CLASS NOTES and spent time with Erin Cromack, Erin Marley, Everett Irving, Jeff Arthur, and RJ McFarlane. She also completed her third season on the field hockey team at Dickinson College and has spent the past semester traveling to Morocco, Spain, and southern France with eight other students, doing research on immigration from northern Africa into Europe. Fallon will be back on the NMH campus in May for the third Winters sister’s graduation. Dat Dang studied abroad in London this past spring and will return to Columbia in the fall to complete dual degrees in philosophy and economics. As for me, I graduate from Rice in May. At the time of this writing, I don’t know with certainty what I’ll be doing next year, but it will probably involve being abroad in Israel. I hope everyone is doing well and has a great summer.
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NMH
OLIVIA VAN COTT 43 Cleveland St Greenfield MA 01301-1905 olivia.vancott92@gmail.com
NISHA MALIK 409 Davis St Greenfield MA 01301-1414 nishamalik92@gmail.com
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NMH PARKER PELTZER 120 Passumpsic Ave PO Box 453 Wilder VT 05088-0453 ppeltzer@gmx.com WILSON JOSEPHSON 50 The Oaks Henniker NH 03242-3450 josephsonw@carleton.edu
From Parker: Our class was still a presence on campus this fall, starting with the birth of Jess the calf on the farm, named for our own Jess Marlor. (I figure it is rare for a class to open its first-ever class notes column with a birth announcement.) Drew Palmer brought his new a cappella group, Simple Harmonic Motion of WPI, to perform in the RAC. Another of our artists, Wylie Earp, has returned to the NMH stage. While not pickle making in Greenfield, he was cast in David Rowland’s After the Island, a sequel to The Tempest. Wylie has
Jess Marlor ’12 with her NMH namesake
played Prospero in both. In the spring, he plans to volunteer at a language school in Nicaragua. I’ve been around NMH a lot myself, first coaching with our Outdoor Program, then the Academy at Charlemont’s ski team. One wonderful day for me was when Wilson Josephson visited. We took a walk in the new snow and got caught up. He’s made fast friends with the Carleton water polo and swim and dive teams and even went on a training trip to Hawaii. Afterward, we had lunch in the dining hall with Katie Lindeman and Megan Burns, who were also visiting. Meal completed, the four of us took cookies that Katie had baked and some fruitcakes I had made to students preparing for finals, and then we visited Jess the calf. While Christmas Vespers was a joy in person and was attended either in the chapel or in Boston by several of us, I reckon it was also a fine time in Atlanta, where Justin Pau and former roommates Elizabeth Schechter and Joanna Pang made dinner and listened to the WNMH version. Not all of us got to experience the service as we hoped, though. Adam Arsenault scheduled his flight from Iowa as early as possible to be able to catch the Thursday performance, but he was held up by blizzard conditions at the airport. Finally, I’m glad to announce that the next class notes column will be put together by Wilson. You can reach him at josephson@carleton.edu. Please keep sending any news that you would like to share to either of us, and if you would ever like to write the column, mention that, too. In my mind, it would be at its best with many voices taking a turn. Stay in touch, and have a great summer.
FACULTY NOTES LYN KELLOM PO Box 1546 New London NH 03257-1546 rbmzkellom@comcast.net
Yet again, there are too many obituaries. Richard Kidder passed away on 8/2/12 in Northfield. At NMH since 1997, Rick was a member of the grounds crew, caring primarily for the athletic fields and facilities, maintaining the ice rink in McCollum Arena, and operating the Zamboni. He is survived by two daughters, Carrie Kidder Bentley ’02 and Katie, and two grandchildren. A coordinator of storeroom materials from approximately 1983–92 Gary Tracy died on 10/5/12. Thomas T. Lyons of Newburyport, Mass., passed away on 10/11/12. Arriving at Mt. Hermon in 1958, he remained until 1963, at which time he joined the Phillips Andover faculty, where he taught history for 36 years, retiring as a “renowned teacher and mentor.” To those of us who knew the Mt. Hermon Tom, this comment by a colleague years later can come as no surprise: “Taking U.S. history with Lyons was a bit like going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. You had to struggle to stay afloat amid the torrents of information, but
you survived, you never forgot the ride, and you always thought it was worth it.” The Mt. Hermon chapel was indeed a fitting place for a service “in loving memory of” Mary Lighthall Compton ’44, who passed away 10/14/12 at 86. A member of the NMH community for nearly four decades, Mary was involved over the years in just about every aspect of its life. An effervescent people person, she took a genuine interest in everyone— colleagues, campus children, students, teams, alums. I can just see her erupt in a whoop of laughter had she heard the many “fac brats” of her own children’s generation reminiscing at the reception over humorous tales about growing up on campus. Chris Serino died on 10/15/12 at the age of 63. At NMH from 1988 to 1991 and head ice hockey coach, a colleague said of him; “He was an exceptional coach and person; a good man, taught me a lot in one year.” Understanding counselor, patient teacher, renewable energy advocate, amateur radio enthusiast, Walton G. Congdon passed away on 12/3/12. A member of the faculty for 38 years, Walt was a mentor not only to students, but also to colleagues. To the Kelloms, he was a valued science department colleague to Dick, a cherished friend to the family for 56 years, and “Uncle Walt” to our children. We will all miss this gentle Vermonter with a twinkle in his eyes and “ayuh” on his lips, as we fondly remember him pedaling that vintage bicycle all around campus. Antony “Tony” Chastain-Chapman, member of the English department from 1978–99 and its head for several years, died on 1/14/13. Born in England and a graduate of Cambridge University, he went on to earn his Ph.D. in English literature from Kent State University in Ohio. A true Renaissance man, his interests extended beyond the classroom and literature to music, art and antiques, travel, skilled woodworking, and the outdoors. To end on happier notes. On a pleasant New Hampshire September day, former trustee Barbara Tweedle Freedman ’66 and the NMH Alumni Association hosted “a special celebration and luncheon for the alumnae of Northfield School for Girls—Honoring Our Traditions. As former NSFG faculty, Sally Curtis and I had the great pleasure of joining a sizable group of Northfield alums at Kendal at Hanover. Everyone listened intently as Barbara spoke of her continuing involvement with the school, and then, everyone participated eagerly as Peter Weis ’78, NMH archivist, tickled our memories with Northfield School for Girls trivia. A fun, upbeat gathering. Fall ’12 found Cynnie and Terry Irwin in western Turkey on a small-group tour, which introduced them to museums, historic sites, art and architecture, cuisine; enabled them to visit with rural Turkish families in their homes; and included a four-day cruise along the Mediterranean coast. Then, flying to Switzerland, Cynnie visited with her sister while Terry continued on to northern Spain, where he walked the Camino de Santiago, a 495mile pilgrimage dating back to 900 A.D. His solo journey began in St. Jean Pied-du-Port and ended at Santiago Cathedral 33 days later. Bravo, Terry.
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