75 YEARS,
COUNTLESS STORIES LEGACY: I WAS THERE WHEN…
Class of 1962 Member of ISB’s first graduating class
The story of ISB’s beginnings, through the eyes of one of its very first graduates.
Chuck Dorney
The International School of Brussels
ALL ABOUT ALUMNUS CHUCK DORNEY In 1959, my father, an Air Force colonel, got re-assigned to Brussels Belgium. We were all delighted, but, shucks, we missed the 1958 World Fair. At the time, attending high school was not easy. Some students studied by correspondence. From 1959 to 1960, I attended 10th grade at an American high school at Bushey Park AF Station near London, England. The following year, ISB opened up a high school curriculum. We former sophomores enrolled as Juniors. The following year we former Juniors became the first high school Senior class. Thus, we became the first high school graduating class of 1962. There were only nine of us. Seven were Americans, one (Kasian) from Canada, and one (Eva) from Finland. If you look at the famous photo, the students are (from your left to right): Kevin Jones, Chuck Dorney, Melissa Sutherland, Tom Denegre, Sandy Barclay, Sue Ireland, Kasian Kalba, Eva Thesleff, and Howard Owens. The ISB headmaster, Dr Arthur T Denyer, was so proud of us that he took our entire class to a night downtown in Brussels. All nine of us went on to pursue advanced degrees. My first year in college was at the Munich Germany campus of the University of Maryland. I learned Beer 101 and did not make the highest grades there. In 1963 the Dorneys returned to the USA and I completed college at the University of Maryland home campus. My father’s assignment was for three years, but he requested to stay for one more year. Our family unanimously supported his request. I still say that the four years in Belgium were some of the best in my life. I still visit family there several times a year.
When you think back to your time at ISB, what is the very first memory that comes to mind? “Just: what is an international school?” But, I looked forward to it. I’m an engineer, so I am naturally curious. When I first came to Europe, I loved it. I was fascinated by the differences between the USA and Europe: -Cannot drive a car until 18 years of age. No cruising on Saturday nights -No Friday night football games. (I didn’t care at all) -Road signs are pictorial instead of words -All those pre-euro currencies -Languages -Sandwiches made with hard bread, not soft -All drinks (including coke and beer) are served at room temperatures -No air conditioning -220 volts instead of 110 -No screens on windows -Frites come with mayo not ketchup. (I still use mayo to this day) -Doors are opened with a crank handle, not a knob -Toilets are flushed by pulling a chain from a high mounted tank -An international school? How cool! What was ISB like when you were a student? What did the campus, classrooms and school community feel like? The ISB was relatively small, having the Chateau and two additional buildings. One was a smallish building to the left of the Chateau and the other area was several temporary buildings for the high school students. The temporary buildings were located in the present day parking lot, so are long gone. The community life was great: no gossip, not fights, no snubbing; everyone got along remarkably well. For example, there was an occasional ‘slam book’ being passed around. Ever heard of it? Long gone. It was typically a notebook using each separate page for each student. When it got passed to you, you could anonymously write and comments for that student. Why do I bring this up? No ‘dirt’ in the comments. That’s how the student body was. The classroom layout was unusual. Our class was arranged in a semi-circle facing the teacher. This improved crosstalk and mutual benefits.
The International School of Brussels
Do you remember a particular moment when you realised that ISB was different from other schools? Three things come to mind. The first is the Chateau which was “Europe!’. As mentioned before, I really got into Europe from the beginning, so the Chateau got my admiration. The second was students from many countries. As mentioned before, two of our senior class alone were foreigners. There were many others in individual classes. I particularly remember Sven from Norway and an Iraqian (but forgot her name). The third was the teaching staff. Almost all were British. Dr Denyer was the headmaster, instead principal. Luckily all spoke English, but there were humorous moments. For example, we told the British teacher that the faucet was leaking. “Faucet?” Oh yeah, “tap.” Also in Algebra class we had to explain what pennies, nickels, and dimes were. How did living in Brussels and attending ISB shape your view of the world during that era? Unsure ‘how’ but certainly opened my eyes about not living in the USA as a teenager. I don’t regret that at all. Soccer instead of American football? Fine with me. What were some of the traditions, activities or experiences that you remember most vividly? The bus rides to school. We rode in ‘camionettes’ which were small vans with bench seats. No seatbelts. As we got older, most of us obtained ‘velomoteurs’ which were small-engined motor cycles. They were everywhere, and last time I went to Brussels, they no longer existed anywhere. Lots of electric bicycles, though. We had a really good school play, “Sorry Wrong Number” directed by Sandy Barclay. Sherry Turner had the main role. I was not much in sports. I played soccer, but was never very good. I was a good sprinter (track) though. Who were the people who made your ISB experience special? Teachers, classmates, coaches, staff? I particularly like Ian Deleay who taught us physics, chemistry, and algebra. He was quite young but did his job beautifully. Colin Nimmons was great too – could be really funny at times. And, there were Madame Grenier (“mon oeil!”) and Mr Davies, a spirited Welshman. What do you think has changed most about ISB since you were there – and what feels exactly the same? It grew! I visited the school at Summerfest 2024 and I hardly recognised anything. Multiple new buildings. I got a tad lost walking around the campus. Our temporary buildings are long gone, now a parking lot. American football?!? If you could go back to ISB for one day during your time as a student, what would you want to experience again? The camaraderie. Everyone got along so well. When you look at your graduation photo, what story or moment behind that picture stands out to you the most? The whole picture itself. I look at it left to right and can still name each student from the photo without prompting.
CHUCK BEYOND ISB… Chuck Dorney after graduating from ISB in 1962 Our family stayed in Belgium through 1963, so I went to college at the University of Maryland special campus in Munich Germany. This campus was primarily for students from US military families. I thoroughly enjoyed a year in Germany, but traveled home to Brussels for the usual holidays. My two sisters also attended ISB. Sue, grades 6 and 7, who is now retired in mid-state New York. And Cece, grades 2 and 3, who is now retired in the Washington DC area. In 1963, our family moved back to the States where my dad was stationed in the Washington DC area. I enrolled at the home campus of the Univ of Maryland where I studied aeronautical engineering. I also signed up to become a military officer via the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). I had previously competed for the US Air Force Academy, but didn’t make the cut. After graduating in 1968, I became a Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force and was assigned to Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton Ohio. I intended to be a military officer for my entire career, but after Vietnam was over, the Air Force let go a lot of young officers, including me. So, I continued my career but as a government civilian. I worked as an aeronautical safety engineer to design aircraft so that they do not crash, and, if they do, people survive. At one time or another, I worked on every aircraft in the USAF inventory. I loved my challenging job, but, after 47-1/2 years, it was time to retire, which I did in 2015. While assigned there, I obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, and my pilot’s license. So, now, I live a retired life and play racquetball several times a week. My wife, Pat, is semiretired as a substitute teacher. My three kids, Eric, Kevin, and Kyra, are all grown up and have successful careers. Special note, Kevin lives in Leuven, so we travel to Belgium two to three times a year to visit him, Annelein (Belgian), and our first natural grand daughter, Lola (age 2).