Fall 2013 Deerfield Magazine

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m a g a z i n e


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Woman of Letters 8 Dear Boys . . .

Line of Scrimmage 18 Should young people specialize?

An Extraordinary Foundation 30 Fundraising in ’12-’13

cover: Deerfield Academy Archives / inside spread: Gabriel Amadeus Cooney

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Comments 3 / Along Albany Road 4 / The Common Room 40 / Tête-à-Tête with writer William Zinsser ’40 44 / In Memoriam 93 / First Person: Libby Leist ’97 91 / Word Search 96

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SUMMER READING

I’m a reader—always have been and hopefully always will be—and I’ll read pretty much anything, although I do confess a particular fondness for historical novels. This past summer I settled in with some of Mrs. Boyden’s correspondence, and I was captivated. Unlike those of you lucky enough to have known the Boydens personally, I only knew Mrs. Boyden through old photographs and pithy comments: “Other fools have done it, and so can I . . .” Her letters, however, provided a third dimension—they were my passport into her world and into her life— and I am happy to share some of them with you in “Woman of Letters,” which begins on page eight. A little further along (page 18) “Line of Scrimmage” tackles the subject of specialization on the playing field and in other venues. I’m guessing Mrs. Boyden wouldn’t have been a fan; a paradox of conformity and flexibility, I think she would have something to say about “putting all your eggs in one basket.” In fact, in 1962 Mrs. Boyden wrote an article about the study of chemistry for the Deerfield Alumni Journal, and her final paragraph could easily be inserted into our modern-day feature: It is our sincerest hope that each boy comes out from his course with an expanded concept of the universe in which he lives, with an increased capacity for enjoyment, with a mind trained in the scientific method, better able to attack, with analytic and impersonal approach, all the problems of his life. These are the by-products of a well-balanced education . . .

What Mrs. Boyden didn’t write much about was fundraising —that was Mr. Boyden’s purview—but in the instances when she did mention it, her tone was both grateful and pleasantly surprised . . . as if she was slightly in awe of “her boys’” devotion to Deerfield. We, too, remain grateful for the continued generosity of alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends of the Academy, and beginning on page 30 have a story to share with you about recent fundraising efforts. As September and the deadline for Deerfield Magazine loomed, I finished the letters. So what did I learn about Mrs. Boyden’s world? Many things, actually, but a few stood out: By simply living her life Mrs. Boyden laid the groundwork for traditions that are a fundamental part of Deerfield’s landscape today; she loved her home in the Pocumtuck Valley, but her extensive travels brought a worldly perspective to her classroom; both master teacher and perpetual student, she was an original model of lifelong learning. And the sense of community the Academy is so well known for? I think it may have originated from letters that were signed: Affectionately, Helen Childs Boyden.

—Jessica Day, Managing Editor

Director of Communications

Managing Editor

Support Specialist and Contributing Writer

eCommunications Specialist

Art Director

Production Coordinator and Contributing Writer

David Thiel

Jessica Day

JR Delaney

Danaë DiNicola

Brent M. Hale

Anna Newman

Editorial Office: Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, MA 01342. Telephone: 413-774-1860, communications@deerfield.edu Publication Office: The Lane Press, Burlington, VT 05402. Third class postage paid at Deerfield, Massachusetts, and additional mailing office. Deerfield Magazine is published in the fall, winter, and spring. Deerfield Academy admits students of any race, color, creed, handicap, sexual orientation or national origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or available to students at the academy. The academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, handicap, sexual orientation or national origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship, or any other programs administered by the academy. Copyright © The Trustees of Deerfield Academy (all rights reserved)

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Fall 2013 : Volume 71, No. 1


I was impressed more than ever at the total excellence and the theme of the Spring 2013 issue of Deerfield Magazine. There was a very photogenic photo of a young Jay and Mimi Morsman; I didn’t know that they have three beautiful children. Jay’s 53 years of “fun” was precedented only by Mr. Boyden’s personal tenure! Pat Gimbel also reflected on her 28 years of Deerfield’s “magic that happens here,” and her role in the “transformative” decisions that she was able to offer to 5000 students!

I read the magazine from cover to cover. Andy Harcourt is indeed Deerfield’s Global (H20) “Renaissance Scientist.” “Transferable skills” and a program that “focuses more on critical thinking and collaboration” is tantamount to our age in which knowledge doubles every five years. But that’s old thinking. According to industrytap.com, knowledge is now “doubling every 12 months, soon to be every 12 hours!” Mr. Harcourt helped bolster Dr. Janie Merkel ’91 with her “comparators” abilities to “navigate new technology”

to the physical boundaries of the universe. There was the inspiring article on our 105-year-old John G. Talcott, Jr. ’28, and the sad article of an equally inspiring young man’s life snuffed out (Will McIlvaine ’06). And, David Thiel’s “Art is Everywhere”— in fashion, inside and outside architectural spatial designs, in the magazine’s mindstimulating layout, and even in an exuberant “Pool Party” moment . . .

along albany road

COMMENTS

Tom L’Esperance ’55 Carlsbad, California

Be social. When you can’t be on campus, go social. Visit Deerfield anytime through social media.

deerfield.edu/go/social

New name? Will it still be “the Hilson gallery?” Or will it be called Mem II? The baby Black Box??

Danaë DiNicola

Great! Can’t wait to come back for a visit once the renovation is finished! Looking more and more like a college. Amazing. This is what I like to see! Hopefully there will be exhibition space for the Academy’s great collection of art!

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/// Large Auditorium stage /// /// Memorial Building lobby ///

Work on the Academy’s new Arts Center began right on schedule this past June. With 64,800 square feet to be renovated, and 8530 square feet of new construction, the race is on to complete exterior work and move indoors before the cold weather sets in. Updates to the existing structure include the replacement of all windows and entrances, the use of FSC certified wood products, energy efficient lighting, and more. All renovated spaces and additions (Concert Hall, Art Gallery, and Acting Lab) will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. The Arts Center will open its doors to students in the fall of 2014. /// staging area in the Black Box /// 4

Fall 2013


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/// Choral Room ///

IN///THE

ZONE >>> Photographs by Joseph Delaney

/// former practice rooms /// /// former band room ///

/// new art gallery ///

More construction photos: flickr.com/photos/deerfieldacademy

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Why “We” Chose Deerfield

Why did I choose Deerfield? I chose Deerfield for some of the same reasons as our incoming students. To quote them: “I decided on Deerfield because of what I’ve heard from . . . the students who have attended. Every person I know who has gone [there] has loved it.” “ I could sense that all of the students truly wanted to be on campus and that all had incredible school spirit.” “ Deerfield is a beautiful school and has an amazing spectrum of possibilities . . . the traditions, the secluded and beautiful campus and lastly and most importantly for me, the happiness everyone shares for being part of the community.” “ I chose Deerfield because it has the best combination of rigorous academics, strong arts and athletics programs, and other important ‘intangibles’ . . .”

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I have encountered a wonderful tradition here at Deerfield. Newly-enrolled students are invited to submit pieces of writing to the Admission Office in which they respond to the question “Why I chose Deerfield.” What a wonderful way for me, as incoming Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, to become acquainted with this class and the school, and it seems fitting that I, too, would answer this question. First of all, though, the Academy’s admission picture remains strong. By all metrics Deerfield is healthy and successful, and certainly this is true in relation to admission numbers. This year the Admission Office reviewed over 2200 applications for just 225 available spots, leading to an admit rate of 17 percent. These applications came from nearly every state in the US and from many other countries. Among these applications were significant numbers of students who are connected to the school via a family member—another indication of institutional health since it reflects the loyalty of our alumni body. By the enrollment deadline we had yielded nearly 70 percent of those students to whom we made admission offers—a strong showing given the many choices these admitted students had, in addition to the high cost of an independent school education. Simply put, students are clamoring to come to Deerfield.

To what do I attribute Deerfield’s continuing strength in the market? It’s my sense that there are at least three factors at play: First, the high rate of satisfaction among our alumni and parents. Our graduates and their families act as important school ambassadors—both formally and informally—and we reap the benefits year after year. Second, our admission success is attributable in part to Deerfield’s ability to articulate our vision for the future. While our long-established reputation “opens the door,” it’s our ability to explain why Deerfield matters . . . that reassures prospective families about the Academy’s relevance in the world, and therefore the opportunity it offers their children. Furthermore, it’s Deerfield’s demonstrated commitment to recognizing and maximizing the potential of every child that ultimately compels families to enroll. Finally, I think that Deerfield’s strong admission profile reflects the strength and attention of the Admission Office itself. Pat Gimbel and her team, now my team, have worked tirelessly and strategically to build the Class of 2017, just as they have built every class, year after year. I congratulate all of them for their impressive work. So why did I choose Deerfield? In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ll share that my first exposure to Deerfield Academy was in the late ’70s when I took a long bus ride from Ethel Walker’s to attend a Saturday night dance. The ride north seemed eternal, and the dance was simultaneously dreadful and fabulous (in the way only a teenager can experience), but the return ride was surprisingly short—the bus filled with laughter and longing all the way home . . . Since then, whether from the perspective as Admission Director at Northfield Mount Hermon (where two of my best hires were Deerfield graduates), or more recently as Associate Head for Communications, Enrollment, and Planning at Concord Academy, I have been aware of Deerfield’s tradition, known of its great reputation and influence in the educational world, and sensed its strong community. As the new Dean of Admission and Financial Aid I look forward to learning from and working with school leaders, to honoring Deerfield’s history and tradition while helping the school realize its vision for the future, and to becoming part of this vibrant community. To quote one last student with whom I most identified: “I want to challenge myself at the highest level . . . I also want to contribute to the Deerfield community.” I am delighted to be here and I look forward to meeting many of you in the months ahead. —PJS ••

Brent M. Hale

Pamela J. Safford Joins the Admission Office


Lauren Brozovich Global H2O Research Guide; Water Polo

Jamie Bucci

Update Status: This fall Deerfield welcomes 16 new faculty members. Go to deerfield.edu/directory for details on this talented group of people!

College Advisor; Girls Soccer and Lacrosse

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“FACbook”

Drew Philie ’09 Athletic and Admission Offices; Admission Committee; Dorm Council

Pam Safford Dean of Admission; Chair, Admission Committee; Academic Standing Committee

Jaime Correa

Neil Jacobs ’69

Mark Spencer

2013-14 Wilson Fellow

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department; JV Basketball; Debate Team

Director of College Advising; Data Team

Nicholas Hall

Haley O’Neil

Caroline Stedman

Physics; Boys Soccer and Basketball

Language Department (Spanish); Community Service

Athletic and Admission Offices; Girls Varsity Soccer

Jael Hernandez-Vasquez

Asvelt Nduwumwami ’09

Anna Steim

Teaching Fellow (Latin); Boys Basketball, Debate Team

Teaching Fellow (Chemistry); Yearbook

English Department; JV Field Hockey; Global Studies Projects Advisor

Peter Hynds

Charlotte Patriquin

Marjorie Young

Admission; Boys Varsity Tennis; Community Service

Interim Director of the Boyden Library; Curriculum Committee

Director of Inclusion and Community Life; Admission Committee; Dorm Council; Discipline Committee

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Woman of Letters 8

Fall 2013

by Susannah Noel


Deerfield Academy Archives

Dick Lewisohn ’60 was pleased with himself as he executed yet another prank, this time on a wintry night in 1959. His scheme was the kind that would set off alarm bells for anyone familiar with New England architecture and the chill North Country wind. “I thought it would be cute to open up the windows in the bathroom of Wells Two so it would make a nice little coating of ice on the commodes, and frustrate my fellow students when they got up in the morning,” remembers Lewisohn. “Well, I’m from New York City. I’d always lived in an apartment. I had no idea the pipes would freeze and burst—which of course they did.” He adds emphatically, “Many of the faculty did not like me, and I don’t blame them. I was a problem student.” But one teacher held a different view. Helen Childs Boyden, the iconic wife of the Headmaster and teacher of algebra and chemistry for 63 years had what one alumnus calls “a highly selective quality of vision,” seeing only the best in “her boys.” Tall, slim, with a sweep of white hair and a bearing that resembled Eleanor Roosevelt’s, Mrs. Boyden believed there was good in every struggling adolescent. When it came to Lewisohn, she chose a particularly public way to demonstrate this conviction. “Every night, in Ephraim Williams, Mrs. Boyden served tea and coffee for the faculty after dinner. They would all sit around, have a smoke, and chit chat. But on my seventeenth birthday,” Lewisohn recalls, “she had me come over with the faculty, and she brought out a birthday cake, and made them sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. They couldn’t refuse her, wouldn’t refuse her, and I couldn’t believe that she had done this.” Lewisohn’s voice catches slightly as he continues, “She basically said to them, ‘Look, he’s one of my boys. It’s time to get this kid prepared for college.’ I was a little embarrassed at the time, but I’ve never forgotten it.” And when Lewisohn was in college Mrs. Boyden kept in touch:

Dear Dick — I would have written you before but I have a decided impression that it is so hard for you to read my writing that you only read the letters that I give to my secretary to type…I am so anxious to know how all your affairs are progressing. You did not answer the letter I sent to you. I know it could not have troubled you because you know me well enough to understand that I wish only for your happiness. I hope for the next few weeks you will be too busy to write to me but after you have heard from your examinations do take time to let me know how things are going. For Mrs. Boyden, Lewisohn was not an exception to the rule, and one might assume that such blanket approval would render her an ineffective disciplinarian. Not so. With a chuckle, Mary Merriam, whose husband Robert ’43 worked alongside the Boydens for years explains, “When Mr. Boyden had to scold one of the boys, he would say, ‘Mrs. Boyden is very disappointed in you.’ That’s as far as he would go, and they caught on—fast.” In The Headmaster, John McPhee ’49 claimed the Head himself believed his wife had more influence on the boys than he had; Mr. Boyden insisted she could have been the headmaster of any boarding school.

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Mrs. Boyden knew Deerfield (both the Academy and the town) her entire life. Born and raised just a short distance from the edge of today’s modern campus, the only extended period of time she lived away was the solitary year she taught at the Catherine Aiken School in Stamford, Connecticut. Then she returned to Western Massachusetts and filled an opening in the Academy’s science department in 1905. Two years later she married the Headmaster and settled in for more than six decades: raising a family, teaching more courses than any other member of the faculty, and shaping the Deerfield community. In addition to her personal correspondence, Mrs. Boyden contributed a column—fashioned, fittingly, in letter format—to what was then called the Deerfield Alumni Journal; she titled it “Dear Boys.” In 1954 she gushed about returning to the little school situated between village and valley after a trip to Europe:

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The Boydens lived in Ephraim Williams, but arguably, Mrs. Boyden felt most “at home” in the classroom. Upon retiring at age 88, she was asked by a local reporter why she loved teaching. The reply was simple: “I haven’t any noble sentiments. I guess the only gift I have is being fond of the boys.” For Mrs. Boyden it wasn’t about who excelled academically—or even, as her birthday gift to Dick Lewisohn reflects, which boy behaved. To the parents of one of her chemistry students she wrote:

Deerfield Academy Archives

But those were different times, when women could be wives, mothers, and teachers—not headmasters. Nevertheless, much of Mr. Boyden’s success likely can be attributed to what Lewisohn calls “Mrs. Boyden’s stabilizing force behind the throne.” If Frank Boyden was the prime mover behind increased enrollments and the elevation of Deerfield from country day school to prestigious boarding school, his irrepressible wife was responsible for growing a Deerfield community. Nowhere is this legacy more evident than in her letters. Helen Childs Boyden practiced the old-fashioned art of letter writing, sending thousands of missives to parents, faculty, staff, and “her boys”—both students and alumni. Through her correspondence, she cultivated meaningful relationships with so many in the Deerfield family, acting not only as de facto headmistress and teacher, but also as matriarch.

I was sad because the trip was over, but it was good to be home. As we came to that view below Deerfield, the Mount Tom range rising above the quiet Connecticut—I turned to the Head and said I have seen many beautiful scenes but nothing is more beautiful to me than this. Then we were home—driving into our Street with its old houses and its cathedral arch of trees. Of all places this is to me most perfect!


I have been wanting to write to you for some time to tell you how much I am enjoying Peter in my class. He finds the work hard and I am sure he will never be a chemistry student but he is conducting himself very well. He has never given up. His attitude is the soul of courtesy and cooperation. I have so much respect and affection for the boy that I just want you to know how much I think of him.

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In an age where standardized classrooms were in vogue, Mrs. Boyden bucked the trend. She understood that her students were individuals— that some found their calling academically while others found success in sports or among their peers. And she definitely recognized the fact that there were those who might need a little extra help. Commencement didn’t mark the end of Mrs. Boyden’s investment in her students. Cognizant of the pitfalls that come with freshman year in college, she offered classes on her sun porch to prepare seniors for the next chapter in their education; and when they landed, the dialogue continued. Dick Lewisohn chuckles when he recalls Mrs. Boyden’s potent mix of guilt and concern, yet he believes her grandmotherly style of gentle reprobation not only kept the boys connected to Deerfield, but that it was genuine.

Do you realize that you did not let me know how you came out last year or how things are going this year? You certainly should have done so. Just drop me a line and let me know and don’ t scare me by saying you are in danger of flunking out for I would not believe it if you did. When her efforts were met with silence, she wasn’t above contacting the boy’s college roommate for the inside scoop, and if she felt a boy was slipping away, her letters would become openly distressed.

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All the day before your letter came I kept writing a letter to you in my mind. The burden of it was, “What is the matter, Paul? Have I done anything so that you have lost faith in me?” . . . Do you ever see the cartoon “Peanuts”? Did you see the one where Linus says, “It is hard for one generation to communicate with another generation”? I am sure that you do have confidence in me and know that my interest and affection are always with you. Decades before the benefits of travel for faculty were recognized, Mrs. Boyden had a thirst for it. She visited Europe, Mexico, Haiti, the Philippines, Japan, and Egypt in her 80s, mostly without the Head, who hated to fly. Then she liberally shared her experiences in her classroom and in her letters. In 1947 Mrs. Boyden traveled to Paris with friends, and while the trip was delightful in many ways, she later deftly captured the mood in a city so recently ravaged by war:

We went to the opera and to the Follies and drove down the Champs Elysees, marveled at the Arch of Triumph, visited Notre Dame, drove in a fiacre to the Louvre and saw again the Winged Victory and the haunting smile of Mona Lisa. Then dinner in the Eiffel Tower, and the lights coming on allover the city. We sat on the sidewalks in front of the cafes and watched the people go by, and it was all the same as I remembered it.


Deerfield Academy Archives

She ended the letter by reminding her boys to help others “as best we can” and especially to be thankful every day for their “unbombed, unharmed” country. Ultimately, Mrs. Boyden’s letters show her astonishing intellectual curiosity. In the classroom, a mathematical proof could extend to a discussion of politics, baseball, or literature; her focus was equations and formulas but she engaged her students on many levels. One alumnus elegantly compared her quick mind to her love of travel, writing, “Your excitement about every new vista was as intense and contagious as if you had been discovering a new continent.” Of course, her passions lay not only with the life of the mind. Mrs. Boyden boasted a long list of non-intellectual pursuits: she raised three children, knit hundreds of sweaters, grew azalea and cyclamen and all manner of colorful flowers in her beloved greenhouse, hosted faculty and staff every night of the school year, held weekend help sessions for the students, played bridge, cared for her cherished Springer spaniels, volunteered for the Red Cross, and hooked rugs.

But as we sat there, we began to realize that something was not the same. A song might start, but it would soon break off. Someone laughed, but only for a moment. People about us were hungry, disheartened. Their faith was gone and the spirit of the beautiful city was confused and sad.

“She was maternal,” reflects Dick Lewisohn, “but not in a motherly way, but in the sense that you never wanted to disappoint her. Boys don’t want to disappoint their moms.” Other Deerfield boys clearly felt the same. Some years after his graduation, a member of the Class of 1929 wrote this to Mrs. Boyden: In those days I thought of you as part-woman, part-angel, and part-Benjamin Franklin. To me it was a magic combination, quite wonderful, and entirely unique which set you apart in my thoughts from the people I knew. I can remember puzzling over the school motto, ‘Be Worthy of Your Heritage.’ Somehow the word heritage seemed strangely remote and abstract . . . So I changed it in my mind to ‘Be Worthy of Mrs. Boyden.’ And that was the motto I tried to live up to. And I’m still trying. ••

Susannah Noel has also written feature stories for the Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni magazine. She lives with her two sons in Montpelier, Vermont.

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SHOW YOUR WORK

THE CLASS: Extracurricular work with Dr. Ivory Hills using the 3D printer

THE PROJECTS: Penholder, retro rocket, hubless wheel

THE STUDENT:

Kyle Burns ’14 “For me, the 3D printer is a means to gain exposure to the kind of design I would like to pursue in college and beyond. Some of the things I made were the result of practicing with the CAD software, and learning what works and what doesn’t when the design is actually printed. My biggest projects so far have been wheels; I am interested in the mechanical engineering of automobiles, and both of the wheels I’ve designed are the first step in creating a vehicle that would use them. I am almost finished with a design that would use four hubless wheels instead of conventional ones. I have not yet finished my ‘shape-shifting wheel,’ which is by far the most complicated item I have tried to make, with a total of 241 pieces that will allow it to change from a circle to an oval, and every point in-between, thus creating self-propelled momentum.”

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along albany road See the MakerBot and Kyle’s printed models on page 97!

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along albany road

It was August of 1974 when Jim Antone was invited to join the Grounds Crew at Deerfield Academy. He was 24 years old and there were seven on the crew. Back then it was literally “bring your own rake or shovel” to work, since the school hadn’t focused much on the tools of the trade. Today, if he hustles, Jim can mow the Upper Level, the Lower Level, and the South Division Fields, about 150 acres in all, in a day and a half. Of course that means the blades on the rotary mower need to be sharpened every three days. He credits Chuck Williams, Physical Plant director since 1998, with upgrading the department’s tools, as well as the great mechanics who help keep Deerfield’s machines in top shape. Over time Jim was introduced to the lining of fields and the operation of the hockey rink. “There’s nothing like laying chalk running lanes on a cinder track straightaway on a windy day,” he quipped. At the rink, Jim’s enjoyed watching a range of students compete, from the talented boys and girls hockey teams to the “stars” of the old (1974-1990) Intramural Hockey League. But ultimately, Jim’s longevity stems from the quality of the people he’s come in contact with over the years. “The kids here are incredible,” he says. “They are nice, they look you in the eye when in conversation, and they respect you. And that’s been by John Knight the case for me since the very beginning.” When Jim’s sharpening a pair of skates for a waiting student, he likes to “interview” them and ask about their home and favorite parts of the Academy. “Deerfield seems to educate kids properly and I’m proud of that.” Jim also believes that the return to coeducation in 1989 brought even more talent and energy to campus. “I’ll never forget the young woman hockey player who chased the boys varsity coach nearly to his locker room to complain that he had overstayed his rink time!” “It’s really nice to connect with parents, too, especially those who make the effort to travel from far away to come see their kids,” he adds. Jim recalls regularly seeing a couple from Texas who came to see their daughter play ice hockey, but what surprised him was that they also seemed happy to see him! In addition, Jim considers himself fortunate to call many alumni his friends. “I was floored when Andy Rockefeller ’77 invited me to his small family wedding, but I’m never surprised when Jim Gilbane ’77, or one of his relatives, calls me on my birthday.” Above all, though, if you need a great friend in your life, Jim says he has a long list of names from the faculty that would fit the bill. Ed Reade, tennis and squash coach and Spanish teacher from 1946 to 1984, was “one of the nicest people I have ever met,” he comments. “And I can’t believe I knew Marc Dancer ’79 as a student, then a faculty member, and now as a parent of a graduate!” More recently, Jim is grateful for faculty friends such as Bryan Ciborowski ’03, Tim McVaugh, and Kristen Veiga. “I remember one longtime faculty member, who as he was departing campus one summer asked me, ‘Hey, Antone, what’s your last name?’ ‘Jim,’ I replied with a grin.” ••

Antone

Point of Interest: John Knight attended Deerfield from 1980-1983 and was taught how to sharpen skates by Jim Antone. This new skill was first applied to the skates of Eaglebrook School students, then Deerfield students, and then proved to be the perfect job to help JK pay for college. He writes this article in gratitude for the many things Jim has given to Deerfield students over his 40 years of service; Jim Antone retired in June.

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Danaë DiNicola

Antone

John Knight


Gabriel Amadeus Cooney

Sheryl Cabral recently said. “But I’m concerned when students become too determined to follow just one route.” Sheryl’s effort to broaden students’ perspectives is one reason Head of School Margarita Curtis calls her “a deeply caring, empathetic educator.” You can trace Sheryl’s approach to her college days. After graduating from St. Olaf College in 1983, she joined the Peace Corps, taking to heart her school’s conviction that students should strive to “lead lives of unselfish service to others, and to be responsible and knowledgeable citizens of the world.” She wanted to go to Thailand, but got a call asking if she’d consider teaching in Kenya. This changed her life and would serve as a lesson to be shared, years later, with her Deerfield students. In Kenya, Sheryl met Jim, a fellow Peace Corps volunteer. Less than five months later, they were married. But before their I dos, Sheryl says, they needed two things: “Exact change for the marriage license, and an acknowledgement from Jim—required by the authorities—that he would have only one wife.” With those details squared away, they were hitched in Nairobi. After a teaching stint in New York, and after earning her master’s degree, Sheryl began her Deerfield career in 1989. She and Jim—followed by their children, Justin and Angela ’15—have been here ever since. Recently completing a five-year term as head of Deerfield’s math department, Sheryl helped create an online summer tutorial program, allowing students to email, Skype, and talk with math teachers by phone. Launched in 2012, the program tries to level the playing field, as many parents cannot afford a private tutor. “The goal,” Sheryl says, “is for every kid to have free access to quality material and a live teacher to help them achieve their greatest potential.” Sheryl’s commitment to students is also reflected in her work on six Deerfield committees and through her new role as Assistant Academic Dean/Study Skills Coordinator. In 2009, she received an award for excellence in teaching from the Mathematics Association of America. It’s fitting that she holds a chair honoring Helen Childs Boyden, among the Academy’s most revered and devoted teachers. The chair was established in 1960 with a gift from Mrs. Gordon W. Reed, mother of Thomas Reed ’51, and grandmother of Andrew Reed ’86. Margarita Curtis emphasizes that “Sheryl’s ethic of service manifests itself not only in her daily work with students, and her eagerness to make math relevant and enjoyable to all, but also in her leadership of the Cambiando Vidas program. She has invited scores of Deerfield students and adults to experience the joy of working collaboratively to make a difference.”

Alternate Routes

along albany road

“I value that kids are goaloriented at Deerfield, and it’s great that it’s cool to be smart and accomplished here,”

Sheryl Cabral— Helen Childs Boyden Distinguished Chair in Teaching by Rob Morgan

“Cambiando Vidas,” Sheryl explains, means “changing lives.” Every June, she leads a trip to the Dominican Republic, where fourteen Deerfield students help build a house for a local family—in five days. “When we arrive, there are maybe one or two courses of concrete blocks. When we leave, less than a week later, the house is complete with running water and electricity.” The students work side-by-side with the family and their neighbors, forging strong bonds. Sheryl enjoys “watching this group of kids, from all socio-economic backgrounds, come together as a team. It’s moving for them to see community in action,” she says. “We talk about it a lot here, but they see it in a new way.” Returning from the Dominican Republic this June, Sheryl emailed her students: “Hello Team! I was struggling to come up with the words to describe my gratitude for your great work and generous spirit when I remembered the list of verbs you generated to describe what we did during the week.” The list includes: carried, shoveled, hammered, painted, cleaned, stumbled, shared, listened, played, won, lost, celebrated, danced, sang, smiled, laughed, cried, loved, and changed. That last one, “changed,” is among Sheryl’s favorites. “The overwhelming response that I get from students is that they go thinking they are going to change the lives of a Dominican family, but realize that their own lives have changed. I’m blessed with the opportunity to lead these trips.” At the end of the year, Sheryl often shows her math students slides of Kenya, and she talks about how she had been on one path, but an opportunity, a simple phone call, set her on another. “There is so much available to these kids, so many avenues of exploration. I want them to know that.” ••

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LINE OF SCRIMMAGE

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Fall 2013


By Nathaniel Reade ART / brent m, hale

?There once was a time, as a member of the Class of ’63 said at a Reunion forum this past summer, when “if you did a decent job at Deerfield, you got in to whatever college you wanted.” That time is gone. Today the competition for some colleges is so intense that most students feel the need to find a college hook—often an athletic one—and to “specialize” long before they even fill out an application; for some, attending Deerfield is simply part of the game plan. The fact is, whether it’s self-imposed or fueled by parental expectations, specialization often eclipses opportunities along the way, so at an academy that has prided itself on the concept of a well-rounded education this begs the question:

SHOULD Young people specialize?? deerfield.edu 19


Chip Davis first came to Deerfield in 1989 as an assistant athletic director and lacrosse coach. These days, in addition to directing the athletics program and coaching, Chip also teaches honors economics, and even outside of his classroom he tends to approach problems with mathematical formulas in mind. For instance, on one side of the current athletic equation are the “large market forces” of modern society, and on the other are Deerfield’s core athletic values of broad participation, hard work, and sportsmanship. Davis must help to determine where the Academy should push back, and where it should bend. Or as he puts it, “Which is the dependent variable, and which is the independent variable?” In economics, the interest you earn on your savings account is a dependent variable, because it depends on the independent variable of how much money it contains. So in other words, Davis is wondering whether the wider world of sports will change Deerfield, or whether Deerfield will change the world of sports. Should sports at Deerfield be primarily about teaching character, teamwork, and the kind of life skills it’s hard to get from any other experience? Simply put, should it be educational? Or should it bend to these “market forces” and be more a door-opener, a “hook,” a means towards a collegiate end? If Davis over-weights the educational side of the formula, he could hurt the school’s applications, donations, and financial future. If he under-weights it, he could weaken the school’s ideals. Davis explains that selective colleges “build classes of ‘talent silos.’” They fill slots for a certain number of musicians, computer programmers, math whizzes, thespians, and so on . . . and in the economy of college admissions, being a specialized athlete is often an asset. Students almost never walk on to their college teams anymore—they’re recruited by college coaches, sometimes as early as eighth grade, and this affects elite private high schools in various ways. Cameron Dewey, a current Deerfield senior and co-captain of the squash team, explains that first and second-year students might play three sports, but by junior year they’re looking for that one sport that’ll give them a leg up with an Ivy League admissions office. “There’s a sense of getting left behind,” he says, “if other kids are specializing and you’re not.” And like it or not, specialization often works. While nationally fewer than five percent of high school varsity athletes will make a college team, Davis says that half of the Deerfield students admitted to Ivy League colleges from the Class of 2013 had a sports hook. Amie Creagh, Dean of Students, coach, and erstwhile recruited college athlete, says that concentrating on one sport often “opens up opportunities for kids or gives them confidence in their ability at an age when confidence can be in short supply,” but she also regrets how limiting a single-minded focus can be. “Specialization happens so early now,” she says, “that students can miss out on other opportunities.” They’ll skip Deerfield games to attend “showcases” where scouts are present, or pass up trying some new subject to focus on their college chances.

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Should sports at Deerfield be primarily about teaching

character, teamwork, and the kind of life skills it’s hard to get from any other experience? Simply put, should it be educational Or should it bend to these “market forces” and be more a door opener, a “Hook,” a means towards a collegiate end?

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in my experience the kids who have specialized in one sport, , doing travel-team leagues and flying around the country to tournaments, don't fare as well as the kids who are working a job, playing multiple sports, and have been humbled in their lives.

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Power Play Some of this drive to specialize stems from college admissions pressures, and some from society at large. One positive trend in American youth sports today, according to Richard Ginsburg, a Harvard-affiliated sports psychologist, former college athlete, and author of the book Whose Game is it Anyway? is that nearly 90 percent of American kids participate in organized sports. That’s such a recent phenomenon, however, that the culture hasn’t yet figured out how to manage it well. Ginsburg particularly worries about the rise of for-profit, travel-team programs, some of which force their players to choose between them and their high school team. These coaches may be excellent, but they make their money by attracting more players, which they do by winning games. And a coach bent on winning might be less likely to worry about teaching sportsmanship or protecting his players’ long-term health.


Much like Amie Creagh, Ginsburg and others also question the increasing number of sports tournaments and showcases. They’ve proliferated because they make their organizers money and ease life for college scouts, who can now evaluate thousands of talented prospects at a few events, rather than attending lots of high school games. Private teams and tournaments increase pressure on players to stick to one sport all year and to overtrain, which Ginsburg says promotes burnout and repetitivestrain injuries. Chip Davis notes that parents who have spent countless weekends and thousands of dollars shuttling their children to travel games and tournaments often arrive in the Deerfield Admission Office with a “rate of return” attitude: They expect an advantage when it comes to college admissions. Davis’ predecessor, Jim Lindsay ’70, says that when he was the head coach of boys varsity hockey, some parents would try to negotiate with him: “‘The Exeter coach says my child will play on the first line and the power play. What can you offer?’” Lindsay had a stock answer: “I don’t need chiefs. I need warriors. I need players who are going to say to me, ‘Where do you want me, Coach? How can I help the team?’” The kids, he says, got it. The parents—not so much. Lindsay was trying to uphold Deerfield’s values, but he risked losing “market share” to a rival school, and losing games. There have also been some strange shifts in Deerfield’s athletics program. Some varsity sports, such as wrestling and softball, have lost favor in the wider world or with college admissions officers, and thus at Deerfield struggle to attract full squads. The lacrosse player who used to wrestle in the winter now feels pressure to look good for scouts at a spring tournament, so he wants to spend the winter season in the weight room rather than on the wrestling mat. And varsity coaches in what Davis calls “high visibility” or “high volume” sports such as lacrosse and soccer face more pressure as well—to win games so they can attract great specialists, to recruit more in order to compete with Deerfield’s peer schools, some of which throw far more money at this. Whereas Deerfield still uses coaches who also know students in the classroom because they’re teachers as well, Choate, for instance, has a fulltime basketball coach. The pressure is on to replicate the kinds of athletic programs you now see at the collegiate level, with recruited players, former-professional coaches, and expensive facilities. Davis resists this as much as he can, but “increasingly,” he says, “we are running a diet version of a Division-three college program.”

A Competitive Edge Back in the Reunion forum, when an alumnus tells Davis that he ought to require students to play multiple sports at Deerfield, Davis looks wistful. “You’re preaching to the choir,” he says, “believe me.” That’s in part because students who

play two or three varsity sports make it easier for Davis and his coaches to field teams against bigger rivals. He also believes that playing multiple sports teaches you the vital life lesson of humility: Even if you’re a starter on one team, you might learn what it’s like to be a bench-warmer on another, and thus how your bench-warming teammates might feel. That’s a lesson that’s hard to get anywhere else. Jim Lindsay says he used to tell his players, “You’re going to be a better hockey player for me if you play football or soccer in the fall rather than lift weights and skate one day a week.” Those other sports teach you physical skills, Lindsay says. “The hockey player who plays football is going to know how to check and leverage balance and all those transfer skills. The quarterback who plays point guard learns to see the floor, which helps in football.” Best of all, though, Lindsay says, playing other sports teaches psychological skills. “You have to learn how to play hard, fight back from adversity, not give up. And I don’t think you get that playing the same sport year round, when only a small sliver of it is highly competitive. The first few weeks of hockey season, the kids who played soccer in the fall might be rusty at skating, but they competed like hell. And that’s the kid you want on the ice in the final minutes of the third period.” Richard Ginsburg agrees. “I’ve been working with kids at Harvard since 2000,” he says, “and in my experience the kids who have specialized in one sport, doing travel-team leagues and flying around the country to tournaments, don’t fare as well as the kids who are working at a job, playing multiple sports, and have been humbled in their life. Some of these specialized kids can’t function when they get to a competitive level where they’re on the bench.” And what happens, he asks, to the specialized athlete who blows out a knee, or loses their love of the game? A white-haired alumnus at the “Deerfield Athletics: Then and Now” Reunion forum asked Davis, “When we were here we all had to play a sport every season. Would you bring that back?” “I can’t,” Davis said. Agreed a former Deerfield faculty member in the audience, “It’s a new world.” “Well then,” the alumnus countered, “You should shape it.” That’s the dependent variable question: Can one school really shape such enormous social forces? Last year an athletics task force made specific suggestions intended to both increase athletic participation at Deerfield and ease some of the burden on coaches. Some of the task force’s recommendations signaled compromise—some might even call it a “win-win” situation; for instance, that lacrosse player who wants to get ready for his spring season by lifting weights during winter term is now free to do so . . . if he agrees to play a different sport, maybe even one he hasn’t tried before, during the fall season. Davis hopes that the specialists, thanks to these changes, “will leave here more well-rounded.”

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It’s a question of degrees. We try to complEment specialization with other things. If we have a student who only wants to do one sport or who loves being in a science lab, we say to them, okay, but don’t do it for three terms in a row. Try other things. It’s not an either-or matter. It’s more a matter of finding the and.

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Team Players Overall, though, he thinks the problem is bigger than Deerfield—bigger than athletics. It’s macro. It’s the market. It’s the fact that a well-developed, specific skill is a hot comodity. It’s parents focusing on a remote future possibility —college acceptance—rather than the bigger lessons of right now. Davis, the economist, thinks that probably won’t change until students and their parents no longer see a “rate of return” from the “bumper-sticker” college—when a UMass education is seen as just as valuable, especially given the cost, as a Harvard education. (A recent study of students who were admitted to Ivy League colleges but attended less-selective schools showed that they fared just as well in life. It’s the person that matters more than the college.) Davis thinks it’ll take a generation. Lindsay faults a growing “winner take all” attitude in American culture. “I am as competitive as the next guy,” he says. “I love the opportunity to excel. But success isn’t just about winning. It’s how you go about it, and handle it, and whether you’re graceful about it or obnoxious. If you had a great season, a lot of joy in playing, you’ve prepared as best you can, and you’ve given everything you had to the game and the team, you’re a success regardless of what it says on the scoreboard. Today, whether it’s on the field, in the quest to get into the right college, or to get that starring role onstage, people tend to feel like losers unless they win. That attitude in all of us needs to change.” Harvard’s sports psychologist Ginsburg goes as far as to say that “the entire system is broken,” and adds, “We have to ask ourselves as parents: How are we defining excellence for our kids, and what is the best path to get them there?” This is a question that goes far beyond the bounds of athletics; Academic Dean Peter Warsaw weighs in: “What matters far more than what school you go to is who you are,” Warsaw says. “What package of skills, attitude, and values you bring.” Shouldn’t the purpose of Deerfield, he asks, be more than just getting in to a college? Shouldn’t it be to teach a whole set of skills a student needs for life? Rhetorical questions aside, what seems destined to change is the Academy’s definition of “well-rounded.” John Taylor, Dean of the Faculty, says, “It’s a question of degrees. We try to complement specialization with other things. If we have a student who only wants to do one sport or who loves being in a science lab, we say to them, okay, but don’t do it for three terms in a row. Try other things. It’s not an either-or matter. It’s more a matter of finding the and.”

That “and” often comes down to matching students and teachers and coaches who share a passion for science or playing the piano or running faster than anyone else; Warsaw is not convinced that specialization, whether in lacrosse or theater, is necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, he says, it’s just a pejorative term for “passion,” and he thinks Deerfield ought to be encouraging passions in its students. Either way, Warsaw says, “Specialization is here to stay, and fighting it would be quixotic. The world has changed.” Both Warsaw and Davis believe that these broader social changes have forced Deerfield to face some hard questions, perhaps the foremost being: How do you integrate specialization and Deerfield? “It’s a complex question, with strong points on both sides,” Warsaw says. “We have to ask ourselves what kind of school we want to be.” Specialization, he says, is just one more of the disruptive developments, such as the extraordinary expansion of technology, that pepper the history of humans, schools, and sports. “And whenever there’s a disruptive development,” he says, “its beauty is that it forces you to go back and ask what you really believe.” Warsaw and other administrators at Deerfield recognize that team sports provide a great way not only to build friendships, but to teach numerous life-skills, from persistence to creativity. Toward the end of Chip Davis’ Reunion Weekend athletic forum, Jamie Wylie, Class of ’78, said that when he was at Deerfield “we were taught that there was no quit, you played for 60, and that’s how you were supposed to lead your life.” That, Davis says, is still there for 90 percent of Deerfield students. They still participate in a team. They still learn “a different flavor of problem-solving, group dynamics, how to contribute to something larger than yourself. We have not in any way lost the important life lessons that happen on the practice field or in games,” Davis says. “And whatever the market forces outside the Academy, that’s what we will always cling to inside. Those are our values. That is a constant.” ••

Nathaniel Reade has written for dozens of national magazines, including GQ, Men’s Journal, Yankee, and SKI. He is a frequent contributor to Deerfield Magazine.

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Brent M. Hale

along albany road


along albany road

Off to a Running Start Girls Cross Country Takes Off Ahead of the Pack by Bob York Here’s an idea that should not only help opponents figure out who they’re—literally —running up against this fall, but, more importantly, what they’re running up against: Embroider the words “New England Champions” across the front of the girls cross-country jerseys—right above the “D” for Deerfield. Then, turn the jerseys over and sew a target on the back. After all, when it comes to championships and bull’s eyes, you never earn the former without attaining the latter. Although the Big Green girls cross country teams aren’t accustomed to defending New England championships, they’re still well acquainted with wearing a target. This fall, Deerfield will be chasing its fourth consecutive undefeated regularseason romp through New England prep school competition, and during that span the “Gals in Green” have transformed their opponents into the gangs who couldn’t shoot straight. The only blemishes on their records over the past three years have come during the New England championships, pointed out cross county Coach Dennis Cullinane. Cullinane, who took over the program in 2007, has formulated a steady-as-she-goes process that has seen his Deerfield girls climb in New England stature year after year. His first season culminated with Deerfield finishing ninth in the championship meet. The following year, the girls inched their way into eighth place, then sixth. In 2010, they made their podium debut with a third-place finish. In 2011, they took home a silver medal, and last year, they struck gold. “The big difference over the years has been growth in numbers,” explained Cullinane. “When I took over the program, we had eight . . . maybe 12 runners signing up for cross country. Back then, though, cross country had the reputation of being the water boarding of sports,” quipped the Big Green mentor. “That’s no longer the case around here,” added Cullinane. “Last fall, we had 35 girls sign up for cross country . . . it’s becoming a destination now. The kids are finding enjoyment in running. They’re having fun with it, and I think that’s been a real key to the turnaround here.”

As for maintaining that turnaround, there’s a good chance this fall’s rendition of the Big Green still has enough horsepower to repeat as champs. Last year, Deerfield simply pressed cruise control and breezed to one of the most lopsided finishes in the history of this storied race. It did so by placing four runners in the top 10, and claimed ownership of six of the race’s first 15 finishers. With a dominating performance such as that, it came as no surprise that Deerfield’s final score was tiny, while its margin of victory was mammoth. Cullinane welcomes back three of the speedsters who finished in the top 10 and another who made it into the top 15, as his girls topped the charts last fall with 39 points to claim first place—by a mile. Choate earned the silver medal, with 108 points, leaving a bulging 69-point gap between the two squads. Exeter finished third with 132 points. While one Cullinane will be directing the pack this season, another should be leading it—his niece, Devinne ’14. Last year, the younger Cullinane finished third in the New England championships in a time of 18:22. As a sophomore, she also qualified for the All-New England team, posting an eighthplace finish. If the Big Green co-captain aims to improve on any of last year’s performances, she will have to wait to the bitter end to better her bronze-medal finish at New Englands. Other than that, she was perfect on the season. Cullinane, who will be shooting to win her third straight Moreau Hunt Trophy, which is annually presented to the team’s most valuable runner, finished atop both the Canterbury and Westminster Invitational meets, as well as all of her dual meets. “Devinne has enjoyed a great deal of success here at Deerfield,” said a proud Uncle Dennis. “And knowing the kind of competitor she is, I know she’s going to want to make her final season here her most successful one.” The two other members of this year’s squad who squeezed into the top 10 of last fall’s New England meet are co-captain Lilah Lutes ’14 and Phoebe Morss ’15. Lutes finished fourth, at 18:26, just four seconds behind Cullinane, while Morss was eighth at 18:44. Heidi Hunt ’15 wound up 15th at 19:19. Depth should not be a problem, as Caroline Wagner ’14, who missed all of last season with a shin problem but who rebounded to finish fourth in the 1500-meter race at the New England Track and Field Championships in the spring, is ready to go, as is Lauren Ilsley ’16. The team will also feature at least two new faces in Samantha Morse ’16, considered to be one of Maine’s premier distance runners at her age level, and Isabella St. Arnault ’17. ••

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along albany road

iPals and iPeers Student Entrepreneur Launches Online Global Tutoring by Jessica Day When Deerfield junior Zahra Rawji was 14, her mother suggested that she was old enough to start exploring ways in which she could make a lasting difference in the world. Zahra decided to “go global.” Soon after her mom’s suggestion, Zahra, whose family has roots in East Africa, visited a school in a Nairobi slum. She and her sister met with a group of seventh graders there, and asked them what they wanted most in life. Their answer was clear: They aspired to become doctors, and teachers, and politicians, and lawyers, in order to help their fellow countrymen and women. But to achieve these goals the seventh graders felt they needed two things that were in short supply—access to the world beyond their hometown and a good education. As the conversation flew back and forth between Zahra and the students, slowly but surely the concept for iPals began to grow.

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along albany road Brent M. Hale (portrait); this page, courtesy of Zahra Rawji

Now, three years and lots of hard work later, Zahra is proud to announce iPals’ “pilot phase,” which began this September. The first of its kind, iPals-Online (ipalsonline.com) is an instant, peer-to-peer website that enables students around the globe to tutor and mentor each other as they broaden their knowledge of the world; in addition to tutoring and mentoring, Zahra’s foremost goals for the site are cultural exchange, youth empowerment, leadership opportunities, and college advising. Deerfield is one of a handful of schools from four different continents that are currently involved in the iPals project, but Zahra has a vision, and that vision is broad: She hopes that young people from all around the world sign on. Both visionary and driving force, Zahra has done everything from designing the prototype website to securing a $10,000 grant through a Canadian not for profit society, but she also readily acknowledges the help she’s had from her family and from Deerfield. “It was because of my mother’s connections that I was able to travel to Pakistan and meet with the CEO and leaders of the Aga Khan Education System and the Aga Khan Development Network,” Zahra says. “And Mr. Miller and Dr. Baker (at Deerfield) have been a great help, too.” In fact, before she came to Deerfield, Zahra was reluctant to even attempt to make her iPals vision a reality; “I feared judgment from my peers,” she says. “There wasn’t a facilitating culture where I studied previously, and that kept me from pursuing iPals for quite a while.” Coming to Deerfield changed all that. “I discovered only positive comments and suggestions on how to improve the program.” Some of those comments and suggestions came from six of Zahra’s classmates, who are also peer tutors at Deerfield, when they became her official sounding board this past spring. And even as the iPals site gains online momentum, Zahra will continue to provide fuel from Albany Road.

“My fellow peer tutors helped by providing feedback on iPals; I hope Deerfield faculty will be involved in the future as iPals teachers.” When Zahra mentions that she has been appointed a head peer tutor and technology coordinator of the Academy’s Community Service Board for this year, she’s not looking for congratulations or even acknowledgement; instead, she says, “These leadership opportunities will allow me to find ways to integrate iPals across campus. I hope to see the entire peer tutor program at Deerfield, teacher/student interactions, cultural projects, and joint programs in speech, debate, and languages, as well as school to school collaboration—all of it—on iPals!” Zahra also hopes to fill peer tutor slots by having iPals work count as community service and by creating iPals clubs at schools—thereby offering the leadership positions students often seek. “Once a month all club members will meet online to review progress and discuss both problems and growth,” she says. “There will be excellent opportunities for language development, cultural exchanges, and the opportunity for people from diverse backgrounds to work with each other.” As Zahra begins her junior year at Deerfield (which is notoriously rigorous) she says she will lean more on the iPals Leadership Group she has created, and has confidence in iPals’ global structure. Even so, Zahra is completely devoted to her project: “What has kept me committed and passionate is the ultimate vision of youth connecting to one another around the world and across political, cultural, social, and linguistic boundaries,” she says. “Every time I have met youth in Kenya, Pakistan, and recently in Tanzania, they have shared my passion and fed my excitement. I see iPals contributing to educating and cultivating students’ abilities and minds so they can grow up to be leaders in their societies.” ••

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AN EXTRAORDINARY FOUNDATION

BY JESSICA DAY

It began with a conversation. “I’m not a painter and I’m not a creative writer,” Bernie Auyang ’87 said. “But music has always been a part of my life. It is the primary way I express my creativity, and it was a big part of my time at Deerfield.” So when Associate Head of School for Alumni and Development Affairs David Pond asked Bernie if he might be interested in supporting the Academy’s new Arts Center, the answer was yes. Nearly 200 additional donors also said “yes,” culminating in a fully funded building project, scheduled to be complete by next fall. The Memorial Building’s transformation began over the summer months (see pages 4 and 5), but the Deerfield connections and the numerous conversations that made it possible took place much earlier. “Raising the funds for the Arts Center was truly a partnership,” Pond says. “It was our office working together with alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends of the school.” The numbers back him up. Parents of the Class of 2013 embraced the project, and by last fall’s Parents Weekend, $1.8 million had been contributed. Nearly 200 donors directed their gifts to the new Arts Center; and a $4 million matching gift helped donors leverage their giving. Those are some of the facts and figures relating to the project, but students’ future gains are worth more than anything that can be measured in dollars and cents. As a successful businessman Bernie knows a few things about financial matters. For 18 years he was a part of his family’s electronics business, and he was happy, but something inside kept nudging him to try something new. Like any good businessperson, he did his research and put it in a file on his computer called “New Life.” “The name stuck with me—it was a big change in my life,” Bernie reflects. “Besides signifying my second career, it also gave me the motivation and energy to make it a successful

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venture.” And Bernie’s new company, Vida Nova, was born. An inspirational name, however, only gets you so far . . . something crucial? Bernie’s years at Deerfield. “My Deerfield experience taught me the importance of education in a person’s development, and that a holistic approach to teaching—whether it’s academics, sports, or the arts—is critical to grooming leaders of the future.” Bernie wasn’t really surprised when Pond approached him about the Arts Center: “I played the French horn in the orchestra and sang with both the Glee Club and the Mellow-Ds,” he explains. “I took a one-on-one conducting class with Mr. Bullen and Mr. Crocker in the spring of my senior year.” Bernie, like many other donors, wanted to give something back to Deerfield and be a part of its future. “I believe developing creative skills—whether in fine arts or performing arts—is absolutely critical today. It’s critical in any business. Creativity is an important part of strategic planning, and an essential part of everyday problem-solving,” says Bernie. “Being able to manage, organize, cultivate, and nurture creative thinking is fundamental if you’re going to lead in the 21st century.” He pauses and adds, “For me, music provided two types of training: developing creative skills and learning discipline . . . Having innovative, creative ideas is great but executing them is as important!” Head of School Margarita Curtis agrees with Bernie wholeheartedly. “What we’re talking about here are 21st century skills,” she says. Collaboration, community, creativity, and critical thinking all fall under that heading. In this “conceptual age,” Curtis points out that Deerfield must awaken these sensibilities in its students. “Who will have a leg up in the future?” she asks. “Those who are adept at problem solving from a new angle—from the right hemisphere of the brain—and those who have the values and habits that lead to a fulfilled life.”


Total Cash Received /

FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2013

CLASS YR

P lease note that this graph reflects cash contributions only; multi-year pledges to the Academy are not included. Please visit: deerfield.edu/imagine for donor lists and more.


Alumni Participation /

FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2013

CLASS YEAR 29

32

48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

Fall 2013

65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82

83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

Please visit: deerfield.edu/imagine for donor lists and more.


Nuts and Bolts

Fenced off and surrounded by industrial equipment, the Memorial Building maintains its air of dignity, despite the thick opaque plastic that covers openings where windows and French doors once hung. On the west side of the building, between the “Large Aud” and the Black Box, the steel skeleton of the new Art Gallery grew over the summer months. Timm Zolkos, Campaign Director and Director of Capital Giving, can’t see it from his office in Ephraim Williams, but it’s on his mind. “We need to deliver on the promise of Imagine Deerfield,” he remarks. That promise includes investing in campus spaces that foster collaboration, promote a sense of community, and inspire creativity, and as the 2012-2013 fiscal year closed, Zolkos was pleased to report an “astounding” $49 million in gifts and written pledges to the campaign, which pushed the total over $150 million. “Imagine Deerfield is a comprehensive campaign,” Zolkos says, “which means all gifts and pledges to campaign priorities are included in the total: a $5 gift to the Annual Fund, a $500,000 gift to the Arts Center project, or a $2,500,000 gift to establish a faculty chair. Simply put, gifts of all sizes are important, much needed, and very much appreciated.” As of June 30, donations had poured into Deerfield from all around the world, and over 4000 members of the Deerfield family made gifts to the Annual Fund alone. The average gift was approximately $1455. Parent giving to Deerfield’s Annual Fund exceeded $2 million—a new record for the Academy. John Knight ’83, finishing his ninth year at the helm of Deerfield’s annual giving effort, says that he continues to be amazed at the impact that financial support has on the Academy. “The quality of the people on this campus, especially the teaching faculty, is second to none. We welcome students from all quarters who share a curiosity of mind and spirit, and then that’s nurtured in classrooms, the Dining Hall, dormitories, on playing fields, and in shared spaces such as the Large Aud.” When Bernie Auyang arrived on campus, there was no doubt he was far from home. “I came all the way across the world to learn!” he laughs, “And Deerfield provided me a nurturing and caring environment that allowed me to mature from a boy to a young man. It was my home away from home, and I was able to try new things, make new friends, absorb a new culture, and make decisions on my own in a safe environment.”

Imagine Deerfield is a comprehensive campaign, which means all gifts and pledges to campaign priorities are included in the total: a $5 gift to the Annual Fund, a $500,000 gift to the Arts Center project, or a $2,500,000 gift to establish a faculty chair. Simply put, gifts of all sizes are important, much needed, and very much appreciated. Essentially, Bernie was inspired to discover meaningful ways of being in the world—whether he was at home in Deerfield or at home in Hong Kong. As John Knight notes, “Alumni remain proud of a school that gave them so much and often remains a key bond in ongoing relationships.” “We are fortunate,” adds David Pond, “in that our alumni, parents, grandparents—the vast majority of the Deerfield family—is predisposed to supporting the Academy. They are grateful for the Deerfield experience, and in turn, we are grateful for their support.” This summer the Large Aud rang with the sounds of construction—and deconstruction. Almost 14 tons of reusable materials, including the auditorium’s 621 seats, were sent off to a school that doubles as a community center in Nicaragua. And although the space will look significantly different when its refurbishment is complete, it won’t be any less important to students—and alumni. “When alumni think of the Large Aud, they think of class cheers, concerts, performances—all those times we gathered together,” says John Knight. Just last year alone, the auditorium hosted a two-time US Poet Laureate (Billy Collins), the 2012 Heritage Award recipient (Kerry Emmanuel ’73), a Grammy Award-winning a cappella group (Take 6), a world-renowned documentarian (Ken Burns), and a moviestar/Deerfield alumnus (Matt Fox ’85), to name just a few. As Knight comments, the renovation and the addition of new performance spaces will only facilitate the creation of more shared memories for the Deerfield community.

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“I can’t say enough about the cooperative effort that was responsible for funding the Arts Center,” Pond says. “Gifts were received in all shapes and sizes—it was the focus for the 2013 Senior Parents, the 50th Reunion Class Project, and our major gifts team. Work in Progress

Zolkos and Pond credit several factors for success: benefitting from payments on early and generous pledges, as well as new gifts, the total amount of cash received last year was over $27 million—another record for Deerfield. Longer-term gift arrangements such as bequests and trusts doubled, and the Great Class of 1963 raised well over $1 million for new studio art space, with a total of $2.7 million raised in honor of their 50th Reunion. And then, of course, there was the $33 million raised for the Arts Center itself. “I can’t say enough about the cooperative effort that was responsible for funding the Arts Center,” Pond says. “Gifts were received in all shapes and sizes—it was the focus for the 2013 Senior Parents, the 50th Reunion Class Project, and our major gifts team. Support came from the Annual Fund, capital giving, and deferred giving. We also had help from members of the faculty, including Academic Dean and Visual and Performing Arts teacher Peter Warsaw, Theater Director Catriona Hynds, longtime art teacher David Dickinson, and Music Director Dan Roihl. They traveled with us and presented at alumni events—they helped to explain how important the arts are in a young person’s education.” Timm Zolkos adds, “Our National Campaign Chair, Roger McEniry ’74 P’07,’10, was tireless—making numerous trips across the US and Europe on behalf of the Academy.”

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Fall 2013

In addition to all the conversations, travel, and events related to Imagine Deerfield, last fall marked the beginning of the Academy’s 215th year of operation. At the same time, Margarita Curtis welcomed a twelve-member Visiting Committee that spent four days on campus as the final piece of the Academy’s ten-year reaccreditation process by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Before the committee arrived on campus, Curtis sent them a letter. She wrote: “We continue to draw hope and resolve from several factors: an unshakeable and widely-held faith in the mission of the Academy; a determination to preserve those community values, traditions, and practices that account for our distinctiveness and sense of purpose; the curiosity to stretch beyond the familiar and to learn from those who differ from us; the lightheartedness to value the time to work, play, and dream; and the humility to know we can never learn enough or care enough. Imagine Deerfield represents our collective aspiration to ‘be worthy of our heritage.’” As for Bernie Auyang and hundreds of donors like him, he is simply happy to have helped. “Being able to contribute to Deerfield in some way is something that gives me a lot of satisfaction and comfort. As the famous proverb goes: ‘When drinking water, remember its source . . . ’ In so many ways, Deerfield was the source that made me the person I am today.” ••


Distribution of Gifts / FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2013 Revenue, total dollars, not including multi-year pledges, received in 2012-2013, totalling $27,241,343

43.82 %

Plant and Building Gifts Infastructure & building renovations New community spaces $11,936,312

.44%

Deferred Giving Gifts to Deerfield in exchange for charitable gift annuities $207,799

21.97%

Annual Giving Faculty renewal Faculty expansion Financial aid $5,985,669

33.77%

Endowment Gifts Financial aid & student support Faculty expansion & renewal $9,111,563

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THANK YOU . . .

THANK YOU

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Fall 2013

Please visit: deerfield.edu/imagine for donor lists and more.


2012-13 Executive Committee of the Alumni Association Philip B. Weymouth III ’83 President Elizabeth Greer Anderson ’94 Oscar K. Anderson, III ’88 Theodore H. Ashford, III ’82 P’14 David DeCamp ’76 P’13, ’15 John J. Dinneen, III ’79 William Malcolm Dorson ’02 Nathaniel F. Emmons ’60 David Beals Findlay, Jr. ’51 P’76 G’03, ’05, ’08 Edward C. Flato ’73 P’10, ’12 Daniel B. Garrison ’94 Ex-Officio Peter W. Gonzalez ’62 P’94, ’97 Emeritus David S. Hagerman ’64 P’99 Amanda H. Herzberger ’00 Osman M. Khan ’91 Rush M. McCloy ’92 Richard M. McKelvey ’79 P’10, ’13 Alexander Mejia ’99 John A. Mendelson ’58 George R. Mesires ’87 Margot M. Pfohl ’97 John F. Rand ’65 P’09, ’13 Walter S. Tomenson, III ’95

2012-2013 Annual Fund Steering Committee Daniel B. Garrison ’94 National Chair Richard F. Boyden ’52 Robert S. Lyle, II ’64 P’91, ’95 Andrew R. Steele ’65 Frank H. Reichel, III ’82 Andrew P. Bonanno ’87 Amy Sodha Harsch ’97 Lisa R. Craig ’00 Nicholas Z. Hammerschlag ’04 Boyden Society Advisory Committee Co-Chairs: Craig W. Fanning ’53 H. Stanley Mansfield, Jr. ’53 G’03 Marc L. McMurphy ’82 Robert Dell Vuyosevich ’72 Committee: Christian Baldenhofer, II ’60 Edgar A. Bates, III ’68 John H. Christel ’79 Howard Coonley, II ’62 Edison W. Dick ’55

Ralph Earle, III ’75 P’10, ’12 Todd H. Eckler ’86 Guilford W. Forbes ’41 Henry S. Fox ’76 P’12 James McB. Garvey, Jr. ’46 Gilbert M. Grosvenor ’49 Robert F. Herrick ’60 Robert B. Hiden, Jr. ’51 John B. Horton ’52 P’89 John F. Kikoski, Jr. ’59 P’83 David C. Knight ’58 P’87 John G. Knight ’83 Joseph D. Lawrence ’54 Richardson McKinney ’45 Peter F. McLaughlin, Jr. ’81 Edward R. McPherson ’63 Erwin H. Miller ’58 Christopher G. Mumford ’64 P’01 Edwin G. Reade, III ’71 Wm. T. Schwendler, Jr. ’58 Harold R. Talbot, Jr. ’54 David A. Thiel ’91 Christopher J. Tierney ’85 Charles B. Updike ’57 Erskine B. van Houten, Jr. ’43 Class of ’63 Reunion Committee Reunion Co-Chairs: Richard W. Ackerly ’63 Peter A. Acly ’63 Timothy J. Balch ’63 David D. Sicher ’63 Attendance Chairs: Richard W. Ackerly ’63 Robert Gold ’63, P’07 G. Lawrence Langford ’63 Fundraising Co-Chairs: Timothy J. Balch ’63 Ralph E. Penny ’63 Program Co-Chairs: Richard A. Allen ’63 Thomas F. Judson, Jr. ’63 P’96 David D. Sicher ’63 Yearbook Chairs: Peter A. Acly ’63 Lawrence E. Arnstein ’63 Richard J. Warren ’63 P’98 Committee at Large: Miles B. Anderson ’63 John M. Berman ’63 Charles C. Borneman ’63

Gerard P. Boyle ’63 P’90 Edmund J. Daly, IV ’63 P’97 Murat H. Davidson, Jr. ’63 Glenn C. DeMallie ’63 James Estes Dykes ’63 Andre P. Fogarasi ’63 Benjamin S. Hall ’63 George R. Hinman, Jr. ’63 P’95 D. Seeley Hubbard ’63 Edwin L. Johnson ’63 M. John Johnson ’63 John F. Jolis ’63 Douglas C. Kennedy ’63 P’02, ’03 Robert S. Kniffin ’63 Orin S. Kramer ’63 Frank W. Krogh ’63 William M. Laurence ’63 William F. McCarthy ’63 Edward R. McPherson ’63 Jeffrey E. McPherson ’63 Edward G. Mellick ’63 Peter J. Nistad, Jr. ’63 Stuart S. Orrick, Jr. ’63 W. Reed Simmons ’63 P’08 Luther L. Terry, Jr. ’63 Peter B. Thompson ’63 Senior Parent Volunteers Sr. Parents Co-Chairs: Jim N. & Jeffy F. Benedict P’13 Fran A. & Ros L’Esperance III ’75 P’13, ’15 John S. & Karen K. Wood P’10, ’13 Sr. Parents Committee: Lee J. & Libby G. Buck ’81 P’11, ’13 Jon T. & Hendy M. Dayton P’10, ’13 Leslie F. Hodges P’10, ’13 Tim J. & Stephanie A. Ingrassia P’09, ’13 Timothy Jones & Annie Cardelus P’13 Rick M. & Lynn McKelvey ’79 P’10, ’13 Chip & Amanda T. Nisbet P’11, ’13 Ward & Emily Osgood P’11, ’13 Gerry & Kelly S. Pasciucco P’10, ’13 Ned G. Philie & Phyllis A. Powers-Philie P’09, ’10, ’13 Tom C. & Kathleen Reed ’82 P’10, ’13 Tim P. & Susan U. Schieffelin P’09, ’12, ’13 Jeff & Betsy Sechrest P’13

Jr. Parents Captains: Marc V. & Julia T. Johnson ’74 P’08, ’11, ’14 Scott W. & Hatsy Vallar ’78 P’12, ’14 Jr. Parents Committee: John M. Allen & Christina B. Wagner P’14 Ron & Jen Gerber P’14 Timothy M. & Sophie T. Lee P’10, ’14 Steve S. & Amy S. Louis ’80 P’12, ’14 Guy & Caroline Merison P’14 Nancy J. Mulrow P’12,’14 Philip S. Wellman & Leslie F. Smith P’14 Soph Parents Captains: David J. & Lesley Koeppel ’76 P’14, ’15 Soph Parents Committee: Jeffrey & Darcy Ahl P’15 Ted H. & Kathleen Beit ’79 P’13, ’15 Mitchel J. & Sharon Bolotin P’12, ’15 Allen F. & Delphine Damon ’78 P’13, ’15 David R. & Missy S. DeCamp ’76 P’13, ’15 Henry & Sheila Klehm P’15 Daniel J. McGraw & D’Ann E. Duesterhoeft P’08, ’13, ’15 Devin I. & Jennie D. Murphy ’78 P’06, ’10, ’15 Bill C. & Margie C. Ughetta Jr. P’07, ’15 Fresh Parents Captains: Jeff T. & Page P. Growney P’11, ’13, ’16 Fresh Parents Committee: Ross & Katherine Hamilton Jr. ’87 P’16 Winston & Diane Hutchins P’12, ’16 George C. & Meghan Knight ’85 P’16 Thomas & Laura O’Connell P’13, ’16 Bob H. & Betsy O. Swindell III P’08, ’11, ’14, ’16 Dave C. & Elizabeth F. Wadman ’72 P’13, ’16 Karl G. Wellner & Deborah A. Norville P’09, ’13, ’16

Underclass Volunteers Underclass Co-Chairs: Marc V. & Julia T. Johnson ’74 P’08, ’11, ’14 Scott W. & Hatsy Vallar ’78 P’12, ’14

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2012-2013 Alumni Volunteers CC: Class Captain CA: Class Agent RC: Reunion Chair David H. Bradley ’40 P’66, ’72, G’99, ’08, CC Harold Edwards, Jr. ’41, P’74, CA William W. Dunn ’42, CC Walter L. Fisher ’43, CC Robert S. Erskine, Jr. ’44, CC Ronald A. McLean, Jr. ’44, CA M. Wallace Rubin ’44 P’75, CA John P. Stevenson ’44, CA Giles D. Toll ’44, P’78, ’81, CA E. Foster Conklin ’46, P’73, CA Gerald Lauderdale ’46, P’76, CC William M. Riegel ’46, CC Harvey B. Loomis ’49, CA R. Warren Breckenridge, Jr. ’50, CC A. Donald Grosset, Jr. ’50, P’83, CA Edward H. Miller, III ’50, CA David B. Findlay, Jr. ’51, P’76, G’03, ’05, ’08, CC John R. Allen ’52, CC Richard F. Boyden ’52, CC Renwick D. Dimond ’53, P’85, CC Craig W. Fanning ’53, CA Robert E. Harwell, Jr. ’53, CA H. Stanley Mansfield, Jr. ’53 G’03, CA Patrick M. McCarthy ’53, CA Joel S. Mitchell, Jr. ’53, CA Hugh R. Smith ’53 P’76, RC Philip R. Chase, Jr. ’54 P’78, ’81, CC Gordon R. Knight ’54 G’03, CA Michael D. Grant, Jr. ’55 P’85, ’87, CC Peter S. Ness ’56 P’89, CA Seth D. Strickland ’56, CA Denis M. Turko ’56 P’85, CA Joseph B. Twichell ’56 P’87, CC Hugh B. Andrews ’57 P’91, CA David H. Blake ’57, CA Clayton J. Curtiss, II ’57, CA Theodore F. Ells ’57, CA Peter W. Gilson ’57 P’84 G’12, CA Robert O. McClintock ’57, CA Charles S. Rubinger ’57, CA James T. B. Tripp ’57, CA Charles B. Updike ’57, CA Bruce D. Grinnell ’58, CA David C. Knight ’58 P’87, CA George A. Fonda ’59, CC Donald A. Burgess ’60, CA Norman M. Carpenter ’60, CA James H. Cohen ’60, CA John P. Judson ’60, CA Peter K. Noonan ’60, CA Jon W. Barker ’61, P’06, CC

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Fall 2013

Thomas M. Poor ’61 P’95, ’97, ’15, CC Peter W. Gonzalez ’62 P’94, ’97, CC Dwight E. Zeller, Jr. ’62 P’02, CC Richard W. Ackerly ’63, RC Peter A. Acly ’63, RC Timothy J. Balch ’63, RC David D. Sicher ’63, RC Thomas S. Echeverria ’64 P’97, CA H. Patrick Gillespie ’64, CA David S. Hagerman ’64 P’99, CA John L. Heath ’64, CC Arthur C. Lee ’64 P’96, ’97, CA Robert S. Lyle, II ’64 P’91, ’95, CC Douglas C. Mills ’64, CA Gregory M. Olchowski ’64 P’04, ’05, ’09, CA Charles B. Sethness ’64 P’02, ’07, CC James H. Averill, Jr. ’65 P’94, CA Michael J. Baker ’65, CA Wm. Thacher Brown ’65, CA Charles J. Brucato, Jr. ’65, CA Timothy P. Byrne ’65, CA Edward G. Flickinger ’65, CC Robert H. Frost ’65, CA James T. Gaffney ’65, CA Thornley A. Hart ’65, CA Geoffrey R. Keyes ’65, CA Alec J. Megibow ’65, CA Edward T. Post, Jr. ’65, CA Robert E. Randol ’65, P’02, CA Andrew R. Steele ’65, CC Samuel Weisman ’65, CA David H. Bradley, Jr. ’66 P’99, CC Peter P. Drake ’66, P’93, ’96, CA Winston S. Emmons ’66 P’02, CA John H. Frost ’66, CA Richard C. Garrison ’66 P’94, ’00, CA Alan G. Hassenfeld ’66, CA William S. Herrick ’66, P’97, CA Kingsley C. Norris, II ’66, CA Jeffrey F. Purtell ’66, P’96, CA Teri N. Towe ’66, CA Andrew F. Winning ’66, CA Douglas F. Allen, Jr. ’67, P’03, CC John R. Bass, II ’67 P’98, CC George W. Lee, Jr. ’67, CC Redington T. Jahncke ’68 P’04, CA John W. Kjorlien ’69 P’13, ’15, CC Austin C. Starkey, Jr. ’69, CA Alexander B. Weissent ’69, CA Michael H. Bartlett ’70, CA Neil S. Coleman ’70 P’03, CA Endicott P. Davison, Jr. ’70 P’98, ’00, ’03, CA G. Kent Kahle ’70 P’02, ’04, ’07, CC Steven N. Katz ’70, CA Timothy T. Noonan ’70, CA Gene A. Rostov ’70, CA Charles R. Williams ’70 P’01, ’04, CA Samuel Bronfman, II ’71 P’15, CA

Ian C. Devine ’71, CA John R. Embree ’71, CA Henry G. Haff ’71, CA K. C. Ramsay ’71, CC John L. Reed ’71, P’05, CC Bradford W. Agry ’72, CC Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. ’72 P’10, ’12, ’14, CC Paul R. Barkus ’72 P’05, CA John N. Davey, Jr. ’72 P’07, CA John F. Dinkel, Jr. ’72, CA Gary R. Greene ’72, CA Timothy S. Hausmann ’72, CA Gerard Kavanaugh ’72, CA Michael C. Perry ’72 P’01, CC Robert D. Vuyosevich ’72, CC Daniel G. Ehrgood ’73, CA Lawrence C. Jerome ’73, RC Daniel B. Johnson ’73, CA David M. McAlpin ’73, CA Shahe Sinanian ’73, CA Peter D. Van Oot ’73 P’05, ’09, ’12, CC Robert D. Bewkes, Sr. ’74 P’06, ’09, ’12, CA Frank G. Binswanger, III ’74 P’09, ’11, CA Peter H. Bradshaw ’74 P’06, CA J. Christopher Callahan, III ’74, CC Robert E. DeWitt ’74 P’05, ’07, ’12, CA Geoffrey A. Gordon ’74 P’08, CC Hugh F. Bennett ’75, CA Michael J. Burkin ’75, CA Cree A. Edwards ’75 P’12, CA Robert L. Evans ’75, CA Peter E. Fleming, III ’75, CA Frederick L. Friedman ’75, CA Dwight R. Hilson ’75 P’09, CC James L. Kempner ’75 P’03, ’05, ’11, CC Peter C. McLoughlin ’75, CA Peter A. B. Melhado ’75, CA Peter M. Schulte ’75 P’10, ’13, CC David W. Starr ’75, CA Andrew M. Storch ’75 P’10, CA Theron M. vanDusen ’75, CA Michael S. Battey ’76, CA Marshall F. Campbell, III ’76, CC Andrew C. Chase ’76, CA David R. DeCamp ’76 P’13, ’15, CC Harald B. Findlay ’76 P’03, ’05, CA Henry S. Fox ’76 P’12, CA Frederick W. Homans ’76, CA Graeme K. Howard, III ’76, CA David J. Koeppel ’76 P’14, ’15, CA Peter B. Moss, Jr. ’76, CA Hal W. Reynolds ’76, CA John A. Shepard, Jr. ’76, CA Jack D. Bohman ’77, CA Robert M. Dewey, III ’77 P’12, ’14, CA Gregory Ferenbach ’77, CA James M. Gilbane ’77, CA James R. Gilmore ’77, CA Scott S. Halsted ’77, CA

James P. MacPherson, Jr. ’77, CC Stephen M. McKelvey ’77, CA D. Townley Paton ’77, CA J. H. Tucker Smith ’77, CC Wayne W. Wall, Jr. ’77 P’11, CC Allen F. Damon ’78 P’13, ’15, CA Jacques de Saint Phalle ’78, CA Michael R. Graney ’78, CA Paul J. S. Haigney ’78, CC Richard R. Hrabchak ’78 P’15, CA Devin I. Murphy ’78, P’06, ’10, ’15, RC Stephen R. Quazzo ’78 P’08, RC Garrett P. Shumway ’78 P’12, CA John J. Stobierski ’78 P’12, ’14, CA Scott W. Vallar ’78 P’12, ’14, CA Luis E. Bustamante, Jr. ’79, CC Augustus B. Field, IV ’80 P’11, ’13, CC Donald E. Kastner, II ’80, CA John B. Mattes ’80, CC Paul M. Nowak ’80, CC David J. Pardus ’80, CA Marco L. Quazzo ’80 P’13, CA Robert G. Bannish ’81, CC Andrew M. Blau ’81 P’10, ’13, CC Leonard J. Buck ’81 P’11, ’13, CC Andrew A. Cohen ’81, CA Richard S. Flaherty ’81, CA Morris Housen ’81, CA Inho Kim ’81 P’08, ’11, ’14, CA Peter F. McLaughlin, Jr. ’81, CA Kurt F. Ostergaard ’81, CC John H. Sangmeister ’81, CC Corbin L. Snow, III ’81, CA Samuel G. Bayne, II ’82, CA Robert S. Bridges, Jr. ’82, P’12, CA Robert R. Douglass, Jr. ’82, CA Robert A. Engel ’82, CA Michael L. Flynn ’82, CA William E. Hannum, III ’82, CA Philip E. McCarthy, II ’82, CA George E. McKean, III ’82, CA Marc L. McMurphy ’82, CA Frank H. Reichel, III ’82, CC Kirk C. Smith ’82, CA Edward S. White ’82, CA Morgan B. Whittier ’82, CA William R. Ziglar ’82 P’13, CC Nathan M. Blain ’83, CA Nelse H. Clark ’83, CA Adam J. Feiges ’83, CA Robert E. Fitzpatrick ’83, CA Christopher S. Flagg ’83, CA John G. Knight ’83, CC D. Sean Nottage ’83, CA Andrew N. Schiff ’83, CA J. Douglas Schmidt ’83, RC Dean R. Singewald, II ’83, CA Van K. Sullivan ’83, CA Peter R. Townsend ’83, CA

Philip B. Weymouth, III ’83, CA William J. Wolf ’83, CA J. Alexander Bates ’84, CA Alexander M. Daniels ’84, CA Gregory R. Greene ’84, CA Hudson Holland, III ’84, CA Allan Y. Kim ’84, CA David W. Kinsley ’84, CA Joseph T. Lardner ’84, CA William N. Mathis ’84, CA Christopher S. Miller ’84, CA Geoffrey S. Sefert ’84, CA Richard A. van den Broek ’84, CA Steven W. Wayne ’84, CA Brett R. West ’84, CA John W. Wyatt ’84, CA Charles B. Berwick ’85, CC Gregory A. Delts ’85, CA Jeffrey A. Downing ’85, CA John A. Emery ’85, CA Gregory J. Fitzgerald ’85, CA Lee C. Hansen ’85, CA Frederick A. C. Ilchman ’85, CA Brian M. Jurek ’85, CA Joseph H. Kaufman ’85, CA George C. Knight ’85, P’16, CA R. Wesley Pratt ’85, CA Michael D. Schetzel ’85, CA Mark Wasserberger ’85, CA Sydney M. Williams, IV ’85, CC C. Coleman Brown ’86, CA Henri R. Cattier ’86, CC Michael W. Chorske ’86, CC Dan E. Cranshaw, Jr. ’86, CA Erik C. Osborn ’86, CA David C. Parr ’86, CA Timothy J. H. Roven ’86, CA John D. Amorosi ’87, CC Bernard Pak-Hong Auyang ’87, CA Chandler Bigelow, III ’87, CA Andrew P. Bonanno ’87, CC Thomas A. Bradley ’87, CA Doran L. Donovan ’87, CA Peter S. Fearey ’87, CA Michael V. Flagg ’87, CA Joseph E. Helweg, III ’87, CA John F. Holland ’87, CA Crews Johnston, III ’87, CA Kevin B. Kroeger ’87, CA Kurt G. Lageschulte ’87, CA Peter K. Magnusson ’87, CA John E. McGovern, III ’87, CA Peter S. Melnik ’87, CA Peter L. O’Brien ’87, CA Dario Chiu-Yee Pong ’87, CA Daniel H. Scherotter ’87, CA Robert C. Schmults ’87, CA Christian J. Singewald ’87, CA John T. Twichell ’87, CA


David E. Wilmot ’87, CA Oscar K. Anderson, III ’88, RC William D. Baird ’88, CA Eric J. Baurmeister ’88, CA Gregory J. Hanson ’88, CA Stephen T. Mong ’88, CA Courtlandt L. Pennell ’88, CA Charles A. Ramsay ’88, CA C. Porter Schutt, III ’88, CA Gordon C. Spater ’88, CA Mark T. Sullivan ’88, CA Nils E. von Zelowitz ’88, CA David F. Willis, Jr. ’88, CA Hugh B. Bolton ’89, CA John R. Griffin ’89, CA Andrew R. Hough ’89, CA Jonathan P. Knisley ’89, CA Gustave K. Lipman ’89, CC Thomas S. Montgomery ’89, CA Joseph J. Morsman, IV ’89, CA Trevor B. Nagle ’89, CA Edmond F. Opler ’89, CA Romeo A. Reyes ’89, CA Jordan D. Shappell ’89, CA Edward S. Williams ’89, CC Jeb S. Armstrong ’90, CC Craig H. Creelman ’90, CA John G. Lane ’90, CA James S. Richard ’90, CA J. Andrew P. Stone ’90, CA Christopher A. Ziebarth ’90, CA A. Alexander Arnold, IV ’91, CA Elizabeth F. Berzin ’91, CA William N. Callender ’91, CA Alberto M. Garcia-Tunon ’91, CA Churchill H. Hooff ’91, CA Osman M. Khan ’91, CA Paul H. Lyle, II ’91, CA Justin G. Sautter ’91, CC David A. Thiel ’91, CA Jason M. Underwood ’91, CA Nicholas Keane Vita ’91, CA Timothy B. Weymouth ’91, CA Elizabeth B. Cooper ’92, CC Ryan M. FitzSimons ’92, CA Kristina I. Hess ’92, CC Heather H. Luth ’92, CA Erroin A. Martin ’92, CA Ashley P. McAvey ’92, CA Jeffrey M. McDowell ’92, CC Clayton T. Sullivan ’92, CC Caroline E. Taylor ’92, CA Raymond L. Walker ’92, CA Kimberly A. Capello ’93, CA, RC John T. Collura ’93, RC Christopher T. DeRosa ’93, RC Michelle L. Greenip ’93, RC Richard D. Hillenbrand, II ’93, CA Charlotte Y. Matthews ’93, RC

Shantel C. Moses ’93, CA Richard K. Salerno ’93, CA Colby D. Schwartz ’93, CA William A. Tamul ’93, CA Sarah D. Weihman ’93, RC Marjorie M. G. Widener ’93, RC Daniel B. Garrison ‘94, CC Christopher P. Halpin ’94, CA Henry F. Oakey ’94, CA Henry L. Thompson, IV ’94, CA Theodore G. Grozier ’95, CA George E. Gumpert ’95, CA B. Tucker Hastings ’95, CA Matthew S. Hyde ’95, CA Daniel D. Meyer ’95, CC Edith W. Naegele ’95, CA Brady P. Priest ’95, CA Benjamin K. Steinbock ’95, CA Kristin M. Swon ’95, CA Avery B. Whidden ’95, CC Christine M. Cronin-Williams ’96, CA Erik S. Hess ’96, CA William S. Kendall ’96, CA Farah-France P. Marcel Burke ’96, CC Odu C. Onyeberechi ’96, CA Nathan F. Swem ’96, CA Whitney G. Wolfe ’96, CA Leslie W. Yeransian ’96, CA Damaris B. Acosta ’97, CA J. Christopher Bonner, Jr. ’97, CA Michael Y. Chang ’97, CA Amy S. Harsch ’97, CC Elizabeth H. Lord ’97, CA Meaghen P. Mikolajczuk ’97, CA David J. Miller ’97, CA Margot M. Pfohl ’97, CC Melinda M. Pyne ’97, CA Alexander T. Robertson ’97, CA Heather A. Viets ’97, CA Holly F. Whidden ’97, CA Thomas D. Bloomer, Jr. ’98, RC Christopher J. Dirkes ’98, CA Lauren K. Downey ’98, CA Melissa H. Fisher ’98, CA Robert B. Hosea ’98, CA Ashley M. Lavin ’98, RC Alice E. Leiter ’98, RC Arthur J. Lika ’98, CA Vanessa B. McCafferty ’98, RC Marguerite F. McNicoll ’98, CA Ethan O. Meers ’98, CA Okechukwu Ugwonali ’98, RC Kwaku O. Abrokwah ’99, CA Amory B. Barnes ’99, CA Adele McCarthy-Beauvais ’99, CA Reed W. Minor ’99, CA Christopher C. Wallace ’99, CC Michael P. Weissman ’99, CA Sarah S. Williams ’99, CA

Please visit: deerfield.edu/imagine for donor lists and more.

Blake I. Campbell ’00, CA Lisa R. Craig ’00, CC Emily J. Dawson ’00, CC Michael P. Gilbane ’00, CA Andrew M. Hunt, II ’00, CA Hilary A. Kallop ’00, CA John J. Kirby ’00, CA Martha N. Lewis ’00, CA Samuel B. Lines ’00, CA Katherine F. Long ’00, CA Allethaire A. Medlicott ’00, CA Donielle F. Sliwa ’00, CA Lindsey C. Coleman ’01, CA Sara E. di Bonaventura Ofosu-Amaah ’01, CA James D. Dunning, III ’01, CC William J. Nolan, IV ’01, CA Adam J. Sureau ’01, CA William W. Blodgett ’02, CA William M. Dorson ’02, CC Robert A. Gibbons ’02, CC Terrence P. O’Toole ’02, CC Nani C. Phillips ’02, CA Dorothy E. Reifenheiser ’02, CC David B. Smith ’02, CC Serena S. Tufo ’02, CC James D. Berry, III ’03, CA Sophia M. Brill ’03, CA Bryan J. Ciborowski ’03, CA Kara S. Durocher ’03, CA Caitlyn B. H. Fox ’03, CA Eric D. Grossman ’03, RC Katharine C. Hession ’03, CA Christopher H. Kempner ’03, CA Felix D. Ramirez ’03, CA Alexis M. Rosado ’03, CA Daniel B. Shribman ’03, CA Tara A. Tersigni ’03, RC Sarah L. Alvarez ’04, CA Alexander C. Cushman ’04, CA Thomas W. Dimmig ’04, CA Alexandra C. Ebling ’04, CA Nicholas Z. Hammerschlag ’04, CC Frances B. Hickox ’04, CA Serena B. Keith ’04, CA Alexander M. Kleiner ’04, CA Thaddeus E. Olchowski ’04, CA Carolyn R. Romney ’04, CA Caroline C. Whitton ’04, CC Catherine C. Abrams ’05, CA Glynis A. Armentrout ’05, CA H. Jett Fein ’05, CC Anne R. Gibbons ’05, CA Emma M. Greenberg ’05, CA Ann C. Redpath ’05, CA Bentley J. Rubinstein ’05, CC Allison M. Shanholt ’05, CA Caleb M. Smith ’05, CA Kylie P. Stone ’05, CA

Torey A. Van Oot ’05, CC Nicholas J. W. Blixt ’06, CA Blair W. Brandt ’06, CA Allison E. Bruff ’06, CA Elinor B. Flynn ’06, CA Alan M. Hoblitzell ’06, CA Jessica Jean ’06, CA Ashley R. Laporte ’06, CA Cristina W. Liebolt ’06, CA Kevin C. Meehan ’06, CC Megan B. Murley ’06, CA Eliza D. Murphy ’06, CA Lauren T. Zahringer ’06, CA Matthew M. Carney ’07, CC Elizabeth C. Cowan ’07, CC John A. Forrey ’07, CA Alexandra C. Hill ’07, CA Tara A. Larson ’07, CA Kathryn D. Leist ’07, CA Madeline K. Merin ’07, CA George P. Ogden ’07, CA Jennifer R. Rowland ’07, CC Shirley D. Akrasih ’08, CA Sarah H. Brim ’08, RC Betsey P. di Bonaventura ’08, CA Taro Funabashi ’08, CA Maxwell K. Getz ’08, CA Anne M. Johnson ’08, CA Joseph A. LaSala, III ’08, CA Ian C. McCormick ’08, CA Jennifer C. Natenshon ’08, CA Caroline T. Quazzo ’08, CA Heather T. Reiley ’08, CA Donald G. Simmons, Jr. ’08, CA Robert H. Swindell, IV ’08, RC Nathaniel P. Taylor ’08, CA Blakely C. Tyler ’08, CA Caroline H. Witmer ’08, CA William J. Civitillo, Jr. ’09, CA Kathryn M. Clinard ’09, CA Grant C. Dennis ’09, CA Kaitlin S. Fobare ’09, CA Samantha J. Hilson ’09, CA Elizabeth W. Olchowski ’09, CA Elizabeth U. Schieffelin ’09, CC Nicholas W. Squires ’09, CC Emily F. Blau ’10, CA West D. Hubbard ’10, CA David R. Mackasey ’10, CA Emilie O. Murphy ’10, CA Campbell T. Johnson ’11, CA Sergio A. Morales ’11, CA Alaina C. Belanger ’12, CA Anna I. Gonzales ’12, CA Carley G. Porter ’12, CA Jeffrey P. Van Oot ’12, CA Nicholle A. Yu ’12, CA Ekaterina A. Yudin ’12, CA

Imagine Deerfield National Chairs Philip Greer ’53 P’94 G’13, ’16 Robert T. Hale Jr. ’84 P’15 Roger S. McEniry ’74 P’07, ’10 Diana S. & Steven F. Strandberg P’10, ’12

Imagine Deerfield Regional Major Gifts Leaders Alexander G. & Nancy Auersperg ’78 P’14 James N. & Janet F. Benedict P’13 Serena Bowman P’13, ’15 Aaron M. Daniels ’53 P’84 Frederick C. Darling ’87 P’15, ’16 Craig W. Fanning ’53 M. Dozier Gardner ’51 Daniel B. Garrison ’94 Richard C. Garrison ’66 P’94, ’00 Gregory R. Greene ’84 Neil H. Jacobs ’69 Francis A. & Rosalyn L’Esperance ’75 P’13, ’15 H. Stanley Mansfield, Jr. ’53 G’03 Mark J. & Hilary C. McInerney ’81 P’10, ’13, ’16 Marc L. McMurphy ’82 Devin I. Murphy ’78 P’06, ’10, ’15 Brian P. & Julie Simmons P’12, ’14 Scott W. Vallar ’78 P’12, ’14 Philip B. Weymouth, III ’83 Linda F. Whitton P’01, ’04, ’09, ’12 John S. & Karen K. Wood P’10, ‘13

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THE COMMON ROOM


Deerfield Academy Archives

ca 1956

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the common room

1946

Class Captains Gerald Lauderdale William M. Riegel Boyden Society Captain James McB. Garvey “It is a humbling experience to read Deerfield Magazine and learn of the wonderful accomplishments of so many alumni, but it makes one very proud of the school and its ongoing excellence,” writes Jerry Shively. “It is rather disheartening, however, to see one’s own class notes move closer and closer to the start of that section! A quick update on the Shivelys has us back at our country home in France, where we hope the calm, good food, and plentiful wine will help my wife, Red, cope with the rare brain infection that has sadly taken from her what was a remarkable energy and zest for all life has to offer. Of Deerfield friends we have recently seen: Garry Bewkes and Kim Stewart, daughter of John Louis—both looking and being in great shape. Best regards to all classmates!”

1947 “Three years ago on the first of July, Peggy Read and I moved into The Woodlands, shortly after the ‘Independent Living’ facility opened. We have enjoyed our residency here, even though by some standards we are too mobile and energetic for this sort of residence,” reports Charlie Russell. “Peggy and I made this decision because we

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reasoned that while we are, for our ages, in good physical and mental shape, we wanted to make the move before we became too decrepit to make a big downsizing move without huge stress. I have no children, and Peggy’s live in the far West, so access to help from the younger generation is significantly limited. We just felt that accomplishing the big move and getting used to the new environment would be a whole lot easier if we acted sooner rather than later. Neither of us thought much about the sociological aspects of the communal living that characterizes a place like The Woodlands. There are wine and cheese parties, cribbage and bridge. We eat together in a beautiful dining room where the food is excellent, and it’s wonderful to visit with different eating companions with whom we trade stories and make jokes. Funny how we seem to find humor in our various frailties. We have both gotten involved in volunteer activity: library, health care committee, newsletter, trails, and weeding. We saved a lot of time when we gave up condo living: less maintenance, less cooking, fewer day to day chores, so I guess it’s natural that we would find other stuff to do in addition to our crossword puzzles and Scrabble. I need to add that the Upper Valley, especially Hanover, Lebanon, and White River Junction, is an astounding cultural milieu with art, drama, dance, lectures, and music. Oh, and add to this the matter of following

’47

’49

Charlie Russell ’47 and his wife Peggy Read are enjoying the good life at The Woodlands. | AP Cook ’49, Walter M. Lewis ’49, and Harlowe (Corke) DeForrest Hardinge ’49 enjoyed dinner at Harry’s on the occasion of Corke’s visit to Santa Barbara: April 22, 2013.


1948 Malcolm Cleland has been retired for 19 years. He says, “Living a quiet life in Denver, CO, where I enjoy my six grandchildren and ten greatgrandchildren. All is well!” “Sadly, my wife Mary Lee died on September 1, 2011. I have recently renewed a 1945 relationship with Judy Erdmann Makrianes, who grew up in New Canaan and now lives in East Hampton, NY,” says Alec Robertson. “She and I have enjoyed each other’s company greatly over the last year, and we plan to be together from now on. Judy grew up with and remembers well other Deerfield men like Ron Repp, Charlie Heard, Chris Carver, Bill Fisher, and others in the Class of 1948. Unfortunately, some of our mutual Deerfield friends are no longer with us. We cherish their memory.”

1949

Class Secretary Harvey Loomis Boyden Society Captain Gilbert M. Grosvenor John Beard says he remains healthy and “full of beans,” explaining: “Playing tennis and golf. Travelling a good deal . . . last year to Turkey (best trip ever), and this past spring my wife Sandy and I were off on a ‘see the castles on the Rhine’ trip. Recieved my fifth grandchild three weeks ago,” he added at the time. “More time on the floor building block towers is bound to keep me young. Sadly, I don’t see many ’49ers in the course of a year. Pete Cruickshank is not far away, and we catch up annually in Williamsburg, VA. I used to play tennis with Bill Whelan in Vero Beach, FL, but now he is gone. What a wonderful, gifted gentleman. I look forward to our reunion next June, and hope that all classmates will make a supreme effort to come back. We shared some unique experiences together. Let’s gather and laugh till it hurts, once again.” “As a member of the Class of 1949, I am in my 80s and find myself reflecting upon my life,” wrote Tom Bloomer when we last heard from him. “Deerfield played a huge role in a somewhat different way than I imagine my classmates experienced. I want to share that story. It started at football practice when Ben Haviland, the line coach, asked me what I

played in the spring. I told him baseball was the only thing I knew. He said he had a better idea. He gave me a lacrosse stick with the admonition that we were going to work Sundays on stick work. We did all fall and much of the winter. The first lacrosse game I ever saw I played in, and the second I started for Deerfield. It changed my life, for the sport has been a centerpiece: at college, where I captained the team and had an All-American rating; in post-college years I played and coached club teams; and finally, I’m still a volunteer coach in Skaneateles Schools, working with youngsters. My three sons, all Deerfield graduates, played lacrosse in college. Grandsons are now coming along as well.”

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and watching Dartmouth athletics, and you really have a rounding out of a nearly perfect retirement environment. The quality and availability of these make our life far richer than we imagined back when we were busy with our careers. I guess I can sum up by observing that life is still sweet in spite of the inevitable slow-downs that go with our generation.”

Jim Brewer ’50 was presented with the Theuner Award for his 23 years of service during the Holderness School’s 2013 commencement.

’50

Class Captain R. Warren Breckenridge Retired English teacher Jim Brewer was presented with the Theuner Award for service to the school at the 2013 commencement ceremonies of the Holderness School in Plymouth, NH. In 1959 Jim Brewer came to interview for a job at Holderness because a friend had told him this was a school that was as “friendly as an old shoe,” said Head of School Phil Peck. “Jim got hired. He left us once, but came back. By the time he retired in 1995 he had served Holderness for 23 years—as an English teacher, department chair, director of continued on page 48

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’40 Tête-à-Tête with

WILLIAM ZINSSER writer

Brent M. Hale

In addition to the academic stalwart On Writing Well, William Zinsser ’40 is the author of several other books, hundreds (if not thousands!) of magazine articles, and a weekly blog from 2010-2011—“Zinsser on Friday.” His career as a writer began in 1946 at the New York Herald Tribune, and continues to this day, now out of his home office in New York City. Mr. Zinsser recently spoke with Deerfield Magazine’s Julia Elliott from his summer home in Connecticut.

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DM: The folks in the Communications Office were really inspired by the article about you in The New York Times. I’d love to talk to you a little bit more about the work that you’re doing now. WZ: Well, I’ve just about completely lost my vision . . . I had written a blog for two years, and it was becoming increasingly hard even to get to my office and home safely. My son said to me one day, ‘It’s no longer safe for you to go your office. You’re 88 years old; close up your office, clean up your files, strip down and bring everything home, and you should just be available there as a wise elder type.’ He also gave me a set of beads to hang around my neck, but I think that was a joke! It was very hard. First of all, it’s a life-changing decision to close up your office—all the stuff that you’ve kept over the years. But that’s all done. That’s all cleaned up. Then I sent out a letter to a whole bunch of friends and former students that said: ‘You are invited’ across the top, and then it went on, ‘to the rest of my life.’ And it explained that glaucoma had reduced one of my faculties, but I still wanted to be available as a guide, a coach, a teacher, a mentor or whatever to anyone who needed help. DM: Was it difficult for you to write that letter? What were you drawing on when you thought: I want to enter into this new chapter in my life? WZ: Of course it was difficult, but I knew the minute John said ‘you’ve got to move home’ . . . I knew he was right. So, I knew that if I was going to move home, I had to do something to amuse myself during the day. I mean, the traditional model of retired old men is to sit on the front porch and whittle and watch the cars go by. Well, that doesn’t take you too far. To me the danger is that you will atrophy, and why not? You’re entitled to. Luckily, mercifully, I have not lost any of my memory. Whereas many, many of my contemporaries—every day they see a little bit more slip away, and that would be the worst. Well, in that first spring, something like 45 people came to see me. They would set up an appointment and they would come around and they all had a different kind of writing problem, which I didn’t have to see in order to help them with; I could hear it, and I have a good listening memory. What I found was that most of the problems that were being brought to me were organizational problems.

DM: One thing that I found so interesting in the Times article is that you don’t accept payment for your services to your students. WZ: No.

DM: Why not? WZ: I don’t see it as a commercial enterprise. I’ve accepted payment for my writing, which was my profession. When I came home and said I would like to be available as a mentor—that’s a very nice thing to be in your final years—a mentor. Most of my current students are former students. People who call me up and say, ‘I took your class 25 years ago and you won’t remember me.’ And I say, ‘Yes, I do remember.’ ‘I’m stuck on a project and can you help me?’ It would taint or alter the whole process if I charged for that. I’m not, in other words, I’m not setting up this shop on Upper Broadway to teach stenography or that kind of thing . . . Also, I’ve always regarded my writing as a ministry, which may seem a little sanctimonious to say, but I’ve never written to destroy, or for destructive reasons.

tête-à-tête: WILLIAM ZINSSER

WZ: So, what can I tell you?

DM: Let’s go back a bit: You mention sending letters to former students—when and how did you become a teacher? WZ: My past is strewn with the bleached bones of failed journalistic enterprises. But that is really the story of my generation of writers’ place in history. We’ve had to scramble for new venues, you know, new places to make our way. So I wrote a great, great many (during those years of freelance writing) of what would be called personal columns or essays. I wrote something like 60 columns of humor for Life in which I was trying to make a serious point through the use of humor. Much of my life has been as a commentator, and it was not writing in my own voice but writing as a ‘wise commentator.’ It reached a point where I thought, you know, I’m succeeding well enough, I’m paying the bills, but . . . the style I was writing in was sort of stolen from EB White. It was wise, it was urbane, it was very pleasant . . . but really, finally, it wasn’t me. And I realized I didn’t want to go through life writing competently but always as an observer. I’m a social person. I like people. So finally, after about two years of maneuvering, I got myself off to Yale, where I launched a course in nonfiction writing, which nobody was teaching at that time. I was a new teacher. I was allowed to come up there on a trial basis, and I sort of wormed my way into the (laughs), the machinery of Yale. I had my nonfiction course approved by the Yale faculty, and when it was posted in the course book in 1970, 150 people signed up for it. DM: Wow. WZ: Well, that told the English Department at Yale, which was hung up on deconstruction, you know—it was the holy mother church at that time of textual analysis. And most of the students who were enrolling in Yale were young men and women who had been advised during the 60s to let it ‘all hang out,’ regardless of grammar, syntax, whatever. Just, you know, have a good time. Then they got to Yale and realized they had no idea how to write about the world they lived in. The people who came to my class were to a great extent aspiring journalists; many of my >>

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tête-à-tête: WILLIAM ZINSSER

graduates were people who have really made a name for themselves—Mark Singer, Jane Mayer, John Tierney—but I also wanted to be sure that I was not shutting out the person who was majoring in biology or something but wanted to write. So that was a very successful thing. And it enabled me to become a person and to have only one agenda, which was to be helpful by teaching. I had to abandon the guile—the guise, the role—of the wise essayist. You do not teach writing by handing down grand pronouncements about the active tense. You have to do it hands-on. It’s taking one student at a time and leading them where they want to go. And among many other things it’s calming their fears—everyone is so damn scared of writing. At that point my style changed and instead of wanting to write like EB White—to the extent that I sort of thought that I wanted to be EB White—I thought, ‘You’re not EB White. You are yourself.’ So I really didn’t find my own style until I was well into my 50s or so, I guess. Most people think their style is going to descend upon them as from Olympus in their 30s . . . And my style, I did not find my style until I wrote the book On Writing Well in the 1970s. At that point I had no agenda other than to be helpful. I wasn’t being clever. I wasn’t the wise commentator. I was trying to tell people: This is how to write. And it was a personal transaction. And it really was a turning point in my life, because at that point my style of being a teacher as well as a writer finally, finally, merged and became integrated with my character and my personality.

DM: That’s inspiring. I just want to clarify—you feel that in the role of teacher, that’s where you were able to find your voice and your personal style . . .? WZ: Yes. (Writing On Writing Well) was not a social act in the sense that I thought: Nobody can write in America and therefore I’m going to set out to, by God, establish new standards here. It was not a social act in that sense. It was just becoming a teacher rather than an essayist—a teacher as much as a writer. In other words, using my writing to teach. DM: EB White was not a teacher; he was an essayist. But you . . . WZ: He was an essayist. I am a very social person. I’ve made much of my own career by traveling all over the world to corners of Africa, South East Asia, moving to the South Seas—pushing myself out to adventurous parts of the world. EB White, I believe, had three addresses in his life: one was the New Yorker office, one was his house in Turtle Bay, and one was his farm in Maine. As far as I know he never went beyond those three. As far as I know he never interviewed anybody; I can’t recall any EB White interview. So in other words, we were very different people. He was the wise essayist. I enjoyed being an essayist because I have spent much of my life writing articles that do finally make a point about something. Otherwise there is no point in writing them! But, that is not the main objective; the main objective is to construct some sort of personal 46

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narrative out of my own travels, out of my own life, my own experiences, my teaching, that will at some point carry some further point. I’ve tried to use writing to advance my own education—to continue to give myself an interesting life. I have written one book on baseball; one book on American popular song; one book on Mitchell and Ruff, the jazz musicians; one book on American places, a travel book. I really have only one message (laughs) and that is: Be yourself. Have the courage to give yourself permission to be who you want to be. A lot of my teaching in recent years has consisted of dismantling people’s ideas of how to get published. I’ve taught for 20 years a course in memoir writing at the New School in New York . . . Everybody setting out to write a memoir can already picture the jacket of the book. They know what it’s going to say. They can see their own name in beautiful type. They can see the charming tintype of the child with the pail by the seashore. They know exactly what trajectory the book is going to take. And, as it turns out, none of that goes into the final book because they’ve thought about the book, but they haven’t given any thought to all the prior decisions that have to go into it. So, what I really am trying to do is to focus people on the beauty of process and yank they away from final product. We are a society that loves the successful final product—the winning coach, the winning team, the high test score. Those are quite often false gods that take us away from the process of being a craftsman, of getting the damn job done right. And if you keep doing that and are true to your own goals of who you want to be and expressing them as well as you can in your writing, you will become a very good writer. I hope.

DM: It’s hard work. I always appreciated that about On Writing Well—that you continuously underscored the hard work part. Can you talk to me a little bit about how your current work is part of that same ethic? WZ: Yes, of course. I had a long stretch of writing different books— all of them books that I wanted to write. Then, starting about five or maybe even ten years ago, I got glaucoma and that began to shut down my vision; glaucoma, as you probably know, is a progressive disease that even the specialists don’t know how to cure. So gradually I began to lose the ability to recognize faces, to recognize details. But I managed to, you know, get by. I was a lifelong child of paper. I wrote on paper, my articles were handed in on paper, the magazines or newspapers that published them printed on paper, and that was my world. Suddenly, magazines weren’t being published on paper, and that was a totally revolutionary idea; I began to notice that all magazines that hoped to survive were in the process of rapidly developing tremendously active websites. Online presences. The New Yorker probably has far more writing going on on its website than it does in the magazine, and that’s true of the Times, too. I had written a lot over the years for the American Scholar. One day I sent them a piece called ‘How to Write English as a Second


Language,’ which had come out of tutoring students—newly-arrived foreign students at the Columbia School of Journalism—teaching them the basics of writing English. So they called up from the Scholar and uttered the most dreaded sentence of my life up to that point, which was: “We love your piece and we’re buying it, but it’s not going to appear in the magazine, it’s only going to appear online.” I thought, “Oh my God—that’s the end of me. I’m going to be swallowed into a world of electronic journalism, a place that has no serious readers. I don’t even know who they are. And I will just be swallowed up and never be heard of again!” And then I thought, ‘Well hell, I’ve been writing personal essays all my life,’ and I called up the editor at the American Scholar and said, ‘You know, you are doing a commendable job of trying to spread the outreach to online of the American Scholar, but, you’re only a quarterly. That’s not much product.’ I said, ‘What about if I write you a weekly blog and we’ll get it out there, we’ll get the presence out there. And it’ll be personal.’ And, I wanted to see if the personal essay—an old and honorable form, as we were told back in Deerfield through the De Coverley Papers and Charles Lamb and other such essayists—I wanted to see if it could find a place amid the clutter and chaos of the Internet. The editor said, ‘Fine go ahead.’ I didn’t tell him that I had never seen a blog! I hadn’t! I had never seen a blog. But I thought well, you know, no sense weeping about the past. Better keep up with your times. Your times say paper is over. So, I started writing the blog and I wrote it for 80 straight weeks. It was called something about ‘Zinsser on Friday.’ And it began to get the most tremendous reaction from readers, who were not the boobs I had assumed were out there in electronic land, but very bright people who discovered me as a writer, and hadn’t know about me before.

DM: Are the skills that students need different now, in terms of writing? WZ: I would say that they are the same. I work now with a lot of young people, and they all come to me and say: ‘I want to write a piece that I can sell to High Wire Magazine. And you say, What? And they say, ‘Well, you know, it was started up last week and it’s going . . .’ and they have in mind the final product, which is selling. But finally I say to them, ‘Well, what is the piece about?’ And that has not really quite occurred to them yet; if I ask these people, ‘What, in one sentence, is the piece about?’ They really don’t know. They say it’s about x, y, and z, and then they say, ‘Well, yeah, but it’s also about . . .’

the common room

Drake

We are a society that loves the successful final product —the winning coach, the winning team, the high test score. Those are quite often false gods that take us away from the process of being a craftsman, of getting the damn job done right.

They don’t know because in this country and in the world we have lost a sense of logical thinking. So much of the world ingests its information today from material that is not linear—it’s images on the screen; it’s some kind of rap coming through their wrist, their ears, their nostril—God knows wherever it’s coming from. But it does not arrange itself in linear sentence B must follow sentence A. One of my simplest cardinal rules is one thought per sentence. It’s hard enough to grasp even that. It’s miraculous that we can. Say one thing you want to say, and be grateful for the period. That goes back to On Writing Well—no sentence is too short to be acceptable in the eyes of God. Be grateful for the period. It’s a wonderfully helpful form of punctuation. I push readers on to a favorite writer of mine, Abraham Lincoln. So wonderfully lean. Writers like Red Smith and EB White. The King James Bible. All of that stuff really cannot be improved on.

DM: Are the things you tell your students today similar in any way to what the teachers you had at Deerfield told you? WZ: Yes. Deerfield was really where I got my education. There was a mechanical— not maniacal—a mechanically engaged teacher named Bartlett Boyden, who was no relation to the Head, and he had us writing stuff on the blackboard, day after day after day, making sure we had all the grammatical principles. He was a man who was always smiling and was deadly serious. I don’t know what he was smiling about (laugh) because he was, by God, serious about our learning our language. The course really wasn’t much fun, but if I look back on it, I would probably have to say that Bartlett Boyden taught me most of what I needed to know about the way the English language is constructed and properly used. Everything goes back to the principles of writing . . . People love stories; it goes back to the caveman—goes back to the nursery rhyme. Goes back to the stories that our parents read to us by the crib. We want to know how it turns out. Goldilocks wakes up and there are three bears at the foot of her bed. Well, you know, that’s not the usual thing that we find at the foot of the bed, these three bears. What’s that all about? We want to know. Not only do we want to know, we have to know! We cannot go to sleep until we find out why there are three bears at the foot of the bed. The story has to be told. ••

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development, director of college counseling, director of publications, assistant headmaster, and football coach. “He founded both the boys and girls lacrosse programs, winning twelve league championships and twice being named Northern New England Coach-of-the-Year. He founded Holderness School Today, the school’s flagship publication. And he founded Senior Colloquium, a special program that has since broadened and matured into Senior Honors Thesis. Since his retirement, Jim has stayed involved with Holderness as a guest storyteller at each reunion and as our most valuable repository of collective memory. There are all these ways in which he has advanced the school’s mission, but perhaps none more profoundly than this: Through his warmth, zeal, and love for his colleagues and students, he has helped Holderness remain as friendly as an old shoe.” “Even though I flunked my audition with Ralph Oatley 63 years ago, I have since enjoyed many years of singing,” says Preston Keith. “If you enjoy a men’s chorus, Google up ‘Saengerfest Boston,’ listen to a rendering, come hear us in person, and if you are in the metro-Boston area, consider joining us. The auditions are much easier than Ralph’s!”

Fall 2013

1952

1954

Boyden Society Captain John B. Horton

Boyden Society Captains Joseph D. Lawrence Harold R. Talbot

Class Captains John Robin Allen Richard F. Boyden

Phil Palmedo writes, “I wonder why I agree to do these things, for they always take much more work than I expect all those months ahead. But sometimes they are worth it, like the show of kinetic sculpture I recently curated. Titled The Delight of Movement, it was at Gallery North on Long Island and included six sculptors. I wrote the catalogue essay where I traced the history of the genre, and included in the show representatives of the various strands. I was delighted with the response. Let me know if anyone would like a copy of the catalogue while they last.”

1953

Class Captains Renwick D. Dimond Hugh R. Smith Boyden Society Captains Craig W. Fanning H. Stanley Mansfield Sandy Marshall reports sadly that Gene Holman ’51 died in Bellevue, ID. “He had taken the dog for a walk, and apparently suffered a fatal heart attack. He had had several health problems in recent years, but had just been given a clean bill of health by his doctors. Gene and his wife Carol lived on a ranch in Bellevue, ID.”

Reunion Chair Philip R. Chase

“Nancy and I have just come back from my 55th Yale reunion,” wrote Rob Grover when we last heard from him. “I am suffering from a surfeit of nostalgia. The one thing that may interest my ’54 classmates (other than the trivia of growing older) is that Nancy and I have been collecting contemporary photography for the last 30 years. We have promised the collection to Yale and have already sent them about 125 pieces with twice that to follow. For my Yale ’58 reunion (the 55th) the Yale Gallery put two pieces up in the regular exhibition rooms and about 15 others in the Prints and Drawings Room. Many of my fellow classmates came to see them, as did some of my Deerfield classmates who were also fellow Yalies.” Henry Hyde is working with the CEO of Cardiolert, Inc., a company that has a new way to diagnose and treat congestive heart failure that has kept almost all of the patients of the cardiologist who developed the system out of hospitals. “One aspect of the system shows how useless a blood pressure test is compared to this new system,” Henry says. “We are currently discussing a normal control group study with several hospitals and funding sources. I would be pleased

to discuss the system with anyone who is interested.” “The Committee of Nine is open and hoping to hear from our classmates with ideas that you would like to put into the program for our 60th Reunion next June 6-8, 2014,” says Zeke Knight. “Sam Chase, Guy Kaldis, and Joe Lawrence were back on the campus this past spring to garner some ideas that we will be proposing to the entire class this fall. For now please mark the dates on your calendar, stay happy and healthy, and send me your ideas! Asko Puumalainen has told Fred Sillman that he will be returning next June . . . now that’s commitment and loyalty! We should all be there to welcome him.”

1955

Class Captain Michael D. Grant Class Secretary Tom L’Esperance Boyden Society Captain Edison W. Dick “I had the privilege of being the Reviewing Officer at the March 15 graduation ceremony at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego,” says Tim Day. “It was a great honor to be with 356 newly-minted Marines, the DIs, BGen Dan Yoo, and the staff of MCRD. It was a truly impressive event and brought back ancient memories of marching on distant parade grounds.” At the invitation of the Commandant of the Marine Corps,


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Phil Palmedo ’52 recently curated an exhibit of kinetic sculpture on Long Island. | Tim Day ’55 reviews Marines in San Diego. | The “Gang of Six” from the Class of ’55 (Joyce and Jerry Rood, Sandy and Tim Day, and Merry and Tom L’Esperance) celebrated their eighth annual social occasion and dinner in April at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido, CA. Joyce and Jerry served as hosts for the gathering, and Jerry originally spearheaded this lively tradition, which began the year after ’55’s 50th Reunion. | Jay Morsman ’55, visiting his old stomping grounds in Darien, CT.

’55 ’55 ’55

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environmental activist

Mac Stone

’51

NATHANIEL REED

IN THE ARENA by Anna Newman

The Everglades has long been considered a region of unparalleled beauty and diversity, as the largest subtropical wetland in the United States and home to many rare and endangered species. Yet for over a century this vital ecosystem has been under attack from development projects and the effects of water and air pollution. In the battle to preserve Florida’s natural environment from destruction, none have fought harder than Nathaniel Reed ’51, who was recently named the inaugural Citizen of the Year by the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. Confronted with major construction projects that would have devastated the Everglades and Florida’s other natural wonders, Mr. Reed worked tirelessly to protect these areas from destruction, serving as environmental adviser and consultant to numerous Florida governors, and as chairman of the Department of Air and Water Pollution Control. After six years as assistant secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife, and National Parks, Mr. Reed returned to Florida and spearheaded the most ambitious land acquisition program in American history, which has now preserved one million acres of wild lands in the Sunshine State. Throughout his long career in environmental activism, Mr. Reed has epitomized “the man in the arena,” as described by President Teddy Roosevelt, whom Mr. Reed quoted in his award acceptance speech at the Bob Graham Center’s Annual Gathering on June 11: “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again . . . who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.” ••

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lived since the 80s, and died on March 13. At Deerfield he was nicknamed The Beak, and was always enthusiastic, mischievous, creative, and persistently upbeat. A career ad-man, Peter opened Europe for Forbes Magazine and later went on to developing his own creation, Red Herring. Having retired in 2003, he and Sam, his second wife, stayed in his adopted country, which they loved.” Peter’s brother, Jim Schoff ’51, relates: “After his days at Forbes in NY, Pete made a life for himself in London, developing Forbes and subsequently Red Herring, internationally, while all the time refining his fly fishing skills on the chalk streams of England. There was no place else he’d rather be.” A funeral service for Peter was held in New York City on April 18, 2013. James Dowdell Stanley passed away peacefully on February 24, 2013, in San Jose, CA, after a long illness. The son of James Selwyn Stanley and Sara von Schilling Stanley, he was born in Richmond, VA, on June 4, 1937. He attended Fay School in Southborough, MA, prior to Deerfield. After Deerfield, he attended Harvard University. An All American Swimmer, Jimmy lowered Harvard’s breaststroke record seven times, placed second in the 100 yard breaststroke at the 1958 national collegiate championships, and was inducted into Harvard’s Varsity Hall of Fame in 1983. Also a talented cartoonist, he was

elected president of the Harvard Lampoon as a second year student. After college he lived in New York City making documentary films and was an active member of the vibrant New York art scene. Jimmy took an interest in Chinese culture, taught himself the language, and relocated to Taiwan, where he taught English. There he married and had two children. Returning to the United States and eventually settling down in California, he became interested in computers and wrote two published books on computer programming. Friends and family remember him as possessing a brilliant encyclopedic mind, an extraordinary sense of humor, and a gentle, congenial personality. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth Liang Stanley, who devoted the last several years to caring for him, and his two children, of whom he was exceedingly proud. His son, Richard Charles Stanley, is an engineer in the energy industry after studying Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley and is currently a part-time MBA student at UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management. His daughter, Christine Sara Stanley, is a talented athlete and musician who runs several gyms in San Diego while also pursuing a professional career in Women’s Mixed Martial Arts. He is also survived by his sister, Meredith Stanley Scott, and her husband, Alfred, of Richmond, VA, and his half-brother and half-sister,

Thomas Eric Stanley and Ingelise Joan Stanley, both of Copenhagen, Denmark. His brother, Peter von Schilling Stanley, predeceased him. Tom L’Esperance added: “Ward Elliott, Jim’s Harvard roommate, writes that Jim ‘was lovable, creative, funny, athletic, and insightful, always good company, yet vulnerable, too. I’m glad he came back for his 50th Harvard reunion. And let’s not forget all those 1950’s vintage Astounding Science Fictions that he saved all these years. The world is a bleaker, sadder place without him.’ Another one of Jim’s roommates, Tom Nuzum, reminisced: ‘What a flood of memories, made stronger, happier, more poignant by Jim in their midst. I second every one of Ward’s adjectives, and his conclusion about the world. With love for him, for Floyd, and for those of us who remain, Ol’ Tom (nickname by Jimmy Stanley).’ The late Floyd Moloy was the fourth roommate.” Michael Mayor reports, “We are eating plantbased, nutrition rich here in Hanover, following the guidelines of Forks over Knives and Caldwell ’52 and Rip Esselstyn’s books (Erik’s ’55 brother and nephew, respectively), with titles Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, The Engine 2 Diet, and My Beef with Meat. Half of our grandchildren (five in number) are going to school together here in Hanover as their mothers (our daughters) pursue their careers

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General James F. Amos, Tim was asked to be the guest of honor at the Sunset Parade on May 28, 2013, in Washington, DC, at the Marine Corps War Memorial. “The Sunset Parade is a universal symbol of the professionalism, discipline, and esprit de corps of the United State Marines. Since its inception, the Sunset Parade has become a unique, patriotic tradition of the Corps,” Tim says. “It was with great honor that I accepted the Commandant’s invitation.” Class Secretary Extraordinaire Tom L’Esperance shared the following notes: Carl Hedden’s email address got hacked into! The scam that’s going around purportedly left poor Carl penniless overseas in Manila when he “misplaced” his wallet and cell phone, and his passport was being held “in custody” of the hotel pending payment. Nightmarish stuff, indeed! Needless to say, a new email address is in the offing for Carl at this time. More happily on the home front, Carl and Nancy are enjoying the amenities at Eagle Rock Resort, a multiage community near Hazle Township in PA. They reside by the 15th tee but they’re “not old enough yet for golf.” Nancy relates that their “claim to fame” is that they now have ten grandchildren. Sadly, we have been informed of a second passing in this column. Mike Grant reports that our classmate, Peter Schoff, “had a heart attack in London where he

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here in town. Lili is preparing a major exhibition of her prints at the AVA Gallery she helped to establish 40 years ago, to open this September. I am busy with research in the Thayer Engineering School Biomedical Engineering Center for Orthopaedics in continuing efforts to improve the longevity of replaced joints such as the hip and knee. We are husbanding one of the world’s largest collections of retrieved joint parts, now numbering over 12,000, with me having scrutinized each of them in turn, with photographs and numerical damage ratings of what they suffered at the hands of their human hosts. Do I miss the orthopaedic operating room? Oh, a little, maybe, but I don’t miss the burden of clinical tyranny that came with it. No major physical decline, yet, still we are contemplating establishing at least partial residence in our local senior residential and continuing care community, Kendal at Hanover, as much as anything as a gift to our children.”

1956

Class Captain Joseph B. Twichell “As an active Republican committeeman in our Pennsylvania township, I was asked to run for one of four school director openings on our local school board,” reports Bob Wickes. “I won the primary election, which puts me on the November ballot. I also facilitated the initiation

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of a strategic planning process to ensure victory at the polls for all four Republican candidates in the November election. As the Quid used to tell us, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going!’”

1957

Boyden Society Captain Charles B. Updike David Marshall says: “Retired in northern Nevada. Four children and 12 grandkids all well on East Coast. Two ‘adult’ step-kids moved back in with us this year, which threatens to keep me young. No travel yet this year but a HI cruise coming up in October.” “Charlie and Beth Updike, Dick and Pat Tatlow, and Louise and I have homes at The Boulders in Scottsdale, AZ,” Carleton Rosenburgh tells us. “The Tatlows and Rosenburghs are Arizona residents, while Charlie and Beth are winter vacationers. A wonderful place to be from November through May!” Recently, after a 40+ year career as teacher, coach, department head, and summer programs director at Belmont Hill School just outside of Boston, George Seeley retired. “Still married somehow to the same woman (Susan) for a similar amount of time,” he says. “Currently, teaching Introductory American Government and Comparative Politics part-time at nearby Bentley University. Two special Deerfield friends, Dean Tripp and Fred Sample, passed away over a decade ago.”

1959

Reunion Chair George Andrews Fonda Boyden Society Captain John F. Kikoski “What I am about,” says Robert Oelman, “is a dedication to seeing all there is to be seen.” That dedication takes him through a broad range of subjects—from contemporary cityscapes, to remote rainforests, to images that bring some of the smallest living creatures spectacularly into view. Regardless of scale, his images all share an elegant sense of composition and an expert ability to manipulate light and shadow. Since 2004, Bob has concentrated on macro photography of live, neotropical insects, the smallest of which measure a millimeter in length. He has developed many techniques for enhancing the quality of insect photography. Not content to be a local insect hunter, he and his assistant, Cristian Fernando Lopez, have traveled to remote rainforests in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru in order to discover and photograph some of the most fantastic insects in the world. Many of these insects have never been photographed before, and to everyone except the most specialized entomologists, they are completely unknown and even “unimaginable.” Bob’s ambition has been to elevate insect photography into a new art form, and he accomplishes this aim by crafting compositions of impeccable

graphic and artistic quality. Brooks Goddard adds, “Bob Oelman currently lives in Colombia and has turned himself into a great photographer of insects. See all you want at naturephotography. robertoelman.com. These pix are truly fantastic.” Glenn Osgoodby reports, “We welcomed our 11th grandchild, Alexis Faith Osgoodby, into the world on April 8. My wife Pat and I have started our 21st year of retirement and still love it. We’re still traveling, and will be in Eastern Europe when celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary.” “After 38 years as a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch, I have retired to Vero Beach, FL,” writes John Payne. “(Dorothy and I moved from Connecticut.) My four children are doing great: Laura, Andrew, Charlie ’01, and Emily, who has worked for the last few years as a crew member on a 315-foot private yacht.”

1961

Class Captains Jon W. Barker Thomas M. Poor “I am fascinated by how clearly Patsy and I act out the stereotypes of being grandparents,” writes Michael Annison. “Our four grandchildren, Annison (11), Tanner (five), Reese (five), and Chloe (four) are each uniquely gifted, brilliant, clever, and charming! It is embarrassing to be acting in ways we said we never would! Also still


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’61 working on management in health care; interesting time to help redesign how health care is provided and paid for. Finishing a book on ‘trust’ with a longtime friend, and hope to have it published in the next few months. It gets more and more interesting to see how important the issue is, whether in finance, business, politics, or the notfor-profit world.” Curtis Mills reports that he is still working three days a week as an internal medicine physician for Bassett Heathcare in rural central New York, with a clinical faculty appointment at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. “I worked at the Harvard-affiliated Boston Hebrew Senior Life longterm care facility for a year in 2011, then returned home. I still live in my hometown of Gloversville—of fame

in Pulitzer Prize–winning Richard Russo’s books. The Adirondacks are north, and recently I became a NYS licensed guide for fishing and boating, especially sculling lessons. Three children—two teachers, including a crew coach and a veterinarian pathologist, with six grandchildren who gather in the southern Adirondack family camp each summer. Medical concerns equal to my age, and life is full of joy.” Dick Stuart retired as a psychotherapist on June 30, 2013. “Traveling to Mongolia with Habitat for Humanity in September to build houses, maybe yurts!” he said. “Then a meet-up with Tom Falcon and David Boynton at Matinicus Island, ME, in October!” Philip Thorn reports 30 years in the health care industry—specifically in manufacturing, operations, and

’61

’64 James Reynolds Oare Jr. and his grandfather, Ernest M. Oare ’61, at the Virginia Gold Cup Steeplechase Races on May 4, 2013. “I know—no one can believe that I am old enough to have a grandson,” Ernie says. “See you at our 55th!” | Larry Colker ’65 —author of Amnesia and Wings. | Phelps Carter ’64 poses above Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. | Michael Annison ’61 has written a book about the concept of “trust” with a longtime friend of his. They hope to publish it soon.

sales. He retired in 1998 and relocated from Duxbury, MA, to Daytona Beach Shores, FL. “I spend summers in Camden, ME, on my sailboat with family,” Philip says. “Every day is Saturday!”

1964

Reunion Chairs John L. Heath Robert S. Lyle Charles B. Sethness Boyden Society Captain Christopher G. Mumford Phelps Carter retired from academic emergency medicine, and is working per diem for his residents. “Became a Florida resident,” he said. “Two trips around the world in a private jet as a physician in the last 16 months; Google Starquest TCS Tours. Docs chosen out of MGH in Boston. Son Tripp Carter ’93 just made chief of emergency

services at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. Summers in Rangeley, ME . . . life is good! See you at the 50th next June, you old guys. Cheers!” Lowell Davis has transitioned from a teacher/ coach/athletic director at the Landon School in Bethesda, MD, to working with alumni. When we last heard, Lowell and his wife Nancy were expecting to be grandparents for the first time in March 2013, when their daughter, Laura, was due. Lowell completed 45 years in education, and Nancy taught elementary education for 42 years. Rick Herrick reports that Sunstone Press will publish his new novel, Choosing Love, this fall. His musical play, Lighthouse Point, was performed as a fundraiser by the Martha’s Vineyard Museum on May 13, 2013.

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DINNY PHIPPS

horseman

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A FABLED STABLE

eclipsesportswire.com

by Anna Newman It has been called “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” and for Ogden “Dinny” Mills Phipps ’58 it may have been the most exciting two minutes of his horse racing career. In the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby last May, Mr. Phipps’ horse Orb surged from the back of the field to capture the crown and deliver the first Kentucky Derby victory for the Phipps stable, a dominant force in the thoroughbred breeding and racing world for over a century. Just as Orb is descended from horse racing greatness—his pedigree includes Secretariat—so is his owner. Mr. Phipps is the great-grandson of Carnegie Steel magnate Henry Phipps and the renowned thoroughbred racer of the late 19th century, Ogden Mills. Mr. Phipps’ grandmother Gladys Mills Phipps was known as “the lady of the turf” for starting one of the preeminent stables in American racing history, and his father, Ogden Phipps, was a major thoroughbred owner and breeder and a founding member of the New York Racing Association. Although many racing dynasties have died out over the years— replaced by commercial breeding operations—Mr. Phipps has carried on his family’s legacy. “Maybe [other families] haven’t had children with the DNA that makes them want to continue,” Mr. Phipps told the Washington Post. “But racing is something very important to my family.” The Phipps family’s approach to horse

racing exemplifies their continuity in the sport. Unlike many modern day stables, the Phipps stable doesn’t buy its racehorses at yearling sales or from other stables; it only races the horses it breeds, relying solely on its own mares to produce future champions—including Orb—who Mr. Phipps co-owns with his cousin, Stuart Janney III. Yet if Mr. Phipps had had his way years ago, another stable might have been accepting accolades for Orb’s performance on Derby Day. “I didn’t like [Orb’s mother, Lady Liberty] and tried to persuade my cousin to sell her,” Mr. Phipps told the Lexington Herald-Leader. Fortunately, Mr. Janney overruled him, keeping Lady Liberty, who would eventually give birth to Orb. After finishing fourth in the Preakness Stakes and third in the Belmont Stakes, Orb failed to win the Triple Crown, racing’s most coveted and elusive prize, but he stands as a model of the Phipps family’s commitment to breeding and racing, a dedication that Mr. Phipps has exemplified in his role as a leader in the horse racing industry. Among his many achievements, Mr. Phipps is a recipient of the industry’s highest honor, the Eclipse Award. As chairman of the Jockey Club, Mr. Phipps led the recent effort to establish uniform medication rules and penalties for the sport. He has also been voted the New York Turf Writers Award as “The Man Who Did the Most for Racing.” ••

PEDIGREE Ogden Mills (great-grandfather) Famous horse racer at the end of the 19th century who owned racing stables in US and France. Among his many successes was a victory at the 1928 Grand Prix de Paris with Cri de Guerre.

Gladys Mills Phipps (grandmother) Known as “first lady of the turf,” she started the renowned Wheatley Stable in 1926 with her brother Ogden, establishing the Phipps racing dynasty. One of her great horses was Bold Ruler, the sire of Triple Crown winner Secretariat.

Ogden Phipps (father) Leading thoroughbred owner and breeder, who bred nine champions and won the Eclipse Award of Merit, horse racing’s highest honor. He was also a founding member of the New York Racing Association.

Ogden “Dinny” Mills Phipps Leader in the horse racing industry and winner of the Eclipse Award. Co-owner of Orb, the 2013 Kentucky Derby winner.

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“Still living in San Rafael, CA, with my wife Ellen,” writes Chuck Krogh. “I retired on June 1, 2013; closed all stores but one, and my brother is running it with a little of my help. Looking forward to relaxing, golfing, traveling, and seeing grandchildren. Also looking forward to seeing all of the classmates next year for our 50th! As we enter this next phase of our life I am sure there are still many challenges ahead for all of us, we just have to look for them. Saw Heath, Moyer, and Mumford at the ‘mini.’ All look well but a lot older . . . it is too bad we have to age like this. New email address since retiring is chuckkrogh@gmail.com. See all next year!” Gregor Trinkaus-Randall was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of LYRASIS, headquartered in Atlanta, GA, and serving the information community. He was also appointed to the Curatorial Committee of the USS Constitution Museum, Charlestown, MA. In conjunction with Simmons College, the Board of Library Commissioners received an NHPRC grant, which Gregor will co-project direct, to develop the curriculum and presentations on archives and records administration for municipal and county clerks. Gregor was also recently awarded the New England Archivists’ (NEA) 2013 Distinguished Service Award. “This award really belongs to all the members of NEA,” he said in his

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acceptance remarks. “The collaboration and cooperation of all the members in pushing forward regional projects in which I have been involved helped ensure success that benefits us all.” Information about Gregor’s work at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is available on the agency’s website (mblc.state.ma.us), and photos from the awards ceremony are on the agency’s Facebook page.

1965

Class Captains Edward G. Flickinger Andrew R. Steele “My first (non-chapbook) collection of poetry, Amnesia and Wings, was published in May by Tebot Bach (available on Amazon),” reports Larry Colker. “I have been co-hosting a weekly poetry reading in Redondo Beach, CA, for about 15 years. I currently live in Burbank, CA, and work as an instructional designer for Kaiser Permanente.”

1966

Class Captain David H. Bradley Chip Bradley gained the title of “Grandfather” when his daughter Amory Barnes ’99 and her husband Eli Barnes ’99 welcomed a baby girl named Hadley Waterman Barnes on September 9, 2012. “I have hopes that she will be the fourth generation of Bradley/Barnes to go to Deerfield,” Chip commented. “She will certainly have the benefit of legacy.”

Phil Doughty says, “Any Deerfield grads passing through Catania, Sicily, I’m happy to offer you a great meal!” Phil adds that he’s “very happy” in Sicily, and has been for the past 25 years. His photography may be found at philipdoughty. com, and he says that he has fond memories of starting a film club at Deerfield with Teri Towe and Bob Hardman. “My photo work has been shown in the Louvre, Paris, and the Royal Academy of Arts, London,” says Phil. “Go Green!” “I was startled and saddened to see long-time corridor mate John Howard’s name listed on the alumni magazine’s In Memoriam page,” writes Jed Horne. “The Internet yielded an obituary; sounds like “JB” lived vigorously and well and went quickly, though much too early. For those given to the more esoteric details of Deerfield history: John’s paternal aunt, ‘Mike’ Howard Williams, was Frank Boyden’s personal secretary for many years, before she married (‘the ancient’) Art Williams. Condolences to John’s wife Sue, a radiant addition to our 40th Reunion —the first time I had a chance to catch up with John in a long while. I was looking forward to seeing both of them at our 50th.”

1967

Class Captains Douglas F. Allen John R. Bass George W. Lee “Had another grandchild, our second, on the 28th of May, 2013,” reports Ed Christian. “His name is Nathan Baxter Christian to go with his big sister Harper Gray Christian, who was born on January 23, 2010, children of Seth Christian ’96, and the niece and nephew of Brooke Christian ’00. When everyone I know is retiring, I am back in the workforce as the director of finance for Marine Home Center on Nantucket. If anyone is on the island, come find me on the third floor!” “Just returned from Costa Rica where my wife Cynthia and I are developing some property on Pacific side near Playa San Miguel,” wrote George Lee when we last heard from him. “Hard not to like unspoiled beaches, warm weather, and fair breezes. My family is doing well and could grow soon to make us grandparents—we are very excited. I continue to be active in civic organizations in CNY and my real estate practice continues to grow. We also had a sell-out year at our Christmas tree farm—GO GREEN. Thanks to classmates Ned Scudder and Steve Smith for creating our Facebook presence that continues to inform, amuse, and attract more classmates to participate!”


1969

Boyden Society Captain Edgar A. Bates

Reunion Chair John W. Kjorlien

When we last heard from Jon Borderud he said: “Greetings to Mike, Jeff, John, Bob, Willie, Gary, and the rest of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Just returned from my daughter’s graduation from Williams College. Will be moving up to Santa Barbara soon, so if any of you hombres make it out to the West, give me a call. I’d love to see you.” “Finally, a Grandpa!!” reports Chuck de Sieyes. “Isabelle Grafton de Sieyes arrived uneventfully on June 7, 2013, to son Nick and his lovely wife Kim, in Santa Cruz, CA. Looks like we’ll be splitting our time between Maine and and the Left Coast from now on . . .” “Hello and best wishes to all,” writes Linton Duell. “Owned and operated a small business, Orient Country Store, for 31 years. Recently sold the business. My wife Diana and I will be moving back to Honolulu. I have been involved in numerous organizations and served on a number of civic boards, including the school board, fire department, and economic development. As pertains to the OFD, I am still an active member as a driver/operator of a tanker. I still crew several times a year in local sailboat races and enjoy being on the water whenever I can. I enjoyed Deerfield . . . probably should have applied myself more to the academics, but I left with the motto etched in my memory and have tried to live it.”

Class Secretary Doug Squires “Cytochroma, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on chronic kidney disease and run by Charlie Bishop, agreed to be acquired in January by OPKO Health, a NYSE-listed biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company, for $100 million in stock and up to $190 million in contingent consideration,” Doug Squires tells us. “Charlie is an authority on developing and commercializing successful new vitamin D therapies who served as president and CEO of Bone Care International, a public company, from 1996–2001.” In other news, Doug reports: “Rusty Young booked Judy Collins for a benefit performance in Stuart, FL, on March 13. Earlier, Rusty booked The Fab Faux, a top Beatles tribute band that he has worked with over the years, for a benefit concert in Chicago. Hank Wetzel, when he isn’t running Alexander Valley Vineyards, keeps busy with hobbies that include raising nearly 1000 freerange chickens for their eggs, saving honeybees, and growing fruits such as loquats, yellow-green plums, and figs for sale in the local farmers market.”

1970

Class Captain G. Kent Kahle Mark Lovell has been a licensed architect in southern NJ for 28 years, has had a single man home office for 19 years, and averages 20 to 30 projects a year (residential and light commercial). “My wife Carol of 32 years (this September) and I have a 10-year-old buff female cocker spaniel (former show dog) therapy dog we take to nursing homes, hospitals, etc. I have recently started a kayak club that has 50+ members to date, and was a past commodore of the Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May, NJ.” “I am writing with some news that may interest Deerfield,” says Charlie Mills. “I discovered two new ‘white’ cells in the immune system while a professor of surgery at the University of Minnesota. I named these two cells M1 and M2 because they are macrophages. This discovery followed findings I had made several years earlier while a professor at Brown University, when I was trying to determine why amacrophage (which means “big eater”) could seemingly both fight infections and help heal wounds—two very different functions. I found that two different types of macrophages were actually responsible for these different activities. In particular, M1 produced killer molecules, while M2 macrophages produced

molecules that promoted repair and cell proliferation. The discovery of M1/ M2 was published in 2000 (Mills, et al. M-1/M-2 Macrophages and the Th1/Th2 Paradigm. Journal of Immunology. 164:6166). Not unlike a painting that initially doesn’t sell, it took some time for M1/M2 to ‘sell’ and for medical research to recognize its impact. It now has. My 2000 Journal of Immunology paper is one of the most highly cited papers in medicine in the last decade. Which translates to it being a major discovery. One of the most important areas where M1/M2 has had an impact is cancer. In particular, cancer cells require help to form tumors (to grow). And, instead of fighting cancer, the immune system actually promotes cancer growth. The reason is that cancer cells keep macrophages in ‘M2’ mode so they will produce molecules that promote proliferation— much like they do in helping a wound heal. I cannot say that my scientific success has specifically occurred because I went to Deerfield, but my year there was influential for the quality and diversity of talented people I became acquainted with. My family is no stranger to Deerfield. My father (Robert ’33), and brothers (Curt ’60 and Doug ’63) all attended. As a sidebar, as a ‘PG,’ I helped Deerfield to one of its most successful basketball seasons ever (only one loss, away at Worcester).”

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1971

Class Captains KC Ramsay John L. Reed Boyden Society Captain Edwin G. Reade John Haigis says, “Jan and I continue to live in Darby Borough, just outside Philadelphia, PA, and continue to make music whenever we can as Past Times Present (pasttimespresent.com). We are also in the early stages of beginning an Academy of Building Conservation to utilize our wealth of older buildings needing care and attention to provide opportunities for hands-on training in conservation skills. Additional information on request! darbyhistory.com.” “I retired from JP Morgan as of June 1, 2013, after 37 years of banking,” says John Hutchins. “Time to devote more time to other things, such as playing hockey, tennis, and riding my bike. In April, I played on a Danbury, CT, based team, The Olde Crabs; we won the National Tier II 60+ (ice hockey) Nationals in Ellenton, FL.” When he wrote John added, “And in June, I will ride a 400 mile segment of an eight week cross country ride that eight Saint Paul’s School juniors are doing to raise money for Ride 2 Recovery, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of wounded warriors. In August, Sara Hutchins ’05 and I will ride the Pan Mass Challenge again. It’s going to be a great summer!”

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Stan Reid reports a “significant year of growth and change,” and says there are many things for which he is grateful. When we last heard from him he said: “My fifth grandchild is due in late July; my four adult children are employed and on their own. I have meaningful work to do every day. Currently, I am completing a summer internship in pastoral ministry in my home church in Greenville, SC. The major personal event of 2013 was having a life-threatening cardiac event last spring, complete with a near-death experience, requiring EMS, defibrillation, hospitalization, catheterization, electrophysiologic mapping, and an implanted defibrillator as insurance against another episode of ventricular tachycardia. This life event has sharpened my appreciation for the mundane and routine events of life, and added significant grist to the theological discussions I’ve engaged in and the papers I’ve written during my second year at Princeton Theological Seminary. I often reflect on how close I came to an Ivy education while at Deerfield, and how well-prepared I was for the academic rigors of college after my experience as a post-grad. I have one more year to enjoy the life of an academic in Princeton, NJ, as I return for my final year and complete my Master of Divinity degree. I’m looking forward to serving the Presbyterian Church (USA)

in some capacity as I pursue ordination as a teaching elder (pastor), hopefully back in the Carolinas!” “Well, it’s been 42 years since I graduated from Deerfield, and I finally have some news that might be worth passing along: I retired from Goldman Sachs in March of this year (after a mere 35 years there) and have been wearing out my passport (and my welcome) ever since,” writes Charlie Sincerbeaux. “My wife Anne and I have been to Europe, Asia (Turkey), New York City, and Colorado over the course of the past three months, and it finally feels good to actually sit still for a while. We still live in Weston, MA, but plan on selling our home and moving to our place in Woodstock, VT, sometime in 2014 or 2015. I was recently elected chairman of the board of the Vermont Land Trust (where I have been on the Board for the past seven years), and this is proving to be quite a time sink. I love the organization and the work that we do, so I don’t really mind the demands on my time. Anyway—it does keep me off the streets. After a long hiatus I am planning on attempting to resuscitate my golf game (this is still very much a work in progress), and Anne and I plan on continuing to do a substantial amount of traveling: Europe again in September and then New Zealand in February. Best wishes to all ’71ers. Hope to see you at a future reunion.”

1972

Class Captains Bradford Warren Agry Joseph Frederick Anderson Michael C. Perry Robert Dell Vuyosevich Boyden Society Captain Robert Dell Vuyosevich Bruce Cazenave reports that he and his wife moved to the Northwest two years ago, when Bruce was recruited to join Nautilus Inc. as CEO. “Nautilus is one of the leading marketers of exercise equipment (our brands are Bowflex, Nautilus, and Schwinn). I am enjoying working for a company whose products can make such a difference in people’s lives. The family is also doing well; Kristin plays trumpet in the Air Force Band and Kira is entering her senior year at Purdue. Cheryl is very involved in community service in Portland/Vancouver. All is good, best regards to classmates of ’72!” “It has been a long time since I wrote in but too many things have happened in my life and to my classmates,” says John Chesterton. “I am teaching in Houston, TX, and have a wonderful wife whom I met while teaching in Nicaragua, and now we have a beautiful three-yearold daughter. Yes, I got a late start, but I spent many years teaching my way around the world. But good things are happening now. I remember Deerfield often, as I know my life would not have been as fulfilling had I not gone there. The friends I made are


the common room Gregory F. Maxwell

DAN HERR

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MATTER

scientist

’72

by Joseph Delaney Imagine a future where your clothes can help determine your state of health by reacting with your sweat, or fibers that actually use sunlight to brighten themselves so that you never have to worry about them fading in the wash. Or even a garden that absorbs sunlight throughout the day into photosensitive materials that then slowly release that light throughout the evening, much like the glow-in-the-dark stars and planets that pepper children’s rooms and ceilings. A lot of this sounds like science fiction, right? However, technology such as this is not only possible, it is already being worked on by nanoengineers across the globe, including Professor Dan Herr ’72. Dr. Herr’s fascination with science began at an early age. In a lecture he held for TED X in 2013, he described himself as a third grader, wandering through the woods, turning over stones, and standing in awe of the natural world. “Each time I looked under a rock, it was like opening a present and seeing something that no one had ever seen before . . . We are all interconnected. Nature is not just about the structure and shape of things . . . but more importantly, it’s about our relationships with those things.” Today, this notion of all things in nature being permanently interconnected is one of the primary ideas fueling Dr. Herr’s work in the field of nanoscience. After Deerfield, Dr. Herr went on to Wesleyan University, where he initially studied poetry and English, but something about the sciences kept him coming back for more. He then pursued graduate degrees at UC Santa Cruz and broke into the medicinal and semiconductor industries, where he has been for the last 28 years. Throughout that time, Dr. Herr has studied all across the globe, even spending several years at a facility in Japan, and all the while his work focused on smaller and smaller particles.

Dr. Herr is now professor and Nanoscience Department Chair at the brand new Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN) in Greensboro, NC. His current focus is directed toward the development of “sustainable hydroponic composites, nanoenergy, bioelectronics, as well as the design and demonstration of useful self-assembled and biomimetic systems.” The details of the work are surprisingly simple: In hydroponic composites, Dr. Herr says that plants being grown in a hydroponic setting have a tendency to absorb and utilize nano-particles, which are miniscule bits of organic matter or chemicals. The hypothesis is that if you introduce photosensitive agents to the plants that absorb wavelengths of light other than the colors chlorophyll usually absorbs, energy efficiency of crops could be boosted tenfold; plants could grow faster, fruits and vegetables could carry extra vitamins and nutrients, and it would be thanks to basic, natural processes. In the end, the process of studying nanoscience and learning exactly how natural formations manage to build complex and powerful structures is quite similar to what Dr. Herr did as a child back in 1963 . . . It’s the process of gradually understanding the finite connections that make our very lives possible, and Dr. Herr understands this well: “Nanoscience is all about mimicking nature and reproducing nanostructures using nature’s processes,” he explains. “I think we’ll eventually find that rather than controlling nature, we’ll be able to leverage natural processes to create new fuels and catalysts.” ••

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’77 ’74

Tim Gardner and John Fisher, Class of ’74, spent a week sailing with their wives in the Grenadines in March 2013. Tim and John commented: “It felt like yesterday as we relived a lot of great Deerfield memories.” | The view from Burj Khalifa, and Edwin McClendon’s ’77 new “hometown” as of this past spring. | Steve Riddle, Graeme Howard, Randy Lauderdale, and Tony McDowell (all Class of ’76) enjoyed a round of golf and raised $500 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of southeastern PA last fall. | See Fred Waugh’s note p. 61

’75

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1973

Class Captains Lawrence C. Jerome Peter D. Van Oot “Happily retired in the Los Angeles area with my wife, Lori, from 20+ years in local, state, and federal law enforcement, and working on another 20 years as a private investigator,” reports Bob Pielock. “Our oldest son is a diplomat with the US State Department and the youngest son is on the CHP. The middle son is at Intel, and our daughter is a teacher in the Monterey area. I last spoke to Kazumichi “Kaz” Goh in Tokyo, when I congratulated him as the winning car owner (Audi R8) in the 2004 running of the 24 Heures du Mans. I haven’t been able to reach him since the tsunami in Japan. Does anyone have current contact info for Kaz? Sadly, we won’t be able to make our 40th Reunion, but wish all of you well. I welcome any calls from classmates, especially if you’ll be in the LA area.”

1974

Reunion Chairs J. Christopher Callahan Geoffrey A. Gordon Keith Baity has his international wings spread worldwide, working on projects in Italy, Brazil, and Cuba, primarily in the hotel and resort development sector, and involving partners from the US, China, and the Middle East. His Italian son is currently earning a PhD in

physics in Madrid after being one of two Italian students selected two years ago to enroll at the Marie Curie Institute in Paris. His mentor in Rome is Giorgio Parisi, a candidate on the short list for the Noble Prize in Physics. Keith Prater is building a house this year—a “Southern homage” to Green&Green Architects and the arts and crafts tradition. He adds, “Had a great time at the Atlanta Deerfield Club get-together at Alan ’80 and Cindy LeBlanc’s new place White Oak Kitchen&Cocktails, which was fantastic. It was great to see Roger McEniry and Graham Anthony there.”

1975

Class Captains Dwight R. Hilson James L. Kempner Peter M. Schulte Boyden Society Captain Ralph Earle John Bachelder starred in Macbeth in Stratford, CT, this past July at Boothe Memorial Park. Fred Waugh recalls: “On July 27, 1989, a member of our group on safari was shot and killed. We were outside Amboseli heading southeast along the Tanzanian border toward Tsavo West. The ambush took us from lazy morning drive to survival at the sound of the first shot. The one man standing five yards away with an AK47 could have easily opened fire, killed us all, and left. They didn’t, thanks in part to our guide and, for brevity,

we’ll fast forward . . . I spent two days in the US Embassy in Nairobi listening to the ambassador and Richard Leakey. They were interested in the details I could provide. The government had sent three military helicopters in pursuit the day this happened . . . There is a reason I am coming out with this story now. Recently, I saw a replay of the burning of tons of ivory in July of 1989 and now in 2013. The same claims of ‘stopping the ivory trade and the mass slaughter of elephants’ simply for their tusks continues. We have watched the past 24 years between pledges of action. What has been accomplished? 2013: JOHANNESBURG (AP) A 14-year study of nearly 1000 elephants in Kenya shows an alarming death rate among older, big-tusked males, and an acceleration in poaching deaths toward the end of the study. Save the Elephants said Thursday that its study found that the region of Samburu had 38 known elephant males over the age of 30 in the year 2000, but that only five of those original 38 were still alive by 2011. Almost half of the known females over 30 years also died during this period, at least half from illegal killings, the study found. Targeted poaching deaths of Africa’s elephants have accelerated in the last several years. The killings are driven by the rising price of ivory as demand increases across Asia and especially in China. I’m personally engaged in this. The stories I read from

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still in my heart, and who else would have given the lead in the senior play to a ‘two-year boy from Maine?’ It started a long career in musical theater. Thank you so much Deerfield.” “2013 is a big year for weddings in the De Gorter family!” Dan De Gorter tells us. “In April, my sister’s daughter Christin—the eldest of three children—was married at Hilton Head Island, SC. Her daughter Laura was also married at the same location but different venue last October. In June, my brother Peter John ’76 had his eldest son (also named Peter John) married in Charleston, SC— the last child out of four to get married.” At the time, Dan added: “This September, my youngest son, Jonathan Shea, will be married on Long Island. The date is September 7—one day after his birthday. It’s going to be a wild weekend of celebration! His older brother Evan Daniel will be the best man. We also have two more weddings to attend on my wife’s side of the family—both of them take place in October. Hope everyone is doing well in life!” “As I speak with folks in the community about the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering [JSNN], one of their first questions is, ‘What is Nano?’” writes Dan Herr. “Go to YouTube and search on my name to watch my TedxGreensboro talk: ‘Nanoinspired by Nature.’” (For more on Dan’s work in this issue of Deerfield Magazine, see page 59.)

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TITLE

Christian Nation

62

AUTHOR

PUBLISHER + DATE

Frederic C. Rich ’74

Norton and Company, 2013

Fall 2013

Reviewed by Joseph Delaney

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“It is serious,” he said, leaning forward. “What I am telling you, Greg, is that when they speak of turning America into a Christian Nation ruled in accordance with the Bible by those who purport to speak for God, this is not just rhetoric. It needs to be taken at face value. Right now, tens of millions of your fellow citizens believe fanatically—believe there is nothing more important, and have been working for decades to acquire the political power to make it happen.”

Christian Nation by Frederic Rich ’74 is set in a bleak 2029. The story unfolds through the memoirs of Greg, a former investment lawyer turned freedom fighter, who lives in a world where John McCain won the 2008 presidential election only to die shortly afterward, leaving Sarah Palin at the helm of the most powerful nation on Earth. That one political deviance might not mean much without the persuasive evidence Mr. Rich lays out—evidence that in reality has been laid bare by the extreme religious right itself, whose political power has been growing steadily over the past several decades. The first chapter—“What They Said They Would Do”—is a reminder that America’s Christian fundamentalists have been more than clear about their vision for a Christian Nation, and have been systematically building the political base needed to make that vision a reality. Thoroughly chilling is the fact the fundamentalists’ methods so closely resemble the manifestos and power plays of the Nazi party in Germany before its rise to power in the 1930s. Mr. Rich’s depiction of this power struggle begins innocently enough in the late 90s, and follows the development of his protagonist through school and his early adult life. The seeds of a fundamentalist takeover are certainly planted, but Greg, much like the American public, easily overlooks them and views the radicals as “crackpots” simply jockeying for attention. Throughout these chapters threats and implications develop slowly but steadily, and help to convince readers of the probability of more severe developments down the line. Christian Nation stands as a perfect example of the dangers inherent in allowing radical belief structures to slowly chip away at the rights or freedoms of others, and Mr. Rich masterfully weaves in real-world events with each example. What’s most powerful about this book is that Mr. Rich rarely attacks the idea of religion itself, and is even complimentary of spiritual leaders and individuals who aren’t interested in imposing their belief structures on others. Ultimately, Christian Nation is a novel that urges readers to think more critically while celebrating the freedoms our constitution affords us. ••


The Annual Fund

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or use the form on the reverse, to make a new gift— or to pay an existing pledge.

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Please join the Great Class of 2013 in keeping Deerfield strong.

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Each of these graduates has pledged to support the Annual Fund this year. Thank you for honoring their spirit with a gift of your own.

Classes from 2004-2013, make a gift by November

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The Annual Fund and Class Notes Make your gift at deerfield.edu/give; mail a check to: P.O. Box 306, Deerfield, MA 01342; or use the provided envelope. Thank you for your support!

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1976

Class Captains Marshall F. Campbell David R. DeCamp Boyden Society Captain Henry S. Fox Steve Riddle, Graeme Howard, Randy Lauderdale, and Tony McDowell played in the Class of 1976 first annual golf outing at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club in Lafayette Hill, PA, last fall (photo on page 60). We heard that “scores were a bit high,” but $500 was raised for Big Brothers Big Sisters of southeastern PA. Stay tuned for the second annual outing!

1977

Class Captains James Paul MacPherson JH Tucker Smith Wayne W. Wall “I am excited to be moving from Chicago to Dubai, UAE, this spring!” wrote Edwin McClendon when we heard from him. “This will be my first expat adventure! The

emotional oscillation between exhilaration and abject fear makes me feel like a kid again. After 23 great years in Chicago I’m taking the opportunity to enjoy another growth spurt, learn a new language and culture, and check a box on my bucket list. “If anyone has experience in the Middle East region, or can offer any advice on making the transition to life in a totally different culture, I would love to hear from you. All the best to all, and look for photo updates in the future.” George Sibley has returned to India, where he had been consul general in Calcutta from 2002–2005. This time he’s in New Delhi serving at the embassy as minister counselor for Economic, Environment, Science, and Technology Affairs. “All is well here in the hinterlands of northern Westchester, NY,” reported Tucker Smith when we last heard from him. “Avery (12) and J.H.T.S. Jr. (9) are relishing the end of school and wondering aloud how many thousands of miles we can rack up this summer driving them places. Jackson had a great year on the ice, finishing second in the Hudson Valley squirt B tournament. His team was coached by Coleman Church ’88, whose son Alex also played on the team and who has become a good friend. Without a doubt, the ‘bucket list’ event of the year was made possible by Jack Bohman, who graciously invited me to join him at the Masters in Augusta, GA, for

the first and second rounds this past spring. It was an incredibly generous offer and the experience of a lifetime for me. I would share pictures to prove I was there but they taser you if you bring a camera on the course. You’ll have to trust me when I tell you I was up close and personal when Tiger made the ‘drop heard round the world’ on 15. That moment, having a cocktail on the veranda of the clubhouse, and visiting the members only loo are memories for a lifetime. Thank you, Jack. Anyone in the NYC area who would like to catch up, please give a call.”

1978

Class Captains Paul JS Haigney Devin I. Murphy Stephen R. Quazzo Brian Herts wrote, “Hello all . . . I haven’t updated for a while, so here goes: I’m still in Cleveland, still a radiologist and head of the abdominal imaging section at the Cleveland Clinic. And my wife of 25 years (!) is CMIO at Akron Children’s Hospital. My two boys are reaching milestones: Dylan is graduating from Amherst College this May and then off to work in NYC, and Wesley, after a gap year, is off to dad’s alma mater, Brown, in the fall. Feel free to give me a poke when you’re in Cleveland to visit the Rock ‘n Roll hall of fame.”

1979

Reunion Chair Luis E. Bustamante Boyden Society Captain John H. Christel

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1979, the incident we had in 1989, and now proof that we have been ineffective by 2013, is clearly a signal that we step up. We step up now. We all have contacts in Asia and China where the demand fuels killing for ivory. If anyone has contacts to stop this effectively, now is the time to act. If contacts don’t come to us, we will go to them. If you know of groups to support who understand that they must be significant game changers for 2013, contact me.”

When we heard from Jim Hardy he wrote: “My wife and I are looking ahead to being empty nesters in September with a senior at Connecticut College and a freshman at Stanford. It will be an interesting transition. Still enjoying my role as president of Jack Wills in the US. JW is a great British brand targeted at the college/university crowd with a quirky, irreverent take on prep and about 85 stores in the UK, Eire, US, HK, and Middle East. It’s youthful and entrepreneurial, which has been great fun for me as we grow and expand in the US. Send all your kids our way!”

1980

Class Captains Augustus B. Field John B. Mattes Paul M. Nowak “On June 11, 2013, Powerhouse Books in Brooklyn published my first book,” says Chuck Smith. “It’s called Forrest Bess: Key to the Riddle, and it’s based on a documentary film I released in 1999 about an eccentric painter from Texas who believed that hermaphroditism was the key to immortality.” For more on Chuck’s book, see page 69.

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Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century AUTHOR

Christian Caryl ’80 PUBLISHER + DATE

Basic Books, 2013

Other less visible forces were pushing the world toward interconnectedness. The Americans and the Western Europeans had long benefited from their privileged positions as the pioneers of advanced technological know-how and management . . . But by the 1970s, these advantages were gradually eroded by the spread of manufacturing expertise around the world. It was in the seventies, arguably, that the West first began to realize it had no monopoly on the fruits of development.

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Fall 2013

Reviewed by Ethan Peterson-New ’13

TITLE

You could be forgiven for being skeptical at the premise of Christian Caryl ’80’s new book, Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century. Mr. Caryl, a senior fellow at Legatum Institute and contributing editor at Foreign Policy, claims that five separate instances in 1979— Margaret Thatcher’s election as prime minister, Pope John Paul II’s visit to Poland, Deng Xiaoping’s market reforms, Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolution in Iran, and insurgency in Afghanistan —are all similar in terms of their cause, and combine to make 1979 a decisive and crucial year in the development of the world we know today. Nevertheless, in terms of transformative years, most people would probably place 1979 further down the list than, for example, 1989 or 1945, yet this is part of the brilliance of Strange Rebels. Mr. Caryl manages to describe his chosen events, both in their similarities and differences, and follow their profound influence to the present. It is certainly the mark of a well-constructed book that he is able to examine these events in great depth, without ever losing hold of the important threads that unite them. One of these threads is Mr. Caryl’s portrayal of his “strange rebels” as “counterrevolutionaries”—conservatives who use the platform of revolution to preserve the underlying fabric of their societies. With this definition in mind, it may be a little clearer how two seemingly different individuals, such as Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher, are related after all. Another common theme to the five events is what Mr. Caryl refers to as the “twin forces” of the markets and religion. He argues that not only are these two forces largely responsible for the upheaval of 1979, they are also similar in how they influenced that year’s events. The reemergence of religion in traditionally atheistic Poland after the Pope’s visit and the resurgence of Islam in Ayatollah Khomeini’s establishment of an Islamic Republic are examples of how religion can prove to be a dominant force for social change in countries with secular backgrounds. Mr. Caryl does not go so far as to state that his twin forces are at the heart of every important event of 1979, but he does acknowledge that there is a unifying ideological basis behind the stimulation of societal upheaval. Strange Rebels has received a great deal of positive press: A review from The Economist states, “Anyone who wants to understand how this new world came into being needs to read Mr. Caryl’s excellent book,” and the Chicago Tribune calls the book “carefully researched, broad in scope, and smoothly written.” James McAuley of Prospect concludes his review with the assertion: “Strange Rebels is a fine book which is bound to generate long overdue discussion on the reasons why 1979 continues to loom so large.” For a sense of just how profound and pivotal a year Mr. Caryl believes 1979 was, one needs look no further than his thesis: “The decisions of these leaders decisively defined the world in which we live—one in which communist and socialist thought has faded, markets dominate economic thinking, and politicized religion loom large. Like it or not, we of the 21st century still live in the shadow of 1979.” Read Strange Rebels, and you will see just how fully that shadow is formed. ••


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’81 A reunion of sorts for some of the Class of ’81: l to r: Rob McDowell, Derek Reisfield, Reid Thompson, Baron Fain, and Peter Vestal; the classmates enjoyed some frisbee golf in Central Park.

1981

Class Captains Robert G. Bannish Andrew M. Blau Leonard J. Buck Kurt F. Ostergaard John H. Sangmeister Boyden Society Captain Peter F. McLaughlin When we heard from Morris Housen he said, “I spoke with Andy Cohen this morning and Craig Slater and Andy Freedman ’76 last week. I spent an afternoon with Alex Navarro ’82 and his family a few months ago. He and I reminisced about our days in Plunkett and commented that our ‘class notes pages’ get farther away from the back of the magazine each time it arrives. I bought a house in Lexington, MA, last year that was built in 1797 and couldn’t help but

wonder if the folks building the house got the news about the new school being built in Deerfield that year. The house is a project and an enjoyable one. I continue my work at the Erving Paper Mills, trying to keep a 107-year-old paper mill relevant for its customers. The company barely survived the recession and is thriving now. Last year I was helping my 14-year-old son with his geometry proofs; Al Schell’s voice, manner, and instruction came right to mind.” “Had a wonderful time with Derek Reisfield, Peter Vestal, Baron Fain, and Reid Thompson playing frisbee golf in Central Park in early March,” reports Rob McDowell. “Derek was a gracious and generous host. And Peter offered a toast to the late David Kendall. We

also took in a dress rehearsal of Saturday Night Live and had an all around great time. Everyone’s family is thriving.”

1982

Class Captains Frank H. Reichel William Richard Ziglar Boyden Society Captain Marc L. McMurphy Please sends us your news and notes! See page 64.

1983

Class Captains John G. Knight J. Douglas Schmidt Boyden Society Captain John G. Knight John Knight reported: Robert Lasher ’84, incoming (July 1) senior vice president for Advancement, Dartmouth, and Alan Cattier ’82, incom-

ing (August 1) assistant CIO, Dartmouth, will join Andy Steele ’65, director of Alumni Services at Tuck School of Business, and David Hagerman ’64, Development Office at Dartmouth, in Hanover this summer. When we last heard from Whit Sheppard he said, “I recently played in the same draw of the 4.0 division of the Virginia State Squash Open as Bob Hetherington ’59, who has won numerous regional and national squash and tennis titles during his illustrious amateur career. Bob, still spry at 72, was upset in the quarterfinals by a young 40-something, but I am glad to report that I avenged his loss in the finals, saving a match ball at 9-10 in the fifth game to eke out a narrow win over his conqueror and restore a measure of Deer-

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field pride. My four-year-old daughter is awfully happy to have a lucite ‘trophy’ on display in her room. Next stop: Atlanta for the Piedmont Driving Club Invitational in mid-March.”

’83 1984 “Hi!” writes Rick Cunningham. “I thought I would share that I am now a US Ski Team physician. Last fall, I travelled with the US Women’s Alpine Ski Team to Valle Nevado, Chile, for training camp.”

’84

1985

Class Captains Charles B. Berwick Sydney M. Williams Boyden Society Captain Christopher J. Tierney

’85 Whit Sheppard ’83 and his daughter Emily pose with “her” first squash trophy. | Deerfield parents and alumni met for dinner this past spring in Bangkok. l to r: Somsook Sertthin P’13,’15, Niti Osathanugrah ’92, Billy Tejapaibul ’80, Samart Suepiantham ’79, Kalin Sarasin ’80, Stanford Kuo ’80 P’13,’16, Stephen Briones ’84 P’16 | George Larkin ’85 (left) and a group of his students had the opportunity to visit Ted Ullyot ’85 at Facebook headquarters in CA.

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Frederick Ilchman’s tips for visiting Venice were recently featured in the Boston Globe. To read the interview, go to bostonglobe.com and search “Frederick Ilchman.” “So I’m taking a midday lunchbreak from skiing with my kids at Northstar, and who walks by? Woody Thompson,” reports Ted Ullyot. “Awesome impromptu DA ’85 reunion! Doing our best to be worthy.” “Hey, folks,” says George Larkin. “I’m doing a PhD in film and media at Berkeley, and Ted Ullyot graciously hosted a group of my students for a visit to Facebook. It was an incredible trip to an amazing place and a DA meet-up after a long break. Thanks, Ted!”

1986

Class Captains Henri R. Cattier Michael W. Chorske Boyden Society Captain Todd H. Eckler “Derek Hutton ’89 and I met in Alta, WY, for a day of skiing at Grand Targhee in March of 2013,” reports Chris Martin. “We both lived in John Williams together (under Mike Bois, as freshman and proctor), and we were both once stock brokers. Good reasons to get together and stay in touch.”

1987

Class Captains John D. Amorosi Andrew P. Bonanno “I’ve always had an urge to draw and paint, but after I left Deerfield and Hodo’s great art classes, it actually took two decades of job experimentation (as a programmer, math teacher, securities lawyer, head of M&A) before I finally decided to banish any thought of a retirement plan out of my head, and instead focus completely on painting a few years ago,” says Ralf Hoffmann. “Having a family and two children didn’t really make this an easy decision, but so far I don’t regret a single day. Currently I’m working on a series of paintings—(actual and imaginary) Twitter portraits—that is based on the profile pics people use on Twitter and plays with the notions of identity, privacy, and anonymity. The series comprises 14 paintings so


the common room Bess’s treasured canvases were only part of a grander theory—based on alchemy, Jungian philosophy, and aboriginal rituals—that proposed that hermaphroditism was the key to immortality. As an artist, Bess could never equivocate, and in 1961 he underwent an operation to become a pseudo-hermaphrodite.

TITLE

Forrest Bess:

Reviewed by Joseph Delaney

Chuck Smith’s ’80 pictorial biography, Forrest Bess: Key to the Riddle, doesn’t read like most tomes you might find in a gallery or bookstore. That’s because this book isn’t quite like anything you would expect to find in those markets . . . Key to the Riddle is a powerful exploration of the psyche, inspirations, and machinations of one of the 20th century’s most influential, yet isolated, painters—a painter whose work hung in New York City beside that of legends such as Pollock and Rothko. Key to the Riddle is a book that recognizes that part of the mystery and beauty of the human condition that modern society often shies away from, and proves that sometimes enlightenment can be found in the most unlikely of places. One of Key to the Riddle’s biggest strengths is its steadfast dedication to narrative objectivity. It’s less a biography and more of a presentation of the core elements and events that helped to shape the mind of Forrest Bess throughout his journey of sexual, clinical, and spiritual discovery. Gruesome details of his self-performed surgeries—attempts at reaching a status of “pseudo hermaphroditism”—are not softened, nor are they glorified. His letters to friends, family, and colleagues are not only presented in full, they are often laid in as photographs, preserving the tattered pages and various scribbled corrections. Key to the Riddle is best described in Mr. Smith’s own words: “Forest Bess left many clues to his existence, and this book is a collection of those clues. A ‘key to the riddle.’” Mr. Smith’s fascination with Bess began in 1988 while perusing a gallery filled with the artist’s enigmatic, yet strangely approachable work. “Each canvas seemed familiar, though I knew that I had never seen any of the images before,” says Mr. Smith in his preface. “The other odd thing was that I couldn’t guess whether they were painted recently or 50 years ago—they seemed timeless.” Interestingly enough, this idea of the inherent timelessness of symbolism was one of the driving concepts behind Bess’ work, and a notion postulated by the philosopher who was an inspiration to Bess, C.G. Jung. Mr. Smith’s talents as a documentary filmmaker also shine through in Key to the Riddle, with each page conveying a powerful sense of motion and visual style. He understands the importance of pacing, often dedicating full-page spreads to paintings, and integrating their meaning in the surrounding text. Each canvas is meticulously shot; every crack, every imperfection in the paint lends mountains of emotional context to Mr. Smith’s narrative. Forrest Bess: Key to the Riddle is without doubt a valuable addition to any collection of art catalogues. ••

Key to the Riddle AUTHOR

Chuck Smith ’80 PUBLISHER + DATE

powerHouse Books, 2013

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JOSH BEAUREGARD

educator

’96 ’97

CASEY BURNS educator

A SCHOOL OF THEIR DREAMS by Anna Newman

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After years of teaching, researching, brainstorming, and building, Josh Beauregard ’96 and Casey Burns ’97 are opening their dream school this fall—the Unity Preparatory Charter School, serving grades 6 through 12 in Brooklyn, New York. As seasoned educators who were classmates and friends at Deerfield, Mr. Beauregard and Mr. Burns have drawn on their own learning and teaching experiences to create a school that models the best components of a variety of educational institutions—including Deerfield. Unity Prep aims “to empower students as scholars and citizens so they may lead fulfilling academic, personal, and professional lives,” a mission administrators hope to achieve through the combination of a rigorous academic program, extra-curricular activities to enrich learning, and a civic engagement program that requires community service. The school has an extended yearlong schedule and longer school days, with time built into the day for exercise, club activities, and a youth empowerment seminar that promotes students’ emotional wellbeing. The longer academic calendar will provide 30 percent more time for learning than the average public school, and will help students stay active and be better prepared for a college schedule. One aspect of Unity Prep that may be familiar to the Deerfield community is the advisory program, which pairs advisors with a small group of students to provide consistent support to these students over the course of year. Mr. Beauregard compares it to Deerfield’s advisor-advisee lunches he remembers from his Deerfield days. This fall, Unity Prep opened its doors this fall to 128 sixth graders. Mr. Beauregard, who serves as the head of school, and Mr. Burns, who is the director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, have been joined by 20 staff members from across the US. These employees will receive a high level of support to encourage innovation in the classroom and long careers in the field of education, something that the two co-founders view as an important aspect of Unity Prep. When he started teaching, Mr. Beauregard explained, “There were a lot of things missing in the profession that made many of our colleagues not continue in education.” By the time that Unity Prep’s first 128 students graduate in 2020, the school will enroll almost 800 students and will hopefully, says Mr. Beauregard, “be large enough to offer a rich array of curriculars and co-curriculars so that kids are moving on from our school with a foundational set of skills in liberal arts and sciences.” Although Unity Prep’s first graduation is still a long way off, Mr. Beauregard and Mr. Burns have built a strong foundation for what is sure to be an innovative and successful school. ••

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far—all oil on unprimed canvas (22ˇˇ x 30ˇˇ): artists (Ai Weiwei, Richard Prince), musicians (William Basinski, Max Richter), Pope Benedict, a drug-lord (Benjamin Arellano-Felix), and a barebreasted spam follower are among the depicted individuals. The series will hopefully be shown this fall/winter for the first time: rh3.de/twitterportraits. By the way, I’m also looking for a gallery to represent my works in the US, so if someone’s into this kind of thing, drop me a line.” Geoff Swinerton says: “On the whole, the Swin-

erton family had a pretty great spring. Our son Chase finished up his sophomore year at DA and our daughter Hannah was admitted into DA’s Class of 2017. Still living in south Florida; lacrosse continues to dominate our world with my two youngest playing and my wife Gayle running our town’s league, the Weston Warriors, and her travel program the Praetorians. I had a great year myself coaching my second year of varsity lacrosse at our local HS—Cypress Bay—finishing up 15-1 and earning our chapter’s US Lacrosse Coach

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Derek Hutton ’89 (right) and Chris Martin ’86 enjoyed some extra snowy skiing in Alta in March. | Mother Nature was kind enough to provide fresh snow for ’87 classmates (l to r) Jon Murchinson, Andy Bonnano, and Larry Kilroy during their annual trip to Alta in March. | Ted Ullyot (right) and Woody Thompson, both Class of ’85, bumped into each other while skiing. | Andrew Starr ’87 at work with famous Cat Behaviorist Jackson Galaxy (and a teeny tiny version of Andrew’s cat Budd). | Six former Deerfield wrestling captains gathered for the 2013 NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships in Des Moines, IA. l to r : Gus Lipman ‘89, Charlie Lubinsky ‘86, Adam Lubinsky ’89, Chris Harrick ’94, Wes Battle ’94, and Kirk Bedell ’93.

of the Year honors, County Coach of the Year honors, as well as being asked to coach our regional all star team made up of all the regional All Americans. It was a blast all around! We look forward to visiting DA this fall to check out some football and field hockey. Hope to see some classmates around campus.”

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Class Captain Oscar K. Anderson When we last heard from Nils von Zelowitz he wrote: “We are happy to share that we will be moving from NYC to Princeton over the summer. Looking forward to space, quiet, grass; kids heading to Princeton Day.”

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1989

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Reunion Chair Gustave K. Lipman Class Captain Edward S. Williams

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Class Captain Jeb S. Armstrong

Dave Goodridge recently joined the company that developed LiveSchool, a “After almost three years in behavior management Singapore, with the original application designed to track expectation to return to San and improve school culture; Francisco, my family and I have surprisingly ended up in Dave joined the company as Melbourne,” reports Stephen vice president of sales and partnerships and is leading Root. “We are having a great the company’s efforts in time, even if it’s odd to plan winter trips in June, and hope implementing the online application in K-12 schools any DA grad coming through across the country. His gives us a shout. Not sure if company recently won we will be able to get back to Deerfield for the 25th Reunion an award for best school engagement app out of a field but will sure try.” Not content to “merely rest of 200 entrants! Dave sees a lot of Richard Friary ’92 and on his laurels” as a member Blair Bodine ’02. He leads the of the winning group in the Nashville Club of Deerfield ’88 DA Battle of the Bands and has held events at a along with classmates Paul Jackalope, a local brewery DeGeorges, Wael Qattan, where Steve Wright ’00 Forest Clingerman, Dirk works, as well as the Winter, and Joshua “Jovi” Nashville Symphony where Prokopy, guitarist and singer Blair Bodine is director of Eric Redlinger has now found education. Dave welcomes ongoing success with his early music ensemble, Asteria. all alumni to “Music City,” and keep an eye out for him With regular concerts in major festivals both in the US in the ABC hit series, Nashville. “Wanted to let the DA and Europe, his latest music community know that on video for “Quant la doulce October 22, 2011, I married jouvencelle,” a medieval Johanna Epstein in upstate French love song, recently New York near Hudson, NY,” topped 100,000 views on says Rob McCarthy. “Many YouTube! asteriamusica.org classmates and their families were in attendance, including Curry Ford, Bill Nook, Matt Ripperger, Dewey Brinkley, Dave Goodridge, and Craig Creelman, as well as my brother Phil ’82. On February 6, 2013, Johanna gave birth to our first child, a daughter we named Eleanor Hope McCarthy.”

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Class Captain Justin G. Sautter Boyden Society Captain David A. Thiel John Fichthorn and Tatum had their third child, Storey Lane Fichthorn, on March 21, 2013; Storey joined Jack and Daisy, ages six and eight. John reports that they are currently harvesting trees in Vermont in their spare time while developing a farm and outdoor fun club. “Watch out Class of 2031! Here comes Lily!” writes Ginnie Peterson Jadav, who welcomed Lily Kiran Peterson Jadav on February 12, 2013, weighing 6 lbs, 11 oz and measuring 21 inches long. Lily joined her big brother, Vijay, who is twoand-a-half. “She is a happy, healthy, beautiful little girl,” says Ginnie. “On April 1, Nina, Alan IV, and I welcomed a new addition to our family: The starting point guard for the 2029 DA girls hoops team, Remy Marie Leist,” reports Alan Leist. “I left school administration last summer and have spent the current school year on a self-created sabbatical taking courses, being a more present father, traveling, and looking for the meaning of life,” Timo Weymouth reported. “While I have not yet found that meaning, I have found my next job as a science teacher at Tower Hill School in Delaware, a different bastion of green and white.”

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Class Captains Elizabeth B. Cooper Kristina I. Hess Jeffrey Morrison McDowell Clayton T. Sullivan Erroin Martin launched a new start-up that will “revolutionize how patients monitor and pay their medical bills online.” It’s called iQCoPay, and according to Erroin, “We’ve got a great video that explains exactly what we do. At the same time I continue to volunteer for the Monterey Bay Search Dogs, where I help train dogs and handlers in human remains detection, wilderness searches, and disaster searches. So, if you get lost in the Bay Area, I’ll come find you!” Dave Bogardus and John Adornato welcomed Finn Adornato Bogardus into the world on Saturday, May 4. He was six weeks premature and weighed in at 5 lbs, 2 oz, 18.1 inches long. “By our first Father’s Day, Finn was 8 lb 10 oz!” John happily reports. “Thanks for all of the Deerfield support via Facebook and otherwise; especially to Ann Kleven Rounseville, who was coaching me through the whole diaper/feeding issues via the web while we were still in Guatemala. He’s brought joy to our new home in Oakland Park (yes, I’m still a city commissioner). A bittersweet Father’s Day, though, since I lost my dad to cancer in December; thanks, Jen Ward, for being there with my family and me.


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Ashley Prout McAvey ’92 invites the Deerfield community to a groundbreaking occasion: The Battle for the Elephants Event at the University of Vermont’s Ira Allen Chapel on October 17, 2013

Yes, someone sent the Deerfield onesie . . . we’ll see . . . In the meantime, come visit us in sunny Florida when you can!” “After a yearlong ‘creative sabbatical’ living on my husband’s family farm in England, we have decided to stay for another year,” reports Amanda Brooks. “We are happily surrounded by horses, pigs, sheep, donkeys, chickens, dogs and cats, and I can’t think of a better place to raise our kids, Coco (age 12) and Zach (age nine).” Jeff McDowell says: “Britt Winterer, Luke Tansill, and I were at Deep Water Cay in the Bahamas for a bone fishing tournament in April (I won). Apparently, moustaches and beards are all the rage with the Class of ’92. Bojay Taylor was also there, but he was clean-shaven, so he couldn’t be in the picture.”

from 4-6pm. This dynamic evening will include an airing of the recently released National Geographic documentary Battle for the Elephants, followed by a fascinating panel discussion with worldrenowned experts, including Laurel Neme, an expert in wildlife trafficking; Executive Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Africa Program James Deutsch; and writer, producer, and Battle for the Elephants Director John Heminway. “The event will shine a spotlight on the

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poaching crisis that is decimating our world’s last elephant populations, and possible solutions to the slaughter,” Ashley says. For more detailed information, please

Erroin Martin ’92 and his fellow Monterey Bay Search Dogs volunteers; Erroin is in the hat in the back row. | Rob McCarthy ’90 and Johanna Epstein were married on October 22, 2011, with many Deerfield friends in attendance: l to r : Bill Nook ’90, Matt Ripperger ’90, Johanna Epstein McCarthy (bride), Craig Creelman ’90, Phil McCarthy ’82, Dewey Brinkley ’90, David Goodridge ’90, and Rob McCarthy ’90

contact Ashley at ashley96@aya.yale.edu. If you cannot attend, go to pbs.org/program/battle-elephants/ to watch the film.

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Class Captains Kimberly Ann Capello John T. Collura Christopher T. DeRosa Michelle Lin Greenip Charlotte York Matthews Sarah D. Weihman Marjorie Maxim Gibbons Widener

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Britt Winterer, Jeff McDowell, and Luke Tansill (all Class of ’92) enjoyed a bone fishing tournament in Deep Water Cay this past April. | Richard Scandrett ’93 captioned this photo: “Saturday night in Death Valley.”

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“I am still living in Montréal, QC, with my husband Jeremy Greene and son Xavier Greene,” writes Eliza Moore. “I will release my latest EP September 10 ‘Everything to Me,’ which will be available on iTunes alongside some of my other recordings. 2013 has been a big year for me musically. This past spring I toured the East Coast with songsmith/producer Jay Nash, and summer/fall 2013 will bring more solo dates in the US, Canada, and Europe to help support my EP release.” When we last heard from Vanessa Moss she wrote, “I’m so sorry that I’ll be missing Reunions this year, but it’s been great to see a few old friends the last few months (both Michelle Lin Greenip and Tamiko Wagner were in Dublin recently) and to catch up with everyone via email and Facebook. Looking forward to hearing all the reunion gossip from Liz Andrews when I see her in France in August. If anyone’s coming to Dublin definitely get in touch!” Along the same lines, Richard Scandrett wrote, “I regret not being able to make it to our 20th Reunion. I just started a new job as a staff

attorney at the Indigent Defender Office in Lafayette, LA, after having spent two years in Lake Charles, LA, representing children in abuse and neglect cases. The approach to the law in Louisiana is, um, interesting. . . and not just because of its civil law history. I hope all is well with everyone in the DA community. Beat Choate, etc.”

1994

Annual Giving National Chair Daniel B. Garrison Reunion Chair Michael J. Glazer “I’m happily in the Peace Corps, working as an English teacher in Azerbaijan, a Post-Soviet nation in the Caucacus region,” reported Bradley Bowers. “I’ve just finished directing a 15-minute opera (that’s what I call it anyway, like I would call Cabaret a modern opera, as well) that my students performed in the local community theatre, the first of its kind here! I wrote the music myself, and the story is from Leo Tolstoy. This summer, I’m working on implementing plastic bottle recycling in the regions. Hope everyone is well! Cheers CLASS of 1994!” Alex Johnson was named partner in Financial Services at Ernst & Young in January of 2012, and he and his wife Andrea enjoyed a week in Beijing in September of 2012 with all the other new E & Y partners. Alex and family spend lots of time in Killington, VT, where their son Gabriel, six, is already a member of Killington’s junior ski team.


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Courtesy of Annemarie Munk and Deerfield Academy Archives

BACK IN THE POOL by Anna Newman

For most people, retiring at the age of 22 is impossible, but not for Annemarie Munk ’92. After a career as a swimmer that saw her competing on the Hong Kong national team at age 12 and in the Seoul Olympics at 14, Ms. Munk retired from the sport and took an office job—a difficult pursuit after such active teen years. “I tried working at a desk, but I was always drawn to the physical side of things,” Ms. Munk said in an interview posted on the blog Glamaross. Embracing the Olympic motto “Citius Altius Fortius” (faster, higher, stronger), Ms. Munk became one of the leading Pilates authorities in Asia, working as the principal instructor and program director at the Streamline Pilates Studio in Hong Kong and senior

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ANNEMARIE MUNK athlete

faculty member for Body Arts and Science International, a prestigious Pilates education organization. But the call of the water soon became too strong. Drawing on her swimming background, Ms. Munk began racing in triathlons, then made the transition to coaching. In 2007, she co-founded the

middle, at Deerfield Academy

Institute for Human Performance Triathlon Program in Hong Kong, a group training program for triathletes. Two years later, she formed the Tritons, a triathlon club that now has over 200 members. “Our club is geared towards the racing and social aspects of multisports, allowing members to come together to strain and compete under a team flag,” she explained on Glamaross. Throughout her career, this former Deerfield swim champion

left, Seoul Olympics in 1988

(in 1992, Ms. Munk was a member of the first Deerfield girls swim team to capture a New England Championship) has cultivated focus and a strong work ethic, qualities that now make her a successful and motivating coach. “There are no short-cuts to success,” she said. “A big part of this process is appreciating the process to get better. It does not happen overnight, and patience and open-mindedness is key.” ••

tritonstriathlon.com

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Class Captains Daniel D. Meyer Avery B. Whidden “It has been a while since I updated my information,” writes Robin Postman Benson. “Thanks to Facebook, I have been able to keep in ‘touch’ with some fellow DAites! I am currently living and working in Granbury, TX, 40 miles SW of Fort Worth. I have been here for 12 years and can’t believe how the time has flown. I got married in November 2012—life is great! I work and play in the Western industry with horses, cattle, and dogs. My inner cowgirl now lives on the outside everyday! We have seven horses, four dogs, over 50 head of roping cattle, and live on a ranch outside of town. My husband, Al, and I both compete competitively in team roping, and train some young horses. We have a huge garden and raise our

own meat, so we are steadily becoming more and more self-sufficient. My email is still robin.postman@gmail. com if anyone wants to drop me a line. We have room for visitors, so if you are ever in the area, look us up. Cheers to all!” “My best friend and I appeared as contestants on Wheel of Fortune’s ‘Best Friends Week,’” says Paula Edgar. “We won a trip to Hawaii and we had a blast!” “Jeff and I are kept very busy by Samuel, our rising first grader, Dixon, our rising JK student, and Liam, our two-year-old athlete and wiseacre,” says Bronwyn Ramey Hartung. “I’m having a great time at PGXL Laboratories, where I’ve been since ’06 when we were a wee company of seven. Business is booming now, and we’re growing and expanding beyond belief. If anyone is or knows anyone who is keen on personalized medicine

and molecular diagnostics and wants a great job, give me a yell! In my spare time (whatever that is), I freelance edit and sometimes get to work with my ol’ pal Devang Thakor. Cheers!” Samantha Hooper reports: “The Hooper family will be relocating to Hanford, CA, due to my husband’s military obligation. We are looking to new adventures on the West Coast!” Aaron Kirley writes, “Recently finished construction of a new home in Hingham, MA. Luggage Forward, the company I co-founded nearly a decade ago with Zeke Adkins, continues to grow steadily in Boston. My son Preston Abbott Kirley is already two years old!”

1996

Class Captain Farah-France P. Marcel Burke “I thought classmates might get a kick out of the fact that my twins, Lincoln and Ella, are heading to an elementary school next year headed by none other than Joe Harvey, who taught math and coached crew during our tenure,” reports Nathaniel Garrett. “If he can whip miscreants like Andy Sweetland into shape, I figure he ought to be able to handle my kids.” “While the news is a bit overdue, Jonathan, Jasper, and I were excited to welcome Devlin Grace Gruhl to our family on September 10, 2012,” reports Lindsay Gruhl. “Big brother Jasper is a big fan, although he has asked

me to take Devlin back to the hospital a couple of times when her screeching got a bit too loud . . .” Tom Johnson continues as dean of the faculty and coach of girls water polo at the Hill School in Pottstown, PA. Tom and his wife Leigh have a daughter, Harper, born on April 4, 2012. “Adam and I joyfully welcomed Bowie Elizabeth Myers on January 11, 2013,” says Devon Binch Myers. “Her big sister, Maclaine, is over the moon as well!”

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Ashley and DJ Fairbanks ’87 welcomed Felix Austin Fairbanks to the Deerfield Family last October. | Todd Ryan ’91, his wife Cait, and their daughter Madeleine welcomed Charles Thomas to the family on November 19, 2012. | Bowie Elizabeth Myers, daughter of Adam and Devon Binch Myers ’96, was born on January 11, 2013. | Jasper (left) and Devlin Gruhl, son and daughter of Jonathan and Lindsay Gruhl ’96. | Dave Bogardus and John Adornato ’92 welcomed Finn Adornato Bogardus on May 4, 2013. | Eduardo Medina ’96 and Rachel Hardeman welcomed Leila Marie Medina on April 27, 2013, in Minneapolis. Leila is healthy and happy, as are the new parents. | Lincoln and Ella Garrett—Nathaniel Garrett’s ’96 twins. | Samantha Sacks Desai ’97 and her husband Nehal welcomed Noah Michael on November 29, 2012. | Addison Claudia Yeh was born on New Year’s Eve, 2012. She’s the daughter of Denise and Yong Yeh ’97. | Tate Patrick Harsch, son of Amy Sodha Harsch ’97 and her husband Brett, sleeps peacefully.

1997

Class Captains Amy Sodha Harsch Margot M. Pfohl “Last July Matt and I welcomed Ella Hubbard Brutocao to the world,” Suzanne Hubbard Brutocao tells us. “We are having a blast and can’t believe how much she grows and changes every month. We live in LA, but hope to show her DA some day.” “Maia Yogurt continues to grow, leading up to our broader expansion later this year,” reported Hamilton Colwell when we last heard from him. “Great to see so many classmates and Deerfield family on the road as we shamelessly promote possibly the most amazing Greek yogurt ever. Thanks for all the support!” Samantha Sacks Desai and her husband Nehal Desai proudly welcomed their second son, Noah Michael. Noah made a speedy entry to

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the world on November 29, 2012, weighing in at 8 lbs, 13 oz. He joined proud big brother Benjamin, threeand-a-half years old. Nehal is director of finance in field operations at Coca-Cola Refreshments. Samantha is happily at home in Dunwoody, GA, with her two boys. Amy Sodha Harsch reports: “Brett and I welcomed our baby boy, Tate Patrick Harsch, on March 29, 2013, at 1:28 am. He weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz. We also moved out of the city to Fairfield, CT. We’re very glad to have more space for all of the baby gear.” Caroline Trudeau Monninger and her husband Steve are proud to announce the birth of their son, Michael Charles (“Mikey”), on March 8, 2012. “Big brother JJ was very excited about Mikey’s arrival, and he has realized that the older Mikey is getting, the more fun he is to play with!” comments Caroline. Hannah Pittard writes, “In December, I married Andrew Ewell (not a Deerfield alum, sadly). And in October 2014, Grand Central/Hatchette will publish my second novel. I’m still living in Chicago, where I’ve worked now for nearly three years as a visiting assistant professor at DePaul University.” “I spent January through October 2012 in eastern Afghanistan conducting village stability operations, including training local police and advising government officials,” reports Jason Rus-

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sell. “A difficult, but rewarding, experience and a personal defining moment.” “My wife Denise and I had a baby girl, Addison Claudia Yeh, New Year’s Eve 2012,” says Yong Yeh. “Just in time for the tax deduction!”

now reads: ‘Inspired by the everyday, Jennifer Turnbull illuminates stories with the strongest themes and most powerful experiences to her audience.’ During the Reunions I debuted ‘Convergence,’ a piece that shines light onto how we cycle, repeat, and revise within communities we share with Class Captains family, friends, elders, and Thomas Dudley Bloomer ancestors. 2013 marks ten Ashley Muldoon Lavin years as an arts and moveAlice Elizabeth Leiter ment educator (woo hoo!), Vanessa Bazzocchi McCafferty developing and delivering Okechukwu Ugwonali curriculum independently “A great group of friends gath- and with organizations like the Barnes Foundation ered back on campus for our 15th Reunion in June,” reports and Spiral Q. Projects like SWARM, a percussion band Melissa Henry Fisher. “It was and performance collective, a fun, sunny weekend, and a and ‘The Peoples’ Bus Map’ good chance to introduce our families and young kids to each allow me to experiment with music and delve further into other and to Deerfield. My two-year-old daughter, Chase, visual art making.” had a fun time.” She added, “We’re also expecting a baby boy in July.” Joe Tarr and Maria Fernanda were married in Oaxaca City, Mexico, on February 16, 2013. Friends and classmates AJ Lika and Scott MacArthur were there to join in the celebration at the beautiful Santo Domingo church and reception in the neighboring Ethnic Botanical gardens and museum. Jennifer Turnbull writes: “Since last summer I became engaged to my partner, Jere Paolini, and moved into our first home in Philadelphia, where I forge ahead with the arts. In the fall, The Requisite Movers invited me to do Wellspring, a professional development program focusing on the choreography process. My bio

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Reunion Chair Christopher Colin Wallace “We welcomed William James Lynn on December 17, 2012—same birthday as fellow classmate Abby Cutler!” reports Tara Lynn. When we last heard from Jamie Singley, she wrote: “I am getting married on June 8 (2013) to Eugene Shatsman (Michigan ’06) in Cleveland, OH.” Diana Torres-Hawken was honored with the Delia Nila Basile award for her work in the Hispanic community at the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board’s annual awards ceremony.

Chase Fisher, Class of 2029, on her first visit to Deerfield for mom Melissa Henry Fisher’s 15th Reunion. | Katharine Lo Lai ’98 says, “It was good to be back after 15 years!” | William James Lynn, son of Tara Lynn ’99. | Mikey Monninger, son of Caroline Trudeau Monninger ’97, at three and 12 months old. | Natalie Ruth Wanczyk, daughter of David ’00 and Megan Wanczyk, was born on January 7, 2013. | The Brutocao family: Suzanne ’97, Ella, and Matt. | Katie Collins Donohue ’98, her husband, and their three children were all on hand for Reunion Weekend 2013. l to r : Charlotte, Grace, and Nora Rose. | Alumnae from the Class of ’98 gathered for a photo at their 15th Reunion this past June.


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CAMERON HOUSER entrepreneur

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GOOD SHOPPING by Joseph Delaney If good stewardship is a defining factor in a Deerfield alumnus’ success, then one could argue that Cameron Houser ’03, co-founder and co-CEO of Given Goods Company, has struck the proverbial jackpot. But winning the lottery only requires luck and a ticket. Ms. Houser’s charitable endeavor, on the other hand, has been a passionate project for many years for this former brand strategy consultant and Dartmouth College graduate. “We started Given Goods to solve my personal problem of loving products that gave back to communities and had fantastic stories, but not knowing where to find them,” says Ms. Houser. “I had often given donations to non-profits in people’s names, but found that I wanted more giftable items that had the same type of charitable impact. No company was putting that kind of storefront together, so I decided to do it myself!” In today’s increasingly self-aware world of consumer spending, this idea of interactive community commerce is proving to be an explosive success. The major appeal of Given Goods is the direct connection buyers and sellers share, and the fact that customers are able to track and learn about how their purchases contribute to sellers’ communities. By incorporating visual tools such as a “Good Graph” and the ability to track one’s “Good Points,” Given Goods offers a process of discovery that is fun and interactive. Not to mention the fact that the site offers an array of items—from whimsical to practical—that often resemble items in an art gallery rather than a store. There are over 1000 products and 100 brands available on the Given Goods site—all of which “give back” by supporting global causes (domestically and abroad) such as health care, education, the environment, and economic development. And the good keeps growing: According to the Given Goods web site, “We couldn’t just pick one cause, method or space in which we wanted to work, when along came the idea of Spreading the Good Word. We are passionate about for-benefit business and the ideas that drive its innovation, so we decided that we wanted to be a part of fostering the space’s growth. We also recognize that helping specific causes throughout the year will allow us to spread our good and thus we will partner with non-profits periodically to continue to make Given Goods purchases count for more.” To this end, Given Goods hosts an ongoing series of “pitch” competitions for students in middle school through college and their socially responsible ideas, business plans, and/or operating businesses. Given Goods awards grants and mentors the best of the best in an effort to encourage the social entrepreneurial spirit, to be a part of something “meaningful and fun,” and to “work alongside the next crew of bright stars” in the hopes of keeping Given Goods “as relevant and inspired as possible.” ••

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Paula Edgar ’95 and her best friend Kerry Morris were contestants on Wheel of Fortune recently. | Robin Postman Benson ’95 (right) says that her “inner cowgirl” now lives on the outside everyday. | Joe Tarr, Arthur Lika, and Scott MacArthur, all Class of ’98, celebrated Joe’s wedding to Maria Fernanda this past February. | Jason Russell ’97 shakes hands with one of the district governors he advised in eastern Afghanistan. | Choreographer Jennifer Turnbull ’98 debuted “Convergence” this past summer—a piece that “shines light onto how we cycle, repeat, and revise within the communities we share with family, friends, elders, and ancestors.” | When Colin Shaw ’00 and Meredith Curley were married, guests included: Blake Campbell, Katie Hunt, Mieke Baran, Mike Gilbane, Maggie Brown Domont, Andrew Armstrong, Oliver Shaw, Andy Hunt, Tyler Kolarik, Dennis Kwan, Katie Fay Long, Rob Fried, Karina Meckel, Eli Barnes. Photography by denniskwanweddings.com / Dennis Kwan ’00.

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Class Captains Lisa Rosemary Craig Emily Jean Dawson “I am excited to report that on May 18, 2013, I married Matt Sanson (Lawrenceville ’00) at HollyHedge Estate in New Hope, PA,” writes Emily Jacque. “Several Deerfield graduates were in attendance, including Laura Jacque ’01, Bob Jacque ’05, Donielle Sliwa, Lisa Hilberg Craig, and Tom Plungis ’80. After our wedding we travelled to Thailand for a honeymoon.” Ashley Hilton Kadakia and her husband Rahul welcomed

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their first child on April 15, 2013: A daughter named Isabelle Meera Kadakia. Ashley says, “She can’t wait to be lifelong friends with many of the other Class of 2000 babies whom she sees often—Nina Heffers (Karina Meckel), Oscar Buchanan (Kady Tremaine), Maggie Long (Katie Fay), and Jack Kallop (Hilary and Will).” David Wanczyk and his wife Megan were thrilled to welcome their daughter, Natalie Ruth Wanczyk, on January 7, 2013. Natalie was born in Athens, OH, where David teaches English at Ohio University. Natalie’s grandma, Jean Wanczyk

P’95,’00, a longtime employee of the Deerfield Health Center, could barely contain herself!

2001

Class Captain James Dorr Dunning Curtis Chin and Katie Stanne Chin ’02 welcomed Caleb James Knight Chin on August 6, 2012. “I earned my MFA in dance from Sarah Lawrence College!” reports Marisa Clementi. Elizabeth Dyke and Ford Barker (Loomis Chaffee ’02) were married on June 30, 2012, at the Basin Harbor

Club in Vergennes, VT. “It was a fun Deerfield mini reunion!” Liz says. “Ginger Walsh Larsen ’99 introduced Ford and me on Labor Day Weekend 2009, and it was wonderful to have photographer Amanda Harris Herzberger ’00 capture the big day!” Lydia Littwin reports: “I’m living and working happily in Burlington, VT, using my master’s of Art Education as an instructor and studio manager at a privately owned art studio and gallery. I’ve had several opportunities to show and sell my own work, as well as to interact with an amazing network of other


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’97

’01 ’02

’04

’02

Emily Jacque ’00 and Matt Sanson were married on May 18, 2013, at HollyHedge Estate in New Hope, PA. (p. 82) | Mimi Rapoport ’97 and Kyle Stein were married at Crabtree’s Kittle House in Chappaqua, NY, on March 9, 2013. | Deerfield classmates and friends were on hand when Elizabeth Dyke ’01 and Ford Barker were married. l to r : Sara Mills von Althann ’01, Julie Silipo’01, Kate Larsen Souders ’01, Becca Blumenkopf ’01, Ford Barker, Elizabeth Dyke Barker ’01, Eion D’Anjou ’01, Grier Potter Lederman ’01, Amanda Harris Herzberger ’00, Jenn Hoyle ’01, and Ginger Walsh Larsen ’99 | When Brian Rodriguez ’02 and Kathryn Rodriguez were married in April of 2013, they celebrated with several Deerfield-ers. | Dom Uguccioni ’04 and his bride on their wedding day | Caitlin McMullen ’02 wed Jack Farinhas last fall in Southampton, NY, with many Deerfield classmates in attendance.

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artists. The winters are too long here, but the summers are too beautiful to leave.” When we last heard from Adam Sureau he said: “I just spent a long weekend with Doyle Flaherty, Chris James, and Toby Pratt skiing at Alta/ Snowbird in Utah. In addition to making time to be together a few times a year, all of us are doing very well. Chris and his wife recently purchased their first home in LA, and enjoyed doing some major renovations to the property right off the bat. He is working at a boutique risk management firm, Venbrook, while also enjoying a healthy, active West Coast lifestyle. Toby is loving his job running an equity event-driven portfolio at Capstone Investment Advisors in NYC. He lives with Doyle, who is returning to his old firm, FSA, to lend his mortgage backed securities knowledge to the firm where he worked out of college. Toby and Doyle also understand that they may need to change their living situation soon, as the respective loves in their lives may request that they move in with them. I am doing very well—living with my wife and two-year-old in the suburbs of Boston where I started my own investment firm, Okemo Capital Management, which manages a select group of families’ and institutions’ public and private investments. All in all, we acknowledge that time together is becoming more and more precious, and we’ll continue to schedule some yearly trips

Fall 2013

like these to catch up and enjoy the amazing laughs and encouragement that all started at Deerfield.”

2002

Class Captains William Malcolm Dorson Robert Agee Gibbons Terrence Paul O’Toole Dorothy Elizabeth Reifenheiser David Branson Smith Serena Stanfill Tufo Malcolm Dorson finished grad school in Philadelphia and moved to Washington, DC, to begin a job at Ashmore EMM, where he will focus on Latin America. “I look forward to seeing other DA alumni in the area!” he says. Carter Gray is leading marketing and business development for FusionStorm’s NYC/east division. FusionStorm is an internationally recognized IT provider that continuously helps commercial and enterprise-class businesses meet their IT objectives. Contact Carter directly for any questions regarding your business’ decision to move to the cloud or roll out new technologies. “Deerfield alums are welcome!” Boniface Law had a mini reunion with classmates Terry, Jennifer, Huoi, Jiayang, and Louis at Brian and Kathryn Rodriguez’s wedding this past April. “It was the perfect day for a perfect couple,” says Boniface. “Congrats again, Brod!” Tucker McDonald says, “I’m very excited to announce I’ve joined US Advisory Group as a financial

advisor. We’re an independent private family office assisting successful individuals and privately-owned business owners and their families on the North Shore of Massachusetts.” “Last fall, I married Jack Farinhas in Southampton, NY,” reports Caitlin McMullen. “There were many familiar faces in the crowd, including Serena Tufo, Peter Tufo, Lizzie Reifenhieser, Victoria Lika, Kim Cushny Roddy, Carter Kahle, James Slattery, Katie Powell Lubitz, Alex Appel, Peter Armstrong, Malcolm Dorson, Chris Kempner, and Nate Kempner.” At the time Caitlin added, “I am currently in my third year of otorhinolaryngology residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.” “My husband Matt and I are thrilled to announce that we welcomed our son, Malcolm Blake Schade, on December 11, 2012!” writes Melody Marchman Schade. “He’s growing like a weed and starts studying for SSATs next week . . . here we come DA Class of 2030!”

2003

Class Captains Eric David Grossman Tara Ann Tersigni Chris Clark will be on the road for the next year, possibly longer, on Pink’s Truth About Love World Tour. He is part of the automation team that is doing screen movements and performer flying for the tour. Before

heading out on tour, he moved back to Western Massachusetts. “My wife Trinity and I have been living in Atlanta for the past several years with our Boykin spaniel Lucy,” wrote Marshall Findlay when we last heard from him. “I am in pursuit of a master’s degree and I’m also working in education. I’m sorry that I won’t be at our 10th Reunion but hope that my fellow classmates enjoy reminiscing about our days of glory!” Darwin Hunt reported: “Ben Lovejoy is in the NHL and was recently traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Anaheim Ducks. He’s doing very well (three assists in his first six games). Ben and I lived next to each other in Field our sophomore year (2000—which was also Mr. Kapteyn’s first year!) and were teammates in both hockey and lacrosse. I moved to Newport Beach about a month ago from Pasadena for a new job. About two weeks after moving to Newport Beach, I got a text message from Ben: ‘Got traded to Ducks tonight!’ Anyway, to make a long story short, it’s been a pretty amazing coincidence to see an old teammate/classmate/buddy play in the NHL, in a city on the opposite side of the country from Deerfield.” Helen Lamphere and Renny McPherson were married on April 27, 2013: nytimes.com/ 2013/04/28/fashion/weddings/ helen-lamphere-renny-mcpherson-weddings.html.


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’00

’02 ’01

’01 ’03 Four from the Class of ’01 skiing at Alta, February 2013: Doyle Flaherty, Adam Sureau, Chris James, and Toby Pratt. | Mike Dion ’00 and his wife Deb welcomed Hannah Charlotte on March 6, 2013, in Wynnewood, PA. | This little man—Malcolm Blake Schade—belongs to Melody Marchman Schade ’02 and her husband Matt. | “Independence,” a 12''x36'' oil painting, with aluminum wire and newspaper mache—from a series of bird paintings created by Lydia Littwin ’01 in 2012. | Caleb James Knight Chin was born on August 6, 2012, to Katie (Stanne) Chin ’02 and Curtis Chin ’01. | Caroline Sarah Mackasey, daughter of Jessica Zepeda Mackasey ’03, showing her Deerfield pride on a trip to Tulum, Mexico. “After ten years, I thought it was time to submit a class note,” says Jessica Zepeda Mackasey. “BJ and I finally tied the knot in 2010 and welcomed our daughter, Caroline, in 2012.”

2004

Reunion Chairs Nicholas Zachary Hammerschlag Caroline C. Whitton Ryan Carney recently completed his MS degree in aero-

space engineering from the University of Florida while continuing to work fulltime. Ryan has also completed a two-year emerging leaders program within the Boeing Company, where he is a guidance, navigation, and control flight engineer on CST-100, a commercial crew spacecraft development program. He has been actively engaged in S.T.E.M educational outreach, and thanks all of his science and math teachers at

DA for encouraging him to pursue this course of study. “After two beautiful and transformative years of teaching language and being a residential faculty member at the Chewonki Semester School in Wiscasset, ME, I am now ready to embark on a new adventure,” reports Constanza Ontaneda. “I’ll be going on an extended wilderness trip to New York City, studying a master’s in Latin American Studies at NYU

with an emphasis on Andean issues, and will also be learning Quechua. I hope that this new location will give me the chance to reconnect with Deerfield folk!” Dominick Uguccioni says, “I started a new position as a residence director at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in July 2012. I was married in March 2012, with classmate Loren Kelley and football coach Mike Silipo in attendance.”

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The Valley Spirit A Female Story of Daoist Cultivation AUTHOR

PUBLISHER + DATE

Lindsey Wei ’03

Singing Dragon, 2013

Reviewed by Anna Newman

TITLE

Most of my life, so far, is caught in the swirling red dust. It is filled with emotion and ambition. Aside from the time I spend at the temple on a mountain, where I can quiet down, quiet down, aside from the moments when my spirit speaks to me from some distant place, I am stuck in turbidity, and the constant question of what it is to be a woman in this world, what it is to be a woman independent from a man, or with a man, in love with a man, loved by a man; what it is to be a woman with a holy calling coupled with the instinct to be a mother. I am part of this world of dichotomy, of yin and yang, man and woman, Heaven and Earth, light and dark, and its endless interplay.

Who am I? What is my place in the world? How do I find my life path? Everyone struggles with these questions during their lifetime, and many books have been written about the quest for self-understanding and identity. Few, however, are as personal and transformative as The Valley Spirit: A Female Story of Daoist Cultivation, by Lindsey Wei ’03. In The Valley Spirit, Ms. Wei recounts her years practicing Daoism, a tradition that teaches how to live in harmony with the Dao, or “way.” She starts her journey studying Chinese and martial arts in Beijing, then comes to practice under the Daoist master Li Shi Fu in the Wudang Mountains, a center for the teaching and practice of martial arts, meditation, Daoism, and other arts. Ms. Wei writes honestly about her Daoist studies, which she pursued while struggling with homesickness and with finding her identity as a woman. “Yearnings for friends and social life were creeping in, as well as a longing to fall in love,” she writes. “I began to feel as if I had deprived myself of very natural stages of youth in exchange for the pursuit of my destiny. During those first years in China it seemed so easy to sacrifice the colors of life for the dark knowledge of the cave. As I grew older, desire grew stronger. Silence and solitude were harder and harder to sit with.”

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Later she asks herself, “Where is Love on the path of the Dao? The kind of love between a man and a woman. Where is Love in the life of young renunciants? Where is my Love, when I am alone on top of a mountain? So many times I have told myself that I can let that go. That I must let that go in order to achieve the height of training and study that I aspire to.” She concludes, “But I have learned that the Dao cannot be put into a static box. It is alive and dynamic. It contains all workings of the mind, the spirit, and the heart. And what are we if we have not understood the seven emotions? If we have never tasted desire, what do we know of renunciation?—What do we know of ourselves?” The honesty of Ms. Wei’s writing, which also includes selections from her diaries and letters, makes her story authentic and dynamic. She delves into the philosophical principles behind Daoism and also acknowledges how her practice has been deepened by studying Native American traditions and the Gnostic Gospels, both of which contain elements similar to Daoism. Ms. Wei’s ability to bring her readers on a spiritual journey that is at once confusing, challenging, and beautiful makes The Valley Spirit an enlightening read for all who seek their own life path. ••


Class Captains H. Jett Fein Bentley J. Rubinstein Torey A. Van Oot Harry Ashforth is living in San Francisco and working in commercial real estate. Stuart Berkeley graduated from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia and is moving back to Washington, DC, to start as a consultant with Accenture in October. “I had a very exciting beginning of the year when our documentary Inocente won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short!” says Alexandra Blaney. “I was the associate producer for the film and I’m also the director of marketing and production at the non-profit film production company Shine Global, based in New York. Our next documentary, which we hope to finish by this fall, is in 3D and tells the story of a BMX bike club in inner city London and their journey off the streets and to the world championships. We’re also developing a film about child trafficking and a television show about social entrepreneurs, so it has been very busy but a lot of fun and I do get to see some of my Deerfield friends in the city!” Cassie Buckhart wrote in after visiting Caroline Woodworth at her new home in London: “Caroline and I had a great time traveling around Europe together. We signed every guestbook we could with ‘Deerfield ’05’ as

an entry (note: you can also find Deerfield ’05 guest book sign-ins throughout parts of Beijing and Hong Kong, and potentially somewhere in Las Vegas).” This fall Cassie is moving to Paris to complete her final year of graduate school for an MFA in furniture design. “Last year I received my Master’s of Education from the Harvard School of Education, and I’m having a great time putting it to work,” says Rachel Cohen. “I’m currently living in Cambridge, MA, with my boyfriend, and teaching ninth grade reading at a charter high school in Lynn, MA. It has been great to live near friends and family, and I hope to stay in MA for at least one more year.” “I moved out of NYC and am currently living in Kuala Lumpur, working for a startup e-commerce company based throughout SE Asia,” reports Lizzie Craft. “Come visit!” Zachary DeWitt says: “After two great years living and working in San Francisco, I’m heading back to Boston this fall to attend Harvard Business School.” Julia di Bonaventura is living in Boston and working in career awareness and job readiness with under-served and under-resourced youth in the city. “Since finishing my master’s at the University of Chicago two years ago, I’ve been working as a community organizer for Mercy Housing,” reports Laura Eberly. “Recently earned my LCSW license and, even better, the

title of ‘wonderful troublemaker’ from my tenants. Feel free to look me up if you’re in the Windy City and in search of bike routes, local beer, or the original slam poetry scene. Peace!” Annie Gibbons reports, “I’m going on three years of working for Bluewolf, a technology consulting firm, based in NYC. Last December I moved to NYC from San Francisco, but continue to travel to Denver during the weekdays for work.” Taft Huffard, aka Captain Deerfield ’05, is working for American Giant in San Francisco, while also rallying the Captain Deerfield lineage to stage a coup. When we last heard from Eric Lanser he reported, “I am moving to New York this summer to start my MBA at Columbia Business School.” Mari Silipo is living with “great friends” in Cambridge (including Mary Adair ’04) and “loving life in Boston.” Mari is working in sales and recruitment for a start-up called TurningArt, a Bostonbased e-commerce website and service that aims to make more artwork more accessible to more people. “Check it out TurningArt.com!” Mari says. “Getting home to visit Coach as often as I can and psyched to celebrate his 200th football career win this season. Go Big Green!” “I moved back to NYC after two years on the West Coast to work as COO of a clothing company my friends (who I met through Chris Kempner ’04) started called Faherty

Brand,” reports Peter Tufo. At the time he added, “I’m excited to have a big group of DA interns: Will Hess ’12, Brooke DeWitt ’12, Charlie Pasciucco ’13, Mollie Laverack ’11, Charlotte Dewey ’11, and Olivia Koufakis ’11 helping out throughout the summer.”

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2005

2006

Class Captain Kevin C. Meehan Please send us your news and notes! See page 64.

2007

Class Captains Matthew McCormick Carney Elizabeth Conover Cowan Jennifer Ross Rowland Mollie Ewing says: “Grace McEniry, Steve Kemp, Chico Hulburd, and I are all neighbors (our apartments are all within walking distance to one another) in Denver, CO. Grace is working at an architecture firm, Steven and Chico are working on geological projects, and I am a clinician with the mentally ill. Beautiful weather and good times in the mountains!”

2008

Class Captains Sarah Helen Brim Robert Haldane Swindell Please send us your news and notes! See page 64.

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TIGHTLY WOUND

’09

Stills from Tulane University film, Fight Like A Girl

by Meghan Mozea ’15

LYDIA HAND athlete

When most people imagine a boxer, often the first image that comes to mind is that of a strong man clad in shorts and boxing gloves, bouncing lightly on his feet, ready to fight. Replace that image with a pretty, extremely fit 22-year-old woman, and you have Lydia Hand ’09, just as ready to fight. Ms. Hand instantly fell in love with kickboxing her freshman year when she walked into the Reilly Recreation Center at Tulane University to take lessons. After graduating from the university summa cum laude with a degree in economics, she decided to pursue boxing. Fulltime. From that moment at the recreation center, Ms. Hand has had few delusions about pursuing a career in competitive fighting. She admits that there are certain mountains she has to climb as female boxer. But, Ms. Hand doesn’t let those mountains hold her back or slow her progress. She, in some ways, appreciates the challenges as much as the sport itself. “It is through adversity and challenge that we have the opportunity to see ourselves as we are and bring out the best we can be.” Her coach, Spyder Hemphill, has largely shaped Ms. Hand’s mindset, and she willingly admits that she hasn’t achieved anything alone. In fact, Ms. Hand gives credit for all her wins and championships to her coach, a man, she says, who has pushed and believed in her more than any other person. “I don’t see my wins as an independent accomplishment, but as victories only possible from

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the partnership of myself and my coach,” says Ms. Hand. However, when it comes down to the actual fight, even with Coach Spyder in her corner, Lydia Hand is alone in the ring with her opponent. “It comes down to me having the willpower and determination . . . There is no one to fall back on and no excuses to be made.” The sport of boxing is as much a competition of will and mentality as one of physicality, and in competitive fighting self-doubt and questioning oneself can be the difference between victory and defeat. This is the world in which Ms. Hand has decided to live. And, so far, her outlook seems to be helping her win. In 2011 she won the International Chinese Martial Arts World Championship, and this year she won the Louisiana Golden Gloves Tournament for her weight class. Looking toward the future, Ms. Hand has hopes of participating in the 2016 Olympic games. But, Ms. Hand doesn’t limit herself by having a single, decisive goal: “I find that when I limit myself to one big ultimate goal, I lose sight of the small accomplishments . . .” Ms. Hand knows that a career as a professional athlete doesn’t last forever, especially in a sport as physical as boxing. But, for her, boxing goes much deeper than just the fights. It is a sport that has allowed her to be not only a fighter, but also a businesswoman; Ms. Hand is now the proud co-owner and manager of the GOW gym, where she does all of her training: “I’m an entrepreneur at heart and fights or no fights won’t change that!” ••

Watch Fight Like A Girl on youtube.com


consecutive year as one of Wesleyan’s “Wesleyan University Student Poets.” This past summer he was honored by visits from Deerfield alumni Matt Buckley ’08, Drew Eident ’10, and Julian Gonzalez ’11 to Long Lane Farm, a small organic vegetable farm in Middletown, CT, where Josh is a farmer-organizer.

’05

2013 COLLEGE DINNERS deerfield.edu/go/events

2010

’10 Cassie Buckhart ’05 (right) and Caroline Woodworth ’05 enjoyed some travels in Europe recently; they signed every guestbook they came across with “Deerfield ’05.” | Ricardo Welch ’10 spent the summer working on a documentary film entitled “Dear Hip-Hop.”

2009

Reunion Chairs Elizabeth Utley Schieffelin Nicholas Warren Squires “I will be working towards equity in the education system while teaching middle school in Nashville, TN, with Teach for America for the next two years!” reports Kathryn Clinard. “Looking forward to our 5th year Reunion in the near future!”

Dorsey Dobias graduated from The University of the South with a BA in economics and has accepted an analyst position with Harris Williams & Co. in Richmond, VA. This past May, Stethoscope Press, a student-run press at Wesleyan University, published Relative Strangers, a book of poems by Joshua Krugman. It is available on Amazon and from the author. Josh also spent his second

“Hey everyone!” wrote Ricardo Welch when we last heard from him. “I am currently working on a documentary film called ‘Dear Hip-Hop’ through Hamilton College’s Emerson Research Grant. The documentary explores the evolution of the music genre hip-hop, and its portrayal of the African American male figure. I will be conducting street interviews and in the studio interviews with some artists in the hip-hop industry, in the hopes of gaining more insight for my project. The ten-minute documentary can be seen on YouTube beginning on September 1. Hope you all enjoy! Go Big Green.”

September 24 Georgetown & GWU 25 UVA

October 2 Brown 3 Boston Area 7 Middlebury 15 Stanford 22 Vanderbilt 28 Yale 29 Wesleyan & Trinity

November 4 Penn 5 Princeton

2011, 2012, & 2013 Please send us your news and notes! See page 64.

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Hephaestus AUTHOR

PUBLISHER + DATE

Ethan Peterson-New ’13

Self-published, 2013

Reviewed by Anna Newman

TITLE

Writing a novel is a difficult endeavor—but imagine doing it while finishing your homework, applying to colleges, and keeping up with the other demands of being a Deerfield Academy student. That’s exactly what recent graduate Ethan Peterson-New ’13 did this year, when he completed and published his novel, Hephaestus, a story of discovery and adventure that takes place on a distant planet. After a four-year trip across space, First Mate Walter Murray and his crew land on the planet Hephaestus, charged with finding a new energy source for Earth. They soon discover that the seemingly uninhabited planet is home to more than just thick jungle and strange creatures. Ambushed and imprisoned by the inhabitants of a colony on the planet, Walter and his crew become entangled in a dangerous and worldthreatening conflict that makes them question their loyalties to each other and to their mission. What makes Hephaestus such a captivating read is its complex characters, whose pasts are illuminated through a series of flashbacks. The ethical dilemmas that the characters face in this futuristic world have echoes in today’s society, making them relatable and relevant to the reader. Hephaestus is the product of four years of hard work, most of which was accomplished during the winter term of Mr. Peterson-New’s senior year, when he received a co-curricular exemption. Working with English faculty member Joel Thomas-Adams, Mr. Peterson-New was writing five to ten pages a day, a hard task, he said, while trying to do well in all of his classes. But finally, this past spring Mr. Peterson-New published his novel through a self-publishing company and sold copies to his classmates. Even after hitting this milestone, Mr. Peterson-New’s work continues. He has been editing Hephaestus in the months after releasing it to the Deerfield community, acknowledging in his author’s note that “Hephaestus, as it exists now, is essentially a rough draft,” and soliciting feedback from his readers. This fall he plans to send the novel off to an agent in the hopes of having it published in a wider market. Hephaestus is not Mr. Peterson-New’s first novel—as a student at Eaglebrook he caught the writing bug by completing a 150-page novel for an English assignment—nor will it be his last. He has other stories in the works and plans to continue writing at Middlebury College this fall. ••

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Walter was checking the surroundings and considering setting up a perimeter when a loud thud sounded as something struck the tree in front of him. It was a metal dart with a sharp tip and green feathers. Tranquilizers, he thought. “Everybody down. Now!” he yelled. “We’re under attack!” The squad searched for cover, but it was useless, as more darts poured down from the trees above them. A few found their mark, and Walter saw Christian and Edward go down. A dart found Aaron’s neck. Those still on their feet ran as fast as they could, firing randomly into the trees above. Darts stuck in the trees and the ground as the men searched for any means of shielding themselves, but their attackers seemed to be everywhere. As Walter reached the top of a small hill, he collided with Sam, sending him sprawling into the underbrush, and disappearing beneath low-growing bushes. There was a sickening sound, and Walter felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He looked down to see that a dart had sunk deep into his flesh. He yanked it out and tried to continue running, but whatever the dart contained was quite potent. Beginning to slip out of consciousness, Walter fell to the ground. The last image he saw before his world darkened was that of his men falling all around him.


Tom Williams Roll Call

first person: Libby Leist ’97

A Deerfield Girl in the Workplace

Libby interviews a Wyoming senator

There is a picture I will always cherish from my Deerfield graduation. It ran in the Greenfield Recorder the day after our ceremony. Sitting in the front row under the Great Tent, three Deerfield girls— Margot Pfohl, Brooke Gonzales, and me. We served on the Student Council that year and had the privilege of sitting at the head of the class. Our smiles were bright, clearly enjoying the celebration. Less than a decade after Deerfield returned to coeducation, it was a proud moment. >>

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In helping Savannah prepare for the interview, I envisioned those late nights in Field III cramming for a big exam or writing a paper. That work ethic never leaves you. reporters, to producers, to camera crews and technicians. NBC staff volunteered to go to Boston, producers worked late into the night editing stories, reporters spent hours on the phones with sources trying to sort through the latest information. It was the ultimate hustle to bring an important national story to our viewers. In reflecting on how being a “Deerfield girl” has helped me since I’ve left Deerfield, I have to admit I don’t think much about being a woman in the workplace. I feel I have a voice and a seat at the table. That is a testament to the women in the news business who fought so hard before me to earn a place on the TV screen and in the executive suite. It is also a testament to my Deerfield days. I was one of three girls to serve on the Student Council, I was co-captain of my swim team, and I was a proctor my senior year—all places for a Deerfield girl to shine. That example goes a long way.••

Libby Leist is a senior producer for NBC News’ TODAY Show based in New York City. Previously, Libby spent 11 years in Washington, DC, for NBC. She covered politics and foreign affairs for Nightly News, the TODAY Show, and MSNBC.

Tom Williams Roll Call

first person: Libby Leist ’97 92

I’m grateful to call myself a “Deerfield girl.” We were encouraged to be strong and independent. I think of a few of my role models: Ms. “Mac,” Ms. Lyons, Ms. Valk, Ms. Loftus. Smart, confident, kind, and funny. I always looked up to them even when they did pile on hours of homework. They taught the Deerfield values that still stick with me today: preparation, commitment, and teamwork. Twelve years ago I started as a news assistant at NBC News and since then I’ve been a researcher, a foreign affairs producer, a political producer, and now a senior producer for the TODAY Show. I’ve tried to carry on the Deerfield way at each step. The news business is all about being prepared. Earlier this year, I had the extraordinary experience of producing TODAY Show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s interview with President Obama at the White House. The interview required extensive research, background knowledge of topics ranging from North Korea’s nuclear capability to immigration reform, and a keen sense of what would elicit “news” from the President. In helping Savannah prepare for the interview, I envisioned those late nights in Field III cramming for a big exam or writing a paper. That work ethic never leaves you. In 2009, I received the honor of a lifetime when I was asked to return to Deerfield to deliver the Commencement address. I admitted to the graduates that day that I did not have much in the way of “life advice” as it was still early in my career, but I remember sharing one important thing. I told them to find their passion. It’s passion that makes you committed and commitment that sets you apart from the rest. Journalism demands early mornings, late nights, long hours, and lost holidays. It was just after that Deerfield Commencement that I was in Colorado to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday. On the morning of July 4 I got a call from my news desk asking me to travel to Alaska where Sarah Palin had just announced that she was resigning as governor. I can vividly recall flying over the fireworks celebration as I left the Aspen airport. I wasn’t thrilled about leaving my friends but I also was excited to be covering a big political story. That passion for news makes the unpredictable lifestyle worth it for me. The most rewarding part of TV news is the teamwork involved. Much like Deerfield thrives on collaboration in the classroom and on the athletic fields, when our news division comes together during breaking news or on a special project the camaraderie is incredible. In April, the tragic Boston Marathon bombing brought together the entire team: from


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John Perry Kellas, II

Thomas Franklin Staley, Jr.

Winston Healy, Jr.

February 17, 2012

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Immanuel Kohn

William Joseph Whelan

Peter Israel Workman

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John Morrison

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John Gardner Talcott

Thomas Rumsey Young January 24, 2013

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Fletcher Brown March 20, 2012

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Thomas Scott Fillebrown

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Thomas Hildith Landess

Matthew Thornton Adams

Caleb Stebbins Allen

Peter Fellows Rood

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Douglas E. Johnston

Charles Rosario Alberti Jr.

Edward Crossett French

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Barrett Farley Emmert

Pirie MacDonald Tutchings

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Stanley Albert Porter

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Frank Joseph Wojtklewicz December 12, 2012

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James Harrison Eacker

Calvert Douglas Crary April 6, 2013

Joseph John Shanley

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David Clark Angell

Hartley Theodore Grandin, Jr.

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Jean Claude Guiet

Francis Theodore Brown

Eugene Holman, Jr.

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Charles Viele Fryer II

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1943

1947

1948

Joseph Howard Bumsted March 24, 2013

David Ford, II January 8, 2013

1954

David Burton Manuel, Jr. April 27, 2013

Douglas Finlay Allen

Christopher Sterling Carver

May 22, 2013

September 7, 2011

1955

Richard Oberlaender Leinbach

John Appleby Hutchins

March 13, 2013

December 12, 2012

September 27, 2012

Lyon McCandless

Brooks Mather Kelley

March 11, 2013

February 14, 2013

Peter Merritt Schoff

IN MEMORIAM

1928

Juan Miguel Piedra Nichols Carl Jacob Steigerwald February 4, 2012

1980

Jeffrey Andrew Falk January 20, 2013

1989

Caleb Wiggins June 20, 2013

2006

William Brown McIlvaine March 11, 2013

Boyden Society Member

William Alexander Taylor June 10, 2013

deerfield.edu 93


Jenny Hammond and Jessica Pleasant

1

D E E R F I E L D C L U B B AY A R E A

2

D E E R F I E L D C LU B N E W YO R K

DEERFIELD CLUB NEW ENGLAND

REGIONAL + CLUB EVENTS

5

3 4

6 7

LOOK TO THE HILLS 1 Alyssa Victor P’11,’14, Blake Witherington P’12,’13, Casey McManemin P’17, Rosellen Schnurr P’07, Margo Witherington P’12,’13, Hillary Stewart, Dr. Leonard Petrus P’16, Ellen Pumphret, Beth Armstrong P’15, Gibbs Roddy P’14, Dr. Margarita Curtis, Jim Dinnen ’80, Dr. Robert Schnurr P’07 RED SOX GAME 2 Seth Dancer, Sarah Dancer ’16, Marc Dancer ’79 P’16, Stephen Kelley ’10, Thomas Hammond, Sean Keller ’85 GIANTS GAME 3 Peter Vestal ’81, Benoit Touquet, Steven Katz ’70, Derek Reisfield ’81 4 Jerry Rood ’55, Joyce Rood, Charles Krough ’64, Ellen Duenow, John Heath ’64 REDWINGS GAME 5 Tony Wells ’66, Chris Wells, Sahar Jones P’14, Betsy Wells, Rebecca Hahn, Michael Hahn ’89, Kevin Jones P’14 YANKEES GAME 6 Front Row: Nina Kempner ’11, Alannah Nisbet ’11, Annie Eldred ’11, Caroline Seabolt ’11; Back Row: Elizabeth Tubridy ’10, Julia Trehu ’10, Jimmy Bitter ’11, Will Swindell ’11, Lilly Havens ’10 7 Michael Kohn ’01, Kristen Hull

94

Fall 2013


DEERFIELD CLUB LONDON

DEERFIELD IN VIENNA D E E R F I E L D I N N YC

1 2

3

DEERFIELD CLUB HONG KONG

4

DEERFIELD CLUB SO CAL

5 6

1 Otto Wiegele ’69, Waltraud McCabe, Charles McCabe ’50, Andy Bain ’82, Diane Bain, Hilary Goodman Drake ’97 (with Emma), Michael Drake ‘97 2 Michael Zapas ’05, Sara Clark ’05, Reggie Snipes ’05, Steven Katz ’70, Ian Thomson ’05, Meredith Olson ‘05 3 The Royal Automobile Club Roger McEniry ’74 and Dr. Margarita Curtis gathered with Deerfield alumni, parents, and friends on May 1, 2013. 4 Garden Lounge at the Hong Kong Club Dr. Margarita Curtis and Rodge Cohen ’61, P’99 met with Deerfield parents on June 22, 2013. 5 New England Prep School gathering The Deerfield Club

of SoCal was well-represented at the at the Thompson Beverly Hills on May 8, 2013. Annie Lukowski ’97, Ansley Rubinstein ’06, Cynthia Richards ’94, Annabelle Rosborough ’03, Mikey Glazer ’94 6 Sam Hanson ’07, Darwin Hunt ’03

deerfield.edu/alumni/daclubs

for club photo galleries.

UPCOMING EVENTS deerfield.edu/go/events

October 2 Heritage Award 2 Brown University Dinner 3 Boston Colleges Dinner 15 Stanford Dinner 16 Bay Area Young Alumni Event 18-19 Parents Fall Weekend 22

Vanderbilt Dinner

28

Yale Dinner

29

Trinity Dinner

November 5 Middlebury Dinner 9 Choate Day 19 Deerfield in Washington, DC 20 Deerfield in Boston

December 19 Holiday Reception at Deerfield 20 Deerfield Club of New York: Family Ice Skate in Central Park

January 2014 7 Deerfield in Houston 8 Deerfield in Dallas 16 Deerfield in Greenwich 23 New York Young Alumni Event 29 Deerfield in Palm Beach 30 Deerfield in Vero Beach

Invitations are mailed approximately six weeks before each event. If you have not received an invitation and would like to attend a particular event, please contact the Office of Alumni and Development: events@deerfield.edu or 413-774-1474

deerfield.edu

95


Find the *key words in the jumble below. The remaining letters, read row by row (left to right, starting at the top), will spell out a

favorite saying of Mrs. Boyden’s. Send the lines to communications@deerfield.edu or to Puzzle, Communications Office, PO Box 87, Deerfield, MA 01342, and you’ll be entered to win this Deerfield dog gear! (The winner will be chosen at random from all correct answers received by November 15, 2013.) *Tips: Circle only the key words listed below, and do not circle backwards words.

by Danaë DiNicola

KEY WORDS

Cab

Glee

John

Nap

Pep

Step

Agacha

Cheerleaders

Green

Lab

Need

Pie

Sung

Alumni

Chip

Gym

Last

New

Pot

Three

Amherst

Cup

Hare

Late

Nims

Ralph

Tie

Ant

Day

High

Lax

Nine

Roth

Tom

Ave

Dies

Hills

Main

Nmh

Schuler

Town

Big

Eliot

Inn

Male

Norway

Seal

Tree

Box

Elm

Iraq

Man

Notes

Sit

West

Busy

Forty

Ire

Msb

Old

Sort

You

Congratulations to Joan Beir, whose answer was drawn at random from all the correct answers we received for the Spring ’13 puzzle: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” —Hamlet

WIN THIS GEAR!

pooch no

t included Merri’s Custom Design (co-owned by Jill Merrigan ’05!) collar and leash. More gear at: store.deerfield.edu

Fill in the blanks to reveal the hidden phrase:

“_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ — _____ ______ ______ _ _ _ _ .” 96

Fall 2013


object lesson

MakerBot Replicator™ 2 Desktop 3D Printer

Early in 2013 a “3D printer” was donated to the Academy. It allows teachers and students to rapidly produce solid three-dimensional plastic objects from coordinates generated on a computer. This technique simultaneously engages what are often thought of as separate disciplines—art, mathematics, computer coding, and engineering. The printer allows rapid and straightforward prototyping, which encourages students to engage in iterative design; they have created coffee mugs, smartphone cases, miniature castles, and even the Deerfield Door!

See the CAD drawings for these objects by Kyle Burns ’14 in SHOW YOUR WORK (pages 14 + 15)

deerfield.edu

97


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