 cents on a dollar an American virtue we should be proud of? But, in the long run, the problem isn’t spending—it’s our broken politics, a Washington political establishment that is unable to cut spending. To fix our economy, that’s the problem we must solve. George Holding ’86 is running for a North Carolina seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 19

We do not practice what we preach, and we cannot preach what we practice. It is this confusion that hobbles the Congress.

Communitarianism—The community is an organic entity and the self-fulfillment of individuals requires that the community be well designed. Equality of opportunity doesn’t always work; affirmative action by government may be required to produce equality of result. Experience has shown that the idea of consensus may be more efficacious than contract both in labor relations and marriage. Property rights are one of a number of rights of membership in the community; these rights include health care, which everybody wants but which depends on government intervention, permitted under the Communitarian model. As costs soar, this intervention is becoming increasingly controversial: if taxpayers pay for my diabetes, taxpayers (government) can and maybe should prevent my obesity; if I smoke, you shouldn’t have to pay for my cancer. Shareholder ownership is failing to legitimize the corporation because shareholders don’t really own in any meaningful sense, forcing Communitarian concerns. Similarly, marketplace competition is not always sufficient to meet community needs because the sum of consumer desires may not equal those needs—for example, when it comes to clean air or pure water, and as we have seen recently, when companies deemed too big to fail have to be rescued by government in the name of community need. Under Communitarian ideology, the role of government includes defining and implementing community needs that are not met through the marketplace. Competition in the world economy requires an active, planning state. And finally, we now know, even though academia is having a hard time adjusting, that the tunnels of specialization may not lead to an understanding of the whole: for example, the exigencies of climate change. We have to learn to think holistically. Humpty Dumpty on the wall is different from the sum of the molecules at the bottom.

Why Congress Needs Groton

roton’s long tradition of public service is more visible in the executive and judicial branches of the federal government than in the legislative branch. Only two Groton graduates serve in Congress today, both senior Democrats in the House of Representatives, Virginia Representative Bobby Scott ’65 and myself, representing Tennessee. Despite Groton’s New England heritage, both of us were elected in the South. The terrible reputation and performance of today’s Congress might discourage Grotonians from considering the hurly-burly of a congressional career, but that reluctance only makes our problems worse. The most powerful way to reform Congress is for better candidates to be elected. It’s hard for mediocre officeholders to rise to the great challenges facing our nation. America needs you and other highly qualified people to run for office. If you cannot be a candidate yourself, then serve on the staff of someone you admire, help them raise money, or, at the very least, raise awareness of key issues among voters. One of the most successful Republican

20 | Quarterly Fall 2012

by Representative James H.S. “Jim” Cooper ’72, P’08,’14

chiefs of staff is Betsy Wright Hawkings ’81, who works for Representative Bobby Schilling of Illinois. Politics looks messy and complicated, but it’s not. U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander says it’s just “getting the talk right.” Unless you participate in the process, you really won’t know what you are talking about when you criticize politics and politicians. I run into lots of people who hate Congress but don’t know who their congressman is or how Congress is supposed to work under our Constitution. The Bill of Rights probably would not be ratified by today’s electorate. Educated people simply cannot delegate the responsibility for governing in a democracy; they must either get involved themselves or suffer the consequences. America’s most fortunate must not shirk their duty. I grew up thinking that’s what the Groton motto, cui servire est regnare, is all about. Granted, today’s political rules make it hard to consider serving. You’ll give up your privacy, your real job, and many of your personal freedoms in order to raise $2 million every two years for a job that pays $174,000 a year. People will not only make fun of you behind your back but say the most terrible things about you on television. You cannot defend

Americans generally prefer the ideas associated with Individualism. They are the hymns we like to sing. In fact, in the words of the late Harvard professor, Samuel Huntington, these ideas “are at the very core of our national identity. Americans cannot abandon them without ceasing to be American in the most meaningful sense of the word—without in short becoming un-American.” So as and when we depart from those cherished ideas and move in a Communitarian direction to deal with crises, such as wars, depressions, climate change, education, health care, and the rescue of financial firms that are too big to fail, there are cries of protest from the ideologues of Individualism. Nevertheless, these same protesters are often in favor of the new departures, even while they deplore the ideological implications. Take, for example, the Tea Party fellow who said, “Don’t let big government take away my Medicare.” Owing to the popularity of Individualism, we are reluctant to articulate and legitimize its Communitarian alternative. We do not practice what we preach, and we cannot preach what we practice. It is this confusion that hobbles the Congress. The real world is forcing Communitarianism upon us. The choices we have are about what form it takes. No ideology has a monopoly on virtue. Individualism— property rights and the limited state—was used to justify slavery. Hitler and Stalin were Communitarians. So we must be careful, and that means conscious of what we are doing ideologically, refraining from blind devotion to any ideology but at the same time aware of the pitfalls on the path ahead. Congress will fix itself when its members become more realistic. We can hope that this happens soon because the costs of gridlock are high.

So we must be careful, and that means conscious of what we are doing ideologically, refraining from blind devotion to any ideology.

George C. Lodge ’45 is professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, where he has taught for nearly 40 years. Before that, he served in the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations and was the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts in 1962.

yourself in court because you are a public figure. Lobbyists swarm you to ask that you bend your principles in return for contributions. At times like these, you must remember the line in the Graduate’s Prayer about remaining “unspotted from the world.” These are the old hurdles, however. The new ones involve an institution so dysfunctional that the leading 2012 book on Congress, by Tom Mann and Norm Ornstein, is entitled, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks. This is the sequel to their 2006 book, Congress: The Broken Branch. Politicians have always been viewed as slimy; today they are often considered incompetent and sometimes even destructive. The question is what you are going to do to change that. Remember, you cannot delegate this responsibility. If you don’t vote, you are giving your vote to your enemies. If you don’t run, you are allowing America to be run by mediocrities. If you don’t serve, you risk America becoming a secondrate nation. I am working on congressional reforms such as No Budget/No Pay, which would dock congressional pay for missing the annual October deadline for passing the federal

budget and appropriations bills. Congress has not met this deadline for the last 14 years. Markets used to excuse our tardiness; last year our Treasury bonds lost their AAA credit rating for the first time in modern history. Unless Congress gets its act together, we face further downgrades and financial weakness. Reforming Congress is like veterinary medicine; the animal has to take the medicine in order for it to be effective. The successful legislator must come up with the strongest reforms that can and will be swallowed by today’s representatives and senators. There are places all over Capitol Hill and in every state for dedicated Grotonians to serve the legislative branch of federal and state governments. I include several in my intern program every summer. I’ve also asked Teach for America to consider steering its alumni to government careers after their teaching career. Young people and their idealism already are transforming public education; it’s time they transformed the public sector, particularly the legislative branch. Jim Cooper ’72, P’08, ’14 has represented Tennessee in Congress since 2003.

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 21

It May Get Worse Before It Gets Better by Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott ’65

22 | Quarterly Fall 2012

ysfunction in Congress is not a new phenomenon. In 1993, my first year in Washington, Congress was extremely polarized over President William J. Clinton’s effort to reform health care. Republicans and outside special interest groups generated so much confusion and misinformation over the issue that it ultimately died. This polarization almost derailed President Clinton’s efforts to reduce the deficit and balance the budget. Republicans claimed the tax increases in the budget would send our economy into a deep recession. When the House finally voted on the 1993 Clinton budget, Republicans yelled “bye-bye Marjorie” at Democratic Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky as she walked down the aisle to cast the pivotal 218th vote. Because of that tough vote, Congresswoman Margolies-Mezvinsky and many other Democrats went on to lose their seats in the 1994 midterm elections, when Newt Gingrich led Republicans to their first House majority in 40 years. Despite the Republicans’ doomsday predictions of a recession, the economy grew, the Dow Jones Industrial Average more than tripled, tens of millions of jobs were created, the federal budget produced its first surplus in a generation, and by early 2001, the Congressional Budget Office projected a $5.6 trillion 10-year surplus, which, at the time, would have been large enough to pay off the entire debt held by the public by 2008. The primary difference between my first term and my current term is that, for the most part, Congress had always been willing and able to tackle tough problems by casting courageous votes, members had some rational basis for their decisions, and members were willing to offer specific alternative proposals to the issues of the day—all necessary elements of effective governing. That’s not necessarily the case now. Part of the problem is that there are fewer moderate Democrats and virtually no moderate Republicans in Congress today, which tends to create a “my way or the highway” atmosphere. Perhaps most damaging to the institution is that the media is culpable in allowing members to get away with poll-tested generalities without insisting that members back up what they say with evidence, facts, and actual numbers. Take the debate on the budget, for example. Last year, House Republicans refused to perform a perfunctory obligation of

governing—raising the nation’s debt ceiling. No one honestly believed Republicans would allow our nation to default on its obligations and force a downgrade in America’s credit rating. But after taking months to reach a final agreement because of a dysfunctional process that made it appear Congress might fail to act, our credit rating was downgraded. The final agreement, the Budget Control Act, set annual caps on discretionary spending over the next decade, producing approximately $1 trillion in savings, and established a Super Committee tasked with finding an additional $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction. If the Super Committee failed to submit a plan by November of last year, then automatic across-the-board spending cuts, totaling approximately $1 trillion over the next decade, would be implemented through a process known as “sequestration,” beginning January 2, 2013. As we all know, the Super Committee did fail, and unless Congress acts we are now facing deep, draconian budget cuts in January. Democrats and Republicans all agree that sequestration will be devastating for our economy and our national defense. But instead of proposing specific solutions to the problem, Republicans are complaining about the pending doom, casting blame at the president for doing nothing, and insisting that $4 trillion in temporary tax cuts should be permanently extended. This budget quandary underscores the current dysfunction in Congress. There is a consensus that we need to achieve approximately $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade, but many of my colleagues refuse to support any new revenues and demand that we achieve this level of deficit reduction solely through unspecified spending cuts that would “reduce the size of government.” Well, $1 trillion in unspecified spending cuts looks exactly like the sequester that everyone agrees should be avoided. If these cuts are

The Mental Courage Deficit

am often reminded of the words of the great educator and poet, William Johnson Cory, which our sage Dr. Reyes shared with me during my first week of Third Form. In a meditation on the purpose of education, Cory tells us that we go to school not so much for knowledge but rather for arts and habits, chief among them self-knowledge, mental courage, and “mental soberness.” Today, treading the halls of our nation’s Capitol as a Senate staffer, I have unfortunately observed that our fiscal deficit is as great and problematic as the deficit of mental courage and soberness on Capitol Hill. I look always for the silver lining and even set out to make the case in this very piece that despite the broader paralysis, acrimony, hyperpartisanship and utter dysfunction that has come to characterize the United States Congress, when it comes to our nation’s security—the area on which I focus in my own work—politics does stop at the water’s edge. While Congress has come together in a bipartisan manner to tackle one of America’s top strategic threats—the Iranian regime’s pursuit of nuclear weapons capability—this is an isolated, arguably singular example. Even on these important issues, we are divided, and regrettably, what was once called the world’s

The media is culpable in allowing members to get away with poll-tested generalities without insisting that members back up what they say with evidence, facts, and actual numbers.

By Maggie Goodlander ’05

greatest deliberative body has lost its greatness: a Congress divided by prejudice and partisanship cannot stand to tackle our most pressing problems. Whence these divisions and this dysfunction? First, while partisanship may have once been the special affliction of elected officials and “Beltway bandits,” political polarization has gone mainstream in America. Over the course of my lifetime, the divisions among Americans have ossified and the ideological gulf of our politics has expanded. A recent Pew survey reveals that since 1987, the political values gap between Republicans and Democrats has grown greater than ever before. As a result, our politics, rather than functioning as an earnest business of problem-solving, have devolved into a senseless game of attack and counter-attack. This polarization is born in part from the ceaseless battle cries of a divided and divisive media. Liberals and conservatives alike have found their own channels, papers, and pundits that reaffirm their pre-existing beliefs rather than illuminate the issues—and their perceived adversaries—with accuracy or Cont’d on page 24

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 23

Any suggestion to reduce the “size of government” by $4 trillion in spending cuts alone is obviously unrealistic.

too much to bear, then any suggestion to reduce the “size of government” by $4 trillion in spending cuts alone is obviously unrealistic. The president’s 2013 budget proposes a specific deficit reduction plan and a way to cancel the sequester, primarily through allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire for the wealthiest Americans. My own proposal to cancel the sequester and achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction is to simply allow all the Bush-era tax cuts, as well as the 2 percent payroll tax cut, to expire as scheduled at the end of the year, which would raise approximately $5 trillion in new revenue. Instead of working toward a compromise now, it seems more likely that members of both parties will do some political grandstanding before the election, forcing Congress to deal with this issue at the last minute in December. To complicate budget discussions, the Democratic Senate has not even proposed a budget, perhaps out of fear that the adverse political consequences of doing so outweigh the benefits of offering a specific plan. Meanwhile, the House keeps wasting its time on partisan-infused legislation that has no chance of becoming law. Case in point, a week after the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act as constitutional, the House voted for the 31st time to repeal all or some provisions of the new law, despite the president’s veto threat or the fact that the Senate has largely ignored the other repeal efforts. This level of dysfunction and political posturing is dangerous and the media needs to start asking all members for specifics to back up partisan talking points. Without specific alternatives, there can be no legislative give-and-take, which is necessary in reaching compromises. Until we stop worrying about our own political futures and start focusing on the needs of the American people today, this type of dysfunction will only get worse. Virginia Representative Bobby Scott ’65 is serving his 10th term in Congress.

The Mental Courage Deficit

Cont’d from page 23

mental soberness. At the same time, the skyrocketing costs of campaign finance have greatly damaged our political system. In this respect, the Supreme Court did our country a great disservice in the 2010 Citizens United decision, which paved the path to unlimited spending in campaigns. According to recent estimates, the 2012 election is on pace to reach a record overall cost of nearly $6 billion—a 7 percent increase from 2008 levels. Beyond revolutionizing our media and enacting meaningful campaign finance reform, what can be done? In the broadest sense, the answer lies in leadership and the lessons of great educators like Dr. Reyes and William Johnson Cory. We need more than soaring rhetoric and campaign promises. Reversing the current trend will require a new generation to accept the responsibility of transforming the anachronistic tribal political battles of left versus right, red state versus blue state, and Democrats versus Republicans. We need leaders with the mental courage and soberness to socialize the deceptively simple notion that no party has a monopoly on wisdom, that people of good will can disagree, and that

24 | Quarterly Fall 2012

we do not have to abandon our principles to reach political compromises that advance the national interest. In this respect, it is encouraging that polling tells us a growing majority of American voters call themselves “independents.” Although the percentage of independents typically declines in election years, since 2008, the figure has steadily increased during this election season, as The Economist recently reported. It is my hope that this growing group—many of whom are young voters—will direct their considerable energy toward dispelling the notion that compromise is treason and finding workable solutions that bridge the growing ideological divide. The narrow-minded partisanship that plagues our system now will only exacerbate the insularity and alienation that define our politics and ultimately—as we have seen time and time again—lead to defeat. And, above all, it betrays the commitment to truth—both about ourselves and about other human beings with whom we share this strange and eventful history. Maggie Goodlander ’05 is a foreign policy advisor to Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT).

PRIZE DAY 2012

Photos by Mike Sperling

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 25

Prize Day 2012

Previous page: Chloe Fross, Evan Hansen-Bundy, Mary Bundy, and Thomas Choi

26 | Quarterly Fall 2012

ride, joy, and anticipation filled the Circle as the 94 members of the Form of 2012, sporting their traditional boaters, marched from the Chapel into the sprawling white tent for Groton School’s 127th Prize Day.

Groton’s new graduates began the day by attending a Chapel service with their families; they then listened to inspiring speeches by keynote speaker Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. ’73, New York County’s district attorney; Headmaster Richard B. Commons; Board of Trustees President James H. Higgins III; and student-selected speaker Jameson “Jamie” Billings ’12. On the following pages are these speeches, as well as the recipients of the many prizes for which the day is named.

A Compass for Life Keynote Speaker: Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. ’73

Headmaster Rick Commons introduced Cyrus Vance, Jr. with these remarks:

ince taking office in January of 2010, Mr. Vance has reorganized and consolidated the resources of the District Attorney’s Office by creating the Cybercrime and Identity Theft Bureau, the major Economic Crimes Bureau, the Special Victims Bureau, the Public Integrity Unit, the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit, and the Hate Crimes Unit. He began his legal career in the Manhattan D.A.’s Office during the high-crime era of the 1980s. As an assistant district attorney, Mr. Vance handled cases involving murder, organized crime, public corruption, and white-collar crime. Mr. Vance has been a consulting expert to the Office of Family and Children and served on sentencing commissions in two states, including New York, where he helped to overhaul New York’s Rockefeller Drug Laws. At Groton, Mr. Vance was a member of the soccer, hockey, fives, and tennis teams, a member of the Choir, and, in his Sixth Form year, Hundred House prefect. I was told recently by a teammate on his Groton hockey team that his trademark on the ice was hockey pants slung low, a style that was widely copied and memorably dubbed “pants by Vance.” Mr. Vance graduated magna cum laude from Groton, earned his B.A. in history from Yale and his J.D. from Georgetown. Among his many civic commitments, Mr. Vance serves on the Board for the Police Athletic League of New York City, which is devoted to the concept of “cops helping kids helping communities.” Mr. Vance resides in New York City with his wife, Peggy McDonnell, and their two children, Simon and Clare. Mr. Vance, on behalf of the Form of 2012, I am delighted to welcome you back to the Circle as the keynote speaker for Groton’s 127th Prize Day.

Cyrus Vance ’73 opened his speech by imagining how courtroomstyle objections might eliminate commencement speech clichés.

t is a pleasure to be here today to celebrate the end of your Groton studies and to celebrate the beginning of your next great adventure. We meet at the intersection of two improbable circumstances: I never thought I would be giving a commencement speech at Groton. And some of you thought you would never graduate. People often assume that, as a trial attorney, I must be used to making speeches, and in a sense I am. But the speeches we make in courtrooms are altogether different from this one. In courtrooms, we make speeches to audiences of 12 people, while someone else yells “objection!” In preparing these remarks, I realized it’s actually not a bad system. A lot of the clichés of commencement speeches might be avoided, if only opposing counsel were invited to the podium to interpose objections. “Aren’t you proud to be Groton graduates?” Objection! Leading question! “What challenges lie ahead, and how will you meet them?” Objection! Compound question! “It was Abraham Lincoln who said …” Objection! Hearsay! And most painfully of all— Quarterly Fall 2012

| 27

pr i z e day

“Allow me to share with you my wisdom.” Objection! Assumes a fact not in evidence. Yes, I think such a system might help us to set aside the clichés. And so, as a trial lawyer, I will try to anticipate some of your objections as you prepare to leave Groton. And the biggest objection is probably very similar to the one we voiced as my class prepared to leave Groton nearly four decades ago. In courtroom language it would be put this way: “Objection! Relevance!” Back then, in the 1970s, that was our constant refrain. We demanded of our teachers to defend the relevance of everything they taught us. We were required to learn about the Gallic Wars, and begin by reading that, long ago, Gaul was a country divided in three. But meanwhile our thoughts were cast in present-day Vietnam, a country divided in two, also at war. We asked our teachers: how is what we are learning here at Groton relevant to a world in which every day young men are fighting and dying? Today, you, too, graduate at a time when our nation is at war. Indeed, most of you can scarcely recall a time when our nation was not at war. The uncertainty about what kind of world will emerge may have you wondering about the relevance of your lessons here at Groton. Never has the value of education been more challenged. Many of the role models for your generation—the entrepreneurs and billionaires—never completed their higher education. You may have read about the “app” developers who made a billion dollars while you were in Latin class mastering the five declensions. There’s a tradeoff—would you take a billion dollars if it meant you went through life only knowing four declensions? Indeed, we have two candidates running for president, not arguing which received the most value from his Harvard education, rather arguing which one was less warped by the experience.

Talia Simon and her parents, Keith and Patricia

28 | Quarterly Fall 2012

And so, today I would like to take on the challenge that we laid at the feet of our teachers four decades ago, and that, I believe, I hear you asking now. I want to talk about relevance. I want to argue that the life that awaits you demands an education like the one you received here at Groton. And not because Groton is old, or its campus hallowed; nor because many famous and successful people have walked these paths before you. Nor is it because Groton has set before you a roadmap which, if but followed perfectly, will lead to success. In fact, on the contrary. Your education is crucial precisely because there is no roadmap. Thousands of years ago, King Ptolemy, in exasperation, asked of Euclid whether there was not an easier way to learn geometry. Euclid’s answer has endured as long as his axioms and postulates: Euclid told the king, “There is no royal road.” And so, too, today, there is no royal road leading through your education to the challenges of life to come. Think, for a moment, of Franklin Roosevelt [1900], sitting where you now sit, at commencement; listening, as you now listen, to the commencement speaker; looking down, as you now look down, to update his Facebook status to “high school graduate.” But what must Franklin Roosevelt have been thinking, as he contemplated the road ahead? His cousin Teddy was already well along the road to becoming president. And so perhaps Franklin might well have foreseen that he, too, was destined for greatness; that he, too, might attain that high office. But I can guarantee you that, as he awaited his diploma, Franklin Roosevelt never dreamed that he would, one day, contract polio. Yet he would indeed be humbled by paralysis, only to be exalted by success; and so profound were the depths of his adversity, and so great the heights of his success, that adversity and success seem to us today but two aspects of the same monumental character.

The values, indeed, the very foundation of this school embrace this paradox. You can see humility as greatness— for you are graduates of an institution that holds as its creed, “cui servire est regnare,” its own great paradox of leadership, that to serve is to rule. That great paradox assures us that no life worth living will ever be traveled as the shortest distance between two points. For there is, truly, no royal road. You have been educated in this small community of enduring values for these past five years. You have studied in a pastoral setting that must at times have seemed cloistered and removed. And now, at last, you disperse, wondering how those values, from this place, will guide you in the vast, complex, and often unreasoning world beyond. But it is precisely for that world that this education and the values underlying it have trained you. In your many mornings at Chapel, perhaps you remember—I certainly hope so—about the prophet Elijah, exiled to the wilderness, unsure of where to go or what to do. He was searching for the voice of God in some dramatic or grandiose experience. When suddenly he was struck by a terrible wind, however, the voice of God was not in the wind. Then he was rocked by a great earthquake—but the voice of God was not in the earthquake. And there was a fire, but the voice of God was not in the fire. God came to Elijah instead as a quiet call from within, a still, small voice, that only he could hear, which answered Elijah’s question. If you set out to live a life of authenticity, you too will travel through a wilderness. That much is sure. You, too, will encounter wind and earthquake and fire. But the purpose of your education has been to tune your ears to something else: the sound of the still, small voice within you. It is the voice of your core values that helps you distinguish right from wrong, fairness from injustice, honesty from deception, and your own truth from that expected of you by others. These are the values and the basic precepts taught you in your education, and in the community that you built, here in your time at Groton. That voice, ultimately, is what will guide and protect you in your journey, but you have to listen for it, then follow it. You know, we sometimes refer to life as an “odyssey,” but the stylebook of the New York Times insists that the word “odyssey” properly refers only to a journey that begins and ends at the same point. If that’s so, then my legal career really has been a sort of odyssey. It began, nearly three decades ago, in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and that is where it has now returned. And so, like any odyssey, the story worth telling is not where the journey began or ended, but how it was blown off course along the way. In my case, that day came when I realized that I had to

It’s always tough when your dad disapproves of your life choices. But believe me, when your dad is secretary of state, it can ruin your whole day.

leave New York. My father, of whom I am the namesake, had been partner at one of New York’s most prestigious firms, had been president of the New York City Bar Association, and had been secretary of state. I came to see that, no matter what career path I chose in New York, I would never be confident that I was leading my own life. The voice inside me was directing me that I needed to go somewhere where neither my name nor my diplomas would open any doors. I listened to it and decided to go across the continent, to Seattle, to raise a family and start a law firm from scratch. Now, if you’re not convinced by my explanation, don’t feel too bad. On the eve of my move, my father took me aside and said, “Son, you realize you are waving the white flag on your career.” It’s always tough when your dad disapproves of your life choices. But believe me, when your dad is secretary of state, it can ruin your whole day. The decision to leave the security of my family and hometown was a departure from anything I would have predicted, but it was one of the most important choices and best decisions of my life. My family and I thrived in Washington state. We stayed for nearly two decades. And then, my wife and I decided it was time to leave the West Coast, leave the law firm I had started, and come back to New York. Now, having perhaps failed to convince you that I needed to move to Seattle in the first place, I will not even try to convince you that we had to move back, other

Winston Shi and his parents, Charlie and Louise

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 29

pr i z e day

Chris MacDonald with his parents Scott and Debbie and his sister Anna ’16

than to tell you that my mother and sister were in New York, and were both ill, and to remind you of a truth from another passage in the Bible, that “there is a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together.” It was back in New York that I made the decision to run for district attorney. I was tested many times during that campaign, and I do not pretend that I aced every test. But like you, I graduated. It is said that a political campaign is the best preparation for public office, and I think there’s some truth to that. The campaign trains you to speak concisely, in ways that might not be distorted even if taken out of context. The campaign trains you to live your life knowing that everyone you meet has an iPhone, every iPhone has a video camera, every video camera uplinks to YouTube, and in the archives of YouTube awaits eternal embarrassment. I learned those things, and more, from a campaign. But as preparation for public office, the most important lessons are the ones I was taught here at Groton, the ones about the relevance of enduring values. Not long after I took office, I encountered a case of unprecedented celebrity. It was a case in which even the most routine court appearance brought out an army of media from around the world, with an encampment like a small city surrounding our offices. That case involved a famous, powerful, and wealthy defendant, and a complaining witness of very modest means, and an accusation of sexual assault. The case set in conflict virtually every value at stake in the criminal justice system: the presumption of innocence, equal justice under the law, protection of the powerless. It was the kind of case where, every time we surmounted one challenge, an even bigger one, even harder to anticipate, lay behind it; and if you don’t believe me, when it was all done, when we had completed our investigation and made our decision and summoned the media to our offices to announce our resolution, the press

30 | Quarterly Fall 2012

conference was disrupted by an earthquake, measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. And on that day, I can assure you, the voice of the Lord was not in the earthquake. But my point is, that in such a case, it is impossible to do justice unless you are able to set aside every other consideration, other than the law and the facts, and unless you are able to tune out the noise surrounding you, and listen instead to the voice inside you that speaks to the most fundamental value judgments—in this case, the very principle upon which our legal system rises or falls: proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Now, an investigation may uncover outrageous immorality and mounds of suspicion; but when thorough investigation up until trial fails to produce convincing evidence of guilt, we must not proceed—regardless of any public pressure to move ahead. Put simply, if we are not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty, we can’t ask a jury to find him guilty. Frankly, such cases comprise one of the most agonizing parts of our work. Nonetheless, making such tough decisions defines a prosecutor more than any conviction reported on the front page of a newspaper. That is the best illustration I can offer of the relevance of my Groton education. It was an education that wagered everything on the belief that a life could be guided by enduring values. It was an education premised on the notion that we could not anticipate the problems we would face, but that by striving to live a life of character, at the most difficult times those values would lead us to the solutions. You leave this place without a road map, but with a compass. You will find within you that guidance that will orient you toward what is right and true, even when you see no familiar landmarks along your way. This is the life for which your education prepares you. It has not been an easy preparation, but neither will life be easy. Any life well lived will be a life well tested. When you live long enough, you will come to see every comfortable assumption dissolved, every skill you have acquired rendered obsolete. And just when you think your day is ending, just when you think the torch has already been passed, one of you may be invited back to this stage, to give the commencement speech at Groton. And on that afternoon, you will realize that, in the years since your graduation, everything has changed. Except the five declensions. You will be reminded, as I am reminded today, that wherever your odyssey takes you, you can always find your way, guided by the values you have taken from Groton and from your family, that often—in your toughest challenges—speak to your conscience in a voice that only you can hear. Thank you.

Distinguished Grotonian:

Dr. Ward Goodenough ’37, P’71, ’77, GP’08, ’12

Rick Commons introduced the Distinguished Grotonian Award with these words:

ince 1977, Groton School has presented the Distinguished Grotonian Award to graduates whose lives of distinguished service reflect the essential values of the School. This year, I am pleased to recognize the exceptional accomplishments of Dr. Ward Goodenough, Form of 1937. Normally, this award is presented on Alumni Reunion Weekend, but since Dr. Goodenough’s grandson is a member of the Form of 2012, we felt it would be fitting to present it today, on the 75th anniversary of Dr. Goodenough’s own Prize Day. Dr. Goodenough has dedicated his life to a quest for understanding the human experience—in his case, through the study of anthropology. A professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, he is renowned in his field, particularly for his extensive research in Micronesia, Kiribati, and Papua New Guinea. Dr. Goodenough influenced an extensive list of anthropological arenas, including oceanic anthropology, kinship studies, linguistic anthropology, cross-cultural studies, and cognitive anthropology. Dr. Goodenough began his career in 1948 at the University of Wisconsin. Just a year later, he went to University of Pennsylvania, where his distinguished tenure spanned four decades. Through the years, Dr. Goodenough shared his expertise through visiting professorships at several institutions, including Cornell, Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Yale. Dr. Goodenough has published numerous books throughout his career—most of them anthropological in nature, but this true Renaissance man also has published

a book of poetry and a book of piano music. Remarkable! Please join me in honoring and welcoming to the podium Dr. Ward Goodenough, our 2012 Distinguished Grotonian.

illiam Goodenough ’12 read his grandfather’s remarks, which included a poignant poem: “When I was here at Groton, I got a teenage interest that subsided and then came back again when I turned 65, or thereabouts, and I began writing poems again … I hope for all Groton graduates that their youthful interests, developed here, will survive when they turn 65, which seems pretty young to me now. “When I retired, I sent my professional library as a gift to the University of Ireland. Sadly, the container that held the books and journals was sunk after a boat collision. Here is the sonnet I wrote:

On Loss at Sea of a Gift of Personal Library to St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth I’ve felt the heaving rise and fall of sea Beneath my bunk. Its surge beyond control Of human wish or instrument, each roll, Each pitch, each yawning move reminding me That I remain at risk despite my trust. If sailing error make two ships collide Don’t blame the sea! If cargo of my pride Be sunk in box of barnacles and rust, My books but sodden cakes beyond retrieve, Don’t blame the sea! Its flood and ebb may tear My heart and thwart intentions I hold dear, Yet cry no blame for all that I must grieve. I know the heaving rise and fall of sea,

Three Groton generations: Oliver Goodenough ’71, Distinguished Grotonian Ward Goodenough ’37, and William Goodenough ’12

And now I’m part of it and it of me.”

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 31

pr i z e day

The Enduring Imprint of Prize Day

Prize Day began with Headmaster Rick Commons introducing Board of Trustees President Jamie Higgins, who delivered these remarks:

et me quickly give my assurances to all. Today is about the graduates, not the Board of Trustees; I won’t keep you long from our celebrations today! I know that many might argue passionately in favor of another moment in the Groton calendar as their most favorite. Some would point to Parents Weekend perhaps, or Lessons and Carols, or maybe to Reunion Weekend. And of course, who would take the other side of their argument? Each is very special, and each captures a quintessential spirit of what Groton means to us all. But for me, Prize Day is different. It rests in its own unique niche at the head of the gallery of great Groton moments. It captures the same special spirit of the School as the others, but alone among all Groton moments, each Prize Day is for all time adopted by, and gives its name to, just one form. So today, it’s official. All of you who sit in these first rows are the Form of 2012, and this is your Prize Day, yours alone, and it always will be! So, if this Prize Day is so special, and so uniquely yours, will it also have a unique meaning throughout your lives beyond being a fixed mark on a future résumé or a joyous time captured in a favorite scrapbook?

David Belsky receives his diploma from his parents, faculty members Kate Dennison and Steve Belsky. David’s sister Molly also graduated.

32 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Each of you will answer that question in your own specific way, of course, but I believe you will discover that your Prize Day will indeed have special lasting meaning to each of you. It marks the exact moment when you finished receiving all that Groton has to give to you as a student, and it will live within you as a constant reminder of what you learned and practiced here as you make your way in what the Rector memorably called “the active work of life.” I know that for many whom you will meet along the way, the main challenge of life involves navigating risks and obstacles in search of opportunity and achievement. To do that successfully requires a creative mind, broad perspective, the ability to think critically and across disciplines, the capacity to create vision, have conviction, take responsibility, and harness competitive drive. Those are, of course, all skills and attributes that Groton has sought to instill and hone in each of you. In fact, they are all words and phrases taken directly from the list of definitions for the underpinning values of learning and leadership that amplify Groton’s mission statement. But the enduring imprint that your own Prize Day will leave on your soul is the indelible certainty that such a list is incomplete. Navigating and achieving and competing, and all the “learning” and “leadership” attributes that go with them, all speak only to what you do, but not to who you are. Depth of personal character and a dedication to serving interests beyond your own are required if “learning” and “leading” are to be forces for good. To compete and achieve without strong character and a sense of service— without deep integrity, without optimism, without kindness and selflessness, or while having no empathy, no commitment to justice, or no mindfulness of the needs of others—might lead to credentials, but they would be without purpose. They might produce accomplishments with a return, but they would have no value. This Prize Day anoints you as the Form of 2012 and attests that you are ready for an “active life” that is not narrow, misdirected, or stunted, but is complete: one of character, learning, leadership, and service! If Prize Day is that special moment that belongs just to you, then it seems to be also the perfect moment for you to offer something that only you can give: your own

Mathieu Diab and Luke Duroc-Danner

Board of Trustees President Jamie Higgins Pâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;02, â&#x20AC;&#x2122;06

unique expression of your gratefulness to your parents and your families, to your faculty and your friends, for it is they who have made your Groton experience possible. I would like to ask all of you, the Form of 2012, to please now stand, to turn and face all those who sit behind you, and from whom you have received so much. I know that you would like to give them a heartfelt round of your grateful applause. Now, let me finish with the same note of personal sentiment as I have in each of the past years that I have had the privilege to be on this dais.

In my own life, I have found there have been very few times when one is surrounded by so many family and friends who simultaneously admire you so greatly, love you so much, are so appreciative of your friendship, are so proud of your accomplishments, and who wish you so much success in your future. This is your Prize Day at Groton School, and it is one of those times. Drink deeply of today, for it will sustain you for the rest of your lives. On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the entire Groton community, I salute you, the Form of 2012.

Senior Prefects Artie Santry and Nya Holder with Tyler Phelan

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 33

pr i z e day

A Commitment to the Life of the Mind After saluting departing faculty members and this year’s Distinguished Grotonian (see page 31), Headmaster Rick Commons spoke directly to the graduates:

ow I would like to address the Form of 2012, to whom this day belongs. As we did this morning, as we did most of the days you spent on the Circle, let us begin with Chapel. I have kept a file of your wonderful talks, which I spent some time re-reading in the days leading up to this event. They display your striking individuality as well as your unusual unity as a form. Your talks invariably awoke us, inspired us, and moved us to deep reflection. Through your many expressions of what matters at this School and in this world, the Form of 2012 showed itself to be the very teachers and scholars the School hymn asks us all to be. And indeed you were and are scholars. As Mr. Gemmell observed when I asked him about your form, in the spheres of both numbers and letters, you have distinguished yourselves in a host of impressive ways, taking full advantage of the core academic program and chasing after tutorials in quantum theory, pastoral poetry, and playwriting. Yet you avoided the primary pitfall of academically talented high school students by not allowing college résumés and outcomes to be your essential motivation, staying conscious of the longer lasting rewards bestowed by a commitment to the life of the mind.

Katie Petroskey, daughter of Associate Dean of Students Libby Petroskey and Michael Petroskey

34 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Mary Bundy with her father, Trustee James Bundy

The Form of 2012 has accomplished great things outside the classroom as well. Groton theater has been spectacular with the stage lights pointed by and at you. Think of this year’s major performances: The Odyssey, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, The Pirates of Penzance, and Rumors. You moved us to tears and standing ovations and uncontrollable laughter, and you took Groton theater to new heights. Your athletic success was likewise marvelous—on the trails, the river, the courts, and the fields. It is no wonder the Form of 2012 boasts more athletes who will play a sport in college than any form in recent memory. Two examples of excellence that will be long remembered are the six-win football season, which included tough wins over both St. Mark’s and “Goliath,” and the perfect season recently achieved by the girls crew, undefeated in the regular season, with all four boats finishing first in New Englands. Last but not least, living up to the Groton motto, your form has made service a part of the culture and very fabric of our community. Ms. Hughes says that she has been “blown away” by the number of Sixth Formers whose participation in service endeavors remained strong or even increased in the final two terms, long after it could mean anything to a college application or a future leadership position. Clearly it meant a great deal to you, to the people you served, and to the School you are asking to follow your lead after you are gone.

Diana Chen and Cullen Coleman

With all of this to make us proud, you have made us laugh as well, with penguin costumes, unicycles, YOLO skits, and a large automobile in the center of the Schoolroom, driven by the regal bronze bust of the Rector, who seemed, when I first saw him looking out from

Franciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s windshield on that startling Saturday morning, to be actually cracking a smile. For your humor, your achievement, your leadership, and your palpable belief in Groton School, which you have made stronger in every way, I thank the Form of 2012, and I congratulate you.

Kaly Spilhaus, Nicole Fronsdahl, and Ashlin Dolan

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 35

pr i z e day

Defining Success Rick Commons introduced Jameson “Jamie” Billings ’12, who was selected to speak by his peers, as “a young man known for many things, but none more memorable than his ability to kick a soccer ball with near lethal force.” Below are Jamie’s remarks to his formmates on Prize Day.

ow, I figured I’d take my hat off because, as many of you know, it’s something that I don’t do often enough. Better late than never. Forgive my hat hair. I’m really honored to be up here—four years ago, this would have seemed pretty unlikely. Four years ago, I thought Groton would be a place to reinvent myself. I kept this thought in the back of my mind throughout the summer before my Third Form year. I had shed my braces and some of my shyness, and I arrived in a neatly tucked polo and a stylish bowl cut, ready to make friends. I would be more outgoing; I would take more risks—all the clichés that a reinvented high schooler must embrace. I approached Third Form orientation with these ideals in mind. Now, I’ve always hated “name games,” charades, and other ice-breaking activities, but I gritted my newly straightened teeth and suffered through every team-building exercise that our scavenger hunt took us on. That is, until we reached Scudders. A group of three grinning seniors stood behind the grill and, over the sound of sizzling steak, said that what they were preparing for us was a “z-bomb.” The z-bomb, they explained, was a Scudders classic (for those of you who don’t know, it’s a sort of mashed-up burger, and apart from that, I can’t tell you a whole lot, because I haven’t had another one in four years). The seniors gave us a challenge: among the eight of us in our group, we had to eat a z-bomb in one minute. “Maybe each of you should take a bite,” one of them suggested, hoping to make it a team exercise. Well, 55 seconds later, a few members of our group, which was comprised entirely of girls (or at least that’s how I remember it) had nibbled at a corner of the disgusting food item, but it remained more or less intact. Somehow, the plate with the greasy, bitten-from sandwich had been shoved to me, and my eyes slowly moved down to it. As our tormentors counted down the seconds, my new formmates urged me to eat it. As one of them eloquently put it, “ Jamie—you have to eat it.” And, with adrenaline

36 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Student speaker Jamie Billings

coursing through my germaphobic veins, I did. In an effort rivaling the feats of champion eater Kobayashi, I consumed the entire thing in less than five seconds. My gasping subsided and, with my oxygen supply replenished, my vision cleared, and I prepared myself for the praise my bravery would receive. But I turned around just in time to see the last of my peers slip out the door, already focused on the next step of the scavenger hunt. In a funny way, I think that this story kind of encapsulates a lot about Groton. It’s so easy here to get caught up in the moment, whether ridiculous or serious, and think that the task at hand is much more important than it actually is, simply because of the pressure of the situation. Everything is intensified in our small bubble. We are very aware of what everyone around us is doing, achieving, and failing to achieve, so it is easy to feel as though our own lives are being examined under a magnifying glass. If we feel like we have to be perfect, things can get blown out of proportion. A single paper or test can seem like the entire world at 1:30 a.m. on a cold, dark Groton winter night, and it becomes so easy to lose perspective. Seniors, it’s Prize Day. We’re done—well, almost done—keep it together for a few more minutes. We don’t

have any more Groton tests or papers, so what better time to reflect on this than now? For me, and I think that this is a pretty common occurrence at Groton, there have been times when I have blown off friends in favor of work, or come up short on an extracurricular commitment in order to study for a test. Although I feel very lucky to be able to say that these are my biggest regrets at Groton, they are. But should they even be regrets? Or are the lessons that they teach perhaps the most valuable of all? Groton is a funny place. Academically, it pushes us to our limits and punishes us when we let down our guard, even for a second. And yet it tells us that grades are not the most important thing—after all, cui servire est regnare, and what are grades serving but ourselves? And if Groton is truly “devoted to inspiring lives of character, learning, leadership, and service,” as its mission statement says, then why are academics the only thing that we’re tested on? We are given a number, and so it can seem that our success has been quantified. That number can always be higher, so it’s easy to feel that we have always failed— that we’ve failed ourselves, but also that we’ve failed to show gratitude for the opportunity to study at Groton. But is the best way to demonstrate our gratitude really by striving to fulfill some perceived expectation? I don’t think so—at least I certainly don’t think that’s all of it. In order to be truly grateful, we should also allow ourselves to enjoy what Groton has given us, and to take advantage of what it has to offer. A few weeks ago, I was on the fringe of a discussion at lunch that made me think. A few people had calculated how much a single class period at Groton costs. They had done this by taking the annual tuition, before room and board, and dividing it by the number of class periods per year. I don’t remember the figure exactly, but it was a little astounding. However, I couldn’t help thinking that they were missing a key piece of the equation. As if he could read my thoughts, one of them said, “But the Groton education is so much more than classes, so I guess we

Ben Ames, Carly Margolis, William Goodenough, Tory Mayher, Thomas Choi, and Sarah Brooks

would have to factor that in as well.” And that’s just it. Everyone at the table agreed, and it was at that moment that I realized just how much I’ll miss this place and all of its priceless intangibles. I see the manifestations of Groton’s influence every spring on Reunion Weekend. I find myself surrounded by alumni shaking hands, hugging, playing roofball, tossing Frisbees, or giving enthusiastic campus tours to their new families. After the School has gone to bed, I can still hear the distant shouting and laughter of the alumni parties, and I know that, decades down the road, I will be among them, celebrating my times at Groton. All of us will move onto bigger things than high school, but for many of us, the friendships and influences we’ve had here will be some of the strongest of our lives. I know that I’ll miss spring evenings on the Circle and late nights in the dorm. I’ll miss knowing that my advisor, Mr. Commons, will always carve out half an hour from his busy schedule at a moment’s notice just to chat—or knowing that I can ask Mr. Harmon any question and that his reply will be, “Well, I don’t know a whole lot about that …”—and then that he will go on to explain everything there is to know. All of these things that have made Groton such a comfortable place have made me realize that the School didn’t force me to reinvent anything, but rather let me take what I had and run with it. Sure, there have also been times when we’ve felt so crushed by work that nothing else seemed to matter. But I know that, by throwing us into these tough situations, Groton has allowed us to find ourselves—not yet, necessarily, but it has helped us discover our foundations and provided us with the tools that we need to succeed in the future. And by this, I don’t mean that the academic education we have received has made us smart enough to tackle any mental challenge, but rather that Groton has helped each of us define success in our own terms. It’s allowed us to prioritize our values by making us choose between self and community, between achievement and fulfillment, and it’s made us ask ourselves not only what we want to do, but also who we want to be. If we know that, we can do anything. And we will. The Form of 2012 has discovered who it wants to be. On a small scale, when formmates whom I barely knew helped me through math in Fourth Form, or physics last year, our form showed the School that devotion to each other meant more than individual success. On a larger scale, when we came together during the tragedies of last year, our form showed the School that it was caring. And as nostalgia hit us in this past week—one full of goodbyes and lasts—our form took advantage of every opportunity that the School laid forth, and we showed it how grateful we are for all that Groton has given us. A gratitude, I think, that we have only begun to realize. Thank you, and to the Form of 2012, good luck. Quarterly Fall 2012

| 37

pr i z e day

form of 2012 Diplomas and College Profiles Sonaali Aggarwal Cum Laude Cornell University

Diana M.B. Chen Magna Cum Laude Harvard College

Benjamin Filley Ames Whitman College

Jung Woo Thomas Choi Magna Cum Laude University of Chicago

Jacqueline Sarah Anton Magna Cum Laude Brown University Zachary Nishan Baharozian Cum Laude University of Michigan Caroline Alexander Banwell Cum Laude Yale University Natalie Catherine Jane Barnett Cum Laude McGill University David Dennison Belsky Cum Laude Kenyon College

Lucy L. Chou Cum Laude University of Pennsylvania Matthew Quinn Clarida Magna Cum Laude Harvard College Cullen Alexander Coleman Cum Laude Middlebury College Julia Haynes Porter Combs Cum Laude University of Cambridge

Kaitlyn Peterson and Hope Cutler

Eliza Kelly Fairbrother Cum Laude Kenyon College Nicholas Joseph Fischetti Connecticut College

Caroline Krystynia Coughlin Stonehill College

Patrick John Florence Merrimack College

Molly Dennison Belsky Cum Laude Trinity College

Hope Russell Cutler Cum Laude Washington and Lee University

Genevieve Blackford Fowler Magna Cum Laude Yale University

Jameson Charles Billings Magna Cum Laude Dartmouth College

Olukayode A. Dansalami Cum Laude Carnegie Mellon University

Nicole Elizabeth Fronsdahl Dickinson College

Sarah MacKenzie Black Trinity College

Mathieu Diab Concordia University (Canada)

Chloe Collum Fross Magna Cum Laude Georgetown University

Trevor Roy Bossi Cum Laude Dickinson College

Michael Joseph Doherty Cum Laude Yale University

William Hudnut Clarkson Goodenough Bowdoin College

Derek Mitchell Boyse Georgetown University

Ashlin Corroon Dolan Vanderbilt University

Sarah Connick Brooks Bates College

Poppy Elizabeth Doolan Trinity College

Katherine Ellinwood Gracey Cum Laude Bowdoin College

Mary Peyton Bundy Cum Laude Franklin & Marshall College

Raymond Lake Dunn Cum Laude Georgetown University

Indira A. Cabrera St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College

Luke Jean-Maximilien Duroc-Danner Magna Cum Laude University of Chicago

Sherwood Henry Callaway Cum Laude Davidson College

Walker Schieffelin Evans Summa Cum Laude Harvard College

Evan Lothrop Hansen-Bundy Bates College Carter Ellis Harwood Magna Cum Laude Johns Hopkins University Emily Marks Hoch Rhodes College Nya Anisha Holder Magna Cum Laude Yale University Emmett Henry Horvath Rollins College

38 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Joseph Robert MacDonald Cum Laude Middlebury College

Elizabeth Courtin Ross Magna Cum Laude Vanderbilt University

Carly Melissa Quirk Margolis Summa Cum Laude Brown University

Stephen Bradley Rowe University of Georgia

Victoria Strieder Mayher Trinity College Carolina Mejia Peña Goucher College Elizabeth Ann MeLampy Summa Cum Laude Harvard College Emmaline Hunter Milbank Fordham University Timothy Morrill Cum Laude Connecticut College Magdalena Louise Horvath Magna Cum Laude University of California, Berkeley Walter Hunnewell III Trinity College Malcolm Marcus Johnson Cum Laude Columbia University Susanna Richards Kalaris Magna Cum Laude Dartmouth College John Michael Kessler Summa Cum Laude Princeton University Peter Laboy Lafayette College Adam Harris Lamont Cum Laude Bowdoin College Jesung Lee Cum Laude University of Pennsylvania Sarah Renwick Long Magna Cum Laude Georgetown University Madeline Anderson Lyons Magna Cum Laude Dartmouth College Paul Michael MacCarty Emerson College Christopher Stone MacDonald Magna Cum Laude Bowdoin College

Abigail Eldredge Morss Magna Cum Laude Williams College Cerel Muñoz Tufts University Natasha Sada Nassar Northwestern University Alexandra Stoddard Norton Cum Laude Washington and Lee University Brian Dominick O’Neill Lafayette College Prescott Osei Owusu Franklin & Marshall College Henry Dailey Pearson Franklin & Marshall College Kaitlyn Aysha Peterson Cum Laude Boston College Katherine Elizabeth Petroskey Northeastern University Tyler Austin Phelan Magna Cum Laude Georgetown University George Madison Prugh Magna Cum Laude Georgetown University

Arthur Joseph Santry IV Summa Cum Laude Dartmouth College Lydia Karen Schulz Magna Cum Laude Tufts University Joseph Scott The College of Wooster Winston Ge Shi Magna Cum Laude Stanford University Talia Patricia Simon Williams College Katherine Emily Spilhaus Saint Michael’s College Christina Louise Strater Queen’s University (Canada) Charles Sebastian Terris Cum Laude University of California, Berkeley Emma Elizabeth Thomasch Grinnell College Olivia Wills Trase Cum Laude Princeton University Lukas John Turchetta University of Denver Denia Viera Cum Laude New York University Samuel Seaton Watson II Cum Laude University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Tarik Hasani Welch The College of Wooster Julia Sands Wood Cum Laude Tulane University

Gordon Percy Pyne Sewanee: The University of the South John Charles Rhinelander Franklin & Marshall College

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 39

GROTON SCHOOL PRIZES THE CHARLES LANIER APPLETON PRIZE Awarded to members of the Sixth Form who have greatly served the School

THE ROSCOE C. THOMAS MATHEMATICS PRIZE Given by the Sixth Form of 1923 and awarded to a member of the Fifth Form for excellence in mathematics

Nya Anisha Holder and Arthur Joseph Santry IV

Anita Xu â&#x20AC;&#x2122;13

THE HISTORY AND LITERATURE PRIZE Given by the late Right Reverend Julius Atwood to the best scholar in the combined fields of history and literature

THE PERRY HISTORY PRIZE Given by Mrs. Eliza Endicott Perry to the best scholar in the field of history

Katherine Ellenwood Gracey

Winston Ge Shi

THE ROGERS V. SCUDDER CLASSICS PRIZE Given in memory of Rogers Scudder, a distinguished teacher of classics and a much loved member of this community

THE THORPE SCIENCE PRIZE Given by Mrs. Warren Thorpe to that member of the Sixth Form who has been the most successful in developing an appreciation of the spirit and meaning of science

Carly Melissa Quirk Margolis and Elizabeth Ann MeLampy

40 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Genevieve Blackford Fowler

THE BUTLER PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENGLISH Given by Mrs. Gilbert Butler Elizabeth Ann MeLampy THE DENNIS CROWLEY DRAMA PRIZE Given by Todd C. Bartels ’01 to a member of the Sixth Form who has made the greatest contribution to the theater program Eliza Kelly Fairbrother THE GEORGE LIVINGSTON NICHOLS PRIZE Awarded for the best essay on a historical subject Eliza Kelly Fairbrother

THE HARVARD BOOK PRIZES Awarded to two members of the Fifth Form who exemplify excellence in scholarship and high character combined with achievement in other fields The first Harvard Book Prize, given by Harry Eldridge ’20 in memory of his brother Francis H. Eldridge ’24 Anita Xu ’13 The second Harvard Book Prize, given by Mark A. Medlinsky ’76 in memory of his father Christopher King ’13

THE MODERN LANGUAGES PRIZE

THE FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT DEBATING PRIZE Given in memory of Franklin D. Roosevelt 1900 by W. Averell Harriman 1909

Walker Schieffelin Evans and Emma Elizabeth Thomasch

Adam Harris Lamont, Jesung Lee, and Lucy L. Chou

THE HUDSON MUSIC PRIZE Given by the friends of William Clarke Hudson ’56 to recognize effort and progress in music during the school year

THE GROTONIAN CREATIVE WRITING PRIZE Given by the Grotonian board of 1946 to a member of the Upper School for the best example of prose fiction written in the past year

Luke Jean-Maximilien Duroc-Danner and Jun Woo Thomas Choi

Dominique Danco ’13

THE ISSAC JACKSON MEMORIAL PRIZE Awarded to the best mathematics scholar in the Upper School

THE ENDICOTT PEABODY MEMORIAL PRIZE Given in memory of the Reverend Endicott Peabody by the Sixth Form of 1945 for excellence in the field of religion and ethics

Taehoon Lee ’13

Carly Melissa Quirk Margolis

THE REVEREND FREDERIC R. KELLOGG UPPER SCHOOL ART PRIZE Given in his memory in recognition of distinguished work in art

THE REGINALD FINCKE, JR. MEDAL Given by the Sixth Form of 1928 in memory of First Lieutenant Reginald Fincke, Jr., and awarded to a member of the Sixth Form who has shown in athletics his qualities of perseverance, courage, and unselfish sportsmanship

Ashlin Corroon Dolan and Jacqueline Sarah Anton

Michael Joseph Doherty THE ANITA ANDRES ROGERSON DANCE PRIZE Elizabeth Ann MeLampy THE PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE Talia Patricia Simon THE UPPER SCHOOL SHOP PRIZE Chloe Collum Fross and Peter Mumford ’13

THE CORNELIA AMORY FROTHINGHAM ATHLETIC PRIZE Given by her parents and awarded to a girl in the Sixth Form who has demonstrated all-around athletic ability and has shown exemplary qualities of leadership and sportsmanship Ashlin Corroon Dolan THE O’BRIEN PRIZE Given by the Hoopes family to a member of the Lower School who has shown qualities of integrity, loyalty, enthusiasm, and concern for others Jared Belsky ’15

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 41

pr i z e day

The following awards were presented on the Saturday evening before Prize Day:

THE GADSDEN PRIZE Given in memory of Jeremiah Gadsden of the Form of 1968 by his classmates and friends to a member of the Fifth Form who has demonstrated inspirational leadership, encouraging social and interracial understanding in the Groton community

The John Jay Pierrepont Prize Given to the best mathematics scholar in the Lower School

Monifa Foluke ’13 and Nimesha Gerlus ’13

Alaric Krapf ’15

THE TRONIC AWARD Given in honor of Michael G. Tronic and awarded to a member of the Sixth Form who has made especially good use of the resources of the library and has shown strong interest in the life of the mind

The Lower School Studio Art Prize

Molly Dennison Belsky and Susanna Richards Kalaris THE ELIZABETH AND MARGERY PEABODY AWARD Given to a member of the Sixth Form, other than a School prefect, whose contributions to the community demonstrate sensitivity, strength of character, leadership, and integrity

Monica Bousa ’15 and Danny Lopez ’15 The Lower School Shop Prize Olivia Ladd-Luthringshauser ’15 The Lower School Creative Writing Prize Samantha Crozier ’15 The Heard Poetry Prize

Chloe Collum Fross

Mitchell Zhang ’13

THE MONTE J. AND ANNE H. WALLACE SCHOLAR Given to a student who has completed the Fourth Form in recognition of scholastic excellence as well as those qualities of character and commitment so important to the Groton community

The Richard K. Irons Public Speaking Prize Established in 1972 by McGeorge Bundy ’36 and Arthur T. Hadley ’42 in honor of their teacher Richard K. (Doc) Irons, presented to the student who most logically and effectively presents his or her ideas during the R.K. Irons Speaking Contest, held at Groton each spring

Charlotte Gemes ’14

Hugh McGlade ’13 THE LAURA J. COOLIDGE ’85 POETRY PRIZE Given in her memory by her husband Peter Touche to a member of the Upper School who has shown a love for the power of poetic expression and a sustained interest in writing and reading poetry Jesung Lee THE ASMA GULL HASAN 1993 CIRCLE VOICE JOURNALISM PRIZE Acknowledges outstanding leadership in creating, editing, and producing the School’s newspaper Matthew Quinn Clarida THE CARROLL AND JOHN KING HODGES PRIZE Given in memory of Carroll Hodges, Form of 1905, and John King Hodges, Form of 1910, to a Sixth Former who has distinguished him- or herself in a capacity to be designated by the headmaster Peter Laboy

Honorable Mention in the Avery Ashdown Chemistry Contest Jeong Jun (JJ) Kim ’14 U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad Competition Certificate Andrea Fisher ’13 The Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award Given to a member of the Fifth Form who demonstrates exceptional promise in the sciences Chris King ’13 The Rensselaer Medal Awarded to a Fifth Form student who has distinguished him- or herself in mathematics and science Anita Xu ’13

42 | Quarterly Fall 2012

The New England Science Teachers Award Lucy Chou

Nominees for merit scholarship competitions: The Danforth Scholars Program at Washington University

The Fels Science Prize Given in honor of Stephen B. Fels, Form of 1958, awarded to a member of the Lower School who has demonstrated exceptional enthusiasm for and proficiency in the experimental aspects of scientific inquiry

The John Montgomery Belk Scholar at Davidson College

Alaric Krapf ’15 and REBecca Kimball ’15

Pranay Sharma ’13

The Bertrand B. Hopkins Environmental Sciences Prize Given by the Form of 1948

The Roberston Scholarship at Duke University or the University of North Carolina

Baheya Malaty ’13

John McCrossan ’13

The Randolph College Classics Book Award Presented to a Fifth Former who has demonstrated achievement in and enthusiasm for the classics

The Jefferson Scholarship at the University of Virginia

Emma Izard ’13 The Williams Book Prize Given to a member of the Fifth Form who has demonstrated intellectual leadership and has made a significant contribution to the extracurricular life of the school Pranay Sharma ’13 The Jefferson Book Award Given to a member of the Fifth Form the faculty considers to best represent the Jeffersonian ideals of scholarship, leadership, and citizenship Nimesha Gerlus ’13 The Dartmouth Book Award Given to a member of the Fifth Form who is of strong character, has made a positive impact on the life of the School community, and has excelled in at least one non-academic area Marianna Gailus ’13 The Wellesley Book Prize Given to young women who have been top scholars in high school as well as talented performers in extracurricular areas Andrea Fisher ’13 The University of Chicago Book Prize Given to a member of the Fifth Form the faculty considers most dedicated in deep intellectual inquiry in a range of academic disciplines

Analia Del Bosque ’13

Nimesha Gerlus ’13 The Morehead-Cain Scholarship at University of North Carolina Anita Xu ’13

Local awards: The 2012 Jerry Cahir Memorial Scholarship Given by the Bourne, Massachusetts, Recreation Authority Kaly Spilhaus Town of Groton Scholarship Fund Molly and David Belsky

Prizeworthy Performance During Prize Day, Groton School and the American Classical League recognized Madeline Bossi ’13 and Carly Margolis ’12 for achieving a perfect score on the National Latin Exam—an extraordinary distinction shared by fewer than 1 percent of the 136,000 participants worldwide. This year, 213 of Groton’s Latin students took the National Latin Exam and 57 (more than 25 percent) earned summa cum laude and a gold medal.

John McCrossan ’13

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 43

REUNION WEEKEND Photos by Annie Card

hey watched Groton teams compete and learned about the STEM program. They took a behindthe-scenes campus tour and went birdwatching. They discussed the search for a new head of School and sang with the choir. Mostly, though, Groton alumni who attended Reunion Weekend 2012 had one primary goal—to reconnect with old friends and former teachers and to absorb once again the magic of the Circle. About 500 people—alumni from form years ending in 2 and 7 and their families—gathered on campus May 18-20. The veterans among the reuners were nine members of the Form of 1947 and their spouses. Twenty-eight graduates attended from the Form of 1962, a special 50-year celebration. Among the events featuring the Form of ’62 were a screening of George Butler’s award-winning documentary, Roving Mars, and a panel discussion on the varied global experiences of Ken Audroue, who was a foreign service officer; Jim Balano, who traveled the world with the maritime industry; Cal Burrows, who teaches and is involved with the ministry in Israel; David Thorne, the U.S. ambassador

44 | Quarterly Fall 2012

to Italy; and Eiji Tonouchi, who lives in Japan and vividly described the tsunami’s aftermath. A highlight of the weekend was the inaugural induction ceremony for Groton’s new Athletic Hall of Fame (see page 59). Generally, the Distinguished Grotonian Award is presented during Reunion Weekend. The recipient, renowned anthropologist Ward Goodenough ’37 (see page 31), was acknowledged during reunion, but received his award on Prize Day, when Ward was celebrating the graduation of his grandson, Will Goodenough ’12. Per tradition, the Cui Servire Est Regnare Award was presented during Reunion Weekend—to Alyce Jones Lee ’77, former chief of staff to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Alyce now focuses her energy on populations in need: she is a founding trustee and vice chair of the Board of Trustees of Boston Medical Center, the largest “safety net” hospital in New England, and director and founding trustee of Friends of the Sick and Poor, which is improving health, education, and the quality of drinking water in two Ugandan villages.

Cui Servire Est Regnare Award winner Alyce Jones Lee ’77 accepted with this speech:

G The way I was nurtured at Groton became my first outline for how service to others would unfold in my life.

Cui Servire Award Winner Alyce Jones Lee ’77

ood morning. First, I’d like to thank Headmaster Commons for asking me to be this year’s recipient of the Cui Servire Award. It is a great honor for me to be recognized by my alma mater. My time at Groton was singularly transformational. It was difficult to prepare my comments for today because the truth is so personal. And, although I have shared the truth with so many friends individually, I have not shared the impact of my experience at Groton in a public forum. Today I will do so and share how service has played a role in my life since Groton. I arrived at Groton at the ripe old age of 17 in the Fifth Form and joined the Form of 1977, the first Groton class with girls. I loved every minute of my time at Groton. When I arrived here I was physically in a place of peace, learning, commitment, and growth. At home I had a loving mother and two siblings. My parents were divorced, but my father was also loving and had strong values that he transferred to me. Adages he repeated often included, “Take the stairs—not the elevator,” “On your way to the gym, stop at the library,” and “If it’s not yours, don’t take it.” There were many others, but these give you a sense of the work ethic and honesty that he worked to instill in his children. These values were very important to me when I arrived at Groton because the work was more rigorous than I was used to. During my childhood, Dad was a city councilor in Springfield for eight years. He was a living example of someone making a contribution to others. What people didn’t know about me when I came to Groton was that one of my siblings was very distraught and combative. She argued and physically fought with me almost daily. At night I prayed to have a way to leave home and have a peaceful life. I didn’t know that I would one day have the opportunity to go to Groton School. The good news is that since that time my sibling and I have made amends. So when I say arriving on campus brought me to a place of peace, I am speaking literally. So, coming to Groton allowed me to relax and focus on being the best student and person I could be—to just try to be myself with no worries. It was here that I met people who chose to create the opportunity for me to experience the benefits that accrue when one’s ideas are respected, past experiences are shared and in fact carried together, and one’s value is affirmed. I learned through experience that a single person can create a ripple of love in the world—that the consequences of my actions can change a person’s life—a ripple that can make a difference in the world. And so you see, the way I was nurtured at Groton became my first outline for how service to others would unfold in my life. Individuals met me and cared about me. They connected with me, saw me, and encouraged me. Their service to me was personal and powerful. And since my days as a student at this beautiful school, I have pursued service with people and in places where the need or work has touched me, resonated within me, and become personal, because of course I can do something to improve the situation in front of me. At Groton, adults were able to actively support me in and out of the classroom. Marlena Nussbaum was my German teacher and became my confidant. Dr. Roland Johnson, his wife, Penny, and their son, RJ, became my family away from home. Those relationships gave me the emotional support I needed to just relax and find out what would surface when home base only required me to work hard in school and discover who I am. My relationships with Ms. Nussbaum and the Johnsons, in addition to those with other teachers, coaches, and friends, nourished me, and I flourished. I realized that who I am does matter and can and should make a positive difference to someone else. The term I hear in my circles a lot these days is “pay it forward.” Meaning, don’t pay me back for something I’ve done, but rather do something equally helpful for some else. And so you Quarterly Fall 2012

| 45

reunion weekend

he found one of the women who was living with AIDS consuming contaminated water. he asked us to start at the beginning and help to bring clean water to Bbanda.

1977 Formmates John Veague, Lili morss P’09, ’12, ’15, and Alyce Jones Lee

46 | Quarterly Fall 2012

see, the way I was nurtured at Groton became my first outline for how service to others would unfold in my life. Groton was a catalyst for my choosing to “pay it forward,” to help someone else. I have been a trustee at Mother Caroline Academy, a Catholic School for girls. The Academy educates girls that live at or below the federal poverty line. I have been on the advisory board and a director of Facing History and Ourselves, a director at the Boston Children’s Museum, and commissioner of the Boston Fair Housing Commission. I am a founding trustee of Boston Medical Center, the Commonwealth’s largest safety net hospital. Boston Medical Center’s motto is, “Exceptional care without exception,” and it has provided care to the insured, the uninsured, the poor, and the working poor since its creation. I am also a trustee of the University of Massachusetts. There, I work diligently with my trustee colleagues to make sure that the University of Massachusetts provides an excellent education to its students and remains affordable. And my latest labor of love is a nonprofit named the Friends of the Sick and Poor. The Friends of the Sick and Poor is working to bring easily accessible water to the rural village of Bbanda, Uganda. Bbanda is 80 miles away from Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Although there is plenty of water in the earth in Bbanda, children have to walk miles to and from the natural spring where the water comes up from the earth. The water at this spring is shared with wildlife and livestock. The Friends of the Sick and Poor are working with the engineers of Northeastern University’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders to bring more accessible water to this community. You might wonder how I learned about Bbanda and why I was moved by its situation. It is a prime example of what you can learn when you get to understand someone better. It is an example of what happens when we ask ourselves, “If this is true, isn’t there something I can do to help?” After a special church service one Sunday morning, a group of parishioners was talking about how strange it was that a child came running from behind the altar and down the aisle during the mass. It turned out that it was the pastor’s nephew, and he felt very at home in the church. But during the conversation, a visiting priest who was studying at Boston College said, “Where I’m from, sometimes a cow or a chicken can walk across the altar.” Of course, the next question was, “Where are you from?’’ We learned that Bbanda had been ravaged by the AIDS virus and was now a village of mostly children and grandparents. We also learned that the village was without easy access to clean water, had no electricity, and that villagers walk great distances to carry water home for all of the family’s needs, including cooking, drinking, and washing. The group of us who were talking decided that we could help somehow. Initially we raised small contributions at in-home luncheons—for mosquito nets and anti-retroviral treatments for women living with AIDS. But when the priest who told us about Bbanda returned to Uganda during a vacation, he found one of the women who was living with AIDS consuming contaminated water. He asked us to start at the beginning and help to bring clean water to Bbanda. I have visited Bbanda personally and traveled there with engineering students from Northeastern University. These students are members of Engineers Without Borders. To date, we have been able to install two hand pumps for the village. These pumps reduce the walk to water for some of the village. Additionally, we have installed a small solar panel on the village’s health center so that they can have a couple of lightbulbs and a small refrigerator. The lightbulbs allow people to be served in the evening, and the refrigerator allows for the storage of medicines that must be kept cool. In August of this year, the engineers will return to Uganda to begin the installation of pipes that will run from a tank near the top of Bbanda Hill to approximately 12 tap stands throughout the village of 1,000 people. I live with my husband, Patrick, and our four daughters. My life to date has been one of sheer gratitude for my many blessings, and for the opportunities I have had to pay forward the many gifts of kindness and support that the people of Groton School gave to me. I am deeply honored to receive the Cui Servire Award because it means I’m on the right track in my payment forward. Thank you.

eunion: eturn to the Circle

(Back row) robin Foster, michael Luther, David Lawrence, Clyde Osborn, Painey metcalf, margot and Dick grosvenor; (front row) Colleen Curran, gene Luther, hala Lawrence, Doris Osborn, Barbara metcalf, Ardis and John Bordman

(Back row) gretchen and Ned gammons, Alycyn and minot Nettleton, Ellie and hamilton Southworth, Carroll and John Cabot, gay and Cam Steward; (front row) Nick and Varick Niles, Erastus Corning

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 47

reunion weekend

Peter Schabert, John Bingham, robert minturn, gordon gund, hill Bullard, Ian Dunn

(Third row) roger Kellogg, michele and mike Smith, Pat and Tod gregory, Ken Audroue, Dan and Carol goodenough, Belford Lawson; (second row) rob and Anne gardiner, Eiji and Yoshie Tonouchi, Cal Burrows, Frank Blair, Scott Asen, Chris Angell, Nick Fuller, Brad Whitman, martha and Ned Whitney, David and rose Thorne, John Cobb; (first row) Penny and Dennis Dix, Blakely and harvey Bundy, Ned Kellogg, rob Knapp, Peyton Biddle, John Whitman, george Butler, Shep Krech, Sheila ffolliott, Buck mcAdoo.

(Back row) Dick and Suzanne minturn, gardiner Fiske, Tom Oates; (front row) Warren motley, Cynthia Saltzman, Suzie Oates, marilyn richardson, Charles Bering

48 | Quarterly Fall 2012

(Back row) Steve givens, Lindsay and Charlie Coolidge, Lily and Dick Storey; (middle row) Steve Strachan, rob mcSween, Jim Cooper, margaret and Bill Larkin with son Billy ’09; (front row) Caroline Coolidge (daughter of Charles Coolidge), Dana and David Porter, Peter and Katrina Bickford

(Back row) mark hansen, Bill Cross, Arthur Anton, Alyce Jones Lee, Lili hanna morss, Catie Camp with husband Joel gardner; (front row) Liz and rohit manocha, rob Southworth, John Veague, Ed Toy, Sally and Jake Congleton P’77,’93,gP’03

(Back row) ramsey Walker, Charlie Wray, Adam greene, mark roberts, Will Thorndike, Steve Potter, greg Katsas, Elise Bolger ruggles, garrett Spitzer, Chris and malisa Dorn; (middle row) Virginia rhoads, Caroline Perera Barry, Townsend Davis; (front row) martha Sutro, Sally and Kevin Considine, Clint Johnson, robert and ruth Sharp Keilty with children Sloane and Jack, Anne Bingham, Betsy Wray Lawrence, Julia hicks de Peyster, Bridget Davis (not pictured: Jennifer marshall Blue)

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 49

reunion weekend

Attending with their families (not pictured in order) were robert Tanner, Craig Piccirillo, Patrick Devine, mike Train, Tom Wright, Whitney Browne, Kira Butler, Ted Paisley, Dick and Andrea Patton, Keira Van gelder, Nick Billings, Kristin and Angus mcFadden, Nick Frelinghuysen, Jon Butler, Tricia Paisley, Christian Borntraeger, Phyllis higgerson, Christy Tanner, Will houston, Brooke Jewett, Adam Isles, monica Spencer green, Bill and heather Vrattos, heather Clay â&#x20AC;&#x2122;89, and Jonathan Bross.

Attending with their families (not pictured in order) were robin Davies, Nick and Courtney Burgin, Nora and Eric Foster, Zahr Said, Devon Brownell, heather Clark, Adam Spence, Tony martinez, Clayton Akiwenzie, morgan Dix, geoff Smith, Philip Kurzman, maria and Dan Ok, Todd Tesoro, Chris Collins, gaston de los reyes, macNeil and Jennifer Curry, Elizabeth Lang Eberle, Charlotte howard, Suzanne Wirtz, Barry Shea, David Colon, Darryl Phillips, Denis Coleman, K.C. Chambers, Charlie and Tia Whinery, Sarah (hinkle) and Christian Slubowski, Charlotte morgan, Tiverton Smith, Jason and Desiree Zenowich, Tom hooper, Lexi holberton Wight, Chris and Amy Cho, Tammy and Phil Nicholas, Trevor Durham, Stephanie (Borynack) and Frederick Clark.

50 | Quarterly Fall 2012

(Back row) Jorge and Emily Oates Torres, Brooks Finnegan, Andrew Piccirillo, Peter Niles; (middle row) Eugene Croddick, Abbie Stubbs Burke, Jennifer garafalo and son Jack; (front row) Alex meVay with Eileen Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor, Adebola and Abiola Dele-michael with their son, Kendra Borowski, Christina Wilkie, Lindsey huntoon

(Back row) Bo Twumasi, Claibe Deming, mac marshall, Ethan Dennison, Will Boothby, Nat Bristol; (middle row) Krupa and John Playforth, Justin Ifill, Ben Niles, gabe menendez, Zack Pasanen, Nell van Amerongen, martha Campbell, Lou Frelinghuysen, Peter Allison, Jane Bradley, Daniel and rebecca Davison, Brooks gordon, Liz Campbell, Ally Andrews, Julia Deming, Cassandra hyland; (front row) Audra Schoenfeldt and Alex Furer, Kyle Eudailey, Pradeep ghosh, Jen Shea, Whitney rauschenbach, Elizabeth rhodes

(Back row) Tony Bator, Nat reeve, John Zacharias, Sean Wu, Arthur Colby, Scotty Weber, Asenso Ampim, Katherine Dwyer, Elizabeth Kalaris, Tina Birkhoff, Kelly rodigas, Claiborne Thompson, Jenny Desrosier, Kelsey maguire; (middle row) Chris Cleveland, Conner Smith, maurits Pot, Wynne Evans, Kiersten Dockeney, matthew Douglas, Luke metcalf, Kaylee maykranz, Xandie Pasanen, Diana mcCue, maggie rowe, Kaleigh Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;hara, Evan Cole, henry Bloomfield; (front row) Davis Vigneault, Alex hull, Blay Bradley, Taylor Simmons, Alec Knight, Saamer usmani, David Orlowitz, Kaitlin mauritz, Dede grenier, Bess Chapman, Katelynn Clement, gus harwood, Alex Wang

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 51

reunion weekend

1977 Formmates mark hansen, Lili hanna morss, and rob Southworth

ChrISTOPhEr TEm

ErSON

Stephen Strachan ’72 with hala and David Lawrence ’47

ChrISTOPhEr TEmErSON

Jake and Sally Congleton with Bill Larkin ’72

1987 Formmates catch up after a visit to the school store.

Triangle run winner mark roberts ’82 and ramsey Walker ’82, at the start of the race Suzie and Tom Oates ’67

52 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Jamie mcConnel ’92, gaston de Los reyes ’92, Denis Coleman’92, and Ann Spence (spouse of Adam Spence ’92) 2007 Formmates Kaleigh O’hara, Sinead Sinnott, and matt Douglas

Kendra Borowski ’97 and Abbie Stubbs Burke ’97

2007 Formmates Saamer usmani, henry Bloomfield, and David Orlowitz

1997 Formmates Peter Niles ‘97, Katie Cobb Leonard, and Adebola and Abiola Dele-michael (with their son)

1997 Formmates Eugene Croddick, Peter Niles, Christina Wilkie, and Andrew Piccirillo

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 53

Miracle or “Moneyball”? The Congleton Era in Groton Football

by William N. Thorndike, Jr. ’82

With its smaller pool of players and without a recruiting edge, Groton should by all rights have been a consistent also-ran in the ISL. Paradoxically, just the opposite has been true.

54 | Quarterly Fall 2012

n the parlance of Michael Lewis, Groton is a small market team. In his excellent book Moneyball, Lewis describes the unlikely success, under General Manager Billy Beane, of the perennially underfunded Oakland Athletics baseball team (trapped in the nation’s 47th largest city) versus their much better heeled, larger market rivals like the Yankees and the Red Sox. Similarly, within the Independent School League, Groton has historically had the smallest pool of ninth- through twelfth-grade athletes. This disadvantage is most pronounced in football, the largest of the team sports in terms of roster size (22 starting positions plus substitutes, kicking teams, etc.). Yet Groton football, like Beane’s A’s, has had sustained success—most recently with a stellar 2011 season (6-2) under Coach John Lyons, and earlier under Coach Richard “Jake” Congleton, when the team consistently had one of the best records in the league. Jake, one of the inaugural inductees this past May into Groton’s new Athletic Hall of Fame (see page 59), coached the football team from 1958 to 1994 (not including three sabbatical years). Throughout that period, Groton generally played the same set of seven rivals in the same order every season: St. Paul’s, St. George’s, Middlesex, Belmont Hill, Governor Dummer (now Governor’s), Milton, and St. Mark’s. Groton had the smallest number of eligible boys among these schools, and four of the seven schools had 50 to 100 percent more boys than Groton did. With larger pools, these teams typically had more and larger players. Normally, the source of sustained excellence in high school and college athletics is recruiting skill—smaller schools can succeed in team sports if they can consistently attract top athletes. Yet Groton, with its high academic standards and small size, has always practiced a sort of anti-recruiting, systematically selecting students from such noted breeding pools of football talent as the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the leafy suburbs of Boston. In a typical year, the majority of the team has never played football before coming to Groton. So, with its smaller pool of players and without a recruiting edge, Groton should by all rights have been a consistent also-ran in the ISL. Paradoxically, just the opposite has been true: under Congleton and most recently Lyons, the School has enjoyed extraordinary success in football. In fact, Jake’s numbers are pretty remarkable: • His overall record against ISL opponents across 33 seasons was 144-68-9, translating into an astonishing .652 winning percentage. To put that in context, the three most successful NFL coaches over the last 40 years—Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells, and Bill Belichick—had respective winning percentages of .569, .609, and .643. Not one coached half as many seasons as Jake. • His teams won or shared in 10 league championships. • During his three sabbatical years (1968, 1978, 1988), the team’s record was 7-13-1, a .333 winning percentage. • His record against the four “larger market” teams (St. Paul’s, Belmont Hill, Governor Dummer, and Milton) was an excellent .635. Given Groton’s structural disadvantages, a record like this can only be the result of exceptional coaching skill. So, how did Jake do it? A handful of key factors help to explain this extraordinary success, but first a little background.

He loved the Xs and Os of football, the move and counter-move, the multilevel chess of it, and he was continually innovating within the ISL.

Jake Congleton with one of his many winning teams

Jake grew up in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and attended Wesleyan University, where he played football and knew the offense so well that as a halfback his senior year, he (not the quarterback) called the team’s plays. On leaving Wesleyan, he enrolled at Harvard Business School (perhaps Groton’s only faculty member ever to attend that institution), and upon graduating, eschewed Wall Street (three of his closest friends founded the legendary investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin, and Jennette) to take a position on the Groton faculty (he taught history and was a longtime dean of students). That first season he served as an assistant to head coach Jim Waugh, from whom, as he says, he learned “a tremendous amount about coaching and about relating to kids.” The following year, at age 28, he took over as head coach. In that first season, Jake did three things: he switched the offense from the ancient “single wing” that the School had run since the Rector’s day to the more flexible, modern “T” formation; he started to call the plays (formerly the responsibility of the quarterback); and he quickly realized that to be successful, his teams could not play these larger schools “straight up.” Rather, he would need to rely on speed and guile, on “finesse.” To do this, he would need to innovate, to break new ground in the tradition-bound ISL. Quarterly Fall 2012

| 55

MONE YBALL

A Strategic Innovator

Former Athletic Director Ralph Giles ’75 presenting an award to Jake Congleton

ootball, somewhat counterintuitively, is the most intellectual of team sports, the one where strategy (and thus coaches) can have the greatest effect. Stated simply, two coaches with the same players and different strategies will end up with very different results. Jake was always looking for an edge, constantly on the lookout for new ideas—reading books, attending clinics, and networking with other coaches (in and out of the league). When film technology first became available to coaches in the 1960s, he was an early adopter. When the School prevented him from constructing a tower on the sidelines, he sent a cameraman up to his second floor classroom in the Schoolhouse. (“You know, that end zone view is still the best,” he says of the ploy today.) As Jake told Peter Gammons ’63 in a 1994 Boston Globe article, “I’m up watching films at 5:30 Sunday morning because … I love the intellectual part of football.” He loved the Xs and Os of football, the move and counter-move, the multi-level chess of it, and he was continually innovating within the ISL. From the outset, his teams were always in motion—constantly shuffling in and out of offensive and defensive sets and formations, striving to keep the opposition off balance and off guard. With smaller teams and players, his offenses were a whirl of activity with receivers in motion, runners moving around the backfield, and lots of feinting and subterfuge. His defenses were constantly shifting and blitzing—rushing the quarterback from unexpected angles and positions. In the early 70s, he pioneered an offense called the “run and shoot,” which featured a highly mobile quarterback and a dizzying array of short, quick passes (it became popular in the NFL in the early 1990s). In his second-to-last season, he ran an innovative “spread” offense with many receivers and only one running back (that team went 6-1). As an example, most offensive football formations are somewhat symmetrical and look like this: X

Perhaps as a result of his MBA background, Jake was fanatical about preparation and time management. He set a distinct tone—playing football at Groton was serious business.

56 | Quarterly Fall 2012

XX(X)XXX X X XX

In contrast, Jake occasionally ran an oddity called “Trips,” with three wide receivers on one side, which looked like this: XX(X)XX XXX X X X One can imagine the confusion and consternation this caused among opposing ISL coaches used to more standard offenses. Even more confusingly, he often ran the same plays out of as many as eight different formations. As Alan “Porky” Clarke, who coached at both St. Mark’s and St. George’s, put it, “We never knew what he was going to do.” On defense, he was also an innovator, running four different “sets” and blitzing more frequently than other teams. According to Clarke, he was also the first in the ISL to put his best linebacker on the weak side where he received less blocking attention—a commonplace tactic in the NFL today. In addition to his strategic acumen, Jake was also a highly effective in-game tactician. An example from my early football career helps make this point. As a Fourth Former, I was the punter on the JV team (a highly prestigious position), and near the end of the season, we had a Wednesday home game. The varsity was practicing on the Circle and toward the end of the game came down to watch. With less than a minute left, we had a small lead (more than 2 points and less than a touchdown) and were punting from our own end zone.

Jake came over, assessed the situation and, not able to contain himself, took charge— immediately calling a time-out. When the team came over to the sidelines, he pulled me aside and said, “Listen, when you catch the snap, I want you to turn around and run out the back of the end zone.” This was, to say the least, highly unconventional—calling for an intentional safety. I gave him a quizzical look, and he repeated the instructions. Finally I did as told, we gave up the safety, kicked off from our 20-yard line, used up the clock … and won the game. Four years later, he repeated the tactic in a varsity game against Belmont Hill and again preserved the win.

Master of Preparation

ake constructed these complex offenses and plays out of relatively simple decision rules for blockers and receivers and backs, and then he drilled and practiced them relentlessly. He was a master of what Malcolm Gladwell calls “purposeful practice.” Perhaps as a result of his MBA background, Jake was fanatical about preparation and time management. He set a distinct tone—playing football at Groton was serious business. His practices felt different than other practices—there was no slack, every minute was carefully orchestrated. Each week followed a prescribed routine, with Mondays devoted to films of the prior weekend’s game and a preview of the next opponent; Tuesday through Thursday, a full rehearsal of offensive and defensive plays customized to exploit the weaknesses of that week’s opponent; and Friday, a lighter, no-pads version with an emphasis on special teams (punting, kick-off return, etc.) practice. Given the team’s relative inexperience, time was always allocated for teaching technique and fundamentals—the correct way to fake a handoff, recover a fumble, hold the football, tackle in the open field. Many football coaches (including the legendary Vince Lombardi) swear by full-contact practices. Groton, with its smaller teams, however, was especially vulnerable to injuries, and Jake, defying convention, ran his practices with a minimum of contact. As he says proudly today, “We didn’t have a single practice-related injury in my last 20 years of coaching.” Jake benefited from two excellent assistants, Charlie Alexander and Jon Choate ’60, whom he had recruited and groomed and who stayed with him for more than 25 years. Alexander was responsible for the offensive and defensive lines, and Choatie served as the defensive coordinator. This extraordinary continuity became a significant advantage, ensuring consistent execution in these key areas and allowing for seamless transitions to new sets and formations. This relentless practice cut down on turnovers and penalties and missed assignments— the mistakes that can decide games. As longtime St. Mark’s coach Henry Large said, “His teams just made fewer mistakes.” All of this preparation instilled confidence in his players, and despite being outnumbered (typically 15 or 16 players covered the 22 starting positions) and undersized, his teams generally entered every game expecting to win. They were not intimidated— critically important in a territorial contact sport like football.

Adapting to the Talent

he ability to adapt strategy to personnel is a critical skill for coaches at the high school and college level, who do not enjoy the personnel continuity of their NFL counterparts. (Bill Belichick is widely regarded as a coaching genius, but he has also benefited enormously from having Tom Brady as his quarterback for the last decade.) They must make the most of the differing “cards” they are dealt each season—as Jake told Peter Gammons, “When one season ended, I’d try to figure out what I had for the next season and adapt my system to them.” Quarterly Fall 2012

| 57

MONE YBALL

Jake coaching girls basketball

In the early 1970s, when Jake was handed a truly dominant player, quarterback Bill Larkin ’72, he crafted a new offense to fit Larkin’s skills and went 19-2 over three seasons, winning two league titles. Daniel Salzman ’80, a former allleague tackle (on the excellent 1979 team) and now a renowned neuroscientist at Columbia, recalls, “He had an amazing ability to assess talent and to adapt the strategy to his players’ strengths and weaknesses. He never ran a rigid ‘system’ like so many other coaches.” My sophomore year, with a talented passing quarterback (Jim Conzelman ’80), Jake ran a modified version of the run-and-shoot offense (more shoot and less run), but in my junior year with an excellent running back (Tony Ashby ’81) and a less potent passing attack, he completely overhauled the offense and ran two brand new formations—the “wishbone” and the “I,” both of which required entirely new blocking schemes and formations. Again, changing offenses is hard to do, and Jake was aided in those adjustments by his two excellent long-term assistants.

An Effective Coaching Demeanor For other coaches, playing Groton was an enormous headache, requiring lots of extra preparation.

William N. Thorndike, Jr. '82 was a member of Groton's Board of Trustees from 1999 through 2011.

58 | Quarterly Fall 2012

As a coach, Jake struck an effective balance between rapport and distance. He was the only faculty member universally called by his first name, and he didn’t concern himself with extraneous considerations like dress codes (his early 70s teams sported ponytails; the wonderful 1985 team shaved their heads—to resemble their coach, they said). He maintained, however, very high standards and had a gruff, businesslike manner. His demeanor on the sidelines and practice field was not warm and fuzzy: he did not tolerate unnecessary mistakes and was not shy about voicing disapproval. As Salzman says, “You did not mess with Jake.” Salzman tells the story of the St. Mark’s game his Sixth Form year in which Groton scored five unanswered touchdowns in the first half but missed all of its conversion attempts, entering the locker room at half-time with a 30-0 lead. Jake waited for everyone to settle down, paused, and said (tongue only slightly in cheek), “You guys really stink at extra points.” The combination of all these things—the innovative strategies, the preparation, the focus on execution and mistake avoidance, the adapting of strategy to personnel—meant that for other coaches, playing Groton was an enormous headache, requiring lots of extra preparation. “He was just a bear to coach against,” says longtime St. Mark’s coach Henry Large. These factors added up to an edge: they improved the team’s odds; they meant that Jake was like the expert blackjack player always staying put on 17—a strategy that may not have worked in every game or every hand, but that, over the course of 1,000 hands or 33 years (and 200-plus games), across strong and weak players and teams, produced extraordinary results. As the legendary Bill Parcells said, “You are what your record says you are,” and what Jake’s remarkable record says pretty clearly is that the School and his nearly 1,000 former players were fortunate to have had him on the sidelines for so many years.

Groton’s New Athletic Hall of ame

and went 17-1 in 1977, Jake’s last year as boys head coach. He coached a winning girls varsity basketball team in 1990. In the spring, Jake also coached freshman baseball for many years, and after coaching varsity basketball, he coached both thirds boys and girls basketball and had at least one undefeated season with each team. He started the thirds girls program, which he coached until his retirement. In 1995, Jake was elected to the Massachusetts Football Hall of Fame as a head coach. * * * Charles Devens ’28 played shortstop, centerfield, and was the number-one pitcher for Groton’s baseball team. Charlie stood out at the plate and on the field, but was most known as an ace on the mound, striking out 140 batters during his Sixth Form season. After Groton, he attended Harvard, where he has been inducted into the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame. After Harvard, Charlie Devens was signed as a pitcher by the New York Yankees. In three seasons he appeared in 16 games, including the game against the Cleveland Indians in which Babe Ruth famously called his home-run shot. In his only game with the Yankees during his final season, he allowed only three runs and struck out four in an 11-inning complete game win. In addition to his baseball success at Groton, Charlie was senior prefect; a three-sport captain in tennis, football, and hockey; and a two-time fives champion in both singles and doubles. PhOTOS BY ANNIE CArD

nspired by members of the Groton community who have made impressive athletic achievements on and beyond the Circle, Groton School has created its own Athletic Hall of Fame. The first honored athletes were inducted at a ceremony on May 19, during Reunion Weekend. “Our new Hall of Fame celebrates the athletic achievements of the Groton community as well as the tradition and heritage of the School,” says Athletic Director Robert Low. “These athletes are role models for our current students, setting the high standards that our students and athletes strive to reach.” The following were the first inductees into the Groton Athletic Hall of Fame: * * * Richard “Jake” Congleton, Jr., taught at Groton School for 38 years. He was the varsity football coach for 34 years, after serving one year—1957—as assistant coach. During his years as head coach, Groton had three undefeated seasons and won or shared in 10 league championships. The team’s record against other independent schools during his tenure was 144 wins, 68 losses, and nine ties. Jake coached an estimated 500plus Groton football players. He also coached boys basketball for 19 years and was the head coach from 1962 to 1977. During that time, Groton shared three league championships, was undefeated in 1962,

hall of Fame inductees margaret metz ’95, Tod gregory ’62, Belford Lawson III ’62, hugh “Scotty” Scott ’57, William Larkin ’72, robert Knapp ’62, Char Joslin ’85, and Jake Congleton

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 59

* * * The Groton School Basketball Team of 1962 was known for a tight zone defense, excellent rebounding, and excellent shot selection; it averaged 48 points per game, shooting 40 percent from the floor and 60 percent from the foul line and giving up only 38 points per game. They neither tied nor lost a single game. In the team’s 10th and final victory, Groton overcame an early 13-point deficit, outscoring Andover 36-8 in the second half to seal the 62-37 win and the undefeated season.

Eiji Tonouchi ’62, Yoshie Tonouchi, margaret mulvihill, and Bedford Lawson III ’62

* * * Percy D. Haughton 1895 played both defensive end and fullback and kicked for a dominant Groton football team. Between 1892 and 1894, the defense gave up only 68 points while the team scored an impressive 707 points. In those three years, Groton football lost only once, the final game of the 1894 season—St. Mark’s first victory over Groton. In addition to his success on the football field, Percy was a two-time fives singles champion and also a two-time doubles champion. As starting pitcher and third baseman on the baseball team, he hit .527 and averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game during his Sixth Form season. After Groton, Percy went on to play football at Harvard. He became known as one of the great pioneers of American football as a coach at Cornell, Harvard, and Columbia. His record at Harvard was 72-7-5. In 1951, he was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame. * * * Charlotte Joslin ’85 was a three-sport athlete at Groton, earning 12 varsity letters in field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse. She was named all-league multiple times and captained the field hockey and ice hockey teams her Sixth Form year. In ice hockey, Char was key to the program’s success, losing only three games over three seasons. She was known to switch positions at a moment’s notice and was a prolific scorer. She

60 | Quarterly Fall 2012

also led the lacrosse team in scoring her Sixth Form year, and was a key playmaker in field hockey. At Harvard, Char played field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse, earning All-Ivy during all 12 seasons. She received All-American honors twice in field hockey and twice in lacrosse. In ice hockey, she was named player of the year twice (All-American honors were not awarded in the sport of women’s ice hockey until after she graduated). She played on the 1990 National Champion Lacrosse team. Char won Harvard’s Radcliffe College Alumni Association Award as top female athlete in her class and was chosen as a member of the Ivy League Silver Anniversary team. * * * William Larkin ’72 earned 12 varsity letters at Groton for football, basketball, and baseball. He captained all three sports his Sixth Form year. Bill was named all-league multiple times in each sport; football, however, where he played quarterback and defensive back, was his best. During his four years, Groton’s football teams went 22-5 and 19-2 with Bill at quarterback. His sophomore year, as quarterback, he led Groton to a 7-0 season, once throwing seven touchdown passes in a game against Boston English. In the three seasons between 1969 and 1971, Bill rushed for 1,348 yards and passed for 2,616. He scored 16 rushing touchdowns, 30 passing touchdowns, for a total of 323 points. During his Sixth Form year, The Boston Globe cited him as the “All-New England Quarterback and Offensive Player of the Year” and The Boston Herald named him “All-New England Defensive Back.” Bill was fives champion in both the Lower and Upper Schools, in singles and doubles, and was captain of fives his Sixth Form year. He received the School’s Reginald Fincke, Jr. Medal, which is awarded to a Sixth Former who has demonstrated perseverance, courage, and unselfish sportsmanship. * * *

Bill Larkin ’72 and Jake Congleton

Margaret Metz ’95 was a three-sport athlete at Groton, earning 12 varsity letters over her four years at the School. She was a two-time captain in field hockey and captained the ice hockey and lacrosse teams her Sixth Form year. Margaret led the 1994 field hockey team to a 15-1-2 season that included a NEPSAC championship. At Wesleyan University, Margaret was the only tri-sport varsity letter winner in 1995-96. She was a three-time First Team Regional All-American in both field hockey and lacrosse, and a Second Team National All-American in field hockey in 1998. She captained the field hockey team her senior year and received the Wesleyan University Jones Award in field hockey and lacrosse. Margaret scored the most goals ever in a single Wesleyan game (seven) and is number-seven on the all-time career points list, with 110 in the Wesleyan lacrosse program. * * * Henry G. Nuzum ’95 began rowing in the fifth boat as a Third Former. Two years later, after a year away from Groton, he rowed for the undefeated first boat, which won the NEIRA championship and competed at Henley. The following year, the first boat suffered a second-place finish by a split second at NEIRAs, but won the National Championship Regatta. Henry also earned four letters in football (1993 ISL co-champion) and basketball (1995 captain). Henry rowed at Harvard, twice defeating Yale in the fourmiler. His junior year, the boat won all dual races and the Ladies Challenge Plate at Henley. He was captain his senior year. Henry also won silver medals in the U.S. Under-23 8+ at the 1997 and 1998 Nations Cups. In 2000, Henry won U.S. Olympic Trials with Mike Ferry in the double; they placed eighth at the Sydney Games. In 2004, he won rowing trials with Aquil Abdullah and placed sixth in the Athens Olympics, the first U.S. double to reach the finals since 1984 (setting an American record of 6:14.69 in the semifinal). He also rowed in the U.S. quad at the 2001 and 2003 World Championships. * * * Standing six feet tall and weighing 210 pounds, the Reverend Endicott Peabody was nearly impossible to tackle on the football field. So dominant was the School’s founder that after Groton handily won the first Groton-St. Mark’s football game, a rule was instated preventing masters weighing more than 165 pounds from playing. While a schoolboy at Cheltenham College, Mr. Peabody won the school championships in racquets and in fives. At Groton, Henry Richards called Mr. Peabody, “The best fives doubles player the School had ever seen.” Additionally,

rick Commons and hugh Scott ’57

Mr. Peabody rowed at Trinity College, Cambridge, and excelled at single sculling. Mr. Peabody’s influence in sport reached beyond the Circle. In 1905, after a series of brutal injuries in college football, he petitioned then President Theodore Roosevelt to convene a group to discuss rule changes that would make the game safer. The resulting conference brought together representatives from Princeton, Harvard, and Yale, and the resulting rules made play less risky for athletes. * * * Endicott “Chub” Peabody ’38 played varsity football and basketball and was a member of crew at Groton. In his Sixth Form year, led by Chub, the Groton football team completed an undefeated season, outscoring opponents by a margin of 154 to 6 during a six-game schedule—a margin that when adjusted for the number of games played, eclipsed the previous mark set by the 1894 team. The 1938 yearbook says of Chub’s team, “They had a one for all and all for one spirit, they liked football, they had team pride, and they had a great leader in Captain Endicott Peabody.” Chub continued to be a force on the gridiron at Harvard. As one opposing coach said, “Peabody hit you so many times and he hit you so hard you thought he was four or five men.” At Harvard, he was voted the nation’s most outstanding lineman and was a unanimous choice for All-American. He finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1942, higher than any lineman had previously finished, and was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973. * * * Hugh “Scotty” Scott ’57 was a four-year leader on Groton’s football teams; during his Fifth Form year, the team was undefeated, and during his Sixth Form, it lost only its last game, to St. Mark’s. Scotty also was a member of Groton’s undefeated hockey team his Sixth Form year, and he captained the baseball and tennis teams. On the fives courts, Scotty duplicated his grandfather’s record by winning four School championships. After Groton, Scotty was a four-year standout on both the varsity football and hockey teams at Princeton. After persuading his roommate to teach him lacrosse, he earned a starting role on the second midfield of Princeton’s squad. He received Princeton’s William Winston Roper Award. If you’d like to suggest an honoree, please contact Drew Millikin at dmillikin@groton.org.

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 61

Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle

The Book

exists

A Chapel Talk by Carly M. Margolis ’12 March 29, 2012

In its paradoxical complexity, Greek is history and poetry, simple and hard, bare and covered with meaning.

62 | Quarterly Fall 2012

hen most of you arrived at Groton, you had to take Latin. You had to fulfill a two-year requirement and hopefully fulfill more. You had to memorize charts full of words until you could read the ancient language. Some of you said, “Latin isn’t my thing.” Others kept learning because of a charismatic teacher, who wrote tests by hand and gave extra credit for sketches of Snoopy. I began in Latin 1.5 with Ms. Roche. Latin 1.5 became Latin 3, and Latin 3 became Vergil. Vergil created a distinctly Roman epic in the Aeneid, but he borrowed meter and theme from the Greek epics of Homer. Naturally, I wanted to see what came before; I had to read Homer. Beyond my belief, I found even greater beauty and complexity in ancient Greek. In its paradoxical complexity, Greek is history and poetry, simple and hard, bare and covered with meaning. The words, as they appear, are unembellished. They are pure and simple, just words arrayed in lines, left to right, as we are accustomed. They are simple in origin and never irregular: we can take apart each word and understand its derivation. Despite their neat and clean appearance, Greek words carry great meaning. The language seems to me elegant in this way. Greek is humble at first, simple even, because it is a language built on compounds. If a word is unfamiliar, perhaps I recognize a piece or prefix, an “anti-” or “epi-”. However, nuances essential to the language layer meaning upon the neat words. These nuances contribute subtle and specified meaning in a condensed way—greater meaning in fewer words. For example, nouns, verbs, and adjectives can appear in a form called the dual. Duals, a specific plural form, indicate pairs of things, anything in twos. λόγος, word, becomes λόγω, two words. Each grammatical construct was hardly created for miserable students to memorize in rows and columns. Instead, each element adds precision of meaning that does not exist in English, or even in Latin prose. The author’s tone and choices contribute another layer of meaning still. There is a reason people say, “It’s Greek to me.” Greek is hard for me. But the process of reading is rarely a frustration and rather, a delight. Greek is beautiful in its complexity—in its layered meaning, its varied syntax, and its several tenses, moods, and voices. I see words that illustrate motion and emotion. Single words that produce full images. If I were to lift my Chapel Talk, six pages, from this pulpit, lift the pages up and over the ledge and toss them out to you, I could describe all these actions with one multi-syllable Greek verb. νεκεπιβ λλω! I find it fascinating that a Greek person, listening to a bard tell a story, could envision such a path based on one word. I can’t examine English in the same way; I cannot distance myself, nor take the same refuge in refined English literature because I am too close. I experience the evolution of the language daily. English, the language we speak, is constantly changing, constantly warped by usage and expanded by pop culture. “Tweet” was once a verb used only to describe the

cry of a small bird. If you had said the words “hash tag” to me a year ago, I probably would have thought you were talking about a drug deal. It is possible that the ancient Greeks, too, manipulated the purest form of their language, abusing it with colloquial phrases and amputating its beautiful nuance, but only their most distilled work remains: the polished written works and Homer’s oral poetry. Greek presents the greatest academic challenge I’ve faced. I find the task laborious and indulgent, at once. The presence I feel in the midst of ancient words seems at first an irony. Mustn’t we look back to study the classics? When I read, do I escape present life, fleeing to Ithaca, Phaecia, and Troy? Well, no. Truly, presence in the midst of ancient words is not so great an irony because I believe the study of classics is not immutable. In fact, it seems to me endless. The texts themselves, the Latin and Greek words, remain unchanged, but, deemed “classics,” they have affected countless people over time. The classics, whether it is Catullus’s couplet “Odi et Amo” or an amphora, dug up from the ground, have impacted cultures and societies for thousands of years. The classics, not immutable, transform with each society they encounter. They appear in the form of the Renaissance and in Shakespearean allusion and everywhere in translations of the Bible, originally transcribed in Koine Greek. This influence, the range of receptions across space, time, and culture, brings a distinct modernity to the ancient study. The way we view the study of classics, the way Groton mandates two years of a classical language, makes us just as much part of the classics as Shakespeare made himself. I don’t mean to exalt Groton; Groton is simply a modern, familiar example of the changing reception of the classics. Our classics requirement is no stubborn resistance to change; it brings perspective and presence to our other interests. To me, a new student of classics, there is still great chaos in the Greek language and in this expansive study. One can examine a line of Homer from several angles, one of linguistics, of history, of poetry, of archaeology—the list goes on. There is endless possibility for endless fascination. In fact, no one can claim command of the language in the span of one mortal life. It is somewhat like approaching the study of nature, something that seems infinite and infinitely complex. One can examine nature from many perspectives, isolating single variables, but there is hardly one answer, reception, or conclusion. Darwin identified patterns of change over time through geological and sexual perspectives, among others. Thoreau took a metaphoric approach, and Audubon, a subjective, artistic approach. Likewise, in the everchanging study of classics, I might say Vergil, Dante, Shakespeare, and Joyce each took a different approach to Homer. No one artist or scholar gains total mastery of classics or nature, but their opinions matter and shape the way we think about and approach each study. By now, you think I’m crazy. I’ve elevated the classics so far to compare them to nature. I am trying to illustrate my great uncertainty and wonderful ignorance in both fields. This inferiority, between humans and nature or between me and Greek words, never seems negative. Nature and classics are far more awesome than fearsome to me. I am in awe of the magnitude and beautiful complexity of nature. I am so joyful in this possibility that I cannot be afraid that I do not understand nature. Likewise, I am in awe of the endless nature of the study of classics, and knowing that I will never know everything about Greek, I can proceed happily. I can proceed with Homer, who serves to illustrate the dynamism of Greek as he inhabits the fascinating space between history and art. A tradition of storytelling produced the epics attributed to Homer. A bard sang out the poetry, until another picked it up and passed it on. The epics endured orally for centuries, accruing words and patterns that demonstrate the passage of time, but also defy it. The stories lasted because the audience heard their history in the epics, but they also heard art in the carefully measured poetry and song. Homer represents a bridge between the spoken and written word. In the eighth century B.C., the Iliad and Odyssey existed only as oral poetry. The epics were sung and heard. Today, the epics exist only to be read. I wonder, as I stand and speak, does a spoken or written word carry more power?

Caption tktktktk Eruptas mi, ommolor ecatisti dipideriae esti ut poreperaerum net dolupta ecaeptate in re, quis re, sandi delent

Sarah Brooks ’12 and Carly Margolis ’12

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 63

MIKE SPERLING

Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle

No one can claim command of the language in the span of one mortal life.

CHRIStopher TEMERSON

Carly Margolis ’12 and Julia Wood ’12; below, on the court

64 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Henry Thoreau thought written words were the stronger. In his essay titled “Reading,” he seems to disregard the oral tradition that created the Iliad and simply discusses the noble act of reading. At moments of this essay, I nod and smile: Thoreau justifies the study of classics. At other moments, I critique the transcendentalist, but reading “Reading” made me realize three things. One, studying the classics is really just complicated reading. Scholars publish books, research, and analysis daily, but this writing is only well-nurtured reading. By this definition, I spend a lot of time reading, but I do not believe written words must transcend speech. A muse exists in each epic. She serves to inspire, literally to “breathe in,” poetry. To breathe, to sing, to tell: these are not only modes of speech but also modes of teaching and collaboration. The muse can’t be an insignificant prelude. The muse must be as important as reading. She compels reading and teaches of its effect. We should learn from the muse. Reading can benefit an individual; one can gain perspective, knowledge, and skill, but this process is hardly worthwhile if that individual does not share all that she has learned. Conversation, the sharing of ideas, is essential to our existence. Secondly, Thoreau taught me about labor. He juxtaposes the labor of his hands, in building himself a house in the woods by Walden Pond, with the labor of reading Homer. Evan [Hansen-Bundy ’12] inspired me when he spoke about the labor of his hands in Chapel in the fall. His goal of building something real and physical is so important, so good. I must believe there is good in the other labor Thoreau wrote of, the labor of mind. Thoreau’s “Reading” moved me in one final way. Thoreau writes, “The book exists for us, perchance, which will explain our miracles and reveal new ones.” The book exists for you, but it appears in many editions and many languages. The “book,” a fervent inspiration or interest, is different for everyone. Maybe you’ll find this in numbers, which have their own intricate patterns and formulas. Maybe you’ll find it running, on the road, in the woods, anywhere—you don’t notice, free of thought for a few, present moments. Maybe it’s poetry or literature because the English language is beautiful enough. Maybe you’re on stage—the lights blind you—but you can feel 400 faces energizing you from the audience. I don’t mind if you’re waiting—you’ve always waited—for that gleaming day in June, the day you drop Latin and run. I don’t mind. I believe you do not need to read a word of Greek to find something that matters. You may not find your “book” in a book at all. You may not even find it here, at Groton, or at any institution. And you don’t have to build yourself a house in the woods, by a pond. I know there is something for everyone like Greek is for me.

“Different, Not Less”

A Chapel Talk by Emma E. Thomasch ’12 May 25, 2012

The problem is not that people are different. The problem is that people who feel different frequently feel isolated.

he way that my mind works, in order for me to really understand something, whether it’s an idea mentioned in a class or just my own thoughts, I usually have to write it out. As a result, I have hundreds of computer files and dozens of notebooks filled with “journal entries” (I suppose you could call them that) of my thoughts. These “entries” aren’t kept as a sort of diary, but rather, to help myself process the thoughts going through my mind. So as I was trying to find ideas for my Chapel Talk, I flipped through some of those bits of writing. I was caught by one I wrote two weeks ago: May 12, 2012 Today my older brother Scott has his graduation from the Brandcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University. During the last two years, he’s been a graduate student studying copywriting and advertising. Today he gets his master’s degree. I can’t phrase how proud I am of him, because words can’t capture it. I remember when Scott was younger—he struggled so much, both socially and academically, but he made it through his rough years. He’s smart, he’s always been smart, it just wasn’t really reflected in the rigid structure of the academic world. Finding his place in the creative world has been like a re-birth for him—Scott has now found what he loves; he’s found people like him; he’s found his passion and his strength, and he’s found himself. He has a world now, one he fits in and can call “home.” Every time I see him, Scott seems to have grown more and more into the man he’s meant to be. I am so thankful; he is my big brother and I love him unconditionally, so I love seeing him happy. But watching Scott find his way has given me more than the happiness of my brother, it has also shaped me powerfully as a person. I don’t quite know why, but as I reflected on that, I knew that, somehow, my Chapel Talk was between the lines of that page of writing. When I was younger, I watched my brother Scott go through hell. Scott struggled with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD; he was exceptionally shy and didn’t know how to connect to people or communicate his thoughts and feelings, and he felt isolated, and miserable, and lesser than everyone around him. But that was what he felt, not what he was, or is. My brother is incredibly smart. He is clever, and creative, and caring. He is funny, and sweet, and one of the most genuine people I know. Yet he struggled because he felt different, and the people around him never reached out and gave him a chance, or really tried to get to know him. When I was young and watching Scott struggle with expressing himself, I could never understand why others would get so frustrated with him. I thought, OK, he has trouble with focusing on you, or saying what he means, or sitting still, but, please don’t get frustrated, just be patient … he has the best heart in the world … This taught me from a young age never to let someone’s struggles blind me to their good intentions or good heart, and that lesson has had a greater impact on my life than I can even begin to describe. Quarterly Fall 2012

| 65

Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle

Emma Thomasch ’12 and her brother, Scott

It’s not just about accepting who you are. It’s also about realizing that maybe, one day, what you thought was your greatest weakness could actually be your biggest strength.

66 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Scott has now figured out how to use his mind to his advantage— his out-of-the-box thinking and pure, uninhibited creativity are true assets in the field of advertising. Yet, when he was growing up, the rigid demands of school never saw or appreciated that creative intelligence, and he struggled enormously because he didn’t see its value. He didn’t see the value in himself because he felt different than the people around him, and he didn’t see the value in his mind, because it didn’t work the way that others’ did. Yet some of the most fascinating conversations I have ever had were with people whose ways of thinking I genuinely couldn’t wrap my head around—but whose thoughts were highly intelligent, intriguing, and valid. Why do we always question—and so frequently condemn—those who are not just like us? Why do we condemn ourselves for not being just like others? Not all people think the same way. And that’s an amazing thing. In her talk on Monday, Molly [Belsky ’12] spoke about More Than We Bargained For, the play that nine of us created last spring. Something that was truly incredible to me about More Than We Bargained For was its cast—Molly Belsky, Luke Duroc-Danner, Alice Stites, Ben Ames, Morgane Richer-la-Fleche, Sage Redman, Nicky Ogilvie-Thompson, Likhitha Palaypu, and myself. Before last spring, I had never really known any of those people on a level beyond a passing “hey” on the Circle, but I signed on to the mysterious project of creating the play, and was soon caught speechless as I took in the talents and ideas of the people around me. I am an independent person, and a bit of an introvert, so sometimes I can get lost in my own mind and my own ideas. But last spring, sitting in the Black Box, I was pulled out of my internal fog. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat as I listened to the cast discussing the themes we found in Peter Pan, and our ideas for theatricalizing our interpretations of the story. I remember being amazed as Morgane talked about her synesthesia, how numbers have colors and personalities to her; I remember being amazed as Ben and Alice came up with hysterical characters and skits, because comedy doesn’t come naturally to me, but so naturally and so brilliantly to them; and I remember being blown away the first time we heard Nicky’s writing of “the Stunt Man” monologue, because it was incredible, and not something my mind could ever have weaved together. The problem is not that people are different. The problem is that people who feel different frequently feel isolated, and as if they are wrong for being who they are. This is a problem I have dealt with, a problem I have seen friends struggle with, and a problem I know can be overcome. How? I’ve learned it from my own experiences, and I’ve seen it in others: you can’t thrive until you stop fighting who you really are. I resent how clichéd that sounds, but it’s true. Different people think differently, and have different talents and passions, and that is what makes you who you are, and makes me who I am, and means that I’m no better than you and you’re no better than me. We’re different. Now, we all have our own sources of inspiration—one of mine is a woman named Temple Grandin. Grandin was born August 29, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts. As a child, she was diagnosed with autism. However, she refused to let her autism define her or limit her. Grandin has made a remarkable impact on the world. In 2010, she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. She fell under the category of “Heroes.” She is a hero because she is a powerful leader of animal welfare and autism advocacy movements. As a child, she struggled with maintaining eye contact, and having fits, and being oversensitive to touch, among many other behaviors and struggles resulting

Chapel Talk

MIKE SPERLING

from her autism, but as an adult, her brilliantly unique mind led her to design one-third of all the livestock handling facilities in the United States so that animals can be raised and treated more humanely. She has also written several books—to name a few, Emergence: Labeled Autistic, and The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectives of Autism—which, to quote the introduction from her book Thinking in Pictures, “provided a glimpse, and indeed a revelation, that there might be people, no less human than ourselves, who constructed their worlds, lived their lives, in almost unimaginably different ways.” Part of what made Grandin struggle so much with her autism as a child was that she was a truly visual thinker, unable to understand words or concepts if she couldn’t relate them to images in her mind. In her book Thinking in Pictures, she opens: “I think in pictures. Words are like a second language to me.” She also goes on to say: “Every design problem I’ve ever solved started with my ability to visualize and see the world in pictures.” So, part of what made her feel so “different” as a child—her completely visual thought processing—has become her greatest strength. Grandin inspires me because she is “different, not less”—and those are her words. I still remain as fascinated and inspired by Grandin as I was two years ago, sitting next to my mom on the couch watching the HBO movie about her and wondering at the complexity of Grandin’s mind. I have since researched Grandin, read one of her books, and watched some of her lectures. One of her talks that truly caught me was given as a TED talk. TED.com describes TED as “a nonprofit devoted to ideas worth spreading.” Two years ago, Grandin gave a TED talk titled “The World Needs All Kinds of Minds,” in which she shares a glimpse of how her mind works, recognizes that peoples’ minds can work in very different ways, and asserts that all of those different minds, and people, have value. I’ll be seeing all of you again in the Prize Day handshaking line, but for many of you, this is the one chance I have to make an impression, so I hope my words have meant something. But on Prize Day, if you happen to walk by me as I chat with a 6-foot-6 redhead, take a good look, because the confidence in his posture and the twinkle in his eye haven’t always been there. It’s not just about accepting who you are. It’s also about realizing that maybe, one day, what you thought was your greatest weakness could actually be your biggest strength.

Denia Viera ’12, Emma Thomasch ’12, and Nya Holder ’12

Emily Hoch, Emma Thomasch, Diana Chen, Indira Cabrera, and Carrie Coughlin

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 67

Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle

Empathy, Apartheid, and

21st-Century Skills

A Chapel Talk by Diana V. Chigas ’79, Trustee April 20, 2012

Trustee Diana Chigas ’79, center, with her daughter and husband, Anna and George Antoniadis

68 | Quarterly Fall 2012

ood morning. It is a pleasure to be here with you today. Believe it or not, this is only the second time I have been up here. The first time, a couple of years ago, I had the confidence that my words would be well received: they were, after all, St. Luke’s. So it was a challenge to figure out what to say today that would keep you interested and awake this early in the morning. And while I lecture every day to students ready to challenge everything I say, this is a Chapel Talk. My story takes place in South Africa, long after I graduated from Groton and before most of you were born. But it is about 21st-century skills, which are a focus of Groton’s five-year strategic plan. For those of you who are rolling your eyes now—and I can see some of you out there—let me assure you, I did too when I first heard the phrase. Good sound bite, I thought. But what does it mean? You have all heard the long list of what these skills are before—interdisciplinary thinking, collaboration, problem-solving, technology, and media literacy. All words. But what does it mean to put them into practice? We’ve gotten a good start at answering this question with the new STEM curriculum. My story explores a few other dimensions of these 21st-century skills. As a newly minted adviser in negotiation and conflict resolution in the late 1980s, I had the privilege of working with and observing the chief negotiators of the negotiating teams of two of the major parties in the negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa—Roelf Meyer of the National Party, which was then leading the apartheid government, and Cyril Ramaphosa, former mineworkers’ union head and chief negotiator for the African National Congress, or ANC, which has been in power since the country’s first democratic elections were held in 1994. Shortly after the negotiations concluded, they shared with my team, in a joint interview, their reflections on what helped them succeed. I would like to share those with you today. Asked by my then-boss what his counterpart had done well in the negotiation, Meyer answered, without skipping a beat, “it is important to have the ability to listen,” and to “get really behind what is being said.” Cyril listened. Indeed, the ANC, as Ramaphosa reported, spent many hours talking about the fears and concerns of the National Party—of the white people in South Africa who had oppressed them—and they were committed to finding a way to address those fears. “Yes,” Meyer noted, “literally, almost it means you have to put yourself in the shoes of the other person.”

This is not a big deal, right? But it is extraordinary in the context of South Africa at the time. The vast extent of the violence and human rights abuses committed by the police and military is now well-documented, as is the National Party’s role in fomenting black-onblack violence in order to destabilize the ANC and preserve its own power. Against this background, it is incredible that these men and their teams were able really to listen to each other, the enemy, empathetically. This empathy laid a firm foundation for the growing trust and collaboration between them. It also helped them develop a fuller picture of the problem itself—and this made them better able to solve it creatively. This is not an issue for conflict situations. MIT inventor Michael Cima describes empathy as a distinguishing quality of great innovators as well; the ability to see the problem from another’s perspective helps you understand it better. Of course, understanding does not solve the problem. Meyer recalled how he was sitting at home watching the 8 o’clock news one evening when Cyril and Mandela came on the air to announce a total breakdown of negotiations and the mobilization of massive protests against the government. “Where do we go from here?” he asked himself. And five minutes later, the phone rang: it was Cyril, asking when they could talk. Both men wondered out loud in the interview whether they would have succeeded had they not formed “the Channel,” as the ongoing private discussions they had following this phone conversation were called. Their mantra was, and I quote, “there is no problem without a solution.” This mindset and the actions that these men took based on it, were critical to the success of the negotiations in South Africa. These leaders did not give up. They had grit. By grit I mean perseverance and passion in pursuit of a long-term goal. This means you maintain effort and commitment despite adversity and failure. University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth has found in her research that this grit may be just as essential to success as talent or intelligence. What is interesting in this story is not so much the degree to which the parties, especially the ANC, persevered in their struggle, although that is extraordinary. It is that this grit extended to making the collaboration and joint problem solving between Ramaphosa’s and Meyer’s teams work. Faced with huge obstacles and multiple setbacks and failures, each side could easily have given up—they could have thrown their hands up, told everyone “I told you so,” declared the process dead, and blamed the other side. In my experience, this would not have been an unusual response. But they did not. (Well, they did publicly, but each understood that the other needed to do that to maintain public support.) They recognized that the blame game would not help them solve the problem. They kept going back to the drawing board to find solutions, even when they encountered a lot of resistance. They kept working together, even when they were ready to strangle each other. And as a result they were able to start talking about what they called “real issues.” This was not easy, but it was critical to the success of the process. The conflict in South Africa, like many conflicts I work in now and many of the other problems of the 21st century—from climate change to technological innovation—could not be solved by one person or party alone. It needed collaboration, and meaningful collaboration needs a lot of empathy and grit. These are skills I was taught at Groton, long before the start of the 21st century. However, I wish I had spent less time in the library and more with my fellow Grotties, especially getting to know and work with people who were not my friends, and those who were really different from me. I had not realized then how important, and difficult, collaboration and empathy would be for my success now— on nearly every issue I work on, I need to collaborate with a vast range of people, from psychologists to water engineers, all often from different countries, on complex problems that we don’t yet know how to solve. I expect you will do the same. I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity that Groton’s intimate community and wonderful support network offer to explore and learn from the diversity that is present here and to work on these skills. And I challenge you to do the hard work that is needed truly to make them more than a catch phrase—including staying in collaborative relationships and continuing to listen and develop empathy even when it is hard. Thank you and have a great day.

Their mantra was, and I quote, “There is no problem without a solution.” This mindset and the actions that these men took based on it, were critical to the success of the negotiations in South Africa.

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 69

De Libris | About Books

New releases William C. Hammond III ’66

A Call To Arms Naval Institute Press

ike the previous books in William C. Hammond’s award-winning historical fiction series, this fourth novel features the seafaring adventures of the Cutler family of Hingham, Massachusetts. Interwoven with fictional characters are historical figures and real events, such as the naval bombardment of Tripoli, the burning of the USS Philadelphia, the USS Intrepid ’s last voyage, and the assault on Derne. Drawing on years of historical research and a lifetime of sailing, Bill has been lauded for vividly recreating a chapter of early American naval history overlooked by most American novelists. Set primarily in the Mediterranean Sea during the First Barbary War (1801-1805), A Call to Arms offers readers intriguing and often startling insights into the young republic’s struggle to promote its principles in a world ravaged by wars and piracy. This time, the actions of a few heroic naval officers, sailors, and Marines determine the country’s fate in a fast-paced plot that moves from New England on to Tripoli, Malta, Sicily, Alexandria, and Cairo. At the center of all the excitement are the magnificent super frigates of the fledgling U.S. Navy and a new generation of Cutler sons and daughters eager to follow in the footsteps of Richard Cutler and his beloved wife, Katherine. Theirs is a love story for the ages, but one whose future, readers will find, is threatened in a way that Captain Cutler could not possibly have foreseen as he takes command of the USS Portsmouth and sets sail to join the Mediterranean Squadron and his son James, a midshipman on the USS Constitution. (Available November 2012.) Herbert J. Motley, Jr. ’61 and Alessandro Vitelli

The Saga of the International One-Design www.internationalonedesign.org

H David A. Colón ’92

The Lost Men Elsewhen Press

avid Colón’s debut novel treads into science fiction terrain that sometimes proves disturbing. Lee Konstantinou, the author of Pop Apocalypse, wrote: “The Lost Men expertly evokes the mood of much recent post-apocalyptic fiction—think Cormac McCarthy’s The Road or Colson Whitehead’s Zone One—and yet also constructs an entirely original, weird, and wonderful world that always keeps us guessing. In this impressive debut, the author confronts us with the most difficult questions that can be asked—about fate, free will, and the foundations of justice.” Neil Easterbrook, a Science Fiction Research Association Pioneer Award winner, called the book “deceptively quiet, a moral romance that puts fate, hope, and love onto the pyre of a future we all must consider possible. . . . Colón’s début offers a dark, disturbing allegory, one that recalls for contemporary fantasy the best traits of literary tradition.”

70 | Quarterly Fall 2012

PhOTO CrEDIT: AmIr BAJrICh/ShuTTErSTOCK.COm

erb Motley has been racing in the International One-Design class of sailboat since 1977. The boats were designed in 1935 by the Norwegian naval architect and builder Bjarne Aas and first raced in 1937, making 2012 the 75th anniversary of the boat’s first race. One-Design means that all the boats are as identical as man can make them. Within each of 11 fleets, sails are purchased, one each year, and only the current sail can be used for racing. As a result, the competition is between sailors, and there is no way to buy any advantage with a large checkbook. This history and celebration of the International One-Design sailboat, lavishly illustrated with numerous photographs, was a multi-year project for Herb.

De Libris | About Books John Benjamin Coes ’85

The Last Refuge: A Dewey Andreas Novel St. Martin’s Press

ff a quiet street in Brooklyn, New York, Israeli Special Forces commander Kohl Meir is captured by operatives of the Iranian secret service, who smuggle Meir back to Iran, where he is imprisoned, tortured, and prepared for a show trial. What they don’t know is that Meir was in New York to recruit Dewey Andreas for a secret operation. Meir had been tipped off that Iran had finally succeeded in building their first nuclear weapon, one they were planning to use to attack Israel. His source was a high-level Iranian government official and his proof was a photo of the bomb itself. Dewey Andreas, a former Army Ranger and Delta, owes his life to Meir and his team of Israeli commandos. Now, to repay his debt, Dewey has to attempt the impossible—to both rescue Meir from one of the world’s most secure prisons and to find and eliminate Iran’s nuclear bomb before it’s deployed—all without the help or sanction of Israel or America (at the near certain risk of detection by Iran). Unfortunately, Dewey’s first moves have caught the attention of Abu Paria, the brutal and brilliant head of VEVAK, the Iranian secret service. Now Dewey has to face off against, outwit, and outfight an opponent with equal cunning, skill, and determination, with the fate of millions hanging in the balance.

Captain George E. Brewer III ’46

Key Largo Adventures: Real Marina Life in the 1960’s CreateSpace

ack in the sixties, the Florida Keys was a frontier compared to the rest of Florida. After searching South Florida waterfronts, Captain George Brewer ’46 happened onto the settlement known as Key Largo. The town consisted of groups of trailers, a couple of churches, and 12 bars. Key Largo Adventures describes what the author went through to start a marina; it includes colorful customers and employees, such as Doc, who was always wandering around in his undershorts looking for the perfect Manhattan cocktail, and Jackson, whose boat fire 10 miles offshore made the U.S. Coast Guard believe there had been a mutiny and a murder on board. The author and his Deep 6 marina fell afoul of the U.S. government, pitting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which mandated that the waterfront be protected from erosion through a process known as rip-rap, against the Environmental Protection Agency, which argued that rip-rap would kill seagrass and fish-breeding areas. Key Largo Adventures helps the reader decide if the Deep 6 Marina was aptly named. Nicholas Niles, Jr. ’52

Niles’ Guide to “Affordable” Double Barrel Shotguns in America 1875-1945 Niles Group Publishing

n his guide, Nicholas Niles shows how the first truly affordable double-barreled shotguns were adapted in about 1875 from the excellent, but expensive, hammer and hammerless guns that had evolved in England and the U.S. By about 1890, these costly doubles were being replaced by cheaper English and Belgian export guns, consciously priced to attract cost-conscious buyers. Pricing was based primarily on careful study of the market rather than on factory cost—a new phenomenon. Market planning had suddenly become as critical a part of the business plan as product design and efficient manufacturing; promotion and distribution strategies became equally important. The Niles Guide—which includes 373 illustrations—makes the point that the great sales success of “affordables” in the U.S. was due to the intelligent balancing of these new considerations by the marketing geniuses who sold them. Book summaries were provided by authors and/or publishers.

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 71

î &#x2019; UMORS The droll, incisive humor of playwright Neil Simon amused groton audiences in may, when the theater program presented Rumors, a slice of cocktail-party frippery involving a missing hostess, a neurotic friend, and a deputy mayor of New York City who has an unfortunate accident.

Spring Productions

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Sherwood Callaway ’12, Poppy Doolan ’12, and Malcolm Johnson ’12; Ben Ames ’12 (right); Alice Stites ’13 (center) surrounded by Hugh McGlade ’13, Eliza Fairbrother ’12, and Alexis Ciambotti ’14; Poppy Doolan ’12 and Hugh McGlade ’13; Alice Stites ’13, Eliza Fairbrother ’12, and Alexis Ciambotti ’14 This page, top, Hugh McGlade ’13; center, Alice Stites ’13, Ben Ames ’12, and Alexis Ciambotti ’14; bottom left, Hugh McGlade ’13 and Alexis Ciambotti ’14; bottom right, Sherwood Callaway ’12, Poppy Doolan ’12, Malcolm Johnson ’12, Eliza Fairbrother ’12, Prescott Owusu ’12, and Hugh McGlade ’13

PHOTOS BY MIKE SPERLING

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 73

Grotoniana | All Things Groton

Dance Groton’s afternoon dance program presented a recital in May, much of it choreographed by students. Top, Denia Viera ’12, Liz Melampy ’12, and Carolina Mejia Peña ’12; center right, Luke DurocDanner ’12 and Reed Redman ’14; bottom, Nancy Xue ’16, Carolina Mejia Peña ’12, Amy Zhang ’14, Desiree Jones ’14, and Kasumi Quinlan ’15 PHOTOS BY LIZA VOLL

74 | Quarterly Fall 2012

SPRING SPORTS girls Varsity Crew

Molly Lyons ’12 was injured prior to the season and was unable to row all spring, her passion for the sport kept everyone else inflamed. Co-captain Allie Banwell ’12 took up the slack and helped drive her teammates. Most of all, the girls had fun rowing and racing. Competing at the Henley Women’s Regatta were Diana Chen ’12, Marianna Gailus ’13, Marissa Garey ’13, and Christina Strater ’12. Competing at both the Women’s Regatta and the Henley Royal Regatta were Allie Banwell ’12, Charlotte Berkowitz ’13, Sarah Black ’12, Olivia Bono ’12, and Maeve Hoffstot ’13. —Coach Andy Anderson Captains-elect: Charlotte Berkowitz ’13, Olivia Bono ’13, and

Maeve Hoffstot ’13 JON ChASE

perfect season! The four varsity boats completed their undefeated spring by sweeping the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) championships, a feat not accomplished since Noble and Greenough did it in 1996. The four Groton boats lined up to race in seven regular-season regattas and won every time, beating 18 different schools before heading to Lake Quinsigamond for the championships. What made this season so special? Groton had a deep pool of talented and experienced athletes, eight of whom returned from the Henley Women’s Regatta last summer with a victory in the School 8. Their leadership helped the whole squad post the best erg scores that Groton has ever had, and their enthusiasm spread throughout the whole boathouse. Although co-captain

groton’s undefeated second boat: Christina Strater ’12, marianna gailus ’13, maeve hoffstot ’13, and Sarah Black ’12 (not visible, coxswain Naomi Primero ’13)

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 75

JON ChASE

Grotoniana | All Things Groton

ray Dunn ’12, Derek Boyse ’12, Wyatt Prill ’14, and Bo harwood ’12

Boys Varsity Crew

hen the rowing was completed at the annual NEIRA Regatta this past May, Groton had captured the bronze medal in the first fours competition—the School’s first medal in this event in five years.. Groton was seven-tenths of a second behind silver medalist Deerfield Academy and four seconds behind Belmont Hill. The second boat earned a silver medal, behind Belmont Hill, and finished eight seconds ahead of bronze medalist Deerfield Academy. Groton’s third and fourth boats reached the finals with strong rows in the morning heats. However, in the finals, both fought hard but ran off the pace to finish fifth. This season saw three of the four varsity crews successfully competing with BB&N and Derryfield on the Charles River in early April. All four crews later completed sweeps of St. Mark’s on the Nashua River and a second sweep of Middlesex on the Concord River. In late May, the crews earned a sweep of Nobles on the Nashua River to help Groton retain the Cooke Family Cup for the third year in a row. After the NEIRA season ended, oarsmen from our varsity fours were combined into an eight and a four for competition at the Henley Royal Regatta. Groton entered the Princess Elizabeth Cup competition for junior eights and the Prince Albert Cup for university fours. Prior to the June 27 Henley competition, the four and eight competed in England at the Reading Amateur Regatta, the Marlowe Regatta, and the Reading Town Regatta. In Marlowe, the eight captured gold medals in the Intermediate

76 | Quarterly Fall 2012

3 and Intermediate 2 races. At the Reading Town Regatta, the eight captured the Intermediate 1 race over a six-boat field, setting the stage for Henley. The opening round of racing in the Princess Elizabeth Cup pitted Groton against the Reading Blue Coats of the UK. In our first race, Groton started well and built a quarterlength lead at the Barrier. Groton increased its lead and finished one-and-a-quarter lengths ahead for Groton boys’ first victory at Henley in ten years. The second-round opponent was a very strong crew from Hampton School, which had recently finished second in the British Schoolboy Championships. In a solid race, both crews were even as they reached the barrier, more than 600 meters into the race. The crews were still even after 800 meters, when Hampton began to show its superiority. It reached a gear we were unable to match and slowly drew away to a two-length victory. Later, in the boat tent, both crews exchanged handshakes and best wishes. It was a well-rowed race on both sides, but the Hampton School eight was beyond our reach. Groton’s eight was made up of Jamie Billings ’12, Derek Boyse ’12, Ray Dunn ’12, Wyatt Prill ’14, Thomas Cecil ’13, Artie Santry ’12, Connor Popik ’13, Johann Colloredo-Mansfeld ’13, and Ellee Watson ’13. Our group of spares included Willy Anderson ’15, Aria Kopp ’13, Michael Ma ’15, Nick Wray ’13, Johnny Bianco ’13, and Bo Harwood ’12. —Coach Bob Madden Captains-elect: Johann Colloredo-Mansfeld ’13, Connor Popik ’13

JON ChASE

Spring Sports Coaches Fred Beams, Greg Hefler, Peter Fry, and Jamie Funnell. We take particular pride in our program unity. We also appreciate the enthusiastic and positive spirit of our alumni, parents, and supporters. Many thanks to our managers Tilly Barnett ’12 and Jacqueline Anton ’12, as well as filmer Mike Somerby ’13. —Coach Bob Low Most Valuable Player: Mike Doherty ’12 Most Improved Player: Axel Brown ’14, Charlie Terris ’12 All-ISL: Mike Doherty ’12, Walter Hunnewell ’12 ISL Honorable Mention: Adam Hardej ’13, Peter Mumford ’13,

Jack Rhinelander ’12 Coaches’ Award: Walter Hunnewell ’12 Captains-elect: George Bukawyn ’13, Peter Mumford ’13,

Tom Santinelli ’13 Jack rhinelander ’12

aptains Mike Doherty ’12, Walter Hunnewell ’12, Jack Rhinelander ’12, and Peter Mumford ’13, as well as Sixth Formers Trevor Bossi, Tim Morrill, Brian O’Neill, Joe Scott, Charlie Terris, and Luke Turchetta led our program to the most wins in nearly 15 years, earning a sixth place standing (out of 16) in the ultra-competitive Independent School League. Most important, however, were the lessons these seniors taught us—togetherness, spirit, commitment, work ethic, and selflessness. Lack of depth, injuries, and inconsistent focus hampered us at times, but we showed steady improvement all season, producing some thrilling victories over formidable opponents—Thayer, Roxbury Latin, Belmont Hill, to name a few. Perhaps our most impressive outing, however, was in a 5-4 loss against perennial power Rivers. We exhibited stellar individual and team discipline on both sides of the ball in a highly competitive, well-played match. Thirty Grotonians headed south on our annual training trip to Florida, playing against strong programs that helped prepare us for our league schedule. At the start of the season, our 12-4 loss to top-ranked Governor’s was valuable for exposing our weaknesses immediately, as did a stronger effort (though similar result) versus St. Sebastian’s. Beating an athletic and physical Lawrence Academy team was encouraging, heading into a tough stretch against Roxbury Latin and St. Paul’s. Tough defense and patient offense brought us two decisive victories against those teams, but the glory was short-lived, as we lost to Nobles before Long Weekend. We went 4-2 down the stretch, a run that concluded with a scintillating victory over a hard-working St. Mark’s. Earlier in the season, we fared well against non-league foes Vermont and Berwick, 13-5 and 11-3 victories, respectively. Much gratitude goes to the Sixth Formers for their contributions, as they helped Groton earn league-wide respect, and we are encouraged by the promise of our returning letter winners, as well as our junior varsity program. Many thanks to

girls Varsity Lacrosse | 4-8

he Groton School girls lacrosse season was punctuated by hard work, determination, and joy. This was a team led by the Sixth Form: Co-captains Ashlin Dolan and Nicole Fronsdahl, and returning players Abby Morss, Hope Cutler, Katherine Gracey, Kaly Spilhaus, Katie Petroskey, and Talia Simon. We played well this spring, with a strong, teamoriented defense, which kept us close in many games. Ashlin Dolan led the scoring, followed by Fifth Former Maeve McMahon. These two will long be remembered for their artful passing and excellent goal-making abilities. We had some great wins on the road—over Tabor, St. George’s, and Rivers. We had some disappointing losses—one- or two-goal games that were within reach, such as those against St. Paul’s, Governor’s and St. Mark’s. BOB KrIST

Boys Varsity Lacrosse | 8-7

Ashlin Dolan ’12

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 77

Grotoniana | All Things Groton JON ChASE

All in all though, this season was one characterized by the joy of the sisterhood of team sport. Great thanks are owed to assistant coaches Jamie Hagerman and Randi Dumont, who gave so much to the team this spring. —Coach Martha Gracey Most Valuable Players: Ashlin Dolan ’12, Maeve McMahon ’13 Most Improved Player: Breezy Thomas ’14 Coaches’ Award: Katherine Gracey ’12 Captains-elect: Addie Ewald ’14, Maeve McMahon ’13

Varsity Baseball | 6-8-1

he 2012 Groton School baseball team was an experienced group, with six Sixth Formers and five Fifth Formers playing significant roles. Pitching and defense were, as always, key areas from the outset. With four returning pitchers, the pitching staff had the experience and toughness to withstand the rigors of the ISL schedule. After a successful spring trip to Vero Beach, Florida, the team opened at home with a big 9-1 win against Cushing Academy. The next few games were all up for grabs in the last two innings, but the Zebras failed to get the big hit, make the key pitch, or come up with the big play. With close losses to Dexter, cross-town rival Lawrence Academy, and Governor’s, the season got off to a rocky start. But the middle half of the season was highlighted with big wins against Roxbury Latin, St. Paul’s, Middlesex, and Thayer Academy. The play of the year was a triple play (Joe Gentile ’14 to Patrick Florence ’12 to Ejaaz Jiu ’15) turned against Thayer to get us out of a big jam and propel us to the win. As the season progressed, the Zebras played much better baseball and finished the last week of the season with big wins against Rivers and St. Mark’s. Captains Patrick Florence ’12 and Joseph MacDonald ’12 provided outstanding leadership and a strong work ethic; with the other Sixth Formers, they set a great example for the younger players. Patrick, the starting catcher, was one of the team’s leading hitters and the spark plug of the team. Joseph, a five-year varsity player, provided tremendous defense at both shortstop and third base and delivered the big hit when the team needed it most. Other key contributors to this year’s team were Sixth Former Evan Hansen-Bundy, who had a tremendous year on the mound, capping off his Groton career with a shutout against St. Mark’s. Fifth Former Cameron DiSarcina was one of the top hitters and provided great defense at shortstop. Fifth Former Dan Glavin had several strong starts on the mound and played outstanding defense at second base. Sixth Formers Adam Lamont, Cullen Coleman, and Zachary Baharozian provided leadership, big hits, and outstanding defense as they capped their Groton careers. All Sixth Formers will be missed; we wish them the best of luck as they move on to the next stage of their careers. Cameron DiSarcina ’13, Dan Glavin ’13, and a few other starters will be back in 2013 as we look to add to our win total and fight for the top spot in the league. —Coach Glenn DiSarcina

78 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Zach Baharozian ’12

All-ISL: Patrick Florence ’12 ISL Honorable Mention: Evan Hansen-Bundy ’12,

Cameron DiSarcina ’13, Joseph MacDonald ’12 Most Improved Player: Cameron DiSarcina ’13 Coaches’ Award: Chris King ’13 Captains-elect: Cameron DiSarcina ’13, Dan Glavin ’13

girls Varsity Tennis | 9–6

he girls tennis season did not get off to a particularly auspicious start as the team put in an extra week of work before the first match, yet still lost two of the first three. The second of those losses, a lopsided 2-7, was particularly discouraging because it came on a day when Andover was missing its very strong top player. Clearly this Groton team had some growing to do if they were to enjoy another season of competing well against the best. As we got into the rhythm of playing matches every Wednesday and Saturday, the girls worked with great focus in practice and gradually began to compete with more confidence. Ali Norton ’12 and Carolyn Grenier ’13 started to hit their angles, Carly Margolis ’12 and Annie McCreery ’15 began covering the court together as a team, and CC Ho ’13 started to find the timing on her backhand. Easier wins against Governor’s and Lawrence had the team taking a 2-2 record into a series of challenging matches. Despite suffering a third loss, a strong showing against Thayer, one of the best teams

CC ho ’13

in New England, gave the Groton girls the boost they needed, and they went on to turn potentially close contests into decisive wins over St. Paul’s, Nobles, and Brooks. Late in the season, the confidence the Groton players had gained through good competition and the technical improvements they had worked so hard to achieve began to come together. Middlesex was too steady this year and BB&N was the one that got away (6-9 after a number of close sets), but St. George’s, Exeter, and Rivers did not come close to us. All of this earned the Groton team a record of 8-5 heading into the final week of the season, which was a busy one. That Wednesday’s match against Milton was a thriller. Bringing out their best tennis of the season, the Groton singles players were confident and aggressive against their favored opponents, and the Milton players were stunned to come out of singles with the match tied at 6-6. Unfortunately, Milton’s second and third doubles proved too strong for the Groton duos before Ali Norton ’12 and CC Ho ’13 pulled out their match, so the team score ended at 7-8. To come that close to a team that good was a remarkable feat for the Groton players, who began the season just working toward respectability. A decisive win over St. Mark’s at home ended the regular season a day before the team left for Hotchkiss to participate in the Class A New Englands. We lost in the first round to Andover by the same score we did early in the season, but this time their top player was present and the matches were competitive, displaying the excellent progress this Groton team made through the spring. —Coach Dave Prockop Most Valuable Player: Zandra “CC” Ho ’13 Coaches’ Award: Alexandra Norton ’12

Boys Varsity Tennis | 7–8

he outlook for the boys seemed a bit bleak as the season began. The squad had graduated five Sixth Formers from the starting team the year before, a group that was 11-4 in the ISL and an invitee to the Division A New England Championships. Yet, with the superb leadership of Sixth Form captain Tyler Phelan and returning Fourth Form sensation Charlie Oberrender, the boys proved to be a very competitive squad indeed. Though they could not compete successfully against Andover, Exeter, or Deerfield, they did manage to finish at 7-8 in the ISL, a whisker under a .500 record. One of the secrets of the team’s success was the arrival of Michael You, perhaps the best Second Former who has ever played on the squad (in a class with DJ Williams ’98, who also arrived with a strong game in Second Form). Michael had a winning record, playing at both two and three in the starting lineup. The team was rounded out by spirited play from Sam Gosden ’13, David Howe ’14, Brad Uhm ’13, and Phillipe Heitzmann ’15. The most dramatic match clearly came against St. George’s. Playing away, the boys were deadlocked at 7-7 with one final set to play. How fitting that the team captain, Tyler Phelan, was on the court. Though he lost the first set, he battled back to win the second, giving Groton a wonderful victory. The team enjoyed amazing support all spring from managers Sonaali Aggarwal ’12 and Lena Horvath ’12. —Coach John Conner All-ISL: Tyler Phelan ’12 Captain-elect: Charlie Oberrender ’14

ChrISTOPhEr TEmErSON

Spring Sports

Tyler Phelan ’12

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 79

Grotoniana | All Things Groton

de Menil Gallery fall

E x h ibit

“‘Exit, Pursued by a Bear’: Reflections from Shakespeare” by Rosamond Purcell September 13 through November 18, 2012

or more than three decades, Rosamond Purcell has photographed natural history collections around the world. In 1987, she collaborated with Stephen Jay Gould to produce Illuminations: A Bestiary. More recently, because of her status as “dean of natural-object, natural-light photographers,” she was commissioned by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia to document its 200-year-old cabinet of extraordinary zoological specimens. From photographing objects in glass jars of formaldehyde, it was but a small leap for Purcell to construct her own wunderkammern of bizarre and decaying objects for the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts, in 1989. During one of her foraging expeditions through wayside antique stores and open-air rummage sales, she spotted some antique mercury-glass jars, attracted by their reflective yet rough-textured surfaces. It was not long before Purcell found a use for her new acquisitions: photographs of scenes reflected in the bottle’s surface produced a surreal image of the original scene. When her friend, Michael Witmore, the director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, proposed a collaborative book on Shakespeare, these shadowy, almost surreal reflected images seemed the ideal way to illustrate Shakespeare’s allusive language. Purcell’s photographs, once printed on soft-textured paper, can be enjoyed either as abstract compositions or as a more literal response to the Shakespearean texts that accompany each print. They depend on the mind’s eye and the imaginations just as much as the poet’s words to create a mood or dramatic scene. A number of the images appearing in the Groton exhibition also appeared in “Very Like a Whale” at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. The de Menil Gallery is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays except Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. Admission is free.

“Exit, Pursued by a Bear,” inspired by a Shakespearean stage direction

80 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Christopher Carey Brodigan Gallery fall

E x h ibit

“You Mean You Don’t See Them?” by Larry Blizard

Gallery NeWS

September 17 through November 16, 2012

“Going Green”

o artist Larry Blizard, it is especially gratifying to produce an image that appears spontaneously executed. “While a painting is a summing up, an accumulation of many small steps resulting in a conclusion, a drawing gives the impression of the artist’s thoughts, manifesting themselves moment by moment,” he says. “ Thus, the drawing becomes a kind of intimate conversation between two ‘friends’ (the artist and the viewer), while painting achieves the status of a formal address.” Blizard creates narrative art with simple tools—nothing digital or overtly novel—and often puts non-humans in human situations. “My current work involves using critters in everyday situations,” he explains, “inspired by my observation of small creatures struggling to survive in an increasingly urbanized environment.” Several of those critters are on display in “You Mean You Don’t See Them?” The Brodigan Gallery, in the foyer of the Dining Hall, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Admission is free.

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 81

In Memoriam | As We Remember I N

M E M O R I A M

Frank “Junie” O’Brien

1 April 16, 1919 – February 2, 2012

n February, Groton lost one of its most beloved members: Frank “Junie” O’Brien touched so many lives over more than three decades at the School that the Chapel overflowed during his memorial service. Junie taught English at Groton from 1948 to 1980, but also made a profound impact on lives outside the classroom, as dorm master from 1948 to 1962 and coach of varsity ice hockey (20 years), varsity baseball (26 years), and girls ice hockey. This revered member of the Groton community, whose name is on the O’Brien Ice Rink, also was Groton’s first director of development and alumni affairs and edited the Quarterly for a decade. Frankie O’Brien delivered a eulogy for his father, excerpted below, during the service in St. John’s Chapel: …I feel so blessed and honored to be standing in front of my wonderful extended family and so many great friends to celebrate the beautiful life of my father. Since in life we know the end is both natural and inevitable, there is no other way to lessen the pain than to focus on how fortunate we have been to have Junie impacting our lives, in so many special ways for so many years. …One former Groton student and longtime family friend wrote this recently: “I simply can’t imagine another guy that so many people think of first when they think about that special adult in their life. Your Dad wrote me a ‘get your act together’ letter in 1978 which I have still have—it is a classic and I deserved every bit of it. No matter how hard I try, I have always known even today, that I could never be so patient, so generous, so decent, so level, so humble, so engaging, and so warm every day for 92 years ... a stunning human. Seeing him in recent years was always a reminder of the massive potential for improvement in my life ... all you had to do was think about what Junie would do.” ... there is this very special place in Dad’s life, a place called Watcha Pond on the Vineyard... and over the last 50 years or so, our whole extended family spent many hours paddling Dadʼs K41 canoe on this beautiful, mile-long, secluded freshwater pond abutting the ocean. ... Every year, for as far back I can remember, until two years ago, at the age of 90, my father and I enjoyed peacefully paddling and talking about life in the K41. And every time dad sat in the stern, he would let out this sigh like there was no other place in the world he would rather be, gracefully guiding our direction, as he did in life, in his quiet and gentle way.

82 | Quarterly Fall 2012

I N

M E M O R I A M

Junie O’Brien

An excerpt from former Headmaster William M. Polk’s eulogy honoring Junie O’Brien:

en years ago Junie sent me a book by Jack Falla entitled Home Ice. In the introduction, Bobby Orr writes: “This book touches on something else, too. Friendships. Relationships. The connections between and among people that somehow create, strengthen, and often persevere long past the day when sticks and skates are put away.” At the heart of the matter, this is what Junie committed his life to: friendships, relationships, and connections between and among people that somehow create, strengthen, and often persevere. That is why so many of us are here today, to remember the man who taught us so many life lessons about friendship, relationships, and the connections between and among people. A touchstone for Junie’s life was his parents, who lived at Andover where his father, a former Yale baseball captain, taught English and coached, and where his mother, a baseball enthusiast, would sit in the stands every day and then critique the team’s performance every evening at dinner. With that wonderful glint in his eye, Junie would tell me the story of a young Andover student whose errant golf ball went through the O’Brien home’s window. The lad hightailed it out of there. Being a seasoned veteran of many school years, Junie’s father knew where he could take a shortcut and greet the lad as he arrived at his place of refuge. The story ends with the boy back at the O’Brien house having a Coke and cookies with the O’Briens. Junie’s golden touch with miscreants was in the genes, and did he ever have the golden touch! Arriving at Groton in 1948 as a triple threat, teacher-coach-dorm master, in the words of Jack Crocker, “Junie seemed to understand what the School stood for and what it was all about immediately.”

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 83

In Memoriam | As We Remember I N

M E M O R I A M

COURTESY OF JOHN KINGSLEY ’49

Reaching out to others came naturally to him. He was never too busy to give time and to listen, be it in the dormitory or classroom, on the athletic field or around the Circle. For many of us, he made Groton a more humane and happy community. Junie had a particular gift for connecting with those for whom Groton was a difficult school, those who were struggling academically, those who were chafing at the rules and regulations, those who felt out of place. Take, for example, the young First Former who ran away from school only to be retrieved from the Fitchburg bus station and returned to campus. The next day at lunch, while he worried about what might happen to him and what the faculty might think of him, Junie, who was sitting at the same table, reached out to him and suggested that he come over to the rink that afternoon. Years later, Warren Cook ’63 wrote: “I did go to the Scott Rink that afternoon. I never ran away again. I made it to the Spring Term, and in fact graduated from Groton. I might not have if Mr. O’Brien hadn’t been there in the middle of the First Form table that bleak winter day.” Peter Keating ’81 wrote: “Almost 36 years ago, I was a lonely, self-conscious Third Former, wandering around after the third team baseball practice, feeling sorry for myself. Mr. O’Brien approached me and asked me to play catch. We spent half an hour talking and throwing, just the two of us. That’s all that occurred—a simple, seemingly normal encounter—but it was transformative. Junie didn’t try to cheer me up or offer advice; he just truly cared for me. His smiling eyes and generous spirit, so full of hope and mirth, filled my sails and sent me in a new direction.”

Junie the coach, top left, with his team

84 | Quarterly Fall 2012

M E M O R I A M

COURTESY OF JOHN KINGSLEY ’49

I N

And there is the example of the graduate for whom at first Groton was a strange world, a graduate who would go on, much to Junie’s delight, to become a professional hockey player and an NHL referee. Paul Stewart wrote: “I always considered Junie a ‘lifeguard,’ a person stationed to keep others from drowning. In 1972, I was a Sixth Form alternate captain. For an action I wish I had back I was justifiably suspended from the team’s next game. Junie was not the varsity coach at this time but still kept a close eye on the happenings at the yellow Scott Rink. Being suspended did not sit well with me. Off to the gym I went to get my skates from my locker with the idea of catching a bus from Ayer to Boston and to another team. The O’Brien jeep pulled up beside me as I was walking to Ayer, and Junie asked if I needed a ride. That jeep, Junie, and I ended up at Johnson’s Ice Cream Parlor. I suspect I was not the first recipient of an O’Brien power lunch. Hearing words like maturity, toughness, character, leadership, digging deep, never quitting, I decided not to take a bus to Boston. Junie and I stood shoulder to shoulder at the game that day. I’ve always remembered the lessons I learned at Johnson’s and have had the opportunity to pass them along to my own son when he was suspended from his hockey team for a game. . . .” Now people hire “life coaches” to help them set goals, to work through their struggles, and to fulfill their dreams. We had Junie’s voice always in our ear about how to play the game, how to treat others, and how to deal with our own fumbles and losses. Whether in the classroom, on the

playing fields, or in the home he shared with Muffin, he was above all our coach. Junie’s gifts were readily apparent when the Upward Bound Program came to Groton and the School went coed. He was a strong advocate for both and did his utmost to ensure that the Upward Bound students and the female students were treated equally and respectfully. Junie made his mark on this community in many ways, but I think it is especially appropriate that the hockey rink is named after him. For 30 years he was hockey at Groton. While he was the driving force in getting the first rink built, I think Lake Romeyn was home ice for Junie. Before the snow when the ice was clear, Junie would come around and say, “Hey Angus, let’s scoot down to Lake Romeyn and get in some skating.” What a joy that was. To this day, I believe that was Junie’s favorite skating. … The O’Brien home was a center of hospitality at the School: home-away-from-home for students; a refuge of relaxation, good conversation, and laughter for the faculty; and a place where school organizations went to celebrate special occasions. Countless graduates and parents enjoyed the O’Brien hospitality, and as a result of that and Junie’s work as director of development and alumni affairs, Groton enjoys an unusually high degree of loyalty from its graduates. I end where I began, with Home Ice. For Junie, the sticks and skates are now put away. But the friendships, relationships, and the connections between and among people that he nurtured will strengthen and persevere long past this day. That is the gift Junie leaves with us!

1 Quarterly Fall 2012

| 85

In Memoriam | As We Remember I N

M E M O R I A M

Resurrecting Young Lives

ood schools, I have learned, are transparent places, and if we look at this School the way Junie did, with an eye that our Lord was referring to when he pleaded with us to seek glimpses of the Kingdom of God that is all around us, then we must also consider that fact that this is a holy place where the line that separates heaven and earth is thin indeed. Junie was never a steadfast church person. His church was the wider creation, and his was a quiet, steady faith that was nurtured by the great mystery of nature. But he also knew that resurrection happens here in this School. He knew it every time he gave someone another swing of the bat or another turn on the ice—young lives rising from discouragement or defeat to become more than they thought possible. It is why he wanted his service in this Chapel here this morning. It is why the resurrection to eternal life can be hoped for and believed, because here, in countless ways, God’s love is ever present. —Excerpts from the remarks of the Right Reverend J. Clark Grew, at the memorial service for Junie O’Brien, February 12, 2012

Breaking a “Horrible Spell”

was saddened and deeply moved when I learned that Junie O’Brien had died. I am particularly sorry for his wife, Muffin, and for all the O’Brien “kids” we watched growing up during the often tumultuous 1968-1972 era at Groton. What a loss. What a rare human being he was. But I couldn’t help feeling in the place of mourning a kind of soaring gladness for Junie’s life, so well lived for so many years. As I have written to other classmates since his passing, I can see him clearly in my mind’s eye, hear the precise gentle pitch of his voice, and remember the words he spoke to me so long ago—words of encouragement, genuine fondness, spoken with humor and slight self-deprecation. He was amongst the kindest men I have ever known. And, I believe, a true empath. He was surely a mentor and a guiding light for me during my years at Groton. He offered me the privilege of playing varsity hockey as a Third Former, a rare distinction that has made me proud to this day. And after ceding that coaching role to Jon Choate, he was my coach on the varsity baseball squad for three years. Those daily interactions with him for a season at a time were their own rich reward.

86 | Quarterly Fall 2012

But far above and beyond those cherished experiences, there was an unforgettable occasion in late May, 1971, St. Mark’s weekend, when Junie made an extraordinary gesture for my profound and permanent benefit, an act of kindness and deeply felt sympathy that I cannot ever stop marveling at, and one that to a meaningful degree, at that precise point in time, saved my life. During the hockey season the prior winter, I had the misfortune to have caused a terrible injury to a spectator at the Groton-St. Mark’s game in Southborough. I was attempting to ice the puck while playing one man down. The puck left my stick, deflected off another stick into the crowd, and struck a St. Mark’s student squarely on the temple. Though the boy left the rink still conscious and on his own two feet, a day later he was in Massachusetts General Hospital, on the critical list, with a brain hemorrhage. He endured a lengthy, difficult, and invasive surgery. He survived (Orme Wilson is his name), and eventually recuperated, though he suffered permanent diminished eyesight in his left eye. During the weeks and months after the incident, and even as I learned news of his slow recovery, I suffered terribly from guilt and the knowledge that I, however accidentally, had caused grievous harm to another person. I was nothing short of sick about it. Most people at the School were aware of this, many tried to help, but I was practically inconsolable. Fast forward to that spring Saturday afternoon. The St. Mark’s games are done. I am heading back to my dorm when Junie stops me and invites me over to his house. Stop by and say hello to Tubby Grew, he said—my Third Form dorm master, now teaching at St. Mark’s. Sure, I said, glad to. A short while later I walked into that great old brick monster of a house and there were Junie and Muffin, Clark Grew, Jon and Peter Harris, my beloved childhood friends (then both students at St. Mark’s), and Orme Wilson. We met and shook hands there in the living room. Orme was gracious, entirely forgiving, and insistent that I ease up on myself. And for me that horrible spell was broken. Right then and there. Junie had planned the whole thing. I would not be the person I am today if I had not been afforded the chance to meet Orme and begin to try to put those demons to rest. And for that extraordinary act of kindness, I will always love Frank O’Brien. And revere his memory. I extend my regards and my condolences to Muffin and her children, and also my thanks to the entire O’Brien family for sharing such a fine gentleman with those of us who were fortunate enough to know him. —Allen H. Peacock, ’72

I N

M E M O R I A M

Wonderful and Compleat

Weathering Life’s Slumps

rom marrying my cousin’s college roommate, to summers at Edgartown, to many wonderful English classes with really colorful chalk, and crowned by his (and Muffin’s) warmth and care as our daughter’s advisor, Junie’s contributions to our lives and our memories of Groton continue to inspire. A wonderful and compleat teacher. —George Sharp ’59

or those of us who were fortunate to have met Mr. O’Brien in our First Form year, we enjoyed six years of his English classes, the dormitory ups and downs, and athletic involvements as players and coach on the hockey rink (starting with Lake Romeyn), on the baseball diamond, and on the tennis courts. For me, two events stand out. The first was the way he “told” me that my baseball mitt, which I was so proud of, wouldn’t work. This lesson involved a long car ride up to a large prep school that shall remain nameless. I was told to bring my new and very large baseball glove. We had lunch with the coach’s father, who looked at my glove and asked me a number of questions about it in a quiet way. Just before we left, the coach’s dad made the suggestion that I should think about getting a smaller glove because mine was too big and the ball would get stuck in it. Coach just smiled and said, “OK.” I pondered the recommendation all the way back to Groton. Coach said nothing about the conversation. As I got out of the car back at Groton I said, “You know, Coach, I think that I’m going to get a smaller glove,” and all Coach did was to smile and say, “Good.” The second event was on the baseball field Sixth Form year as captain of the team. Mid-season, I had a terrible two or three games where I couldn’t hit anything. I became depressed and angry. Coach would gently say, “Have faith in yourself and it will come,” and it did come, in a game where I went 4 for 4, finishing off with a home run. As I crossed home plate at the end of the home run, Coach greeted me with a gentle hand on the shoulder and said, “I’m proud of you because you had faith in yourself and you made it happen.” We miss our “Coach” and will always remember him as we try to pass along to others the way he dealt with his world. —Hugh Scott ’57

Reforming a “Runaway”

he first time I noticed you, I was a winter First Former at Groton and a runaway! We met in the old Dining Room after Sunday lunch soon after I returned to the School, and you came over while I was cleaning the tables and asked if I would like to try hockey, as you needed to build up your stable of goalies! Bill Polk was the poster child on campus and was a goalie as well, so you got my attention and I think we went down to the Scott Rink that afternoon! As you well know, that Sunday afternoon connection was one of many you made with students in your long and impressive teaching and coaching career, and it helped me get my life on track with confidence and in a groove that has carried me, in many ways, to this day. Hockey alone—a goalie career at Groton and Dartmouth and beyond, even the Fitchburg Hornets! Wins and losses, but as you well knew, that Sunday afternoon, the game, thanks to you, helped make my life! We never would have beaten Middlesex in OT; I never would have met Jerry (Eddie Jeremiah), who as you know was another important mentor in my life; in fact, I never would have gone to Dartmouth, and I never would have coached schoolboy hockey, which was one of the most satisfying times of my life. ... But as you know, your “coaching” went well beyond hockey—the classroom, the Pest House, the day Frankie was born—just growing up at Groton with you and Muffin and your family, door always open; you guys did that for many, and I was lucky to be one of those, building my confidence and awareness, much like a father would do at home, and as you know my home was a little different, so having you there made all the difference for me. You being there, you were always there, that was your way. ... Junie, you were there when I was down more than once and you picked me back up and helped me look reality in the eye, deal with it, and continue to march in meaningful and important ways. — Warren Cook, excerpted from a letter he directed toward Junie after his death and sent to Junie’s family

The Gentlest Coach, and the Most Effective

’Il miss Junie in so many ways, but mostly as a lifelong friend who loved to talk about hockey, family, Yale, and the Vineyard any time of year, and had the most extraordinary recall of our times together at Groton, the teams we played, how each player did, and the wonderful crew at Groton—like his friend Andy, who kept the Groton rink and the snowplows going. I think it was his involvement in sports that gave Junie his love and interest in connecting with people from all walks of life.

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 87

In Memoriam | As We Remember I N

M E M O R I A M

Junie was the gentlest coach I ever had. He never raised his voice, was never critical of individual players, and never seemed to get overly hyped-up or overly anxious if we were winning or losing a game. This was in stark contrast to the coach I had before arriving at Groton, who when he wasn’t screaming was being outspokenly critical of some of his players, including me. By comparison, Junie’s even keel kept his teams levelheaded and certainly was a main reason for our undefeated ’57 hockey season. Junie always took the time to keep tabs on my life and the lives of his other players and students. Just imagine, 55 years of handwritten notes and letters about certain things I did at Yale, following my architectural career, inviting me to Bruins games, sending books on hockey, getting together on the Vineyard in the summer, calling just to touch base and talk about friends we shared. It’s really unbelievable to me, and I was only one of many. I feel so lucky to have had a wonderful coach and teacher become such a close friend, despite the fact that at the beginning our relationship was one of student and teacher. I never imagined that a relationship with a teacher could have turned out this way. —Ken Maclean ’57

Junie coaching an alumni game, with Allen Peacock ’72 and Bill Sheeline ’73 looking on

whenever I put it on, I remember Junie and his wonderful spirit and kindness. I wore it to the memorial service and was very pleased to see so many of your grandsons sporting the old tie in memory of their grandfather and my friend. —Steve Borgeson ’72, P’03, excerpted from a letter he wrote to Muffin after Junie’s death

A Confidence-Boosting Call to Varsity

t was the spring of 1969, and a young and very homesick Groton Third Former was nearing the end of the school year and uncertain whether he would return the next. He was doing OK academically and had a good season playing JV baseball, but he was a loner and an outsider and life away from home remained uncomfortable for him. He was beginning to gain a Groton identity but progress was slow and uncertain. The JV baseball season ended a week before the varsity would play its final game against St. Mark’s. Junie, being the thoughtful and compassionate man that he was, sought out the Third Former and invited him to practice with the varsity during the week and dress for the St. Mark’s game. The young man was stunned and caught completely off guard and could barely stammer “yes” and “thank you.” Junie simply smiled his inimitable smile, nodded his head a few times, and said “Good, good.” As you have guessed (or already knew), that Third Former was me. Junie’s reaching out to me at that vulnerable time in my life gave me the confidence and the courage to stand on my own two feet and meet the Groton challenge. After a very rocky start at the School, I turned a corner that spring, thanks to Junie and the love for baseball that we shared. To this day, I proudly wear the Groton baseball tie, and

88 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Learning to Believe in Myself

was a relatively anonymous young Groton Fourth Former in 1974 when I asked Mr. O’Brien to be my advisor. During my Third Form year at Groton, I learned that Mr. O’Brien had been a longtime Keewaydin camper and staff man. I too had been a Keewaydin camper in 1971, so I screwed up my courage not only to ask Mr. O’Brien to be my advisor, to which he thankfully agreed, but also to tell my Third Form advisor I would like to make a change. There’s more to my story than just being a rising Fourth Former seeking an advisor. Rooted under a “not yet” academic skill set was a lack of confidence—confidence that waned with every poor report card I received at the end of each trimester of my Third Form year. Under Mr. O’Brien’s guidance, I was not an overnight success, as my Fourth Form academic record closely mirrored that of my Third Form. I vividly remember conversations with Mr. O’Brien that year about my academic struggles. Those campus “walk and talks” soothed my fears about being put in a remedial study hall with a tutor or not being asked back to Groton the following year. His practical advice was greatly appreciated. More importantly, he told me that he believed in me, and he repeated that message enough

I N

M E M O R I A M

that I started to believe in myself. With the start of my Fifth Form year I began to show signs of progress, and by my Sixth Form year I was earning all Bs (no As), singing in the choir and madrigals, making furniture with Mr. Brown, and playing varsity soccer, hockey, and lacrosse (two years each). If I were to reminisce with Mr. O’Brien about this transformation, he would probably be very self-effacing and say that I did it on my own. I don’t believe it for a second. As my academic equilibrium emerged in my Sixth Form year, I faced the challenge of gaining admission to college. My checkered academic record and average board scores were a concern to both Mr. Alexander and to me. When I received two rejection notices from New England Small Conference Athletic Conference colleges (I only applied to two!), Mr. O’Brien helped me realize that perhaps I needed an extra year of academic and social growth. With his support I traveled to New York City to apply for a British American Educational Foundation Scholarship to attend a British “public” school during the 1977-1978 academic year. ... Mr. O’Brien also greased the wheels for a summer job after graduation from Groton in 1977 ... I went off to England for a year and Davidson College for four, got married, and went into teaching at Noble and Greenough for three years, earned my master’s degree at Harvard, taught for six years at the Lovett School (Atlanta), and have been the social science chair at Proctor Academy for 17 years. My life as a teacher can be busy, but through that haze of lesson plans, grading, meetings, coaching, advising, or guiding young faculty, I reflect on what is at the core of our job as educators. We need to be strong role models, hold kids accountable, and while we guide them in acquiring the skill set to be successful, we must also give them confidence to meet their potential. Kind words of encouragement are sometimes all that is needed to boost a young person onto a path of selfreliance and discovery. Mr. O’Brien was that “teacher” for me, and in return I try to be that teacher for others. —Phil Goodnow ’77, excerpted from a letter he wrote to Junie’s family

A Steady, Comforting Perspective

ncle Junie, as I knew him, always offered a steady and comforting perspective on my various adolescent and personal trials around the Circle. It was Junie who influenced my going to Keewaydin, a character-building, foundational life experience to which I still turn today. That experience led me to Groton and all of its lessons. He somehow seemed to know when I was most down my Third Form year, and would seek me out with his

gentle, “Why don’t we go to Johnson’s for a burger and a shake?” He and Aunt Muffin threw the best “feeds” when it came time for Parlor, and the O’Brien’s was a welcome sanctuary. I suspect there are many who can also say that he provided the grounding and was there when you needed him. Even long after Groton, when we came back to Boston for my son’s cancer treatment, he was welcoming and provided that comforting word that suggested you could find your own strength and guidance. I smile in thinking that Gage was welcomed to a new level of existence and that perhaps they are sharing lessons together. Junie has touched so many lives that his spirit will live on in all of us. Onward. –Trux Dole ’83

Teacher, Coach, Friend

s a member of the Form of 1949, I have many special memories of Junie. He arrived on campus in the fall of 1948. Groton at the time still had a somewhat monastic atmosphere, and he breathed fresh air into all of our lives. He graduated from Yale in 1947, where he had been captain of the baseball team. Since I was captain of our team and he was going to coach the team, I had many opportunities to interact with him. I enjoyed that year so much. Our form, as leaders of the School, and he had so much in common in that we were all new in our roles! We bonded. It did not take long for Junie to put his imprint on the baseball program at Groton. He initiated the practice of giving every player a number on his back. Naturally we loved this, but a senior member of the faculty was very much against it. He felt it made us look professional. Perish that thought! Our baseball season that first year under Junie’s leadership was a great success. Another one of his initiatives was getting Andover on the Groton schedule. He even “employed” his mother, a faculty wife at Andover, to scout their team. Consequently, at the Groton-Andover game, it seemed that every ball Andover hit went straight into the mitt of a Groton fielder! We won and established ourselves as legitimate opponents. We also went on to win the private school championship. In 1980, when Junie retired from teaching and coaching at Groton, a number of his former players had a surprise party for him in Boston and presented him with a silver tray engraved with the following:

Frank (“Junie”) O’Brien Teacher, Coach, and Friend No more needs to be said—he was all that to so many! — John Kingsley ’49

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 89

In Memoriam | As We Remember I N

M E M O R I A M

STANLEY R. RESOR ’35

1 December 5, 1917 – April 17, 2012 By John R. Hauge ’69

tanley R. Resor, secretary of the Army during the Vietnam War and a public servant extraordinaire, was an exemplar of the ideal of public service that Groton so prizes in its students, for which he was given the Distinguished Grotonian Award in 1985. He was strongly influenced by the personalities and achievements of his parents. His father, Stanley B. Resor, refounded the J. Walter Thompson advertising firm and eventually built it into the largest such firm in the world. His mother, Helen, who could not afford to go to college when she grew up, was later described by the New York Herald Tribune as “the greatest copywriter of her generation,” creating many ad campaigns for JWT such as the one for Woodbury Soap—“A skin you love to touch.” But Stan also wanted to be his own person, so much so that in his teens he changed his name to Stanley Rogers Resor from Stanley Burnet Resor, Jr. Stan was in the Form of 1935 at Groton. In a charming letter written to his parents on October 19, 1930, he describes an important School event: “Wednesday was the School’s birthday, but it wasn’t a good day so they postponed the holiday till Thursday. They couldn’t very well postpone the big dinner and movies, so we had that part of the holiday on Wednesday. You should have been there; we had a wonderful dinner which was finished off with ice cream and a large birthday cake. At the end of supper the Sixth Form yelled, ‘We want Blue Bottles.’ This was the signal for the whole School to draw their chairs up to the Fifth Form table and when everyone had settled, the Fifth Form sang ‘Blue Bottles.’ After ‘Blue Bottles’ we went over to the Hall, where we saw some football movies, followed by a Harold Lloyd picture. Just before these movies, the Sixth Form sang four or five ‘squils’ about other boys in the School. These squils are stories about certain boys with their girls, put to music with some of the modern jazz songs. Any boy can write a squil about any other boy and give it to the Sixth Form to put to music, providing they think it worth being sung on the Stanley Resor, undersecretary for policy, School birthday.” Department of Defense, 1978 Friends Stan made in his Groton form, such as Bill Bundy, Marshall Hornblower, and Louis Auchincloss, remained so the rest of his life. In fact, Stan and Bill Bundy became roommates at Yale. Each had a bedroom with a shared sitting room. Since Stan’s mother was a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, they were able to borrow art for the walls of their Yale room. Said Stan of Bill: “I remember him sitting in this big armchair in our room, balancing a typewriter

90 | Quarterly Fall 2012

I N

M E M O R I A M

on his lap, while he effortlessly banged out a thoughtful editorial for the Yale Daily News.” In the summer of his freshman year at Yale, he, Bill, and two friends drove out in a Buick convertible to the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, ranch Stan’s father had started in 1929. (Along the way, they stopped off to attend the Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio!) They spent the summer riding horses, stacking hay, branding cattle, and repairing fences. We have video footage of them repairing the roof of the kitchen cabin that summer. In World War II, he served in the Army, participating in the Battle of the Bulge. For action outside Neustadt, Germany, he earned the Silver Star Medal, the military’s third highest award for valor; according to the citation, he braved “hostile enemy fire, assumed command, and reorganized his men to successfully overcome furious enemy resistance.” Besides the Silver Star, he also earned the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He graduated from Yale Law School and became a corporate lawyer at Debevoise, Plimpton, Lyons, and Gates in New York City. In March 1965, he was recruited as undersecretary of the Army by his Yale classmate, Cyrus Vance, who was the deputy Stanley Resor’s Groton yearbook picture defense secretary. He was promoted to secretary of the Army in July 1966 in the midst of the major buildup in Vietnam. He handled all the issues of the period, including the training of South Vietnamese forces to take over responsibility for the fighting, or Vietnamization, and, in the words of the New York Times, he “appointed the first female generals, supervised the development of helicopter-warfare tactics, and ended racial discrimination in off-base housing at German bases.” Of notable import were the March 1968 events at My Lai, where hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed, a crime that Army officers subsequently tried to cover up. Stan appointed Lieutenant General William Peers to investigate. Journalist Seymour Hersh, who broke the story, said: “Give the Army credit—they did a better job than the national press corps and were already investigating the massacre. [Resor] did a very honorable job, but it was a terrible stain on the Army.” Stan resisted entreaties not to prosecute William Calley, who was convicted in 1971 of the premeditated murder of Vietnamese civilians, and Stan censured the commanding officers of the Army division responsible for the killings, and demoted the commander. When a military colleague, David Hackworth, told Stan he was going to write a book about Vietnam, Stan said: “Make sure it’s constructive, and not just another vindictive attack on a system already suffering mighty blows. Think it out. You could make a great contribution.” After six years as secretary of the Army, the longest anyone has held the position since it was created in 1947, and under presidents of different parties (Johnson and then Nixon), he was asked to lead the Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction talks with the Warsaw Pact countries, and did so in Vienna from 1973 to 1978. Although little came from these efforts, they laid the groundwork for subsequent action. From 1978 to 1979, he served as undersecretary for policy in the Department of Defense and subsequently became an outspoken advocate for nuclear arms reduction. From 1994 to 2000, after retiring from his law practice, he served as chairman of the Arms Control Association, and in this role he assembled 50 experts to sign a letter to President Clinton objecting to NATO’s expansion as an act unnecessarily provocative to Russia. Stan took an active interest in the development of the Jackson Hole ranch and of Teton Valley in general. He had visited there first in 1929, as an 11-year-old, and had fallen in love with the area, returning over the next 80 years, working to preserve the environment. He was happily married to Jane Pillsbury in 1942 and then, after her death, to Louise Mead Walker in 1999, and he took great interest

Quarterly Fall 2012

| 91

In Memoriam | As We Remember I N

M E M O R I A M

in the lives and activities of his seven sons, 20 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. It was the way in which Stan carried out his duties and treated others that most endeared him to his superiors and colleagues. At a commemoration in Washington, D.C., they spoke about how hard it was to overstate the respect he had earned as an outstanding and selfless public servant in the mold of Dean Acheson (also Groton and Yale) and others. It was his courtesy, consideration for others, quiet industry and efficiency, and encouragement of others for their input in making decisions—even subordinates had their say—that mattered. Stan knew that even if arms control meetings did not often result in treaties, they led to a better understanding of the adversary’s capabilities and intentions in the movement toward peace; it was the journey that mattered. He believed in a nation of laws more than men as the best protection of the citizenry, but he also knew that America was dependent on public servants to make it work—the Constitution was not self-enacting. Robert MacNamara, in his two books, listed 15 people he thought represented the qualities the country needed, and Stan was “at the front of the list.” A law firm colleague tells an emblematic story: “My fondest memory of Stan is from the mid1950s—he was a young partner and I was a young associate working on my first M&A transaction. The closing was held in the South, and when we went to the train station to wait for the train back to New York, Stan unhesitatingly led the way to the ‘Colored Waiting Room.’ That is where we waited—and Stan never gave the slightest indication that we were doing anything out of the ordinary.” Perhaps the strongest statement of his qualities came when the U.S. Military Academy at West Point conferred on him the Sylvanus Thayer award in 1984: “to an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify the Military Academy motto, ‘Duty, Honor, Country.’ ” He is the only service secretary ever to receive it. John R. Hauge ’69 is Stanley Resor’s nephew.

The 1935 yearbook picture of the Civics Club; Stanley Resor is in the front row, second from left.

92 | Quarterly Fall 2012

Form notes

R Form Notes are now password-protected. Members of the Groton community may read them online by signing in at www.groton.org/myGroton.

MIKE SPERLING

Fall 2012 | Vol. LXXIV, No. 3

Features 18

25 25

Prize Day Pomp, tradition, and a keynote speech by Cyrus Vance, Jr. ’73

31 44

Distinguished Grotonian Award Reunion Weekend Reminiscing with graduates from years ending in 2 and 7

Miracle or Moneyball? How Jake Congleton used data and savvy to win with limited resources by William N. Thorndike, Jr. ’82

Departments

Message from the Headmaster

Letters

Circiter | Featured on Campus 4

A bell-ringing tour de force, national accolades in math and science, global trips, and other news from the Circle

Hats Off to Our Parents!

Fall 2012 | Vol. LXXiv, No. 3

Change Service Requested

Groton School Quarterly r

P.O. Box 991 Groton, Massachusetts 01450-0991

20 12

Groton School Quarterly

Groton School

Is Congress Broken? Grotonians Explain What’s Wrong— and How Legislators Could Fix It

www.facebook.com/GrotonSchool

@GrotonSchool

www.flickr.com/GrotonSchool

Fall 2012 • Vol. LXXIV, No. 3

Spring Fling 2012

Miracle or Moneyball? The Congleton Era in Groton Football

Remembering Junie O’Brien Reunion Weekend