Winter 2011-2012

The Hillside S o u t h K e n t S c h o o l M a g a z i n e | Winter 2011-12

Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • Cover1

The Hillside Winter 2011-12 Volume XLIX Number 1

Head of School’s Report

Editor: Thomas Javery

Communications Coordinator Copy Editor: Mary Flemming Brown

Contributors: Laura Brande Carol-Ann Bruen Lynn Mellis Worthington Cheryl Moore Send address changes to: South Kent School 40 Bulls Bridge Road South Kent, CT 06785-1199 (860) 927-3539 x206 email: advancement@southkentschool.org

South Kent School adheres to a longstanding policy of admitting students of any race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, and national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, and other schooladministered programs.

Mission Statement South Kent School is an independent, college preparatory school for boys. Since its founding, South Kent has maintained ties with the Episcopal Church. Three principles define the school: Simplicity of Life, Self-Reliance, and Directness of Purpose.

We offer, by living simply, an uncluttered environment for lively and rigorous learning.

We encourage our students to become self-reliant in order to develop competence and self-esteem.

We value directness of purpose: we want each student to welcome the challenge to focus his energies, to set goals, and to work to meet them.

South Kent School fosters these principles in a community, small in numbers, that provides a safe and supportive family structure. We embrace diversity and cherish honesty, courtesy, and compassion.

In this energizing atmosphere, we provide leadership opportunities that develop a student’s sense of responsibility and service. We nurture in our students, regardless of belief or religious affiliation, a thoughtful engagement with spirituality.

Visit South Kent School’s website at

www.southkentschool.org ..._ _ _ ...

Printed on recycled paper

Cover2 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

T

The Manifestation of “Sticky” Ideas

his edition of The Hillside illustrates several exciting initiatives, each one of which began as a “sticky” idea some years ago but now is manifest in physical form. Sticky ideas are those ideas that at first may seem farfetched or whimsical, but they continue to recur and subsequently get reinforced by a series of synchronicities.

In this issue, for instance, you can read about South Kent experiencing globalization up-close and personal as Father Stephen Klots recounts his travels through China last summer, seeing firsthand the consequences of rapid industrialization while appreciating the innate graciousness of the Chinese people. You can read about South Kent’s adoption of a fully integrated technology program in the form of our iPad initiative.

Board member Robert Hacker’s article outlines the importance of social entrepreneurship in the 21st century, as globally we must confront problems of enormous scale, such as resource depletion and scarcity, the absence of consensus, and the growing inability of governments to manage their economies. Many of these issues will form the core curriculum at our new Center for Innovation. Lastly, Paul Matthews contributed a wonderful piece about his remembrances of South Kent and the Old Man. Another, newer, sticky idea is beginning to present itself: namely, quantum entanglement. I have no idea at present why this is a sticky idea for us, but it is. Is it possible, for instance, that science is on the verge of proving that a type of matrix actually connects all matter? What would be the implications for schools if we rather suddenly learned that we may not be as limited by the laws of Newtonian physics as we once believed? Is it possible that we create (influence the matrix) through the sheer force of our consciousness and awareness, as quantum entanglement theory seems to suggest?

For our graduates, the wonders of the quantum universe will unfold during their working lifetimes, opening up new ways of living and thinking, while creating whole new career options. Just last week, a group at IBM’s Almaden Research Center announced the creation of the world’s smallest possible (for now) unit of magnetic storage—six iron atoms arranged on a surface of copper nitride.

The excitement generated by the potentials of the quantum universe bring to mind the excitement Henry Adams felt at the turn of the 20th century as he stood in the Hall of Machines at the Great Exposition and speculated about the wonders to be brought about by unlocking the power of stored solar energy in the form of oil.

“

“

...how little he knew about electricity or force of any kind, even of his own special sun, which spouted heat in inconceivable volume....*

We live in exciting times.

Andrew J. Vadnais vadnaisa@southkentschool.org

*Adams, Henry. The Education of Henry Adams. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918; Bartleby.com, 1999. www.bartleby.com/159

inside

The Hillside

Volume XLIX, Number 1 Winter 2011-12

“We are very excited to have a tool with such enormous power to usher in the new digital learning environment”

see page 8

12

4 2 3 8 12

Ni Hao Father Klots 4

FRONT&CENTER Letters to the School Board of Trustees

20

Father Klots visits rural China to teach English to school teachers.

School Notes Fall Athletics

On the Board 11

27 19 26 27 30

ALUMNI Alumni Authors The Fossil Report Class Notes In Memoriam

Robert Hacker describes the changing face of education and how SKS is adapting to it.

The Future of Education 8

South Kent leads the way in creating a fully digital classroom.

Pigtail Reminiscence 20

Paul Matthews ’51 tells of his time here at South Kent.

inbox Missives Weighing In Dear Hillside,

Dear Editor,

The most exciting happening at South Kent since Samuel Slater Bartlett acquired the Hillside is adding the Arno farm for the study of God’s gift of nature. What better place than St. Michael’s Chapel to develop this thinking? No school in America has a better setting to teach the basic concepts. South Kent’s grandest days are ahead. Makes me wish I could be a 2nd former again.

Just a short note to tell you The Hillside South Kent School Magazine Summer 2011 issue is wonderful. We enjoyed some great reading. Congratulations to all.

James G. (Jim) King ’46 Juneau, AK

Most sincerely, Rosemary and Jerry Nahley Parents of Stephen Nahley ’86 Gaylordsville, CT

www.southkentschool.org/magazine Dear Andy, Our memories of the years that Peter attended South Kent are very special ones. I am certain that Peter acquired not only a fine education but also a character of integrity and maturity while attending South Kent. I will always be grateful!

Sincerely, Marilyn Hopper Mother of Peter Hooper ’82 Cromwell, CT

Andrew Vadnais at the future site of the Center for Innovation

Dear Hillside, Fun to read! Love Andy’s column - it always makes me excited about all that is happening at SKS! To Reach Us...

Editor’s Note: We welcome any correspondence that you might be willing to share with us. Please email letters to the editor to magazine@southkentschool.org.

You can also send mail to Hillside Letters, South Kent School, 40 Bulls Bridge Road, South Kent, CT 06785. All letters may be edited for content. Letters received by The Hillside will be considered for publication unless otherwise stipulated by the sender.

2 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

For digital back issues or to get The Hillside on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch visit:

Gail Addison Guss Mother of Jon Guss ’03 State College, PA

Dear Editor, I’d like to send my thanks to Peter and Amanda Boone, who so graciously hosted a lovely and successful event in Washington, DC, in November. Andy’s presentation on the Center for Innovation and the responses he and Rich provided to our inquiries clearly described the exciting initiatives underway at South Kent School and the challenges ahead in completing them. The concepts and implementation strategies that were shared encouraged me personally to think “out of the box”. For me personally, who spent 5 years under the rule of Sam Bartlett (1947-1952), it was also a great moment to find Bob Oakley ’48 sitting so close by.

My five years at South Kent School, under the leadership of Sam Bartlett, are engraved on my soul. No one could ever replace him as the School’s headmaster during that period. Similarly, from the day Andy Vadnais and I met in 2002 (my 50th reunion), he convinced me that he was the right man to lead the School in these, very different and challenging times.

Thank you again for the opportunity to bring the SKS family together and for reminding us all what a wonderful and supportive learning environment is being fostered on the Hillside.

Sincerely, John Mosher ’52 Washington, DC

The Board of Trustees

Education’s Digital Evolution

South Kent’s Chairman of the Board Jeffrey Rosenberg

W

hen Head of School Andy Vadnais informed me that South Kent would make a strong push to go digital, I was excited to see what this would bring. I loved the idea of South Kent establishing itself as a leader in the field of digital education. We adults no longer turn off our mobile phones or electronic devices, so why expect our boys to disconnect from theirs?

We are moving beyond the industrial era model, where the classroom is the primary place of learning and the teacher is the primary source of information.

Cellphones, tablets and other mobile technology have enabled learning anywhere, anytime, and students have unprecedented access to these technologies. 24/7 mobile connectivity allows students to access online content where they, along with people worldwide, share ideas, collaborate, and learn new things.

Today’s students are digital natives; they have never lived without technology. It is ingrained in their lives, including in how they learn. Educational systems should leverage students’ interest in technology to motivate self-directed learning as an enhancement to traditional learning. This enhanced learning allows education to be tailored to individual learning styles, with content designed to fit the students’ interests and experience.

Smartbooks, the latest form of digital textbooks, provide more value to students than print textbooks. These digital textbooks integrate tools such as highlighting, note taking, copy/paste functions, collaboration and sharing. With a Smartbook, educators are not limited to just text and pictures; interactive 3D models, audio and video can all be incorporated right on the page.

If you would like to learn more, or would like to assist us in our role as a leader in the field of digital education, please contact me at rosenbergj@southkentschool. org, or Gonzalo Garcia at garciag@southkentschool. org. Together we can help build a world-class digital educational environment.

Mr. Jeffrey G. Rosenberg ’80 —Chairman of the Board General Partner Bila Family Partnership of Companies Florida, NY Mr. Kai J. Chin ’67 —Treasurer Vice President Wells Fargo Bank Boulder, CO Mr. Andrew J. Vadnais —Secretary Head of School South Kent School South Kent, CT Mr. Harold W. Bogle ’70 Managing Director Credit Suisse New York, NY Mr. Jeffrey Burke ’85 Vice President UBS Financial Services Greenbrae, CA Mr. Rodney L. Burton ’58 University of Illinois Professor of Aerospace Engineering Champaign, IL Mr. Jeffrey W. Conover ’76 Senior Vice President The Northern Trust Company Chicago, IL Mr. Frederick K. Day ’78 Product Development SRAM Corp.

Chicago, IL Mr. Lincoln Day ’83 President Generation Marine Finance Fort Lauderdale, FL

Mr. John L. Garceau ’94 Thomas & Hutton Eng. Co. Savannah, GA Mr. Matthew J. Gardella ’87 Partner Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Boston, MA Ms. Susan Hecken Gardner ’80 Darien, CT Mr. James M. Garnett, Jr. ’74 Head of Risk Oversight Citi Long Island City, NY Mr. Jeffrey L. Heath ’71 Jamestown, RI Palm City, FL Mr. David Lyon ’94 The McTigue Financial Group Chicago, IL The Rev. William C. Riker, Jr. ’59 Rumson, NJ Lopez Island, WA Mr. Fitz Robertson ’05 J.P. Morgan Asset Management New York, NY Mr. George H. Bartlett —Emeritus Mr. Legare W. Cuyler ’58 —Emeritus Mr. John S. Farber —Emeritus Mr. John C. Farr ’58 —Emeritus Mr. Noble F. Richards ’49 —Emeritus

Mr. McLean Erskine ’99 San Francisco, CA

Dr. Charles P. Whittemore ’39 —Emeritus

Mr. Christopher C. Farr ’84 Director of External Relations The Shipley School Bryn Mawr, PA

Ms. Sally Wister —Emeritus

Jeffrey G. Rosenberg rosenbergj@southkentschool.org Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 3

inperspective Global Service

4 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

By Lynn Mellis Worthington

W

hen some people travel to a foreign country, they like to visit tourist destinations and get a view of the people and culture of that country. Father Stephen Klots has traveled to many different countries and areas of the United States, but his most recent travels took him half way around the world.

Father Klots spent five weeks last summer teaching English in China to teachers in a small city, Shanxian, in the Shandong province.

“There’s a small year-round program and a very large summer English program that I was part of,” Father Klots said. “They had 16 sites this summer, and they are in the rural parts of China.”

He volunteered with the Amity Foundation, which is a social service agency of the Protestant churches in China.

The Summer English Program aims to match “English-speaking volunteers … with rural middle school Chinese teachers of English to develop their listening and speaking skills,” according to the Amity Foundation web site. “Chinese participants see foreign friends engaged in service that directly benefits their communities, while volunteers gain a deeper understanding of an important and growing nation that is often misunderstood and misrepresented in their own countries.”

After the Revolution, the umbrella organization of protestant churches, the ThreeSelf Patriotic Movement of Protestant Churches in China (TSPM) was sanctioned by the Chinese government as a way for the Chinese churches to “remove foreign influences” on the churches, according to a report

published by Georgetown University.

Father Klots, a minister with the Episcopal Church, said that he observed many Christians attending church and worshiping.

“They can openly worship. From what I understood, there’s freedom of religion in China. They repeatedly expressed that,” Father Klots said. However, he noted that the churches aren’t big on advertising their services. The church that he attended in Shanxian was down an alley and offered no sign outside; however, it was packed inside.

“I couldn’t understand most of it because it was a very Protestant type service with a very long sermon, all of which was in Chinese, “ he said. “They did do communion one day, and I could follow what was going along with that.”

The Amity Foundation has a number of missions. The organization does work in disaster relief and works on issues of medical care in rural areas.

“They see it as the mission of the church to help develop the country. Learning English is seen as vital in the development of the country,” said Father Klots.

For three weeks, Father Klots was one of a group of volunteers that worked with 125 teachers from China. There was a variety of skill levels in English. One group of 10 teachers from Qingdao were fluent enough with their verbal English skills that he was able to converse with them well.

“I challenged them, and some of the other top teachers, with some of the material that I use in my English 4 and English AP courses.

They found it difficult. The vocabulary was fairly refined but they could get through it,” Father Klots said.

He was working with other high school teachers, which China refers to as “middle schools;” they are ranked and go by names, such as the “Number One Middle School.”

Teachers from the schools in the rural areas of the country did not have the same level of English skills as those from wealthier coastal communities, he found.

“We tried to give them confidence to try,” said Father Klots. “They got better.”

He also found there were generational differences, with some of the older teachers struggling more.

“The younger ones have grown up with more English language television and movies,” he said.

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NI HAO ots l K r e h Fat

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They see it as the mission of the church to help develop the country.

Learning English is seen as vital in the development of the country.

Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 5

Global Service

F

ather Klots did squeeze in some time during his trip, when he first arrived and just before leaving the country, to visit with some of his SKS students who live in China. Sixth Former Chenshu Rong hosted him in Beijing before he left for home.

Chenshu said they toured the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the temple of Heaven and the Olympic stadium from the 2008 games. Chenshu believes it is beneficial for teachers from America to see his home country.

“They can learn the culture,” Chenshu said. He also hopes that experiences like what Father Klots had will help him understand how his country is changing. “China is totally different than before,” he said.

Sixth Former Haofeng Li also spent some time with Father Klots and said these experiences help improve the relationship between China and America. He shared a meal with

6 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

Father Klots.

“We ate Mongolian Hot Pot together.

It was fine, and Father enjoyed the food,” Haofeng said.

Father Klots teaches a number of students from China, as well as other countries, in his classes and he knows that his experiences last summer have made him more aware of the culture shock that students have when they come to the rural hillside of South Kent.

“In the three weeks I was there, the sky was blue one day,” Father Klots said. “That’s part of the cost of the industrialization, the massive population and all the automobiles that are coming in.”

When he returned to South Kent, the quiet really stood out for him, compared to the noise of every city that he’d stayed in.

“I have gone through some of the same experiences that they go through coming here, with me going there,” he said; he felt that same sense of disruption that his students

feel when they come to rural Connecticut.

“When I came back, I felt like I was living in a national park here at South Kent.”

He relishes the time that he spent working with the Chinese teachers.

“The best part of the trip was the three weeks that I spent in Shanxian because it was there that I got to know the people and sort of got to know the real China and the graciousness of the people,” he said.

For more information about the Amity Foundation program: see http://www.amityfoundation.org/wordpress/teach-with-us/summer-english-program-for-middle-school-english-teachers/

inschool New Faces

A

t the start of the 2011-2012 academic year, South Kent School welcomed ten new members of faculty and staff to the Hillside. South Kent is excited to have so many new and talented faculty coming to work with us. Head of School Andrew Vadnais comments, “These people have wasted no time in getting to be part of the SKS community and have contributed to the School’s strong momentum towards being a fully digital campus.”

Matthew Winkler teaches ELL and Fourth Form English. He completed his undergraduate studies at The University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He earned an M.A. in Japanese Language and Society from the University of Sheffield in England. Matthew also does dorm duty in Gilder.

Alyson Dougherty holds a B.A. and M.A.T. from Central Connecticut State University. Alyson joins our Mathematics Department where she teaches Algebra 2, Precalculus and Calculus. Additionally, she coaches cross country with Father Klots and is a dorm parent in Bringhurst.

Pat Crowley ’08 comes back to the Hillside as a teaching intern working with the Third Form and helping in some Spanish classes. Outside of the classroom, Pat coaches Prep Hockey, Fall Fitness and JV Baseball along with being dorm parent for Brown and having dorm duty in Garfield.

Keenan Sheridan teaches ELL and Fifth Form English. Keenan holds a B.A. in Anthropology from St. Lawrence University and an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language from The University of Texas at Austin. Keenan is the dorm parent for Garfield.

Devin Rask, a former NCAA All-American and Assistant Coach at Providence College, will head the South Kent Selects Academy U16 AAA Hockey team. Devin has worked with Wesleyan University, Providence College, the University of Connecticut and Northern Connecticut Wings/ Connecticut Lazers Hockey Club.

Stacey Gardner joined the South Kent School faculty this year as the new Third Form World History teacher. Stacey holds a B.A. in English from Ohio University and has earned an American Montessori Society Teaching Credential. Stacey also does dorm duty in Garfield.

Cruz Zoeller is the Coordinator for the Academic Resource Center at South Kent School, the Director of Student Activities, and one of the dorm parents in Fieldhouse. She holds an M.S. in Education from Mercy College. Cruz is the mother of Pat Curry ’14.

Oona Mulligan teaches World History 2 as a member of the Fourth Form Team. She holds a B.A. in History and Marketing from Providence College and an M.A. in American History from Western Connecticut State University. Oona also helps out with dorm duty in Gilder.

Thomas Javery came to the Hillside this summer in the Communications Coordinator position.

Tom has a B.F.A. in studio art from Manhattanville College and has worked with both web and print design. Attending most school events, Tom takes many of the photos on the SKS Facebook page.

Tim Henderson joins the faculty as the U.S. History and Geography teacher to Fifth and Sixth Form students. Tim holds a B.A. in Classical and Medieval Studies from Bates College. Tim also serves as one of our crew coaches along with doing dorm duty in Woodward.

Deana Lane joins the Business Office here at SKS working on the accounts payable and also helping out with the Maintenance Department’s administrative needs. Prior to working for South Kent, she worked for Kildonan School as their Accounts Payable Clerk

Mike Daniels is a new member of the South Kent School Mathematics Department. Mike teaches Algebra 2, Precalculus, Functions, Trigonometry and Statistics, along with coaching JV Basketball. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an M.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts.

Jodi von Jess, LCSW, joins South Kent as our School Counselor. Ms. von Jess received her Master of Social Work degree from Boston University. She has a broad range of experience including working in early intervention, child and adolescent in/outpatient service, residential and school settings.

Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 7

inschool iPad Program

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or years now the South Kent School community has been at the forefront of the changing landscape of education. From making the internet accessible anywhere on campus via Wi-Fi to installing SMART Boards in every classroom, South Kent stays committed to incorporating the latest tech into the educational environment.

At the beginning of the fall 2011 semester, South Kent School started a new, integrated, educational technology program, the centerpiece of which was issuing an iPad2 to each and every member of the student body and faculty. The iPad is a totally new platform for curriculum delivery, with elements including digital textbooks (Smartbooks), photo and video capabilities, word processing/presentation apps and internet connectivity. These features have made learning much more interactive and collaborative for the boys attending South Kent School. “We were thrilled to be able to provide all students and faculty with their own iPads this year to continue to move forward rapidly with this initiative,” Head of School Andrew Vadnais said.

The Future of Education Close

Many educators see the iPad as one of the devices that will help move classrooms away from paper and pencils and into the digital age. “Digital textbooks and other digital learning materials are becoming more widely available, offering color, video and interactive features; this the direction education is taking in the 21st Century,” Mr. Vadnais said. “We are very excited to have a tool with such enormous power to usher in the new digital learning environment,” he added.

device holds all their e-textbooks, handles their email, calendar, etc. And it’s fun to use, so they actually use it,” he added.

The faculty at South Kent School are equally excited about the School’s commitment to adopting cutting edge technology.

“The iPad’s power comes from its intuitive interface,” said Matthew Winkler, an English teacher at South Kent School. “Within a few seconds, students can shoot a video, edit it, and upload it from their tablet. The same

“This is an exciting time at South Kent School, and our faculty is fully engaged and excited to be part of a digital platform of excellence,” Phil Darrin, Dean of Academic and Student Affairs at South Kent School. “The iPad has allowed our classes to do research and investigate topics in real time and in a better atmosphere. We now

8 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

View

learn about each subject in a more creative and student-friendly classroom,” said Kevin Vining, Digital Technology teacher at South Kent School.

Alumni all remember having to memorize and recite the first fourteen lines of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. With the iPad, students are now downloading the eBook and using their iPad to master this requirement. They record their practice and then play it back so they can be better prepared

when they recite “Whan that Aprille with his shoures…” in front of the whole school.

“I used to have to carry around a bag full of books, along with paper, pencils, and maybe even my laptop. Now I just carry my iPad to class. I can still do everything I used to be able to and more,” said 6th Former Miguel Rojas about how the iPad has changed classes. Researching for a paper used to take hours, and if a book was not in the library you were out of luck. “This library is great, but I can still have more books on my iPad than there are in this whole building. And if I need information for a report, I can find it in a matter of seconds by accessing the web,” said 6th Former Nino Hernandez when asked about researching a paper with the iPad.

comprehensive digital curriculum education and technological learning environment, something that often is only loosely interpreted or executed in small pilot programs,” said Tony Pfister, CEO of ClassBook. com. “South Kent School devised a plan to accelerate the matriculation of both the technology and the textbook content and has transformed the way the school is supporting digital learning. South Kent School is a standout example for the future of digital interaction in education,” he added. ClassBook.com, located in Castleton, New York, leads the industry as an online bookstore that delivers the easiest, most flexible, and most relevant solution to schools going digital.

Being one of the first schools in the U.S. to make the leap to a digital learning platform, South Kent School is proud to be a leader in the use of advanced educational technology in the 21st century. “Word of what we are doing is gaining momentum, and I have already given consultation and talks about our integrated educational technology program at several other schools, with a number more having requested our help,” said Gonzalo Garcia, iPad Program Director.

Above: The boys show off their iPads after receiving them at the beginning of the year. Below: 6th Former Nino Hernandez does research in the library using his iPad

T

he world is taking notice. “South Kent School is the first prep school to adopt the Inkling platform across its entire student body,” said Matt MacInnis, Founder and CEO of Inkling. “And we’re thrilled that every student will benefit from having a more engaging, interactive way to learn with iPad.” Based in San Francisco, Inkling is the leading platform for interactive learning content on iPad. Far from reproducing printed textbooks digitally, Inkling rebuilds textbooks from the ground up to create an interactive, assessment-rich, collaborative, and multi-modal experience for students. Inkling textbooks are cheaper than their printed cousins, sold by the chapter, and fully embrace the opportunity to improve learning outcomes through better student engagement.

“South Kent School has implemented a Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 9

inschool Top iPad Apps In an anonymous survey of what iPad applications, or “apps”, students were using the most, these were the top responses.

Inkling - A reading app that improves on traditional textbooks by utilizing the full capabilities of the iPad. Integrated right into the page are now videos, 3D objects and guided tours. Students can share notes in real-time to collaborate with peers whenever and wherever. Inkling’s Smartbooks make reading a chapter into an interactive and immersive experience.

Pages - The word processing app for the iPad. With Pages on their iPad, students don’t need to be seated at a computer to get their writing done. It is not uncommon to see students typing away on their iPads just about anywhere on campus.

FIFA 12 - The number one iPad game at SKS. It’s no secret that soccer is a big deal here at SKS, and when our boys get some free time, FIFA 12 is their game of choice.

The impressive graphics and ease of play show just how versatile the iPad is.

Facebook - The social networking app, optimized just for the iPad, making navigating Facebook easier. When pictures of the latest game or campus event get posted to the SKS Facebook page, you can be sure that students will be on their iPads checking it out, tagging each other and leaving comments.

Keynote - The iPad’s presentation app that creates full multi-media presentations with just an iPad. Boys can shoot video, take pictures, write the text for their presentation and bring it all together right on their iPad. iPads can also be hooked up to the SMART Boards in all of the SKS classrooms to display presentations for the whole class. iMovie - Apple’s video editing app. It allows anyone to shoot, edit and upload his movies to YouTube with only an iPad. Watch the videos students have made with iMovie at The Cardinal News Network. http://www.cardinalnewsnetwork.org 10 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

inschool On the Board

By Robert H. Hacker

S

ocial entrepreneurship is a popular topic today. Simply defined, social entrepreneurship is the creation of social value through commercial activities. Social value is defined by many economists as the “public good” and includes services such as education, healthcare and housing. Schools, such as SKS, are one of the earliest examples of social entrepreneurship, where private in-

dividuals came together to provide a quality and level of education not frequently found in public school systems.

These trends suggest to me three major themes in education, which SKS has already started to address.

Many would now say that government has reached a point where it is increasingly challenged to provide traditional public services.

The scale of the problems, the scarcity of resources and the absence of consensus have nearly immobilized government at all levels in many, many countries. Perhaps equally important, as evidenced by the financial crisis of 2008, governments are barely able to manage their economies. All of these issues are exacerbated by the speed with which information circulates worldwide through the internet.

Robert H. Hacker is a member of the SKS Board of Trustees, a strategist, financial consultant, author, professor and blogger. He manages GH Capital Partners in Miami, FL, a boutique firm that focuses on integrating strategy and finance.

#1

#2

His book is Billion Dollar Company: roberthackerbooks.com/ His blog is Sophisticated Finance : sophisticatedfinance.typepad.com/

#3

Entrepreneurship & Self-employment

Management of the Environment

Compression in Education

With the expected decline in the role of the government to “manage the economy”, increasingly the private sector will need to fill this role. However, with all of the productivity improvements since World War II, the large corporate enterprises will no longer generate job growth at historic levels. Therefore, individuals must be prepared to earn a living through their personal efforts as entrepreneurs and self-employed service providers. Last fall I gave a lecture on entrepreneurship at SKS. About 50 boys attended, and their new business ideas were far superior to those I typically find in my workshops. SKS is expanding the curriculum in entrepreneurship, and the boys clearly show they are interested.

Today 50 percent of the world’s 7 billion people live in cities. If this percentage were to increase by 10 percent, another 700 million people would move to urban areas. People are moving to cities in large part in search of jobs and a middle class life style. This urbanization will put unimagined stress on resources worldwide and in particular on the environment. Managing these environmental issues is no longer optional, and the boys at SKS need to begin their education on the related subjects as early as possible.

Fortunately the new campus will provide a real laboratory for study, experimentation and learning about the environment and the related management issues.

One of the most dramatic trends in education is the growth in on-line learning, as evidenced by the success of MIT Open Courseware, Khan Academy and the University of Phoenix. One of the benefits of such programs is that students can self-direct their learning at their pace and timing. These offerings allow students in high school to take college courses or even for 12 year olds to take classes online from MIT. Increasingly, more advanced education will be offered to younger and younger students (the compression). SKS is following this trend through its classes in C++ Programming and Statistics with Syracuse University and is actively exploring other college level programs.

“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.”

Galileo Galilei Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 11

5 TIME

Cheryl Moore

NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONS

12 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

inuniform Fall Athletics

d e t a e f e Und Varsity Soccer

The South Kent Varsity Soccer Team completed an undefeated season, 19-0-1, with a tremendous performance in the New England Tournament, capturing their fourth consecutive New England Championship.

South Kent started the season on September 9th, after two weeks of preseason training, with a showdown against perennial New York City power Martin Luther King Jr. High School. MLK has won 13 out of the last 16 PSAL titles in New York City and presented a stern test to start the season.

An early goal was all the Cardinals needed as they rode to a 1-0 victory over a team that wouldn’t lose another match and finished the season ranked #3 in the country by the NSCAA. A match the next day versus St. Andrew’s College from Canada would be the only blemish on the season as tired legs early in the season allowed a fresh Saints team to come from behind to earn the 2-2 draw.

St. Andrew’s went the rest of their season undefeated and captured four major trophies in Canada.

The following weekend South Kent went up the road to Hotchkiss for the first of two matches with the New England powerhouse.

Again an early goal would be all that was needed as a strong performance produced a 1-0 win, despite many chances to stretch the lead. When Hotchkiss came to South Kent for the second match-up, the result was exactly the same: an early goal and a 1-0 win.

Although the second match was a midfield battle, as opposed to the up-and-down first match, The Cardinals showed their grit and determination to avoid any revenge that the Bearcats had on their minds. Hotchkiss would go on to win the New England Class A title for the third time in four years, but they couldn’t beat South Kent in two tries.

During the middle of their season, South Kent was able to knock off Class A powers Brunswick, Northfield Mount Hermon, Salisbury and Trinity-Pawling, but after the

Above, Mike Pope, Jalen Harvey, Tre Ming, Ignacio Baeza and Ben Lussier during a home game vs. Hotchkiss; Facing page, Walter Moore, Hank McWhinnie, Anil Ozer, Giovani Riello, Sean Basak-Smith, Sam Lartey, Justin Corday, Mike Pope, Cody Luongo, Tristan Fappiano, Luis Felipe Nunes, Exau Paz, Jalen Harvey, Cody Guerry, Cameron McFarlane, Shakhai Trott, Ben Lussier, Tre Ming, Nick Ciarleglio, Luc Chatelain, Lucas Cavenco, TJ Hughes, Michael Maurial, Owen Finberg and Ignacio Baeza celebrate the finish of their undefeated season.

two wins versus Hotchkiss the highlight of the victories against Class A teams was certainly the victory at Kent School. The longtime rivalry between the two schools brought an extra intensity to the match, and the large crowd on hand witnessed South Kent clearly show who was the better team in town. Although it was not an easy match, South Kent used a second half goal to get the lead, and they would again prove calm under pressure, holding on for the 1-0 victory.

Other highlights from the season included a 4-1 victory at Millbrook, who would go on to win their second Class C title in the last three years. Non-league victories also dotted the South Kent schedule; the highlight of those games was a 2-1 extra-time, golden goal victory over nationally ranked Pennington School. There were a few special matches as the team played neutral site games at Philadelphia’s Drexel University, Southern New Hampshire University and also at West Point.

The Cardinal team did most of their damage on the road, winning all fourteen road games during the regular season. The

Cardinals won the Ray Brown Cup as Western New England regular season champions for the seventh consecutive season. South Kent was also ranked as the number one team in all Western New England, with a 10-0 record in league play and a 16-0-1 record overall. The undefeated regular season earned the Cardinals the number one seed in the Class B tournament.

South Kent faced Middlesex from the Independent School League (ISL), seeded number eight, in the quarterfinal round. The entire match was played in a downpour, but it didn’t affect the passing of South Kent as they dominated possession; Middlesex countered by defending with their entire team in their half. Despite the conditions and tactics South Kent scored early, when Sean Basak-Smith put home a rebound from a Lucas Cavenco shot in the fifth minute.

Exau Paz doubled the lead in the 38th minute off a great pass from Tristan Fappiano.

The 2-0 lead and comfort level was short lived as Middlesex would score on the break just two minutes later when a deflected shot was put home to tighten the score to 2-1 Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 13

going into halftime. Even after the wake-up call South Kent would relinquish the lead fifteen minutes into the second half when two missed clearances and a foul that went uncalled allowed a Middlesex midfielder to find space in the penalty box and finish off the post. Temperatures on both teams rose after the tying goal, but once the Cardinals settled down they continued to dominate possession. The team would be frustrated as Middlesex scored a goal in the final minutes, but it was called back for a mystery foul.

Despite surrendering the two-goal lead on Middlesex’s only two shots of the game, the team was confident heading into extra time, having won once earlier in the season in the same situation. It did not take long to find the winning golden goal as Exau Paz fired home from twelve yards after linking up with a misdirected Lucas Cavenco shot. As Paz sprinted to the corner, his teammates mobbed him, celebrating a hard-earned ticket to the semi-final In the semifinal South Kent faced the second-rated team in their class in Western New England during the regular season, Pomfret. The #4 seed came into the matchup with a 13-1 record and eleven straight wins.

Pomfret came out determined, and the opening minutes saw both teams feeling each other out. A great cross from Tre Ming and an unselfish header across the goal from Luis Felipe Nunes allowed Paz to tap in for the first goal in the tenth minute. The Cardinals took control of the match and played beautiful football throughout the championship weekend. A great give-and-go down the right side saw Ming provide a through ball for Basak-Smith who finished smartly from a tight angle. The result was secured in the 55th minute when Harvey collected a Fappiano corner kick on the eighteen and beat a defender before slamming a left-footed blast past the Pomfret goalkeeper. Nunes would put the game further out of reach when he scored one from close range and then turned provider to TJ Hughes, minutes later, who scored a great left-footed shot to the top left corner from a corner kick. The 5-0 score line 14 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

Cheryl Moore

Fall Athletics

Tristan Fappiano scores the championship winning goal against Brooks School.

was flattering against a strong Pomfret team and was the Cardinals most lopsided victory in their New England Tournament history.

The momentum that the team had built in the semifinal carried over to the next day as they faced Brooks School, the number three seed. Fappiano would grant the Cardinals another early lead as he took a turnover and smashed home a shot into the roof of the net from close range at a tight angle in the third minute. Harvey would score a powerful, glancing header off a Ming corner in the 22nd minute for a 2-0 advantage. From that point on South Kent put on a beautiful passing display for the large crowd gathered at the finals. The Cardinals were switching fields with ease and bringing all their players into the game regularly; the team clearly had their collective mojo working and were enjoying their football. They would take the 2-0 lead into halftime and come out determined to walk off the field a championship team. Harvey would again score a cracking goal off an assist from Ming as they would connect for a quick indirect free kick from the penalty spot after Brooks had been called

for a back pass to the goalkeeper. The 3-0 score left no doubt as to the result, and the back line of Harvey, Ben Lussier, Shakai Trott and Cody Guerry had snuffed out a Brooks attack that boasted four of the top eight scorers in the ISL all day long. As each player on the roster got into the match for the second consecutive day, the Cardinals left little doubt as to which school boasts the best soccer program in New England.

The New England Championship was the fifth in six years, and fourth consecutive, for the Cardinals and completed a remarkable undefeated season. South Kent finished the season with a 19-0-1 record and extended their overall unbeaten streak, dating back to last season, to a school-record 28 games.

The Cardinals also set a school record with twelve shutouts on the season. This season’s success was a truly remarkable accomplishment for an outstanding team that has made history and set the standard for South Kent Soccer even higher.

Submitted by Coach Owen Finberg

It was a very exciting season for the JV Soccer Team this fall. I cannot remember how many times Coach Lou remarked, “Don’t you guys want to be the first JV team to win the championship?” The young men of the JV Soccer Team had something to strive for, and they met the challenge head on.

This year, the HVAL split into two separate leagues, and we became part of the newly established, Housatonic Valley Athletic League. Within our league were Forman, Chase, Watkinson, Harvey, Masters and the Christian Heritage schools - all providing a good challenge on the pitch.

Fortunately for us, our team held some of the best players in the league. We had strong leadership from Abdulaziz Al-Othman and Jangu Chothia as our captains. Both helped the rest of the team stay focused and determined in practice and games. Luc Chatelain returned in an attempt to score more goals than in his last season, and he was successful, closing out the season with over 18 goals.

Each of the previous mentioned players contributed to the Varsity Team as well as the JV Team.

We had a nice crop of 5th Formers who were essential to our success - Garrett Fox, Kenan Williams, Brian Farrell, Noah Williams, Long Hoang, David Li and Jon Zaskorski. These young men stepped up in many ways throughout the season, and we

Laura Brande

JV Soccer

are looking forward to their return for an even stronger team next year.

Our 3rd and 4th Formers also provided a great sense of competitiveness and spirit this fall - Samuel Lartey, Eun Oh Lee, Chao Huang, Shihao Hu, Stephane Bassio, Yu Wu, Tyler Hoadley, Grayson Makris, Ben Brady, Pedro Ostolaza-Irigaray and Nick Camardi.

We were grateful as well for the contributions of Cameron McFarlane, Justin Corday, Anil Ozer, and Michael Maurial.

It was a pleasure working with each one of these boys, and I hope most will return so we can hang onto the beautiful 25-pound tro-

phy that we earned in great fashion - due to strong effort and Coach Lou’s powerful and somewhat unorthodox, but always effective, motivational techniques!

Submitted by Coach Marcus Cooper Above: Nick Camardi, Kenan Williams, Yu Wu, Tyler Hoadley, Grayson Makris, Eun Oh Lee, Shihao Hu, Luc Chatelain, Chao Huang, Justin Corday, Coach Pereira, Stephane Bassio, Ben Brady, Noah Williams, Cameron McFarlane, Samuel Lartey, David Li, Naibo Yu, Pedro Ostolaza-Irigaray, Abdulaziz Al-Othman, Long Hoang, Jon Zaskorski, Garrett Fox, Max Brande, Jangu Chothia, Coach Cooper celebrating winning the championship. Below: Jonathan Zaskorski kicking a goal during a home game against Watkinson.

Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 15

Fall Athletics

Cross Country The cross country season did not begin with a lot of promise for South Kent. Having graduated three-time All-New-England runner Andrew Jansen and another top runner in Rong Xin Wang, the team got off to a relatively slow start with a third place finish (out of nine) at the Oakwood Friends Invitational, a thirteenth place finish (out of nineteen) at the Canterbury Invitational, and a tenth place finish (out of thirteen) at the Marianapolis Invitational. Furthermore, the squad was finishing behind traditional league rivals such as Chase Collegiate, Watkinson, and NYMA. Led by fifth former Miikka Majava, South Kent started to catch fire with victories at home on Fall Family Weekend over Marvelwood and St. Luke’s; Majava took first that day on a rain-shortened three-mile course with a time of 21:03. With a victory over Watkinson at the Chase Invitational and a good (but not close) race against Division I power Brunswick, South Kent clearly was improving. The season peaked at home in mid-October with the South Kent Invitational. Six Cardinal runners--led by Majava (second) and fourth former Patrick Curry (fourth)--finished in the top fifteen as South Kent trounced second-place Chase and seven other teams.

Then a freak pre-Halloween snowstorm hit campus, and the school shut down for a week. Most of the team departing campus made for less than ideal training conditions.

A few runners--led by Majava and fourth former Takaya Furukawa--stayed on campus and worked out despite the hardships of the week, but when school reopened, the squad clearly had lost its momentum. In the inaugural Housatonic Valley Athletic League Championships, South Kent finished well behind Chase but still managed to win the second place trophy, with Majava (fourth) and Curry (tenth) being the only runners to 16 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

win all-league honors. At the end of the season, the team traveled to Hebron Academy in Maine for the NEPSTA Division IV New England Championships and finished in fourteenth place, with Majava running well to come in 24th overall.

At the fall athletic banquet, eight runners-sixth formers Yun Suk Park, Haofeng Li, and Junghyuk Lee; fifth formers Majava and Ta-Te Ting; fourth formers Curry and Furukawa; and third former Zixiang Tang-were awarded varsity letters. In addition, coaches Father Klots and Ms. Dougherty were pleased to give the Anne Funnell Cup for Most Valuable Runner to Majava and the Arthur W. Brown Cup for Most Improved Runner to Chi-Chen Hsieh. Overall, it was a season that might have gone better without the school shut-down, but would have gone nowhere without the team’s hard work.

Submitted by the Reverend Stephen Klots, Coach.

Left: Miikka Majava powering through the last stretch before the finish line. Above: Pat Curry in the lead, followed by Junghyuk Lee and Ta-Te Ting.

SOUTH KENT

S C H O O L

S T O R E

Com e see a to our w eb ll of SKS the g site an mer reat n d chan e dise w !

www.southkentschool.org/alumni/sks_store.php Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 17

3

rd

Annual SKS

Golf Tournament Thursday June 7, 2012

Alumni Weekend 2012

June 8-10, 2012 All alumni are invited back for this special event, but if your class year ends in “2” or “7” this is your year to celebrate! For updates and information, visit www.southkentschool.org.

If you are interested in helping organize your Class Reunion, please contact Carol-Ann Bruen. bruenc@southkentschool.org 18 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

inprint Alumni Authors

Recently published? Please let us know, and please consider donating a copy of your book to The Martin A. Henry Library’s “Alumni Authors” collection. Not only will our students be impressed by the scholarly and literary accomplishments of alumni, but we will gratefully list your publication on the SKS website’s “Alumni Authors” page! All book donations are considered gifts in kind to the School. Please visit www. southkentschool.org/authors to see a more complete list of alumni authors’ works as well as purchasing information.

PAY ATTENTION, EMILY BROWN! Linda Burton & Carl Burton ’98 If you’re the parent of a child with attention issues--ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, Down Syndrome, or sensory processing disorder--then you’ll want to share Pay Attention, Emily Brown! with your child. This fun picture book pairs whimsical illustrations with a mother’s poetic pleas as she tries, in vain, to get the attention of her child. Kids age 4-8 will gladly tune in to this book to enjoy Emily Brown’s flights of fancy and the lengths to which her mother goes to get Emily to focus. Wonderful word pictures, from silly to absurd, hold readers’ attention, and eyecatching artwork captures each entertaining moment.

Just think, Emmy Brown, for a moment or two...

Suppose that I told you my toes had turned blue?

Suppose that I started to fly overhead?

Or spread candy and presents all over your bed?

If I hung upside down by an arm and a knee do you think, Emmy Brown, you would listen to me?

It’s not okay to Be a Cannibal Andrew T. Wainwright ’85 Robert Poznanovich As countless families can attest, addiction is a disease that destroys families, not just individuals. Secrecy, depression, anger, and confusion are hallmark traits of addicted families. Addiction wrecks a family’s home life, consumes a family’s financial resources, and depletes a family’s emotional reserves.

Now, having helped thousands of families confront addiction, two of the nation’s leading interventionists, Robert Poznanovich and Andrew T. Wainwright, have created a survival guide for families. With compelling case histories and real-life scenarios, the authors set forth a practical course of action for families to break free from the grip of addiction, a process that culminates with an intervention for the addict. The process liberates and forever changes the family. Even if the addict refuses treatment, truth about addiction has been spoken during the intervention and the family is free to move ahead— with or without the addict.

Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 19

inretrospect Reflections

PIGTAIL REMINISCENCE What follows is a section of the memoir Now the Day Is Over, a chronicle of one boy’s time at South Kent School.

by Paul Matthews ’51

M

y brother Johnny’s last year at South Kent, 1946-47, was my first year. Also that year I coxed the 1st boat (which Johnny rowed in) at the Quinsigamond Regatta, in Worcester MA. He doesn’t mention either fact in the South Kent section of his autobiography, Not Exactly (the title excuses him), which appeared in the Summer 2009 issue of this magazine.

So much for selective memory.

Crew was a big thing for me that first spring: I coxed the 2nd Boat in our first race, against St. Mark’s, and Johnny’s roommate and closest friend, Ralph Woodward, rowed in it. As we were approaching the finish line, I saw that we were a good half length ahead and would almost certainly win. Between strokes, when the coxswain is supposed to call out words of encouragement (I don’t know where this came from, it just came out of me) I yelled, “Victory is in our grasp!” whereupon the whole crew nearly collapsed with laughter and we almost didn’t win. But we did, and I was thrown into the icy April water as the winning cox.

Like my brother Johnny, I was thoroughly versed in all things ‘South Kent’ well before I went there. My uncle, Dick Cuyler, was the co-founder, with his Kent roommate Sam

20 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

Paul Matthews coxing in 1947, his first year at South Kent

Bartlett; and two of my other Cuyler uncles had taught there, Uncle Buzz and Uncle John. My oldest brother Tommy had been Head Prefect and an all-round athlete in his year, 1944, and Johnny was Third Prefect and an all-round athlete, too, in his 6th Form year. Being a good athlete was a very big thing, then.

My mother, my younger brother Sandy,

and I had been to many football and hockey games at South Kent, and I knew the names of a lot of the players and could recite them as if they were in the cast of Henry the Fifth: Dick Strohmeyer, Major Grayson, Mark Munds, Tommy Buell, Chip Monck, and Birdy Edwards. Along with my two older brothers, they were heroes to me. I’d been to many school plays, too, perched on the

cover of the stairwell in the balfortitude”, “a keen sense of the cony of the old Playhouse, with my ridiculous”, and occasionally “Sam cousins Richard and Legaré Cuyler, Hill” which should be engraved watching “Life With Father” with as the name of the hill up to the Jay Hughes as Father; and “Arsenic Chapel. and Old Lace” with Ralph WoodOne story he told, several times, ward and Art Fawcett as the sisters, was of the very early days of the Charlie Brekus as the mad uncle School, when there was an enrollwho thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt ment of only about twelve students. and charges upstairs, and Chip It was in the late 20s, and a rich Hulburd and Major Grayson as the kid from New York had refused burglars; and “You Can’t Take It Juliana S.C. Matthews (sister of Richard M. Cuyler, Senior Master), Sandy to clean the Pig Bucket. The Pig Matthews and Paul Matthews, June of 1949 With You” with my brother Johnny Bucket was the large can into which as the cop, and Mrs. Wood, our the dishwashers scraped the meager chaplain’s wife, as the daughter who wants to Park, NY, and under the direct guidance of leavings (even though there were supposed be a ballerina. I remember these performanc- Father Sill, himself a Holy Cross monk and to be none) from the plates and platters. It es, directed by Wuz Wittenberg, as being the Headmaster and Founder of Kent. was called the Pig Bucket because the conequal to or better than anything I later saw As well as being our moral leader, the tents, which had festered there sometimes on Broadway. They were high drama, and the Old Man was extremely charismatic and a for a week or more while it filled up, were audiences pounded the floor with appreciabrilliant extemporaneous speaker. He spoke given to the pigs to eat. Occasionally it had tion. I was fully primed to go to South Kent, to us daily, either in morning assembly or to be scrubbed out and hosed down. This dying to go—and go I did, for five long and after supper in the dining room. He had a boy, when it came his turn, had refused to formative years, from the age of 12 to 17. slightly husky voice, but you could hear every do it and had somehow managed to call his word distinctly. The phrases he used, over parents in New York to complain. The father lready in those days, Sam Bartlett, and over, were “You only get out of it what called the Old Man and said that his boy or ‘The Old Man’ as he was called, you put into it”, “don’t be a load in the back should not be made to clean the Pig Bucket. spoke of ‘the South Kent family’, of the wagon”, “I don’t give a tinker’s damn”, The Old Man replied that every boy had to by which he meant not only the student “use the brains God gave you”, “intestinal do it, without exception. “Not my boy,” said body of about 120, but all the faculty, almost half of whom had gone to South Kent and returned to teach there, and their kids (two of whom were my first cousins), the alumni, like Popeye McCoun and Ram Damurias, the dogs, Tripod (three-legged) and Bundy, Pooch Bartlett’s pony, the small staff of Bill Healey, the cook, Jim Anderson, the baker, Lippy Maine and Lenny, kitchen workers, Tom Boyd, handyman, and the Deak family, Martîn and John and Vic and Mrs. Deak, who ran the farm.

Sam Bartlett was a born leader and a fine athlete himself. He had been Head Prefect at Kent and mentioned for All-American in football at Lafayette. He was the moral force behind the School, its spiritual essence— Christian, of course—Anglo Catholic we called it, which meant ‘high’ Episcopalian.

South Kent had been started under the auspices of Holy Cross Monastery, in West South Kent Faculty, 1951

A

Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 21

Pigtail Reminiscence

22 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

“

the father. “If you make him do it, I’ll take him out of school.” “All right,” said the Old Man, “come and get him then.” And that is just what the father did. Losing one tuition out of twelve was a big chunk of the School’s income. But giving in to the parent would have destroyed the School’s integrity. This was the conviction on which South Kent was grounded, and this was how its reputation was made. We ate up stories like this.

Sam Bartlett, as the cliché has it, ‘had the strength of his convictions’. He practiced what he preached better than any one I ever have known, before or since.

An example of this occurred early on in my Second Form year. It was the ‘custom’ at meals for every boy to clean his plate.

Usually everyone was so hungry this was no problem. One time, though, when I was sitting at Mr. Dingman’s table at the bottom of the dining room, a fellow Second Former, who happened to be from Park Avenue in New York, refused to eat the gristle on his pork chop. The Sixth Former who was at the head of the table in Mr. Dingman’s absence ordered the boy, who had refused to eat the gristle when the Sixth Former told him to do so, to go up to the head table and tell the Old Man. The hapless boy did so, smirking as he went. The Old Man said not a word, but got up and strode the length of the dining room, sat down in the boy’s chair and ate his gristle. No one who witnessed this scene ever forgot it.

When I saw “Bridge on the River Kwai” for the first time and heard the British Commander, played by Alec Guinness, referred to as “The Old Man”, everything clicked into place. He was Samuel Slater Bartlett to a T—a man who would starve for his principles, a man you would follow anywhere. If our ‘Old Man’ had said to us in a quiet voice, “Boys—over the top!” we’d have gone in an instant, without hesitation.

I would say that, though there may have been boys in school who disliked him (though even they respected him), the majority of us loved and revered him.

“ Bill Healey

No uncle or brother could save me from that humiliating moment (hilarious as it seems now).

Jim Anderson

O

f the many other personalities who loomed large at South Kent when I was there, the next largest, after the Old Man, was Bill Healey, our Irish cook.

He had been a sergeant cook in the British Army in India, it was said, in The Black Watch regiment. Certainly he behaved that way and had the Black Watch aspect. He ruled the kitchen like a despot, sometimes malevolent, less occasionally benevolent, but always in command. Even the Old Man would not cross him there. Everyone under him worked in fear of his biting sarcasm, his acid wit, delivered with an Irish brogue. He was also a muscular, well built man, with a temper—often with a cleaver in his fist. If you worked very hard for him, he might treat you as well as Gunga Din. My first encounter with him—the “Heel” as he was known—occurred in the first weeks of my first year, probably the first time I waited on table. I was eleven years old, impressionable, gullible and very shy. I was in line with my big, oval aluminum tray and Bill was dishing out cole slaw in the thick, white china serving bowls we used then.

I must have been paying more attention to Bill’s fascinating physiognomy than to receiving the full serving bowl, because it slid off my tray onto the red concrete floor and broke. In my stupid innocence, like a deer in the headlights, I looked right back into Bill’s red and staring face, and said in a small voice, “What should I do?” Every one in line behind me was watching, and there was dead silence. Taking his time, Bill leaned across the counter and looked at the mess on the floor, and then at me, his face close, his redrimmed, blue eyes spread wide, and in his best Irish brogue said, “Why don’t you do a little dance in it?”

No uncle or brother could save me from that humiliating moment (hilarious as it seems now). I barely heard the explosion of laughter that must have come down on me; I was too busy locating a dust pan and brush, and a mop, to clean up the mixture of cole slaw and crockery shards on the floor.

By the time I got on the Kitchen Squad,

made up of about 40 boys who worked a whole day in the kitchen on rotation, about one day every month and a half, I had gotten to know Bill Healey a bit better, and how to stay on the right side of him: do an impeccable job and don’t ask stupid or impertinent questions. Two boys would be in the kitchen together, getting up in time to be there at 5 a.m., starting right away on peeling the potatoes in the Hobart machine, a big rotating tub on legs, whose insides were coated with small teeth-like protrusions that skinned the potatoes to the flesh. Then you would take a potato peeler and prize out the eyes.

The biggest job in the kitchen was doing the pots, huge heavy aluminum/steel pots, washed with big bristle brushes. The hardest ones to clean were the ones in which the dough for the bread had been mixed: it clung to the metal like white leeches. We did a lot of scrubbing and mopping of floors.

Being on the Kitchen Squad was like being in Bill Healey’s Army. You did whatever he told you to do, without question. He showed us how to scrub a pot, holding it on the edge of the sink for the best support.

When he said he wanted the counter wiped down with a damp cloth, he was not joking: a ‘damp’ cloth, he showed us, meant a rag draped over the spigot of the huge sink and thoroughly dowsed, then wrung out. We learned what ‘clean’ was.

In order to be on the Kitchen Squad, you had to have sufficiently good grades because it meant you took a day off from classes. It was not only an honor, but it also meant a break in the normal routine. You had to be a 4th Former or older, as well.

In 6th Form my partner in the kitchen was Tom Tison, the Third Prefect, and my closest friend. We had been through five years together, since 2nd Form, but we had only gotten to know each other well our last year. We had stayed up all night talking in Classroom C New (for privacy)—talking about the girls we were in love with.

Tom was in love with a girl named Helen Schoonmaker; I was in love with Barbara Elliott. It kept us going all night, till it began

getting light and we had to go on duty in the kitchen. But we were elated—you might almost say coelated—and the bond we formed that night, though it has had to stand some tests and outlive some long gaps, has remained unbroken, and unbreakable, to this day.

Jim Anderson, the baker, was almost blind. I can see his kindly face, now, with its half smile and bushy eyebrows. He was a nice man and still had a trace of a Swedish accent. Stockton Rush (“Rocko”, a distant cousin), when he worked in the kitchen, would play tricks on Jim. Jim would put his cigarette down on the edge of the counter where he was kneading dough, and Rocko would move it to the other side of him. Occasionally we would get a cigarette butt in a loaf of bread. The bread he made was wonderful—fresh every day. When we gathered in the front courtyard for recess, we could smell it baking and our stomachs growled.

S

outh Kent was a strict and thrifty school, as well as being strongly religious. The thrift part came from running on a shoe-string, which in turn came from the Old Man’s Quixotic and Robin Hoodish way of charging tuition: those who could pay more, did; those who could pay less or not at all, didn’t. (No one knew who was who.) One of his methods of saving money, aside from keeping windows closed and lights off when not in use, was to keep our main drink to water: we had only water at lunch, and at supper we had to drink a glass of water before we could have a glass of milk.

With thrift in mind, in my 4th Form year, the Student Council, headed by the three prefects, decided that there had been way too much breakage in the dining room and pantry; so the next boy who broke a plate, cup, saucer or serving bowl would be put on bread and water for three days. I was one of the first to break something—a saucer—and

“My Four Fathers”, a painting by Paul Matthews depicting, left to right, his father, Sam Bartlett, Dick Cuyler just below to the left, Buzz Cuyler on the right, and his 15-year-old self at the bottom

I was put on bread and water. This happened right before Christmas vacation, so my three days were split: two right before vacation, and then one on the day I returned, which made it much easier to bear. In addition to the bread and water, though, we were required to kneel at our place at the table, instead of sitting. I was secretly quite gratified with this punishment—proud almost—I suppose because it meant I was included, and also that I could take it.

Years later, when I told my wife about this experience—something the Student Council soon abolished as being too harsh—she was horrified. After that, she’d tell our kids, “You better behave, or we’ll send you to South Kent!”

W

HAT a misnomer! “South Kent!”

What a missed opportunity in naming the new school! The two young founders, Sam and Dick, roommates at Kent, who loved Kent and Father Sill, probably saw only respect and affection in giving it that name. But generations of students, ex-students and alumni were then stuck with the awkward explanation: “No— not Kent—South Kent, a completely dif-. . .”

When I would arrive home for vacation, just in time for tea with my mother’s friends, Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 23

Pigtail Reminiscence

“

“ The Hillside, 1947

What we learned, by example and practice, was to do a good job, down to the last detail, no matter who was looking.

24 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

they would turn to me and say, “And where do you go to school?” and when I told them, they would say, “Oh yes, Kent. And how is Father Sill?” I quickly got so tired of trying to explain the difference, that South Kent was nothing like Kent, was more the way Kent had been when it began, that eventually I just gave in and said, “He’s doing fine, recovering from his stroke”, which I knew to be so.

Why not call the school “St. Michael’s”, for its patron saint? Or why not“Woodrow”? which was the name of the train stop then, on the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, where we got off (now called South Kent). That at least would have a whiff of integrity connected with it (Woodrow Wilson)—and wasn’t ‘integrity’ what South Kent was all about?

Row! Wood- I can still hear the conductor calling, “Wood------row!” and the train shuddering to brake amidst clouds of steam.

Just before that, the sandwich and candy man, nicknamed “Last Chance” would have come through the door with his singsong, nasal chant: “Last chance! Last chance! Ham, tongue, chicken or cheese!” His voice went

up on ‘tongue’, slightly down on ‘chicken’ and ended low with ‘cheese’. We loved imitating him, but he did a good business because both he and we knew that there were months of abstinence ahead.

Y

es, South Kent when I went there was, I believe, like no other New England boarding school. It was both more so and less so. It was more strictly New England and less upper-crust-social. It was a hybrid, a cross section of classes, and as diverse for its time as it is today. And I would guess it took its Christian religion more seriously than all the others (with the possible exception of Canterbury, which was Roman Catholic: their football team used to say Hail Marys in the time-outs.) And it was all because of one man, really, Samuel Slater Bartlett, the Old Man, descended directly from Samuel Slater, the man who, when forbidden to take the plans of a mill with him when he left England in the mid 1700s, simply memorized the workings of the machinery, and then proceeded to set up the first textile mill in New England, in Pawtucket, R.I. This was the stock the Old

Man came from, and it showed in everything he thought and did. He was enterprising but held strict moral principles which he adhered to and held us to as well. And, as already noted, he was thrifty to the core. He was always decrying the waste in our society.

I often wonder how he would feel about the direction our culture, if it can be called that, has taken, and what he would say about it.

The Old Man did his best to “civilize the young gentlemen”, and to give us a sense of purpose. What we learned, by example and practice, was to do a good job, down to the last detail, no matter who was looking. Some one has defined ‘conscience’ as “what causes you to do right when no one’s watching.”

South Kent developed our consciences to a high degree. Some might even say it laid a life-long guilt trip on us. We learned to do the hardest thing first (I still usually do, to this day.) We learned to take responsibility for what we did. We learned to be accountable for our actions. We learned through deprivation, self-denial, discipline and selfsacrifice to do what needed to be done. We learned these things by seeing them done around us, by hearing daily about them in Chapel.

S

entences from the liturgy that have always stuck in my deepest ear are, “Even as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” and “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” and “It needs must be that offences come, but woe unto him by whom the offence cometh” and “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his own soul” and “Lord, I am not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table, but speak thou the word only and my soul shall be healed” and “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done and we have done those things which we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us” and “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and thieves do not break through nor steal” and lastly, “Before Abraham was, I AM”.

That last one especially still sends the thrill of terror and recognition through me.

Our favorite hymns, which we knew by their numbers—too many to list here—still throb like our blood in our inner ears. The evening ones especially: “The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended, the darkness falls at thy behest” and “Now the day is over, night is drawing nigh” and “Abide with me, fast falls the eventide, the darkness deepens, Lord with me abide.”

Sam Bartlett was forced to retire by his own faculty and trustees in 1954—three years after I graduated. They felt he had become too ‘fixed in his ways’. No doubt he had. He was never a man to ‘cut his cloth to suit the fashion of the times’. Even in my day, South Kent was considered outmoded, obsolete, too isolated to make any difference, a moral anachronism, no longer suited to meet the needs of the times. But do—or should—old values, true virtues, ever go out of date?

As young students at South Kent, we were given, as my friend Tom Tison put it at our last class reunion, “a secret weapon”.

That secret weapon was “spirit”—school spirit, community spirit, individual

spirit. And who showed it to us and inspired us with it, enough to last the rest of our lives? Samuel Slater Bartlett.

I could not exaggerate, even if I tried, the impact going to South Kent had on my life.

Though it may not have been all positive (it was the worst preparation for being an artist I can think of ), my experience there has influenced every decision I have made, and I learned that I could survive just about anything I might be confronted with.

I think of my first year, 1946-7, my brother Johnny’s last year, as the peak year of Sam Bartlett’s reign; and I will be forever grateful that I was there.

Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 25

involved The Fossil Report Dear Friends: Greetings! I wish you and your families a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

I hope this note finds you and your families well. Since becoming Alumni Secretary, I have been asked to try and increase the volume of news from our alumni to the School.

This task has become a much greater challenge than I had thought it would be. Old fashioned snail-mail has largely given way to email, and now text messaging is making emailing less popular. Cell phones are used less as phones and more as digital communicators. With the extraordinary growth in Facebook and Twitter, our graduates communicate with each other consistently and often but, unfortunately, South Kent is left out of the loop.

As an example, on Facebook I have been following many alumni as they get married, have children, change jobs, get involved in interesting community service and travel.

I see pictures and stories all the time that describe happy and productive lives. Yet South Kent does not learn of these events in a timely manner and, sometimes, not at all.

Since these stories were not sent directly to us here at School, we are hesitant to reprint them. Also, we struggle to keep our address database up-to-date, with so many young alumni moving several times in just a few short years. Many of you forget to let us know your new address, and it is becoming harder to find reliable address information on the internet. We cannot be sure you are hearing about gatherings we are planning in your area or that the email that we have on file is your most up-to-date. We need to communicate better than we are, and in order to do that we need your help.

So what should we do? As you can see, class notes for this issue are few. All of us here in the Alumni Office would hate to lose the Class Notes section of the magazine, but we can’t do it without you actively participating. Please let us know how we can make it easy for you to keep us informed when things change for you and your family.

Should this be done electronically, or is there 26 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

still interest in seeing the stories in print in the magazine? One way or the other, the bottom line is that we cannot share the news we do not get.

In my judgment it has never been more important to engage the alumni. So many wonderful things are happening at South Kent School. We are growing in student numbers, expanding academic and extracurricular offerings, and sending our graduates off from the Hillside, well prepared for college and beyond. We want the roads they travel to be shared with our extended family.

So I leave you with the invitation to feel free to share your life with us. We value your input and the contribution that you are making to all of us here on the Hillside as well as your contribution to your community and the greater world we all live in.

Paul L. Abbott Alumni Secretary Senior Master abbottp@southkentschool.org

“Like” us on Facebook to stay up-to-date with all of the latest SKS happenings!

Use the link at the top of the page at: http://www.southkentschool.org/ Or you can scan this QR code with your smart phone and go right there.

intouch Class Notes Please remember to send in your class notes by mail, or by emailing Carol Ann Bruen. bruenc@ southkentschool.org

1941

Clarkson Farnsworth In March of this past year I was elected to Vice Commodore at the annual Mohawk-Hudson Council of Yacht Clubs. I spent Mondays of the winter months at the US Slater, welding, which is something I thoroughly enjoy. In the fall I was able to attend the reunion of my ship “U.S. Leyte” in Nashville and as always, I had a wonderful time.

I’m still going strong, enjoying working on the ship, and visiting with family and friends. Happy New Year to all!!

1945

Thomas Buell When at Portland State University, I started up their Faculty Development plan but called it Faculty Enhancement in order not to offend professors who might feel they needed no development!

Stephen Garnett If any of the class of 1945 is still around in 2015, let’s get back to the Hillside for our 70th for a last hooray!

1948

Richard Aiken Although a member of SKS’s 1946 undefeated and untied football team, I’m tremendously impressed with the record of this year’s Soccer Champions!!!

Congratulations!!

1949

Rafael Cabrera My wife Lynn and I celebrated my 80th birthday in June by flying to Vancouver. We took the Rocky

Mountaineer train to Jasper and drove for one week through the Canadian Rockies, down to Banff Lake Louise and ultimately to Calgary. This was a trip we can heartily recommend to anyone!

1953

Paul Veeder Hadley and I have taken on volunteering to maintain the Japanese Stroll Garden at the Hammond Museum in North Salem, NY. At present, I am trying to assemble a small cadre of gardeners to help with the work.

1954

James Dimon I was in Denver over Christmas with my family, and we got together with Peter Blake ’54 and his wife. Pete is still an active baseball player. I am still working for Raytheon.

1955

Donald Hart Now serving as Chaplain to the search and election committees for the 10th Bishop of New Hampshire.

Charles Reid My wife Judith and I continue to travel in Europe and in the United States, teaching watercolor painting. My work is shown at the Munson Gallery, Chatham, MA and at The Stremmel Gallery, Reno, NV. I still remember fondly my time several years ago working with students at SKS in “The Old Building, in Mr. Dingman’s chemistry lab”.

1960

William Heuss My wife Margaret Anne (Porteus)

and I are happy and doing well here on Cape Cod. I was reelected Commander of Nauset U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla, and we both sing and plan piano with a group of 6 regularly, called “The Senior Sensations”. Great fun!!

“Tony” Kao (Ko), daughter Vivi Ko, Bayan Takizawa and Margaret Kao

1964

Chun-Min “Tony” Kao My daughter, Genevieve “Vivi” Yuki Ko, was married in October to Bayan Takizawa, in Boston.

Vivi graduated with a PhD from Yale School of Pharmacology last fall and is now working as a consultant in the biotech and biomedical field in Boston.

Bill Whiting I am still working at WhitingTurner Contracting Company. We have grown to 33 offices across the country and the 3rd largest General Contractor in the country.

1971

Allerton Smith 2011 has been a year of changes. I rejoined Moody’s Analytics Capital Market Research after 2 years at a hedge fund. My daughter Mallie enrolled at Columbia Business School and son Elliott has begun teaching 7th grade history and 4th grade writing and math at St. Bernards School in New York City.

Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 27

intouch Class Notes

1973

1978

After 22 years I have left Exeter and am now the Academic Dean at the St. Paul’s School.

Celebrating 20 years with Schlafly Beer in St. Louis. Come by for a pint!

Lawrence Smith

Stephen Hale

www.schlafly.com

1976

Rob Kay

Van Richards

My wife Bobbi and I went to New York City in October to visit Steve Irving ’78 and his wife Palmer. My son Max is a freshman at Colorado State University, and son Sam is a junior at Palmer High School in Colorado Springs. We had a great time with the Irvings!

After 22 years teaching, I retrained to become a fundraiser for nonprofits. I became the Director of Development at a small school for kids with learning differences My work there saw an increase in annual giving that resulted in a $4.5M new campus. I resigned after 3 years, but I am still in contact and hope to continue helping them out with development, marketing, and admissions work when possible.

Currently, I am doing volunteer work with several small nonprofits. I’ve also been spending time in Stamford to help my mother recover from knee replacement surgeries.

While in Fairfield County, I did a lot of outside work on the property. I have always been enthralled with the area’s granite rock outcroppings, and eventually realized I could use the 1946 tractor and pass time building cairns: distinct towers of natural rocks.

My father, who died in 2001, had always had a great admiration for this land and the geology of the area. What began as homage to him became a great artistic pastime for me.

Since the initial sculptures, I have managed to garner several commissions building them.

Mom’s property is littered with these structures.

1980

Scott Horton

1979

Steve (Sarge) Pickman Steve Pickman, known by his childhood nickname Sarge, posted news of his exciting entrance into the movie business. “He said (famed director Garry Marshall, Pretty Woman) ‘I’m doing a movie in New York. You wanna come to New York?’ I said ‘I’d love to, and he said ‘Don’t come. I’ll bring you. The difference is if I bring you, you don’t have to pay,’ “ wrote Sarge about being offered the part in Marshall’s new movie New Year’s Eve.

Well, the Horton clan moved to Park City, Utah, in August. We dropped our oldest daughter Kate at Virginia Tech. Sarah and Bill are in Park City High School and Park City Middle School. Mitzi and I are looking forward to welcoming any SKS family in our new home.

Email me at horts5@gmail.com

It’s a star-studded romantic comedy about the lives of impossibly pretty people like Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Ashton Kutcher, Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron and others that no one honestly believes have a problem getting a New Year’s date.

Into this pretty madness comes Sarge, a handsome, freckle-faced guy who plays Monty, the bodyguard of Bon Jovi’s character and a funny voice of reason.

“Sarge is a big talent, and I know he’s going to be a big star,” said Marshall via email. “He’s funny, a great singer, and plays the piano; he can do it all! He always made us laugh on the set. He’s transitioning right now from night-club entertainer to film actor, and I’m proud to be a part of it!”

Those of us who know him always recall his incredible, off-beat, sense of humor. While at South Kent he was the student organist for chapel services, quite unusual for a Jewish young man. On the nights that the New York Islanders were playing, his postlude would always be the Islanders’ fight song!

Congratulations, Sarge!

28 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

Sarge Pickman and Garry Marshall at the premiere for the movie New Year’s Eve

Paris Dearborn Wreaks

1981

Bill Wreaks Bill and his wife Samantha are very pleased and proud to announce the arrival of their new daughter Paris Dearborn Wreaks.

She was born on November 11,

intouch Class Notes 2011 (11-11-11) at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Paris has been warmly welcomed at home by siblings Chloe (8.5), Fitz (7), Toler, (2.5) and Hamilton (1.5).

trips to build homes in Senegal, Africa. He also runs the afterschool program at BFIS.

1995 1986

Henry Brownell President - Kindle Lighting Solutions, Inc. - We incorporate state-of-the-art lighting products and incentives into turn-key, Energy Efficient, ‘Go-Green’ solutions with fast ROI paybacks for the industrial, hospitality, and residential markets we serve.

Gonzalo “Gonzo” Garcia Gonzo and his wife Patty are expecting… this time it’s a baby girl due in April. Gonzo is very excited but now really wants to discuss allowing girls at South Kent…

2000

Jonah Oakley

1991

Jeremy Marks Jeremy has been awarded the Cardigan Mountain School Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus Award, presented each year to the alumnus who has exhibited outstanding service either to the School, to his community, and/or in his profession.

Jeremy followed his secondary school stint at South Kent and his undergraduate years at Northeastern with the attainment of two master’s degrees in the field of education. Jeremy has also gone on to apply his knowledge and make a difference in the lives of middle and high school students, taking the initiative when he sees the opportunity. In his years at Midwood High School, he served its 3,700 students as a guidance counselor, football coach and headed the school’s Social Emotional Learning Initiative. At present, Jeremy lives in Barcelona, Spain, where he is the Advisory Program director as well as a counselor at the Benjamin Franklin International School. Furthermore, Jeremy plays the role of team leader for the school’s Habitat for Humanity group, directing student

I wanted to drop a line to the Hillside, since I haven’t been in touch much, to let everyone know what I’ve been up to. I’m a bartender/server in Baltimore, Maryland and a musician. I was on tour this past November with the band The Misfits.

2011

Lucas Ozorio Lucas is now a freshman at Fordham University, and he is having a great year!!

Faculty 1981-82

Rev. Philip Kasey SKS Chaplain It was a great joy and privilege to serve with George Bartlett as Interim Chaplain of South Kent during the 1981-1982 school year. As I retire in December from full-time ministry in the Episcopal Church, that year at South Kent hovers near the top of my 32 great years as a priest in the church.

Andray at the 4th annual Turkey-ball Skills Challenge, MD

2005

Andray Blatche Andray Blatche is a power forward for the Washington Wizards of the NBA, and with the slow start to the 2011-2012 professional basketball season, Andray has remained busy with his foundation during the protracted offseason. Concerned with the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, Andray’s foundation developed and published a coloring and activity book, “Get Ready, Get Set, Get Healthy with Andray Blatche” that is being distributed to elementary school-age children in Florida, South Carolina, New York and the metropolitan Washington, DC area. Andray visits schools in order to educate children about the importance of living a healthy life through nutrition and daily exercise. He teaches children how to prepare healthy snacks; he helps them plant fruit and vegetable gardens and emphasizes the importance of daily exercise. The activity book can be viewed electronically on the foundation website: www.andrayblatchefoundation.org Andray has also been raising funds for Operation Enduring Care and the Wounded Warrior and Family Center. The Center has been designed for those wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to provide a non-hospital setting of dignity and humanity where those, “wrestling with the aftermath of combat, these military heroes can embrace their roles as parents and spouses, enjoy family meals and companionship, play games, and relax and recharge in a homelike atmosphere.” Recognizing the need for children to reconnect with their parents, Andray’s fundraising effort is geared specifically toward the building of the game/entertainment room at the Center.

Andray hosted sixteen wounded warriors and their guests aboard the USS Sequoia Presidential Yacht on September 30, 2011. During the dinner reception, he praised the heroic service and sacrifice of these military heroes, signed for each wounded warrior in attendance a commemorative basketball designed especially for the event, and presented a $10,000 check to USO/Operation Enduring Care.

Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 29

inmemoriam

Duncan Fraser Brown ’38 of Shelburne, VT passed away peacefully on July 22, 2011, at Wake Robin in Shelburne. He was born in Boston, MA on May 8, 1921, the son of William and Estelle Brown. Most of his youth was spent in Cincinnati, OH but those early years included many trips to Greensboro, VT where summer days spent on Lake Caspian planted a seed of love for Vermont that would take him to the Green Mountain State in 1949. He received his high school diploma from South Kent School in South Kent, CT in 1938 and graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Philology, the study of language and literature. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1942 and served as a gunnery officer on destroyer escorts doing convoy duty in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. In addition to wartime service, Duncan joined the Naval Reserve in 1949 and retired in 1954 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In 1944 he married Olivia Ramsey. He worked for State Mutual of America, then founded Brown, Bridgman and Company in Vermont with Luther Bridgman. Luther was a friend and a skier, and his influence unleashed in Duncan a passion for skiing that took its place along side his love of sailing and of tennis. He had a devotion to civic service in keeping with his belief that if you wanted to complain 30 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

about government you had better be ready to participate. He served on town Republican committees, served as Chair of the Vermont Water Resources Board, of the Hospital Data Council and later on the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care.

Believing strongly in the value of education, he was a lifelong supporter of both South Kent School and Harvard University, serving as chairman of Harvard’s Vermont Schools and Scholarship Committee. In 1993, following his retirement from the active business community, he found more time for other activities. He was a longtime supporter and member of the Vermont Mozart Festival. Also in the 1970s, Duncan and Georgie, as his wife is known, began work with other couples on a vision of a retirement community that would eventually come to fruition as a place called Wake Robin where his life came to its conclusion. Duncan is survived by his wife, Georgie; daughters, Olivia “Muffie” Milens, Melissa, and Annie Voldman; sons, Duncan F. Brown II, and Peter; and six grandchildren.

where he worked on residential projects. While living in Carmelby-the-Sea, Russ was active refining building regulations and preserving history, including Flanders Mansion. Russ moved to Del Mesa Carmel in 1997, where he contributed his design skills to projects including the entrance signage, the guardhouse and a new fitness center. In August, Russ was named “Member Laureate of Del Mesa Carmel Building and Grounds Committee.” Russ still had a daily glass of red wine, did his New York Times crossword puzzles and made jokes with those assisting him in his final days. Russell is survived by Jane, his loving wife of more than 30 years.

where he designed ties, scarves and pocket badges for schools, clubs, businesses and higher education entities. Earlier in his career, and as a sideline, he worked for an agency modeling men’s apparel and corporate products. David was also known for the beautiful Queen Anne and Chippendale reproduction furniture he crafted for family members. David is survived by his wife of 64 years, Suzanne, daughter Carolyn, and son Gregory. He was preceded in death by his son David L. Geyer, Jr. and his brother Robert T. Geyer.

Russell Gifford ’40, San Fran-

Arthur Lincoln Howson ’42

cisco and Carmel CA architect, passed away at his Carmel home on Monday, September 12, 2011.

Born in Leicester, MA, Russ went to South Kent School in Connecticut followed by Amherst College and Columbia University. He served in the US Navy in various roles including command of an anti-submarine ship. As president of his architecture class at Columbia University, Russ invited Frank Lloyd Wright to speak to the students. Wright shared his theories and views of design until sunrise, greatly influencing Russ.

Russ worked in New York, in San Francisco and was in charge of the joint venture for planning and design for Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe.

Russ moved to Carmel in 1982

of Lower Gwynedd, PA, died Monday, May 2, 2011. Mr. Howson was a former resident of Glens Falls, NY. Born on Oct. 16, 1923, in Haddonfield, NJ, he was the third child of the late Richard and Mary Holmes Howson. Mr. Howson grew up in Wayne and Ithan, PA, and attended high school at Radnor High School and South Kent School in CT. He graduated from New England College and worked at Scott Paper Company and then Finch Pruyn & Co. Inc. of Glens Falls. Later on, he worked for the Celanese Corporation in New York City and Charlotte, NC. He had a lifelong love of nature, sailing and aviation. His many interests and hobbies included woodworking and cross-stitch,

David L. Geyer ’42 died peacefully at Somerset House on 27 August, 2011. He was born in New York, NY to Eileen and Linwood B. Geyer, and had lived in Vero Beach since 1991, arriving from Scarsdale, NY. David was a graduate of South Kent School, South Kent, CT, where he was a member of the crew team, and from The Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY in 1944. During the war, he served as deck officer on numerous Liberty ships, sailing both in convoy and alone to ports in Europe and the Far East. Before he retired from the business world, he worked for WM Chelsea LTD,

at which he was a perfectionist.

Due to being colorblind, he was unable to fly airplanes in World War II, so he trained as an aviation mechanic and served in the Army.

Mr. Howson was predeceased by his beloved wife, Joan Rodemann Howson, in 2004 after 56 years of marriage. He is survived by his five children: Arthur L. Howson, Jr. and wife, Anne, of Greenville, SC, Timothy E. Howson and wife, Abby, of Westboro, MA, Richard H. Howson and wife, Tamar, of Princeton, NJ, Meredith Howson Tifft and husband, Douglas, of Elmira, NY, and Anne R. Howson of Boston, MA; nine grandchildren; and two brothers, Richard Howson of Lagos, Portugal, and Robert D. Howson of Eugene, OR.

until his death, he served as the president of the beach club, and as member of the Sailfish Club and the Yacht Club in Palm Beach FL. Mr. Brekus is survived by his wife of 59 years, Trudy Brennan Brekus; one son, Richard, and his wife Sheryne, of Allendale, NJ; two daughters, Carol Watson of Madison, CT, and Catherine Sontheimer of Kenilworth, IL; and six grandchildren.

John W. Clark Jr. ’47 died September 25, 2011. He was born March 19, 1929, the son of John and Betty Clark of Darien, CT. He attended South Kent School and graduated from Yale University in 1952. A teacher of English at Mount Hermon School for 37 years, he retired in 1992 and relocated to Brunswick, ME, and Tuftonboro, NH. John was preceded in death by his first wife, Ann; sisters Louise and Gay.

Kenneth Tummel ’54 passed

Gordon L. Brekus ’47, 80, of Palm Beach FL and Guilford, CT, died on Sunday, July 3, 2011, after a short illness. Mr. Brekus was born on July 15, 1930, in New Jersey and graduated from South Kent School in South Kent, CT, and Harvard University. During the Korean War, he was stationed in Germany as a U.S. Army sergeant.

Mr. Brekus worked as a management consultant, a partner and an executive committee member for the Alexander Proudfoot Co. for more than 30 years. From 2009

away June 16, after a courageous battle with small cell lung cancer. Born March 21, 1935, in New York City, he was a proud alumnus of the South Kent School and Wesleyan University. He is survived by his beloved wife, Julie and by 3 children, Jeanne (Robert DeTillio) Tummel of Columbus, OH, Franz Tummel (Kim Fitch) of Danville, IL and Andrea (Steve) Scheit of Woodbury, MN. He is also survived by 5 grandchildren: Carson, Sam, Karl, Henry and Ella.

He was preceded in death by first wife, Mary Jean Truman.

Chris Pocock ’72 died of natural causes at his home outside Goldendale, WA on Memorial Day 2011. Born in 1953 in Renton, Washington, Chris came to live with his adoptive parents, Lois and Stanley Pocock, in Seattle at age twenty-eight months.

Upon reaching second grade in

elementary school, he was found to be afflicted with dyslexia. The Seattle school system at the time did not believe that such a condition existed, but a tutor taught him to read. While still in middle school he started a model rocketry club, and the young members spent much of their spare time building and shooting off their rockets. When he was fifteen, his parents sent him to South Kent School. During summer vacations he worked at the Seattle Tennis Club helping with their sculling program.

Each year, after accumulating the necessary money, he would quit and travel to one or another of the annual international model rocketry meets, including one held behind the Iron Curtain.

As a graduation present, he was given a motorcycle, and he spent the next sixteen months touring the United States. On his return, he went to work for his father helping build racing shells. Next, he traveled to Alaska. There, he helped the native tribes in their efforts at combatting alcoholism.

After a few years he returned to Seattle and again worked at the boat-building shop. Through a program directed by adoptive organizations, he was reunited with his blood brother, Terry, who had grown up in Illinois, and was moving to Goldendale with his family.

Chris quit the shop, liquidated his interests in Seattle and bought a few acres near Terry’s property; he helped build their house. Though Terry left, Chris decided to stay in the Goldendale area, and he spent the rest of his life caring for the property of a good friend and working on many of his artistic projects in several fields including painting, carving, furniture making, playing the guitar, and most recently in the design and making of stringed musical instruments.

The Reverend Canon Peter Chase, 90, of Providence and Little Compton, died November 9 at Hallworth House. Born in Boston January 22, 1921, he was the adopted son of Helen G. Chase, and grew up in Providence. He leaves his wife, Virginia H. (Zimmerman), three children, Cynthia H. Cook of Pacifica, CA, Michael Chase of Bradford, MA, Chase S. Hunter, of Northampton MA, and four grandchildren. Enlisting in the Coast Guard in 1942, he was commissioned an officer in 1943.

He participated in the Normandy invasion on D-Day with the British and Canadians on Juno Beach.

When the USS Turner exploded off New York Harbor in 1944, he rescued 45 Navy sailors and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal. He remained in the US Coast Guard Reserves, retiring as a captain in 1981. Canon Chase graduated from Deerfield Academy, Brown University, and the General Theological Seminary.

Ordained in 1951, in 1955 he became chaplain at South Kent School in CT. From 1960 to 1973 he was a Canon of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. He became rector of St. James’ Church, Greenfield MA, and was made a canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Springfield, MA. Retiring in 1986, he and his wife moved to Providence, where he assisted as priest or organist in various RI parishes.

Winter 2011-12 The Hillside • 31

inretrospect Reflections

The Pigtail, February 27, 1987

32 • The Hillside Winter 2011-12

Mary Earle and Neilson Brown ’63 Members of the St. Michael’s Society

My father, Hobson Brown, graduated from SKS in 1934 as an early member of what would become the honored and exclusive Six Year Club. I credit my dad for introducing me to Pigtail and for my long association with the school. I remember so clearly, as if it were yesterday, my dad shuffling across Hatch Pond bundled up against winter’s wind and cold in a full-length trench coat, Alaska bush cap pulled low over his forehead and ears, and huge mukluks to attend our home hockey games. Dad’s eagerness to make the crossing was not only to watch his son do rink turns on weak ankles; it was for him an opportunity to return to a place where he was always the happiest (his words). I share his love for the school; it was contagious.

Since my graduation I have had the opportunity and honor to serve the School actively in a number of capacities over some 25 years. Back then the challenges and opportunities were different from today’s. What remains in my mind, steadfast, is the way in which the school as a supportive and

confident community chooses to handle both: with total commitment to and for the benefit of young men. This is as true now as it was in ’63 and ’34.

There are many ways for alumni and friends to serve South Kent’s present; a critical way to support its future is through planned giving. I have established a specific nominal bequest in my will and, together with Mary my wife, have named South Kent Endowment as a significant residual beneficiary of my IRA. Such giving is both efficient and impactful. Given current tax law, the principal of the IRA will likely be reduced by some 79% leaving 21 cents to pass on to our family. It makes sense to us, almost a no-brainer given the tax bite, to designate a portion of the IRA for a bequest to SKS, leaving other assets to our heirs.

Our intention is to honor my dad and stepmom, Hobson and Kathryn Brown, and to help insure the opportunity for me and others to make our “Hatch Pond crossings.”

For more information regarding planned giving options available at South Kent School, please contact Tim von Jess, Director of Development, at (860) 927-3539 x205, email him at vonjesst@southkentschool.org, or visit the planned giving section of the School’s website at www.southkentschool.org/alumni/planned_giving.php

South Kent School 40 Bulls Bridge Road South Kent, CT 06785-1199 860-927-3539

Parents of Alumni

If this publication is addressed to your child who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the alumni office of a preferred mailing address by calling 860/927-3539 x206 or emailing us at advancement@southkentschool.org.

Thank you!

1923