Holderness School Today | Winter 2025

Board of Trustees

John Hayes P ’15 ’18 – Board Chair

Bishop Rob Hirschfeld – President of the Board

Chris Keating ’81 P ’24 – Secretary

Richard Vieira P ’20 – Treasurer

Kat Alfond ’90 P ’23

Jim Byrne P ’24 ’27

Karyn Campbell P ’17

Chris Davenport ’89 P ’19 ’21

Andrew Davis P ’18

Paul John Ferri P ’18 ’19

Lisa Glahn P ’27

Rob Kinsley ’88 P ’22

Flip Kistler ’85

Cecily Cushman Koopman ’11

Clarissa Lee P ’26

Anne Lompo P ’22 ’24

Chip Martin ’88 P ’20

Wendy McAdam P ’26

Sean McGraw, Ph.D., M.Div.

Joe Miles ’82 P ’11 ’13 ’18

Mike Murchie ’81

Simon Parmett P ’25

Courtney Peschel P ’26 ’27

Ginny Ramirez-Del Toro, Ph.D

Nell Reynolds P ’18 ’20 ’22

CJ Vincent ’06

Dix Wheelock ’87 P ’25 ’25

Sung You ’01

Headmaster Emeritus

R. Phillip Peck

The Rev. Brinton W. Woodward, Jr.

Honorary Trustees

Warren C. Cook

Bob Hall

Jim Hamblin ’77

Piper Orton ’74

W. Dexter Paine III ’79

Will Prickett ’81

Please send notice of address changes to the Advancement Office, PO Box 1879, Plymouth, NH 03264, or advancement@holderness.org. ©2024 Holderness School.

EDITOR: Greg Kwasnik

CONTRIBUTORS: Bruce Barton P ’13 ’16, Marybeth Bentwood, Greg Kwasnik, Meghan McCarthy McPhaul, Max Paro ’17

DESIGN & PRODUCTION: Tessa Magnuson, Align Graphic Design, LLC

PHOTOGRAPHY: Greg Kwasnik, Max Paro ’17.

ON THE FRONT COVER: Holderness School's top four senior leaders walk across campus this fall.

Photo by Max Paro ’17.

FROM THE SCHOOLHOUSE

The crimson and gold foliage reminds me that autumn at Holderness is more than a change in season; it marks the cycles of growth and transformation that define our school. This issue of Holderness School Today centers on leadership and how Holderness has nurtured and inspired individuals to step forward as leaders in their communities, workplaces, and beyond.

As Head of School, I am reminded daily that leadership is not a solo act. Nothing of meaning can be accomplished alone. It is a partnership within a community of broad talents united by shared values, vision, and purpose. Authentic leadership means listening before speaking, acting with integrity, and

supporting those around us as we continuously ask each other, “What might we accomplish together?”

At Holderness, leadership is rooted in relationships. Our teachers, coaches, and dorm parents are more than educators—they are mentors guiding students through the seismic turbulence of adolescence. This mentorship, both inside and outside the classroom, ensures that students experience leadership as a daily practice that can be exercised by leading a classroom discussion, organizing a service project, captaining a team, or running point for a crew in the Job Program. Students learn through action that leadership begins with taking initiative and showing up for others.

This fall, I witnessed countless examples of how Holderness students live these lessons. In October, our Service Council organized a wildly successful Empty Bowls Dinner, where they served up soup and support for four nonprofit partners while energizing local citizens to serve the greater community. I witnessed a group of friends joyfully jump in to cover their friends’ pantry duties in Weld when a bus was late in getting back from a game. The Quad became the epicenter for supporting cancer research and awareness when one of our seniors organized and executed our Relay for Life. Senior leaders supporting new dormmates, Capstone projects tackling some of the gnarliest problems facing our world, team captains uniting their teams in times

Head of School John McVeigh plays an intense game of rock paper scissors during a fall assembly.

of challenge, students staying to clean up after an open Head’s House without being asked…the list goes on. Whether big or small, these acts of service and leadership are the building blocks of our culture and the essence of Holderness at its best.

The importance of relationships also takes the spotlight in our new podcast, From Bulls to Beacons. In its first season, I interviewed inspiring alumni and former faculty who have emerged as educational leaders to explore how Holderness influenced their trajectories. Time and again, the power of connection was revealed to be the bedrock of their journeys.

In this issue, you’ll read stories from the Holderness community. From reconnecting with our legendary former Music Director David Lockwood to hearing about the Service Council’s summer trip to Poland with Common Man for Ukraine or catching up with Willie Ford ’05 in his new role as CEO of the National Ability Center, these stories resonate with the vision of our founders. They remind us that the kind of leadership Holderness

fosters—rooted in service, selfawareness, and courage—is exactly what the world needs today.

For many graduates, the leadership lessons they learned here serve as both compass and engine, guiding their life’s journey and calling them to make a difference

For many graduates, the leadership lessons they learned here serve as both compass and engine, guiding their life’s journey and calling them to make a difference. Our students leave with the confidence to take healthy risks, the resilience to overcome setbacks, and the understanding that leadership is as much about

serving others as it is about achieving one’s goals. In doing so, Holderness fulfills its mission of shaping lives of purpose and consequence.

As you explore this issue, I hope you find inspiration in these leadership stories and the legacy that emerges from our campus and alumni community. From classrooms and athletic fields to nonprofits and global initiatives, the Holderness family leads with character, compassion, and courage.

Thank you for being a part of this journey.

With gratitude and admiration,

John McVeigh Head of School

PS—We’d appreciate it if you would take our reader survey on the back cover. Your input makes all the difference.

A photography student captures the early morning light on campus this fall.

AROUND THE QUAD

LET’S GO BOWLS!

On October 10, Holderness students raised more than $4,000 for local nonprofits at the school’s first annual Empty Bowls Dinner. The dinner, organized by the school’s student-led Service Council and held at The Flying Monkey inPlymouth, treated guests to delicious soups provided by local restaurants, including Yamas, Hummingbird Center, Six Burner Bistro, Covered Bridge Farm to Table, Gusto’s Italian Cafe, and The Common Man. Attendees were also treated to student musical performances and received hand-painted bowls, homemade bread, and desserts—all crafted by students.

Holderness musicians performed at the Empty Bowls Dinner (left) while Nick Gagliardi, owner of Gusto Italian Café, served soup to Alex Ray, the co-founder of Common Man for Ukraine. Also serving soup was Kosta Alexandropolous, owner of Yamas Greek Eatery. (right)

Kelly McVeigh ’26 and Maeve Rhatigan ’26 volunteered in Poland with Common Man for Ukraine.

COMMON MAN FOR UKRAINE—IN POLAND

In August, a group of five Holderness students and employees traveled to Poland to volunteer at the Children of Ukraine Health Retreat. This three-week camp provides trauma counseling to Ukrainian children who have lost a parent in the war. While there, our students had the opportunity to mentor and support 32 Ukrainian children ages 8 to 12. Since last April, the Holderness Community Service Council has raised over $3,500 in support of Common Man for Ukraine, a local organization that helps to fund the retreat as well as provide food and supplies to Ukraine. Words and photos by Max Paro ’17.

Charlotte Lehr ’24 skis at the Mittersill Performance Center at Cannon Mountain.

HOLDERNESS SCHOOL JOINS U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD’S HIGH PERFORMANCE CENTER PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

This summer, Holderness School cemented its status as one of the top snow sports schools in the country when U.S. Ski & Snowboard (USSS) invited Holderness to join its High Performance Center (HPC) Partnership Program, an elite designation that establishes the school as an incubator for the country’s top young skiing and snowboarding talent. “This is a huge honor for Holderness School and our snow sports program,” said Director of Snow Sports Ben Drummond. “It proves to everyone out there that our facilities and our staff can take kids to the highest level—whether it’s trying to ski in college or make the U.S. Ski Team.” Established in 2017, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard HPC Partnership Program shares knowledge, systems, and processes of athlete development between its own High Performance Department and the nation’s top echelon of ski and snowboard clubs. By sharing its training expertise with the nation’s top ski and snowboard clubs, USSS hopes to identify and develop the next generation of world-class skiers and snowboarders.

FROM BULLS TO BEACONS

The Holderness School Podcast

“I love podcasts. I think they offer more depth and a little more insight—and you get to hear people in their own voice.”

-John McVeigh

Head of School John McVeigh recording a podcast in his office.

When John McVeigh was hired as the new head of Holderness School in the spring of 2021, his first order of business was relatively straightforward: to listen.

In the more than three years since then, John embarked on a wideranging listening tour with students, faculty, and staff; held countless conversations with parents and alumni; and sought advice from

a stacked roster of Holderness legends—a Dream Team of educators who had either led Holderness themselves or left an indelible impact on the institution before going on to lead schools of their own.

After several years of listening and learning, John came to an inescapable conclusion: everyone else should be listening in, too. This realization led John—a regular podcast listener

whose favorites include “Revisionist History,” “Ologies,” and “How I Built This”—to launch Holderness School’s first-ever podcast, “From Bulls to Beacons,” this fall.

“I've tried in my first couple of years here to do a lot of listening and learning,” John said. “This felt like a good way to do both—and maybe for people to get to know me a little bit through those interactions.”

In the first season of “From Bulls to Beacons,” John sat down with 11 distinguished alumni and former faculty members—that Dream Team of educators he’d learned from—to uncover just how Holderness had nurtured their paths to success.

“One of the things Holderness is known for is being a cradle of school leadership—and that’s a credit to the people who have been here and to the culture of this place,” John said. “Even when looking at this job, it was striking to see how many people have left this community to lead other schools. We thought it would be a nice way to frame the first season of the podcast, particularly with a relatively new head, to listen and learn about where that came from.”

For John, the decision to start a podcast was borne out of a desire to meet people where they are. About half of Americans say they’ve listened

to a podcast in the last year, according to a 2023 Pew Research poll, with one-in-five of those respondents saying they listen to a podcast nearly every day. While traditional forms of media like alumni magazines still play an important role in how a head of school communicates, podcasting offered John—and Holderness—an innovative way to share its mission and values with new audiences, and in new places.

“There’s a group of people who I know will read Holderness School Today from cover to cover. But for people who aren't, this is a different kind of opportunity,” John said. “It’s a chance to reach them, whether they’re on their way to work or traveling like I do. The podcast is a way for them to stay connected to Holderness and to hear from people who maybe mattered while they were here. All of that was a dream to me.”

Recording the first season of the podcast was a hugely valuable experience for John, who enjoyed the freewheeling, wide-ranging conversations with Holderness icons like the Rev. Pete Woodward, Phil Peck, Bill Burke, and many others. He’s already looking forward to Season Two, when he plans to have similar conversations with the people the world needs—or needs to hear from—most: Holderness students.

“I love podcasts. I think they offer more depth and a little more insight—and you get to hear people in their own voice,” John said. “One of the benefits of podcasting is you don’t know exactly where it’s going to finish. You have an idea or framework for what you might talk about, but it’s the back-and-forth that really makes it interesting.”

Read on for just a few episode highlights from Season One.

Scan the QR code to listen to Season One of “From Bulls to Beacons” on Spotify.

EPISODE #4

RAMSAY HILL CHODOUNSKY ’02

Head of the Lower School at Park City Day School

In episode four, John sits down with Ramsay Hill Chodounsky ’02, head of the lower school at Park City Day School. They discuss her inspiring journey from ski racing to education, the development of Park City Day School, and her leadership philosophy. A pivotal moment in Ramsey’s journey was her time at Holderness School, where the

focus on personal development, community, and outdoor education shaped her educational philosophy. Ramsay talks about how influential teachers at Holderness helped her realize the value of fostering personal and academic growth in students—principles she now champions at Park City Day School.

“Holderness always really felt like a family and a community where you mattered and the person next to you mattered. The teachers recognized that. The coaches recognized that.” -Ramsay Hill Chodounsky ’02

EPISODE #2

NIGEL FURLONGE

Head of School at Montclair Kimberley Academy

Nigel Furlonge is a transformative educational leader whose career in education began at Holderness. Nigel, who served as Associate Head of School at Holderness and is now Head of School at Montclair Kimberley Academy, reflects on how Holderness’s unique “double helix of service and leadership” shaped his approach as an educator and a leader. Together, Nigel and John explore how mentorship,

“So much of what I learned about leadership systems for students was forged at Holderness.”

thoughtfully designed learning experiences, and the integration of empathetic leadership with service foster strong communities.

-Nigel Furlonge

EPISODE #3

CHRIS DAY

Head of Cardigan Mountain School

In episode three, Head of School

John McVeigh interviews Chris Day, a former Holderness teacher, coach, and administrator who is now the head of Cardigan Mountain School. Chris shares his deep connection to Holderness, shaped by his 14 years of service and as a parent to two alumni. Reflecting on the school’s unique ability to cultivate leadership, Chris

“The thing about Holderness is that it's not just a place—it’s the people, the culture, the energy, and the drive to get better every day.”

-Chris Day

discusses how Holderness instills a culture of attention to detail, community, and stewardship. This episode offers a deep dive into what makes Holderness special and how its values continue to shape future leaders in education.

EPISODE #8

“Holderness positions you to take the next step, IF you want to take that next step.”

-Mike Henriques

EPISODE #9

MIKE HENRIQUES ’76

Retired Head of Proctor Academy

In this episode, John catches up with Mike Henriques ’76, a lifelong educator whose journey began at Holderness School in 1981. Mike spent two decades at his alma mater, serving in roles like Director of Out Back and Dean of Faculty, shaping programs that immersed students in experiential learning. In a surprising career shift, Mike left education to serve as Copy Chief at L.L. Bean, gaining invaluable insights into brand identity and mission-driven leadership. His three years in the corporate world sharpened his understanding of how values align with strategy, a perspective that would profoundly shape his tenure as Head of School at Proctor Academy from 2005 to 2021. Now retired, Mike reflects

PHIL PECK

on his leadership journey from his home in a historic schoolhouse in Sandwich, NH, where he and his wife, Betsy Paine ’80—a Holderness alumna and district court judge—pursue creative projects and personal growth.

Retired Head of Holderness School

Phil Peck was a transformative leader whose nearly 40-year journey at Holderness helped shape the school's culture and direction. Beginning his career at Holderness in 1984, Phil brought an extraordinary background as a Dartmouth graduate, NCAA champion skier, and World Cup coach. He served as a teacher, coach, and eventually Head of School, leading through pivotal events, including 9/11, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19

pandemic. This episode offers an inspiring glimpse into the experiences and values that have made Holderness a "we school," grounded in integrity, humility, and a shared commitment to fostering future leaders.

“One of the gifts of the Holderness culture that I feel so blessed to have stepped into was this culture of entrusting and empowering and allowing you to be your best, bold self.”

-Phil Peck

EPISODE #10

“If you can own the moment between stimulus and response, you’re king of the universe.”

-Bill Burke

EPISODE #11

BILL BURKE

Retired Head of St. Sebastian’s School

William L. Burke III recently retired after 34 extraordinary years as Headmaster of St. Sebastian’s. A visionary leader, Mr. Burke guided the school to unprecedented levels of academic and community excellence. Prior to his tenure at St. Sebastian’s, Mr. Burke dedicated 12 years to Holderness as an English teacher, Director of Studies, Hockey Coach, and Dorm head before joining Canterbury School as Assistant Headmaster. In total, he has dedicated 50 years of service to independent school education. In this highly engaging conversation, Bill speaks about the role of community at independent schools, expressing gratitude, and the importance of inclusion at faith-based schools.

REV. PETE WOODWARD

Retired Head

of

Holderness School

Pete Woodward served as Headmaster of Holderness School from 1977 to 2001, guiding the institution through a period of significant transformation. Under his leadership, the school expanded its 600-acre campus with the addition of key facilities, became co-ed, and formalized signature experiential programs: Artward Bound, Project Outreach, Out Back, and Capstone, which

“I really wanted to be at church school. And so that was my kind of guiding line all the way through: church as a microcosm for a place to be thankful, to serve, to have joy, to have redemption—all the kinds of things that you want in your community. So that was my daily vision.”

remain Holderness hallmarks. In their conversation, John and Pete discuss how the core values of Holderness have remained strong over the years, the school’s shift to coeducation in the early 1970s, and their shared love of basketball.

-Rev. Pete Woodward

STUDENT- LED

Our senior leaders discuss the meaning of leadership at Holderness School

Each spring, in a tradition that dates back more than 70 years, Holderness students elect their school leaders for the following year. It’s a unique process without speeches or campaigning, where rising seniors are assessed on the qualities of fairness, initiative, dependability, and empathy. Those student leaders then go on to run key aspects of the school as president and vice president, dining hall supervisors, dorm leaders, and Job Program leaders. This fall, we sat down with our current top four Senior Leaders—the school president, vice president, and two Weld Hall leaders—for a roundtable discussion about what it means to be a leader at Holderness.

Our top four senior leaders pose for an (un) serious photo in the Head of School's office.

Q.What was your reaction at the Leadership Chapel in May when you found out you were voted Senior Leaders?

NATALIE LOW, SCHOOL PRESIDENT:

I was pretty much in shock. It definitely took me a couple days to really realize that I had been voted as a leader.

TANNER SNYDER, WELD HALL LEADER :

Those first couple days, as Natalie said, were pretty surreal. But I think we also did a good job of coming together and saying, ‘Hey, this is awesome. But how are we going to make the school year better next year? And how are we going to contribute our efforts and not just glorify this moment, but also put it in motion?’

NATALIE:

Q.As senior leaders, how closely do you work with the school’s administrative team?

TRACE SCHROEDER, SCHOOL VICE PRESIDENT:

We’ve met with the board of trustees and we meet with Mr. McVeigh [Head of School John McVeigh]. He's always listening for ideas and open to hearing ideas and asking for input. That’s been really good to have that support.

We have meetings with Mr. Cabot [Dean of Students Tyler Cabot] every Tuesday night. He's so welcoming. We get to go to his house and we get food and we just sit and we talk for however long we need about something that’s coming up in the week or concerns or any ideas that we wanted to share.

Q.We’re having this conversation in October, but you’ve already made some significant changes to student life. What are those changes, and did you start the school year with a list of goals?

GRADY TAYLOR, WELD HALL LEADER

:

Intervis and snack bar every night was a big one. Trace organized a Zoom call in August and we had a couple general ideas that we wanted to touch on, but there’s a ton of different stuff that pops up throughout the year. Students may suggest something and we’re more than happy to go talk to the administrative level about it. I think we just came into the school year really excited about the opportunity to go and be able to make change and be present, knowing that we have the supportive administrative team to help back us up. There's just a lot of excitement.

Q.What does it mean to be a senior leader at Holderness?

TRACE:

NATALIE:

I think it means being a listener and understanding when support is needed and just being present in the moment, being there for anyone who needs it and trying to bring people together. I feel like I've had a ton of students come up and say, ‘I was thinking about this the other day and I wanted to ask you what you think about this. What can we do to make this better?’ It's been really nice.

I think it’s representative of something so much bigger than ourselves in a tradition—or this idea of something that's brought Holderness together for so long, which is community. I think our role is to uphold that vision and that value we have as a school. It goes beyond ourselves and it creates this amazing place that Holderness is.

Q. Is there anything that surprised you about being a Senior Leader?

GRADY:

Really just the behind-the-scenes stuff. I think about our schedules for the last three or four years. A lot of us see it as, ‘Okay, we have to go to assembly now and then Chapel’ and a lot of that stuff is put on our plate. But we're sitting there and we're the audience. It takes a lot for teachers to say ‘Okay, Mr. Cabot's doing this slideshow, this is what we want to talk about at assembly, and how is the message going to be received?’ This school is like a huge family with 300 kids. There’s so much behind all of the little details and messages in the packed schedule that everybody faces here. There’s a lot of work that’s going on.

NATALIE:

NATALIE:

When we come up with an idea and we talk to Mr. Cabot about it during our meetings, it's always interesting to see who else we need to consult, because when you have an idea, it affects so many other people than I would have realized. You want to know: how would they take it, or what can they do to help?

Q. As Senior Leaders, you’ve clearly thrived during your time at Holderness. What advice would you give to younger students to make the most of their experience here?

Whatever space you enter, I would always try to bring a positive energy or always try to enter that space with an open mindset. I think that's really important because you're setting yourself up to have a good time, but you're also going into it and making sure everyone else is comfortable and happy and having a good time. I think that's really important, especially if you're trying to bond a community together.

TANNER:

It’s important to keep a balance academically and in your sport so that you leave time in which you can interact with the community, in which you can spend time with new students and really use that meaningful time that you don't have a lot of. I think that's a big part of it.

GRADY:

TRACE:

I would say don't let the leadership or the title be your end goal. Let what you are and who you are and the positive impact you have be your end goal.

I just went night fishing on Saturday night with Mr. Thatcher [Director of Climbing & Outdoor Programs Erik Thatcher ’08] and I did not think I'd be night fishing on Saturday. It was super fun. So my advice would be to just do random stuff—do random, pop-up stuff. Nothing has to be set in stone. Go pop into somebody's dorm randomly and go try to meet somebody new. Go sit on the patio outside of Webby and try to meet somebody new or sit down and try to talk to a faculty person. Go try to find little instances throughout your day that are random and you will look back at them at the end of the day and you're like ‘Wow, that was really fun.’

FROM THE DESK OF...

Associate Head of School Tobi Pfenninger

“These are pictures from my sabbatical year. We spent a semester in Seville, Spain, and I studied at a language school there. Those are pictures of some of my favorite places in Southern Spain.”

“Herb Waters was an art teacher here from 1947 to 1962. He painted this in 1959 —it's the backs of three employees at the time who were watching or coaching a football game. He gifted it to Ed Cayley, who was one of the first associate heads here. He was the associate head from 1956 to 1962 and then again from 1966 to 1978. Since that time, this painting has been gifted to every assistant or associate head at the school. We write to each other, and our years of service, on the back of the print.”

“I just love to travel. And so I think about the world. I think about how we just welcomed all of our new international kids. Even though we're in the middle of New Hampshire, we have students from all over the world. So this just makes me think about how even though we're living in this small town, Holderness is having an impact around the world.”

“I was the international student coordinator for many years. On this wall, I have just some of the pictures that I have from that time. This photo here is of a student, Maame Arthur ’13, of the very first time she saw snow. She was from Ghana, and she was just standing outside experiencing snowflakes for the first time. It was awesome.”

CATCHING UP WITH DAVID LOCKWOOD

By Bruce Barton P ’13 ’16

Arecent drive to the supermarket provided me with a wave of nostalgia as “The Mighty Quinn” by Bob Dylan played on my XM radio. For generations of Holderness students, that song, along with many others, enlivened many an assembly in Hagerman and enlarged the experience of being a student at this school. “Holderness is a school that sings” was first said to me during my job interview with Pete Woodward. And indeed, it is. There is one person distinctly responsible for that reality—David Lockwood P ’99 ’02 ’03 ’03. So, with piano music drifting out of an open Carpenter window, I had the chance to sit down and visit with Dave, the Music Director here at Holderness from 1981 to 2016.

When Dave first came to Holderness, it was with wife Sally and their new baby Emily. Having graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1980

with a degree in music composition, Dave was working as a handyman at Manter Hall, a small high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts while his real focus was on building a career in music. A chance meeting between Dave’s mom and Pete Woodward on Squam Lake’s Church Island in the summer of 1981 led to an unexpected job interview. Dave vividly recalls then-Head of School Pete Woodward saying he believed that “dedicated artists who were willing to teach” would make the best fits for Holderness. Dave was impressed by some on the school’s maintenance staff whom he already knew. So, when the offer came, he took it. Over the following 35 years, Dave was able to pursue his career in music—and along the way scores of students would augment and enrich his efforts.

Dave’s early days at Holderness were challenging, and not just because he was a novice teacher and new parent. The facility itself, the upstairs of the

then yet-to-be renovated Carpenter Hall, were all he had. The former gym housed art, music and photography. “There were two rooms on the second floor for music, and there was minimal heat up there,” Lockwood recalls. “I can remember seeing the breath of my singers on some winter days.” But this was just another hurdle to climb while he built his program. The curriculum expanded to include music composition classes, there were lessons to arrange, groups (both singing and playing) to coordinate and lead. It was on his initial Orientation Hike with Jim Brewer that the idea of making Holderness a “singing school” was born. Dave remembers Jim saying, “at Deerfield, we sang all the time—that could happen here too.” From there grew a tradition that still exists today— singing not just in chapel but in Assembly. Recalling with some delight now, Dave began that tradition with the Australian folk song “Waltzing

Matilda.” After recognizing that kind of music was “not his groove,” Dave quickly shifted the next week to “Love Potion # 9.” “Now that,” he says, “was up my alley and the kids loved it too.”

It will come as no surprise to those who know him that Dave is still making music. To date he has produced 10 albums over his career. My smart speaker easily calls up his music through Spotify, as will most streaming platforms. He still plays the piano on a daily basis, and for those who live in the greater Plymouth area, one is likely to find him out in front of a store or in the parking lot of a supermarket on any given summer day with “the Rolling 88’s.” Picture a pick-up truck pulling a trailer–and now picture a baby grand strapped down in the trailer—that is the Rolling 88’s. The idea came to him in 2014 as a way to “bring fun, comfort, and maybe even joy” to people. Receptions to his “just pulling up and starting to play” are mostly positive but do vary from place to place. “I’m not ‘busking’ and don’t put out a tip jar.” I am just there to share the gift of music.” When pressed, Dave confesses that he has been asked to leave the local Wal-Mart and Market Basket more than once. “They told me I had to get ‘approval from corporate,’” Dave says. “I’m looking to spread happiness, not get in a legal battle.” Dave and the Rolling 88’s have been featured several times on the weekly New Hampshire television show “New Hampshire Chronicle.” Those segments brought in more requests–everything from memorial services to cocktail hours at private homes to personal visits to raise someone’s spirits. His wackiest gigs on the Rolling 88’s include a dog birthday, which eventually led to a dog wedding. ”You don’t have to be a human to enjoy music,” quips Dave.

Before our discussion had gone too far, Dave asked, “any good pranks yet at the Academy?” This brings to mind a further dimension of Dave’s personality—his affection for a good prank. Over the years at Holderness, we were all the beneficiaries of his broad and zany sense of humor. For example, I still have my Emergency Preparedness Lanyard and Badge which Dave stuck in all employees’ mailboxes (without note) during the first SARS outbreak. His personal

favorite was when he applied for his own job and appeared as Dale Sanderson in Assembly. “The idea grew in advance of my first sabbatical, and I enlisted the help of a few friends; I came out from backstage in a 3 piece suit with a bald cap and glasses on and completely crumbled as I tried to lead the school in song.” The audience was wholly fooled by Dave’s costume and performance. “That was a good one—my guitar strap broke, I had a set of false teeth that made me look ridiculous, and the whole thing was a total train wreck.”

because they chronicle the musical world of Holderness students,”

Today, Dave continues to hatch pranks, now mostly with his four children and eight grandchildren. Three of his children (Emily, Eliza and Anna) live near each other in Denver and one, John (a.k.a U-man) is close by in Manchester-by-theSea. “They are all thriving and we couldn’t be happier for them,” Dave beams. “The grandkids' visits are frequent, and full of music,” and, yes, for those of you who might be wondering, one of the grandkids is even named Quinn.

Dave’s reach at Holderness was wide. He was the inspiration behind “School Nights,” what Dave liked to call “mandatory fun.” When asked about his favorite School Night, his smile broadens. “That’s easy, Randy Newman’s visit in 2016.” Randy and Dave had forged a friendship during Dave’s sabbatical, and Randy came to Holderness to perform in Hagerman to honor Dave’s teaching career. “I’ll cherish that night forever,” Dave says with pride. His second favorite—”the two raucous visits of Big Sam’s Funky Nation.” On his work with student musicians, Dave points to the CDs he produced featuring Holderness musicians and singers.” Those recordings are special to me

Dave says. On his work with school musicals every year, Dave said, “They were labors of love but so much fun, and the kids always rose to the challenge of the performance.” His favorite musical? The 1985 classic “Awesome at the Academy” which he co-wrote with then Assistant Head of School Jay Stroud. As if that were not enough, Dave also coached baseball, both Varsity and JV teams, over the years. “That ’92 team was a gem, 12–1 and Lakes Region Champions,” Dave says. He then quickly added, “and the undefeated JV club in ’09 was a great group too.”

Over all the years and through all the different areas of the school he has touched, David Lockwood has been making and sharing the gift of music. Anyone who has gone on Out Back in the last 43+ years has Dave to thank for making “Lean on Me” a Holderness tradition. I often find myself playing some of David's earlier piano pieces, the ones he would often play when the school was viewing Senior Slides. Three notes into the songs, I can visualize the whole school in the Chapel, days before graduation, crowded and pin silent, looking at the photographs David took himself and arranged in this most generous show of love and support to each graduating class year after year. And, whenever I hear him sing his great song “Lucky You” from his album “Lucky Me,” my quiet response is “No, no Dave, lucky us.” |

David Lockwood during his early Holderness years.

WILLIE FORD ’05

By Meghan McCarthy McPhaul

F or Willie Ford ’05, leadership is grounded in optimism. That’s a principle he’s held since his time at Holderness School, where he was Job Leader and Vice President of his class. It’s a belief he maintained as he founded a venture-backed tech company, volunteered with various nonprofits, and served as director of POC. And leading through optimism is a mantra he’s carried with him to the National Ability Center headquartered in Park City, Utah, where he took over as CEO this past summer.

“At the basic fundamental level, it’s a leader’s job to make sure that the team around you understands that tomorrow can be a better day, no matter how good today is,” Ford said. “We can always do better. We need to continue to innovate and continue to make ourselves better so that we never become mediocre.”

For Ford, Holderness was more than a school. He grew up on campus— quite literally. Both parents have worked at the school for decades— his dad as a teacher, football coach, and dean; his mom as a ski coach—and his family moved onto campus when he was 6 years old.

Holderness is home, and the people there are family. So strong are the ties that Ford named his first child, Walker, after longtime Holderness English teacher and football coach Norm Walker.

“I’ve always really admired my parents’ choice in life to work in an organization where they give back and help nurture the next generation,” said Ford, whose three sisters also graduated from Holderness.

It was a sense of home and a desire to help nurture a positive community that led Ford to the National Ability Center.

Photo courtesy of National Ability Center.

“This place feels a lot like home. It’s a welcoming community,” he said. “Our main campus is about 30 acres. When I stepped foot on this campus, after serving on nonprofit boards for organizations with similar missions, I was like, ‘Whoa, this is the place that I want to build my next chapter.’ We help people with disabilities do outdoor recreational activities. We help them do things that most people say no to. We have 21 different programs, ranging from equestrian to whitewater rafting to archery to our challenge course, which is 40 feet high. It’s a pretty special place.”

Ford said he regularly relies on lessons learned during his formative years at Holderness, where he played football and lacrosse and was a successful ski racer, going on to compete for UNH, where he twice earned NCAA All American status. He saw his teachers and coaches regularly go above and beyond to help Holderness students not only find success in the classroom and on the field, but to become invested in contributing to their communities.

As one example, Ford notes the time ski coach Craig Antonides ’77 drove through the night on the bumpy roads, during a snowstorm, to get to Whiteface for J2 Nationals, then—after Ford won –turned around and drove them back to Holderness so Ford could catch up with his Out Back group in the woods.

“Never once did he complain. He thought I deserved to go to J2 Nationals, and he was going to get me there,” Ford said. “When I won—it was more impactful for me to see the effect on Craig and my parents and my grandparents than for me to get the medal. They were genuinely excited. It’s these moments in your Holderness days that, with

time and life experience, you start to really honor them.”

Skiing has always been an integral part of Ford’s life and a guiding aspect of his career. As a member of the board of directors for the High Fives Foundation, he would spend time each winter introducing wounded veterans to skiing. Through that experience, Ford said, he learned two things: “Don’t ever take a day in the mountains for granted, and don’t ever say you don’t have time to help a wounded vet experience the things that we love. These are men and women who have sacrificed so much so that we can have these amazing opportunities.”

Helping others experience the outdoor recreation and all the benefits that provides— self-confidence, better focus, improved overall health—is what Ford hopes to do at the National Ability Center.

“There are about 40 million people in the United States living with a qualified disability. We serve about 6,000 a year. We have a big opportunity and an even bigger responsibility to help this community enjoy what so many of us take for granted: a hike in the woods, a run down the trails, a mountain bike ride, a river trip,” Ford said. “I hope that my leadership will inspire the team to continue to innovate and continue to build an organization that approaches every situation with ‘Yes.’”

If that seems like a lofty goal, Ford again points to his time at Holderness.

“There’s a lot going on when you’re at Holderness as a high school kid.

You have the Job Program. You’re doing three different sports. You’re trying to do well in your classes. And you have to balance it. You just have to figure out how to do it,” he said. “What I’ve learned is that life never actually slows down. You always have things that you’re balancing. Now I’m balancing a career, a family, the things we love to do—camp and bike and ski and play sports and go to concerts. And Holderness gave me the experience to be able to balance things without getting too stressed out about it, with this idea of just moving forward.” |

Willie Ford ’05 and family.

5 QUESTIONS WITH DEVIE HAMLEN ’92

By Bruce Barton P ’13 ’16 Assistant Director of Major Gifts

D

evie Hamlen is a 1992 graduate of Holderness School who currently lives in the Portland, Maine area. Devie came to Holderness from Wayland, Massachusetts. The decision on where to go to high school came down to two schools—St. Mark’s and Holderness. A literal “coin flip” on decision day resulted in St. Mark’s winning. But, as he looked up at his parents after the flip, Devie said, “St. Mark’s won, but I’m going to Holderness.” At Holderness, Devie was elected to the leadership core as a junior, serving as Evening Pantry Leader, and then in his senior year, he was elected school president.

1. Devie, can you tell us about your journey from Holderness to today?

After Holderness, I went to Bates and then moved out west for seven years, living in Boulder and Utah. I came back to New England in 2003 for law school and graduated from Maine Law in 2005. After law school, I went to work for the New Hampshire Public Defenders (with fellow Holderness Alums Chris Keating ’81 and Carl Swenson ’88). In a weird small world way, while living in Boulder, I also worked with Carl's brother, Pete. In 2014, I moved back to Portland with my family and continued to practice indigent criminal defense. Today, I am working more as a mentor/teacher/resource counsel for new lawyers who wish to practice indigent defense.

2. Are there some specific Holderness experiences that stand out to you both in terms of what they did for you at the moment and how they influence your life today?

During my sophomore year, a group of "lifers" (and a few others such as Bret Pfeifle ’92 P ’25), who had done Artward Bound as freshmen, traveled to western Pennsylvania coal mining country for Habitat for Humanity to help build houses. We were the first group of students to do it so it was an adventure for the students and the teachers. I can draw a direct line from that work to practicing indigent defense. To me, it represented the "best" of Holderness—traveling into the unknown (and possibly by the seat of our pants) to help those less fortunate.

and family.

Can you share one thing with us that makes you smile immediately when you think of Holderness?

4.

3.

If you could give a shout out to someone from your Holderness experience who would that person be and what would you say?

During the fall of my ninth grade year, some of my habits began to tilt in a direction that caught the attention of one of my teachers. I had attended my first Grateful Dead concert the summer before, and I fancied myself quite the Deadhead. I was trying to find my place and so was trying on a particular "too cool for school" role. At some point, the late, great Tom Eccelston pulled me aside and, in a very calm way, and without judgment, asked me what I wanted to get out of my time here. We talked. Based on that one conversation, I changed my focus and direction, but, maybe to his chagrin, didn't change my musical taste.

Watching Jon Merrey ’92, who was my roommate for 2 years, drive the old blue school bus down from the polebarn at around midnight as part of a senior prank. That still makes me laugh today! Our prank almost didn't happen because we couldn't find the keys. Of course, they were in the visor above the driver's seat. [Editor’s Note–the prank was to park the bus in the middle of the quad.]

5. Do you have any hopes or wishes for Holderness over the next 10–20 years?

Remain true to who it is. Holderness has a quiet confidence that permeates so many aspects of the school. It is genuine, kind, and down to earth. |

If you would like to continue the conversation with Devie, he welcomes your comments. He can be reached at deviehamlen@gmail.com .

Devie Hamlen ’92

WELCOME NEW TRUSTEES

By Marybeth Bentwood

Holderness School proudly welcomes the newest members of its Board of Trustees, each bringing a commitment to advancing the school’s mission and shaping our community with thoughtfulness and care. To get to know them better we asked, "What inspired you to take on the responsibility of a trustee, and how will you measure your time on the board?" Each trustee shared insights that highlight their dedication to Holderness and their vision for the school’s future.

Lifelong educator and currently a visiting professor at Boston College, Sean McGraw, M.Sc., M.Div., Ph.D., felt inspired by the example of Head of School John McVeigh, whom he calls “one of the best educators I have ever met.” Motivated by McVeigh’s “vision, kindness, dedication, intellect, wisdom, insight, and overall goodness,” Sean joins the board with a commitment to learning and building connections. “My hope is to learn, to ask lots of questions, to build relationships with committed students, parents, teachers, and

school leaders, and to help Holderness be the best version of itself as it enters its next 150 years!” he explained.

Ginny Ramírez-DelToro, Ph.D., Academic Dean for Student Athletes at Duke University, shared that she was drawn to Holderness by the chance to “partner with people who are actively working towards Holderness’s mission of ‘producing people the world needs most.’” Ginny plans to measure her impact through her reflections and by actively sharing her insights to help advance the school’s mission. “I will measure my time on the board through how clearly I can articulate what I learn; how clearly others can articulate what I share; the ideas we implement together and how effective we assess those to be; and the mutual fulfillment within the relationships I am fortunate to form,” she said.

James Byrne P ’24 ’27, Managing Partner at Hoosier Capital, is motivated by his belief in maintaining a school’s core values while helping it grow and adapt. Reflecting on his experience, James noted, “Time serving on school boards is measured

New Trustees Sean McGraw, Ginny Ramírez-DelToro, Lisa Glahn P ‘27, and James Byrne P ’24 ’27

by our ability to continue to move a school forward while still maintaining its core values and its mission.”

Lisa Glahn P ’27, Partner and Construction Attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP, feels honored to give back to a community that has given so much to others. For her, measuring her board service will come from her contributions to preserving Holderness’s legacy for future generations. “Holderness is about creating community,” she said. “I will measure my time on the board by how much I have given of myself—my time, my energy, and my thoughtfulness in preserving a legacy that will continue to ‘develop the people the world needs most.’”

We are excited to welcome Sean, Ginny, James, and Lisa, and we look forward to the perspectives, passion, and leadership they will bring to Holderness as the school approaches its 150 th anniversary in 2029. |

Rev. Hutchinson chats with students during a Blessing of the Backpacks Chapel in September.

MEET THE NEW CHAPLAIN

This fall, we welcomed the Rev. Jay Hutchinson to campus as our new chaplain. No stranger to independent schools, Rev. Hutchinson served for 23 years as a chaplain, teacher, and coach at Saint Andrew’s School, and has also tended to the spiritual lives of students at Saint Mark’s School, Choate Rosemary Hall, and Canterbury School.

We recently sat down with Rev. Hutchinson to talk about the importance of cultivating a spiritual life, his hopes for the Chapel Program at Holderness, and why athletics (he will coach junior varsity lacrosse this spring) can be crucial to connecting with students on a spiritual level.

What excites you most as you begin your first year as Chaplain here at Holderness?

I’m excited for Chapel and to work with all the great people at Holderness and hoping that Chapel will become a critical part of every student’s life here, no matter what their beliefs are. I hope they’ll see

the importance of cultivating their spiritual life and how that will benefit them in other areas. I also hope Chapel will be a place where we come together as a community and talk about things that really matter. There’s this phrase, “Holderness develops people the world needs most,” right? I think that happens in Chapel. I want to advocate for that. Most of all, I

just want to love the kids as much as I can and be there for them when they need somebody—and the faculty and staff as well. I’m here for them. I just hope they always feel like they can approach me and that there’s no matter where they think “Oh, I can’t talk to the Chaplain about this.” This is where real life happens.

Rev. Hutchinson's 139lb Newfoundland, Ajax, often accompanies him around campus (left). A fun moment during a Blessing of the Animals Chapel this fall (right).

You’ve spent more than three decades as a Chaplain at various schools. What do you love about it?

I feel as though my calling is to work with young people as long as I can be relevant to them to whatever extent I can. And for me personally, I love to try to inspire. I love to try to come alongside of. I love to try to help and aid young people in any way I can. The world today is so difficult for them, and they're just trying to do their best. If I can be there as a support for them, that's great. It gets me going. I mean, I'm so inspired by everything that they're doing. I'm inspired by their curiosity. I'm inspired by their energy. I'm inspired by their love of learning and the outdoors. When I go home at night, my wife and I have always had this thing where we say to each other, “Are you ready to get up tomorrow morning and do what you've been doing and feel good about it?” Every morning when I get up and tie my shoes, I'm like, this is the greatest job in the world. I'm so fortunate to be able to have some kind of impact, influence, and be

able to cultivate the spiritual lives of the students here at Holderness School. What an incredible privilege, and I'm thankful to God every day that I get to do this job.

You’re not just a Chaplain — you’ve also coached throughout your career, and you’ll coach junior varsity lacrosse here at Holderness. Does coaching influence your work as a Chaplain, and vice versa?

The thing that’s so interesting about coaching is that's the most time that any adult spends with kids during the course of a semester. I teach three classes. In those classes, we meet four times a week for 50 minutes. You're on the athletic field for two hours every afternoon practicing. Then you're on the bus going to away games. That’s maybe three or four hours that you're together. The amount of time that you spend with these kids on teams really gives you that window into their souls, because you see them in all sorts of different situations. You see them after a big win. You see them after they've lost. You see

them when they're injured. You see them when they get to the heights of achievement, scoring a goal or pinning an opponent, whatever it might be. You get to celebrate that with them. Throughout my career, the kids that come back to me—the ones who ask me to perform their wedding, to baptize their children, to bury their parents—are kids that I've coached more than kids that I've taught. So those bonds are super deep. I leverage those in the Chapel to get kids to be leaders and to see themselves as spiritual people who need that divine assistance from time to time.

What are your hopes for the Chapel Program at Holderness?

My hope is that the Chapel Program becomes foundational to all that we do in the classroom and on the athletic field and in our dorms, so that people know that they are always supported by me and by the Chapel Program. I hope that everybody would feel as though they have a place in Chapel and that their face would be seen and their voice would be heard at some point during the services that we have. |

HOLDERNESS GATHERINGS

The Holderness School Alumni Association includes more than 4,000 people worldwide, and throughout the year there are plenty of reasons to get together and celebrate! The Holderness Advancement office plans events throughout the country, and sometimes even internationally. Here are just a few of the events that have occurred over the last six months.

John McVeigh was fortunate enough to make his first visit to Korea and China this past April to visit our current and alumni families living there. John and Neal Frei ’03 traveled to Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Seoul and were hosted for several dinners by both our current and alumni families in the area. Many of these families traveled over 4 hours to attend the festivities and meet John McVeigh for the first time.

Left : Hui Yang P ’25, Daisy Wei P ’25, Youlun Wang P ’27, John McVeigh, Louisa Zheng P ’25, Yan Zeng P ’27, and Yanhong Wang P ’27. Right : Jueyan Jin and Xing Zhou P ’24, Xuexian Zhou, John McVeigh, Friends of Louise Zhou ’24.

Left : Shu Ying Yang P ’27, Jueyan Jin P ’24, Shuhua Fan and Dr William Wang P ’26, John McVeigh, Neal Frei ’03, Ke Zhao and Xiaolin Chai P ’27 and Jia Nan Lin P ’26. Right : Jungyoon Ok and Jinwoo Bae P ’26, John McVeigh, and Neal Frei ’03.

We were blessed to have a beautiful day for the 10th annual Holderness 100 ride back in July. Riders participated in either a 100 mile or 65 mile ride on the stunning back roads of northern New Hampshire.

In early April, Holderness gathered with other New England boarding schools for the annual networking events in Boston and NYC.

Left : Alumni, families, and friends were hosted by Hilary, Mark ’79, and Michael ’13 Finnegan on Nantucket for a festive evening. Right : Ondine Kagan ’26, Annabelle Burton ’27, Mae Turner ’28 and Sam Turner ’26 gather on Nantucket to celebrate with Holderness family and friends.

Left : On a beautiful August night, Holderness alums and families gathered for a Worchester Red Sox game. Right : Members from the Class of 2018 gathered over reunion weekend to dedicate the student lounge on the top floor of the Davis Center. The lounge was named in honor of the Class of 2018 by an anonymous donor.

Holderness was delighted to host a gathering in Hanover NH, at the Hanover Inn this past August.

A gathering of new Holderness families at Frank and Kristen Mulcahy's P ’23 ’25 ’27 house on August 19.

Jayna Davis ’25 competes in a mountain bike race on campus this fall.

HOLDERNESS REUNION

During the first weekend of June, we welcomed 30 classes and more than 250 people to campus for Holderness School’s 2024 Reunion. The weekend featured an opening reception on Friday, games and activities, Chapel, a Saturday evening dinner and dancing with live music, and a 50 th -and-above class reception at the home of our 9 th Head of School, Phil Peck.

Be sure to put June 2026 in your calendars for our next Reunion. As always, we welcome ALL classes and will have a special focus on class years ending in 0,1,5, and 6.

Scan the QR code to see more photos from this year’s reunion

CLASS NOTES

Senior leaders welcome new students to campus this fall.

MILESTONES

DEATHS

Allan N. Teele ’52: June 28, 2020

Larry Johns ’73: December 21, 2022

Richard S. Knowlton ’43: October 9, 2023

Robert C. Hall ’61: February 13, 2024

Robert B. Stone, II ’59: February 20, 2024

Robert J. Hirshberg ’74: March 6, 2024

Steven S. Hall ’57: March 27, 2024

Bruce E. Leddy ’58: April 1, 2024

Adam G. George ’97: April 2, 2024

Donald G. Blankenship, Jr. ’75: April 12, 2024

Dr. Paul L. Wyckoff ’71: April 23, 2024

William “Chico” L. Laird ’50: May 2, 2024

Lowell M. L. Peabody ’69: May 9, 2024

Arnold “Tony” W. Dyer ’58: June 14, 2024

Stephen W. Bossart ’70: August 8, 2024

MARRIAGES AND UNIONS

Megan Currier ’09 and Stefan Omelchenko: October 2023

Samantha Cloud ’12 and Reed Spencer: February 3, 2024

Hailee (Grisham) Hampton ’14 and Luke Hampton: March 24, 2024

Taylor Caggiula ’09 and Rebecca Caggiula: April 26, 2024

Nathaniel Shenton ’11 and Ashleigh Shenton: May 22, 2024

Stephanie Symecko ’12 and Dave Veilleux: June 8, 2024

Leigh Anne (Connors) Nevins EM and Travis Nevins EM: June 29, 2024

Jaclyn Vernet ’11 and George Embiricos: July 27, 2024

Ben Tomaszewski ’06 and Jacquelyn Andrews: August 10, 2024

Megan Bitter ’99 and Alisa Andrews: August 10, 2024

Ian Baker ’14 and Madeline Geiss: August 18, 2024

BIRTHS AND ADOPTIONS

Kelsey Muller ’09 and Alex Rospos: Eliza Quinn Rospos, August 2023

Kory Himmer ’07 and Kristina Himmer: Ryan Walker Himmer, December 2023

Curtis Christian ’09: Nova Anne Christian, January 2024

Kristin Keohan ’06 and Ty Seaton: Mary, February 2, 2024

Erika Johnson ’10 and LeVar Gary: Teddi Rae Gary, February 23, 2024

Kerry Douglas ’02 and Andrew R. Pearce: Douglas Wells Pearce, March 19, 2024

Morgan (Markley) Lomas ’10 and William Lomas: Finn Henning Lomas, March 21, 2024

Nicole Johnson ’17 and Cameron Ivan: Ryder Ivan, March 24, 2024

Jessie King-Geovanis ’08 and Andreas King-Geovanis: Arlo King-Geovanis, April 13, 2024

Maddie (Baker) Petry ’08 and Ryan Petry: Vivian Petry, April 15, 2024

Katie (Leake) Parker ’12 and William Parker: Finley Joy Parker, April 23, 2024

Chris Roche ’07 and Erica Roche: Wesley Rey Roche, May 2024

Tyler Cabot EM and Alexa Carlin: Daniel Cabot, May 4, 2024

Dew Wallace ’98 and Alexandra Wallace: Delilah “Lulu” Katherine Wallace, May 8, 2024

Jimmy Mathews ’09 and Christina Mathews: Charlotte Louise Mathews, June 14, 2024

Ivan Delic ’10 and Franka Gruja: Lovro Delic, June 15, 2024

Stephen Martin ’07 and Kourtney Martin ’07: Simon Clay Martin, June 21, 2024

Samantha (Devine) Roy ’11 and Brandon Roy:

Enzo Christopher Roy, June 27, 2024

Elise (Steiner) Hacker ’10 and Michael Hacker: Charlotte James Hacker, July 4, 2024

Taylor Swasey ’ 01: Sawyer Lane Swasey, July 28, 2024

Jenn Gaudet ’05, EM and Joseph Gaudet EM: Emerson "Emmie" Charlotte Gaudet, July 31, 2024

*EM denotes current Holderness employees.

’47

Class Correspondent

Bill Briggs kvanlingen@holderness.org

’48

Class Correspondent

Rik Clark RCBCcapecod@aol.com

Bart Chase shares: Life goes well here in the Northwest but the years just keep adding up too fast. We have been blessed with a new great-grandson and the total of the great-grandchildren is now four. The family is very happy. We are fortunate that most of the family is within 20 miles of us. My wife, Bunny, and I are managing pretty well considering the fact that we are both in our 90's. Again I thank Rik Clark for his excellent management of our class these many years. I do wish I had been able to be at Holderness for graduation 2024 to hear his excellent address. Best wishes to all. .. And from Rik Clark : Although our 75th Reunion, actually the 76th , was a few months ago, the events and memories are vivid and special. I am only sorry that my only living classmate, Bart Chase , could not make it from his home in Oregon. Holderness has always been special to me, largely because of the people involved, John McVeigh and Phil Peck leading the list. The 80 th Reunion is off in the future but I hope to return during an academic year before then. Aging has its quirks and issues but I passed my annual physical recently and have the next appointment scheduled for 2025. There is hope.

’50

Class Correspondent

Frank Hammond fhammond64@comcast.net

Reminding myself that I am only a stumbling step away from our 75th Class Reunion of 1950, I somehow sense that it might be a one man show. I am currently not in touch with my remaining classmates: David Luce on the West Coast, David Wise here in New England, and Roy Krebs . They may have very well bid a farewell to their family and friends surely without my knowing it. I’m doing very well being propped up by family and friends. During the seasons of mild temperature, I continue to do my bike riding, especially around the back of a little lake near my home. I am equipped with a little “locator” which tells my daughter where I am. She monitors my daily “seniors schedule such as it is” to see if I had slipped into the town pub for “a sip or two.” (Just kidding) Now that I have become a nonagenarian and having lived in New London for over 65 years, folks in the community keep an eye on this 91-year-old rascal. I also do a lot of reading with emphasis on biographies of past and current political leaders. I am proud of my family. My daughter Bebe has become very much involved in town affairs and now serves on the New London Board of Selectmen. Her husband, Jim, a retired Department of Homeland Security officer, is now working part time as a securities consultant at Colby Sawyer College. My grandson, Henry, is an architect working out of Nantucket and his

Want to connect with your classmates? Scan the QR code and submit a class note online today. Thank you!

sister, Megan, is working in Boston at a very popular bar near Faneuil Hall. My deepest regards go to faculty and students approaching the upcoming 2024–25 school year.

’56

Class Correspondent Dick Meyer h2richard419@gmail.com

Brad Hooper replied to my request for news almost immediately. He writes: “There is not much going on that would be considered ‘earth shaking’ in my life. However, there is a lot to be grateful for: to be alive, having a good neighborhood to live in and special friends and family. Some occurrences are unexpected as a pit bull attacked me and my sheltie, Hope. She died and I have had to miss work for a month with retaining an attorney and for physical therapy sessions. I seemingly have mostly recovered; a miracle. A memory of Holderness consists of the music director taking Brud Folger, David Wiggins , and someone else up to a home on a crushed rock road. The owner of the home had brought workers from Italy to build a mountain road up to the residence. The story is that the owner of this chalet donated his wife’s extensive home organ pipes to the badly needed organ pipes at Holderness School. Another time (year 1955 or 1956) I was in an octet singing group. We sang at various gatherings such as the Lions Club and maybe Rotary Club in Plymouth, NH. I will always be grateful to have had the opportunity to attend Holderness School. The years afterward were filled with many challenges.”…Tom Anthony also answered promptly: “Wow, you are on again. Not sure I have done anything worth shouting about, but here goes. Just back from two weeks in Vienna; even better than last year. We

included a day in Bratislava which was well worth it. The weather was spectacular and the apartment was a fair facsimile of an 18th century Rococo creation. Both daughters joined us for the first time in a long while and they reveled in the miracle that is Vienna. Now we’re mumbling about where to go next year. Younger daughter’s latest novel, The Most , will be published in July under her name, Jessica Anthony. I continue biking almost every day for the better part of an hour, along with other activities; they don’t make me younger, I’m sad to say. The furniture making is on hold as I have apparently satisfied the demands for now…in its stead, I’m working on another bas relief, this time in cherry; it is an abstract impressionist piece (I hope—depending on how it turns out.)”…Bob Armknecht writes: “I’m glad some classmates have done something worth mentioning. Life for me is largely same-old-same-old. I am splitting my time between Westwood (Fox Hill Village) along with some cruising. This spring I went from Lisbon to South Hampton. I plan to visit Morocco and I will be on a safari in Tanzania next March to celebrate my 86th! (Assuming I make it that far.)”…My email address has changed since the last collection of class notes so it took a couple of tries until Dick Endlar and I connected. He writes: “I hope you and your family are well and ready for a nice summer. Since I last replied, there have been a few changes in my life. I bought an apartment in a retirement community called North Hill in Needham, MA. I sold my house in East Sandwich, on Cape Cod. Our family had many great years there. I will miss it. I will always remember the July 4 th parties we had at the house. All our friends looked forward to the dinner and great fireworks all up and down our beach. I spent most of the winter in Naples, FL and really loved it

there. I love it warm and I really can't take the cold any more. I am now using a cane and walker as I have problems with my back that radiate down to my feet. The doctor told me not to drive, and I am following his suggestion. I gave my great old (2011) Lexus to my grandson and he loves it. I put my Naples house on the market since I don't get around very well. The last thing is that I had my fourth greatgrandchild about a year ago. What great pleasure they bring. I’m doing the best I can. As Doris Day sang, ‘que sera sera.’”…Brud Folger noted that I can’t seem to get the formatting of classmates’ names correct in the notes request letter, but he responds this way: “Maybe you meant to have the computer pick up each person’s nickname automatically so instead of your greeting to “Hi $nicknames” it would have been “Hi Brud” to me. My personalized email worked if you want to call me $nickmames$ from now on. At least my assumption is that we all got the same email asking for some human-interest tidbit of our life. Here goes: I joined the Airbnb hosting crowd a few years ago blocking off part of the old farm house where I live here in Owls Head, ME. My guest suite has a kitchenette-living room downstairs connected to a morning sunny outdoor porch with table and chairs for an enjoyable, quiet, and secluded breakfast location. The old farm's back stairway leads to a post and beam bedroom with sky light windows over the bed. There is a desk for a work area, couch and chairs, and a bathroom. The best thing about being an Airbnb host is opening my house to strangers. Many of the guests turn out to be very interesting and often friends. One fellow sailed from Cape Cod singlehandedly around South America, Cape Horn, and back north to the US. I needed my German with one couple from Berlin who were very limited in

English. Several others have taken art courses and invited me to the final class shows. All in all, it helps pay for the RE taxes and heating bills and keeps me busy and entertained. Any Holderness old or new friends are invited to come visit as my special costless guests.”…David Wiggins and I also had a problem connecting because of my old email address. But David was persistent and contacted Holderness which promptly gave him my old address first and then corrected it. David adds: “Here is my small contribution to our HST Class Notes: Perhaps it is being a now elderly 1956 graduate with warm memories of Marshall House and meals in Livermore that I find the From the Archives history articles especially meaningful. Therefore, my thanks to Dr. Jennifer Martinez for her writing and to editor Greg Kwasnik for the article in the summer 2024 HST about Paul Raymer ’43 highlighted by the picture of the stained-glass window in his memory in the chapel. With my appreciation.”…Dick Meyer continues with the trials and tribulations of his new home: “We’ve now lived in our 46-year-old house for a year. It got so you couldn’t open two hot water faucets at the same time because the heating coil in the furnace was nearly blocked by internal water deposit. I didn’t want to spend $2000+ on a new coil in a 28-year-old furnace (it had already been replaced once), so we put in a new hot water heat pump. The plumber recognized the existing plumbing was undersized so he added some new, re-routed, piping and now we have both a good hot water flow and plenty of it. Before the plumber left, I asked him about adding a backup sump pump. He recommended a jet pump operated from the city water supply. That system was no sooner installed than we had a power outage for 8½ hours during a storm that would surely

have flooded the basement because the electric pump was inoperative during that time. The system worked perfectly. Since it only works when the electric pump does not work it is very economical and offers peace of mind. A several-years-old generator came with the house. It was a manual start and did not run. Just a few days ago a new system was made operational. I bought a propane powered generator with electric start from Amazon, had a 120-gallon propane tank installed, and a transfer switch called Generlink inserted between the meter and the box on the wall. When needed during a power outage, there is a 60 foot #8 four-wire cable that connects the generator in the tool shed to the transfer switch on the house. The whole system worked perfectly when we tested it on a hot summer day. I hope it still works perfectly on some cold snowy winter day when the power goes out. The generator is big enough to power the furnace, refrigerator, freezer, some lights, computer, television, and electric blankets. Again, this is peace of mind. I hope I never have to use it, but if I do, it’s there, like insurance. Tomorrow, July 16, workmen are installing a mini-split heat pump to mostly cool our bedroom. It’s a long story, but we have been suffering this hot summer without air conditioning. It is being installed a day before the weather man predicts it will cool off. The current plan is to install a second heat pump in the office next year. By postponing the second unit until next year, we maximize the refunds. NOC (Not Our Cat) is still coming around nearly every morning and again most evenings and sometimes a third time for a mid-day meal. A lady across the street would like to adopt the cat, but can’t seem to attract it. She bought some canned cat food (a different brand than we feed it), and when the cat wouldn’t come to her,

gave the cans to us. We fed it the first can which the cat refused. We haven’t yet suggested she try our brand of canned cat food. It’s a handsome tuxedo cat. When I cleaned and painted the tool shed, she was my buddy to the extent she got paint on her tail. She hung around and wouldn’t let me out of her sight, but when I took a walk around the block, she started to follow but peeled off a couple of houses up the street.”

’57

Class Correspondent

Bob Backus robertbackus05@comcast.net

’58

Class Correspondent

Bill Biddle billbiddle2310@gmail.com

R. Brooke Thomas rbthomas@anthro.umass.edu

On Wednesday, May 22nd , at 4pm EDT, Mike Kingston convened those members of the Class who’ve been meeting regularly via Zoom. This time we were Mike , and also Bill Biddle , Gordi Eaton , Tim Dewart , Doug Rand , John Bergeron , John Greenman , and Brooke Thomas Since our last meeting we have lost Bruce Leddy to brain cancer in Fort Myers, FL and we extend our deep sympathies to his family. Class members who’ve been with us in the past, but less so recently, or not at all, include Steve Carpenter, Jim Collins , Mark Fairbanks , Bruce Keller, Don Latham , George Pransky, and Jon Wales . We’d like to hear from you. And we learned in the past couple of weeks of Tony Dyer ’s death. His passing has sparked some internet conversation among us that has carried tones of regret for more than just

Tony’s passing. His biography portrays a man of broad interests and abilities and considerable accomplishment that we clearly missed out on. We deeply regret that circumstances in the past precluded our being able to welcome him in the present until it was too late. Our conversations ranged, when we met recently, over the Israel-Palestine crisis, our various views of and commitments to extended care, home schooling then and now (the three Kingston brothers were all home schooled by their mom in Chile before coming north, in turn, to Holderness). Doug Rand spoke warmly of times spent in Rome, his wife’s original home territory. That led to some discussion of the desirable qualities of the European lifestyle in general, sustainability in our own values (and the notion that takes central place in most philosophies, as Greenman summarized it so plainly: being nice to others). Brooke reported on recently returning from Japan to visit his daughter-in-law’s parents, as well as shrines and temples, and Tokyo. He was joined by his wife, Shirley, his oldest son and his son’s Japanese-American wife, and Brooke’s 15-year-old grandson (who knew some Japanese). Brooke was impressed by how polite and accommodating the Japanese were to others, and how a Shinto philosophy informed a reverence for the landscape (stones, trees) as well as for other people. Personal safety seems not to be an issue in Japan. Not long after that Zoom gathering, the Holderness School 2024 Reunion took place. Shirley and Brooke Thomas and Sharon and Bill Biddle are just back from that reunion. Rather than bunk in the dorms or the local motels in Plymouth, we four stayed at Biddle’s an hour away in West Barnet, VT in the comfortable absence of late-night shouts and galumphing feet in the

hallways. We opted for a more leisurely pace since we were the only ’58 people there anyway. The campus looks great. Acres and acres of well-maintained grass (dotted with Holderness-blue lawn chairs) on the fields and between buildings. There appear to be twice as many buildings on or at the edges of the main campus than there were when we were students. It’s hard to believe that the Bartsch Field House appears to be next on the list for the wrecking ball in as much as it’s been built, used, and now found inadequate—all in our post-graduation lifetime—even as architecturally incompatible Hoit dormitory, still in use, stands starkly white against the rest of the campus’s polychromatic red brick and stone. At an interactive session, John McVeigh explained that a student population of 300 has been determined to be the magic number for a school of Holderness’s “fighting weight.” The school population is currently right around 300. Future residence hall needs will be met with additional 8—to 12-person dorms attached to faculty homes in clustered minineighborhoods. We were reminded that almost any change happening in the school’s complex operations such as budgets, buildings’ sizes and functions, number of students, teaching staff, administrators, employees, donation flow, changes in the investment portfolio, change in the athletic programs, major climate/ weather change, type and cost of energy needs, long term maintenance plans, etc. may affect any or all other components of the school’s operations. It’s a bit like driving one of the ancient campus vehicles that required double clutching to synchronize engine speed with axle speed before simply jamming the gear shift stick into a new position. So, it’s easy to say we need more dorms, a new field house, etc., but a whole set of other adjustments

have to be accounted for in the process to make all changes work together. Being among the elderly, we were included in the lunch party for the 50th anniversary class and venerable others. That happened at Phil Peck ’s hilltop retirement refuge and front yard with its spectacular view of much of central New Hampshire, and gave us a chance to chat with both present and just past heads of school in a very relaxed setting. It was there that we learned, as it were, straight from the horse’s mouth (Peck being a trustee of The White Mountain School), that that very morning the Passumpsic Savings Bank, holding a major piece of the White Mountain School’s indebtedness, had lost confidence in some sort of consortium of Chinese investors and Chinese money people involved in keeping the White Mountain School afloat. The school’s trustees had to declare the school insolvent and, in effect, closed, out of business as of June 1st. St. Mag’s in the Crags, Mary Harley Jenks, requiescat in pace . Brook and Bill and their spouses hung out at meals and some events with Jerry Ashworth ’59 and Chris Palmer ’59. They were ’59’s only returnees. It was great to see them both. And that’s the news from Bill and Brooke . Be in touch.

’59

Class Correspondent

Jerry Ashworth ashworth.kemah@gmail.com or jashworth617@gmail.com

Reunion 65 was a poor turn out for a class, but you made up for it with your responses for this newsletter. I attended along with classmate Chris Palmer and had a wonderful and quite informative two days at the old school. We both enjoyed the chance to spend a great deal of time with Bill Biddle

’58 and Brooke Thomas ’58 , both interesting characters from the Class of 1958. You non-attendees missed a great chance to see the physical plant, which will amaze you, and catch up on the financial, athletic and academic progress that has occurred since we graduated. It is definitely not the same school that we attended. Check this out: 26 skiers went to the junior nationals, the hockey team was the New England semifinalist, and the lacrosse team is nationally recognized. Furthermore, applications are at an all-time high and financially the school operates in the black. Not bad, huh? As mentioned, Chris Palmer was the only other attendee at the reunion. He is in the midst of reunion season having his 60th Dartmouth a few weeks later in June. I never was able to shake Chris since we were Phi Delta fraternity brothers at Dartmouth and continuing friends to this day…Well Steve , let’s go eat some oysters. A normal event with Barndollar and myself. He just returned from a walking trip through the Balkans with wife Karen. A stop in Finland completed the journey. Steve is still in great shape for an old man nearly eight years older than me. Keep it up Steve. You will be skiing Tuckerman’s at 90…Henry Whitney, host of the infamous graduation party on the Cape, is inquiring about the attendees at said event back in 1959. I’m sure anyone who was there was unable to remember that event next day, never mind 65 years later. As far as I recall I only remember Henry, Chris Palmer, Bruce Vogel , and Judy Hagerman who was there to make sure we all survived the lost weekend…As far as your inquiry into our surviving class members, you could contact Kelly van Lingen at Kvanlingen@holderness.org.

Lee Miller has checked in from Cape Cod where he is spending time this summer before a trip in October

to Spain. We all know the lyrics to the song about the rain in Spain, but the heat in summer is unbearable. October in Spain seems just about right…Regards from Buster Welch I think his gun collection should be safely locked up; as a Canadian citizen reading American political news Buster could be tempted to end it all and put himself to rest. This is not a political column, far from it, but no matter where one stands our political situation is out of control; Don Henderson must be rolling in his grave. By the way, the last of my Henderson connections evaporated with the passing of Don’s wife Pat Buster has been in touch with hockey player extraordinaire Lee Kellogg . They share an interest in antique guns among other outdoor activities. There is an email from Lee to Buster that was shared with me which was of great interest since it described an encounter underwater with a whale while Lee was on a deep diving mission. Of all our classmates Lee and Buster must have had the most interesting lives, Buster on top of the world in the Arctic region and Lee on the bottom of the world submerged under sea. Maybe someone could set up a Zoom discussion with them and any interested classmates… Duncan Hunter has informed me of the event many of us are now experiencing, namely the graduation of a grandkid from high school or college. I just graduated from college. How is it possible that I have a grandkid graduating? We both must be dreaming. Dunc was an engineer officer with the Second Army Division preparing for a possible attack in Europe by the Soviet Union. I suppose many Holderness graduates of that era were doing the exact same thing, mostly drinking beer in West Germany for two years while many Russians on the other side were doing the same thing. As noted in one of my previous

writings many classmates did indeed serve in the military, but maybe not as long as Duncan’s 22 years in the reserves…Charley Murphy has joined us in Wells, ME in the move to newer smaller quarters. He seems to be doing fine but wife Robin is having mobility issues. It’s probably safe to say that all of us are having mobility issues of one type or another. The move has been a challenge for Murph but keeping his Blue Ridge home should make the transition a bit easier…As for me, Jeanne, and new edition Piper, all is well. The past year has seen me give up horses as well as selling my boat. Both were the smart thing to do. As for all my classmates, think 70. That reunion is only five years away. Take care, Bill Biddle ’58 and Brooke Thomas ’58 It was great connecting with you guys. If any of you have trouble reading this it’s because my transcribing skills are somewhat limited. Please excuse the mistakes. Take care everyone and be well. ~Jerry Ashworth

’60Class Correspondent Gerry Shyavitz g.shyavitz@comcast.net

What a year. I lost my wife, but I visit her daily. Water the flowers, and keep going. Losing a wife is enough! Especially after 57 years. There is a word, which is uncomfortable. But I should keep her in my heart daily! I left the IRS after 13 years, and I have now changed from part-time to fulltime attorney, specializing in estate planning. It is working out better than I expected. Boy, I love my clients. It is therapy. They are all very needy and my 56+ years in the law really can service them. It is such a wonderful feeling to help others. As far as my classmates, I have heard from five and their correspondences are as follows. So long

until next time, as I keep chugging along. Mother made it to 100, so I have some gas left in the tank…First, we heard from Alan Dewart . He writes the following: “I feel badly that I have not been very good about providing you with regular updates on my life. Actually, not a great deal has changed since you last received something from me. Caroline and I downsized into a small patio home in East Aurora just outside of Buffalo, and this enables us to spend our summers at our cottage in northern Quebec with visits from kids and grandkids. We now have eight grandkids ranging in age from 9 to 25. My sibs and I are our family’s fifth generation to spend summers in Quebec. Remarkably, it was only in recent years that I discovered that I was a Canadian citizen at birth (born to a Canadian mother, living in the US, who had married a Bostonian), which makes me a dual citizen and enabled me to obtain a Canadian passport which got us over the border during COVID! I still enjoy working in my real estate development business and spend most weekdays when we are in town at my office in the city, albeit at reduced hours. I also have been fortunate to be able to assume leadership positions at several charitable organizations at home, and in Quebec, and this keeps me busy as well. Caroline and I enjoy traveling and have managed to take a number of great bike trips in Europe and South Africa through VBT that we have enjoyed immensely, much more so now that we are not ashamed to request e-bikes! Most of us, I’m sure, are becoming more reflective on our own lives as we move into our 80s. I began keeping a diary every day of my life from when I was 12 years old until when I got married in 1968, and so recently I pulled out the little books and began to read and reminisce. Enjoyed reading about the Holderness days and the fun we had on various

road trips with you, John “Dupes” Despres , Dick “Funk” Funkhouser and others, including the fun we had at our graduation party on the South Shore! I’ve come to realize, and to regret, that throughout most of my life I have taken friends for granted, and even at this late stage of my life, I am trying to do something about it. How often have we responded ‘friends and family’ when we are asked what is most important to us now! Recently, I tried to reconnect with Funk and was unsuccessful, but hoping he is still doing well. You are great to continue what you are doing for our class, and we hope you don’t stop! Thank you!”… Next, we heard from Dave Grant who reports: “Gerry, I don’t have any amazing stories like a lot of the alumni do. I am very busy working on what I have been working on for many years. I work for the town engineering division, keeping utilities, property, lines, buildings, and much more up-to-date in a GIS system. I am also responsible for researching state, county, and local records in order to create base maps for our design engineer to create project documents for construction. I am also a member of the Board of Directors of the 22-acre Spring Brook Cemetery. We are presently trying to find a way to fund and repair and old cast iron double gate that had been seriously damaged by a car as well as aging. The cemetery and the cemetery chapel have been recognized on the National Register of Historic Places; thus, we are trying to bring the cemetery back as close to original as possible. Prior to what I noted above, I was a registered professional land surveyor in all six New England states, getting my first registration in 1972 in Massachusetts. I continued to my retirement in 2008. I will continue to work for the Mansfield Engineering Division as long as possible and also the cemetery board. Is there anybody from the Holderness

family who knows of a philanthropic group that might be able to help fund the iron gate rehabilitation? Gerry, I am so sorry to hear of Pearl’s passing. She was a great lady. As you know, my cousin went to school with her at the House in the Pines in Norton, MA. She fought the heroic battle. Hello to all of my class of 1960. I still wear my class ring to this day.”… John Despres shares: “Dear Gerry, I’m glad to hear that you are dealing with the loss of your beloved wife, Pearl, albeit slowly. Congratulations on your new full-time practice of lecturing and real estate planning as well as your grandchildren’s studies in Germany and Canada. We planned a trip this fall to Washington, Antwerp, Vienna, Venice, and Florence. One of our grandsons will be starting as a student at the University of Colorado. Meantime, we’ll enjoy celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary with our whole family.”… Spike Hampson sent the following: “Hi Gerry, thanks for your recent email. I’ll give a little update on what is going on with me and I will try to make it brief this time. After spending last summer cruising up from Florida to North Carolina on my small sailboat, I went to Europe in the fall to get my motorcycle out of storage in Milan. But then, on the island of Majorca, I had a health incident: extreme dizziness, coincident with total loss of hearing in the left ear. With one ear still okay, the hearing loss is no big deal, but six months of medical help in physical therapy has not entirely cured the dizziness problem. It is significantly ameliorated, but about 20% of the original intensity remains—enough to call into question the three activities I engage in (sailing, motorcycle, and skiing). Nonetheless, in late April, I tried motorcycling and curiously found out I can do it. My confidence had been shaken, but I decided to undertake a trip to the far

north where traffic would be minimal and I might get some of it back. I had a second motorcycle stored in Salt Lake City so on April 20 I took to the road. After spending a week at my son’s new home on the Oregon coast I headed north up through British Columbia. For the past few weeks, I have been cruising around in Alaska but just two days ago I crossed back in over into the Yukon Territory and write you now from the Visitor’s Center in Dawson City. If all goes well, I’ll cross Canada to the East Coast using the northernmost highway I can find in the country. Then from Newfoundland, I’ll drop down to Connecticut to visit my daughter. Actually, there will be an interruption in August, when I fly to Connecticut to help my granddaughter get settled in as a freshwoman at Yale. But then I return to the motorcycle and expect to finish the TransCanada passage by late September.”…Lastly, Charley Witherell called me. He did not email as I do not believe he believes in email; but talking to him is so much better. He and Pam were waiting for both of his sons who are coming from afar. I hope Charley will go to the next reunion. ~ Gerry Shyavitz

’61

Interim Class Correspondent

Gerry Shyavitz ’60 g.shyavitz@comcast.net

So, once again, as your temporary class correspondent, I report from some of the classmates of 1961. As I said previously temporary is probably like Marshall House, which was temporary, and temporary for years and years. No problem, I shall persevere…Peter Keene writes: “Class of 61! Amazing how life at 80+ changes what we do on a daily basis. Those cement blocks got awful heavy and that roll of roofing paper—are they making that bigger

too? Pearl and I have settled into a routine of tending extensive flower gardens, so much so that we have been asked to showcase our place as one of the fundraiser spots for a local library for several years. My wife is the creative mind; as we say around here, she is the inspiration and I am the perspiration. Pays off though. Happy to report that we are in great health: keeping active is the main reason and good genes. We are also happy to be around to see our three granddaughters become wonderful young women; two are teaching at outdoor adventure schools in Idaho and one is married and living in England. Wonderful reason to cross the pond for visits. Our 1825 cape in Vermont is now done to a point that we can relax and enjoy it and the surrounding beauty of the state. Lots of work over the last 10 years but satisfying feeling of accomplishment on our part. Sure hope you all can have comfortable last chapters to your lives. Safe travels, and good health.”…Dave Norton shares: “Dear Shy, first, I am sorry about your wife! Fortunately, I can’t imagine what that must be like except to know that it must be really terrible. Luckily, my life is kind of boring! I am still lobstering, and still really liking it in spite of all the regulations that keep coming down on us! The big change for me is that that instead of hauling 350 to 450 traps in a day, I'm kind of worn out after 250 to 300! Our grandkids keep us very busy with sports and school activities. Luckily, they live one town away. I have gone on long enough. You take care, Shy, and thanks for doing this!”… John Cleary shares the following thoughts: “Greetings Gerry. Thank you for fulfilling the role of our class correspondent. I am sorry so few of us responded to your plea for current classmates’ ‘news.’ Other than facing issues of aging, I have little to offer as

news, but I did crusade a concept to my alma mater, St. Lawrence University, which was summarily shut down without any solid reasons. So, I now use your request for news to further my crusade in hopes that one of us Holderness graduates can persuade his alma mater to consider. The following is an excerpt of my proposal with some edits from the HST staff. Could schools become the common denominator and provide a support system to older graduates? Up to now, educational institutions have focused solely on their undergraduates, entering the ‘big world,’ while dependent on monetary support from its graduates. Other than providing time and space for its graduates to occasionally reconnect, nothing else tangible is offered to us older graduates. Additionally, there are no courses helping undergraduates to understand aging. Yes, our economy has developed amazing and effective medical/health supports for all. And yes, either with electronic communications and/or within dense populations, one possibly can find specific emotional support systems. Nevertheless, these positives remain far and in-between and basically remain sporadic. Fundamentally, this one-way relationship governs the role of many older graduates. That is, its graduates support schools financially, but received nothing in return. How can we change this uneven, one-way relationship in a positive manner to benefit everyone? Graduates face aging—no argument, no debate. I assume, moreover, that most of us have encountered some life altering events, and may have felt isolated with no readily available emotional support. With the use of electronic communication, I believe that schools could provide an electronic forum for its graduates as a method to exchange their personal issues as they move through their later life stages. Latently,

this support forum could provide school sociology departments with tangible facts for study and research topics. Meanwhile, I continue playing in the dirt with my machinery, dancing my fool-ass off whenever I can, solving the world’s problems every Saturday morning over delicious coffee and ‘fat’ pills with my southern friends (who still enjoy instructing me as a northerner about what’s up and what’s down), and visit our dog park every day.”…Rolf Dave “Lundy” Lundberg reports: “Gerry, I appreciate your attempts to assist the class of 1961 as apparently, nobody from the class is writing to step up and be the class correspondent. By the way, I never graduated with the class as my father and Don Hagerman and I decided that Holderness was not a good fit for me. I graduated from Wellesley High School in 1961 (which had a very high percentage of its class going on to excellent Division 1 colleges, including many Ivy League schools). What Holderness did for me, in retrospect, was that it taught me how to focus and study some subjects that may have not been of interest to me. As it turns out, I was going to go to Boston University, but my father demanded that I commute rather than board there which I did not wish to do. As my parents had had a cottage on Lake Winnipesauke since the 1950s, and I have always liked New Hampshire, I thought UNH might be a good fit. I wound up going to UMass at Amherst as the in-state tuition was far less than UNH would have been. My father was always cost conscious. I played freshman hockey (at the time, a terrible team with our home ice at Amherst as UMass had no rink of its own). After two years at UMass, my father decided my marks were not strong enough, therefore I was allowed four options: Army, Navy, Marines or Air Force. I chose US Army as the term would only

be three years. I demanded a tour in Europe and was promised such by the recruiter. After two weeks in basic training at Fort Dix, NJ, five of us of the training company of 250 guys were pulled out of the group and brought to the office of a US Army warrant officer who had us sit through some tests including a “language test” with a made-up language to test our foreign language capability. A few weeks later, we met with the warrant officer again who said he wanted us to become linguists for the US Army and join the Army Security Agency (no longer exists). We had our choice of languages (Russian, German, Czech, or Vietnamese). Russian seemed too daunting for me, so I chose German. I next drove with two other guys from that small group from Brattleboro, VT to Monterey, CA to study German for six months at the Defense Language Institute. I will not bore you with the specifics; this was the most difficult school I have ever attended. Six hours of classroom time per day. Teachers were native Germans and no English was spoke from day one! (I had only studied French at Holderness.) My grandparents and my mother spoke Swedish which is somewhat similar? Ultimately after Monterey, I went to the infamous NSA in Maryland to ‘cross-train for four months.’ After that I went to Germany where I spent two years working as a linguist where my target was East German military and government entities. After my three years were up, I stayed in Germany for five more months traveling around Europe with my skis on my ski rack and skied places such as Garmisch and Innsbruck with a German girlfriend. Ultimately, I came home and went back to UMass on the GI Bill which paid a monthly stipend to cover my room rent and my meals with money left over for beer. The Commonwealth paid for my tuition and my school books. I wound

up with a BA in economics with a minor in German and English literature (who would have thought of that mixture). I went on to graduate school at UMass for one year until my GI Bill ran out. Suddenly, reality hit me—I had to find a job that had some future but most of all I needed a decent car as my 1959 Volvo that I brought back from Germany was dying on me. I found a job with the Travelers Insurance Company in Springfield, MA as a marketing field representative that included a brand-new company car. To make a long story short, I remained with them for 34 years finally retiring in 2004 at the age of 65. Gerry, I have gone on way too long as to my story. I would be remiss if I did not tell you that I enjoyed playing football as well as hockey with you. As memory serves me you played left guard next to me at center. I was always impressed by your quick aggressive action in blocking the opponents angling towards us once the ball was snapped. You saved me from some heavy guys who would have had me eating dirt. In hockey, you were quick and hard-hitting too, as well as having a decent shot. By the way, I played senior hockey in the Keene, NH area until I was 76 and quit at that time due to COVID becoming rampant as well as due to right knee issues. I never played goalie again but played defense and finally all of the forward positions as I got older. P.S. Some very sad news. Our Holderness friend Bob Hall died from complications of COVID in the middle of February 2023. Bob and I stayed in communication for a long time after Holderness. He and I would meet for lunch three to four times a year and made a trip to visit classmate Dave Norton in Boothbay, ME six or seven years ago. Do as you may with this too lengthy response to you. Stay healthy and keep moving as the best prescription for life is exercise and

social interaction.”…Next came a response from John Holley: “Despite a breast cancer scare for Candace and a peripheral artery disease diagnosis for me we continue to live life to our fullest. Spent Christmas in Bend, OR with family, vacationed at Coronado Island in February, visited the Oregon coast in April, and finished the first half of 2024 watching my youngest grandson graduate from St. Lawrence University. Next year he is attending Columbia to earn his master’s degree in climate science/journalism (his brother is getting his doctorate in anthropology at Brown). We finished this trip with a visit to Martha’s Vineyard for four days. Next up the Oregon coast again and then Puerta Vallarta. We love living in our retirement community—no home repairs, no cares. Just lock the door and go. Our best to the class of ’61.”… Rick Churchill shares the following: “Hi Shy, long time no see. Two years, I think. I know you’re anxious to fill up the 1961 column for an upcoming alumni newsletter. Most commendable considering that you’re a member of the class of 1960. I guess we of the class of 1961 are just a bunch of shiftless louts. Ah, but I don’t think I’m out to take over your job. So, what’s new. Do we get the long story or the short story? The long story: I’m still at work building cabinets and scenery. In a matter of speaking, that’s what I did 65 years ago at Holderness. The scenery and cabinets of today are a bit more polished than the set I constructed for our ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ (starring our Dave Cutler as “the old lace”) or the bookshelf speakers I built (with the aid of Rip Richards and his table saw in the boiler room behind the old Carpenter gym). Now living in NYC on the Upper West Side; there’s a real shortage of golf courses. To stay busy, keep my mind occupied, and get out of the house (so to speak) I’m sticking to

what I know best—making sawdust. That’s something that John Cleary can relate to. Actually, that’s something that a lot of us in the class of ’61 have in common. Something I discovered (much to my surprise) at our 50 th reunion. My informal survey recorded that about 65% of the reunion attendees had employment at one time or another in the woodworking industry or associated businesses. Ah, but while we were at Holderness we also learned all about ‘Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres’ or something to that effect. So, my education at Holderness did not go completely up in smoke. I learned to learn and I learned to build—the two keystones of my life after Holderness. While at Holderness and for the first years at Oberlin College, I always assumed that I would be an architect. That was a given. However, dabbling in theatre became more than dabbling, and in my senior year (I am bypassing a significant year in which I was expelled from Oberlin and spent much time in effort clawing my way back to graduate), I recognized or admitted that my love of theatre and scenery was more than passing fancy. After Oberlin, I went on to Carnegie Mellon and got an MFA in scene design, followed by seven years of teaching technical theatre at Auburn CC and Cornell University in upstate New York. At this point in my life (now being 33 years old), I had an opportunity to jump ship so to speak, to design and build homes in the Ithaca area. The architect monkey on my back demanded to be heard. I spent eight wonderful productive years with former Cornell students and friends building homes I designed. I then accompanied my wife and son to Minnesota with plans to continue building homes, but for the first time I faced serious building restrictions. Two homes per 40 acres—end of conversation. At this point in

Northfield, MN I teamed up with another builder and shifted to building cabinets. In 2000, at an Oberlin reunion (musical fanfare) I met up with Marianne, my Oberlin girlfriend! I mean—give me a break—what better way to finish off this silly romance novel. I relocated to New York 23 years ago to join Marianne. So, the summary of the above is that I am still designing and building cabinets in NYC, although at a slower pace. I am also a participant in an amateur theatre company of 350 members (now celebrating its 100 th anniversary) for which I design and build scenery. Most importantly, for ten years, I have been a poll worker supervisor in Manhattan which brings for me a newborn sense of civic duty and pride. My life today is filled with sawdust, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, and elections. And the occasional trip to Canada to visit friends and trips to Europe to visit relatives. Now the short story. Though nothing while at Holderness would forecast this, I am in good health. The doctors haven’t given me any grim news. Still have all my original parts. Life goes on. Knock on wood. (Geez sorry. Poor choice of words.)”…Brian Dewart writes: Shy, I just realized that I never came through for you...ugh! I couldn't think of anything different than what I had previously sent you since nothing really had changed in my life. I almost thought for a moment I'd just copy my previous update and send that off but realized that would be kinda cheezy, right? I had every intent to send you SOMETHING but the summer got away from me with all that was going on....trips to cottage in Canada, visits from daughter and grandson, and not one but two tick borne diseases at the same time which really wiped me out just about the time your deadline was approaching. Anyway, hope you'll forgive me!

’63

Class Correspondent

David Pope

popemaine@gmail.com

Subject of this note is “new” (singular), as in one very small piece of news from Joe Downs, to wit: “It was interesting to read of your and George LeBoutillier ’s Hope Town connections. For a number of years, we kept our boat, a 35' Duffy, at Sea Spray Marina for the summer and would fly over from Miami on the weekends. Unfortunately, the boat was there when Dorian blew through and is no more.”…So, I can conclude that Joe lived in Miami and kept a boat in the Bahamas. He was lucky to not be on his boat when Dorian blew through with multiple embedded tornados. Five years later, George "Boots" LeBoutillier is rebuilding a nice-looking place there. I was visiting a mutual third cousin of Boots. This mutual cousin was just finishing his place also in Hope Town. I had gone down in April to help get the place painted. I look forward to hearing more from him and anyone else who can fill in a bit more to make our next news a bit less pathetic. Hope it’s summer fun that is distracting everyone. Last week I got a canoe wet for the first time this summer; a beautiful day on the Sheepscot River backwaters here in Wiscasset. Fair tide, sun behind but damped by thin clouds and easy launch and take-out. Only glitch was watching fish jump all around (I brought my rod but left the lures in the truck). So it goes these days. Hope you’re all doing better than that. ~David Pope

Class Correspondent

Guy “Sandy” Alexander salex88@comcast.net

We are fortunate to have some very gifted and busy authors among our classmates! Here are a couple of their recent accomplishments…Richard Seltzer writes: “The books, just the books. Four published in the last four months: The Bulatovich Saga: The Name of Hero; Let the Women Have Their Say; and Trojan Tales The Trojan Tales are stories selected from three novels, showing events of the Trojan War reflected through the minds of participants who are immersed in the immediacy of the moment. Dive into the world of the Trojan War as lived by Helen, Paris and Menelaus, Polyxena and Achille Ktimene (Odysseus’s sister) and Eumaeus the swineherd. What should they do? Do they have a choice? My fourth published book is Meter Maid Marion, How to Tutor a Ghost, The Third Tortoise . I am now halfway through the first draft of the next, Identity Gift . It defies genre boundaries, with genealogy, biography and history, together with essays on the past and future of mankind, probably my most important yet. If any of you would be willing to read pieces of it as I go along, and provide feedback, please let me know. That could be very helpful. If you prefer that I send you a free copy (paperback), please let me know.”…Another one of our prolific writers, Dikkon Eberhart , offers these notes from this past winter and just recently: “Hello, friends! Book two launched on February 20, 2024. It’s titled This Blessed Assurance: DOWNEAST. This book cover was designed by the same people who designed EGG ISLAND, or Book One. Percy Black book two is available and ready for your reading! Please get yourself a Kindle version (at $0.99) or the paperback version (at $12.99). Order from Amazon. I’m about 2/3 of the way through writing Book Three, titled Tremble, Tremble,

Tremble: DAWN LAND. Please enjoy reading it and then writing a review for Amazon or GoodReads.”…Let’s not forget Woody Thompson , who has a long list of published material. You can find his works at: https:// www.researchgate.net/profile/ Woodrow-Thompson…Via phone call, Rick Hintermeister reports to be in good health and still enjoying the Ft. Myers area of FL with periodic visits to the Caribbean… Sam Stout and Jeff Hinman both called to say they would be unable to attend this past spring’s reunion but send their best to all classmates. ~ Sandy Alexander

’65

Class Correspondent

Tom Butler

Tom_Ryan@twcny.rr.com

I am writing these notes in late July, a week after President Trump was shot in the ear and on the afternoon that President Biden dropped out of the race. Having no idea what will transpire between now and when you will be reading this in January, it is sure to be an interesting interval. I hope we can talk about it during another Zoom in the new year. A few notes have come in response to my plea…Terry Jacobs shared: “I was at our 55th Dartmouth Reunion and saw Holderness classmate Skip Auten who is doing well and living in New Hampshire, and also Holderness grad but not classmate Jeff Hinman ’64 , a fellow rugby player at the Dartmouth Rugby Clubhouse.”…Cleve Patterson writes: “I am president of our condo association and DeSantis has signed new legislation that significantly changes how we do business.

Hurricane Ian created unforeseen needs in time and effort and the new legislation requirements are going to be difficult for many associations to

meet. The association requires about fifteen to twenty hours/week. I am retired! However, we are spending summers back in VT. Between golf, sporting clays, and dealing with all the aging issues we all deal with, the days of chasing dogs up the mountains are over, but as you say, everything is still ‘all good’”…Also, the following came in from Judge Godfrey: “Taking a break from my home in Bellingham, WA, and enjoying a couple of weeks at our family summer place on Webster Lake (about 20 miles south of Holderness). Visited friends on Squam Lake yesterday, and decided to drop by the school. The campus never fails to impress! Loving retirement; I’m off to Jackson Hole the first week in August to enjoy some horseback riding and relive my cowboy summers at Triangle X Ranch. Best wishes to all my classmates of both ’64 and ’65, and if you’re ever in the Pacific Northwest, look me up!”…In a last-minute submission Steve Smith reports that he is still a happily married (53 years) and a practicing architect with his son in Rockport, ME. He has promised a fuller accounting for the spring issue. He sends, “Best to all my classmates.”…My best to you all ~Tom

’67

Class Correspondent

Jamie Hollis

jameshollis@comcast.net

’68

Interim Class Correspondent

John Coles

johncolesart@gmail.com

’69

Class Correspondent

Jonathan Porter

jwport9537@gmail.com

’70

Class Correspondent

Ted Coates

Tedc33@outlook.com

’72

Class Correspondent

Dwight Shepard

shepdb@comcast.net

Chuck Fisher writes from Occidental, CA, that he published his first book in August, The Heart of Resilience , based on 25 years as a school counselor and the last 15 years running his nonprofit, Dovetail Learning. He teaches resilience to educators, healthcare providers, families, and others and invites us all to visit his website to download free Open Education Resources anyone can use. www.dovetaillearning.org It was a long journey from being 49 th in his class of 50, to earning his PhD and writing this book, he says. It is part memoir (smoking joints before class at Holderness), part Chicken Soup for the Soul with over 100 personal stories from people of all walks of life, and part The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People identifying key root causes that block resilience and key skills we all need to center ourselves so we can be authentic and have fulfilling relationships. “My life work has been to ease the pain for others so we can live into the beauty of who we are—the joy of accepting ourselves and others as whole human beings,” he says. He also loves spending time with his four grandchildren…From South Dartmouth, MA Will Graham writes that David Nicholson and his wife Suzie joined Will, his wife Marguerite, and former faculty members Fred and Cindy Beams in May for a week of walking in Scotland on the Isle of Skye. The landscape, people, and pubs all

Judge Godfrey ’65 on a recent visit to the Holderness campus.

Cliff Buell ’69 and Dave Lowe ’69, early 1970s.

Cliff Buell ’69 and Dave Lowe ’69 in January 2023.

made for a memorable trip, he says… Additionally, Cash Hoyt , who lives in Missoula, MT, informed Will that he is recovering well from an unexpected and recent surgery. The “Chillicothe Kid” continues to ride high in the saddle with his family and grandkids in Montana, Will says…“This spring, my brothers and I transitioned our 98-year-old mother to assisted living,” Peter Kimball writes from CT. “When going through a file cabinet at her house, I came across a large folder that contained records of my early life from birth records to college commencement and other milestones in between. The Holderness material included such gems as my acceptance letter from then-headmaster, Don Hagerman , as well as regular updates from him to my parents regarding my (unremarkable) academic achievements and acclimation to school life. Grades and written comments from faculty, some of whom had drifted into the shadows of my memory, make me wonder how I ever survived. With happy memories of our 50 th reunion still fresh, the discovery of this file was an additional and tangible reminder of how fortunate I was to be welcomed as a student in the Holderness School community those many years ago.”… Chuck Kaplan says that he is alive and well and living in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood where he has also become a snow bird who winters in Del Ray Beach, FL. “Still working in the footwear industry supplying textiles to most major brands,” he writes. “Our headquarters has moved to Singapore from Hong Kong and I am scheduled to travel this fall over there. My son, Daniel, got married last summer and lives in Southie. My daughter Lindsay is a Doctor of Nurse Practitioner in Hingham and has a 2 year old son. My younger son Ian is living in Southie as well and is in publishing. My wife and I collectively have nine children

with spouses and three grandchildren. We are just finishing our annual holiday in Forte Dei Marmi, Italy and (at the time of this writing were) looking forward to returning home by the end of July.” Chuck says he connects frequently with Ted Coates from the Class of 1970…“Still going strong here!” Nat Mead writes from Norway. “Am now blessed with three grandkids, two of whom live just down the street, which is a blessing beyond my expectations. When a 3-year-old says to her granddad that he can have permission to put her to bed it’s a short road to heart melt.” Nat says he is enjoying an active retirement and put in a couple of longer bike tours in Spain and Norway last summer…From Bow, NH, Henry Osborne says he is “still gigging and still working. (I keep hearing people talk about ‘retiring’ but my tires are just fine). Heading back to Japan for a couple weeks in November; the trick will be to see if I come back— my tickets are extendable.”…“I have a question,” writes Dan Murphy, from Hopkinton, MA. “Anything from Merrill Spencer ‘Toby’ June?” Nope, haven’t heard anything from Toby since before he moved to The Hills, TX. OK, now if everyone will repeat after me, “Toby, Toby, Toby, Toby, we want to hear from you,” maybe he’ll drop me a line next time. How about it, Toby?… As far as I am concerned, my family and I are all doing incredibly well. My wife, Lucy, and I took a wonderful trip organized by the Duxbury, MA Senior Center to Rome and Tuscany in the fall of 2023. We made great friends on this trip, and hold regular dinner reunions to Italian restaurants on the South Shore of Massachusetts as a reminder of how great our trip was. Early next year, we plan to take a trip to the Galapagos in anticipation of an upcoming “big” birthday for Lucy. “How big, you ask?” So big she’d kill me if I told you. Each summer our

daughter, Lisa, and her wife, Heather, come from Denver to spend the month of July at our summer house on Cape Cod, and in the winter we are blessed to live only two miles away from our son, Ted, his wife, Jessica, and our three granddaughters in Duxbury. I am way too busy serving on five volunteer committees including boards of trustees at our condo complex and church and two committees at the Senior Center. One of my highlights, however, is continuing to serve on the fellowship committee of the Horace Smith Fund, that awards grants to graduate students from western Massachusetts. Reading some of their applications, including personal statements about what they want to accomplish in their lives, is really inspiring. The late Horace Smith, of course, was one of the founders of Smith & Wesson, the gunmakers originally located in Springfield, MA. The fund that bears his name issues scholarships and fellowships.

Chuck Fisher ’72 is seen here with his daughter Carrie Childs at the Grand Canyon in May 2024. She runs the lifestyle design at Patagonia.

David Nicholson ’72 is seen with Will Graham ’72 during a trip to Scotland in May of 2024.

’73Class Correspondent

Dick Conant

rconantjr@msn.com

Dear Classmates, I will be mercifully short this time around given that we have just wrapped up our 50 th (actually 51 st) reunion at Holderness. Tim Scott put out a very nice reunion synopsis letter to all of you but allow me to pile on a bit more. The campus looked great, in places old and timeless from our day and in other areas new and modern with the addition of the spectacular Davis Center, which has arisen over the figurative ashes of the old Marshall dorm. The administrative staff did a fantastic job in organizing events, tours, receptions and the Saturday night reunion dinner. A big pat on the back goes to Tim for all his fundraising efforts, which allowed our class to lead all others in total reunion donations! The dorm accommodation was amazing, like staying in a Hilton Gardens Inn (I kept looking for the swimming pool!). And to top everything off the weather was spectacular! However, bells and whistles being nice, it was the ability to reconnect with classmates that was so special after so many decades and it was a special treat to see all the ’74s as

well. Many thanks to the Pecks for hosting a Saturday luncheon at their “estate” on the hill. It was a fun casual event and an opportunity to let our hair down (What we have left anyway). In closing, my Holderness experience has loomed larger and larger over the years as a pivotal time in my life. I regret not reengaging with the school and my classmates earlier, but life was so full with family, jobs, travel, etc. In saying that, I hope to make future reunions. We should treat each one as a special event like our 50 th. I am looking at 70 years on the planet this coming May. Tempus fugit, as Mr. Combs would say. P.S. I had a great climbing adventure with my eldest son out on Mt. Hood in Oregon just before reunion, see the photo of us on the summit. It has me reconsidering another attempt on my nemesis, Mt. Rainier in Washington state next year. We’ll have to see what the New Year brings. Best to all, Dick

’73 and

Class Correspondent

Cindy Maclean cynthia.maclean@yahoo.com

What a joy it was to see so many of you at our reunion on a spectacularly beautiful weekend in late May. Jim Connor, Duane Ford , Luke Fowler, Jeffress Gouverneur, Bill Guild ,

Walter Malmquist , Red Miller, Bryce Muir, Chuck Reilly, Jack Thomas, Ben White , Terry White, and I were there, along with a dozen or so members of the Class of ’73. We missed those of you who couldn’t make it, though you were warmly, and often hilariously, remembered in our conversations. There was a lot of laughter about all the dumb stuff we did as teenagers, which we happily, if not proudly, admit now that all statutes of limitation have expired. On Friday evening, Duane gave a few of us a tour of the campus, which has changed a lot, and for the better, since the ’70s, but still feels familiar. If you haven’t been there recently, I recommend a visit. Phil Peck (now honorary member of the class of ’74) hosted a lunch on Saturday for everyone attending a 50+ year reunion. His house, set way back from Prospect Mountain Road, overlooks Tenney and Cardigan Mountains with the mountains of Vermont way in the distance. A gorgeous setting for so many reconnections, though there may have been a few instances of having to sneak a peek at a name tag to figure out who you were reminiscing with. As the lunch wound down, Ben White seized the opportunity to induct Phil as an honorary member of our class in a very funny ceremony in which he invited every ’74 present (gently roasting each of us individually by way of introduction) to present Phil with his “official” Class of 1974 diploma.

Jack Thomas ’74 and Chis Lynch ’74 who ran into each other in FL. First time they had seen each other since graduation.

Chuck Fisher ’72 is seen with his daughter, Carrie Childs, and grandchildren at the Grand Canyon in May of 2024.

Dick Conant

son, Rich, on Mt. Hood summit in May.

’75

Class Correspondent

George Fox

georgesfox@msn.com

John Putnam writes: “Have not seen George Fox since he dumped his bike on my road. Now he is too embarrassed to show up, but had he shown up, he would know that we sold all the cows, and are busier than ever. Hope to get some sailing time on the Bay this summer; I sail on a National winner and hope to put the experience to good use. Weather is weird, as usual, but will move the first cut off to somewhere, go sailing and racing, then do a second and third cut, pull the boats, then take a nap, and do it all again. Hope everyone is OK.”…As for me, George Fox , I attended the 50th reunion for the classes of ’73 and ’74 and especially enjoyed hanging with Luke Fowler ’74 , Cindy Maclean ’74 , Chuck Reilly ’74 and Glen Cousins ’73 Chris Carney reports: “Life is good. We spend our summers in Falmouth, ME and winters in Bonita Springs, FL. Play golf year round. In the summer I race Etchells, get out on my center console powerboat, and hike in ME and NH. I am currently chasing around our 11-week-old golden retriever puppy, Emma. In the winter we take a break from Florida with two ski trips out west. Last season we went to Telluride and Steamboat. I play golf regularly with Jack Thomas ’74 and see Steve Morse ’74 and Henry Bliss ’76. I keep up with Tom Cargill and Tom Phillips . Looking forward to our 50 th.”…Ed Cudahy shares: “I really enjoyed the last newsletter which included some great updates about our class. Another year goes by and we added our ninth grandchild and Susan and I enjoyed our 44 th in Napa. We are so blessed and hope to see lots of our class in 2026 at our

50th reunion.”…Hunter Ten Broeck writes: “Barb and I are still out hiking as much as possible in New Mexico and Colorado.”…Linda (Fogg) Noyes reports: “Wow! Where did the time go? 50 years? Find it hard to believe! Spend most of my time between sets of grandkids. We made another trip up and down the East Coast (I think this was the 11th trip) only this time we were not in our sailboat as we have gone to the dark side and own a motor vessel. We have grandkids in FL and Marblehead so it works well! Lots of Holderness fans in Marblehead!! Hope the grandkids will attend Holderness!”

’77

Class Correspondent

Peter Grant grantcomllc@gmail.com

Class Correspondent

Luther Turmelle lturmelle@sbcglobal.net

Forty-six years later, the Class of 1978 returned to the banks of the Pemi for Reunion 2024 to pick up where we left off when we headed off to the Smith Family manse in Vermont to celebrate obtaining our newly minted diplomas. Fast forward to May 31, 2024 and a dozen of us returned to the place where we established a bond that would last a lifetime. My Connecticut compatriot, David “Le Grand Orange” King found the perfect base of operations, a sprawling bed and breakfast place, The Mountain Fare Inn in Campton. In addition to the 12 hardy souls who were there for the whole weekend, we had a few single day participants, including Tina (Anderson) Lappetito, who took time away from a family birthday celebration to hang out with us. Chris Goodhue , who lives with his wife Celeste just north of Franconia Notch, couldn’t make it on Saturday, but joined us for breakfast on Sunday. Don Whittemore and Peter Quinn , members in good standing of ’78’s CO contingent, get credit for coming the greatest distance to participate in the festivities. Bob Biddle and his wife, Ariel, came from Annapolis, MD. Ariel gets bonus points for having to listen to countless stories of days gone by. My wife, Joan, was also a good sport about that as well. Also, kudos to Blaise deSibour, who made it to the festivities from his home in Blue Hill, ME. I hadn't seen Blaise in ages, although there is no truth to the rumor that the last time I saw him was when we were in Larry Roberts ’ math class together, with “a batch” of other students, as Mr. Roberts was fond of saying. Bob Biddle’s dad, for the uninitiated, was legendary Holderness faculty member, Bill Biddle . Mr. B was also Mr. Outdoors at Holderness back in the day and in Bob’s case, the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. Bob led a group of intrepid ’78ers, including yours truly, on a day hike of epic

George Fox ’75 with Scott Morrison ’73 at this year’s reunions.

Barb and Hunter Ten Broeck ’75.

proportions that offered tremendous views of the White Mountains. It was probably a trip I should have sat out. But thanks to my own stubbornness and a team effort by my dear classmates, I made it up and down in one piece. We even made it in time to have our class picture taken and chow down at Weld Hall on Saturday night… It’s pretty hard to top the festivities of that weekend, but our own J.D. “Jud” Hale is no mere mortal. In July, he and his wife Cindy “had the privilege of enjoying our fourth wedding in five years in Tamworth, NH,” Jud writes. “It is our last wedding!” he said. “We are now squarely in the grandparents’ chapter, with two already with us and three cooking.” Jud writes to ’78ers that “I thought of all you often during the wedding in this beautiful place. It was at a place called The Preserve NH in Tamworth, NH. The owner, Mary Phelps, bought the Inn (The Brass Heart Inn, renamed in 2018) as Mary wanted to return to her roots from New Jersey. Ed, her late husband, loved restoring and investing in properties, a skill set and vocation that he had done throughout his career. Ed passed away that first year of moving north and the next year the antique barn burned to the ground. The inn is right next door and was saved by the local fire department. Mary realized right away that for her to survive—this business and their dreams of making this a wedding venue–she had to hire year-round employees (and operate year-round too). They have about 12 separate buildings around the property; we hosted 68 right there for the wedding. Amazing.” There is a Holderness connection, according to Jud (besides the wedding venue being just a few miles north of where Paul Bozuwa grew up in Wakefield, NH), and that is that Mary is the niece of English teacher and coach, Don Hinman at Holderness; his father,

Ford B. Hinman (Mary’s grand-uncle) was an institution at Holderness. An award that Jud won at graduation is called the Ford B. Hinman Sportsmanship Award. Small world, great time up there at the “gateway to the Whites,” and Jud said, “It’s nice to have our daughter Lace married to a super guy, AJ Kurban!” Noticeably absent from the 46th reunion was another member of the CO contingent, Hal Hawkey. But at least Hal now had a good excuse. He and his wife, Jackie, celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in Ireland with their daughters at the end of May. Hal’s girls live in New York City and they met Hal and Jackie in Dublin for the 10-day trip. “Besides a few pints of Guinness, we toured the southwest and midwest of the country,” Hal wrote. “A little hiking, some golf, sheepdog training, falconry, and a visit to a family dairy and cheese farm. Just good family time.” Hal says he is planning to retire next spring and so more trips are on the horizon…Checking in with Don Whittemore post-reunion, he writes, “I have decided to ‘semi-retire’ for the third time, which means I will continue to teach disaster and crisis leadership programs and provide strategic planning consulting services to the fire service but on a much less frequent basis. My primary focus will be attempting to heal my abused knees rather than undergoing full replacement surgeries,” Whit said. “Stay tuned for more about this.” Don’s daughter Madison completed her smoke jumping career as the lead rookie trainer in Missoula, MT and has started medical school at University of Washington. One of his sons, Nevin, is working his way through an intensive tattoo apprenticeship at Tribe Tattoo in Denver. Nevin’s brother, Harrison, will be starting his last year at Whitman College in the fall, studying neuroscience…Prescott Smith is

too modest to provide us with any personal news. But he did provide me with this gem: Former faculty member and varsity hockey coach Bill Burke threw the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park on Father’s Day. Burkey just retired as headmaster at Saint Sebastian’s School outside of Boston. Back in the day, he was a huge fan of Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant, but I’m sad to report Mr. Burke didn’t try to emulate Tiant’s one-of a kind wind up.

The class of ’78 on one of the summits along the Welch Mountain trail loop in Thornton during Reunion weekend.

Class Correspondent

Jack Dawley jdawley@northlandresidential.com ’81

Class Correspondent

Peter Baker Peterabaker@gmail.com

Class Correspondent

Chris Pesek chrispesek7@gmail.com

’84

Class Correspondent Craig Westling cwestling@gmail.com

Bob Gibbs and I had the pleasure of catching up for the first time in years. Our conversation ranged from the standard fare about jobs and family to the deeply personal regarding his experience as a Black student at Holderness in the early 1980s and being in the World Trade Centers on 9/11. Bobby has been married for 27 years and has four sons (two graduated from college, one in college, and one just graduated from high school). He has worked in financial crime security his entire career and is currently VP of Card Investigations at JP Morgan Chase. In his free time, Bobby is chair of the Deacon Board at his church, is a firearms instructor, and loves to travel with his wife. He is also a published author and public speaker, having written a book dedicated to his nephew titled Black Man Rise: Fatherly Words for the Fatherless Young Black Man (2nd edition 2014). Bobby shared several memories of Holderness, both joyful and painful, and overall described his time there as “a great experience.” There were very few Black students at the school in the 80s. “It took a lot of drive just to get over the hurdle to go to a place where I knew wouldn’t fit in,” he said. He described feeling supported by the school though, especially Pete Barnum , Jim Hammond , and Paul Elkins . “During vacation breaks there were times when I (and others) couldn’t afford to go home, and Mr. Barnum was on top of it. He would ask about our plans, then quietly find ways to either get us home or pair us with another student we could join during break.” Bobby was elected by his peers to be Weld Hall supervisor

and captain of the football team. “I loved being the Weld Hall supervisor,” he said, “because I got to learn every student’s name.” Amazingly, Bobby had never played organized sports before Holderness and only started playing football by accident. It all started when he missed the connecting “bus” to school (because he was looking for a NYC-like bus “with 50 seats and graffiti,” not a sparkling new van with pristine lettering on the side) and arrived a day late–after all new students had already left for orientation activities. So, needing to do something that was supervised, he joined the preseason football practices. It turns out he was very good at it. However, playing football was one of the times Bobby remembers experiencing blatant racism. “After a hard tackle, one of the opposing players started calling me the N-word within a huge pile-up of players. I felt like fighting back, but I wanted to control my own narrative and be the best example of a man,” he said. “So, instead, I filed that away, and later in the game I returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. That’s how I got back at them. That was my motivation.” I asked Bobby about mentoring other students of color at Holderness. He said he counseled younger students to follow the rules and stay out of trouble. “The goal is graduation,” he told them. “Don’t squander this opportunity.”

That meant toeing the line tighter than others might have to, and not picking up bad habits or bringing negative home experiences back to school. Bobby said that 99.999% of the time he didn’t feel racial issues at school. The few times he did, whether from an occasional stranger or the 0.001% from within the campus, he credited his classmates and staff for being there. “We got through it because of the community,” he said. Another memory Bobby shared was his experience on

September 11, 2001. “I was there,” he said, “And I’m not supposed to be here.”

At the time Bobby was working in global security for American Express and his office was just across the street from the World Trade Center buildings. “For some reason I broke from my usual daily routine and stayed at the gym a little longer that morning,” he said. After showering, he received a call from his manager in Arizona about planes being hijacked and asking about the whereabouts of the New York team. “I would have been walking across the World Trade Center quad when the second plane hit,” he said, “If not for that phone call.” Leaving from ground zero, he was 10 blocks away when he watched the towers fall. He walked 12 more miles to his mom’s apartment in Harlem, where he was able to call his wife (who was home with a toddler and 2-month-old) to tell her he was safe. For that we are all grateful. Even typing this now, 23 years later, I get chills thinking about Bobby’s experience. Today, Bobby lives by one motto “I.R.O.N—I Reject Other Narratives.” As Bobby shared, no one else decides his success or failure as a man in this society. Since Bobby and I spoke I ordered his book and highly recommend it! He offers timeless advice and gives us a heartfelt glimpse into his childhood.

Bobby Gibbs ’84 with his beautiful family.

Caroline (Bloch) Jones ’86 and Duncan Jones in Newport, RI on their way up the East Coast.

’86

Class Correspondent

Chris Zak chriszak@gmail.com

Rob Skiff reports: He is living in Vermont. He has two sons attending the University of Michigan. Rob spends his days working at a biotechnology company developing combination drug treatments for breast and ovarian cancer. In his free time, he does a fair amount of trail running and flyfishing while catching the occasional EDM festival in Quebec. He would like to ask forgiveness from everyone for being such an insufferable classmate back in the day. At the next reunion, he hopes to share some Longbottom Leaf with Cort, Blake, Owen, Colin, and Taylor… Caroline (Bloch) Jones shares: All three of my kids have graduated from college, so life has begun to look a bit differently lately. My husband Duncan and I bought a sailboat last May and have been taking “working remotely” to a whole new level. We spent the winter sailing the Abacos and Exumas in the Bahamas where we explored and visited some breathtaking places that are truly only accessible via

boat. We are currently sailing north to Maine, stopping along the way to explore the beautiful New England coast. My job situation recently changed, and I got the amazing opportunity to become a Travel Designer with thetravelboutique. net where I get to design unique and memorable travel for friends and family. It is a dream job for me and I am having so much fun with it!

’88

Class Correspondents

Christina “Nina” (Bradley) Smallhorn nsmallhorn@me.com Alex MacCormick amaccormick@centerlanellc.com

Peter McDonald ’60 and Alex McCormick ’88 ran into each other at Vail.

’89

Class Correspondent

Brad Greenwood brad@greenwoodbiz.com

The class of ’89 is overwhelmed with the amazing time we had at reunion 2024 with the class of ’88 and the others and is taking one HST issue off. We feel we caught up with the folks that were able to make and hope to see the rest of you all next time around. Please come if you can; it is worth it!!

’90

Class Correspondent

Pepper deTuro Pepper@woodwinds.biz

Johannah (Hatch) Mackin writes: “Pepper, great to hear from you! My twins graduated from high school this spring and are both heading to Mississippi State this fall. Nadia is studying fine arts and Malakai is studying agriculture and business. My oldest son, Zach, is engaged to be married in April. Daryl and I will celebrate our 29 th wedding anniversary in August. It’s a bittersweet season in life, getting ready for an empty nest so on the next go round of updates I’ll let you know how we've survived :-) Hope you and yours are doing well.”… Geoff Perham reports: “I’m still in midcoast Maine, running a small business. I enjoy playing pickleball, golf, and hockey, and going for long walks on the beach. I fly fish whenever possible and see Nate Beams every once in a while. Had the pleasure of seeing Joel Nields last summer and will hopefully hook up with Pepper and Jim “Queenie” Queen this fall for a golf weekend in PA/NJ. Have a daughter at Providence College and a son playing junior hockey in NH this year. Stay Bullish my friends.”… Miles Barnard shares: “I’m still living in Chestertown, MD and practicing landscape architecture up and down the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake. I try to do as much fly fishing as I can, whether it’s rockfish in the Bay or trout in Colorado and the NY Catskills. I get back to NH at least once a year to visit my folks who still live in Melvin Village at the north end of Winnipesaukee. I maintain strong connections with the Holderness community by sending or receiving a text from Pepper deTuro once per year on May 18th which is our shared birthday. Otherwise, he

ghosts me for the rest of the year.”… As for me, Pepper, my family is doing well. Daughters Corley and Bailey are still employed! Son Pepper is going to be a junior at Denison in the fall and son Locke is going into sixth grade. My wife, Liza, still puts up with me as we did celebrate our 25th anniversary this April. How did we get so old? Queenie, Perham and I have just scheduled a fall golf trip, so I should have some good photos to send next round of notes. ~Pepper

Pepper deTuro and his son Pepper playing some Independence Day Golf out at Stonewall.

’91

Class Correspondent

Lex Leeming lleeming@nexphase.com

This is the last round of class notes Lex will be available to collect. Anyone else interested in volunteering for this role? If yes, reach out to Kelly at kvanlingen@holderness.org

’92

Class Correspondent

Nici Ash Niciash12@gmail.com

’93

Class Correspondent

Lindsay (Dewar) Fontana linds_dewar@yahoo.com

’94

Class Correspondent

Ramey Harris-Tatar rameyht@yahoo.com

Dave Castor wrote to say that “I am retiring from the Air Force this month (26 years!). Joanna, Adam and I will head to Florida where I will pursue a second career as a pilot. I may stay in Florida, or might need to relocate when I find a company that will hire me :)… Melissa Barker writes: “We moved to Corvallis, OR in January 2023 for me to take a new job with the Polar STEAM program at Oregon State University. I facilitate collaborations between educators and researchers in the Arctic and Antarctic. I’m enjoying the change from classroom teaching and love working with different types of educators. We are enjoying exploring a new part of the country, but finding the dark rainy winters challenging. I love the easy forest access for biking, hiking, and running, and have fully committed to the bike commute, rain or shine. I’d love to connect with others who are living in the PNW!”… Kate Starrett wrote to say, “I’m a part time coach at Crested Butte and loved seeing these guys at a ski race this past winter at Eldora near Boulder CO: Sam Bass who works for Eldora, Jay Tankersley ’96 (who coaches part time for Winter Park). I also always see Alison (Megroz) Chadbourne ’96 at ski races. As for us, my family is living in Crested Butte full time. My husband is still flying for NetJets and I coach ski racing on the side. My kids are now 10 and 13. If anyone comes our way, we would love to make some turns.”… And from Sander van Otterloo: “A big hello to the Holderness community from Ojai, CA! In May, I stepped off the Holderness board of trustees after nine years, and I’ll miss spending time with friends on the board and the time

spent on campus. I am celebrating my 20 th wedding anniversary this summer, going on college tours with my 18-yearold daughter (yoiks!), and trying to fathom that my younger daughter will start high school in the fall. I went schussing in Taos this winter with Rick Richardson and John Spiess (booyah!). Be well, everyone!”…Peter Scoville reports: “We are in year four of living full time in Telluride and loving it. Both kids are in high school here and having the times of their lives. We see people across many classes from Holderness frequently and love the alum network!”…As for me, Ramey, I loved catching up with those who could make it to reunion, and we obviously missed all the rest of you! We, too, are doing the college visits this summer with our oldest son, which doesn’t seem quite possible, yet… Hope you all are well!

’95

Interim Class Correspondent

Amanda (Knox) Hoffman ’96 bostonknox30@gmail.com

’96

Class Correspondents

Heather (Pierce) Roy

Heatherbpierce@hotmail.com

Amanda (Knox) Hoffman bostonknox30@gmail.com

Kate Starrett ’94 and Alison (Megroz) Chadbourne ’94.

’97

Class Correspondent

Putney (Haley) Pyles putneypyles@gmail.com

Hi all, I’m writing this note on a warm July day. It’s always a little funny to submit these notes a few months and several seasons behind when they land in mailboxes. I hear we’re in for some snow this winter; hopefully that will be true as you are reading this issue of the HST. Updates were quiet this time around—we are all busy, it’s the middle of summer and sometimes it’s hard to find the right words in the midst of what is happening around us these days. I’m thankful for my sweet kids who wear me out but keep me going. Thanks to Andrew Miller for sending in this news: “Time flies and my oldest daughter Sophie ’24 graduated from Holderness back in May. It was a great time and fun to look back on what’s changed and what hasn’t from when we were there. The kids still light cigars after graduation and prank the lower classmen. It was a great few days and now she is off to college in Virginia. I’ll have two other daughters there in the fall alongside a growing list of alums with kids there. Also great to see Bob Low, whose daughter, Natalie , is the class of 2025 class president elect. I hope everyone is well, please stay in touch.”…Best wishes as you head into a new year, Putney

Miller ’97 with his daughter Sophie ’24 at her Holderness graduation.

’98

Class Correspondent

Zach Antonucci

zach.antonucci@gmail.com

’99

Class Correspondent

Darren Moore dmoore@holderness.org

Megan Bitter ’99 wedding on Mount Desert Maine!! Paige (Connolly) Minshall ’99, Tish Clark ’99, Megan, Heidi Webb ’00, Ave Cook ’02.

’00

Class Correspondent

Andrew “Sully” Sullivan MyIreland20@gmail.com

’01

Class Correspondent

Karyn (Hoepp) Jennings KarynPJennings@gmail.com

Shane, Ally (Keefe) Collins, Harper and our two spaniels in Bodega Bay, CA this January.

’02

Class Correspondent

Betsy Pantazelos b.pantazelos@gmail.com

Joe Sampson writes: “The Sampson Family has been doing well up here in NH. I just finished my fifth year as principal at Holderness Central School. It’s been fun to work with the Holderness School on community projects as well as support our team at HCS as they prepare kids for Holderness and other high school options in the area. As a local school administrator with connections to Holderness, I had the honor of chatting with John McVeigh about leadership and how Holderness helped lay the groundwork for my career on his podcast. Fun stuff. My family has been busy skiing and biking every chance they get. I had the chance to ride with Chris Nielson a couple weeks ago on his 40 th birthday! We are looking forward to connecting with Betsy Pantazelos and Ariana Nicolay ’04 when they are home this summer. Hope everyone is doing well.”… Ally

Andrew

Andrew Miller ’97 with Bob Low P ’25 (former Holderness athletic director).

(Keefe) Collins reports: “Shane and I are still living in Reno, enjoying the highs and lows of being first time parents. It certainly is a rollercoaster! One of the highs this year was taking our daughter (Harper) up the tram at Palisades for her first time on skis. She was all smiles the entire time! As for work, I continue to work as a nurse practitioner doing behavioral health and I’m happy to say it has been the most rewarding work I have done yet.”

Joe Sampson ’02, Chris Neilson ’02 and Spencer Taylor out for a bike ride.

’04

Class Correspondent Kate (Kenly) Tith kate.tith@gmail.com

’05

Class Correspondent Brie (Keefe) Healy healy.brie@gmail.com

Gerald “GDot” Carter reports he’s completed his doctorial content expectations and is officially a doctoral candidate…Peter Schlech and his wife, Emily, welcomed their new baby boy, Cal Peter Schlech, on May 30 th , joining his sister Ruby (5) and older brother, Michael (3). Peter is still flying as a pilot for Delta Air Lines out of NYC and trying to squeeze in as much home time as possible this

summer…Emma (Schofield) Phipps writes: “For our anniversary this year, my husband and I checked an item off our bucket list: completing the Manitou Incline just outside Colorado Springs. Also, I started my own private practice for mental health therapy, Colorado Therapy and Counseling. It’s been an exciting year!”…Willie Ford reports: “Caroline and I are expecting our second baby in September. Walker is excited to be a big brother. On the professional front, I recently took a new job. I’m the CEO of the National Ability Center. The NAC empowers thousands of individuals each year through 20+ adaptive recreational programs. Thirty percent of our participants are military and veterans. We have an amazing campus; it reminds me of Holderness. If there are ever any Holderness alums in the mountain west, please come visit one of our three locations!”

Elliott (2), and Lydia (5).

Brie (Keefe) Healy ’05 and family enjoying summer creamees! Mike, Brie,

Brie (Keefe) Healy ’05 and daughter, Lydia, collecting shells on a beach on Cape Cod.

Emma (Schofield) Phipps ’05 and her husband knocking the Manitou Incline off their bucket list.

Peter Schlech ’05 with his sons, Michael (3) and newborn Cal Peter Schlech.

Caroline, Walker, Rudy (dog) and Willie Ford ’05 at their wedding last September.

’06

Class Correspondent

Casey Gilman

clgilman5@gmail.com

’07

Class Correspondent

Taylor James taylorveronicajames@gmail.com

Matt Tomaszewski mctomaszewski@gmail.com

Ben Gardner writes: “What’s up Holderness! I am back in the Lakes Region, this time as a Wildcat at Vermont Academy. I just started my new job as director of Vermont Academy Mount Snow, so if you’re in the West Dover area stop by and say hello. Since we connected last, I have a wife (Shay) and identical twin daughters, Rio and Leia, who are six. I have been living out in Telluride, CO since graduating from Colorado College in 2011. Stoked to reconnect with the Holderness community in this next chapter.”… Michael Heyward lives in Asheville, NC with his puppy. Working as the assistant head of school for enrollment management at Asheville School. He continues to love the Knicks and the Yankees. He has found the love of golf, traveling, and collection of vinyl records… Chris Roche shares: “The Roche family is growing! We welcomed our second child in May 2024, Wesley Rey Roche, born in Vail, CO. And just this past weekend I played in a memberguest golf tournament with Henry Holdsworth .”…Kory Himmer shared the following: “The Himmer family is doing great, and are currently residing in Swampscott, MA. We recently welcomed our third child, Ryan Walker Himmer, who was born on December 31 st! In our downtime, we enjoy heading to the beach with the kids or heading up north to our ski house in

Lincoln, NH. We drive by Holderness every time we visit! Professionally, I was recently appointed as the director of marketing analytics at Mimecast, a London-based cybersecurity company. In my spare time, last fall, I founded a company called 603 BnB, which helps New Hampshire homeowners operate their house as a short-term rental (AirBnB). You can learn more on our website (www.603bnb.com) or follow us on Facebook or Instagram.”… Stephen and Kourtney Martin report: “This year brought baby #8— and Simon makes half a dozen boys! It’s looking like the Marine Corps is going to keep us in coastal North Carolina for the long haul. Steve is still working as a bomb tech with five years to go before retirement. Kourtney is still working as a detective at the local police department. Our oldest four keep us busy homeschooling and wrestling competitively, and our four under four keep us perpetually tired, laughing, and grateful for the gift of parenthood. We’re all looking forward to our annual snowboarding trip to Loon this winter!”

Ben Gardner ’07 with his family.

Ben Gardner ’07 this past winter shredding in Telluride, CO.

Stephen and Kourtney Martin ’07 and children Mitchell (11), Julia (9), Aubrey (7), Joel (6), Henry (4), Josiah (2), and Luke (1).

Stephen and Kourtney Martin ’07 and eighth baby, Simon Clay Martin, born 6/21/24.

Michael Heyward ’07 speaking to a group of prospective families.

Michael Heyward ’07 and his pup (Harlem) at the Grand Canyon.

’08

Class Correspondents

Baird (Meem) Anderson bairdmeem@gmail.com

Jessica White white.jessica.madigan@gmail.com

Annie Carney is “living my best life in Denver, hanging with Polly Babcock , working in advertising production, crocheting, and cuddling with my cats.”…Baird (Meem) Anderson says: “I had such a blast seeing everyone at reunion! The class of ’08 thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with ’88/’89, ’93/’94, and ’18/’19! What a time! I’m getting excited for my upcoming Montana vacation with my husband, Kyle! We are going to go fly fishing with Steve Smith ’09 who has his own fly-fishing guide business out there—Stephen Smith Fly Fishing. He’s the best!”…Ben Schrieber shares: “I am engaged to the love of my life, Kim. I proposed right after the eclipse in upstate NY with our family and friends present. I’m also starting my own consulting company for Microsoft services.”… Brett Phillips resides in the Back Bay of Boston where he continues to grow his company, Create Awesomeness. When he isn’t producing commercials, he is surfing in RI, snowboarding in VT or considering getting another cat. He remains in close contact with many

Holderness alumni and hopes to see you all very soon. You know who you are. ;)…Dan Marvin writes: “I had a blast seeing everyone at reunion. After a few years of living the digital nomad life I recently returned to NYC. Looking forward to some upcoming golf rounds with 2008 and 2009 grads after an awesome trip to Scotland in March with the little bros, Matt Kinney ’12 , and Jon Bass ’12 .”… Greg Ramey shares: “I got engaged last spring and am bouncing between NYC and Bermuda. I hope to catch Holderness alums on a beach or in the city streets this year!”…Haley Hamblin is wrapping up a year of living in Ann Arbor, MI while her husband, Josh, was a fellow in the Knight Wallace fellowship. They aren’t sure where they’re heading next, but excited for a new adventure! They had some Holderness visitors while they were in MI, including the Hamblin family (Jim ’77 and Lily ’15), who came out to watch the Michigan/Ohio football game in the fall. Baird Meem visited for Movement Festival, a big house/techno festival, in May!…Haley Wilich writes: “Hi Holderness family! I moved to Ajijic, Mexico in June. Staying for 4–6 months while I decide where I’ll move to next. Definitely will end up out west somewhere. My seven years with Cobalt Benefits Group is coming to a close at the end of August because my team will no longer be fully remote. Looking forward to the many new beginnings I have coming up! In the meantime, I’m soaking up quality time with my mom here in Mexico.”… Jeremy Larrere and R.J. O’Riordan finally finished a script and will be seen in an upcoming Netflix show… Julia Ford had “a beautiful baby girl in February named Louise Ford Gartner.” Julia continues to work at Cardigan Mountain School where she lives with her husband, daughter, and dogs… Polly Babcock is director of operations

at ShowLabs, an E-commerce photography studio focused on capturing content for outdoor brands. The business is also launching software that will store, process, and distribute content direct to retailers and consumers. She has moved from Denver to Gypsum, a small town just west of Vail, CO. She will be closer to her hometown, family, and boyfriend. Her dog Wiley is 3.5 years old and has finally found his swimming legs and is enjoying a lovely Colorado summer.

Class Correspondent

Allison (Stride) Lloyd stride.ally@gmail.com

James O’Leary joleary129@gmail.com

Megan Currier works at Apple, leading a team responsible for the global sourcing of Apple’s iPads,

Haley Hamblin and family (Jim ‘77 and Lily ’15) at the Michigan/Ohio football game in the Fall 2023.

Baird Meem ’08 and Haley Hamblin ’08 at the Movement Festival, a big house/techno festival in May 2024.

MacBooks and Desktops. She married her husband, Stefan Omelchenko, in October 2023, in a small, intimate ceremony in Tuftonboro, NH. They live in Santa Cruz, CA and spend many weekends up in Truckee, CA. They added a dog to the family, Huck, who loves to join them on the trails for never ending adventures… Ally (Stride) Lloyd is still working for Match Group, leading influencer and social strategy for a handful of the portfolio brands. She and her family are renovating their home in Davidson, NC and excited to move in next month. Weeks is four now and loving camp this summer, he is looking forward to joining a basketball team in September; Lucy is 2.5 and will be starting pre-school this fall…Lane Curran is a surgeon (M.D.) and just finished a pediatric surgery research fellowship at Yale. She just moved back to Portland, ME. She’s getting married next summer to a fun, outdoorsy geologist. No kids yet, just a cute dog. They’ve been enjoying outdoor adventures like skiing, backpacking, and sea kayaking… Emma (Locke) McGreal had a baby in June 2024 (Cami McGreal). “She just started walking and demanding ‘crackers’ as that’s about the only thing she can say.” Emma lives right around the corner from Laura (Cote) Krahn in Wenham and they often go on stroller runs and have a few too many mom wine nights…Ian Nesbitt and his girlfriend got engaged a couple of weeks ago! He regrets not making it to reunion as promised, but he did buy a ring that weekend, so hopefully everyone understands. He’s working as a software developer for a scientific data repository based out of UCSB, and coaching middle and high school skiing on the side… Allison Robbins has been living under a rock in medical training but finished as of two weeks ago! She reports: “I am a Mohs micrographic surgeon (dermatologic surgeon) and

just finished my fellowship training. My husband and I are moving to Portland, ME where we both landed jobs, me at a private practice and my husband at Maine Medical Center in cardiology. We are very excited for this new adventure and hope to get back on the reunion train in the coming years!”… Jake Manoukian’s kids are best friends with Laney (Hayssen) Forton’s. Jake is still living in New York City trying to help clients and financial advisors navigate the exciting and sometimes chaotic world of financial markets. He’s been enjoying learning how to play golf, lifting kettlebells, and driving the boat this summer. He needs to visit Massachusetts to challenge Jack Dings to an 18-hole match… Cody Bohonnon reports: “My wife, Jessie, and I are living in Greenwich now and renovating our house. I’m still commuting to the city every day and trying to grow the group I helped start at Cerberus six years ago. We are expecting our first child in December, a girl!”… Andrew Reilly shares: “I am still living in London and for the past 2+ years I’ve been working for a small company called Amazon Web Services looking after sport in the UK and Ireland. I’ve got to admit I have to pinch myself sometimes that I’m fortunate enough to be working with Premier League clubs, the English national teams, top sports leagues, and the F1 teams, amongst others. I am writing this from Scotland as I will be working and speaking on a panel at The Open Championship this week. It was a great pleasure to support Evan Vaillancourt ’24 this past year with his Capstone project. His project culminated with an in-person experience in London where he was able to shadow me for a couple of days and speak with some of the customers and contacts that I work with. I think I’ve convinced him to support West Ham as well, ha-ha. My wife and I celebrated our fifth

wedding anniversary earlier this year and I’ve also been living in the UK for over five plus years now, which seems crazy! But it means I will become a dual citizen in the coming year or so! I hope to make it back to campus in the next year and to the next reunion as well. I’m gutted I missed out this year.”…Mere Peck graduated from her anesthesia residency at Maine Medical Center this past June and started a fellowship in regional anesthesia at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. She plans to return to Portland, ME after fellowship. She is enjoying seeing more of Mr. Peck post-retirement!…Meg McNulty writes: “I got married in August and I’m still working at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office as a supervisor in the Special Victims Unit.”…Laney (Hayssen) Forton shares: “I am living and working in Manhattan with my husband and our two kids, Hank and Hayes. We often play with Jack and Miller Manoukian.”… Jack Dings shocked the world and passed his CFA! He recently landed an incredible job as a trader at Matrix Capital. When he’s not looking after his cat, Ronan, he loves playing golf with his Holderness buddies…Dave Grilk loves hanging with his Holderness friends in Boston and wishes he saw Andrew Grace more…Curtis Christian welcomed a beautiful baby girl to the world in January!…Chris Borsoi and his wife, Raphaelle, have two amazing kids, Sophia and Nathan, who they hope will be future Bulls. Chris loves staying in touch with all of his Holderness friends and welcomes any Holderness alums to visit Montreal. He recently renovated his house and has plenty of room for guests. He would like to remind everyone back at Holderness that MTL is home to the best bagels, poutine and smoked meats. He wishes the Habs were better, but at least the bagels are…Taylor Caggiula reports: “I got married this spring outside of

Cancun in Mexico. I blend my artistic and entrepreneurial mind to keep a day job in the financial sector outside of Boston while running a demolition business in Nashville and moonlighting as a pianist at events around New England.”…Kelsey (Muller) Rospos writes: “My husband, Alex, and I welcomed baby #2, Eliza Quinn Rospos, last August and are loving all the fun of having a 2.5 and 1 year old, despite their daily screaming contests. Life this past year included tons of family travel, home improvements, a constant search for toddler sleep remedies, and time outdoors and at the hockey rink in Bend, OR.”

Jake Manoukian ’09, US Head of Investment Strategy at JP Morgan, giving an economic update on Yahoo Finance.

’10

Class Correspondent

Elise (Steiner) Hacker eliseshacker@gmail.com

My husband and I welcomed our beautiful daughter, Charlotte James Hacker, into the world on July 4th. We are adjusting to life as a family of four (five, including our golden retriever, Bailey). Big brother Jack is extremely excited about his new role and we are constantly reminding him to use “gentle hands” when he interacts with his baby sister. ~Elise (Steiner) Hacker

Class Correspondents

Cecily (Cushman) Koopman cncushman@gmail.com

Jamie McNulty jamcnulty20@gmail.com

’12

Class Correspondents

Kristina Micalizzi kmicalizzi08@gmail.com

Stephanie (Symecko) Veilleux ssymecko@gmail.com

Samantha (Cloud) Spencer got married in Park City this past February!…Brian Tierney shares: “In the last year my wife and I moved to Golden, CO and I started a new job at the Colorado School of Mines. Currently I am working in communications and operations for the Beck Venture Center, focusing on building out programs for startups coming out of Colorado School of Mines and the Denver Metro area.”… Eliza Cowie is living in Salt Lake City and gets to see a TON of Holderness alumni around town and especially on the Alta patio. She’s been keeping herself busy with skiing, biking, and frequent visits back to New Hampshire. This past spring and summer she took a sabbatical from her work in outdoor policy to travel and reset and looks forward to the next Holderness get together… Stephanie (Symecko) Veilleux reports: “Dave Veilleux and I got married in June 2024 in Wakefield, NH. We were lucky to have class of 2012 alumni Haley Mahar, Hannah Halsted and Erica Steiner there to celebrate with us!”… Jules Pichette writes: “I have been mostly helping take care of my two nephews, so that’s fun.”

The children of Laney (Hayseen) Forton ’09 and Jake Manoukian ’09 are best friends!

Taylor Caggiula ’09 on his wedding day.

Elise (Steiner) Hacker’s ’10 son Jack with his little sister Charlotte.

Charlotte James Hacker, born July 4 to Elise (Steiner) Hacker ’10 and her husband Michael.

Jules Pichette '12 enjoying the incredible scenery.

Hannah Halsted ’12, David Veilleux, Stephanie (Symecko) Veilleux ’12, Haley Mahar ’12, and Erica Steiner ’12 after Steph and Dave’s wedding ceremony at Sanborn Hill Farm in Wakefield, NH.

’14

Class Correspondents

Alexandrea “Allie” Solms solmsallie@gmail.com

Mikaela Wall

wallmikaela@gmail.com

’15

Samantha (Cloud) Spencer and Kristina Micalizzi, both class of 2012.

Samantha (Cloud) Spencer and new husband Reed Spencer.

Class Correspondents

Hope Heffernan hopeheffernan@gmail.com

Jake Rosencranz jrosencranz1@gmail.com

Leah (Curtis) Rosencranz lcurtis1330@gmail.com

Cayla Penny reports: “After graduating with my BS in equine science and a Certificate of Riding Instruction from UNH I went on to be a head riding instructor at an eventing and dressage facility in central PA. I worked there for three years teaching lessons, training horses, and assisting with our breeding program. Recently, I went back to school and earned an MS in animals and public policy from The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. After graduating I took a job as an animal welfare specialist, and in May accepted a new position as the behavior coordinator for the MSPCA at Nevins Farm in Methuen, MA.”

Cayla Penny ’15 graduating with a M.S. in Animals and Public Policy from The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

’16

Class Correspondent

Chris Sargent christopher.t.sargent@gmail.com

’17

Class Correspondent

Elizabeth Johansson ecjohansson17@gmail.com

’18

Class Correspondents

Stuart Clifford stugclifford@gmail.com

’19

Class Correspondent

Lilly Patterson lillypatterson555@gmail.com

Holderness in Miami with class of 2012 alums Sara Mogollon, Erica Steiner, Kristina Micalizzi, Julia Potter, and Samantha (Cloud) Spencer (from left to right).

Cayla Penny ’15 with her dogs Sunflower (left) and Snapdragon (right).

’20

Class Correspondent

Ellie Page

ellie.l.page@gmail.com

’22

Class Correspondent

Rachel Storey rstorey@bowdoin.edu

’23

Class Correspondents

Evan Plunkett eplunkett31@gmail.com

Terry Zhu terry961616@126.com

WANT TO CONNECT WITH YOUR CLASSMATES?

Consider becoming a class correspondent and encouraging your classmates to reconnect in the HST class notes. Contact us at alumni@holderness.org for more information. Thank you!

Students create a Relay for Life banner while honoring the life of Sarah Duval.

Rev. Jay Hutchinson preaches to students and teachers during an Outdoor Chapel service in October.

On September 11, 1879, Holderness School hosted its very first all-school meeting at Trinity Chapel. With just a few students enrolled, that day marked the humble beginnings of what would become the incredible community that we all love today. During the first meeting the Reverend Howard Hill said that “success is not a noble start, or a loud flourish of silvery new-moon trum-pets. Success is this: fruitful continuance.”

For over 145 years generations of students, faculty, staff, and generous supporters have made sure that Holderness has not only continued but thrived. Fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024) was no different. Each year, I am amazed by the unwavering generosity of the Holderness School community.

During the 2024 fiscal year, more than 2,000 individuals— alumni, parents, students, and friends—donated over $4.7 million to Holderness School. Thank you!

In this year’s Report of Appreciation we hear from Walter Schaeffler, Holderness School’s Associate Head of School for Finance and Operations about the power of the School’s endowment; we catch up with former trustee Jim Stearns ’68 about his lifetime of support of Holderness and how he has reinvigorated the Debate Team on campus; we learn how Ryan Dunn ’93 is providing future students with an opportunity to attend Holderness; how Margot Riley, retired Chief Operating Officer, is using her estate to bolster the school’s endowment; and we learn

from Dr. Jennifer Martinez about the history of Bartsch Athletic Center. I hope that you will enjoy these stories and learn how your support is making a difference at Holderness.

In closing, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support of Holderness School. Please know that your generosity has made an indelible impact on the School and has provided “fruitful continuance.”

With gratitude,

Mark Sturgeon

Executive Director of Advancement

Maeve Rhatigan ’26 celebrates another successful Mountain Day near the summit of Mt. Jefferson.

ENDOWMENT 101

with CFO Walt Schaeffler

Thanks to prudent management and the incredible generosity of our own donors, the Holderness School endowment has increased by 40 percent—to nearly $80 million—over the last five years. But what exactly is an endowment, and why is it so important to a small independent school like Holderness? Luckily, our Associate Head of School for Finance and Operations, Walt Schaeffler, is here to answer our endowment-related questions.

So Walt, what exactly is an endowment—and why is it important to a small school like Holderness?

An endowment is a perpetual or a forever fund. It supports an institution's mission, people, and place. It's something that really supports everything the school does. It has an impact far into the future, but it also has an impact today. At a small independent school like Holderness, the impact of the endowment is multifaceted. It supports operations, and by that I mean all of the financial

expenditures of the school. It also gives us the flexibility to forego revenue. So, when the school has goals around accessibility, diversity, and financial aid, the endowment is there to support and offset funds we might otherwise take from those groups of folks. The endowment is also an important piece of ballast for the school. It's a financial asset that is there to see the school through lean times and boom times.

Holderness is lucky to have many generous donors. Why should a donor give to the endowment, specifically?

An investment in the endowment is an investment in young people, and it's an investment in an early stage of their life. Anyone who gives to the Holderness endowment gets to be a growth investor. An endowment gift allows us to put that money and steward it for decades and decades and decades into the future, where its capital value or its principal value is preserved, and then we spend the gains or the interest or the accrued earnings from that gift over time, and we do so in a careful, prudent manner that makes sure the kernel of that gift always survives.

What is the state of the school’s endowment today, and how does that compare to where it was decades ago?

Five years ago, the endowment was about 40 percent smaller than it is today, and 50 years ago, it was about zero dollars. So, to have been on this journey to nearly $80 million—which works out to something on the order of $260,000 per Holderness student— is an enormous achievement. But we still have a lot of work to do. Our community, working

together, can build this pool of assets to support the school now with immediate impact, but also really support the future.

How

will growing our endowment impact the school?

One of the greatest ways to ensure the future stability of Holderness, and to also not be enormously dependent on tuition to balance our budget, is to grow this pool of perpetual funds, steward them carefully, and invest them wisely, so that the funds within the endowment become a major driver of the school's revenue. The growth of the endowment inspires more growth, and that's not just growth in this pool of assets, but growth for the school, as well as the expansion of the mission. It's letting any student, regardless of their financial means—who has the interest and qualifications—to come to Holderness, so we can consider that student regardless of their financial profile. That's a great goal.

You have a background in finance, so you’re wellequipped to safeguard the school’s finances. But you also have a personal stake in all this—your son Johnny Schaeffler ’25 is a student here.

I started my career at Morgan Stanley, which is a big investment bank in Times Square. I was enormously fortunate to get that job as a liberal arts major right out of college. I found the work enormously intellectually interesting, and yet there has always been more to this journey of what makes me happy and the things that I care about. The older I got, and having met my wife on Wall Street as well, we just

found ourselves gravitating to the places and the types of people that honestly are here at Holderness. Our choice to send one of our

own children here and to live just a mile behind campus has been enormously gratifying. I feel like I get to match skills the school

needs with my passions outside of that work, and for me, it's just been kind of a perfect marriage.” |

FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY

123 Funds make up the Holderness School endowment:

facilities scholarships

faculty (compensation, professional development, sabbaticals)

graduation awards

$300,000+ Gifts to the endowment during the last fiscal year.

$19,530,355

$10,400

Amount the endowment has contributed to the Holderness School budget over the last 10 years per student, per year drawn from the endowment to offset the cost of a Holderness education and the operation of the school.

school programs (including music, Chapel, Out Back, outdoor leadership, Senior Class Challenge, and Capstone)

non-tuition financial aid

library & educational technology unrestricted athletics

$68,000,000

$54,240,000

$48,860,000

$80,000,000 FY 2014 FY 2024 FY 2023 FY 2018

ENDOWMENT GROWTH CHART

A YEAR IN GIVING

Past Parent Households

$446,246

400 Donors Grandparents, Students, Employees, & Friends

$167,092 248 Donors

Current Parent Households

$431,527

221 Donors

$1,839,337 Donations to Holderness Fund

Alumni

$794,472 1,213 Donors

5 QUESTIONS WITH RYAN DUNN ’93

By Bruce Barton P ’13’16 Assistant Director of Major Gifts

As a co-founder of Dealer.com, Ryan Dunn ’93 has enjoyed great success as an entrepreneur. Recently, he decided to pay that success forward by establishing the R.W. Dunn ’93 Blue Sky Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to a Holderness student who expresses an active interest in the arts or technology, or who has exhibited the ability to overcome obstacles in making their way to Holderness.

Here, Ryan talks to us about the origins of his success, his memories of Holderness, and what inspired him to give back.

Flying high with Ryan Dunn ’93.

1.

So Ryan, can you tell us about your life, postHolderness?

I graduated from Holderness in 1993 and attended Clarkson University, graduating in 1997 with a B.S. in Technical Communications and a focus on all things web design. It was an auspicious time to jump aboard the “tech train.” A year after navigating several short-lived jobs, including one at an online astrology company, I settled in Somerville, MA—not entirely by coincidence, with three of my Clarkson roommates. Each of us were pursuing internet-related day jobs but aspiring for more. Lightning struck, so to speak, soon after our Sommerville arrival when one of my friends had a chance encounter with a charismatic and forward-looking owner of a pre-owned car dealership outside Burlington, VT. He was keen to leverage the internet for his dealership operations, but didn't have the computer know-how to do it himself. When he partnered with four Clarkson friends itching to pave their own path? Well... that's when the magic happened! In the span of a few short months, meeting periodically in a Harvard Square bar, we sketched out our business plan and began our work together as five co-founders. Six months after our initial meeting, I, along with my roommates, quit our day jobs, moved to Burlington, VT, and dove headlong without a net into our new start-up venture. From 1999 until 2015, it was all pedal to the metal and I rode an incredible roller coaster ride from a humble start-up to a surging behemoth called Dealer.com. In the spring of 2015, on my 40 th birthday, I was in a position to depart the company and pursue my own independent path. I now travel the world paragliding or pursuing other adventures and spending time working on photography, music and philanthropic initiatives.

2. Can you talk about how you came to consider and then give this gift?

Considering gifting back to Holderness was never really a

question for me. It's something that has been a simmering aspiration for a long time, especially as I occasionally drop by Holderness and note all the progress that has occurred since ’93. Wow! It's inspiring to see and it made me want to play a part in some way. When I found myself in a position to consider philanthropy of this sort, I was fortunate to have advisors to work with and plan an execution strategy. I had a short-list of giving initiatives in mind. Mostly, I focus on my local community. Without a doubt though, I credit my experience at Holderness with preparing me to step out into the world and tackle challenges. I often fall back to memories of O.B. especially, when I reflect upon the start-up experience I shared with my friends. So Holderness was a natural fit on my short-list. It took some time to execute the plan, but I'm just incredibly grateful to be able to say thanks in this way at this time.

3.

What are your strongest Holderness memories?

Do you have any Holderness keepsakes in your life?

As I hinted before, O.B. stands out vividly and fondly. Some may not think back to O.B. with fondness. I just remember feeling revved up and ready to go for that sort of adventure at the time. Sure there were moments of “type two” fun–like the middle-of-the-night early hike out to safety in freezing rain after our camp flooded. Despite that, I mostly felt like I was “on expedition” like the worldly climbers and mountaineers I was obsessed with at the time. The spirit of adventure, and all that O.B. represents, was a throughline of my college experience, my various adventure pursuits and my professional experience. So that's one of my strongest memories from Holderness, but beyond that I'd add “Doc”, dorm life, hockey, lacrosse, mountain biking the xc trails, forestry crew, MTV in Weld basement & the ’90s music explosion, Pearl Jam Ten party in Carpenter, Proctor Weekends, Russian Arctic Ski Expedition,

Senior Project Ropes Course, but mostly– the community at large. I still have my lacrosse stick, O.B. solo journal, and a handful of other mementos. Go Bulls!

4.

What enduring qualities did you take from your Holderness experience?

Teamwork. Resilience. Perseverance. Willingness to embrace a challenge. Those are qualities that come to mind right away. Stepping back a bit, though, I think it's simply recognizing the truly unique environment that Holderness fosters. For me, it demonstrated the strength and possibility of a positive environment that doesn't shy away from hard challenges. It made my transition to Clarkson University smooth and helped guide me through my experience with Dealer. com. Really, through life in general.

What might you offer to others who are considering making Holderness a part of their giving priorities?

5.

If you can, do it! If it's an aspiration, follow it! What's better than investing in our future by way of education? Finding a trusted advisor who's knowledgeable on planning philanthropic initiatives is really helpful too. This has been a team effort. I'm certainly not making this happen all on my own. |

A PROFILE IN GIVING: JIM STEARNS ’68

1968 Graduate and Former Trustee Gives Back to Holderness

By Greg Kwasnik

L

ong before he became a highpowered Washington, D.C. lawyer, Jim Stearns was just a kid from Laconia trying to make his way through the world on crutches, looking for a place to go to school.

“I knew that I couldn't get around Laconia High School,” said Jim, who has cerebral palsy. “It was

just too big, too quick, too fast— and I'd just come out of some serious surgery the year before.”

Luckily, Jim knew someone from a different school just down the road.

“We had a family friend who was Judy Hagerman’s prep school roommate, who was of course the daughter of [then-Head of School] Don Hageman,” Jim said during a visit to campus last fall. “Don

Hageman said, basically, ‘Look, I have a teacher on crutches named Jim Brewer, and I don't think it's going to be a problem for him to get around here, but why don't we see?’”

Jim’s decision to attend Holderness School proved to be life-changing. He thrived at the small, nurturing school, where he captained the debate team, became a dorm leader, and won academic prizes in

Ancient History, Economics, and Senior English. His Holderness experience ultimately provided a launching pad for success at Dartmouth College and Georgetown Law, and a hugely impactful career in trade compliance— first at the U.S. Department of Commerce, then in private practice, and finally as Accenture's Deputy Global Trade Lead.

While Holderness may have given Jim the support he needed early in life, he has since returned the favor many times over. As Jim rode the campus paths in his motorized wheelchair last fall, one couldn’t help but reflect on his outsized impact on the school. It all started when he joined the school’s Board of Trustees in 1985 —a role he held until 1994. In subsequent years, his contributions extended far beyond the boardroom: in 1988 he established the Lund Family Scholarship Fund, a scholarship awarded annually to New Hampshire students who excel academically and athletically in skiing or hockey. Just two years later, he established the Mrs. Carl Lund Chapel Fund in honor of his aunt, a devout Episcopalian, to support the annual expenses of Chapel services and programs at the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Most recently, Jim supported the renovation of the School’s theater, now named in honor of the Kistler Family, and has donated generously to the school's now-resurgent Debate Team. This year, more than 20 students signed up to join the Team.

He has also supported the Henderson-Brewer-van Otterloo Chair Year Program, a sabbatical program that allows Holderness faculty to spend a year pursuing intellectual or professional interests. It’s named, in part, after Jim Brewer—the teacher who, like Jim, made his way around the Holderness campus on crutches. He was one of those iconic figures in the history of the school—not just to Jim, but to generations of Holderness students. An all-American lacrosse player in college, Brewer began using crutches after a bout with polio. Despite his physical limitations, he would go on to spend 23 years at Holderness as an English teacher, department chair, associate head of school, director of development, director of college

counseling, director of publications, football coach, and founder of the school’s lacrosse programs.

In Brewer, Jim found an example he could follow.

“He walked with the same type of crutches I did and I could see a role model there,” Jim said. “I said, ‘Well, if he can do it, I can do it too.’ I could see the growth patterns, you know, and he was very encouraging to me all through my career here.”

Following Brewer’s example, Jim has been just as encouraging to today’s Holderness students. On his recent visit to campus, Jim planned

to have lunch with the school’s debate team—the team he captained twice nearly six decades ago, and to which he had recently given a generous donation. What advice did he plan to give to those students?

“You’ll have to sit and listen to how I bore the debate team in a few minutes,” Jim said with a chuckle as he sat in Weld Hall moments before students arrived for sit-down lunch. “But I think this is a very nurturing environment to try things. Don’t be afraid to experiment, to do whatever you want to do, because this is the greatest place to do it.” |

Jim Stearns ’68 meets with the Holderness Debate Team during a visit to campus in September.

VIRTUES OF PLANNED GIVING TO THE ENDOWMENT

By Margot Riley | Retired COO of Holderness School

As a recent retiree, I am at a stage of life where I think a lot about my potential legacies, both in what I may have accomplished in my working life and how I may contribute in the time I have remaining. As part of this transition, I took on the formidable and easy to put off task of estate planning. I have outlived most of my relatives and do not have obvious heirs, so I really wrestled with this for some time.

In this process, I have pondered the role that schools and education have played in my life. I really only knew my father’s maternal family. My great grandfather in that familial branch was what my father referred to as “self-educated.” He came from modest means but grew to be an autodidact who happened to be successful in business. He raised a large family in the early 1900’s. So, during a period

in history when this was not common, as he accrued some wealth, he not only sent his sons to college, but he also saw that his three daughters went to college, too. This legacy affected my life because my grandmother (one of those daughters) “paid it forward” by ensuring that I also had a college education. Now it is my turn to help to provide for the educational opportunities of future generations as a way to honor this tradition.

In addition to this background, working in schools became my life’s work. I started as a math teacher and over a 36 year career held a number of administrative roles, finally spending my last eight years as the Chief Operating Officer of Holderness. As a student, I did not always fit in easily. As an educator, I have met many young people who could make the same claim. Over and over, I have seen how the power of schools stewarded by the right people can transform the lives of young people in breathtaking ways. Having the privilege of a front row seat in these moments is what always brings tears to my eyes and it is what I want to continue to support in perpetuity.

Planned giving has provided me with an opportunity to support the schools I care most about hopefully far beyond my lifetime. Yes, Holderness is one of those schools. I love the other centered culture of the school and the ethos that embraces risk taking. I treasure the connections I have made with colleagues, students, and even the campus dogs! As I have engaged both with current students and with alumni/ae, I know that Holderness changes lives and puts some amazing people out into the world. This is definitely the kind of legacy I want to support.

As I think back to time that I have spent playing chess, I learned that

there are two approaches to the game. The first is tactical chess. Through tactics, one can gain advantages in the game through more “in the moment” maneuvers. During my time at Holderness, I was very involved in the construction and renovation of campus facilities. I loved that work and was grateful for the generosity of those who contributed resources to these projects to make them a reality. This is valuable, important work. But, while there is a strategic element to these projects, they are usually taken on to respond to challenges in the moment.

The other approach to chess is the positional game. In positional chess, one develops the game slowly in quieter, more subtle moves that give the player an advantage much later in the game. I think that this is analogous to giving to the endowment. One may not see fruit borne in the short term from endowment giving, but it does help to ensure long term institutional strength far into the future. In my experience, a strong endowment can provide a shock absorber for a school during difficult times such as the Financial Crisis of 2008 or during our recent pandemic.

The endowment also allows for schools to think and plan strategically to ensure that students we will never live long enough to meet will also enjoy the benefits and opportunities offered by institutions like Holderness. The seeds of my own legacy with schools and education began over 100 years ago with people I never got to meet. It feels good to me to give to the endowment so I can have a positive effect on the health of a school like Holderness and the opportunities it can provide to young people long after I am gone. I hope others will be inspired by my story to participate in this opportunity! |

Every gift to Holderness makes a difference. Whether you donate $5 on Day of Giving or bequeath your estate to the school, your gift impacts every aspect of our students' experience—from academics to athletics, special programs, financial aid, chapel, and residential life. To learn more about planned giving and other ways to give to Holderness, please visit:

Holderness.org/giving

THE BALCH SOCIETY HONORS

individuals and families who support Holderness School through a planned gift, such as a retirement account, charitable remainder trust, or gift annuity. Balch Legacy Society members provide educational opportunities for future generations of students and inspire generosity in others.

Making a planned gift earns donors membership in the Balch Legacy Society, named for the family that donated Livermore Mansion and the surrounding land that became the home of Holderness School.

Rev. Lewis P.W. Balch, Jr., circa 1867.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

A Look Back at the Bartsch Athletic Center

By Dr. Jennifer Martinez

The Bartsch Athletic Center was built in 1967 during Donald Hagerman’s tenure as Head of School. When the building took shape, Holderness School was much different than today. It was an all-boys school with an enrollment of 188 students.

Bartsch was dedicated on Saturday, October 5, 1968, at 11:30am with an opening football game and crosscountry races. Edward H. C. Bartsch’s connection to the school comes from a deep admiration of cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Jere Lord. The latter was a past parent who performed a complex operation on Bartsch. In recognition of this, Bartsch pledged to donate to Dr. Lord’s favorite charity, which happened to be Holderness School. “After a visit with the Headmaster, Mr. Bartsch was so impressed with the school— its quality and spirit—that he not only pledged an athletic facility, but joined the Board of Trustees” (AR.18.3.18). Unfortunately, Bartsch passed away before he could see the new construction and the building was “completed as a memorial by his wife” (Communications release, 1968, AR.18.3.18). The architect was Charles Rogers from Perry, Dean, Hepburn and Stewart of

Boston, Massachusetts. The first stage, pictured on the opposite page, involved the construction of the locker room facility, which was completed in 1968.

The culminating structure was a reflection of the times. The windows of Bartsch evoke both Prairie School and post-war Brutalist architecture. The building was ahead of its time with passive solar heating, making it the campus’ most energy-efficient building until 1981. Press releases mentioned how the “successive roof peaks will blend into the mixed woodland growth so characteristic of New Hampshire. It is believed that the unusual structure is unlike any other now in use in New England schools” (AR18.3.18).

As early as September 28, 1965, there were plans for “a new athletic facility to include locker rooms, shower rooms…plus a cover for a hockey rink and eventually a basketball floor” (AR.18.3.18). However, by October 1968 the originally grand designs were not materialized and Bartsch was instead conceptualized “as the center of a developing athletic plant”.

One cannot attempt to address the history of Bartsch without addressing the hockey rink and its many versions.

The school acquired its famous hockey rink from Exeter for $1.00 in 1968, and in typical Holderness tradition, the students helped in the process: they “carried [and cleaned] the rusty pipes, helped put them in place…there is a group of twenty to thirty working on hour shifts for three hours each afternoon to assist the installation” (AR.18.3.29). The first use was on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at 9:00 pm when a ribbon was cut, and “the students swarmed on to enjoy the fruits of their labors... they skated all day on Sunday” (AR.18.3.29). The official dedication ceremony took place on Sunday, February 1, 1970, when the alumni game was the main spectacle of the day.

Upon completion, the facility was intended for a Holderness School that was vastly different from the current one. Now, 57 years later, with the student population nearly doubled, the facility is being stretched to its limits. Perhaps we have come full circle with the revised plan of 1968, and it is indeed an evolving athletic plant. Despite the changes and challenges over the years, Bartsch has served Holderness School well during its time. |

Dr. Jennifer Martinez is Holderness School's archivist and teaches history.

Inside a brand-new locker room in the Bartsch Athletic Center in the late-1960s with photos of the building's construction and the old ice rink.