Cl ass N otes Fernando Garcia ‘69, Portuguese, was named the 2006 Outstanding Citizen of the year by the Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry for his volunteer work and contributions to dozens of local organizations and charities. He was honored at the Roger Valcourt Memorial Outstanding Citizen of the Year Gala, and also received the “Ordem do Comendador,” the highest title given to a civilian by the Portuguese government. An entrepreneur, Garcia is the owner of Fall River Ford and employs over 100 employees.
’70s
Byron Ford ‘70, political science, joined the professional team of sales associates at Almeida Realty Group. Byron is the vice president of sales for MBN Vending Services, Inc., and a mortgage consultant. He remains active in politics in New Bedford, where he lives with his daughter Lauren. David Mello ‘70, management, writes “hello to all my Delta Kappa Phi brothers. Remember the late ‘60s, our frat house, the Dipper Café— great times!” David is a lead purchasing specialist with AT & T. He and his wife Diane live in Austin, TX, and would like to hear from anyone at mellod@prodigy.net Laura Gula ‘71, psychology, a longtime New Bedford teacher, plans to retire this year. Theresa McAvoy ‘71, liberal arts, works as an international regulatory affairs specialist for Codman and Shurtleff, a Johnson & Johnson Co. in Raynham. Adalino Cabral ‘72, Portuguese, Medford, received his MBA in general management, with concentrations in organizational communication, marketing, and human resource management, from Plymouth (NH) State University, in May 2006. He immigrated to New Bedford with his family and received
Some things don’t change— like advice on romance and relationships Some people collect stamps, or seashells, or teapots. For Abigail Grotke ‘91, it’s old advice books—“classics” like The Unfair Sex, published in 1953, or How to Get a Teenage Boy and What To Do With Him When You Get Him, 1969. While her collecting began as a lark, it has evolved into far more. There’s the popular web site — missabigail.com where Grotke draws on her 1,000 books to answer loveand-life questions that have a timeless ring about them. The site has led to considerable media attention, as well as an 18-month stint, from 2001 to early 2003, as a London Times magazine weekly columnist. Last year, approached by Thunder’s Mouth Press, Grotke wrote Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating, and Marriage: Classic Advice for Contemporary Dilemmas, which includes web site advice columns with sidebar pieces and illustrations of a days-gone-by nature. The book is “charmingly retro,” said the Washington Post. And she has managed all this while remaining digital media projects coordinator at the Library of Congress. Grotke began collecting the books in 1985. Browsing a Salvation Army store in Greensboro, North Carolina, she and a friend were intrigued by The Art of Dating, written in 1967 by Evelyn Mills Duvall. The two spent several afternoons with their 50-cent find, “reading aloud Evelyn’s words of wisdom, written for the teens of 1967.” The book launched Grotke’s collection, which now comprises works from the 1820s through the 1970s. The Art of Dating accompanied her when she transferred from Greensboro College to Swain School of Design in ‘87; Swain later became part of Southeastern Massachusetts University, and Grotke switched her major from graphic design to art history. Upon graduation, Grotke landed an internship with the Smithsonian Institution, eventually becoming an editor and overseeing new media development. She and her colleagues, eager to “do something fun for ourselves,” launched a webzine in 1998 that included a Miss Abigail advice site. Miss Abigail then moved to its own site, with Grotke delivering what she calls “classic advice for contemporary dilemmas” in a breezy, reassuring style. “Some of the advice seems so ridiculous nowadays,” says Grotke (who is single and lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with her terrier Felix). “But for a lot of questions, it seems that our problems are the same today as in the past.” Such as the perennial “I like this boy/girl but don’t know how to tell them….That is a theme that’s ageless,” says Grotke. It’s the response that changes, varying with the time period. Consider the letter at left: Grotke responds by quoting Ellen Peck’s How to Get a Teenage Boy: “Schools are, in fact, lab situations in Living with Others. It is absolutely just as important for you to be aware of your classmates as… of the teacher’s lecture. Your future life may not be any happier if you know all about mean annual temperatures, but it can be happier if you know something about Greg, who sits three rows over. “In short, your ‘Guy-Q’ is as important as your ‘IQ,’” writes Peck, then suggests ways Sampalooza can approach the boy she likes. While Grotke has taken a break from answering new questions, the lovelorn can still be helped on her web site. Once there, they can find their problem by visiting the different categories, i.e., “What is Love?” “Minding Your Manners,” or “Forever Single.” Miss Abigail’s Guide has done well, Grotke says, and the royalties indicate “it’s not just my mother who’s buying copies.” She is a contributor to the just-released Single State of the Union: Single Women Speak Out on Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Grotke recalls her Southeastern Massachusetts University days fondly. “I worked in the art gallery and that was great. And I had my first computer experience at SMU.” ♥
in “I like this gIuy’m my class andhe likes not sure if Should I me or not. ? ” ask him out , Signed oza Sampalo
—Diane Hartnett
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