Mercersburg Magazine - Spring 2011

Mercersburg A magazine for Mercersburg Academy family and friends

VOLUME 38 NO. 1 spr i ng 2011

Eyewitness to History page 19

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Mercersbu rg magazi n e spri ng 2011

VOLUME 38

NO. 1

spring 2011

Eyewitness to History

13

A magazine for Mercersburg Academy family and friends

Mercersburg 1,051 Words

Our tennis score: 14–love. Page 8

40 Years at Mercersburg

Shining the spotlight on faculty fixtures Brent Gift and Karl Reisner.

Page 12

19

Mercersburg Profiles

First-person accounts of a World Series earthquake, the fallout from Watergate, and more. Page 19

My Say

On Haiti, and leaving home to come home.

Page 49

You Should Know

Ahmed Abdel Latif ’12 (left) posted a perfect 26–0 mark for Mercersburg’s boys’ varsity squash team this winter.

Abdel Latif did not drop a game all year and captured the individual Mid-Atlantic Prep League title by winning the league tournament’s championship flight for the second-consecutive season. Also this winter, wrestler Bobby Burg ’11 went undefeated (37–0) and became Mercersburg’s first National Prep Champion since Jeremy Berry ’00. For more recaps of winter sports, see the summer issue of Mercersburg magazine. Photo by Dave Keeseman.

Photo credits: p. 2 Chris Crisman; p. 3 courtesy Judy Firestone; p. 4 (Jeong) Stacey Talbot Grasa, (Durden/group) Bill Green; p. 5 (Maynard) © ABC/Mark Wessels; p. 6 Bruce Weller; p. 10–11 Green; p. 13–14 (all photos) Smith; p. 16 Kristy Higby; p. 17 (Moore) courtesy Charles Moore; p. 18 (group) Phil Kantaros, (headshot) Grasa; p. 20 H.G. Wilshire/U.S. Geological Survey; p. 22 (Stamets) Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal, (Holzwarth) Weller; p. 23 courtesy Phil Marstiller; p. 25 (sign) Getty Images, (Chen) Mercersburg Academy Archives; p. 26 courtesy Lou Prevost; p. 28 courtesy Ray Liddy/Jim Liddy; p. 29 (Boone) Higby; p. 31 Smith; p. 32 (bottom left) Alicia Cadrette ’13, (top right) Green; p. 33 (top) Green, (bottom right) Dave Keeseman; p. 34 (top right) Green, (bottom right) Cadrette; p. 35 (all photos) Green; p. 36 (all photos) Lee Owen; p. 37 (music) Owen, (studio art) Higby/Wells Gray; p. 44 Wallace Whitworth; p. 49 courtesy Matt Maurer.

Illustrations: cover: Chris Gall

From the Head of School Via Mercersburg Irving-Marshall Week 2011 Athletics Arts Class Notes Mercersburg magazine is published three times annually by the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications.

Mercersburg Academy 300 East Seminary Street Mercersburg, Pennsylvania 17236 Magazine correspondence: Lee_Owen@mercersburg.edu Class Notes correspondence: classnotes@mercersburg.edu Alumni correspondence/ change of address: Leslie_Miller@mercersburg.edu www.mercersburg.edu Read us online: issuu.com/mercersburg

2 3 10 32 35 38 Editor: Lee Owen Class Notes Editor: Tyler Miller Contributors: Logan Chace ’01, Shelton Clark, Tom Coccagna, Jessie Jeong ’11, Phil Kantaros, Lindsay Tanton, Matt Maurer, Susan Pasternack, Michele Poacelli, Zally Price, Jay Quinn, Wallace Whitworth Art Direction: Aldrich Design Head of School: Douglas Hale Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications: Wallace Whitworth Assistant Head for Enrollment: Tommy Adams Assistant Head for External Affairs: Mary Carrasco

© Copyright 2011 Mercersburg Academy. All rights reserved. No content from this publication may be reproduced or reprinted in any form without the express written consent of Mercersburg Academy.

Mercersburg Academy abides by both the spirit and the letter of the law in all its employment and admission policies. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.

From the Head of School

Eyewitness to History We

have heard it said many times before that hindsight is always 20/20, or at the very least it gives the appearance of being so. History is the product of hindsight, but memory can often color and affect that hindsight. We know, from scientific research to courtroom testimony, that memory can fail us; we can actually remember things as they never were.

If hindsight is often thought to be 20/20, then the tables are turned upside down when the topic shifts to foresight; great foresight is a more daunting proposition than hindsight. To learn from the past as an eyewitness to history has great value, but to learn how to summon and apply foresight as a way of creating history is a skill nearly every person yearns to possess. After all, in order to lead our personal lives or to steer the institutions that shape our lives, we are required to write our own history by exercising judicious foresight. What is goal-setting and planning if not exercises in foresight? And where does a rationale come for a goal if not by way of the application of one’s experience (e.g. hindsight, memory) and critical thinking?

Everyone who has attended Mercersburg has, most assuredly, been an eyewitness to some aspect of Mercersburg history. Every year in the life of this great school has likely produced some change – socially, academically, or physically. Without foresight, Mercersburg would have remained frozen in time, a relic or a museum, but not a school prepared for and responding to life in the 21st century. Of the three institutions that have inhabited this plot of land, only Mercersburg has succeeded, and it has succeeded on its own terms by honoring its past while refusing to be trapped inside it. Generations of alumni will also likely think that their era is the true Mercersburg of history; this is so because theirs is the history of Mercersburg to which they were eyewitnesses. And yet, when all is said and done and in spite of all the change since 1893, Mercersburg remains Mercersburg, fully recognizable, not even slightly diminished. Our hope, of course, is that the school grows greater and stronger with every passing day.

As we straddle two centuries, implementation of the recently completed Mercersburg Plan will require judicious foresight and purposeful, positive, intentional change. The campus will, indeed, look a little different here and there; courses in the curriculum will, undoubtedly, change to some degree; students and faculty and Board of Regent members will come and go. But that is the reassuring pattern of history at Mercersburg, a history of healthy, steady evolution, not one of abrupt or jolting revolution.

It’s an exciting time to be an eyewitness to history.

Douglas Hale Head of School

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D at e s to Re m e m b e r

Jun 10–12

Mercersburg

Reunion Anniversary Weekend (for classes ending in 1 and 6)

2011–2012 Opening Convocation (Sep 5: classes begin)

Sep 4 Sep 23–25 Oct 14–16

Family Weekend Fall Alumni Weekend

Schedule subject to change; for a full and updated schedule of events, visit www.mercersburg.edu

A roundup of what’s news, what’s new, and what Mercersburg people are talking about.

Like Brother, Like Sister Sarah Firestone returns to NFL’s Punt, Pass & Kick finals

For most young athletes, a trip to compete in the national finals of a National Football League–sponsored event would be the chance of a lifetime. But for Sarah Firestone ’13, advancing to the championship round of the NFL’s Punt, Pass & Kick competition in January was hardly anything new.

Firestone won the national championship in her age group for the event (commonly known as PP&K) in 2006 and 2008 in Charlotte and New Orleans, respectively.

Her older brother, A.J. ’10, a former Mercersburg football standout who is now a punter at Penn State, won the boys’ 12–13 national competition in Pittsburgh in 2005. (The Firestones are the only siblings in NFL PP&K history to both reach the national finals.)

This winter, Sarah Firestone won a local competition in Mercersburg and the regional competition in Philadelphia to advance to the national finals, which were held in Atlanta in conjunction with the Green Bay Packers/Atlanta Falcons NFL playoff game.

It was her fourth trip to the national finals overall in her seventh and final year of PP&K competition. She was one of four finalists in the girls’ 14–15 age division, and though her bid for a third national crown fell short, she took third place.

“It’s an overwhelming experience,” Firestone says. “When you win and they announce your name in between the third and fourth quarter of an NFL playoff game, everyone cheers for you. The atmosphere is great. When you’re competing, you just

In 2004: Sarah Firestone ’13 models the Super Bowl ring of then Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover (center). At left is her brother, A.J. ’10.

have to try and keep your cool and do what you can do.”

Each competitor gets two throws, two punts, and two kicks off a tee; scores are tabulated based on both distance and accuracy.

Winners are recognized on national television during the broadcast of the playoff game.

Firestone plays soccer and basketball and is on the spring track & field team for the Blue Storm. She set the school record in the javelin throw at Mercersburg in April— and also won the 2008 Pennsylvania Jaycees’ PP&K competition in her age group, when she beat out girls and boys.

Approximately 32 million kids compete in the NFL’s PP&K program each year, and only 40 advance to the national finals (four in each age category for boys and girls). Alumni of the program include NFL Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Troy Aikman.

—Lee Owen

Firestone with Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub

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Student Perspective: Looking at Community

By Jessie Jeong ’11

The word “community” can be defined as “a group of people living in the same locality and under the same government.” While geography plays a critical role in determining what community is, there is more to it than that. A community is defined not only by its members, but also by its influence on each member.

The greater Mercersburg community includes current students from more than 30 nations and alumni who live and work in all 50 states and more than 70 countries.

What is so special about this community that it attracts people from such diverse places?

“I think it’s the students and faculty—they are well-meaning and care about themselves and others, and they care about the world we are in,” says Tom Rahauser ’74, the school’s dean of students and a faculty member since 1978. He sees the school community as a “world” where students and faculty interact. And Mercersburg is special in a way that everyone maintains close relationships and pays close attention to everyone else’s needs. “They are trying to make the world a better place. It is wonderful to be in a community where that kind of attitude prevails,” he continued. The members of the Mercersburg community don’t simply stop

at the point where they care about each other. Instead, they take further steps to improve their world.

Fellow alumni faculty Chip Vink ’73 and Jennifer Miller Smith ’97 Jeong emphasize the different strengths of the Mercersburg community. “It’s a great place to raise young children, where it is warm, fun, friendly, and supportive of families,” says Vink, a longtime member of the English Department who now serves as

pleasant and safe environment.”

Rahauser, who teaches Spanish and was the school’s head boys’ soccer coach for 11 years, says he benefited from the Mercersburg community because it fosters great academic passion among its members— and it inspired him to pursue his job as a teacher. “As a teacher, Gene Sancho inspired and captivated me with his love for Spanish.”

If Rahauser hadn’t spent his formative years here at Mercersburg, he might not have

“I feel like Mercersburg has been my home since I’ve been here.”

–Jennifer Miller Smith ’97, faculty member and alumna

its chair. He sees the school as a place that has a vibrant atmosphere created by students living on campus, and as a parent, he wanted to raise his children around cordial and dynamic people.

“I feel like Mercersburg has been my home since I’ve been here,” says Smith, the valedictorian of the Class of 1997 who returned to teach math and science at the Academy in 2008. She too wanted her children to grow up in a place where they can feel comfortable at home. “Living here gives our family opportunities for cultural enrichment, and the students create a

chosen a career path that, ironically, led back to this community.

The Mercersburg community holds special meaning for each person. For so many alumni, their sense of belonging to Mercersburg persists and lasts a lifetime.

They return to Mercersburg for reunions and gatherings, and can be found singing Step Songs in front of Main Hall and socializing on Tippetts Beach. Taking part in these traditions reminds them of who they were, who they are, and who they always will be. After all, they have a lifetime membership to the Mercersburg community.

Membership Has Its Privileges Mercersburg inducted 26 students of the Class of 2011 into the school’s chapter of the Cum Laude Society.

William Durden (inset), president of Dickinson College, spoke at the annual Cum Laude Convention in March. Cum Laude is the secondary-school equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa.

Front row (L-R): Mackenzie Riford, Candice Yang, Steven Zhang, Bethany Pasierb, Stephanie Stine, You Jung Jun, Angelina Magal, Annette Hull, Penelope Zhang. Second row: Ryan Ma, Julie Garlick, Renee Mao, Jessie Jeong, Matt Cook, Anson Guo, Matt Timoney. Back row: William Levangie, Harrison Brink, Kyu Man Sim, Susan Durnford, Chris Weller, Nathan Burnette, David Roza, Thomas Steiger. Not pictured: Paige Pak, Danny Roza.

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’Burg’s Eye View

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campus notes

Author and television host Josh Shipp gave the Schaff Lecture on Ethics and Morals in April. Shipp, who has been called “Dr. Phil for Teens” by the FOX network, has appeared as a teen expert on CNN and MTV, on Oprah.com, and in the pages of the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He hosts the Halogen Network television show Ju m p S h i p p , is the author of The Teen’s Guide to World Domination: Advice on Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Awesomeness, and was listed on Inc. magazine’s “30 Under 30” list.

Three distinguished individuals served as William C. Fowle Scholars-in-Residence on consecutive Sundays during the month of February. All took part in a public conversation with School Minister Lawrence Jones prior to the Academy’s weekly chapel service, and each served as a guest preacher during the service.

The group included Rabbi Jordi GendraM o l i n a o f Te m p l e B e t h S h a l o m i n Mechanicsburg; Dr. Lee Barrett, a professor of systematic theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary; and Marshall Soulful Jones, a poet, philosopher, singer, and songwriter.

In January, musicians Daniel Brinson and Joshua Harvey performed the Carroll Henshaw Hendrickson Organ Recital.

Brinson, son of Mercersburg faculty and staff members Jim and Doree Brinson, is director of music at Robert E. Lee Episcopal Church in Lexington, Virginia. Harvey is an accompanist in the theater department at his alma mater, Washington and Lee University, and has been involved in more than 25 shows as a composer, sound designer, and music designer.

Grant Wiggins, the president of Authentic Education in Hopewell, New Jersey, held an all-day workshop with the Mercersburg faculty on curriculum development in March. Wiggins consults with schools, districts, and state education departments on a variety of reform matters. Over the past 25 years, Wiggins has worked on some of the education world’s most influential reform initiatives, including the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) programs; state reform initiatives in New Jersey, New York, and Delaware; and national reforms in China, the Philippines, and Thailand.

He is co-author of Understanding by Design, the award-winning and highly successful program and set of materials on curriculum design used all over the world.

Emily Maynard ’04 was chosen as the winner

of ABC’s hit reality drama The Bachelor during the show’s 15th-season finale in March. Maynard accepted a marriage proposal from Brad Womack at a vineyard in Cape Town, South Africa.

Maynard attended Mercersburg during her ninth-grade year in 2000–2001. A native of Morgantown, West Virginia, she has worked

in broadcast journalism and was employed as a children’s hospital event planner in Charlotte, North Carolina, when she was cast for the show.

Mercersburg magazine earned a CASE District II Accolades Award for the fourth consecutive year. The publication garnered the highest award in 2011 among full-color independent-school magazines in the MidAtlantic region, and is the only independent-school magazine in the district (which includes six states, the District of Columbia, and parts of Canada and the Caribbean) to receive an Accolades Award in each of the past four years.

CASE (the Council for Advancement and Support of Education) is the international association for advancement and communications professionals in higher education and independent schools.

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A Conversation with Dr. Eugenio Sancho At the close of the 2010–2011 academic year, longtime faculty member and former academic dean Gene Sancho will retire from Mercersburg. Dr. Sancho first joined the faculty in 1970 as a history and Spanish teacher, and then spent eight years teaching in his native country at the University of Costa Rica before returning to Mercersburg.

In addition to teaching in the history and language departments, Dr. Sancho served as head of the history department from 1992 until he was appointed academic dean in 2001. In summer 2010, he accepted a oneyear appointment as assistant head for emerging academic programs.

As academic dean, Dr. Sancho led the establishment of an exchange relationship with Colegio Alemán de San Felipe in Chile and also helped set the stage for the creation of the John H. Montgomery Award Program that offers extensive study opportunities for students of French at Mercersburg. More recently, Sancho led the establishment of a Mercersburg program in Costa Rica, with a tropical biology field experience now entering its second year.

In his role as assistant head for emerging academic programs, Dr. Sancho helped Mercersburg formalize a sister relationship with the Nanjing Foreign Language School (NFLS) in Nanjing, China. The exchange will complement the Chinese Mandarin program at Mercersburg, which was introduced during his tenure as academic dean.

Merc ersbu rg m agazin e: What are the benefits for a school like Mercersburg of participating in exchanges with other schools—whether as visitors to schools in Germany, Chile, Spain, and other countries, or as hosts for students and faculty from those schools?

Sancho: A broad and effective education today must incorporate significant exposure to living abroad and to the study of other countries and cultures, including

command of at least one additional foreign language. That’s one of the vital elements in our Mission Statement: “Mercersburg Academy prepares young men and women… for life in a global community.” Our lives are enhanced by knowledge of other languages and cultures. The international exposure goes hand in hand with academic study of other cultures, histories, and traditions. It serves as a multiplier that gives depth to our understanding, who we are, and how others see the world. Students develop their intellect and learn skills that cannot be replicated in the classroom. It is essential for our faculty to travel, study abroad, and participate in significant international experiences that are intellectually transforming and set a strong foundation for teaching in a rapidly changing world.

I was privileged to be part of one of the first international exchange programs we had with the Lomonosov School in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Just a few years after the fall of the Soviet Union, [former academic dean] Marilyn Larson and I led a group of seven students to the school for a onemonth stay. We lived with Russian families, attended classes, and visited St. Petersburg and Moscow at the end of our journey. This visit set the stage for a number of exchanges between Mercersburg and Nizhny Novgorod in the following years.

M M : What is the timeline for the official st art of the Nanjing exchange?

Sancho: We hope that a group from NFLS will visit Mercersburg this fall. Prior to that, we have set up a short visit this summer by [history teacher] David Bell, who will travel to Nanjing on an extended trip to China to visit with families of students and to participate in meetings of the World History Association in Beijing. We are looking at spring 2012 for the first Mercersburg student and faculty group to visit China as part of the exchange.

MM: Could you have imagined when you began at Mercersburg that you would spend parts of five decades teaching and living here?

Sancho: I initially thought I would stay here about five years; I always had intended to return to Latin America. While I greatly enjoyed teaching at the University of Costa Rica, I was there during a time of great upheaval in Central America that was accompanied by political violence and ideological polarization. The connections and friendships my wife, Jyselle, and I made at Mercersburg made a return here feel very natural. And the fact that I ended up spending so many more years here is a recognition of how much Jyselle and I enjoyed teaching so many interesting students, the kindness and warmth of colleagues, and the welcoming feel of the town of Mercersburg.

One of the interesting things about my tenure is that I bridge the time of three heads of school from the last two years of Mr. [William] Fowle, who was headmaster when I came, through Walter Burgin ’53 and Doug Hale. So I am a witness to some of the significant transformations in the evolution of Mercersburg as a school, while also witnessing the survival of the strengths that define Mercersburg.

MM: What is the most rewarding part of being

a teacher at a place like this?

Mercersbu rg magazi n e spri ng 2011

THE SANCHO FILE

Mercersburg faculty member (history/Spanish), 1970–1975, 1983–2011 Associate academic dean, 1999–2001 Academic dean, 2001–2010 Assistant head for emerging academic programs, 2010–2011 History department chair, 1992–2001 Education: B.A., Muskingum College; M.A., Indiana University; M.A. and Ph.D., University of California, San Diego Family: Wife, Jyselle (Mercersburg’s former director of learning services); children, Steve ’99 and Andrea ’01

Sancho: The number-one pleasure has been

in the classroom, teaching students and witnessing their growth, and getting to know them on the playing fields and in various school activities. One of the best aspects is to see firsthand the tremendous impact that a teacher can have in the intellectual development of students, especially those who are “pushed” academically for the first time and develop skills that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. I remember with great satisfaction my activities as a soccer coach, track & field coach, and as a dormitory dean. In these settings, students and faculty see and experience aspects of each other in a different way than during a typical 8-to-5 school day. In a boarding-school environment, husband and wife—and family—are intensely involved in the life of the community, and Jyselle and I have been a team in that regard.

MM: What are the plans for your post-Mer-

cersburg career? Will you remain in the area?

Sanch o: We look forward to traveling,

spending more time with our children, and pursuing again interests that have remained a bit dormant. We will probably continue to teach in some way—perhaps a class or two at a community college—and dedicate quality time to several service opportunities. At some point, Jyselle and I will likely move down to South Carolina, where we can be closer to our children [both live in the state] and experience more manageable and warmer winters.

From the Mailbag:

A Reunion in Belfast

My heart leapt with excitement when I read Marshall Carroll’s lyrical story of his recent visit to Ireland in this winter’s issue of Mercersburg magazine. He told us how in 2010 he had discovered the mysteries and magic of this lovely land, and that he was planning to return again in 2011 with a party of students.

My delight was nonetheless laced with a slight tinge of guilt because, as a member of the Class of 1950 (when I was lucky enough to be an EnglishSpeaking Union exchange student from Portora Royal School, Enniskillen), I had not been back to Mercersburg in 61 years! Nor had I ever even corresponded with my old alma mater in all that time, although she had kept me well informed of developments and progress through numerous alumni newspapers and magazines.

Here, at last, was a chance to renew that relationship right here in Belfast, where the Mercersburg group would be spending a little time on its way through to Giant’s Causeway, Sligo, Galway, and home.

So, in an urgent phone call to Marshall just 10 days before he was due to leave Mercersburg, we arranged a rendezvous and he graciously invited me to have dinner with his group. Even though he said that he liked the idea of present-day students meeting up with alumni while on tour, I like to think that his desire to meet up with me might have been enhanced just a little when I told him that, as part of my working career in the 1970s and 1980s here in Belfast, I had been director of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

In that context I hoped I might be able to add a little to the group’s visit and point out a few aspects of this fascinating place which are not always included in the local tourist brochures. I needn’t have worried. Marshall had obviously done his homework well in advance and knew exactly what he wanted to do and see while he was here.

We met up as planned, went to see the newly emerging Titanic Quarter and the old Thompson dry dock in the Harland & Wolff shipyard, where the ill-fated ship was finally fitted out, had a splendid dinner and good craic with seven of the nicest kids you could wish to meet (obviously, Mercersburg’s core standards are being faithfully maintained), and parted in the moonlight outside our restaurant with this alumnus feeling a little assuaged of his guilt of disconnection and resolved to keep in touch with his old school a little more assiduously than heretofore.

To that end, I would therefore now say that I will be happy to be contacted by any alumni traveling to Northern Ireland and to act as their honorary guide if so desired. Don’t thank me.

Thank Marshall!

Shane Belford ’50 Belfast, Northern Ireland sbelford@sky.com

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1,051 Words

The 14 courts of the Smoyer Tennis Center buzz with action on a spring day. The complex was made possible by a gift from Stan Smoyer ’30 in memory of his brother, Win ’28. Stan Smoyer passed away in December; to read his obituary, see page 45.

Photo by Eric Poggenpohl.

Mercersbu rg magazi n e wi nter 2010–2011

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Irving-Marshall Week 2011

Irving wins competition for first time since 2006 Marshall declaimers (standing, L–R): Aric DiLalla ’12, Donya

Jackson ’11, second-place winner Mark Merritt ’11.

Seated: Susie Klein ’11,

Mikk Nuth ’11.

marshall Irving 950 1000

Irving declaimers (standing, L–R): Jim Crevier ’14,

Sarah Allen ’12, first-place

winner Gerverus Flagg ’11.

Seated: Mikaela Orbon ’12, third-place winner Lane deCordova ’12.

Mercersbu rg magazi n e spri ng 2011

Above: Society presidents Liza Rizzo ’11 (Marshall)

and Robert Solis ’11 (Irving).

Left: Scoblionko Declamation Cup winner Gerverus Flagg ’11.

Below: Second-place declaimer Mark Merritt ’11.

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40 Years at Mercersburg Karl Reisner & Brent Gift

In 1971, a pair of youthful teachers arrived at Mercersburg to join the faculty. Forty years later, Karl Reisner and Brent Gift continue to nurture and challenge young minds in the classroom and help aspiring athletes reach their full potential on the Academy’s playing fields and courts.

Karl Reisner ~

By Logan Chace ’01 Much like James Buchanan’s childhood cabin that prominently stands just beyond the fence of the baseball field, Karl Reisner has been a fixture on the Mercersburg campus for years. Forty of them, to be exact.

Yet Reisner remains as loyal, energetic, and passionate as ever, standing strong through numerous changes at the school—including the construction of new buildings, such as Lenfest Hall and the Burgin Center for the Arts; a number of campus, dormitory, and building renovations; three different headmasters (half of Mercersburg’s total); and thousands of students.

A jack-of-all-trades, Reisner attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he played four years of football and baseball, earning lightweight football All-America honors his senior season.

He majored in history with a minor in English, and was all prepared to attend law school, having taken the boards and expecting to begin his studies in fall 1971—but then a funny thing happened.

“All my life I knew I was going to be an attorney, and I thought maybe I would become involved in politics someday,” Reisner says.

“During the summer of 1971, after graduating from Penn, I suddenly woke up one morning and decided I didn’t want to go to law school. What I really wanted to do was work with young people. I wanted to teach and coach. I don’t know where this came from; I had in no way prepared myself for this career.

“So I told my parents, and I got a part-time job in August working for Easter Seals and enrolled in graduate courses at Lehigh to become certified to teach. I sent my credentials in to two privateschool placement services, believing I would go to school part time and be hired for the 1972–1973 school year. The Thursday before Labor Day, while I was at work, [Headmaster] Mr. [William] Fowle called and asked my dad if I could come to Mercersburg for an interview on Saturday. I said ‘sure,’ thinking all along that this must be for the following year. I was on campus for over an hour before I realized they were talking about starting the next week. I didn’t get too nervous because I figured there was no way in hell I was getting hired. Unbelievably to me, the call came the next day, and I was hired to teach English and history. I have been here ever since.”

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Reisner

What is the secret to Reisner’s durability? “I don’t think there are any secrets to longevity,” he says. “What I do think is important is to remain energetic. I truly love what I do. I love the interaction with students and athletes. Each year represents a new challenge. It is important not to get stuck in a rut, but to approach each class as unique. I love the people in this school, and I love this town. I have been able to form a number of lasting relationships with faculty and people in the community.”

An accomplished coach of several sports in addition to his classroom duties, Reisner continues to serve as head baseball coach.

He cites his work with the 1978–1979 wrestling team, which was undefeated in dual meets and finished third at the National Prep Tournament, and multiple conference-champion and state-champion baseball teams as some of his favorite Mercersburg moments.

Reisner is also heavily involved with the Mercersburg community. He has been a scholar and impersonator of James Buchanan, resulting in the opportunity to defend the 15th president on C-SPAN (another favorite Mercersburg moment for Reisner), and has served more than once as guest pastor for St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in the borough.

Over his four decades at the school, Reisner has observed many changes in Mercersburg’s students and faculty. “In the early 1970s, students were more liberal and more confrontational,” he remembers. “The dorms, at times, were battlegrounds. Today’s students are more pliable, less confrontational, more conservative. The student body, generally, is also brighter today. We have always had a group of exceptionally bright students at Mercersburg, and my sense is that the bottom has been raised—the weakest students we had in 1971 would not be admitted in 2011. Mercersburg is more competitive academically now. Our faculty is considerably larger than it was then, and, as a consequence, more diverse.”

Yet Reisner has remained the same. Students still count on him to tell his infamous jokes of the day and captivate them with his historical narratives, and he can still be observed on the third-base line (across the diamond from Brent Gift, Mercersburg’s other longest-tenured faculty member), sending signals to his hitters, and—with as much gusto as always—waving them home.

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40 Years

Gift

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Brent Gift ~

By Michele Poacelli During the 1971–1972 academic year, which was his first year teaching biology at Mercersburg, Brent Gift remembers Headmaster William Fowle calling him into his office.

Fowle asked Gift if he knew anything about fencing. Gift relaxed a little into his seat; he grew up on a dairy and beef cattle farm outside of Chambersburg and did know a thing or two about fencing. As Gift began to expound on electric fencing, barbed-wire fencing, and split-rail fencing, Fowle gently interrupted.

He wanted to know how familiar Gift was with the sport of fencing.

Gift knew as much about the other kind of fencing as most anyone—which is to say, not much at all. But under the tutelage of experienced student fencers, he sharpened his knowledge on the finer points of foils and sabres and oversaw the school’s boys’ fencing program for the following three seasons.

During the course of an impressive 40-year career (and counting) at Mercersburg, Gift has frequently taken up the gauntlet when it was thrown down. In response to a growing need for girls’ athletic programs as the Academy transitioned from an allmale institution to a coeducational one, Gift founded the girls’ volleyball team in 1986 and coached it for 13 straight years.

Last fall, Gift returned as head coach of the team, which made it to the finals of the inaugural Independent-Parochial School League (IPSL) Tournament.

Gift has not only answered challenges at Mercersburg, but has created opportunities as well. An ecologist by training—he earned a master’s in zoology from the University of Maine in 1984—Gift relishes work in the field because it brings him into nature. “It is only possible to understand and respect

nature,” he believes, “if you have direct contact with it.”

This experiential philosophy was the driving force behind Gift’s creation of the Mercersburg Ecology Camp, which ran from 1988 to 1998 and catered to middle school students. Young ecologists trapped small mammals, collected and analyzed data, took stream samples, and (most importantly for Gift) got knee-deep in nature.

In a photograph on the wall of Gift’s office, one summer’s worth of tanned and dusty campers grins widely from the flatbed of a pickup truck. Gift extended his enthusiasm for environmental education into the community through his involvement with the Tuscarora Wildlife Education Project (TWEP). He sits on the TWEP Board of Directors, and in 2000 played an active role in the grassroots effort to construct the Charles T. Brightbill Environmental Center, which is located between James Buchanan Middle and High Schools in Mercersburg.

The center houses an impressive collection of wildlife specimens from around the world.

At Brent Gift’s Mercersburg, there have been unexpected challenges and unique opportunities. There has been, and continues to be, a palpable passion for science and sports (he continues to serve as assistant varsity baseball coach to fellow faculty stalwart Karl Reisner). But what else drives a career spanning four decades, three headmasters, and, well, a stint coaching fencing?

Gift explains that he feels a deep connection to the school’s colleagues, students, and parents. He considers the Academy a family.

He believes that the place possesses a quality whereby the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It is special.

And so, like Mercersburg, is Brent Gift.

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Medals from the 1952 Summer Olympic Games weigh 68 grams apiece, and were designed by artists Giuseppe Cassioli and Aukusti Tuhka.

Heavy Medals

Olympic hardware: now on exhibit in Mercersburg’s athletic headquarters Olympic gold medalist and USA Track & Field Hall of Fame member Charles Moore ’47 has donated the gold and silver medals he won at the 1952 Summer Olympic Games to Mercersburg. The medals are displayed in the school’s newly renovated Nolde Gymnasium.

Moore won the 400-meter hurdles in the record-setting time of 50.8 seconds at the 1952 Summer Games in Helsinki, and also ran the third leg of the mile relay for the silver-medal-winning U.S. team. He was an NCAA champion in the 220-yard

low hurdles and 440-yard dash at Cornell University. The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) named Moore as one of its 100 Golden Athletes in 1996.

Moore, who served three terms on Mercersburg’s Board of Regents, was national chair of the school’s Mightily Onward capital campaign, which raised $138 million. He is a former chair of the USOC’s Audit Committee, and chaired the USOC group that selected New York to represent the U.S. in its bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics (which London ulti-

mately won the right to host). Moore also spent five years (1994 to 1999) as Cornell’s athletic director. Today, he serves as executive director of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.

Moore’s late father, fellow Olympian Charles “Crip” Moore ’22, represented the U.S. track and field team at the 1924 Summer Games in Paris. His great-niece, Jane Banta ’11, is a member of Mercersburg’s senior class this year.

“When you speak with Charlie Moore, it quickly becomes apparent that Mercersburg

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More Hardware

Alpha Sigma Phi Challenge Cup Among the many trophies, plaques, and other awards won by Mercersburg athletic greats are these, which are displayed in the Cyrus Fulton Trophy Room inside the newly renovated Nolde Gymnasium.

Moore

holds a special place in his heart,” says Rick Hendrickson, director of athletics. “This gracious gesture from one of the significant figures in the history of the modern Olympics—who began his journey to greatness here—is evidence of the unique bond that Charlie enjoys with this school. We are fortunate to receive these emblems of achievement and are grateful to Charlie.”

Mercersburg has produced 54 Olympians in its storied athletic history.

The group of athletes represents 14 nations and collected 20 medals (12 gold, five silver, and three bronze).

—Lindsay Tanton

Gustavus T. Kirby Trophy (Columbia University), 1922–1924

Pennsylvania Independent School Track & Field Team Championships, 2005

A silver crown (in homage to Columbia’s original name, King’s College) that resides in Mercersburg’s trophy case after the school’s cross country team won three straight interscholastic meets in New York City’s Van Cortlandt Park. Bill Cox ’24, who won a bronze medal as a member of the U.S. 3,000-meter relay team at the 1924 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, led the way; he never lost a race to a high-school athlete during his Mercersburg career.

The Blue Storm’s 2005 girls’ track & field squad was record setting, to say the least. Team members shattered 14 school records that season—including two state records that were broken during the state championship meet (by Melissa McCartney ’05 in the discus and the team of Sonya Karbach ’05, Brittany Lattisaw ’05, Jane Tseng ’05, and Reve Tortel ’07 in the 4x400meter relay).

Penn Relay Carnival Alpha Sigma Phi Challenge Cup (mile relay), 1930–1931

Last spring, Mercersburg’s boys’ team earned its first Easterns title since 2002 and its fifth in head coach Pete Williams’ tenure. Tareq Kaaki ’11 won the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle, and teamed with Chris Hoke ’10, Nikolai Paloni ’10, and Nick Thomson ’10 to capture the 200-yard free relay.

Mercersburg captured the one-mile relay in back-to-back years at the prestigious Penn Relays, giving the school the right to engrave its name twice on the cup. (Other schools on the trophy include Seton Hall Prep, Newark Prep, and De La Salle Institute.)

The quartet of Joe Bishop ’31, Harold Pearson ’31, Wilbur Batt ’31, and George Serfass ’31 won the 1931 race.

Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Championships, 2010

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Your Life as History Inside the new Quinn-Ferguson Honors Seminar

By Philip Kantaros A recent edition of The Economist contained a special 16-page report on feeding the world.

The report refused to package the issue too prettily. Instead, like streams of characters spilling off pages of dueling Russian novels, came specific case studies, the work of innovators in countless fields of food, demographic realities, local and state and global politics, traditional cultural practices, contradictory accounts of whether a food crisis really exists, the biofuel debacle, calories versus nutrients, food waste, and the possibility of both a semiglobal food crisis and a world in which each of the earth’s projected nine billion people can have enough to eat.

A reader can pull from that stew of names, numbers, and forecasts ingredients for both genuine optimism and legitimate despair.

But the information is there.

Information seems to be everywhere. Part of our mission as teachers at Mercersburg is to “teach students to think for themselves” and to help students “approach life thoughtfully and creatively.” The Quinn-Ferguson Honors Seminar was formed with these goals in mind. On Monday afternoons and Wednesday evenings, 12 upper middlers (11th graders) and seniors meet to discuss and debate a topic. Students are pushed to think for themselves and to approach the topic deliberately. I don’t want to hear how a student feels about human trafficking, troubles in the Horn of Africa, microfinancing, or rapid urbanization; I want to hear her positions on those issues.

With the help and generosity of many, we have the opportunity to spend an academic year together tackling some of the

most important issues that span the past and future lives of our students. We are able to bring in some of the school’s best minds.

Eric Hicks presented on genetically modified plants and animals. Allison Stephens brought the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the table. Bill McClintick shared his thoughts about the future of higher education. Nate Jacklin ’96 gave both the pros and cons of microfinancing in the developing world.

John David Bennett discussed with us the evolution of English as a language. Emily Howley considered both the changing and static status of women from a global perspective. Sami Kebede ’11 joined us for lunch and fascinated his classmates with stories from his childhood in Ethiopia. We repaid the favor by taking Sami with us for dinner to Tajitu, an Ethiopian restaurant in Frederick, Maryland.

In April, we heard from Mercersburg alumnus and sitting judge Shawn Meyers ’86 on the rule of law in America and the growing demand for the rule of law in the Middle East and elsewhere. At the same time, students converted their research papers to a more visual format. Foster Wattles ’11 produced

Quinn-Ferguson Honors Seminar students with NAACP President Benjamin Jealous (center) at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. (L–R) Ciero Wang ’11, Foster Wattles ’11, Ryan Ma ’11, Hannah Edwards ’11, Nikki Wolny ’11, Jealous, Kathy Clarke ’12, Harrison Brink ’11, Camille Hodges ’11, Aric DiLalla ’12, Nikki Hyrkas ’11.

an “edugame” (an educational video game).

Aric DiLalla ’12 covered effective prisoner reentry programs. Renee Mao ’11 focused on the psychological and societal effects of an increasingly Internet-based world. Kathy Clarke ’12 also took on the Internet, but examined it in a different way: as a perfect breeding ground for cult recruitment and development. Harrison Brink ’11 argued that good climate-change policy makes good U.S. foreign policy. Ryan Ma ’11 imagined the city of the future.

Then there is the issue of feeding the world. It is a rich issue for these students because of the many strands that mesh. As participants in the Quinn-Ferguson Honors Seminar, we are discovering a large and growing web to this world. And if we are willing to think creatively and to think for ourselves, we can just make out that which connects disparate issues such as freedom of religion in America and the political and economic future of China.

Phil Kantaros is chair of the Mercersburg history department and has taught at the school since 2002. He teaches the Quinn-Ferguson Honors Seminar, which was established in 2010 through the generosity of Robert Lehrman ’69. The seminar honors emeritus faculty members Jay Quinn and the late John Ferguson.

The seminar (which is subtitled “Your Life as History”) is searching for individuals interested in presenting on topics relevant to next year’s class. For more information, contact Kantaros at kantarosp@mercersburg.edu.

Mercersburg Profiles

Eyewitness to History Some were part of history.

Some made history.

Read on for more.

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The 1989 earthquake that brought the World Series—and the Bay Area—to a halt

Giant Troubles

By Lee Owen

What are the odds?

What are the odds that the strongest earthquake in 83 years to hit San Francisco—one of the most quake-prone large American cities—would strike just before Game 3 of the 1989 World Series, which was the first World Series baseball game played in the city in almost three decades?

What are the odds that the World Series game in question would feature both the San Francisco Giants and their cross-bay counterparts, the Oakland Athletics?

And, perhaps the most important question: because a World Series game featuring the region’s two teams was scheduled for a 5:35 p.m. first pitch on October 17, 1989, were there fewer people on bridges, in highrise buildings, and driving on shaky sections of area freeways than on a normal Tuesday

at 5:04 p.m., when the 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta Earthquake rumbled through the Bay Area?

No one knows the answer to the first two questions—but the answer to the third is a resounding “yes.” Nearly 6 million people called the Bay Area home in 1989, and— despite the quake occurring during weekday rush hour in a major metropolitan area— there were a mere (by comparison) 63 fatalities. Forty-one people died when the Cypress Street Viaduct, a double-decker freeway that carried Interstate 880, collapsed in Oakland.

Additionally, an upper section of the Bay Bridge between the two cities toppled onto the bridge’s lower span. The quake caused nearly $7 billion in damage and injured 3,757 people in the region.

Roughly 90 minutes before the quake, Dave Holzwarth ’78 (who today teaches science at Mercersburg but was working as a San Francisco–based contractor in 1989) navigated both the Cypress Street Viaduct and the Bay Bridge on his way home from work. He normally drove over the Cypress section of I-880 about 5:30 every afternoon, but left work early the day of the quake because his friend Tom Marble bought Holzwarth tickets to the World Series game as a birthday present. Holzwarth drove from his project site in nearby San Jose through Oakland and across the bridge, picked up Marble (who, like Holzwarth, lived in the Telegraph Hill section of San Francisco), and headed down U.S. Highway 101 to Candlestick Park.

North Stamets ’73, a stockbroker for Smith Barney, was already at Candlestick, having arrived at approximately 4:30 p.m. A Giants season-ticket holder, Stamets was in line to buy a game program near an escalator on the first-base side of the upper deck when the ground began to shake violently.

“It was really bizarre,” Stamets says. “The ground moved up and down without the cement breaking. It just went on and on for what seemed like forever.”

In the parking lot, Holzwarth remembers taking two steps away from his car before he and Marble were knocked to the ground by the shaking. “The back ends of cars were hopping up and down, because cars are heavy in the front from the engine,” Holzwarth says. “The light towers in the stadium were

swaying. We couldn’t stand up. After it was over, we looked at each other and said, ‘Wow, that was a good one.’”

Stamets remembers “a symphony of car alarms” coming from the parking lot in response to the violent shaking. “Back then, everyone had a car alarm,” he says. “It was like an aria of car-alarm music, and it was really stunning. It was something you didn’t expect.” Stamets exchanged business cards with several of the fans around him on the stadium concourse, “just so we could all remember what we saw.”

Official estimates put the 62,000-seat stadium at about half-full during the quake, which lasted 15 seconds. Many fans rode out the quake while navigating traffic and parking lots around the stadium, which sits on a hillside south of downtown San Francisco adjacent to Highway 101. Instant wireless communication was far from mainstream in 1989; Holzwarth had a cell phone, but it was of the “car phone” variety and thus remained tethered to his vehicle. (The phone did allow him to reach his fiancée, Allison Stephens, then in her third year on the Mercersburg faculty, and his father, Bill ’44, who was in his office on the 17th floor of the Ordway Building in downtown Oakland.)

Immediately following the quake, fans in the stadium were largely unaware of the devastation in other parts of the region and the damage to bridges and freeways. Holzwarth remembers buying a hot dog, finding his seat in the lower deck, and saying to Marble, “I hope they still play the game.”

It was then that a police car drove onto the field from one of the bullpens. With power knocked out in the stadium, officers announced through a bullhorn that the game had been postponed and fans should exit the park. “They had closed a lot of the freeway entrance ramps and were telling us the only way out was to the South Bay [south of the city],” Holzwarth says.

Stamets learned of the magnitude of the

quake in the parking lot, where a limousine driver had a television, and saw pictures of the collapsed Bay Bridge section. “We had to get out of there,” Stamets says. Reaching his home in Sausalito (across the Golden Gate Bridge) required Stamets to head north through downtown—a tricky proposition with the amount of damage varying widely in the city. Instead of taking Highway 101, Stamets drove north on Third Street, which runs parallel to the freeway along the bay.

His high-rise downtown office escaped major damage, but it was a different scene in the nearby Marina District, which was ravaged by fire and collapsed buildings.

“You’d think it would have been total chaos with the fires and the hoses everywhere stretched across the road, but everyone was calm and courteous,” he says. “If you came to an intersection and the traffic lights were out, people would stop and let the other cars go through. That was the beauty of San Francisco. It wasn’t like everyone was in a panic trying to get home before everyone else.

“Then we had no idea what to expect at the Golden Gate Bridge. But it turned out that the bridge was perfectly fine.” Still, a continued on page 22

family ties Stamets and Holzwarth are linked by more than just the 1989 earthquake and their Bay Area roots; each of their fathers (the aforementioned Bill Holzwarth and Bill Stamets Jr. ’37) also attended Mercersburg—as did Stamets’ three brothers, John ’67, Bill III ’70, and Paul ’73, and Holzwarth’s late uncle, Chuck ’42, who died in 1999. Bill Stamets Jr. passed away in 1993 and Bill Holzwarth died in 2002.

North Stamets and his daughter, Celine, cheer on the San Francisco Giants during the 2010 playoffs.

Dave Holzwarth

trip that normally took about 40 minutes from Candlestick to Sausalito turned into a two-hour ordeal, and Stamets’ wife and two children were understandably relieved when he arrived home. “People were surprised that we got home so quickly—of course, on the news, there were so many pictures of everyone stuck in traffic,” he says.

Holzwarth and Marble watched television coverage of the immediate aftermath from a restaurant in Palo Alto and then heard from a friend in the Marina District whose apartment was on fire. “They had to water-cannon her apartment and blow out the windows to put out the fire, and it was destroyed,” Holzwarth says. “So we went

up to the Marina and made it through the police checkpoints because I had a plumber’s license and my driver’s license had the right zip code. We shut off a couple of gas lines and found our friend.”

They arrived back home in Telegraph Hill around midnight and discovered little out of place at Holzwarth’s apartment.

Telegraph Hill largely avoided significant damage since it is situated atop bedrock, while much of the Marina was built on landfill (a mixture of soil, rocks, and—ironically—debris from the disastrous 1906 San Francisco earthquake that left the city in ruins). The result during the 1989 quake was soil liquefaction, which damaged many of the structures in the area and led to widespread fires from ruptured gas lines.

Holzwarth had more than 60 messages waiting for him on his answering machine.

Not surprisingly, a cleanup, construction, and renovation boom followed the quake—which, as a silver lining, was good for Holzwarth’s business. “We had more work than you could shake a stick at, but we were overwhelmed,” he says.

Ten days passed before the World Series resumed on October 27. The A’s, who won Games 1 and 2 in Oakland before the quake, took Game 3 as well and finished the Giants off in Game 4. Stamets ventured back to Candlestick for the rescheduled Game 3, but Holzwarth— by then up to his neck in work obligations—did not. Both waited 21 years for the Giants to ultimately win a World Series;

last fall, the Giants defeated the Texas Rangers, 4–1, to earn their first championship since moving to San Francisco in 1958.

“The 2010 season was magical,” says Stamets, now retired and still living in Sausalito. “The World Series was a dream come true, especially after all those years of waiting.”

Holzwarth returned to his alma mater to join the faculty in 1990, and married Stephens in Mercersburg’s Irvine Memorial Chapel in 1991. Their daughter, Wynn ’11, began her high-school career at the Academy and will graduate this spring from the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California, while their son, Zack ’13, is in his second year at Mercersburg.

Update:

Japan Quake

Andy Pardieck ’86, an assistant professor of law and general counsel at Temple University’s Japan Campus in Tokyo, authored a story about the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan in March for The Tribune, his hometown newspaper in Seymour, Indiana.

To read the story, visit www.mercersburg. edu/pardieck or scan this QR code with your smartphone or mobile device.

The current Mercersburg student body includes three students and one faculty member from Japan; the school heard from all four shortly following the March 11 quake. Two of the students had gone home to Tokyo for Mercersburg’s spring vacation, which began March 4, while one student and the faculty member were in the United States when the quake occurred.

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‘‘Va’’ Law

xamples and words heeded in youth often contain remarkable staying power.

The striking example for Phil Marstiller ’62 came from the dogged determination of his father. The uncommon words etched in his mind emanated from the lips of a coach and mentor.

Those two men, from different settings and diverse backgrounds, played a vital role in molding the young Marstiller into the success he has become.

Marstiller is the founder and president of his own law firm in Middleburg, Virginia, but his firm is far from a struggling one-man operation. Rather, Marstiller’s firm has negotiated hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of settlements, and his expertise has helped him gain national fame.

Just recently, Marstiller played a decisive role in a $313 million judgment against Forest Pharmaceuticals, the largest settlement in Virginia’s law-employment history and believed to be one of the biggest settlements ever in the nation in the health care industry.

But none of that may have been possible without the people in Marstiller’s background.

The example was his father, James A. Marstiller, who was a pretty fair attorney himself. “I always wanted to emulate my dad,” Marstiller says.

His father was one of six children in his family.

Born in West Virginia coal country, Marstiller’s father wound up in an orphanage in Parkersburg during the Great Depression.

“My dad had no one to depend on and no money, but from those meager beginnings he co-founded Mountain State Savings and Loan, co-founded his own law firm, and became a very good tennis player and golfer,” says Marstiller, his words imbued with pride. “He was respected by everyone.”

The influential voice belonged to Leonard Plantz, the longtime coach and athletic director at Mercersburg, who continued on page 24

Phil Marstiller and his small Virginiabased firm are making a big impact

By Tom Coccagna

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passed away last fall. When he came to Mercersburg, Marstiller says he was a decent basketball player who was frequently critical of himself. That’s when Plantz stepped in.

“He cautioned me by saying, ‘Marstiller, you need to recognize you’re your own worst enemy; quit trying to punish yourself,’” Marstiller recalls. “I’ll never forget those words.”

Marstiller went from punishing to pushing himself—through Mercersburg, to undergraduate studies at the College of William & Mary, and to law school at the University of Richmond—with his dream clearly in mind: “I always wanted to be a lawyer.”

While in high school, he was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam era and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) at Fort Knox. He went on to begin his own law firm in rural southwest Virginia before practicing with several Virginia firms in the 1970s.

“I started my own firm 23 years ago and never looked back,” he points out.

Along the way, he earned a reputation as a powerful lobbyist before the Virginia General Assembly, but his distaste for politics, along with the ethos his father had instilled in him, tore him away from that climate.

is a retired judge of the Richmond court told him, ‘Forget those big firms. Go see Phil Marstiller.’”

Once Marstiller reviewed Gobble’s assertions, he realized Gobble had a potential qui tam case. In legalese, qui tam is a provision that allows a “whistleblower” to file suit under the federal False Claims Act, which, as the Virginia Medical Law Report says, “provides incentives for plaintiffs and prosecutors to pursue fraud against the government.”

The suit alleged that Forest Pharmaceuticals was giving kickbacks to doctors, thereby inflating the cost of its drugs to Medicaid and other government health programs. At the outset, Marstiller believed Gobble had a legitimate claim, and his spirits were buoyed when the federal government decided to pursue the case.

“I was cautiously optimistic,” Marstiller says. “I did think we might be able to effect a large settlement, but I never let myself think in terms of the largest settlement in Virginia history.”

After almost nine years of investigation and litigation, the suit was settled without ever going to trial. Gobble a n d t w o o t h e r s s h a r e d $ 1 4 mi l l i o n a s t h ei r c u t o f the settlement.

“He is extraordinarily professional, competent, ethical, honest, and diligent,” Gobble wrote of Marstiller. “He just will never yield. I could not imagine having a better lawyer—he was fantastic. He would never let my family become pessimistic.”

Another $149 million was to be distributed among various settlements with the federal government and 21 states. In March 2011, Forest Pharmaceuticals was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $150 million and forfeit $14 million of assets after pleading guilty to obstructing justice, distributing an unapproved new drug, and distributing a misbranded drug.

“This is highly unusual,” Marstiller says. “Corporations never plead guilty to criminal violations.”

As fulfilling as the legal victory was, Marstiller can also be satisfied with Gobble’s words: “I believe that Mr. Marstiller is the best example of what the legal profession has to offer the general public.”

It’s no wonder, then, that Marstiller is easily irritated by television depictions of lawyers using shady tactics. As he looks through the filter of 43 years of experience as a country practitioner, prosecutor, partner in a large firm, and founder of his own firm, he sees a profession that has ethics, despite what pundits may say. “Unfortunately, quality lawyers generally do not receive the notoriety of those few lawyers who tarnish the profession,” he says.

Fortunately for his clients, Phil Marstiller is doing everything he can to change that perception.

“I did think we might be able to effect a large settlement, but I never let myself think in terms of the largest settlement in Virginia history.”

“I despise politics,” he maintains. “I consider myself above politics and influence peddling. I wanted to be respected like my father, and he hated politics, too.”

Today, Marstiller hates seeing big companies trample regular Americans. His reputation for challenging Fortune 500 corporations was one reason he found Christopher Gobble on his doorstep one day about nine years ago.

I n e a r l y 2 0 0 2 , G o b b l e , a n e x e c u t i v e w i t h Fo r e s t Pharmaceuticals of Richmond, brought what he considered to be fraudulent practices to his company’s attention. Gobble believed Forest was involved in off-label marketing: enticing physicians with kickbacks in the form of money, gifts, meals, entertainment, and vacations in order to induce them to prescribe its medicines.

Shortly thereafter, Gobble was fired. He went to several major law firms in Richmond seeking help, but was turned away.

Marstiller recounts, “A close friend of [Gobble’s] family who

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Twenty members

of the current Mercersburg student body hail from the People’s Republic of China. That’s 20 more Chinese students than Renzhong “Richard” Chen ’89 found waiting for him when he arrived from Shanghai in fall 1988.

Chen, who is believed to be the first Mercersburg graduate from mainland C h i n a , c a m e t o the school on an ASSIST (American Secondary Schools for International Students and Teachers) scholarship for a single year, and found that his background made him an instant celebrity on campus. “I was somewhat like a panda bear—a rarity that received so much attention and loving care,” he says.

“I was in the campus newspaper, on local TV, and was even invited to speak to the Rotary Club. Fellow students would come to my room to ask all kinds of questions about China: ‘Does it snow in China?’

‘Does everyone wear Mao suits?’”

As Chen and the rest of his classmates prepared for Commencement, tensions began to boil over in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square (6,900 miles away from Mercersburg). The standoff came to a head early in the morning of June 4, 1989—and because of the 12-hour time difference, Chen’s walk across the platform to accept his diploma came at almost the same time that the Tiananmen protests were quashed. Later that day in the square, a single, lonely figure stood in the path of four Chinese tanks in what became one of the most dramatic images of the 20th century.

“The protests had been going on for months with much fanfare, but little violence,” Chen says. “I hadn’t been terribly alarmed and went through graduation perfectly happy.” He went to New York City to stay with friend Jon Trichter ’89, and was planning to fly back to China when he saw television footage from Beijing of soldiers

East

By Lee Owen

MN Chan/getty images

Far From the

25

advancing with AK-47 rifles and flames burning in the background.

“I have a friend who was on the square that night, and he told me how troops poured down the steps of the Great Hall of the People,” Chen says. “I also know a former security guard who ducked inside a ditch outside a hotel with bullets zipping over his head.

“In New York, I felt untethered and terrified. I had just left the warm, protective cocoon that was Mercersburg. Going home would mean going back to turmoil and uncertainty.”

So with the help of Mercersburg classmate and friend Bill Byrd ’89, and Byrd’s family in the U.S., Chen decided to apply to American universities (in late June, without even an SAT score). He earned a scholarship to Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, and by the time he was finally able to see his parents again, it was 1993 and he was graduating from Lafayette—a full five years after he first left China.

“I still remember my heart leapt right before the plane touched down in Shanghai,” says Chen, who returned to America to attend graduate school at

Richard Chen at Commencement 1989

Stanford University.

Chen was working in Boston and had volunteered for a publication called Harvard China Review when he met Lee Zhang, who had dropped out of Harvard to work for a Chinese web portal. Zhang later called Chen from China and asked him to return to China to work in a start-up Internet venture. In 1999, along with Wall Street banker Justin Tang, Chen and Zhang founded eLong.com, a successful Beijing-based travel site. Expedia now holds a majority stake in eLong.com, which is Expedia’s exclusive affiliated partner in Asia.

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Clancy Prevost ’56 never sought

A Real American Hero Th e i nsti ncts of a Mercersburg alumnus led to an arrest that may have changed h istory

By Lee Owen

the spotlight—but it found him anyway.

Prevost was as inconspicuous as a 6-foot5-inch former airline pilot in a pair of red Chuck Taylor sneakers could be—until his instincts about a student pilot he worked with took over and led Prevost to alert his supervisors, who in turn contacted the FBI. The aspiring pilot was detained, arrested, and (for the time being) held on immigration-related charges.

Less than a month later, four commercial airliners carrying a total of 19 hijackers crashed into the two World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, and in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The planes that reached their intended targets contained five hijackers apiece. The one that did not—which many speculate was bound for the White House or the U.S. Capitol but instead crashed in a field 75 miles west of Mercersburg—had just four hijackers.

Perhaps that’s because the aspiring student pilot, who would later come to be known as “the 20th hijacker,” was in federal custody instead of settling into a seat on United Airlines Flight 93 on the morning of September 11, 2001.

Red flags On August 13, 2001, Zacarias Moussaoui arrived at the Pan American International Flight Academy in Eagan, Minnesota, with the stated goal of learning to fly large commercial aircraft. Moussaoui claimed to be a well-heeled European businessman who wanted to train to fly jetliners to impress his friends. He paid $6,800 in cash when he showed up at the school, which was near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

But the Moussaoui that began studying with Prevost—who was then an instructor at the flight school—hardly resembled his supposed background. Unshaven, wearing rumpled chinos, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap, Moussaoui spoke mediocre English and French. (He was, however, fluent in Arabic.)

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Prevost was not the first flight instructor Moussaoui studied with; he had trained to fly Cessnas at a school in Oklahoma between February and May of 2001, but left the school without ever having flown by himself—unusual for a pilot with ambitions of guiding jumbo jets. Prevost later testified that Moussaoui seemed to grasp little of the important material needed to learn to fly. During their conversations, the subject of religion came up, and Prevost asked Moussaoui if he was a Muslim. Moussaoui replied, sternly and awkwardly, “I am nothing.”

It was a turning point. That evening, Prevost went so far as to note the licenseplate number on the car that Moussaoui arrived in for a simulator session. The FBI spoke with Prevost and others at the flight school and arrested Moussaoui August 16. Just 25 days later, America changed forever.

ClanCy’s li fe On December 23, 2010, the 72-year-old Prevost died of stomach cancer at his winter home in Coral Gables, Florida. He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and a former U.S. Navy pilot. He was also a cancer survivor before he became a victim; in 1993, a brain tumor effectively ended Prevost’s 25-year career as a pilot for Northwest Airlines. After he made a full recovery, the airline asked him to stay on as a flight instructor to work with aspiring pilots.

It wasn’t the first time Prevost had to successfully navigate a major transition; during the 1970s, as skyrocketing fuel prices crippled the airline industry, Northwest Orient (as the carrier was then known) temporarily laid off Prevost, who supported his family by working in a Pittsburgh steel mill for two years before the airline hired him back. (He was also married five times and was a recovering alcoholic who regularly attended AA meetings and stayed clean for the last 16 years of his life.)

Prevost’s father, John ’29, was a

Mercersburg alumnus and also worked as the school’s medical director from 1967 to 1981. Three of Dr. Prevost’s four sons— Clancy, John ’54, and Lou ’67—followed him to the Academy. The younger John Prevost died in 1960 while serving as a pilot in the U.S. Navy; he served on the USS Oriskany with future Senator John McCain and died in the Philippines while on a training mission in preparation for the escalating Vietnam conflict. (Dr. Prevost, who was affectionately known as “Doc,” passed away in 2002.)

The Prevost children—the three future Mercersburg students, plus daughter Sally and another son, Jim—grew up in the northern Pennsylvania hamlet of Wellsboro, which is about 50 miles from both Williamsport and Elmira, New York. “My father delivered almost 1,200 babies there,” says Lou Prevost, who owns the Radnor Hotel in the Philadelphia suburbs. “Everybody knew him. And he loved Mercersburg.”

Before the September 11 attacks, Clancy Prevost told Lou of one of his students who had been arrested by the FBI and had a pattern of strange behavior. Clancy mentioned to his brother that he was wary of Moussaoui’s intentions once he learned to fly a jumbo jet, and that things didn’t add up. “Back then, we had no idea that there were guys who wanted to crash airplanes into buildings,” Lou says. “So I didn’t really think anything of it until [the attacks].”

Lou is a longtime fan of the author and journalist Seymour Hersh, who writes for The New Yorker. He placed a call to Hersh on the night of September 11 and left a message with information that Clancy had told him about Moussaoui. Hersh called Lou back that same evening.

“Hersh told me that he was on hold with the executive director of the CIA, who wanted to know how [Hersh] had all this information,” Lou says. “Hersh told me, ‘Clancy is a part of history. This is a huge event in the history of our country, and he’s in the middle of it.’”

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Clancy gave few interviews in the nine years between September 2001 and his death. Lou adds that the Al Jazeera television network even tried to track him down, to no avail. “Clancy’s phones were tapped for five years,” Lou says. “I would call him and you would hear the click on the phone [from the surveillance]. Clancy would say, ‘Let’s all say bye to the FBI.’” Clancy testified in the criminal proceedings against Moussaoui in 2002; Moussaoui pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and to use weapons of mass destruction. He is serving a life sentence without parole in a federal prison in Colorado.

The final quesTion Ultimately, did Clancy Prevost consider himself a hero? The U.S. government sure did—it awarded him $5 million for alerting federal officials to Moussaoui’s erratic and suspicious behavior. The Harvard Business Review devoted a large part of an article about business instincts to Clancy and his interactions with Moussaoui.

Lou Prevost says that whenever people told Clancy he was a hero, he frequently responded with the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy.”

“People called him ‘the reluctant hero,’” Lou says. “The surgeon who operated on him at the Mayo Clinic [for complications related to stomach cancer] turned out to be best friends with a good friend of mine from Wellsboro. When he discovered who Clancy was, the surgeon said to me, ‘He never told me that I was operating on a real hero. I guess that’s the sign of a real hero.’”

In addition to siblings Lou, Jim, and Sally (Shoemaker), Clancy’s survivors include his wife, Sheilah; two sons, John ’82 and David; a daughter, Andrea; and seven grandchildren. In spring 2012, Clancy’s remains will be taken at his request to be scattered at Subic Bay in the Philippines— the spot where his eldest brother died more than 50 years before.

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Answering the Call

By Shelton Clark

Broth ers Jim an d Ray Li ddy are veterans of well-known conflicts

B

oth Jim Liddy ’80 and Ray Liddy ’82 lived through one of the 20th century’s defining political crises as young children, which helped them to face one of the 21st century’s defining international crises as adults.

As a young child, Ray recalls that “we moved from New York down to Washington, D.C., when I was 7, and my father took a position in the Nixon administration.” It was an exciting time. “I remember watching President [Richard] Nixon emerge from Air Force One after returning from China in 1972, as a crowd cheered in a hangar at Andrews Air Force Base. I was also able to attend a White House Christmas party, which was a breathtaking sight to see. Then everything kind of went sideways.”

Jim and Ray’s father, G. Gordon Liddy, was a key figure in the Watergate scandal and went to prison in 1973 for his role in the conspiracy. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter commuted Liddy’s 20-year sentence to eight years, and he was released from prison on parole later that year. But during their father’s trial and imprisonment, the family not only fell on hard times financially, but also often bore the brunt of scorn for their father’s actions.

“We received a lot of media attention, and not necessarily favorable,” Ray says. School at that age was also a challenge. Fights were commonplace. “I had one teacher tell me that he hoped my father would spend his life in prison, and then I went home to find out that the power was turned off for lack of payment again.”

But some were supportive. “There was a small cadre of military families who looked out for us, for which I will always be grateful,” Ray adds. “That support meant a lot to my mother [Frances Purcell Liddy], who held the family together during this very difficult time.” (She passed away February 5, 2010.)

“It was a really difficult time,” Jim remembers. “There were a lot of people who would just flat out hate you because of who you were, and what they thought you represented. We had our mailbox smashed so many times that the post office wouldn’t deliver our mail anymore.”

Jim, who in 2006 co-authored Fight Back! Tackling Terrorism, Liddy Style with his father, cites the 1991 book Silent Coup: The Removal of a President by Len Colodny and Robert Gettlin as evidence that even his father had been “duped” about the reasons for the Watergate break-ins.

“My father did what he thought was in the best interest of the security of the United States,” Jim says. “Clearly, what he did was illegal and wrong, but he didn’t find out the reason until much, much Ray Liddy Jim Liddy later. “[Having gone] through all of that and not as children understanding why, we just hunkered down and stayed together. We were a strong family and tried to take care of each other. We became stronger for it. I think the experience made us reflect on what was really important to help the family and to succeed. The key to that was education.”

Interestingly, it was their brother Tom, then a student at St. Albans School in Washington, who suggested Mercersburg to Jim. “Tom traveled to Mercersburg for a swim meet, and that’s how we discovered it,” Ray says.

“Tom came back and said, ‘This is a place you ought to consider going,’” says Jim, who was also a competitive swimmer. “The thing that impressed him is that you walk into that swimming stadium, and it’s just lined with rows and rows of pictures of All-Americans.”

In addition to swimming, Jim served as chairman of his class council at Mercersburg and was a recipient of the Headmaster’s Prize. He later earned a swimming scholarship to Fordham University and made the U.S. national water polo team. He trained for the 1984 Summer Olympics, but notes that the team’s players who would have played in the boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics were given deference for the 1984 team.

So, Jim received a commission in the Navy and joined the U.S. Navy SEALs, the Navy’s special warfare unit, and rose to the rank of commander before retiring in 2005. He now serves as president of Virginia-based Layered Security Solutions, which serves governmental and commercial interests such as military installations, energy companies, and financial institutions.

“The specialized training I received combined with my operational experience made me ideally suited to look at critical infrastructure anywhere in the world and identify potential or existing vulnerabilities,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be a terrorist

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“There were plenty of chaotic times

getting from Nasiriyah to Baghdad in one piece.

Of course, some things never change; shortly after surviving a close encounter with a sniper, a newly embedded reporter asked if I was really G. Gordon Liddy’s son. I had to laugh.” —Ray Liddy ’82, on serving in Iraq

attack; it could be any of the things that normally cause problems. It could range from a loss of life, equipment, or resources to a loss of reputation or public confidence.

Those are the events that really do most of the destruction—post-calamitous, cascading effects. Since I’ve been trained to cause those catastrophic events, I am able to analyze such potential threats as well as their resultant strategic implications for the entity involved.”

In fall 1980, three months after Jim’s graduation, Ray arrived at Mercersburg. “Back then, I was the quiet one,” Ray says. “I arrived at Mercersburg a very shy person. I kept to myself in part because I didn’t know how I would be received. I never do. Even to this day, whenever I walk into a room full of people, I expect half of them not to like me because of my last name. I don’t even have to open my mouth.”

Mercersburg provided an environment where all that was left behind. “I credit Mercersburg for pulling me out of my shell,” he says. “For two years, I was able to focus on academics, sports, and other activities. I even became a proctor, which isn’t bad for a shy kid.” He also wrestled, ran cross country, wrote for the

Honoring Their Service According to school records, a total of 156 Mercersburg alumni lost their lives in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Four plaques—one for each conflict—hang in the narthex of the Irvine Memorial Chapel in recognition of the fallen.

Ninety-five Mercersburg alumni perished in World War II, followed by World War I (55), Korea (nine), and Vietnam (seven).

There is no way to fully measure the definitive number of Mercersburg men and

women who have served (and are serving today) in combat, but among them are three recipients of the Medal of Honor: Eugene Fluckey ’30, Ralph Talbot ’16, and Joel Boone (1909).

Boone is the namesake of Boone Hall on campus, which originally stood on the site now occupied by the Burgin Center for the Arts.

Two spaces in the Burgin Center—the Boone Recital Hall and the Boone Atrium— are named in his honor.

Mercersburg News, and served as a Blue Key. “In my first trimester, I thought my history teacher, Mr. [Larry] Jones, used two or three red pens to make all the corrections on my homework,” he adds with a laugh.

“At Mercersburg, nothing was pushed on you,” Jim says. “You had challenges there, but you had the resources and the faculty to help you. If you worked hard and asked for help, it was all there for the taking. Mercersburg sees the potential in all its students, and does everything it can to help them reach their potential.”

Both Jim and Ray have found themselves in the middle of international crises. During his Navy career, Jim earned a master’s from Johns Hopkins University in strategic studies and international relations. By 2001, he was a chief operations planner for the headquarters of Special Operations, and held continued on page 30

Boone, who retired in 1950 with the rank of vice admiral, was present at the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, which officially ended World War II. The treaty was signed onboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay; among the Mercersburg servicemen in the vicinity was Tom Massey ’43, who was stationed aboard the USS Razorback.

Vice Admiral Joel T. Boone

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various classified positions at the Pentagon. On September 10 of that year, he flew to the headquarters of Special Operations in Tampa, Florida.

“We were already very concerned about the intelligence that had been coming in for the past six to eight months,” Jim says.

“We had an idea that things were likely to get worse, not better.

The next morning, I was in the command center at Special Operations Command in Tampa watching [the 9/11 attacks] on the big screens. We immediately went into our planning.

We reacted and started putting operators in motion.” He was ordered back to the Pentagon immediately, driving 18 hours (as all flights in the country were grounded).

“From that day forward, for about the next year and a half, I was working from 16 to 21 hours a day,” Jim says. Eventually, he was on the team to take the 9/11 Commission Report, respond to it, and come up with recommendations and solutions to the issues presented. “I was one of the people that had to get to the practical, ‘stubby-pencil’ work so that the people at the level of the secretary of defense and the CIA director could take it to the president for approval,” he says.

Ray is a deputy attorney general for the State of California and a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves. He joined the active-duty Marine Corps as an infantry officer out of Fordham University. He attended the Army’s Ranger School and holds a master’s degree in strategic studies from the Army War College

More eyewitnesses online...

Visit mercersburg.edu/eyewitness or scan this QR code to read profiles of more alumni and their connections to historical events—including: Bill Lai ngen ’78, Chip Lai ngen ’79, Jim Lai ngen ’84

sons of Ambassador L. Bruce Laingen, who was held captive in Iran

Jan Moller ’87

Louisiana-based political journalist; also reported on Hurricane Katrina

Judy Rakowsky ’76

covered notable criminal trials for People magazine/Boston Globe

Dick Thorn burgh ’50

former governor of Pennsylvania/ U.S. attorney general

Arch ive

alumni who experienced the 9/11 attacks

in Carlisle, not far from Mercersburg. Ray served in Panama as part of an expeditionary force immediately prior to the U.S. invasion there in 1989.

After leaving active duty, he enrolled at the Fordham University School of Law and remained in the reserves. Not long into his first year of law school, he received a telegram from the Department of Defense ordering him to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune to prepare for what turned out to be the first Gulf War—which ended two days before he was scheduled to deploy to the Persian Gulf.

More than a decade later and living in San Diego, Ray was practicing law and serving as the rifle company commander for a Marine reserve unit on 9/11. “We were activated shortly after the 9/11 attacks,” he says. “I received a call on my cell phone on my way home from work. I had stopped to pick up groceries and was standing in the parking lot. When I finally got home an hour later with no groceries, my wife and I knew our lives were going to change.

“Our job was to provide a ready-reaction force in support of Homeland Security. Immediately after 9/11, nobody knew if another attack was around the corner. Of course, we also continued to train as a regular combat unit, which became critical.” His unit was assigned to the First Marine Division’s Regimental Combat Team 1, and Ray was sent to Iraq in February 2003 with the invasion force.

“Going to war is a whole different ball of wax,” he says.

“There were plenty of chaotic times getting from Nasiriyah to Baghdad in one piece. Of course, some things never change; shortly after surviving a close encounter with a sniper, a newly embedded reporter asked if I was really G. Gordon Liddy’s son.

I had to laugh.”

Ray credits Mercersburg for contributing to his success as a Marine officer. “As Marines, we rely not only on our training, but also on a core set of values to guide us. And as I look back at my time at Mercersburg, I credit the school for not only helping its students develop leadership qualities, but also for inoculating ethical standards, which is important to any profession.”

He has appeared on the PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer to discuss counterinsurgency issues, and in 2005, was the storyline writer for a popular software game, Destineer Studios’ Close Combat: First to Fight. As part of his continuing reserve commitment, Ray assists at the Emergency Operations Center at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, which coordinates military assistance for Homeland Security.

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An Extended European “Vacation” Bill McClintick, Mercersburg’s director of college counseling, was among the estimated 5 million travelers stranded in April 2010 when an ash cloud from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, a volcano in Iceland, forced the closure of a large portion of European airspace.

McClintick was in the United Kingdom to visit several universities as part of a tour for American college counselors organized

by British schools, who are hoping to solicit greater numbers of applications from prospective American students.

He toured the University of Durham, Oxford University, and the University of Bristol, and planned to catch a flight from Newcastle (in northeastern England) to London in order to fly home. Instead, his flight was canceled and he traveled four hours to London by train.

With his return flight to the U.S. on Saturday, April 24, canceled as well, McClintick found himself grounded in London. And with phone lines to European airlines jammed, McClintick’s wife, Liz—from their home in Mercersburg— re-booked him on a Virgin Atlantic flight to Dulles Airport near Washington the following Thursday.

“Honestly, it was just dumb luck that we picked Thursday, because the airspace began to open up on Wednesday as the ash cloud cleared,” said McClintick, who took the opportunity to visit additional schools in the city, including King’s College and University College London. “As long as I was there, I figured I might as well tour some more places. And I got to see a lot

of football [soccer] while I was there, too.”

McClintick says the most stressful part turned out to be securing a hotel room; with airport hotels completely jammed, he found a room at a Hilton 45 minutes from Heathrow Airport. “They gave me a room for Saturday night but said they thought I would have to leave the next day,” he says.

“It wasn’t until noon Sunday that they told me I could stay. I originally didn’t think it would work out.”

With each passing day, as more and more European travelers left London on trains, buses, and other forms of ground transport en route to continental Europe, McClintick

hotels started to thin out. By the following Wednesday, McClintick was sitting in a nearly empty hotel bar with a Canadian and another American, and they joked that it was almost as if they had the hotel to themselves.

All in all, what was supposed to be a weeklong trip turned into a 12-day stay, and McClintick arrived back at Mercersburg just in time for Spring Family Weekend— with plenty of good stories to tell.

“I did get a little tired of pub food by the end of the trip,” he says with a chuckle.

“They all seem to have the same menu.”

—Lee Owen

Athletics D ates to Re me mb e r

May 14

MAPL Championships: Baseball/softball at Lawrenceville, New Jersey Golf at Mercersburg (Whitetail Golf Resort) Boys’ tennis at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Track & field at Blairstown, New Jersey

May 18

PAISAA State Track & Field Championships

May 23–28

PAISAA State Baseball Tournament

Sep 10

Football season opener vs. Cleveland Knights

Schedule subject to change; for a full and updated schedule of events, visit www.mercersburg.edu

Fall Varsity Athletics Roundup Boys’ Cross Country

Captains: Matt Cook ’11, David Roza ’11 Boys’ Cross Country Award (most outstanding runner): Cook Boys’ Coaches’ Award (most improved runner): Roza Charles R. Colbert ’51 Award (sportsmanship): Nick Carberry ’11 Head coach: Matthew Kearney (3rd season) MAPL/state finish: 5th/10th IPSL finish: 1st Highlights: The team swept four of the first five places to win the inaugural Independent-Parochial School League Championship, which was held at Mercersburg; Cook and Roza were first and second and Carberry and Darcy Musni ’11 took fourth and fifth, respectively… Cook ran a personal best in the year’s opening meet at Franklin & Marshall College, while Roza set a personal record at the seasonending MAPL Championships… Cook and Roza placed second and third at the Bulldog Invitational in Big Spring… Roza led the way with a 16th-place finish at the Pennsylvania Independent Schools State Championships; he was also an Academic All-MAPL selection.

Girls’ Cross Country

Captain: Mackenzie Riford ’11 Girls’ Cross Country Award (most outstanding runner): Riford Girls’ Coaches’ Award (most improved runner): Abby Colby ’12 Charles R. Colbert ’51 Award (sportsmanship): Julia Steinhage ’12 Head coach: Betsy Willis (8th season) MAPL/state finish: 4th/8th Highlights: Riford earned All-State and AllMAPL honors all four years, and is believed to be Mercersburg’s first athlete in any sport with that distinction since the Storm joined the league in 2000… Colby also earned All-State and All-MAPL recognition; Riford and Colby were third and fourth, respectively, at the MAPL Championships and fifth and 12th, respectively, at the PAISAA Championships… four runners (Colby, Steinhage, Chantel Yague ’14, and Lexy Watson ’14) recorded personal records at the MAPL meet… Riford took

first at the Bulldog Invitational, the IPSL meet, and in a dual meet against Hill; she also was named Academic All-MAPL for the third time.

Field Hockey

Captains: Paige Summers ’11, Sarah Wilson ’11 Field Hockey Award (most outstanding player): Sophie Ostmeier ’13 Beck Field Hockey Improvement Award (most improved player): Brittany Burg ’13 Becki Peace ’75 Field Hockey Award (most inspirational player): Summers Head coach: Alicia Hawk (1st season) Record: 8–8 (2–3 MAPL) Highlights: Ostmeier earned All-MAPL honors… the Public Opinion chose Kiersten Sydnor ’12 (first team), Ostmeier (second team), and Wilson (honorable mention) as area All-Star selections… Sydnor had five multi-goal games and was an area All-Star for the second straight year; she tallied 18 goals and eight assists… Ostmeier had four goals and two

assists… Summers, Wilson, and Jane Banta ’11 were four-year letterwinners… the win total included a dramatic overtime victory over Hun as well as wins over Blair, Bullis, Madeira, and St. James… eight different players scored during the season…

Banta and Syd Godbey ’14 had 88 saves in goal…

Banta and Shelley LaMotte were named Academic All-MAPL.

Football

Captains: Shane Black ’11, Lou Buschi ’11, Sam Rodgers ’11 Football Award (most outstanding player): Black Coaches’ Award (most improved player): Justin Reyes ’12 Head coach: Dan Walker (8th season) Record: 4–5 (1–4 MAPL) Highlights: Black and Buschi were named firstteam All-MAPL, while Gerverus Flagg ’11 and Justin Reyes ’12 garnered honorable-mention honors… Buschi threw for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns in nine games, and also added 349 yards rushing and four touchdowns on the ground… Black accounted for 782 yards and seven touchdowns on offense, and also scored on kickoff, punt, and interception returns, plus a safety… the team won its final three games of the year, a streak that included victories over Peddie and Kiski…

Rodgers, one of the nation’s top long-snappers, signed with Syracuse, while Black will play at Lafayette and Buschi at Bloomsburg…

Jaret Darcangelo ’11 and John San Filippo ’12 earned Academic All-MAPL honors.

Boys’ Soccer

Captains: Joey Roberts ’11, Jake Shorr ’11, Matt Timoney ’11 Boys’ Soccer Award (most outstanding player): Roberts, Tucker Sandercock ’11 Coaches’ Award (most improved player): Ben Bunjapamai ’11 Schweizer Cup (hard work/determination): Shorr Head coach: Quentin McDowell (3rd season) Record: 12–4–1 (2–2–1 MAPL) IPSL Tournament finish: champion Highlights: The team posted its best record since 1989… Roberts and McDowell swept the Public Opinion’s Player and Coach of the Year awards…

Roberts (who was a four-year varsity starter) was joined on the paper’s first team by Shorr and Evan Moats ’12… Roberts and Sandercock were first-team All-MAPL selections while Shorr and Gui Gomes ’11 garnered honorable-mention recognition… among the team’s victories were wins over Lawrenceville, Hill, Landon, and in the inaugural IPSL title game over St. Maria Goretti… Gomes led the team in goals (16) and points (36); Alfred Hylton-Dei ’12 posted a team-leading seven assists… Bunjapamai recorded seven shutouts in goal… Timoney and John Olszewski ’12 were named Academic All-MAPL… Roberts, Shorr, and Timoney represented Pennsylvania in the Public Opinion/Herald-Mail area all-star game.

Girls’ Soccer

Captains: Bailey Blake ’11, Camille Hodges ’11, Laura Rahauser ’12 Girls’ Soccer Award (most outstanding player): Rahauser Coaches’ Award (most improved player): Hanna Warfield ’13 Hendrickson-Hoffman Coaches’ Award (spirit): Hodges continued on page 34

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Head coach: Jason Bershatsky (3rd season) Record: 10–6–2 (0–5 MAPL) IPSL Tournament finish: champion Highlights: The team set a school record for most wins in a season… Rahauser earned first-team AllMAPL honors, while Paige Wolny ’13 was named honorable-mention… Rahauser and Wolny each scored a team-leading 13 goals; Wolny also led the team in assists… the defense recorded seven shutouts on the season with Blake in goal… the Storm beat St. Maria Goretti (6–0) and St. John’s Catholic Prep (2–0) to claim the first IPSL title…

Kaitie Cole ’12 and Kelly Hamilton ’13 garnered Academic All-MAPL honors.

Girls’ Tennis

Captains: Claire Sabol ’11, Nikki Wolny ’11 Girls’ Tennis Award (most outstanding player): Wolny Coaches’ Award (most improved player): Clare Wilkinson ’13 Head coach: Mike Sweeney (7th season) Record: 5–6 (1–4 MAPL) Highlights: Wolny earned All-MAPL honors in both singles and doubles (with Sarah Allen ’12); Allen was also named honorable-mention all-league in singles… Wolny was 12–1 playing at No. 1 singles; Allen was 8–5 at No. 2, and as a doubles team the duo went 8–3… the team captured second place at the State College Invitational… head-to-head wins came over Hun, Middleburg Academy, RandolphMacon Academy, and Foxcroft (twice)… Wilkinson was the team’s Academic All-MAPL representative… four of the team’s top six singles players will return next season.

Volleyball

Captain: Paige Pak ’11 Erin Carey ’91 Memorial Volleyball Award (most outstanding player): Melody Gomez ’13 Coaches’ Award (most improved player): Kelsey Albert ’13 Head coach: Brent Gift (15th season) Record: 5–9 IPSL Tournament finish: lost in finals Highlights: The team beat St. James in the semifinals of the IPSL Tournament before dropping the championship match to the Maryland School for the Deaf… Gomez led the team in blocks and kills, while Kendra Cubit ’13 was the roster leader in service points and Pak recorded the most digs…

Gift, who was first named head coach in 1986 and coached for 14 years during his first stint, returned to lead the program (though he also coached the junior varsity team during his time away from the varsity)… Pak earned the team academic award for the second straight season.

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Arts

D at e s to Re m e m b e r

May 20

May 22

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May 27

Music In the Parks adjudication Hershey, Pennsylvania

Chorale performs at Baccalaureate, 7 p.m.

Irvine Memorial Chapel

Student Music Recital, 2 p.m.

Boone Recital Hall, Burgin Center for the Arts

Schedule subject to change; for a full and updated schedule of events, visit www.mercersburg.edu

Stony Batter Players directors: Laurie Mufson, Matt Maurer, John McAfee

The Sound of Music (L–R): Lane deCordova ’12, Nathan Burnette ’11, Sofi Israel Ancona ’13, Ryan Ma ’11, Logan Trask ’13, Emma Maurer, Grace Bennett, Hannah Edwards ’11

Edwards with Bethany Pasierb ’11 Edwards as Maria and Mark Merritt ’11 as Captain von Trapp

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Vocal Music directors: Richard Rotz, Jim Brinson

(left) Octet (below) Magalia

ARTS HONOR ROLL • Ceramic sculptures by Rosie Hough ’12, Vale Quan Miranda ’12, and Julia Steinhage ’12 were exhibited in March and April as part of a national show held in conjunction with the National Education Council for the Ceramic Arts’ annual conference in Tampa, Florida.

Hough’s Bird was awarded the Orton Cone Cash Award for Excellence; only 15 special awards were given out of 170 works.

• Robin Jo ’12 (violin), Dan Kwak ’11 (clarinet), and Caroline Yoo ’13 (flute) were chosen to represent Mercersburg in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association’s District 7 Band and Orchestra. Kwak placed first out of the 58 clarinetists that auditioned.

• Kwak and Yoo joined nine of their fellow Mercersburg instrumentalists as participants in the Franklin-Fulton County Band Festival: Nathaniel Bachtell ’11 (percussion), Elizabeth Casparian ’13 (oboe), Chris Eadie ’13 (trumpet), Kyle Hawbaker ’14 (trombone), Juny Kim ’14 (flute), Meg Peterson ’14 (saxophone), Kara Straub ’14 (oboe), David Wang ’14 (saxophone), and Tony Yim ’14 (clarinet).

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Instrumental Music directors: Richard Rotz, Jack Hawbaker, Michael Cameron

(above) Nathaniel Bachtell ’11 (left) Jazz Band

Visual Art faculty: Mark Flowers, Kristy Higby, Wells Gray

Rosie Hough ’12, ceramics

Lim Jang ’11, mixed media

Kathy Clarke ’12, painting

Vale Quan Miranda ’12, ceramics

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Mercersbu rg magazi n e spri ng 2011

Class Notes Submit class notes via email to classnotes@mercersburg. edu or by contacting your class agent directly. Submissions may appear online or in print.

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CORRECTION A wedding announcement on page 47 of the winter 2010–2011 issue of Mercersburg contained incorrect information. Kristine Pierson ’98 married Seth Kennedy September 6, 2009. Mercersburg regrets the error; for a photo and corrected announcement, see page 43.

’34 John Macionis is 94 years old and until last year was still swimming every day.

In a letter to Swimmer magazine, John’s son, Bob, recounts a story of how John recorded an unofficial world record in the 220-yard freestyle by not wearing a swimsuit.

’43 Jay Bleakley’s wife, Gwendolyn, passed away May 9, 2010.

Frances Conover, wife of Walter Conover and mother of Mike Conover ’65, died March 21, 2010.

’44

Dorothy “Betty” Broder, wife of Jerome Broder and mother of Scott Broder ’68 and Michael Broder ’71, passed away September 20, 2009.

(L–R): Faculty member Heather Prescott, Christian Raoult ’52, Sami Kebede ’11, Steven Hernandez ’11, David Roza ’11, faculty member Renee Hicks, and Maria-France Raoult enjoy a French dinner in Paris. Christian shared many of his Mercersburg photos with the students, who were in France for the John H. Montgomery Senior Field Study.

u Lew Scott lpsmd@aol.com

’45

Russell French’s wife, Jane, died October 27, 2010.

u Harry McAlpine 703-893-3893

’47

Earl “Skip” Fidler writes that his wife, Doris, passed away February 12, 2010.

’53 John Andervont’s wife, Kathleen, died November 13, 2010.

u Jack Connolly jackconnolly@cfmr.com

’54

George Macpherson and his wife, Alma Permar, have fulfilled Alma’s lifelong dream of becoming a published author with the November 2010 release of her book Written in the Margins: Poems Touching the Essence of Life (www.writtenbyalma.com). The book features several photographs by George, including Mercersburg’s campus as viewed through a window in Lenfest Hall.

u Raz Zirkle nimdllc@gmail.com

’55

John Linderman flew for United Airlines from 1966 to 1996, and stopped counting flight hours after 30,000. He was on the crew of the inaugural United flight from Brussels, Belgium, and once flew

a DC-6 from Buffalo to Rochester, New York, in 12 minutes (approximately 65 miles). A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, John, who lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is chair of the Loyalty Club and the father of Laura Linderman Barker ’91.

Jim McClelland was featured in the winter 2010 issue of Huntington Quarterly.

Jim retired as director of the Greater Huntington [West Virginia] Parks and Recreation District after more than 30 years of service.

u Clem Geitner hkyleather@aol.com

’59

Robert Croner and his wife, Roxann, own the Bruedersthal Kennel in Berlin, Pennsylvania. Robert has been involved in dog training for more than 65 years, and specializes in the breeding and training of pudelpointers, a breed of German hunting dogs. One of his dogs,

Mercersbu rg magazi n e spri ng 2011

Bruedersthal’s Al, was named versatile champion at the 2010 North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association’s international competition.

’60

James Fallon’s mother, Tina, passed away January 27, 2011.

’61

50th Anniversary Reunion

June 10–12, 2011

u Scott Basinger scottb@bcm.tmc.edu u Lou Bertrand lawyer@portagelaw.com u Ches Browning earldeanb@yahoo.com u Terry Everhart 719-784-6685 u Fletch Fletcher jjfletch_@hotmail.com u Tom Hershey wthershey@mchsi.com u Stan Lebouitz slebouitz@comcast.net u Bill Thompson thomps132@gmail.com u Dan Wilson mifflinwilson@yahoo.com u Allen Zern awzern@cs.com

’64

u Mac Butts macsear@aol.com u Jere Keefer jsklrk@embarqmail.com

’65

Raymond Schulz, a senior product manager in Varian Medical Systems’ surgical sciences group in Palo Alto, California, was profiled in the spring 2010 issue of Columbia Engineering magazine as one of the school’s “Leaders Making an Impact.” Raymond earned a master’s in electrical engineering from Columbia.

’66

45th Anniversary Reunion

June 10–12, 2011

u Art Ambrose artambrose@aol.com u Bill Armour wlarmour@bellsouth.net u Bill Goodfellow wcgpeace@aol.com u Joe Kyle kylerealty@bellsouth.net

u Steve Mallory smallory@malloryrealty.com u Reed Sehon reed.sehon@retaildatallc.com u Stan Westbrook fswest1@verizon.net u Phil Yates philipryates@gmail.com David Norman, president of David Norman & Associates and chair of Vistage International, takes over in May as chair of the 2,000-member International Management Consultants USA. David has 37 years of consulting experience and is an adjunct professor at Pfeiffer University and Queens University’s McColl School of Business.

u Harry Apfelbaum hlavmd@dejazzd.com u Rick Fleck aspnrick@aol.com u Dick Seibert rseibert@knobhall.com

Jim Powers spent more than 40 years as an airline pilot, and most recently flew Boeing 767s for American Airlines before retiring in 2003. Since then, Jim has flown several charitable-aid missions to Africa and earned a master’s degree from Lehigh University. He teaches political science at Northhampton Community College. Jim and classmate Dick Abrams recently got together in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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’69 Jeff Frankel ’72 and his wife, Dara, met up with classmate and longtime friend Eric Scoblionko ’72 (left) during a recent trip to Miami. “After 60 inches of snow (and it was only January), Dara and I decided to seek a less snowy location,” Jeff says. “We spent a day on the beach with Eric, who insisted that only tourists from the North sit out on 70-degree days.”

Musician and actor John Brink performed at Mercersburg as part of a school meeting January 21. John, who lives in Chambersburg, has performed multiple roles in musical theatre at the Allenberry Playhouse, and has made solo appearances from Omaha to New York City. His son, Harrison ’11, and daughter, MacKenzie ’14, both attend Mercersburg.

Bruce Josten, executive vice president of government affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce [Mercersburg, spring 2009], was profiled in the November 22, 2010, edition of Forbes.

’71

40th Anniversary Reunion

June 10–12, 2011

u George Alter george.alter@dhs.gov u Mike Broder mbro1@verizon.net u Scott Cummings shc@agileasset.com u Bill Endres wendres@kiddieacademy.com u Alec Graham alecgraham@msn.com u Paul Murray pmurray@stoudtadvisors.com u Joe Rendina jjrendina@gmail.com u Dan Whiteman dswthree@yahoo.com

Bill Carey ’72 had 10 paintings from his alternative Chinese investment company, Xiling Group, on display at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and two Chinese imperial porcelain works of art at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard. (Pictured here from left are Bill’s business partner Tom Podlesny, artist Liu Dan, actress Veanne Cox, and Bill at the gala for the Museum of Fine Arts’ Fresh Ink Exhibition.) Bill is traveling “chronically” but is spending more time in New York with Veanne, who has recently appeared on Broadway in La Cage aux Folles with Kelsey Grammer and A Free Man of Color at Lincoln Center.

Mason-Dixon Council of Boy Scouts of America in Franklin and Fulton counties in Pennsylvania and Washington County, Maryland. Hunt was the guest of honor at a roast in November. Fortyone scouts have earned the Eagle Scout rank during Hunt’s 25 years as scoutmaster.

’72

u Sol Gordon sgordon@solgordoninsurance.com u Tom Hadzor t.hadzor@duke.edu u Eric Scoblionko wekdirscobes@aol.com

Hunt Hardinge was honored for 25 years of scoutmaster leadership with Boy Scout Troop 10, which is part of the

’76

35th Anniversary Reunion

June 10–12, 2011

u Mark Bistline mark@schoolyard.com u Jim Brewer jbrewer@gja.net u Ann Bruch annbruch@verizon.net u Doug Comer dcomer@nycap.rr.com

u Denise Dupré dmd@duprenunnelly.com u Bill Flanagan wgflans@hotmail.com u Tony Furnary tfurnary@comcast.net u Page Lansdale page.lansdale@bfsaulco.com u Leslie Lewandowski leslie_lewandowski@freddiemac.com u Lorelle Pottick Gantt lagantt@mindspring.com u Ann Shabb Warner ann@howardspub.com u Jane White Yocum jane.yocum@hmrmlaw.com Ted Baldwin reports that he won’t be able to attend his class reunion.

“Unfortunately, I will be in Costa Rica,” he says. “Most of my friends are

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Eric Scoblionko ’72 (right) picks up his classmate, Peter Lebovitz ’72, at the airport in Palm Beach.

driving some sort of foreign sports car, which they can barely fit into or barely pronounce the name of as a result of their midlife crisis. I somehow kicked wacko up a notch and now find myself owning a home in Costa Rica! Dr. Sancho would find this quite amusing since I hold the distinction of being the worst Spanish student to ever occupy a seat in his classroom. I know that he is retiring this year, and I was hoping to be able to make it back to campus to be able to personally apologize for contributing to the premature graying of his hair.”

u Heidi Kaul Krutek hkrutek@bellsouth.net

’78

Greg Stocksdale has been named to the board of directors of the Peoples Savings Bank in Urbana, Ohio. Greg is president of Stocksdale Insurance.

Marc Strauss was nominated as first vicepresident/investments by the managing directors of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services.

’81

30th Anniversary Reunion

June 10–12, 2011

u Karen Craig y2kc@earthlink.net u Sally Anne Epstein saepstein@gmail.com u Nick Furhman nfuhrman@comcast.net u Liz Gildea Logie slogie1@aol.com

u Agnes Schrider agnes@nelsonphysicaltherapy.com u Annette Schaffer Steinbarth asteinb@ucls.uchicago.edu u Josh Turner jbt4@comcast.net u Dave Wagner wags1262@sbcglobal.net u Von Woodard Mu’min monyabiz@yahoo.com u Jay Yarid jryaridjr@yahoo.com u Greg Zinn greg@zinn.com

’84

u Tom Hornbaker tshornbaker@yahoo.com u Betsy Rider-Williams brider-williams@goberkscounty.com

Christian Rubeck is in Rhode Island and wants to hear from his fellow New Englanders at crubeck@ecinteriors.biz.

u Susan Corwin Moreau moreaus@verizon.net u Dan Henderson dannyhenny@yahoo.com

’85

Michael Hatfield moved from Darwin, Australia, to the Houston suburb of Katy, Texas. He is manager of ConocoPhillips’ Upstream Strategy and Portfolio Management group, the part of the company responsible for exploring for, developing, and producing oil and gas.

“It is nice to be back in the U.S.,” Michael says. “Hard to beat the conveniences, consumer product selections, relatively low prices, and having family and friends close.”

A rare photo of Mercersburg faculty member—and Boston Red Sox diehard—Jack Hawbaker wearing a New York Yankees hat, taken during a Yankees/Kansas City Royals game, which just happened to be “Cap Night” at Yankee Stadium. (L-R): Carol Furnary Casparian ’79, Jack Hawbaker, Kyle Hawbaker ’14, Xander Casparian, Mike Casparian, Liz Casparian ’13, Nick Casparian ’11, Karen Hawbaker, Caroline Casparian.

Theo Lichtenstein has now taught bridge on every continent. He recently returned from a trip to Africa and Asia, which included an encounter in Russia with classmate and Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro—in the form of a Russian magazine cover.

’86

25th Anniversary Reunion

June 10–12, 2011

u Julia Clark MacInnis julia@macinnisweb.com u Mary Curtis Blair cbmary@comcast.net u Nancy Gallagher Jones njones@hessiancircle.com u Bruce Keizler bkeizler@sarecycling.com u Elizabeth Steinhauser Bray mail@elizabethbray.com

u Louis Najera louis@davincicomm.com u Audrey Webber Esposito awesposito@yahoo.com

u Treva Ghattas tghattas@osimd.com u Kim Lloyd kim.lloyd72@gmail.com

’90

Christopher Thoren married Sarah Orgain September 26, 2009, in Gallatin, Tennessee. Chris and Sarah moved last summer to Fairfield, Connecticut.

’91

20th Anniversary Reunion

June 10–12, 2011

’87

The December/January 2011 issue of Climbing magazine included a story by Molly Loomis, wife of Andy Tyson, on a two-week climbing trip the couple took to Oman.

u Zania Pearson zaniazania@hotmail.com u Ames Prentiss aprentiss@intownvet.com

and Paul (2) at their home in Amherst, Massachusetts.

’89

Paul Moody and his wife, Jill, welcomed a daughter, Elizabeth Paige, November 2, 2010. Elizabeth joins Heidi (4)

u Chris Frisby chrisfrisby@yahoo.com u Kelley Keeler Short klkshort@gmail.com u Laura Linderman Barker lslinderwoman@yahoo.com u Eric Mercer emercer@ecslimited.com u Shani O’Neil Calhoun shanicalhoun@hotmail.com u Hannah Smith Kudrik hkudrik@yahoo.com u Russ Spinney ras950@gmail.com Helen Barfield Prichett’s mother, Toni, passed away June 18, 2010.

u Peggy Burns peggy@drawnandquarterly.com u Emily Gilmer Caldwell emily.g.caldwell@gmail.com u Chip Nuttall

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Births/Adoptions To Jim Jones ’77 and his wife, Sue: a daughter, Alexandra Olivia, September 11, 2010.

To Paul Moody ’89 and his wife, Jill: a daughter, Elizabeth Paige, November 2, 2010.

To Lakshmi Ramani ’92 and her husband, Deepak: a daughter, Kamala Sarma, February 17, 2010.

Faculty To faculty member Nate Jacklin ’96 and his wife, Lindsay: a daughter, Ella Gabrielle, February 7, 2011.

To faculty members Derry and Sarah Mason, a son, Frederick D. “Quinn” Mason V, March 14, 2011.

To faculty member Amy Mohr and her husband, John: a daughter, Clare Dickerson, February 9, 2011.

cliffnuttall1@comcast.net Lakshmi Ramani welcomed her second daughter, Kamala Sarma, February 17, 2010. Lakshmi’s oldest daughter, Meenakshi, is 4 years old, and Lakshmi continues to work as a senior attorney for the Nature Conservancy in Arlington, Virginia.

u Danielle Dahlstrom dlld93@hotmail.com

’93

Stirling Elmendorf is a professional photographer living in San Francisco.

He is raising money to return to Japan (where he lived for several years) to photograph the country again.

’95

Russell Springsted, father of Cortney Springsted and Tiffany Springsted ’02, passed away December 12, 2009.

’96

u Jenn Flanagan Bradley bradleyj@mercersburg.edu u Jess Malarik jmalarik@gmail.com

Michael Davies ’85 and his wife, Claude, welcomed a son, George MacIntyre, born March 3, 2011.

Riley, son of James Barnes ’95 and his wife, Jennifer, born April 27, 2010.

u Lori Esposit Miller lorimiller234@gmail.com u Geraldine Gardner geraldide@hotmail.com u Jason Huntsberry jhutsberry@pstrategies.com u Nate Jacklin jacklinn@mercersburg.edu u Matt Russell mrussell978@gmail.com u Steph Shepherd Ragland stephanie.ragland@yahoo.com u Kim Trenbath kim_trenbath@hotmail.com

u Kevin Glah kevglah@gmail.com u Taylor Horst taylorhorst@gmail.com u Andrew Miller amiller@pioneeringprojects.org

Sophie Elizabeth, daughter of Wendy Emerick Rauhut ’01 and her husband, Anthony, born January 13, 2011.

u Elizabeth Curry Watkins elizabethjcurry@yahoo.com u Dean Hosgood dean.hosgood@gmail.com u Beth Pniewski Bell bethannbell@gmail.com

’00

An article by Michael Galey examining the National Labor Relations Act in the era of social media was published in December by Labor & Employment Law Report. Michael is an attorney in the Philadelphia office of Fisher & Phillips.

’01

10th Anniversary Reunion

June 10–12, 2011

Theresa Ward, mother of faculty member and head wrestling coach Nate Jacklin, passed away December 6, 2010.

Anabelle, daughter of Alexandra Prot ’97 and her husband, Tim Hulford, born October 2, 2010.

’99

Javier Arregui manages the Pink Kitty, a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Faculty member Trini Hoffman and her daughter, Shelby ’06, visited Javier while they were on vacation.

15th Anniversary Reunion

June 10–12, 2011

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’98

Elizabeth Curry married Pete Watkins ’97 August 21, 2010, in the Irvine Memorial Chapel. Former school minister and current faculty member Paul Galey officiated. Anne Curry ’02 was the maid of honor, Andrew Bramhall ’97 served as the best man, and Kevin Hershock ’96 was a groomsman. Other alumni in attendance included Sarah Cohen, Julia Wiedeman, Beth Pniewski Bell, Tim Edmonds, Molly Lavelle Edmonds, Miles Kiger, Kira Robles, Chris Senker ’97, Aaron Cohen ’97, and Jordan Blackman ’97.

u Heidi Anderes handeres@gmail.com u Michael Best bestmw1@juniata.edu u Ann Marie Bliley abliley@gmail.com u Holly Czuba holly.czuba@gmail.com u Mike Flanagan mflanagan14@yahoo.com u Jamie Hughes hughesjc@lafayette.edu u David Kimball davidkimball@gmail.com u Emory Mort emorymort@gmail.com Heidi Anderes has opened her own home furnishings consignment business, Lush Life Consigned Furnishings, in Denver (www.lushlifedenver.com).

Wendy Emerick Rauhut and her husband, Anthony, welcomed a daughter, Sophie Elizabeth, January 13, 2011. Big brother Aaron is a great helper.

Kyle Fields graduated from the West Virginia University College of Law in May 2010 and moved to New York City, where he is working as a model with Wilhelmina Models and pursuing a career in television and film. Visit his website at imdb.me/kylefields.

Andrea Sancho was named a staff attorney for the Supreme Court of South Carolina in December. Since graduating from the University of South Carolina’s School of Law in 2009, Andrea has done contract work for law firms in the capital city of Columbia and previously worked as an attorney for

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Natalie Blackburn ’05, Cara Leepson ’05, Whitney Pezza ’05, Lindsay Steinour ’05, and Kyle Taylor ’05 last summer at Indian Beach, Delaware.

workers’-compensation and job-injury cases. She and her older brother, Steve ’99, both live in Columbia.

u Matt Brennan brennan1273@gmail.com u Alexis Imler alexis.imler@gmail.com

’05

Fred Klein ’72, Susie Klein ’11, faculty member Jo Wrzesinsky, and Duke football player Bryan Morgan ’07 after Duke’s 34–31 football win over Navy in Annapolis in October 2010. Fred is a Duke alumnus and Jo was Bryan’s adviser while he was at Mercersburg.

u Tammy McBeth Armstrong tammy.l.armstrong@gmail.com

Jonathan Edwards is a licensed CPA and works for J.H. Cohn in New York City.

Joshua Dillon (Brallier) is engaged to Tucker Shelton and will be married in summer 2012. Joshua is working for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility while attending Georgetown University Law Center.

Jamar Galbreath is in his final semester working toward a master’s in college student affairs.

Georgetown University Medical School.

She is involved with the Student Medical Education Committee working to revise the curriculum and implement more interactive features. She planned a trip to Colorado for spring break in March.

Hannah Galey lives in Washington, D.C., and enjoyed her first semester at

Karla Gartner is in her second year of medical school in Frankfurt am Main,

Restoring the Holy Grail Window

Since its completion in 1926, the Irvine Memorial Chapel has provided a space for worship, prayer, and contemplation for students, faculty, and alumni of all faiths. The Holy Grail window in the Chapel is comprised of four panels depicting King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. One panel has been restored by the Class of 1997, and the Loyalty Club is working to raise $45,000 to fund the painstaking restoration of the remaining three panels.

All donors to the project will be recognized in the Book of Gratitude on display in the Chapel and at Reunion Anniversary Weekend on campus June 10–12, 2011.

For more information, contact Mary K. Carrasco, assistant head of school for external affairs, at 717-328-6109 or carrascom@mercersburg.edu.

Marriages

Germany. She received a scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation, and is teaching judo on the side. Raphael Langenscheidt happened to be in town in January and they were able to meet and catch up. Karla says it was “exactly like in the good old Mercersburg days... it was great!”

T.J. Gerber is moving from Atlanta to Denver to be an assistant front office manager at Omni Hotels. “I’m excited to be so close to great skiing,” he says.

Birgit Heraeus started work in January toward a master’s of business administration at Columbia University.

Alex Kim is a first officer at Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which operates flights for Delta Connection and United Express.

Christopher Thoren ’90 and Sarah Orgain on their wedding day, September 26, 2009.

The wedding of Kristine Pierson ’98 and Seth Kennedy, September 6, 2009, in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Also in attendance (back row): Jessica Swope ’98, Leslie Magraw ’98, Rev. Kristen Pelekanakis ’98, Katrina Pelekanakis ’96, and Julian Pelekanakis ’00.

Jamie Blackburn ’03 married Victoria Leontieva ’03 May 2, 2010, in Durham, North Carolina, and traveled to Victoria’s hometown of St. Petersburg, Russia, for a second wedding June 26, 2010. Jamie is in his first year at George Washington Law School and Victoria works for Accenture.

Standing (L–R) behind Jamie and Victoria: Natalie Blackburn ’05, Sarah Blackburn Brincefield ’99, William Olson ’75, William Blackburn ’49, Elizabeth Blackburn Olson ’75, Tyler Jones ’02, Peter Baker ’02, and best man Matthew Haxby ’03.

Claire Lazo returned to campus to give a presentation on sustainability as part of a school meeting in January. Claire is an analyst for The Cadmus Group, an environmental consulting firm in Arlington, Virginia. She is pursuing a master’s in environmental planning and management from Johns Hopkins University.

Cara Leepson is pursuing a master’s in art and museum studies at Georgetown University.

Dale Statler will complete a master’s in structural engineering from Lehigh University in May, and will then continue to delay the onset of adult responsibilities while backpacking the John Muir Trail with friends in June and July.

Nick Ventresca is engaged to Christianna Dawson. An August 2011 wedding is planned.

’06

5th Anniversary Reunion

June 10–12, 2011

u Pamela Aquino p_aquino_01@msn.com u Adrianna Beer adriannachristina@gmail.com u Medora Hartz dora22356@gmail.com u Rachael Hendrickson hendricksonra@mercersburg.edu u Crystal Lora cryslora@gmail.com u Justin Mellott jmellott@rollins.edu u Joy Thomas jatho2@wm.edu u J.T. Wilde wildejt@comcast.net Lee Banta and Madeleine Deupree are engaged.

The wedding of Irene Papoutsis ’99 and Andy Mulkerin, August 29, 2010, in Keswick, Virginia.

Elizabeth Curry ’98 and Pete Watkins ’97 on their wedding day, August 21, 2010, in Mercersburg.

After graduating from Bucknell University in May 2010 with a degree in English, Griffin Burns moved to Los Angeles, where he played open mics and assembled a band. Griffin has landed

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his first Hollywood contract, made recurring appearances on Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place, and signed with an agency to pursue TV commercials and commercial print work.

Elissa Thorne spent January and February as an intern in Mercersburg’s Department of Classical & Modern Languages.

Stephanie Turner is engaged to Ryan McGraw. A small ceremony is planned for early 2012.

u Xanthe Hilton xanthe89@gmail.com u Chuck Roberts cer2141@columbia.edu

’07

Claire Atkins, a senior at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism, was awarded the 2011 Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship in November during halftime of a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game.

Claire, a broadcast journalism major, is the first female recipient in the scholarship’s nine-year history and will receive a $5,000 scholarship and an internship at Fox Sports Net. Navy squash player Allan Lutz [Mercersburg, winter 2010–2011] won his 91st collegiate squash match to break the school’s career victories record in February. Allan plays at the No. 1 spot for the Midshipmen, and was named the national player of the week earlier this winter.

Bryan Morgan, a senior offensive lineman at Duke, was named to the Allstate American Football Coaches Association’s Good Works Team. Bryan is one of 22 players selected from all levels of college football for the team, which recognizes volunteer and charitable efforts. He participated in a community service day in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward and was honored with the team at halftime of the Sugar Bowl.

Colton Nelson‘s father, Jack, passed away October 8, 2009.

u Ben Axelrod alexrbg0@sewanee.edu u Jeff Chung jc939@cornell.edu u Peter Cooke pbc7@case.edu u Lauren Dobish ldobish@bates.edu u Chris Freeland freelandc@comcast.net u Taylor Hoffman thoffman@tulane.edu u Hannah Starr hs1218@messiah.edu

’08

u Ethan Strickler stricklere@kenyon.edu Sonia Byun, who attends Emerson College, created Candle, a boutique marketing firm that builds mobile apps for film-production companies.

Sonia is majoring in marketing communication with a minor in entrepreneurial studies.

u Kiersten Bell 09bellk@earthlink.net u Annie Birney annieb14@aol.com u J.B. Crawford crawfordj304@gmail.com u Alicia Furnary afurnary@colby.edu u Becca Galey rebecca.galey@gmail.com u Ariel Imler animler@edisto.cofc.edu u Robby Marsh Kurtz robert.kmarsh@gmail.com u Rachael Porter rmp413@lehigh.edu u Andrew Reynolds reynola@purdue.edu u Molly Serpi serpim@comcast.net u Bond Stockdale stockdaleb7@gmail.com u Coralie Thomas coraliemlthomas@gmail.com

’09

Anika Kempe, a student at the University of Richmond, is authoring a blog about college life for usatoday.com.

Mike Weinstein, a sophomore swimmer at Rollins College, was named the Sunshine State Conference’s Swimmer of the Week in January.

Faculty Three pieces by English teacher and Writing Center director Matthew Caretti have been published by Contemporary Haibun Online. Haibun is a form of literary composition that combines prose and haiku.

Former Faculty Peter Valine, who taught history at Mercersburg from 1990 to 1995, has been named dean of faculty at Williston Northampton School in Massachusetts. Peter has been at Williston since 1998 and also taught at Tilton School and Wyoming Seminary.

Earle Grover and Larry Ransom ’65

Endowed Fund Named for Grover In November 2010, emeritus faculty member Earle Grover and alumnus J. Laurence Ransom ’65 were honored at a luncheon recognizing Ransom’s gift to establish the Earle H. Grover Endowed Fund. The fund supports German immersion opportunities for Mercersburg students.

A former chair of the language department and director of vocal and instrumental music ensembles, Grover was a member of the faculty from 1952 to 1992. He lives in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. Following are selected remarks that Grover delivered at the luncheon; to read the full speech, visit www.mercersburg.edu/grover.

We are gathered on this day among friends both old and new, just a short distance from where Carl Sandburg described Mercersburg as “a place on which time has laid its hand.”

That I am speaking to you today is the result of the imaginative generosity of a very special man. The last time I saw J. Laurence Ransom was on the day of his graduation from Mercersburg, in June 1965. Now, fast forward four and a half decades to January 15, 2010, when I received Larry’s letter outlining very carefully the funding of the German Abroad Program. To quote Larry, “My intent at this time is to provide $100,000 for this program and perhaps more at my death.” Shortly thereafter I received a letter from [Director of Development] Gail Reeder, which said this: “In appreciation of your inspirational teaching, Dr. Ransom has made a gift to establish the Earle H. Grover Endowed Fund at Mercersburg.”

These unexpected and overwhelming letters from Larry and Gail reminded me yet again that for forty years Mercersburg was the axis around which my life revolved—a lifetime, you might say. At the Academy I knew Larry both as a student of German and as a first tenor in my fifty-voice Glee Club. He was the first non-senior to join the Octet; he was also a resident of South Cottage, where I was dorm dean. Wow! Thinking back on the things we shared during those years at Mercersburg, I now see the highly personal significance of something that cultural historian and scholar Henry Adams once wrote: “A teacher affects eternity. He can never tell where his influence stops.”

Larry’s remarkable gift represents the defining moment and crown jewel of my Mercersburg career. Now that I have just joined that august group, the octogenarians, that generosity means more than I can say. It is the only time a former student has remembered me so generously, conferring on me an honor not only while I am alive, but far into the future.

—Earle Grover

Mercersbu rg magazi n e spri ng 2011

Obituaries

Obituaries ’30

Stanley C. Smoyer, December 15, 2010. (Irving debater, Orchestra, Chapel Choir, tennis, swimming, The Fifteen, News Board, KARUX, Cum Laude) Stan graduated from Dartmouth College in 1934 and the University of Michigan Law School in 1937. He worked in his father’s and uncle’s law firm until 1942, when he joined the legal staff of the War Production Board in Washington, D.C. In 1946, he joined the legal office of Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was assistant general counsel at the time of his retirement in 1974. He enjoyed contributing his time and his good fortune to community organizations and services and to schools, including Mercersburg, Phillips Academy, Princeton Day School, and especially Dartmouth. (Mercersburg’s Smoyer Tennis Center is named in his family’s honor.) Stan had firm ideas of where undertakings should go and was simultaneously open to a range of opinions on how to get there. He had a great sense of balance and direction and for that, among many of his aptitudes, he will be remembered.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Brooks Smoyer; his brothers, Winston ’28 and Charlie ’33; and a daughter and a son.

Survivors include his wife, Marjorie Read Smoyer, whom he married in 1997; a son and daughter; three grandchildren and seven greatgrandchildren; four stepchildren and eight step-grandchildren; and three step-great-grandchildren.

’32

Clement A. Finch, June 28, 2009. (Irving, fencing, Gun Club) Clement graduated from Union College and earned a medical degree from the University of Rochester. After he trained at hospitals in Boston, the U.S. Army rejected him for service in World War II. Instead, he focused his research on a military need: lengthening the time that blood could be stored for transfusions. Along the way, that research helped define iron metabolism—how the body acquires, uses, stores, and loses iron, which is essential to the formation of the oxygen-carrying pigments hemoglobin in the blood and myoglobin in the muscles. His pioneering research spurred advances in diagnosing and treating anemia. He was president of the American Society of Hematology and a founding professor of medicine at the University of Washington, where he remained for his entire career.

Clement married three times and divorced twice; in addition to his wife, Genia, survivors include four children and three grandchildren.

Richard L. Williams Jr., December 24, 2010. (valedictorian, Senate, The Fifteen, News associate editor, Glee Club, Chapel Choir, tennis, Cum Laude) An Army veteran of World War II, Dick later became president of Republic Management Company, a Chicago firm that invested in and managed real-estate properties. He graduated from

Princeton University and was a big fan of Northwestern University and Chicago Bears football and Chicago Cubs baseball. He was preceded in death by his former wives, Ellen Munster Williams and Joan Truesdale Williams, and his fiancée, Ruth Ruggles. Survivors include a son and daughter, three granddaughters, eight greatgrandchildren, and two stepchildren.

’33

John C. Ardolino, May 14, 2009. (Marshall, wrestling captain, football, baseball, track, Memorial Committee)

’34

Richard Sanderson, June 27, 2010. (Marshall) An ordinance engineer in the U.S. Navy, Dick retired as a captain after 33 years of service, 20 years of which were as a manager of propulsion systems in the Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident programs. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lucy, and is survived by four children, six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

’37

Horace Z. Opel, August 10, 2010. (Keil, Marshall, soccer, Marshal of the Field). Zack served in the Navy during World War II and was an internal revenue agent in the Treasury Department. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Elizabeth Rosenberry Opel.

Among his survivors are three sons (including Ed Albaugh ’54), three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

’38

John S. Macdonald, July 2, 2008 (Main, Irving, track, Gun Club) John graduated from Lehigh University. He was an electronics engineer with RCA following his military service with the Army in World War II.

’39

William Jay Snyder Jr., June 19, 2010. (Main, Irving, Glee Club, baseball, soccer captain, wrestling) Bill graduated from Franklin & Marshall College and was predeceased by his father, W.J. Snyder Sr. (1911). Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Ellen; a son and a daughter; and five granddaughters.

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’41

John R. Eldridge, February 1, 2010. (Main, Marshall, News Board, Press Club, Laticlavii, Stamp Club, soccer) Jack was retired from Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. In retirement he volunteered at hospitals, nursing homes, or wherever he could be most useful. He is survived by Don Caven, his life partner of more than 60 years.

Rogers M. Firth, November 7, 2010. (Irving, Gun Club, track) Mike served in the Coast Guard in World War II. Following his military service, he attended business school and then ran his family’s farm management business. He was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Georgiana Hooker Firth, and two brothers, Thomas ’38 and John ’41. Survivors include his second wife, Jeane Hill Firth; four grandchildren; and two stepchildren.

Wallace G. Taylor, December 13, 2010. (Main, Marshall, swimming, strings) Wally retired as vice president and senior trust officer of the National Bank and Trust Company of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Dartmouth College, the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University, and Midshipmen’s School at Northwestern University. He served in the Navy as communications officer aboard the USS Renville in the Pacific theater. Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Dorothy Potts Taylor, and two daughters.

Robert C. Tonry Jr., May 31, 2009. (Irving, Stony Batter, soccer) A graduate of West Virginia University and an Air Force veteran, Bob was the proprietor of a longtime family plumbing and heating business in Fairmont, West Virginia. Survivors include his wife, Carol; two daughters; and five grandchildren.

Robert G. Weld, March 17, 2010. (Irving) Robert was owner of Weld Furniture Store and Funeral Home in Clifton Springs, New York.

’42

Gilbert J. Feinstein, November 28, 2010. (Main, Irving, El Circulo Español, baseball, football, swimming, Airplane Club) A graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Gilbert served in the Navy. He owned and operated P. Feinstein & Sons, a manufacturer of fine men’s clothing in New York City, and at his retirement in 1982, he was president of Goodman & Suss in New York. Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Barbara Cohen Feinstein; a son and two daughters; and nine grandchildren.

’43

George E. Beattie, November 10, 2010. (South Cottage, Marshall, Chemistry Club, Camera Club, Stamp Club, News Board, Glee Club, baseball, cross country, tennis) George attended Brown University, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and attended Officer Basic School at Quantico. At one time, George was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Paris. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Shirley Congdon Beattie; two daughters and a son; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

P. Frank Hagerty II, October 22, 2010. (’Eighty-eight, Marshall, The Fifteen vice president, News Board, Rauchrunde, KARUX editorin-chief, Class Day Committee, Concert Band, valedictorian) Frank graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University. During his career, he was employed as a manager for applied research and development and as a consultant in mathematical modeling of chemical and petroleum processes for Eastman Kodak and Sun Oil Corporation (Sunoco). He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Dorothy Lucking “Duff” Hagerty.

’44

Charles B. Paul, November 4, 2007. (South Cottage, Irving, Stony Batter, wrestling, track) Charles graduated as an August senior. He studied at George Washington University after his discharge from the United States Army in 1946. He subsequently went into the Navy, retiring as a commander after 20 years of service. He was then employed as a cargo and computer systems program development consultant for American President Lines. Charles and his first wife, Beth Koenig, had five children. He was preceded in death by his second wife, Maggie. Survivors include his wife, Sharon Healy-Paul, three daughters, two sons, a stepdaughter, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

’45

Thomas A. Workman, February 2, 2011. (Marshall, Chemistry Club, Gun Club) After serving as a lieutenant in the Army, Tom graduated from Lafayette College with a degree in business administration.

He started a company now known as Acopian Technical and also worked for Prudential until 1968, when he started the Maryland Fried Chicken restaurant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, then one in neighboring Easton and another in Winter Haven, Florida. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marilyn Mayberry Workman.

’46

James B. Frizzell, October 6, 2010. (South Cottage, Irving, Class Historian, Senate, baseball, swimming, wrestling, News Board, Dance Committee, French Club, Stamp Club) Jim graduated from the University of Maryland and was an Army Air Force veteran. After returning to civilian life, he was an agent for the Jefferson National Life Insurance Company in Indianapolis. In 1959 he joined Eastern Air Lines and was stationed in Florida, the Bahamas, and in Alexandria, Virginia. He retired in 1987 and later settled in Jacksonville, Florida.

’47

Judiah Higgins, September 1, 2008. (Marshall, KARUX, News, Glee Club) A graduate of Princeton University, Judiah, a securities analyst, was an insurance analyst for several firms and then an investment banker at Lazard in New York City. He later was a real-estate developer in Austin, Texas. Survivors include two sons and a brother, Jim ’47.

James A. Lyne Jr., March 2, 2005. (’Eighty-eight, Marshall, Chapel Choir, El Circulo Español, Chemistry Club, Radio Club, tennis) A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Jim was the former vice president of Howard, Nielson and Lyne, an engineering and architectural firm in Lexington, Kentucky. Survivors include his wife, Mary Rae Tucker Lyne, a son, and three grandchildren.

Mercersbu rg magazi n e spri ng 2011

’48

Walter G. Ramsay, August 26, 2010. (Keil, Marshall, News Board, Les Copains, Chemistry Club, Stony Batter, Varsity Club, wrestling, baseball, track, Marshal of the Field) Walter was a graduate of Princeton and earned his master’s degree from Georgetown University. He served in the Army during the Korean War, and later was a Middle East specialist for the Department of State. Survivors include his wife, Polly, three sons, and a sister.

’51

Frank Willis Cook, October 11, 2010. (South Cottage, Irving, El Circulo Español, Chapel Usher, Class Day Committee, Marshal of the Field, Varsity Club, swimming) Bill was accepted into the Naval ROTC at Northwestern University, completed “boot” training at Fort Riley, Kansas, and was discharged from the service after a twoyear tour in Germany. His business career included sales management with several national companies—including Kimberly-Clark, Underwood Corporation, Bushey & Wright, food brokers, and the presidency of multiple firms in Evanston, Illinois. Survivors include a son, a daughter, and several grandchildren (including Matt Cook ’11 and Stephanie Stine ’11).

William G. Lippincott, October 26, 2010. (Keil, Marshall, Rauchrunde, Choir, Glee Club, track) Much of Bill’s business career was in sales with steel and wire industry companies. He is survived by his wife, Jan, and three children from a previous marriage.

’52

Walter A. Tighe, November 29, 2010. (’Eighty-eight, Irving, Stony Batter, Caducean Club, Varsity Club, football, basketball, track, baseball). Walt graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and was an Army veteran. Survivors include his wife, Ellie; his brother; Gene ’45; and two sons, two grandchildren, and a sister.

’54

James E. Kelly, October 30, 2010. (South Cottage, Marshall, Les Copains, Chemistry Club, Gun Club, baseball). Jim attended Dartmouth College and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He had a long career in the insurance industry and was an ardent supporter of the University of Southern California football team. Survivors include two sons, two daughters, and four grandchildren.

’56

Peter M. Daniels, January 30, 2011. (South Cottage, Marshall, Student Council, Chapel Choir, Glee Club, Octet, Dance Committee, Stony Batter, Les Copains, tennis, track) Pete attended Washington and Lee University. He served in production and sales with the M.P. Moller Pipe Organ Company in Hagerstown, and had almost 40 years experience in the industry. He was preceded in death by his father (Wilson II ’25) and a brother, Wilson III ’48. Survivors include his wife, Judith McCurdy Daniels, and four children.

William T.K. Johnson, September 8, 2010. (South Cottage, Marshall, International Club) Bill was born in Seoul, Korea, where his father served as a consular officer. Growing up, Bill lived in China, Brazil, Japan, Czechoslovakia, Germany, and Thailand, as well as California and Washington, D.C. He graduated from the University of North Carolina and earned a Ph.D. in physics at American University. A longtime scientist and engineer at Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he made indelible contributions to the design performance analysis and management of most of the major radar missions that the lab built. Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Toni Cavanagh Johnson; two daughters and a stepson; and five grandchildren.

Peter R. Ketterer, July 15, 2009. (Marshall, wrestling) Pete served in the Navy Reserve and was retired from Virginia Tech. Survivors include his wife, Virginia, a son and daughter, and two grandchildren.

Clarence W. “Clancy” Prevost, December 23, 2010. (Main, Marshall, football, basketball) See page 26.

’58

Wendell M. Kury, November 12, 2010. (’Eighty-eight, Irving debater, Caducean Club, Chemistry Club, Rauchrunde, wrestling, tennis, Cum Laude) Wendell graduated from Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. He served as a medical officer with the Army while stationed in Korea. He practiced psychiatry for many years in California, Montana, and Wyoming, and was also a published poet. A brother, Wilson ’63, preceded him in death; survivors include three brothers (including Bernie ’56 and Chan ’66), a sister, and his former wife, Penny Gilmer.

’61

Charles V. Alvarez, November 6, 2007. (Main, Marshall, Class Poet, El Circulo Español, Caducean Club, Jurisprudence Society, International Club, Stony Batter, Varsity Club, track, Marshal of the Field) Charlie retired from private practice in obstetrics and gynecology.

Survivors include his wife, Patricia, and three children.

Edward A. Moses, March 14, 2010. (Tippetts, Irving, Student Council, Orientation Committee, The Fifteen, El Circulo Español, Jurisprudence Society, News Board) Edward did undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and received a Ph.D. from Georgia State University. He was a former dean of the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, and the Bank of America Professor of Finance at Crummer. Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Susan Heller Moses, and a son and daughter.

’63

John R. Harris IV, June 17, 2010. (Tippetts, valedictorian, Irving declaimer, Senate secretary, Student Council, The Fifteen, Laticlavii, Chemistry Club, Stony Batter, News, Lit, track, Cum Laude) John had a psychiatric practice in Albuquerque and was a licensed attorney in the state of New Mexico. A graduate of Rice University and Stanford University, he later earned a law degree from the University of New Mexico. Survivors include his wife, Terry Greisch-Harris, and his mother, three sisters, one niece, and three nephews.

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’67

Marc W. Ruben, September 6, 2010. (Irving, Classics Club, Psychology Club, Paideia, Caducean Club, Electronics Club, Stony Batter, WMER, Glee Club, football, tennis, fencing) A graduate of Antioch College, Marc was a project manager for UNISYS. He loved the Boston Red Sox and old war films, classic cars, and planes. Survivors include two sons, his mother, his brother (Geoff ’68), and two sisters.

’69

Kenneth B. Unger, April 18, 2010. (Marshall, KARUX business manager, French Club, WMER, Blue Key, Glee Club, Band, football, Dance Committee, Varsity Club) Ken was president of Networx Corporation in Pittsford, New York. He is survived by his wife, Marcie; two stepchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

’71

John L. Moore, April 24, 2010 (Irving, Chapel Choir, Spanish Club, Glee Club, Band, Sports Publicity, football, wrestling, tennis).

A graduate of Virginia Tech, John’s career was in architecture, largely in Florida. His late uncle (John ’34) and father (Bill ’35) were also Mercersburg alumni. Survivors include his wife, Cynthia; two children; and a cousin, John Malcolm ’94.

’77

Neil M. Troup, April 6, 2010. (soccer, swimming, Blue Key, International Club) Neil came to Mercersburg as an English-Speaking Union student and lived in Torquay, England.

’84

Andrew C. Johnson, January 29, 2010 (Fowle, Marshall, Chorale, WMER, Blue Key, Stony Batter, International Club, baseball, basketball). Andy was a resident of Apopka, Florida.

’10

Jacob H. Kiser, December 31, 2010. (Fowle/Main, Marshall, Stony Batter, baseball manager) Jacob attended Mercersburg for two years before graduating from Fort Defiance High School near his home in Verona, Virginia. He was a freshman at Hampden-Sydney College, and died when the small Cessna plane he was flying with a flight instructor collided with a medical helicopter shortly after taking off from Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport. Survivors include his mother and father, a sister and a half-brother, and several aunts and uncles.

Former faculty/staff/friends William C. Hamilton, January 25, 2011. Bill enlisted in the Army and, after a stint at the University of Missouri to learn German, he guarded German prisoners of war at Camp Rukers in Alabama.

He earned bachelor’s and law degrees from Washington and Lee University and practiced law before going into the car business in his native Hagerstown. He invested in Antietam Motors and then established Hamilton Pontiac; the dealership later added Cadillacs and Nissans and became a Nissan-only dealer in 1998.

His family also runs Hamilton Hyundai in Chambersburg. Bill was preceded in death by Sheridan, his wife of 54 years. Among his survivors are three sons (including Teague ’69 and Derek ’73), six grandchildren (including James ’95, Peter ’98, and William ’00), and five great-grandchildren.

James P. “Pat” Humphreys Jr., former mathematics teacher and tennis coach, October 25, 2010. Pat taught at Mercersburg from 1964 to 1971 and was a World War II veteran, serving as a tail gunner on a B-25 bomber in the Aleutian Islands. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jane Schroeder Humphreys. Survivors include his wife, Almeda Wilking Humphreys, two daughters (including Lisa Humphreys Stoddard ’73), two sons, seven grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren.

Edward W. Reed, father of former faculty member Sandie Cubit, father-in-law of faculty member Mark Cubit, and grandfather of Colin ’06, Kelsie ’08, Kearsten ’10, and Kendra ’13, March 11, 2011.

Frank H. Reisner, father of faculty member Karl Reisner and grandfather of Kris ’94 and Amanda ’97, November 24, 2010.

Luis Felipe Sancho, brother of faculty member Eugenio Sancho, brother-in-law of former faculty member Jyselle Sancho, and uncle of Steve ’99 and Andrea ’01, January 8, 2011.

John L. “Jack” Schwartz, father of the late Marilyn Larson (former academic dean), father-in-law of faculty member Ray Larson, and grandfather of Kit Larson ’97, Ben Larson ’01, and Greg Larson ’06, November 29, 2010.

My Say

Mercersbu rg magazi n e spri ng 2011

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I forget who noticed it first, but our conversation halted as the words “Haiti: 7.0 magnitude quake” crawled along the bottom of the TV screen. My mind flew back to Portau-Prince, back to our little girl. Because I was the only one in the room who had seen the largest city in the poorest nation of the Western Hemisphere firsthand, I was probably the first to move from shock to fear.

by Matt Maurer Those tightly packed, poorly made concrete structures didn’t stand a chance against an earthquake of any magnitude, let alone one with an epicenter just eight miles deep. A map of Haiti appeared on the screen with a pulsating red bull’s-eye right on top of Carrefour, a residential district of 400,000 people living in shanties haphazardly stacked up the side of a mountain. That’s when Julie said, “Nathalie’s orphanage is in Carrefour.”

I travelled to Haiti to meet Nathalie for the first time in October 2009. We’d been actively seeking to adopt her since August 2008. There were several other prospective parents on the trip. Some had been waiting to bring their children home for years. We were fearful that, like some Haitian orphans, Nathalie might not outlive the red tape.

Unlike many of her peers, she was a true orphan. There was no one to check on her or bring her extra food now and then.

According to the reports we’d received, Nathalie had not grown at all in the past year. When I saw her in person, as beautiful as she was, I was heartbroken by the sight of her grossly distended belly and her bony, fragile-looking limbs. She was only 39 inches tall and weighed just 29 pounds. My heart broke again when I discovered her real birthday: February 20, 2004. We’d been operating under the mistaken impression that she was four years old—not five and a half. Her size didn’t even register on our pediatrician’s growth chart.

Time with Nathalie that week, however, was a real joy.

Though she spoke no English (only Haitian Creole), and what was left of my high-school French was fairly hit-and-miss, we still found ways to communicate. We ate four or five meals a day, swam in the hotel pool, watched Winnie the Pooh, and Skyped with her new “Mama,” her brothers, and her big sister.

Putting her in the van back to the orphanage at the end of the week was… difficult.

Nathalie didn’t know it, but she was going to have another sister. Our youngest daughter was born January 5, 2010, exactly one week before the January 12 disaster. The week of the quake was a series of phone calls, emails, casualty estimates, and way too much CNN. Then we received confirmation that Nathalie was alive. She later told us, once she’d learned enough English, that she had been buried underneath the collapsed orphanage for at least two days.

We learned that the surviving children were sleeping on the ground outside, that food and water were dangerously scarce, and that relief was miles away. Our adoption agent, Chareyl Moyes, assured us that beyond prayer, there was nothing for us to do but gather every shred of paperwork and send it to her immediately. The Haitian ministry, where copies of the precious documents were kept, was no longer standing.

Chareyl assembled a small task force to fly down to find and protect the children while she attempted to secure a newly devised refugee status called “humanitarian parole.” This designation was created just for Haitian orphans already in the adoption pipeline. There were numerous setbacks. The story of the Herculean efforts of “Team Hope” could fill a book. Despite eating little, sleeping on cement, giving baths in buckets, facing numerous aftershocks, and enduring 18-hour days standing in line at the U.S. Embassy, Team Hope landed in Miami January 29, 2010, with more than 50 children—our little girl included.

Nathalie left a country of 9 million people where 80 percent of the population lived below the poverty line, at least 200,000 had just been killed, and more than 1.5 million were suddenly homeless. The vast majority of those still remain in tent-city conditions today. Haiti had an estimated 380,000 orphans before the quake. That number may have doubled.

But there are a few happy endings amid all the despair, and we’re grateful to have been blessed with one of them. Since her arrival, Nathalie has grown a full eight inches, and has almost doubled her weight. Her mastery of English continues to grow, and she’s very proud of her new reading skills. She’s having a wonderful time in kindergarten, and her developing relationships with her siblings—and with us—are a beautiful thing to behold. Though I can’t claim to have witnessed history in the same way as so many others, I can attest to one thing: miracles sometimes occur. Nathalie is one of ours.

Matt Maurer is a member of the English Department and a Stony Batter director. He and his wife, Academic Dean Dr. Julia Stojak Maurer ’90, came to Mercersburg in 2001. They have five children: Emma, Will, Michael, Nathalie, and Mary. To support the efforts to rebuild Nathalie’s orphanage in Haiti, visit www.belhaiti.info.

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