Thacher Magazine: Fall 2010

The Magazine of The Thacher School * Fall 2010

THACHER

Writing on Writing An incomplete look at how we write, why we write, how we teach others to write, and why any of it matters.

CONTENTS 12 • Armchair Wandering

Letters home: From postcards to blog postings

14 • Writing on Writing

An incomplete look at how we write, why we write, how we teach others to write, and why any of it matters.

4 on & off campus

Alumni & community News

01 • View From Olympus

26 • Gatherings

Reading, writing, and adventure.

02 • Up Front The editor’s preview of this issue.

03 • Readers Respond We share your letters and e-mails.

04 • The Pergola

12

An assemblage of noteworthy School and community intelligence.

Events and news involving the extended Thacher community.

32 • Class Notes, etc.

Alumni news, milestones, and news from faculty, staff, and friends.

47 • In Memoriam 49 • The Best We Can Do Thacher’s Amnesty International Club writes for rights.

FRONT COVER

Framing the dreaded blank page is a venerable writing machine borrowed from the Thacher Masquers props room, attesting to the transience of writing tools and to the intransigence of the primary challenge all writers face: getting started.

BAck COVER

14

Illustrating Brianna Bohnett’s poem is a photo of Mr. Shagam’s porch, strewn with student shoes and a stack of newspapers.

Photo: Jilly Wendell.

view from olympus…

Of Inspiration and Adventure

Photos: Marshall gifford ‘12

Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.

Oft of one wide expanse had I been told That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne; Yet did I never breathe its pure serene Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken; Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He star’d at the Pacific—and all his men Look’d at each other with a wild surmise— Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

— John Keats, “On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer” Never mind that Keats relies on poetic license when suggesting that it was Cortez and not Balboa who was the first European to gaze out on the eternal Pacific; we get the idea, nonetheless. The broad expanse of this vast ocean is awe-inspiring beyond description. Like a great mountain range that extends as far as the eye can see, or the star-strewn night sky that sweeps from horizon to horizon, the ocean also invites us to contemplate infinity.

As a matter of background here, Keats, it seems, was astonished by Elizabethan playwright George Chapman’s translation of Homer and was inspired to write his own paean in response: evidence that inspiration for writing is important—maybe the most important element in the writing process. But I get ahead of myself.

Thacher juniors Patrick Coughran, Marshall Gifford, and sophomore Bradley Callendar, and I enjoyed our own inspiration and “wild surmise” on this fall’s Extra-Day Trip. Like another Age of Discovery Conquistador, Juan Cabrillo, we came ’round the wind swept northwestern end of Santa Cruz Island, looked out over the cresting whitecaps of the Channel Island passageway, and espied the wild and distant Santa Rosa Island. There we contemplated the isolated and lonely Becher’s Bay where Cabrillo, Cortez’s former mate and the Spanish (some say Portuguese) discoverer of California, first dropped anchor in the Channel Islands in 1542. Like the lonely crew of our modest 28’ sailing sloop, “Osprey,” he and his mates were also seeking relief from the stiff winds whipping down from Point Conception.

My Thacher mates and I lit out on our own expedition to “Round many western islands.” We were determined to circumnavigate Santa Cruz Island, explore its many coves, and hike its peaks. Better than Keats, we did not have to rely on a George Chapman or a Homer for our inspiration. We saw with our own eyes the wide expanse of the rolling Pacific; we watched the planets swim into our ken at night; we breathed the “pure serene. “ Like the Dutch sailors in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, we were, for one transitory enchanted moment, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation commensurate with our capacity for wonder: Some 468 years after Cabrillo’s historic anchoring in

Becher’s Bay on Santa Rosa, we, too, driven by the winds and lifted by ocean swells, were crossing waterways with this first western discoverer of California. The sea and landscape we examined were the same, unfettered by any expression of human habitation. The isolation, the beauty, and the wildness were Cabrillo’s and ours together at that moment.

With sea lions, harbor seals, dolphins, pelicans, cormorants, and gulls as our constant companions, we sliced through the waters of the Channel Islands and the broad Pacific, neither seeking gold nor, thank God, the friendly Chumash for baptizing and enslavement. Rather, we celebrated this wild park for what it is—a magnificent repository of California history, wilderness, and often unique flora and fauna. We slept alongside hundreds of quarreling sea lions in their rookeries at Forney’s Cove. We were mesmerThe Thacher School 1

up front…

W

Finding the Right Words

ized by the dolphins as they encircled our vessel at night and greedily gobbled their baitfish at Little Scorpion’s Anchorage. We watched the tiny—formerly endangered but now emboldened—Island Fox as he crept toward his prey as we hiked the crest out of Prisoner’s Harbor. Like a group of young Darwins, we meditated on the splendid isolation of these islands as we considered the plight of its pygmy mammoths. We celebrated Thacher and its Extra-Day Trips as we crested to the southeast, wing-on-wing, a stiff and steady breeze off our beam, the boom lashed forward to the bow cleat for steadiness, and plunged down Pacific combers at six knots. We pinched ourselves as we dropped our stern anchor mere feet from the white sand semicircle of beach in the magical cove of Coches Prietas. We swam, albeit briefly, in the 57-degree clear waters and traced the Garibaldi as they darted in and out of the kelp.

It was a trip, in the words of Keats, that captured “wild surmise.” We were enchanted at each moment. (OK, this is not entirely true. The flies drove us nearly insane at Forney’s, and there were many moments as our deflated sails luffed and the “Osprey” banged about as we waited for the blessing of a stiff breeze to take us on to our next anchorage.) But this is sailing, and this is the Thacher Extra-Day Trip. We hope for the best and prepare for the worst. And when it is all done, we return home with new 2 fall 2010

to become an adventurer and then to write about his own adventures in hopes of inspiring others. You’ll read the words of a recent Thacher grad who is working with the words of eyewitnesses to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and taking away inspiration for her own writing. You’ll learn about a letter-writing campaign

by Thacher students who lend their pens to the cause of justice for political prisoners. And, because a magazine ought to have pictures too, we invited Los Angeles photographer Michal Czerwonka to campus to document the writing that goes on at Thacher with images that we hope are worth at least 1,000 words.

I hope you enjoy what we’ve written.

Christopher J. Land, Editor

friendships, rested souls, an abiding appreciation and respect for the Wild—as well as some good inspiration for writing.

And I suppose this is my final point as you now delve into this magazine on writing. Keats relied on Chapman’s translation of Homer for his inspiration. I relied on Keats to spark my imagination for this article. But it was my actual experience of sailing the Channel Islands with my Thacher crewmates that really gave me something to celebrate and share. My point: The best writing takes place when you have something important to say based on your real experience. In this case, our expedition to the Channel Islands with my intrepid crew was a capstone of this fall, and it gives me strength and inspiration for the year. You see, the boys and I looked upon the same wilderness as Juan Cabrillo, and we felt the ages compress. We, too, were adventurers and expeditioners. We saw vistas that matched our capacity for wonder. Can there be any better outcome for an Extra-Day Trip? And for me, there is no better way to introduce this magazine on writing at Thacher.

Michael K. Mulligan, Head of School

Photo: michal czerwonka

Words matter. That claim should hardly need defending in a magazine, especially one published by a school. And since my job security depends on it, I’d like to think we’re all in agreement on that point. What is more interesting to consider is which kinds of words matter—the when, where, why, and how they matter. And perhaps most relevant to Thacher’s mission, how we make our words matter the way we want them to matter, and how we teach that ability—which we call writing—to our students.

As a theme for a magazine issue, “writing” is hopelessly broad; however, it does afford us an opportunity to dip into some of the interesting ways that members of the Thacher community engage in thinking about, teaching, and practicing writing, all of which will, we hope, illuminate the when, where, why, and how writing matters, and more precisely, how it matters to us.

In the following pages you’ll find writing about writing of various kinds—from private postcards to more public blog posts to the very public Washington Post. You’ll read about how a story inspired a boy

readers respond… the best bonding and fundraising tool we have is to get people to attend their reunions. The School does a great job on the program and food/beverage end, but I think the festivities are way shortchanged in the publication and have been for a long time—especially the 25th and the 50th. I was glad to see that captions were put on the photos this year, something that Suzie and I had talked about on several occasions. But the class of ’59 photo—their 50th reunion—was so small that you need a magnifying glass to recognize the people. If it were up to me, which it isn’t, I’d double the coverage to four pages and really play it up.

Bob Gardner CdeP 1960

Another Thacher Anthem I enjoyed reading the history of Thacher songs, most of them familiar, including the HoneyTones. I wondered why Bob Gardner’s centennial song was not referenced, however. (Unless I missed it.) At least I think it was for the centennial, but in any case Bob Gardner wrote the lyrics, and Rich Look wrote the music. We had a tape of it we practically wore out one summer, probably 1999. It is called Lessons in Life, or something like that, and is quite wonderful!

Let me know if this is news to you, and I will try to find our tape. Or Bob obviously can come up with one. Eliza says someone included it on a CD for Phyllis Johnston when she retired, and Eliza was proud to be the only one who had heard it before!

Anyway, thought you would be interested. Hope you are enjoying the more relaxing rhythms of summer.

Comfort Halsey P ’07 Editor’s response: You can hear a recording of “One Hundred Years of Lessons in Life” at www. thacher.org/magazine/fall2010.

Showing The Ones Who Show Up I don’t think we’ve met, but I’m a big fan of what you’re doing in the Thacher magazine, both in content and graphics. However, as good as the current issue is, I believe it falls short in one important area--showcasing reunions.

As a longtime fundraiser and former head of the Thacher Alumni Association, I know that

Editor’s response: The fall is when we normally print photos of Reunion, either in the magazine or in the Annual Fund Report. And we continue to experiment with the best approach, attempting to make prudent choices about what to publish online and what to print, as print tends to carry much larger financial and environmental costs.

For this issue, we’ve opted to devote two full spreads to reunion class photos (see pages 28-31), twice our usual allocation. We have, however, decided not to include captions identifying every individual in the photos, as the presence of spouses, children, and guests makes that task very difficult.

Our hope is that the larger images allow you to more easily recognize familiar faces (though we can’t be held responsible for the ravages of time).

We hope you see this as progress.

Identifying the Morrill of the Story Love the latest issue of Thacher magazine, Making Music!

One correction for the archives: We noted that on page 19 there is a photo of a 1997 Tzuki Tsuki performance with our son Eric Morrill CdeP 1998 identified as “Robert Morrill CdeP 1998.”

Mia and Robert Morrill P ’89, ’91, ’98, ’06

Thacher

The Magazine of The Thacher School Volume 4, Issue 2 Fall 2010 Editor Christopher J. Land Associate EditorS Amy Elmore Jane D. McCarthy Alumni Editor Suzie Nixon Bohnett Class Notes Editor Diane Murphy Archivist Bonnie LaForge Design Charles Hess, design director Debbie Kim, designer Contributors Julia Bosson CdeP 2007, Erica Reynolds CdeP 2001, Joy Sawyer-Mulligan Photography and Illustration Attasalina, Jason Carney, Michal Czerwonka, Amy Elmore, Mary Hoffman P ‘10, Jane McCarthy, Sheila McLaughlin, Christopher Land, Robert Leiter, Brian Pidduck CdeP 1992, Joy Sawyer-Mulligan, Jilly Wendell Head of School Michael K. Mulligan Director of Development Brandon Doyle Director of Admission William P. McMahon Thacher is published twice a year by The Thacher School, and is sent free of charge to alumni, parents, and friends of the School. Every effort is made to ensure that contents are accurate and complete. If there is an omission or an error, please accept our apologies and notify us at the address below.

Copyright © 2011 The Thacher School Third class postage is paid at the Oxnard Post Office.

POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to the following address.

Editor, Thacher Magazine 5025 Thacher Road Ojai, CA 93032 www.thacher.org thachermagazine@thacher.org 805-640-3201 x264 Send Class Notes to: alumni@thacher.org 805-646-1956 (fax) Thacher is printed by Ventura Printing using an environmentally friendly waterless printing process, soy-based inks, and recycled paper.

The Thacher School 3

The Pergola…

Scoreboards spring Sports

BASEBALL Record: 10-6 (8-0 league) Captains: Joel Reimer ’10, Kyle Dietrich ‘10 Highlights: A one run victory on the road at Cate and a no hitter against Ojai Valley School were the core of this squad’s undefeated Condor League record. The Toads nabbed the final regular season game against Faith Baptist in the bottom of the final inning on a suicide squeeze bunt play, which gave the team good momentum heading into the playoffs. The Toads bowed to a tough Animo Leadership Academy team in the 1st round.

VARSITY BOYS LACROSSE

A WRITING CHALLENGE

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ven though he’s on sabbatical, Kurt Meyer offered a Numeracy Puzzler that goes with this issue’s theme of writing: Create a Haiku that has a mathematical theme—either it’s mathematical or it’s about mathematics.

Although diverse styles and formats exist in modern Haiku, guidelines for this contest are:

Record: 9-2 (5-0 league) Captains: Will Waste ’10, Casey Wyman ’10, Cole Ryder ‘10 Highlights: While wins along the way against Watsonville HS, Oaks Christian, and Laguna Blanca were certainly rewarding, a dramatic, come-from-behind, home overtime victory against Cate in the final game of the season cemented the team’s Condor League title.

An unrhymed lyric poem using a fixed three-line form consisting of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively.

Please submit your Haikus to Jane McCarthy at jmccarthy@thacher. org. Entries will be judged by a committee comprising two members of the English Department and two from the Math Department.

Answer for the last Musical Puzzler: Several folks arrived at the correct answer: Joanna Farrer Mackie CdeP 1996, Paul Bressie CdeP 1986, Kip Witter CdeP 1964, and Steve Hauge realized that the answer to the Puzzler was the Gettysburg Address and the “musical” system is subtracting any incidence of the names of the notes diatonic to a C major scale from the text (i.e., A-G).

Houghton Mifflin will soon be sending me proofs of a book entitled My First Summer in the Sierra and I am pegging away at still another book. So you see that happy visit to your happy valley is, like the ‘happy land,’ ‘far away.’ Nevertheless, however far in the future, I am already gloriously enjoying it, like a radiant dawn over the literary desert in which I am wandering.

— October 1900: John Muir writes to Sherman Day Thacher and politely declines an invitation to come to Thacher.

6 fall 2010

From left to right: Sara Wynn CdeP 2010 enjoying her teammates’ distinctively erudite-yet-goofy dugout banter.

Dance Ensemble caught red-handed at their Big Gymkhana Family Weekend performance. The Boys’ Freshman Lacrosse team lines up against Cate on the Upper Field. A group of seniors enjoy their last season supporting their Toad schoolmates on the field.

JV BOYS LACROSSE Record: 5-4 (league) Captains: Hampton King ’10, Colin McMahon ’11, Chris Dienst ‘11 Highlights: This group of boys notched two wins over Cate and a sound victory over Robert Louis Stevenson; however, Coach Manson’s high praise for every member of this team gets at the heart of the team’s real success: “They worked diligently, played with genuine enthusiasm, and enjoyed themselves—all signs of a successful season.”

FRESHMAN BOYS LACROSSE Record: 2-2 Highlights: With many boys turning out to play, the team was made up of some eager newcomers and some experienced players who “brought some significant skills, energy and tenacity” to practices and games throughout the season, according to Coach Mulligan. The team split games with the Ojai Valley School varsity, lost a close game to a mixed JV-Frosh Cate team and beat the Midland JV.

VARSITY GIRLS LACROSSE Record: 6-6 (3-3 league) Captains: Katharine Gifford ’10, Kelly Schultz ’10, Natalie Swift ‘10

Highlights: This team, characterized by “dedication, grit and determination,” got off to a great start with a secondplace finish in the Western States Tournament in San Francisco that featured tremendous back-to back, comefrom-behind wins over Palo Alto High School. The team also avenged an early season loss to Dunn with a sweet, 12-9 victory on the road late in the season.

JV GIRLS LACROSSE Record: 6-2 (league 6-2) Captains: Lisea Lark ’12, Erin Chisholm ‘11 Highlights: Despite losing two heartbreakers to Midland’s varsity team, this plucky group swept Cate with three victories as well as Ojai Valley School.

MVP honors. Claire Frykman was equally lauded for several outstanding performances that afternoon, including a record-setting run in the 200, which also helped her earn girls Condor League MVP.

DANCE ENSEMBLE Seniors: Laura Ammons, Sydney Bowie, Jane Fisher, Sarae Snyder, Taryn Van Vliet Highlights: This group put together four beautiful pieces for their performances here on campus in the spring Grandparents Day, a special assembly recital, and also on both nights of Gymkhana Weekend. They also took their show on the road and performed at the Pasadena Dance Festival.

VARSITY BOYS TENNIS Record: 7-4 (3-3 league) Captains: Stephen Yih ’10, Jackson Berler ‘10 Highlights: After a slow start, the Toads won six matches in a row, beating notable teams such as Villanova, Nordhoff, and Pasadena Poly. It was especially satisfying when the team avenged an early loss to Dunn, by beating them 13-5 on the return match.

JV BOYS TENNIS Captain: Henry Han ‘11 Highlights: Though there were not quite enough boys for a full-fledged JV team, several young players had a good opportunity to get some good match experience.

TRACK & FIELD Captains: Austin Krause ’10, Lauren Joseph ’10, Brianna Bohnett ’10, Remy Fisher ‘10 Highlights: Led by a strong group of seniors, this year’s team showed great improvement from February to May, with each team earning a second place finish in the Condor League. At the Championship Meet, Austin Krause triple jumped his way into the record books, leaping past the 42-foot mark to break a long-standing league record. With first place finishes in three other events in that meet, he earned the boys’ League The Thacher School 7

The Pergola…

Fall Family Weekend

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t Sunday morning’s chapel service, Jorie Sligh, mother of Jim CdeP 2004, Leslie CdeP2007, Laura, and Jack ’11, culled from more than a decade’s worth of observations on Thacher, including this excerpt from Jim’s book, The Life Cycle of a Toad: There’s a certain point you can hike to above the Observatory, just off the L.Moore trail, that shows you the whole of the Ojai Valley spread out under you like a rug, covered in the tops of orange trees, the bright Irish green of the pastureland, blue mountains in the distance. And just below you, like a fishbowl, is Thacher. You can look over to the Gymkhana Field and watch the freshmen riding, see lacrosse on the Lower Field, cars making their way around Perimeter, the entire campus covered in pepper trees and palms and oaks. Campus proper is a bubble, Spanish tile peeking out of the leaves, and you can’t see the slope of it from just above, so that The Hill looks a stone’s throw from the pool. Slowly you realize you’ve spent four years of your life in a thimble-sized portion of the world, a little glassed-off paradise, the great move from Lower School to Upper School a space no bigger than your thumb.

Shadowed by his attentive spotter, Alex Duncan‘13 tackles Jameson Rock, one of the bouldering “problems” favored by Thacher rock climbers during their afternoon workouts.

Literary Society In anticipation of Halloween, members of the Thacher Literary Society Casey Mulchay ’13, Jillian Elkin ’14, and Bryanna Lloyd ’11 gathered after Formal Dinner in the Thacher Room to pen ghost stories.

To read the complete talk visit www.thacher.org/magazine/fall2010

EAC in Action This fall, Thacher’s Environmental Action Committee lived up to its name by planting more than two dozen trees. Their efforts combined with the Maintenance Department’s plantings have added 85 new trees to the campus.

8 fall 2010

FROM THE ARCHIVES 100... 50... 25.... YEARS AGO AT THACHER

TWIN PEEKS

A Backward Glance Through the Pages of CdeP Publications

100 1910: All records broken. The Notes comes out with twenty-seven typographical errors.

Just imagine how Sherman expressed himself. It was beautiful…The Notes is the largest and best weekly paper, or magazine of any kind, at Casa de Piedra. Indeed, it has no competition in its proper sphere, although it must share literary honors with El Archivero….

During the last term, the editors quite outdid themselves and brought out a two-page edition, with pictures of the new buildings” [because the campus burned down during this school year]. (El Archivero: 1910-1911)

75 December 1935: In order to encourage better handwriting, Mr. McCaskey presents each boy in the school a mimeographed sheet with the writing of what he deemed the ten best hands in the school. The sentences were taken from one of Lincoln’s speeches, and Barnard, Hayes, Beatty and Rogers completed the writing, as well as several others. (El Archivero, December 1935).

50 September 1960: Mr. Lavender says that, like a woman’s skirt, a theme should be long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting. (El Archivero, September 1960)

25: 1985: F. Barreda Sherman CdeP 1911, writes a book of “intimate, personal reminiscences about the life of a student at Thacher three-quarters of a century ago,” called Memoirs of an Old Boy. The book “gives wonderful insights into our first fabled Headmaster,” Sherman Day Thacher. Proceeds from the sale of the book are contributed to The Thacher School library.

10 December 2000: In The Notes, “Question Woman” asks What’s the best thing about Freshman Year at Thacher? Responses include: “Swimming in the pool. Swimming in the pool naked. Swimming in the pool after check-in naked.”—James Dibblee, CdeP 2004 “The sports and the cheering for the teams.”—Felicia Butts, CdeP 2004 “Fro-yo, friends, and free time.”—Becky Swan, CdeP 2004 “The riding thing is really fun and being able to be with friends all the time is really great.”

—Catherine Whittinghill, CdeP 2004

5 2005: Snippets from faculty TOAD Talks reveal how much reading and writing faculty are doing on a regular basis: “Mr. Elmore spoke about the writings of Primo Levi…whose memoirs on his time Auschwitz formed part of Mr. Elmore’s summer coursework…Ms. Bowman spoke, ‘on seeing, looking, perspective—or what I learned walking with my slow, old dog’…Kurt Meyer read Russell Baker’s mid-1980s take on the purported ease of generating ‘the perfect sentence,’ thanks to the ‘miracle’ of computer word processing…Katherine Halsey read an essay by Amory Lovins calling for a collective shift of our culture’s current ‘take/make-waste’ mentality into an approach that more closely models what nature knows—what works, what’s appropriate, what lasts.” (Parents’ Post, 2005)

As the technologies of reading and writing evolve, so too do learning spaces. Mr. Thacher (above) read aloud to Thacher boys at wooden desks from his podium at the head of the class. These days, desktops are also made of pixels and teachers (Ms. Sawyer-Mulligan, in this case) are likely to be found among the students. What haven’t changed are the “aims of the place” (as Mr. Thacher put it in 1891): “accurate, thorough, and self-reliant habits of thought and study.”

The Thacher School 9

The Pergola…

BlurB & Squib ALBUM/CD Polly and Andrew Barkan CdeP 1998 released their second superfun album of children’s music: Up and At ‘Em! (You can find it on iTunes.) By day, Andrew is a film composer and Polly creates music and sound design for commercials. Sometimes silly and always fun, Up and At ‘Em is a “music for children and the adults who love them.

BOOKS D. Andrew Kille CdeP 1967 has published A Cry Instead of Justice: The Bible and Cultures of Violence in Psychological Perspective. Edited

by Andrew and a colleague, it is a collection of papers from the Psychology and Biblical Studies Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, of which Andrew is the current current Chair.”

Brad Yates CdeP 1982 published The Wizard’s Wish, Or How He Made the Yuckies Go Away, A Story About the Magic in You which recently went to #26 on Amazon’s Children’s Bestsellers list. Brad shares the basics of the “Emotional Freedom Technique” (a simple finger tapping protocol based on acupuncture/acupressure meridians) through story to help youth prevent physical and emotional health challenges, especially stress. Check out www.bradyates.net for more on EFT. Brandale Randolph CdeP 1994 self-published his first book, entitled Me & My Broke Neighbor: the 7 Things I Learned While Living Next Door to Him. In it he offers a humorous narrative about a flawed character’s journey to self discovery and financial success through the eyes of his helpful neighbor.

MOVIE Quinn Kanaly CdeP 1996 has been working on a series of documentaries, including Collapse: Based on the Book by Jared Diamond, which aired on the National Geographic Channel on September 18. Collapse imagines earth 200 years in the future and examines the factors that contributed to the end of human civilization as we know it.

TELEVISION Clinton Lowe CdeP 1999 made his prime-time acting debut on October 6 when he appeared in a scene with Ice T in “Law & Order SVU”. As he says, “Never in a million years as a kid did I see this coming! Thank you for all your love and support.”

10 fall 2010

verbatim After attending a summer conference where she compared notes on boarding school with girls from around the country, Bryanna Lloyd ‘11 reached this conclusion a piece published in the September issue of The Thacher Notes:

The latest configuration of the Board of Trustees assembles below the Pergola.

There is a lot to be grateful for at Thacher. The food is almost always good. The Honor Code is fantastic. I can wear flip flops in February. In the end, however, the lack of an underground is really what makes Thacher so unique. This isn’t a place where we need to use drugs or alcohol to relax or escape, or a place where people are defined by bad behavior. Thacher isn’t perfect, but from what I can tell, we’re definitely the best.

thanking justin for a dozen years of service

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hacher friends, trustees, and faculty joined Justin Faggioli CdeP 1969 and his family to celebrate his completion of a dozen years of service to the School: five years as Trustee and seven years as President of the Board of Trustees. During his tenure Thacher completed the $82-million Campaign for Thacher that led to greater student body diversity, competitive faculty salaries, and a construction boom that included dormitories, athletic facilities, science labs, the Thacher Commons, and the Milligan Center for the Performing Arts.

Following hors d’oeuvres at the Head’s residence on October 1, guests processed to the stage of the Milligan Center for a buffet dinner. The Chamber Singers sang some tunes from the late sixties as a segue to the evening’s remarks, emceed by Thacher’s new Board President, Andrew Shakman CdeP 1990.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Toby Rosenblatt CdeP 1956 thanked Justin for extending his term by two years when the School needed him to. Trustee Emeritus Marshall Milligan CdeP 1969 spoke of Justin’s mastery of “getting to yes” through great diplomacy. Classmate Dan Gregory CdeP 1969 spoke of his friend’s undying devotion to Thacher before Jonathan Tucker CdeP 2001 toasted Justin’s accomplishments in verse. Justin’s children, Nathaniel CdeP 2000 and Claire CdeP 2002, took turns sharing some memorable aspects of their father’s life. Head of School Michael Mulligan completed the evening with tales of how supportive Justin is, even during difficult times. Toby then presented Justin with a photo album of images from the School’s beginnings to the present, many depicting the fruits of Justin’s leadership.

The High Sierra can elicit many responses, including the urge to strike a tree pose, blossom into lotus, or walk on water, as demonstrated by this inspired cohort of Thacher campers somewhere in the Cottonwood during fall Extra-Day Trips. Photo: Jason Carney.

The Thacher School 11

armchair wandering…

Keeping Us Posted: Our Roving Correspondents Have Something to Write Home About

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ostcards have been a means of communicating quick thoughts, perceptions, and broad strokes of one’s travels for the past 150 years. Beautiful scenes, “Wishing you were here,” and dashed scrawls of a day’s adventures updated friends and family back home of the activities and places one visited. In the world of Thacher, Marvin Shagam and postcards are nearly synonymous as he sends several hundred cards each year from his travels to Thailand, Ireland, Berlin, Brazil, and other far-flung destinations. Recipients include former and current students, peers, and even prisoners. For the latter, he admitted thinking twice about sending stunning scenes to them as almost a “nanner-nanner-nanner, I get to travel and you don’t” scenario. Yet, his incarcerated correspondees—once 90 plus, now at a more manageable dozen or so—insist on picture postcards as a means of vicariously traveling with Marvin and, in fact, many of these cards decorate prison cells. Typically, Marvin writes of current events, economic situations, new observations, or evident changes from previous visits to recurring sites.

12 Fall 2010

photo Bottom right: Doug Kirkpatrick CdeP 1986

By Jane D. McCarthy

Fast forward to the 21st century, and blogging has taken over as a primary means of letting folks at home know of the traveler’s adventures. When Morgan Smith CdeP 1985 and Sarah Lavender Smith CdeP 1986 took their children, Colly and Kyle, on a sojourn to 83 places on five continents in 10 months, they posted stories weekly about their adventures on their blog, away-together. com, chronicling their nomadic, one-bag-each experiment in extreme quality time. Morgan’s photography enhanced Sarah’s writing, and Lonely Planet’s website (lonelyplanet.com) syndicated their blog. Their daughter also kept a travel blog to supplement her sixthgrade independent study (collyworld.com).

Sarah says she and Morgan were inspired to leave work for the sake of travel, to “road” school their kids, and to blog along the way in part because of the example set by their Thacher classmates Doug Kirkpatrick and Carolyn Reed Kirkpatrick (both CdeP 1986).

The Kirkpatricks blogged as they traveled around the world, moved to New Zealand, and schooled their children, Colin and Liam (their site is nzkirkpatricks.blogspot.com).

Last January, the two families embarked on an epic New Year’s kayak trip together in New Zealand and then posted stories and video about the adventure. The Smiths were also inspired by Carrie Johnston CdeP 1988 (daughter of teachers David and Phyllis Johnston) and her husband Adrian, who write carrieandadrian.blogspot.com and swap travel advice back and forth.

Although similar to postcards in offering snippets of travel, impressions, and intriguing photographs, blogs offer more space for in-depth thoughts as well as interaction with readers who post their reactions to blogged entries. Beyond friends and family reading Sarah and Morgan’s blog, total strangers happened upon their travel journal and indicated their writings were helpful in planning their own trips, managing home schooling, and serving as a reference for sites to visit.

Although blogging doesn’t benefit philatelists for their collection of unusual stamps, it does offer two-way communication and reaches a broader audience than writing hundreds of postcards each year.

Marvin Shagam’s postcards (above and opposite) are often as interesting as his destinations. Note the tongue-in-cheek greetings he sends from his “relatives” in Thailand: classic Marvin. Today, instead of postcards, many travelers write and share photos about their experiences on blogs and social media sites. Morgan Smith CdeP 1985 and and Sarah Lavender Smith CdeP 1986 developed a travel blog to keep in touch with friends and to network with other traveling families as they made their way around the world. The Smith family (below) caught up with classmates Carolyn and Doug Kirkpatrick (both CdeP 1986) near Queenstown, New Zealand.

The Thacher School 00

00 fall 2010

writing encompasses many things. It is a process of organizing and communicating ideas. It is a set of skills and techniques to be learned and taught. It is something one does for money. (According to Samuel Johnson, writing is something nobody but a blockhead would do but for money.) Writing also suggests the various technologies of capturing and presenting words and the way these technologies—as they have evolved from stone tablets to tablet computers—shape our writing, the ways we share it, and what it can accomplish in the world.

In this issue of Thacher Magazine we dip our quills into these and other topics. We begin with English teacher (and prolific writer about all things Thacher) Joy Sawyer Mulligan, who shares the thoughts that inform what she does in the classroom. Next, Erica Reynolds CdeP 2001 tracks down Steve Hills CdeP 1977 for an interview about his experience at The Washington Post and his views on the evolving role of print journalism. Following that, Julia Bosson CdeP 2007 explores the differences between speaking and writing, drawing insights from her work preparing oral histories for print. Two final items add some intrigue and adventure to the mix as we fill you in on the little-known connection between Thacher and Genghis Kahn, and to show how Rick Ridgeway P ’00, ’03 understands the connection between his inspirations, his writing, and his work. Throughout, Michal Czerwonka’s images offer perspective on the variety of settings, tools, and forms we use when we write.

photo/illustration credit here

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAL CZERWONKA

DIGITAL VS. ANALOG Something gained, something lost. English teacher Blossom Beatty Pidduck CdeP 1992 (left) uses a Smart Board in her senior elective class, which enables her to share and annotate texts and easily present online scholarly resources to her senior elective on rhetoric. In contrast, the background of this page shows a unique document from the Thacher Archives: lines traced by fountain pen on handlaid paper capturing the graceful and distinctive hand of Sherman Day Thacher.

The Thacher School 15

Thursday, 2 week of classes nd

“Like all English teachers at Thacher, I think and rethink the nature of my work, day to day and year to year.”

By Joy Sawyer-Mulligan

T

he morning sun shoots thick bands of light through the trunks of the old Coniferous Bosque’s pines as I start my daily work commute—and I don’t need Accuweather to know it’s going to be a classic September roaster in the Ojai. Room C is bordering on blessedly chilly, but it won’t stay that way if I don’t close the sash windows to trap the night’s cool. I tug on ancient handles, and they lumber down on ropes and pulleys to make a satisfying thud when they land on the sills.

I turn on the computer and SmartyPantsBoard (a term coined by my freshmen two years back), log in (“teacher”—a shared login and an honorific), move a few desks, put my notes on the music stand, go over to erase the parts of the whiteboard that my morning job sophomore missed, probably in her rush to make breakfast check-in. Amid the snatches of my colleagues’ writing from yesterday—meaning-making in black or red or blue and white—I see something I hadn’t thought of in one of the short stories we’re studying. I add it to my own book’s marginalia. Stealth collaboration.

My slice of the ninth-grade English pie—a dozen students—are a day away from submitting their first essay, and as part of last night’s homework I asked them to upload to our class website the paragraph in their second draft that they are most proud of—for whatever reason. Today, we’ll look at these together, treating them as what they mostly are: each, a panful of dirt we’ll send through the sifting mesh of enlivened intention and purpose, shaking gently, hoping for gold amid the gravel. My aims are simple and few: to examine their writing before it comes to anything they will think of as a final version, to appreciate each other’s 16 fall 2010

takes on a similar subject, and to extract from it all some essential principles of writing they’ll set their sights on in the next draft.

And that’s what we do, morning sleepywinks cleared, ears open to each other’s narrative choices, brains as awake as 8:30 allows.

With the help of various SmartBoard tools, the students’ talk is translated into a colorful list from which, by the end of the class period, they choose three elements for specific focus in the essay’s next unfolding. After some chatter, they make their own marching orders: grammatical clarity, original detail, and flow. My only job once they get going on this task is not to confuse the electronics by picking up more than one pen at a time from the tray. (Do that, and I’m into a “Danger, Will Robinson!” mode that can result in a panic of pressing many keys and buttons, ending—my bad—in what the kids call the Spinning Rainbow Wheel of Death. It’s no way to bring first period to a silent, if colorful, halt.)

Later in the day, I meet my seniors—an English IV Honors elective—who are gathered to study memoir and to write their own narratives during two terms. By design, our M-TuTh-F schedule is predictable: reading, reading, writing over two days, collaborative writing lab. They hand WFTs (Writing for Thursday) around the circle to me, their second twopager tucked inside the folder with the first— their ticket to class. They know the drill: I’ll read and remark on this piece by Tuesday but not grade a thing inside the growing folder until the end of the fall term—“Pre-Portfolio” time, a practice run at their big portfolio moment at Tri II’s conclusion.

Under discussion today are short pieces in the second of several memoir readers, this

focused on parents. (Last week, “home ground,” next week, siblings, then into Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight.) On our class blog—which by now has dozens of their postings in response to the readings— they’ve submitted their discourse druthers. It makes sense to me that the three pieces most of them want to talk about for content and narrative style represent both the professional and the amateur—the latter, two pieces by Thacher students of past classes. One is funny and surprising (Lori Schryver’s calmly blasting a threatening rattlesnake to pieces); the other, heart-twisting and gutsy (a young girl coping with a passed-out drunk father in the driveway). These, authored by students who sat in these same Room C seats, speak something powerful: You can tell your story, too. (And they do: The second WFTs contain narratives clearer and truer than the first set; by the third, their fluency will have improved beyond what they thought possible when summer rust slowed the gears in early September.)

The talk around the circle is animated; what these young adults say reflects not their having just “done the reading,” but, by responding to prompts and each other online and in faceto-face conversations, their having actually plunged their hands through the surface to grab—and often catch—the fish below. By our first full writing lab, I can tell that most are coming to understand in a given piece of writing both the subject and its means of conveyance, the content and the form.

That night, three freshmen come over to the house for extra help. They read their papers to me, catching as they speak flaws and errors their eyes had missed—repetitions and redundancies or subject-verb disputes—and fixing

Magnetic poetry on the white board in Room C (left) offers a visual referent to the swirls of good words that enliven Ms. Mully’s freshman classes. In the Mac Lab (right), seniors log into the class blog to share their views—yet another window to be opened.

them on the fly. Coincidentally, two of my English IV kids are at the table, too, studying what seniors study—Michael’s advisees here for their weekly ritual of Fireside Study (tonight, because we’re paying for the temperate July and August, sans fire). The girls listen in, and, when each freshman finishes, they cheerlead, genuinely, affirming what the younger writer has achieved and rooting for the next step. (They don’t know that later in the year, I’ll formalize this by pairing them up in a cross-class exercise in which the elders—six weeks into their memoir writing class—will guide the youngers in a revision.)

The freshman papers come in the next day, in folders, same as my seniors’. Rough drafts

and initial notes form strata of essay evolution underneath the final—required so that I can see where a thought or expression in the latest version had its origins. By the middle of the year, the pockets will be ripping with use and the weight of many essays—personal, creative, analytical—that have shuttled back and forth between my students and me, just as the seniors’ have already. As for this first, I’ll make marks in the margins, comment in much of the available white space, assess content and expression on a rubric, give specific correction or revision instruction, and return it without a grade. They’ll have a chance to change or spruce it up one more time before that assessment happens.

Like all English teachers at Thacher, I think and rethink the nature of my work, day to day and year to year. Is it more “grind[ing] the grain of thought” (Nemerov’s September, The First Day of School) or “lift[ing] the sash” (Wilbur’s The Writer) to help, “without affright,” in the release of their stories and interpretations, “sleek, wild, dark / And iridescent”? I’ll worry that balance until retirement, I’m sure.

It’s sunset, and the practical intrudes, as it must and always does, and I’m back in Room C, opening wide the windows to let in this new evening’s cool. More heat’s predicted for tomorrow.

The Thacher School 17

Speaking Truth to Power at The Washington Post: A Conversation with Stephen Hills The future of print is one of the most debated topics in media today. With the print-to-digital transition, print feels more of a luxury than ever before—and yet we rely more than ever on top-tier journalists to keep us well informed. Stephen Hills CdeP 1977, president and general manager of The Washington Post Media, a world-class, multi-platform news brand that has the highest combined market penetration in print and online of any Top 10 metropolitan newspaper, speaks about his professional path from writing to publishing, the print-to-digital transition, and the Thacher values at the core of The Washington Post.

You started off as a sports reporter at the San Mateo Times after graduating from college in 1981 and then launched the Bay City Business Journal in 1982. How did you make the transition from writing to publishing?

Like so many things in life, it’s sort of serendipity—taking a path that’s partially of your own choosing and partially where life leads you. I didn’t realize how hard it was to make it as a writer. Reporting was, for me personally, interesting—but not always interesting. So I took a job that was a combination of being a reporter and being a sales person.

That’s so rare. You usually have to choose one or the other.

Very—it was a small publication. They said we’d like you to write—you can be a columnist.

But we also need revenue. We see from your background that you sold ads. Would you mind selling ads too, because we need the help? So I

ABOUT THE INTERVIEWER Erica Reynolds CdeP 2001 is a writer whose favorite stints have included The Charlie Rose Show, Gourmet magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and, of course, her Thacher classes.

18 fall 2010

started selling ads, and found I was pretty good at that. I headed up the marketing department and the ad sales efforts. Bay City Magazine was where I learned the publishing trade. I was taking pictures, I was running the stack camera, I was doing the paste-up. It’s the old thing where you take copy and type-set it, put hot wax on it, put it down on a piece of paper—that’s how you’d make these galleys late at night. And then it went bankrupt.

As so many magazines do.

Yes—it was also interesting because they had one good business that was making a lot of money—and then one sexy business, which was Bay City Magazine, and it was the one that lost all the money and went out of business. So I went around to everybody, and got the editor from that publication, and I said let’s go do this new thing, Bay City Business Journal. I also brought somebody else on. Then I had to make the business work because we had no money, which is when I did the business side full time.

I found that working on things that got the creative juices flowing, making businesses work— that excited me more than writing.

But you love writing still?

I have a screenplay that I’ve finished. I still like creative writing for fun and I love working with the journalists here at the Post. Journalism is hard. Sometimes you write things that people don’t want you to say. There was one experience where I was covering sports at the San Mateo Times and doing a story on Y. A. Tittle, an old-time football player, formerly of the 49ers, who was coaching. His son was playing football at this time, but he wasn’t that good.

The story that emerged was: “What’s it like to be the son of one of the greatest football players of all time, who’s not that good?” I told the editors what I was doing. But Tittle said: “I really hope you’re not writing this about my son because it’s really hard to be the son of Y. A. Tittle”—the perfect closing line. At the end of this entire story, I said, “I can’t write this about his son—who needs this?” My editor said, “You spiked your own story. This could have been a great piece. You had a great angle.” But I didn’t have what it took to do that.

What’s the most important thing to think about when publishing a daily newspaper?

Eugene Meyer, one of the founders of the Post, Katharine Graham’s father, said “Tell the truth as nearly as it can be told.” That’s the core thing.

Sometimes when you’re interviewing people, telling the truth is difficult. Here’s the truth, period. Like it or not, here it is—the Thacher model. But I believe in that. Our kids go to a Quaker school, and they talk about the idea of speaking truth to power, and fundamental in what we do at the Post.

The transition from print to digital is not yet clearly mapped out for many news organizations. Print feels more of a luxury than ever

THE tools OF WRITING A board need not be digital to be smart, as this blackboard in a math classroom attests. Nor must a keyboard be digital: one Thacher freshman with a taste for the obsolete sometimes uses his “Skyriter” to take notes in class. Students can find their copies of The New York Times in this weathered box located ouside Classroom D. And when study requires you to highlight the writing of others, neon colors are your friend.

I read this interesting statistic published by the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s study on news media: Newspaper advertising revenue has declined 43 percent in the last three years, but online audiences continue to grow. Yet, despite the expansion in online content and readership, 90 percent of revenue still comes from print. How can this be?

Partly it’s because with the printed paper, you have a very engaged audience. The average daily reader of the Post spends 30 minutes a day with the printed paper. Online, it’s much more skimming. So even though the audience is bigger, it’s not necessarily more engaged than print. I think the answer is that there will be a printed paper for a long time. Take the Express, our free publication: If you ride the Metro around here in the morning, you will find at least half the people reading it.

So free is essential?

Free is an essential piece of it—and paid. Some things are going to be free, some things are go20 fall 2010

ing to be paid. Ultimately, for high quality, you need to pay in some fashion over time.

What about partnerships with Kindle and iPad? We’re launching a partnership with iPad in a couple of weeks. Kindle, we have a good partnership with. We just announced another part-

nership with the New York Times and Gannett yesterday called Ongo. It’s going to be an aggregated subscription where you can buy a number of newspapers digitally all for one price.

In terms of editorial content and publishing, is it entirely “church and state” at the Post or do you have some input on editorial offerings?

“Church and state” is alive and well. It’s something we believe in from the founding words of Eugene Meyers, who said they are separate worlds. But strategically, we work together. We work with the editors to run research to figure out what the consumer wants. When it comes to deciding what to write and how to write it, that’s totally separate. Nobody tells [the newsroom] what to do—and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Sometimes they’re going to write stories about our advertisers that are negative,

because we’re trying to tell the truth.

What role does a robust and independent media play in our democracy, and what are the threats when that media apparatus is scaled back and can’t conduct thorough independent research?

This is one of the reasons I came to the Post and to Washington. Thacher also had a huge influence on why I wanted to come to a place like the Post. When I got here, I saw the Lincoln Memorial and read the words from the Gettysburg Address and words from Martin Luther King, and I thought: This is what Washington’s all about. Watergate also comes to mind. It’s about speaking truth to power. The Post was really put on the map when our reporters uncovered the Nixon scandal. It led to a change in the presidency.

Yes—this was Bob Woodward who uncovered the Nixon scandal? I saw him on television recently for his new book, Obama’s Wars.

Yes—Bob Woodward’s a great guy. There’s a watchdog element of what newspapers do. The free press is an essential part of democracy for two reasons: 1) It helps keep government honest. 2) Without an informed citizenry, democracy doesn’t really work.

How did Thacher’s culture of honor, kindness, fairness, and truth affect you in the business world?

Part of why I came here is because those values are at the core of what the Post is. I think they are words to live by in any career. There are times when you’re really pressed up against it, and you can make a choice to go one way or another, and it comes down to your core values.

It’s absolutely applicable to real life. It’s great to be at a place where you live that way, and people actually encourage it. At Thacher, the Honor Code, what the School taught and people like Marvin Shagam taught, I think about that all the time.

—Erica D. Reynolds CdeP 2001

photos: Michal czerWonka

before. New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., recently stated: “We will stop printing the New York Times sometime in the future, date TBD.” What’s the future of print? Will there ever come a day when the Post will just be online?

The fate of print is very misunderstood. The printed Washington Post (we only distribute locally) is still the most popular consumer product of any kind in Washington. Nothing is bought more, even for 18–35-year-olds, than the Post. One out of every three people in Washington read the printed Post yesterday.

In a given week, it goes up to 50–60 percent.

So there is enormous readership of the print product in the DC area. Everyone thinks no one’s reading newspapers anymore. It’s actually not true. The problem is that circulation has declined; it used to be 70 percent of people read the newspaper in a week. But it’s still enormously popular. The Sunday Post reaches more people than the Super Bowl.

TEACHING WRITING High tech or low tech, when it comes to writing, the medium is only part of the message. Kara Hooper (upper left) works with the Literary Society using basic paper and pen; while Jake Jacobsen (upper right) helps a couple of sophomores hone their thesis statements. A pair of seniors enjoy Ms. Mully’s writing workshop in the Mac Lab (lower right); and Bo Manson leads his freshmen in some good, old-fashioned close reading.

From Trauma to Transcript: Compiling the Oral Histories of 9/11

W

hen I began my job in oral history at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum last June, I had never really thought that much about 9/11. I was 12 years old at the time and in Ojai. The existence of two towers 110 stories tall all the way across the country seemed as improbable as their collapse.

But as I began my job I felt anxious. I was resistant to the politics that have come to surround 9/11, uncomfortable both with fanatic patriotism and with conspiracy theories, and hesitant to work next to Ground Zero on a daily basis.

These were my concerns as I left London, where I had spent the previous semester. The oral histories themselves seemed less significant than the massive subculture of September 11.

I started work and quickly received a crash course in everything related to 9/11. Times, numbers, names, and then the layout of the Museum, slated to open in 2012. I have worked with oral history before; I have been a research assistant at the Columbia University Oral History Research Office for a few years now. But I was totally unprepared for the material that I would be working with now. As I sat listening to one of my first interviews, a firefighter who had been inside a hotel on the World Trade Center property during both tower collapses, I realized that these stories were utterly unlike any I had encountered. Typically one to two hours in length, these interviews created perfect vignettes of a day.

I was only supposed to be creating time-stamps and summaries, but I found myself instinctively transcribing. Soon I was doing this with almost every interview I encountered. The transcription process becomes more like translation than anything else. Once I had captured the word-for-word sentences in their verbal form, often listening to the interview seven or eight times, I needed to transform each into something readable. What we say verbatim, when transcribed, often makes us come across as babbling and incoherent. Verbal tics, variants among

age groups, localities, and vocations, run rampant without editing. I attempted to preserve the essential rhythms and idiosyncrasies of the interviewee’s speech in written form. The transcripts were then allocated to help the exhibition researchers as they worked to complete the plans of the museum. In the end, I found that my work gave me a special insight into the interaction of trauma and language.

In most of these interviews, the interviewee inevitably comes to a breaking point. Remembrances of lost loved ones, memories of walking through apocalyptic lower Manhattan, ash-covered streets littered with debris and abandoned women’s shoes, or the feelings of camaraderie that came out of 12-hour shifts at the Ground Zero recovery effort—in describing these moments the speaker could be overcome with emotion. And as someone who spent eight hours attempting to absorb their specific spoken voice, I could see the syntactic indicators, the linguistic anomalies that showed the extent of the emotional stress. Their verbal patterns revealed a story of their own. In these situations, I had to ensure that although the interviewee’s words should still make sense, the impact of their story should remain, through their verbal lapses or circular phrasing.

As an English and creative writing major, this experience has been one of unequivocal value, and I have decided to remain on staff on a volunteer basis. Next semester I am beginning an independent study on the role and the representation of 9/11 in literature, for which I will rely heavily on the oral histories I have worked with. I have also found that these interviews have impacted my studies in translation and fiction. When thinking about dialogue or how one tells a story, I realize that I have internalized the intricacies of these voices, and this, in turn, has left me with a greater understanding of human expression. This experience has shown me that even from such a small town as Ojai, even at such a young age, I can connect to an event on this scale through the medium of language.

—Julia Bosson CdeP 2007

Literary Royalties: Genghis Kahn Contributes to Thacher

T

he saber-brandishing exploits of the real-life Genghis Khan and a galloping horde of fictional adventurers continue to drop a bit of plunder into Thacher coffers, thanks to a bequest from longtime faculty member Fred Lamb.

Lamb’s history classes were enlivened by his love of storytelling—a love he apparently inherited from his father Harold, an award-winning historian who used his knowledge of less well-known periods and peoples to weave backdrops for adventures.

Harold Lamb’s energetic imagination and work ethic produced a long series of “pulp fiction” historical tales published in Adventure magazine between 1917 and 1936. In 1927, he wrote a very successful biography of Genghis Khan and, later, a two-volume history of the Crusades that caught the eye of producer Cecil B. DeMille, who hired Harold to be his technical advisor and screenwriter for many movies thereafter, includ22 fall 2010

ing Samson and Delilah.

In recent years the University of Nebraska Press issued a four-volume set of Lamb’s work, which sold well enough to justify further publications. Many of the stories feature Westerners navigating the customs and values of the Muslim East, and thus have renewed relevance in today’s world of clashing cultures.

Frederick Stymetz Lamb II began his tenure at Thacher in 1937 as a sophomore, graduating in 1940 and heading to Yale to major in Oriental Studies. After earning a master’s degree in medieval history from UCLA in 1949, he taught there for a few years before returning to Thacher in 1954.

Fred Lamb inherited his father’s literary estate in 1962 and bequeathed it to Thacher in 1998. Since then, Thacher has received half the royalties of Harold’s writings—about $30,000 to date.

—Jane D. McCarthy

Being That Guy: Rick Ridgeway Lives to Tell About It Rick Ridgeway is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, author, photographer, and conservationist, and vice president of environmental initiatives and special media projects at Patagonia. He is also the father of Cameron CdeP 2003 and Clarissa CdeP 2000, and a former Thacher Parents Association president.

A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.

24 fall 2010

nothing. No response is inadequate.”

And so Rick writes seemingly endless numbers of articles and blogs, makes movies, and gives speeches, taking any opportunity to champion the conservation causes that are important to him.

This fall, on the evening before faculty and students embarked on their Extra-Day Trips, Rick shared his latest project, 180o South, with Thacher. The film, as Rick describes it, is “a movie about climbing and surfing, but it is really about Yvon Chouinard passing the conservation torch to a younger generation.”

And while Yvon (father of Claire CdeP 1998) and Doug Tompkins are the faces doling out advice onscreen, Rick clearly deserves credit for crafting the message. He created a movie that is accessible and inspirational to young people.

As School Chair Avery Hellman writes, “The zeal so many of the people in this film had for nature and the wilderness inspired me to follow through in getting involved with those things that I am passionate about.”

This sort of response was what Rick is seeking. When asked why he took the time to present the film to Thacher, he says, “If I can have the same effect on one student as Jim Whittaker had on me, if I can inspire one student to act, I have succeeded.”

Now, we just have to wait and see which summit (or magazine cover) that student in the audience reaches.

—Amy Elmore

teachers talking about teaching writing What do Thacher English teachers have to say about writing and how they teach it? How do changing times and changing writing technologies alter their work? Two of Thacher’s seasoned faculty members (one of whom taught the other) recently sat down together to discuss these and other questions. You can read the conversation between Phyllis Johnston and Blossom Beatty Pidduck CdeP 1992 at: www.thacher.org/magazine/fall2010.

photos: Stuart Pimm (This page), Michal czerWonka (facing)

T

he moment of awakening for Rick Ridgeway happened in 1964. As he stared at the National Geographic cover picture of Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest, Rick thought, “I want to be that guy.” And from the age of 14 on, Rick never gave up on that idea. “I powered everything I could into that goal,” claims Rick.

His determination eventually paid off, and Rick became a very accomplished climber. In 1979, he was invited to climb K2 with Jim Whittaker, his boyhood hero.

With their successful ascent of K2, their team became the first Americans, and third group ever, to climb this mountain. This difficult feat earned Rick Ridgeway the honor of being on the cover of National Geographic himself.

Flash forward 20 years to 1999: Rick learned that his climb of K2 had inspired a new generation of climbers. While on an expedition to climb the first big wall in Antarctica, a young climber on the trip, Conrad Anker, confessed that he had been profoundly inspired by Rick’s 1979 National Geographic cover, so much so that he had dedicated his life to following a similar path. It was therefore fitting that at the successful conclusion of the Antarctica climb, Conrad was chosen to be on the cover of National Geographic, inspiring a new batch of climbers and adventurers.

And so it goes: One generation inspires another. For Rick Ridgeway, the possibility and the process of inspiration is what drives him. His books, his movies, his articles, and his work in the corporate world are all driven by this principle.

“This is where I derive my deepest satisfaction,” he explains. “From what I have done in my own life that inspires others.”

Early in his life, Rick discovered that through writing and filmmaking, he was able share his message with a vastly larger audience. His first three books were about climbing adventures, but, by the time his third book came along, his focus had broadened to include conservation. When asked why he made this shift, Rick responds, “I watched wild places start to change and even disappear.”

“My favorite climb is along the Ice Window on Mount Kenya. It was a perfect climb, an ice climb right on the equator, but now it is gone. This is profoundly and deeply disturbing.”

For Rick, he has no choice but to respond to this loss. “You can’t do

—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

gatherings…

SPEAKING OF WRITING: AN EVENING AT THE GROTTO

O

n September 15, five Thacher writers gathered at the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto to discuss writing as a profession and a passion. At this Thacher Literary Evening, faculty member Marvin Shagam and Erica Reynolds CdeP 2001 interviewed Tony Arnold CdeP 1946, Todd Oppenheimer CdeP 1971, Marian Huntington Schinske CdeP 1982, Sarah Lavender Smith CdeP 1986, and Andrew Leland CdeP 1999 in front of an audience of 75 alumni, parents, and friends of Thacher. Here is a glimpse of the evening.

Marvin Shagam “It was apparent that the panelists are not motivated by monetary rewards.

Passion is required. Although outside events always inspire writing, it is important to follow your interests.”

Tony Arnold CdeP 1946 Top: The Thacher community convenes for literary evening.

Left: Mavin Shagam and Andrew Leland amuse each other and the audience. Right: Tony Arnold responds to a question with Todd Oppenheimer, co-panelist, considering.

26 FALL 2010

“I always wanted to write, but could never afford to until retirement … the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan provided a steppingstone that led from a series of articles in the SF Chronicle to some talks… to offers to do two books for the Hoover Institution… So it was really my subject that chose me rather than the other way around.”

Erica Reynolds CdeP 2001 “A classical Thacher education, which disciplines students in structure and style, stands out from most as being wonderfully formal.

Many of the writers on the panel spoke of how they later shed the layer of formality Thacher had instilled in their writing, to add inflated drama or entertaining qualities to their writing. They had learned it was OK to break the rules.”

Panelists posing graciously (L-R): Andrew Leland CdeP 1999; Marian Huntington Schinske CdeP 1982; Marvin Shagam, moderator, faculty member; Sarah Lavender Smith CdeP 1986; Tony Arnold CdeP 1946; Todd Oppenheimer CdeP 1971, also SF Grotto host.

Sarah Lavender Smith CdeP 1986

PHOTOS: Sheila McLaughlin

“You could say I come from a legacy of writing insofar as my grandfather [former faculty member David Lavender] was a great writer of Western history. How he cranked out nearly 40 heavily researched books while holding down a full-time teaching job is a mystery to me. I’m humbled by his ability to describe a landscape—I think of the classic writer’s adage ‘show, don’t tell,’ and my grandfather always succeeded in showing—in painting a picture with words.”

The Thacher School 27

gatherings…

Reunion Weekend june 2010 June 11-13 was an especially gorgeous weekend at Casa de Piedra, thanks to perfect weather and the hundreds of alumni, family members, friends, and faculty who reveled in Reunion 2010. CdeP 1960 kicked off the weekend by celebrating their 50th reunion year with a luncheon in the new Hill Dormitory. As they reveled in the view from the Hill Common Room, members of 11 more classes and their guests poured through the front gate to enjoy the next 48 hours together.

On Friday evening, the Mulligans welcomed CdeP 1945, 1955, and 1960 into their beautiful garden for an evening of remembrance and merrymaking. The Class of 1985 joined Molly CdeP 1985 and Derick CdeP 1983 Perry for dinner at their home in the Lower School Dormitory. Kurt and Alice Meyer hosted CdeP 2000 at Los Padres Dormitory, making this dorm the rockin’ place to be for the weekend.

On Saturday morning, Christine Carter CdeP 1990 and Bill Logan CdeP 1970 educated and entertained with presentations representing their fields of work and passion. Alumni had the privilege of hearing Christine share her research findings and personal experience on the subject of happiness. (Check out her newly published book, Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents.) Bill presented Dirt! The Movie on the big screen in the Milligan Center for the Performing Arts, a documentary based on his book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth.

Saturday afternoon was filled with more activities. Highlights included Head of School Michael Mulligan reporting on the “State of the School” and “Uncle Jack” Huyler regaling alumni and friends from his vast memory bank of Thacher lore. And, of course, there were hours and hours of horseback riding, soccer, hiking, tennis, ping-pong, swimming, and trapshooting. Top-scoring trap shooters included: Brian Carter CdeP 2005 with 21/25 and Ryan Church, Parker Lohman, TJ Bermant, Peter Richards, and Brian Carter, all CdeP 2005, for team score.

28 FALL 2010

CdeP 1945: 65th Reunion

CdeP 1965: 45th Reunion

CdeP 1955: 55th Reunion

CdeP 1970: 40th Reunion

CdeP 1960: 50th Reunion

CdeP 1975: 35th Reunion

The Thacher School 29

gatherings…

Reunion Weekend june 2010, continued Donning the dress reminiscent of hundreds of formal dinners, alumni and their guests enjoyed the Saturday evening formal banquet, with wonderful musical entertainment provided by Mary Anne and Ames Anderson CdeP 1970. Under a white tent on the Upper School lawn, Master of Ceremonies Bob Gardner CdeP 1960 was joined at the podium by the following alumni who shared stories, songs, and jokes through a series of inspirational toasts:

CdeP 1980: 30th Reunion

Larry Smith CdeP 1945 Jim Taylor CdeP 1955 Bob Gardner CdeP 1960 Rick Paige CdeP 1965 Ned Cahill CdeP 1970 Newlin Hastings CdeP 1970 Carmaig de Forest and Liz Westbrook CdeP 1975 Douglas Smallwood CdeP 1980 Adam Ray CdeP 1985 Omar Barraza CdeP 1990 Emily Kate Wilson CdeP 1995 Besse Gardner CdeP 2000 Will Wilder CdeP 2005 Sunday morning’s memorial service message was presented by Randy Labbe CdeP 1960, who offered special recognition to Thacher’s war heroes with the view from the Outdoor Chapel as a backdrop. Three additional gatherings honored the recent passing of Rob Williams CdeP 1990, Brooke Halsey CdeP 2000, and Colin Parker CdeP 2005.

The School thanks all who joined the celebration of community, with a special acknowledgment to those who traveled the farthest to the Ojai Valley: Carlos Lazarte CdeP 1960 from Peru, John Jordan CdeP 1960 from England, Eric Sindorf CdeP 1975 from France, Akos Foty CdeP 1985 from Hungary, Fred Kim CdeP 2000 from Korea, and Arthur Kaneko CdeP 2005 from Japan.

30 FALL 2010

CdeP 1995: 15th Reunion

CdeP 1985: 25th Reunion

CdeP 1990: 20th Reunion

CdeP 2000: 10th Reunion

CdeP 2005: 5th Reunion

The Thacher School 31

Mitchell Lathrop ’55 is now president of the Metropolitan Opera National Council

class notes…

*

INDICATES REUNION YEAR

^

CORRESPONDING PHOTO ABOVE

‘Dying of thirst! Dying of thirst! Need fresh water!’ Back came a signal: ‘Drop your buckets where you are!’ And of course the survivors found they were still on the fresh effluvium of the Amazon, though far out of sight of land. That is a lesson still remembered after 60-some years, when I am tempted to call for help. Thanks Thacher! Thanks Bildad!” RICK FOREMAN writes, “After 20 years of having a Southwest Florida house for the winters, we have sold our property there and will make our Cincinnati condo our only residence. It is still hard to break the habits of working even after being retired for 18 years. There still seems to be never enough time for golf, mentoring, grandchildren, wasting in front of the computer, and staying awake in the evenings to read.”

Some of the following Class Notes have been edited for length.

For the most current—and complete—Class Notes, log in at www.thacher.org/alumni

1940 1943

1944

JOHN ALFORD recently scored his age in a round of golf; an 88!

WILLIAM ALSTON HAYNE reports, “I am pleased to have a granddaughter, LEXIE KIRKWOOD ‘14, and a grandniece, ISABEL HAYNE ‘14, attending Thacher this fall.” FREDERICK STANLEY writes, “I am widowed now. I sold my house and moved to a retirement community. I am not about to give up.

Too many things left to do.”

SHERM EWING shares a “lesson learned at Thacher” that came to mind as he was rereading the book of Job, which features “a gent named Bildad.” Sherm writes, “In the early ‘40s we were blessed with Anson Thacher’s uncle William, known to the kids as Bildad, a rare and wonderful character, then in his 80s, I suppose. He sometimes appointed himself pitcher at recess baseball and threw such bloopers that he sometimes struck us out. It was he who spotted a long white plume blowing in the wind from an Upper School chimney, down which some joker had dropped a fresh roll of toilet paper. ‘Curious phenomenon! Curious phenomenon!’ seriously announced Bildad, stopping the ballgame with laughter. He told the following fable one morning at Assembly: A lifeboat adrift in the Atlantic off South America frantically signaled

1950

JAMES KIRKHAM reports, “This summer has been particularly full thus far, and I am sorry Kathy and I had to miss the Reunion. In June we went to Nantucket, for the wedding of Kathy’s nephew, an uproarious round of dancing and fun.

We stayed with MILES CARLISLE at his historic Henry Coffin house, the last of the so-called ‘bricks’ in Nantucket still owned by a direct descendant of the builder—Miles is both a Coffin and a Starbuck. Miles lost his beloved and distinguished wife, Margo, a few years ago but has remarried Kate Clark, the widow of his long-time tennis partner, who is most delightful and charming. Miles still plays tennis (as does Kate) and is in grand spirits. On the way to Nantucket, Kathy and I stopped a couple of days in New York to take in the Metropolitan Museum, the Frick, and the new (to us) MOMA. We came back to San Francisco in time to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary (see Anniversaries), then continued on

Alumni Close-up...

David Laylin CdeP 1955 With such incredible biodiversity, Iran was once envied for its very progressive conservation programs. That changed after the 1979 Revolution and the once-impressive array of wildlife parks and protected areas is now in bad shape. As the only American involved with the Persian Wildlife Foundation, I participate in liaison activities between different entities in Iran and NGOs in the U.S. In November 2010 , I will visit wildlife parks and protected areas in the eastern parts of the country, areas seldom visited by Iranians, let alone “foreigners.” Hamoon, the easternmost refuge (near the Afghan-Pakistan border), was once famous for its waterfowl. However, much of the water of the Hirmand River that used to flow to Iran has been usurped, displacing the waterfowl along with millions of people. Another of the protected areas that I will visit is of great interest to the Persian Wildlife Foundation. It is possible that a longterm lease will be negotiated with the Department of the Environment, after which the plan would be to turn it into a model park, with United Nations and NGO assistance, as an example for Iranians. See www.world-wildlife-adventures.com/directory/iran/ to explore wildlife parks and sanctuaries, and national and state parks in Iran. I am also a trustee of a nonprofit foundation called the Center for Studies of Islam and the Middle East (CSIME) with our main focus being interfaith dialog.

If you are interested in either or both of these subjects, feel free to contact me through Thacher’s Alumni Office.

32 FALL 2010

How to Submit Digital Photos: • Shoot using your camera’s best photo setting.

• Files should be 200K or larger.

• Save photos as JPEG files.

• Identify every person in the photo, state time and place, and suggest a caption.

We can accept good, old-fashioned prints as well.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept photocopies or images from magazines or newspapers.

Two ways to submit photos: 1. E-mail digital files as attachments to alumni@thacher.org.

2. Mail prints or digital discs to: The Thacher School Alumni Office 5025 Thacher Road Ojai, CA 93023

for several days camping and hiking south of Big Sur in the Big Creek wilderness preserve. They say that once you’ve spent four years at Thacher, you never really get a good night’s sleep unless you’re outdoors lying on the ground and staring up at the stars. Nowadays, I call myself a ‘recovering lawyer,’ having long since retired as a partner of (the former) Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro. I am a (more or less) full-time artist now; my work can be seen at my website (www.JFKirkham.com).”

1952

1953

photo (above right): CARTER MONDAVI CHICKERING

1955

EDWARD EMERY writes that he moved to Michigan and retired from farming. He is “rejoicing in a good report after some strong chemo, learning to weave on a reproduction of an old loom, keeping up with the Chicago Cubs, encouraging my wife’s editing and writing, and being grateful for daily opportunities to love others.” HOLT ROSE, DICK REYNOLDS ’48, and BROOKS CRAWFORD ‘51 are graduates of the same class of the UC San Francisco School of Medicine. They received their MDs in 1960, and all three attended the 50th reunion of their med school in May. Holt reports that Brooks was recognized for his great achievement as a physician and a leader, and was honored by receiving an Alumnus of the Year Award for 2010. JOHN VAN NORTWICK says it “Sounds a bit like I am beating my own drum, but I am so proud of what our family has done in these trying times. My two sons, John and Douglas, and my wife, Sonja, and I own ERA Sellers, Buyers and Associates. It is a six-office, 185-agent residential real estate company which is #1 in El Paso and enjoys a very healthy market share in our three New Mexico locations. The combined offices are ranked either #2 or #3 nationally every quarter by ERA Real Estate, our franchisor. I know my ‘52 classmates will attribute this to the work ethic exhibited by me at CdeP from 1948-1952.”

JOHN CARVER reports, “Well, I had two cataracts removed and can see fungus on a tree leaf 50 feet away. Also survived Golden Trout Camp, give or take falling off the tree-limb bridge crossing the creek. I learned to hydrate with water, not scotch.”

JIM FUNSTEN and his wife, Liz, visited Colorado to meet their new grandson, Maximillian Hart Funsten.

^

MITCHELL LATHROP announces, “I am pleased to report that I have been elected president of the Metropolitan Opera National Council. (I have been on the Board of the Metropolitan Opera since 1982.) Each year between September and March, the Council will audition some 1,200 to 1,500 aspiring opera singers between the ages of 20 and 30 from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Over 50 percent of the present roster of the Metropolitan Opera came through the auditions program, which some of you may have seen in the documentary The Audition, which was shown on PBS and the Discovery Channel. Approximately 25 candidates will be sent to New York for coaching and training at the Met, and, of that group, 8 to 11 will be presented on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera with the orchestra to a

Alumni Close-up...

Lawry Chickering CdeP 1958 The program I founded in 1999, Educate Girls Globally (EGG), really turned the corner this year after completing our second-stage, 500-school expansion in the very tribal state of Rajasthan last December. Rigorous evaluation showed extraordinary impacts in mobilizing traditional cultures to action, achieving nearly 100 percent girls’ enrollment, promoting strong gains in self-esteem and self-assertiveness among these girls, and accomplishing extraordinary gains in learning (in basic math and in reading, both Hindi and English). This was accomplished with a marginal budget of only $150,000 per year over two years. (The government budget there is $11 million.) Last year, a national philanthropic organization recognized EGG over more than 50 competitors for having the most powerful model for reforming education, especially for scaling reform. We are now in every school in a whole district—2,340 schools serving 260,000 children, 126,000 of them girls—and the federal Ministry of Education has committed to help us expand to 40 of the most difficult districts in the country within five years. Recently, I spent five days in Kabul as a guest of the U.S. military. Important elements in the army are convinced our program can play a substantial role in the counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Therefore, I have submitted two proposals to the Command in Kabul and it is possible I may be spending far more time there than anyone at our age should want. We are also starting to approach NGOs about implementing our model in other countries. One California-based organization with current programs in East Africa has committed to implement our model, starting in Tanzania—and to raise money to finance the expansion.

See www.educategirls.org for more information.

The Thacher School 01 33

class notes…

sold-out house. The concert next year will be held on Sunday, March 13, 2011. Among the former winners are such opera greats as Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Ben Heppner, Jessye Norman, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade, Deborah Voigt, and Dolora Zajick.”

* 1956 1957

Alumni Close-up...

Bill Wheeler CdeP 1958 I think most of my classmates know that we spend a couple of months a year in San Miguel de Allende, about four hours by car due north of Mexico City. It is a charming and well-preserved Spanish Colonial town, renowned for its beautiful 17th- and 18th-century buildings, art galleries, restaurants, interesting shops, cultural events, night life, fiestas, and festivals of one kind or another. On most nights, but particularly the weekends, in the principal plaza, the “Jardin,” Mexicans and Gringos relax and promenade under the canopy of trees, eating street food and listening to the mariachi bands compete with each other, filling the balmy night air with their songs of the campo, love, and betrayal. The city is 6,500 feet above sea level in an arid, but stunning mountain setting, looking across the valley of the Rio Laja to the rich silver mountains to which it owes its development. The climate is dry and warm, never too hot, with summer rains in July and August that make the desert blossom with many colorful flowers. It is much like Santa Fe in that sense. Ingrid and I enjoy our house overlooking the town and quickly fall into the pattern of things. I ride equestrian style, learning horsemanship in a way I never really did at Thacher. I paint pictures on our rooftop, and study Spanish, something that would bring a smile to the face of Bullet Bob, our Spanish teacher at Casa de Piedra. It is a pleasant life, and it would surprise me if some Thacher students haven’t visited from time to time. If you do come, drop me an email. You will be welcomed.

34 FALL 2010

1958

LINCOLN HOLLISTER writes, “After 43 years on the faculty of Princeton University’s Department of Geosciences, I am retiring at the end of this academic year. Princeton has been generous in supporting my passion for learning how mountains are made and Thacher was an incredibly powerful influence for this career path.” (see Anniversaries)

^

The six-digit odometer on MIKE BOLDUAN’s bicycle passed the 99,999-mile mark this year. Numbers have always mattered to Mike. He taught math for 37 years, but it was not until he retired that he became serious about putting 100,000 on the odometer. His 100,000-mile accomplishment was noted in the Stafford Character, a community newsletter in Oregon. Caroline and JOHN THACHER, their children, PETER THACHER ‘84, Sherman, TOM THACHER ‘87 and their families joined Caroline’s British sisters and their families in a sleepy Dordogne village this summer. Good weather, three generations, 14 children age 11 and younger, winemaker Sherman’s tasty wine selections, and delicious local cheese and produce were just part of the happy family reunion.

^

CHRIS CARPENTER was in Vietnam and North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) in May. Chris writes, “While in the DPRK, I visited two villages which were quite severely affected by floods in 2008. The schools were totally destroyed.” He is helping to raise funds to help rebuild the schools, which will accommodate about 300 students each.

JOHN PURCELL shares, “Well, it took a long time but I finally have one of my children, ALEXANDRA PURCELL ‘14, attending Thacher. It was a big decision for her and for Jan and me to apply, and an even bigger one for her to attend, since we live in Miami, Fla. But in the three trips we had to the campus, visiting classes, touring with current students, and going to a couple of Assemblies, she fell in love with the place.

So did I, all over again. I am used to revisiting my past and finding it wanting in some way compared to what I remember.

In this case it was better. Girls are obviously a major plus. But the Horse Program seems to me much improved—both friendlier and also more professional. It is a little hard to explain, but the general atmosphere seems to be more like a community than I remembered. I have no doubts that she is in the right place. Jan and I were concerned that, so far from home, Alex might have a major problem adjusting. Now we are concerned that she adjusted so quickly!”

^

1959

^

CHRISTOPHER HENZE discovered a Profile in Courage about his grandfather while he was surfing the web and came

Photos (L to R): The odometer on Mike Bolduan’s ’57 bicycle; Chris Carpenter ’58 in the central highlands of Vietnam; Freshmen girls at Golden Trout with Alex Purcell ’14, daughter of John Purcell ’58, second from right; Christopher ’59 and Peter ’57 Henze’s grandfather, Martin Henze

across a site from the University of Innsbruck, Austria (www.imed.ac.at/management/about/1938). Chris shares, “In 2008, 70 years after Hitler’s Anschluss, the university’s medical school honored biochemistry professor Martin Henze (the grandfather of my brother, PETER HENZE ’57, and myself), along with other faculty, staff members, and students who were fired or expelled on political or racial grounds in 1938. Grandpa lost his position and his pension because he would not allow Nazi uniforms in his classroom. Finding this bit of family history documented by the university was an emotional moment for me. Better late than never!” JOHN LEWIS, JR. shares, “I recently returned from my 65th trip to Australia over the last 20 years. I have consulted with many of the best universities and private schools in the country, as well as other organizations such as hospitals and environmental groups. My most recent client is the Liberal Party of Australia as their fundraising counsel. They were in power for 12 years under Prime Minister John Howard, lost about two years ago, and recently lost again, in a very close election. Actually, the country is now being run by a minority party, the Labor Party, and it would appear that there might well be another election in a year’s time or so, because of the tenuousness of the situation.” WES PETIT reports, “It took decades, but Linda and I are most excited to finally be reciprocating the visits of RUSS CALLANDER and his wife, Suzanne, to our country. We will be staying with them in Auckland at the start of a trip to New Zealand. Our original plans have expanded in that we will now be joined by our sons, Jeff and Steve, and Steve’s girlfriend, Kate. After Auckland, we will drive

to the central North Island to sample the famed trout waters around Lake Taupo and see the thermal sights. Linda and I will then take a tour of the scenic South Island. After that it is back to a ‘retirement routine’ which includes managing (from afar) a citrus ranch near Santa Paula and carrying out a modest amount of investment work for others.”

1960

1963

CHARLES BONNER writes, “I promised my wife to retire when we moved to Boise three years ago but, after a month, decided it was not in my veins. I therefore went back to work in the agricultural business, much more psychically rewarding than the M&A business I have done over the past 20 years. I was sorry to miss our 50th Reunion, but we were in Germany on a prior commitment. We won’t miss the 100th!” CARLOS LAZARTE shares, “It was a pleasure for Amelia and me to see classmates at the Reunion. The trip was worthwhile. For any alumni: If you come to Peru, please visit.” (The Alumni Office has Carlos’s contact information.)

STEVE GRIGGS reports that he and fellow classmate, former faculty brat NICK THACHER, got together several times this summer on the East Coast. “We won a small doubles tournament in Connecticut and then got put in our place by some serious U.S. Tennis Association regulars in another event on Cape Cod. I also maintain close contact with other childhood Thacher friends WOODY HALSEY ‘65 and NELSON CHASE ‘66. I am doing some part-time work for them at School Year Abroad. Edie Chase also stopped by our cabin in Connecti-

More on Writing...

photo/illustration credit here

Jeff mason CdeP 1963 “Not Another Writing Assignment, Mr. Shagam!”

With the inspiration and encouragement of Thacher’s teachers, I went on to become a professor of philosophy, first in London, and now in California. Over the years, writing has played a large and challenging role in my intellectual and philosophical development. I have written three books and numerous essays and book reviews. During the last 12 years, I have also taken to writing philosophical meditations–at last count 103. These philosophical meditations are short essays meant to raise questions, provoke thought, and condense meanings into a pithy whole–like a poem. First thing every morning, I turn on my computer, get a cup of coffee, and start writing. After many revisions, I have the good fortune to be able to publish my meditations on the web-edition of The Philosophers’ Magazine. Because of the Internet, I get more feedback on my meditations than I ever did with my books.

I let my students know that, through the hard work of writing, structure and style emerge, and our imaginations expand. We really begin to think things through for ourselves and develop a unified intellectual vision. Writing is about discovering our own voice and using it to connect with a specific audience.

Through practice, we get better at communicating our ideas. I am grateful to Thacher for the broad love of learning I inherited from its tradition of intellectual excellence. Nearly 50 years later, I am truly grateful for all those writing exercises I used to resent.

Some of Jeff’s philosophical meditations are available online at www.thacher.org/magazine.

The Thacher School 35

Photos (L to R): Grand Canyon raft trip, August 2010: Dick Rhodes ‘59, Bob Isaacson ‘66, Fred Hodgson ‘60, and Ted Rhodes ‘65; Stephen Clausen ’68 on his last flight before retiring, 60 miles south of the pole, June 2010, at 38,000 feet

class notes…

1964

1965

* 1966 1967

36 FALL 2010

STEW WALTON writes, “I have now survived three years of retirement and all is well. My wife, Geneal, is very patient with having me around so much. Surprisingly, I do not miss work. Well, I miss the lunches and the people, but not the work and not the politics. I am keeping bees, perfecting my sourdough technique, and learning French. The green beans are almost through, and the fruit trees were almost a total failure this year, although there was enough to make plum jam. I work with the Boy Scouts and enjoy teaching the adults some of the outdoor skills I absorbed at Thacher. I am enthusiastic about a book called Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, who explains how necessary it is for a child to have an outdoor experience. My best to all my classmates, schoolmates, teachers, and fellow alumni. (Am I the only person in the world who refuses to have a license plate holder that says Alumni because it’s plural?)”

JOHN TAYLOR is enjoying his first year of retirement after 35 years with Sandia National Laboratories. He spends his time adoring his two granddaughters (Emma, 13, and Madison, 9), singing bass in a barbershop chorus (the New MexiChords), working on a project to restore a vintage steam locomotive (the ATSF 2926) to running condition, breaking one of his horses to drive, writing various history tomes, and, of course, spending lots of quality time with his wife, Lynn. “It was great to see lots of classmates at the 45th Reunion in June!”

Fellow toads BOB ISAACSON, DICK RHODES ‘59, FRED HODGSON ‘60, and TED RHODES ’65 went on a Colorado raft trip together in August.

^

ANDREW KILLE writes, “I am pleased to announce the publication of A Cry Instead of Justice: The Bible and Cultures of Violence in Psychological Perspective (volume 499 of the Library of Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament Studies, New York: T&T Clark), edited by myself and my colleague, Dereck Daschke. It is a collection of papers from several years of the

Psychology and Biblical Studies Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, of which Dereck is the former chairperson and I am the current chair.”

1968

“International health care seems to still be going strong,” writes KIM CHASE. His firm, HDR-SF, just finished an awardwinning, $3.5-billion medical center design in Abu Dhabi with Cleveland Clinic, and is now doing a major medical center in Montreal for McGill University. “There is hope still out there!” says Kim. STEPHEN CLAUSEN reports that he retired from the Naval Reserve last year. “After 31 years at American Airlines, the last four flying the 777 internationally, I retired in June. My last flight was a 15-hour, nonstop from New Delhi to Chicago, crossing Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, a lot of Russia, the Arctic Ocean (within 60 miles of the pole), and a lot of Canada. Diane and I are still living near Chicago, at least for the next year or two.” KEN JACOBS shares, “Any Toads who were paying attention to NOAH WYLE ‘89 as ‘The Librarian’ on TV would have been shocked to hear his character spout fluent Latin.

He belted out: ‘Domine salvam fac, patriam nostram!’ Talk about secret societies! Pax vobiscum.”

^

* 1971 1972 1973

1978

1979

SCOTT REAM writes, “Debra and I are doing well, although having just survived the passing of our last collective parent— a sad milestone.”

STEVEN OLSON lives in Guatemala and is now retired.

STEVE KOCH shares, “The last of our five kids left the nest in August, and Janice and I have moved from Newport Beach to Ventura. Paradise Found! Would love to have any fellow alums stop by on their way to visit CdeP.” TIM HOLLIDAY returned safely in October, 2010, from Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was serving as an attorney with the Army Corps of Engineers.

^

WILL WYMAN tells a tale of three Toads, which took place at the Occidental College commencement on May 16, 2010.

Will’s daughter, CAITLIN WYMAN ’06, graduated with a double major, Comparative Literature and Theatre, and received departmental honors. Occidental Dean of Faculty and Thacher classmate, RAUL VILLA, joined his fellow Toads after the ceremony for a photo.

SEAN EHRINGER and his wife, Isabel, are very excited that their daughter, AUDEN ‘14, is now a freshman at Thacher. Sean shares, “Auden’s class will share Reunion Weekends with her father. Bet she won’t be too happy having dad watch over her at her first Reunion.” ADRIANA SCHWARTZ GORES writes, “2010 has been a very busy year for me. January saw me going to work almost full-time (after years of part-time) with my husband for his business, The 24 Hours of Lemons. It is an

photo/illustration credit here

cut for a visit in July.” HOWARD “WARDIE” WARD writes, “Hello from Down Under! I am in Australia permanently, so I have not had a chance to participate in any class reunions or activities, so it is great to see Thacher has such a well-developed Web site.” (see Engagements) BENDY WHITE shares, “It has been a very interesting year for us. I was elected to the Santa Barbara City Council last November and jumped into a cauldron of budget crunches, union negotiations, and hashing out a new General Plan. Fellow Toad KELLAM DE FOREST ‘44 continues to give us great advice on preserving Santa Barbara’s unique character and SCOTT VINCENT ‘88 covers the city’s legal backside as deputy city attorney.

Kathy and I are still acclimatizing to the giant sucking sound of civic events we are expected to attend. All in all, I am learning a ton and having fun with it.”

Photos (L to R): Marganne Winter Oxley ‘78, Jill Oxley Souto-Maior ‘80, Rachel Oxley ‘89, Janet Miller Cipriano ‘78, Cynthia Hunter ‘80, Nicole Miller ‘83, Jill Stevenson ‘82, and Tracey Stevenson Garrett ‘80 at an October Toads reunion in Sisters, Oregon; Will Wyman ‘78, his daughter Caitlin Wyman ’06 with her steady study pal Peanut, and Occidental Dean of Faculty and Will’s classmate, Raul Villa ’78

endurance-racing series for cars that cost $500 or less and is run all over the country. At the end of this year we will have run 21 races in 12 states. I guess you could call me the CFO although that sounds a little highfalutin. Around the office I am better known as the money cougar. That leads to my next bit of big news: after almost nine years together, John and I got married (see Marriages). My kids are growing up fast. This fall I have two seniors—Elisa at Barnard College and Buck at The Webb School. My ‘baby’ Genna started high school at The Urban School here in San Francisco. Life is full and fun!”

1980

DEBORAH ROSENBERG DUFTY writes, “After eight-plus years enjoying the green hills of Vermont, we have moved to Cambridge, Mass. Since we are missing 6’8” Keegan (who started Wesleyan this fall), our smaller digs feel bigger than those we left behind! Enjoyed a too-quick visit with JILL KOMURA (who was in Vermont for a wedding), and also thrilled to follow MARY ELLEN FISH PESAVENTO’s latest adventures in India.” Mary Ellen, who is working at an international boarding school in the foothills of the Himalayas, shares, “Being so

close to nature in a residential school cannot help but remind me of my days at Thacher. My husband and I have taken teaching positions here and our daughters are enrolled in grades 6 and 10. Woodstock School has a long tradition of outdoor education, and they have recently begun a Gap Semester Program. We are experiencing our first monsoon, and while we are not experiencing the difficulties shown in the news about Pakistan, we are continually reminded of the powers of water and gravity! Coming from Seattle, we were prepared for the days of drizzle. What we could not have been prepared for is the level of dampness that permeates everything. Still, we are thrilled to be here. We have also begun blogging, so if you are interested, the site is blog.pesavento.us/.”

* 1981

^

BILL HOPPIN reports that he is still happily living in Mill Valley, just north of San Francisco, with his two sons, 11-year-old Will and Griffin, age 7. “There are lots of changes in the works,” he says. “After a successful four-and-a-half years of leading sales and business development at a small start-up, Audience, from pre-product to profitability and

Alumni Close-up...

photo/illustration credit here

art spaulding, jr., CdeP 1966 2010 has been an adventuresome year. In January, a friend invited me to hike the Grand Canyon from Rim to Rim to Rim, starting from the South Rim, through Phantom Ranch and up Bright Angel Creek to the North Rim, and then back again the next day. After training for five months, we hit the trail at 5 a.m. on June 3, for the hardest physical test I have ever had. The temperature in the lower elevations hit 100 degrees that day, with 4,000 feet of vertical climbing in the final five miles, after 19 miles of soft sandy trails. (The best thing about being over 60 was recognizing that going back the next day in reverse was never going to happen.)

In July, Kit and I traveled to the Canadian Rockies, maybe the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen. The glacial silt in the waters turns them an amazing array of blues and greens and the hanging glaciers and ice fields are spectacular. We spent five days of our trip with Louise and Mark Griffiths CdeP 1966 and their two daughters, Caitlin and Colette, at their wonderful home in Vancouver. Mark continues to direct movies and has attained dual citizenship, reflective of his having resided in Canada for a decade.

In August, Kit and I spent four fabulous days at Golden Trout Camp where our son, Cameron CdeP 1992, serves as director of operations, ably aided by Thacher classmate and friend, Nick Tramner. Jeff Oderman and I hiked to the top of Mt. Langley (14,042’) on our last day there.

And last but not the least of the adventures, Kit and I recently went to Brooklyn to be with our daughter, Shayne CdeP 1990, for the birth of our second grandson, Kieran Spaulding Shepherd.

37 The Thacher School 01

class notes…

egories!). And speaking of books, I have been enjoying Ani’s Asylum by MARIAN (MUFFET) HUNTINGTON SCHINSKE. It was great seeing both Muffet and Mr. Shagam at the recent Thacher literary event in San Francisco.”

rapid growth, I am taking some time to recharge and look for new opportunities. A second marriage, to Ruth Krumbhaar, in June of 2011 will add her son, 4-year-old Rowan, to the household (see Engagements).” CAROL MCCONNELL reports that several classmates are already eager to return for their 30th Reunion in June.

1982

SHAWNA WESELOH BIEL and her husband, Scott, spent time in August on Orcas Island, Wash., with BELINDA HANSON and her daughters, Kat and LEIGH HANSON THOMAS ‘13. Shawna shares, “We had a great time. Kat is an incredible poet/songwriter/musician who made my birthday especially memorable with a song she composed. I also loved hearing Leigh tell of her adventures in the Horse Program. I can honestly say I have never seen a student with more enthusiasm for Thacher and its Horse Program. The two-man race really is an extreme sport! Leigh’s stories brought back great memories of the people and the places that make Thacher such a special place.” BRAD YATES writes, “I recently released my first children’s book in August: The Wizard’s Wish, Or How He Made the Yuckies Go Away—A Story About the Magic in You! (Find it at www.thewizardswish.com.) It went up to #26 on Amazon’s Children’s Bestsellers list (#1 in several subcat-

1983

* 1986

More on Writing...

Wolfgang Weber, CdeP 1995 The great Bonnie Robinson said something to me after I handed in my first short story that I’ve always kept close to my heart. “Wolfgang, you know, there’s this bad Hemingway contest every year and you should enter it.” Now there’s a compliment!

Fiction, inspired by Hemingway or otherwise, isn’t a direction that I’ve continued with in my writing. No, I’m doing something even more ridiculous than mocking great authors: I write about wine. It started with a magazine called Wine & Spirits, where I was senior editor and critic for the wines of Italy and California’s Central Coast. That led to other projects with newspapers, Web sites, and magazines, as well as a contributing-author gig for a new reference book called the Wine Opus, from DK Publishing. With any luck, a book proposal that’s in the works will be accepted for 2011.

I’m not sure if any of that means that I’m a successful writer, which of course is the challenge and irony of writing and publishing in the 21st century. In a world where everyone is a critic, and self-publishing is as easy as ‘Like’ or ‘Comment,’ writers now find themselves in a curious place where experience, specialization, and reputation (a necessity in the virtual channels of our hyper-connected world) count for as much as raw talent. Or is that how it’s always been? I’m still trying to figure that one out.

But then again, that’s the entire point. Writing is rewarding on many levels, and no matter what the subject, you keep at it–whether you’re 15 and keeping a journal, or 30 and published in the Sunday paper. It’s a part of you that’s always there.

38 FALL 2010

BRIAN MARGULEAS completed his Masters of Education from the University of Hawaii in June. Brian shares, “Today I secured employment as a kindergarten teacher at Kalihi Elementary on the island of Oahu. Hopefully, my students and I will survive the experience.”

JONG LEE writes, “The family and I are enjoying Hong Kong and cannot believe it has already been two years since we left Tokyo. We made some great new friends, rekindled old ones, and even reconnected with fellow CdeP graduate PATRICK CHU ’88. (We attend the same church here in Hong Kong.) Oddly enough, we recently had dinner with a good friend from Tokyo who had inquired about boarding schools in the U.S. As he was rattling off the usual suspects, I began to wax nostalgic with a newfound appreciation for how rewarding my time at Thacher was for me and just how unique CdeP’s value proposition is (too bad I could not quite see the forest for the trees when I was actually there!). I

Photos (L to R): Bill Hoppin ‘81; Aaron Smith ’91 with one of his National Zoo exhibits (photo by Mehgan Murphy/ NZP); Nick Mast ’92 on the cover of Sierra Club Magazine; Jack Huyler, his new grandson-in-law, Sean Henry, and granddaughter, Allison Huyler Glass ’93; Camilla Joy Louden ’93 and her daughter, Sylvia Joy Louden, on Cape Cod, Mass

guess I should take those fundraising mailers more seriously.

I just finished up a public company turnaround project and am now back full-time in merchant-banking mode. We have been busy these days investing in and providing Asia-based commercial access to growth-market opportunities, serving promising ‘American’ companies (i.e. outside of Silicon Valley, L.A., and New York) that have struggled of late with liquidity, or political and home-front economic challenges. It is a shame we cannot help more of them, as it has been both humbling and inspiring to discover so many talented and determined entrepreneurs who have made amazing progress in creating value despite these headwinds. Believe it or not, one of the most promising is actually in a poster-child city for bankrupt ideas, atrophy, and malaise—Detroit! We are doing our best to help them get out of town. Hope to see you in Hong Kong soon!”

1987

1988 1989

photo/illustration credit here

1990

ELIZABETH (LISA) KNOWLES and her husband, Matt Derrick, celebrated the first of the year with the second birthday of their son, Reid, and a party to celebrate their first home purchase, a simple house on a park, built in 1918. Lisa writes, “We live in Daly City now, but it is kind of a joke because we are only a block from the border into San Francisco and still have a 415 area code. We traded a San Francisco zip code for a backyard where we are growing our own veggies and dreaming about chickens and maybe bees.” Lisa is working for herself as a graphic designer, primarily with interior design and corporate clients. She is enjoying the freedom of making her own schedule and is taking “Illustrating Children’s Books” at UC Berkeley Extension.

Jens Kro, across the North Sea from Norway to Denmark. If you are in Phoenix, please come visit.” CHRISTINE CARTER is now “Raising Happiness” with parents and children all over the world through her new online class (http://raisinghappiness.com/theClass.php). And if participants take her class as part of a pair or a group, she will donate 10% of tuition back to the school or the organization of their choice. KATHERINE PETERSON SITTER announces, “I am excited to share that my husband John and I welcomed Evelyn and Oliver Sitter on June 1. I was sad to miss my 20th Reunion, but will definitely be there for our 25th with Evie and Oliver!” (see Births)

* 1991

1992

BETSY BURLESON writes, “Life does not seem to be slowing down, but it has been a fun roller coaster so far. I just wanted to update folks as to my coordinates which are currently Tallahassee, Fla., as a visiting professor at Florida State University for the fall semester.” (www.ElizabethBurleson.com) NICK MAST shares that he is back living in San Francisco, getting settled after another year abroad. A photo of him skiing appeared on the cover of the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of the Sierra Club Magazine. MAGGIE RENIERS says, “¡Saludos de Ecuador! It has been an interesting summer for me, having taken over a small hotel in Otavalo, Ecuador, in July and adjusting to working in a very different field from teaching. Hoping to get a class reunion planned for 2011 at La Posada del Quinde (www.posadaquinde.com). Let me know if you can come! We are just a couple hours north of Quito. If any of you are in the area, look me up. I would love to have any fellow Toads as guests.”

^

LAURA MCHALE shares, “After 15 years in New York, I am moving to Hong Kong in October to become Deutsche Bank’s head of internal communications for Asia. I would love to hear from any Thacher alumni who live in, or are visiting, the area.”

ALLISON REED GLENN writes, “I am busy launching my new sustainable-packaging business (www.s-packaging.com) and remodeling my new house in Ojai. Life is good!”

WINSLOW BURLESON shares, “Sorry I could not make the Reunion. The pictures looked great! I was in Barcelona for the Interaction Design for Children conference and spent the summer in Denmark where my wife, Camilla Jensen, and I enjoy living on a fjord four months a year. We are in Tempe, Ariz., working at Arizona State University on all sorts of crazy new ways to use technology: for education, health, arts, space exploration, gaming with robots, and creativity research. (Check out our site at hci.asu.edu.) Some of the summer highlights were meeting up with Kurt and Alice Meyer for a wonderful day in Copenhagen as they began their sabbatical, and sailing a 100-year-old tall ship, the

^

AARON SMITH shares, “I am currently an exhibit developer for the Smithsonian at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. I am loving the job—it keeps me on my toes and I am constantly learning. For the past two years, I have been in charge of Elephant Trails, a new exhibit about (and habitat for) Asian elephants. My main job is writing the content and guiding design work for the graphics and interactive experiences in the exhibit. We recently opened the first phase of the project, an exhibit called the Elephant Outpost that teaches about elephant conservation. The best part is seeing kids and families using the exhibit and having a great time learning.”

1993

^

Jack Huyler shared that his granddaughter, ALLISON HUYLER GLASS, “is continuing her whale research under the auspices of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and her husband, Sean (see Marriages), is a builder.” CAMILLA JOY LOUDEN states, “Not sure what my last update/note was so forgive me if I am repeating myself...I blame it on motherhood. After living in Oregon for 15 years, I moved to the Boston area almost two years ago to be closer to family. Despite the adjustment to bad drivers and humidity, I am happy to say I have never looked back (OK, maybe once). I am so fortunate and thankful to be a stay-at-home mom with my 18-month-old daughter Sylvia, and love that we are a mere

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The Thacher School 39

class notes…

15 minutes away from her Uncle “J” (JOSHUA JADE ‘91) and his beautiful family.” ROSA BARKUS KLEIN writes, “I recently became policy advisor at the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, Ore., working to implement health reform with a focus on racial and socioeconomic health equity and the social determinants of health; particularly access to healthy affordable housing, nutritious food and healthy land use and transportation planning. Jose is also working in public service, at the Oregon Department of Justice in the Child Advocacy Division. Our sons, Manu (5) and Frank (1), are thriving in Portland—happy and healthy.”

JEAN RICHARDS DAMON sent in a photo of herself with her 2-year-old daughter, Darcy. Jenny shares, “Our news is that, while I never thought I would get my husband out of Boston, he recently took an exciting position with a firm in their Berkeley office. It is incredible to be back on the West Coast—it feels like coming home in many ways!”

to see her delight at getting mail with her name on it (generally from Grandpa). Keep in touch and let me know if you are ever heading through this part of Texas as we would love to see friends.” BRANDALE RANDOLPH writes, “After years of living under the bright lights of Los Angeles, I relocated to Lubbock, Texas. Yes, Brandale lives in Lubbock, Texas.

I am still actively involved in two companies that I helped get off the ground—LAXCarshare and Ayce Media group. I self-published my first book, entitled, Me & My Broke Neighbor: the 7 Things I Learned While Living Next Door to Him. The story shares common financial wisdom through simple story telling. The book is available on Amazon. However, the real reason why I am writing this note is because I rode a horse and got to tell the story of ‘Twister’. All is great!” DERMOND THOMAS was a candidate for the New York State Assembly (lower house of New York state legislature) in the Nov. 4 election. His website is www.dermondthomas.com.

BRIAN BENNETT introduced Dermond at an event held in D.C. You can watch the video footage at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=MQ1RUR3A-qQ.

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1994

JANE CASAMAJOR is producing the InCite Auction. She says, “I am in my last year at Boston University and working on my MFA thesis, an auction fundraiser for students to participate in our spring arts festival in New York. It is set to happen in October and has been my obsession for the last several months. Wish me luck.” DEVON CICHOSKI shares, “In August, RIKA HOWE TOLL and NATE TOLL and their two girls, Jo and Addy, took a break from their family vacation to spend the day in Ojai. SKYE ROHDE, Heather and Maddie Nichols (wife and daughter of CHRIS NICHOLS), and I met up with the Tolls for a mini-reunion in Libbey Park, complete with Ruben’s burritos and Ojai Ice Cream. Training the next generation of Toads early!” MARY EVERETT CONARROE shares, “Things are well in Atlanta, Ga., now that the sweltering summer is over. Caleb is nearly 6 months old and already into everything! I fear the day he is mobile. Jeff has another year as director of basketball operations at Georgia State University and I am still working as a physical therapist at Piedmont Hospital. Dreaming about moving back West—hoping it will happen in the next year.” JOSH KURLINSKI is living in McKinney, Texas. ELIZABETH STORY HEIRONYMOUS, her husband, Zach, and 3-year-old daughter, Mia, have moved to Austin, Texas. Elizabeth writes, “When Zach finished school we knew that we were going to move someplace to start a new life. We had heard that Austin was a great place, so we decided to head here and try it out. Right now we are in an apartment short-term until we decide if we are going to stay, but we really like it thus far. We are in a super location, close to everything and we can walk, bike, or bus to many things. Zach is studying for his occupational therapy board exams and I am trying my hand at being a stay-athome mom for now. Mia and I spend a lot of time at the YMCA and Austin Children’s Museum and will spend more and more time at the park as the weather starts to cool. Mia and I walk to check our mailbox every few days and it is fun

1995

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40 FALL 2010

* 1996

KATHRYN PERKINS TIFT is in her final year of training, completing a fellowship in pediatric orthopedic surgery at Shriners Hospital in Los Angeles. Kacey reports, “All is well in Venice. Someday I will get a real job, but hey, what is one more year of training at this point? My husband, Veej, loves his job as the executive director of the Ojai Foundation; he gets to spend at least one day a week in the upper valley and the rest of it in Los Angeles.”

^

ERIN ARCHER shares, “It has been two years since I moved across the pond, and I feel like I am starting to settle in, or maybe just getting used to the weather! I am working in the City (London) and living by Hyde Park, and fill my limited free time going to musicals, having cream teas, and exploring this amazing city. I would love to meet up with other Toads in the region—Paris is just two hours away! Looking forward to Reunion in June, as well.” QUINN KANALY announced that her company, Far West Films, aired its latest documentary, Collapse: Based on the Book by Jared Diamond, on the National Geographic Channel on Sept. 18. JANELLE PIETRZAK writes, “Hey all, I have been having a terrific year. I am living in Denver, Colo. and loving it. This year has been an amazing adventure for me. I have been traveling all over the world, including Bhutan and Thailand. Now I am off to spend a month in central Mexico. I can’t wait! During these travels I have been working on my photography skills, and hope to make it into a full-time career. Wish me luck! P.S. Congrats to all of my classmates who have started families; I can’t wait to meet all the babies at our reunion!” KORZU TAPLIN writes, “I have been a film producer in Los Angeles for the past two years. I recently finished my first film as associate producer, a thriller. Now, I am setting up a television/film development company with

photo/illustration credit here

^

Photos (L to R): Rosa Barkus Klein ’93, son Manu, husband José, and son Frank; Jean Richards Damon ‘93 and daughter Darcy; Skye Rohde ‘94, Devon Cichoski ‘94, Josephine, Rika Howe Toll ‘94 and Nate Toll ‘94; Mary Everett Conarroe ’94, husband Jeff, and their six-month old son Caleb; Brandale Randolph ’94 and his son, Joshua; Erin Archer ’96 and her parents at a show in the West End (London); Noah, son of Jennifer Kritz ’97, lounging at the pool

MILESTONES the guidance of my Thacher mentor. We are accepting investor applications and gearing up for a slew of pitch meetings.

I am also the lead fundraising and public relations liaison on the West Coast for an academic enrichment program called Ase that I helped develop 11 years ago, while studying at the University of Pennsylvania. Other than that, just enjoying a very simple life... I love every opportunity to catch up with my old schoolmates and friends from Thacher. I am laying the foundation to be a Thacher mentor myself one day.”

1997

1998

photo/illustration credit here

1999

MARK FORTE reports, in addition to the birth of his son (see Births), “I continue to work in health care administration for Kaiser Permanente and my wife, Tamara, continues to work in the financial industry with Wells Fargo. We still live in Oakland, Calif. HALLIE GORDON PALLADINO and her husband, Rocco, are joyfully anticipating the arrival of their first child in February. The parents-to-be live in Chicago.

RYAN KURLINSKI and his wife, Maria, now live in Folsom, Calif. and have a new baby boy (see Births).

Along with their move from Brooklyn to Santa Monica, ANDREW BARKAN and his wife, Polly, have released their second super-fun album of children’s music, UP & AT ’EM. Andrew shares, “If you have wee ones yourself or know someone who does, please check us out on iTunes, Facebook, or www.andrewandpolly.com.” JENNIFER SILVERMAN ROWLAND says that, in addition to a new baby (see Births), she is finishing up her final year of medical school at U Penn and is applying to radiology residencies. “Other news is that my sister, NIKKI SILVERMAN ’01, and her husband, ERIC BUTTS ’01, moved to Delaware with their family six months ago, which has been a lot of fun for all of us.”

ERIN CAMPBELL writes, “I moved to San Diego this summer, and in August traveled to Israel and Jordan with SHAY MAMO. I am now in my first year of law school here in San Diego.” RICHARD FOX and his wife, Hadley, are enjoying the start of their third year of marriage. Richard says, “We are considering the addition of a third puppy to our happy family and have been doing a good amount of traveling with recent visits to Italy, Costa Rica, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Cambodia. In between trips we spend time at our ranch in Wyoming and with Hadley’s family in North Carolina. To any single men out there I must recommend a vacation with my family’s horseback riding vacation company, Equitours.

You guys know how to ride from your time at Thacher and the ratio of men to women on our rides is about one to five. Hadley and I met on our riding safari in Kenya and as far as I am concerned she is the catch of a lifetime.” ERIN HOPPIN plans to get married in January (see Engagements) and shares, “I am in the midst of completing my second of two years of med school prerequisites at Mills College in Oakland, Calif. In addition to school, I work as a biology TA at

MARRIAGES

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NICK NOYES ’76 married Kate Stenberg in October 2010. (photo 1) ADRIANA SCHWARTZ GORES ’79 and John Lamm were married on April 9, 2010, in Sayulita Mexico. Adriana shares, “My parents spend about half the year there now and the town is very special to us. We were lucky enough to have about 75 friends and family join us for 4-5 days of fun, sun, and parties. Toads in attendance were KATIE BALLOU CALHOUN ’83, ALEX CALHOUN ’81, and MARIANNA SCHWARTZ SMITH ’81.” (photo 2) ALLISON HUYLER GLASS ’93 married Sean Henry on Aug. 21, 2010, at her Grandpa Jack’s ranch in Wyoming. Allison writes, “We, being completely unbiased, of course, thought it was the best wedding we’d ever been to!” (photo 3) KATIE KIRKMIRE ’94 married Michael Vining on June 19, 2010, at the Outdoor Chapel. (photo 4) ELIZABETH MOLL ’97 married Nicholas Fisher in the summer of 2010.

COVENTRY BURKE ’99 married Davis Berg on May 15, 2010, at her family farm in Middleburg, Va. They currently reside in Washington, D.C., with their dog, Holly. (photo 5) ALFRED ENGLISH ’00 married LAUREN FRAIM ‘00 on Sept. 25, 2010, in Montecito.

SETH KURLINSKI ‘00 married Laura Griffith on Aug. 21, 2010.

LUCINDA BROWN ’00 married Geoff Revell in the spring of 2010 in Singapore. (photo 6) JAY HYSON ’01 married Julie Hodge on June 12, 2010, at the Outdoor Chapel. Toads in attendance were JONATHAN TUCKER ’01, MICHAEL BACK ’01, MATTHEW COHEN ‘01, ERIC BUTTS ’01, and NICOLE SILVERMAN BUTTS ’01. (photo 7) CHARLOTTE LORD ’02 married Nicolas Chu on June 26, 2010, at the Outdoor Chapel. (photo 8)

ENGAGEMENTS HAROLD “WARDIE” WARD ’63 and Lorraine St. Claire are engaged to be married. Wardie says the wedding will be “at a time when all our children can join us for the celebration, and since they are scattered all over the world, trying to get them together in one place is quite a challenge. BUT we are hoping to be in Hawaii for Christmas this year, and I think we can entice them to join us there for long enough to say “I do!” “I do!” The photo at left is of Wardie and Lorraine taking a cooking class in China. (photo 9) The Thacher School 01

class notes…

MILESTONES ENGAGEMENTS CONTINUED BILL HOPPIN ’81 is engaged to marry Ruth Krumbhaar in June of 2011. (photo 10) PETER HOCKADAY ’99 announced his engagement to Marisol Wauters in Aug. 2010.

ERIN HOPPIN ’99 and her fiancé, Ken Lee, are planning to get married on Maui in January. Erin shares, “Our immediate families will be there with us to celebrate.” (photo 11) CELESTE THOMAS ’00 and Jon Travis became engaged last year while tooling around Iceland. (photo 12) WES MYERS ’01 and Jocelyn Kelly Ryder are engaged to be married. Wes writes, “I just wanted to let you know that I am officially off the market. The wedding will be in late May 2011.” (photo 13) WHITNEY SNYDER ‘03 recently became engaged to Adam Bystran, her “longtime best friend and partner-in-adventure!” (photo 14) ALISSA WALLACE ’04 shares, “I just got engaged to Rob Russell on September 8 and am so happy!”

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ANNIVERSARIES JAMES KIRKHAM ’50 and his wife, Kathy, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this summer at the Bolinas Rod and Boat Club in San Francisco, at a party given by their two children, Jamie and Lila, with two of their three grandchildren in attendance.

LINCOLN HOLLISTER ’56 and his wife, Sarah, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. (photo 15) JOHN HEARD ’59 and his wife, Anne, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August in St. Augustine, Fla., with family and friends, including sons DAVID ‘79 and TED ’82, and PETER O’BRIEN ‘88. They stayed in the oldest B&B in the oldest European settlement in the New World and had a fabulous time.

John and Anne are now shooting for a hundred. (photos 16 and 17)

14

* 2001 15

16

It’s Millsfair and to volunteer say that few as acouples health in coach academia at Highland have done Hospital. more I plan to understand to take the and MCAT explain in June one of andthe hope world’s to spend most the complex ‘glide and year’troubled before medical places. Both school Al doing and Polly research. grew up Life hearing is busy,stoand good!” ries about CLINTON Africa and LOWE theyhas firstbeen metcast in the in Congo a new play: – Al was HOMAGE something 3: ILLMATIC. of a latter-day The playPhillip opened Marlow in August and Polly 2010aatbudding the researcher.

Black River In Performing fact, anyone Arts who Center despairs in Harlem. of jump-starting In addition,the continent Clinton was into cast theon modern Law and international Order: SVUeconomy on Oct. 6, – awhere peren-he nial had source a sceneofwith anxiety Ice Cube. to the World Bank– ought to spend an afternoon.

FELICITY HOWE ARNOLD and JUSTIN ARNOLD , write, “It has been a fall full of new beginnings for the Arnold family. In addition to moving to Northern Virginia, we have been blessed by the birth of our son, Arlo (see Births). Since moving, we have had the pleasure of seeing lots of Thacher friends, including TODD MEYER, LUCINDA BROWN REVELL, BRENDAN BECHTEL ‘99, and KATHERINE BECHTEL ‘03.” SPRINGER BROWNE says, “Hey everyone, sorry I missed you at the Reunion. I heard it was a good time and there was slightly less debauchery than at the last one. I am back stateside now, working as a vet in San Diego. Give a shout if you are down here or in the Orange County or L.A. area.” SETH KURLINSKI is in his second year at Babson College in Massachusetts, where he is receiving his MBA (see Marriages). CELESTE THOMAS reports that she and her fiancé, Jon Travis (see Engagements) are “happily cohabiting in San Francisco.” Celeste writes, “I am actually camped out at the Intuitive Surgical headquarters in Sunnyvale for their intensive training program this month. Once they set me free, I will be the new clinical education manager for the Da Vinci surgical robot. I know I’ve been ‘drinking the Kool-Aid,’ but I have to say I just love working on the robot.”

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ERIC BUTTS graduated from the Kellogg Business School with his MBA. MICHAEL DISNER writes, “Nora and I are still living in Washington, D.C., visiting all the historical sites and enjoying life with a 1-year-old. We have had a few Thacher visitors including LIZ SANSEAU, current Thacher student CASSIE DISNER ‘12, and ERIC and NIKKI BUTTS and their daughter Imani, who recently became almostneighbors in Wilmington. We are hoping to make it for the reunion next year with Reagan and his little brother or sister who we are expecting in early April. Hope to see you all there!” JAY HYSON and his wife, Julie, (see Marriages) have a new baby on the way due March 11, 2011. EMMA WHITE spent her summer traveling in South America before returning to her sixth year teaching in Europe.

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2002

RONALD WU graduated from Duke Law School in 2009 and has been working as a legal fellow for Environmental Defense Fund the past year. At the end of October, he started working at the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in the environmental practice area.

photo/illustration credit here

Photos (L to R): Brady Johnstone ‘99, Lauren McCloskey Elston ‘99, Erin Campbell ‘99, Shay Mamo ‘99, Brooke Macdonald Moorhead ‘99, Coventry Burke Berg ‘99, Catherine Jessop Good ‘99, Mary Craver ‘99, Mollie Gardner ‘99, Caitlin Caldwell ‘99, Brendan Bechtel ‘99, and Jonathan Tucker ‘01; Todd Meyer ’00 with his 6-month-old son, Soren, and Justin Arnold ’00 with his newborn son, Arlo; Michael Disner ’01, wife, Nora, and son, Reagan, at Nationals Park; Michael Disner ’01, wife Nora, and son Reagan with Eric Butts ’01, wife Nikki Silverman ’01, and daughter Imani at the National Mall; Eric Butts ’01, wife Nikki Silverman ’01, and daughter Imani at his Kellogg Business School graduation; Best men Jonathan Tucker ’01, Michael Back ‘01, Matthew Cohen ‘01, and Eric Butts ’01, with groom Jay Hyson ’01 lounging; Hana Chang ’03 demonstrates her rock-climbing skills

MILESTONES

2003

JOHN BABBOTT shares, “I am taking a hiatus from teaching. After two years in Brooklyn, I am back in the open air. Currently I am traveling around the West in a pickup and freelance writing—anything that comes my way. Most recently I completed a children’s novel, and am on the lookout for the next project.” HANA CHANG writes, “I have taken up rock climbing for the past six years, and just placed first in females at the Ohio Valley Regionals for the American Bouldering Series. I set routes and teach technique classes at the local climbing gym in my free time. I also graduated with my bachelor’s in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins in 2007, and I am currently a doctorate candidate in the same field at Case Western Reserve. Friends are always welcome.” KATIE KUHL has started a 14-month, part-time program at Mills College in Oakland, Calif. She says, “I am working on a Master’s in Leadership in Early Care and Education. Since the program is part-time, I still work full-time as a preschool teacher while taking classes at night and during the weekends. Not sure where this degree is going to take me exactly, but I am excited to find out and almost embarrassingly excited to be back in school again!” LOU MYERS graduated from law school with high honors and passed the California Bar on his first try. Congratulations Lou! The American Bureau of Shipping recently transferred CHANCE PHELPS to Shanghai. Chance shares, “I will be living here for the next few years at least as China is one of our busiest places.

They are building a lot of ships, so work is going well. Life here in the big city is great! It makes Houston, where I was living before, seem like a little country town out in the woods.” EDWARD TAVERNETTI is a graduate student at UC Davis. VIVIAN WU graduated from Northwestern in 2007 and, after studying for one year at Parsons School of Design in fashion marketing, she has been working in New York as a merchandiser.

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photo/illustration credit here

2004

LELAND FRANKLIN writes, “There is so much to life and not enough time for it all. I still enjoy traveling 90% of the time as a technology consultant based in the Bay Area. I recently returned from my first year at Burning Man, which opened my eyes, mind, and heart in ways I could have never imagined. My hunger for new experiences is only growing stronger—I envision that within the next 6-12 months I will find myself in South Africa and New Zealand with a backpack and without a plan. I am currently training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Krav Maga, learning to play the guitar, and trying to keep up my sign language and Chinese. It is funny how things, and people, come in and out of your life. Creating, listening, connecting, learning, contributing, enjoying; living this adventure one day at a time. Give me a shout if you are in the Bay Area or Hong Kong.” PETER OBERNDORF recently joined Strategic Hotels and Resorts, is moving to Chicago, and will focus primarily on corporate

BIRTHS

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Kaitlin Brown was born on May 4, 2010, to KENT BROWN ’87 and his wife, Eileen. Kaitlin joins her sister, Natalie, who is 3½ years old. (photo 1) Nathaniel Antebi was born on Aug. 5, 2009, to ERIN ROSEN ANTEBI and her husband, William. Shares Erin, “Here he is at 11 months old with his big sister, Zoe, who turns 3 on Nov. 2.” (photo 2) Leo Merrill Rahnema Mosenfelder was born on April 27, 2010, to SHIREEN RAHNEMA ’89 and her husband, Jed Mosenfelder. Leo joins big sister, Leila. (photo 3) Evelyn and Oliver Sitter were born on June 1, 2010, to KATHERINE PETERSON SITTER ’90 and her husband, John Sitter. (photo 4) Isabella Kroehl was born on Aug. 6, 2010, to VICTORIA MCHEDLISHVILI-KROEHL ’91 and her husband, Howard Kroehl. Victoria shares, “Little Isabella joined our family in August. She is only four days apart from her 2-year-old brother’s birthday. Alexander is great with her and I love my time at home with my two babies.

Sad to think that I only have a few short weeks left before returning to work.” (photo 5) Samuel Hogan Dachs was born on March 9, 2010, to KATHERINE MUNZIG DACHS ‘92 and ERIC DACHS ’94. Kate and Eric are also the proud parents of Charlotte, aged 7, and Anderson, aged 3. (photo 6) Moustapha Jackson Abou-Samra Winningham was born on June 3, 2010, to LEYLA ABOU-SAMRA ’96 and her husband, Michael Winningham. (photo 7) John Maxwell “Max” Murphy was born April 9, 2010, to STEFANIE WARREN ’96 and her husband, Tom Murphy. Stefanie shares, “Max has already had the pleasure of meeting many aunties including MANDY SONENSHINE WYNN ’96, BROOKE LEVASSEUR ‘96 (and Uncle Rob), CATHERINE PINKERTON KEELING ‘96, LEYLA ABOU-SAMRA ’96, MARIA BANMANN BARRELL ‘96, MOLLIE OTTSEN BENTON ‘96, LAUREL BRAITMAN ’96, and AURIGA BORK MARTIN ‘96 who was with us the day he was born! He looks forward to starting at Thacher and sharing a room with Moustapha Jackson Abou-Samra Winningham.” (photo 8)

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class notes…

finance and asset management. ALISSA WALLACE shares, “This August and September I went on a World Leaders Symposium cruise around the Black Sea, focusing on the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. I am actually writing this note from the ship. I have had the opportunity to meet and speak with amazing people like Condoleezza Rice, former Ambassador William Miller, and former Secretary of Defense William Perry. We traveled through Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. All in all, it was an amazing and incredibly educational experience. On a closer-to-home note, I moved back to Ojai this June and am so excited to be back in California! (see Engagements)” EVAN WERLIN reports, “After spending a month working in The Gambia, West Africa, with a nonprofit focused on improving healthcare through the use of solar panel systems (www.powerupgambia.org), I have returned to Philly to start my second year of medical school. I am currently training for my second marathon and hoping to qualify to run in Boston later this spring. In a few short months, I will begin my clinical rotations so am trying to squeeze as much fun out of the remaining time as I can.”

BETSY WOLCOTT writes, “I started an online marketing and social media business in Vail, Colo. this year: Wolcott Media Marketing. Now I am moving to Aspen for the winter with my dog, Riley. I will be working at the Belly Up, listening to live music every night, skiing, and snowboarding. I will also continue to do online marketing.”

2005

44 FALL 2010

CALVIN KIM writes, “Since I am an able-bodied male Korean citizen, I had to do some kind of military service, either as an enlisted man or officer. March 15, 2010, is a date that will forever be etched in memory, as I entered the Republic of Korea Air Force Officer Candidate School. Six months later, I am done not only with Officer Candidate School (14 weeks), but also military interpreter training (12 weeks). I am contracted to serve until June of 2013 as an interpreter officer. As of now, I will be working closely with the 7th United States Air Force at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, providing support when it comes to interpretation, translation, and policy-coordination needs. Officer Candidate School was an ordeal, to say the least. I shed 30 pounds over the course of 14 weeks, and there were countless moments of unbearable pain throughout the process. Military interpreter training was also a trial in its own right, demanding that my fellow interpreters and I often survived on three to four hours of sleep as we studied myriad military operations concepts and applied them to the practice of interpretation and translation. Frequent exams, as well as 12-hour shifts working as interpreters throughout the Republic of Korea-U.S., combined with ‘Ulchi Freedom Guardian’ military exercises for two weeks in August, provided me with an invaluable set of tools to continuously hone my skills as a military interpreter. I hope to get to work at the higher echelons of the defense institutions in the Republic of Korea, such as the Ministry of National Defense and the ROK-US

Combined Forces Command. All of this is relevant to Thacher, because I know for sure that had I not done track and crosscountry during my time at Thacher, I could not have possibly built up the necessary physical attributes to survive Officer Candidate School. While I admit that I wasn’t the strongest guy, at least I was able to run (often with heavy loads attached to my back and shoulders). I thank Messrs. Fred Coleman and Derick Perry, and Ms. Snyder for all the running we did together. I hope that everything is well at Thacher!” NED LEDERER is in Mongolia with the Peace Corps for two years.

His mom says, “He looks forward to riding the Mongolian horses. Glad he went to Thacher! He keeps a blog called ‘Away from Harbor: Stories from an Amateur Humanitarian’ if you want to hear of his adventures.”

* 2006

2007

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ALEXANDER LOUIE writes, “By mere happenstance, I somehow landed in Alaska working on assignment for Public Health Initiatives, assisting Native Alaskans with their unique issues.

My experience in the frontier state has been eye-opening and, aside from a state record of 31 days of continuous rainfall, my time here helping the people and learning about their culture has been fantastic. Nowhere else on Earth can one experience the outdoors like in Alaska, where the majority of nature remains untouched. In terms of my assignment, I have learned that, even in the United States, living conditions in remote rural villages are comparable to those of the third world.

Simple things like access to local healthcare infrastructure and running water, which many take for granted in the continental United States, are challenges that face the peoples in this significantly large and rugged piece of geography. The vast majority of those that require advanced medical treatment have to travel via medical evacuation float plane to Anchorage. When my assignment ends here, I expect to return to the lower 48 and continue my training.”

CC HAYNE is a senior at Lake Forest College and playing on the soccer team there. BENITA CHAN is finishing her senior year at Northwestern and lives in the house next door to BENNETT KISSELL (both are just off campus). Benita spent this past summer at an internship in the Chicago area. BRIGID MCCARTHY, her Stanford roommate, Emma McCarthy, and Emma’s sister Frannie completed the half marathon in San Francisco on October 17. Brigid’s mother, Jane, shares, “With overall time of 2 hours and 14 minutes, all three McCarthys were among the first 25 percent of the finishers out of more than 20,000 runners competing in the Nike Women’s Marathon. Could this be the start of a new hobby?”

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2009

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WILS DAWSON reports that, this past summer, he traveled to Singapore with a team of six students, one faculty member, and four robots from Bowdoin College to compete in the 2010 Robocup World Cup. “Robocup,” he explains, “is an international organization with robot soccer as its focus. The goal of the

Photos (L to R): Alex Louie ’06 in Alaska; Brigid McCarthy ‘07, her Stanford roommate, Emma, and Emma’s sister; The Nao robot from Wils Dawson’s ’09 Robocup soccer team; Amanda Brown ’10 in the Miss Turismo 2011 procession

MILESTONES organization is to develop a team of robots that can beat the human team to win the 2050 World Cup. Bowdoin competes in one of the soccer leagues called the Standard Platform League (SPL). In the SPL, all of the teams use the same robot, or platform, so that the focus is on the programming, not the mechanical engineering. The robot that SPL uses is called the Nao, which is produced by Aldebaran Robotics in France.

These robots are about two feet tall and have two web-cams in their heads, sonar, accelerometers, and a gyroscope in their chests, pressure sensors in their feet, and several LED lights around their body. The Naos play on a 6-meter long by 3.5-meter wide field, which is a green felt carpet with white tape as field lines. One goal is yellow and another goal is blue to distinguish which goal belongs to which team. They also play with a bright orange street hockey ball. As the league progresses, the rules will look more and more like real soccer.

I went to Singapore with the team to compete against many of the top research institutions in the world. Our team ranked in the top eight out of about 25 teams. We did surprisingly well, but not as well as we have in the past, mostly due to logistical issues throughout the year. We are already back at work preparing our secret weapons for next year and a plan to beat the German team from Bremen that stands undefeated.”

2010

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AMANDA BROWN had a great time in Spain over the summer. She shares, “I spent a month at the beach with my mom. Then I went to her village in the mountains where I have tons of friends and had a blast. During that time, I was crowned Miss Turismo 2011. (It is a tradition in the town to have queens for the week of fiestas and I will be one next year.) All I had to do this summer was walk in a procession as a kind of coming-out ceremony. Next summer is when I will officially be a queen and go to all the events.”

BIRTHS CONTINUED

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Grayson Douglas Boswell was born on May 8, 2010, to CAMERON BOSWELL ’97 and his wife, Cherilyn. (photo 9) Marcellus Forte was born on Sept. 12, 2010, to MARK FORTE ’01 and his wife, Tamara. (photo 10) Kellen James Kurlinski was born on Nov. 6, 2009, to RYAN KURLINSKI ’97 and his wife, Maria. Kellen joins older brother, Cole, who is 3 years old.

Beatrice Clements Buell was born April 28, 2010, to JUSTIN BUELL ’98 and his wife, Lucille. (photo 11) Otis David Edward Jenkins was born on April 29, 2010, to NORA CARNEY JENKINS ’98 and her husband, Tom. (photo 12) Harrison Hickman Rowland was born Aug. 17, 2010, to JENNIFER SILVERMAN ROWLAND ’98 and her husband, Chris.

Jennifer reports, “His older sisters Madeline (5) and Sawyer (3) are already spoiling him with love.” (photo 13) Connor Brandon Berona was born Aug. 2, 2010, to CHAD BERONA ‘99 and his wife, Colleen. Connor joins his older brother, Victor. (photo 14) Lake Herberts was born on Sept. 23, 2010, to EVAN KANALY HERBERTS ’99 and her husband, Curt. (photo 15) FELICITY HOWE ARNOLD ’00 and JUSTIN ARNOLD ’00 welcomed Arlo Menefee Arnold into the world on Sept. 18, 2010. (photo 16)

faculty, staff & Friends…

Faculty NEWS Thacher welcomed three interns to campus this fall. Kayla Elliott, a recent graduate of Williams College, teaches math and advises sophomore boys in Los Padres.

A native of Santa Barbara, Liz Witmer, who just graduated from Lafayette College with a BA in English, is helping with technical theater this year and is advising senior girls in Sespe. After spending her summer in Colorado working on a dude ranch, Dana Vancisin arrived at Thacher to help Liz Mahoney with photography, to work with students in the Horse Program, and to advise some freshman girls in Casa. She earned her BA in classical civilization and art from Colby College in June.

Patty Atkinson offers academic support to students who want extra assistance with their study skills. Prior to arriving at Thacher, Patty taught math at Ojai’s public junior high school, and before that, taught at the Monica Ros School.

And Brandon Doyle has been hired as the new director of development. A graduate of Middlebury and a fundraiser for the last 11 years, Brandon is making the rounds to meet Thacher’s alumni and friends across the country.

The newest teachers at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa, are Thacher’s teachers on sabbatical, Kurt and Alice Meyer (math and psychology, respectively).

Kurt teachers “pure math” and statistics, Alice teaches psychology and they both have groups of advisees. When breaks come around, they take jaunts, such as to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, followed by a traditional safari in Botswana’s Okavanga Delta. Check out their “One-A-Day” photos at http://bit.ly/bm4J7f. Just before Christmas, when their stint in South Africa is done, they will fly to Beijing and Hong Kong for a couple weeks, followed by a few weeks in southeast Asia, and finally Bali. Megan Carney returned to the classroom to teach AP Psychology while the Meyers enjoy their sabbatical. And William Okin’s teaching load moved to fulltime to cover classes for Kurt Meyer.

Richard and Cheryl Winters traveled to Ohio, Nevada, Hawaii, and Montana this summer to share their equine training expertise and they share the great news that their son Joseph CdeP 2007 was accepted into the Coast Guard Rescue Swim-

mer program. They will offer their Horsemanship Clinics to Thacher parents February 11-13, 2011, and various other clinics on campus throughout the spring and summer.

More details are available at www.wintersranch.com.

Tony Franco, who continues his work on the football coaching staff, joined the College Counseling office this year and advises boys in Upper School.

Relying on his doctorate in English, Director of Communications Chris Land has returned to the classroom to teach English to some lucky sophomores.

Aaron Snyder is the new dorm head of Los Padres for sophomore boys and their senior prefects.

Former science and equine instructor Chuck Warren still gets out on his pony to play polo, as seen in Vermont this past summer (below left).

Past Staff and Faculty Notes Former Director of Admission and Financial Aid and Assistant Head for External Affairs Monique DeVane was appointed the new Head of School for The College Preparatory School in Oakland, California. This independent coeducational day school for grades 9-12 focuses on “intellectual risk-takers who want to pursue a serious, purposeful education with others who feel the same way.” Prior to beginning her new job in July 2011, Monique will complete her duties as Associate Head of the Hawken School near Cleveland, Ohio.

Allie and John Bueti are in wedding-planning mode for their daughter Grace CdeP 2004 who is newly engaged to Dan Malloy, a surf ambassador for Patagonia.

Top Left: Director of Development Brandon Doyle with fiancée Dana Cesnik. Top right: New faculty includes (L-R) Dana Vancisin, Kayla Elliott, Tony Franco, Patty Atkinson, and Liz Witmer. Left: Chuck Warren playing polo in Vermont.

in memoriam…

NORMAN NEVILLE CdeP 1931 Norman Lewis Neville passed away on May 13, 2009, in Los Angeles. He was 96 years old.

At Thacher, Norman followed in the footsteps of his brother, Elmer CdeP 1929. During his senior year, Norman was captain of the track team. He was an exceptional hurdler, often placing first or second in the 120-yard high hurdles and the 220-yard low hurdles. Neville was also president of Pack and Saddle and a member of the first baseball team. In addition, he participated in the Glee Club, Committee of Ten, Outdoor Committee, Indoor Committee, Cabinet, and Spanish Banquet Committee.

Norman received his BA from Yale in 1936, married Helen Gilmore, had three children (Robert CdeP 1971, Sandra, and Diana), and was owner of the Norman Brush Company in Van Nuys, Calif. He was uncle to Thomas M. Neville CdeP 1949 and great uncle to Steven J. Neville CdeP 1974.

delegate to the Republican National Convention. In 1981, President Reagan appointed Reese chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission, where he served until 1985. According to an obituary published in the Las Vegas ReviewJournal on April 23, 2010, Reese “was an amateur historian and Civil War buff, a gifted conversationalist, and above all, a warm and remarkably intelligent man who had a passion for life.” He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Jolene Taylor, and by his children: Stuart Taylor, Anne Conte, Lucy Parker, Christopher Taylor, and Larry Meek. His sons, Reese Hale Taylor III and Curtis Taylor, preceded him in death.

MICHAEL GLASPIE CdeP 1952 Michael Beale Glaspie passed away peacefully at Langley Memorial Hospital in British Columbia on June 29, 2010. He was 75 years old.

As an Upper Upper at Thacher, Mike was a member of the Committee of Ten, the Outdoor Committee, and the undefeated tennis team, for which he earned a varsity letter. After Thacher, Mike went on to earn his BAC in Finance from the University of British Columbia. After retiring from his work at Fairmeade Investments Ltd. in Langley, BC, Mike and his wife spent winters at their home in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Mike is survived by his loving wife of 34 years, Rhoda; daughters, Pamela MacKinnon, Lauren Risso, and Page MacKay; stepchildren, Janet Boivin, Stuart Spear, and Elizabeth Baadsvik; and eight grandchildren.

ROGER KNOX CdeP 1934 Roger Irwin Knox passed away on Feb. 22, 2010, at his residence on Oahu, Hawaii. He was 93 years old.

Roger was born in Ventura, Calif., on Dec. 4, 1916. While at Thacher, he was a prefect, a member of the Committee of Ten, the Outdoor Committee, and the Indoor Committee. He was on the first soccer team, track team, and tennis team.

Following Thacher, Roger matriculated to Stanford University. While he was standing in line to register on his first day at Stanford, he met his future wife, Ellen Winant. Ellen was from Hawaii, and Roger had spent a summer working in Hawaii while a Thacher student. Roger graduated in 1938 with a BS in biology. He and Ellen both returned to Hawaii, where they were married in 1939.

On Maui, Roger worked for Wailuku Sugar, and later for Pacific Chemical and Fertilizer, A&B Commercial, and Wick Realty. He was president and later director of the Maui Chamber of Commerce, president of the Kiwanis Club, and director of the Maui County Fair.

Roger was predeceased by his wife, Ellen, in 2002. He is survived by his two sons, Steve Knox and Roger “Rick” Knox Jr.; two daughters, Marilyn “Lyn” Turner and Laurie Loney; 10 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

REESE TAYLOR JR. CdeP 1945 Reese Hale Taylor Jr. passed away peacefully on April 16, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nev. with family at his side. He was 81 years old.

Reese was born May 6, 1928, in Pasadena, Calif., the middle child of three boys. At Thacher, Reese played left half on the second soccer team. His parents owned a beach cottage at which the team often rested between tournament games. It was recorded in El Archivero ’44 in reference to an October weekend camping trip: “Mr. Dall and Reese Taylor’s group go out to the seashore, where we don’t know just what happened.”

Reese graduated from Stanford University in 1949 and Cornell Law School in 1952. He was associated with law firms in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Reese had a distinguished career as an attorney and public servant, serving as Nevada chairman for President Ronald Reagan’s campaigns and as a

PAUL GRAY CdeP 1953 Paul Gray passed away suddenly on Feb. 5, 2010, after a cardiac arrest.

Paul arrived his first year at Middle School “carrying a baseball in a pocket, two tennis rackets in one hand, and a bottle of Beagle Oil in the other,” according to El Archivero 1952. Pablo and Gomez were his two nicknames at Thacher and he excelled as pitcher on the first baseball team, captain of the tennis team, and a member of the first soccer team.

After graduating from Thacher, Paul received a BA from Claremont McKenna College, followed by another BA in architecture from USC. He was a founding partner of Warner and Gray Architecture in Santa Barbara and had a successful career designing unique homes and buildings. In 1989, Paul’s unbuilt design for an addition to The Thacher School library was recognized as “one of his most openly readable Hispanic/Mediterranean designs” by Architect.com.

He is survived by his wife, Alma, his four children, including William Gray ’89, and five grandchildren.

Lee Follett ’53 shared the following after learning that Paul had passed away: He was a great mate and a great athlete and a fun guy. We all have stories to trade with which we will continue to remember him.

Paul visited me in Hillsborough one time and we decided to go to the horse races at Bay Meadows. We spent a great deal of time getting ready so we could pass as 21 and make bets. Either the track was greedy for our money or we actually fooled ‘em, but we had a great day looking at the horses, making dumb bets, and checking out the ladies. We did get busted when ordering drinks. I am going to try to find the pictures my sister took of us looking so very cool.

Lock de Forest ’53 shared: Paul and I were good friends in Santa Barbara prior to our both attending Thacher. At the end of our Lower Upper year we decided to take our horses to Paul’s ranch in the Santa Inez The Thacher School 47

in memoriam…

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Valley. This involved borrowing a horse trailer to take the horses from the School to my house in Mission Canyon, where we spent the night. Bright and early next morning, we rode up Rattle Snake Canyon, crossing the San Marcos Pass Road near the summit and continuing on El Camino Cielo. The views were spectacular and seismic oil exploration was in full swing in the Santa Barbara Channel. Huge “Old Faithful”like plumes of water would appear from time to time in the Channel as we continued on our way to the trail that led us down to the Valley floor. By that time the horses and we were dead tired so, at dusk, on the last stretch of road to Paul’s ranch, his Dad drove down to meet us in his Mercer Raceabout—spirits were lifted no end!

Peter Farrand ’53 shared: What I remember most about Paul is that he threw me the first curve ball I ever faced—Two Gun groveling on the ground in fear of cranial damage while the ump said “Strike one.” And we played a lot of tennis together; he was always better but the games were always fun.

FRIENDS PATRICIA LOWREY HOOPER Patricia Rose Lowrey Hooper, a generous supporter of The Thacher School and wife of the late John Hooper ‘34, died peacefully on June 3, 2010, at the Sequoias in Portola Valley, Calif., at the age of 87.

She is survived by her older sister, Helen Virginia Brown; younger brother, Charles Lowrey; children: John Charles Hooper, Margo Hooper Blair, Lawrence David Hooper, and Helen Hooper McCloskey; and grandchildren: Alexandra Blair ’98, Alden Blair ‘01, Hannah Hooper ’00, Nate Hooper, and Rachel Hooper.

MICHAEL GREENE CdeP 1962 Michael A. Greene passed away while riding his mountain bike in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., on June 22, 2010, when he suffered a heart attack. He was 65 years old.

Michael was born in Los Angeles on Jan. 27, 1945. He was the son of Dorothy and Irving, who owned a furniture store, and younger brother of Marcia.

Maxwell Greene ’01 shared the following obituary for his father: Michael loved Thacher. He developed his love of horses and the outdoors while there. He was a student of Marvin Shagam and Jack Huyler, Jesse Kahle and Fred Lamb. His mother, Dorothy, donated furniture for and decorated the first Alumni Room. He was a member of the Silver Dollar Club. Michael loved horse camping while at Thacher, and always remembered the landscape of the Los Padres Forest, which he revisited during a horse camping trip with his son, Max ‘01 in 2001.

After graduating from Thacher, Mike went on to Cal Berkeley, where he learned about social justice and law. He became a lawyer and practiced in Los Angeles at the same firm, Greenberg Glusker, for 37 years. His dedication to social causes was admirable, and he was on the Board of Directors at the Western Center on Law and Poverty (wclp.org) and involved with the ACLU. Still keeping with his outdoor nature, he continued to ride horses like Scarlet and Chico, backpack, ski, hike, and ride his mountain bike.

He loved his dogs over the years, from Sidney to Eddie, Bear, Rusty, and Dover. He was an astounding, outstanding, and simply wonderful man. The best part about being around Michael was that one always knew how he felt. He was loving, caring, joyful, and proud. Michael was a flame that lit the way for us all, and he led well.

He is survived by his mother, Dorothy, his sister, Marcia, his children Sara, Josh, Max ‘01, and Maggie; his wife, Beth, and his stepsons, Michael and Richard.

Andrew Kerr ’62 sent this e-mail message to the Alumni Office on June 24, 2010: I had known Mike since the early ‘50s, since we both went to Silver Pines Camp, which was run by Newt Chase and was a prep experience for Thacher. Mike was a congenial classmate at Thacher and afterwards was an exceptionally loyal and contributing member of our class.

44 FALL 48 fall 2010 2009

ELEANOR SMITH LAND Eleanor Smith Land, beloved wife of Christopher Land (Director of Communications, English teacher), and mother of Alexandra, Douglas CdeP 2008, Carson ’11, and Beatrice ’14, died peacefully at home in Ojai on June 14, 2010, after a two-year journey with cancer. Eleanor didn’t let her illness prevent her from staying involved with Thacher, whether soliciting auction donations from Ojai’s merchants, stopping by the Dining Hall for lunch on Wednesdays, or passing out orange slices to her son’s lacrosse team. Memorial services were held in Ojai and in Eleanor’s home town of Winnetka, Illinois.

OLGA IGNON Olga Ignon, librarian at Thacher from 19591966 and wife of Gui Marcel Ignon, faculty member from 1951-1963, passed away on November 7, 2010. She is survived by her loving children and grandchildren including sons Alexander, Roger CdeP 1962, and Lance CdeP 1974, and granddaughter Madeleine CdeP 2005.

The Thacher School 5025 Thacher Road Ojai, CA 93023 Address Service Requested

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Leave It Outside

by Brianna Bohnett CdeP 2010, winner of Thacher’s William Bishop Nixon Poetry Prize for 2010.

Leave your shoes and chaos outside, Leave your freedom in the mountains, And your voice in the trees.

Your happiness can stay in the branches Along with your giggles in the leaves Your faith in the rocks And kindness in the stream Everything that makes you, you, Must be left behind.

This is what they told me, As I came into this new place.

This place of lost findings, Of nowhere to go And everywhere to be.

This place with nowhere to hide, No one to see, Nothing to own.

Only a lemon-scented box Bright and frigid and icy, Suffocating me.

They say everything will be all right, When all I want Is to find that place Where everything was left behind.