Charlemont, as always, and in Dublin, NH, much of the summer. Jay was concerned that she’d be bored in retirement, but her lists of things to do, both house projects and fun projects, will long outlast her! Jay still has his lumber operation in western MA, plus he was appointed a year ago by USDA to be state director for rural development in MA, CT and RI. Son Eben is in Philly, working on a master’s in education, hoping to teach and coach. Daughter Elizabeth is a vet tech in CO, where they love to visit. Scribbie Heuston celebrates our own Elvira Macmillan Tate being honored as Outstanding Alumna of the Year! She also encourages classmates to become members of the Boxwood Circle — that would make her daughter-in-law, chairwoman Kimberley Euston ’92, very happy. Scribbie volunteers and lives in Jacksonville. Sally McCrady Hubbard was in a history of opera class at Tulane on 11/22/63; the professor dismissed the class, unable to speak. She went to her husband’s side of the campus, stunned and afraid and found him unable to speak or to hear. He who was considered a dangerous liberal by his family and an arch-conservative by his graduate school peers — how could he grieve this event? She couldn’t talk with him about it. It shattered her illusions that the USA was somehow different from other countries; that we had immunity from guerilla warfare, from assassination. As for current news, Sally’s 10 mos. as office manager for the Sewanee Summer Music Festival ended on a high note (sorry!). The mo.-long program was successful: 145 talented young students attended, the faculty was happy, audiences were up, donations were up, concerts were incredible, and the festival ended well into the black (after years in the red). Nancy MacMeekin and Vicky did a whirlwind trip to China on a Chamber of Commerce tour, seeing pearls, jade, silks and visiting Beijing, Xi’an (the terracotta warriors) and Shanghai. It was sleeting and snowing the day they went to the Great Wall, which added magic to the sight of the wall snaking along the mountain ridges. Nancy remembers being in Classical Civilization class in the auditorium when Abby Mason Browne burst in and announced “The president’s been shot!” Before she understood, Nancy’s 1st thought was “Who would shoot President Pannell?” Mary K. Lee McDonald remembers seeing an emotional side of her classical civilization professor that day. She had thought him an ancient stoic Greek who never showed emotion. Mary K. is still working hard in real estate; husband John is busy with HO model trains, Boy Scouts, shooting sports and golf. Their granddaughter (4) is in Richmond; their grandson (6 wks.) is moving to Penn State where both parents have teaching positions. Inveterate traveler, Mary K.’s been or is going to China, AZ, Hatteras, Sugar Mountain, NC, in August (where she hopes to connect with Alice Mighell Ficken again), NY, and Santa Fe in the winter. Laura Haskell Phinizy remembers 11/22 as overcast. She didn’t know how to feel, act or react; so tried to
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study. Daughter Laura’s family moved into their new, larger home in D.C. across from Lafayette Park. Grandsons Wesley and Stewart visited Laura and Stewart in Augusta. Milbrey Sebring Raney was in the library stacks that Fri. afternoon. She came out for a break and saw Miss Muncy running down the corridor, tears streaming down her face, calling out the news. Mibs was overwhelmed by the news and by the fact that Miss Muncy was crying. She was stunned and unable to study. Sally Rasco Thomas was attending the U. of Madrid when Kennedy was shot, and may have heard the news sooner than friends in VA did, because she had a friend whose husband was stationed at the American airbase. Sally went to her friend’s apt. while Kennedy was still en-route to the hospital to listen to the Armed Forces network bulletins. She attended a memorial service at the American Embassy. Other news from Sally is that HI is part of her territory, and she’s going there with her oldest granddaughter during the Honolulu Heart Walk. After reunion, Laura Phinizy wrote President Parker an interesting question: “To whom are you marketing SBC now? Where are you finding girls who want to come? What drives them to look at an all-girls’ college?” Jo Ellen’s answer is of interest to us all: “These days, most students tell us they choose Sweet Briar because of specific programs we offer. That is, they come because of the strength of the business program, or creative writing, or engineering, or the equestrian program, or any of our other outstanding offerings. Most of them are not specifically looking for a women’s college. It’s only after they study here for a while that they recognize all the advantages of single-sex education. Many students also tell us that they choose Sweet Briar because of the beauty of the land. A typical comment is ‘I pulled in the gates and felt this was the place I wanted to be.’ “So our typical student these days has chosen Sweet Briar because of its strong academic reputation overall and the presence of some particular program that interests her. She is also generally someone who appreciates the beauty of the land and may be athletic or ‘outdoorsy.’ She is clearly willing to attend a women’s college, but she has considered both single sex and coed options, and generally made her choice based on academic programs and student experience.”
1966 Randi Miles Long 19 Hidden Valley Road Lafayette, CA 94549 randipi@aol.com Sad news first. Molly Thrombly Bailey died on 5/14/10 due to a freak drowning accident. She’s survived by her husband, John, 2 children, and 3 grandchildren. John Bailey’s address is 1213 E. Shelby St. No. l6 in Seattle, WA 98102. Dianna “Peppie” Yaeger Rankin writes that she dearly misses Sharon
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Price Quill who died last summer, 2010. Herb and I keep up with Jim Quill who tells us that the local Garden Club and Presbyterian Church have made lovely tributes to Sharon. Peppie and Tom have moved to McLean, VA, as Peppie has accepted the position, Director of Equestrian Programs at The Madeira School. This year begins Meredith Aldrich’s 34th yr. with Childrens Hours’ Primary School. She’s looking forward to summer and the renewal it will bring after an encounter with lung cancer. She has been undergoing treatment at Dana Farber in Boston. She welcomes visitors who might find themselves near Geneva, NY, or Martha’s Vineyard, MA. Her email is moodleahws.edu. A destination also to keep in mind is Sweet Briar College for our 45th reunion May 20-22, 2011. I’m glad that Sharon Quill and I took the time to attend our 40th. It turned out to be Sharon’s last reunion. We never know what tomorrow brings our way. Missy Spruance Talbot writes that 5 yrs. have passed since she had her 2005 stroke. She reminds all of us that “God is good.” Many of you love staying connected with SBC friends. I feel blessed to have Penn Willets Mullin close by; we enjoy fun times together during the yr. Hope to see Robin Cutler as she has a daughter and 2 grandsons who live in San Francisco and also Tia Campbell McMillan who has 2 children and 5 grandchildren here also. Hopefully, Nancy Schmitt Bishop and Keenan Colton Kelsey can join us as they too are in the Bay Area. This yr., Herb and I visited Makanah Dunham Morriss and Bob at their farm in Forest, VA. They have beautiful property outside Lynchburg for themselves and their horses. While we were there, Kit Baker Syndor from up the road stopped by. She is very proud to be a grandmother. Betty Booker Morriss says Makanah is up to a gazillion activities. Betty gets to see Makanah and Bob a lot as Betty’s husband Dabney is Bob’s brother. Betty herself is very active writing Boomer-related articles, managing a rental property, and serving as her family-o-origin matriarch. Sally Kalber Fiedler and Jay saw Jane Taylor Ryan and Jack this yr. Sally has a grandson (7) and wishes his family lived closer than OR. She and Jay loved being at SBC recently, and they were impressed with the architecture and natural beauty of the campus and both the past and current presidents. Penn Willets Mullin and her SBC roommates Jane Nelson, Keenan Colton Kelsey and Susan Dodson Hiller look forward to their yearly reunions. Penn and George enjoy a life busy with grandchildren, backpacking and fly-fishing. Penn enjoys her teaching and tutoring creative writing in nearby schools. Suzy Mosley Helms and Nelson look forward to another summer at Chautauqua and expect to see Marcy Fisher, Harriette Horsey Sturges and Penny Steketee Sidor. This was also a yr. of change for some of us. Andrea Pearson Pennington will retire from her 28-yr. job as Court Referee at Strickland Youth Center. She and Al are looking forward to a cross-country driving trip as their 1st adventure.
Katie Pritchett Mitchell is retired from residential real estate after 30 yrs. Now is time for she and Jim to concentrate on 8 grandchildren and her 3 children. She enjoyed a visit with Marquerite McKee Moss and heard from Carey Judy Weathers who is an emerging artist and enjoys her new hobby and all her grandchildren. Marcia Pace Lindstrom’s husband retired as rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Apr. and they moved to Franklin, NC. Marcia has found a book club, duplicate bridge and a good hair stylist so all is well. While some classmates are facing new adventures as they retire, others are passionate about their current work. Martha Madden Swanson and David will make a return trip to Kenya to celebrate the grand opening of the new buildings for the school they support — a high school for students who have been orphaned by Aids. Lee MacKubin Miller is busy working with the homeless and mentally impaired. She loves being a grandmother of 2. Barbara Dublin Van Cleve is an emergency room chaplain for our hospital system in Greensboro, NC, but has time for long trips to Scotland and Ireland and trips with family to celebrate daughters’ educational decrees. Cherry Brown Peters is still a business analyst with Suntrust Bank. She sings in the church choir and serves on a volunteer board. Vicki Chainsky Verity is president of the local hospice and serves on the board of the SC Coastal Conservation League. Judy Wilson Grant is still involved with the Denver Debutante Ball, the Garden Club of Denver, the CO Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust and the board of directors for Sweet Briar. They’re enjoying their 1st grandchild. Jane Ellen Glasser’s 2nd book, “Light Persists,” won the Tampa Review Prize for Poetry and her book, “On the Corner of Yesterday,” was just released from Pudding House Publications. Despite all her writing, she still has time to enjoy her 3 grandchildren. Another writer is Sally Van Winkle Campbell who has a new book, “Saving Kentucky, Greening the Bluegrass,” coming out in Oct. It has been a 7-yr. project. (See media.savingkentucky.com) Jody Nolan Old and Randy opened a consultation practice in Vero Beach, FL, for wellness through nutrition and herbal medicine (intuneherbalists.com). Jody lives close to Marilyn Garabrant Morris and enjoys golf with Debbie Haslam Peniston who returned from Africa and was delighted to see the Big Five on Safari. Other travelers include Jean Campbell Barquin who recently had fun trips to Spain, France and Italy. They expect their 1st grandchild in Nov. Ellie Gilmore Massie loves their move to Plymouth, MA, where they play golf, tennis and bridge and enjoy visits from children who live nearby. Ellie sings in various groups. Tia Campbell McMillan also moved to a new house in Sheperdstown, WV, overlooking the Potomac River. She’s learning how to fly fish.