CLASS NOTES
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Northfield Mount Hermon Carrie Niederman thedoc@txequinedentist.com • Cathy Abraham Hopkins cathy.hopkins@gmail.com
Beth Graden Rom writes, “Since at times Muhammad must go to the mountain, some of us decided to have a Brooklyn gathering in April (home of Rich Miller). Several other locals joined in our weekend of fun, including John Canavari, John Dinan, Kyle Warendorf, Lesley Snelling, Brooke Laffan, Wendy Mauser Moores ’79, and Mark McCormick. Naturally, some of the not-so-local regulars showed (Cathy, Erika, and Beth). Lisa, Ellen, Maxine, David, Cami, Danny G., and Hirath were missed; Chris Crowder and Tom French, too. It was a treat to have George Pappas in our midst. Rich did a fine job keeping us on track, and we commended his leadership. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we do, we are simply content to be together and tell stories and share our current-day tales. We walked, talked, laughed, ate (chocolate), imbibed (in various nectars), rode a carousel, and looked at the bright lights of Manhattan. We can’t wait until the next time and hope that you all have Reunion 2018 on your calendars (when it will have been 40 years since we graduated).” • Debbie Allenby Albert: “After many gatherings at NMH for memorial services of former faculty members, a few of us began tossing around the idea of gathering at a more joyful time to have a ‘Fac Brat’ reunion to celebrate our childhood as faculty kids at NMH. Kristin Kellom ’80 spearheaded what would become the first NMH Faculty Brat Reunion in June. This event included fac brats from the 1950s–1970s, since these were the core years represented at most of the previous memorial services.” Along with reminiscing and sharing experiences of growing up on campus, reunion attendees were treated to a presentation compiled by Peter Weis, NMH archivist, which featured some fac brats’ parents as young teachers. At a gathering in Memorial Chapel, many at the reunion shared how thankful they are that their parents were faculty members — the real reason they spent time as children in a most beautiful place they call home. The class of 1978 was well represented — in attendance: Joe Elliott, Ellen McVeigh Crawford, Peter Weis, Debbie Allenby Albert, Bob Compton, Martha Piscuskas, and Louise Burnham Packard.
The ’78 Faculty Brats reunion included (l-r) Joe Elliott, Ellen McVeigh Crawford, Peter Weis, Debbie Allenby Albert, Bob Compton, Martha Piscuskas, and Louise Burnham Packard.
College on an internship in stage management. He’s now studying theater at Drew University. “Transitioning to an empty nest will be the theme this year, but a job at a college, being on the local school board, and managing rental properties will help keep life full,” says Candace. • Jim Louderback writes, “All’s good here on the edge of the San Andreas Fault, except I’m suddenly living with two alien creatures — a dog and a 17-year-old-boy (who is the most normal of all of us — which is not saying much).” • Chris Neumeyer has been in Taiwan for the past 16 years and gained a wife, a 12-year-old girl, a house, and a cat. Chris joined the Taipei office of the U.S. law firm Duane Morris, and represents tech companies regarding intellectual property. • Carl Heine and his wife have moved from Alaska to Spokane, Wash., where he has a faculty position with a brand-new medical school at Washington State University. • William Heidbreder is still readjusting to America after returning to New York from Paris, where he earned a second bachelor’s degree at the Sorbonne, this time in philosophy. “I have started doing translations from French and writing and editing résumés, cover letters, and grant proposals, in addition to editing manuscripts for my business, Academic English Editing. Am also working on some writing projects, including a memoir and writings on theater and film. A blog of my writings can be found at refusal ofsilence.com. Anyone passing through New York City is encouraged to get in touch. I have
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Northfield Mount Hermon Paige Relyea Lehman Paigerelyea@Yahoo.com • Cary Liebowitz Bonosevich Bonosevich@Hotmail.com
This is a year of milestones for Candace Roper in Lancaster, Penn. Daughter Mackenzie graduated from University of Vermont with a B.S. in molecular genetics and is taking time off before applying to grad school for genetic counseling. Son Liam graduated from high school and spent the summer at Muhlenberg
(From left) Erika Monsees McCormick ’78, Brooke Laffan ’78, Kyle Warendorf ’78, Wendy Mauser Moores ’79, Mark McCormick ’78, Rich Miller ’78, Lesley Snelling ’78, Beth Graden Rom ’78, and Cathy Abraham Hopkins ’78 gather for a mini-reunion in Brooklyn, N.Y.
a guest room and can give advice on what to do while you’re here. I am on Facebook.” • Seth Longacre writes, “The last six months have been ones of significant transitions — continent, job, home, name, and gender. I returned to the San Diego area from my latest African gig in Liberia, managing a field office during the Ebola crisis, with the intention of settling in the U.S. again after 10 years. Haven’t yet found where I want to settle, so that process is ongoing. Perhaps the biggest transition was legally changing my name and gender from female ‘Tracy’ to male ‘Seth Longacre.’” • In January, David Gessner hosted a National Geographic Explorer show called “Call of the Wild.” He said the idea behind it is that tech screens are messing up our lives, while nature is restorative. Go to National Geographic channel and search for “Call of the Wild HD” to view it. • From Estelle Dorain Burgess: “Happy fall to all my ’79 classmates! Our girls, Lindsey ’03 and Callie ’04, are both happy and thriving. Ray and I look forward to a great season on the boat on Lake George. Looking ahead, only a couple more years and we will be celebrating our 40th reunion. Really? Not us! We are still young and can cause a little bit of trouble! Before long I will be contacting you with reunion plans. Keep an eye out! There are many area NMH events that may be right in your neighborhood. It’s a great way to re-connect and learn more about the school’s ever-evolving environment! You will be pleasantly surprised!”
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Northfield Mount Hermon Jack Farrell jack@jackfarrell.org • Antony Pang aa1105@yahoo.com • Lynelle Kucharski lynelle@lynellekucharski.com • Kristin Kellom kkellom@nmhschool.org
From Kristin: I write this on a stunningly beautiful June day in the Connecticut River Valley knowing that you will read this as the frost and snowflakes of winter will be ready to descend on the hills of NMH. In the era of Facebook and the immediate gratification that it provides, I am feeling a bit stymied on what to write, especially as direct news updates have not descended. With last year’s 35th reunion, we had a flurry of updates and pictures that offered info to share. Classmates also organized two mini-reunions in fall 2015, which provided great news for the last column. As those at reunion may recall, mini-reunions were high on our class list of things to do between reunions at NMH; if you have interest in one, then please let Jeff Leyden or me know. We are happy to help in coordinating the details for these fun gatherings that have been scattered about the country in D.C., Boston, and Los Angeles so far. • In the “you’ll want to know her name” department, Amelia Maloney’s daughter, Isabella ’17, is a significant
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