ST. GEORGE’S T H E B U L L E T I N O F S T . G E O R G E ' S S C H O O L // F A L L / W I N T E R 2 0 2 0
Pandemic Changes Everything From academics to athletics to dorm life, we redesigned, refined – and recommitted to community
Like night and day — Part of a long-term restoration project, crews from Grande Masonry in Providence power-washed the chapel’s exterior this fall.
ST. GEORGE’S
FALL/WINTER 2020
T HE BU L L ET I N OF ST. GEORGE'S SCHOOL
F E AT U R E S
D E PA R T M E N T S
04 Prize Day in a Pandemic
0 2 Letter from the
The Class of 2020 will go down in St. George's history as the first group of graduates to participate in a live, online Prize Day service
Head of School
0 4 Campus News
06 Longtime Teachers, Newfound Skills
2 9 Alumni News
The Senior Teacher Cadre is made up of St. George's most experienced teachers, but even they faced new challenges when learning how to teach during a pandemic
3 7 Class Notes 8 0 Student Essay
15 At Home on the Hilltop Turns out there are a lot of stories behind those dorm room decorations
26 SG Admission Goes Test-Optional Move follows comprehensive two-year study of successful students
33 Connecting Cooking & Community With restaurants quiet and people hungry, Ellie Linen Low ’90 had an answer
The St. George's Bulletin is published biannually. It's printed on 8pt. Stirling Matte Cover and 70# Stirling Matte text by Lane Press, South Burlington, Vermont. Typefaces used include Antwerp, Brix Sans and Brix Slab. Please send correspondence to bulletin_editor@ stgeorges.edu. © 2020 St. George's School
OUR MISSION In 1896, the Rev. John Byron Diman, founder of St. George’s School, wrote in his “Purposes of The School” that “the specific objectives of St. George’s are to give its students the opportunity of developing to the fullest extent possible the particular gifts that are theirs and to encourage in them the desire to do so. Their immediate job after leaving school is to handle successfully the demands of college; later it is hoped that their lives will be ones of constructive service to the world and to God.” Today we continue to teach our students the value of learning and achievement, service to others and respect for the individual. We believe that these goals can best be accomplished by exposing students to a wide range of ideas and choices, in the context of a rigorous curriculum and a supportive residential community. Therefore, we welcome students and teachers of various talents and backgrounds, and we encourage their dedication to a multiplicity of pursuits — intellectual, spiritual and physical — that will help to enable students to succeed in, and contribute to, a complex, changing world.
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ON THE COVER School Prefect Riley Cochrane ’21 shows off her spirited side as she watches the boys’ soccer team scrimmage on Montgomery Field in October. All fall- and winter-season ISL interscholastic competition was cancelled due to the pandemic. P H OTO BY A DA M R I C H I N S
The Bulletin of ST. GEORGE'S SCHOOL Alixe Callen Head of School Jedd Whitlock '94 Director of Advancement Cindy Martin Associate Director of Advancement Suzanne McGrady Director of Communications & Marketing Jeremy Moreau Web Manager Alexander Silva Digital Communications Specialist Anna Beckman Designer
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A LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
BY ALIXE CALLEN
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From the Hilltop
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ach of us has our own 2020 story – where we were when COVID “hit,” what quarantine looked like, how we adapted to the various restrictions. While I have no desire to relive these past nine months, I am glad to record them for posterity. 2020 started on a wonderfully positive note. We experienced a record admissions season for the second year in a row. Our boys’ basketball team won its first-ever ISL championship. The Board of Trustees approved the school’s first-ever Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan. The restoration of Memorial Schoolhouse was proceeding beautifully. As we rounded the corner into March, all eyes were on spring break and the various trips we had scheduled – our Global Studies class was headed to Portugal, our sailing and lacrosse teams to Florida, and our next Geronimo crew was due to meet the boat in the Dominican Republic. About a week prior to spring break, our Dean of Teaching and Learning, Justin Cerenzia ’01, approached me and said that he’d like to start working with Director of Technology Robyn Cavanagh on a plan for remote teaching – just in case the virus impacted our ability to get kids back to the Hilltop. While I was initially skeptical, I gave him my blessing. It couldn’t hurt, I figured. And with that, I took off for a vacation with my family in Europe. We were in Prague when President Trump announced that he was suspending travel from
Europe. With help from a very kind and generous trustee, we quickly made arrangements for our family’s return, and arrived back in the States on Friday evening, March 13. On my last night in Europe, I spoke with the school’s senior leadership team and the executive committee of the board of trustees. Together, we made the very difficult decision to postpone our students’ return from spring break. I spent the plane ride home writing a letter to our community, while Associate Heads of School Mervan Osborne ’86 and Beezie Bickford managed the preparations on campus. With that decision made, our first challenge was the pivot to remote teaching. Thanks to the amazing work of Justin Cerenzia and Robyn Cavanagh, we were well-prepared (p. 9). They developed a schedule that accommodated our students’ various time zones, figured out how to support those students in need of Wi-Fi, and helped teachers hone their virtual-teaching skills. Throughout that process, they helped us all to understand that we could not replicate our liveteaching practices in a remote setting. Thanks to their leadership and the incredible expertise of our faculty, we received very positive feedback about our approach to remote learning. Initially, we assumed that we would bring our students back to the Hilltop at some point in April. We held out hope for as long as possible, but ultimately determined that a return would be impossible. Among
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our summer of awakening, a group of Black alumni came together to form St. George’s first-ever Black Alumni Council (p. 36). When students finally returned to the Hilltop in late August, our world was fundamentally changed by both the pandemic and the nation’s racial awakening. The virus required revisions to virtually every aspect of school life – from our academic schedule to our living arrangements. Our Director of Health Services, June Bjerregaard, led an amazing staff of nurses to oversee our comprehensive COVID-19 testing plan, conducting hundreds of tests each week to ensure the health and safety of our community. Our students also arrived back on campus looking for more opportunities for engagement and activism. They organized a walk-out against racism and pressed the school for more opportunities to learn about the racial history of our country. Indeed, two of our fourth-form students, Alexander Gaines and Zuriel Jimenez, worked with Dr. Bullock and faculty member Emmanuel Daring, to develop a schoolwide diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum and to lead weekly all-school sessions that increased our collective understanding. Every Wednesday evening, we gathered – sometimes in person, sometimes on Zoom – to learn from one another. As the curtain closes on our fall term, the pride I feel for our school, and its students, faculty and staff, is immense. The story of this fall could have been one of hardship and strife, but instead it became one of togetherness, learning, and joy. Yes, there were challenges. So many aspects of our life together were difficult – the masks, the restrictions, our inability to gather the whole community together for chapel and assembly. But there were silver linings. Students spent much of the fall playing together outside (p. 20). Without dances, there were campuswide games of Capture the Flag. While we couldn’t sing together, we could surf and swim. Unable to gather for full community meals, we sat around fire pits and talked about the events of the day. Having demonstrated that it’s possible to safely open a school in a pandemic, we look forward to the return of our students in January for another season together on the Hilltop. Thank you to our students, faculty, and staff for the tremendous effort it required. I think I speak for us all when I say we are tired, but so very proud.
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other things, this meant there would be no Prize Day on the Hilltop. A group of people, led by Director of Communications Suzanne McGrady, immediately set to work planning a virtual Prize Day – complete with bagpipes, students singing hymns, the senior class gathered in a “Zoom room,” and me, alone on the Old School steps, conducting our full graduation exercises, which were streamed live on YouTube for all the world to see (p. 4). As one group here on campus was focused on planning Prize Day, others were taking on different tasks. Students had left for spring break assuming they would return — and their belongings were scattered around the dorms and locker rooms, Pompeii-like. Our Student Life Office, led by Dean of Students Xander Jones, coordinated our room clean-out effort. It was a Herculean task – requiring that we pay attention to travel restrictions, the safety of our community here on campus, density in the dorms on pick-up days. By early June, however, every dorm room had been cleaned out. Given our great success at remote teaching, we also made the decision to open an online summer school, providing our students with opportunities to continue their learning over the summer by taking actual St. George’s courses taught by St. George’s faculty members for credit. Coordinated by faculty members Dan Leidl and Caitie Cotton, the program was tremendously successful (p. 8). And while all of this was happening, a group of us began the process of planning for our reopening in the fall. We set up multiple subcommittees, each of which was responsible for some aspect of the return – health, academics, operations, and student life. The leaders of those subcommittees met weekly to ensure that our work was streamlined. We also received tremendous help from the Rhode Island Governor’s Office. Upon learning from our contacts in higher education about a weekly call with college and university administrators, we managed to finagle our way into that group. The support we received was truly remarkable, with weekly access to infectious disease specialists and public health officials, all of whom helped us to understand the impact on a residential setting. Ultimately, they helped us to develop a comprehensive plan that guided our return. In the days immediately following Prize Day, our country was rocked by the news of George Floyd’s killing, and the racial awakening it evoked. Along with the rest of the world, we spent the subsequent days and weeks reflecting on our school’s history around race and racism, and listening to our alumni who shared their experiences, some very painful, with racism on the Hilltop. Under the tremendous leadership of Dr. Kim Bullock, our Director of Equity and Inclusion, we shared with the larger St. George’s community our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan, along with a series of additional action items. Emerging from
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The Old School terrace is set up for Head of School Alixe Callen’s live Prize Day address from a nearly empty campus. / Below: Bagpipers rehearse in the chapel before being recorded for Virtual Prize Day 2020. / Mary Leys '21, winner of the 2020 St. George's Medal.
Prize Day in a
Pandemic The Class of 2020 will go down in St. George's history as the first group of graduates to participate in a live, online Prize Day service.
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This page, clockwise from top left: Head of School Alixe Callen delivers her Prize Day 2020 address to a camera broadcasting live —and an empty Front Circle. / Senior Prefect Tate Michelson ’20 delivers his Baccalaureate address in a chapel devoid of his classmates, but packed with recording equipment and a media production crew. / The seniors log on to Zoom to watch Prize Day together live online. When prize winners were announced by Head of School Alixe Callen, recipients’ reactions were broadcast live.
Math teacher Douglas Lewis had to adapt this year with roughly half of his students attending classes in person and the other half attending remotely from home.
Longtime Teachers, Newfound Skills
The Senior Teacher Cadre is made up of St. George's most experienced teachers, but even they faced new challenges when learning how to teach during a pandemic.
The Senior Teacher Cadre is led by Head of School Alixe Callen and includes: Elizabeth Bickford, English teacher; Kim Bullock, science teacher; Julie Butler, math teacher and coach; Wendy Drysdale, athletic trainer and Assistant Director of Music; Douglas Lewis, math teacher; Melanie Lewis, math teacher; Mike Hansel, art teacher; John Mackay, history teacher; Kelly Richards, English teacher; Jeff Simpson, English teacher; Holly Williams, science teacher; Roy Williams, math teacher; and Warren Williams, science teacher.
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Wendy Drysdale: “When we broke in March, the chapel services were changed drastically because we went all remote. [School Chaplain] Jackie Kirby really had to follow the state regulations about how many people can be in a space. She had to follow what the Diocese was allowing for streamed worship services. Not only did we have to change how we do chapel, we had to decide what the content of chapel
What was it like to see students again for the first time?
service was. Her guidance was: ‘We’re just trying to get some messages of hope and calm into the spring chapel services.’” Holly Williams: “It is definitely challenging because everything you do is on the computer. You grade papers on the computer, you write your lessons on the computer, you do Zoom. I am getting many more kids asking for extra help by Zoom than I ever have this early in the year, which I find fascinating, but I’m doing a lot and it’s great.” Julie Butler: “We knew our kids so well in the spring. My concern was about being able to jump right into a Zoom and know the personalities of our students in the fall. Now that
Melanie Lewis: “It feels like school again! And what’s been really great is that I’m so happy to see them. I think they’re genuinely happy to see their teachers as well, and they’re extreme-
John Mackay: "For me it was fear of the unknown, fear of not being technologically savvy. I certainly learned a lot in the last several months, but it was just that fear of change – huge change. “One of the best things that I’ve ever done is to teach the summer session because it took all that I learned from the spring and condensed my course. I continued to grow and learn things that I’m using in my classroom now, which really benefit my teaching. It was probably one of the best things I’ve done in a long time."
I am in the classroom, I just have to be a little more creative about how to incorporate the kids who are online with the kids who are sitting in the classroom. You can’t put them in a group, so you have to be creative.” Elizabeth Bickford: “I did a lot of work trying to figure out how to have a productive discussion in humanities. First and foremost, because we can’t be in seminar style, we had to play around with it. I always want to find time for everybody’s voice and the collective voice; that’s really important. I’ve had to spend more time than I thought on that, and it’s actually been fun to be creative after many years.”
ly happy to see each other. The kids have friends here, so it’s just nice to have that feeling again that the kids are in a place that they really like — and I’m just so happy to be here.” n
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What adjustments had to be made to your curriculum for the remote format?
Kim Bullock: “I was very, very worried about if I would be able to grasp, in such a short time span, all that I would need to be at a level that would be effective. But if I could say anything about the onboarding that we got in three days, it was such a phenomenal way of bringing us along and helping us progress. We were learning a little bit every day about online teaching and ways to practice it.”
Douglas Lewis: “I was really pleased with the school’s decision to try to do less in the spring rather than to try and keep the same schedule or put more things in. That made it a little less harried. Although we didn’t cover as much material, that really helped make it a more successful transition.”
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Roy Williams: “Modifying the schedule was a huge factor in the success of the spring. There were schools that didn’t modify their schedules — and all the feedback I heard from parents who had kids at those schools was that it didn’t work.”
Warren Williams: “I appreciated that there was an understanding that things weren’t going to be perfect — and that I shouldn’t expect it to be hit out of the park every time. I just appreciated that understanding and the message to just do the best you can. That took some of the pressure off of feeling like I had to have it all figured out perfectly.”
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What were some of your early thoughts when the transition to remote learning happened over Spring Break?
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Learning Summer Learning
COVID-19 shut down much of the country, but gave St. George’s the opportunity to create a dynamic, online summer program that drew more than 70 students, including some entering St. George’s for the first time. Students were able to stay engaged academically over the summer and to move ahead in their coursework by taking fully graded, for-credit classes in subjects including Marine Science, Modern European History and Fine-Art Photography.
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Following is a conversation with Program Coordinators Caitie Cotton and Daniel Leidl, who built the Summer Learning Program from the ground up. What are the benefits of Summer Learning for students? For teachers? Ms. Cotton: By taking summer classes, students were often able to fulfill graduation requirements or pre-requisite courses, which will free them up to take other courses of interest or higher-level courses during the academic year. Additionally, given the particulars of COVID and summer 2020, it created an opportunity for our students to stay busy while maintaining their academic skills and staying connected to the SG community. For teachers, they got to keep teaching! And teachers at SG love to teach. Given the uncertainties of the academic landscape surrounding COVID, it also provided a professional-development opportunity to continue to develop their online teaching skills and to think about what academic programs and summer programs might look like in the future. Each faculty member also selected a specific area of focus for their teaching this summer, which developed their skills as individual faculty members and will allow them to share their experience with the full faculty — so everyone can learn from the summer learning experiences.
Did remote learning during the spring due to COVID-19 help you and teachers prepare for the roll out of the Summer Learning Program? Ms. Cotton: Yes and no. We had a general landscape of the online teaching world from our remote teaching in the spring, but during Summer Learning, we distinguished between emergency remote teaching (what we did in the spring) and online learning (what we did this summer). In the spring, we had to take classes built for in-person instruction and our normal academic calendar and transfer it to the online world. We did a great job adapting to that, but this summer we were truly building courses for the online world for the first time, and I think that was reflected in the quality of the courses.
What were some of the challenges building the Summer Learning Program? Ms. Cotton: Some things are hard to replicate online like
chemistry labs or really intense conversations in the classroom. That will always be tough, but we tried not to think about what we lost in the online space and instead focused on what we gained – flexibility with schedule and location, more consistent communication between teachers and students, easier access to guest speakers, etc.
What was a creative solution to a problem you came across in the Summer Learning Program planning process? Ms. Cotton: Our World Religions class is very popular during the year and we found the same with the summer program, but with 11 sign-ups on the first day, we knew we would need another section. We were then able to create two sections of World Religions and one class was all new-to-SG students, providing a unique opportunity for these new students to all take their first class together. Mr. Leidl: The entire program was incredibly creative. We neither had a Summer School, nor online courses, and beginning with Alixe Callen's notion that this was something we could try to do, it was well outside any precedent or preexisting comfortability. In many ways, this was a bold decision that paid off because of the buy-in and contributions made by everyone involved. Caitie and the faculty team have done an amazing job of navigating a completely foreign space, and obviously, the students and families got behind the effort and fully engaged.
What will summer learning look like in the future? Mr. Leidl: I think the online space will continue to be an exciting environment to experiment with new learning techniques, invite unique partners and guest speakers, and engage with students wherever they are. Additionally, the flexibility of offering students learning opportunities outside of the traditional schedule not only supports and supplements the efforts taking place throughout the school year, but it affords additional scheduling options to students planning their personal paths. n
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ROBYN CAVANAGH, DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY
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ne of the first New England boarding schools to reopen this fall, St. George’s can boast it had a leg up on hybrid learning since last winter, thanks to our technology team. Long before the COVID-19 pandemic forced students out of classrooms and employees out of school offices in March, the team was working to ensure our business and academic data was secure. Our laptop program and online learning-management system, Canvas, had long been in place. And this past year’s restoration of Memorial Schoolhouse offered numerous opportunities to install the latest technology in classrooms as we readied for 2020-21. Results of all of those efforts “positioned us well to quickly address remote-learning and work-fromhome initiatives,” said Director of Technology Robyn Cavanagh. The team began preparing for those scenarios, in January. They were even ready to go with emergency “go bags”
that tech staffers could use off-site to support students with tech issues, faculty, and employees who normally rely on desktop computers. And to service student laptops, the team established a partnership with a local provider “even when they were closed to the general public,” Mrs. Cavanagh said. Working with Director of Teaching and Learning Justin Cerenzia in February, Mrs. Cavanagh planned how to ensure all faculty members were capable and outfitted with equipment to teach completely remotely in the spring and in-person this fall with a portion of their class away from campus. The two crafted a "COVID course" for faculty to showcase online teaching resources and, by March, were hosting daily virtual-training sessions on new applications like Zoom and Canvas Studio. They also purchased 34 “Meeting Owls,” 360-degree, 1080-pixel cameras with “smart microphones” that
pick up teachers’ and students’ voices within 18 feet. While some teachers were concerned about their ability to deliver virtually the same high-quality instruction they do in-person, they were up and running in no time with the tech team’s assistance — and continuing to keep the community connected. “The teachers wholeheartedly missed their students,” Ms. Cavanagh said, “and wanted them to feel engaged and connected.” The entire community needed the tech team this year — and they rose to the occasion. Mrs. Cavanagh, however, says everyone at St. George’s had a part in making 2020 a teaching-and-learning success. “We are all in it together, all on the same team, all trying to make the magic happen for our kids,” she said. “What St. George's has collectively accomplished over the past 10 months is a testament to the quality and care of our entire faculty and staff.” n
Clockwise from top left: Technical Support Specialist Mike Borden, Director of Technology Robyn Cavanagh, Academic Technology Specialist Brian Geer, Infrastructure & Systems Manager Carleton Hennion '94, Senior Technical Support Specialist Bill Costa, and Technology Support Services Coordinator Hollie Towey.
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technology takes the spotlight in transition to remote learning
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SG Tech Team for the Win
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" We are all in it together... trying to make the magic happen for our kids."
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College W Counseling Rises to the Challenge
hen the pandemic shut down campuses across the country, the college selection process drastically changed – especially for the Classes of 2020 and 2021. Students were faced with new challenges in the spring as they tried best to determine the course of their continued education, but without being able to visit colleges into the summer as they normally would. “Our philosophy hasn’t changed. It’s all about finding the best fit for students,” said Director of College Counseling Kelly Richards. “We try to combine all aspects that fit for the families” like academics, social atmosphere, and finances. To adapt to the physically distanced environment, the College Counseling Department took the lead, organizing the SG Virtual College Fair last spring, which had over 90 schools sign up and over 100 college visitors that met virtually with students this fall. The department even made the virtual college fair open to other local kids who were in a similar bind. “That was probably the biggest shift we made and it was highly successful,” said Richards, who attributed the effort to her staff. “I wish the students could visit, but colleges have pivoted really nicely and are presenting lots of
Director of College Counseling Kelly Richards and her staff have met the challenges of helping students with the college selection process during a pandemic.
different online options for students to do that. Students can also rely on alumni at those schools, which is a good thing, too.” Typically, college counselors, like students, travel during the summer months to get a sense of a wide variety of campus cultures. But with college campus visits restricted for everyone, students and staff were enabled to work together throughout the summer to share some of their firsthand knowledge. “Luckily, I’m so thankful to have a well-travelled staff … who’s been to so many schools,” Richards said. “Students can really rely on us. We’ve been there.” Some students were able to get in early visits before the pandemic shut everything down in February 2020, but most have since had to explore alternative methods, she added. Universities have also created online video tours to help showcase themselves or organized student panels to speak on behalf of the college so prospective students can get a sense of the community. “I think we present them with great options as to how to do that and they’ve also been good about reaching out directly to the colleges to figure that out, too,” said Richards. “I give a huge hand to my staff and I also give a lot of credit to the kids themselves because necessity is the mother of invention. You do what you have to do to get through.” The college selection process should be educational, according to Richards, and not just for learning about colleges, but self-discovery, as well. “This year’s class is building a resilience that will serve them well in adulthood and they’re not panicking,” Richards said. “Our St. George’s students have dug right in to learning about colleges in a way that maybe they didn’t have to before. At very best, the college process is a chance for them to learn about themselves. They are rising to the occasion.” n
The Campus Reopens With guidance from local and national health authorities, we welcomed students back to the Hilltop in late August
In-person dining was delayed at the opening of school so students could quarantine, but golf carts darted across the Hilltop delivering individual meals prepared by SAGE Dining Services to Dragons.
With the Main Drive closed for the year to limit traffic on campus, the Grounds Crew installed a guard house on the Lower Road near the pool parking lot so Campus Safety staff could check in every person arriving on campus.
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The Study Hall in Memorial Schoolhouse, as well as the Main Common Room in Old School, were transformed into classrooms this year to allow for social distancing.
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Lydon Kelley ’21 delivered a chapel talk in October about her grandfather, James L. Keegan, who taught English at St. George's from 1953-56 and 1977-1996.
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During the pandemic, the quad has become an expansive outdoor common room, where students living in nearby dorms gather with their lawn chairs.
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Charlotte Dejoux ’21 goes with a sunny, summer theme — and pink-tinted lighting — in her dorm room.
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At Home on the Hilltop
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Turns out there are a lot of stories behind those dorm room decorations...
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Chiron Rose ’21 The basketball on my desk is my 1,000th-point basketball. I got it toward the end of my junior year, last season. It was a driving lay-up at Thayer. We lost the game, but I scored 25 points. I’ve played basketball my entire life and will continue to in college. It is really ingrained in my personality — which may further explain the WNBA poster that I made in front of my desk. I also really love art and that is by far one of my favorite drawings. There is a canvas painting on the wall next to it that was a gift from someone who means a lot to me. It’s a reminder that I’m loved.
My tapestry, personally, is my favorite part of my room. It describes more of my personality and interests: curly hair and lashes. It also makes me feel more connected to my race. J. Cole is a part of my room because he is my favorite artist. He is inspiring and his music really captures my attention. I like to surround myself with things that remind me to be positive and never let me forget who I am. Sometimes you can forget parts of yourself because of how busy life can be. These are just some friendly reminders. n
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Henry DiRico ’21 So in a way, I've always loved hats and as a kid, I always wore them — from baseball caps to winter hats. I guess you could say it started in kindergarten when my old school required all students to wear their Dexter hat to and from school every day. As all my classmates complained about their hats, I embraced the stress of wearing these hats. Unfortunately, I do not have one of those original lids. This is probably just half of my hat collection because SG told us to only bring the bare necessities this year due to COVID guidelines. Some of these hats have come from endless internet browsing, but the majority have come from travel. This collection means a lot to me because, not only does it provide a stylish addition to my outfit, these hats show some of the places I've been and that also defines my character.
My favorite hats would have to consist of my Block Island Fishing hat and my University of Alabama hat. These are two that are important because I spend a lot of time on Block Island, and I love being there with my family. It also has a really nice fit and lay on my head. The Alabama hat comes into play as they are my favorite college football team and my father's alma mater. A funny story from all these hats would probably have to be either my Denison University hat, which took so long for me to pick out in the school store that my dad and I almost missed an appointment at another school. Or the Alabama hat, which I lost for a good chunk of the summer at a friend’s house. We looked for it everywhere, and after about two months we found it — on his brother’s head. n
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TIME TO TRAIN With interscholastic competition on hold, athletes and coaches focus on skills
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irector of Athletics Bob Pipe entered his new job on the Hilltop this fall with an abundance of expertise. A 21-year veteran of the Rivers School’s Athletic Department, Bob had served as director since 2016 and associate director from 2003-2016. A head coach of the varsity girls’ basketball and boys’ varsity soccer, he knew well the value of interscholastic competition to his athletes’ drive and motivation. But like every other athletics director of an Independent School League member school, he was forced to craft a different kind of sports program when, due to the pandemic, the heads of ISL schools in July cancelled interscholastic competition for the fall. “Besides wins and losses, our goals should always be to get better, both mentally and physically, along with having fun with our teammates,” Pipe said. “Our coaches did a fantastic job pushing our kids to improve on the field while trying to make it a great experience for them — without the normal incentive of games.” With more time for training in the weight room, as well as with their winter- and spring-season coaches, he added, “these kids were able to focus on improvement and not just game results.” In November, the ISL heads also decided to cancel league games this winter — and as in the fall, not confer league championships or awards. Disappointing, yes, Pipe said, but coaches and players now know they can make the best of it. Some even appreciated a break from the long away-game bus rides. “We can’t wait to compete again against our fellow ISL schools,” Pipe said. “But I think we can look back and take a lot of positives from the fall. I think the season was a success.” n
Opposite page, top to bottom: Director of Athletics Bob Pipe; Makai Murray ’21. This page: Eliza Winsor ’21.
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A funny thing happened on the Hilltop amid this globalhealth crisis. We found a way to continue to build community, to be creative — and to reap the benefits of the great outdoors
Silver Linings Head of School Alixe Callen first noticed it. Students’ faces weren’t as affixed to screens; injuries were down; kids were playing games — and not the computer sort. Outside. If there’s one thing COVID has taught us it’s that amid fear and uncertainly, there can also be happiness and appreciation. Traditions can be twisted, and yet still tweak our heartstrings. What’s old can be made new again. That certainly was the case here on the Hilltop this fall, where even Mother Nature seemed to know some gorgeous weather would surely lift our spirits. Newly popular Spikeball had a moment, while old-school cornhole saw a resurgence. From sitting with friends around firepits to Friday Night Lights, we made the best of it — with solid assists from the Student Life Office and student Entertainment Committee. And, yes, we can report confidently: A walk on Second Beach is all the more precious after quarantine. n
Pippa Shaw ’21 competes in an Assembly club game on Crocker Field.
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“ Watching our students play outside and enjoy life (so often without their phones!) is really a joy. In this time of insanity on pretty much every level, we have to appreciate the silver linings. ” —Head of School Alixe Callen
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Andrew Selian '23
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BUILDING DEDICATION DELAYED BY PANDEMIC - Due to the pandemic, which closed our campus to visitors this fall, plans for a formal dedication of the newly restored Memorial Schoolhouse have been delayed. Still, the building (shown here at twilight on Oct. 8) did reopen to students in September following a meticulous, 14-month-long restoration by Shawmut Design and Construction.
From a story about the dedication of Memorial Schoolhouse in The Dragon, then the campus newspaper, in January 1923.
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SG takes the lead on test-optional admission This year, St. George's became the first among its peer New England boarding schools to announce a new test-optional admission policy that will no longer require applicants to submit standardized test scores. The move followed a comprehensive, two-year review of student performance showing that “a single test score does not correlate to success in our community,” Head of School Alixe Callen said. “This important policy change will allow St. George’s to attract even more highly-qualified, diverse, and talented students to the Hilltop. The decision will strengthen an already strong school.” The move, unanimously approved by the SG Board of Trustees, drew attention from the National Association of Independent Schools, which highlighted St. George’s in its fall magazine (at right). Since St. George's announced its new standardized-test-optional admission policy, several other schools – including several of our peers – have publicly declared similar initiatives. Following is an op-ed written by Ms. Callen and Director of Admission Ryan Mulhern ’91:
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student, their capabilities, and their potential to impact our community is paramount to achieve diversity in intellectual thought, talent, and experience on our small campus. We believe students should have the power to present themselves in a way that accurately represents their ability and potential. As of late 2019, over one thousand colleges and universities, including half of the nation’s most selective liberal arts colleges, have dropped their standardized test requirement. In recent weeks, as the global pandemic has introduced further concerns about the validity of standardized testing, even more institutions have made the decision to move to a test optional approach. St. George’s will continue to accept SSAT test scores from those applicants that choose to share them, but they will not be required for admission. We respect that other independent schools may not follow in our footsteps. Still, we remain confident that this change will strengthen our school community by giving even more bright, motivated and talented students like Tate the chance to benefit from the challenges and opportunities that a St. George’s education provides. Over the course of the past few months, Tate, as student body president, has worked closely with the administration to sustain our sense of spirit and community throughout the coronavirus crisis. His strong leadership skills, combined with his dynamic personality have reverberated throughout our community, helping to hold us together while the virus keeps us physically apart. Thank goodness we looked beyond that test score. n
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metric, which measures reading, verbal, and mathematical abilities under strict time constraints, correlated with success in our school community. Over the past two years we conducted a study examining how students with SSAT scores outside of our usual range fared at St. George’s. Despite a record number of applicants, we combed our applicant pool to identify a group of skilled and accomplished students who would otherwise be denied acceptance based on their test results. We admitted those students and tracked their performance over a two-year period. The results were beyond conclusive. Ninety-eight percent of the students in the study experienced success at St. George’s, earning solid grades and effort marks in the classroom, while also contributing to the life of the school. These encouraging outcomes, paired with the school’s emphasis on inclusivity, led our Board of Trustees earlier this year to vote to end the standardized test requirement for admission. In their conversations ahead of this vote, our Board of Trustees concluded that evaluating students based on a single number undermines the school’s mission. St. George’s values inclusivity, diversity, and access to education for high-achieving, hard-working students globally. Standardized testing has presented barriers to secondary school and college admission since its establishment. Indeed, there is a strong link between a student’s performance on the SSAT and various measures of socioeconomic status, including parents’ level of education, quality of available schooling, and access to enrichment activities. Consideration of the entire
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magine if you will … an honor-roll student with a challenging course load. A star soccer player. The school president. A 2020 graduate of St. George’s School. A future Williams College scholar-athlete. Meet Tate Michelson. A Newport, Rhode Island, native, Tate applied for admission to St. George’s in 2016. His transcript, application, and interview showcased his potential to shine as a four-year student-athlete and community leader. Here was a student who took advantage of every academic opportunity, was curious and insightful in class, and was kind and considerate to his peers. In short, he exhibited many attributes independent schools say they desire in their students. His standardized test scores, however, failed to appropriately represent his academic potential. He always knew he would apply to St. George’s, but Tate and his parents feared that his test scores could hurt his chances for admission. For decades, St. George’s, like most independent schools in the country, has used results from the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) – in conjunction with students’ grades, teacher recommendations, extra-curricular achievements, and character – to determine which students will be offered admission. In such an environment, students like Tate, talented and hard-working kids whose test scores don’t match their other attributes, can be overlooked. Seeing the success of students like Tate, we became concerned by this over-reliance on a single high-stakes test score. Could a three-hour test truly predict a student’s high school performance? We decided to research whether success on this
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A proud Dragon, Jack Moskow ’24 shows off his school spirit.
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Alumni News
A video still of Dana Schmaltz ‘85, P ‘17, ‘20 delivering the Prize Day Chapel Address in May. His son, Bower, is a graduate of the Class of 2020.
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Alumni News Class Notes Memorial List Student Essay
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PHOTO BY TIMOTHY SMITH
Sustainable Brooklyn was born in 2017, when Ms. McGuire and Dominique Drakeford, introduced to each other by mutual acquaintances, met at a coffee shop in Brooklyn. "We ended up having a conversation where we were basically finishing each other's sentences,” Ms. McGuire said. Ms. Drakeford, whose personal style also features prominently in her work, is a writer, youth advocate, and public speaker on equity-based sustainability. She holds a master’s degree in sustainable entrepreneurship and fashion from New York University. Together, the two host educational events and community programs in Brooklyn, and work with brands and designers wishing to re-examine their environmental impact and
racial-equity efforts. Recently, Sustainable Brooklyn partnered with Levi’s on the launch of their “Secondhand” label. In addition, the two have consulted for — or hosted events with — Apple, Eileen Fisher, Mara Hoffman, and ReFashion Week New York. Amid the Black Lives Matter protests this summer following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and many others, Sustainable Brooklyn caught the attention of Vogue, which highlighted the partners’ activist efforts, providing valuable publicity. Long before this summer’s racial unrest, however, Ms. McGuire knew the partners could help not only businesses, but the general public, make the connection between injustice, commerce, and the environment. One of Sustainable Brooklyn’s first events was a “town hall” at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) in Brooklyn they thought might draw 10-15 people. “But it was packed, standing room only,” said Ms. McGuire, “with lots of Black and brown faces all wanting to know how they could contribute to the sustainability movement in their own way.” Ms. McGuire arrived at St. George’s from Ohio in 2000 to what she called “a totally different world than I had ever, ever experienced.” She came to the school via the A Better Chance Program, which places underprivileged, academically gifted students into prestigious independent schools. She learned about boarding school from Jamila Frank ’02 and Ed Roberts ’01, who attended Fairview Elementary and Middle School, where her mother was a teacher. Ms. McGuire first met her father when she was 4 and though her parents divorced shortly afterwards, both were supportive of her decision to attend boarding school. Together they drove her to the Hilltop. “It was the funniest trip ever,” she said, “and when we pulled up on campus, I saw the girls playing field hockey and I was like, ‘What are they doing? Why are these people in skirts?!”
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Whitney McGuire ’04, a lawyer with a distinctively artistic side, wants to hold businesses accountable for their environmental impact and for their policies and practices on equity and inclusion. “I want folks to really understand that communities of color are the most impacted by our unsustainable behaviors, whether that's economic, social, or political,” she said, “resulting in climate crisis, resulting in a school-to-prison pipeline, resulting in a lot of vast, deep inequities.” Along with building a solo law practice that focuses on creative entrepreneurs, including artists and musicians, Ms. McGuire for the past three years has been the cofounder of Sustainable Brooklyn, which works to bridge gaps between the mainstream sustainability movement and communities of color. Sustainable Brooklyn has been featured in various publications since its inception, most notably, Vogue magazine three times this year. It’s a project that brings together Ms. McGuire’s deeply held beliefs, various interests, and expertise. And it’s also a victory of sorts — the hard-won result of years of personal financial instability, difficulty finding jobs, even bouts with homelessness.
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Whitney McGuire’s worlds are finally coming together
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Style, Social Justice, and Sustainability
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At St. George’s she said, Director of Equity and Inclusion Dr. Kim Bullock and her family were the “anchoring” support she needed. “They really grounded me and made me feel like there was a piece of home — even in this weird space.” Ms. McGuire was elected Senior Prefect in 2003 — and became beloved by the student body for helping to overturn the “no flip-flops” provision of the dress code.
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After St. George’s, Ms. McGuire attended The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English. At GW, she was involved in a successful student-led effort to get Africana Studies declared as a minor. (Years later it was also declared a major.) And she became president of the NAACP group on campus as just a junior. “Social activism has always been a huge part of my interests,” she said. “I'm the child of a formerly incarcerated parent. I've just always been aware of the criminal legal system and how it impacts people.” When Ms. McGuire graduated in 2008, the country was in a deep recession, a period that was particularly brutal for financial-aid students like Ms. McGuire. “I struggled with being unhoused probably every summer in academia,” she said. “I would be working one job and then another one wouldn't start until two months later, so I'd have to couch surf for two months. Or there was one time when my lease was ending in the summer and I was on a waitlist for another apartment, but that one didn't open up until a month later — so I was couch-surfing again.” For a while she worked as a paralegal, but was laid off in 2009. “That was my first experience with joblessness, and it was eye-opening because while I felt free, I also felt like I had failed.“ Ms. McGuire, whose mother was both a teacher and a jazz singer, grew up in a household where full bands sometimes played in her basement. “I was just raised in an artistic household,” she said, “and art and design have been things that I've always pursued.”
McGuire at home with her husband, Nelson Nance, at home in Brooklyn.
She struggled to decide whether to apply to the Parsons School of Design — or law school. “My mom said law school would be the most beneficial use of my early-20s energy,” she said. While she didn’t get into any of the law schools she originally applied to, she eventually landed at Catholic University in D.C. Within the first year, however, she said she thought she’d chosen the wrong career path until a professor recommended that she attend a symposium on fashion law at Fordham University. “So, I went up to New York, and I was like, ‘This is it!’ … It was like the perfect mixed bag of things that I was interested in.” Back at Catholic, she partnered with law students at Howard University who had a fashion law club, joined their board, and became one of the first chairs of Fashion Law Week, a series of public forums to discuss legal issues and the laws that directly impact designers and consumers. After law school, Ms. McGuire found herself jobless again. “And this time, I had to study for the bar,” she said. “Quite frankly, I was facing eviction, so I decided to move to New York. I knew I had a support system there and people I could stay with while I got on my feet.” In New York, she worked at a furniture store, eventually passed the bar, and started developing her solo practice, mostly working with young musicians navigating nearly incomprehensible label contracts. Then came the offer of a lifetime: a prestigious job clerking for a federal judge in Las Vegas. While there for two years, she joined the boards of the Las Vegas Fashion Council and the Las Vegas Arts District, and started hosting workshops in design-industry sustainability. When the clerkship was over, Ms. McGuire again found herself without employment. Married and pregnant, she and her husband, Nelson Nance, moved back to New York. Mr. Nance, an artist and writer, had scored a job working for the HBO show "Random Acts of Flyness." Ms. McGuire restarted her solo law practice. Ms. McGuire said she feels like she has “things to prove” in the legal industry, but hopes Sustainable Brooklyn continues to take off. Just this past November, Ms. McGuire and Ms. Drakeford began work on an online business directory that's modeled on “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” first published in 1936, which offered Black people advice on safe travel. “The idea is to create a ‘duty of care,’ a new set of standards that encompass the safety of Black consumers today,” Ms. McGuire said. It’s a subject she knows her white friends don’t fully understand. “When I walk into a retail store, there are all types of considerations I have to make,” she said. “Do I present well enough to be someone that the shop owner or the front-door person would want to acknowledge? “Basically, I'm always having to negotiate my humanity.” Ms. McGuire, whose son Audwin is now 2½, hopes the safety standards and directory are ready to unveil this spring. “So, I'm juggling a lot,” she said, “but I'm in a place where I feel like all of the rejection that I've experienced and all of the perceived failures have led me to a career that is deeply fulfilling. “At this point, I just feel like my story is my success.” n
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Connecting Cooking & Community W With restaurants quiet and people hungry, Ellie Linen Low ’90 had an answer More info: www.cookingforcommunity.org
hen coronavirus brought much of the world to a halt in March 2020, communities struggling with food security encountered new challenges. Soup kitchens were shut down and food banks were depleted during early surges in the pandemic. Additionally, local health and safety measures had a big impact on restaurants that were wrestling with the prospect of closing permanently due to limited operations. It was the middle of the night when inspiration struck Ellie Linen Low ’90 with an idea on how to help those two communities of people in her hometown of Portland, Maine. “There were resources going idle in the food industry world and there were increasing numbers of hungry people,” Linen Low said. "It occurred to me that if someone could connect these jobs effectively, we might have a new way to ignite existing resources and create channels where donations actually trickle down through multiple layers of impact.” Together with a small group of volunteers, Linen Low created the organization Cooking for Community with a goal of raising money to buy meals from struggling restaurants to feed the hungry. “We are very much an organization born out of crisis that prides itself on being all volunteer, nimble, reactive, fluid, and able to adapt with the times,” said Linen Low. “When we formed in March, no one would have ever anticipated the situation we would be in.”
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MAINE MISSION
Since it started in April 2020, Cooking for Community has raised over $700,000 in contributions from hundreds of donors. The organization has partnered with 17 restaurants and 16 social service agencies across multiple regions in Maine, logging over 7,000 professional volunteer hours to deploy close to 60,000 hearty and nutritious meals. Every $10 donated to Cooking for Community supports one meal, where partner restaurants receive a fee per meal to help with overhead costs like rent and utilities to meet their bottom lines and “keep their doors open.” With a rich food scene and a strong network of local growers and fishers, a big part of Maine’s tourism economy is restaurant and food driven, according to Linen Low. “Maine itself has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country,” said Linen Low. “There was a lot of awareness that food was no longer reaching the people who needed it.” Cooked and prepared food wasn’t readily available for people who were quarantined at home or those who didn’t have access to cook raw ingredients, so the organization works to provide food to social service agencies that deliver to the underserved, like immigrants, the elderly, homeless, and mentally ill. As restaurants were sitting idle, food resources previously going to those businesses no longer had a market during the pandemic. "To help, Cooking for Community encourages Below from left to right: Leeward, a restaurant in Portland, Maine, which opened just three days before the pandemic hit, turned its inaugural efforts to feeding people as a Cooking for Community partner. / Cooks from Nura Restaurant in Portland, Maine, showcase meals going out for delivery. / A resident of Bath Housing, a low-income Housing Authority in Bath, Maine, collects soup made by Mama Mo’s in Portland.
partnering restaurants to purchase as much food as possible from local Maine growers and producers," Linen Low said. "The model Cooking for Community operates with, is Mainefocused, but could be implemented anywhere." “We like to see ourselves as a model and an example, both regionally and nationally, of what’s possible when you think outside the box and you join resources together that might not have come together before.” BUILDING A COMMUNITY
Linen Low first reached out to some friends with the idea of Cooking for Community and the group quickly mobilized to raise initial funding through pledges, getting a nonprofit, fiscal sponsor so contributions they received would be tax deductible. They also organized a pilot program with some initial restaurants and social service agencies. With volunteers taking on tasks like logo and website design, database creation, accounting, and communication efforts, it truly is a community running Cooking for Community. “This is very much a collaborative, holistic effort with dozens of people at the table. There were a lot of parts that got it going and kept it going,” Linen Low said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without a lot of people involved.” Linen Low describes Cooking for Community as “something that is creative and new, born out of a time that no one has really ever experienced before.” “We can’t plan for next month, never mind next year, in terms of what’s coming. Even during good times, restaurants operate on close margins. I think that there will be increasing numbers of hungry people for the foreseeable future. No one really knows what normal is going to look like.” n
BOARD NEWS
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Three join SG board T hree new members joined the St. George’s Board of Trustees in July: Ted Archer ’02; Louis “Ted” Duff III ’88, P’23; and Mark Taber ’88. Mr. Archer is the executive director and head of small business philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase & Co.. He oversees initiatives focused on creating inclusive economic growth opportunities though small-business ownership, with a focus on underserved businesses and underrepresented founders. Prior to joining JPMC, Mr. Archer led economic development programs for Source America, the District of Columbia and World Bank, and held corporate strategy roles at HJ Heinz
Company (now Kraft Heinz). Mr. Duff is principal of Fife Partners. He is a marketing executive who has primarily worked in the investment-management industry. His expertise includes investor relations, alternative investment management, securities, and equities. Formerly, Mr. Duff was the managing director of research and product development at Quantum GBL, and the managing director of marketing and business development at Kellner Capital. Mr. Taber is managing partner at Great Hill Partners, where he is responsible for transaction origination, investment policy, fundraising,
New trustees, from left to right: Louis D. Duff III ’88, P’23; Mark D. Taber ’88; and Ted Archer ’02.
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approximately 6,000 Black students were admitted, he said. The son of sharecroppers, Mr. Evans grew up in rural Arkansas. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Princeton. In the 1960s, in Huntsville, Alabama, Mr. Evans worked for IBM Corp. on the SaturnApollo project to send U.S. astronauts to the moon. While there, he started a college-placement program for Black teenagers, according to the Harvard magazine, that drew attention from college administrators and helped several students enter elite schools. In retirement, Mr. Evans told the
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avid L. Evans, a 14-year member of the St. George’s Board of Trustees from 1972-1986, retired from Harvard University this past summer after working in the university’s admission office for 50 years. He was awarded the 2020 Harvard Medal, honoring his extraordinary service to the university, upon his retirement. Evans joined the Harvard admission staff in 1970, when the university had not yet merged with Radcliffe and did not yet offer generous financial aid. In the 100 years since the college graduated its first Black alumnus in 1870, Mr. Evans estimated Harvard had admitted fewer than 300 Black students. During his 50 years there,
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magazine, he hopes he has more time to contemplate and convey the meaning of his journey from a family of Black sharecroppers to being the recipient of a Harvard Medal. n
investor relations and the general management of the firm. His investment experience covers a broad group of industries including health care, financial technology, telecommunications, software, and business services. Prior to joining Great Hill in 2000, Mr. Taber worked at Boston Consulting Group and Westlake Capital Group. He also spent three years working in small growth businesses, assuming various roles in operations, marketing and business development. In addition, we thank April S. Anderson ’86, P’20, ’23 and Michael S. Kim ’88, whose tenures ended in the spring, for their exceptional work on behalf of our school. n
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Black Alumni Council and School Unite on DEI Efforts T
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he Black Alumni Council, formed this summer, will partner with the school to strengthen connections between Black alumni, students, faculty, and staff — and to address the specific needs of our Black students during their years on the Hilltop. The council’s intention is to build upon the longtime work of many in these areas, and to work today in collaboration with Director of Diversity Dr. Kim Bullock, Associate Head of School Mervan Osborne ’86, former trustee April Anderson ’86, P’20, P’23, and current trustees Clyde Dorsey ’70 and Rudy Bethea ’87. Mr. Bethea has been named the Board of Trustees’ liaison to the BAC. Following are the members of the Black Alumni Steering Committee:
Toni Woods Maignan ’16 is the council’s president. Toni graduated from Columbia University, where she was a Kluge Scholar majoring in economics with a special concentration in business management. She is currently a legal analyst at Goldman Sachs and preparing for law school. During her senior year at Columbia, Toni worked closely with the university’s Black Alumni Council as the senior chair of Columbia University’s Black Students‘ Organization. “Like Columbia’s, I want SG’s BAC to be a bridge among students, alumni, and the school to improve the experiences of Black people in the community, as well as the community overall.” Martin Ejiaku ’11
and was our Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel Service speaker in 2013. “I joined the Black Alumni Council to be conduit for progress and historical nexus for St. George's Black community, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni.” Dejania Cotton-Samuel ’16 is the council’s head of communications. Dee graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020, with a major in neuroscience and a minor in jazz and contemporary music. She’s currently on Long Island working as an associate scientist in a proteomics research lab developing diagnostic technology “that can streamline biomarker identification so that intervention for diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative diseases can be detected much earlier in a patient’s life.” Dee was motivated to join the BAC by the posts she saw on the @blackatsg Instagram page. “I wanted to be a part of efforts to bring healing and closure to our community.”
“During my time at SG, I had a wonderful time as a Black student, so I want to make sure I do my part, adjacent to the school, in creating a community where everyone feels welcome.”
Sydney Jarrett ’16 is the council’s head of fundraising. Sydney is finishing out her final year at Georgia State University. She is majoring in interdisciplinary studies, with a concentration in Law & Society, and interning with KIPP Metro Atlanta Collaborative. “I joined the BAC to not only better serve as a beacon of change and reform for both Black and POC students on a campus I hold dear to my heart, but also to enhance the SG experience for all students who step foot
Martin Ejiaku ’11 is the council’s vice president. Martin graduated from Rutgers University in 2015, with a degree in public health. He’s currently working in his field of study and also looking to expand on outside projects, including a podcast and creating economic reform in his community. “The reason I decided to join the Black Alumni Council was to help foster a renewed culture where Black students do not feel isolated from the rest of the student body,” he said. “During my time at SG, I had a wonderful time as a Black student, so I want to make sure I do my part, adjacent to the school, in creating a community where everyone feels welcome. I hope to bring in newfound energy that allows future Black students to feel welcome and for Black alumni to rekindle their connection to the school.”
on the Hilltop.”
Albert Lucas ’85 is the council’s treasurer. Al is the director of legislative services for the New Haven (Connecticut) Board of Alders and a graduate of Yale University, where he focused on political science and Latin American Studies. He is a member of the St. George’s Alumni Board of Visitors
Advancement Officer Conor O’Rourke is the liaison to the Black Alumni Council. To ensure that you receive news and future correspondence from the BAC or would like further information, please contact the Alumni Office at alumni@stgeorges.edu. n
Kari Elisa Robles ’19 is the council’s co-fundraising chair. Kari is working on a double major in social work and Spanish at Providence College. She is serving as a resident assistant for an upperclassmen dorm and participating, virtually, in the Fall College Internship Program for the Administration for Children’s Services. “I joined the Black Alumni Council because I see it as a direct, growing, reallife way to support Black kids like me … during the trials and tribulations of attending a predominantly white institution. I think this organization … will make it so that in time, this particular environment definitely encourages success on all fronts for Black students and faculty.”
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Class Notes
2020 Sports Hall of Fame Inductees Announced The St. George's Sports Hall of Fame honors those athletes, coaches, and friends who have made exceptional contributions to our programs. Our inductees for 2020 are Coach Julie Butler, Matt Ryan '91, John Harvey '97 (pictured here), Rashad Randolph '98, Adam Choice '06, Sarah Phillips '06, Megan Leonhard '09, and the 2000 Girls' Squash Team. We look forward to honoring these talented Dragon icons during our 125th Anniversary celebration next fall! n
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CLASS NOTES
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BECOME A CLASS CORRESPONDENT!
Want to help round up class notes? Reconnect with old friends? Rally the class for your next reunion?
SUBMIT A NOTE!
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Please contact your class correspondent or the Advancement Office at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or classnotes@ stgeorges.edu
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month of the COVID-19 pandemic, when SG students were sheltering at home, the domestic death toll had passed 100,000, and riots were convulsing the nation’s cities — to be figuratively unsealed in the fall, when the school may or may not be in session, the virus may or may not have abated, and news media will be fixated on election results (and possibly, riots). Never has the relatively near future seemed so unknowable. The classmates who provided these notes were in the pandemic’s highest-risk age group; all but two were living in retirement communities. n From Ted Tansi, at American House in Bonita Springs, Florida: “Confinement in a single apartment is very demanding. How do you meet the limitations — going anywhere, seeing very few people? Our dining room is closed, and food is delivered in plastic boxes three times a day. I dislike TV and spend some of my time on my iPad doing games — chess, Sudoku, poker, etc. — and audiobooks. I have an electric three-wheel bike, and as I am on the ground floor, I can ride it, but only on American House property. If I were to venture beyond, I would have to be tested and quarantined for 14 days. Deciding to turn a poor situation into a positive one, I researched many podcasts and have been spending a great deal of time both reading and listening to lectures. I then share what I have learned with several friends in an available space here. This has worked out well. It has given me purpose, and my friends look forward to it each day. As most everybody does, I look forward to a normal life.” n From Howard Crowell at Glenridge in
Here’s looking at you: Ted Hussey ’50 showing what happens when you break a fall with your face.
Sarasota, Florida: “We are actually thriving down here in ‘paradise.’ Our senior-living facility has taken very good care of us in every way possible. It is hard to identify with those poor souls who are being hit hard by this whole thing. I feel really sorry for this nation, not only because of the ugly virus, but also because of the divides it seems to have created. While we’ve been locked down and unable to leave our campus for over two and a half months, our meals have been delivered every morning, noon, and night; our grocery shopping, including spirits, has been done for us; and we can walk and run around these beautiful grounds in gorgeous weather. I am still doing the running thing, but who knows just how much longer that will be possible. Our model sailboat activities were curtailed for a while, but we are now back at it with a vengeance. Ten to 12 radio-controlled yachts race at a time, which makes the starting line a combat zone. Our best wishes to all the
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John T. Bethell, john.bethell@verizon.net n Given the long deadlines for this section, class correspondents must bear in mind that their columns will not be read until almost six months after they are written. So think of this one as a sort of time capsule, created in late May — the third
“We must cultivate our gardens,” wrote Voltaire. Heeding that injunction, Jay McLauchlan ’50 has built a raised garden, with a 45-foot, 34-ton granite retaining wall, at his Gloucester, Mass., home. Hosta, spirea, and weigela plantings were in full bloom this summer.
CLASS NOTES
Richard W. Almond ’52 - April 30, 2020 William M. Smith ’55 - Sept. 9, 2020
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Michael R. Cottrell ’56 - April 29, 2020
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a Ph.D., and an M.B.A. I may actually have done enough work to get a doctor of science degree in place of a Ph.D. The field would be marine biology, in which I wrote 250 peer-reviewed papers and one book, which could serve as a thesis. I had two predocs and three postdocs, and was internationally recognized in the field, with visiting professorships at the University of Brisbane, Australia, in Kyoto, Japan, and in Egypt, Pittsburgh, and Georgia.” An authority on marine toxins, Joe added in a P.S. that “the jellyfish Chrysaora quinquecirrha, or Atlantic sea nettle, was gold-plated for me. It is the only venomous marine animal in the world that appears abundantly and close to an equipped laboratory where it can be studied. Can you see how my wife, Kitsie, and I have made 123 international trips at no cost to us? For the next issue I will tell you which trips I liked best, and why.” n From Ted Robb at Beaumont at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania: “Montgomery County, where we are, is a very mobile county and has the second highest load of coronavirus cases in the state. Our retirement community, with about 270 residents, has been locked down and closed to all ‘non-essential’ visitors and to families, which is especially hard on the single people here. By late May, our health care center had recorded 15 virus cases and two deaths.” Ted has been coping with kidney failure, traceable to a bout of cancer 13 years ago, and is now enjoying the benefits of automated peritoneal dialysis (PD), in the comforts of home: “It’s a painless self-treatment that works while I sleep at night. I feel great, so I’m really exceptionally fortunate at this stage of life.” Ted and his wife, Minney, remain active in Democratic politics. Minney is a local ward leader in Bryn Mawr, and both planned to serve as election poll-watchers in November. n From Jerry Ford at Windrows in Princeton, New Jersey: “I have been living alone during this pandemic and am grateful that it has occurred later and not during my happier and productive years. I have had a full and wonderful life, and this lockdown has given me time to reflect. It started for me at St. George’s, where my dad, Jeremiah Ford II, was my football coach and English teacher. From 1941 to 1950, I enjoyed Newport during the summers as well as
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classmates we did not get to see at our would-have-been-70th Reunion this spring. Maybe next year.” n From Ted Hussey at Riverwood Plantation in Evans, Georgia: “I tested negative for COVID-19 and have not heard if I have antibodies in my blood. A neighbor shops for food for us. We did venture to the garden shop, wearing masks, to replace hanging baskets. Fortunately, our liquor store provides curbside service, so I swing by there to keep the bar stocked. We are slowly crumbling. Nancy has an arthritic hip, which limits our walking. We have both fallen this year, earning each of us a trip to the prompt care shop, which sent us on to the ER for MRIs. No permanent damage. My fall was more spectacular. I missed a step in a restaurant and broke my fall with my face. Our granddaughter, Megan, graduated from Concordia University in Irvine, California, summa cum laude, and has been accepted in a five-year Ph.D. program in clinical psych at Biola University, located in La Mirada in the Los Angeles Basin. She plans to do research in traumatic brain injury. Another granddaughter, Lauren, earned a master’s in education last year and will be moving back to California if the Navy can break the logjam of service people now on pause. Her husband, Joe Marsh, is a Navy hospital man who will be moving from Walter Reed in D.C. to Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego. And blathering on … I am vice president of our homeowners’ association. This is much easier than being president. … While watching a Smithsonian program, ‘Drain the Ocean,’ about the ships that were sunk in Bikini Atoll in the 1946 atomic bomb tests, I saw a frame that showed my dad. … We have shifted to cold-brewed coffee, which I make by soaking grounds in a stainless-steel basket for 12 to 24 hours in cold water. I then filter the coffee through a paper filter in our coffee brewer. Makes a hearty, but smooth brew. I think you can tell that we are not very busy.” n From Joe Burnett at Blakehurst in Towson, Maryland: “Boredom set in with the lockdown, because there’s nothing to do. I have just signed up to get an MBA and a law degree online to keep from being bored. I thought of the dean of the University of Maryland medical school, who is Jamaican by birth and has an M.D.,
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MEMORIAL LIST James W. Perkins ’41 - Sept. 7, 2020 Harry B. Heneberger Jr. ’45 - Sept. 1, 2020 John Forester ’47 - April 14, 2020 Wesley E. Rich II ’48 - 2019
Lawrence D. Martin ’56 - April 3, 2020 Tristram C. Colket, Jr. ’57 - July 6, 2020 George K. Crozer IV ’60 - June 15, 2020 J. Lewis Stackpole ’61 - April 19, 2020 Jerome H. Walther ’82 - March 26, 2020 Andrew T. Gregg ’83 - June 12, 2020 Matthew G. Calder ’90 - July 2, 2018 Stephen P.C. Fuchs ’92 - June 21, 2020 Julian P. Turner ’14 - May 23, 2020
COMMUNITY Mark Bistline, Former Faculty Nov. 13, 2020 Peter B. Freeman GP’00, Former Trustee Nov. 6, 2020 Charles W. "Skip" Howard II, Former Faculty Nov. 5, 2020
during school years. Bill Drury was my art teacher, and he helped me decide on a career in architecture. An NROTC scholarship at Princeton and three years in Japan as an officer in the Marine Corps set me on course as an architect. I served as an aerial photo interpreter in the First Marine Air Wing, great duty for an architect-to-be! Then back to Princeton, where I lived, had a private practice in architecture, and raised two families with six children and six grandchildren. I still do occasional work for my firm, Ford 3 Architects, where my hand-drafting skills are valued in a profession that now relies almost exclusively on the computer. Thanks, Bill Drury!” ■ From Kent Turner at Good Shepherd Village, Endwell, New York: “I haven’t had a haircut for four months! Our retirement community has been very strict, requiring masks and restricting visitors. Our meals are delivered to us. We have 500 residents,
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and so far not one case.” Kent added, “For the past six months I’ve been assisting on a history of the family business, founded by my dad in 1927 and carried on by Dad, my brother, and myself. Decorative fireplace equipment was our product. We sold the business in 1970, so it has been gone for 50 years. The history project has had me reminiscing about old friends, wonderful people, all of them gone now.” Kent and his wife, Barbara, became great-grandparents for the sixth time with the birth of Eliza, their granddaughter Sara’s first child, in late May. ■ From Jack Hopkins at home in Ashford, Massachusetts: “Isolation time is pretty lousy, but Judy and I are well, except for some aging stuff. I have been waiting for a couple of months (because of the virus) for an appointment with a surgeon who will remove a cataract from my right eye. Obviously, the anxiety and limited vision have been tough. Finally, it was set for June 8. … The late Peter Austin-Small ’49 and his wife, Linda, had been living nearby. We got to know Linda as she has been working in the office at our church. She is a lovely person. Sorry to hear of Peter’s passing.” ■ From Jay McLauchlan at home in Gloucester, Massachusetts: “Sara and I are well, but painfully distressed with the current political divisiveness in our capital and worldwide. Our solace is in our contributions to local causes. Our vegetable garden is flourishing; tending our acreage is a pleasure, and I have downsized to a small catboat for leisurely sails and fishing. My Maritime Gloucester involvement continues, with new cradle rollers to be installed on our waterfront, and an observation platform that I am decking and railing. A dear friend, Benjamin Ruhe, with no immediate family, has become a permanent patient at a local nursing home (currently virus-free). Ben is a world authority on boomerangs and kites, with two books on same. He worked as an archeological associate at the Smithsonian, and later, in his travels to 84 countries, he amassed a sizable collection of artifacts, most of which are in museums. I have taken the responsibility of collating Ben’s large personal collection, paintings, and writings, and have become executor of his estate. Sara is his health agent. We visit by FaceTime until a vaccine arrives.” ■ Attempts to reach our peerless
Senior Prefect, John Stein, at his home in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, have been unavailing. His classmates miss him and wish him well.
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Mitchell Pierson Jr., mitchpierson@gmail.com ■ I had a great chat with Bill King, who has moved east, down east, from Seattle to Johns Bay, Maine. He has retired from his teaching gig in Switzerland and is now at ease on the sensational forested Maine coast. ■ I called Hap Merriman to see how he is holding up after the death of his famous wife Kit. She fought the cancer to the end with grit and a “let's get on with it” spark; Hap is back in Little Compton, Rhode Island, and in very good spirits! ■ Good to hear from Mac Makenzie: “Your blank St. George’s 1951-class notes reminded me that you were our spiritual leader and one of the few who knew “the meaning of life.” The paucity of any reference to living or dead classmates made me briefly grimace and then focus on our present battle with the COVID-19. I have been under house arrest for the last two months as my age and pre-existing medical conditions have elevated my elder years to the highest risk level for this insidious malaise. Fortunately, I now live next to my daughter on Cape Cod and she was not only the best gift my deceased wife ever gave me, but her level of mirth makes quarantine bearable. Oddly, I may be one of the few who matriculated on the hill and now resides within a stone’s throw of the majestic source of total knowledge, which we craved no less than today’s lust for ingested fun powders. ■ “It is my sincere hope that you continue to be smitten with today’s confused mental environment and that you and your family still have the will to greet each other in the morning with a Cheshire Cat grin. Best in the bonds, Mac Mackenzie.” ■ As for me, I retired six years ago and gave the business to my older son, Trip (MP3). I cannot drive, doctor’s orders. So my main exercise is dog-walking three Norwich Terriers. Anyway, all is very good here! — Mitch
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George Peterson III, agpeterson3@yahoo.com ■ Bob Maddock is well, as is his Finnish
wife, Raija. They live on part of “The Forest Farm,” an experimental farm founded by Brigham Young in Salt Lake City. ■ Townsend C. Shields, whom we called Ted and who prefers Tod, lives in his former vacation house on 12 acres a stone’s throw from Canada in Tamarack City, Michigan. He and Carrie are well and have fun with their two dogs. Tod led a platoon of scout dogs during the Korean War, which sniffed out the enemy waiting in ambush — a rather hair-raising assignment always being ahead of his troops. The weather was mild this winter, which is a break for Carrie, whom, he jokingly admits, shovels the snow. ■ Jim Witker is living comfortably at the end of Long Island, but complains that his area is at the end of the food chain and the stores are not as well stocked. Jim enjoys calling around to his classmates and is involved in his wonderfully colorful painting. His talent is particularly valuable now with everyone living indoors and contact with others so limited, but he is busier than ever. ■ William Brayton, I was delighted to receive a phone call from Bill who lives in Somerset, Massachusetts. He is walking with a cane as many of us are and has had some medical problems, but seems to be handling them well. We all offer our best wishes to Bill and hope to hear more from him. ■ Pete Peterson reports that he and his family are all hunkered down and doing well, fortunately. His daughter, Kristen, at age 53, after 3½ years of law school at night, has just taken the Bar exam and received a letter of employment by a major health company – all this after raising three accomplished children. Pete still walks several miles every morning with his Labrador.
65th Reunion 1955 1956 1957
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CLASS NOTES
Robert S. Ingersoll III, robertsingersoll@aol.com ■ Quick, Class of '56. Who’s that in the photo? Yep. That’s our own David Welles, who accounted for his topside abundance back in May as “100-plus days without a
haircut thanks to the pandemic.” During that time, David said he was “locked in getting comfort by following Goethe’s suggestion of finding relief by gradually learning something new and experiencing gradual improvements.” He added that his teenage grandson took the pandemic shut down as an opportunity to learn "serious" poker online, playing with his friends on Zoom. n Arnold Whittelsey became the “Pied Piper of Hilton Head Island,” so to speak, helping to take care of Piper, his 2-year-old granddaughter. “She’s the Energizer Bunny; just keeps on running and by the end of the day I am definitely ready for a stiff old-fashioned!” says Whit. n Out in Pray, Montana, Jay Doolittle and June are becoming pig farmers in addition to raising sheep. They have some previous experience. Back during Jay’s SG career, they raised Attila the Hog, who grew to be a 400-pound porker.
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Theodore W. Scull, tedscull41@gmail.com n Olie Thorp writes: “Peter Archer and Olie Thorp recently gathered for their annual golfing competition on Cape Cod — Olie regained the trophy (lost in last year’s match) with a triple bogey on the 18th hole!” n Tom Winslow writes: “Hi, Ted. Glad to hear that you both are well in NYC! Thanks a ton for taking the helm of the '59 cruise ship'! Sheila and I spent 10 days in Sun Valley, Idaho, in early March. We actually were staying in Ketchum adjacent to SV, and when we left on March 10, there were no cases of the COVID-19. By
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Quick, Class of '56. Who's that in this photo?
the end of March, Ketchum had the highest per capita infection rate in the country. I have to say that we got out of town just in time. We are fine, but we are living in a scary world!” n Kane Phelps writes: “My life has continued to be filled with blessings — good health, great family, and purposeful career and more. Seems of late that I am more and more grateful for my loving wife, Dee Dee, focusing on kindness and playfulness, especially in these trying times. Our theme, ‘we aim to please.’ Also, a year ago I started playing Pickleball. Such a fun game, hybrid of tennis and ping-pong, very pro-social, played almost exclusively in doubles. Remember our old tennis coach, Chauncy Beasley? I love that name. How about his tweed suits and tweedy personality? Mr. Beasley not only taught me tennis, but he is the only master to give me straight A’s in Latin I! That might have been due to his knowing my dad. I have switched my counseling practice to 98 percent online. Since my last SG update, my practice has mushroomed due to being on insurance panel–preferred provider lists. No need for marketing. Just straight counseling and I love it! I have not mentioned the virus. My heart is with those who are suffering.” n Derek Storm reports: “It has been interesting living in Seattle, near where the first reported U.S. cases of COVID-19 were found in late February. In the middle of March, we went to New Jersey to visit my brother (Jonathan Storm, class secretary for '65). The plane was less than a quarter full, so we were able to stay away from everybody. People in New Jersey were scared of us, even though fewer than 1 in 10,000 people in Washington were known to have the disease. By the time we left New Jersey, 10 days later, New Jersey had passed Washington in reported cases. That plane only had about 20 passengers on it, and a lot of them were airline personnel returning home. Since then, like most people in Washington, we have been staying home, and all our volunteer activities are cancelled. I am building a new rig for my radio-controlled model sailboat, and Cindy has been gardening. We are getting to know our neighborhood better, going for long walks nearly every day. We set up our boat for cruising, since all the racing has been cancelled, and are
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Thomas H. Stevenson (Emeritus) / Robert L. Ceres (Acting), rceres@cox.net ■ This issue of the class notes was supposed to be easy. I thought that at least eight or 10 of us would show up for our 65th Reunion and by the end of this May 2020 weekend, I would have gathered sufficient information to put together an interesting column. Alas, this grand plan was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, cancelation of Alumni Weekend, and all the rest, which has essentially put our lives on hold, for what already seems like a very long time. n One person who I was pretty sure would attend this year’s cancelled Alumni Weekend was Peter Rand. Peter was with us our fourth-form year, but then was absent from our ranks until Sparky Watts reestablished communications some 15 years ago, at our 50th Reunion. Since then he has attended all of our reunions and became a welcomed addition to our class. Peter currently resides with his family in Gulf Breeze, Florida, is a Marine Corps veteran, and a now-retired IBM employee. n In our next edition of these notes, I will expand on these high points and try to connect some of the dots between then and now. For the next edition, I will also include some recent photos, if I can succeed in getting some input. Pictures like Bill Riley finishing (or starting) the marathon at age 82 and of Clem Newbold on a visit to New Hampshire at lunch with his brothers Mike and Ches are what is needed and would be perfect. Also, I will get Dave Hoopes back on board to assist with this column, as we all need help, and I clearly need a lot. n The good news for now is that as this is written, we are moving into Phase II of reopening Rhode Island, along with much of the nation. This means, inter alia, that (from my myopic viewpoint) I can now make an appointment to get a haircut and no longer look like a hippie. So, Hallelujah! Be safe and happy as we are on the road to recovery. Best regards to all.
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As part of their estate planning, Harry Strachan '59 and his wife, Marion, selected their plots and erected their tombstones. These photos were not photoshopped. Have a close look.
waiting for good weather to go sailing. Maybe today. I hope all ’59ers are staying well.” n Pete Illoway shares his move. “Last November, Chloe and I sold our house in Cheyenne and moved to an area north of Cheyenne with nine acres. It has been great especially with social distancing because we have been able to stay away from people and enjoy life in the country, except for going to the grocery store. We have had plenty to do and we are enjoying listening to birds, seeing sunrises and sunsets, and enjoying our time on the short grass prairie. Our new address is 1653 Morningstar Rd., Cheyenne, WY 82009-8562. No change in emails or telephone numbers.” n Fran Fox shares: “I think of all of you often and hope you are doing well during this unprecedented time. It is so difficult to know what is really going on in many parts of the world. One hears so many conflicting stories. In my case, little has changed in my lifestyle. I am isolated as always and buy much of what I need through Amazon. My sons are scattered from Bend, Oregon to Rome, Italy, which gives me some cause for concern. I talk to Tom Winslow occasionally and have been in touch with Peter Archer. The grizzly and black bears are out of hibernation and seem healthy. Ted, thank you for taking on this job.” n Victor Sheronas reports from Pennsylvania: “As with everyone else, Lisa and I have hunkered down at home. We
have put into practice some ground rules that avoid the marital problems inherent in Lisa’s favorite retirement saying of, “For better or for worse, but NOT for lunch!” The involuntary and lengthy ‘staycation’ has allowed each of us to catch up on a number of things and activities deferred, many of which center around decluttering in anticipation of moving to a retirement community. This keeps us occupied and out of each other’s hair except for meals, when we not only reconvene, but also catch up on things and share thoughts about stuff we have been reading, etc. In early April, we cleaned up our three raised vegetable garden beds. I then planted seeds in two of them; radishes have already sprouted above ground. The ground level plot, where we grow stuff that needs a lot of space, i.e. viney plants, is ready to be seeded. My younger daughter gave us some tomato and pepper plants to be nurtured and then transplanted into the third raised bed. Ever since they first flowered, I have been taking pictures of our flowers, bushes and trees and posting them on Facebook. It’s a sort of tonic against the gloom of the coronavirus lockdown.” n Howard Richmond reminiscences: “It’s been almost a year since we got together on the Hilltop for our reunion. It is strange to think of no Prize Day, no Alumni Weekend, a closed campus, and I guess the only
Above: Ted Scull '59 with his wife, Suellyn, in Central Park on Ted's birthday, April 1st. At right, top to bottom: At the 1959 Winter Dance the sweet lass on the arms of David Williams '59 and Blayney Colmore '59 was Molly Royster. She had a full dance card. Four years later she changed her name to “Molly Williams," and the rest is history.
CLASS NOTES
60th Reunion 1960 1961 1962
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Peter R. Bartlett, prbartlett42@gmail.com ■ Greetings from the Class of 1960, most of us still hunkered down or just emerging from sequestration as I submit this. COVID-19 is the focus of many of the comments from the 10 of us featured in these notes. Given the number of communications and the length of some that I have received, I have done my best to distill them to their essence, but all will have to bear with me due to the length of my report. n Airell Jenks reports that he is “Weathering the storm. Looking forward to a haircut next week with a new barber, scheduled of course — my first scheduled one going on 79 years. My old barber of nearly 30 years threw in the towel in the shutdown.” When I reported to Airell that I had not been shorn since February and had not shaved in six weeks, he harked back to 1965 when he had participated in a beard-growing contest aboard a destroyer in a “search and rescue patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin.” He did not win the contest, and after shaving it off in the Philippines has never had one since. n Bill (Woody) Wood Prince, who now lives in Middletown nearly next door to SG, reports that he spent six weeks in the “other” Newport (Newport Beach, California). He had a great time staying in a villa at Pelican Hill. “If anyone is thinking of So-Cal for a time away, I can recommend Pelican Hill without reservation. We left on Leap Day, Feb 29, for Rhode Island – lucky we got out when we did.” Being locked down in Middletown is a whole lot easier than in a city. “Newport in May is so delightful without tourists. I hope that everybody has stayed safe — we are at the age that we don’t want to get this damn bug!” n Our Senior Prefect, John McLeran, reported a nostalgic SG experience this year. “I read last summer that the Run for
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days! So, we soldier on and do hope the class does too. With best wishes, Marty.” n David Williams shares his thoughts: “I’ve been taking some courses online from Fantasy University. Now enrolled in their ‘P & D’ (Procrastination & Denial) program. Doing well.” Then he adds: “ODE TO THE HILLTOP AND SUMMERS PAST — Bedimmed indeed this old heart reads / of summer days when we were young / and thought they would never end. But now we know the clock ticks on / Stopping not for thee nor me. / No matter / The Grim Reaper’s call / He cannot take our memories / Erelong we set sail on / The Unknown Sea.” n Harry Strachan shares as only Harry can: “As part of our estate planning, we selected our plots and erected our tombstones. Approaching 80 next March, I thought it a good idea to follow up on brother-in-law's invitation to be buried in the Dodd family plot in Bellefontaine Cemetery where he has 12 openings. We moved fast to avoid the rush. The cemetery is unique; its inhabitants include General William Tecumseh Sherman and Tennessee Williams. Marion’s parents were devout Christians and inscribed “He Prayed” and “She Prayed” on their tombstones. Our inscriptions reflect our more secular instincts. Photos of our tombstones were not Photoshopped. Have a close look. They are in place awaiting their future occupants.” n Ted winds up these notes with his thoughts. “Suellyn and I are lucky, even now, to have lived together in Manhattan for 30 years. Under the current restrictions, we take great walks along the East and Hudson rivers and in Central Park and Carl Schurz Park, so we do not feel locked in as some do. Our apartment looks down on my first address in the city dating back to 1964. It may have been a tiny studio, but I quickly took to permanent city living, having first spent one wonderful year in Paris and another in London. The photo shows us in Central Park on my birthday, April 1, the date shared with my mother, who produced me on her 25th. I hope we can keep sharing our lives with our classmates for some years to come.”
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sounds are the redo of the old Schoolhouse. Anne and I live on seven acres in the Sonoran Desert north of Tucson on an Airpark. We can’t see our neighbors, which is nice, and see the deer and other wildlife wander by. We no longer fly, myself due to my eyesight and Anne due to her hearing. She wrote a book, “Sticks, Wire and Cloth,” about our flying all over the country. You can get it on Amazon. With the virus problem I am cut off from my granddaughters in Houston and don’t know how long it will last. I hope you are all well and keeping safe as we are all in that ‘danger’ zone.” n Blayney Colmore: “As an introvert, isolation isn’t as painful as for some. Except I’m married to an extravert. … Beaches reopened this morning (April 27), which is heartening and nerve-wracking. Our age makes me wonder what sort of end-of-care orders our classmates have written. When there was talk of perhaps needing triage for ventilators, it triggered a heavy conversation among our children and us. Doesn’t seem right that even a healthy 80-year-old would get priority. Anyone who has been around intubation might choose not to agree to it. Made it back to Vermont in May, via scarily packed plane rides. Had N95 masks, wipes, gloves, prayers. We can get out just enough to mow, plant, in hopes of fruitful harvest. Plans to return to California sometime after the election (more prayers) hang in the balance of whether there is a rebound after opening up.” n From across the Great Western Ocean, Martin Thompson, living in London, recalls: “Last year Su and I ran an active B&B mainly for guests from Europe who wanted to improve their English. This, of course, had to finish when the COVID-19 hit us in March. In early February this year we spent a week in La Gomera, off Tenerife (Canary Islands), a fascinating island, although small with high mountains, before travel was disrupted by the virus. On the family side, Su’s eldest, Nik, reached his 50th. Another birthday, my grandson, Jamie, reached his 18th. We live in lockdown with wonderful neighbors who help us out with shopping, etc., and a weekly delivery from Sainsbury’s, who have been excellent. The virus is hitting us hard, but our NHS has been and is outstanding, building new hospitals in
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the Pies race was still happening. On a whim, I called to see if SG would like the first winner to come back and run the race again 61 years later.” Doug and Melanie Lewis (the race organizers and math teachers) accepted and hosted John. “Since I had not been back for many years, I thought it might be a perfect time to ramble around the campus, meet some of the teachers and students, so off I went — ran the race, had a wonderful tour of the campus (thanks to Melanie), met some students, and was totally charmed by Shirley Hersey.” Being overwhelmed by the campus, John particularly was impressed by two hockey rinks. “If we had two in our day, we could have traded one in for a girls’ school. A weight room bigger than my house, and food you could actually look forward to and get up and leave as you please — think of that! All in all, a wonderful experience. Sorry it was not on Alumni Weekend; it would have been grand to have caught up with what is left of us.” John is still working in the environmental field/land conservation, and wonders if “anybody is of a local land trust?” n John Robb opined at some length on COVID-19 and updated his activities. I will excerpt some of his comments, and hope I do justice to the essence of his remarks. The COVID-19 lockdown has little impact on him. “As a semi-recluse myself, it hasn’t been too big of an adjustment for me — really more of a nuisance than anything else, since as the family shopper I now have to always go out masked to provide for my little family of wife plus cats.” The number of confirmed cases in his largely rural environs of Southwest Virginia is relatively small. “Our propagation rate … is well less than the sustaining rate of 1. Asian governments (Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong) did the right things from the beginning, the most important being the securing of adequate testing capacity and enough effective masks for the population at large — neither of which we have yet to do in this country. These Asians did not need to be cajoled into wearing masks either. Our authorities are still floundering around, speaking with contradictory voices, flip-flopping with their advice, and generally pursuing inappropriate and even disastrous counter-measures, while ignoring the
prime desiderata: the identification and isolation … of the tiny minority of high-risk people — mostly the over-70s with at least one, and preferably two co-morbid conditions. No need to lock in anyone else at all.” John has struggled with atrial fibrillation for some years and it is now “threatening to shut [him] down athletically.” He has been mainly an endurance athlete. “I did bicycle ultra-marathoning from ages 30-55 (averaging 15-16 mph over 100 mile events with thousands of feet of climbing), then after switching, mostly for safety reasons, to fast endurance walking on the treadmill, I started to get serious about this some 10 years ago and began entering local running races as a walker. He is proud of “world-class times” at three distances. “I am just hoping to be able to maintain a reasonably high level of fitness. The game, after all, remains the same: doing the best you can with what you have to work with.” n In Palm Beach, one will find Billy Gubelmann “hunkered down waiting for the U.K. to open up.” Billy and wife, Shelley (a Brit by birth), usually spend the summer months in London, but find it less appealing with restaurants and theatres shuttered. “If we have to stay home and watch TV, we might as well do it here where we can go out and things are open.” He sends his “best wishes and good health to all.” n My fellow Californian, Sandy McKleroy and wife, Kaye, remain in the San Francisco Bay Area. When examining my e-mail class address list, he writes “good to see most of our names [23 known surviving Class of ‘60 members] here. It reminds me of an oversight that we never had a formal or semi-formal photo of our class. Too bad! In honoring our cancelled [postponed] 60th, I have enjoyed poring over the 1960 Lance. Time travel! I pray for everybody’s well-being.” Sandy describes his own health as good, “bolstered by walks in the woods, much reading, and research on the plague, YouTubing, and musical creation of all sorts. Our Berkeley La Pena chorus rehearses online by section, so we do some limited singing. Could be worse and hope it doesn’t get that way!” n As a couple of us have noted, Joe Wright feels that “at 76, no news is good! Boring is good!” As with all of us, he is making the best of it self-isolating. He is back in
Toronto since returning there from Florida on March 6. “We exercise with Pilates and classes on Zoom and walk in the ravines that run through Toronto and provide lots of room for social distancing.” Joe and I have agreed that we are some of the very lucky ones who may be bored and secure, but “sadly there are many, many more who are financially and emotionally devastated.” n Albert (Robbie) Robinson checked in briefly from Wellesley, Massachusetts, with nothing much to say. “Nothing new from me, Peter, thanks be to God!” n Disrupted plans seem to be a common theme. Don Chadwick and his wife, Janice, had to interrupt a dream trip to Japan in early March when Don was felled by a respiratory virus, which he believes was not the “big, bad Virus.” They have subsequently tested negative for COVID-19. “At our age, although we are careful about social distancing, wearing masks, etc., you still have got to live and live the good life, though we have curtailed traveling for the time being.” He hopes that by August a golfing event in Oregon will occur on schedule. “Otherwise, we are still hunkering down in Northeast Georgia, looking forward to our ‘grands’ and daughter visiting in late July.” n “After 60 years from St. George’s, some accounting of myself might reasonably be expected,” writes John (Putt) Powell. Putt’s message follows: “In short, as Verdi’s Tosca sang, in the end Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore — I have lived my life for art and love. Every blessing that really matters in life has been granted me. And I am clear that it is all luck. Fifty-three years ago, a leggy Vassar girl with mousy hair, distinctive nose, big googly glasses and a bratty kid-sister attitude was assigned to me for in-country orientation in the Peace Corps in Ibarra, Ecuador. Indulgent parents gave us a place to build a house. So here we are now in a small cabin, on the edge of a salt marsh in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. We built the Salt Marsh Pottery together. Raised two strong daughters, have five grandchildren, and a curious, ethnically and politically diverse, extended family and friends. I have driven a big red fire truck with a screaming siren. I have rafted over Lava Falls and slipped silently between walls of Zoroaster Granite in the Grand Canyon. I have painted plein-air in a vineyard in
CLASS NOTES
Remembering J. Lewis (“J. Lew”) Stackpole II '61 who died on April 19, 2020.
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Gaylord C. Burke Jr., gaylordburke@gmail.com ■ Here we are in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic with expectations for our 60th Reunion next year coinciding with the school’s 125th anniversary. Let’s all of us plan to make it happen. n Our ever-vigilant leader, Fred Stetson, wrote: “Gentlemen: In case you missed it, please note the third to last paragraph of The New York Times article republished in the SG Bulletin, Spring 2020 issue, page 19. Who knew Pete Bouker was lauded in the nation’s newspaper of record?” Nice going, Pete. n Pete responded: “Hi Fred, You are very kind to point out my laudedness; I
not on ice but bumping up against more than the usual amount of danger just by going to work. On top of that, since she is not an ER doc, the shutdown of elective procedures means she could get furloughed. I don’t expect it would last for long here since Washington is allowing elective procedures to resume May 18, but it’s just one more thing to fret about. Yard work, FaceTime, and learning new tunes pass the time. Note to Otto Koch and Alden Keyser — I have gotten into the Monk weeds. I think the fellow was a genius, pure and simple. Tunes like ‘Ask Me Now,’ ‘Balue Bolivar Blues’ and ‘Well You Needn't’ can keep me busy for days. Hope you are both able to keep it going where you are. My best to all classmates. Jake” n And now from our Iron Man, who has been carrying our flag in the alumni hockey games and running races with his grandson until recently, appears to no longer be exempt from some of the illnesses that have caught up to some of our other classmates. Bill Batchelder informs us: “Six, eight weeks ago I had what some are calling a significant stroke. Most everything seems OK except my use of the computer. I can drive, talk, etc., but the computer doesn’t work like it used to. I keep plugging away at it — time will tell. Batch” n Best wishes to Batch and the rest of us as we cope with being in the category of heightened risk for all sorts of experiences. n On a somber note, Fred Stetson offers this reminder of our mortality: With sadness, we report that our classmate, J. Lewis (“J. Lew”) Stackpole II, died April 19, 2020, in greater Portland,
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missed the article when I read the Bulletin. I think that may have been the only time I scored anything. I would even bet that Karl (Stein ’60) didn’t mean to call that play, particularly with all the marbles on the line. It all worked out and we won and Karl looked like a genius for making that call. He probably would still be a persona non grata if it had not worked out. Regardless, that article was terrific to tie that football game and the Pie Race together and the stuff about Mike Morris was hilarious. What fun! Thanks again and I hope you and your family are all well and staying safe. Pete” n From way down south in Brazil, our Southern Hemisphere Correspondent, Chris Simonds, sends us this great news: “[In April] we received confirmation of approval of a Management Plan by Institute Chico Mendes for Passarim Reserve, our 235-acre Nature Preserve. The institute has jurisdiction over all environmental reserves in the country of Brazil. Since its creation in 2006, the reserve has received several thousand schoolchildren learning about nature; groups of adults practicing yoga, meditation, and exploring our 8-mile trail system, and bird watchers filming the abundance of species found in the Southern Atlantic Forest. All the best and hope to see you at our 2021 Reunion. As some might add: God willing and the creek don’t rise. Chris” n Jake Powell reporting in from the Pacific Northwest: “We are hanging in there, and, like the Swoosh Bird, going around and around in ever-decreasing concentric circles. Fortunately, no resounding Swoosh yet. In Washington, the cases and deaths are leveling off, but not exactly falling yet so we continue to hunker. “The local grandkids (not so little anymore — 11 and 9) are really digging the virtual schooling routine, especially since it gives them access to laptops, which they can use to sneak over to YouTube when their dad is not looking. He does try to run a tight ship, but is easily subverted. They move way too fast. I worry about all the folks on ice for the duration. We have been doing a small part by making donations, getting take-out more often, and renewing theater subscriptions even though there is no chance we will see the plays. In addition, forget live music for the time being. “I also worry about the folks, like my daughter the internist, who are
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Vindrac-Alayrac, France, and on Lord Hill in Chatham, Maine. I hope my paintings pay forward some clearing in a frightening and anxious sad world. Tonight as I sat on the deck of our cabin, having a glass of cheap box wine with my brother Robert, who became the great doctor I was meant to be, I am thinking how do I paint in such a way that these inept daubings make a difference like the masterworks in the National Gallery? Late bloomers of the SG Class of ’60, take heart. We are not dead yet.” It is great to hear that Putt has found fulfillment following St. George’s. n My current existence pretty much mirrors that of others. We had to cancel a family (11 adults and teenagers) cruise to the Baltic in June, and have had to delay and move our plans for our get-together in Kauai in December. Hopefully, a COVID-19 surge in the fall will not scuttle these plans. We have been locked down here in California since March 13 with gradual reopening beginning now. We are, however, being more cautious than many, since I foresee a significant rebound of the virus in the face of aggressive “opening up.” Meanwhile, I continue to read many of the books in my library that I have acquired over the years but never got around to reading. Getting my haircut tomorrow for the first time since February. I – speaking for myself and I hope many others – pray for our country amidst the pandemic, financial peril, and social upheaval arising from ongoing events in Minneapolis and Georgia. n The Class of ’60 sends along to all in the St. George’s family our best wishes for security and good health.
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Oregon. “For the last few years his health had been in a slow and steady decline, the hard miles on his body showing themselves, even after he miraculously survived a bone marrow transplant in 1995,” his son, Tim Stackpole, reported in an email sent to family and friends, including Jake Powell, who forwarded it to Gaylord Burke, who then passed the news on to me, Fred Stetson. One of three SG classmates who became architects, J. Lew was inspired by the late Richard Grosvenor, a beloved faculty member and chair of the SG Art Department. J. Lew had a keen interest in architecture and art, and he pursued architectural projects in Montana, Colorado, Alaska, China, and elsewhere. At the time of our 50th SG Reunion, he worked as an urban designer with the AGER Group in Beijing. When living in Montana, he became a rancher, comfortable riding horses and working with other farm animals. A photo of J. Lew shows him smiling with joy and pride, holding a young lamb. While at SG, J. Lew played on the varsity soccer and hockey teams, and he also enjoyed sailing. After graduating, he went on to Middlebury College, where he played on the freshman hockey team. He was also a cross-country skier and a downhill skiing instructor. In 1962 or ’63, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor’s degree (1965) and a master’s degree from the Honors Design Program (1967). “Dad was larger than life and brought a sense of adventure and romanticism to everything he did,” his son wrote. “His passion for architecture was unparalleled. From my first memories to the last months of his life, he was always drawing. Reams of paper and napkins found their way to his pen. His legacy was not only in the buildings he designed but in the drawings that saturated the walls of his home, office, and countless sketch books.” During our sixth-form year at St. George’s, J. Lew and his family invited the Class of ‘61 to their oceanfront home for a clambake/lobster feast. This was a delightful occasion, a rare chance for our class to enjoy an off-campus gathering in Newport. J. Lew is the grandson of William Holland Drury, who taught art at SG from 1915-1953 and for whom the school’s William H. Drury and Richard Grosvenor Center for the Arts is named.
J. Lew was born January 20, 1943, the son of Katherine H. Drury and Richard Stackpole. “My past has been rich …,” J. Lew wrote in the 1961 Lance yearbook. “I’ve met many fine people and seen many great things. … My past is the cornerstone for the future me.” n So, stay safe, healthy and strong — and looking forward to seeing all of you at the celebration of our Reunion in 2021!
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George H. Helmer, wbi@vermontel.net ■ Sandy Scull: “I'm going to be a grandfather. The garden grows. My scans are good. My love life, more sound. E-biking was a gift when hilly roads to remote beaches were closed. Appreciating being here to witness potential for systemic social change. More hope (so far) than the overwhelm of '68.” n For Memorial Day, Wimby Hoyt ’63 posted on Facebook this photo of his dad, Norrie, on his WWII PT Boat. Norrie and Kitty for that matter, were so important to so many of us. I enjoyed this glimpse of his smiling face, as he was so fond of saying, “immortalized in imperishable celluloid,” so I forwarded the photo to our class, prompting several amusing stories. Wimby wrote, “It’s very heart-warming to read these posts. Best father a boy could ask for. I hope you are all coping famously with current circumstances and are well and happy. Fondly, Wimby.” It seems more than a little odd to me that this photo was taken about 75 years ago. And 75 years before our 1962 June graduation was — if I can still do the math — 1887! n In the time of COVID, Jill and I feel like we’re cheating, somehow — tucked into our green hillside, responsible only to Chester (dog), Wellie (horse), the gardens, the trails, the wood pile, and the family Zooms. Stay safe! GHH
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Robert C. Chope PhD, rcchope@sfsu.edu ■ I hope that this finds you all safe and healthy. Most of you are celebrating your 75th birthday this year and I offer my congratulations. I celebrated with a quarantini party on Zoom and a pizza delivered to my front door. Such are the times of the pandemic. ■ I hear from Lucien Wulsin regularly, and he is hunkered down like
Above: For Memorial Day, Wimby Hoyt ’63 posted on Facebook this photo of his dad, Norrie, SG Faculty 1946-1975, on his WWII PT Boat.
the rest of us. He works on his blog, cleans the house, the yard, and his sailboat, and walks the dog. Like many of us, he will not be getting on a plane or eating in a sit-down restaurant for quite a while. He continues to prepare great essays and has one on mail-in voting and another on the wreckage of the American social safety net due to the coronavirus and other public health missteps. You should check his work at luciensblog.com. ■ George Clifford is well and has two grandchildren who live in Georgia. He says that FaceTime works well, but he would rather travel and see them in person. ■ Sheppard Ferguson celebrated his 75th birthday on St. George’s Day this year. He was supposed to celebrate with his daughters and families at his place in Provence, but had to cancel the trip. He is using technology extensively. He is taking Tai-Chi classes five times a week via Zoom, and he uses Zoom in his service on the Progressive Watertown steering committee and the Town Democratic Committee. He uses other software to assist his grandchildren reading two or three times a week. He is also calling voters in Pennsylvania and Maine for Swing Left and is regularly gardening and baking, especially enjoying his own scones and cornbread. I met Shep’s son-in-law several years ago while he was living in Oakland and he is now a team psychologist for the Utah Jazz. ■ David du Pont checked in from Tuxedo Park, New York, Charlie Geer’s childhood neighborhood, which David feels is as nice a place one can be in during the quarantine. He is
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Peter H. French, phfrench4@gmail.com ■ My email soliciting “notes” from you produced surprising results – quite a number of you wrote in. I'll chalk that up to one of three causative influences: (a) the pandemic; you were bored out of your minds and needed something to do; (b) my piteous request; you felt sorry; or (c) you were shamed into it. Regardless, I am appreciative. ■ Jumping right in, the ever-peripatetic Bill Abbott reports, “As you and some of our other classmates
know, Sally and I love to travel. The current situation has cancelled that for a while, but last fall we took a 5½-week vacation that was, in my thoughts, amazing. At the end of October, we flew to Paris to start the trip. Spent three nights there and got to see Monet’s work at L’Orangerie, the work being done on Notre Dame, and spent time just enjoying the city. It was All Saints Weekend so everyone was out of school and off work, so Paris was very crowded, but we loved it. Next we took a high-speed train to Milan on our way to Rome. They do run direct to Rome but run at night and we wanted to see the countryside. Train can run at 186 miles per hour and does for most of the way. Could not do that here. Only spent one night in Milan, but will definitely go back. We stayed at a great B&B and would like to use it again as a base to explore Milan. On to Rome where we spent four nights in a guesthouse three blocks from the Vatican. Had the best gelato I have ever had at the recommendation of our host. Went to the Vatican Museum, saw the Sistine Chapel (way too crowded to truly enjoy), the Castel Sant’Angelo, and took a tour of Ostia Antica, the first port city of Rome before the Tiber changed its course. The city was buried by silt from river floods and stayed that way for about 1500 years. Best preserved ancient city of the Roman era in my opinion. Next, we left Rome and boarded the brand new Sky Princess for its third ever cruise. Twenty-eight days later we got off in Fort Lauderdale after seeing Montenegro, Corfu, Malta, Sicily, Naples for Herculaneum, Livorno for Pisa, Genoa, Toulon, France, Gibraltar, Barcelona, Malaga, Valencia, Cadiz, Lisbon and finally Funchal, the capital of Madeira, before crossing the Atlantic. Since then, travel has been strained. Sally has been in Maryland with her father while her mother is in hospice and going slowly. I have been back and forth several times, but have been in Connecticut since mid-March. Will go back as soon as Sally tells me to, now that some of the restrictions are lifting. Hope all of the class is well and staying safe. Would love to hear from any of you.” (If nothing else, we now know who to call for directions!) ■ Ed Wheeler weighed-in with a topic that is all too familiar to us. “After spending three months in our
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Robert E. L. Taylor III, retaylor3d@gmail.com ■ The pandemic terminated Ford Ballard’s part-time job as a tour guide at The Breakers and The Elms, but he is still in Newport, “surviving with books, movies, and long walks.” ■ Tom Thayer found a new calling as a frequent distributor of Internet jokes, videos, and half-century-old stories and photos of classmates from the Red & White. George Earle and Bob Delgado chipped in jokes, too. ■ Norris Strawbridge posted watercolors regularly on Instagram. ■ Noel Bennett was fortunate to avoid the damage as wildfires ravaged forests and houses near his Boulder, CO home late in 2020. “Most of the areas I like to hike are closed as fires still flicker even after a foot of snow has fallen. And yet the Vail Valley and Aspen areas just booked record real estate sales in September, mostly due to COVID escapees from the east and west coasts.” ■
William C. Strachan, wstracha@cox.net ■ To begin with, I think we should have a moment to remember the members of our class who are no longer with us: Mr. James B. Congdon, Jr. Mr. Kenneth T. Hannibal Mr. Dean A. Konopisos Mr. William H. McKleroy, III Mr. Charles G. Rice, Jr. Mr. Ryckman R. Walbridge Mr. H. Harrison Wulsin Looking back in our yearbook brought back so many memories involving all of them. ■ On a different note, I spoke with David Mitchell recently. He informs me that he has been volunteering with students at the University of Virginia imparting his voluminous knowledge of the radio business. He has had to do this digitally, which has been a challenge during this pandemic. “All that and golf, too.” ■ So for myself, I do volunteer consulting work with the Connecticut municipal insurance pool known as CIRMA. I am on the Operations and Underwriting Committee. CIRMA is one of the oldest, largest, and most respected public entity insurance pools in the United States. As you might imagine the Plaintiff’s Bar is always thinking up new things to challenge public entities. On June 6, my wife Marni and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. We were joined by our two married daughters, their husbands and our six grandchildren for a celebratory dinner “at a distance.” All this leads up to the memory of my wedding day with groomsmen David G. Mitchell and Dr. David J. Rawlings and Best Man, my brother Harry L. Strachan, III ’59, amongst a host of others! ■ SG abides!
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working from home and his clients have allowed most of his 200-plus engineers to do the same. His children are 35 and 30 and are spending extensive time with him during the quarantine enjoying long walks and great meals together. He wishes us all health and happiness. ■ I know we are all overwhelmed by the pandemic, the virulent images, and the new use of Zoom and other forms of video conferencing and telecommunications. And as I prepare this tonight, I am under curfew in Oakland as our community struggles with the nationwide upheaval of social unrest. I can only wish you all peace and safety in these demanding times. And, of course as always, please let me hear from you.
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ever-shrinking apartment in Philadelphia, we are leaving for our house in the Adirondack Mountains. We will spend the next five months looking at the wide-open space and high peaks. I hit the ‘donate’ button for the class giving, and I hope my little bit will help the cause.” (It does, thank you.) Ed went on to another topic that is near-and-dear to all of us as we pass into our 70s: “the long journey of life. I have slowly put aside my commercial photography business and have turned to digital art. I created a concept of taking self-portraits and digitally painting myself dressed as Santa into old masterpieces (www. santaclassics.com). I have had exhibitions in a number of U.S. museums as well as in Moscow, Rome, and last year, Hong Kong. Wife, Alina, and I attended the opening in the middle of all the HK riots. Oh and by the way, my grandson, Aiden, will start his first year of college in the fall.” ■ We have spent enough time in the east; let us go west to hear from Herrick Lidstone. “Having turned 70 years old (as have most, if not all, of us), things start to mean differently. Having practiced law for now 42 years, being still married to the same person for the same 42 years, having a few writing credits to my name (see some at https://ssrn.com/author=802201), and readily describing my job as having not worked a day in my life, I have had little thought of retirement. COVID-19 has put a different spin on a number of things. Working from home has been a real pleasure. My office is still closed to ‘vulnerable employees’ (which by my age definition includes me). Thanks to the Peloton downstairs, almost daily walks with my wife, and occasional golf with my grandchildren, I am in about the best physical shape of my last 25 years. Economics is always an issue, especially in today’s market and our inability to forecast the future. Professor Archie Carroll has written a paper: ‘To Retire or Not To Retire; That Is The Question.’ In it, Prof. Carroll says: ‘To retire or not to retire is a strategic decision that each of us has to make just as companies and executives make strategic decisions. To retire is not an administrative decision; nor is it an operating decision. It is a strategic decision. It is a decision concerning your life’s purpose and your next career – what I call your ‘retirement career.’” Not sure
where I am going with this, but clients and colleagues still call, and the grandkids and my wife are always available for a reality check or a golf game.” Herrick, good advice and it seems at least one of your classmates took it. ■ Jeffrey Jackerson writes, “This past calendar year has been transformative. I allowed all my medical licenses to expire and retired; a bit strange to walk a new road. During the course of this COVID pandemic, the state of Delaware allowed me (as a recent licensee) to return to practice without licensure. This would have been primary care, which I have not done since 1979. I considered it briefly, but I would likely be more of a liability than an asset and declined. I tracked down the Rev. Robert Crawford and thanked him for my course in ‘Situational Ethics.’ The pillars of the course guided me in my practice of medicine. It was a bit strange (my take) in the context of our student/teacher relationship addressing him as Rev. Gregg. I think as a graduate physician I earned the right to call him Bob, as I did, and it worked. We had a small and pleasant exchange of emails. I have stayed locked down here in Fort Lauderdale. My travels are by phone and I have been in touch with Russ Sherman, Paul Fees and Peter French. Swapping stories and memories keeps a smile on my face. If any of you are in Ft. Laud, give a call ... we will do dinner. Best regards.” ■ Experiencing the devastation of the pandemic firsthand, another one of our doctors (who comes from a long line of doctors and has passed along his passion for the profession, William (Wing) Province reports, “Working in the healthcare field has been rough. Incomes have been affected because a lot of the work in certain practices is for elective surgeries, which were cancelled by the governor. So, in spite of working hard, devising new safety protocols for the employees and patients, for some doctors’ incomes were slashed. (Ouch!) My son, the ER MD in Park City, Utah, volunteered for two weeks’ work in NYC at Columbia Presbyterian, and we’re happy to report he arrived home safe and sound.” Wing hopes everyone stayed safe during the crisis and urges that should the pandemic continue or resurface “our classmates follow the CDC guidelines: washing hands thoroughly (20 seconds),
wear a mask, and social distance. It works! My son saw hundreds of patients dying and described the COVID-19 victims as ‘dead people breathing.’” All we can say, Wing, is thank you and your family for your/their dedication, sacrifice and hard work. The pandemic certainly wreaked havoc with most of us, leaving rude and distressing consequences in its wake. ■ Case in point, our resident professor, Chris Morris. “My family and I were on a spring break trip in Virginia when the mayor of NYC said he was going to shut down the place. Before the governor of the state slapped him down, we were in our car, heading north. We loaded up — computers, books, food, etc., but not the extra toilet paper! — and drove to our place in the Berkshires. We have been here comfortably since mid-March, fairly well supplied. My boy (age 15) was in his first year at Deerfield, so he started online school, and I continued my U of Maryland classes online. After four years of homeschooling, Stephen adjusted well, but I am too old to learn new tricks and did not enjoy Zoom instruction and Zoom administrative meetings. Not a problem for me now, as I am retiring this summer. The younger generations can figure out how to rescue the universities. I had looked forward to travelling when I retired — long plane and train trips, long stays abroad. Perhaps we will do that again sometime. In the meantime, I have plenty of writing to occupy my time. My best to all.” ■ Continuing with the theme that “this pandemic sucks and Zoom meetings are an unfortunate, but necessary evil,” we heard from Craig Nordlund. “Not much new here. Like the rest of the world, we have been ‘sheltering in place’ since mid-March. We hope to be able to peek out soon with masks on and social distancing. Sally and I have been watching our first grandchild (born in August 2019) grow via FaceTime and posted videos. Not as much fun as being there, but technology does help. I am still on two boards (First Technology Federal Credit Union and Muskingum University). As you might imagine, small liberal arts colleges and banks are having to jump through lots of contingency plan hoops these days, so I have been occupied with a plethora of Zoom meetings. We still hope to be able to travel to our summer lake house in
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Jeffrey Longcope, jlongcope@earthlink.net ■ Great to hear from Victor Morrison, who provides a coast-to-coast update on himself and several others: “We’re still in
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William G. Dean, wdean7@aol.com / We sincerely thank Andy Davies for his 13 years of service as class correspondent. Seth Cunningham writes: Before COVID19 caused us all to be quarantined, I had just started volunteering for the Red Cross as a Disaster Action Team member (DAT). I would do two eight-hour shifts a week. We help people who have just become homeless by being burned out of their home by a fire. We get them two nights of shelter in a New York City hotel, a subway card, some money ($125 per family member), and a personal hygiene kit. A Red Cross caseworker sees them the next day to help with a longer plan to get their life back together and navigate the various New York City social agencies. It is a very
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Brattleboro, Vermont, where I’m CFO for Northeast Processing, a CBD extractor, full-service analytics laboratory, and finished-product manufacturer. Right now we’re doing mostly white-label products, but are moving towards developing our own brand. The stay-at-home orders slowed things down, so we switched gears and are now manufacturing hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. I’m working from my kitchen, but miss the camaraderie of the workplace and the travel. My daughter was planning to get married in September in Jackson, Wyoming, but plans have been delayed by COVID-19. She will get married, just nothing fancy until next year. My son is still in Jackson, Wyoming. I’ve run across a few fellow classmates: Philip Marshall seems to be doing very well, and Allan McLane, who lives nearby in Marlboro, Vermont, just married one of my wife’s recently retired co-workers. We have had some nice socially distant dinner parties. Small world. My work has brought me into contact with Bill Hilliard, who as CEO of Atalo Holdings, is involved in the hemp/CBD industry in Kentucky. We’ve traded phone calls about the business and caught up on our respective lives. I also had a brief chat with John McClave just after the stay-at-home order was passed in San Francisco to hear how he and Jan are doing. He said that all is well and that working from home hasn’t changed much for him. Best to all.”
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said I had to as I had no time for work. Busier than ever, I will find time to see my family in Ohio and Kentucky, where I have two grandchildren (15 and 12), when the border reopens. While Canada is a separate country from the U.S., the very open, but now closed, border has put a different spin on everything — from travel to seeing family.” ■ John Pepper, we have to get together when this COVID craze subsides. A trip to Dundas perhaps? ■ Finally, from Clint Howell, a man who is to the point and, in this instance, one of few words: “I have little to say other than bravo to you for your work on class notes. Few contribute, but I would guess that most like to read them. Thank you from all of us and you can print this.” ■ Well, happily, quite a few of you responded this time, for which I’m very appreciative (I'll have to remember that tactic; getting down on my knees and begging!). And I concur with Clint, I think most of us do like to read or hear about our classmates. Better yet, meeting in person is all the more satisfying. I had the pleasure this past year of connecting with Clint twice, once on the Cape and once in Greenwich. Personal interaction brings back tons of memories, as evidenced by our 50th and as apparently desired by what several of you encouraged in these class notes. In closing, I communicated with a couple of other classmates who had hoped to get something in for this Bulletin, but circumstances intervened. For now, their identities will be shrouded in secrecy only to be disclosed in the subsequent Bulletin.
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northern Minnesota, but time will tell. In the meantime, I must say that if you have to be trapped somewhere, the San Francisco Bay Area is a pretty good place to be. Stay safe and healthy.” ■ Geoff Verney graciously responded to both parts of my original email to all of you, for notes and philanthropy. Thank you, Geoff, for your generous support of SG. “OK. I gave. You are a good soldier. When the pandemic was finally acknowledged by the ‘stable genius,’ no doubt high from the exhilaration of his Lysol cocktail (who said he didn’t drink), Liz and I were on Boca Grande and remained so until June 16 when we went to Nantucket. The coronavirus infected few people on this island, the only difficulty being four of the admitted five infected were dear friends and close neighbors. Thankfully, all are recovered. Lizzie, our daughter and former Dragon, remained in Unionville, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Burl Vannote, and their 2-year-old daughter, Liza, on their farm and invited her brother, Spencer, and his girlfriend, Amelia, to hunker down. We feel fortunate to have been in Florida, able to walk deserted beaches, golf, and boat. Weather has been delicious until the past week when the summer humidity and heat arrived. Based on what we hear from our northern friends, we can have no complaint. Best to you and all the class.” ■ I am going to go out on a limb here, Geoff, and surmise there is an outside chance that the President may not get your vote? There’s the pandemic and then there’s the issue of borders — at least a couple of our classmates have to deal with the latter, Michael Williams for one. “Judy and I returned to Canada early in March from Florida out of concern of border problems. Now we are fully ensconced in the limited shopping, wearing the mask, social distancing routine. When I was in banking, we were alarmed by mask wearers and now it is the norm; how things change. I have had two new step-grandchildren enter the world this year, which has kept us busy. In spite of the new challenges and duties, I continue my post-retirement activities in photography, writing, family history and genealogy. Then there’s the property manager job with a house, cottage up north, and the condo in Florida. Somebody asked me if I’m retired, and I
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Above, top to bottom: Seth Cunningham '73 (far left) with representatives of the Red Cross ringing the closing bell of the NYSE before his hospitalization with COVID-19 in early April. / Cunningham '73 with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT) in early Jan. 2020 .
intense, emotional, and spiritual experience to look into the eyes of someone who has just lost everything except the clothes on their back. I often think about the paraphrased Bible verses, “I had no shelter and who took me in; I was hungry and who fed me, I was thirsty and who gave me drink.” Another memorable positive experience I had with the Red Cross was when I was chosen to be on the podium with the 10 people from the Red Cross to ring the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange on March 10, 2020. It is on YouTube or the archives of MSNBC, and I am the one on the left enthusiastically waving. I worked for 17 years at Morgan Guaranty and stared for seven years into the facade of the New York Stock Exchange. I left as a managing director after cofounding Morgan Ventures, our in-house venture capital firm that was extremely successful with a 10-year internal rate of return of 33 percent. It was fun to see the other side
of the iconic facade. At the beginning of April, I was found wandering around on the street in front of my own apartment building and making nonsensical replies. Luckily, my superintendent, who knew me well and saw that I had left my apartment door open, knew something was amiss. He attempted to converse with me and then he called 911. I think I may have been delirious from a high fever and I was taken to the nearest emergency room, which was only two blocks away. I was admitted immediately after I tested positive for COVID-19. I had viral pneumonia, a very low blood oxygen rate. I never had to go on a ventilator. I had two CTs and two X-rays. Halfway through my hospital stay, I had a cardiac event in the form of an extremely high blood-pressure event (210 over 180). After the blood pressure was under control, I tested positive on two blood tests for having had a minor heart attack. I have not received the bill for all of this yet! One good thing was that I had a VIP suite in the Weill Cornell hospital and had a 15-foot high window, which overlooked the East River. However, in the two weeks in the hospital, I only saw two boats go up or down the East River. The hospital loaned me an iPad so I could communicate with my daughter, who is in Seattle, and I could see where she lives and works and how she teaches classes, all on a virtual basis. She could see my incredible room and how my beard was coming along. Where she and her husband were quarantined was a large enough house, that he could do his C-level recruiting in one wing and she finishes her third year in her master’s in teaching younger children and younger children that have special needs and also do practicums. As you can imagine, with their diverse clientele, they needed to have auditory privacy. My daughter, Julia, was the point person with the doctors and family. Even with a three-hour time difference, she could hear the fear in my voice and she handled me wonderfully, a reversal of the child-parent role. I am so proud of her – a gifted human being. She is an incredible teacher and how teachers need to multitask so well. With a Zoom camera, a student cannot wander off, because she has eyes on all of them at once. Emotionally, it must have been horrific for her to have her father so sick, so far away,
then getting the latest medical report and requests from family members who have just heard. She showed so much love and support for me. Upon my discharge, my son, Michael, cooked some amazing food and delivered it right to my door. His food was the only food I was able to eat because it was cooked with such love and tenderness. With COVID-19, I have lost all sense of taste and smell, so I have no appetite. I have lost 45 pounds and I am tired all the time. Michael’s whole career, as a top-level lighting designer for theater and dance, had just imploded. Hopefully, things will slowly recover. I am now back in my one-bedroom apartment in New York City on continued quarantine, doing physical therapy on a virtual basis. I think there is going to be a lot of post-traumatic stress syndrome as we emerge out of the COVID-19 world. Not just the survivors, but also the family members of those that died, and also the healthcare workers, and also the general public. I have nursing friends and, walking in day after day into a COVID-19 ward, they fear for their lives. Looking to the future, I plan to give my plasma to a program that has shown that someone who has recovered from COVID19 may have some antibodies. These are injected into some of the sickest COVID19 patients, and so far, the program has shown a high success rate. At least I can give back after going through such a horrific experience myself. There was a segment on the television show “60 Minutes” on this coronavirus program. When I get my strength back, I hope to be able to volunteer once again for the Red Cross. I also look forward to being back on the Hilltop and, maybe even before, having virtual get-togethers. Thank you for all your support, in particular, Jono. Thank you for taking the time to read this long essay about my interesting spring! ■ I heard from Jamie Perkins, who has retired from teaching and is rehabbing a house in western Massachusetts on the Connecticut border. He could use some brawn to help him out. I suggested Ted McGraw, who has a long history of manual labor, and recently fled the COVID confines of Hobe Sound for New York City. (Note to New York’s tax department ... He did spend 183 days in Florida). ■ Horace Davies has retired too ... from writing our Class Notes, but is continuing in a consulting role to
CLASS NOTES
OCT. 7-10, 2021
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Ann Kiker, annie.kiker@ gmail.com. ■ Tim Linaweaver sounds in from Woods Hole, Massachusetts: “Reflecting back, I see that SG played a parental role for me and held me somewhat together during the four years. After I left, I went rapidly over the falls into a nasty addiction. Much of what drove this was trauma related to my father’s addiction, most of which occurred prior to and during my stay at SG. In 1984, I entered treatment and have been happily clean and sober ever since. The first year felt like a rock fight. I felt, and still feel at times, the distended regret that every recovering person comes to know as they clean up: things done under the influence, things done to keep using, and a litany of failed relationships due to the inevitable damage that addiction inflicts upon the people we love. I deal with this by working to help addicts and alcoholics get well professionally, and by maintaining a willingness to give any addict/alcoholic who asks a hand up whenever and however I can.
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world shut down. My youngest and the father of our grandchild is in Berlin. We don’t know when travel will open up to see the latter two and thank goodness for WhatsApp and FaceTime. I’m still working at UBS and am on the California Advisory Board of the Trust for Public Land. I’m trying to get in my workshop more and it’s been difficult since March, but having fun making furniture. I just need more time doing it … looking forward to communications from classmates.” No wonder Shep is on the California Advisory Board of the Trust for Public Land! He always had his head wrapped around taking care of Mother Earth … I mean – Shep created the Garbagology Club at SG for God’s sake! ■ For some reason, Holly Grosvenor was not on the class contact list that the Alumni Office provided to me. I decided to call her and find out what’s up with that. Holly had been living here in Newport … raising kids, practicing architecture, and painting canvases outdoors every Sunday with her brothers, John and Rick, and their father, the late Richard Grosvenor. She also volunteered an abundance of time for a historic preservation nonprofit organization. Then, she and her husband, Jim (also an architect), moved out to Portland, Oregon, a couple of years ago. Holly and I have each other’s cell numbers and lo and behold – I was able to reach her last Sunday morning. Here’s the update: By chance, she and Jim moved into some sleek, super-uber, pristine space just before COVID-19 hit. Sounds like an interesting experience … a totally blank space for a new reality. She continues to practice architecture and is currently revamping a 100-year old brick vocational school building. She is also still painting away! You can see her portfolio at hollygrosvenorfineart.com. ■ Lastly – here’s my rap sheet: Moved back to Newport from Washington, D.C. in 1984. Painted and restored properties here and in New York City (and one crazy job in the Canary Islands …). Had a great run working at the local FM and AM radio stations as a morning news co-host and weekend DJ. Worked for the Newport Restoration Foundation … (the nonprofit that owns all the 18th century houses that Doris Duke restored; the Newport Preservation Society owns the mansions) … doing marketing and press and special database
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Post 1984, I went back to school at age 30 and spent nine out of the next 10 years working full time and going to school, ultimately getting a master’s in counseling psychology. I’ve worked in various guises since, some clinical and some administrative, and done some grad school teaching of counselors in training. Most importantly to me, my greatest ambition has been to have a happy family, and I feel that I’ve been successful with that. I’ve been blessed with a solid marriage to Tessa Morgan for 27 years. She is a potter of some renown, a great mom, wife, and partner in crime. Son, Nicholas, lives in Brooklyn and works for the Partnership for New York City as an analyst. A son from Tessa’s first marriage, Dylan Fernandes, is a state representative. Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and parts of Falmouth are his district, so if you’re in any of those places, hit him up if you have any needs! Daughter, Jennifer, is an assistant assessor in Connecticut. She has given me four grandchildren, known collectively as the “Bubbas,’” whom we love and spoil at every opportunity. One other aspect of my existence is still athletic. I became sedentary and overweight during my addictions, so kind of recaptured the competitive self when I got clean. I run the Falmouth Road Race every year. This year will be my 29th consecutive. I run a lot slower now, but still love it. I was playing hockey up until a few years ago, but gave it up to learn boxing. Go figure! A great challenge physically, mentally, and emotionally. Great camaraderie with the other guys. I’ve now sparred 100 rounds and will be fighting my first fight in the Boston Master’s Invitational scheduled in March of next year in Dedham, Massachusetts, near Boston. Folks can cheer me on or see the other geezer smack me around, if they are so inclined. If anyone is knocking around the Cape, I’m still there at 410 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Phone is: 508-548-7482. Look me up!” ■ Still a rocking jock! Now over to the West Coast; Shep Harris sends his update from San Francisco: “All is as well as can be expected at this time. Melissa and I celebrated our 41st anniversary in January. My oldest is in Los Angeles and teaches at the public defender clinic at Loyola. My middle child is in Patagonia in Chile and we had a great visit with him before the
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yours truly. ■ Jono Bitting retired, sold the house in New Canaan, and has moved to Duxbury by the time you read this. As a new tech expert, he has been conducting Zoom parties on Thirsty Thursdays this spring. Voompah! ■ I had an IB Chat with Andrew Brown a while back. He continues to live the good life in London and has been nicely successful in the investment management world. ■ Finally, a shout out to Bill Salmons as he minds the books at SG. I guess the hiring folks at school didn’t get the details on the big Jamestown party the night we graduated! But I digress! ■ Please send all gossip, comments, and rude remarks to me, the Bond Guy Formerly Known as Phillet. My contact info is on the Dark Web.
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projects. Got involved with dealing antiques and opened a retail shop … (brick and mortar gone … moving online). Have been working in the television and film industry for 20 years – mostly locations and extras casting … mostly here in Rhode Island. Got involved with the Newport Jazz and the Newport Folk Festivals … currently operations coordinator. With the cancellation of this year’s festivals, I’ve thrown myself into growing a garden and cleaning out every single drawer, closet, and cupboard in my apartment and the garage and the basement. Newport has been quite grey so far this summer with lots of overcast days and foggy nights. But then one of those crystal clear days will hit and that intense blue sky is unbelievable. I hope everyone is well. Take care, and write soon.
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Clifford L. Dent, dentcliff@gmail.com ■ Cliff Dent writes: “After a regrettable hiatus in publishing Class Notes for almost two years, I am pleased and proud to be able to present nearly 25 updates hot off the press for the enjoyment of both our own cohort and others who are interested in the multifarious doings of the hypercharged members of the Class of ’76. I had thought that about 15 to 20 updates would be a respectable showing for our comeback, but (as usual) my cohort members exceeded my initial expectations. As for my life over the last two years, it has been a roller-coaster ride – and the thrills and chills have not always been welcome – but I am happy to have survived it all and to have come out just a little shaken, but not too much the worse for wear. In the last two years I have: (1.) reconnected with an old graduate-student buddy of mine, who is now a major celebrity and public intellectual (Michael Eric Dyson); (2.) traveled to Indiana to give a joint talk with the largest landowner in Kosciusko County on race and public policy; (3.) left teaching temporarily to drive rideshare (Uber and Lyft) full-time for over a year and a half; (4.) fallen in love with a fellow teacher who is 24 years my junior and moved in to live with her and her pre-teenage son; (5.) lost my car to repossession after falling behind on the payments; (6.) taken a job as a customer
host in asset protection at a local Walmart; (7.) done tax preparation as a paying side gig while trying to make ends meet on a Walmart salary; (8.) lost a paying side gig as a substitute teacher because of the rise of COVID-19; (9.) had three cousins on one side of my family become deathly ill because of COVID-19, and had one uncle on the other side of my family, who was living in a nursing home, die of the disease; (10.) received rave reviews on a short piece that I wrote almost incidentally about the murder of George Floyd; and (11.) initiated a massive search for new employment and experienced a much greater appreciation of the “Drive for $15” because of the galling experience of trying to live on $350 per week. And that’s just a partial list of the ups and downs of my life from 2018 to 2020. Nevertheless, I am blessed to: (1.) still be in relatively good health for a sexagenarian (love that word!); (2.) have the love and support of family and friends, including the one I am living with now; (3.) still be able to enjoy reading, writing, learning languages, and influencing a large group of people on my Facebook timeline; and (4.) be able to connect and reconnect with former school and classmates through being a class correspondent/class agent and Alumni Board of Visitors member at our beloved alma mater. As a member of the Alumni Board of Visitors, I’d like to share my thoughts on today’s St. George’s and all the ways the school has evolved over the years. I believe that today’s St. George’s is a very different place from the St. George’s of times past. There is, of course, some continuity with the past – but as far as I can tell, the school has retained many of the good parts of the SG legacy and shunned most of the bad parts. I believe that the SG campus is a much safer and secure place to live than it was in our day. I believe that most of what I loved about St. George’s – and most of what most of our cohort loved about St. George’s – survives to this day. I believe that today’s St. George’s is worthy of our support — not because we are wearing blinders and sporting rose-colored glasses that tint over all the problems and transgressions of the past. It is precisely because I believe that today’s St. George’s has overcome most or all of those problems and transgressions that
we should celebrate the school in its present form. The survivors of the transgressions of yesterday should never be forgotten – and if they find themselves unable to forgive the criminal acts imposed upon them, we should understand that and do our best to effect an eventual reconciliation. The past no longer exists. We can attempt to compensate for it, but we can never change it. The future does not exist – yet. It is precisely our actions right now that create the future – and I call upon all of us to take part in creating the best future that we can. Only the present really exists – and the promise that we can make the most of the present moment, and create a future that we can be proud of. I have said it before and I will say it again: The St. George’s School of our day was not the best version of the school – but it was the version that set many of us on the course that we are continuing to follow even to this very day. The seeds of future greatness are certainly much in evidence, and the current school is in many ways better than past versions have been. The best St. George’s cannot be found in our memories, or even on the grounds of the current campus. The best St. George’s is the one that we alumni can help the current student generation to build – by taking the best of the past and taking action to create an even better school than has ever existed in the past or present. The best St. George’s is not one that you or I can put our fingers on – but we can help to create it. The best St. George’s is yet to come. ■ Wick Kelley reports: “I am currently divorcing my third wife (from Japan), but I am consoling myself with spending plenty of quality time with my new girlfriend from Nahant, Boston, Massachusetts (among other women of interest in my life). Life is short and I intend to get as much enjoyment out of it as I can. I quit smoking over a year ago (April 17, 2019) after being hospitalized and diagnosed with emphysema. One way I enjoy life is riding my brand new bright red Trek hybrid bike, which I bought with my stimulus money – and I wear a completely red outfit (red shirt, shorts and shoes), which prompted a nephew of mine to call me ‘The Flash.’ Another way I enjoy life is spending time with my little Nash rambler – my grandson Nash, who was born on March 5, 2020. “I also enjoy life by
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Major Wick Kelley II (son of Wick Kelley '76) in Iraq, Summer 2019, as Senior Special Operations Officer.
the move last August and have been very happy here. We still have our restaurant in New York’s West Village called The Leroy House and we were going back every month to oversee it. Then the pandemic happened. We are doing everything we can to keep the restaurant going during this extraordinary time and our hope is that we will still be around when life resumes as the new normal in New York City. We shall see. Our kids are doing great out here. They had to deal with a brand new school as well as wearing uniforms for the first time. Fortunately, they have had no issue with that. In fact, I think it makes their lives easier. It definitely makes ours easier. However, I do remember the mandatory ‘coat and tie’ at St. George’s … and I have hated wearing ties ever since I’m still playing music and have been writing songs while in quarantine. They seem to be rather political in nature … go figure. Anyway, the building of our house has been taking up most of my time and seeing it take shape has been incredibly fulfilling. We will finally be finished with it and ready to move in at the beginning of 2021, so we look forward to putting 2020 behind us and starting anew in our new home. I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. I send lots of love to all my fellow classmates. Big up!” ■ Charley Bowditch writes: “Extraordinary times. My 95-yearold dad seems to be beating the plague (as of right now) while my niece has conceived the newest addition. My immediate family is persevering as well as can be expected. I’ve always been able to work from home. It was the banana pancakes smothered with Vermont maple syrup that became an issue. I have since been told not to work in the kitchen. Skiing Killington Saturday only to find out the mountain closed Sunday was a bummer. All that wasted snow was hard to look at and I never made it to Wyoming. I haven’t gotten a haircut for a while and look like someone I used to know. Reflecting on it all, I’m lucky. It’s hard for my mom, but she’s tough. I hope and pray that these trying times can make us all as resilient as our parents’ generation.” ■ Luke Durudogan writes: “I retired for the first time in January. Hopefully it will last a while. My daughter, Hayley ’14, has been accepted to Cal Berkeley Law School, my wife, Elizabeth, and I are very proud
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people worked towards defining justice. My question is – What actions are you taking to work towards creating a more just and democratic society? Take action, make a difference, and know that our society will be improved because of it. Isn’t that one of the major goals of education?” ■ Edie Woodland Kilchenstein writes: “I’m still living with my husband in Park City, Utah, retired and teaching yoga. We’re in the process of building a house in Mexico, so I’ll let you know when it’s finished and we can move the party there. I am happy to say that I still hang out as much as retired schedules allow with Julie Pullman Wilson and we spent 11 days on a Colorado River raft trip in the Grand Canyon last summer with Heidi Winslow and her girls. I see cousin Tika Keeler Millan ‘78 a lot, too, so it just goes to show that those SGS friendships last. It’s amazing so much time has passed. I have six grandkids and one is already a teenager. Glad to hear our class is coming together again to share our stories.” ■ Lise Anderson writes: “Here in Cornwall, Vermont, we are taking this time to work on the land and set up a farm stand while we keep the B&B closed until August, at least. To stay connected, I am long-distance editing more research papers and health science grants – some international, one about COVID-19 and equity. All the while keeping my eyes on Nov. 3.” ■ Bill Block writes: “We moved from New York City to Pacific Palisades, California, where we are building a house. We made
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reveling in the accomplishment of my son, Wick II – he is an Air Force major who is in line to be promoted to lieutenant colonel, and he recently moved from San Antonio to Tucson to work in the ‘boneyard’ [the Air Force base housing decommissioned Air Force jets]. Little Wick was in Iraq one year ago as a major, but he has now been accepted to NASA training to become an astronaut. “I also enjoy life by continuing to coach youth lacrosse – a common interest I have with Jody Martin. I also continue to work as an enrolled agent in tax preparation, which pays the bills and allows me to enjoy other aspects of life.” ■ Catherine Lambert writes: “I have been living in Vero Beach, Florida, for over 20 years, founded Lambert Partners Inc., a year ago. An impact investment company! Playing lots of tennis, riding my bike, and know I am learning to ride ... did I say Dude Ranch? Cheers! Love ya all! The journey matters – judge to life and judge to justice. Shalom." catherine@lambert. partners ■ Katie Pratt’s travels and projects pre-pandemic: “Venice, Italy, for two months to study glass making and travels to the Douro Valley, Portugal, and San Miguel, Mexico. Despite the pandemic, I persevere to launch a wine business in Napa, California. Will report on that in the next class newsletter.” ■ Toby Welch writes: “Over the course of our years at SG, there were cases of sexual assault that occurred that dramatically affected the lives of those involved and beyond. Many of our classmates worked to achieve justice. I stand in full support of those efforts and achievements. We, as a country, are now facing racial injustices that have festered for far too many years and are showing scars of those power wars. We are dealing with a pandemic that has and will impact all of our lives and has pitted science against politics. We as a democracy are facing unprecedented times that require, yes, require, us to take action. For the majority of the members of the class, we have experienced great privilege in our society. This is a time that we need to recognize that privilege and actively work towards a more just and democratic society. I write this personal update as a challenge to all in the SG community. This goes far beyond me and what I am doing in my life. Just as the sexual assault of those in our community,
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Above, top to bottom: Edinburgh 2018: Charley Bowditch '76, Findlay Bowditch '10 and Sarah Bowditch '17. / Rodney France '76 in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Spring 2020.
parents. Speaking of my wife, Yale ’79, she is serving on alumnae and hospital boards helping our community and young people. My very best wishes to all SG alums for a safe and healthy life during COVID-19.” ■ Rodney France writes: “I am still living in beautiful greater Los Angeles, though I have moved to Rancho Palos Verdes in the hills that overlook the Pacific Ocean. A nicer slice of the area, so happy to be living here now. Work continues to move along well and retirement is definitely very close now, so I am looking forward to my next adventure. I am fairly sure of what that will look like already. I will leave its revelation for a future update though. I went on a Greek island cruise for two weeks about 20 months ago and had the time of my life.” ■ Mike Hansel writes: “My wife, Lisa, and I are still living on campus and doing our best to help our
community while maintaining safe distancing. Despite the interference of COVID, our daughter Natalie ’20 completed her SG career with distinction. She will be heading to the University of Miami in the fall to study music, so we were very proud to celebrate this milestone. Many St. George’s employees rallied to pull together an incredible online version of Prize Day for the Class of 2020. It made us all, once again, very proud to be associated with this school. The faculty met regularly by Zoom meetings to produce a proposed plan for the 2020-21 school year and submitted this to the governor of Rhode Island as part of a statewide plan to slowly bring our students back to our classrooms. As you mentioned, hopefully conditions will allow for a well-attended 45th reunion next spring!” ■ Robin Howe writes: “I left New
England 20 years ago with my husband and three children. I love it here (Chattanooga, Tennessee): it is a small city with a focus on the outdoors and sports. I teach art and English to underserved populations, whether it be men in the local jail or centers for the intellectually challenged. I spend a significant amount of time painting, gardening, and hiking. I see Lisa Toland a fair amount as we connected in college and hung out with similar friends. Now she lives close to our summer home, so we catch up on the beach or a walk.” ■ Beth Josephson writes: “Hi all! Hope you all are safe and well. As for me, I’m in my last year of teaching! Had a fabulous run on Rikers Island (teaching ‘black matters’ from the get go). Still in touch with some of my students and some are doing very well. I hope and pray they are using this time to be strong and ‘stand up.’ Now I’m teaching in an ESL program to kids that were held at the border in Texas. They also are wonderful young people coming from violent environments. Both communities are suffering from trauma … so the trick is navigating how to help them slowly move through the trauma, so they can eventually focus their good minds. I’m going back to Nepal on July 2 … equipped with antibodies. I am trying to land on my feet to continue to work on my own paintings. Wishing you all very, very well and take good care. Until we meet again ... warmest regards.” ■ Paula Marks writes: “As with everyone else, life is upside down. I have all my adult children, my son-inlaw, and grand dog living with me. (No complaints as my girls and son-in-law live in New York City.) Who knew we would have to be active parents again in our 60s? Groton School never resumed after spring break and we turned to 100 percent virtual. It was a weird term, but we made it through with Zoom and patience. Our return to ‘normal’ is still uncertain at this time. I am OK with virtual learning, but it is unclear how I can run a lab-based curriculum virtually! Now taking ideas ... Each day brings a whirlwind of mostly negative information. It is a difficult time for so many and I am grateful we are safe and healthy. I sincerely hope all ‘76’ers are OK and we will be able to ‘reunion’ in the future.” ■ Jody Martin writes: “Still in the Baltimore area and recently moved to the
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the time of my life spoiling them rotten! All is well here in Connecticut. Ted is nearing retirement and we are looking forward to spending more time in Idaho. Cheers to all!” ■ Tracy Schach Simpson writes: “Lord! Well, no geographic news, we’re still in Toronto, weathering COVID like so many others and trying to lend a helping hand when and where we can. Big news was that last year, we sponsored/adopted a Kurdish family to come to Toronto, through a wonderful private scheme Canada developed after the Syrian civil war began. Amazingly enough, they were friends of a childhood friend of my husband, who was a missionary in Iraq. They arrived on Valentine’s Day last year and it has been a truly indescribable experience helping them set up and adapt to life here; mom was a high school economics teacher, dad a television journalist fleeing the chaos he was covering … What a privilege to have our orbits collide. They are doing great, mastering English, working hard, and already contributing to life here in Canada. We pray the class of ’76 is safe, healthy and well.” ■ Ed Stabler writes: “It’s hard to believe that when we were in school 44 years ago and we would see gray-haired older people walking around the SGS campus, we would think, ‘God those people look old!’ Well, we are now those people. But you are only as old as you feel. I’m 62 years old and I still have all of my original joints, my health is excellent, I have two beautiful daughters who have married wonderful guys, I am about to celebrate my 37th wedding anniversary
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Towson suburb in Baltimore County after 20 years of downtown living. Sadly, was temporarily laid off by US Lacrosse in April, but hope to return at some point. In the meantime, I am networking in the areas of facilities, hospitality, philanthropy and sport; not ready yet for retirement! I enjoy being on our Reunion Committee with Brad Burton, Steve Tenney, Steve Shepley, Bob Bachman, Andy Pitler, Dana Macy, Jim Jones and Nan CarneyDebord and I very much look forward to attending our 45th in Oct. 2021.” ■ Susie v. M. Morse writes: “Holed up in Philly screaming at cable news. Here’s what’s good about that: Walking and seeing more wildlife. Having my husband all to myself. Reconnecting with far-flung cousins on Zoom in an attempt to give my ancient locked-up mother the will to keep going (it works). Discovering the kids actually want to Zoom with us too, as often as possible. Realizing Facebook is more than a tedious chore used only to promote writing. It is actually a lifeline where you find people to vent to besides your husband. Playing bridge online instead of driving and flying all over the place is not so bad either. Still writing – can be found in the ACBL magazine, but you have to join to get it. Was workshopping a stage version of my first book, playing myself until this thing happened. Now wondering what theater will be like … Onward to Election Day.” ■ Helen Mahoney Pardoe writes: “It has been a crazy year and I hope everyone is safe and well. We had another wedding and a grandchild and we are expecting two more grands this year!! I am having
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Tracy Schach Simpson '76 with son, Elliott (center with beard), and Kurdish family, Valentine's Day 2019 at the Toronto airport.
and I have a 2.5-year-old grandson that was named after my father. During these crazy times we are living in now, I feel very fortunate. Last June, my wife and I built a house near the ocean in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts. We take daily walks on the beach and the other day we were lucky enough to run into Heidi Winslow. It was great fun catching up with her and, by the way, she looks exactly the same as she did 44 years ago!” ■ Harry Tower writes: “Heading into my 15th year living in Wilmington, Delaware. Delaware is a lovely place to live, by the way, and has been an oasis during the COVID days. I live here with my wife, Hilary, and my son, Harry Jr., who graduated from Hotchkiss in 2018 and is entering his junior year at the University of Virginia in August ... Wahoowa! I work remotely for Fannie Mae, the mortgage engine of America, and all things considered, life is good! Saw some Dragons while staying with Heidi Winslow earlier this year. Some things never change; she is amazing. As I write this, I am heading up to Maine for two months – it may be the best summer ever. Cheers!” ■ Julie Pullman Wilson writes: “I’m on the road traveling through Montana and Idaho, so constantly in and out of service. Have been hunkered down in a cabin in northeast Utah, BC skiing, hiking, and fishing. I see Edie [Woodland Kilchenstein] as much as I can, considering social distancing. P.S. I’m going to be a granny!” ■ Peter Wilson writes: “Life and work continue here in Saranac Lake, in the northern Adirondacks. Looks like I have an excuse to venture into the outside world a little more in the next few years, as our younger daughter, Arianne, has started her medical residency in family medicine at Georgetown Medstar, having graduated (in COVID-disrupted ceremonies) from New York’s Upstate Medical University. Assuming the ‘new normal’ allows, we may also try to fit in a trip to Newport next spring for our class’ 45th, and the delayed 10th reunion for daughter Sabra (SG 2010). In the meantime – anybody wandering into these mountains, feel free to get in touch. We’ll be happy to welcome you, with adequate social distancing, of course.” ■ Heidi Winslow writes: “Thanks to Cliff for his amazing work and dedication and for inspiring us all to stay connected. This is a crazy time we are in. I
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am hoping that all of our classmates, family, and friends are healthy and well and able to find some sort of peace and balance in our changing world. Dealing with this pandemic, on every level, while expanding our capacity for uncertainty, has stretched us to new limits. Though the illness, loss, and stress has been tragic, the growth and awareness that is coming out of it is inspiring. Seeing the extreme racial inequality and police brutality that goes on in this country has been heart wrenching! It is hard to fathom how we can be at this place in 2020. Obviously, we have a lot to learn and a lot of work to do. I hope and pray that we will all become more aware of how we ourselves contribute to racism and how we can change to better understand and work collectively to unite this country peacefully. I also hope that we will all consciously elect local, state, and national leaders who will protect the rights and freedom of all citizens, our wildlife, and our environment! I believe that there is great hope for the future, but we cannot be silent and we have to take action in whatever ways we can. I was incredibly fortunate to be asked by my daughters and their boyfriends to take a self-guided raft trip through the Grand Canyon last July. I was able to invite two friends to join us for each half of the trip. Edie Kilchenstein (Woodland) and her husband Mike met us at Phantom Ranch for the second half. This epic adventure was by far the most amazing experience of my life, so far, on so many levels! The magnificence of the Grand Canyon is unprecedented, the sheer beauty and scale are so powerful! One hundred eighty-two miles and 16 days in the wilderness, sleeping under the stars at night, and navigating stretches of wild water, slot canyons, and waterfalls by day are life changing. Not knowing what is around the bend, going with the flow, and trusting that everyone will emerge safely, were daily mantras that have stayed with me and will continue to give me strength and serenity throughout my life. Sharing this adventure with Edie and Mike made it even more exceptional. For anyone considering a visit to this iconic part of our world, I urge you to go, explore, and hike and experience all of the beauty that lies within those majestic walls. I am so grateful to have shared that experience
with such amazing, intrepid, lifelong friends! After spending the last 14 years here on the East Coast, I am heading back to the West. I will be moving to Santa Barbara in August, to be closer to my two daughters, and I am hoping to grow my wellness business in a community where health and wellbeing are centric and mainstream. Please come and visit! I wish you all well! XO” ■ Howard Hersey writes: “Hi everyone, hope everybody is holding things together in this unsettling year! I have relocated from the New Hampshire seacoast area down to greater Boston and am taking a new role leading sourcing for a technology company leading the development of emerging technical 3D printing systems. Very satisfying to see the great work we have done supporting the Boston hospitals and medical professionals with printed COVID nasal swabs and PPE equipment. I am living down in Wellesley, if anyone is in the area and wants to reconnect. Looking forward to seeing many of you next year at our 45th and celebrating SG’s 125th as we move forward in better times!” ■ Bar Gooding Littlefield writes: “In the midst of the pandemic, the Littlefields in lockdown are healthy, safe, and blessed. While we experienced the impact of COVID individually – laid off, no school, working from home, life cancelled, we also shared these tumults with our adult kids, unexpectedly home for the ‘time being.’ In the midst of this crisis, we also moved from our beloved home of 22-plus years to a ‘downsizer,’ good timing for a household of six! We had decided to remain in Concord, Massachusetts, because we love our town and realize, in retrospect, how fortunate we are to be living in a community where we have deep roots. While the pandemic has set us back, the current racial crisis is giving us serious pause and enabling us, not only to lament inequities, but also to contemplate how we as a nation can move forward. So, the news here is that I am very grateful to have had this unusual time with my family and I value being together during a time of deep strife. I hope all are healthy and safe.” ■ Carol Johnson writes: “I’m in Sandpoint, Idaho, with my family for quarantine. We’re all doing well; my daughter is having a faux graduation from college and my son, who’s a freshman in college, really
misses his friends, but has taken up drumming. I have started painting, which I’m loving. And my husband is working from home with multiple interruptions from all of us and the dogs. I’m hoping real change is finally going to happen, which could be a silver lining in these crazy times. We all need to vote, and make sure our kids and their friends vote.” ■ Abby Ehrlich writes: “I changed positions after 20-ish years, but am still with Battery Park City Authority in downtown Manhattan, now director of community partnerships and public art. It brings many interests together. Done some good partnering instituting annual Juneteenth celebrations, job training for autistic young adults, developing college and grad school internships, managing excellent public art collection, and funding human rights projects with the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Trying to keep good government relevant and robust in a great city. Sam is a spirited exploring buddy and recent highlights are Milan to Palermo, the Yucatan, and Baja, California, hiking in northern California, exploring Andalucía and the southern coast of Spain, and sailing in Maine. Passed five-year milestone in February from 9/11 responders’ cancer, and so very happy to be around to witness the unity and peaceful protests for a safer, more just, America the beautiful. Best wishes to the class of ’76 classmates.”
BECOME A CLASS CORRESPONDENT!
Want to help round up class notes? Reconnect with old friends? Rally the class for your next reunion?
SUBMIT A NOTE!
Please contact your class correspondent or the Advancement Office at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or classnotes@ stgeorges.edu
1977
David A. Todd, dtodd@wt.org ■ Peter Barbaresi is waiting in California for the full Zen-mode life to kick in at Austin’s Miraval Spa (he is a lucky guy with an unnamed fan, who gave him and Kathleen a free ride there) but like many fun plans,
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technological advancements, environmental resiliency) will perpetuate after this dark chapter is just a memory.” ■ Chris Lirakis is successfully grappling with life in this new world, grateful that liquor stores are considered essential, and thankful that his family is all well, though disappointed that travel and help with his daughter’s comic art business has been put on hold. He and his family are sheltering in place, while at work (mostly a virtual/mental space, I guess, these days) he is in charge of off-site installations of IBM’s quantum computers (which used to take him to Milan, Stuttgart, and other exotic places). ■ Peter Lockwood sent a photo of himself looking very much like one of the great polar explorers, standing proudly on a dogsled in midnight-dark Finland. Isabel Alyce Starks Maduro, unofficial class mascot, cutest kid around, and daughter of Peter Maduro and Mary Starks, just celebrated her first birthday. She is all cleaned up in the photo, but wants everyone to know that she favors the cherry-juice splatter effect on face and clothes as the style of the moment. ■ Jon Mandeville writes in from a busy, good scene in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where he, Dawn, and all their kids are well. As he explains, “Life for me has not changed too much since I work at home every day. The changes are not being able to go to the stores whenever and instead planning the strategic once-every-sevento-10-days shopping based on the wine needs! Dawn is working her three jobs as well as her Ph.D. program from home. And we have one of six children at home 24/7, college being canceled for the school year.” ■ Valerie McKee is living in New York and working in education. She and her brother are well, but they miss their deceased parents, with fond memories of a great childhood. She was on the Hilltop recently to give a talk, a really stirring speech about the challenges of trying to find acceptance, respect, and peace in the SG community. ■ Jay Pierrepont is months into sheltering in place in San Francisco, writing that, “Both of our college-aged children are home. Doubt we will ever have so much time with them again. And they might agree with that. Family dinners seven nights a week (cooking up a storm). [The kids] have not taken so kindly to laundry and vacuuming, which looms large
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I reckon the latter though, it is because they are unable to do the one thing that Londoners (and Brits generally) do best, and that is stand in line! Oh, to pining for a queue … somewhere … anywhere …” ■ Alec Harrison claims to be “all good” (I guess he means totally well behaved!), bouncing between New York and Connecticut, evidently still clean of the evil COVID. ■ Lisa Jaye is in the San Francisco area, where she exercises her legal expertise and diplomatic skills in alternative dispute resolution. ■ Hugh Jones, our very own SG board member, says, “All is good here in New York! Hope the same with you all. My daughter, Bridgit, graduated SG in a beautifully done online Prize Day – the school did a great job creating a video tribute to her class. That ends my SG parent run, but I still serve as a trustee, where I have been active with finance, buildings, and grounds. The school is in a great place now with wonderful leadership and a clear and unified dedication to preserving our history while, at the same time, innovating academically and culturally. The next decade promises to be a bright one for SG!” Thinking of COVID response, he adds, “SG has pretty much been game to have the kids around whenever and as soon as they are allowed. When the governor allows schools to be open, we will be ready. We have lots of extra precautions, like no weekend travel, no sports, and dining by grade in two locations etc. As a practical matter, our students are in an extremely low-risk age bracket, but not so much our faculty and staff. This is the area of my most concern. Rhode Island hasn’t been very hard hit – especially Aquidneck Island – so we are on a good trajectory to have students back on the Hilltop.” ■ Phil Kennedy celebrated his 29th wedding anniversary – a nice reminder that happy events are popping up despite the current problems. ■ Elena Kissel is sequestered in Rhode Island, thankful that her family there, and in New Orleans and New Hampshire, are all healthy. She goes on to say, “compared to most of the rest of the world, I feel very blessed and have enjoyed many long beach walks with my dogs, distanced cocktail hours with family, and enough to eat. This time will certainly be a game changer and I’m hoping that some of the good (valuing family and friends,
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there’s no firm ETA quite yet. ■ John Barry writes in from San Diego, recalling a nice, pre-shutdown trip to Sedona and the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, but then noting that his family and puzzled dog are now looking out at taped-off beaches and parks, thinking of fun forestalled. Looking forward, John wonders about how and where reopening might happen, and what the COVID era might mean for tourist meccas like San Diego or Newport. Thinking about our past, he points out how odd it is that the 1918-19 pandemic seems to have barely registered in our collective memory, perhaps obscured by the pain of World War I, or because our forebears were more accustomed to a world in which medicinal science had more limits. ■ Dru Beguelin reports that he and his family are “safe and well” and he has enjoyed the chance to “catch up with his kids as they forge ahead in life.” His eldest son, Ranger, “just graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder with his master’s in engineering … and took a job down near Biloxi, Mississippi. He is out in the real world and so happy for him. I could write a book on all of them, but I'll refrain.” On the work side, he says that he is moving eventually into semi-retirement, but that still seems in the distance since he explained that he is involved in a new “small company on the side, called Safebeebar, a nut-free energy bar developed by a couple of my kids. We are just starting out, but the sky’s the limit.” Please check out the goods at Safebeebar. com! ■ Ben Edwards tells us that he, once upon a time, not so long ago, was lucky to visit an uncle in Olympia, Washington, then to take a road trip where he visited with John Barry and his wife, Chieko, and then go to see Kathleen and Peter Barbaresi. Now, with “Lufthansa having emphatically grounded itself (NEIN – Wir warden nicht fliegen!),” he is “holed-up in London, sensing an ‘Andromeda Strain’ feeling to the place – minus the tumbleweed. Things are dead, dead quiet (and no, I have not resorted to drinking Sterno … yet). Must admit, it is pretty pleasant without all the hustle-and-bustle. However, when you do see Londoners out, they maneuver on the sidewalk as though their poles are reversed, keeping a very safe electromagnetic distance from one another and many have their heads down.
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Top to bottom: Peter Lockwood '77 waving hello from a trip to Finland. / Isabel Alyce Starks Maduro, daughter of Peter Maduro '77 and Mary Starks. / Rob McLane '77 and his partner won the deciding doubles match to clinch the 82nd Whitney Cup, an annual team court tennis tournament in New York. Peter Pell '95 was also on the Greentree (Long Island) team.
with four people at home. But, all in all, it has been a great experience. It’s been fun seeing how they have grown up.” At work, Jay and his team (the Jotas?) try to keep “sane by meeting as an entire firm and having a slideshow at the end – best face masks, cocktails, and, this week, it will be a high school photo.” Meanwhile, Jay is running every day, but not passing anyone (modest guy), and rowing in the basement – at 25 miles a week he might hit Newport any day now! ■ Despite the lockdown, Drew Santin is looking at doing some engineering/manufacturing consulting and working on a “respiration mask for the masses” as a startup. It sounds like he is eating and socializing too! He tells us that his family is missing some neighborhood dinners, so their “solution is to make quiches four at a time and drop them on our neighbors’ doorstep. Our other alternative is to make a slow cook pot roast (5-6 hours), eat half and drop off the hot Dutch oven at our neighbors’ (with pot holders, make sure the dog does not burn its nose). We usually get desserts or wine in return, which is not bad for COVID days.” He adds that they “have had a number of six-by-six (6 feet apart at 6 p.m.) get-togethers (BYO cocktails). We sit in our lawn chairs and catch up on the news, opinions, and kids’ activities, with a 30-year spread in ages. We have an unemployed trumpet player who we can hear a few blocks away and are trying to get him to come play for an improvised ‘set from a deck’ (tip for all of us here: it ‘may be a good way to keep some musicians in your area fed!’).” Between these tasty meals and neighborhood summit meetings, Drew’s family “activities include watching movies from the 1977 era like original ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Saturday Night Fever’ or your favorite ‘Smokey and the Bandit.’” Drew explains, “If your wife is six years younger, like mine, it makes for an interesting evening. The kids, on the other hand, have no idea what we were smoking back then.” True, no? ■ Ed Siegal is living well in the New Bedford area, keeping us all fully equipped with tools from a group of hardware stores, staying up to date with fully educated, working children spread from Oregon to New Bedford, chasing a fresh crop of grandchildren, and sailing beautiful Buzzards Bay. ■ Elly Stockwell writes in to say that she
has been “faring well despite all and grateful to be up here in Maine. Spring is happening spectacularly and a sense of normalcy is returning somewhat.” ■ Kipp Van Nostrand reports that he and Glo “have been hunkered down for the last three months, like everybody else. She’s doing her gardening and cooking, and I’ve been working on our boat, Vim. Launching in June hopefully.” Look out for Pirate Kipp on the high seas. ■ Jim Walton’s hockey genes have appeared in his son, Pito, who won the Hobey Baker Trophy, recognizing the “Princeton freshman hockey player who, among his classmates, in play, sportsmanship and influence has contributed most to the sport.” Pito chose his puck-handling parents well. ■ Barclay Welch is alive and well in Chicago. The rumor is that he is active in the real estate business and volunteering with the Heartland Alliance to deal with poverty, generate social change, and build better lives. ■ John Wentworth is up in beautiful Mammoth Lake, California, serving on the city council, promoting public lands and access, confronting COVID’s community challenges, and also somehow getting a chance to hit the high backcountry for some skiing from time to time. Sounds nice! ■ Nina Purviance West writes, “We are still in COVID-quarantine here in Boston. Life has definitely slowed down, pretty much to a screeching halt. While there is some good in that, the troubling national news makes it difficult to enjoy all the free time. I hope that by the time the class notes are published, our country will have learned something, not only about the pandemic, but about how to do better as a country. I continue my art appraisal/ consulting practice and enjoy timeserving on the board for several nonprofit organizations. Both of our adult daughters now live in New York City and we see them as much as we can. My oldest and I are taking Mandarin Chinese lessons together on Zoom – quite the experience. My husband Andy and I have recently moved from the suburbs to the city and could not be happier about the change of scenery. Sometime down the road, we hope to retire to Newport, Rhode Island (!). Best wishes to all my SGS classmates.” ■ Rufus Williams is living in Mill Valley, California, until he’s able to return to Maine, but until then has his son, George,
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1983
Lela Simpson-Gerald, lelasg@gmail.com ■ So good to hear from so many ’83 classmates, though all of us were overwhelmed with sorrow to hear that we lost our classmate Andrew Gregg. I think everyone loved being around him. He was always laughing in my memories and always had a twinkle in his eye. Andrew and I both came in fifth form and both came from the South, which made for a quick and easy friendship. I know all of you expressed how saddened you were to hear this news, and that all of our collective thoughts are with his family. It is hard to believe we have lost Nick Givotovsky, Debra Berg, and now Andrew – all too soon, all were so loved and cherished. It’s a reminder how short and precious life is – reach out to your friends and tell them that you love them. ■ KC Bullock Elfstrom writes: “My husband, Bruce, and I are very lucky to live on a small farm in Connecticut, so most days find me out in the vegetable garden, gathering eggs, or yelling at the sheep – early mornings I try to get out to scull on the Connecticut River as much as I can. Our daughters are in limbo … Oaklea is supposed to start her senior year at Bates College up in Maine and Petra and her boyfriend were supposed to move to the United Kingdom in August for her to attend grad school at Cambridge, but think they’d like to wait a
Jack Otter '83 is the host of 'Barron's Roundtable,' on Fox Business, "no politics, just investment-related topics."
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pools, and North American wildlife are current musings. Our daughter, Olivia, starts high school at Drew School, where I’ve taught for decades this fall. Hello, to fellow Dragons!” ■ Doonie Brewer writes, “COVID-19 has caused this old-dog teacher to learn some new tricks – thrown into virtual teaching after two half-day sessions of training – baptism by fire, as they say. I will admit, there have been times in my career when I have lamented ‘kids these days,’ but I must say my scholars showed wonderful resilience in the face of great change this spring. Teaching at a Pennsylvania boarding school, closer to family now. Always happy to return to Rhode Island (my second home) and to connect with Steve and Betsy Leslie, Mel Bride ’84, Andy Griscom ’78, and Ellery Griscom ’88. Looking forward to our 40th!” ■ Susan Mitchell is still working with students who are blind or visually impaired as an itinerant teacher in Rhode Island. She writes, “The last 13 weeks of the current school year were interesting to say the least! I was never late for a Zoom class or 1:1 lesson since I did not have to drive between schools. I also got to sleep past 5 a.m. because I was working from home. Despite these perks, I look forward to getting back into the schools and having students seated across from me each day! Teaching Braille to my students actually worked out pretty well using video conferencing once my students had materials in hand. Spending the time off this summer getting my daughter ready to head off to college. She will be attending Elon University in North Carolina. My son will be in his third year at Northeastern, but is currently on a co-op.” ■ Elizabeth Hummer has some good news to report: “My heart continues to be in helping young people tell their stories through
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year now … who knows what’s going to be happening virus-wise. Would love to catch up in person (socially distanced, of course) or over the inter-webs any time!” ■ Lili Dyer is now enjoying seeing SG through a parental lens, as her daughter Katharine started there last year and is a rising junior! ■ Scott Stone is still sailing in his free time. His wife, Darcy, is a photographer and their three boys – one launched, one in college, and one still in high school – are all well and living in Redding, Connecticut. ■ Jack Otter writes “Moved from Brooklyn to Pelham, just north of New York City, a few years ago, with Lily, 16, Jack, 13, and Penelope, 6, (Just off Route 95, so classmates swing by and say hello). We feel lucky to have gotten out of the city before COVID came along. (Also, feel thankful that we are all healthy and employed). I’m working at Barron’s, where I do a bunch of things, including running a small editorial team, helping with the conference business, and I launched a television show, ‘Barron’s Roundtable,’ that runs on Fox Business. No politics, just investing-related topics. I’m the host, and I have a panel of editors and we bring in outside guests. Looking forward to fishing with Jake Brown in a couple months.” ■ Last fall, Jan Finger and husband, Tom Geniesse ’82, saw Elizabeth at Jack and Diane Otter’s celebrating Jack’s new show. Jan, Tom, and their three children have been surviving quarantine in New York City. Tom’s New York City wine store Bottlerocket was also named one of the country’s top 50 by Wine Enthusiast – I’ve been and I couldn’t agree more! ■ Lisa Bostwick writes, “Life in San Francisco goes on with the pandemic shifting the landscape in many ways. Our Mission District neighborhood took part in an early testing study back in May. Finding lots of time to paint. American flags, midcentury
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working remotely for Loom in-house and is enjoying the family time – maybe a “nice silver lining for our generation.” Meanwhile, Rufus is still running (and running), and, in some future, post-viral world, aims to compete in the historic over-hill, over-dale Dipsea run. ■ I hope that all of our classmates are safe, healthy and happy. Take care.
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film. I am proud that a recent effort – BYkids’ ‘Walk on My Own,’ just won the gender equity prize at Prix Jeunesse, an international children’s television festival based in Munich. It also was short listed by the youth jury. I mentored her to shoot and direct the film and supervised the edit.” ■ Eugenia Burnett Tinsley checked in … “I am doing well. Still living in New York City with my husband, Scott, and three boys, Scott Jr., 17, Haven, 14, and Charlie, 11. I work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Imaging Department, where I photograph the art. Scott is a camera operator in film and television. He worked on “Orange is the New Black” for a long time and just started on the television show, “New Amsterdam.” Our oldest son, Scott, just graduated from high school and decided to defer a year, before he starts studying engineering at Virginia Tech. Our youngest two are plugging along in middle and high school. We have been very lucky this past year with everything that has been happening in the world. We drove through Memphis last December and had a great visit with Lela and Lee. I highly recommend Lela’s pepper jelly as a gift or for yourself – it’s so good! Please let me know if you visit New York City.” ■ Jeff Montgomery: “I am living in Atlanta, Georgia, with my wife, Chris, our great Dane, mastiff, collie, and cat (who is large and in charge). Our two boys, who are now in their mid-twenties, have more or less moved on. Until COVID hit, I was looking forward to re-associating myself with St. George’s as a crewmember on the Geronimo alumni trip to Bermuda, but maybe I will get a chance later. They warned me that I was likely to be the eldest by far.” Jeff does run into our classmate (and fellow bourbon bus rider) Ian Henderson. “Give my best wishes to everyone, and I would be happy to see folks who find themselves here.” ■ Jill Durkee Creevy writes, “We all have been well. My husband has been working at the hospital every day during COVID, long days.” Jill has been volunteering for her local chapter of A Better Chance for the past 25 years. “Have been president, board member, academic advisor, host family, etc., for years. During the pandemic, we closed on a new house for the program. My son and I worked every day over at the house painting, doing repairs, assembling
furniture, etc. It was a great escape during the quarantine! Still working as an interior designer.” ■ From across the pond, our one-semester classmate Patricia Craig Foong writes, “Hope you are keeping well. Things have been quite difficult here in the United Kingdom with the pandemic, but fortunately all of my immediate family are OK. I am working part-time for Therakind, a small privately owned pharmaceutical company, so that keeps me on my toes as does schooling at home for two teenagers during the pandemic. My husband set up a business with a new range of hot sauces – cheekyboysauces.com – and has plans for them to be available in the United States of America soon! Still have happy memories of my six months at SG and really hope I get to the 40-year reunion in 2023.” ■ Jay Scully and wife Samantha are still living in Los Angeles where “we have been protesting locally, watching films, reading books, and generally educating ourselves about racism and police brutality as much as possible. We know so much less than we think we do. COVID has diminished filming, so I am working less on set lately, but I continue with my teaching and private coaching. I see Gino Hanrahan a fair amount and have been having fun reconnecting with Tim Buono, Jon Erdman, Brad Cushman, Howdy Lapsley, Hank Harder, and Mike Doolittle over Zoom. Andrew Gregg’s death hit us all hard. Daughter Lela will be a junior at Tulane and son Wing is heading into eighth grade.” ■ As for me, I remain rooted firmly in Memphis, with one son who has just finished college and another in high school. I still work the “real job,” but I did turn a hobby into a side hustle a few years ago, making my dad’s original recipe for “Jacko’s pepper jelly.” I grow all the peppers here and love shipping it all over the country. We had a great visit with Jay Scully and his peeps in Los Angeles last October, and Eugenia Burnett Tinsley and her tribe came through Memphis, which we loved. Much fun being with all of them, just never long enough. We all just pick right up where we left off.
35th Reunion 1985 1986 1987
OCT. 7-10, 2021
1989
Sissy Dent Aerenson, saerenson@icloud.com / Almus M. Thorpe III, almusthorp@gmail. com ■ I received the following writing assignment (seriously). Everyone rejoiced. Last names A-H: Please recall a memorable experience to share from time at St. George’s that challenged you and helped you improve, either as an athlete, student, or overall person. Last names I-P: Where you live, with whom, and what you’d like to do on a free Saturday since pre-COVID commitments are canceled. Imagine you have no travel restrictions, except you can’t get on a plane. Q-Z: For our surprise flash mobs choreographed by Dave Dickenson, who doesn’t yet know this, but will be fantastic, being unveiled to all classes at next reunion’s Saturday eve’s dinner and dancing, which is your top choice for song? Women: A.) “Gangnam Style,” or B.) “Pour Some Sugar on Me” Men: A.) “Rio” by Duran Duran, or B.) “Rio” by Duran Duran ■ Allison Ariail Erdle: “Right now, my teenager (who does not have a permit as DMVs are closed) is driving me on farm roads, so got to pay attention. We are on our farm on the Northern Neck. Neighbors are winery, vegetable farm, a nursery, and the river. Heaven, except Alban is missing her first spring at SG and lacrosse season ...” ■ Colin Born: “I would like to shout out to Beth Horton, who single-handedly elevated my writing skills to help me get decent grades from my written work. This improvement boosted my overall academic confidence, which helped immensely in college and beyond. She was the best and will be sorely missed.” ■ Gregory Brown: Reply 1: “Is this a shakedown for annual giving?” Reply 2: “You just gave me a flashback that I was back in Rushton’s English class, circa 1988,
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tending to kids and other life priorities and always, always keeping my eye on getting myself back out West for the latter part of my life (hey, one can dream, right?). Do hope all are well and if anyone is in my area and wants to hit Crane Beach for a day, let me know!” ■ Rebecca Mohr: “I have enjoyed raising my four kids in a peaceful and bucolic rural oasis in northern Maryland for the past 12 years as a single mom. A fine gentleman, Chris Scotton, found me there under a rock, and rekindled my free spirit and zest for adventure! Now that my oldest son is off at Vandy and my girls are down in Alexandria, Virginia, at Episcopal High School (under the leadership of Charley Stillwell, by the way, who some of you remember from SG), we are planning a family move to Charleston, South Carolina, in the summer of 2021. Someone needs to keep an eye on Craighill and since Libby already lives there, she and I have committed to taking on the job and keeping him on a very necessary short leash! We may all get into a little trouble together from time to time, as was our MO way back when, but it will surely be great fun. Chris and I found a super spot on Johns Island and we have some extra room, so we plan to host a mini reunion before the next biggie in 2024. I’m so excited to be close to some of my SG friends living the life in the Lowcountry!” ■ Nkemakonam Okpokwasili: “I am currently serving as the Second Infantry Republic of Korea United States Combined Division surgeon. The only combined division in the U.S. Army. Been here since May 2018 with my wife and five children. Doing well and learning a lot. Traveling throughout Asia until COVID-19 stopped my travels. I am incredibly saddened by the current situation in the United States. However, I believe that we can and will do better. People have to take a hard and honest look at themselves. The systemic hunting and killing of Black people by police and citizens must stop. On another note, I hope you and your loved ones are well and safe.” ■ William Ramage: ““Rio” is the obvious winner. I’ll go with that too. But I want to be in charge of the choreography. Dickenson dances like a white boy.” ■ Corey Reid: “Before SG, I was a Cali kid who thought he was a head banger in the early ’80s. Then I roomed with Dave
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often. He was a few years older, but always looking out for me, playing pickup basketball or watching sports on television in an upperclassmen’s room made a tough freshman year a little easier.” ■ Eric Hottel: “As a highly athletic kid, I wanted more than anything to receive ‘All-League Honors’ in a sport. I never did. However, I was elected captain of the varsity baseball team. In time, I have realized that however nice ‘All-League Honors’ might be, the morale and success of the team is the most important thing. I don't remember if varsity baseball ever had a winning record, but the football team of ’88 did enjoy a fine season! Championships are more important than individual stats.” ■ Kristen Keenan: “I live in Raleigh with my two teenage daughters. If I had the time, I’d drive to Maine and stay for the next three months, not just a Saturday.” ■ Jeff Kimbell: “Can I vote for “Pour Some Sugar on Me?” … Team Kimbell spent the first three weeks of the virus orbit in West Virginia at our hunting club. We hunted birds, shot shotguns, rifles, crossbows, and compound bows, fired off Estes Rockets, blew up taenite, and taught our kids how to shoot pistols. We also taught them the dying art of concealment while under duress. I learned this critical skill as Dave Dickenson’s roommate in Diman III. Related to SGS, we just had a highly entertaining 50th birthday Zoom call for/ with Addison Werner, organized by his lovely wife, Lexie. Joining were Charlie Ruma, Tom Wang, Ceebs Hartmann, The Redwine, Dave Dickenson, Jonny Dyke, Dean Wormer, and myself.” ■ Han Kolff: “After my sabbatical year, I have started as chairman of the board of a company that manages IT freelancers for its clients. Helping shareholders and management to professionalize, digitize, and grow international. Our teenagers (14, 12, 12) are doing well at school and they are great fun to have around. My spouse, Saskia, has become an art writer and is putting her words to paper in a very talented manner. Grateful that life is good to us in these turbulent times, and that we were able to meet with so many at the SG reunion last year!” ■ Elizabeth McKean Hickey: “I live in Ipswich, Massachusetts, have two teens who are both very good eggs, yet drive me nuts, working on relaunching my professional life after a far too long hiatus
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with this assignment. Anyways: One lasting experience from St. George’s was the one year of cross-country that I ran with Mr. Hersey. Before that season, the only time I would run was when I was late for class. Mr. Hersey pushed us further than I could have imagined and, after a few months, I was regularly running 10-15 miles at practice. Running has been a great outlet throughout life. I dusted my running skills off with the pandemic, although my pace these days is right at the threshold where you can still technically call it running. Anyways, I hope everyone is staying safe and sane. If anyone is coming through Denver (particularly Katherine Fisher Maroney, Lilly Phipps Cardwell, or Sissy Dent Aerenson, just let me know.” ■ Jennifer Burr Raysman: “Hope you and yours are OK. We are as good as can be expected. I have a 15- and 14-year-old and it’s tough seeing them miss out on so much. But that’s a light load compared to so many people.” ■ Julia Courtright: “Most of you know I’m not keen on rules – so here is an update rather than Almus’ assignment. It also explains how I married a musician, moved to Milwaukee (from Miami), and now live in an 1852 stone farmhouse in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, with a second husband, a few years my senior. On this quarter section, we live out the land ethic of Wisconsin naturalists Aldo Leopold and Andy Larsen. We’re grateful to have this space during lockdown, but we are most definitely ready for guests. Come visit for a socially distant walk through the prairies and the pines or drop a line in the ponds. This is Midwestern nice and I’m so glad to have found it.” ■ David Dickenson: “A life well lived while influencing, encouraging, and challenging generations of Dragons, Beth Horton, bless her soul, was dedicated to making us stronger. She used her words wisely and could say so much with that look she gave. Beth was essentially saying, don’t BS me, and please don’t disappoint me. She was packaged as a mother, grandmother, and teacher. Beth taught me how to shed sporadic apathy and stubbornness. Beth Horton helped us navigate SG and adolescence. She will be missed, never forgotten, and always loved.” ■ Dennis Fernandes: “Almus, get off my back. OK, it is pretty strange, but to this day, I still think about Randy Grenon ’87 fondly and
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Frazier and realized far from it. Ha!” ■ Andrew Ritter: “I’m living in Vienna, Virginia, with my wife and two kids (Todd and Patrick). With all weekend sporting events canceled, I am usually playing golf or heading over to my mom’s pool to push back total insanity for another week. Have not traveled to any other place, but we are hoping to head to the beach this summer for our first trip out of town in the new COVID world.” ■ Melissa Scruggs Patrick: “OK, fine. Here is my entry. I had such a blast at the 30th … reconnecting and meeting people for the first time made the weekend so memorable (although a bit fuzzy). Thanks to all for such a great time. And now to answer Almus’ question … Despite COVID-19 and associated shelter in place and health measures, I am still working, which has allowed me to leave the confines of my home several times a week. Having a bit of a change of scenery every few days may contribute to the fact that I am actually really thankful to have had such quality time with family. Typically, the Patrick (Scruggs) household is constantly on the go, with both my husband and I working full-time – and running to pick up the kids before after care closes, running to activities, dinner, homework, bed, repeat – life was just passing us by. COVID forced us to slow down and take inventory of all the things we are thankful for and, despite getting several eye-rolls a day from my tween, I am grateful. So what is the first thing I will do once COVID restrictions lift? I plan on going to the nearest watering hole and taking a fireball shot with anyone who is willing … and then I will begin training for the next four years so that I can keep up with Ruma in 2024. Until then, please stay happy and healthy. If anyone is ever in San Francisco, please hit me up, I would love to see you.” ■ Suzannah Shogren: “OK, I am a woman, but I am protesting that “Rio” is on the men’s list and I vote for that song all day long, every day. Take it or leave it!” ■ Matthew Sipple: “Thanks for the great update, Almus! I too have always been a big fan of Duran Duran (not to mention Dire Straits), but I saw Billie Eilish’s video of her song ‘Bad Guy’ this morning and had to laugh. It may not be a keeper in the long run, but right now it sounds pretty good. I am sure that Dan’s advice to ‘attack or be killed’ would be somewhat more ‘mindful’
these days, but the important thing is that his advice showed that he knew you and cared about your future. Building close relationships and connecting with students is a teacher’s best tool for impacting their students’ lives and increasing their learning. I did not have Dan as a teacher, but if this is a moment in time over 30 years ago that you still recall and share, I would gather that he was pretty good at making these connections. Many thanks to teachers like Dan, especially during these challenging times. Please stay well, safe, happy, centered, and true. All my best.” ■ Scarlet Snow Johnson: “On a free Saturday, I’d wake up just a few minutes before dawn to begin my yoga practice. As I move through it, the sun would rise and warm me. After that, I’d make breakfast, a veggie soup, also warm and comforting. Then I’d get the dogs and the kids and go to the beach. We’d take a long walk/run punctuated by a plunge in the cold Atlantic April waters of Martha’s Vineyard. So cold I’d feel stupid for doing it, for a moment ... afraid I’d get them sick. Then when our numbing feet struck the sand and again that sunshine lit up our skin, I’d know it was the smartest thing I’d done all week, maybe in the whole of my parenting. We’d come home exhausted, hungry and thirsty … lots of water, more food, and maybe later popcorn and a movie, some card games, a good book, a snippet of conversation that revealed what is really going on with them, and finally
Jeff Kimbell '89 with his family at their West Virginia hunting camp.
sleep. And I’d know that all was right with the world, at least my tiny corner of it. And I’d hope that every being had a similar spike of joy that day before I dozed off.” ■ Almus Thorp: ““Rio,” of course. Memory from SG: I was sometimes too relaxed and passive as a kid. At St. George’s, my advisor Dan Hollins picked up on this and once told me that when he was on ambush patrol in Vietnam, at the first sign of activity, he had to attack or be killed. “Almus, you can’t be passive in life. You have to attack!” He meant be proactive, of course, and it still resonates 30-plus years later.” ■ Eric Wiberg: “Katie Michel told me you swung through New York en route to points east, before the world dropped out and her former spouse, Adam, passed away from the COVID virus on April 1. We are so sorry. My own former spouse, Alex, mother of our child, Felix, contracted COVID-19 over a week ago, but seems to be keeping it at bay. ■ I’ve spoken with Matt Sipple by Skype and Han Kolff, both in Netherlands. An Eaglebrook School friend loaned me their lake cabin in Vermont on the New Hampshire-Canada border – zero COVID cases and we love it. In three weeks, I have published a book and today I finish another. See what happens after. These are certainly life-changing times and I believe far from over. I hope I can parlay this to a move to the country as a full-time writer, we’ll see. Truly sending best to everyone, as all of us are affected by this. Best wishes to come through it. Yours, thanks again for reaching out.” ■ Edward Wight: “‘Pour Some Sugar on Me,” of course. I report that I am living in Charm City with my wife and two kids, running a financial services firm for physicians. I recently hooked up with Almus and Whitney in Nantucket for a great night on the town and some good times. We are hoping to make it an annual event and everyone who can come is welcome to stay at Whitney’s place.” ■ Several women vote for the men’s song “Rio” and several men voted for the women’s song “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Come to the 125th to see what Ramage decides!
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1990 1991 1992 Tyson P. Goodridge, tyson.goodridge@ gmail.com ■ Back in the spring, Stanton McLean and his team were busy securing gifts for the SG Fund/ 30th Reunion/Day of Giving. Then came the coronavirus. The group email he started kept going and going and going. “Reply All” emails that you actually enjoyed reading. An incredible, virtual outshowing of support and love for all of our classmates, our school, our nation, and the world in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic. Some gave “quietly” and some of you wrote great notes of support and love. So ... to those in this paragraph, I am sorry I missed your class notes blurb, but want to thank each of you for staying connected. Carolyn Garth, Will Lathrop (who also gave for Peter Fenton), Billy Bush, Bill Durgin, Whit Hammett, Liz Verney Kelsey, Jason Whitney, Missi Monahan, Matt Berman, Josh Gillespie, Bethany Crocker, Carlos Westerman, Morgan Farrell, Scott Laton, Dave Cumming, Mandy Chardoul (who gave for Margot Mueller), Kevin Kelly (see photo of Norm Lao’s T-shirt), and the best Juvenal impersonator out there, Justin Craib-Cox. Want to know how much money we raised? Keep reading ... Now, let’s get to the notes. ■ Schuyler Morris: “My son Bear is going to be a fourth-former at St. George’s next year and it turns out that the Class of 2023 has a lot of alumni parents. Among them are: Sissy Dent Aerenson ’89, Ted Duff ’88, Carolyn Close Garth, Allison Ariail Erdle ’89, Paget Reed Bahr ’86, and Kirtley Horton Cameron ’91. Family Weekends should be a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to spending more time at St. George’s over the next three years.” ■ Samantha Becker: “I love the flurry of recent communications from everyone and hope that our class attendance at next year's Hilltop gathering
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1990
finishing her 30-month leukemia chemo protocol, feeling fortunate and relieved to get that medical chapter behind us. My son, Parker, 17, is entering his senior year in high school. I’m feeling the panic trying to figure out where his next education steps might take him. I was able to catch up with Alex Condon this past January when he and I served as Rodney Woodstock’s groomsmen for his amazing wedding in Florida.” ■ Brett Smith: “Great to hear from all of you. Hope you are well, safe and healthy. Still living in Greenwich, Connecticut, with my wife Dianna, daughter Alden, and son Chase (see photo).” ■ Will Lathrop: “It has been fun to see the class reunion over email – we really have a special group of people here. Living by the beach in Carmel, happily raising kids Hamilton, 11, and Astin, 15, (see photo).” ■ Leslie Dana Wells: “Doing well in the D.C. area …” ■ Carolyn Garth: “My family and I are loving living in Providence. I am still teaching at Moses Brown School (MB and SG no longer play each other in sports because MB joined the Rhode Island Interscholastic League several years back). Samantha Becker lives nearby and we catch up often. Sadly, I have not had the chance to catch up with any other Dragons. My family and I love going down to Newport for the day. We go to Second Beach to surf and to Lower Thames to shop and eat. We expect to be on campus a lot more since my oldest daughter, Cally, is starting SG as a fifth-former this year! Penelope, my younger daughter, is in the middle school at MB, but who knows; maybe she will follow in her sister’s footsteps in a couple of years.” ■ Andrew Crocker: “We are doing well here in Manchester-by-the Sea, the town, not the movie. Still running my small architecture firm and trying to keep three children, ages 6, 10, and 13, occupied during the pandemic with varying success. Promising spring sport seasons have been replaced with e-sports and bracelet making. The SG community is alive and well here on the North Shore – lots of friends with kids headed to the Hilltop or new graduates. I see Whit Hammett and Sven Holch ’91 on a regular basis and ran into the Davis brothers (Thad ’88 and Ethan ’91) the other day. Always nice to see them when they pop up. Looking forward to the big blowout next year for
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OCT. 7-10, 2021
(our 31st reunion) will match or exceed the participation goal set for the St. George’s Fund – at least 70 percent! In the COVID era, I have shifted to teletherapy from home, have maintained a part-time private psychotherapy practice, and am making more time to paint with oils – a love I’ve been nurturing for about six years. My family is looking forward to a summer of sailing on Narragansett Bay, with at least three days a week based in Brenton Cove, not far from Ida Lewis (which stirs fond memories of afternoons sailing 420s with the team), as my son will be sailing Lasers there. Our dog Izzie will continue to develop her sea legs and swimming skills (see photo).” ■ Jane Schluter: “I am in New Jersey and live on a golf course, so there is plenty of green around me. I hope everyone is able to go outside and enjoy this time. I can say I have never run so much in my life except when I decided to participate in cross country my senior year at St. George's!” ■ Tom (Stine) Peters: “I hope you are all well, and I’m sorry we missed the chance to connect at the reunion in May. The new normal in this age of COVID has given us time to reflect on our priorities – our family, and the bigger issues of American life. Now we are hoping for healing in so many senses of the word. Kids (13, 11 and 8) are in school remotely and I am appearing in court via Zoom – two things I could never have anticipated. We look forward to a better future and the chance to see you all at the celebration of SG’s 125th year. Stay safe and healthy. Wishing you all my best – Tom, Kate, Ellie, Charlotte and Tommy.” ■ Francisco-Manuel Fernández-Castillo y Garcés: “I am with my family in my country house in Valle de Bravo, two hours from Mexico City. Here, the confinement is very good. We feel blessed. I am working from home. My parents and brothers are still living in Spain. I am looking forward to being able to see them very soon. This situation makes you think twice about what is important and what is not. One of the things I treasure is the experiences I have had in life, St. George’s being one of them.” ■ Jay Miles: “Still living in Park City and working on building solar farms around the country. COVID cut our ski season short, but I managed to squeeze in 109 days this winter before the snow melted. My daughter, Hadley, 15, is
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Opposite page, top to bottom, left to right: Brett Smith '90 with his wife, Dianna, and children, Alden and Chase. / Ari and Kai, children of Narissa Willever '90. / Gustav and Astrid, children of Per Von Zelowitz '90. / Georgina Rumsey Levey '90 making weekly food deliveries to local familes. / Jen Burgess Marcotti '90 with her family on a winter vacation. / The 20 year-old 10th reunion t-shirt of Kevin Kelly '90 that was designed by Norm Lao '90. / Cally Garth '22, a junior a St. George's and daughter of Carolyn Close Garth '90. This page, top to bottom, left to right: Jay Miles '90, with his wife, Susan, and children, Hadley and Parker, in Mexico. / Perry and Walker, sons of Tyson Goodridge '90 - two breaks within 10 minutes. One trip to the ER. And a story that just gets better over time. / Izzie, the seafaring dog of Sam Coit Becker '90. / Tom Stine '90 with his wife, Kate, and children, Ellie, Charlotte and Tommy. / Xander Paumgarten '90 with his son, Henry. / Xander Paumgarten '90, with his wife, Mary Kathryn, and daughter, Lula. / Rodney Woodstock '90 and Carrie Elizabeth Woodstock nĂŠe Pazda were married 01/11/2020 (see photo of the wedding party on p. 72).
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the 30th/125th. ■ Diane Gardella Rocco: “I’m in New York with my husband and two sons, dog, cats, chickens and rabbits. The animals are in charge of my kids’ homeschooling. Still working at Pfizer heading the rare disease global regulatory portfolio and I’m on the company’s COVID-19 task force and daydreaming about undefined vacations.” ■ Narissa Willever: “We are currently quarantining in New Hampshire in preparation for my son’s surgery in Boston (bone graft for cleft palate). Luckily, he is at the age when the prospect of unlimited computer playtime is an exciting distraction from the surgery itself! The rest of us – well, life/telework goes on. At least we have a gorgeous view of Mt. Washington while we isolate over the next four-plus weeks during his recovery. When we finally go home to Atlanta, we will have been away for something like 16 weeks ... not even sure we’ll recognize our house ... or find it in the weed jungle.” ■ Dave Forbes: “I am currently managing our voting precinct for the Pennsylvania primary (June 2). It is a fancy title of Judge of Election (appointed and will need to run in 2021). Otherwise, not much else to report. Just living the dream, though not entirely sure whose. Later!” ■ Georgina Levey: “Remote teaching punctuated by weekly food deliveries to local families. It is our new reality, but all is going well here in Aspen.” ■ Nick Brashich: “I have been living in Dallas for the last two years and should be here another two. I am in my 19th year with Diplomatic Security and am in charge of our Dallas-Ft. Worth and Oklahoma office. We have a 7-year-old daughter who is keeping us very busy, sometimes entertained, mostly driving us crazy. Talk to Abel Lineberger often, who is hiding out in North Carolina. Hope everyone is doing well and will try to make the reunion next year.” ■ Alison LeBoeuf: “I have been living in the Palm Springs area for about four years now. My mother and my sister and her family also live in the area, so it has been great to be reunited with everyone. I never had kids, but I’m Super Auntie to my niece and nephew. I have been working for Sherwin-Williams Paint Co. for the last two years or so now. If anybody needs a break from all the craziness, feel free to come out for a visit! Otherwise, I look forward to seeing everyone at reunion next year.” ■ Sarah
Green: “We just passed two years living in Wayne, Pennsylvania, where we moved when I took a job with Vanguard. It has been a big change after 25 years of living in D.C., where we had a big and great community. It has been a bit harder meeting people here ‘on the main line’ as they call it, but hopefully that will change over time. I am learning tennis, which is fun, and have been playing ice hockey in a league here. It isn’t pretty, but at least I am getting out there! A child in high school, middle school, and elementary school, so there’s not a lot of free time! I still get up to Newport at least a couple of times a year to see my mom and love looking over the water and seeing the St. George’s chapel.” ■ Tres Small: “Almost 20 years ago, I moved to Athens, Georgia, as a single woman to attend a graduate program at the University of Georgia. Today, I find myself still here with a full head of gray hair and married with three daughters (6, 12, and 13). Married a childhood friend, Robert, whose grandfather was best friends with my grandfather, so it is a true southern tale. I have not written any books or climbed any mountains and my kids are of the typical southern sort with blonde hair and southern drawls. Most of my days are spent figuring out how to teach my girls to be strong, smart, opinionated, kind, and patient in this super crazy world. The lesser of my days are spent working in a landscape architect firm. All that being written, I have truly enjoyed and been inspired to reconnect with so many 1990 Dragons.” ■ Jeff Mason: “We are all doing fine here on the Cape, despite all the current event chaos. My wife works from home now and treats her hospice patients via teleMed sessions and my son goes to third grade from his bedroom in pajamas with a laptop and headphones ... window into the new future of work and school? The new ‘normal’ for us for a while anyway. I’ve worked from home for a while now, so not much has changed for me during quarantine except the number of people in the ‘office’ and the new ‘water cooler chats’ with my ‘co-workers.’ Has sure made for some interesting Zoom and GoTo meetings lately! Looking forward to seeing you and the rest of our class next year at the 125th/’90 combo. Until then, stay healthy, my friends.” ■ Rodney Woodstock: “Carrie Elizabeth Woodstock
née Pazda and I were married in Palm Beach on Jan. 11, 2020, at The Church of Bethesda by the Sea. Groomsmen in attendance from SG were Jay Miles and Alex Condon. A beautiful day, evening, and night were had by all. We honeymooned at the Cove Eleuthera in the Bahamas. We are blessed! Here’s a link to our quick wedding video: https://vimeo. com/416069444.” ■ Debbie EdgarGoeser: “Having loads of fun here in Pasadena. Zoom psychotherapy by day; protests by night – what’s not to love? Crazy times. Just read this from James Baldwin, and so why not share? (From his essay “Many Thousands Gone,” in “Notes of a Native Son”): “[White] Americans, who evade, so far as possible, all genuine experience, have therefore no way of assessing the experience of others and no way of establishing in relation to any way of life which is not their own.” I pray we all – especially we white people – not evade, but go deeper into our histories to access our genuine experiences (not our ego/false self’s myths of grandiosity and shame) both as individuals and as a nation. If there is anything I have learned in being a psychotherapist, it is that “every crisis is an opportunity.” Let’s do this. … In other news, my niece, Ava Boatwright Hill-Edgar ’24, will be completing the trifecta in my brother’s (Keyes Hill-Edgar ‘87) family. Indeed, following her big brothers Morgan Hill-Edgar ’19 and JG Hill-Edgar ’21, Ava will be starting at SG next fall. I will no longer be the only woman in my family to have gone to SG. Thanks, Ava!” ■ Per von Zelowitz: “All things considered, things are going fine here in New Jersey. We are hunkered down in the ’burbs. I have not been back to New York City for months. I have a dedicated basement prison workout routine and running a lot with the dog, while dodging other human beings. Karin has been the champion of the house. Keeping everyone motivated and moving. Gustav and Astrid are studying online and doing amazingly well. Homeschooling might be in the future. A silver lining in all of this is the amount of time the family is together and I am reminded how lucky we are in all of this. Cannot wait to see you all again soon.” ■ Rob Ross: “Nothing to report from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We have been lumped in with Philly as far as opening up. Serena has been going to the
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Please contact the Alumni Office at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or ClassNotes@stgeorges.edu if you would like to volunteer to serve as class correspondent or to submit an update. ■ Key West-based writer Hays (Trott) Blinckmann released her second novel, “Where I Can Breathe,” this year. A summary reads: “’Where I Can Breathe’ examines tragedy and redemption in the American family dynamic. Having to rush suddenly to a Connecticut hospital, Arthur, Abby, and Ansel Williams must come to grips with the impending death of their beloved mother, Agnes. She is dying from cirrhosis and for years has been drinking herself to death. None of the siblings are prepared for the journey of placing their mother in hospice care and spending her final weeks looking back at her lifetime of pain and destruction. Asher Williams, their father, business mogul, and Agnes’s ex-husband, also must come to terms with his family’s path and his role in shaping all of their lives. The story is rich with a family’s defining moments that changed them, pushed them apart, and brought them back together.” Hays’ first novel, “In the Salt,” was published in 2015.
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Hays (Trott) Blinckmann '91 released her second novel, "Where I Can Breathe."
yours have donated this year. 60! Almost 70 percent of our class. We have raised more than $87,000 for St. George’s. THAT’S impressive. Let’s get ready to celebrate next year. I am ready to raise a glass, are you? Not just to our fundraising, but to all of us. To every friendship we have shared since we first stepped onto campus. To our classmates who are no longer with us. To Mr. Grosvenor, Mrs. Buell, Nurse G., Bob Kmen, and The Wombats. All the people in the SG community who have shaped us over the years. Plan to celebrate in 2021!
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classmate. Goosebumps, people. Goosebumps. Want to know more? Head over to cookingforcommunity.org and or read a more in-depth interview of Ellie and her dedication to her Maine community in this SG Bulletin (p. 33). ■ Monique des Rosiers writes: “Good to hear from you and I really liked the class Zoom call. What times we are living through. Just, wow. Life on campus must be so odd, I can only imagine. I did not catch the latest video from Prize Day for this year. Lately, been doing well given the circumstances, and retreated to my farm in Vermont until this all passes.” ■ Xander Paumgarten sent a photo of his wife, Mary Kathryn, and him at the Mayflower two summers ago. They live in Stowe, Vermont, and his daughter, Lula, may look at SGS soon. ■ Finally, all is well here in suburbia on the North Shore of Boston. A kitchen remodel at home during COVID-19 was interesting. The cabinet company went out of business, Home Depot pushed out the floor installation by three months, but we managed to live without a kitchen for five months. While quarantined. Remember our fifth-form ski weekend at Waterville 32 years ago? In February, I dropped my two boys off with friends to ski and ride. Ten minutes later, I get a call. My oldest caught some air and broke his clavicle. As I gently nudged him into the car, my youngest son walked up ... “Dad, I broke my wrist.” Two breaks within 10 minutes. One trip to the ER. And a story that just gets better over time ... (see photo). As of June 5, 60 classmates of
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hospital for work every day. She’s a high-risk ob-gyn at Lancaster General Health.” ■ Laura Stack de Ramel: “During these difficult times, I am thinking of the Class of 1990 and grateful for the friendships formed and the opportunities given to us. This fall marks 15 years living in Wilmington, Delaware, and my kids will soon be 16 and 14. I see Katharine Fisher Maroney ’89 a lot and Eleanor Lucas Gregory, who lives very close to me, as well as Matt and Cory Plumb ’92 and Sissy Dent Aerenson ’89. Sarah Green now lives 45 minutes away in Pennsylvania, so we have been able to get together several times. I visit with Mr. Clark when I am in Newport and I was sorry to miss his 90th birthday celebration in 2019. It is always great to see him, and ‘coach’ and I occasionally FaceTime with Nkem Okpokwasili ’89. Nkem continues to serve our country and is the senior medical officer for the 2nd Infantry Division in the Republic of Korea, where he and the wonderful “Team O” have been for the past few years. To say he has been busy these past few months is an understatement. I contacted Nkem in June to make sure I could mention him and offered to share any comments he had. His response: “The situation in the U.S. is very upsetting. The systems for social change are clearly not working. The past 10 years have repeatedly demonstrated gross social inequities, especially the unqualified killing of black men by both police and citizens alike. We can and we must do better.” Given the many opportunities afforded us by our SG experiences, I challenge us all to undertake actions to do better. My best to all of you, Laura.” ■ Chip Rosen: “I am planning to see Steve Connett on Cat Island to tag turtles for a few days with my family. He is still doing incredible work in the Bahamas, and arguably responsible for the explosive growth of turtles in the out islands. He has trained a generation of young Bahamians to respect and protect the ecosystem here.” ■ Kate Denckla Prince: “Married Frank Prince ’91!” ■ Ellie Linen Low is doing some amazing things in Maine. What started out as a COVID-19 relief effort has blossomed into a full-time initiative called “Cooking for Community.” Our Maine-connected classmates (Josh, Billy, Bethany, Samantha, George and others) are all jumping in to help their
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Top row: Matt Plumb '92, Bret Barasch '92, Heidi Von Rosenberg Klapinsky '92, Amy Barclay Stiga '92, Mike Gardiner '92, and his daughter Maddie. Middle: Lukas Kolff '92 and family surfing into 2020! / Morgan and Alden Rugg, children of Whit Rugg '92, on the Cliff Walk in Newport. Bottom row, left to right: Will Forbes '92 at the Memorial Day celebration at Historic Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. / Sara Ely Hulse '92 with daughter, Avery, on CBS set pre-COVID.
Sara Ely Hulse, sse@cbsnews.com ■ It has been a crazy news cycle lately. It has been nice hearing from friends like Moy Dimen Drake in Virginia, Lois Claus in Oregon, John Faiella in Jacksonville, and seeing others online and admiring their creative expressions during this bleak time, such as the sweet shoe art by Amy Barclay Stiga’s son, Teddy, that always manages to put a smile on my face. Of course, most did not have notes to pass along. As we know, there has not been a lot of newsworthy events happening as we wait for life to restart. I hope our fellow classmates continue to be healthy and safe! A shout-out to those in the medical profession who have been working to heal people. One of those is Hillary Keenan, an epidemiologist who is currently a director at Takeda at the University of Pittsburgh, who has been working diligently to repurpose already-approved drugs and to work to formulate new ones in order to get us all back on our feet as soon as possible. Godspeed! ■ If there is a silver lining, it has been reconnecting with old friends. Roger Hull took the opportunity to reach out to say hi. He says, “Although I didn’t graduate with you all, I feel compelled, amidst all that is going on, to write in. I am divorced, unemployed, and living in a van down by the river eating government cheese! Just kidding. I wasn’t kidding about divorce, I am surviving, as I hope all the rest of the SG community is. I am removed from the bulk, but there is a nursing home nearby that has 19 cases, there are the employees to worry about, but everyone around Berkshire County, Massachusetts, seems safe, masked up and all. After a while working with the family business of oil services, I left to pursue my own passion of skiing and still continue to teach at Butternut, which I started when at SG. My children are in high school and next year my son graduates and my daughter will the year after. They are great children, young adults, gulp. He wants a shovel and she wants a ball, and they’re getting the grades too. I am doing whatever it takes. Building, gardening, masonry, whatever, and I urge everyone to take activities as an essential while still being diligent about masks and social distancing. I Zoom once a week with friends, driveway beers with others. Keep your mind, people, it’s
CLASS NOTES
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Robert Reiser '95 sent this photo, "Alden Grimes '17 and I (both Bowdoin and SG) at the Bowdoin sailing awards dinner where Alden was named freshman of the year way back in 2018. He is team captain this year."
relax in the backyard … the simplest things take new meaning. It has been tough to watch New York City go through some of the worst of the virus – working at CBS, our photojournalists were able to embed with emergency physicians and critical care specialists at the height of the pandemic at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. A special, “7 Days on the Front Line” aired in May that documented the heroism of the front-line healthcare workers and their bravery and compassion during these trying times. It was eye-opening and inspiring. Let’s hope we beat this soon!” ■ Will Forbes took a moment to be thankful at a Memorial Day celebration at Historic Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia – where the original Memorial Day Observance in Philadelphia took place in 1868. Will is currently the Commander of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS). “The star on my blazer is the Commander's Star.”
1995 1996 1997
OCT. 7-10, 2021 20th Reunion 2000 2001 2002
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Jennifer Vandemoer Mitchell, mitchelljv @gmail.com ■ Hi everyone! It has been an unusual year so far, living with a global pandemic – missing our 20th year reunion – and trying to understand what life will look like moving forward, but it has been so nice to hear from you and still feel that sense of connection with a community. David and I have been staying put in Aspen; working, teaching school for our kids, and enjoying the outdoors! Hope to see you all soon! ■ Liz Cahill says, “I’m still in Wellesley with my husband, Mike. Still architecting at ART Architects, though my office has temporarily moved from downtown Boston to my house while the world is socially distancing. Convenient as it is not having a commute, I am looking forward to getting back into the normal
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Please contact your class correspondent or the Advancement Office at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or classnotes@ stgeorges.edu
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running our bodies! Low toes are the new high five. Stay healthy, old friends and family. Think happy, healthy things and all will be good. Peace, Roger.” ■ Looking at some happy news, Christian Whiton and his husband, Marco, had a child named Chase through surrogacy who arrived a month early in late January. He reports that he is doing well and almost sleeps through the night sometimes. They are enjoying living in Evergreen, Colorado, which is about 40 minutes west of Denver. Thus far, he says, his plan to ski more was foiled by the baby and closures, but hopefully things will work out next winter. He says, “We’re used to working from home: I’ve done that for a couple of years now and usually just went to Washington 1-2 times per month. The now-absent in-person meetings usually staved off feeling too isolated, but things are so busy with the baby and parents it doesn’t seem all that different, except for no restaurants.” ■ Whit Rugg checked in to say – “This has been an interesting 2020 for sure! Bright side: we ‘get’ to spend time with our children at an age for them and us that would not normally be feasible. Morgan is almost 8 (second grade) and Alden is 4. Getting too close to our 30th. We might be considered ‘old’ then.” ■ Lukas Kolff also checked in while being quarantined in London, which he says, “is quite a challenge, given we have three children — 12, 10, and 5 — to home teach using some online tools. Certainly, our 5-year-old, Loui,s does not always see this in the same way, as his toys are nearby and he prefers those, of course! … The coronavirus has definitely put things in perspective and makes us all focus on what is important in life, being healthy, family, friends and enjoying each day as it comes. Carpe diem! Stay safe and healthy, everyone. Lots of love from the Kolff family.” ■ Sara Ely Hulse has been quarantining from home in Long Island with her husband, Alex, and their two children, Kathryn and Avery. “I agree with Lukas that it is tough working from home and trying to teach the kids at the same time – but thank goodness for all that we are able to do at home now with the internet and being able to get almost everything delivered to the house! I feel so fortunate to have a yard and space so we can all get outside for some fresh air and ride our bikes, and just
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swing of things, whenever that happens.” ■ Aaron Rising says, “Things are going as well as can be expected here in D.C.! We are both home teleworking and as of now, I will be home until further notice. Hope, our daughter, is getting stir crazy like her parents, so it is a challenge keeping her entertained while we both have to work! Oddly enough, we are eating out more now than before the stay-at-home order started. Keep telling myself it is all because we want to help local businesses, but I think it is more we don’t want to cook (been finding a ton of really good places in the area)! Started a new job at the FDA in January doing science policy in the Center for Tobacco Products. Thankfully, my new job at the FDA is tele-workable, but still a challenge getting used to the new role while being at home. Otherwise, not much more to report, I was hoping to have a bit more excitement this summer, but who knows what will happen!” ■ Alexis Barrick says, “We welcomed Alice Adams Barrick minutes before midnight on April 20, weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces, and 19.5 inches. Having a baby during a pandemic is both frightening and absolutely perfect. She met her SG aunties, Emily Talamo, Rebecca Wadman, Sayler Crouchley, Alex Malloy, Morgan Mandeville, Alyssa Maple-Brown, Anna McLaughlin and Amanda Pullins for a champagne toast on Zoom the following week.” ■ Ali Ingersoll says, “My husband and I got married this past year and just celebrated our one-year anniversary.
Jennifer and David Mitchell, class of 2000, at home in Aspen, Colo.
We also just purchased our first home together.” ■ Alex Jones says, “I feel a little bit guilty. Outside these walls, there is so much suffering from the pandemic with people losing their lives, health and livelihoods. But in this house, we are having a wonderful and very special time together. My wife has been mostly working from home this year and I joined her on March 23. On April 4, our business was closed entirely, and I have no idea when we will be able to reopen … but it is a blessing in disguise. With almost everything in Bermuda closed, I have been a stay-at-home dad for our 9-month-old daughter while my wife works and I am having a great time. My wife and daughter are treasures and I am just loving so much time together and love our daily walks (up to one hour and within 1 kilometer of our house, per local laws). The lockdown coincided with the tail end of humpback migration, so we even got to see some whales from our front porch. The big downside for us is that my mum is recovering from cancer and is high risk, so they have been isolated since the beginning of March and are missing out on this very adorable time in Meredith’s life.” ■ Allison Robin says, “My son Nicholas and I are quarantining here in New York City and doing OK. Nicholas was sick back in March, but never got a confirmation if it was COVID – so for now, it’s just work from home/homeschooling. I bought an apartment in Murray Hill at the beginning of the year, so also using this time to work on “nesting” and we also live across from NYU Langone Hospital, so we go out at 7 p.m. and cheer for the hospital workers every evening. I am still working at the same firm doing construction management, but was recently promoted to CFO. Most of our projects that were shut down by COVID are slowly coming back online.” ■ Morgan Mandeville says, “After four amazing years living in South Africa, I recently moved to the south of France. Was the craziest move ever – arriving just months before the pandemic, I have been trying to learn the language and culture during two months of lockdown. Not an easy task, but it has definitely been a unique adventure. I have abandoned trying to plan what is next, so just enjoying each new day.”
Cornflake Callahan, the adopted puppy of Sean Callahan '02.
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Dorothy Billings Zani, dorothybillings@gmail. com / Gerrit M. Lansing, gerrit. lansing@gmail.com / We sincerely thank Dana T. Ross for her years of service. ■ Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this pandemic! It was great to hear from some of you and hopefully we will be able to get together, less than six feet apart, soon! ■ Emily Whipple is living in Aspen, Colorado, and working as a health and wellness coach. Additionally, she’s the wellness teacher at the Aspen Middle School for grades 5-8. ■ Logan Unland and his wife, Serena, are still residing in New York City, though have retreated to Mount Desert Island in northern Maine during the pandemic. Logan and his partners are a bit over a year into the launch of Parkman Healthcare Partners, a healthcare-focused investment firm, while Serena recently released her second cookbook titled, “Dude Diet Dinnertime.” Logan has enjoyed the quarantine/virtual work environment from Maine, allowing him to get creative with his facial hair and drink many delicious local IPAs he doesn’t otherwise have access to in NYC. ■ Natasha Marwah got married a little over a year ago in Houston, Texas, and she and her husband recently moved to San Jose, California. Natasha works for the U.S. Forest Service as a deputy director for its regional programs across Africa and the Middle East. “Notable quarantine hobbies include pasta-making and urban balcony bird watching – it’s riveting!” ■ Tracy McWhirter has picked up sewing and
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Bradley G. Hoover, bgh3175@gmail.com ■ Congratulations to Chrissy Mitchell and her husband on the birth of their son! Boden Wesley Adams was born on Nov. 27, 2019. His middle name honors Chrissy’s older brother, Wesley Mitchell, who was in the Class of ’01. Bode is the happiest little boy and very active (like his uncle was!). Chrissy reports that Bode keeps them busy and they are loving every minute of it! Chrissy and her husband moved to Burlington, Vermont, five years ago and it’s proving to be a great community for raising a kiddo. ■ Let’s also congratulate Corwin Parker and his wife, Catalina, as they are expecting their first child later this year! ■ In June, Colby Brown will be finishing his year-long fellowship in advanced sinus and skull base surgery at the University of North Carolina. After that, Colby will be heading back to Cleveland to work for his alma maters, Case Western and University Hospitals. ■ Down in Nashville, Shannon Karpovitz continues to work as an outpatient physical therapist. Fortunately, Shannon has not had to deal with COVID too much, given her job and fewer cases in general in Tennessee.■ If there has been any silver lining to the COVID quarantine, it has been the opportunity Casey Waldin has had to catch up with SG pals over Zoom. Casey has been chatting most recently with Eliza Baker Holladay, Kesa Iskra
Pictured here with Yoori Oh '01, Wonsuk Brian Park '06, Sungjun John Hong '06, and Junggun Oh '06, Inbae Lee '03 was proud to show to this side of the ocean what schoolmate synergy could amount to. Inbae took a wide turn and is now leading global seed investments at Kakao Ventures in Korea; and the rest, while tending to their family businesses after all these years, saw a strategic alignment in staking in a renowned VC fund, only made possible via the SG connection.
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Lindsay, Emily Castelli, Dorothy Billings Zani ’02, Dana Ross ’02 and Kate Harvey Ankowitz ’02. In addition to Zoom calls, Casey has been spending lots of quality time at home with her husband and daughter. ■ Bill Nordlund recently moved to a program-management role at Amazon in charge of expanding its last-mile delivery fleet capabilities (those Amazon branded vans increasingly common in your neighborhood). As you can imagine, business has been very busy since COVID-19 hit with all the at home-delivery demand. Bill reports that Amazon is doing the best it can to keep up, but it’s been a challenge. Cassandra and Bill’s three kids are doing well down in Tampa, given the current situation in the world, although they have not been in school since early March, which has been tough. They were supposed to take their first-ever family cruise in March, but it got canceled. Terrible timing! ■ Chris Landercasper continues to organic farm out in California. Chris reports that the plants don’t know that the world is on pause right now! Landerosa Farms is coming along nicely and, in January, Chris started building a new farm project in Sonoma, California. He continues to hang out with Andrew Watters quite a bit. ■ Sarah Koziolkowsky and her husband, Adam, are living in Denver and supporting Colorado’s oil and gas and electrical industries. Their 5-year-old daughter, Anna, started kindergarten this fall! Sarah reports that her brother Justin Look ’02 and sister-in-law Hillary (Boynton) ’05 and their family will be moving from
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daughter, Ruth Marion Bates Lander, on Nov. 29, 2019. As an ICU physician just outside of Washington, D.C., Katharine is taking care of lots of COVID-19 patients. Her message to our class is: “Stay home, wash your hands, and wear a mask when you’re out!” ■ Henry Sheehan and his wife, Kathryn, brought John Henry (“Jack”) Sheehan into the world on April 8, 2020. Young Jack is already looking forward to crushing Spring Break 2035 with Taggart Whipple, Pippa Wallace, Killian Mollohan, Emil Vaillancourt, Peirce Zani, West Wick, and Lydia Lansing. ■ Gerrit Lansing, his wife, Christyn, and their daughter, Lydia, welcomed a second daughter, Daphne, on May 22, 2020, to spice up quarantine a bit more. The family of four is bunkered down in Washington, D.C., and Lydia, 2, is very happy her parents are around all the time.
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making face masks, for anyone interested in one. The sewing wasn’t as easy as she anticipated, and all walk-in fabric stores were deemed non-essential near Tracy in Canada, so she was unable to purchase the material to produce them. However, after asking around, a client donated a significant amount of quilting cotton and Tracy has been enjoying mixing and matching patterns and colors, and distributing the sewn masks. In terms of safety, the masks are as protective as can be! ■ Sean Callahan lives in downtown Philadelphia and switched careers from finance to human resources after he received his SHRM-CP and WLCP (Work/Life Certified Professional) designations. Last December, he joined Five Below Inc. at their Philadelphia corporate headquarters as a human resource administrator. During quarantine, Sean has restarted learning Italian as a hobby almost 15 years after his semester abroad in Rome and it seems to be going well. Additionally, Sean rescued an adorable puppy named Cornflake! ■ Kevin Shers and wife, Kate McCartan, had their first son, Lucas Benjamin Shers, on Aug. 30, 2019. They are all doing well in Virginia. ■ Dorothy Billings Zani and her husband, Alex, welcomed Alexander Peirce Griffin Zani “Peirce” on Oct. 5, 2019. Peirce brings them so much happiness and they greatly enjoy watching him grow. They now need more space than what their current New York City apartment provides, so are heavily considering a move to the suburbs. During quarantine, they’ve been experimenting with new recipes, attending weekly virtual cocktail parties with friends, and Dorothy has fun providing Alex comic relief with her in-house/apartment workouts and nightly face masks. ■ On Oct. 24, 2019, Whitney Garland Guhin and her family welcomed their fourth (and final!) little one, Liam Elliot. He is smothered with love on a daily basis by his older siblings – Aiden, 7, Fiona, 5, and Ethan, 2. Liam was brought home on Whitney’s birthday, which made for the best birthday present ever! As for pandemic life, never has Whitney been more thankful that she was a teacher before having kids than now and that they have a whole bunch of kids who can be each other’s “classmates.” Whitney sends her love and well wishes to you all! ■ Katharine Modisett and her husband, Kevin Lander, welcomed their second
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Marriages CONGRATULATIONS Kate Denckla ’90 to Frank Prince ’91 [ 1 ] / April 11, 2020
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Rodney Woodstock ’90 to Carrie Elizabeth Pazda [ 2 ] / Jan. 11, 2020 Chris Sessa ’02 to Lindsay Walton [ 3 ] / Nov. 2, 2019 Joanna Field ’04 to Cory Brine Oct. 16, 2019 LeRoy Leong ’04 to Nurshamira Akmar Shahriar Sept. 19, 2019
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Regina Yoon ’04 to David Ryu Oct. 5, 2019 Matt Martyak ’10 to Samantha Norman July 6, 2019 Matt McCarthy ’10 to Morgan McCall July 18, 2020 Emily Lewis ’12 to Brian Hartley [ 4 ] / July 4, 2020 1. Kate '90 and Frank Prince '91 and family. / 2. Alex Condon '90 (third from left) and Jay Miles '90 (far right) served as groomsmen at the wedding of Carrie Elizabeth (Pazda) Woodstock and Rodney Woodstock '90. / 3. Attending Chris Sessa's wedding in November of 2019 were: Alex Perry '02, Amy Patenaude, Jeff Patenaude '02, Chris Sessa '02, Lindsay Sessa, and Elliott Perry '02. / 4. Emily Lewis ’12 to Brian Hartley, July 4, 2020. 2
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James F. Bittl, jamesbittl@gmail.com / J. Garth Fasano, garthfasano@gmail. com / Julianna C. Howland, julianna. howland@gmail.com / Katharine Sheehan Ronck, katharineronck@gmail.com ■ It was so great to get updates from so many of you. There are a lot of exciting things going on with the Class of 2004! ■ Whitney McGuire (see story p.30) reports that she is living in Brooklyn with her husband and child, Audwin. Still paving the way in fashion law, she works to bridge the gaps between the mainstream sustainability movement and targeted communities most susceptible to environmental injustices. Her work is centered in fashion, wellness, and agriculture. She speaks a lot around the country, mostly in New York City (and virtually now until further notice). The last time she visited the Hilltop was in January to deliver a chapel talk during Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend.
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She writes that it was really beautiful to connect with current and former students and faculty. It was also weird to drink wine with faculty members who taught her during her time there! She reports that a lot has changed since our time at SG, but much has remained the same. She enjoys yearly visits with Moana Casanova, Sela Fermin Grindal, and Annie Hansel. ■ Sela has been busy helping to coordinate her community health clinic’s COVID-19 response as a family nurse practitioner doing both in-office and telemedicine visits. She and her husband have a 2-yearold daughter. A second daughter was expected at the end of October. ■ Moana is still living in Santa Monica with her husband and continues to work in production at HBO. When she wrote, she had just escaped the madness in Los Angeles to spend the month of June in Breckenridge, Colorado. Her sporadic FaceTime sessions with Whitney, Sela, and Annie are a saving grace during the pandemic. The last time they all saw each other was June 2019 in Malibu. ■ Sang Lee and his wife, Bona, reside in New York City with their two children. Their first son, Connor, was born in April 2017 and they welcomed their second, Jude, in May. ■ Also in May, Brian Taggart was getting ready to move back to Massachusetts after four years teaching at The Gunnery in Washington, Connecticut. In December, he and his wife welcomed twin girls, Evelyn May and Juniper Grace! He is excited to be moving back near family and hopes to be able to visit SG more often. ■ LeRoy Leong is living in New Haven, Connecticut, for another couple years before possibly looking into venturing elsewhere. He has been the head squash pro at the New Haven Lawn Club for about three years now and has been working on building his squash academy. He has developed a few “Under 11” boys who were ranked top three in the country in the previous season. Following them are a handful of younger kids, who are emulating the older nationally ranked boys. He loves seeing these younger kids have an interest in squash, as he hopes to develop them into college athletes! He also shared the exciting news that he got married to his childhood sweetheart, Nurshamira Akmar Shahriar, on Sept. 19, 2019, in New Haven, Connecticut. They didn’t get to do a huge celebration, but enjoyed having
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California to Fort Worth, Texas, this spring to continue his work at Lockheed Martin. ■ As most of us are, Pavan Dharwadkar is working from home. However, he has a rather unique setup. Pavan has situated his “desk” along the edge of his pool so that he can sit in the pool while using his laptop. Living the life down in Texas! ■ Rob Stevenson and his wife, Georgina, left Boston (temporarily) in April and spent two months in Maryland in the country. In June they headed back to Boston for a few weeks and were scheduled to come back down afterwards. Rob is still working at BNY Mellon and his company said not to plan on returning until at least September. ■ Jordan Savage says hello to everyone and hopes y’all are staying safe! ■ My wife and I are super excited to have capped off the last decade by making a human! Caleb Rian Hoover was born Dec. 27, 2019, in New York City. The last five months have been simply incredible! We’re enjoying being parents and watching him become aware of the world and learn new things. In April, we temporarily left our home in Brooklyn to stay at my dad’s house on Long Island. We are enjoying spending more time with family and having more space to roam around. Turns out Caleb loves looking at trees! Perhaps we’ll move out to the suburbs… You stay classy, 2003.
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Above, top to bottom: Sang Lee '04 with his wife, Bona, and their son Connor. Not pictured is their son, Jude, who joined the family in May. / Elizabeth Romeyn '04 with her partner, Duncan, and baby, Atlas.
close family and friends around to witness their little moment. They are enjoying the next stage in adulthood as a newly married couple and are getting ready to move into their first apartment. He wanted to send a quick shout out to all the SG faculty and staff! ■ Charlotte Born Tallon lives in New York City with her husband, Sean, and their wild and lively 2-year-old son, Henry. Charlotte oversees a division of human resources at a global private equity firm, which in this environment has provided no shortage of challenging and different work. Since March, Charlotte and her family have been temporarily living on Martha’s Vineyard and, like many, are
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filling their time with Zoom calls with family and friends, including SG alums Aston Hollins McClanahan, Julianna Howland and Katharine Sheehan Ronck. ■ Aston Hollins McClanahan graduated from Theatre Conservatory in 2018. She lives and works in New York City as an actor and songwriter. Aston is especially interested in making work that gives voice to underrepresented communities and is ever exploring the dynamic between words and music. In 2019, she was nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award for Best Original Music for her work in a “Midsummer adaptation, in which she also played the role of Puck. To find more of her work, check out astonhollins. com. ■ Katharine Sheehan Ronck is living in Swampscott, Massachusetts, with her husband, Jay, and her very energetic sons Will, 4, and Sam, 2. She continues teaching third grade in neighboring Lynn, Massachusetts. ■ Julianna Howland lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Mason, their daughter, Rose, and baby, Jack. She is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. ■ Mariel Bailey is living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her fiancé. She is in her chief year of a medicine-pediatrics residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital, and just adopted a beagle. ■ She reports that Mary Teuscher lives nearby and, before the coronavirus pandemic, they used to love making food and traveling around Boston together! ■ Michelle Parent Perry and her husband, Dan, are still living in Boxford, Massachusetts, with their two boys – Matty, who turned 2 in February, and Danny, who turned 5 in September. She says the boys are nuts and definitely keep them on their toes. She works in Lawrence, Massachusetts, as an ICU nurse practitioner, which has certainly kept her busy over the past couple of months. Whenever they can get away, they head to Maine or Rhode Island for some much needed ocean time! ■ We also heard from Hollyn Romeyn that she moved to Nairobi, Kenya, from Libya last year to continue her work in the humanitarian education sector in a regional office with the United Nations Agency for Refugees (UNHCR). She and her partner, Duncan, welcomed a healthy baby boy, Atlas Elliman Romeyn-Riddell, in April 2020 in a home birth in Kenya!
Babies Chase Devereux McClees-Whiton to Marco and Christian Whiton ’92
Jack Dyment to Anne and Cam Dyment ’04
Annabelle Marlette “Annie” McLaughlin to Lindsay and Neil McLaughlin ’99
Jude Jooho Lee to Bona and Sang Lee ’04
Alice Adams Barrick to Adam and Alexis Sheehan Barrick ’00
Atlas Elliman Romeyn-Riddell to Duncan Riddell and Hollyn Romeyn ’04
Liam Elliot Guhin to Chris and Whitney Garland Guhin ’02
Evelyn May and Juniper Grace Taggart to Adrienne and Brian Taggart ’04
Ruth Marion Bates Lander to Kevin Lander and Katharine Modisett ’02
Zoe Delphine Zatakia to Naman and Emily Rozes Zatakia ’04
Daphne Lansing to Christyn and Gerritt Lansing ’02
Grace Anne Carton to Sanford and Field Osler Carton ’06
John Henry “Jack” Sheehan to Kathryn and Henry Sheehan ’02
Beau Hill to Lemise and Beau Hill ’06
Lucas Benjamin Shers to Kate and Kevin Shers ’02
Charlotte Skinner to Julia and Cameron Skinner ’06
Alexander Peirce Griffin Zani to Alex and Dorothy Billings Zani ’02
George Oliver Willie to Estelle and Sam Willie ’06
Boden Wesley Adams to Ed and Chrissy Mitchell Adams ’03
Mary Ellen Lyra “Emmy” Bullitt to Caitlin and Stockton Bullitt ’08
Caleb Rian Hoover to Rachel and Bradley Hoover ’03
Hewitt Elizabeth Hammatt to Brendan and Alison Fornell Hammatt ’08
Nathaniel Bittl to Katherine and Jim Bittl ’04
Andrew Joseph Lurio to Ben and Kara Meringolo Lurio ’09
1 - Jan. 31, 2020
2 - Aug. 23, 2020
April 20, 2020
3 - Oct. 24, 2019
4 - Nov. 29, 2019
May 22, 2020
April 8, 2020
5 - Aug. 30, 2019
6 - Oct. 5, 2019
7 - Nov. 27, 2019
8 - Dec. 27, 2019
May 14, 2020
Jan. 5, 2019
May 21, 2020
9 - April 4, 2020
Dec. 23, 2019
10 - March 16, 2020
Aug. 23, 2019
May, 2020
May 10, 2020
Feb. 24, 2020
11 - April 16, 2020
Dec. 16, 2019
March 25, 2020
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CLASS NOTES
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joining the new-parent club are Emily Rozes Zatakia and Naman Zatakia. They welcomed Zoe Delphine Zatakia on March 16, 2020, in New York City. Callie Baker and Alex Rawlings lent a hand in naming baby Zoe! Alex came up with Zoe and Callie, Delphine. Congratulations to the new parents! ■ Amy Conrad wrote that she is living in San Diego, California, and has a 19-month-old daughter, Charlie. She is working as a trauma ICU registered nurse at UCSD Medical Center. ■ Congratulations are in order for Joanna Field Brine, who got married in October 2019! She is living in Boston with her husband and their dog, Teddy. Joanna works as a group account director at an ad agency called Genuine. She still keeps in touch with Kate Harris Lucey and Kate Cournoyer Wallman! ■ Cam Dyment is still living on the New Hampshire seacoast. He and his wife welcomed a little boy in 2019, so he is keeping busy! ■ We heard updates from two classmates who are living in Hong Kong! Robyn Mak just celebrated her seventh year as a financial journalist at Reuters in Hong Kong. She also told us that she and her partner, Kevin, also got married in the middle of the pandemic and pro-democracy protests earlier this year! ■ Jim Bittl and his wife are celebrating two years in Hong Kong and the birth of their second child, Nathaniel, amid the pandemic and pro-democracy protests. He finds time to race Etchells with the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. He planned to start the University of Chicago Booth’s executive MBA program in September and continue working in investment management.
15th Reunion 2005 2006 2007
OCT. 7-10, 2021
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Marisa A. Rodriguez-McGill, mrodriguezmcgill@gmail. com ■ Thinking fondly of our graduation memories 14 years ago as I watched this year’s virtual graduation and chapel services. “Jerusalem” and “Highland Cathedral” will always be two of my favorite songs. As long as 2021 is nothing like 2020, we’ll all see each other in a year’s time to celebrate our 15th SG Reunion! As usual, we have news of many weddings, babies, and big moves from our classmates. ■ My Brooklyn Heights neighbors Mac Branin and wife Lindsay Walls Branin are moving to the New Jersey ’burbs, Darcey O'Halloran has moved to Newport, Rachel Lee Vezina bought a place in Sherborn, Massachusetts, Sally Ward is moving to Cambridge to start her pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Alexandra Talty moved back from Beirut to New York, and Caroline Guenther just moved back to San Francisco after “wintering” in Tahoe (100-plus ski days this season!). ■ The rest of us are debating other life changes as COVID-19 has impacted our careers, lifestyles, and priorities. Ryan Dewey has had to postpone her wedding by one year and Mike Robey has now had to reschedule his St. George’s chapel wedding twice, while MaryMartha Gaiennie was still holding out for a September 2020 wedding in Shreveport, Louisiana! ■ In addition, there are many beautiful new babies to give a shout out to – Congrats to Sam Willie, Cameron Skinner, Beau Hill, Field Osler, and Brooke Botsford on the births of their new children!
School for Social Work and have been living in Boston since, working with children and families as well as in city schools. I am working to commit myself to anti-racist practice and dismantling white supremacy culture. As a white person, I know that my commitment to anti-racism is a lifelong project and I am working to educate myself, listen, and own my mistakes. I invite other white folks to do the same. Googling “white fragility” is a great place to start. I look forward to working together. #BlackLivesMatter.” ■ And, here is some wonderful news from our classmates: Stockton Bullitt – “Mary Ellen Lyra Bullitt (‘Emmy’) was born on April 16, 2020, at 7 pounds 15 ounces and 20 inches. Emmy’s inability to abide by lights-out rules and affliction for head-butting make her a long shot for the SG Class of 2038. However, as you can see from the photos, she is clearly cool enough to have THOUGHTS on Arden vs. D North.” ■ Alison Fornell Hammatt – “I welcomed a daughter on Dec. 16, 2019. Her name is Hewitt Elizabeth Hammatt. We are thrilled and doing well.” ■ Hailey Feldman – “I was just hired to be the international digital marketing director for Lexington International LLC, HairMax. I am incredibly happy working in Boca Raton and living in West Palm Beach, Florida. I continue to horseback ride in Wellington and compete during the winter months. I also keep in touch with Will Bruce. We have been discussing a virtual singing collaboration! I miss my days singing in the chapel in choir and with the Snapdragons!” ■ Kimberly Drew’s first book, “This is What I Know
2008
Westley A. Resendes, west.resendes@gmail. com ■ Classmates, as I shared in my note back in June, I hope you and your loved ones are all remaining safe and healthy during these challenging times. It is also clear – more than ever – that we need to do more to progress towards racial equality and undo the effects of institutional racism. This work is not solely the work of communities of color — it is our collective responsibility. ■ Ann Wheeler weighs in with some thoughtful words from Massachusetts: “I graduated in 2014 from Smith College
Photo from Sam Willie '06 and Estelle Willie's baby shower in Fairfield, CT - attended by Marisa Rodriguez-McGill '06, Mike Robey '06, and Darcey O'Halloran '06.
CLASS NOTES
2010 2011 2012
OCT. 7-10, 2021
2010
Eliza R. Ghriskey, elizaghriskey@gmail.com ■ Well, I had been looking forward to writing about the shenanigans that would have occurred at our 10-year reunion for a little while. But alas, here we are. I was quarantined with my entire family in Westchester since March 13 and here are the things I have discovered during this period: ramps were the hottest vegetable of the spring, online shopping is dangerously therapeutic, smoothie bowls are time consuming, yet delicious, and puzzles/board games can cause very intense arguments. But most importantly, I am incredibly grateful for my friends from SG. To put it simply, we are all lucky and privileged to have attended a school with a community that is supportive of one another. In this time of injustice, pain, sadness, frustration, and anger, I am doing my best to educate myself and be part of the solution in order to counteract what is systemically wrong in our world. It has been so heartwarming to hear about everyone’s Zoom calls, catching up on a semiweekly basis, even if it’s just to make sure everyone is staying home and safe. Hearing from old friends is always a light amidst the darkness. ■ I spoke with Jesse Pacheco about the efforts of Courtney Jones during the pandemic. As some of you already know, Courtney has been in the nursing field since graduating from SG. Her hospital unit in Philadelphia transitioned from an oncology to a COVID unit, noting that it had been “quite the eye-opening experience.” Courtney said that she was “proud to be part of such a great team of nurses and offering support to those alone in the hospital at this time.” Courtney’s strength and resilience are felt by every patient, and she is a hero to many. ■ Eric Jernigan is also fighting coronavirus at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. He just completed
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Isabel H. Evans, izzyevans22@gmail.com ■ What a cesspit the human world has become (I write this during coronavirus). Tom Evans, do you still work for Tesla? If so, can you plz hook me and perhaps a plus-one on the next ride into the abyss? ■ It seems ’09ers spent their lockdown in different ways. Hannah von Meister actually did escape the U.S., not for space, but for Bali. For three months, she frolicked at an artist residency in Ubud, creating vegetarian-friendly delicacies with spiritual guide Amrit Pal Singh-Gurumukuh-Ji. Her journey into self-discovery and meditation has been quite calming to watch from afar. ■ Lindsay Beck has also tapped into her inner guru, manifesting Wellnut Nutrition, a food and nutrition platform, into being. Amongst the trash posts that pollute Instagram, you’ll find Wellnut’s pleasing photos of freshly sliced avocado or coconut sprinkled kebabs. ■ Leslie Muzzy Walter has been embroidering facemasks with her company Bobbin Grey to fundraise for health organizations. I hope to the Lord we are not wearing facemasks by the time this Bulletin comes out in 2025
10th Reunion
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or 2026. (Just joshing, Bulletin team! You know, though!) ■ Before the lockdown hit, Margaret Hawkins released her first single, “Bad Habit,” which is a rollicking good tune available on Spotify. In our preceding class, fellow warbler Harriet Manice ’08 seems to also be flexing her vocal muscles and, along with Will O’Connor ’08, spent most of quarantine posting photos of doors, which is nice, I suppose. ■ I asked SJ Tilden if he had any updates for me from fellow Dragons and he said he spoke with Nick Kiersted recently, who is living in Brooklyn. I have zero updates about him otherwise, but it seemed great to be able to fill in some space. Hope all is well, Nick. ■ I think the only person who is actually a health professional with the power to save anyone in our class is Vianca Masucci. Bully for you, Vianca!! If anyone else is a doctor or anything, sorry, but you knew where to reach me if you wanted a shout out. It has been the same email address listed here for the last decade. ■ I am told Chris McCormack is engaged and Wells Howe’s wedding is coming up. Callie McBreen will be celebrating her engagement in the finest of settings with the finest of people. ■ Others have been blessed in the miracle of life. Kara Meringolo, now Lurio, has an adorable son named Drew. Lulu Keszler has two adolescent children and a third child on the way! Is anyone else bringing a new child into their family? Let me know! ■ Annie Warren and Christina Haack responded to my menacing with their news. Christina recently moved from Maine to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, wanting “a suburban feel by the water.” She's working in production. Annie is living in New York City and is now working for a boutique consulting firm in the private equity space. ■ Anyways, that’s all I got for now! So sorry to the younger classes that your reunions were not able to go ahead. I know that must have been a crushing disappointment to so many of you, especially when daily lives are still so intertwined with all things SG.
st. george’s school
About Art,” was released in early June. Check it out for Kimberly’s perspectives on the deeply-entwined connections between art and protest. If my encouragement isn’t enough, Janelle Monáe (!) wrote in her review: “Drew’s experience teaches us to embrace what we are afraid of and be true to ourselves. She uses her passion to change the art world and invites us to join her.” ■ I have been keeping busy at the American Civil Liberties Union. As I write this, I am in the midst of supporting several community-led efforts in the nation to divest from police in our schools — building on the momentum of Minneapolis and Portland — and invest in much-needed school-based mental health support staff, including counselors, social workers, and school psychologists. It is my hope that when this goes to press, we will be able to name several more major school districts who have cut off their relationship with police and reinvested those monies into creating supportive and healthy schools. I echo Ann’s call to action and non-optical allyship, and look forward to continuing the good fight. In solidarity – West
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Katie George '19 earned NESCAC Rookie of the Year and All-American honors in her first season for Middlebury’s National Champion field hockey team.
his first year as a general surgery resident. Eric was on several shifts every time we tried to get an update from him, but I wanted to make sure to note his work and thank him for his efforts on the front line! ■ I chatted with Kelly Bullock, who provided me an update on what he’s been up to in Long Beach, California. He said, “I stopped working at a dispensary because of health risks with COVID-19, despite it being declared an essential service. My amazing girlfriend, Kayla, is thriving working hard every day from home.” Kelly also mentioned that, “While we are in the comfort of our apartment, we can’t help but not only feel, but donate to the many people suffering worse than us in these trying times. WomenShelter of Long Beach is our favorite local place to support. We’ve also been doing our best to support local small businesses any way we can.” Kelly has always been an advocate for social justice and in spite of the tough times we are currently in and those that lay ahead, he always promotes positive change, aid, and peace. ■ Laura Lowry used to work as a partnership manager for ActBlue, a nonprofit that develops software tools for candidates, campaigns, and nonprofits, such as Campaign Zero. As of June 2020, she was working at the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which is the national committee that focuses on state legislative races. In the midst of fighting the good fight, she somehow squeezed in some time to apply to law
school! Laura is now attending University of Virginia School of Law. ■ Campbell Shuford is working for the Secretary of Agriculture at the U.S. Department of Agriculture as one of his senior policy advisors. She is responsible for making sure we are keeping Americans fed during COVID. ■ Now onto other updates ... Jesse Pacheco got engaged! As did Molly Boyd! Matt Martyak got married! As did Matt McCarthy! Quarantine cannot stop love. ■ Macgill Davis has continued working on his startup remotely after relocating from San Francisco to Los Angeles. He’s enjoying the sunshine, beaches, and spending time with other Dragons in his new home. ■ After six years at Joey Wolffer, Esme Yozell has partnered up with her mom in building Choix Home, which is a beautiful, laid-back and chic collection of home and personal accessories. Yay for a strong mother-daughter owned business! ■ Some Dragons did a pre-isolation trip out to Park City, Utah. The squad included Kelty O’Brien, Lauren Hilton, Caroline O’Connor, Sydney Mas, Esme Yozell, Shealagh Coughlin, Emma Byrd and myself. It was Lauren’s first time skiing in several years and Emma did her best to coach her down the mountain! Unfortunately, Lauren did have to be taken down in a sled after realizing that the mountain was a little steeper than she anticipated. It is not a true girls’ trip without Alex Hare, so we obviously had to meet up with him and his girlfriend for a couple runs. Also, Lili Noesen ’11, Lindsey MacNaught ’11, and Mary O’Connor ‘11 joined us for a notorious group dinner filled with dirty martinis and lots of pasta. GLD! ■ Hope to see you all next fall at the 125th Reunion! In the meantime, reach out to each other, support each other, learn from each other, and be there for each other. Sending so much love to each and every one of you.
5th Reunion 2015 2016 2017
OCT. 7-10, 2021
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Welcoming Oscar D. MacGillivray, oscardmacgillivray@gmail.com and Z. Thaddeus Stern, zacharytstern@ gmail.com who have volunteered to serve as class correspondents. ■ Molly MacCormick and Cam Jones completed their first college semester abroad in Rome. “It was a really cool immersion program. Northeastern is a huge school, but being with only 100 Northeastern freshmen allowed us all to become really close through travel and very unique experiences. I would absolutely recommend it.” ■ Katie George earned NESCAC Rookie of the Year and All-American honors in her first season for Middlebury’s National Champion field hockey team. ■ Megan Grimes has decided to take a gap year before returning to Yale as a sophomore in 2021. At least three members of the Class of 2019 will be transferring to new schools next fall, including Seamus Fearons, who will enroll at the University of Colorado Boulder.
BECOME A CLASS CORRESPONDENT!
Want to help round up class notes? Reconnect with old friends? Rally the class for your next reunion?
SUBMIT A NOTE!
Please contact your class correspondent or the Advancement Office at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or classnotes@ stgeorges.edu
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Pandemics Past Echoes of 1918 in 2020
From top to bottom: All-school photo taken in 1919 - the school nurse, in white,on the left, third row from bottom, must have had a very busy year; Former headmaster Stephen P. Cabot, classic banana snack in hand, enjoys one of the school's spring holidays in 1913. Mr. Cabot assumed his role as the school's second headmaster in 1917, having served as a teacher since 1901.
Following school founder John Diman's resignation at the end of 1916, Stephen Cabot took over as interim headmaster in January 1917 (he would gain full headmaster status later that year). At the time, Mr. Cabot was dealing with the many traumatic disruptions to St. George’s caused by WWI. The Alumni Bulletin, The Dragon, and The Lance were still largely focused on the war. By that summer of 1918 though, Cabot knew he faced the additional challenge of the dreaded influenza pandemic. This segment from his "School Review" in the 1919 Lance particularly caught my eye: “Rarely ... has there been a more anxious time than these first weeks of school. The terrible scourge of influenza had been exacting its toll from every part of the community, including most schools, and we were prepared at any moment to change the school into a hospital.” Football was of course THE fall sport then, so starting the term in late October and cancelling the interscholastic games schedule must have been a huge deal — and although they were at first planning to hold the "Christmas Celebration," they ended up having to cancel that as well in order to depart several days earlier than expected in December. 1918-1919. Not a fun year. They even had to extinguish a roof fire on Old School in February 1919! Luckily that turned out to be small and caused only minimal damage. But can you imagine Stephen Cabot immediately having to launch into fundraising for Memorial Schoolhouse? At least they all must have been incredibly relieved that the war had ended. —Archivist Valerie Simpson
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S T U D E N T E S S AY
BY ARCHER NEWSOME ’21
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A grandson seeks connection with his war-veteran grandfather Growing up, I didn’t spend much time thinking about war. I would, however, play “battle” with my cousin, Peter, in the basement and shoot Nerf guns in my friend Joey’s backyard. Sometimes I’d sneak into my dad’s office and stare at the glass case on his bookshelf that contained replicas of ancient generals and soldiers. As I got older, I became fascinated with “American Sniper,” “Lone Survivor,” and other war movies. Despite the appeal of watching men push themselves to their extremes, I’m under no illusion that war is entertainment. I don’t have to look any further than my Pa to understand this truth. Even though he fought in Vietnam, there’s an unspoken rule in my family not to ask about his experience. Sometimes I imagine what he felt during his tour of duty. I wonder if he ever lay awake at night, scared he wouldn’t make it to the morning … My scariest moment came on a grass field. Freshman year, I decided to give football a try, but quickly broke my hand during practice and watched the season from the bench. The next year, two linemen knocked our starting quarterback unconscious midseason. To my surprise, Coach Lang sent me in as a backup. I stood shaking in the huddle picturing myself being trampled by players taller and double my weight. I failed to find the open receivers, and eight snaps later, Coach pulled me. I walked to the sideline feeling a mixture of disappointment and relief. Beyond getting hurt, I didn’t want to let my teammates down. Fear isn’t only about protecting myself but getting through tough times for the people around me. I wonder if he experienced remorse … When my childhood best friend moved to Florida, I was devastated. Josef and I were inseparable through middle school. We always found each other at 3:30 p.m.
to walk home from school together. We used to stop in town, treat ourselves to Arnold Palmers and Doritos, and waste time hanging out with other friends at the Village Green. When Josef moved, we texted for the first year but then lost touch. Last spring, I found out he was in the ICU after a terrible car crash. Facebook postings about a fundraiser included images of his bandaged body hooked to machines. I was filled with regret. Why didn’t I reach out more? I should’ve been a better friend. While regret is inevitable, letting people I care about know how much they mean to me is something I will remember to do. I wonder if he felt proud of his actions … I’ve always been a math-oriented student. I treat problems like puzzles and usually understand a process to solve them. The same cannot be said for English. Throughout middle school, commas confused me, and I dreaded Friday vocab quizzes. When I got to high school, I never knew how to start an essay and tended to bounce from topic to topic. Freshman year, while it would have been fun to take electives like computer gaming, I decided to enroll in a writing program. Finally, I learned to organize my thoughts and “remember the reader.” By junior year, I noticed a major improvement in how I express myself. While I won’t become a professional writer, I’ll always be proud of my papers about the Space Race, “Brokeback Mountain,” and “Into the Wild.” Pride is the most satisfying when I accept my weaknesses and work hard to overcome them. I wish I could sit beside my Pa and ask about Vietnam. I wish I could know what made it so horrific that we can’t even talk about it. I wish he could tell me if he was scared, wanted to come home, or felt proud to serve his country. I’d listen to his story — and then tell him about all the times I’ve felt fear, regret, and pride, too. n
This was Archer's college essay. He is pictured above with his grandparents, Susan and John Newsome, in 2014.
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WHO ' S INVITE D :
EVERYONE WHO LOVES ST. GEORGE’S TO WHAT:
OUR 125TH ANNIVERSARY GALA * WH E N:
OCT. 7-10 WH E RE :
OUR BELOVED HILLTOP WH Y:
TO CELEBRATE SG! * The gala will include class reunions, SG’s first-ever sailing
regatta, our biennial Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the Dragon Cup Golf Tournament, and the unveiling of our exciting plans for the future of St. George’s School.
ST. GEORGE'S SCHOOL P.O. Box 1910 Newport, RI 02840-0190
Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Burlington, VT 05401 Permit No. 19
Members of the SG football team take the early lead at the 62nd Annual Pie Race on Nov. 7; however, the boy in the light blue shorts — J.G. Hill-Edgar ’20 — eventually was named co-winner of the race with classmate William Wilson ’20. Costume-wearers, a unicyclist, and race contestants carrying field hockey sticks and golf clubs eventually crossed the finish line.
