CLASS NOTES varied and exciting. However, as an avid golfer, my big treat is to have played Torrey Pines South Course, walking with a caddy. It was wonderful. Golf is a fabulous excuse to commune with nature and enjoy all of God’s beauty. It is a heady reminder that life is beautiful.” Since the last posting, Andrew Howe, who is originally from Jackson, N.H., pulled up stakes from the coast of Maine and moved to the White Mountains. He says: “We’ll keep close ties to the coast, especially in the summer, when we hop onboard our sailboat and go cruising. Hopefully, work schedules will accommodate that plan. But for now, let it snow.” His email has changed to aghowejxn@roadrunner.com. Robin Smith-Johnson is the newsroom librarian at the Cape Cod Times and teaches in the English department at Cape Cod Community College. Next winter her first book of poetry will be published by Word Press (an imprint of Word Tech Communications LLC). The publication date is set for 12/13/13. Jane Hubbard Jennings lives in Port Orange, Fla., with her physician husband of 35 years, Lane. They have three grown children: Lane Jr., who works in substance abuse treatment; Ethan, who is married, has a child, and works at Michelin Headquarters in South Carolina; and Lauren, an actress who lives in Manhattan. Jane continues to pursue her work as a career artist, working in many media, most recently in fiber assemblages. Her work is in private and public collections internationally. Tom Sisson writes: “I guess the old-timers who told me the music I was listening to was going to make me deaf were right. After being fitted with stateof-the-art hearing devices, my world has opened up. If someone you know, tells you to get your hearing checked—do it. You won’t know or believe what you are missing until you can hear again.”
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HEATHER BLANCHARD TOWER 46 Main St Northfield MA 01360-1023 smtower@comcast.net BILL STEWART 28 Wildwood Pl El Cerrito CA 94530-2049 BillStewartNMH73@gmail.com
From Heather: The campus is humming and the arts are flourishing. Vespers was wonderful and we were particularly proud this year as the opening solo was sung by our Thai student. The music was challenging, as always, and they performed it well. The Nellies and Hogapella were invited to sing at the White House just before winter break and were well received. We have enjoyed music, dance, and theater this year. I am always amazed at the performances. Come back and check it out. As Nancy Norton Monahan said when she went to the Boston Vespers: “I was blown away at how great the
singing/orchestra was; made me very proud to be a part of the NMH community. I never remember anything close to the caliber I heard the other night when I was there.” I am now the proud parent of two college graduates: Sara ’07 from Gettysburg (magna cum laude, and she delivered a wonderful moment of silence at Baccalaureate) and Chris ’05 from Roger Williams. Sara is living and working nearby, and Chris is home and working nearby. It’s great to have them so close for a change. Many of you may have heard that Jim Blumenthal succumbed to cancer last fall. He so enjoyed reunion and life, and I was looking forward to seeing him this year. He will be greatly missed. Mark DeGarmo was honored in Moscow last June at the opening of the “Enchanted Wanderers: The Unknown Pages of the History of Ballet” exhibit at the Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum. Photographs by leading U.S. dance photographer Beatriz Schiller of DeGarmo’s work as a dancer and choreographer were featured alongside images of legendary Russian ballet dancers and artists, who developed ballet in the West and made significant contributions to world culture. The exhibit included photographs of Diaghilev, Balanchine, Nureyev, Baryshnikov, Briansky, Arova, Princess Grace of Monaco, and others. This exhibit highlights the life of Dame Sonia Arova, Oleg Briansky and other legendary ballet dancers and choreographers of the second half of the 20th century. A special section is devoted to the work of costume designer Igor Roussanoff and his collaborations with Dame Sonia Arova, Thor Sutowski, Wes Chapman, Mark DeGarmo, and Richard Helldobler. Reunion is just around the corner, and I hope to see many folks there. Your reunion chairs are working hard to make this a great event. The best part is being together and forgetting about our aches and pains as the years slip away and we are once again on the cusp of great adventures. Mark your calendars and put in for vacation. See you there. From Bill: Our Facebook class page now has 102 members and is really helping us plan for our upcoming 40th reunion. Pierce Campbell writes that he’ll be in Crossley, where music will be provided by the Happy Hoggers Band reunion with Joe Klein, Jamie Voos, Dave Torrey, and Greg Burrill. “We’re looking forward to rockin’ out again and seeing everyone in June. Crossley will never be the same after we’re done with it. Don’t be square...be there.” Dave King wrote an essay about his adolescent adulation of fellow classmate David Wright (several other friends are referenced but not named) that is included in the anthology, Who’s Yer Daddy: Gay Writers Celebrate Their Mentors and Forerunners, from the University of Wisconsin Press. Skip Weaver manufactures parts for the King Midget automobile. In October he joined the staff in the automotive program at Seminole State College. Skip lives in Clermont, Fla., and keeps in touch with Cambren Davis and other classmates.
Heidi Haller Groshelle has been living and working in San Francisco since ’80. Since ’95 her work has focused on public relations and marketing for technology companies. She has two sons—Zane (30), who works for Prezi.com as their product evangelist, and Eli (23), who is a student focused on education and is studying Arabic in Oakland, Calif. Ceramic art is a passion of Heidi’s, and she works in a studio in Golden Gate Park. Sally Scherer Winter’s son, Charley, graduated from Georgia Tech with high honors in December and is looking forward to attending medical school or graduate school. David Holleb writes that they survived Hurricane Sandy but had no power for nine days and finally went to a hotel in Scranton, Pa., for two days when the house temperature got down to 49 degrees. He and Regina celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in Sicily last October. Son Matt recently graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and is now a port supervisor in Brunswick, Ga. Son Peter is a sophomore at the University of Scranton. Mark Spitzer writes: “I was such a miserable wretch after my parents died in fall ’11 that Kamila got so weary of my constant depression that she told me to go back to work...and spread my joy outside the confines of our home. I am back to being an ER doc in an underserved area of West Virginia, stamping out lives, saving diseases.” After 33 years of living in New York City, Lisa Stein and her family moved to New Jersey, an hour from the city. Her son (10) plays ice hockey with Old Bridge Junior Knights. “I started late with this family stuff, and the day after Christmas, we added a puppy to the mix. Suburban life all the way now, close to the country and close to the ocean.” Lisa still works as a photographer and hopes to make it to reunion. “Really miss having the Northfield campus part of NMH. My mother, Pauline Alpert Stein ’49, went there, and I lived there in Gould my two years at NMH. Love seeing some of you on Facebook, a great way to keep in touch.” Tom Schmidt lives on the family farm in Twinsburg Township, Ohio, with his sister, Kris. He has been a township trustee for 20 years, and coordinates the recently launched Twinsburg Community TimeBank. Tom writes: “Members provide services to one another and pay in time credits instead of cash. It is a great community builder. I am starting work with people in other states studying time banking, alternative currencies, and building community among people, thus being less reliant on government. We have what we need if we use what we have.”
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STEPHANIE LYNN GERSON 672 Old Mill Rd #263 Millersville MD 21108 Stephanie.L.Gerson@gmail.com
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