Here Come the Girls

In the front row of the 1985 team picture above, third from the left, kneels Tracy Harlor ’85, the first female to lace up skates and compete for Hebron Academy. Tracy would go on to captain the women’s team at Skidmore College and help organize and coach the early girls programs at Portsmouth Abbey and St. George’s School.

During the 1993-94 season, freshman Wanda Mason ’97 would play on the varsity boys hockey team and win a New England Championship! With no girls hockey team at Hebron, Wanda transferred to the Hotchkiss School and went on to be a starting defensive player at Princeton.

In 1998, five girls competed on the boys’ JV team: Jill Brooker ’99, Jenny Agnew ’99, Allison Sanchez ’98, Enid Patten ’99, and Valerie Buteau ’00. In the 1998-1999 season, Hebron had its first all girls’ hockey team. Led by coach Paul Nemitz-Carlson, the team finished the season with a 14-3-1 record. They closed their inaugural season by winning their final nine games with a combined score of 71-8. Talk about a debut!

In their second year, the Hebron girls’ went on to win the Division II New England

Championship. After a 1-2 start, the team won 18 straight games to finish the season. In the New England playoffs, they won three one goal games: defeating Newton Country Day, Brooks, and finally, Holderness in overtime to win the championship. From this team, Jana Budgeon ’02 would go on to be a standout goalie at Providence College and Sara Simard ’00 would help lead St. Lawrence University to two Frozen Fours.

IPSWICH ON MY MIND BOB WAITE ’68

While Ipswich On My Mind is superficially a series of vignettes about the author’s hometown, in the words of Carleton College President Emeritus Steve Poskanzer, “They are also really about the verities of life and change, and the enduring relationships with people and places that matter so much to us all.” Bob strikes these chords with resonant power. Unlike Hardy’s fictional Wessex, Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha, or (more recently and popularly) Turow’s Kindle County, the Ipswich of Bob Waite’s youth and the Ipswich of 2022 are very much real and present. But it is the gift of a trenchant observer and great writer to extrapolate from the particular features, characters and lessons of one place to the timeless and universal.”

Waite, a three-time winner of the New England Newspaper and Press Association’s Best Column Award in the early 70’s, returned to column writing for his local paper at the behest of his 92-year-old former publisher. As this collection attests, the result is a magical concoction of observational humor, soaring imagination, and thoughtful reflection.

From Amazon book reviews

IN SLOCUM’S WAKE NAT WARREN-WHITE ’68

Back in the 60’s during my four years at Hebron, I was blessed to have RJS (Dick Stratton) as an English teacher for three of my four years and then Ned Willard for my final year. They were both wonderful teachers. Dick, particularly, pushed me to really understand what it meant to be a good writer, to think for myself, and to always reach toward the highest standards which he modeled in his own comments on our papers. Those comments sometimes ran more than a page in length and were always penned in his finest hand…truly memorable, easy to read, and beautifully written. Dick was proud to be a Luddite, never a typewriter or word processor within reach. I owe him a lot in the writing as well as the theater worlds. Theater became a magical career for me, and I have always enjoyed writing. Now I have a book published which I think/ hope Dick would’ve enjoyed. Without his powerful caring influence, I would never have been able to follow either path. My recently published book, In Slocum’s Wake (Outskirts Press, 2022) chronicling our nearly five-year circumnavigation aboard a 43’ cutter called Bahati could not/would not have been written as well or as joyfully as it was without Dick’s voice speaking to me from beginning to end. I am sorry that Dick is not around now to read it. I am sure that he would have had some helpful editorial suggestions to offer which I would have treasured.

Writing In Slocum’s Wake was a labor of love. It took nearly ten years to complete after returning from our voyage. I was lucky to have kept a detailed blog as well as a daily ship’s log which I used extensively for reference during the writing process. The blog would not have existed without the creative and technological savvy of my son, Josh, who sailed with us for a year and a half, through the Caribbean and across the Pacific. I owe him and my wife, Betsy, who was the ultimate organizer and perfectionist when it came to the ship’s stores and voyaging safety realm, a huge debt of gratitude. They both contributed to the book as well, eloquently sharing their own perspectives on the experience.

In Slocum’s Wake has received a number of wonderful reviews from sailors and non-sailor alike. Many of them can be read on Amazon and Goodreads. The one I appreciate the most was written by Alex Agnew, the original publisher of Ocean Navigator magazine.

https://oceannavigator.com/article/in-slocumswake/

I MADE HOUSE CALLS MAL DAVIS ’58

Four years following the founding of my company, I received a call from Hebron asking me to meet with the trustees in Portsmouth to discuss our interest in managing the school’s endowment fund. The year was 1982 and the trustees were interviewing several firms, in this regard. Certainly, I was interested in making this presentation, so I traveled to Portsmouth with Bill Allen ’62, who had subsequently joined my company. Bill and I spoke to the trustees about our services for about 45 minutes and then headed back to Portland. Several days later, we were pleased to learn that we had been selected as the manager of Hebron’s endowment fund. Bear in mind that Bill and I had 10 and 14 years of money management experience respectively, prior to 1982, so we were not exactly “rookies.” Flash forward to 2022, forty years later, and Hebron’s endowment fund is still managed by R. M. Davis, Inc. One of the primary managers is now my son, Bob Davis ’85 , and assisting Bob with administration details is Greg Cox ’05. Today the firm also shares the responsibility with a couple of other management firms brought on-board to provide some diversity of thinking and investment approach, a sound idea. What a great long-term relationship which speaks volumes about the R.M. Davis/Hebron connection.”

Mal Davis ’58

From the review on Amazon

During my 56-year career, I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about investing and about people who interact with and within the broad investment services market. The first 38 years of my life were all about positioning for the next 42 years. The foundational principles of my company were developed over my career through actual experience. I write this book to share some lessons learned along the entire route, some investment philosophy, and some experiences that one may find interesting, educational, or simply outrageous. I provide some observations and share some knowledge. During my years at R. M. Davis, Inc., I was both nurtured and guided by numerous principles and personal beliefs that I used to help shape the growth and culture of the firm, and to govern my personal conduct. You will become familiar with many of these, as they are reinforced in this book. I believe that most of these principles and beliefs are vital to the success of any organization.

Robert M. Davis is a successful wealth manager who established the first independently owned and operated Registered Investment Advisory firm in Maine. In the subsequent 42 years, R. M. Davis, Inc. has grown to be the largest such firm in Northern New England. Specializing in personalized services to its clients who are predominantly high net worth individuals and their families, investment vehicles include trusts, retirement plans, and basic portfolios. Its services are offered on a “fee only” basis, with no commissions or product sales whatsoever.

Alumni Hockey

In March of 2022, the decades old tradition of the Alumni Hockey game was renewed with over 30 alums attending the event, bringing with them friends and family that filled the McGonagle Pavillion in Robinson Arena.

Alumni Induction

Last April, the second annual Alumni Induction Dinner was held for the Class of ’22! Sixty-four new members join the illustrious Hebron Academy Alumni ranks!

Nyc

In April 2022, Hebron had its first event outside the state of Maine since 2019. The event was held at the Sohmer Piano Building in the Flatiron District of NYC. The party was hosted by Kathy and J. Matthew Lyness ’76 and Megan Brooks Carolla ’89. Over 75 alumni attended the event and were able to meet Head of School, Patrick Phillips

Portland Sea Dogs

Forty Hebron Alums and friends of Hebron met at the Gifford Pavillion and watched the Sea Dogs put a 9-0 beatdown on the Hartford Yard Goats. The amazing game plus the “all you can eat” barbecue led to the consensus to host a Sea Dogs alumni event again next year!

Career Connections

We welcomed nine alumni back to campus to share their post-Hebron stories and career choices, for the 10th annual Robert J. Ryan ’77 Career Connections for the Class of ’22 in May.