Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2019

Spring 2019 VOLUME 81 |

NO. 2

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2019

The Old Man and The Old Moon, Norris Ely Orchard Theater, February 2019 Photo: Anna Vdovenko

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ON THE COVER: Senior lacrosse player Gus Mazzocca. Photo: Tom Honan

Sophomore Thierno Diallo tries a different form of transportation in Morocco during a March Break trip organized by the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies.

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Contents Spr i ng 2 0 1 9

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Volum e 81

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N o. 2 EDITORIAL & DESIGN TEAM

F E AT U R E S

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Lynn A. Petrillo ’86 Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing

Dear Mom, Pop & Fred

Becky Purdy Managing Editor

Letters that Jose A. Mayoral Jr. ’47 wrote home to his family while he was a student at Loomis offer a slice of life at the school in the 1940s.

Jessica Hutchinson Graphic Designer

Melissa Rion Class Notes Editor

Sports Fans’ FAQs

Christine Coyle Obituaries Editor

For curious — or puzzled — spectators, we offer a guide to some of the less understood aspects of sports that Loomis Chaffee teams play.

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Alumni Authors

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Faculty Desks

CONTRIBUTORS

Christine Coyle Melissa Rion Deidre Swords Mary Coleman Forrester Juan E. Mayoral John Cunningham Lisa Salinetti Ross Heidi E.V. McCann ’93 Paige Abrams Karen Parsons

Two alumni authors met with student writers this winter to discuss their craft. Our annual listing of new publications by alumni accompanies the story.

Every object on the desk of English teacher Jeffrey Scanlon ’79 tells a story.

SUBMISSIONS/STORIES & NEWS

Alumni may contribute items of interest to: Loomis Chaffee Editors The Loomis Chaffee School 4 Batchelder Road Windsor, CT 06095 860.687.6811 magazine@loomis.org

facebook-square facebook.com/loomischaffee twitter-square twitter.com/loomischaffee instagram instagram.com/loomischaffee

D E PA R T M E N T S

4 From the Head 5 Island News 22 Faculty & Staff News 23 Pelican Sports 46 Object Lesson 48 Class Notes 54 LC Gatherings 56 Obituaries 64 Reflections

WEB EXTRAS

Look for this notation throughout the magazine for links to online extras, from podcasts and videos to photo galleries and expanded news coverage.

Visit Loomis Chaffee online at www.loomischaffee.org for the latest school news, sports scores, and galleries of recent photos. You also will find direct links to all of our social networking communities.

For an online version of the magazine, go to www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

Printed at Lane Press, Burlington, VT Printed on 70# Sterling Matte, an SFI Sheet, Sustainable Forestry Initiative

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Fr om t he Head

Issues of Culture, Content, Access

As a school, we are justifiably proud of the ways in which our student body reflects the richness of the world around us and, indeed, the world in which they will live out their adult lives.

The students who enroll at Loomis Chaffee rightly expect that they will receive a world-class education that will provide them with the relevant skills, knowledge, and values to thrive and prosper. Our Founders wanted the school to be a place where students would learn the skills to enable them to lead “a richer and grander life,” meaning, I think, a life of usefulness and good citizenship.

We ask our students to be their best selves and to serve the common good. We build character so that our future graduates will participate in their communities, understanding not only their civic duties—what Nathaniel Batchelder called the “arts and duties of citizenship”—but also behaving as persons with whom to be reckoned. In today’s world, good citizenship encompasses not only an ability to live and work alongside others from different cultural backgrounds but also a level of cultural competence.

Like most schools and organizations today, Loomis Chaffee puts a strong emphasis on diversity. In our case, this commitment to accessibility and to diversity dates back to our Founders, who wanted the school to enroll students from across the economic spectrum and from around the world, from different religious faiths, and with different political outlooks. Today, we remain as committed as ever to their intent and purposely admit a diverse and multitalented group of students. One third of our students are on financial aid, one quarter are U.S. students of color, and one-sixth are international students. Our students represent over 40 different countries—an extraordinary statistic when you think about it.

And they do indeed come with a wide range of perspectives.

The advantages of such diversity are clear. People from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, from different religions, from different countries, and from different socioeconomic circumstances often also have different perspectives, experiences, histories, politics, and assumptions. The friction that results when these perspectives confront one another both in and outside of the classroom, more often than not, leads to new insights and understandings, fresh perspectives, and a greater appreciation for cultural diversity. The process of working out these disagreements is the very essence of education; such discussions allow us to grow as individuals, to test our assumptions, and to cement our values.

Nathaniel Batchelder insisted that he never wanted it to be possible to identify a young person as a Loomis student by the way he dressed or carried himself or his opinions. Just so!

As a school, we are justifiably proud of the ways in which our student body reflects the richness of the world around us and, indeed, the world in which they will live out their adult lives. It is not enough, however, to simply enroll a diverse community of students. To fully meet our obligation to educate students to be engaged citizens ready and able to contribute meaningfully to their communities, we also need to look at who is teaching them and what we are teaching both in the classroom and beyond. This is a conversation in which our faculty is very much engaged as they seek to best serve all of our students. Recently, we have Continued on page 12

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Loomis Chaffee Trustee and television director and producer Jamie Widdoes ’72

Photo: Defining Studios

during an event on campus last year

Jamie Widdoes ’72 to Speak at Commencement 2019 Continued next page

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elevision director and producer James L. Widdoes ’72 will deliver this year’s Commencement address at Loomis Chaffee on May 26. One of today’s top directors in television comedy, Jamie is the series director of the acclaimed CBS series Mom, which is heading into its seventh season. To date, his resume includes directing credits on 74 television series and TV movies, including multiple episodes of the CBS hit sitcom Two and a Half Men; the Fox series ’Til Death; TBS’s sitcom The Bill Engvall Show; and ABC’s 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.

Jamie was a four–year student at Loomis from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His activities included playing on the soccer, lacrosse, and tennis teams and performing in Norris Ely Orchard Theater productions. After graduation, Jamie studied for a year at Skidmore College before heading to New York University, where he honed his acting skills in the bachelor of fine arts program.

Jamie started his career as an actor and is well-known for his early role as fraternity president Robert Hoover in the 1978 film National

Lampoon’s Animal House, one of the most popular comedy films of all time. He went on to act in other films and on numerous TV series, including starring in the first season of the popular CBS comedy Charles in Charge. He received the Theater World Award for his performance in Is There Life After High School on Broadway in 1982.

After a shift to directing, Jamie teamed up from 1993 to 2000 with former network and studio executive Jonathan Axelrod to form Axelrod/Widdoes Productions, where the two developed and executive produced Dave’s World for CBS, Brother’s Keeper for ABC, and Can’t Hurry Love for CBS. Jamie has remained connected to Loomis Chaffee as a member of reunion committees, as host of alumni and admission receptions in Los Angeles, and as a member of the Board of Trustees since 2004. He serves as a vice chairman of the Board.

It is not unusual to see Jamie joining in student activities when he is on campus for Trustee events, and he has contributed his lighthearted charm to video appeals for gifts to the

Jamie Widdoes ’72. Photo: Jessica Hutchinson

Annual Fund and other school campaigns. He says he looks forward to celebrating this year’s graduating class.

Discussions, Tributes, and a Look at Food Equity Highlight MLK Week Continuing a tradition begun in the 1970s, Loomis Chaffee honored the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a week-long series of campus events in January.

MLK Week 2019 kicked off on January 19 with “Sugar Highs, Racial Lows,” an all-school convocation address by Wesleyan University professor Anthony Ryan Hatch, author of Blood Sugar: Racial Pharmacology and Food Justice in Black America.

“Equitable access to healthy, nutritious food for all people was ... a centerpiece of Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign,” noted Mr. Hatch.

But, he said, decades after Dr. King’s proposed equitable policies, racism and racial injustice remain.

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These injustices include the ill effects of poor nutrition on black people, an issue Mr. Hatch studies. Due to a pattern of institutionalized racism around the consumption of and commercial hyper-production of sugar, and a lack of access to healthy food, he said, African Americans suffer from the bad health effects of sugar and unhealthy diets at an alarming rate that is on the increase.

Mr. Hatch pointed to a history of global sugar production beginning in the 16th century, when sugar began to be seen as a luxury for white Europeans. That production grew exponentially from a colonial industry in the late 1890s to extensive global production by the 1960s.

The worldwide increase in sugar production surpassed population growth, creating a “sugar high,” according to Mr. Hatch, which resulted in an accompanying “racial low,” in the form of

the enslaved black people who were the main labor source for the industry.

Today, Mr. Hatch said, we should think about food in terms of environmental racism and food justice. The glut of sugar production has led to the creation of “food landfills,” which he described as food ecologies developed to create a consumer market in which to dump vast quantities of excess sugar.

“Black bodies have become biological landfills for all the added sugar,” Mr. Hatch said. He cited studies that show that black people are least likely of the populations studied to stay within the dietary limitations for added sugar and have seen a disproportionate increase of Type II diabetes and other ill health effects that result from a diet high in added sugar. Companies that produce sugar-laden food and beverages spend heavily on advertising targeted specifically at

To watch a video of highlights from the community assembly and browse a gallery of photos from MLK Week, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

ABOVE: Junior Oumi Sowe performs a spoken-word poem that she wrote. ABOVE RIGHT: Wesleyan University professor Anthony Ryan Hatch addresses the school at convocation. FAR RIGHT: Sophomore Tre Fowlkes shares his spoken-word poem. BELOW: Company Dance students perform a dance choreographed for MLK Week.

young, black consumers, he said.

As a sociology professor and an author, Mr. Hatch continually asks why black people in America have such high rates of disease, and he questions “the role science plays in shaping the ideas about what constitutes health and racial equality,” he said. Teaching in Wesleyan’s Science & Society interdisciplinary study program, Mr. Hatch looks at how people work together in social groups to produce science, medicine, and technology and how those

disciplines pattern, shape, and condition the world in which we live. In his book he analyzes how scientists use ideas about racism and ethnicity to study, predict, and treat heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

Following the convocation, discussion continued across campus with students and faculty in workshops addressing several topics related to social justice and food insecurity. The workshops included: “King Beyond Non-Violent Protest,” led by history teachers Elliott Dial and

Harrison Shure; “Deadly Delights: The Science of Sugar,” led by science teachers Neil Chaudhary ’05 and Erica Gerace; “Are You SPENT? Income, Poverty, and You,” led by economics teachers Mat DeNunzio and Elizabeth Leyden; “Freedom 2019,” a discussion of Coretta Scott King’s visit to Loomis Chaffee in 1974, led by history teachers Reem Aweida-Parsons and Karen Parsons; and “Feeding the Hungry: Practical Challenges,” a service learning activity, led by faculty members Lilian Castillo de Hutchinson, Eric LaForest, and Fred Seebeck.

MLK Week continued on January 21 with a community assembly in honor of Dr. King featuring student performances of music, dance, spoken word poetry, and a dramatic monologue.

The student leaders of PRISM (People Rising In Support of Multiculturalism) emceed the event.

A panel discussion of “Race as a Social Construct” took place on the evening of January 22. Moderated by sophomore Thierno Diallo, the panel of 10 students and one faculty member from a range of nationalities, cultures, and backgrounds shared their perspectives on what defines one’s identity, the universal experience of “otherness,” and the experience of being a person of color at Loomis and in other communities.

PRISM held an open meeting and a dinner for all attendees on January 24. And on Friday, January 25, a slate of talented students and local artists performed at a poetry and spoken word event in the Scanlan Campus Center.

MLK Week was coordinated by the school’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion.

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Leon Chameides speaks with students in Founders Chapel. Photo: Jessica Hutchinson

Holocaust Survivor Speaks at Convocation Leon Chameides said it was a miracle that he stood before the school community gathered in December to hear him speak. Not many children born in the mid-1930s in Poland to a Jewish family, as he was, survived into adulthood. Yet there he stood in the Olcott Center preparing to share his story of tragedy, courage, evil, altruism, and the endurance of the human spirit.

An accomplished physician, professor of medicine, and author, Dr. Chameides did not speak publicly about his past and his survival of the Holocaust until recently. But as he advanced in age and the number of Holocaust survivors still living dwindled, he said it was his obligation to bear witness for future generations.

Dr. Chameides opened his talk with a quote from the author William Faulkner, who once wrote: “The past is not dead — it isn’t even past.” The past is not only alive, remarked Dr. Chameides, but with recent eruptions of hate speech and hate-fueled violence around the world against Jews and other groups of people, “it sometimes feels as though this is where I came in.”

Born in 1935, Dr. Chameides was a young child just before the outbreak of World War II when his family left their home in Katowice, on the Southwest border of Germany and Poland, and migrated east to the city of Lwów (now in

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Ukraine and called Lviv) to be near family. He projected photographs of his home and family — his German-born mother, his father, his older brother, and a beloved nanny — taken in Katowice, where his father was a respected rabbi and his family enjoyed a comfortable existence.

Lviv was occupied by Russian troops from 1939 to 1941, and Dr. Chameides’s family faced hardships as everyone did, but they did not yet experience persecution for being Jewish, he said.

That changed when Hitler’s troops invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, which led to the pogroms — chaos, and extreme violence against Jews — beginning in July 1941. Jews, especially children and the aged, who were of no value for work, were subjected to unspeakable acts of violence, he said. By 1942, 50,000 Jewish people had been massacred. Fearing no Jews would survive the violence, Dr. Chameides’s father appealed to the archbishop of St. George’s Greek Catholic Church in Lviv seeking protection of sacred Torah scrolls from area synagogues and protection of his children.

The penalty for hiding Jews at that time was immediate death, and Dr. Chameides acknowledged the great personal risk accepted by the archbishop and other church members who hid him; his older brother, Herbert; and a handful of others under the cover of the church.

Dr. Chameides was 7 and his brother was 9

when they were sent to separate monasteries and given new, Christian identities. Young Leon was sent to a monastery orphanage in Univ, about 50 kilometers from Lviv. He was given a Ukrainian name, had to learn Ukrainian and the rudiments of the Christian religion, helped work the land for the church, and was warned never to reveal his true identity. He recalled being fearful and confused about his identity, and pointed to the irony of praying to Jesus and Mary to prevent him from accidentally revealing that he was a Jew. When the Russians liberated the area from Germany in 1944, battles were fought in the wooded area around Univ, and at age 9, Dr. Chameides helped at a hospital for the wounded — removing bandages from dead people in the forest and washing them for re-use in the clinic. When the Russians later turned against the monastery, Dr. Chameides fled Univ and returned to Lviv, where he eventually reunited with his brother, and the two learned that their father and mother had perished. The systematic murder of Jews had reduced Lviv’s Jewish population from around 119,000 to 150,000 in 1941 to 823 in July of 1944 — no children among them.

In 1946, the two boys migrated to England, where their maternal grandparents had been able to escape. And in 1949, Dr. Chameides

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immigrated to the United States, where he completed his high school and college degrees and lives with his family today.

“I am very fortunate,” Dr. Chameides said, acknowledging the courage of his parents and of the members of the Greek Catholic Church who “responded to the question, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ in the affirmative.”

Dr. Chameides, who earned a medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, moved to Hartford in 1967.

He was founding chair of pediatric cardiology at Hartford Hospital and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center for 30 years and was a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He has written two books, Strangers in Many Lands, published in 2012, and On the Edge of the Abyss, published in 2013. The second book is based on sermons written by his father, Rabbi Kalman Chameides, for his religious community in the days leading up to the Holocaust.

During his visit to Loomis Chaffee, organized by the Norton Family Center for the Common Good, Dr. Chameides met with history students and had lunch with faculty and student leaders from the Jewish Student Union and the Biomedical Research Club.

Dr. Chameides’s convocation preceded a school-wide dialogue about upholding Loomis Chaffee’s core values of respect, empathy, humility, and kindness.

“We are a community of shared values,” Head of School Sheila Culbert said in her remarks after Dr. Chameides’s talk. These values are not associated with any one religion, she said, but rather are basic human values.

Kindness in particular, she said, needs daily practice so that it becomes second nature. “So if and when you are called upon to help others, you will know what to do and when to do it,” she said.

Communities of learning have an obligation to “present and make welcome a multitude of tongues,” Sheila said. She also delineated the difference between free speech and hate speech. Certain words and symbols have the power to hurt and make others feel anxious and unwelcome, Sheila said, and must not be used or tolerated.

After the convocation, students met in small groups with their advisors to continue the discussion.

Alumni of Color Panel Four alumni of color from the Class of 2017 returned to campus in January to speak to current students of color about their college experiences, from academics to social life and from dorm choices to scholarship opportunities.

Twenty current students from all class years attended the panel discussion in the Nee Room and listened intently to the advice and anecdotes from the recent graduates.

The sixth annual event, sponsored by the Pelican Support Network, gives students a chance to “chat, ask questions, and hear from alumni who have been in your shoes,” Dean of Students Patricia Sasser explained to the gathering before the panelists introduced themselves.

The panelists were Kiayana Downer ’17, a sophomore at Stony Brook University; Shanelle Jones ’17, a sophomore at UConn; Ramal Rauf ’17, a sophomore at Tulane University; and Sydney Steward ’17, a sophomore at University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

Prompted by Patricia, the panelists talked about being students of color in predominantly white institutions. Although this experience was not new for these alumni, they said there are differences — some positive, some negative — between being a student of color at Loomis and being a person of color in the larger community of a college or university. Despite sometimes feeling isolated, they offered reassurance to their listeners that they made friends and built connections at their new schools.

And on any number of issues, they said, the critical thinking and discourse skills that they developed at Loomis have proven valuable in standing up for themselves and sharing their views. Ramal used to be shy, she said, but at Loomis she learned to share her opinions and advocate for herself, skills she uses in college.

“Loomis really taught me to have the confidence and to speak up and not worry about what other people think of me” when she hears someone say something she disagrees with, Ramal said.

The panelists also offered general advice

Kiayana Downer ’17, Shanelle Jones ’17, Ramal Rauf ’17, and Sydney Steward ’17. Photo: Becky Purdy

for managing the transition to college. Among their messages: Block out time for school work. With a more flexible and open schedule than in high school, college life can mislead you into thinking you’ll easily find time to keep up with reading, papers, and other assignments. Schedule homework time so you don’t let it slide.

Advocate for yourself. If you need help, ask for it. Attend professors’ office hours if you have questions about an assignment. Seek the help of your dorm resident assistant if you are struggling with a roommate issue. Research housing options, financial aid policies, and course credit requirements so that you know what you want and how to ask for it.

Take care of yourself. College can be overwhelming at times; don’t be afraid to ask for help. Make decisions that you are comfortable with. Recognize toxic relationships and avoid them. Do what you know is right.

Trust your preparation but don’t expect college to be easy. Panelists said they felt well prepared academically for college, particularly with their writing and time-management skills, but they still needed to adjust to different ways of studying, the larger size of some lecture classes, and the academic expectations of college.

Respect your roommate(s) and vice versa.

Communicate with your roommate about any issues that arise, even if they seem small, and remember to consider their needs as well. And don’t let problems fester if you can’t resolve them between you. “Your room is your sanctuary,” Kiyiana said. “Your room is supposed to be your happy place. If someone is poisoning your happy place, you need to tell someone.”

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Photos by ANNA VDOVENKO

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The Old Man and The Old Moon spun a tale of moonlight for sold-out audiences in the NEO.

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he musical The Old Man and The Old Moon provided a whimsical escape for audiences in its four-show run in the Norris Ely Orchard Theater in February.

Visually and musically captivating, the show featured an 18-member ensemble cast, each of whom was a storyteller, in keeping with the show’s original concept, according to director David McCamish. Actors switched roles several times during each show by swapping hats or other accessories that denoted each character. By rotating roles, each individual actor’s perspective enhanced the portrayal of the characters over the course of the show’s one 90-minute act.

The musical tells a fable of The Old Man, who is resistant to change. He dutifully collects light to keep a leaky moon shining as his wife, The Old Woman, tired of their routine and longing for a more romantic past, is drawn away by a nostalgic tune carried on the wind. Casting aside his obligation, The Old Man sets out on a pilgrimage to find The Old Woman. On his journey, he encounters sea-faring strangers, epic

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Life

storms, angry ghosts, and other denizens of the deep. And in his pursuit of his love, The Old Man tempers his desire to maintain the status quo in a compromise that serves as an explanation for the phases of the moon.

The NEO stage took on an ethereal quality with a stagescape that appeared to be lit by twinkling starlight and a glowing moon. Theatrical devices, including shadow puppetry, sound and lighting effects, and imaginative props, added to the experience of the live performance, as did a unique indie-folk music score played by musicians who were integrated into the stage action and choreography inspired by folk dances.

The musicians, including both students and guest professionals on guitar, banjo, accordion, violin, piano, and double bass, were led by Melanie Guerin, who also taught herself to play the accordion for the show, her first NEO production as music director for Loomis Chaffee.

The student actors, musicians, production team, and technicians worked alongside professional theatrical production professionals and

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Loomis faculty in developing and presenting the show.

And the original graphics for print and digital media promotions were designed by students in Christian Ryan’s extracurricular graphic design class.

The book, music, and lyrics of The Old Man and The Old Moon are by PigPen Theatre Co. and only recently became available for amateur and professional performances. PigPen Theatre Co. began creating its unique brand of theater, music, and film when its founders were freshmen at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 2007. The company has since charmed audiences across the country and earned critics’ accolades.

The Loomis Chaffee Parents Association hosted a pre-show reception and luncheon before the Saturday, February 16, matinee performance. Thanks to the planning expertise and creative vision of LCPA Theater Luncheon chairs Diane Scanlon and Silvia Mayo Molina, along with committee members Helen Xiong and Jeff Kulas, the event featured a “Meet the Cast” reception with themed decorations and musical entertainment by parent Andy Mayo ’86. Attendees then enjoyed by a luncheon on the second floor of Katharine Brush Library before taking their seats in the NEO for the show’s final performance.

1 The Old Woman (senior Becca Mucheru) and The Old Man (sophomore John Howley) share a tender moment.

2 The young sailor Llewellyn (sophomore Tom Zhang) tells a tale.

3 Boatswain/Old Man/Lucy the Dog (junior Steele Citrone)

4 The Captain (junior Makayla McPherson) rallies the sailors.

5 Shadow puppets helped to tell the story.

6 Llewellyn (sophomore Olivia Zoga) and The Old Man (senior Dzhangir Bayandarov) envision the city at the end of the world.

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To view more photographs from The Old Man and The Old Moon and to see the show’s Playbill, including cast and crew bios, visit www.loomischaffee.org/ magazine.

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Issues of Culture, Content, Access | Continued from page 4 spent considerable time working as a whole faculty, as well as in departmental and smaller groups, debating how to do this better, sharing best practices, and honing our ability to have difficult conversations. Leading and encouraging civil discourse takes skill and practice, and discussions about race can be particularly challenging.

Our teaching faculty does not reflect the diversity of either the student body or the U.S. population. We are significantly underrepresented when it comes to hiring teachers who are African American, Latinx, Asian American, or mixed race.

Whereas 27 percent of our students self-identify as belonging to these categories with another 10 percent identifying as Asian international, only 14 percent of our faculty do so. Yet there exists a wealth of research that suggests that students learn best when they see faculty like themselves in the classroom. Girls do better in mathematics and science and are more likely to persist in a subject when women are among their teachers, and similarly African American and Latinx students do better when their teachers include people of color. In a 2016 report, The Brookings Institute found that faculty of color provide positive role models for students, can make deeper interpersonal connections with students and thus enhance their learning, and often have higher expectations of students of color, which in turn lead to better outcomes.

The issue of what we teach is equally important and, as you can imagine, is fraught with complications especially when it comes to our English and history curriculums. The texts and program used until now have worked well. Indeed, many alumni have told me how much they enjoyed reading the classics in English; that they learned to write at Loomis; that they loved taking U.S. History and economics, that the history research paper gave them valuable experience in writing and researching. Our students receive a healthy dose of Shakespeare and other classics of the traditional canon, including The Odyssey, The Scarlet Letter, and The Great Gatsby. We will continue to ensure that our students have a strong grounding in the Western canon and U.S. history, but we also need to challenge the assumptions regarding who is in the canon and what is meant by good writing.

While we have made important strides in diversifying the writers that we include in our English curriculum and while we have expanded our offerings in history, religion, and philosophy, we can do still more. Fortunately, there is a wealth of great literature, written in English, from around the world and from multiple different voices that will continue to inspire the best in our students.

We are also looking at who has access to our highest-level courses. At the moment, we tend to see more girls in upper level English classes and more boys in upper level mathematics and science courses, reflecting national trends. Moreover, African American and Latinx students are underrepresented in all upper level courses, no matter the subject area. For sure, some of these students, although certainly not all, tend to arrive at the school with less preparation. Advanced level classes tend not to be as diverse as we would want them to be. We need to work harder here to ensure that once a student is enrolled, we do everything in our power to help them succeed within a challenging academic program.

As we seek to be a still more inclusive school, we need to look beyond simply the composition of our community to consider issues of culture, content, and access. These are important conversations, and they are often complicated, and many proposed solutions require difficult trade-offs. We are fortunate, however, to have a faculty that is not only ready and willing to think creatively, but that has the will and the commitment to be at the forefront of developing the best possible curriculum to prepare our students to live in an increasingly interrelated, complex, and culturally diverse world.

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Philanthropy Day Breaks Record On Philanthropy Day 2019, students and faculty gathered in the Scanlan Campus Center to write thank you notes to donors while generous gifts and pledges to the Annual Fund arrived in record numbers from alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, family, and friends.

During the one-day event on February 28, gifts totaling $549,431 were pledged to the school by 1,178 donors — representing the highest one-day total for Annual Fund dollars ever raised by the school community and exceeding the Philanthropy Day Challenge goal of 1,000 gifts in 24 hours. By meeting the challenge, the effort also secured a $100,000 gift to the endowment for financial aid from Mark ’74 and Jill ’75 Goldstein.

In a letter to all of the donors, Head of School Sheila Culbert remarked, “I am continually inspired by all of you and by how much you value this tremendous school. Thank you for your support and for making this year’s Philanthropy Day such a record-breaking success.”

Through its commitment to the Annual Fund, members of the Loomis Chaffee community have an immediate and lasting impact on the school. Money raised goes directly into the operating budget, securing an exceptional learning experience for all students and supporting the faculty that continue to make Loomis Chaffee a remarkable place.

ABOVE: Seniors Laith Hijazi and Annabel Lyons write thank you notes in the Parton Room. Photo: Jessica Hutchinson

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The Meaning of Life? The Answer Is in the Question “What do we need in our lives in order for them to be meaningful?” Emily Esfahani Smith asked the audience assembled in Gilchrist auditorium to hear her speak on the evening of February 11.

Ms. Smith’s answer to this question is outlined in her critically acclaimed book, The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness.

According to Ms. Smith, meaningful lives revolve around “the four pillars” of meaning: belonging, purpose, transcendence, and storytelling. “Belonging,” she said “means you feel valued for who you are intrinsically. True belonging springs from a place of generosity and love.”

While people intuitively understand the first three pillars, Ms. Smith said, it is the last pillar — storytelling — about which Ms. Smith gets the most questions. “We are the authors of our own story,” she said. “It is the story of our lives that we choose to tell that can define whether we see our lives as meaningful or meaningless.”

Ms. Smith, a writer and journalist residing in Washington, D.C., was invited to Loomis Chaffee for the evening event and a convocation the following day organized around the school’s annual theme, Well-Being. Unfortunately, the convocation had to be canceled due to a weather-related snow closing, but Ms. Smith and the school are hoping to reschedule the address to the school.

The Power of Meaning, which was published in 2017 and has been translated into 26 languages, has been called “persuasive,” “elegant,” and valuable.” (The Wall Street Journal) and “an intelligent page-turner” (The Prospect). Her articles have appeared in The Atlantic, The New York times, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. Her TED talk, “There Is More to Life Than Being Happy,” has been viewed nearly seven million times since it was released in 2017.

Common Good Dialogue Addresses Affirmative Action in College Admissions

According to Ms. Smith, meaningful lives revolve around “the four pillars” of meaning: belonging, purpose, transcendence, and storytelling.

Affirmative action and the Harvard admissions trial were topics of an open discussion at a Dialogue in the Common Good in January.

More than two dozen students and faculty gathered in the Nee Room of Founders Hall to take part in the discussion, organized by students in the Multiracial Affinity Group and the Norton Family Center for the Common Good.

A panel of discussion leaders included three Loomis Chaffee faculty members who spoke about their areas of expertise to give context to the discussion: Amy Thompson, dean of enrollment; David Rion, director of college guidance; and Kevin Henderson, history teacher and lawyer. Students on the panel included juniors Isabelle and Natalie Halsey, who are co-presidents of the Multiracial Affinity Group; and seniors Carter Hutchinson and Jasper Shi, who are members of the Shultz Fellowship, a student-led, non-partisan political discussion club.

Isabelle introduced the panelists, and each made brief remarks before the conversation was opened to the wider audience.

A robust and respectful discussion ensued.

Several attendees shared their perspectives about affirmative action and why they believed race should or should not be used as a factor in college admissions.

In advance of the dialogue, links to news articles about the trial and the topic of affirmative action were shared in the Daily Bulletin so that participants could read about the issues before the forum. The dialogue served as a way to start the discussion, raising questions for further thought and conversation, and Eric LaForest, Keller Family Director of the Norton Family Center, encouraged those in attendance to continue the discussion after the event.

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Harvard Fellow: Understanding Iran’s Nuclear Calculus Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, spoke with students in Loomis Chaffee’s Global & Environmental Studies program in January about Iran’s nuclear program and the importance of understanding trends in Iran’s decision-making related to the nuclear program.

Ms. Nowrouzzadeh presented a concise history of the phases of Iran’s nuclear program from before the 1979 Iranian Revolution through the United States’s abandonment last year of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of

THE PELICAN SCOOP PODCAST

Writing at Loomis Chaffee In this episode, we hear pieces of writing from a variety of voices on campus, and Director of Writing Initiatives Sally Knight discusses the pieces and the importance of writing at Loomis Chaffee.

LISTEN IN AT: www.loomischaffee.com/podcast

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2019

Action (JCPOA) and re-imposition of sanctions on Iran.

Whether Iran will adhere to the inspections and strictly limited terms for such activities as uranium enrichment agreed upon in the JCPOA or return to a strategy of nuclear expansion and secretive advancements largely depends on Iran’s political will, according to Ms. Nowrouzzadeh.

“It’s not a question of Iran’s ability to make a nuclear bomb if they were to choose to do so — they have the technological know-how,” she said.

The JCPOA sanctions had a strong impact because there was buy-in from Russia, China, and other powerful nations, creating an effective international coalition, and because the United States demonstrated a genuine, credible commitment to exhaust diplomacy, among other reasons, Ms. Nowrouzzadeh said. The agreement was reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States — as well as Germany and the European Union.

“How the U.S. exit will impact Iran’s nuclear decision-making process is not certain,” Ms. Nowrouzzadeh acknowledged, “but Iran’s threat perceptions going forward will continue to play a critical role.” As of the date of her visit to Loomis, Iran had complied with the agreedupon terms and continued to receive some incentives from the rest of the coalition despite the exit of the United States from the agreement, she said. Iran may continue to comply for now as incentives and benefits from the other coalition countries remain. The Iranian presidential elections of 2021 could be a turning point, she noted, as current Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has invested much political capital in the deal, and with a change in leadership, Iran might return to a more hardline stance regarding its nuclear program.

Ms. Nowrouzzadeh was born in Connecticut to parents who immigrated to the United States from Iran in the early 1970s. She earned a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from George

Sahar Nowrouzzadeh speaks about Iran's nuclear program. Photo: Christine Coyle

Washington University and a master’s degree in Persian studies from the University of Maryland. With an affinity for public service, she has worked on Iran for the U.S. government across Republican and Democratic administrations in various capacities since 2005, including for the Department of Defense, Department of State, and National Security Council. Ms. Nowrouzzadeh said she loved learning languages, including Spanish, Persian, and Arabic, and she encouraged students with an interest in languages and global and international affairs to consider pursuing the many opportunities available within the U.S. government.

Ms. Nowrouzzadeh’s visit to campus was organized by Loomis’ Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies and was made possible through the Bussel Family International Lecture Fund.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the speaker and author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. government.

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First-Hand Stories of Hunger and Homelessness School Hosts Local Event Aimed at Fostering Understanding and Finding Solutions

Four local residents shared their personal experiences with homelessness and hunger during a community gathering on campus in February. Nearly 50 people, including students, faculty, members of the Windsor Hunger Action Team (HAT), and representatives from the Hands on Hartford’s Faces of Homelessness Speakers Bureau attended the event, hosted by Loomis Chaffee’s Norton Family Center for the Common Good and the Community Service Program. The event aimed to promote education, understanding, advocacy, and involvement in finding solutions to hunger and homelessness in our communities.

After dinner and introductions, Anne Goshdigian, co-coordinator of the speakers bureau, shared her personal journey.

When she was in her early 60s, after having provided for herself and her family for most of her adult life, she found herself unexpectedly homeless after job losses. The primary reason for homelessness is not addiction and mental illness, according to Ms. Goshdigian; it’s the lack of living-wage jobs and affordable housing.

While addiction and mental illness are certainly factors, she said, other reasons for homelessness include domestic violence, illness, physical injuries, medical expenses, and post-traumatic stress disorders from military service or other circumstances.

Very often, it is a combination of these factors. Single women with children, seniors on a fixed income, and LGBTQ teenagers are especially vulnerable, Ms. Goshdigian said.

“Hunger is unacceptable in a country as rich as ours, ... and the fact that 40 percent of homeless veterans are from the Vietnam era — making them in their 60s and 70s now — is a national disgrace,” she said.

Ms. Goshdigian introduced three local individuals who shared their own stories of experiencing homelessness.

Jacob, from a well-off family in Southington, described how his untreated depression and anxiety led to addiction problems.

The cycles of addiction, recovery, and relapse led to his living for several years in the woods and on the street. His long and arduous return to normalcy began when Jim Barrett, an officer of the Hartford Police and a homeless advocate, approached him as he was sleeping under a bridge and offered him food and

warm clothes. After establishing a relationship with Jacob, Officer Barrett helped him to seek treatment for his mental health issues, and Jacob said he continues to make progress and now lives in an apartment.

Andrea, an immigrant from Jamaica, is a mother of three children ages 13, 11, and 9, who became homeless due to a job loss and divorce. She had been homeless once previously, and she shared her frustration at the bureaucratic shuffle that has moved her and her children to various shelters and temporary residences.

Andrea spoke of the shame she felt in being unable to provide a secure home for her children — a shame so great that she doesn’t speak of it with her family. She also shared challenges she faced in trying to meet the needs of her children’s health issues, and in holding the family together without the emotional security of a warm, safe, reliable home.

Ralph, who was originally from South Windsor, shared that he enjoyed a happy childhood and didn’t have to work too hard to get good grades in school, but he didn’t have the motivation to work to his potential in middle and high school and didn’t pursue higher education. He began working in an auto body shop and later transitioned to other businesses within the auto repair industry, eventually owning his own successful auto repair businesses and employing several people. Ralph said he became addicted to pain medication after an auto accident and lost everything in pursuit of fueling his addiction. He eventually became a heroin user, was homeless for 10 years, and landed in jail for petty crimes. According to Ralph, prison saved him, and he found the motivation he’d never had as a young person to kick his addition and reclaim a life for himself — and for his daughter — with the help of Hands on Hartford and other community organizations.

A few credits away from earning his bachelor’s degree in human science from Goodwin College, Ralph told the crowd that he would like to pursue a law degree next in order to help others who have found themselves in situations like his own.

Ms. Goshdigian closed the evening’s presentation with an appeal for people not to “look away” when they see homeless people, but rather to look them in the eye and acknowledge them, because doing so affirms their humanity.

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Island Visitors

Loomis students worked with several visiting artists and musicians during the winter term.

GUEST MUSICIAN

VISITING ARTIST

New World Trio

Harriet Diamond

New World Trio conducted a masterclass with students in the Chamber Music program and presented a morning recital for the community in Hubbard Performance Hall on January 15. New World Trio is composed of founder and violinist Anhared Stowe, cellist Peter Zay, and pianist Pi-Hsun Shih — all Hartford-area musicians who are known for their extensive repertoire of classical and contemporary chamber music. Before the recital, Ms. Stowe and Mr. Zay coached string musicians, and Ms. Shih worked with piano students. The trio performed a selection from Tchaikovsky’s Trio in A minor, Op. 50 for the recital.

Installation and sculpture artist Harriet Diamond was a Visiting Artist in the Richmond Art Center for a week in January. While in residence, Ms. Diamond worked on her own installation sculpture project that considered the plight of refugees and the “story that unfolds in their journeys.” She welcomed visitors to observe and ask questions about her art, and she made a presentation to advanced art students about her work, inspiration, and career. Ms. Diamond, who lives in western Massachusetts, has enjoyed a long career as a professional artist and art educator.

The Visiting Artists program is made possible with support from the Adolf and Virginia Dehn Foundation.

The Guest Musicians’ visits to campus were made possible with support from the Stookins Guest Musician/Lecture Fund.

For more information about the Visiting Artists and Guest Musicians and links to their websites, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

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GUEST MUSICIAN

Sarah Asmar Sarah Asmar, vocalist, opera performer, and voice instructor at Loomis Chaffee, presented a recital in Founders Chapel on December 4. The recital, accompanied on the piano by Jonathan Reuning-Scherer, featured songs and arias based on literature. Sarah presented the recital in memory of her friend, musician and Loomis music teaching colleague Eric Dahlin, who passed away unexpectedly in October. Sarah has been cast in a number of leading roles with opera companies throughout the United States and has performed as a soprano soloist with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. She was a New England Regional Finalist in the 2008 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

VISITING ARTIST

Debbie Hesse

VISITING ARTIST

Dave Gloman Visiting Artist Dave Gloman spent a week in December in the Richmond Art Center, where he worked on projects in the printmaking studio and gave demonstrations to students in art teacher Mark Zunino’s drawing and printmaking classes. Inspired

by American landscape painters as well as French artists Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jean-Baptiste Poussin, and Paul Cézanne, the majority of Mr. Gloman’s work features landscapes that have been painted on-site and out-of-doors. As a change of pace, he also makes prints from copper etchings based on his landscape drawings. Mr. Gloman is a senior resident artist at Amherst College, where he has taught drawing and painting for more than 20 years.

In conjunction with an exhibition of her work in the Sue and Eugene Mercy Jr. Gallery, mixed media artist Debbie Hesse spent a week in February working in and among art students and faculty. During the opening reception for her exhibit, “Sway. Shift. Formation,” Ms. Hesse shared her inspiration and processes for creating her work. “Light is my medium,” she said. Ms. Hesse’s exhibited works, which she called “wall constructions,” combined organic and artificial materials that moved, cast shadows, changed form, and explored ideas about what she described as “growth, materiality and the ethereal.” Transparent materials and projected lights created landscapes and environments, and Ms. Hesse said her work is inspired by nature and natural processes, especially the ocean. An adjunct professor at Albertus Magnus College, Ms. Hesse has exhibited her art in New York, New Mexico, Connecticut, and South Korea and is on the boards of several arts organizations.

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Destination Learning Students and faculty embarked on international education adventures in Morocco and Cuba during March Break.

Hassan Tower, Rabat

G

roups of Loomis Chaffee students and faculty journeyed in Morocco and Cuba on March Break trips sponsored by the school’s Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies.

Fifteen students and two faculty members traveled to Morocco to explore the country’s demographic and geographic diversity, deepen their French and Arabic language learning, and consider the cultural influences of Islam and other faiths on the people and customs of the North African region.

Accompanied by language teachers Jackson Fleming and Ludmila Zamah, the travelers landed in Casablanca and were transported to the city of Rabat, where they participated in orientation and Arabic language learning activities. With local homestay families, the students took part in daily Moroccan family life, and the visitors engaged in a scavenger hunt and haggling lesson in the “medina,” the main shopping and gathering center of town, to learn proper etiquette and good negotiation skills for

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interacting with shopkeepers.

From Rabat, the Loomis cadre journeyed to Marrakech, where the group visited historic buildings, bustling markets, and other areas of interest accompanied by French-speaking local tour guides. The group then traveled through the High Atlas mountains to Ouarzazate, on the edge of the Sahara Desert, where they toured the Noor Power Station, the world’s largest solar power complex.

On a desert expedition, the group traveled via all-terrain vehicles, hiked across shifting desert sands, enjoyed camel rides, and witnessed a fantastic sunrise. In a highlight of the trip, the group set up camp in the desert, enjoying animated campfire singing and storytelling, and stargazing at the expansive Saharan night sky.

A visit to the Berber village of Imintanoute served as a capstone to the trip. The students enjoyed trying daily tasks in the village, including bread-making; preparing a Moroccan stew; conducting a ceremony of mint tea service; and fetching well water with the aid of a donkey.

Cuba was the destination for 14 other students and two teachers on a journey examining the island’s rich cultural heritage, urban and natural landscapes, and past and present relationships with the United States and the world.

Accompanied by language teachers Sebastiaan Blickman and Rachel Nisselson, the travelers arrived in Havana in time to catch a panoramic sunset at El Morro, the old fortress in the city’s harbor. During their visit, the group stayed in “casas particulars,” the Cuban version of bed-and-breakfasts, and explored with local tour guides, affording many opportunities to connect with Cuban residents. The travelers enjoyed Salsa dancing classes; Cuban cuisine; workshops in painting, ceramics, and collage taught by local artisans; and interactions in Spanish with people of all ages and backgrounds. The group also learned about the evolution of Cuba’s spiritual and religious cultures. And at almost every turn, the sounds and rhythms of Cuban music surrounded the Loomis travelers.

Isl and Ne w s The Morocco group

MOROCCO

In Havana and its environs, the group visited historic buildings, museums, churches, and busy outdoor spaces, including the four plazas of Old Havana. The travelers explored the village of Jaimanitas, known for its folk art mosaics and Fusterlandia, the workshop of mosaic artist Jose Fuster, as well as nearby Finca Vigia, Ernest Hemingway’s historically-preserved residence.

A trip to Playa Girón on the Bay of Pigs prompted discussion of the U.S. role in the ill-fated overthrow of Fidel Castro in the Bay of Pigs invasion and America’s political, social, and economic past with Cuba and its allies.

On their final evening in Cuba, the travelers witnessed the daily cañonazo ceremony, a historical reenactment of the shooting of the cannons across Havana Bay from the El Morro fortress guarding its entrance.

The group in Cuba

Bread-making

CUBA

Completed collages

To read reflections of the student and faculty travelers and to view photographs from the trips, visit www.loomischaffee.org/ magazine.

Fusterlandia mosaic

Classic car near Havana 19 loomischaffee.org

SPOTTED IN THE PHI Spanish teacher Lilian Hutchinson works with junior Mia Griffiths on a Spanish IV architecture project in the Pearse Hub for Innovation. Photo: Jessica Hutchinson

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THAT’S ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! ART AWARDS The artwork of 10 Loomis Chaffee students was selected for 2019 Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art Awards this winter. The winning work was celebrated at an exhibit and awards ceremony at the University of Hartford in January. Sponsored by the Connecticut Art Education Association, the awards honor the creative efforts of visual art students in grades seven to 12 in public, private, and parochial schools across the state.

HAVE A HEART FUNDRAISER The Pelican Service Organization raised money in February for the Mary’s Place Have a Heart fundraiser by selling Valentine’s Day goody bags in the Scanlan Campus Center during lunch. The effort brought in more than $350 after expenses, the most successful fundraiser that Loomis has organized for Mary’s Place, according to Heather Henderson, director of community service at Loomis. Mary’s Place, based in Windsor, provides support for grieving children and their families.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE-BUILDING Nearly 50 students took part in a gingerbread house-building event in November organized by the student-led Pelican Service Organization in support of Habitat for Humanity. Participants worked in teams on their creations to enter in a house design contest. The four winning gingerbread houses were donated to the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity for a holiday fundraising raffle.

DEBATE TEAM The debate team fared well in several tournaments this winter, including the 37th Annual Loomis Chaffee Debate Tournament. The school hosted 160 debate students on teams from 16 New England schools for the Loomis tournament on January 13. This year debaters considered both sides of the resolution: “Be it resolved that Birthright Citizenship in the United States of America should be abolished.”

All of the Loomis advanced teams finished with 2-1 records, combining for an impressive eight wins and four losses in the division, and several of the Loomis novice teams also achieved 2-1 records. The tournament has been organized

nearly every year since its inception by Curtis Robison, faculty advisor to the debate team. At the Connecticut Debate Association tournament, the Loomis team of sophomore Clara Chen and freshman Victoria Che went undefeated in the novice division, and the team of junior Maral Asik and sophomore Aidan Gillies went undefeated in the advanced division. The tournament required that teams debate both sides of the resolution: “The United States should ban third-party investment in civil court cases.” And the debate team tied for third at the Choate Parliamentary Debate Tournament with several outstanding individual performances.

CARNEGIE HALL PERFORMANCE Sophomore Emma Kane sang at Carnegie Hall with the High School Honors Women’s Choir as part of the High School Honors Performance Series in February. Vocalists are selected for the choir from across the United States and beyond.

Annual Exhibition, the premier annual juried ceramic competition for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Her work was selected from among more than 1,100 entries and was on display at the annual conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts in March in Minneapolis.

STUDENT COUNCIL BENEFIT CONCERT The Student Council hosted its annual Benefit Concert on February 16, raising more than $800 to benefit My Sister’s Place, an organization whose mission is to end homelessness by providing housing and support services to women and their families in Greater Hartford. The concert featured a variety of student performances and a faculty lip-sync number.

To view photographs from the concert, visit www.loomischaffee. org/magazine.

JOURNALISM CONFERENCE

MUSIC FESTIVAL Twenty Loomis Chaffee students were chosen to participate in the Connecticut Music Teachers Association Northern Region Music Festival in January. They joined 500 musicians from the region to form a chorus, band, orchestra, and jazz band. Approximately 1,500 students in the region auditioned. Eight Loomis students performed in the regionals chorus. Six students performed with the festival orchestra. And six students performed with the festival band.

Students chosen for regionals were invited to audition for the state-wide festival, and nine Loomis musicians were selected.

MODEL U.N. The Model United Nations contingent from Loomis Chaffee earned Outstanding Large Delegation and six individual awards at the Yale Model U.N. Conference in January and seven individual awards at the Boston Invitational Model U.N. Conference in February.

CERAMIC EXHIBITION

Five senior leaders from The Log and faculty advisor Jessica Hsieh ’08 traveled to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on December 1 for a student journalism conference hosted by the college daily newspaper The Harvard Crimson. The conference offered workshops and seminars on topics related to student publications, and the Loomis students took part in a writing competition. Cathy Hyeon ’18, who is a freshman at Harvard, met up with her former Log colleagues while they were in town.

LINCOLN CENTER TRIP A group of nearly two dozen music students and faculty, including Music Department Head Susan Chrzanowski, traveled to New York City on January 28 to see a dress rehearsal performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Mozart’s Don Gionvanni at Lincoln Center. The special trip was organized with the help of junior Jei Park and her mother, Soohee Lee, as well as one of Jei’s music instructors who is chief music librarian for the Metropolitan Opera.

Junior Kristin Santana’s ceramic work “Under the Sea” was selected for inclusion in the National K12 Ceramic Exhibition Foundation’s

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Facult y & S taf f Ne w s

Several current and upcoming art exhibitions around the United States feature artwork

by Head of the Visual Art Department Jennifer McCandless. The exhibits include “Birthday Suit,” in the Brooklyn Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, March 15–April 13; “Clay Matters,” in the Gerald Epperson Gallery of Ceramic Art in Crockett, California, March 23–May 4; “Our Bodies Ourselves,” at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art in New Haven, Connecticut, March 7–April 10; the National Member Exhibition at the A.I.R. Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, May 23–June 23; and “Off Center,” at Blue Line Arts in Los Angeles, California, on upcoming dates.

Hudson Harper, CAIS guest speaker Ben Orlin, and Benjamin Fisher. Photo: Christine Coyle

Math teachers Benjamin Fisher and Hudson Harper presented at “Writing in Math/Math in Writing,” a one-day conference in January at Loomis Chaffee sponsored by the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools. The Math Department and Writing Initiatives faculty welcomed more than a dozen colleagues from seven area independent schools for the conference. Ben and Hudson spoke about effective ways to include writing in math courses and shared best practices for using writing as a means of better understanding math topics as well as promoting good writing skills and habits in students.

In a new offering by the Loomis Chaffee Summer Program this year, experienced Loomis faculty will teach two-week Immersion Programs focusing on writing, Spanish language, and STEM topics. Each Immersion Program will focus on a specific topic, allowing for a deep dive into the subject. Science faculty member Erica Gerace will teach the courses Cloning Around and Marvelous Microbes. Director of Innovation and science teacher Scott MacClintic ’82 will teach Design Thinking for the Common Good as well as Design Thinking for Business. English teacher Jeffrey Scanlon ’79 will teach Writing Workshop. Physics teacher and robotics team advisor Ewen Ross will teach Idea to Reality: An Exploration of 3D Printing, Laser En-

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graving, and CNC Routing. Language teachers Mark Cardwell and Rachel Nisselson will lead ¡Sí, se puede! (Yes, we can!).

To explore more detailed course descriptions and for application and tuition information, visit loomischaffee.org/magazine or connect directly to the Loomis Chaffee Summer Program webpage at www.loomischaffee.org/summer.

Melanie Guerin, the music director for the Theater & Dance Department, was featured on the cover of Hartford Magazine. The “Inspired: a Renaissance of Young Artists” issue included a profile of Melanie, who is a local musician, composer, and educator. Melanie has played in the pit orchestra for winter musicals in the Norris Ely Orchard Theater for the last five years and became the music director for this year’s musical, The Old Man and The Old Moon.

Eric LaForest, the Keller Family Director of the Norton Family Center for the Common Good, received a Bridge Builders Award from the town of Windsor’s Human Relations Commission this winter. The award honors commitment to social justice and humanitarian work in the Windsor community.

Faculty members Bill and Gratia Lee welcomed a baby girl, Beatrice Rosemary, on January 1.

Dean of Students Patricia Sasser was named to the Editorial Board for DiversityIS, a diversity and inclusion magazine for independent schools.

History teacher Mark Williams and Loomis’ Writing Initiatives faculty hosted “Putting the Story Back into History: Narrative Writing in the History Classroom,” a one-day teachers conference in November sponsored by the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools. The conference included a workshop conducted by Mark and fellow historian and award-winning author John Demos, Samuel Knight Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University. Mr. Demos also served as keynote speaker for the event. Using primary resources from the time of the 1636 “ship money” tax — a passenger and cargo list for a 1635 sailing of London’s New England-bound Weymouthand and a 17th-century map of southern England — Mr. Demos and Mark worked with groups of teachers to consider some of the stories that could be surmised from the ship’s manifest. When looking at information from the passenger list alongside the map, attendees were able to make connections, draw conclusions, and give dimension to the many stories gleaned from one event in history. Conference attendees also browsed a display of history narratives written by Loomis Chaffee students for their junior year history assignments and spoke with several of the student writers about their work.

Photo: Stan Godlewski

P el ic a n Sports

Sophomore Nate Santos

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1

VARSITY RECORDS BOYS BASKETBALL 11-15 New England Class A Tournament Quarterfinalist

GIRLS BASKETBALL 18-8

2

New England Class A Tournament Finalist Founders League Champion

EQUESTRIAN 3rd Place at Regional Finals

BOYS HOCKEY 9-13-3 GIRLS HOCKEY 15-6-4 New England Division I Tournament Semifinalist Founders League Champion

SKIING New England Class B Championships: Boys, 8th Place; Girls, 8th Place

3

BOYS SQUASH 8-12 4th Place at New England Class B Championships 2nd Place at U.S. High School Championships, Division IV

GIRLS SQUASH 12-11 New England Class B Champion

BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING 7-4 Founders League Champion 6th Place at New England Championships

GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING 2-8 11th Place at New England Championships

WRESTLING 9-9 4th Place at Class A New England Championships 18th Place at All-New England Championships

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4

6

5 7

9

Equestrian photo: John Groo. All other photos: Stan Godlewski

8

10

1 Sophomore Ian McConnell

4 Senior Jaden Rismay

6 Sophomore Anahi-Lee Cauley

9 Junior Marco Wang

2 Senior Jessica Schryver

5 Junior Ryan Armstrong and senior Kohl Reddy

7 Freshman Corinna Schmidt

10 Senior Amara Haider

3 Junior Jack Glassie

8 Sophomore Elodie Kimm

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Dear Mom, Pop & Fred A Slice of Life at Loomis in the 1940s

By Becky Purdy

I

n September 1943, a 13-year-old boy from Venezuela arrived at The Loomis Institute for his freshman year and moved into his room in the eaves of Founders Hall, a dorm room that he and his three roommates soon called “Peanut Heaven.” His name was José A. Mayoral Jr., “Joe” for short, and although he was a U.S. citizen — his mother and father were from Puerto Rico — Joe had never been to the continental United States before his journey from his hometown of Caracas to his new school in Windsor, Connecticut.

From his first days at Loomis, Joe wrote letters home to his parents and his younger brother, Freddy, sometimes in pencil, sometimes in ink, sometimes with a typewriter, often in Spanish, and sometimes in English. Occasionally he included sketches illustrating his narratives, often humorously. His family wrote back, and they saved the letters as well as some of the correspondence they received from Headmaster Nathaniel Horton Batchelder during Joe’s four years at Loomis.

After Joe’s death in 2010, his son, Juan E. Mayoral, came across the saved letters in his parents' storage and worked to scan, catalogue, translate, and compile them. Last summer Juan published a book, Dear Mom, Pop & Fred: Letters from Windsor, containing the letters with annotations to explain references to people, places, and relevant circumstances that are not clear from the letters themselves.

The book provides an endearing view into the daily life of Loomis boys during the 1940s. The bells that regimented their routines. The homework, math tests, and piles of books. Struggles with what today might be described as a “sophomore slump” and a vanishing hope of attending M.I.T. The publication of Joe’s poetry in The Loom with a note from Mr. Orchard complimenting the cadence of the poem and Joe’s use of metaphor. Ice skating, soccer, Rifle Club. Friends, teachers, visits with his relatives in New York. News of the “War in Europe.” Potato-picking to help local farmers who were short on laborers with so many young men away at the war.

Juan graciously permitted us to publish excerpts from the book.

Letters from Windsor is available for purchase in paperback and in Kindle format from amazon.com.

For a link, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

Wednesday, 8th September 1943. Handwritten letter (blue ink) in English from Joe addressed to his father.

Dear Pa, … The dormitories have five beds, like this:

Bed A is too near the door, takes too much room, bed B is not private enough, beds D and E are too cold in winter. Bed C is the one I want because it has two walls on which to hang flags and pictures that YOU WILL SEND ME. I am buying some films to take pictures of school with Titía’s camera. Please send me photographs of home.

I hope you are all well, and don’t go out with pretty girls EVERY day, twice a week is enough.

Your loving son, Joe

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Saturday, 16th September 1944. Handwritten letter in English (pencil) from Joe addressed to his father.

Dear Pop, Well I’m back at school again. I got a single room on the third floor of Taylor Hall, and I think it’s dandy, for I can study in peace and quiet, without being disturbed. …

Well I’m back at school again. I got a single room on the third floor of Taylor Hall, and I think it ’s dandy, for I can study in peace and quiet, without being disturbed.

I met that Squires boy and I’ve been giving him the “lowdown” on everything.

Mr. B. isn’t here because his mother died recently and he’s gone to the funeral.

My new advisor is Mr. Hazelton, he’s new here; seems to be a good guy.

Tonight we had a dorm party with doughnuts, cheese, soda pop and a lot of rule talk. There is a new rule on radios and phonographs; we are allowed to have them, but, (and I quote the handbook), Only Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors in group I and II are allowed to have radios in their rooms. Battery sets, including portables, etc. and since the only set I have is a battery set I don’t [know if] it’s worthwhile, besides it might keep me from my studies which I am attacking with “full force”.

I bought a pretty good chair for $1.50 which Mom paid, she is going to buy a cover for it; I also bought a bookshelf for .60¢ + a centavo I had from Venezuela.

Well folk, that’s about all for this week.

Love to Fred and the rest. Your loving son, Joe P.S. If when the Riddicks come up they haven’t got much to bring, maybe they can bring my Encyclopedia.

Yours, Joe

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… It snowed today, a terrific snowstorm. You must have read about it in the papers. It is at least two feet deep and there is a huge drift by our window which goes halfway up it.

Wednesday, 10th January 1945. Handwritten

Monday, 26th November 1945. Handwrit-

letter in Spanish (pencil) from Joe addressed to his father.

[This letter, translated by Juan Mayoral, refers to a letter Joe received from his father, who is concerned about Joe’s grades and a reported lack of effort.]

ten letter in English (pencil) from Joe addressed to his brother Freddy.

Dear Fred, … It snowed today, a terrific snowstorm. You must have read about it in the papers. It is at least two feet deep and there is a huge drift by our window which goes halfway up it. Tomorrow we will have no classes because the coal pile is way under snow and there will not be enough coal to heat the classrooms, so we have to go and shovel the snow off the coal pile.

Dear Pop, I received your letter this morning. I am very disappointed. I don’t blame you for being mad at me, since I too realize that I am a failure and that all my dreams of attending MIT and becom[ing] a good engineer have been shattered. Lately I have been studying a lot, as a last effort. We will see what I will get in my subjects. If, as you said, because of my studies I have to leave this place, I believe that it will not be worth your while to enroll me in a school, since it is likely that I will throw away the opportunity to educate myself. I will do a great last effort. I am dedicating these days to my studies, for I do not want to lose the opportunity many kids would want to have.

You should have seen our room this morning. My roommate had opened all the windows and there was a huge puddle of melted snow under our beds. The worst part about it is that there will be more snow.

A blizzard maybe, the newspaper says. [ Joe includes a drawing of himself using a periscope to see from under a snow drift.]

The weather has been very cold and the pond has begun to freeze, but there is so much snow on the ice that the ice will be ruined. Well, so long, give love to Mom, Pop, Grandma and the rest of the family.

Your loving son, Joe P.S. I’m very sorry about everything.

Joe

Love, Joe

[ Joe does persevere, improving his grades and his study skills, staying on pace with his classmates for their graduation in June 1947, and attending Wesleyan University and later Yale University.]

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2019

W

ust h j t ap ha

Fans’

? ned pe

Sports

FAQs

by BECKY PURDY

E

ver stand on the sidelines of a game and witness what you think is an amazing play by the team you’re rooting for, say the Loomis Chaffee Pelicans? You clap and cheer. And then, as you notice your Pelicans aren’t celebrating, you realize that play actually was not amazing at all, but a foul or a reversal, a setback for your team. Your hands go limp, your clapping slows, you feel a blush creeping up your cheeks.

Or have you ever attended a hotly-contested match in a sport you never played and have rarely watched? And you have no idea who’s winning, who’s mounting a comeback, and why exactly the players and coaches on both sides are so fired up? Clearly, something exciting is happening and you’re lucky enough to be a spectator, but what exactly is that something?

Puzzle no more. We’re here to help. Tapping into the vast knowledge of our coaches, we offer a guide to some of the less understood aspects of sports that Loomis teams play to answer spectators’ burning questions.

Girls varsity soccer players celebrate a goal.

Photo: Stan Godlewski

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opponent is in a high bridge or has both elbows back on the mat.

Penalty points are awarded to your opponent if you break certain rules, such as using an illegal hold, moving off of the mat, or stalling. The first time stalling is called, you receive a warning; the second time, your opponent is awarded a point; the third time, he or she is awarded another point; the fourth time, your opponent gets two points; and a subsequent stalling infraction disqualifies you. Ben explains that stalling is a common infraction. “Essentially, you can get penalized in any position if you are not actively working toward scoring points,” he says.

If one of the wrestlers leads by 15 points at any stage of the match, that wrestler is declared the victor by “technical fall,” and the match ends immediately.

W r e s t l ing

How do you score a wrestling match?

Loomis, like most high schools and colleges, competes in a style of wrestling called “folkstyle” or “scholastic,” and the individual scoring relates to this wrestling style, explain Loomis coaches Andrew Hutchinson and Benjamin Haldeman.

“The object of the sport is to establish control over your opponent,” Ben says. “The greater degree of control, as when your opponent is flat on his or her back, the more points.”

The wrestlers, matched up by weight class, grapple for three two-minute periods. With one particularly notable exception, whoever tallies more points during the match is the winner.

Here’s the exception: If you pin your opponent at any point during the match, you win and the match ends immediately, no matter how many points either wrestler has earned. A pin, or “fall,” is called when you put your opponent on his or her back with any part of both shoulders or shoulder blades touching the mat for two seconds.

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Wrestlers score points in the following ways: A takedown, or establishing control, scores two points, earned for forcing your opponent onto the mat and bringing him or her under your control.

Escape, or causing your opponent to lose control, scores one point. This is achieved when your opponent has you down on the mat and you get away from your opponent or maneuver into what’s called a “neutral position,” where neither wrestler has control.

Reversal, or change of control, scores two points. As the term suggests, a reversal is earned by turning the tables, escaping from being the controlled wrestler down on the mat and gaining control of your opponent.

Near fall, also called “dominant control,” scores two or three points and is achieved when you hold your opponent almost in a pin. Achieving this hold for two seconds earns two points, five seconds earns three points. There are several ways a referee determines a position is a near fall: when both of the opponent’s shoulders are within four inches of the mat, when one shoulder touches the mat and the other shoulder is at a 45-degree angle toward the mat, or when the

Team scoring adds another level of excitement to a wrestling meet because a wrestler who dominates in a match earns extra points for the team. In dual meets, a wrestler who wins by pin gains six points for the team. A win by “technical fall” scores five points for the team. A “major decision,” when a wrestler wins by a margin of eight to 14 points, scores four team points. And a “decision,” winning the match by fewer than eight points, scores three team points.

F iel d Hock e y

What do all the whistles mean in a field hockey game?

To the novice spectator, a field hockey game can seem like a confusing choreography of stops and starts directed by a mysterious Morse code of whistles. But an explanation of the most frequent referee calls can help spectators to untangle this confusion and better appreciate the gameplay.

Head field hockey coach Manya Steinfeld outlines the most common reasons for whistles in a game: Ball-to-body contact. “The number one reason the whistle is blown in field hockey is because the ball has hit a player’s foot,” Manya says.

“The ball can never touch the body at any time, and with the ball most often on the ground, it can easily hit a player’s foot.” When the referee makes this call, possession of the ball is turned

over. The ball is left precisely where the foul occurred, and all defenders must back up by at least five yards from the player with the ball until play resumes — signalled by another whistle.

Obstruction. “In field hockey there are no picks and no boxing out,” Manya explains. When you have the ball, you cannot use your body to block an opponent from getting to the ball. If you and the ball are both moving, you are not obstructing. “But the second the player [with the ball] stops moving her body, she has obstructed the opposite team from getting to the ball, and it is a turnover.”

Lifts. The ball can be propelled into the air as long as it does not land in what is called “dangerous space,” which is anywhere on the field where two players on opposing teams are standing. This rule is for safety, designed to prevent two opposing players from looking up in the air for the ball and colliding because they don’t see each other.

Two other frequently misunderstood aspects of the game are the rules relating to goals and corner play. For goals, there is a half circle surrounding each goal cage at a distance of 16 yards. A goal is legal only if the shot is taken from inside that circle. If a player takes a shot from outside the circle and no other offensive player touches it, the goalkeeper can let the ball roll OPPOSITE PAGE: Will sophomore Dominic Rossetti score two points for a takedown? BELOW: No whistle here as freshman Zoe Pincelli moves up the field. Photos: Stan Godlewski

into the net without incurring a goal. (Remember that time when you pumped your fist and shouted “hoo-yah” on the sidelines because it sure looked like a goal for your beloved home team? And then none of the team’s players celebrated? Yeah, that was probably because the shot was from outside the circle. It’s OK. Now you know.)

Corner plays are called if the defense commits a foul within the circle. This presents a ripe opportunity for the offense to score, known as “converting a corner.” The offense lines up as many players as they want around the circle, and one player, called the “inserter,” has the ball on the end line. The defense can place the goalkeeper and only four defenders on the goal line.

The remaining defensive players must retreat to the 50-yard line. At the referee’s signal, the inserter passes the ball to one of her teammates on the circle. At this point, the defenders can rush the circle and try to prevent a goal. The offense, meanwhile, must make sure the ball exits the circle and then comes back into the circle before a shot can be taken on goal. Regular play continues from that point.

T r a ck & F iel d

How do you triple jump, and how can you tell when an athlete is doing it well?

Most people understand the basics of long jump in track and field. An athlete sprints along a runway, takes off from a designated spot, or “board,” on the runway, and jumps as far as possible into a sand pit. The athlete who jumps farthest wins.

As in the long jump, triple jumpers are trying to travel as far forward as they can — thus, track geeks sometimes refer to the long jump and triple jump as the “horizontal jumps.” But unlike the long jump, the triple jump has three phases, often described as hop-step-jump.

Here’s how head boys track and field coach Scott Purdy explains the phases:

Step. From the foot you just landed on, you leap to your other foot. This phase is usually the shortest of the three, but referring to it as a “step” is misleading, Scott says, because this stage is really another jump.

Jump. Taking off a third time, from the foot you just landed on, you jump into the pit and land on both feet, as in the long jump.

Spectators can watch for several clues to detect how well an athlete is triple jumping, Scott says: Look for speed. A fast run and sustained momentum are important in the triple jump.

“This is a speed event,” Scott says. “The long jump is a speed event too, but it’s more of a speed-power event because all you need to do is jump once and go as far as you can.” In the triple jump, you need to maintain your speed through the three phases.

Listen for tempo. Good triple jumpers travel nearly as far in their middle phase, the step, as they do in the other two phases. Scott suggests listening to the tempo of the triple jumper’s footfall through the three phases. The tempo should be fairly even, indicating that the step is comparable in length to the other phases.

Controlled hop. Some athletes, especially less experienced jumpers, make the mistake of trying to front-load the triple jump, putting all their effort into the initial hop. But that approach can backfire, Scott says, by weakening their step phase and shortening the overall jump.

Instead, the hop should be controlled so that the athlete can execute the step well.

Low, higher, highest. Another way to identify a good triple jump is to look at the height the athlete reaches in each phase. Scott says it should follow a low-higher-highest progression.

What makes an athlete a potentially good triple jumper? Speed and rhythm, according to Scott.

He or she should be able to run a relatively fast 100-meter dash. And natural rhythm is essential. “If you don’t have rhythm, you can’t triple jump well. If you can’t dance at all, you can’t triple jump,” Scott says. “Our school recordholder is one of the best dancers our school has ever had: James Daring.” James, a 2014 graduate, triple jumped 46 feet-6 inches to win the Division I New England title.

Hop. You take off from the board on either your left or right foot, and you come down on that same foot.

To watch video of James triple jumping, go to www.loomischaffee. org/magazine.

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B a seb a l l

How do you throw a curve ball?

Most people who have watched a baseball game know that a pitcher can throw several types of pitches, the most common of which are the fastball, which travels basically in a straight line; the curve ball, which dives downward as it nears home plate; the slider, which curves downward and to one side; and the change-up, which looks like a fastball to the batter but travels deceptively slowly. There are other pitches, such as the knuckleball, but let’s stick to these few.

So how does a pitcher make the baseball move differently to have the desired effect? The short answer: with precise finger positioning and carefully calibrated arm action. But of course it’s more complicated than that, as head baseball coach Donnie McKillop, a former college pitcher himself, explains.

Let’s start with the finger placement for a fastball. Form a peace sign with your index and middle fingers and place them on the top of the ball with your thumb holding the bottom of the ball. There are two main types of fastballs — the two-seam and the four-seam — but in both cases the finger arrangement is similar. The difference is that with a two-seam fastball, you place your index and middle fingers along the baseball’s stitches, or seams. With a four-seam fastball, you place those first two fingers across the seams, so they are touching the seams in four spots.

For a curve ball, you keep the index and middle fingers together and position them off-center on the top of the baseball, with the thumb directly opposite.

With your fingers where you want them for your pitch, you wind up and throw — a whole other set of precise and coordinated movements that we’ll just call “throwing” for our purposes. When you release a fastball, the ball rolls off the ends of your fully extended fingers, creating a backspin that carries the ball in a straight line toward the target, presumably the catcher’s mitt. When you release a curve ball, the ball rolls over the side of your index finger, creating a forward spin that causes the ball to dip in its trajectory.

The finger placement for a slider is similar to that for a curveball, but the throwing motion and the amount of pressure you place on the ball with your thumb and fingers cause the ball to not only dip, but also curve sideways. This movement makes the pitch hard for batters to gauge and, thus, harder to hit well. The slider also travels faster than a curveball, making it all the more tricky for the batter.

A change-up can be thrown in several ways, Donnie says, but the ball is buried deep in the palm, rather than poised on the fingers.

The pitcher uses the same arm action with a change-up as with a fastball, so the ball has a backspin like a fastball but takes longer to roll from the palm and off the fingers. Thus, it travels more slowly through the air than a fastball.

Batters see the spin and think it’s a fastball then end up swinging too early.

What pitch to throw in what game situations and to which batters and at what point in the batting order are all factors in the many-faceted strategy of a baseball game, as are the decisions a batter must make based on the situation, the position of teammates on bases, the number of balls and strikes, and what kind of pitch he thinks is hurtling his way. And that’s just the pitching and hitting decisions. Add in the strategic choices facing the other players on the field, and you can see why baseball is compared to a chess match. And why Donnie’s face lights up when he starts to talk about all the possible scenarios.

LEFT: Justin Pacheco ’18 winds up for a pitch, but which one will he throw? Photo: Tom Honan OPPOSITE PAGE: Sophomore Kai Sheng Tham swims the butterfly stroke. Photo: Stan Godlewski

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L a cr o s se

Why do boys and girls lacrosse games look so different?

The equipment, field markings, faceoffs, player positioning, and even what constitutes a foul differs between boys and girls lacrosse. Here’s a primer from assistant boys varsity lacrosse coach John Cunningham: The equipment: Boys wear helmets with face masks. Girls wear goggles and mouthguards but no helmets. Lacrosse sticks also are longer for boys (four feet for offensive players, six feet for defenders) than for girls (three feet for offensive players, up to three feet-eight inches for defenders).

The players: Boys lacrosse has 10 players on the field at a time — three offensive players or “attackmen,” three defensive players, three midfielders, and a goalie. Girls lacrosse has 12 players on the field — four on offense, four on defense, three midfielders, and a goalie.

The field: “A boys lacrosse field is broken into halves — a defensive half and an offensive half,” John explains. “In boys lacrosse, three midfielders are allowed to play on both sides of the field while the offensive players can play only on the offensive half, and three defensive players can play only in the defensive half.” In girls lacrosse, the field is separated into thirds. Midfielders can play anywhere on the field, as in boys lacrosse.

But girls defensive and offensive players can play on their ends of the field and in the middle third; in other words, they are restricted to two-thirds of the field compared to the boys’ one-half restriction.

Face-offs: A face-off in lacrosse, like an ice hockey face-off or a basketball jump ball, determines which team gains possession at the start of a period or after a goal. But lacrosse boys and girls face-offs look very different from each other. In the girls game, the face-off is more often called a “draw,” and two opposing players stand with their sticks in front of them at hip height. The official places the ball between the two sticks, where the heads form a kind of cage, and the two draw players press their sticks against each other so that the ball stays in place. At the whistle, the players try to raise their sticks and control the direction of the ball, either toward themselves or toward a teammate. The ball must go above the players' heads or the

draw will be taken again. In the boys game, the ball is placed on the ground in the center of the field, and two opposing players get down and place the heads of their sticks against the ball.

When the official blows the whistle, both players try to clamp down on the ball with their sticks to gain control.

Fouls and their consequences: In boys lacrosse, there are two types of fouls, one resulting in a player having to take a knee in the penalty area, the other resulting in a change of ball possession or a quick whistle to stop and restart play.

In girls lacrosse, there are several kinds of fouls.

When a foul is committed in most areas of the field, the other team receives a “free position,” meaning the team that committed the foul has to move its players four meters away from the fouled player, who is given the ball. If the infraction was a “minor” foul, the defender must move four meters away in the direction from which she approached the player. If it was a “major” foul, the defender must move four meters behind the fouled player. When the referee signals, the player with the ball can run, pass, or shoot the ball on the goal. Major fouls committed close to the goal result in additional advantages given to the fouled player, such as a penalty lane that is cleared between the player and the goal.

S w imming

How do you swim the butterfly (without dying of exhaustion)?

How can competitive swimmers look so comfortable and smooth doing the butterfly stroke when the rest of us, if we can do the stroke at all, wonder if the lifeguard thinks we’re making distress signals? Come to think of it, maybe we are. Doing this stroke poorly is exhausting.

The answer is in the undulating motion of the butterfly done well.

For all four strokes in competitive swimming — freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly — the body moves best through the water in a back-and-forth rotating pattern, says Fred Seebeck, head coach of the boys swimming and diving team. The power comes from the hips and core muscles, and the axis of rotation depends on the stroke. Freestyle and

backstroke rotate on the “long axis,” an imaginary line that traces the length of your spine and splits the left and right sides of your body.

Butterfly and breaststroke rotate on the “short axis,” which goes across the hips, splitting the top and bottom halves of your body.

Think of doing The Worm dance move underwater and you’ll get the idea of short axis rotation, although attracting a crowd at a 1980s dance party is hardly a sure sign that you’d be good at the butterfly.

S oc cer

What is offsides in soccer?

An “offside” call is one of the most frequent reasons you’ll hear a whistle at a soccer game, and to the untrained eye, it seems that no one did anything wrong. In fact, just being offsides is not against the rules, but using it to your advantage is an infraction.

The keys to butterfly are core strength and timing, explains Robert DeConinck, head coach of the girls swimming and diving team.

The core muscles, including the hips, propel the motion, even though it can appear that the arms are doing all the work. The arms do work hard, but most of that work takes place under the water when the hands are “catching” the water and “pulling” it past the chest and hips.

In fact, Bob notes, butterfly is the fastest of the strokes when the swimmer’s hands are in the water because both hands are pulling at once, like rowing a boat with both paddles. However, in what’s called the “recovery” part of the arm motion, when the hands and head are above the water, you’re just floating.

Offsides is all about positioning on the field.

A player is offsides if he or she is closer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last opponent. So as an offensive player you might, for example, run up the field ahead of the ball and ahead of every defender except the goalkeeper. Seems like a good strategy, right? Get close to the goal and then wait for your teammate to pass it to you so you can turn and score.

The legs work hard in butterfly too, but not from knee action. The dolphin kick — and there are two dolphin kicks per stroke — comes from the hips and flicks the legs like a whip. Good butterflyers keep their legs together, bend their knees only slightly, and keep their toes pointed to maximize the power of the whip-like motion and to reduce drag in the water.

Girls varsity soccer head coach Linda Hathorn shared a helpful video explaining the offside rule. To watch it, go to www.loomischaffee. org/magazine.

The problem is that you are offsides, and it is a violation if the ball is passed to an offside player or if that player interferes with a defender, interferes with play, or otherwise gains an advantage by being offsides.

The penalty for offsides play is an indirect free kick for the other team. In general, that means your opponent is allowed to kick the ball while

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your team stays 10 yards away. The spot where the free kick is taken depends on where the violation occurred. And “indirect” means the player cannot just shoot at the goal; he or she must pass to another player before a shot is taken on goal.

Teams on defense often try to lure or confuse their opponents into committing offsides infractions. One such strategy is to play with several defenders staying closely aligned on the field so that it is difficult for offensive players to tell how many defenders are ahead of them.

F oo t b a l l

Why do football teams punt on the fourth down?

When you learn the rules of football, you hear that a team has four plays, or “downs,” to advance a total of at least 10 yards, earning a “first down,” which starts another set of four plays, and so on. “Technically this is true,” says football coach Elliott Dial, “but if you are on your own side of the field, which means from the 50-yard line to the end zone you are defending, you usually only have three downs and then punt on the fourth down.”

Why do teams skip this fourth chance and essentially give up the football to their opponents? If you try and fail on the fourth down to hit that 10-yard measurement, you turn over the ball on the spot where the play ended. That’s putting yourself in a risky situation if you haven’t gotten past the 50-yard line. Now your opponent is less than half the field length away from scoring a touchdown and much closer than that to being able to successfully kick a field goal.

“You do not have to punt,” Elliott explains, “but the punt keeps the opposing offense farther away from the end zone you are defending.” In a game in which keeping your opponents away from your end zone is as important as finding a way into their end zone, punting on the fourth down is often the wisest strategy.

RIGHT: Junior Sadie Olcott plays the libero position for the varsity volleyball team. OPPOSITE PAGE: As the boys cross country team surges from the starting line, there's no telling, yet, who will win. Photos: Stan Godlewski

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Ice Hock e y

When is icing called in ice hockey?

The icing rule in hockey is designed to encourage passing the puck when you are on defense, rather than throwing it down the length of the ice, says Liz Leyden, head coach of the girls varsity ice hockey team. Icing is defined as the defensive team’s propelling the puck more than half the length of the ice without anyone touching it along the way.

When icing occurs, an official blows a whistle to stop play and sets up a faceoff between the two teams in the defensive zone of the team that committed the infraction. The faceoff restarts the game.

playing the “libero” position, which has a different set of rules than the other positions on the court. The position was introduced to international volleyball in 1998 and to college and high school volleyball in the early 2000s.

The libero is usually a team’s best defensive player. She is a skilled ball-handler and especially good at passing and what is known as “digging,” or anticipating a spike and preventing it from hitting the floor on defense, according to head girls varsity volleyball coach Jeffrey Dyreson, whose team won the Division I New England prep school championship last fall.

Liberos “are quick, strong, and pretty mentally tough — they love to play defense,” Jeff says.

There are, as always in sports, exceptions. A team can ice the puck when on a “penalty kill,” meaning the team earlier committed a penalty and, as a result, has a reduced number of players on the ice for a set amount of time. Teams on a penalty kill often are trying to use up as much of the time on the clock as they can before they are back to full force, so they can use icing as a time-consuming tactic that keeps the puck away from their goal.

Liz also explains a couple of recent adjustments to the icing rule. The defensive team can no longer “change,” or substitute in a fresh set of players, when icing is called. “This often means that the defense is quite tired and playing against a fresh line of offense, which can make the matchup tricky and hurt the defense,” she says.

The rule also changed in a way that enables fast-skating teams to avoid an icing call, Liz notes. If your team ices the puck but also gets to the puck — or, to be exact, to a dotted line near the iced puck — at the far end of the ice before any opponents get there, the icing call is negated, or “waved off,” by the official.

V ol l e y b a l l

Why does one player on each team wear a different jersey?

One player on each side of the volleyball court wears a different-colored uniform than her teammates. The color indicates that athlete is

Some key points to keep in mind about the libero position: ȻȻ Only one libero can play for at team at any time, and only one player can be the designated libero in any set. A team does not have to use a libero. ȻȻ The libero usually is not a starter but is strategically substituted for one of the starting players at the beginning of a match. Once a libero is subbed in, she can be replaced only by the player she replaced. An official keeps track of libero substitutions to make sure this rule is followed.

ȻȻ A libero plays on the back row only and rotates only in the back row. All other players rotate from the back to the front row as a set progresses (or are substituted out and in based on their strengths as frontrow or back-row players). ȻȻ Substituting the libero into the game does not count toward the team’s player substitution limit in each set. ȻȻ The libero cannot block the ball or attack the ball (hitting it over the net) when the ball is completely above the top of the net.

Cr o s s Cr oun t ry

How do you team-score a cross country meet?

In a classic dual meet in cross country running, each team enters seven runners. The first five finishers for each team score the number of points corresponding to their finishing places.

So the winner gets one point, second place gets two, and so on. The sum of the five runners’ placements constitutes the team’s score, and the lowest team score wins the meet.

A team’s sixth or seventh runner, though a less glamorous position, can turn out to be the hero. Although they do not score points toward the team total, these team members, called

“displacing runners,” can negatively affect the other team’s score. If they beat any of the top five runners from an opposing team, they add points to the opponents’ score.

Let’s say you are the No. 6 runner on your team, and you finish just ahead of the opponent’s No. 5 runner. You finished 10th but add no points to your team’s score, which is a good thing when low score wins. The opponent you outkicked placed 11th overall and, as one of the team’s scoring runners, adds 11 points to his or her team’s score. If you hadn't beaten that runner, he or she would have scored 10 points.

Teams do not designate the rankings of their runners on their teams before a race, so which team members are the scoring runners and which are the displacing runners depends on which team members run fastest on race day.

The scoring is trickier to calculate in dual meets when teams are allowed to enter more than seven runners, as is often the case in JV races and in some varsity races. To add another wrinkle, some of the meets on the Loomis schedule are “double duals” or “triple duals,” in which three or four teams compete against each other simultaneously, and when the dust settles, the team scores are tallied as if each team raced head-to-head with each other. To further boggle your mind, some dual meet races have multiple teams competing and more than seven entrants per team. In fact, the girls cross country team competes in a meet every year with a total of four teams and all varsity and JV runners in one

race. That means the meet is scored as 12 headto-head matchups. Needless to say, it’s hard to tell which team won when you’re watching that meet. The author of this article is the head girls cross country coach, and I can attest that the scoring of that meet takes careful attention to detail and a lot of double-checking.

E que s t r i a n

What do the classes and divisions mean in equestrian competitions?

The Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), in which the Loomis equestrian team competes, has four divisions based on ability and experience — Open, Intermediate, Novice, and Beginner, in order from most experienced to least experienced.

Within the top three divisions, there are two types of competition, or “classes,” in a show, explains equestrian coach Harrison Shure. The jumping/over fences class involves riding on a course set up by the host barn that involves various obstacles and barriers to jump. Harrison says the technicality of the courses and the height of the jumps change for each division.

The jumps are set at a height of two feet-six inches for the Open division, two feet-three

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inches for Intermediate, and two feet for Novice.

In the flat/under-saddle class, a group of six to 12 riders and their horses enter the ring at the same time, and they must change their gait to walk, trot, and canter according to the judge’s instructions. Harrison says it’s also important for a rider to maintain good spacing between his or her horse and the others, which can be challenging in the traffic of the ring with up to a dozen riders and their horses. Riders in the Beginner division compete in only the flat/ under-saddle class.

In all divisions and classes, competitors in IEA shows must ride on randomly assigned horses from the host barn’s stables. This aspect places emphasis on the rider’s skill, rather than his or her rapport with a familiar horse. It also means that riders in the Beginner division are really experienced beginners, Harrison points out, because they must be able to walk, trot, and canter on unfamiliar horses.

In total there are seven scoring opportunities for an equestrian team, one per division and class.

Before a competition, Harrison must select a rider in each division to designate as the “point rider.” This rider’s placement determines the number of points the team earns in that division.

Points are awarded for the top six places (seven points for first place then 5-4-3-2-1 through sixth place). The maximum number of points a team can earn in a show is 49, by placing first in each division and class.

“The really neat thing about IEA shows is that our beginner riders can make just as big of a difference as our most advanced kids,” Harrison notes.

S qua sh

How do you “control the T,” and why is that an advantage?

The crossing of two lines marks the strategic center of a squash court, “the T,” and squash players talk about “controlling the T.” From the T, players of average height and wingspan can lunge and just about reach either side of the court with a racket. And within one or two steps, they can reach any part of the court. This means they can quickly reach and hit a ball in play anywhere on the court — at least in theory — from the T. Boys varsity squash coach Elliot Beck likens the T to the position of an outfielder in baseball. Outfielders typically place themselves in the middle of the space they need to control so that they can run to anywhere within that space that the batter might hit the ball — and get there in time to catch or field it.

A squash court is small enough that you have a chance to move across it in time to play a ball in the opposite corner, for instance, but you will have to hustle. And your opponent likely will send you running for the other corner on the next hit, and so on. “The person in the T is incrementally and slowly exhausting their opponent,” Elliot says.

Controlling the T isn’t as simple as stubbornly standing there, however. As Elliot explains, to take control of the T you need to hit the ball to a corner so that your opponent has to move away from the T to keep the ball in play. Then you move into the T and keep the action quick so that your opponent has more trouble getting to the ball than you do. You cannot actively impede

your opponent from reaching the ball, however, so tackling on defense is best kept to the football field. A player on offense, on the other hand, is not penalized for bumping into his or her opponent in pursuit of the ball.

It’s not quite like playing King of the Hill, but come to think of it, there are similarities.

Wat er P ol o

Isn’t it unfair to play water polo in a pool with a shallow end and a deep end?

Ideally, water polo is played in a pool with all deep water so that no one can touch the bottom while playing. College and higher-level games take place in all-deep water venues, as does the “Liquid Four” New England tournament at the end of prep school season. But during the regular season in the league, about half the games take place in pools, like Loomis’ Hedges Pool, that have a deep end and a shallow end.

Because opposing teams switch sides after each quarter, neither team gains an unfair advantage, explains Edward Pond, who head coaches the boys and girls varsity water polo teams. And the goals on the two ends differ in height — the cross bar of the deep-end goal is three feet above the water line; in the shallow end, the cross bar is eight feet above the bottom of the goal.

Players can put their feet on the bottom of the pool when they are in the shallow end, which allows them to rest as opposed to constantly treading water (with an “egg-beater” leg motion) in the deep end. But players at the shallow end cannot use the bottom to gain an advantage, such as springing off the bottom to block a shot, Ed explains, although a subtle push off the bottom is often allowed.

“The overall impact on play is that quarters played defending the shallow end are seen as offensive-oriented opportunities while quarters spent ‘defending the deep’ are geared more toward limiting the opposition’s counterattacking chances by not over-committing to the offense,” Ed says. The Loomis boys team this fall was especially hard to beat in shallow-deep pools because the Pelicans effectively applied these two strategic approaches.

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Teams do shift their strategies depending on whether the host pool for a game has a shallow end, Ed says. Most teams in the league also have a shallow-end goalie, usually a player who is tall and long-limbed, who plays only when his or her team is defending the shallow end.

Sk iing

What’s the difference between slalom and giant slalom?

The Loomis ski team competes in both slalom and giant slalom races. In both races, skiers must navigate around flags, or “gates,” set up along the course. In slalom, the gates are closer together than in giant slalom, so slalom requires quicker turns and maneuvering.

When you’re watching slopeside, the easiest way to tell the difference between the two races is to look at the gates. In slalom, the gates are single poles topped with pennant-shaped flags.

In giant slalom, a gate is two poles with a rectangular flag stretched between them. In both races the gates are flexible, and skiers often slap into them with their bodies as they maneuver their skis around them.

Slalom runs are also shorter than giant slalom courses. The same is true of the skis used in slalom and giant slalom races with the shorter slalom skis helping with the quicker turns.

G ol f

How do you tally a team’s score in golf?

ABOVE: Senior Maddie Corsetti races on the home mountain, Ski Sundown. RIGHT: Senior Madeleine Hong pitches out of the sand.

OPPOSITE PAGE: A water polo game heats up in Hedges Pool. Photos: Stan Godlewski

As most of us know, in traditional golf scoring an individual’s score is the number of strokes it takes for him or her to complete a course. The golfer with the lowest score wins.

But golf is also a team sport at Loomis and other schools, so how is the winning team determined? The answer is that it depends. Here’s how it breaks down, according to James O’Donnell and Jeffrey Scanlon ’79, the girls and boys varsity golf coaches, respectively: In girls golf team matches, the top five players on the team are ranked, and each plays headto-head against the corresponding player on the opposing team. The pairs play nine-hole “match play,” so winning a hole gives the player one point in the head-to-head match. Thus, the number of strokes a player takes on any hole matters only in relation to her opponent’s score on that hole. As Jim explains it, “if Player A gets a seven and Player B gets a 4 on the first hole, Player A is only ‘one (hole) down,’ not ‘three (strokes) behind.’” The player who wins the majority of the nine holes against her opponent wins her match and earns a point for her team.

Each of the five matches is worth one point, so a total of five points are available. The first team to earn three points wins. Jim adds that if two opposing players tie, half of a point goes to each team.

In boys team golf, strokes count toward a player’s and a team’s score, Jeff explains. In most of the team’s matches, six members of each team play, and the five best scores on the team are tallied. The team with the lowest total wins. When the team plays at the New England tournament, each team brings only five players, and all five scores count toward the team’s total, with the lowest-scoring team winning the championship. loomischaffee.org

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T ennis

B a sk e t b a l l

What is a tennis super-tiebreaker?

What does it mean to “draw a charge” in basketball?

Individual tennis matches at Loomis and other schools in New England sometimes are decided by what’s called a “super-tiebreaker,” which adds an extra element of suspense and excitement to the sport. This special format determines the winner of a match that is tied at one set apiece.

A regular tiebreaker decides the winner of a set that is locked at 6-6. The players start the tiebreaker at 0-0, and each time a player wins a point, his or her score increases by one.

(Remember that in regular set play, a player doesn’t earn a set point until advancing from 0, or “love,” past 15, 30, and 40.) The first player in the tie-breaker to earn seven points and lead by two wins the tie-breaker and, thus, the set. If a player reaches seven points but the tiebreaker score is 7-6, play continues until one player is ahead by two points.

A super-tiebreaker follows the same scoring pattern as a regular tiebreaker and still requires a two-point margin of victory, but it is played to 10 points. The stakes also are higher: The winner of the super-tiebreaker wins the match.

Beyond adding another layer of excitement to close matches, playing super-tiebreakers helps to keep team matches to a reasonable length of time, explains Jed Stuart, head boys varsity tennis coach. With doubles and singles matches played consecutively, team matches already are long. If every match went to a third set, they could be playing in the dark by the end. Until this year, two teams could decide beforehand if they wanted to play the more traditional bestof-three sets format or go to super-tiebreakers instead. In most instances, Jed says, teams opted for super-tiebreakers. Beginning this spring, the Founders League has decided, all matches that are tied at one set apiece will go to super-tiebreakers.

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A referee calls a charge, or player-control foul, in basketball when an offensive player runs into a defensive player who is already set in place, explains Elliott Dial, assistant coach of the boys varsity basketball team. When a charge is called, the offense loses possession of the ball, and the player who committed the charge is assessed one personal foul. If the player scored a basket while committing a charge, the basket does not count.

“Drawing a charge” means to cause an opponent to commit a charge, and it can be a crafty and valuable defensive skill. For a charge to be called, the defensive player must be stationary and have both feet firmly on the floor before the offensive player runs into him or her. Timing is crucial. If you set up in a defensive stance too early, the player with the ball will just dribble around you. But if you aren't yet in a stationary defensive position and a ball-handler runs into you because you were in the way, you could be called for a blocking foul.

Players trying to draw a charge sometimes exaggerate the impact of the collision by falling to the ground. Beware of too much drama, however, because you can be called for a personal foul if you intentionally fall when there is little or no contact.

No matter what Loomis sport you're watcing and no matter how baffled you might be by a play or a referee's call, it is always safe to shout, "Go Pelicans!" On second thought, maybe not always. If, for instance, you're watching the diving event at a swim meet, it's best to save your cheering for after the diver plunges into the pool.

What a play!

Photo: Jessica Hutchinson

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STUDENT WRITERS CONNECT WITH

Alumni Authors

In two dinners and discussions with student writers, authors Pauline Chen ’82 and Keith Scribner ’80 shared their advice and sources of inspiration.

Story and Photos by C H R I S T I N E C OY L E

A

t the invitation of the Writing Initiatives program, alumni authors Pauline Chen ’82 and Keith Scribner ’80 visited campus this winter to speak to groups of students about the writing process.

The “Dinner and a Draft” sessions enabled students with particular interest in writing to engage with the authors and learn about both the inspirations for and the nuts and bolts of their craft.

Pauline is the author of the critically-acclaimed 2008 memoir Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality and has written about the medical profession for The New York Times. She is working on a new book, and she continues to practice medicine. The mother of two Loomis Chaffee juniors, she also serves on the school’s Board of Trustees.

Keith, an award-winning writer and an English professor in Oregon, has published four novels, including his latest, Old Newgate Road, which is set in the tobaccco fields near East Granby, Connecticut, where Keith lived for a time in his youth.

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2019

“As writers, our job is to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange.”

—KEITH SCRIBNER

During Pauline's visit on January 3, she spoke with the young writers about her experiences as a student, doctor, and writer and offered a window into her writing process.

ments, at Harvard University. She earned a medical degree at Northwestern University and completed her general surgical training at Yale University. As a successful transplant surgeon in California, Pauline sought to reconnect with her love of storytelling, which she had set aside in pursuit of becoming a doctor.

“When you have an image or thought that keeps coming back to you and affects you profoundly — write it down,” she advised. The presence of a muse is often momentary and fleeting, she said, so when an idea strikes, you must quickly “catch it and write it down.”

“I didn’t want to give up medicine, I just really wanted to write,” she said. So with encouragement from a writing teacher at UCLA, where Pauline was also on the faculty, Pauline began to translate her medical experience into narratives that resonated with a wide audience.

Pauline told the students about being struck by inspiration while driving along the Pacific Coast Highway in the early 2000s when she was living and working in California.

Observing a tan line on her finger reminded Pauline of the tan lines on the hands of the first cadaver she dissected in medical school. Drawing a parallel between the two bodies, Pauline came to appreciate that the cadaver was more than just a corpse; it was once a woman, a person, with human traits and a personality — who clearly loved the sun — and that person had her own wordless story to tell. Pauline rushed home to write down the narrative. The story of her first cadaver unfolds in rich detail in Final Exam.

She continued to practice medicine, using her professional experience and her writing to draw public attention to important issues concerning doctors, patients, and medical care. “I hope my writing can be a catalyst for change in some small way,” she said.

For the 20 students in attendance, many of whom write for student publications, Pauline encouraged writing as often as possible so that the practice becomes second nature. She recommended using an outline, stressed the importance of writing several drafts, encouraged putting all thoughts on paper first and editing afterwards, and suggested giving plenty of time to “let ideas stew.” She also answered students’ questions about her writing and its relationship to her work in the medical field.

Pauline said she has always liked storytelling to convey thoughts and ideas, and her writing relies heavily on narrative — a familiar approach employed by her Taiwanese father in their multilingual home in Windsor, Connecticut.

Demonstrating the way narratives can draw people into subjects, even uncomfortable ones like death and dying, Pauline read excerpts of her writing for the students.

“All of you have stories to tell, and I look forward to reading them,” she told the students in parting.

Pauline credits her time at Loomis Chaffee for helping her to develop as a thinker and to appreciate the power of writing. She fondly remembers serving as an editor for The Log. After graduating in 1982, she studied anthropology and Asian studies, while also completing pre-med require-

Keith met with a similar group of students later in January during a two-day visit to Loomis, which included a public book talk and discussions with several classes.

“As writers, our job is to make the strange familiar and the

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familiar strange,” Keith said over dinner with the student writers. He urged them to “read, read, read” and “revise, revise, revise.” He also suggested embracing all genres of writing, including poetry, and taking classes in any kind of writing to build a regular practice. As Pauline did, Keith recommended seizing on the first spark of inspiration by quickly writing down an idea when it comes to mind.

Keith published three novels prior to Old Newgate Road, including The Oregon Experiment in 2011, Miracle Girl in 2003, and The Good Life in 1999. The Good Life was selected for the Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers series and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Keith’s short story “Paradise in a Cup” garnered both Pushcart and O’Henry honorable mentions. His anthologies have appeared in Flash Fiction Forward and Sudden Stories: The MAMMOTH Book of Miniscule Fiction. His fiction and nonfiction writing also have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Daily Beast, and other publications.

A professor in the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University, Keith earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a master’s degree from the University of Montana. He was awarded Wallace Stegner and John L’Heureux Fellowships in Fiction at Stanford University, where he taught in the Creative Writing Program as a Jones Lecturer.

After the dinner and conversation with students, Keith spoke to a public gathering in Gilchrist Auditorium about his inspiration for Old Newgate Road and its characters, setting, and plot. He read several passages aloud for the audience and signed copies of the novel for attendees after his talk.

The following day, Keith met with students in Creative Writing and Contemporary Literature classes taught by English teachers Kate Saxton, Tim Helfrich ’96, and Phyllis Grinspan.

Recent Books

by Alumni Writers These books have been published or have been brought to our attention in the last year. The editors ask alumni to send updates and corrections to magazine@loomis.org for inclusion in this annual list.

Herbert C. Hallas ’55 A History of Windsor 1944–1962: As Seen Through the Pages of The News-Weekly

Frederic Price ’63 (pseudonym David Hirshberg) My Mother’s Son

David Kaiser ’65 A Life in History

Toni Treadway ’68 Late Harvest (poetry collection)

David Margolick ’70 The Promise and the Dream: The Untold Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy

Nicholas Fillmore ’80 Smuggler

Stephen Paul Sayers ’84 The Soul Dweller

Austin Allen ’02 Pleasures of the Game (poetry collection)

To listen to a Pelican Scoop podcast conversation between Keith and English teacher and Director of Writing Initiatives Sally Knight, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2019

I

n his 33 years as a Loomis Chaffee teacher, coach, dorm faculty, and advisor, among other roles, Jeffrey Scanlon ’79 has collected a trove of meaningful objects and memories, as his desk attests. Located in his sunny classroom

in Hubbard Hall, his desk is flanked by bookcases and looks out on the Harkness table where Jeff and his students share their study of and fascination with literature, language, and writing.

Faculty Desks JEFFREY SCANLON

Etched glass piece made by Jason Liu ’17.

Pewter mug from Middlebury College, where Jeff went to college and graduate school.

Desk tote containing what Jeff calls his “elite” pens. He bought the ceramic container, the spitting image of a miniature canvas beach-andboat tote, for $10.50 at a store in Osterville on Cape Cod. Decorative paperweight, a Christmas gift from a student, holding down Scantron sheets for scoring sophomores’ Loomis Chaffee Aptitude Tests in writing mechanics. Next to this stack are a boxed set of Carpe Diem cards with life advice, Admiral Fitzroy’s Storm Glass for weather predictions, and a DVD about a golf swing exercise (Jeff coaches boys golf).

The Buddha figurine, a gift from a former student, comes in handy if a student in class seems down or stressed out. “Why don’t you rub the Buddha’s belly,” Jeff says as he gives the figure to the student.

Well-loved copy of Macbeth, reinforced with duct tape on the binding.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

J E S S I C A H U T C H I N S O N

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O bject Le sson

from Sill House

Orange Snow

Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Add thawed can of concentrated orange juice, cold water, and salt. Chill until slightly thickened. Then place bowl in ice water, add egg whites, and whip with beater until fluffy and thick. Pour into 13 x 9-inch pan. Wait until firm then cut in squares. Top with sliced strawberries/blackberries. Makes 12 servings.

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Winter 2019

Photo: Jessica Hutchinson

2 packages orange Jello • 2 cups hot water • 1 can frozen orange juice (thawed) • 1 cup cold water • 1/4 tsp. salt • 2 egg whites • 1 package sliced stawberries (we used blackberries)

By KAREN PARSONS Loomis Chaffee History Teacher & School Archivist

handwritten recipes 10 students living in Longman Hall 4 Tuesday nights of dorm snack 1 playlist of 1960s popular music Mix the above ingredients. Add copies of The Epilogue.

Yield: a taste of Chaffee School life, 1958–1968 Sometimes the evening dorm snack involves time travel.

Such was the case this winter when the girls in Longman Hall agreed to sample dishes made from recipes preserved in the Loomis Chaffee Archives. This collection of 47 handwritten recipes, penned in ink on lined pages of steno notepad, document a slice of mid-20th-century American cuisine: Chicken a la King; Eggplant Ranch Style, Queen Elizabeth Cake; Orange Snow; Pineapple Cheese Salad; tapiocas; aspics; sauces; and so many jellied salads. Penciled-in notes indicate specific instructions: “cream cheese first, then cherry filling” or “make 3x.” On others, the circular brown shadows of long-ago kitchen splatters almost obscure the cooking directions. These must have been favorites.

Marcia Sanderson, a Chaffee faculty member from 1963 to 1978, donated the recipes to the school archives decades ago. Although the group is labeled “Recipes from Sill House/Mrs. Platt’s?,” referring to the building that housed The Chaffee School’s Dining Room and Mrs. Platt, the school dietician and head of the Dining Room from 1958 to 1968, it’s not certain that these recipes were used for school lunches. Jean Sanderson, Marcia’s daughter, confirmed that the handwriting is not her mother’s.

Despite the mystery surrounding their connection to the Chaffee School, the recipes, along with period yearbooks — Chaffee’s Epilogue from the 1960s — and a historically accurate soundtrack created by sophomore Margot Korites, helped to open an authentic “way” into the past.

As with all experienced food critics, the Longman girls gathered details about the food before any of it crossed their lips: They looked, they smelled, they poked, and they asked a lot of questions about ingredients. There were some unlikely and pleasing combinations, including the peanut butter, butterscotch morsels, and Rice Crispies in Scotch Crispies.

More dubious (and less enthusiastically received) medleys included the lemon Jello, sliced beets, celery, and horseradish of Jellied Beet Salad.

Fruit-flavored Jello, unflavored gelatin, or frozen fruit juice concentrate figured prominently in many of the recipes. Three-ingredient recipes, including Ice Cream Cake (lady fingers, ice cream, and maple syrup) and Chocolate Cake Surprise (devil’s food cake, cream cheese, and cherry pie filling), were surprisingly simple and quick to prepare.

To view the recipes and to listen to a podcast in which Karen discusses the recipes, visit www.loomischaffee. org/magazine.

The Longman girls noted the bold colors and bold flavors of these 1960s dishes. The brilliant gem-like green of Jellied Emerald Dessert, the intense depth of Orange Snow’s orange, and the rich red of cherry sauce atop the Chocolate Cake Surprise caught their eyes. The striking flavors of Lemon Chiffon Pie (intensely tart), Butterscotch Square (smooth and mellow sweetness), and Jellied Beet Salad (frankly, hard to put into words) spoke of another generation’s culinary culture.

As eager as we are to continue cooking and eating our way through the rest of these 47 recipes, we are even more keen to gather additional recipes connected with The Chaffee School. The often-spoken of sweet potato casserole, the very tender and thin pork chops (“absolutely phenomenal,” according to Jean), and the all-time favorite chocolate chip brownie — and others — remain undocumented in the archives collection.

We welcome any recipes that might engage our senses — and our taste testers — in this journey of food nostalgia.

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Photo: Jessica Hutchinson

Cl a ss No tes

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2019

Cl ass Not e s

1941 Mary Loomer Gavin reminisces about the many times over the years that she has been thankful for “the unique, classical background” of her days at Chaffee.

She recalls that her graduation class numbered 13.

1945 Gordon Thomas reports that he’s doing well, playing water volleyball, and working out in the gym for exercise several days per week. He took a steamship cruise on the Mississippi River recently, which experienced severe flooding and left the passengers stranded in Dubuque, Iowa. He continued on to New Orleans by bus, reporting that experience as “no fun.” Gordon is planning another cruise later this year from Quebec to Portland, Maine, and then on to Boston to visit his two daughters. He may stop by Loomis Chaffee for a visit.

1947 Nate Putnam just retired south of Camp David and quips that “since POTUS doesn’t own it, he’s not there much.”

1950 Bert Engelhardt remembers that his class “consisted of 84 guys. …

I wonder how many of us are left.”

Evie Smith writes, “I continue to be proud of my alma mater!”

1952 Robert Johnstone moved to Charleston, S.C., in the fall of

2018 for “warmer weather, good food, a boating harbor, and lots of culture and history.”

1953 Francine Berth Myles lost her husband, Robert (Bob) on October 24, 2018. “We were married 50+ years, so we have 50 years of memories,” she notes. Francine stays in touch with classmates Gloria Barnes Harper, Sheila Cronan Danielli, Phyllis Gould Johnson, Alice Ford Ferraina, Barbara Griffin Cox, Peggy Heath, Betty Jane Townsend, and Sheila Ward Rome, and she “love[s] them all!”

1958

1965

John Pearse and Sally Crowther Pearse ran into Harvey Struthers ’60 this winter at the opening concert of Atlantic Classical Orchestra’s Masterwork Series II in Vero Beach, Fla., which featured Sirena Huang ’12 on violin.

Fred Prelle reports that he’s now spending his summers in Weekapaug, R.I.

1960 Marshall Hoke reports, “Things are good here in the forests of Alberta. Visitors are welcome.”

1966

1963 Gerald Katz recently retired and is tutoring math and working on his golf game. “The math is a lot easier,” he remarks.

1954 John Huckans is the editor of Book Source Magazine, a website that connects buyers and sellers of second-hand, out-of-print, and rare books.

David Kaiser is pleased to announce the publication of his ninth book, a professional autobiography titled A Life in History.

The book combines “an account of my own career with comments on changes in the historical profession. Loomis plays a role!” For more information, see ALifeinHistory.com.

John Bonee still loves skiing, especially with his 19-year-old son, John Alex. They ski at “Mad River Glen, where no boarders are allowed.”

1955

CHAFFEE BOOK CLUB

Herbert C. Hallas’ new book, A History of Windsor 1944–1962: As Seen Through the Pages of The News-Weekly, was recently published. It discusses the significant political, economic, and social changes that took place in Windsor, Conn., from the final years of World War II to the dawn of the 1960s. In the chapter “TownGown Ups and Downs,” the relationship between Loomis Chaffee and the town is examined. Specific contributions of Loomis and Chaffee faculty members to the town are explored, as well as the threatened lawsuit by Windsor residents against Loomis Chaffee for not admitting more students from Windsor.

Save the Date: Wednesday, May 1 6 p.m. dinner followed by discussion Burton Room, Athletics Center

Circe by Madeline Miller DISCUSSION LEA DER S:

Sara Deveaux modern and classical languages teacher, director of the Henry R. Kravis ’63 Center for Excellence in Teaching and Michael Anderson modern and classical languages teacher

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Cl ass Not e s

1

2

3

1 Harvey Struthers ’60, Sirena Huang ’12, Sally Crowther Pearse ’58, and John Pearse ’58 posed for a picture together after the opening concert of Atlantic Classical Orchestra’s Masterwork Series II in Vero Beach, Fla., this winter. Sirena was a featured violinist in the concert.

2 Lynn Petrillo ’86 and Cameron Purdy ’18 stop for a photograph after a concert by the Franklin & Marshall College Chamber Singers in Bonita Springs, Fla., in March.

Cameron is a member of the Chamber Singers, who did a spring break tour in Florida, where Lynn was vacationing.

3 Andrea Korzenik McCarren ’81 snuggles with the service dog she is raising for a wounded warrior, or a child or adult with a disability. The pup is the third service dog Andrea has trained.

4 Liz Salsedo-Surovov ’98, Britt-Marie Cole-Johnson ’00, Ariel Williams ’06, and Kendra Brandrup Paolitto ’83 met up in the fall at a dinner for Women Innovating Now (WIN) at Cask Republic in Stamford, Conn. Britt-Marie co-founded WIN to bring together a community of “like-minded women in business.”

5 Andy Mayo ’86, whose daughters attend Loomis, provided musical entertainment (along with his bandmates) for guests at the Loomis Chaffee Parents Association Theater Luncheon in Brush Library on February 16, before the matinee performance of this year’s winter musical, The Old Man and The Old Moon.

4

1968

1972

Toni Treadway has published her first book of poems, Late Harvest.

She had readings scheduled in early 2019 in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York City.

Life is good in Florida for Douglas Ente, who says, “Grandkids, grandkids, grandkids!”

1969

“I recently switched firms and joined J.P. Morgan Securities in both the Palm Beach, Fla., and White Plains, N.Y., offices, as executive director,” reports Tom Lowell. He thanks those who tolerated the paperwork and moved along with him.

John Jenkins sends word that he has retired in Boulder, Colo.

1970 David Margolick’s latest book, The Promise and the Dream: The Untold Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, was published in April 2018. He is now completing a book on Sid Caesar.

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5

1975

1980 Nicholas Fillmore late last year published Smuggler, a memoir about his involvement in an international heroin smuggling operation. The lurid and cautionary tale recounts

Cl ass Not e s

the real backstory of the popular TV show Orange Is the New Black as well as the political rise and legal travails of Nigerian Senator Buruji Kashamu. Nicholas was a finalist for the Juniper Prize in poetry and co-founded and published SQUiD magazine in Provincetown, Mass. He is now at work on Sins of Our Fathers, a family romance. He is a reporter for Courthouse News Service and lecturer in English at Hawaii Pacific University.

1981 Andrea Korzenik McCarren won her 22nd Emmy Award for news reporting in 2018, along with a National Gracie Award for her investigation of rape in the military. In January 2019, she began a new chapter as chief content officer for PenFed Credit Union, a $24 billion financial institution with 1.7 million members. Andrea will lead a team producing inspiring stories about veterans, service members, and military families. She’ll also be raising her third service dog for a wounded warrior, or a child or adult with a disability.

1983 Leslie Oster is serving Maine’s first female governor, Janet Mills, as the director of the Blaine House.

Kendra Brandrup Paolitto shares that she attended a Women Innovating Now dinner at Cask Republic in Stamford, Conn., in the fall. The dinner involved multiple Loomis Chaffee connections. Britt-Marie ColeJohnson ’00, a lawyer from Robinson-Cole, co-founded the

organization to bring together a community of “like-minded women in business.” In addition to Kendra and Britt-Marie, Liz Salsedo-Surovov ’98 and Ariel Williams ’06 also attended the dinner. Kendra says she and Ariel “enjoyed reminiscing about [their] track and field school records.” In another Pelican twist, the dinner guests sampled cheesecakes from 7ATE9 Bakery in Somerville, Mass., which is owned by SarahBeth Chester ’99 and was named by the Food Network as one of the top 11 places in the United States to get cheesecake.

1984 Tess Jackson Albert is hoping to make it to the 35th Reunion in June. She is the assistant director

of a daycare/preschool that keeps expanding. She has been happily married to Charlie for 27 years, and they have a college grad who is working at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as a research assistant as well as a son in his junior year at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md. She has picked up golf and yoga and reports, “All is well! Dreaming of retirement and cannot believe it has been 35 years since we graduated!”

Stephen Sayers’s second novel was released in November 2018 through Hydra Publications, a small Midwest publisher specializing in horror and thriller fiction. The Soul Dweller is a Cape Cod-based supernatural thriller and is the second book in the “Caretakers” series. His debut

novel, A Taker of Morrows, was a bestseller in August 2018. Book three in the trilogy is scheduled for a summer 2019 release.

1986 Andy Mayo, parent of senior Silvia and sophomore Talia, provided musical entertainment (along with his bandmates) for guests at the Loomis Chaffee Parents Association Theater Luncheon in Brush Library on Saturday, February 16, before the matinee performance of this year’s winter musical, The Old Man and The Old Moon.

Lynn Petrillo ’86 and Cameron Purdy ’18 met up in Bonita Springs, Fla., in March, where Lynn was vacationing and Cam was performing with the Franklin

Why is Annual Fund participation important?

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PARTICIPATION MATTERS Gifts of any size add to our overall participation rate.

Even if you can’t give a lot, every gift matters and collectively the gifts add up.

Did you know that each year almost $250,000 comes from gifts of $250 or less?

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Tuition is significant. But even so, it only covers 70 percent of the true cost of educating each student.

The actual “gap” between tuition and the real cost of a Loomis Chaffee education is approximately $23,000 per student. This gap is covered by endowment income and gifts to the Annual Fund.

Members of the Loomis Chaffee community receive countless tangible and intangible benefits, before and after graduation. Making a gift to the Annual Fund is a way that you can pay it forward to the current and next generation of deserving students.

TUITION DEFICIT

GRATITUDE

loomischaffee.org Can we count you in? www.loomischaffee.org/giving51

“Loomis Chaffee helped me to become the explorer and risk-taker I became, and who I am still.”

Richard ’53 and John Crutchfield with John's daughter Everette

Ted Mooney ’69 “Loomis Chaffee is a vibrant, caring community that challenges and launches smart, compassionate young people into the world to make it better, one person at a time. Loomis Chaffee helped me to become the explorer and risk-taker I became, and who I am still.

“As difficult, challenging, and, yes, humiliating as my experience was at Loomis, it was also caring, inspiring, and uniquely nourishing of my young self. This is why, as a member of the John Metcalf Taylor Society, I am leaving part of my estate to Loomis Chaffee to help sustain and extend those values and experiences that sustained me. It is also why I encourage others, as they are able, to do likewise.”

—Ted Mooney ’69, on the occasion of his class celebrating its 50th Reunion.

interested in planned giving?

Join The John Metcalf Taylor Society For more information, please contact Associate Director of Development Heidi E.V. McCann ’93 at 860.687.6273 or heidi_mccann@loomis.org. www.loomischaffee.org/plannedgiving

& Marshall College Chamber Singers. In addition to sharing Loomis as their alma mater, Lynn and Cam both have Franklin & Marshall connections, Lynn as an alumna and Cam as a first-year student. Both also sang with the Loomis Chaffee Chamber Singers when they were students.

1987 James Kiley is living in Eugene, Ore., with his wife and three kids. When he’s not working, he says, he “run[s] marathons, play[s] Dungeons & Dragons, and explore[s] the West Coast.”

1993 In January, Elisabeth W. Goodridge was appointed deputy editor for the Travel section of The New York Times. In her 10 years at The Times, she has held various news and feature editing roles in New York and Washington.

Her work has won or been nominated for numerous journalism awards and honors.

1999 Carson L. Taylor lives in New York City with his wife, and is “gainfully employed” on Wall Street. He catches up frequently with classmates Samuel Wurzel and Colin McGlynn.

2007 For the past five years, Lucy Copp has been co-facilitating a parole preparation workshop called Insight throughout the California prison system. Feeling inspired to extend this work into a creative field, she developed a podcast called “Life on the Outside,” which examines the transition from prison back into society after long-term incarceration. “I interview former lifers who are released on parole after 20, 30, sometimes 40 years behind bars with the intention of elevating stories of reentry,” she notes. This coming year she will expand the podcast into a series of live storytelling events with the support of her local community in East Los Angeles. You can

listen to her podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Spotify, and visit the podcast’s Instagram at @loto_podcast.

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2010 Melanie Grover-Schwartz reports that she is “living and working in Seattle and loving it!”

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2011 Tom Barry joined the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Steering Committee last year in Washington, D.C., and served as the Steering Committee lead for the organization’s 2018 midterm election work in Virginia. The HRC is the largest LGBTQ civil rights advocacy group and political lobbying organization in the United States. Tom says he was proud to celebrate the victories of two HRC-endorsed candidates, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District and Jennifer Wexton in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, on November 6, 2018.

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2017 Pelican Model United Nations alumni Gaurang Goel, Kevin Jung, and Cathy Hyeon ’18, all students at Harvard University, met up with Loomis Chaffee Model U.N. students who were in Beantown for the Boston Model U.N. Conference February 7–9.

Gaurang and Kevin gave the visitors from the Island a tour around the main quads on Harvard’s campus, and they spoke about how their experiences at Loomis shaped some of their current interests. According to Rachel Engelke, faculty advisor to the Loomis Model U.N. organization, Gaurang has connected with an Iranian scholar who spoke as a guest lecturer at Loomis a couple of years ago, and Kevin will be in South Korea for two years beginning this summer to complete his national service. Cathy stopped by to say a quick “hello” before running off to class.

1 Vern Guetens ’89 met up with former longtime faculty member and coach Jim Wilson at a Dartmouth hockey game.

2 Tom Barry ’11 poses with Jennifer Wexton, the winning candidate in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, on election night, November 6, 2018. As a member of the Steering Committee for the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ civil rights advocacy group and political lobbying organization, Tom worked in support of Ms. Wexton’s successful campaign.

3 Elisabeth W. Goodridge ’93 was appointed deputy editor for the Travel section of The New York Times in January.

4 Jason DiVenere ’01 married Morgan Halley on May 13, 2018, at Esperanza Resort in Cabo, Mexico.

Jeff Dunn ’00 was among the celebrants in attendance. Jason and Morgan took a honeymoon around the world to Dubai, Maldives, Singapore, Thailand, and Japan.

5 Newlyweds Nicholas J. Matiasz ’06 and Gabrielle Green celebrate their marriage on August 18, 2017, in Los Angeles, Calif. Tom Burns ’06 served as best man. Other Pelicans in attendance included Jack Byerly ’06, Carolyn Carta ’06, Ben ChilsonParks ’07, Laura Chilson-Parks ’07, Elliot Creem ’06, Mike Eldridge ’06, Ryan Johnson ’06, Matt Longobardi ’06, Murad Mamedov ’06, and Dana Nestor ’06.

6 Ayesha Gaines ’95 and husband Kendrick T. Roundtree Sr. are all smiles after their wedding on August 18, 2018, in Bloomfield, Conn.

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A lumni G at her i ngs

LC Gatherings 1

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Head’s Holiday January 31 PS 450, New York City

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Hartford Reception January 31 Scanlan Campus Center, Loomis Chaffee

Winter Brunch for Young Alumni January 9 Scanlan Campus Center, Loomis Chaffee

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2019

STAY ENGAGED

N O I N R EU

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REUNION WEEKEND

Save the date!

Classes ending in 4s and 9s, it’s your year!

June 14-16, 2019

Make plans to return to the Island June 14–16 and reconnect with classmates, faculty, and friends. A full weekend of programs, activities, music, food, and fun for the whole family awaits you.

Registration is now open!

Visit www.loomischaffee.org/reunion to register online and for the most up-to-date information.

Questions? Call 860.687.6815.

UPCOMING ALUMNI BASEBALL OUTINGS 11

Leadership Reception January 24 Hu Kitchen, New York City 1 Ed and Diane Scanlon, parents of four Loomis Chaffee alumni, Susan ’06, Christine ’09, Rebecca ’11, and Laura ’15; and current senior Melissa 2 Tong Liu P ’17, Kim Reed ’81, Fred McNulty ’11, Hilary House Carpenter ’82, and Anita Giordano Ustjanauska ’81 3 Nick Filipone ’98, Gene Antico P ’97, and Norma Antico P ’97 4 Josh Martin (Julie’s husband), Julie Woolwich Martin ’90, Samantha Myers ’90, Peter Kolp ’90, Jessica Dalrymple ’90, Victor Samra ’90, Lee Guzofski ’90, and Charity Guzofski (Lee’s wife) 5 Shannon Hearn ’12, Madeline Parish ’12, and Rowan Rice ’13

7 Jack Costello ’18, Bobby Scola ’18, Andrew Cohen ’18, Max Wickersham ’18, Rachel Kantor ’18, and Anna Meyer ’17

May 19 Boston Red Sox vs.

Houston Astros 1:05 p.m. game Fenway Park

June 23 Hartford Yard Goats vs.

Altoona Curve 1:05 p.m. game Dunkin’ Donuts Park

June 22 New York Yankees vs.

Houston Astros 7:05 p.m. game Yankee Stadium

July 27 Hartford Yard Goats vs.

Akron Rubber Ducks 6:05 p.m. game Dunkin’ Donuts Park

For more information and to register, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

8 Dean of Students Nick Barker, Cameron Purdy ’18, Abby Forrester ’18, Jacy Case ’18, and Olivia Tomassetti ’18 9 Faculty member Kitty Johnson Peterson ’72, senior Kiki Szemraj, Blaine Stevens ’18, and faculty member Lilian Hutchinson

SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE Email the Class Notes editor at magazine@loomis.org to share news with classmates and friends. High-resolution photographs are welcome; please clearly identify all people.

10 Ned Babbit ’61, Do-Yun Park P ’20, and Sarah Lutz ’85 11 Hosts Jason Karp ’94 and Jessica Karp with Head of School Sheila Culbert and Associate Head for External Relations Nat Follansbee

6 James Borod ’01, Nitin Sacheti ’01, Don Turnbull ’01, and Alex Gordon ’01

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Photo: Jessica Hutchinson

Obit ua r ies

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1939 James Albert Munves, on August 31, 2018, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, his place of residence for the last several decades. A one-year student from Cedarhurst, N.Y., Jim was involved in the Chemistry Club, Grounds Committee, Stagehands Union, and Loomiscellany Board. He was active in football, squash, and tennis. Jim was survived by his wife, Barbara P. Parsons Munves; his brother, R. Peter Munves; three daughters; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and many friends on Prince Edward Island.

1943 CORRECTION The name of Candice Naboicheck Dolce ’99, a family member of Joan Joseloff Kohn ’43, was incorrect in the obituary for Joan that appeared in the Winter 2019 issue of Loomis Chaffee Magazine.

1945 Alice Smith Templeton Custer, peacefully in her sleep on September 12, 2018, just days before she would have turned 91. A fouryear student from West Hartford, Conn., Alice was active as business manager of the yearbook; was a reporter for Chiel; sang in Glee Club; and was president of Chaffee Chest. She was active in tennis and soccer. Alice earned a bachelor of arts degree Magna Cum Laude from Smith College; a master’s degree in political science from Trinity College; and a master’s degree in library science from Central Connecticut State University. According to the

family obituary, Alice remained “infectiously happy through and including her last day,” … and “instinctively thought first of others.” Predeceased by her three husbands, William Templeton, Richard Custer, and Archibald Stuart, Alice was survived by her three children, William Templeton Jr. ’71, Allan Templeton ’73, and Alice Templeton ’76; her sister, Ann Smith Pangman ’49; and her two grandchildren.

A memorial service was held on October 1, 2018, in the Unitarian Universalist Church in West Hartford.

of the new entity. Committed to the Hartford-area community in many ways, Sam served on the boards of Mt. Sinai Hospital, the Saint Francis Hospital Men’s Association, the Hartford Easter Seal Association, the Hartford Jewish Federation, and the Connecticut State Senior Golf Association, where he became a director emeritus. He served two terms as commissioner of the West Hartford Pension Board. In his late 20s, Sam was named to the board of Tumblebrook Country Club, and he remained active in the organization in a number of capacities for many years. He was also a member of the Hartford Golf Club. Sam was a lifelong member of Congregation Beth Israel. According to the family obituary, Sam became known as “Mule” — apparently due to a misspelling by a childhood friend — but the nickname stuck and was fitting due to Sam’s stubborn demeanor. A fierce competitor and champion golfer, Sam took top prize at countless club tournaments and qualified for the U.S. Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship in 1991. During his long golfing career, he shot seven holes-in-one. Sam and his wife, Frances, enjoyed European travel and liked to build travel itineraries around golf outings.

For the past 20 years, they spent winters in Florida, where Sam was a member of Jonathan’s Landing Golf Club in Jupiter.

Described by family members as “realistic, level-headed, and cool in an emergency,” Sam will be remembered as being “highly-principled … with strong convictions about fiscal responsibility in government.” He was a lifelong supporter of the New York Giants football team, and he appreciated cooking and eating good food.

Regardless of the season, Sam regularly enjoyed an after-din-

1947 Samuel Blumenthal, on December 28, 2018, after a courageous battle with cancer.

A four-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Sam was active in Student Council, the Bridge Club, and the Ping Pong Club, and he served on the Publications Board, Endowment Fund, Blue Laws Committee, and Committee of Review. He served as business manager and on the Business Board of The Log. Sam was active in football, basketball, baseball, and golf. After earning a bachelor’s degree at Hobart College in 1951, Sam spent two years in the U.S. Army, including nine months at the 8th Army 1st Corps in Uijonbu, Korea, near the 2022nd M.A.S.H. unit. After being discharged, Sam worked for his brother-in-law at Harris & Company and then began a successful 40-year career in the brokerage business starting at Putnam & Company — the predecessor to Advest Inc. He became a partner at Putnam & Company and managed its West Hartford and main Hartford offices. When Advest incorporated, Sam was named a director

ner cigar and a game of solitaire while sitting in the open air of his screened porch. By his own admission, according to his obituary, “he led a fortunate life and didn’t leave anything undone.” Preceded in death by his brother, Harry S. Blumenthal Jr., Sam was survived by his wife of 61 years, Frances Finesilver Blumenthal; his sister, Joan Harris; his cousin Carol Blumenthal Isaacs ’49; his three children: Betsy, Edward, and Laurence, and their spouses; and his eight grandchildren, including Noah Blumenthal ’13, Charlotte Blumenthal ’14, and Nathaniel Blumenthal ’17. A funeral service was held at Weinstein Mortuary in Hartford, followed by interment at Beth Israel Cemetery in Avon on December 30, 2018.

William J. Burke Jr., on January 12. A four-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Bill was involved with the Rifle Club, Travel Club, Yannigans, and Bridge Club, and he served as library supervisor and on the Library Committee. He was active in football and baseball. Bill earned a bachelor’s degree from Hobart College before enlisting in the U.S. Army and serving during the Korean War. After being honorably discharged, Bill worked as an actuary at Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company until his retirement in 1989. A long-time resident of Simsbury, Conn., Bill and Elaine, his wife of 59 years, raised a family of five children. Preceded in death by his daughter, Catherine Grenci, Bill was survived

by Elaine; his four sons, Thomas, William, John, and David; his cousins W. Barrett Dower ’56 and Harriet Dower Stevenson ’61; and his three grandchildren.

Visitation was held on January 16 at the Robinson, Wright & loomischaffee.org

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Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook, Conn.

1947 Edmund I. Dahl, on January 12.

A three-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Bud, as he was known, was involved in the Chess Club, Ping Pong Club, Concert Orchestra, and Yannigans, and he served on Student Council, the Senior Tutoring Committee, and the Loomiscellany Board. He was active in tennis, football, baseball, and soccer, and he lettered in basketball. After Commencement, Bud earned degrees from Yale University and Harvard Business School before serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He married Evelyn Muller, also of West Hartford, in 1951, and the two resided in Chelsea, Mass., during his naval service. After a move to New Jersey, Bud and Evelyn raised three daughters, and were members of the Dutch Reformed Church of Metuchen, where Bud served as a deacon.

Bud enjoyed a long and successful career in finance, which began at Johnson & Johnson in Chicopee, Mass., and included subsequent finance positions at American Tobacco, International Paper Company, and Airco. He concluded his career as chief financial officer of the U.S. Navy Exchange, Staten Island, N.Y. A devoted alumnus, Bud remained connected to Loomis Chaffee through the years by serving as a class agent and 65th Reunion volunteer and as a Common Good Society member. For the last seven years, Bud resided at Stonebridge at Montgomery, Skillman, N.J., where he enjoyed bridge, choir, and community.

Preceded in death by his wife, Penny, and his sister, Eileen Lord,

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Bud was survived by his brother Elmer Dahl ’48 and Elmer’s wife, Hazel; his three daughters, Nancy Black, Susan Dahl, and Karen Lorentzen and her spouse, Wayne; his nephew Peter Dahl ’78; his three grandchildren; and his great-grandson. A private interment and memorial service was planned. The family requests that donations in Bud’s honor be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering and the Loomis Chaffee Scholarship Fund.

1948 Wilbur Fisk Osler III, on August 30, 2018, peacefully while overlooking his beloved Peconic Bay of Long Island, N.Y. A two-year student from Leonia, N.J., Bill was involved in Senior Debating, the Darwin Club, and the Dining Hall Committee. He was active in football, basketball, golf, and weightlifting. After earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University, Bill served in the U.S. Air Force and was a decorated veteran of the Korean War. An entrepreneur at heart, Bill started many businesses until he finally settled in the transportation and railroad industry with his company, Advanced Track Products.

He managed his rail products business with his youngest son, Scott, and patented some of the products he designed. Bill spent childhood summers in Mattituck on coastal Long Island, N.Y., and made it his full-time home in 1993. A second-generation member of North Fork Country Club, Bill enjoyed a round of golf but was most passionate about boating and sailing — and shared this love and skill with his sons. According to the family’s obituary, Bill was a “dedicated

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2019

friend and ardent family man. …

He was a man of great character, proud but never boastful, kind and witty. … He was full of laughter and love and will be greatly missed.” Predeceased by his wives, Judy and Ginny, and his brother, Frederick B. Osler Jr. ’47, Bill was survived by his four sons, Mark, Darryl, Bruce, and Scott, and their spouses; and his nine grandchildren. Church services were held at Mattituck Presbyterian Church on September 8, 2018.

Richard A. Rifkind, on January 1. A two-year student from New York City, Dick was involved in the Spanish Club, Classical Music Club, Maroons, Puppeteers, Debating Team, and Atomic Energy Discussion Group, and he served as a volunteer medical aide, chemistry lab assistant, and chair of the Senior Scholarship Committee. He was active in soccer and tennis and as wrestling manager. A top scholar, Dick earned the Mrs. Thomas Warham Loomis Memorial Prize for Highest Scholarship in the Senior Class, a Rensselaer Medal Commencement Award, and was named to the Honor Roll for the two years he spent at Loomis.

Dick earned a bachelor’s degree at Yale University in 1951 and a medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1955, and he served for two years in the U.S. Air Force. In a memoir published in the New York Academy of Sciences newsletter, W.M. Akers writes that Dick’s interest in the practice of medicine “eventually led him to basic biological research at the lab bench, a distinguished career at several of New York’s most respected research institutions, and finally,

in his retirement years, to the cutting edge of documentary film.”

Dick taught medical students at Columbia University for a number of years and, in 1984, was appointed chairman and director of Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, where he was instrumental in the modernization and diversification of the institution’s programs and faculty.

During that time, Dick’s own laboratory study focused on finding biological solutions to control malignant cell growth, which eventually led to advancements in the treatment of cancer. In the 1990s, Dick was an influential participant in a consortium of New York’s scientific institutions whose objective was to attract talented research scientists to the city and garner public investment in biomedical research. Based on his leadership, Dick was recruited to serve on the Board of Governors of the New York Academy of Sciences, where he promoted a “strong interest in the public understanding of science,” according to the organization’s newsletter.

He also served on the boards of the New York Academy of Medicine and the New York Hall of Science. When he retired from Sloan Kettering in 2003, Dick discovered a passion and talent for documentary filmmaking, which he pursued with his wife, Carole Rifkind. Their work includes a documentary about mass tourism’s negative impact on the city of Venice, Italy, which was widely shown on public television and in global film festivals. Dick’s 2009 film, Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist, follows three young scientists-in-training in a Columbia University laboratory, and was developed to encourage young people into scientific study. The globally-distributed film was honored by the National

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Academy of Science and is still regularly screened at schools and institutions of higher education.

Dick is quoted in the New York Academy of Sciences newsletter as saying, “If you want science to continue, you have to invest in the young.” His brother, Robert S. Rifkind ’54, wrote in a letter to the school that “in addition to a distinguished career in science and a productive avocation as a documentary filmmaker, Dick was an ideal older brother who led me in many good directions — including to Loomis.” In addition to his brother, Dick was survived by his wife of 63 years, Carole; their daughters, Barbara and Nancy; and two grandchildren.

Bruce Coplestone Williams, on November 18, 2018. A threeyear student from Amherst, Mass., Bruce was involved in Ski Club, Stamp Club, Glee Club, Student Federalists, Stagehands Union, Le Circle Français, and the Scholarship Committee, and he sang in the chorus of York Nativity Play. He was active in soccer, basketball, and tennis.

Bruce earned a bachelor’s degree Summa Cum Laude from Princeton University before joining the U.S. Marine Corps. He served from 1953 to 1955, including on tours of duty in Korea and Japan.

Upon his return, Bruce attended law school on the G.I. Bill at the University of Virginia. After earning his law degree, Bruce and his family moved to Severna Park, Md., and he practiced law with the firm of Fell and Hartman in Baltimore and Annapolis. He was later named to judgeships on the People’s Court of Anne Arundel County in 1964 and Maryland District Court in 1971. Bruce was elected to the Anne Arundel Circuit Court in 1976, where he

served as chief judge and presided over many high-profile cases.

He retired in 1996 after 32 years on the bench. Committed to his family and community, Bruce enjoyed watching his children compete in a variety of sports and became involved with local youth athletics organizations, including serving as president of the Greater Severna Park Athletic Association. His favorite pastimes included reading, downhill skiing, sailing on the Chesapeake, and cruising the waters from Maine to the Bahamas aboard his beloved trawler, Viator. According to the family obituary, Bruce will be remembered for “his patient and even-handed approach to matters both on and off the bench,” and for his “quiet and gentle strength. … There wasn’t a crying baby he couldn’t soothe within minutes.”

Preceded in death by his son Scott, Bruce was survived by Phyllis, his wife of 64 years; his four children, Lauren Whipp, Courtland Williams, Stuart Williams, and Gregory Williams, and their spouses; his brother, Douglas Williams; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

A private family celebration of Bruce’s life was planned for spring at his home on the Severn River.

1949 James Edward Carroll Jr., on December 21, 2018, from the effects of a stroke. A three-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Jim was involved in the Chess Club, Ping Pong Club, and Classical Music Club, and he served as study hall and library supervisor and on the Log Editorial Board. He was active in soccer, basketball, and baseball.

Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at Trinity College.

After a visit to Cuba with a school friend, Jim “fell in love” with the Spanish language and culture, according to the family obituary.

He earned a master’s degree in Spanish at Middlebury College, which required two years of study at the University of Madrid in Spain, and he pursued graduate studies in Spanish at New York University. He taught Spanish for many years on Long Island and in Queens, N.Y., and in Danbury and Hartford, Conn. Known for his unconventional Spanish lessons, Jim was criticized by administrators but praised by students, who credited him with keeping them engaged in school and helping them to achieve language proficiency. Jim’s humanitarian work also reflected his appreciation of Spanish culture.

His frequent travels to Central America included trips to Nicaragua with the Ocotal/Hartford Sister City group and Pastors for Peace. On one trip, Jim collected health supplies in a trailer truck and drove it south from New York through Mexico and into Central America. Jim was committed to community and political action in Hartford and in Glastonbury, where he was a member of the Glastonbury Town Committee.

An avid sports fan and athlete, Jim played semi-pro baseball and soccer in his youth, and he enjoyed golfing with friends at Keney Park and Goodwin Park in his later years. According to the family obituary, he regretted that his father would not allow him to set aside his schooling to be drafted by Connie Mack of the former Philadelphia Athletics. Jim remained a diehard Detroit Tigers fan, even as he lived in New England. When his health grounded him, Jim took up the ukulele and joined the Glastonbury Ukulele Band, and the experience allowed

him to play all over the area and meet many new friends. Jim was survived by his wife Kathleen Collins; his son Jim Carroll and wife, Maureen; his step-children, Michael Collins, Maura O’Donnell, and Mark Collins, and their spouses; his sister-in-law, Jane Carroll; his two grandchildren; his five step-grandchildren; and his four-legged pal, Max. A Mass of Christian Burial was held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Hartford on December 28, 2018.

Robert Cushing Winters, on December 3, 2018, in Fort Myers, Fla. A four-year Honor Roll student from West Hartford, Conn., Bob was involved in the Ping Pong Club, Chess Club, Concert Orchestra, and Maroons, and he served as an electrician in the Stagehands Union, as president of the Publications Association, as associate editor of The Loom, and on the Editorial Board of The Log. He was active in football, hockey, baseball, track, and tennis. After earning a bachelor’s degree at Yale University, Bob served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He earned an M.B.A. from Boston University and enjoyed a long and successful career in the insurance business. A former chairman and chief executive officer of the Prudential Insurance Company of America, Bob was also a past board member of the Business Round Table, the Mayo Clinic, the Episcopal Divinity School, Honeywell International, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A fellow and past member of the Board of Governors of the Society of Actuaries, and past president of the American of Academy of Actuaries, Bob was, at the time, the youngest person to ever to pass the rigorous Society of Actuaries actuarial exams. A

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scholar and brilliant mathematician, Bob taught himself to speak proficient Japanese, German, and French. He enjoyed puns and the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzles, and though he was apparently tone-deaf, Bob loved music, sang joyfully in church, and even memorized the scores to every Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Described as “ethical beyond belief, meticulous, sentimental and deeply caring,” Bob was “a true New Englander with a sturdy exterior and a heart of squishy gold,” according to his family obituary. Preceded in death by his first wife, Patricia A. Martini, Bob was survived by his wife Roberta Jenkins, whom he married in 2006; his two daughters, Sally Vold and Beth Cushing, and their spouses; his four step-children, Eric, Brett, Kristen, and Lauren, and their spouses; and his eight grandchildren. A celebration of life was planned for a later date.

1954 Darnall Parker Burks, on December 29, 2018, in Merrimack, N.H. A four-year student from New Hartford, Conn., Darnall was involved in the Radio Club, the Science Club, the High Fidelity Club, The Log, and The Loom. He served as president of both the Darwin Club and the German Club, as chairman of the Scholarship Committee, and as a laboratory assistant, and he was active in football, wrestling, and tennis. An academic high-achiever, Darnall was named Top Scholar of the Junior Class and a Cum Laude member. He was named to the Honor Roll for all four years. He remained connected to the school as a member of Common Good Society.

After Loomis, Darnall earned a bachelor’s degree in physics

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from Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in physics from Williams College. In 1958, he joined Sprague Electric Company as a design engineer and held positions in research, development, and management there until 1990. He became an engineering consultant, first in Dijon, France, and then in Tokyo, Japan, and he returned to the United States in 1995 to work as a consultant for Mitsubishi Materials. A distinguished physicist, Darnall held several patents and authored many papers pertaining to physics. Throughout his life, Darnall was a voracious reader, travelled widely, and was a culinary adventurer, and he also enjoyed music, literature, and art. In recent years, Darnall took great pleasure in genealogical research and his work with Precious Metal Clay artists.

He was a member and elder of the Nashua Presbyterian Church and served in a number of roles on the Presbytery of Northern New England. According to the family’s obituary, Darnall was “a thoughtful friend, a devoted father, and a loving husband.” He was survived by his wife of 57 years, Marilyn Dixon Burks; his two children, Sarah L. Burks and Deborah G. Burks, and Deborah’s husband, John Wurster; and his sister and brother-in-law, Lucia and Jeffrey Horner. A memorial service was held at Nashua Presbyterian Church, Nashua, N.H., on January 5.

Robert M. Spitzler, peacefully, on December 27, 2018, in Palm Beach, Fla. A four-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Bob was involved in the Chess Club, the Press Club, Loomiscellany, the Stagehands Union, and the Darwin Club, and he served on the Chapel and Assembly Committee and as typist and assistant

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business manager for The Log. He was active in soccer, wrestling, and baseball. After earning a bachelor’s degree from University of Pennsylvania, Bob worked with his father in the supermarket business and later became a real estate investor and private money lender. Committed to his community, Bob was a socially responsible lender who invested in property for low-income families and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. An accomplished tennis player, Bob gave tennis lessons at The Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, Fla. He also enjoyed gardening, reading, playing chess, debating politics, and ocean fishing off the coast of Cape Cod in Orleans, Mass. Predeceased by his son Andrew C. Spitzler ’79, Bob was survived by Sondra Miller, his wife of 32 years; sons David and John; three step-sons, Scott, Steven, and Brad; and 11 grandchildren.

1955 Grace Hartnett Leffel, on December 11, 2018, peacefully in her Chicago home after a battle with cancer. A four-year student from Windsor, Conn., Gay, as she was known, was active on sports teams and was involved in the Glee Club, the Political Club, and Dramatics, and she served as president of Chaffers.

She received a Commencement Prize for Dramatics. Gay earned a bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College for Women in 1959 and was later hired by American Airlines as an “Air Goddess” for the route between Chicago and Mexico City because she spoke Spanish. While living in Chicago, Grace met and married Charles P. Leffel, former president of the Sunbeam Corporation. She and Charlie settled in Chicago, where

Gay enjoyed her roles as wife and mother and was active in the community, serving on the Junior League, as a Girl Scout leader, on the Northwestern University Women’s Board, on the Lincoln Park Zoo Women’s Board, and on the Gold Coast Neighbors Association Board. Gay was an active member of the Woman’s Athletic Club of Chicago, and she enjoyed singing with the “WACquettes.”

She remained connected to the school as a Reunion volunteer and as a member of the John Metcalf Taylor Society and Common Good Society. According to the family obituary, Gay will be remembered as “a connector — always bringing together people and friends.” She was fond of music, literature, travel, taking walks, dancing, and golf.

Predeceased by her husband, Gay was survived by her daughter, Kay Leffel-Dziedzic; her siblings, James J. Hartnett, Jr. ’52, Mary Lou Cohen, and Joan Hartnett Ottaway ’62, and their spouses; her granddaughter; and many extended family members, including her nephews John Leffel ’74, Philip Leffel ’71, and Thomas Leffel ’77.

1960 George Wiltz Service, on August 19, 2018, in Pinyon Pines, Calif. A two-year student from Washington, D.C., George was involved in the Chess Club, Pelicans, Chapel Committee, Glee Club, Stagehands Union, and Emma Willard Religious Conference. He was active in soccer, wrestling, baseball, and rifle. Son of an American diplomat, George was raised and educated in locations around the world, including China, Russia, Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands, the Philippines, Australia, and the United States,

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and the experience inspired in him a lifelong love of learning and a broad span of interests.

George earned a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College, and his first job after college was at Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley National Park. There, he became captivated with the flora, fauna, history, and lifestyle of the desert environment. George worked for a time as an officer at Security Bank in several California desert locales. George founded Desert Expeditions, a travel experience company that offered licensed back-country tours for clients that included the Audubon Society and the Smithsonian. A lover of American folk music, George was self-taught on the harmonica, accordion, and guitar, and he enjoyed singing songs around the campfire in remote desert areas. His many talents included model-building, woodworking, and photography; a number of his photos were published in California desert lifestyle magazines and were on display in public buildings and museums. George had many and varied occupations, including restaurant management, securities and insurance sales, long-distance trucking, and humor and travel blog writing.

He enjoyed spending time in the company of friends and family and will be remembered for his large dinner parties where guests, seated around dining tables he’d crafted himself, would be treated to a meal cooked on one of his many outdoor grills. According to the family obituary, George was “a gifted raconteur with a daunting vocabulary, quick wit, and keen humor.” Married four times, including to Patricia Munger, Karen Sausman, and Diana Evans, George was survived by Patty Gomez, his wife of 20 years, who took care of him during his long battle

with Alzheimer’s disease. He was survived by his 102-year-old mother, Helen Service; and his two siblings, Ric and Maggie. A celebration of his life was planned for a later date.

1968 Emily H. Norris, on November 22, 2018, in Santa Fe, N.M. A four-year student from Bloomfield, Conn., Emmy was involved in the French Club, Photography Club, Glee Club, Madrigals, and Current Affairs Club, and she was a school newspaper reporter and yearbook literary editor. She was active in dramatics both on stage and as a director for theater productions, including an award-winning Bonnie & Clyde spoof. Emmy was deeply connected to the Loomis and Chaffee schools: her father, Howard “Squirrel” Norris ’28, taught science at Loomis; her mother, Barbie Norris, was the music director at Chaffee; and Emmy grew up living on the Loomis campus before the family moved to Bloomfield. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., then traveled to Santa Fe in 1973 to attend a workshop at the Lama Foundation spiritual community.

Her experience there inspired in her a vocation for practicing the healing arts, and in the more than 40 years during which Emmy lived in New Mexico, she worked as a massage therapist, a caregiver, and a permaculture gardener and landscaper.

Committed to maintaining and promoting a healthy and balanced lifestyle, Emmy was also a dedicated political activist, a devoted environmental advocate, and an independent thinker who remained curious about the world throughout her life. She enjoyed

music, concerts, lectures, and movies. According to the family obituary, “[Emmy] never owned a computer — her letters were long and seldom without drawings or cartoon figures — and a phone call with Emmy involved a serious time commitment. We will miss so much about Emmy, but especially her humor, sense of style, and remarkable inner light.” Predeceased by her parents, Emmy was survived by her two sisters, Virginia “Vini” Norris Exton ’67 and Dorothy “Dedo” S. Norris ’75; her partner, Patrick McGinn; her cat, NiWhi; and her many friends in the Santa Fe area. Celebrations of Emmy’s life are planned for May 5 in Santa Fe, N.M.; June 16 at 9:30 a.m. in Founders Chapel at Loomis Chaffee; and September 21 in Westport, Mass. The Norris family asks that donations in Emmy’s name be sent to Loomis Chaffee for the Norris Teaching Environmental Fund, established in 1990 to support environmental studies, or a National Public Radio affiliate station.

1969 Francis McDonough Culver, on December 1, 2018, at home with his family in West Newbury, Mass. A four-year student from Katonah, N.Y., Mickey, as he was known, served as president of the Stagehands Union and the Photography Club, vice president of Student Council and the Film Society, and photography editor of The Log. He also was involved with Junto, and he was active in wrestling and tennis.

Mickey received a Faculty Book Prize at Commencement and was awarded a Theater Arts Prize on Class Night. After Loomis, Mickey continued to be active as a theater technician at Tufts

University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1973. Mickey traveled the globe as a steward and seaman on cruise ships of the former Norwegian American line.

He worked at White Oak Design until 1980, when he joined his father and brother at Culver Company, a utilities industry consultancy company in New York. In 1989, Mickey and his family moved to West Newbury, and he and his brother relocated the business to Massachusetts and California. Under Mickey’s leadership, the company grew from a handful of employees to more than 30. According to the family obituary, “Mickey loved the ocean and boats; he declared that most places were ‘too far from salt water to support life.’” He enjoyed sailing and built four small wooden boats, and he cruised the New England and Canadian coasts on his yawl, Mist. Mickey chartered sailboats for trips with family and friends in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and Great Britain. In 1998, Mickey joined the board of directors of the Essex County Greenbelt Association, where he served in leadership roles until the end of his life. Passionate about Greenbelt’s dedication to land conservation and stewardship, Mickey helped the organization meet its objectives as it grew in size and complexity, and he valued the relationships he forged with colleagues there. A natural teacher and mentor, Mickey taught young people woodworking skills and the value of persistence as they worked alongside him in his wood shop. Adults took away lessons in history, navigation, cooking, business, and how to live a generous and connected life. He remained connected to Loomis Chaffee as a volunteer for his 35th and 45th reunions. After a difficult diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in

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August 2017, Mickey found the strength to live a “wonderfully full final chapter” of his life. He finished building Sleat, a 19-foot traditional boat, which he sailed in Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island; navigated Mist to Maine and back accompanied by friends and family; spent two August weeks “on the hook” in Provincetown; attended the September wedding celebration of his son; and enjoyed Thanksgiving with 30 friends at home.

Mickey was survived by his wife of 37 years, Ann Bardeen; his sons, Robert M. Culver ’05 and William B. Culver ’09, and their spouses; his brother, Brennan; and his niece. A celebration of Mickey’s life was planned for 2019.

William Willard Graulty Jr., on October 24, 2018. A fouryear student from South Lyme, Conn., Bill was involved with the Darwin Club, Photography Club, Sailing Club, Ski Club, and Stagehands Union. He was active in soccer, hockey, golf, and lacrosse. According to the family obituary, Bill discovered his love of broadcasting as a boy, giving updates to the family with a homemade radio kit. He worked at the Dartmouth College radio station and then at WBEC Radio in Pittsfield, Mass.; WAMC Public Radio in Albany, N.Y.; and finally at WBRK Radio in Pittsfield, where he served as news director. After retiring from WBRK, Bill continued his popular daily commentaries and soon began a second career as a public relations executive at Alison Hull & Malnati in Pittsfield and Mintz + Hoke in Avon, Conn.

Committed to his community, Bill served as a selectman in the town of West Stockbridge, Mass., and devoted time to youth sports

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as a hockey coach and baseball umpire. He served on the local boards of the United Way and Chamber of Commerce, and on the vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Stockbridge.

Bill’s favorite pastimes included sailing aboard his Catalina 30, SALYASA, a mash-up of his three children’s names; painting New England coastal seascapes; and curling as a member of the Norfolk Curling Club. He will be missed by his “large and loving family to whom he leaves a legacy of love, laughter, and generosity.”

He was survived by Vaunie, his wife of 46 years; his three children, Sarah, Lyon, and Sam, and their spouses; his granddaughter and step-granddaughter; his five siblings; and many extended family members. Funeral services were held on November 3, 2018, at St. Paul’s Church in Stockbridge.

1970 David B. Cubeta, on August 1, 2018. A five-year student from Middlebury, Vt., Dave was involved in the Chess Club, Radio Club, and Student Council. He was active in football, hockey, and baseball. After attending Colgate University, Dave spent several years in government service in the Office of Chief Counsel, Legislation and Regulations Division, at the Internal Revenue Service before enjoying a long and successful career as a tax attorney specializing in complex financial instruments and natural resources taxation for large multinational corporations. For more than 20 years, Dave taught financial derivatives taxation to students in Georgetown University Law Center’s master’s program. According to the obituary published

by Miller & Chevalier, the Wash-

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2019

ington D.C., law firm of which he was a member, “For more than 35 years, Miller & Chevalier lawyers enjoyed the great privilege of working alongside Dave. He was an outstanding tax lawyer, an excellent teacher and mentor, and a true friend.” His Loomis classmate and lifelong friend Bruce C. Blackwell ’69 shared the following: “Dave and I were roommates and best friends in Warham 5a in 1966, and we stayed friends for more than 30 years. He even introduced me to the woman who would become my wife. Dave always wanted to be a lawyer; as a sophomore at Loomis, he planned to become the local lawyer in his hometown of Middlebury, Vt. But bigger things were in store for him. … While at Loomis, he was a linebacker on ‘Wild’ Bill Eaton’s football team, and was also a varsity hockey player for Grim [James Wilson]. He also had a very memorable moment in Mr. Stookins’s French class, but I’ll skip the details on that one. Originally Class of ’69, Dave decided to atone for some of our misadventures and repeated his junior year. He became a member of the Student Council and something of an actual student, thus earning admission to Colgate, from which he graduated in 1974. In a million years, I never thought I would be writing a note like this. David will live on in the memories of those of us who were lucky enough to have known him.”

1975 Michael Warren Sereda, on December 19, 2018, of pancreatic cancer. A four-year student from Bloomfield, Conn., Mike was active in track and involved in Chorus and Youth Choir. He served as president of the Debate Club. He was inducted into Cum

Laude Society. After Loomis, Mike studied abroad for one year at Highgate School in London, and from there went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in material science. He enjoyed a long and successful career in Silicon Valley, where he worked for several companies manufacturing various types of electronic components. Mike was survived by his wife, Eileen; his brothers, L. Howard Sereda ’71 and Peter Sereda ’77; and his three children.

1985 Marla Schreiber Mehlman, on December 19, 2018. A two-year student from Flint, Mich., Marla was involved in the Spanish Club and the yearbook, and she was active in three varsity sports: cross country, track, and volleyball. A loving wife and mother, Marla was “the most compassionate and sweetest badass we ever knew. We treasured our last days with her as we laughed and cried together.

We will miss her effervescent smile and her joy for living,” according to her family’s note. She was survived by her husband, Jon Mehlman, and her three children.

The funeral was held at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, N.Y., on December 21, 2018.

An article written by Jon about Marla’s courageous and inspirational battle with breast cancer was published in The Atlantic on February 14, 2019. For a link to the article, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

1986 Nicole Anne Seward Farquar, on December 14, 2018, peacefully, at St. Andrew’s Community

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Hospital in Fife, Scotland. She was survived by her loving family members, including her husband, Angus, and her two sons, Ewen and Luke. A celebration of life was held at the Fairmont Hotel in St. Andrews on January 18.

Adjunct Faculty Eric Dahlin, unexpectedly, at his home in Simsbury, Conn., on October 12, 2018. Widely recognized and respected within the Connecticut musical community, Eric was a cellist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra for 37 years and teacher to many generations of young cellists. He taught individual instrumental music to students at Loomis Chaffee for nearly two decades.

Originally from Minneapolis, Minn., Eric studied music from an early age and received his bachelor’s degree from The Hartt School of Music and his master’s degree from Yale University.

Eric was hired by the Hartford Symphony during his second year of undergraduate studies and won the audition for assistant principal cello in 2004. He performed extensively as a chamber musician and, in addition to Loomis, taught at his home studio and The Hartt School. Eric founded Music Adventure, a summer chamber music program in Italy.

He will be remembered as “an extraordinary father, a consummate artist, and a captivating teacher,” according to the family obituary. He is survived by his partner of many years, Katie Kennedy; his two sons, Martin and Elias; his parents, Inger and Donald Dahlin; and his brother, Kai Dahlin. A memorial service was held on November 17, 2018, at Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Conn.

Former Faculty Robert W. Hartman, on November 15, 2018, in Manchester N.J., with his family by his side. Born in Carlisle, Penn., and raised in South Orange, N.J., Bob earned a bachelor’s degree at Trinity College in Hartford and lived most of his adult life in Windsor, Conn. Bob was a science teacher and coach for 18 years at Loomis Chaffee, where he also organized the school’s first swimming program. Afterwards, he worked as an environmental analyst for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in the Bureau of Water Management for 18 years before retiring in 2006. He returned to New Jersey in 2014. Active in community organizations, Bob was involved with Civitan Group and its Challenger Little League for kids with physical disabilities and with the Red Cross, helping displaced families during emergencies. He taught CPR and first aid, and he was certified to teach water safety instructors. He trained for and was deployed to fight forest fires in multiple states, and he and was involved with scholastic and youth swimming organizations throughout New England.

While living in Connecticut, Bob remained connected to his alma mater, Trinity College. In his summers off from teaching at Loomis Chaffee, Bob was the waterfront director at West Hill Camps in Winsted, Conn. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed camping, hiking, cross-country skiing, and biking, and he regularly participated in triathlons and other sports. Bob was survived by his wife of 53 years, Carol, who is also a former Loomis faculty member; his two children, Pamela S. Hartman ’85 and Brian C. Hartman ’87, and their spouses; and his two grandchil-

dren. A celebration of Bob’s life was held on December 1, 2018, in Manchester, N.J.

Former Employee Warren A. Hunt, on October 15, 2018, in Ellington, Conn.

Warren graduated from Glastonbury High School and was active in sports most of his life. He was a truck driver and owner of the former Peters Package Store in Vernon, Conn. For a period of time in the middle 1980s until the early 1990s, Warren helped maintain the playing fields and sports equipment as a member of Loomis Chaffee’s Athletics Department. According to the family’s obituary, he enjoyed working with the student athletes.

In retirement, Warren spent time with family gathered for weekend visits at his Quasset Lake home in Woodstock, Conn. Preceded in death by his three sons, Michael, Jimmy, and Stephen, Warren was survived by his wife of 66 years, Dolores Kenefick Hunt; his daughter Susan Hunt Ostermeier; his sister Beverly Hunt Nielsen; his six grandchildren; and his many great-grandchildren and extended family members. A memorial service was held on October 19, 2018, in Rockville, Conn., followed by burial in Ellington Center Cemetery, Ellington, Conn.

Other News The Alumni Office has learned of the passing of William Kolodney ’43 on February 25, 2019; Donald Van Dusen ’48 on August 30, 2013; Richard Mackler ’57 in February 2019; Norman Clark Reynolds ’59 on January 6, 2018; Sarah Ann Ellsworth ’61 on September 6, 2018; Richard Robinson ’63 on November 15, 2018; Richard D. Johnson ’68 on February 15, 2019; Morwen Two Feathers nee Paula Jean Swilling ’74 on July 10, 2018; and Andrew Gibian ’77 on June 25, 2018. More information, as available, will be printed in future editions.

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Head Pets

Friendly faculty pets add an extra dose of personality and warmth to Loomis Chaffee life, and heads of school through the years often have had pets of their own. Among the more unusual of these furry family members was Pepe, the pet donkey of Frederick G. Torrey, who was headmaster from 1967 to 1976, and his family. Today’s Head of School, Sheila Culbert, and her husband, Richard Wright, share their home and frequent walks with three dogs, Hobbes, Zoe, and Gracie, as well as a cat, Spot. While Spot usually stays at home, the pups often join Sheila at her office, where they greet visitors with cheerful sniffs and waggy tails.

THEN: The family of Headmaster Fred Torrey with their pet donkey, Pepe, in 1968.

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R ef l ect ions

NOW: Head of School Sheila Culbert with her dogs, Hobbes, Zoe, and Gracie. Photo: John Groo

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The Loomis Chaffee School 4 Batchelder Road Windsor, Connecticut 06095 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

SAHARA SUNRISE Faculty member Jackson Fleming and senior Alhasan Barrie stand among the dunes of the Sahara Desert in March during a group trip to Morocco organized by the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies.

Photo: Ludmila Zamah

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