Organic Roots Summer 2019

SUMMER 2019

A Publication of North Country School, Camp Treetops, and RockE House & Basecamp

EDITOR Emilie Allen

LAYOUT & DESIGN Kelly Hofschneider

MASTHEAD Gail Brill Designs

COVER ILLUSTRATION Nip Rogers

CONTRIBUTORS Emilie Allen, Christie Borden, John Culpepper, Karen Culpepper, Jodi Domenico, Matt Donahue, Emily Eisman, Becca Miller, John Nicholson, Barkley Stuart, David Sloane Wilson

PHOTOGRAPHERS Emilie Allen, Nancie Battaglia, Tom Clark, John Culpepper, Sierra Grennan, Becca Miller, Michelle Ocampo, Ted Sonneborn

ILLUSTRATIONS Gavriela Mallory

PRINTING Print Management Pittsburgh, PA Editor’s note: We regret an error in Winter 2019 Roots. On page 19 we mentioned a wedding gift for Hock and Selden.

That gift was from Herb Bergamini (CTT staff 80–81 and 85, NCS staff 82-86), not his father, nor his grandfather, who were both doctors in Lake Placid.

contact: eallen@ncstreetops.org www.northcountryschool.org www.camptreetops.org www.rock-e.org

ORGANIC ROOTS Summer 2019

’ LEADING THOUGHTS

’ ALUMNI/AE BULLETIN

2 ’ From Barkley Stuart

28 ’Alumni Profile

’

’

Board Chair

30 ’An Evening Celebrating Hock

4’ From Karen Culpepper ’

34 ’Alumni Events

Camp Treetops Director

38 ’In Memoriam

’ FEATURES

41 ’ News and Notes

6 ’ Towards Unity ’

The New Visual Identity

8 ’ Welcoming Todd Ormiston 10 ’RockE House & Basecamp ’

David Sloan Wilson (NCS 63)

14 ’Graduation 16 ’Teaching and Learning ’

Kitchen Update

18 ’Trustee Transition 20 ’Leaving a Legacy 22 ’Greening and Renewal 26 ’School News’

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Expanding Our

Reach

By Barkley Stuart, Board Chair (CTT 69–72, NCS parent 09–11, CTT parent 03–07)

TWO YEARS AGO AT THE Harvard Club in New York, we launched and celebrated A View From Round Lake: A Strategic Plan for the Next Century.

In the two years since, we have achieved a great deal to help us stay in front of the challenging enrollment and financial trends we see in the independent school and camp worlds. We are also expanding our reach to engage a much broader group of children and adults. With confirmation from consultants that today’s parents continue to desire School and Camp’s offerings of the past 80 and 100 years, we are committed to preserving core values and beloved traditions as we enhance programs and invest in new signature spaces. In addition, by firmly adhering to our long-held value of sustainability— environmental, agricultural, social, and financial—we will continue to offer remarkable opportunities for students and campers for decades to come.

The value of Camp and School can be measured by the joyfulness and growth of children and by the contributions of our alumni to the larger world. It is also measured by our outreach—the extent to which our practices here inform or improve the lives of others elsewhere and the degree to which we can put a Camp, School, or RockE House & Basecamp experience within reach of families from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. The more we

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expand our educational reach and increase our ability to enroll exceptionally diverse groups of students and campers, the more we are successful.

There are many people to thank for what we have achieved with Hock at the helm and what we will continue to accomplish under the leadership of Todd Ormiston. From my fellow trustees who provide keen oversight of our mission and finances, to the teachers, counselors, and staff who work directly with children, to our alumni and friends who inform and support our initiatives, and to the children themselves who take good care of one another and the place they call home for months of every year, we are one community. As such, we have individual roles and responsibilities, but, taken together, our collective contributions propel this vibrant community and the values and experiences it holds dear.

I extend our heartfelt thanks to Hock and Selden; it has been a pleasure to work with Hock for nine of his past twenty years, and we promise to carry forward his good work. I encourage all of us to welcome Todd and Elizabeth. We are confident that Todd possesses the vision, experience, and expertise to lead this community. Finally, I share our strong hope that with gifts small and large you will continue to or begin to support this remarkable place for children.

The First Two Years A View From Round Lake: A Strategic Plan for the Next Century

UNIFIED OUR CULTURE AND CREATED A COHESIVE ORGANIZATIONAL VISION We have undertaken extensive research and analysis to create a marketing strategy.

Through unprecedented annual fund and

Consultants from AdWorkshop and Cog-

restricted giving, in two years we have:

nitive Marketing worked with our team to develop a plan to support Camp and School

ENHANCED OUR COMMUNITY WITH NEEDED

admissions and advancement—and enable

RESOURCES AND SYSTEMS

this institution to tell its story to an expanded audience now and in the years to come.

We have built two signature spaces, the Teaching and Learning Kitchen and The

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Walter Breeman Performing Arts Center,

INNOVATED AND IMPLEMENTED NEW PROGRAMS

spearheaded by the generosity of Trustee

RockE House & Basecamp now offers expe-

Barry Breeman and his wife, Pam. We have

riential retreats for schools, adults, youth,

also made significant upgrades to RockE

and families. Here, people of all ages learn

House and Weecote Barn on the former

wilderness skills, sustainability practices,

Cushman property, as well as Hansen

and environmental science, or design their

House, the East End of the Main Building,

own educational experiences, drawing from

and the Hill Houses. We will be tackling

Camp and School’s pedagogy, programs,

soon a major, vital campus infrastructure

and talented staff. We have also expanded

need, improving our wastewater system at

our Learning Skills program at School and

Flushing Meadows.

English Enrichment opportunities at Camp.

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Coming Home

By Karen Culpepper, Camp Director

THE CALL OF THE WHITE-THROATED sparrow is for me the symbol that Camp is about to begin. It is the sound that means that people of all ages, from all over, are coming together again. And although each summer is a bit different with new campers and new staff joining old ones, in many ways Treetops remains the same. The morning mist coming off the lake, the smell of the barn, the sound of rain at night on the tent roof, the feel of pebbles under bare feet, tentative steps in early July, and by August and many shoeless hours later, steps taken more confidently—these sensations bring back floods of memories for people who have spent summers here. For many, coming back to Treetops is like coming home. A trustee who was a camper at Treetops and then a parent and a counselor explained it this way: families move. The house you grew up in now belongs to someone else. Where you used to live no longer looks the same. But here, as you stand on the Lake Hill, things feel timeless.

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And yet Treetops is not set in amber. Things do change. We no longer have the grooming contest. It has been replaced by the Farm Fest where children celebrate not only the animals but also the bounty of the harvest. We continue to compost our food waste but now in a much more efficient way using the rotary composter behind the main building instead of the compost pile at the barn. We still square dance but now outside on the grass near the pavilion.

The final square dance we hold on the beach with the sun setting over

many years ago by a British counselor. Our custom of holding hands before meals began when someone suggested we set the tone for sharing food with that gesture. Helen Haskell would not have recognized the opening bars of the Salty Dog Rag. That dance came much later and remained. Like the tree that is our symbol, Treetops grows new branches and new roots.

So what does this combination of continuity and change bring? At our quiet campfire at the end of the summer, children talk about the sense

At our quiet campfire at the end of the summer, children talk about the sense of belonging they feel here.

They say Treetops is a place where they can be themselves.

Round Lake. The songs have changed, but we still sing before council each morning. Our farm-to-fork education has expanded so that now cooking with produce from our farm and garden is offered almost every period of the day with children having input into what they want to create.

Helen and Doug Haskell were innovators. They didn’t want things never to change. But change doesn’t happen just for the sake of change. It is intentional. Does this make sense?

Will it keep Treetops Treetops?

When I talk to old timers they remind me that traditions we think must have been here all along were introduced by new people and stuck. Our birthday song was brought to camp

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of belonging they feel here. They say Treetops is a place where they can be themselves. It means that I can sit down with people I have just met and feel a commonality because we both have Treetops in our lives. It also means that each of us, child and adult, can contribute to the warp and weft of life at Treetops.

Helen wrote about camp giving to children what city and suburb have taken away—“farm animals to care for, sand and earth to dig in, trees to climb…woods and fields to explore, flowers to pick and a garden to tend…a place to swim in sun, to sleep out under stars.” Treetops still does this. It gives us a feeling of belonging, of coming home.

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TOWARD UNITY

➺

A primary goal of our strategic plan is to unify more strongly Camp Treetops, North Country School (and now, RockE House & Basecamp) under a clearly articulated set of shared practices and values. Guided by the original vision of our founders, the Haskells at Treetops and the Clarks at NCS, the vibrant narratives of our two programs have remained strongly relevant and compelling for decades of Camp and School families.

However, as we enter our next century, it is vital that the deep historical and philosophical connections between the two institutions be emphasized robustly—both internally and externally. As a result, we are taking strategic steps to sharpen and broadcast our shared story to current and prospective families, enhance our position in the educational world, and deepen our relationships with alumni and friends.

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Board and staff leadership, under the guidance of a nationally-recognized camp and school marketing firm, is working diligently to ensure that as a unified institution, we are widely recognized as a 21st century thought leader in the education of children in the “between years,” ages 8-14. In a fiercely competitive camp and school marketplace, we need more people to know what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. We need to have more families seeking our teaching and learning offerings.

We need to have more children take values and skills learned here out into the world—putting into practice lessons learned about the primacy of nature and the power of community.

As of this summer, there are three outcomes of this important unification and marketing initiative: 1. Round Lake Campus will move from its placeholder name to an official one: RockE House & Basecamp. Incorporating the name of the property’s 19th century cottage, dedicated to Eileen Rockefeller Growald (CTT 63, NCS 66, CTT staff 69–71, CTT parent 97–99, trustee 76–84, 92–98), whose vision and generosity allowed us to acquire the property in 2015, RockE House & Basecamp will continue to offer experiential learning retreats for schools, adults, youth, and families, incorporating the programs and pedagogy of both Camp and School.

2. We have adopted a new visual identity that will be used by North Country School, Camp Treetops, and RockE House & Basecamp. Using our “organic roots” image, we redesigned a single, shared logo that unifies our three component organizations and resonates with a new and expanded audience. The design reflects our deep respect for the natural world, our roots and traditions, and the significance of School’s 80- and Camp’s 100-year histories as educational institutions. The new logo tells a unifying story and offers an invitation to all who see it to step onto a path toward growth, opportunity, and adventure.

3. We are in the early planning stages of how this emblem will further unify North Country School, Camp Treetops, and RockE House & Basecamp when it becomes the logo for the “umbrella” for all three programs: Treetops Institute. Rooted in the founding ideals and values of Camp and School, Treetops Institute will be a remarkable resource for the education of children in the 21st century.

We extend our appreciation to Hock for leading this initiative and to members of the marketing committee: Karen Culpepper, Louisa Muñoz, David Damico, Matt Donahue, and Emilie Allen for their wisdom and collaboration, their commitment to our community’s goals, and their ongoing work as we continue to enhance, unify, and innovate.

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Welcoming Todd Ormiston In late June, before he officially became the seventh leader of Camp and School, Todd Ormiston arrived at Hansen House, where he, his wife Elizabeth, and their daughters Chase and Maddox will create a new home.

Todd had already visited campus many times, familiarizing himself with the opportunities and challenges of our programs, learning about our history, and committing to memory the phrases and terms that make up our distinctive nomenclature.

Since his arrival, he has met with members of the leadership team, become acquainted with longtime and new Camp staff, and struck up conversations with children in the dining rooms, on the Lake Hill, in the barn, and on hikes up Balanced Rocks and Trouble.

“Since my first visit to NCS ten years ago, I have admired the philosophy of the school and spirit of its graduates,” Todd explains. “In the past ten months, I have seen firsthand the commitment of the NCS faculty and staff and the magic of the Camp Treetops experience. I am excited to be part of such a special community.”

Already Todd is looking forward to Visitors’ Weekend, Friends’ Weekend, Thanksgiving, Centennial events, and a full slate of travel that will connect him to alumni and friends “whose input will be invaluable” as he seeks to position Camp and School for a bright future.

Asked how he envisions that future, Todd says, “First, it is about how we, collectively, view the future. My mindset that ‘we can do much more together’ will help us set objectives and identify the paths to fulfill them. Over the past two years, this community has come together to build new buildings and enhance programs. There is always more to do, and I have confidence that our remarkable programs will continue to be a source of pride to our community as we advance the teachings of the Haskells and Clarks in a 21st century camp and school setting.”

“Next,” he continues, “I look forward to witnessing the seven weeks in which Treetops camp-

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Introducing Elizabeth OUTDOOR ENTHUSIAST, amateur photographer, and mother are but a few ways to describe Elizabeth Ormiston, wife of Camp and School’s new executive director. Elizabeth spent over 15 years working in resort development before becoming a small business consultant specializing in brand and marketing strategy. Currently, she works for a strategic marketing firm in Connecticut that focuses on travel and leisure and independent schools. She, Todd, and their two daughters enjoy outdoor recreation, whether in the mountains or on the coast. Together they plan weekend adventures and longer trips out west and overseas.

She points out that their travels always leave room for spontaneity, which “often makes for the best stories.”

Elizabeth’s next story includes becoming involved in campus and Lake Placid community life, finding new scenery to photograph, and ensuring a smooth transition for their family.

Having attended St. Lawrence University after spending six summers at a camp on Lake Winnipesaukee, she feels that this organization and its location are a great fit for their family. In the fall, their daughter Maddox will begin her sophomore year at St. Lawrence and come to Lake Placid to ski on the weekends. Daughter Chase will be a junior at Northwood School, where she looks forward to pursuing rock and ice climbing, activities she enjoyed when the Ormistons lived in Sun Valley, Idaho.

“We encourage our girls to seek adventures, self-advocate, and stay true to themselves,” Elizabeth explains. “We have lived in several school communities, and we are proud that they have learned to enter into new settings gracefully and not be afraid to be themselves..”

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ers form lifelong bonds and memories through traditions that span generations. I also look forward to immersing myself in the life of the school to understand fully how we prepare students for what’s next, including how to become productive members of a community. I find that it is important to take a methodical approach to address the big picture.”

It is not surprising that Todd is most comfortable sharing credit for his many accomplishments at Vermont Academy, Stratton Mountain School, Gould Academy, Sun Valley Community School, and Mount Snow Academy. Yet Todd brings with him a reputation for overseeing impressive growth while maintaining institutional core beliefs and values.

“I have always gravitated to learning communities in mountain towns. I believe institutions in wilderness settings are best positioned to offer authentic, place-based learning. Outdoor offerings enrich an experiential culture and promote strong character, and NCS and CTT’s outdoor programs are impressive.”

Living on school campuses in rural settings has deepened his family’s commitment to wild places, environmental sustainability, and a lifestyle that includes hiking and mountaineering. Moving to the Adirondacks is a homecoming for the Ormistons. Todd looks forward to becoming part of the Lake Placid community and strengthening Camp and School’s relationships with local educational, conservation, and cultural organizations.

“Not only did I attend high school at Mountain House School (later National Sports Academy) in Lake Placid, but also I trained at Whiteface Mountain while on the St. Lawrence University Ski Team,” Todd explains. “Lake Placid, the High Peaks Region, and my friends and colleagues from this area have always inspired and challenged me.”

Asked what inspires him about leading Camp and School, Todd says, “I think I have the same motivation as most educators: we work with and for the benefit of others. At its core, education is driven by optimism, aspiration, and collaboration. These are powerful beliefs and ones we must cultivate in children.”

Chase, Todd, Elizabeth, and Maddox Ormiston

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A SCHOOL, CAMP, AND EDUCATIONAL RETREAT CENTER INFORMED BY EVOLUTIONARY SCIENCE

BY DAVID SLOAN WILSON NCS 63

Walter Clark

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BETWEEN THE AGES OF 10 AND 13, I attended a magical boarding school in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State called North Country School. Its founder, Walter Clark, was influenced by the philosophy of John Dewey in addition to his own upbringing on a farm in western New York.

His school emphasized the three Rs of Ruggedness, Resourcefulness, and Resilience along with the three academic Rs. He even added a fourth R of Refinement, and when he wasn’t wearing work clothes (which was most of the time), he was a dapper dresser with a bowtie and a corsage on his lapel.

Walter (adults were—and still are—called by their first names) believed schools should pair freedom with an equal measure of responsibility—a fifth R that could join his list. The students helped out in all phases of life, including kitchen and janitorial chores in addition to a working farm and organic garden that produced most of our food. We spent at least two hours outdoors in all weather, including winter mornings that froze the hairs on the inside of my nose. We climbed the High Peaks during the weekends and had our own ski hill and maple syrup operation. There was music, theatre, and arts and crafts. We stayed in houses with a dorm mother and father, like big, happy families. Life at North Country School was so rich that the academic program—good as it was—was the least of it.

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2019 RockE House & Basecamp Professional Development Opportunities

Like so many other children who attended NCS and Camp Treetops, which operates during the summer, I was transformed by my time there. It turned me into a happier and more productive person than I would have been otherwise. It caused me to choose a profession—evolutionary science—that enabled me to remain close to nature and go around mostly in work clothes.

Perhaps it even steered me in the direction of altruism and prosociality as my special topic of interest.

Now, looking back at age 69, I can see that my profession provides a novel perspective on why my childhood experience was so transformative. The educational philosophy embodied by School and Camp offers a nearly ideal living and growth environment from an evolutionary perspective.

Recently, I had an opportunity to give back to my school by sharing my evolutionary perspective with their current staff. School & Camp had acquired a new piece of land with buildings that they intend to develop into an educational retreat center, now named RockE House and Basecamp. I stayed at the new center, gave a Friday evening lecture to the school community, and met with a small group of senior staff over the weekend to explore collaborative potential. Perhaps a more explicit understanding of evolutionary principles could make School and Camp work even better. Perhaps the new retreat center could be used as a venue for teaching the principles to other groups.

Here are some highlights from my lecture, which can be viewed in its entirety at https://vimeo. com/307109781.

The Importance of Evolutionary Science as a Worldview: A scientific theory tells you what is. A worldview tells you how to act. A worldview can be religious or secular, science-adhering or science-denying. Evolutionary theory, or “This View of Life” as Darwin called it

RECENT As a forester, Dr. Thomas Easley developed a deeper understanding of why diversity works so well and applied that approach to hip-hop, health, environmental justice, and spirituality. Together we can broaden our message to diverse audiences and partners, and hopefully share the Adirondack park experience with more people of color.

Public lecture date: May 17, 2019 Teacher Climate Institute When teaching climate change, it is easy to feel buried by data. We will explore exciting new ways that The Wild Center and others are communicating climate change and its associated impacts in an engaging cross-disciplinary manner.

Interact with climate scientists and leave with resources and ideas to use in the classroom.

Dates: July 15–18, 2019 UPCOMING Mindfulness Training for Educators Participants will learn mindfulness practices, meditation, the neuroscience of learning, the nature of mind and how to cultivate their inner resources. Learn how mindfulness might benefit you in your role as an educator, and re-connect with the ideals that brought you into this field from the start!

Dates: August 4–10, 2019 Place-Based Education for Educators How does the place where you teach influence your curriculum? What tools can be used to connect students to place?

Participants in the workshop will explore these topics while hiking in Adirondack Park, engaging in inquiry and design experiences, and planning place-based lessons and educational experiences for their students.

Dates: August 12–16, 2019

in the final passage of Origin of Species, can result in a powerful science-adhering worldview that informs how we should act to improve wellbeing at all scales, from individuals to the planet.

most easily in its presence. Small cooperative groups are becoming an endangered species in modern life, but NCS and Camp Treetops represent the best of what life in small groups has to offer.

Updating John Dewey: When Walter Clark was influenced by John Dewey, he was already absorbing insights from an evolutionary worldview. Dewey represented the philosophical tradition of Pragmatism, which originated in America during the late 19th century by figures such as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Charles Sanders Peirce, and William James. The pragmatists realized that if Darwin was correct, then knowledge was inextricably associated with action, as opposed to a free-floating body of information independent of human existence. This informed Dewey’s experimental approach to education. The updated version of Dewey is called Contextual Behavioral Science and is richly informed by evolution.

Nurturance as a Master Variable: In the sprawling world of the mental and physical health sciences, isolated research communities have developed around every separate problem. This kind of specialization conceals a simple truth that is revealed by an evolutionary worldview: Nurturance is a master variable, especially during child development. Having it results in multiple assets. Not having it results in multiple deficits.

If there could be only a single policy prescription, then it would be to increase nurturance, for children and adults alike, which is what NCS and Camp Treetops provides in abundance.

It Takes a Village: For almost all of our history as a species, we existed in small highly cooperative groups.

This is the natural human social environment as far as our genetic evolution is concerned and almost all of our psychological and social adaptations function

Biophilia: All species have evolved preferences for elements of their environment that contribute to their survival and reproduction. For humans, this includes water, trees and plants that afford food and protection, and domestic and wild animals. A growing scientific literature demonstrates that natural settings are required for human physical and mental wellbeing. For example, people recover faster from surgery and experience less pain when their hospital rooms contain plants or have a window looking out onto natural scenery. If the addition of a plant to a bare room has this kind of effect, imagine the benefits of living in the stunning natural environment of the Adirondacks!

Evolutionary Mismatch: Adaptations contribute to survival and reproduction only in the context of the

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A growing scientific literature demonstrates that natural settings are required for human physical and mental wellbeing.

environments that gave rise to them. When the environment changes, then adaptations to past environments can tragically misfire. Many examples of evolutionary mismatch exist in modern life, including the stress induced by social isolation and barren surroundings. Others involve our diets and levels of physical activity. NCS and Treetops avoid evolutionary mismatches far more than other walks of life, including most other schools and camps.

The Need for Structure: My own work on prosociality can be used to validate and extend Walter’s emphasis on the need for responsibility to go along with freedom. Behaving as a member of a cooperative group is inherently vulnerable to disruptive self-serving behaviors such as free-riding, bullying, and other forms of exploitation. Unless a group is structured to prevent such disruptive behaviors, they will eventually occur and undermine the common good. An evolutionary worldview has a lot to say about what this structure should look like (see www.prosocial.world for more). For example, the group must have a strong sense of identity and purpose, there must be monitoring of agreed-upon behavior, and there must be a graduated response to deviant behavior. NCS/Treetops does a great job of implementing these “Core Design Principles” needed by all groups to function as prosocial units.

The Importance of Play and Self-Motivated Learning: In all cultures, there is a tremendous amount of learned information that must be transmitted across generations. Remarkably, this is accomplished in most traditional cultures without anything resembling formal education. Instead, children go around in mixed-age groups. The older kids want to become adults, and the younger kids want to be like the older kids. Learning takes place largely in the context of self-motivated practice and play. This kind of “natural education” has been largely destroyed by educational practices in so-called modern societies— another evolutionary mismatch. Increasingly, the lives of children outside of school have become barren of opportunities for self-motivated practice and play in safe mixed-age settings. While NCS maintains a rigorous academic curriculum, it also provides rich opportunities for natural education.

I’ve taken a deeper dive into these topics with a group of NCS/Treetops senior staff and the director of RockE House & Basecamp . We discussed how NCS/Treetops could become even stronger by learning more about the evolutionary worldview and how RockE House & Basecamp could be used to educate other groups.

It’s premature to say that School and Camp are informed by an evolutionary worldview. That is for the future. It’s more accurate to say that they have converged upon many of the best practices that make sense from an evolutionary perspective, at a time when most of the rest of the world has become lost in a maze of evolutionary mismatches. Perhaps that is why they remain a thriving community, 55 years after my graduation in 1963.

The Importance of the Arts: Music, dance, theatre, literature, and the visual arts are becoming endangered species at all levels of education—from academically oriented K-12 schools to colleges and universities, where so-called STEM education receives the lion’s share of the resources compared to the so-called humanities. An evolutionary worldview provides a new way of thinking about the arts by asking the simple question: Why are they such a fundamental part of what it means to be human? From this vantage, they can be seen as essential for individual wellbeing, the organization of societies, and for the transmission of culture across generations. NCS has distinctively resisted the tendency of so many other schools to treat the arts as superfluous.

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David Sloan Wilson is SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University and president of the Evolution Institute, which formulates public policy from an evolutionary perspective. His newest book, This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution, was published by Pantheon Press in 2019.

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GRADUATION

2019

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GRADUATING CLASS OF 2019 Xiaoxiao (Wendy) Li The Putney School John Lyons Darrow School Ava (Cate) Maccini Gould Academy Anja Martin Northwood School Robert (Robbie) McMichael The Putney School Dylan Murther Birch Wathen Lenox School Sophie Nuyens International School in Guatemala Santiago (Santi) Pineda International School of Panama Dylan Roussey Vistamar School Lucy Zheng Westtown School

Eliza Asante Vermont Academy June-Han Bae Cate School Kendin Basden Northwood School Matthew Burns Northwood School Jiachen (Jason) Cai Upper Canada College Yuyang (James) Chen Kimball Union Academy Noah Cooper Hamilton District Christian High School Tyler Greenberg Westtown School Quinn Käufer Gould Academy Ethan Lebovich Undecided Jiawei (Brad) Li Westtown School

Jamieson Roseliep Work Award winners: Dylan Douglas-Dufresne, Thebe Mosehathebe, Ella Robjent Graduation Speaker: Matt Salinger (NCS 74, CTT Parent 04–08)

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May 11 ceremony: Peter Bullock, Hock, Louisa Muñoz, Karen Culpepper, Kevin Williams (NCS 73), Jean Hoins (NCS 70, CTT 66), Jim Garrett (faculty 70–74), Meimei Ma (NCS 70, parent 16), Edie Garrett (faculty 70–74)

Teaching and Learning Kitchen Update

ONE OF SEVERAL NEW’SIGNATURE SPACES called for by our strategic plan,’the Teaching and Learning Kitchen opened the first week of April. This $350,000, 1,100 sq. ft. learning facility is one of only a few of its kind in the country, and it complements the hands-on activities of our renowned farm and garden program.

At the start of spring term students and their teachers began using the space for their Edible Schoolyard classes, and the kitchen was officially celebrated by neighbors and supporters during our May 11 Community Pancake Breakfast.

The Teaching and Learning Kitchen, known on campus as the TLK, provides an ideal space for Camp and School’s children to learn about sustainably growing, harvesting, and preparing nourishing and delicious food, as well as larger lessons about the planet’s food stream, preserving natural resources, and the workings of our natural world.

Now students are able to pick fresh produce from the garden and greenhouses and immediately prepare delicious recipes at three cook stations and three large worktables on wheels. The TLK is also outfitted with a multiple basin sink for cleaning produce and cookware, as well as an industrial dishwasher and convection oven. ’The TLK will provide generations of students and campers opportunities to learn about and prepare food in ways that our other kitchens could not. With its presentation technology, the TLK will also be a resource for RockE House & Basecamp guest and school programs, enabling us to share our remarkable farm and garden program with a wider audience.

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REC IP

E FROM THE

CHILDREN’S GARDEN

Honey and Blossom Sugar Cookies Recipe ¼ ’cup dandelion petals 1/8

’cup mixed bee balm and

’

echinacea petals

1/3

’cup violet flowers (either wild or ’

’

cultivated Johnny Jump-Ups)

1/3

’cup honey

½ ’cup softened butter ¼ ’cup granulated white sugar + an ’ ’

additional ¼ cup

1’egg ¼ ’tsp vanilla 1 ’ cup white flour Pinch of salt Note: Gently wash all flowers and allow to dry flat on a towel before use.

Instructions Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.

Grease a cookie sheet with butter.

In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add in the egg, vanilla, and salt and mix completely. Add the honey and continue to mix until you achieve a smooth, batter-like consistency.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, dandelion petals, bee balm petals, and echinacea petals. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredi-

Honey and Blossom Cookies BECCA MILLER

ents and mix until just combined.

Dough should be sticky. Cover dough and refrigerate for 15–20 minutes.

FLOWERS ARE BLOOMING and the honey bees are buzzing in the Children’s Garden. As the fields and gardens flourish, our creative students and campers head to the Teaching and Learning Kitchen to whip up seasonal dishes featuring just-picked ingredients.

This sweet cookie recipe, brought to us by our 4th– and 5th–grade Edible Schoolyard class, takes advantage of the rainbow of edible flowers available in our gardens during the spring and summer. Bee balm, echinacea, Johnny Jump-Ups (or tricolor violets), and wild dandelion flowers accompany the local honey that brings a sweet surprise to this simple treat.

Enjoy these cookies at a summertime picnic alongside a glass of iced dandelion-flower and mint tea, or recreate this recipe during the winter months by swapping in dried flowers, bringing a burst of warmth and color to chilly, snow-filled days.

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Place ¼ cup granulated white sugar in one bowl and the violet flowers in another. Using your hands, roll balls of dough (approximately a teaspoon’s worth), first pressing one side into the violets until a few stick, then pressing that same side in the sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet (sugar side up) and flatten slightly.

If dough becomes too sticky to work with, refrigerate 10 more minutes before continuing to shape dough balls.

Bake 10–15 minutes until edges are set and light golden-brown. Once cooled, cookie edges should be crispy and centers should be slightly chewy.

Makes approximately 20 cookies.

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Trustee Transition:

Matt Davidson

IN LATE JANUARY, members of the Board of Trustees and staff were joined by the Davidson family to toast Matt Davidson’s 28 years of service and leadership on the North Country School and Camp Treetops Board.

Matt (CTT 62–67, parent 96–06, Balanced Rocks Circle) and his family have deep roots in the NCS and Treetops community. Matt’s grandparents, Jack and Mary Kaplan, loaned NCS founders Walter and Leo Clark the first funds to build what is now the Main Building.

Since then, several generations of Kaplans and Davidsons have attended Camp Treetops and have become dedicated members of this community. Joan Davidson and Brad Davidson, Matt’s mother and brother, respectively, preceded Matt with their board service. Additionally, Matt’s daughter, Sarah, continues the tradition of service by sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm as a member of the Treetops Centennial Committee and helping to spearhead alumni gatherings.

Matt Davidson, right, with Hock and Barkley Stuart

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Matt served as board chair for 12 years and has been a member of many committees. He brought his business expertise, as well as his long institutional history to every conversation around the board table. Under his leadership, a comprehensive strategic plan helped NCS and Treetops begin to aggressively address decades of deferred maintenance. He also led the early work on the Strong Roots, High Peaks Campaign—the largest capital campaign in our history.

Hock recalls that Matt’s steady hand enabled us to endure the 2008–2009 recession and helped actually increase our fundraising in those years. Hock says, “Matt always had confidence not only in me as a Head but in the institution as a vibrant and important player in the educational landscape.

It was that confidence that helped us have the success we have been so fortunate to have.”

Matt’s thoughtful and diplomatic approach, as well as his sense of humor and generosity of spirit, have helped this institution weather storms and move on to bright horizons. We are deeply grateful for his service.

Farm Transition OVER THE DECADES the farm has been managed several different ways. Most recently, a single farm manager oversaw the whole farm, with a specialist managing the horse herd and riding program.

Finding a single person who has skills and experience in managing children and adults, animal husbandry, horticulture, ornamental horticulture, and maple sugar production is a tall order. Not only is it difficult to find so much expertise in one person, but, if that person took time off, our year-round interns would be shouldering too much.

In early January we employed a model that was once used here and which we believe will meet our program goals better, with one person responsible for the animal side of the farm and another for the garden side of the farm.

Now responsible for our horse herd, pastures, and the animals we raise for protein is Erica Burns. Erica has a wealth of horse-care and riding experience, and

Erica Burns

Tess Faller

is dedicated to making sure that all of our animals are well taken care of. Erica is part-owner of the USA Hockey Store and is committed to the Lake Placid community.

Tess Faller has been hired to manage our greenhouses, vegetable and fruit production system, and maple sugar production. She will also provide support to our Edible Schoolyard program. Tess has many years of experience gardening in a wide variety of climates on a wide variety of farms, with most of her experience in the northeastern U.S. on educational/demonstration farms.

Both our Barn Manager and Garden Manager will be supported by a year-round intern, with several additional interns coming in during the CTT season to help with our gardens. Both managers will be cross-trained so that they and their interns can provide support to the other side of the farm during emergencies and when their counterpart is on vacation.

This model should provide more consistent support for the wide variety of farm-related programs.

»LEAVE YOUR LEGACY

Aleesa Adams Haro NCS ’89 Can you describe the circumstances that led you to North Country School for the first time?

My parents enrolled me for what was supposed to be just one year to expose me to a variety of new experiences.

I did not want to go. I did not like animals, and I had never been on a hike in my life. However, something clicked as my parents were dropping me off. I fell in love with my experience at NCS and begged my parents to let me return for another year.

What experiences have you carried with you through adulthood?

Night walking, telling stories around campfires, and two huge closets full of costumes made me want to

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be playful. Chicken harvest, honey wagon, and sleeping outside in the middle of a freezing cold snowy winter taught me to be tough. And because we all came from such diverse backgrounds, I learned to be who I want to be, even if it is different than what seemed “popular” or “cool.” Being close with people who are different from me remains a huge part of who I am.

What was particularly memorable or impactful during your time here as a student?

The greatest gift I received from NCS was learning to appreciate nature. I tagged along on rock climbs with Hock because my best friend was skilled at that, and I completed camping trips with John Morgan because they were required, but I probably would not have chosen these activities over reading or arts. I also took figure skating lessons organized by Bonnie Morgan and

Being close with people who are different from me remains a huge part of who I am.

I joined the ski team led by Scott Lacey, both of which quickly became my favorite sports.

By the time I graduated from college, the seeds NCS planted started to grow. The desire to be closer to mountains uprooted me from New York City to Los Angeles, where I have enjoyed activities from hiking and camping to kayaking and rappelling down canyons. I trekked the Torres Del Paine circuit in Patagonia and completed the Ironman Lake Placid. The lessons NCS taught about the joy of toughing it out in nature led me to my greatest love of all: I met my husband halfway through a 50-mile bike ride.

What did your journey look like after leaving NCS? How did your career take form?

I went on to The Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut and The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and I later took classes at UCLA. I spent many years in the film industry pursuing directing and then editing. Filmmaking requires highly collaborative teamwork with diverse personalities, often in tough conditions—whether long hours or unpredictable weather—and I am grateful to NCS for its part in preparing me for that.

By my mid-30s, my passion for sports, nutrition, and my father’s unfortunate cancer diagnosis led me to return to school to study the life sciences. I worked in medical device sales and marketing communications at a large hospital system prior to joining my current company, Amgen, a global R&D-based biotech firm focused on cancer treatments. The many hands-on projects we did at NCS gave me a curiosity about science and how things work that drives my interest in healthcare today.

reputation of a place I am proud to have attended, and am glad that so many before me did so to enable my experience there.

Are you still in touch with your peers from School?

Yes, thanks to social media. Connecting with old classmates and realizing that such a motley crew developed into adults with similar interests helped me realize how much the school and our teachers shaped who we are. My former classmates and teachers all feel like extended family.

Over the years, you’ve played many roles in our community: student, alumnus, donor and Balanced Rocks Circle member. Can you speak to how these roles have changed your perspective on the institution?

Participating in alumni and prospective student events made me realize the continued effort that is needed from graduates to keep the school a wonderful place for other kids. I care about maintaining the great

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To learn more about joining the Balanced Rocks Circle, bequests, and planned gifts for tomorrow’s campers and students, please contact Matt Donahue, Director of Advancement, at mdonahue@ ncstreetops.org or at 518-837-5446.

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GREENING AND RENEWAL

CONSTRUCTION OF THE Walter Breeman Performing Arts Center, a net zero building, has progressed well, despite the difficult winter conditions in Lake Placid. Throughout the winter months, there were between 10 and 20 construction workers on the job. By March, the building was “closed in,” and work progressed rapidly. We expect to begin using this beautiful new building during the 2019 NCS fall term.

The Teaching and Learning Kitchen is now complete, and it is the home of our Edible Schoolyard program. The new kitchen is a multi-use space with various opportunities for children and adults to learn about sustainability by connecting with food and cooking throughout the year.

A great deal of work has gone into RockE House & Basecamp, which offers experiential retreats for schools, adults, youth, and families. A major project at this facility was the installation of a high-efficiency wood pellet boiler.

Finally, less than two years ago, we built and put into operation a rotating drum composter. This innovative and cost-effective design has caught the attention of over 60 individuals and groups in eight U.S. states (and Kenya and Guatemala), and we have created an opportunity for organizations and municipalities to generate a valuable product while keeping food waste out of landfills. Already, a school in New Jersey has used our design to build a composter. The design is free, available world wide, and can be found at www. northcountryschool.org/ farm-garden/sustainability/ composting, or by contacting John Culpepper.

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SUSTAINABILITY RECOGNITION New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and The Northern Forest Center granted $26,000 to install a high efficiency pellet boiler at RockE House NYSERDA granted $35,000 to design and build an inexpensive, commercial rotating drum composter two years ago, which has allowed us to turn 95,000 pounds of food waste into commercially viable compost.

NYSERDA granted $125,000 to develop three more novel, in-vessel composters that will be donated to local schools and a nature center to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that occur when food waste is buried in landfills.

The Cloudsplitter Foundation commited to support ongoing data collection and outreach connected to our composter.

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C E L E B R AT I N G

100 YEARS OF TREETOPS FESTIVITIES WILL BEGIN NEXT FALL

to mark the

Centennial Year of Camp Treetops, culminating in Friends Weekend 2020, which ends the 100th summer of Camp. Listed below are key dates ahead for Camp alumni to gather and celebrate this remarkable place. The Treetops Centennial Committee is putting out another request for submissions of memorabilia and materials to help celebrate Treetops at gatherings across the country, as well to be used as in a summer 2020 centennial publication that will precede Friends’ Weekend.

Please send us your Treetops memorabilia! High-resolution images or scans (or originals, with the understanding that we cannot return them) of the following are greatly appreciated: • ’Old photos • ’Tent signs • ’Letters home • ’College essays about Camp • ’Photos of keepsakes that you made ’ at Camp Also, you are welcome to submit written memories of Treetops, including: • ’Friends who became friends for life • ’Friends whom you would not have ’ otherwise met • ’Eye-opening experiences that changed ’ ’ you or how you look at the world • ’Experiences that didn’t go as planned, ’ ’ and what you learned from them • ’Reflections on the power of ’community • ’Experiences with animals, the garden, ’ and in the outdoors You can send items digitally to Jodi at jdomenico@ncstreetops.org or by post to the attention of Treetops Centennial Committee, 4382 Cascade Road, Lake Placid, NY 12946. Thank you!

Treetops Centennial Gatherings: Los Angeles September 24, 2019 San Francisco September 26, 2019 Washington DC November 12, 2019 Seattle, WA November 14, 2019 Brooklyn January 25, 2020 New York Event April 30, 2020 Friends’ Weekend, August 19–23, 2020 We hope you can join us at one of these events!

Walter Breeman (NCS 10), center, with guitar at a School performance.

Join us for Two Events to Celebrate the Opening of The Walter Breeman Performing Arts Center Opening Performance Building Dedication and Ribbon Cutting Celebrate with us during Friends’ Weekend!

Be one of the first to get a look at this Net Zero, state-of-the-art facility that is the new home for our signature performing arts program. The new building will be a critical resource for our Camp and School children and RockE House & Basecamp programs.

Thursday, August 22, 2019, 3:00 PM This space honors the life of Walter Breeman, whose creative spirit will be carried forward by the many children who will step up and take a bow here.

RSVP to Jodi Domenico at jdomenico @ncstreetops.org or 518-837-5407

Camp and School alumni and families are invited to join in the first performance to inaugurate this new space.

Saturday, October 12, 2019, 7:00 PM Join us for the weekend to act, play music, make the set, or simply applaud this new, exciting space for music, theater, and design.

Hosted by NCS theater teacher Courtney Allen.

For questions about rehearsals and lodging for the weekend, email alumni@ncstreetops.org.

»SCHOOL NEWS

Creativity and Connection: Working together within our campus. Strengthening ties to the greater community. BECCA MILLER Keeping Warm, Improving our Place North Country School strives to connect programs, expanding avenues for learning beyond the classroom. This past fall, our Community Projects class teamed up with the 4th-and 5th-grade social studies class to build a warming hut next to the campus skating pond. While learning about the history of the Iroquois people in northern New York, the younger students decided to build a small version of a traditional longhouse. After coming up with a basic plan, they teamed up with older students in the Community Projects class to brainstorm a functional design that would incorporate available natural materials, as well as a location for the structure.

Using campus-cut cattails and alder branches, the two groups worked together to construct

the longhouse beside the skating pond, allowing it to serve as a place for students to gear up and take breaks during their wintertime pursuits.

Teachers Larry Robjent and Caroline Hlavacek Perry believe that interdisciplinary projects like this one encourage students to form connections not only to one another but to the land, its history, and its resources.

Creative Cooking for Others This year’s cooking elective class, Kids Cooking for Kids, focused on preparing dishes for those outside our immediate campus community. Each week, students in the class brainstormed creative, delicious, and wholesome recipe ideas, cooking up snacks for students at nearby Lake Placid Elementary School. Using local

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and campus-grown ingredients whenever possible, the students blended up yogurt smoothies, simmered berries for homemade jam, whisked egg whites for meringue cookies, and baked fruit breads and mini-pies, contributing the finished products to the neighboring school’s snack program.

Innovation in the Barnyard At North Country School and Camp Treetops, children help care for the farm animals that provide our community with fun, food, fertilizer, and fiber. Each spring after lambing season our sheep are sheared, and their soft fleeces go to our fiber arts program for felting, knitting, and weaving. This fall, barn manager Erica Burns, along with the helpful hands of many NCS students, began turning some of that raw wool into dryer balls to be used in campus laundry. The dryer balls have allowed our housekeeping team to significantly reduce dryer time and, in turn, energy use on campus, lessening our carbon footprint as we repurpose available resources in new and interesting ways.

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Building Skills, Providing Books For our youngest students, the arts class rotation aims to develop foundational skills and kindle interest in various creative areas. This fall in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade woodshop class, in addition to learning the basics of woodworking, students connected with the greater Adirondack community through giving. Working with teachers Elie Rabinowitz and Rob Tepperberg, the class used lumber from the campus and reclaimed materials to build two Little Free Libraries. Little Free Library is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing books to areas with limited public library access. The two small library boxes, now filled with donated books, found their new homes at the Ausable Dental Center, in nearby AuSable Forks, and at Sugar House Creamery in Upper Jay. To see photos and read more about the NCS year, visit our blog This Week at NCS at: northcountryschool.tumblr.com

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ALUMNI PROFILE Rev. Theron David “Tut” Cook Former Trustee, NCS 74, CTT 73, NCS and CTT Former Parent.

How did you first come to North Country School and Camp Treetops?

Coming to Camp Treetops and then North Country School was life altering for me—and for my children, who followed me to this wonderful institution. I have had three—Theron “Tutt” Cook II (NCS 97), Ahrielle Cook (NCS 99), and Daniel Neptune (NCS 94, CTT 93)—graduate from School, two of whom came back to work at Camp.

I am Bronx born, a kinship-foster kid who lived with my great aunt in the South Bronx as my father and mother were nowhere around. In the summer of 1968, when I was 7, we moved to Springfield Gardens, Queens. I was very fortunate to have gone to excellent public schools: PS 23 in the South Bronx, and then PS 38 in Rosedale, Queens.

I can only ascribe the fateful decision to attend Treetops and NCS to God’s blessings and interventions. After my graduation from 5th grade, I was slated to go to a terrible Queens junior high school, the notorious IS 231. That summer I stayed with my godmother, Roberta Irene Thomas, in the South Bronx. She was an amazing woman, nurturing, loving

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and visionary, who saw to it that I came to Lake Placid. One Saturday, she informed me that we would have a visitor, a follow-up to her previous question: “Do you want to go to camp?” She initially knew about Treetops and NCS as a result of being the secretary for the late federal judge Constance Baker Motley, former Trustee, parent of a Treetops camper and great friend to Helen Haskell.

That morning, I remember this tall, skinny white man with a gentle demeanor coming into her apartment and setting up a slide show that I watched while eating corn flakes. The slides were of happy kids climbing mountains, swimming, and some on horses, all smiling in a place called Treetops. That gentle giant was Dick Wilde. When the slide show finished, he and Roberta asked if I wanted to go. I nodded enthusiastically and thought to myself, “What fool could ever say no?” That’s how I got to Treetops.

How I got to NCS is equally vivid. The one slide that most captured my attention showed a kid smiling on a large Palomino, reins slightly loose, heels high, but obviously having a wonderful time atop the yellow horse. Having never been on a horse before, I was the rare camper who cantered after seven weeks—quite a feat for a novice like me. After that first canter in the Senior Ring, I dismounted and went up to the Lake Hill with a wide smile upon my face.

I remember gazing over at the tennis court, riding rings, Trouble and Round Lake and thanking God for the blessings I had been given—how lucky I was, this parentless kid from the city. It was at that point that a nice brunette woman came up to me and said something that blew me away: “Would you like to come to school here?” I immediately replied loudly and enthusiastically, “I would love to but … we can’t afford it.”

She answered with a cool, commanding tone I would get to know very well when she became my English teacher, “Don’t you worry about that.” That woman was head of admissions, the wonderfully beautiful and brilliant Jean Marchildon.

What was particularly memorable or impactful during your time here as a student? What experiences have you carried with you through adulthood?

There were so many impactful events that it would take a book to catalog them, so I’ll list just a couple of those I carry most to this day. Getting my nickname “Tut” is one. My first Halloween at NCS, three days after

my 11th birthday, I was awarded best costume for being a mouse and singing a song to the tune of “Bridge on the River Kwai.” The refrain was “Tut, Tut, I am a little mousey.” After that performance, I was forever known by the NCS/Treetops community as Tut, with the final validation coming at a quasi-reunion at the home of Maya (Kennedy) Radiconcini (74) where she and other classmates, Colin Wells (74) and Goia Kuss (74), all sang the song verbatim, 45 years later. I guess that performance was memorable for more than just me.

I took my schoolwork seriously, especially French and social studies, where Jerry Marchildon still stands out as one of my finest teachers ever in history, the subject of my passion. Another memorable time in the classroom was Tsu Hansen’s mechanical drawing class, where my architectural skills were fine-tuned.

Even as an 8th grader, I recognized how one’s environment undeniably shaped one’s perspective and world view—validating an education that instills values and deep respect for the environment, animals, and one’s neighbor, what we used to call “community.”

What did your journey look like after leaving NCS? How did your career take form?

After graduation, I went to Exeter, Harvard, and Princeton Theological Seminary, and of those exalted institutions, NCS and Treetops were by far the best.

Back in the 1980s, an economics degree from Harvard afforded me opportunities usually reserved for those with advanced degrees. As such, I have been truly blessed to have worked in management positions in all four sectors: business, nonprofit, government, and philanthropy. Presently, I see myself as a renais-

Jay Smart (CTT staff 14), stern, and Dane Anderson (CTT staff 14, 16) bow, summer of 2014

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sance man whose desire for new adventures in new places was honed and nurtured at North Country School. I live by the mantra I crafted there: Do what you have not done and go where you have not gone.

That belief I picked up from Walter Clark at Cliffords, planting potatoes with Jimmy Lindquist. We fed spuds into an ancient planting machine being pulled by Walter in his 1950s-era tractor—that image captured nicely for posterity in my cherished Senior Pages.

As for my career path, I describe it as “35 Shades of Career,” with some positions having direct connections with NCS. For example, I served as deputy and later acting director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Drug Abuse Policy only because the guy who hired me was the brilliant David Condliffe, former chairman of the Board of Trustees, who—along with my former math teacher, the irrepressible Roger Loud—also recruited me to become a Trustee in 1990.

Of some of the 35 Shades, I worked as a hospital administrator, running a medical center in Harlem; traded foreign currencies on Wall Street; worked in commercial banking for the now-defunct Chemical Bank in Manhattan; gave millions of dollars away as a senior program officer for a foundation in Alexandria, Virginia; been a community organizer replicating crime prevention models all around the country from a firm in Omaha, Nebraska; been a management consultant for nonprofits in Washington DC; worked in the US Senate as well as the Commerce Department on Capital Hill; sold new Hondas in Alexandria and magnetic windows at Sears in New Orleans; and worked on commercials, TV series and a feature film in New York City with another NCS alum, John Rosenmiller (73). At present, I am the chief operating officer for an international scholarly NGO in Princeton after serving as an itinerate minister in New York City for the last two years—where I preached in three of the five boroughs and three of the four adjacent counties. I started my New York City preaching at the historic Riverside Church and capped it at the famous 150-year-old Church of the Covenant, a block away from the United Nations.

That’s just a small slice of an entire spectrum of experiences, jobs and accomplishments that I credit NCS with launching by instilling the belief in myself that I could do anything, be anything. Together, these experiences gave me an invaluable insight into managing people, achieving goals, and more importantly, knowing that whatever I am doing, it is not what I do that defines who I am, but who I am that defines what I do.

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An Evening Celebrating Hock

ON THURSDAY, MAY 2, over 130 alumni and friends came out to honor the career of Executive Director David “Hock” Hochshartner at the Cosmopolitan Club in New York City. Former trustees, students, campers, parents, and colleagues shared many memories of Hock’s impact on them during his 30+ years at North Country School, Camp Treetops, and RockE House & Basecamp. His mark on this institution will continue to be felt as we move forward into the future.

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Top row, left to right: Chuck Schwerin, Hock, Jenny Ewing Allen; Larry Robjent, Barkley Stuart. Christopher Boyd, Jody Hochschartner-Body, Hock, Pamela Viola, Selden West. Middle row, left to right: Tahalia and Lennoth Joseph; Joan Davidson and Eileen Growald; Theron “Tut” Cook and Matt Salinger; Above, left to right: Board of Trustees and Hock; Belkis, Delio and Marcos Fernandez.

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Your Annual Fund support helps them climb higher...

GIVE TO THE ANNUAL FUND AND SHOW THAT YOU ARE WITH THEM ON THEIR JOURNEY.

With your support, today’s campers and students, like generations before them, are finding their passion and purpose here.

The Annual Fund provides: Scholarships to thirty percent of students and campers each year • Supplies for arts, farm and garden, academic, and outdoor programs • Camp staff and School faculty support and training • Sustainability initiatives • Much, much more.

Make your gift before August 31 (the end of our fiscal year) www.camptreetops.org/giving or www.northcountryschool.org/giving Contact Emily Eisman at eeisman@ncstreetops.org or 518-523-9329 for more information.

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North Country School and Camp Treetops is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Gifts are tax deductible to theROCK-E.ORG extent allowed by law.

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» Alumni/ae Events ALUMNI/AE AND FRIENDS GATHERED around the world to reconnect and share memories of Camp Treetops and North Country School. Camp and School and alumni/ae families reunited in Burlington, Vermont; Rye, New York; Washington D.C.; Brooklyn; Alta, Utah; Guatemala; and China. If you would like to host a reception in your city, please contact Jodi Domenico at jdomenico@ncstreetops.org or 518-837-5407.

Left to right: Former and current NCS staff in Burlington; Ed Biddle, Ridgely Biddle, Eli Kramer in Rye. Below: Alumni and families at Alta Lodge

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Above: Hock and Barkley Stuart with current and former students and families in Beijing. Below: Hock and Rachel Carter with alumni and families in Guatemala

Below left to right: Josey Stuart, Rica Allannic, Bill Localio, Lisa Beck, Karen Culpepper, Matt Donahue in Brooklyn. Hock, Margaret Sloane and son in Washington D.C.

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In Memoriam Tom Clark NCS Faculty 71–82 and 02–19, CTT Staff 66–83 and 96–19 TOM CLARK, 75, passed away Sunday April 7, 2019. He was born July 29, 1943 in Utica to Marion E. Randall and Joseph T. Clark.

Tom cherished his time spent on the family farm in Gouverneur, and being with his extended family, especially his cousins Steve, Bill, and Helena.

He received a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Montclair State College, where he studied industrial arts education and geology. As Tom was raised to be a person who gives more than he gets, teaching was his natural profession. He taught industrial arts and helped lead school bands and musicals at several schools in New Jersey before moving to the Lake Placid area in the 1970s.

Tom was introduced to Camp Treetops and North Country School by a colleague, Dick Wilde, and so began his long and influential relationship with this community.

Tom worked at Camp Treetops from 1966 to 1983 and then again from 1996 to 2018. He taught earth science and was a beloved houseparent at North Country School from 1971 to 1982, returning in 2001 to continue teaching until his tragic death. In addition to his passions for teaching, woodworking, and music, Tom was a talented and avid photographer.

He was part of the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee team of photographers that documented the activities, events and sports prior to and through the 1980 Winter Olympics, an experience he relished.

In early 1981, Tom met the love of his life, Alison Riley, at Camp Treetops. After their marriage in June of 1983, the Clarks settled in South Strafford, Vermont, where Tom got right to work renovating their old barn, creating vegetable gardens, and building a huge deck. He was a member of the United Church of Strafford, served on the board of directors for the Creative Preschool, and taught skiing in the Newton School and Lions Club ski program while helping to maintain the local rope tow. Tom worked for Harrington Engineering for many years and then, from 1995 to 2013, for the RHI/ Rural Community Assistance Program as a water resources specialist, helping Vermont, New Hampshire and New York communities (including Lake Placid and Wilmington) obtain clean drinking water. In 2002, the Clark family moved to Lake Placid, building Tom’s dream house down the road from the camp and school. Tom rejoined the school faculty, teaching photography, woodworking, music lessons, and horseback riding. In recent years he also served as the school photog-

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rapher, documenting daily student life for social media. Tom was a tireless hiker (an Adirondack 46er many times over); he loved to cross-country ski, canoe, ski Whiteface, walk his dog, and just be in the mountains. Above all, Tom loved his family.

Tom was a devoted husband to Alison for thirty-six years and a fabulous father to Emily, Brenden and Stephen.

Not long ago, Karen Culpepper, wrote in an article about Tom: “With his gentle spirit and natural teaching ability, Tom inspires a quiet confidence in children and adults alike.

He has educated counselors on the meticulous rituals of opening and closing Camp for decades. Erecting and taking down the classic Treetops’ yellow canvas tents, for example, requires much instruction at first, and Tom has always been happy to mentor counselors through the process. This past summer, when Tom noticed that the woodshop needed new steps, he simply got to work. Rather than calling for Camp maintenance staff, he gathered several campers from the woodshop and together the group built the required steps.

Simply put—if something needs to be done, Tom is there.

When asked what it is that has kept him at Camp Treetops for nearly 50 summers, Tom replies: ‘This place always feels like you never left. It always feels like coming home—the sounds and the smells and how everything looks. The place hasn’t changed. Like most people, I have a deep yearning for the stability of a place like that.’ Tom is an important part of what makes Treetops the bedrock of so many lives, as solid and comforting as the ancient mountains beneath us.”

Tom is survived by his wife Alison and their children Emily, Brenden and Stephen. In addition, he is survived by his brother Bob, sister-in law Marie, niece Kristin Schwenk, nephews Gregory and Daniel, and grand-nieces Julianne and Emma; his cousins Steve and Bill Randall and Helena Pate; in-laws John and AC Riley, sister-in-law Susan and husband Evan Shelby, nephew Dylan, and brother-in-law Kagan Wolfe.

A funeral service took place on Saturday, April 27, followed by a reception at Camp Treetops Main House. Tom's many talents, his humor, his patience, his kindness, and his loving spirit will be deeply missed by us all.

There will be a celebration of Tom's life at Friends' Weekend on Friday, August 23th.

In Memoriam p. 39 (photo GreenCatPhotograpy Frank Platt in DB)

Frank Cheney Platt FRANK CHENEY PLATT, advocate for poetry, poets, literature and writers, dedicated husband and father, died on February 26, in Rockleigh, New Jersey. Frank loved poetry that “communicate[s] before it is understood” (T.S. Eliot) and captures what is “lost in translation.” (Robert Frost). In addition, he was committed to arts and culture as a means of protecting and cultivating principles of free speech and an open society.

He was born in New York City on November 6, 1932. He worked in publishing before becoming president of the Farfield Foundation, and later an assistant Dean for Columbia’s School of the Arts. His many longstanding and deeply-felt friendships were legion.

Most involved a common love of music, poetry, literature and epicurean delights.

Frank attended Camp Treetops in the early 1940’s

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and is survived by his three children: Sophie Platt Pollok (CTT 73–74), Arthur van der Gracht Platt (CTT 73–74), and Roger Platt (CTT 69), and his grandchildren Esther Pollok, Lucas Pollok, Hilary Platt (CTT 01–06), and Benjamin Platt (CTT 99–03).

Frank’s days at Camp Treetops were bust-out times for a live-wire, only child from New York City. His exposure to a daily outdoor life with hordes of companions, music, square dances, freezing mountain brooks and rocky peaks inspired ten of his children, grandchildren and cousins to follow him to Treetops.

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In Memoriam Deborah “Debby” Anne Blodget Tait DEBORAH “DEBBY” ANNE BLODGET TAIT, 84, of Montpelier, Vermont (formerly of Norfolk, Connecticut) died at home on February 8, 2019 surrounded by her family. She was born in New York City on April 10, 1934 to Barbara Barnes and Donald McKelvey Blodget. Debby attended Treetops as a camper in the fifties and enthusiastically embraced the Treetops way of life and all the activities offered, from horseback riding and crafts to trips and canoeing. In fact, by the time her last year rolled around, Helen Haskell suggested to her parents that since she had done all there was to do at Treetops, they might consider other options the next summer!

Debby attended the George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1952, and earned an A.B. in Art History from Smith College in 1956.

While at Smith, she returned to Treetops as a riding counselor, and met hiking counselor and her future husband, Colin Tait. She and Colin were married in 1956 and settled in Connecticut where they started to raise a family. Over the more than sixty years that followed, Debby’s love of art, craft, and education propelled her in many directions, not the least of which was being a counselor, department head, leader and mentor at Treetops. She received a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Hartford in 1980.

She taught art and art history to students of all ages in public elementary and high schools in Connecticut and at the Northwest Connecticut Community College.

She started an antique restoring business, and was an active member of senior centers in both Connecticut and Vermont, where she offered classes and lectures in art, crafts, and art history.

Debby’s life and her creative energy touched the lives of her family, friends, campers, colleagues, and many students.

She was a consummate teacher and generously shared her skills and knowledge of weaving, sewing, quilting, knitting, draw-

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ing, painting, and other crafts with care and kindness.

She loved sports and the outdoors and had an active life of tennis, canoeing, hiking, and yoga.

In addition to her husband Colin, Debby is survived by her brothers Donald Blodget, Jr., and Henry Blodget, her sister Katharine Blodget Fisher, her sons (and daughters-in-law) Rollinson Tait (Dorothy Higgin), Alexander Tait (Suzanne Borenzweig), and Trevor Tait (Jill Pralle), and her son-in-law John McNally. Her daughter Katharine Tait McNally pre-deceased her.

She is also survived by her six grandchildren: George, William, Bella, Emma, Nicholas, and Avery.

There will be a celebration of Debby’s life at Treetops on the Friday of Friends Weekend 2019, August 23rd at 2p.m.

NEWS & NOTES IN MEMORIAM Douglas Stuart Hart 1951–2018 Doug Hart (NCS staff 72 –73) passed away on September 18, 2018. He worked at NCS in the capacity of barn manager and French teacher. His knowledge of horses and farm animals came from his work on cattle ranches in the west.

His knack for foreign languages came from his extensive travels in Austria and France. He lived in Montana and Wyoming most of his life, selling real estate with Hall and Hall Realty in Billings, Montana. He was the father of two boys and will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege to know him.

92–16, Trustee 77, Trustee Emeritus) went to North Country School together 78 years ago. Both went on to George School where they were roommates, but they hadn't seen each other since their George School days in 1943. In the first week of May, Sumner and his wife, Fran, were in New York City for a meeting regarding North Country School. Sumner gave Andy a call to meet, and, subsequently, the two friends got together Saturday, May 4th at Andy's apartment. Attached is a photo of the 92 year old schoolmates.”

1962 Frank Johnson Frank looks forward to enjoying retirement in the future.

1965 Peter Thacher “After over forty years, my wife Sarah and I will be retiring in mid-2019 from Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia where I have been planning large projects and recently leading a team to pilot the use of super-critical CO2 for heat recovery and power generation.”

Andy Namm and Sumner Parker

NCS ALUMNI/AE 1942 Anne Namm writes, “My husband, Andrew (Andy) Namm (NCS 42), and Sumner Parker (CTT 37–40, NCS 41, CTT parent 73–79, NCS parent 77–82, CTT grandparent

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1966 Nicholas Flanders Nick is not yet fully retired, but he still finds time to ski, fish, and take photographs. These were among his favorite activities at NCS. 1967 Deirdre Farley Deirdre recently moved to Westport, NY and loves being back in the area. She enjoyed a March visit to campus and reminiscing about her time at NCS.

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Jonathan, Tanya, and baby Ayana on a stroll at Red Rock Crossing in Sedona, Arizona.

2001 Tanya (Welsh) Diallo Koshar “I’ve been living in Sedona, Arizona for the last year and a half with my husband. We had a baby girl in March. Prior to moving to Arizona, I was living in New York City and worked for a non-profit organization that focuses on women’s education in East Africa. I am currently busy taking care of our seven-week old baby and hope to get back into the non-profit international field when the time is right.”

Maria (Calderon) Ayau White “I am married to Collin White, an entrepreneur and avid polo player in Napa Valley, and have a son, Leonard, who is 16-months old.

I recently got licensed and started my business as a landscape architect, focusing mostly on small residential projects. As for hobbies, I have many: my sport right now is Jazzercise (I am working on instructor certification), biking,

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my family’s winery, Kenefick Ranch Vineyard and Winery, in Calistoga.

I’m now in charge of all sales and marketing for our wines across the US. Additionally, we just got approved to build our own winery and tasting room on our property, so we’re all excited for that to open in the next few years.”

Maria and Collin White’s son Leo's first birthday in Guatemala City

running, and I always keep singing, playing music, and taking art classes. I also run the worship program at a small historical church in Yountville, CA. A couple years ago Collin and I got married and we celebrated our very colorful wedding in Guatemala. It was so wonderful to have a couple of NCS friends come down to our wedding and show that our connection has not been broken after so many years. Of course, our

Chris Kenefick

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large Ayau Family from Guatemala also came to the celebration, and as you know, we make up the majority of the NCS alumni in Guatemala!"

2002 Chris Kenefick “I have been doing well. I was working at the Four Seasons hotel in Denver and San Francisco for about six years before leaving the company three years ago to help at

2018 Lander Oplinger Members of NCS Class of 2018 enjoyed a mini-reunion in April in Brattleboro, Vermont, where they spent the majority of the time reminiscing about North Country School.

NCS FACULTY Dion and Evelyn Cook NCS faculty 13–16 “We express our deepest gratitude to the universe for connecting us to good, loving people all around this world. Renton, WA is now our home, which feels especially great now that the sun is shining. D and I are always learning; D completed his master’s, I'm working on

Members of the NCS Class of 2018. (Left to right) J.W. Braugher, Peam Chongtaveetham, Isaac Mobolaji, Romina de la Vega Guadarrama, Ned Dana, Colin Purdy, Jack Pizer-Lippitz, and Lander Oplinger

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Doris Oppenheimer CTT 69 “It was great to catch up with Bill Localio (CTT 55–59, staff 64–19, parent 94–98, trustee 85–91) in Rye, NY. I remain busy with eldercare enabling my 91 year old dad to live in his own home: it is a challenging trek, a bit like a hike!”

Evelyn and Dion Cook

mine, and we transitioned out of private schools and into the world of educational consulting.

D started another business to promote entrepreneurship within the African-American community, we became first-time homeowners, D's mom moved in with us, and we had our hearts broken by the foster care system. We are now seriously considering whether or not becoming parents is in the cards for us. Next month we celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary with love and hope in our hearts.”

CTT FRIENDS Pierre deVegh CTT 44–49 Camp Treetops taught him how to swim and how to ride, two lifelong skills that have stayed with him and for which he is grateful.

Gwendolen Feher CTT 70–72 Last fall, Gwen enjoyed meeting Joan Davidson (CTT 38, staff 46, parent 62–72, grandparent 98–04, NCS staff 51–52, trustee 73–80) in her lovely Hudson Valley home.

Joan's home was part of a house tour and the tour gave Gwen the chance to catch up on Camp news and hear about Joan’s sons who attended CTT when she did.

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Hannabiell Sanders CTT staff 04–12 Hannabiell plays the bass trombone, African and Latin percussion, and Mbira as one half of Ladies of Midnight Blue. With Yilis del Carmen Suriel, this Afro-Latin percussion and brass duet has performed all over the world, and for the last ten years they have been workshop facilitators and guest artists for various projects and residencies. Their art and music workshops focus on community building and raising awareness about inequality. Hannabiell is an African American Jamaican, originally from New Jersey, currently living in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. She received a PhD in Music Performance and a Masters in Music from Newcastle University, and BFA in Music Education from Mason Gross School for the Art, Rutgers University.

Marilyn J. Taylor CTT parent 90–95 Marilyn writes that her children, Brainerd (CTT 90–93) and Alexis (CTT 91–95) gained self-confidence and a love of the land that comes from being at Treetops, which is still evident in their lives.

Stuart Topper CTT parent 87–89 Stuart writes that his son Matthew (CTT 87–92) is working full time on disaster relief with the organization Eight Days of Hope.

They have been doing nation-wide hurricane relief since Katrina.

Matt is one of the leaders initiating a new program in Houston, Texas where continued relief is still necessary.

Dick and Sara Wilde CTT staff 60–82 Dick and Sara have decided to move to a retirement community with continuing care after nearly 50 years of living in the same home. Their new community is three miles from their home, and they will still use their car and be mobile. They write, “We are very happy here with about 300 fellow residents. All of the residents we have met are kind, gracious, and friendly. This is also true of members of the staff who serve meals, run the office, check our security, etc. The meals are delicious, and the buildings are spotlessly clean. We have a small gym, auditorium, library, beauty salon, arts and crafts room, a wood shop, and pool table. There are many daily activities and optional trips, and we think it is the ideal place for us.”

Organic Roots welcomes News and

Hannabiell Sanders (left) of Ladies of Midnight Blue

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Notes submissions year-round. Please email cborden@ncstreetops.org

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Camp Treetops North Country School RockE House & Basecamp 4382 Cascade Road, Lake Placid, NY 12946