The Maroon & Grey The Official CFS Alumni Connection
Summer 2010
Director’s Corner W
Janet Hartzell and her daughter, Lori McDermott, at Rockefeller Center in New York City
hen I wrote in our last publication of The Maroon & Grey, I concluded with the following: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose…” Ecclesiastes 3:2 continues, “A time to be born, and a time to die…” Unfortunately, the kind, sweet voice of CFS came to an end on May 20, 2010, when my mother, Janet Hartzell, passed in a “twinkling” from a pulmonary embolism.
As many of you know, my ties to Church Farm School go back 36 years, when my mother took a part-time bookkeeping position at the School in February, 1974. She enjoyed all of her roles at CFS, from working in the business office, to a stint in student services, to her last position as school receptionist. Many of you will remember my mom not for anything extraordinary, but more for the ordinary things she did. It was her welcoming manner that made her shine. She was the “glue” that kept the School running with few glitches. Her work at CFS these past several years was not for the paycheck, but rather for the joy of helping others in some small way. It was the simple things in life that made her happy – family, faith, friends and Church Farm School. I will focus on the latter. My mom considered the CFS community her extended family. She was grateful for the relationships she formed with faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni. She so enjoyed the boys as they always kept her young at heart. As many of you know, this year was going to be my mom’s last at CFS, she was set to retire at the end of June, just a few weeks prior to her 81st birthday. (I know some of you are still chuckling as you had heard this same story for the past ten years.) But, yes…this was the year. The early retirement package offered by the School was calling her name. It was her time to move on. Move on, she did. Her way…her time. However, it brings me great joy to know that my mother’s name will continue to live on at CFS through the Janet C. Hartzell Angel Fund, which was recently established at the School. This discretionary fund will be used to assist a deserving student or students in financial need to help “bridge the gap” when tuition cannot be met by their families at the end of any given school year. You can read more about this fund and ways to contribute on page two. I am grateful that I was blessed by a mother with strong values, who loved me for who I am, and helped me through some difficult stages in my life. I am also happy that I could share her with many of the young men who have walked through these doors for the past three decades. In closing, I would like to share with you my mom’s favorite poem entitled “The Guy in the Glass.” It was written by Dale Wimbrow and was first published in the American Magazine in 1934. My mother was introduced to it as a young girl, by her father. Being honest with oneself serves each of us well, and I hope this illustrates the sort of family values that we hope guide all children, and especially the young men of Church Farm. The Guy in the Glass When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf, And the world makes you King for a day, Then go to the mirror and look at yourself, And see what that guy has to say. For it isn’t your Father, or Mother, or Wife, Who judgement upon you must pass. The feller whose verdict counts most in your life Is the guy staring back from the glass.
Class of ’60 Celebrates 50 By: Peter Goda ’60
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oday is the 4th of July – Independence Day, 2010…one month after Commencement Weekend and the 50th Reunion of the Class of 1960. When looking at our class it becomes obvious that our country and our School have very successfully prepared us for success, independence, accomplishment and achievement. Fifty years ago eight students stood before the School, parents and friends to receive their diplomas. Although for some, the journey began years before when in 1952, as nins, Jay Grunwell and Mike Wallington started at CFS. In the years following, the ‘group’ became ten ‘kids’ who joined together in a journey that continues almost 60 years later. Emotions ran rampant as we met in the Hampton Inn at Frazer. For some it was twenty-five and for others it was fifty years or more since last seeing each other. All living members of the class, except Jay, were able to return. Although we sorely missed him, we understood his absence and wish his wife Joyce a complete recovery. Graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1964, Jay went on to earn his Ph.D. from Yale in 1968. Researcher, publicist, innovator, teacher…he retired as full professor of organic chemistry from Miami University in 2006. At Miami, he was instrumental in the development, implementation and accreditation of its Members of the Class of 1960 gather outside chemistry Ph.D. the Chapel prior to the Commencement program. processional.
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He’s the feller to please, never mind all the rest, For he’s with you clear up to the end, And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test If the guy in the glass is your friend. You may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum, And think you’re a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum If you can’t look him straight in the eye. You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years, And get pats on the back as you pass, But your final reward will be heartaches and tears If you’ve cheated the guy in the glass. Personally, I’d like to thank each of you for the support and friendship that my mom cherished, that I feel each day, and that you show each other as “Maroon & Grey” brothers. Kind regards,
Lori McDermott Director of Alumni Relations