stay connected... time with interesting, kind, thoughtful people, and never having to cook or clean up from a meal—it was truly a special time together. “Heartfelt thanks to this group of incredible women, who made it all happen. We always talk about mini reunions and getting together, but five years is much too long to wait to see one another again. I hope we can figure out some ways for AA ’66 to spend time together.” As a reunion wrap-up, thanks to all who returned and created a thought-provoking 50th: Martha Bayles, Sarah Downs Bowie, Jan Waring Cavedon, Paula Cortes, Beverley Armsden Daniel, Val dePeyster, Marty Wies Dignan, Lucy Crane Draper, Ellen Ross Ebersole, Donna Wlodkoski Economou, Judi Bricker Flanagan, Marcia Watson Goldberg, Jane Minor, Lee Haselton, Beth Humstone, Peigi Donaghy Huseby, Nancy Whitehead Kieling, Margy Ryder Kornblum, Debbie Stone Mager, Martha Church Moore, Bethe Moulton, Judy Mustille, Pinky Rock Noll, Nee Gaines Olsen, Melinda Miller Patterson, Nancy Warlick Powell, Babs Slaymaker Sale, Barb Roediger Seiver, Lonnie Somers Stowe, Rose-Jane Bendetson Sulman, Lucy Thomson, Barbara Timken, Laurie Hinckley Towers, Ruth Sisson Weiner, and Mettie Whipple. For those who wanted to come, but couldn’t: Flash forward to our 55th! And remain connected! Cheers, Blake
PHILLIPS Ray Healey 740 West End Ave., Apt. 111 New York NY 10025 212-866-8507 drrayhealey@gmail.com
Our grand 50th Reunion opened on Thursday, June 9, at a felicitous location, The Country Club in Brookline, MA, the oldest country club in America. We were hosted by longtime member Skip Freeman, who not only arranged the foursomes, but treated us to a sumptuous luncheon after play, during which we reconnected with old friends. Among those swinging clubs were Warren Baker, Alex Belida, Bill Dawson, Fernando Gonzalez (and son Sebastian), Chris Gurry (and son Chas ’05), John Hilley, Topper Lynn, Earl Maxon, Paul Miller, Flip Morgan, Bill Newhall, Don Ross, Charley Sawyer, Andy Scott, Steve Sullivan, Denny Tottenham, Jack Turco, Kai Underwood, and Bruce Walton. Charley Sawyer, who is also a Country Club member, kindly bankrolled a portion of the day’s festivities. Later we gathered at Abbot, where Blake Allen ’66 and Ruth Weiner ’66 and their many Abbot ’66 classmates treated us to a delightful cocktail reception and sumptuous dinner. Our 50th Reunion cochairs, Warren and Topper—to whom we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude for their indefatigable labors in staging our
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Andover | Reunion 2016
reunion—spoke warmly of the strong bonds linking PA and Abbot; Topper also thanked Rick Allen and Paul Miller, who did a sensational job raising north of $7 million for the class. And speaking of raising money, hearty thanks to Barr Potter, whose innovative auction raised a fivefigure sum for our class gift. The other members of the reunion committee, all praiseworthy, were Eric Almquist, Ric Redman, Lee Eddy, and Andy Scott. Then the partying began. Our special thanks to Don Ross, former lead guitarist for both the Spectres and the Ha’Pennys, who arranged all the splendid music for the entire weekend—and who on this particular night served up a band called the Foreverly Brothers. Seen dancing up a storm were Blake Allen, Gary Ahrens, and Gerald Harris. Early Friday morning we gathered at Kemper Auditorium, where George Edmonds, an English teacher to a number of us, presided over a lively discussion about Andover curricula of the good old days versus those of now, which included fond references to Great Expectations and Dudley Fitts. We then convened at Cochran Chapel for a somber ceremony remembering our 31 classmates who have passed on. Jim Munroe, who recently retired after 17 years as dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Springfield, MA, presided at the memorial service, and several classmates read the names of the deceased. Tak Takvorian played two piano pieces. That afternoon a group of PhDs and other smart guys gathered at Pearson Hall—home base of legendary Latin instructor Alston Hurd Chase—for a chat about the pursuit of a career in academia. Scholar, prolific author, and classroom sage Andy Abbott traded quips with Michael Tansey, a professor who has enjoyed a highly successful teaching and writing career, and had some trenchant things to say about the intersection of academia and politics. Others with lively comments included Eric Almquist, Ric Redman, Gary Ahrens, Jon Noll, Loring Lincoln, Rick Pieters, Howie Borgstrom, and Joe Schepps. On Friday night, bolstered by the arrival of scores of our classmates, we gathered at a big tent adjacent to our reunion lodging, Paul Revere Hall, and enjoyed a lavish seafood banquet, followed by dancing into the wee hours. First it was sparkling music from a steel band, and then it was exuberant rock ’n’ roll dished up by another Don Ross pick, a foxy DJ who got the house rocking with Van Halen’s “Jump”! Showing exuberant moves on the dance floor were Geoff Davis, Jack Turco, David Rockwell, Roger Lowell, Peter Lowell, Steve Cunningham, Paul Miller, and Marty Geiger. Saturday was a whirlwind of activity, with some of us visiting classes, others marveling at the Addison Gallery, and still others catching up with old friends after 50 years. A band of intrepid ’66 oarsmen journeyed at dawn to the new Andover boathouse on the Merrimack River, where they tested aging muscles in one of the new fiberglass
shells and displayed vigorous form as they rowed along the waterfront. In the boat were Kit Wise, Ned Kendrick, Joe Seamans, Bill Newbury, Peter Brand, Gary Ahrens, and Warren Baker. On the dock were fellow rowers Matt Molé and Tom Weil. Saturday afternoon we gathered at the hallowed playing fields of the head of school’s backyard, where we played a rousing game of stickball while dodging raindrops from lovely summer showers. Eric Best pitched gamely for one team amid a blizzard of trash talk and catcalls from both squads; when he came to bat, facing the formidable flamethrower Don Ross, Best lashed a screwball into the shrubbery for a called home run. Recalling the administrations of eminent former stickball commissioners, like George Bush ’64 and Bill Eakland, an impressive roster of players came to bat, including Art Harris, Bruce Stanley, Andy Hemenway, Lee Eddy, Al Basile, Jim Fabiani, Fernando Gonzalez, Jamie Wyper, Craig Miller, Andy Ogilvie, Gerald Harris, Bob Campbell, John Cooney, Paul Mitchell, John Erskine, Rich Dawson, Paul Miller, and Brew Brewster. Our esteemed head of school, John Palfrey, batted in the ninth inning against fireballer Ray Healey and proved that he had learned a few moves on the baseball team at his alma mater, Exeter, by lashing a stinging line drive and scampering all the way to third base. There, with the game on the line, Palfrey tried to steal home—and some say Healey picked him off, while others say Healey balked. The final score was a tie, as in “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29.” That same afternoon we returned to Kemper Auditorium to cheer on two of our finest athletes, Chris Gurry and Jack Turco, who were inducted into the Andover Athletics Hall of Honor. After yet another glorious cocktail hour, we gathered in an upstairs room at Commons, and, far from dining on “mystery mounds,” we enjoyed one final glorious banquet, again thanks to the hard work of our quintessential PA ’66 classmate Skip Freeman. Headlining a night of stellar musical performances was our own Al Basile, trumpeter extraordinaire, who sang the memorable debut of his great song “Royal Blue Persuasion,” which brought the house down and kicked off the epic final party of this memorable reunion. Hundreds of photos of the weekend will be posted on the PA ’66 website curated by Andy Scott, at www.phillipsacademy66.com/ gallery.html. Adios, amigos. Keep writing and e-mailing.