Nobles Winter 2020 Magazine

Nobles THE MAGAZINE OF NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL

WINTER 2020

Seeking Civil Society

PHOTO OF THE DAY November 6, 2019 Christopher Tillen ’23 and David Hermanson ’23 perform the tap number “Chapter Nine: Get Set” at the fall dance concert.

PHOTO BY KIM NEAL

contents WINTER 2020

IN EVERY ISSUE

Seeking truth, civility and recovery— it’s all in this issue.

2

Letter from the Head

3 Reflections What Nobles folks are saying on campus and online 4

The Bulletin News and notes

13 By the Numbers After all 14 Development A Nobles tradition 15 Sports The big weekend: Nobles, 8; Milton, 6 18 Off the Shelf All about the books we read and write 20 Perspective Nice goal!

40 Graduate News Nobles graduate updates: so many moments

FEATURES 32 A Storied 22 Deep Waters 26 Resistance and Resilience Runway Gregg Bemis ’46 Celebrating Three grads: a seeks truth beauty and shared purpose hope

Cover Photograph by Tom Medwell

36 Campus Conundrum A detective story right here at Nobles

64 Archive Evolution of an 1887 estate

Nobles

letter from the head

WINTER 2020

The Great Tent Experiment I STILL REMEMBER VIVIDLY the first Nobles assembly I witnessed

during a campus visit the year before I began as head of school.

I was awestruck by the energy that palpably filled Lawrence Auditorium, the optimism and connection you could see, hear, and feel. There is, perhaps, no place where the Nobles community is more visible than in assembly. It is where we all come together around common experiences that set our tone, convey our principles and values, and make us laugh—a lot! It is where members of our community can take enormous risks knowing they will be cheered enthusiastically on and off stage even if they stumble. It is where the diversity of what is spoken, sung, performed and shared enables each student to see themselves and their story in the success of our school.

Last year, when we realized that Lawrence Auditorium needed a significant renovation that would take it offline for the entire fall semester, we faced a troubling moment. We discovered that the only other place large enough to hold the entire community, Rappaport Gym, was unworkable as an option for daily assembly. Contemplating the choices of whittling how often we held assembly, or perhaps meeting in smaller groups, we quickly concluded that those were simply not options. Assembly at Nobles would continue somehow, some way.

What if, we asked whimsically, we put a gigantic tent in the middle of campus for the fall for assembly? What could possibly be complicated about that? It turns out, it is very complicated!

It has also proven to be a wonderful experience and made a tremendous statement about the value of assembly and of community at Nobles.

Our great tent, what we affectionately call our “Tent of Miracles,” has been home to assemblies since our September school opening. Students sit in assigned folding chairs, bundled lately in winter gear, and the program has marched on with vitality and joy. At times, the temperatures may be too cold, construction too noisy, or technology too glitchy, but we are in it together. The adventure has generated a boost in school spirit that is fun for all of us.

It has also been a humbling reminder of what really matters about assembly and our Nobles community. It is not the comfort of the seats or the lighting effects for a performance that make assembly such a core experience at Nobles. To create the essence of what sits at the center of our community, we only need each other, a clear sense of mission and values, and time to spend together.

When our new space opens in January, I know there will be tremendous enthusiasm to get back into our assembly home. The beautiful renovations will allow for such exciting additions to what we can do in Lawrence Auditorium, and will be wonderful gifts to our program. There are also things we will really miss about our Tent of Miracles—what it brought out in our community along with what it strengthened.

I will look back on this time under the tent with great fondness and hope to welcome you back to Lawrence Auditorium soon!

Editor Heather Sullivan DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Assistant Editors Kim Neal

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Ben Heider

DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCER/WRITER

Anne Hurlbut

WRITER/CONTENT MANAGER

Design 2COMMUNIQUÉ WWW.2COMMUNIQUE.COM

Photography Tim Carey Michael Dwyer Ben Heider Anne Hurlbut Leah LaRiccia Jared Leeds Jonathon Lowe Tom Medwell Kim Neal The Editorial Committee Brooke Asnis ’90 Casey Hassenstein John Gifford ’86 Tilesy Harrington Nobles is published three times a year for graduates, past and current parents and grandparents, students and supporters of Noble and Greenough School.

Nobles is a co-educational, non-sectarian day and five-day boarding school for students in grades seven (Class VI) through 12 (Class I). Noble and Greenough School is a rigorous academic community that strives for excellence in its classroom teaching, intellectual growth in its students and commitment to the arts, athletics and service to others.

For further information and up-to-the-minute graduate news, visit www.nobles.edu.

Letters and comments may be emailed to Heather_Sullivan@ nobles.edu. We also welcome old-fashioned mail sent c/o Noble and Greenough School, 10 Campus Drive, Dedham, MA 02026. The office may be reached at 781-320-7268. © Noble and Greenough School 2020

—CATHERINE J. HALL, PH.D., HEAD OF SCHOOL

3 Nobles WINTER 2020

We ache to be seen . . . When we offer music, we’re on a pathway to connection.

—CITIZEN-ARTIST VIJAY GUPTA AT LONG ASSEMBLY, EXPLAINING THAT HIS WORK WITH STREET SYMPHONY IS MORE ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS AND CONNECTION THAN ENTERTAINING

I can’t wait to get underway with this year’s voyage.

As many of you have heard me say, I liken the Nobles community during the school year to a tremendous ship on an expedition of exploration, inquiry and adventure. For months, we prepare to set sail, making sure we have the crew, supplies and equipment necessary not only to survive, but also to thrive.

—MICHAEL DENNING , HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL, PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

I imagine the universe as a household which is always beginning again. A circle without a cause or an end, a circle that never gets tired, that has no apparent aim, unless the aim is to find bliss inside the circle. To find joy and hope and meaning in the details and facts that hour by hour define our lives. The names might be different, but our fate is the same. To give what we have. The attempt is how we live.

—FROM FALL MAINSTAGE PLAY SMOKEFALL, BY PLAYWRIGHT NOAH HAIDLE

SEPTEMBER 13, VIA FACEBOOK: Minh Mai ’22 takes a first crack at assembling the newly unveiled Hogwarts Lego set in the Putnam Library.

NOVEMBER 7, VIA INSTAGRAM: Justice Hickman-Maynard ’24 takes the most direct route by rappelling off the castle with the middle school outdoor adventure crew.

At the heart of an inclusive community is knowing and caring for one another.

And at the heart of knowing and caring for one another is to see each other, and we can better see and understand each other through our stories. . . Telling our stories means that we make ourselves vulnerable, and that’s a risk. We tell them if we feel safe enough to tell them.

—HISTORY TEACHER NAHYON LEE IN AN ASSEMBLY, TALKING ABOUT HER FATHER’S EXPERIENCE GROWING UP IN NORTH KOREA

Here at Nobles, we show up and stay; that’s how we do it. That’s how we make connections with people we wouldn’t otherwise see. You’ve got to show up to connect.

—PROVOST BILL BUSSEY, ASSEMBLY

WINTER 2020 Nobles 4

the bulletin

Bringing the Science of Happiness Home “Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”

—ABRAHAM LINCOLN

IF BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE of the beholder,

then happiness might just be in your head. At least that’s what’s on the minds of counselors Jen Hamilton and Rick Wilson, who are teaching the first happiness class at Nobles. The class, “Psychology and the Good Life,” is a semester science elective borrowing heavily from the work of Yale professor Laurie Santos, whose course, “Science

assembly highlights Year of Building Community In the opening assembly under

5 Nobles WINTER 2020

the “Tent of Miracles,” Cathy Hall explained that this year at Nobles is about

of Well-Being,” and research have been featured in The Atlantic, The New York Times and other media.

Hamilton, who is director of psychology and counseling, and Wilson, who served as a consulting psychologist at Nobles before joining the team full time in 2018, both took Santos’ free online class at Coursera. Impressed by the wisdom and impact that the class held for her and Wilson, Hamilton approached Santos, who shared her syllabus.

At the beginning of the semester, students took an “authentic happiness”

assessment. Later, they completed the VIA, a character strengths assessment from the Institute on Character, and looked at other quantitative measures of well-being. They read selections from experts including Carol Dweck, whose work focuses on the usefulness of a growth mindset and journal, and other readings from many in the field of positive psychology, including its champion, Martin Seligman, who used the scientific method to support the theories of positive psychology.

One day in November, class began

building community: “We’re going to slow way, way down.

Let’s make this year awesome.”

college. One day, the teacher asked the class what success meant to them, and Spence confidently answered, “happiness.”

What Is Success?

Dean of Students Mark Spence told a story about a class that he took with a legendary teacher during

To Spence’s surprise, the teacher responded by saying, “I don’t think you really mean that. It’s about ‘we,’ not ‘me.’ It’s about

NEWS FROM OUR CAMPUS & COMMUNITY

with Wilson playing an acoustic guitar, while Hamilton led a guided meditation—Music Mondays, as the students call it. If this sounds a bit hippie—not so much. Data supports meditation having positive, mind-altering effects. An April 2, 2019, article in Time magazine cites a study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, which “found that just 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation training improved people’s reaction times and accuracy scores on a computer-based attention test.”

But the happiness class isn’t all about clearing your mind. Among many topics the class takes on is the idea of building resilience. Hamilton, who is a runner,

used a training metaphor: “When you run, you’re actually breaking down the muscle to make it stronger,” she said.

She and Wilson also highlighted how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation affect dedication to task and performance.

Much of what students are learning is common sense—but some of it is counter-intuitive. “We also watch videos that discuss studies done about happiness and misconceptions,” said Gordon Zink ’20. “The biggest surprise was just the material because there are so many misconceptions about what makes us happy long term. For example, we learned that those who became paraplegics were happier a year later than those who won the lottery.

There are just so many things that I was wrong about when it comes to living more happily.

“The class has just made a huge impact on my school life, especially during the college process,” Zink said.

Wilson underscores Zink’s point.

“We show students that there is not always a correlation between happiness and achievement. Nobles students can become overinvested in achievement to the detriment of the whole person.”

Based on the Yale course, the Nobles course hosts resources on the same platform, Coursera. In fact, Santos’ Yale colleagues customized content for Nobles students.

Online, they access information from positive psychology’s top researchers, including Sonja Lyobomirky, Robert

Emmons, Dan Gilbert, Elizabeth Dunn, Michael Norton, Nicholas Epley and Gabriele Oettingen.

But doing the reading isn’t enough.

“Merely knowing something is not enough to actually change your behavior,” Santos says in one of the course’s videos. “The hope is that we can put these habits into place.”

At Nobles, students are graded on class participation, quizzes, a research project and, in either a journal or on the app ReWi, tracking activities that fall into the following categories: savoring, gratitude, kindness, connection, exercise, sleep and meditation.

They also write regular reflections related to class content and find ways to practice habits that are proven to improve happiness.

Casey Taitel ’20 described the “hack yourself” project, which allows each student to commit to a repeated activity to improve well-being. Taitel decided on hugging. “I’m trying to hug somebody every day,” she said.

“This is something that everyone should learn. I hugged one of my good friends—and then I realized that it was the first time I ever hugged her.”

Becca Gill ’20 focused on meditation for her hack. She reflected on the idea of “savoring” and of reflecting on a happy memory for 10 minutes at a time, methods to combat hedonistic adaptation, which is the human tendency to return to a stable level of happiness after even very positive or negative experiences.

making others happy.”

Spence spoke to him after class, and the professor said, “You seem really angry. Do you not like what I

Lawrence ’44, a beloved member of the community, passed away. “He got us,” Hall said of Lawrence. “He always made you

like the most special person in the room.”

How can you train your brain to become happier?

These students learn how.

said or are you afraid that I am right?”

Live Like Bobby Did Cathy Hall shared the news that Bobby

feel like the most special person in the room. Live today like Bobby Lawrence did—be kind and make someone feel

Halloween and Awareness Students showed their

true Halloween spirit by donning a wide variety of costumes, from dinosaurs to “Toy Story” characters, cheerleaders and

WINTER 2020 Nobles 6

the bulletin

Beyond Holidays and Heroes WHEN THEY COLLABORATED to plan a

campus-wide celebration of Latinx/ Hispanic Heritage month, Josie Guevara-Torres (performing arts) and Dariana Guerrero (English, diversity, equity and inclusion) wanted to connect with students and other community members from underrepresented groups. The result was a cultural initiative that included literature, art and music.

Latinx is a gender-inclusive term to describe individuals from Latin America.

Hispanic refers to native speakers of Spanish. Guevara-Torres launched the initiative because of the lack of a historical precedent or representation, as well as a personal sense of longing for the seasonal celebrations she was missing with family. She empathized with the frustration of students of common backgrounds

that little was being done. “This project signified taking a small step to start helping everybody understand each student,” said Guevara-Torres.

Guevara-Torres and Guerrero worked with diversity, equity and inclusion faculty member Gabby Malavé and photography faculty member Curtis Mann to display vibrant, culturally significant images representing Latinx and Hispanic heritage identities throughout campus.

Librarian Ella Steim helped curate the book list compiled by Malavé, Guerrero and Guevara-Torres for a library display. Steim said, “From the library’s point of view, we were really excited to collaborate, to get as many voices in the community as possible and increase visibility—as well as getting the insight from people who have greater or more in-depth knowledge than we do.”

The assembly booth played a variety of bachata, merengue, salsa and cumbia music throughout the month. After showing a video about the distinctions between the terms “Hispanic” and “Latinx,” affinity group leaders from Sister 2 Sister, Brother 2 Brother and Students United for Racial Justice and Equity (SURJE) led a student discussion.

The Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month team hopes to spark momentum for further learning. Guerrero asked, “How can we get out of the common mindset of celebrating holidays and heroes and make lasting change that includes the representation of all students? This is a long-term conversation, and all students, faculty and staff must be part of the dialogue in order to ensure everyone feels safe, welcome and seen.”

more. In an assembly preceding Halloween, students viewed a video created by Teen Vogue entitled, “My Culture is Not

What Will Your Echoes Be? Alex Gallagher spoke passionately about his love and appreciation for Nobles, focusing

was to love, to serve, and to care. “What will your echoes be?”

Gallagher asked the community. “What will your story be?”

7 Nobles WINTER 2020

a Costume,” which encouraged awareness and respect as students selected their costumes for the day.

on the echoes and the stories of his time at the school, of lessons learned from his mentor, Bill Kehlenbeck, whose legacy

Making a Difference Clad in a green, sequined blazer, Michael Polebaum announced the Habitat for Humanity trip to New Orleans,

KIM JONG-UN IS NOT CRAZY WHAT RISKS DOES North Korea pose, and how can they be mitigated? On October 16, at long assembly, Tufts professor Sung-Yoon Lee gave a nuanced answer to that complicated question. His talk, “Five Common Myths about North Korea,” outlined some of the history of that nation and the complexity of its relationships with South Korea, China, the United States and the rest of the world.

Among the myths noted by Lee is that North Korea is not worthy of being taken seriously. He said that many assumed that North Korea and its leaders were puppets of Joseph Stalin after WWII, but that proved to be false. From 1948 until his death in 1994, Kim Il-sung led the communist North. Kim Jong-un, the current leader, is the grandson of Kim Il-sung and succeeded his own father.

Dismissing North Korea—the suggestion that the regime is crazy or childlike—is met with skepticism by Lee. Instead, he said, the pattern of behavior has been strangely strategic and consistent. For instance, Kim Jong-un’s pattern of conducting nuclear tests on dates of importance to other nations— Memorial Day and Columbus Day in the United States and the Lunar New Year in China—are likely designed to send a message to foes and friends.

The country is, said Lee, “very adept at weaponizing its own weirdness.” He called the regime “ruthlessly rational” and set on dominating the entire Korean Peninsula.

When President Trump threatened Kim Jong-un with “fire and fury” and referred to the leader as “Rocket Man,” the response was a missile fired over Japan and an assertion of the country’s ability to hit Boston, New York or Washington, D.C., with its missiles.

Lee reiterated that the “acting crazy” aspect of North Korean international relations is calculated. Lee said that the appearance of instability is typically followed by deescalation, negotiation, then a lessening of sanctions by the United States or others. He added that the relentless provocation is followed by “change-tuning” and smiles. “They are very good at propaganda and psychological manipulation,” he said.

Lee also explained that North Koreans live in poverty and are required to ask formal permission to travel even to the next town.

They are shut off from the rest of the world, but “the elite live in luxury. . . . Kim Jong-un is not poor. He has several palaces.”

Lee suggested that there is no magic solution to containing the threat posed by North Korea, but he believes that financial sanctions, rigorously enforced as during the Obama administration, are one of the best tools.

He also cited the importance of U.S. soldiers remaining in South Korea—in harm’s way—as a deterrent to North Korea attacking the South. Finally, he said that diplomacy of the international community must also be galvanized.

Lee, who was an advisor to President Barack Obama, said the current administration is giving Kim Jong-un more time to perfect his nuclear program. He explained to students that division in Korea came after WWII and was “a haphazard division” agreed to by the Soviet Union and the United States; it was intended to be temporary. “Americans were ignorant about Korea,” he said. “It was seen as strategically unimportant.”

Instead, located between China and Japan, its geography makes it enormously relevant.

Lee is the Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies and assistant professor at Tufts. He teaches courses on Korea and U.S.–East Asia relations.

He is a former research fellow with the National Asia Research Program, a joint initiative by the National Bureau of Asia Research and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and former associate in research at the Korea Institute, Harvard University. In 2005, he launched a new seminar series, the Kim Koo Forum on U.S.–Korea Relations at Harvard’s Korea Institute.

making a passionate plea for community members to serve others and to make a difference, however small in the lives of

hearts out. It says a lot about the Nobles community that underclassmen, including middle schoolers, are able to feel comfortable

those less fortunate.

Brave Young Voices Ava Neal ’23 and Charlie Hall ’24 displayed tremendous

confidence and courage on the tent stage as they paired with upperclassmen during separate assemblies this fall and sang their

“ It [Korea] was seen as strategically unimportant.” — SUNG-YOON LEE, TUFTS PROFESSOR OF KOREAN STUDIES

performing in front of the entire school.

Be a Nuanced Thinker Beth Reilly ’87, head of the board of trustees,

encouraged everyone in the Nobles community to “be a nuanced thinker,” sharing stories from her own experience at Nobles

WINTER 2020 Nobles 8

the bulletin

Migration to Manomet UNDER BLUEBIRD SKIES, Deb Harrison’s AP Environmental Science classes traveled to Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, near Plymouth, to connect the important science that is occurring there with their work in class. Alongside researchers, students banded migratory birds, a process that Harrison said provides “powerful environmental indicator data about the state of the planet.

Manomet’s long-term banding database is a critical tool being used in ongoing analysis of local, hemispheric and

global climate change impacts.” Students learned about the tools used for banding and released birds from the palms of their hands.

Students also analyzed graphs representing Manomet’s vast data set on the impact of climate change on birds, presenting their findings to Manomet’s chief scientist, Trevor Lloyd-Evans. “Just a few days before the trip,” explained Harrison, “the release of the latest report on drastic declines in bird populations provided timely context for our visit.”

Olivia Patz ’20 releases a banded bird during the visit to Manomet.

when she wished that she herself had been more like that, noting that in our society there is a loss of nuanced thinking.

9 Nobles WINTER 2020

A Tent is to Nobles as ...

Bill Bussey explained that having the entire school gather under the tent was

“like putting a jar of peanut butter on top of a Triscuit.”

Friends of Hope Thulani Madondo,

from Kliptown Youth Program, which supports 511 underserved children without electricity or schools in South Africa, talked

Going the Distance Two Nobles treasures, Fred Sculco (right) and Bob Kern, both former science faculty, caught up on October 3 when Sculco joined the biology faculty on the 26th annual Charles River Watershed Project trip. Sculco was the original architect of the trip, as well as the founder of the cross country team in 1972, the year he joined Nobles.

But few know he also hired Bob Kern to join the science department in 1978 and that he mentored him as a teacher and cross country coach. Sculco taught at Nobles for 31 years, while Kern (who still coaches for us!) retired in 2018 after 40 years in the classroom.

This photo, shared on the Nobles Facebook page, elicited scores of former students to voice their gratitude. Graduates shared fond memories of both, from growing tomatoes in the greenhouse to cooking breakfast in the chemistry lab, witnessing Sculco’s “one-man band” . . . and “an unfortunate incident with a mouse in biology!”

about his community’s everlasting friendship with Nobles, explaining that “having friends like Nobles equals hope.”

Sharing Passions Science faculty member Lindsey Tonge visited Normandy this past summer to partake in reenactments

LISTEN, SHARE, CELEBRATE VIJAY GUPTA, VIOLINIST, speaker, activist and MacArthur fellow, spoke at long assembly on September 25. In 2011, Gupta founded Street Symphony, a nonprofit offering musical engagement and dialogue with the homeless community on Skid Row, and with incarcerated communities in Los Angeles.

“We ache to be seen,” he told the Nobles community, explaining that his work with Street Symphony is more about relationships and connection than entertaining. “When we offer music, we’re on a pathway to connection.

“Right now, in Los Angeles, there is no answer to homelessness, [so] we need to ask each other what kindness means to us... We live in a world that tells us that your pain is not my pain.”

Gupta’s organization, just shy of its 10th anniversary, includes local professional musicians and also musicians from among the homeless community it primarily serves. Events include concerts—often serving food—and are regular. Showing up once or occasionally is not meaningful, Gupta said: “We show

up to listen, share and celebrate.”

Gupta spoke of the importance of changing the narrative around homelessness, of looking at people as people with stories rather than as problems. “Our lives are a work of art,” he said, “[and] music is a vehicle for human connection.”

Gupta’s musicianship was encouraged by his parents.

As a child, he performed on “Oprah,” and at age 11, with the Israel Philharmonic under the direction of Zubin Mehta. At Nobles, Gupta concluded assembly with a performance. Later in the day, he met with students in the recital hall. Students introduced themselves, and each one shared a fact that prompted Gupta to improvise music. One student, for example, shared that her favorite color is yellow, then Gupta played sunny, happy music. The group included about 20 students and some faculty members.

A citizen artist, Gupta is a leading advocate for the role of the arts and music to heal. According to his website (guptaviolin.com), he aims to “inspire, provoke change and foster social connection.”

Food for Thought On October 4, after learning about food insecurity, middle school students streamed to nine sites across Greater Boston for a day of service.

Community Service Coordinator Linda Hurley said, “Studies show that growing into adulthood with a greater sense of social responsibility makes young people more likely to volunteer throughout their lives. Children develop compassion as they learn the value of giving to others.” In Massachusetts, one in nine children faces hunger and can’t count on their next meal. With this in mind, advisory groups volunteered at local farms, the Dedham Food Pantry and Father Bill’s Place, a homeless shelter.

of WWII and D-Day. Tonge explained misconceptions about the role of nurses during the war, describing that they wore men’s

clothing, carried their own belongings and supplies, and were right on the front lines in danger—freezing, getting wounded,

and, sometimes, losing their lives.

Not Your Ordinary Artist The Nobles commu-

nity was introduced to visiting artist Cecil McDonald, whose work was on display in Foster Gallery through mid-

December. Through photography and performance art, McDonald aims to represent “extraordinarily ordinary people

and the range of humanity, especially in black people,” and hopes that his work will help to ensure that they are seen.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 10

the bulletin

Family Drama Families fight, fracture and sometimes leave. But so, too, do they love fiercely and share a common past. Smokefall, the fall mainstage play directed

by Dan Halperin and Vivian Tao ’21, explores a family that poignantly and predictably repeats these cycles, scarred by their losses but also optimistic that the next generation can be different. Playwright Noah Haidle staged an existential debate between twin fetuses (Octavia Reohr and Molly Hughes, both ’23) alongside the heartbreaking quest of their bark-eating, voluntarily mute sister, Beauty (Hailey Brown ’20), to find their father. Despite these departures from reality, this midwestern household mirrors families everywhere. “Footnotes” (Chris Tillen ’23 and Leela DuBois ’21) narrate as a beloved patriarch (Teddy Slosberg ’20) succumbs to dementia and a loving couple (Ellen Efstathiou ’21 and Olive Gifford ’23) helplessly watch their marriage dissolve. All the while, the family members remain tenderly bound to one another, delicately balancing tragedy and hope. As Johnny (Kamran Bina ’21) tells his son, Samuel (Tillen), “You can’t outrun a lineage.”

11 Nobles WINTER 2020

PHOTOGRAPH: LEAH LARICCIA

WINTER 2020 Nobles 12

the bulletin

Clockwise from left: a digital positive image is sandwiched over a leaf in an exposure frame and left out in the sun; a selection of leaves for printing; a finished print, Megan Self-Portrait, 2018

Latency: Revealing Power and Beauty in Disability PHOTOGRAPHER, TEACHING ARTIST and activist Megan Bent is Nobles’ 2019 artist-in-residence. Through the process of chlorophyll printing, Bent captures the strength and beauty of natural elements as a metaphor for the experiences of individuals with invisible disabilities.

“I not only seek to examine the spaces I have inhabited, but also [to] break open new space for more complex conversations about disability to emerge. As a disability culture advocate, I believe in the importance of sharing multifaceted experiences of disability and the ways that disability can be a marker of identity, knowledge and pride.”

Bent’s Foster Gallery show, “Latency,” featured works she created using chlorophyll printing, which uses ultraviolet light to print photographic images onto

13 Nobles WINTER 2020

leaves. Bent exposed her own medical images and those contributed by the disability community on to leaves, then she scans in the printed leaf to preserve them. Her work celebrates the knowledge and power of those navigating the world with latent disabilities, challenging negative stereotypes and social stigmas around disability as a social construct.

“I utilize photographic processes that will result in failure and imperfections, and that highlight impermanence.

Embracing happenstance, I reveal the beauty in these seemingly visual tragedies,” Bent says. “This work is the most authentic I’ve made—and also the bravest.” She says her vulnerability is what sets this collection apart. As an art educator, Bent encourages students to take those risks, but also not to share aspects

of themselves before they’re ready.

“Being here at Nobles has been a big gift,” Bent says. During her residency, which included gallery talks and educational conversations, her interactions with students and adults in the Nobles community raised provocative questions that enrich her work. Studio time allowed her not only to create, but to reflect on what she was making and why.

As an activist, Bent sees her images as catalysts for important conversations around disability culture and misperceptions: “Art is a great way to have a voice—a space to say things that are really on my heart, and a platform to share that with a larger audience.”

This January, Bent has an exhibition of her work in Hawai’i where she most recently worked and studied.

by the numbers

39

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING: current students have rappelled down the Castle walls with middle school outdoor adventure

FALL DANCE SHOW:

32 25 08

performers in the dance show dances, all to tunes from the 1980s dance styles performed

115 runners in our school’s cross country program, including middle and upper school

AFTERNOON PROGRAM

6

Teams: 5 Team Competition: 7 Team Champion: 1 Participants: 68 Reps Completed: 408,960

students designing and producing the yearbook

NTC WINTER 2019–2020: Number of upper school students participating in the production of Les Misérables Cast: 45 Technical crew: 25 Band: 10 Number of middle school students participating in the production of The Exile and the Onion Girl: 20

Approximately 150

Number of human hours put into striking the fall mainstage set and transitioning Vinik Theatre for the fall dance show between Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and Monday at 8:00 a.m.

2

100

Total number of Nobles students making theatre in the afternoons this winter

Friday Night Lights events this year that featured volleyball, football and girls soccer

WINTER 2020 Nobles 14

development

A Community Tradition ON NOVEMBER 6, 2019, MORE THAN 500 GRADUATES, parents, faculty and friends gathered in the Morrison Athletic Center for Nobles Night. The celebratory evening, which has become a Nobles tradition, showcased the strength and collective generosity of the Nobles community. The Annual Nobles Fund (ANF) and First Class Fund for Faculty (FCFF), two of the school’s most critical fundraising initiatives each year, revealed strong early numbers for the year, having raised $3,304,319 and $910,755 in gifts and pledges, respectively, between September 1 and Nobles Night.

In her welcoming remarks, Head of School Cathy Hall reflected on the lasting and meaningful relationships that exist at the heart of Nobles, as evidenced by the size and spirit of the audience. She affirmed her commitment to deepening and strengthening these connections by slowing down and refocusing on the school’s fundamental philosophy, sharing her mantra for the year: Relationship before task.

Hall went on to thank everyone who played a role in the early success of the ANF and FCFF, specifically acknowledging the many volunteers for their tireless efforts in support of the school’s mission. She recognized the leadership of the ANF graduate co-chairs Lawson Allen Albright ’94, Erin Keith Epker ’90 and Mark Epker ’89; young graduate co-chairs Matt Bezreh ’08 and Ryan Ederle ’08; parent co-chairs Jennifer and Keith Palumbo and Caroline and

David Ryan; and parent of graduate chairs Helen and Neal Goins. For the FCFF committee, Hall thanked co-chairs Deanna and Tony DiNovi, Nathalie and Jean-François Ducrest, and Cindy and Seth Lawry for their service.

John Stephenson ’84 and J.P. Plunkett ’89 were announced as this year’s recipients of the Richard T. Flood ’23 Award, given annually to graduate volunteers for outstanding work on behalf of the ANF. Both have served as class agents and on their respective reunion committees; they were also members of the Be Nobles Bold campaign committee. With grace and humor, they have educated and inspired their classmates on the importance of getting involved and giving back.

In a video that was shown as part of the program, Stephenson reminded the audience of the impact the ANF has across all facets of school life. “If you don’t have the annual fund, Nobles can’t be Nobles,” he says. “It can’t hire great teachers. It can’t do professional development for teachers. It can’t offer faculty housing. It can’t do financial aid. It is such a critical part of the process that has to be there.”

And, on an evening rooted in the power of community, Plunkett nostalgically added, “I am humbled to be a small part of this night. I am blessed to be a part of the Nobles family, to have gone here and be an active alum. I just want to thank everybody for all they do for the school because we all need to keep doing it. Go Nobles!”

John Stephenson ’84 and J.P. Plunkett ’89

15 Nobles WINTER 2020

sports

Nobles-Milton Day Nobles went 8–6 on the day, highlighted by a huge five-set match win for varsity volleyball, a last-second victory for girls varsity soccer, and a win that capped an undefeated season for girls junior varsity field hockey.

Angela Giordano ’20 and Gabriella Doherty ’22

WINTER 2020 Nobles 16

sports

On the Playing Fields BOYS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY Overall Record: 7-6 ISL Record: 7-6 ISL Championships: 8th place New England Division 2 Championships:

7th place All-ISL: Finn Crawford ’20 Honorable Mention: Justin Qin ’21 All-New England: Finn Crawford ’20 NEPSAC All-Star: Finn Crawford ’20 Awards: Class of ’99 Team Award: Sammy Guerrero ’20. Coaches Award (to the athlete who demonstrates significant ability, improvement and commitment to the team): Finn Crawford ’20 2020 Captains: Niki Apostolicas, Griffin Callaghan, Andrew Kasparyan and Justin Qin, all ’21 GIRLS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY Overall Record: 10-0 ISL Record: 10-0 ISL Championships: 2nd place New England Division 1 Championships:

4th place

All-ISL: Anya Cheng ’21, Celia Cheng ’22, Grace Hayward ’21, Olivia Hayward ’21, Emily Orscheln ’20 Honorable Mention: Molly Epker ’22 and Sidnie Kulik ’21 All New England: Celia Cheng ’22 Awards: Class of ’99 Team Award: Devon Tyrie and Maeve Connolly, both ’20. Coaches Award (to the athlete who demonstrates significant ability, improvement and commitment to the team): Emily Orscheln ’20 2020 Captains: Anya Cheng, Grace Hayward, Olivia Hayward and Caroline Finnerty, all ’21

VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY Overall Record: 11-6 ISL Record: 8-4 (5th place) All-ISL: Charlotte Epker ’20 Honorable Mention: Sydney Asnis ’21,

Becca Gill ’20 and Cassidy Piersiak ’20

Awards: Walker Cup (to the player

who demonstrates a high degree of skill, love of competition and desire to play within the spirit of the game):

Season Highlights ■ ■

■ ■ ■ ■

We hosted a successful New England Division II Cross Country Championship event for over 900 runners from 19 schools.

A huge home crowd surrounded the field for the Friday Night Lights football game and migrated to the MAC afterward to pack the house for volleyball’s tight victory over Thayer.

Another huge crowd cheered through the pouring rain the following week for girls varsity soccer’s Friday Night Lights game against Thayer.

Close to 180 student-athletes went together to the Nobles Theatre Collective’s Friday night performance of Smokefall.

The boys varsity soccer team defeated Brooks on penalty kicks in front of a raucous home crowd to advance to the NEPSAC championship game.

Nobles “won” Milton weekend with 8 wins and 6 losses across all varsity, junior varsity, thirds and middle school levels.

17 Nobles WINTER 2020

Charlotte Epker ’20 2019 Captains: Meghan Dunne, Julia O’Donnell and Grace Taylor, all ’21 VARSITY FOOTBALL Overall Record: 4-4 ISL Record: 4-4 All-ISL: Casey Phinney ’21, Cam Large ’20,

Drew Kendall ’21, Mike Lukasevicz ’21 Honorable Mention: Jackson Phinney ’20, Connor Smith ’21, Cam Charron ’22 Awards: Coaches Award (for best improvement and team contribution): Jackson Phinney ’20. E.T. Putnam Award (for excellence, leadership and dedication to the team in honor of the former Headmaster Eliot T. Putnam): Casey Phinney ’21. Marinaro 12th Player Award (to the players whose contributions and spirit exemplify excellence): Cam Large ’20.

BOYS VARSITY SOCCER Overall Record: 16-3-1 ISL Record: 12-2-1 (2nd Place) NEPSAC Class B Tournament: Finalists All-ISL: Mike Balleani ’21, Tommy

Kantrowitz ’21, Harry Roberts ’20 and Harri Sprofera ’21 Honorable Mention: Max Heberlein and Cole Van Meter, both ’21 ISL MVP: Harry Roberts ’20 All-Scholastic ISL: Harry Roberts ’20 All-State: Mike Balleani ’21, Harry Roberts ’20 and Harri Sprofera ’21 NEPSAC All-Star: Mike Balleani ’21, Harry Roberts ’20 and Harri Sprofera ’21 Awards: Coaches Award (for leadership, sportsmanship and skill): Matt Kirkman ’20. Wiese Bowl (for contribution to team spirit, in memory of Edward Wiese ’54): John DiNovi ’20 2020 Captains: Mike Balleani, Max

Joe Todd ’20 makes a PK save in the NEPSAC semifinal

Grace Hayward ’21, Olivia Hayward ’21 and Celia Cheng ’22

Ella Midura ’20

Heberlein, Tommy Kantrowitz and Harri Sprofera, all ’21 GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER Overall Record: 12-3-2 ISL Record: 8-2-2 (5th Place) NEPSAC Class A Tournament:

Quarterfinalists All-ISL: Kiley Bertos and Ella Midura, both ’20 Honorable Mention: Lily Bryant ’21, Olivia Patz ’20, Eliza Teplow ’23 All-State: Kiley Bertos and Ella Midura, both ’20 All-New England: Ella Midura ’20 NEPSAC Division I First Team: Kiley Bertos and Ella Midura, both ’20

Awards: Ceci Clark Shield (for a player who best embodies the qualities, character and camaraderie that Ceci Clark represented): Hannah Lawry ’20. Tim Carey Award (to a member of Class I whose talent, hard work, humility, joyfully competitive spirit and qualities of character have led most directly to the success of the Girls Varsity Soccer team, in honor of beloved mentor and coach Tim Carey): Olivia Patz ’20

Jackson Phinney ’20

NEPSAC Honorable Mention: Sydney

Jones ’21

Awards: Coaches Award (to the player

who demonstrates commitment to team and exemplary sportsmanship): Ali Castro ’20 and Hana Qasrawi ’21. Forever Bulldog (to the player whose spirit and dedication exemplifies the ideals of the volleyball program): Angela Giordano and Kat Poole, both ’20

GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL Overall Record: 6-13 ISL Record: 6-4 (4th Place) All-ISL: Sydney Jones ’21 Honorable Mention: Kat Poole ’20

WINTER 2020 Nobles 18

off the shelf

WITH A POLAROID CAMERA There was something magical about the Polaroid camera I received for Christmas one year when I was a kid—the immediacy of holding the photograph in my fingers, shaking it in the air to help the developing process (which isn’t really a thing that works), and witnessing the gradual clarification of the contours of a face.

But somehow, bigger and better cameras and their power of exactness and detail took over my love of photography. I spent multitudes of hours in the darkroom at college.

It wasn’t until I began traveling on Nobles trips that the magic of instant film returned when I handed a child in a village we were bicycling through in

Vietnam a photograph of herself—that incredulous look in her widened eyes, that instant smile. Now I always travel with a Polaroid-like camera and leave hundreds of images behind.

I wrote a poem called “With a Polaroid Camera” about the many photographs I’ve taken and given away in Rwanda. When it was published and I shared the news with my poetry teacher, Barbara Helfgott-Hyett, she said, “That’s a great title for a book of poems.”

One comment of hers led to my interviewing the man who invented color instant film for Polaroid, Myke Simon, which led to the creation of my latest collection of poems, With a Polaroid Camera.

The six sections of the book mirror the stages of creating an instant color photograph: loading the film, exposing it to light, ejecting and starting the development, and the impact of atmospheric light on the surface of the film: first blue, then green, then red, and voilà!

A complete image is revealed.

Polaroid images work as a metaphor for me, too. My poems appear to me in a similar way. I don’t know all at once where I am going as I write or what I am even writing about, but gradually clarity is unveiled.

— SARAH DICKENSON SNYDER, FACULTY EMERITUS

EXCERPT My Twenty-Seven-Year-Old Daughter Back Home for a Year I doubt she’ll return the things she’s taken— a lipstick, tweezers, a necklace.

I’m not too mad, except maybe in the moment— when I’m in the shower, leg lathered, reach for the razor I’d left on the lip of the tub.

I might swear when it’s not there, wish she’d returned it or had hung up my new sweater slouched on the shelf, she must have tried on and discarded.

I hear the slap of the screen door— now she’s in my car, knows there’s gum in there—it’s as if everything I have is hers.

She takes from me, leaves some behind, the way I’d reach into my father’s jar of change for quarters, dimes, and nickels, left the pennies.

The author’s children, Abby Snyder ’07 and David Snyder ’08, as pictured on the cover of her latest volume of poetry

19 Nobles WINTER 2020

She’ll leave again. All my things back in place.

I’ll sit in the evening, dark wine in glass, my mother’s ring loose on my finger.

THIS VOLUME OF POETRY IS AVAILABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE PUBLISHER AT WWW.MAINSTREETRAG.COM.

my books...

FOUNDATIONS IN FANTASY

BY ORIS BRYANT, HISTORY AND SOCIAL SCIENCE FACULTY

I have always loved reading. Growing up, I was forbidden to play organized sports and instead was allowed to go to the library. Fortunately, the Boston Public Library’s Mattapan Branch was directly across the street. Thus, my addiction commenced. In 11th grade, a friend who knew that I enjoyed King Arthur stories gave me a book/series to read—and I’ve never looked back. This began my acculturation and current devotion into the realm of science fiction/fantasy. Here are my top five books/series that I recommend to those interested in this genre. #5: MAGICIAN, BY RAYMOND E. FEIST (RIFTWAR SAGA) Here is the story of Pug and Thomas. Pug goes from an orphan to a magician’s apprentice to a master magician, and Thomas inherits the power of the long-dead Valheru (a powerful race of demi-gods who were dragon riders). Both will mature and become very powerful in uniting their powers to save Midkemia, first from the Tsurani invaders and then from the ancient evil that threatens existence.

Magician is one of my favorites, as Feist was the first author I read who combined a level of complexity and intricacy both in the development of the characters and the overall storyline. The series starts with them beginning their respective apprenticeships and quickly escalates to them needing to save lives—first their own, then their world, then all of existence. #4: ENDER’S GAME, BY ORSON SCOTT CARD (ENDER’S GAME QUARTET) Ender’s Game, which became a major motion picture in 2013, stars Ender, a brilliant child who becomes the leader of the human army in leading a war against an alien force, the buggers. It is Card’s in-depth exploration and delving into Ender’s psychology while at Battle School that make this book so interesting. Ender, whose puerility and sheer brilliance make him a target, overcomes all of the challenges put in his path by his teachers, his peers and then eventually himself. It is very rewarding to witness Ender’s humanity after he defeats the buggers and is devastated to learn that he has committed xenocide—the entire time, he actually believed that he was competing in a simulated game. Card’s subsequent books journey into the philosophical and metaphysical as Ender travels to different worlds in search of redemption. #3: RED QUEEN, BY VICTORIA AVEYARD (RED QUEEN SERIES) Meet Mare Barrow, the fiercest and most interesting heroine (sorry Katniss and Tris!) of all. Mare inhabits a world where Reds (people with red blood without abilities) lead far inferior lives to Silvers (people with silver blood with abilities). Mare discovers that she can produce and control lightning and therefore is an Ardent, a new “race” (people with red blood with abilities). Mare’s meteoric rise,

socially and politically, from a serving girl in the palace to the face of an entire revolution, is directly juxtaposed against her inevitable personal and emotional downfall. She becomes the inspiration for the revolution while falling in love with both princes and learning several very difficult lessons about betrayal, trust and loyalty.

#2: TALIESIN & MERLIN, BY STEPHEN R. LAWHEAD (PENDRAGON CYCLE) Taliesin (book one) and Merlin (book two) explain and establish the world that King Arthur will come to dominate. In Taliesin, we witness the fall of Atlantis simultaneously with the discovery and raising of Taliesin by the druid-bards. It is as a bard that Taliesin envisions and sings into existence the very idea of the realm that will be forever known during King Arthur’s time. It is the union of Taliesin and Charis, the princess of Atlantis, that leads to the birth of Myrddin (Merlin). In Merlin, we watch the dual upbringing of Merlin by the bards and Christian priests as he becomes the bridge between the old world and the new world, i.e., the one where truth, love and forgiveness are the highest ideals. #1: THE WHEEL OF TIME & MEMORY OF LIGHT,

BY ROBERT JORDAN (WHEEL OF TIME SERIES) This 14-book epic involves seven heroes and heroines introduced in the very first book (The Wheel of Time) as they unknowingly begin a journey that will hopefully prepare them to fulfill the prophecy and battle the forces of the Dark One (Memory of Light). Jordan has created an entire world of characters who exist across continents and astral planes. One could easily liken the central characteristic of this series to the Confucianist ideology of yin/yang. Female Aes Sedai, who wield the one power, are the only ones allowed to, as centuries before, the last male Aes Sedai destroyed the world due to their reckless use of it. However, the prophecy foretells that a male Aes Sedai, bearing the title/emblem of the Dragon, must rise again. And what they learn is that only by figuring out how to rejoin the female/male powers do they have any real chance of victory.

This is a series that whenever a new book is published, I happily reread all of the prior books first. And I definitely plan to read it again.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 20

perspective

Setting New Goals

Serious about soccer BY STEVE GINSBERG, CHIEF FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONS OFFICER; HISTORY AND SOCIAL SCIENCE FACULTY; BOYS VARSITY SOCCER COACH

“Sweet Caroline” and “Eye of the Tiger” ring through the stadium at the opening ceremonies for the 2019 Maccabi Games in Mexico City. Approximately 400 American athletes emerge alongside 3,000 competitors from 30 other countries, while 22,000 people cheer us on. As we walk out of the tunnel, our team hoisting the American flag and my family cheering from the stands, I realize that this is and will remain one of the most memorable moments of my life.

T

he whole idea of writing this article made me uncomfortable—I mean, who wants to read about some old Jewish guy playing soccer? As I thought more about it, however, I realized that there might actually be a human interest story underneath it all. While the unique opportunity to once again play competitive soccer at this level was my main motivation, the relationships formed with my teammates and the pride of playing for my country with my family present made the experience more powerful than I could have imagined.

TIME TO GET SERIOUS

Starting in February 2018, at age 45 and about 35 pounds overweight, I committed to the training process that would best prepare me to try out for the team. The conditions were certainly different from the last time I had trained at a high level, so I worked to develop a program that would be realistic with a family and a full-time job.

Tryouts were held in both New York and Los Angeles, with about 80 people vying for 17 spots. I felt pressure I had not anticipated, as I had to perform in a short window of time. Physical strengths that might have made me stand out in the past no longer set me apart, though I did have one advantage: playing with high school players on a daily basis gave me a leg up when when it came to technical skills and speed of play. After making it to the final stage of tryouts in Washington, D.C. in October 2018, I found out that I had made the team. In advance of the games, and in an effort to try to gel before the tournament in Mexico City, we gathered four more times as a group (in New York, Boulder, Florida and D.C.).

ALL IN THE FAMILY

My wife had never seen me play competitive soccer, and my boys, 8 and 5, had only seen me play in my regular Sunday men’s league. They had watched on the sidelines as I coached at Nobles and had heard about my college soccer days, but

“ There was an evolution to my own play during my time at the games. I was able to adjust and improve my game in a way that allowed me to best help the team—a good learning experience as I work to help the boys on my team at Nobles.” —STEVE GINSBERG 20 Nobles WINTER 2020

this was entirely different. This time, I was preparing to try out for a team that would play at a higher level and represent the United States—it was an overwhelming experience for all of us.

My family had seen me train for a year, leaving the house at 4:30 almost every morning and sometimes coming with me to the field to run sprints, so they were truly part of the whole process.

It is hard to express how meaningful it was for me to have my boys and Sara be a part of the experience.

During one of the first nights in Mexico City, we arrived at a restaurant, and there was one seat open at a table with the guys from the team. My 8-year-old, Caleb, who was very interested in the details of the event, from the standings to the players and our schedule, was invited to sit with the team and stayed with them for the entire meal. It was very special for me to see my sons feeling embraced in this way by other Jewish men who were strong leaders and positive role models, people I never would have come across had I not taken advantage of this opportunity.

TO BUILD A TEAM

As a coach, I have worked with many teams on building culture, and often it just takes time. On this team, with only four training weekends and periodic tactical conference calls, we really did not

Clockwise from top: Ginsberg passes the ball during a game against Great Britain while his family looks on; Ginsberg with his wife, Sara, and their two sons, Caleb and Jordan; Ginsberg with his high school and college teammates, with whom he reunited during the games.

have that time. Regardless, our time in Mexico, though limited, was very special; I was playing with two very close friends, and I had become surprisingly connected with my teammates.

The level of competition during the games was excellent, and because we had put so much into our physical training, we were probably the most fit team. While we were playing well, we were not able to score a goal in the first three games, which included two 0–0 ties (Argentina and Great Britain) and a 1–0 loss to Mexico. However, we put it together in the fourth game against Chile, and our 4–0 win in that game secured us a rematch with Mexico for

the bronze medal. At that point, our team was really coming together, and we avenged our previous loss with a resounding 6–0 win to earn the bronze.

BRINGING IT BACK TO THE PITCH AT 10 CAMPUS DRIVE

There was an evolution to my own play during my time at the games. I was able to adjust and improve my game in a way that allowed me to best help the team—a good learning experience as I work to help the boys on my team at Nobles.

Because I was only able to communicate with teammates and coaches over the phone and at practices, opportunities for additional feedback from both

peers and coaches were limited. In retrospect, this helped me to better understand the importance of regular conversations with players to help them with the physical and mental aspects of the game.

In the summer of 2021, the Maccabi games will be held in Israel. This will be a larger event with additional sports, teams and countries, and there will inevitably be a more significant religious impact because of the location. My hope is to maintain my level of fitness and overall play so that I am able to earn a spot on the team again. The incentive is certainly there, and I look forward to continuing this journey.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 21

Deep Waters Gregg Bemis ’46 not only remembers the Lusitania, he owns this storied vessel that he’s had the privilege of studying for decades.

BY H E AT H E R S U L L I VA N | PA I N TI N G BY KEN MA RSC H A LL

22 Nobles WINTER 2020

“In spite of all its horror, we must regard the sinking of the Lusitania as an event most important and favourable to the Allies. The poor babies who perished in the ocean attack struck a blow at German power more deadly than could have been achieved by the sacrifice of 100,000 men.”

—WINSTON CHURCHILL, IN 1937

WHAT STARTED AS AN OPPORTUNISTIC business

venture for Gregg Bemis ’46—an old friend in the late 1960s invited him to share salvage rights for a wartime passenger liner that might hold copper, brass and bronze—has become nothing less than a quest for truth.

In fact, Bemis has taken on one of the greatest mysteries of American history: the sinking of the R.M.S. Lusitania on May 7, 1915.

The incident is considered the impetus for the United States’ entry into World War I. The details of the sinking and the equivocal aftermath are the subject of fictionalized accounts, a National Geographic documentary, and conspiracy theories to best those in the “X-Files.”

The ship went down in a chaotic 18 minutes, while the Titanic took more than two hours to sink, and survivors of the Lusitania reported two explosions despite the attacking German U-boat under the command of Walther Schweiger admitting to only a single torpedo.

The Lusitania was a gem in the crown of the British Cunard Line. She was elegant, sleek, enormous, with stained-glass windows and fine woodworking; she was a city on the sea, and she was luxurious and fast. She appeared to be unsinkable, not unlike her ill-fated cousin, the Titanic of the White Star Line, whose final voyage was in 1912.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 23

R.M.S. Lusitania, pictured in 1907, was designed by the Cunard Line’s senior naval architect Leonard Peskett and built by the Scottish shipbuilding firm John Brown & Company. The ship was named after the ancient Roman province of Lusitania, which included parts of modern Portugal and Spain.

The sinking of the Lusitania inspired American—and worldwide—outrage.

The Germans, it appeared, had done the unthinkable: They had attacked a passenger liner with innocent civilians, including many women and children. The official word was that no war materials were on board—that cargo could have made her a legitimate wartime target. The second explosion has been variously attributed to exploding coal dust or aluminum powder, boiler failure or volatile munitions.

According to the New York Times in August 2017, “Speculation over a secret cargo intensified in 2014, when Britain released government documents from 1982 that warned a proposed salvage mission to the wreck could ‘literally blow up on us.’” More than 104 years after her demise, the Lusitania holds deep secrets, and Bemis still wants to know them.

Because the wreckage rests on the ocean floor on the starboard side, where the explosions occurred, her wounds are hidden, still untouchable. Further frustrating Bemis’ efforts, the Irish government named the wreckage a historic monument, and technically, the wreckage is not far enough from the coast to qualify as “international waters.” Getting permission for dives has required perseverance and legal counsel despite Bemis now being the sole owner of the wreckage.

How did the Lusitania sink? For those with a cloudy grasp of world history, a German U-boat torpedoed the passenger vessel just over 11 miles off the coast of Ireland, near the town of Kinsale. Nearly 1,200 of the almost 2,000 passengers and crew died, including 128 Americans.

The remains of that fateful day still lie 300 feet below, in the cold Irish Sea that Bemis describes as a bit wintry: “It’s like being in a snowstorm. It’s completely dark down there. There’s an algae layer, which cuts out all the sunlight, so you’re dependent entirely on your headlights and your wrist lights and any other lights 24 Nobles WINTER 2020

you carry. And because of ‘the snow,’ the back-scatter from the light is just like driving at night in a snowstorm with your headlights—and here you are trying to look at a ship that’s 790 feet long.

“You don’t ever see very much of it at one time, but it’s just beautiful. It’s just absolutely beautiful,” he said.

After the disaster, propaganda and what might now legitimately be called “fake news” proliferated. Accounts varied wildly among the witnesses, including William Turner, the seasoned captain of the ship. Governments could not or would not fully share documents. In this environment, fewer than 24 months later, the United States entered the Great War amid loud cries of “Remember the Lusitania” and fliers featuring a woman—babe in arms—sinking in the green sea, hair flowing mermaid-like as she drowned.

The anti-German sentiment provoked by the atrocity became a recruitment tool in the British war effort—this despite the fact that the German authorities had published a warning in U.S. newspapers alongside the timetable for the Lusitania’s sailing from New York. Also, oddly, the British Navy had offered no escort for the ship sailing in a war zone. Had the tragedy been averted, the outcome of WWI might have been

different, many believe. “As my Irish friends say, if it hadn’t been for America coming into the war, they’d all be speaking German,” Bemis said.

Why has Bemis, a retired venture capitalist who graduated from Nobles, Stanford and Harvard, been willing to dive so deep for answers?

“I went into the venture capital business, specializing in ocean-related products,” he said. “I’d already been living on the ocean all my life, so the water, the sea, was part of my life. It’s interesting the way one thing leads to another.”

BY THE STARS

Bemis thinks that a government cover-up related to the attack is likely. “The technology involved in the [U-boat] being in the right place at the right time in those days as compared to today, it didn’t exist.

Now, we have satellite nav. They had to take star sights, sun sights and whatnot to know where they were, and for that submarine to be in the exact spot, 700 meters from where the Lusitania was, is nothing short of miraculous.

“I just can’t believe that it wasn’t a setup, and I think that should be part of history if that’s what it was.” Bemis wonders whether Captain William Turner’s safe, with documentation of special

A MAGNIFICENT MUSEUM

orders, might still be retrieved from the wreckage. Once the torpedo was launched from 700 meters away, there was nothing Captain Turner could do to avoid the resulting hit. Bemis believes Captain Turner was following official secret “sailing instructions.”

What about the Lusitania now? “It’s falling apart. It’s slowly falling in on itself.

It’s becoming more and more dangerous to dive around, [but] it’s still a pretty strong vessel down there, so there’s still plenty of work that can be done.

“It was a beautiful ship, and, of course, we are hoping to bring up the pieces of one of the first-class passenger rooms and re-create that in the museum with all the furniture and everything else, but that’s going to take a while.”

In 2019, Bemis began the process of deeding ownership of the Lusitania shipwreck to a new museum, to be located on the Old Head of Kinsale. “It is a magnificent setting looking out over the Atlantic to where the ship sank 104 years ago,” Bemis said.

While Bemis’ relationship with the Irish government has been contentious, he loves the people. “The Irish are wonderful, and they’ve been supportive.

This museum was not something that I thought up. The locals thought it up.

When I found out about it, I got involved and supported them in every way I could.

“I’ve been fighting a battle with cancer now for the last three years, and I don’t know how much longer I’ve got.

But my son kids me because I keep telling him I’m going to go diving with him.

He said, ‘Before you buy your ticket, you better find out whether the dive shop is going to give you the equipment. They’re pretty careful about not sending someone out to drown on their time.’”

Bemis is teasing, of course, but he does have a history of being determined in work and play. “I’ve been playing soccer out here in New Mexico for the last 38 years,” he said, “and when I got this cancer, it took away my breath.

When I finally got my breath back, I started playing again. I lasted four weeks.

But four weeks of playing soccer at 91 isn’t too bad.”

A MYSTERY REMAINS

Bemis still thinks there is more to the ship’s history: “The Lusitania is a remarkable vessel. The only thing left to do, really, is find out what caused the second explosion.” Working with scientists from Lawrence Livermore labs, Bemis has run simulations of some of the other possible causes of the second explosion, including theories involving the ignition of coal dust and an exploding boiler. The testing did not point to the cause of the second explosions but ruled some out.

Bemis has now spent more than four decades studying the Lusitania.

What began coolly and rationally is now an endeavor of the heart as much as the head.

“They say that the bell is the heart of the ship, and the whistle is the voice of the ship,” said Bemis, explaining that he knows where the three-tone whistle is but that he is awaiting permission from the Irish government to retrieve it. “One bell was recovered in the early 1980s, and that’s in a museum in London. But there’s more than one bell. We hope to bring that up.”

For now, Bemis is relying on others to continue his work. He has seen the Lusitania up close many times. His most recent tech dive to the wreckage was about 15 years ago, he said. “I was 76 when I did that. So that’s back when I was a kid.” N

“ I just can’t believe that it [the attack] wasn’t a setup, and I think that should be part of history if that’s what it was.”

— GREGG BEMIS ’46

PHOTOGRAPH BY: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS (LUSITANIA); JONATHAN LOWE (BEMIS)

WINTER 2020 Nobles 25

RESISTANCE ANDRESILIEN

Barolo-Rizvi argues with police regarding a permit to hold a protest to raise awareness about police inaction in cases of violence against women (November 2014), from a Dhaka Tribune article.

Photo by: Syed Zakir Hossain

Systemic trauma has an especially profound effect on displaced populations, but three Nobles graduates are developing policies and carrying out humanitarian initiatives to help. Despite generations of conflict and institutional oppression, they see hope in human connection and the capacity for change.

E NCE

BY K IM N E A L

PHOTOGRAPH BY: TOM MEDWELL

“I went to the Rohingya refugee camps for the first time in 2012,” said Maya Barolo-Rizvi ’04. “The crisis has been ongoing for 30 years, but that’s what’s so frustrating—that international attention only arrived two years ago, when there was a big exodus. That’s where I lose hope: It’s when crises become fashionable, and equally when they go out of fashion. As development agencies, we realize that we have a very small window while the attention is on our crisis. Tomorrow, something will flare up in central Africa or in China, and then it will go.”

Now at Oxford University researching citizenship rights amongst minority communities with particular focus on the Rohingya crisis, human rights consultant Barolo-Rizvi spent seven years in Bangladesh with the United Nations Development Programme and the Humane Society. Affecting well over a million refugees, the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority group is recognized as among the most dire human rights disasters of our age. Persecution and violence by the Myanmar government drive refugees to camps in nearby Bangladesh, primarily Cox’s Bazar,

where Barolo-Rizvi held one of her last posts. Her research is focused on minority rights. “I wanted to understand what this Rohingya crisis means for other minorities in other regions, because if one day a country decides it wants to eliminate a minority and they’re getting away with it because the international community is not coming down on the Myanmar regime, what does that mean for other minorities?

Muslims in India should start worrying.

Christians in Pakistan should start asking themselves.”

Prior to Nobles, Barolo-Rizvi lived in India while her father was with the Ford Foundation; he now serves as international affairs advisor to the prime minister of Bangladesh. Her interest in international relations and social justice stems from her time in India witnessing the effects of extreme poverty and inequality. “If you empower a woman, if you increase her income, the overall nutrition of the family improves.” The early lesson she learned living in India was not only that investing in women is good for the family, but that it’s the right thing to do.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 27

Generations of Rohingya growing up in refugee camps perpetuate damaging perceptions of women. “These young boys have never seen their mothers working, and because of issues of rape and safety in the camps, women don’t leave their tents. This happened in Afghanistan and in Pakistan—that doesn’t send men good messages about the role of women in society. It is a ripe breeding ground for extremism,” said Barolo-Rizvi.

To help empower women, BaroloRizvi works with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The organization trains midwives to counsel women on their sexual health and to dispel the stigma around family planning in Bangladesh. “Men won’t use condoms because they think it makes them less of a man, so the contraceptive burden falls on women. UNFPA creates safe spaces for women to openly discuss their reproductive health.”

Barolo-Rizvi encounters both extreme inspiration and frustration in her work. In the refugee camps, she said, “You see little children who literally had to climb over dead bodies and swim across the river into Bangladesh—and they’re singing songs and they’re happy.

I’m more encouraged when I see the resilience of these people, and I’m more discouraged when I see the apathy of the international community.” She’s also accustomed to danger. “In Bangladesh, our house has been bombed several times. My dad came from a long line of public servants, and he understands that in that part of the world, there’s always that risk.”

But Barolo-Rizvi stresses that development work is just as much about hope and possibility. “Bangladesh is such a remarkable story. It came into being as a country in 1971, after fighting a long, bitter civil war with its western wing, which is today Pakistan. At the time of independence, the fertility rate was more 28 Nobles WINTER 2020

than six children per woman, and the country couldn’t feed itself. Fast-forward to today: Bangladesh exports rice, and in South Asia has the highest female literacy, female life expectancy, lowest maternal mortality—all those social indicators—and does it with far fewer resources than much larger countries like India and Pakistan. The trajectory has shown that a woman-centered development approach pays 100-fold.” For decades, Bangladesh has shown itself to be ahead of the curve, with a successful record of female leadership and integrating minorities into politics.

THE EFFECTS OF DISPLACEMENT

Migration and internal displacement specialist Melissa Weihmayer ’06 knows the power of that collaborative model.

She recently conducted research in El Salvador, Honduras and Ukraine for Joint IDP Profiling Service (JIPS), based in Geneva, Switzerland. Working alongside governments and civil society, she collected and analyzed data about displaced populations to inform humanitarian and development interventions, advocacy and policymaking. Partnering with governments, Weihmayer said, is the best way to get them to trust their own PHOTOGRAPH BY: TOM MEDWELL

Humanitarian, UN and government partners from around the globe gather in Geneva, Switzerland, where Melissa Weihmayer facilitates a training on collaborative data collection processes to analyse internal displacement situations.

Melissa Weihmayer ’06

data and design solutions. Internal displacement refers to the forced movement of a country’s citizens within its own borders due to factors like gang violence and can be difficult for governments to distinguish from voluntary migration.

El Salvador’s government maintained that internal movement was voluntary before working with JIPS, when their own statistics forced them to acknowledge the gravity of national displacement. Research quantified the scope of the problem, at about 1.1 percent of the population—somewhere between 65,000 and 70,000 people—which then served as

a catalyst for national policy action.

Weihmayer said the Honduran government was on board from the start. As a “neutral broker,” JIPS strives to have “rigorous, transparent data on internal displacement and to build the capacity of others.” A mixed-methods approach to research, both quantitative and qualitative, is essential, and relies on solid partnerships with civil society.

“Statistical information on populations doesn’t necessarily convey the challenges that they’re facing, whether it’s having lost homes or having a loved one murdered by a gang, something we saw a lot

in Honduras. These experiences are so important to capture through qualitative methods, and to keep together in the analysis. I really believe strongly in showing the whole story,” Weihmayer said.

In Ukraine, on Weihmayer’s most recent project, she worked with a local government team composed of individuals forced out of an area now occupied by separatists. “It was my first time working on a project where everybody sitting around the table knew exactly what it was like to be displaced,” said Weihmayer. “We discussed what drives people to go back across the contact line, even when they’re not sure if it’s safe.

They were saying, ‘We have elderly relatives who just can’t move, and we’ve got to go back and take care of them.’”

Such sensitive international work requires cultural competency and nuanced language skills. Weihmayer has honed her Spanish and German but said that part of the job is educating herself on the fly and trusting her own abilities. She has earned the trust of skeptical, more senior colleagues from male-dominated cultures and organizations, while helping them to shape their national policies. Ultimately, Weihmayer finds, “there are a lot of practical solutions for managing migration in ways that do not infringe on human rights, and in a way that enables governments to comply with their humanitarian obligations.”

WINTER 2020 Nobles 29

Jillian Tuck ’01

THE PRIVILEGE OF A PASSPORT

For Jillian Tuck ’01, an interest in activism was sparked by a 1999 Nobles trip to South Africa led by Laurie Baker and John Gifford (both ’86). “It opened my eyes to the power of that little blue passport, and the privilege and responsibility of having white skin.” The realization was compounded when she took a hiatus from college to backpack around Guatemala and learned about its 1980s genocide toward its indigenous population. After graduating, she returned 30 Nobles WINTER 2020

there as a human rights observer to interview witnesses about the atrocities as part of the country’s legal process to prosecute war criminals.

“The idea behind international accompaniment is that you embody the eyes and ears of the international community. Just your physical presence, being in the same place as human rights defenders who are under threat because of the work that they do, provides some measure of security. So it was this experience of who am I? I’m nobody.

But because I am from the U.S., I can leverage that privilege to protect people who are at risk because of the human rights work that they’re doing,” said Tuck. Fourteen years later, she serves on the board of the same organization she worked with then, Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala.

Tuck said burnout is high in her line of work; she has learned the hard way how to sustain her capacity to give. “You hear a lot about the vicarious trauma that advocates can experience when PHOTOGRAPH BY: KIM NEAL

THE IMPACT ON ASYLUM CASES

Tuck in Yangon, September 2019, training Myanmar activists how to securely document mass atrocity crimes using their mobile phones.

they are working with survivors of violence and grappling with that material.

What you hear a little bit less of is vicarious resilience, because while you are working with people who have survived horrible atrocities and things that no human being should experience, in that same person is also the most courageous, resilient person you’ve ever met.

So you get to experience both, and to try to hold the humanity of that person.”

Tuck pursued her law degree after hearing too many fellow activists lament the lack of a legal advocates. “My experience in Guatemala showed me the law can restore power to people from whom it has been taken away,” she said. Tuck earned her J.D. from and, then taught at Northeastern University School of Law, known for its emphasis on social justice.

Two program rotations in El Paso, Texas, showed her that “the U.S. immigration system is broken. It didn’t break under Trump; it has needed reform for many years.” Tuck doesn’t advocate for doing away with borders, but said, “There is something about being there that makes you see how arbitrary certain lines are and how drastically different your life can be when you are born just one mile in another direction.” Since then, she has worked pro bono for human rights organizations like Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).

Weihmayer gained a greater understanding of U.S. border tensions as an intern with the State Department’s Office of International Migration in 2010. She examined how the U.S. helps other countries manage their migration situations, specifically in the Northern Triangle (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador).

“Similar to now, the big concern was, why are so many minors coming, and why would their families send them alone on this dangerous journey north?” At that time, Weihmayer said, a minor arriving alone had two pathways to regularizing their status in the U.S.—joining the foster care system or reuniting with a relative and then working on an asylum case.

Since then, she said that the current rise in the detainment of families and children has “huge implications for human rights violations.”

As former director of the asylum program at Physicians for Human Rights in Boston, Tuck said, “If you’re seeking asylum in the U.S., the burden of proof is on the refugee to prove that the persecution happened to them. You can imagine that refugees flee in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on their backs. … Oftentimes, their only evidence is their own story and emotional or physical scars.” Tuck served as part of a trained, mobilized network of health professionals who worked pro bono, doing forensic evaluations and writing medical legal affidavits to help substantiate refugees’ asylum claims.

MOVING FORWARD

This winter, Tuck takes a new position at Harvard University developing nonprofit leaders, strengthening organizations from within to enhance their impact. “There’s a dearth of authentic leadership in the nonprofit sector, and that’s a result of ego burnout and constant competition for resources.” Tuck hopes to align internal

organizational practices with social justice values, partly through mentorship.

Weihmayer, now a Ph.D. candidate in urban planning at the London School of Economics, hopes to return to Honduras to analyze internal displacement from the local government perspective: “Populations there are displacing within the same cities for safety, and there’s an implementation gap between the policies on paper that are not actually happening, and human rights violations that are not being prosecuted.” Knowing the value of civic engagement, Weihmayer advises Nobles students, “Whether or not you like the direction the country is going in, consider working for the government. It’s important to have good people.”

Tuck wants students and those early in their careers to know that job mobility is healthy. “I’ve jumped around quite a bit. Just choose something that you’re passionate about and it will continue to evolve.”

Barolo-Rizvi said, “By virtue of being born in America, you’ve won the lottery.

You have access to lawmakers who are accountable to you, and you can effect chage if you’re engaged with what’s going on in the world. If you’re up in arms about the treatment of the Rohingya refugees, you can write to your representative or senator and get a response. In most parts of the world, you don’t have access unless you are a big corporation. Americans have the freedom to say something on Facebook without worrying that tomorrow they’ll be arrested or disappeared.

Your activism and awareness begins at home, with small acts of resistance.” N

* ACCORDING TO THE WORLD BANK: “CIVIL SOCIETY ... REFERS TO A WIDE ARRAY OF ORGANIZATIONS: COMMUNITY GROUPS, NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS [NGOS], LABOUR UNIONS, INDIGENOUS GROUPS, CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, AND FOUNDATIONS.” WINTER 2020 Nobles 31

BY A N N E H UR L B U T PH OTO G R A P HY BY COP P E R H OU N D P I CTURES

A STORIED RUNWAY 32 Nobles WINTER 2020

Throughout her childhood and during her time at Nobles, the life of Olivia Achtmeyer Boger ’99 seemed pretty uncomplicated. She went to school, played sports, and spent ordinary days with her three siblings and her parents—seemingly the one true version of their family’s story. However, as Boger and her siblings lived the chapters of childhood, holidays, friends, prep schools and college, another story, born of bravery and benevolence, played out in the adult world of quiet conversations between parents determined to protect their children. It is this other story, of a mother’s private battle with breast cancer, selflessly hushed during Boger’s childhood, that determined the course and passion of her life and work.

2017, Kathryn Bailis Phillips, survivor and walking in memory of her mother, Susan Bailis (2000)

WINTER 2020 Nobles 33

LOOKING BACK, BOGER RECALLS only a single detail from her childhood that might have served as a clue to her mother’s battle with breast cancer. “I have one memory of being on a trip and it was windy,” she said. “And I thought, ‘That’s weird that Mom’s hair is lifting up.’ But it was neither here nor there because she was doing everything she normally did.” That is how Boger’s mother, Cande Achtmeyer, chose to live her journey with breast cancer—privately and in a way that would allow for her children to be children, without a dying mother, for her to be seen as a woman and a mother instead of just as a patient, and for the moments of her life to be enjoyed without always being viewed in terms of potential lasts. Achtmeyer was the author of this part of her story, and now, through Runway for Recovery, her daughter invites other women fighting breast cancer and their families to don finery for an evening, step out on the runway, and celebrate the support of this community that has embraced and buoyed them.

In 2007, Boger started Runway, which raises money for children who have lost their mothers to breast cancer and provides support for caregivers. Now in its 13th year, Runway helps families affected by breast cancer to celebrate life, remember loved ones, tell their stories, and find a way to carry on. Boger felt there was a need for the program because she was doing all of the walks, runs and bikeathons to raise money, and while she felt good about those things, she never knew where the money was going. Around the five-year anniversary of her mother’s passing, Boger decided to do a one-time fundraising event and give the money to kids whose moms had passed away. She did not have a clear sense of what the event would look like until the owners of a Concord boutique recommended doing a fashion show and offered to donate the clothing. It was then that she came

34 Nobles WINTER 2020

“ So, every time I come up with another event, there’s a part of me that thinks, well, I am just doing what Mom taught me to do, which is to build this community, because we all need the village. That is one way that her legacy lives on.”

— OLIVIA ACHTMEYER BOGER ’99

up with the idea that would become the heart of Runway for Recovery—instead of hiring professional models, she would ask people in families directly affected by breast cancer to walk the runway.

Kathryn Bailis Phillips, a former faculty member at Nobles and an important mentor for Boger, lost her own mother to breast cancer the year before Boger’s mother passed and then she herself was diagnosed. Phillips, one of Boger’s first models for Runway, said about the power of Runway: “Once people have come to the actual event, they understand the magic, and they understand what it’s about—the electricity in the room as these men, women and children who never chose this get on stage, and you see them taking risks and dancing. We’re not models, but we get this moment where we shine, and our children shine, and our parents shine, and our sisters and our brothers and our aunts and uncles, and you realize that breast cancer really does touch everybody.” Phillips’ daughter, Savannah, adds, “There’s what we call a gold lining. Not just a silver lining, but a gold lining . . .

It won’t tear everything apart in your life. You can actually find a community who will put the pieces back together.”

The first Runway event was held at the Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord, with 10 models and 75 guests.

All volunteers were students from Middlesex School, where Boger worked at the time, and from the Fenn School, where she had worked previously.

Fast-forward to 2019, and Runway has outgrown several venues. Now, the annual Runway event is held at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, with 100 models and 720 attendees. The October 2019 event, which raised $215,000, provides funding for the “general Runway” bucket, and they have just funded their first cycle of grant applicants. Runway continues to seek families to apply for these grants, the average size of which is $15,000. Runway has stayed true to its roots, as clothing continues to come from small, local boutiques that personalize the experience for the models, donating outfits and helping them feel comfortable. All of the salons, hairstylists, makeup artists, photographers and videographers also volunteer their time and services for the event. Boger’s mother’s legacy lives on in the selflessness of a community that continues to grow each day through Runway.

What sets Runway apart is that it is both a fundraiser and a program. “On

the runway this year,” explains Boger, “of 100 models, one was a prison guard at an all-male prison, two were lunch ladies, one had been homeless, one was a top executive at BYN Mellon, grandmothers, mothers, people of color, young, old—so we have this huge crosssection of diversity on the runway just because breast cancer doesn’t target one specific kind of person.” Within this diversity lies a variety of stories, with different ways to tell them, and different times for them to be told. Boger recently took on the full-time role of director, and one of her priorities is helping to serve as a conduit for women to share their stories. With this being her full-time position, Boger is now able to meet in person with each of the models and listen to their stories herself, and these meetings have now been made into a podcast that launches on iTunes in January 2020. Additionally, Boger has begun helping mothers who are terminal with the difficult task of creating

goodbye videos for their children.

The stories of breast cancer patients are kept or told, shared slowly over time, or sometimes, not shared at all.

Boger said that she recognizes “very publicly and very frequently that everybody’s story is different, and we have to, as a society, not place blame, skepticism or opinions on other people’s stories because, of course, there is nobody who can project out how you’re going to deal with getting breast cancer at the age of 42 with four young kids. Everybody is going to do it differently.” And such is the way with stories—they are ours to tell in the way and in the time that we wish to tell them. Through Runway for Recovery, Boger has built a village her mother would have been proud of, a strong community where families feel supported, regardless of the beginning, middle or end of their story, and they’re given wraparound support to help them adjust to the new version of their family’s narrative. N

2015, Phillips and her daughter, Savannah, twirl down the runway at the annual fundraising event.

2016, Olivia Achtmeyer Boger ’99, walking with her son, Stuart, in memory of her mother, Cande Achtmeyer, and being cheered on by her step-mother, Alli Achtmeyer (left)

WINTER 2020 Nobles 35

Jenney Lane

BY B E N H E I D E R I L LU ST R AT I ON BY E R I C H A N SO N

Inconsistencies, corrections, deceit and dead ends. How a simple question about the actual size of Nobles’ campus kicked off a quest to uncover boundary manipulation, bureaucratic malfeasance and a drifting North Pole.

SINCE THE EARLY 1990S, Nobles had advertised

itself as having a 187-acre campus on “a beautiful little postage stamp of land.” While that’s some fabulous, flowery language, former archivist Isa Schaff was adamant that the school’s campus was, in reality, much smaller than that.

So I decided to do some digging.

A quick search into the Town of Dedham Assessors Office property viewer lists the school at 106.68 acres. It’s not looking good.

A quarter-century of faulty advertising could be crashing down while the campus “size truthers” have a field day. I decide to doublecheck the Dedham Assessors tax map just to be sure, and we have our first inconsistency. The Noble and Greenough School campus, a.k.a. tax parcel 38-43, is listed at 40,000 square feet, or 0.92 acres. Not even close. Further complicating matters are 26 subparcels within the outer boundary of 38-43. Despite their wild variation in size, each of these is also listed at 0.92 acres.

Calls to the Dedham Assessors and Geographic Information System (GIS) offices got me nothing but bewilderment and the suggestion that since Nobles is a nonprofit and isn’t subject to property taxes in the first place, it hasn’t been crucial for Dedham to keep accurate records. So, I turned to the authoritative source of property boundaries: the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds.

36 Nobles WINTER 2020

Co m

m

on

St

re e

t

On August 30, 1921, the Noble and Greenough School Corporation purchased “a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon known as Riverdale, situated in said Dedham . . . containing approximately 101 Acres.” Two parcels of land were excepted from this purchase: a 13.62-acre section at the corner of Bridge and Pine Streets and a 2.5-acre section of the hill behind presentday Keller Field. It’s unclear from the language in the deed whether the 101-acre number already takes into account these subtracted 16.12 acres, or if 101 acres is the larger boundary and Nobles really only bought 84.88 acres. Turns out it’s neither.

Four years after the original sale, the heirs of Albert W. Nickerson decided they weren’t sure what they were holding out for and sold Nobles the excepted 13.62-acre parcel.

Pi n

In 1937, the town decided Pine Street was too crooked, and by straightening it out we lost about eight-tenths of an acre, but we were paid “less than one hundred dollars” for our troubles, so it’s a wash. eS

tre

et

Brid

ge S t

reet

Campus Drive

After aligning copies of all the original plans by taking into account that the magnetic North Pole has drifted more than 700 miles in the past century, and syncing them with Frederick Law Olmsted’s topographical map of the estate, current satellite imagery, and maps from Dedham GIS, I calculated that the original Riverdale purchase, not including the two excepted parcels, was actually about 115 acres.

In 1957, during the post-war boom of the Putnam years, Nobles decided to go on a three-parcel buying spree. The first parcel was easy: 19.5 acres (though the original plan lists it as only 15 acres) of lowlands on the riparian edge of campus to bring our full western border into contact with the Charles River. The second parcel was tricky in that we purchased 14 acres minus an excepted 2.7-acre parcel north of campus on Jenney Lane. The third parcel has a backstory.

In 1937, the Nickerson heirs apparently forgot that they still owned the 2.5-acre hill that was excepted from the original 1921 sale, so they didn’t pay $16.70 in taxes on it.

Dedham put the parcel up for public auction, and a nonfiction character named Harry P. Chadwick made the winning bid of $22.90.

Mr. Chadwick, however, never showed up to pay his bill, so the town of Dedham became the de facto purchaser. Nine years later, Dedham flipped the land and sold it to Wilfred Newman.

Four years after that, Newman traded his useless 2.5-acre hill for a 2.7-acre plot of land (surprise, that’s the excepted section of the second parcel) from Wendell Endicott. Seven years later, in 1957, Endicott’s daughter sold the 2.5-acre hill to Nobles as the third parcel.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 37

Jenney Lane

In 1964, we manifested destiny and bought a 12.7-acre parcel on the western side of the Charles River. The land had no access to Common Street, but luckily there was a “reserved a right of way” over the neighboring parcel, “which, when exercised will be in the location most convenient to the grantees.” To my knowledge, this right of way had never been exercised. There’s now a house on that neighboring parcel, and nobody even knows we own any land across the river in the first place.

Co m

m

In 1981, we ran into some trouble. For consideration of $5,100 paid, Nobles granted to the United States of America “a perpetual and assignable easement for flood management purposes over certain parcels of land...” The parcels in question are most of the land purchased in 1957: 10.6 acres of that second parcel on Jenney Lane and 30.7 acres, including all of the first parcel and a big chunk of other low-lying areas along the river from the original 1921 purchase. The stipulations of the easement were that Nobles wasn’t allowed to develop any of that land, other than to maintain athletic fields and trails. However, there was an explicit stipulation that allowed for the construction of a “small footbridge.” The big question this poses is, does Nobles still retain title to that land? A thorough reading points to yes, but allow us to revisit the Dedham Assessors records.

38 Nobles WINTER 2020

on

St

re e

t

Adjacent to the Nobles tax parcel 38-43 are tax parcels 22-11 and 36-11. Let’s break down everything wrong with them.

PARCEL 22-11 1. The owner of this land is listed as the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers. Even though most of this land is under the 1981 easement, Nobles actually still owns it.

2. The recorded address for that Army Corps of Engineers Real Estate Division office is a soccer field in Waltham, so they’ve been hard to contact.

3. It’s listed at 25.3 acres, but I measured it myself and clarified with the GIS office; it’s actually 11.3 acres.

PARCEL 36-11 1. This 42.4-acre parcel spans both sides of the river, and no owner is listed anywhere in the Assessors records. Surprise, Nobles owns it all.

Moving right along, in 2006, Nobles decided to reroute the main entrance by inventing Campus Drive and destroying half of Jenney Lane. In doing so, we gifted 0.3 acres to the neighboring Animal Rescue League, and they let us put our sign on their property. Yep, the stone Noble and Greenough School sign on the right side of the main entrance isn’t part of campus.

Pi n

eS

tre

et

Brid

ge S t

reet

Campus Drive

While the Dedham Assessors records of ownership and acreage are inaccurate, their boundaries are correct, so we can use them to confirm the total campus size. According to GIS and verified by my own measurements, the full area of parcel 38-43 with all 26 subparcels contained within is 119.5 acres. Add to that the 11.3 acres of parcel 22-11 and 42.4 acres of parcel 36-11, and we get a grand total of 173.2 acres. The only way I can see how we could have mistakenly proclaimed a 187-acre campus size for so many years is if somebody had blindly trusted the Assessors’ listing for parcel 22-11 as 14 acres larger than it actually is. Add 14 to 173± and you get 187.

In reality, Nobles is definitely not 187 acres and apparently never was. Time to update the history books. N

Various Incorrectly Published Campus Sizes

2. The majority of this parcel is under the 1981 easement, so that’s probably why the town thinks it’s unowned wetland.

3. That easement does not affect any of Nobles’ land across the river, though, so the 12.7-acre parcel purchased in 1964 should not be included in this combined parcel in the first place.

ACRES

PUBLICATION

101

The Story of Noble and Greenough School, published 1966

105±

Massachusetts Department of Transportation

105.77

Town of Dedham Assessors Office

106.68

Town of Dedham Property Viewer

129.6

2010 Town of Dedham Open Space and Recreation Plan

130.21

2019 Town of Dedham Open Space and Recreation Plan

175

1989 Nobles Admission Viewbook

187

1992 Nobles Admission Viewbook

187.5

2006 Nobles Admission Viewbook

WINTER 2020 Nobles 39

graduate news 1940

1948

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Percy Nelson

Bill Bliss

617-244-4126 percylnelson@comcast.net

781-326-1062 wlbliss@comcast.net

news, and we hope to see you on campus on May 8 and 9.

1951 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Galt Grant

1946

1949

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

It was wonderful to hear from Dick Little, who writes: “My wife died 18 years ago, and I moved to New Hampshire. I am out of touch with Massachusetts life and Nobles. A close friend lives in Spain; she and I swap visits when we can. I have stopped racing vintage sports cars as I no longer think quickly enough on the race track. I keep busy by puttering with two old MG cars and a 1931 Lincoln. Hello to any classmates with whom you might correspond. My best wishes to all at Nobles.”

Gregg Bemis

505-983-7094 gbemis@swcp.com In May of this year, your “secretary” went to Ireland to begin the process of deeding my ownership of the wreck of the Lusitania over to a new Lusitania Museum located on the Old Head of Kinsale. It is a magnificent setting overlooking the Atlantic where the ship sank 104 years ago.

We conducted a memorial service for the 1,201 souls who went down with the wreck. It should be a prime spot to visit if any of you get to Ireland. (See story on page 22.)

1950 Class of 1950, it is your 70th reunion this May! Please send in

781-383-0854 galtgra@gmail.com

1952 & 1953 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

John Childs

johnchilds37@gmail.com Right off the bat, I heard from Lu Hallett, who reports that while Carol is in good shape (and rebutting some of his comments on the phone call), he is still struggling with his exposure to Agent Orange when flying in the military. Fortunately, the leukemia is in remission and “we are still doing the same things we were”—which I leave for you to interpret. All is well with their three children in Michigan, Florida and Brooklyn. They are off

Graduate Notes Policy: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

For graduate notes submission instructions and deadlines, please visit www.nobles.edu/ community/graduates/submit-a-class-note/.

Send updates and photographs to class correspondents if you have one; they compile submissions on behalf of the class.

If you don’t have a class correspondent, you may submit updates directly at the URL above.

Digital photographs must be high-resolution JPEG images (1MB+) to appear in print.

Editorial staff reserves the right to edit, format and select all materials for publication, to accommodate eight decades of classes in the magazine.

To volunteer as class correspondent, to collect and compile news to share, please contact Kate Treitman Brown: kbrown99@nobles.edu.

40 Nobles WINTER 2020

to Florida November 1 and hope to see Lee Burgess in Charlotte and Wink Childs and Peg in Amelia Island on the way.

Also, had a nice phone conversation with Jim Bailey, very upbeat and positive. While he is somewhat physically limited, he still plays some golf, attends high school and college sports games, and avidly follows the Seattle Seahawks. He lives in Boise, Idaho, and gives great credit to his wife, Karen, for her support. Sends his best to all of you.

Pete Bennett has moved to an Erikson retirement community in Virginia, where they have children in the area, but not near their many Navy friends. Pete is well, but Nancy is coping with a heart problem and being well cared for.

Not sure if this is a warning or a threat, but Pete reports that “he is busy on the internet.”

The ever-enthusiastic Ben Taylor reports that, with the passing of Jack Dunn, the Class of 1952 is down to 12 known living members “who are in varying states of health, but all still respond when spoken to—however loudly and often a second time.” He is gunning for 100 percent ANF class participation for the third straight year. He’s now living in a retirement community in Santa Rosa, California, having moved to the left coast in 1973. It was a tough decision, but no regrets and many good results. Sends greetings to all.

An email from Bo “Bubby” Wakefield in Australia included an extensive itinerary of an October trip to New Zealand, their fourth excursion there, going back to

NOTES & ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLASSMATES

Three 1952 couples had lunch at an eatery in New Hampshire in October.

Clockwise from front left: Caroline Cumings, Dave Horton ’52, Bob Cumings ’52, Lu Hallett ’52, Carol Hallett and Terry Horton

1985, and typical of the wombat wanderlust mentioned in past emails and postcards. To wit: They are also anticipating a trip in 2020 to Iberia and Morocco: “We’ll not ever stop moving ’til the money runs out or we are in the cemetery.”

We see Susan and Bob Hoffman regularly, and Dave Thibodeau is nearby, so I can report they are active, involved and healthy.

Heard from Jack Farlow and was not surprised to learn that, as a 22-year resident of Waldoboro, Maine, they are not about to move anywhere. “Jane and I are planning to stay in our Maine home until the absolute end if we can manage it.”

Surrounded by woodlands, nature, all sorts of animals and “out of sight of nice human neighbors,” they sound like happy, well-adjusted Down Easterners who have found Nirvana. We are all invited to call or visit when next in their area.

On our way to a prominent person’s 85th birthday celebration in the Finger Lakes of New York, Jean and I dropped by Beverwyck

Senior Living near Albany to visit with Sally and Ted Jennings. They are well, enjoying retirement and equally proud of their grandchildren’s accomplishments as we are.

Ted and I repeated our traditional review of our 1952 cross-country adventure and recounted many Nobles stories that probably should not be repeated. Our bond remains long and strong.

Like all brothers who stay in close touch these days, I can report that Wink continues to experience more than his share of physical woes, but not surprisingly, he more than makes up for those setbacks by exercising his prolific, wacky mind. Alas, some of you may possess a copy of his 2018 compendium of short stories entitled Where Am I? Many prominent critics offered opinions, such as Better Homes & Gardens: “A monumental waste of time, but has a useful function. Place it in the bathroom, and no one will be tempted to linger.” And Barnes & Noble: “It’s the only time we’ve

sincerely regretted having a return policy.” Be that as it may, I urge you to buy the book on Amazon (enter Where Am I?—Neil). Seriously, this is a helpful investment, as Wink receives 17 cents’ royalty per book sale. And, stay tuned, a second book of 29 stories, More This Than That, will be published around year’s end.

Oh yes, Bo Wakefield reminded me that he will definitely attend our 75th Nobles reunion in 2028, when there will be a race around the circle, we in wheelchairs and Bubby, undoubtedly, in a Range Rover.

1954 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Peter Partridge

508-548-9418 bluechip7676@hotmail.com Bob Foster reflects: “I worked for Life, Time, Sports Illustrated, Newsweek and was publisher of a neat trade book in Camden, Maine, named The National Fisherman.

I’ve flown for the Navy and finally graduated from Bowdoin after earning my last two semester credits studying in Rome. I did extensive painting there and in Paris.

Was lucky enough to be able to retire from commerce at 52, buy a beautiful old wooden schooner, rebuild her, and sail for 10 years with my new bride in the Caribbean.

After a dismasting, we returned to Boothbay Harbor, where I applied for my lobstering license, bought a tiny strip plank boat (boy, do they leak) and fished 30 traps on the side for five years. The name of our

company was Fosta’s Lobstas and was disbanded by my accountant after losing gobs of money for five years. Just before we moved to Tucson, Arizona, I took a fun job with the old Sample’s Shipyard in Boothbay Harbor as marketing director. I brought in for repair such vessels as Gazella Primera, Philadelphia’s official boat, Belle Aventure, a 102’ antique wooden Fife, Harvey Gamage, a 134’ school schooner and numerous other wooden boats. It was a wonderful job for a guy who loved antique vessels, and it lasted until 2008, when it seemed all large wooden boats went into storage. I’ve written two books: Ad Man: True Stories From the Golden Age of Advertising (like Mad Men, only sexier and funnier) and Cadet (a compendium of my misadventures as a naval aviator, funnier than Ad Man).

So that’s the whole ugly mess.

I’m married to a beautiful woman 20 years my junior who graduated from Wheaton and attended Bryn Mawr for a time as an archaeology student. I am a happy, totally fulfilled man.”

1955 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Bob Chellis

781-237-9436 rdchellis@gmail.com Sandy and I had an upbeat dinner with the Stimpsons and the Grays in October. Gerri and Sam Gray— sailing as usual!—spent several fine weeks cruising the Stockholm Archipelago with the Cruising Club of America.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 41

graduate news

And Wally Stimpson, when not in Naples, Florida, has introduced Quartet singing to North Hill.

Echoes of that wonderful Nobles tradition of yesteryear! “The Hilltones” have fun and are quite in demand. I forgot to ask what they do with no available 12-year-old sopranos. Didn’t Mr. Flood foster that program? What a shame it has lapsed.

Bebo Gregg manages his big and woodsy lake and tree-farming property in the Adirondacks, but his new cold-weather home base is an apartment at the new Hillside Village in Keene, New Hampshire. Catered living in the colder months.

Bob Taylor and Carolyn are thriving in New Hampshire— mountain views and an historic farm. Now an impressive solar array overlooks their lush organic gardens—very green indeed!

Soon after a four-day 60th college reunion in New Jersey, Bob Chellis and Sandy Amtraked to Wilmington in June for an Antiques Roadshow appraisal day (you don’t take Congolese battle axes on planes).

Linda and Charlie Nichols hosted us for three glamorous days, with camaraderie, landmarks, museums, clubs and great meals.

And we cruised to a mushroom factory in his grand 1934 Packard touring car. Charlie writes, “Had wonderful weather this late summer, so I have been able to take my cars and participate in four antique car events—a lot of fun. Linda is back on her horse after her back operation, and I am continuing with the tennis, so all is well.”

Larry Flood writes, “Recently back from nine days in Svalbard, Norway, north of the Arctic Circle,

42 Nobles WINTER 2020

aboard the Polaris, all of 90’ long and carrying but 10 passengers, with a French crew and food. The country is incredibly beautiful, stark, with forbidding mountains, glaciers and icebergs, but polar bears were few and far between.

Tyler was sadly unable to accompany, as she is in the midst of chemotherapy for colon cancer, but she expects to be done by late fall and is hopeful of a full recovery.

We have largely completed work on our beautiful retirement cottage in Blue Hill. As we say, ‘Twice the space (in a retirement cottage here) for half the cost (of an apartment near Boston)’ and we look forward to a more comfortable winter and not being snowbound in our big summer place, which is conveniently only six or seven miles away. Life still has its surprises. We are currently boarding daughter Stephanie Knowles ’88, her beloved though less-thansvelte cat and her constantly barking street dog for an indeterminate stay. Rufus enjoys them both.”

On a closing note, a call with Mike Jonsberg was cheerful and upbeat. Aging, eye problems and nerve pain from his lost leg are not getting him down. Mike and Susan enjoy their successful crowd of lively children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren—lots of good stories. He sold his Cape house; Susan is a staunch and cheerful companion; his Jeep has passed the 300,000-mile mark; Charlie the water spaniel is aging gracefully, and all seems well. Those old snapshots on curling deckle-edge paper keep resurfacing, and we remembered dating in the 1950s.

Always a nostalgia trip.

Looking ahead, our 65th reunion is coming up May 8 and 9!

It’s a great Nobles weekend—open doors and welcoming hospitality.

Not too many more mixers for us, so let’s all try to share this one.

Nostalgia is good for one’s health.

Friday opens with a fine cocktail party and mixing of classes in the expanded Castle. Some years a baseball game plays below in the afternoon slanting sun, followed by a fine dinner in the new banquet hall.

We’ll have a 1955 table, dinner and a picture on Friday; talks and assemblies on Saturday; a good cookout, sports and a campus tour in the afternoon. Classes have an off-campus dinner Saturday night. For ours, a volunteer host would be great, but few of us still have a house nearby. The private dining room here at Fox Hill is a possibility: fairly good value, fairly low on excitement. A convenient restaurant may be fun and easy. I’ll sort through any ideas you send and we can organize something.

1956 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Gren “Rocky” Whitman

410-639-7551 grenwhitman1@gmail.com Please note that the following items were meant to be published in the fall 2019 magazine. Our apologies for this error.

Bill Wiese reports, “I’m en route back to New Mexico from a medical school reunion, having been able to make only one day of a three-day event. I come away with two thoughts: how really old my medical school cohort is becoming and how important and gratifying it is to be able to stay connected

with these survivors from that particular and crucial period in my development. I hope I can continue to do so with our class of ’56. As for news, I’m very close to finished with the novel I began in 2000.”

From Fred Wells: “Got my skipjack onto ‘the hard’ and covered in mid-November (2018) and took off for a five-month southern ‘drive-about.’ First stop was Virginia for extended visits with my younger daughter in Richmond and older daughter in Alyette. Then, an 11-hour drive to Auburn, Alabama, where Martha is taking care of her 99-year-old mom. A week later, I flew to Hawaii to visit my two stepsons. Marshall, the younger, was just elected president of the Hawaii Builders Association, and we attended his invocation, which was exciting and touching for me because he used to work with me when he came into my life at age 14. After a week with him and his family in Kaneohe, we bumped across the island to visit my other stepson, Steve, who is a computer whiz and very laid-back surfer. On our return, we were scheduled to head south to ‘The Old Saltworks’ in Port St. Joe, Florida, which abuts Mexico Beach, but Hurricane Michael’s destruction canceled that. Enjoyed dinner at the Castle on May 10.”

Tim Leland reports that the second edition of his and his wife’s book on biking (Thirty Years on Two Wheels: A Biking Odyssey) is up and running on Amazon with “a new cover, a new epilogue and a few new laughs.” Otherwise, he writes, it’s a collection of “the same gripping, compelling, powerful, exciting, not-to-be-missed accounts of pedaling through the vineyards of Europe that it was before.”

“I still raise my (water) glass to my classmates,” writes Dave Carroll from Michigan. “And cheers to us, because as E[liot] T. P[utnam] said so unexpectedly (to me), but so rightly, we were one hell of a good bunch of guys. I wonder if our old shell, the T[heodore] I. R[eese] is still there.”

“We live a quiet life in central New Hampshire,” reports Marsh Morgan. “We sold our farm seven years ago, and with the help of good doctors are still surviving!

Not much exciting happening— just peace and quiet. We follow the national politics with some interest and at times some despair! I enjoy news coverage of the 101st Airborne Division (my old outfit).”

Writes John Raye: “Had a total right reverse shoulder replacement in January. Many problems, and

restaurant. People hold the door for the old-timer. Middle son was married in April and honeymooned in Germany. Can speak German after drinking good German beer.

Mr. Bird would be proud of him.

Our home in Centerville is always open for anyone around Cape Cod. The scenery is great, and the drinks are free.”

From George Waterman: “Susan Firestone, my partner of 22 years, and I have just returned from the Venice Biennale. We thought we might be a bit ahead of the curve with our press passes, but it was still packed and Venice was unseasonably cold and rainy.

With 99 countries represented, we saw many wonderful creations by artists from around the world. One artist said, ‘Artists need to create on the same scale that society

dinner at Nobles with Fred Wells, Tim Leland and Dave Hoffman representing ’56. The sparklingly spectacular dining room certainly makes the old Castle seem like modern royalty.”

And for the most recent notes: Writes John Raye: “My grandson, J.T. Woolley ’19, graduated from Nobles this year. He is off to Bowdoin to study environmental sciences. As many of you know, my dear wife, Paula, of 54 years died last year. While attending a bereavement group some months later, I met a lovely lady and asked her out to lunch. One thing led to another, and we became engaged early this year and are working on a marriage date. The irony is, she’s a nurse! With my long infirmity

I still raise my (water) glass to my classmates ... and cheers to us, because as E[liot] T. P[utnam] said so unexpectedly (to me), but so rightly, we were one hell of a good bunch of guys.”

—DAVE CARROLL ’56

in June am still in a sling. With my paralyzed right leg and unusable right arm, my activity is very limited. Made a trip to Dedham for the graduation of my grandson John T. Woolley ’19 from Nobles, which brought back many great memories of our years together.”

“Moving slowly these days after back surgery,” writes John Fritts. “The surgeon fused L4 and L5; our classmate doctors must know what that means! No pain, but a weak left leg, so I use a cane.

It’s great going into a store or

has the capacity to destroy.’ Not bad. I returned with 200 pounds of books for my now-public library and a big overweight bill.”

Newell Flather was honored in May by the International Institute of New England. The citation reads, in part: “You have been selected as a member of the ‘Lowell 100,’ a carefully chosen group of 100 people who have advocated for, served, and supported refugees and immigrants in Lowell over the past 100 years.” On another subject, Newell writes, “I had

after my shoulder operation, she has been a fantastic caretaker. I seriously don’t know how I could have survived without her. We are very happy in my (our . . . she is a little younger) old age. Romance in old age is wonderful and very different than in youth! Best to all the old guys from 1956.”

From Bob Bach: “I am pretty much retired from palliative care except for bereavement counseling and teaching. I enjoy volunteering at the soup kitchen and homeless shelter and plan to revisit Nicara-

gua in January. I am very blessed to have dodged a few bullets in the form of emboli from an infected aortic valve.”

One elegant sentence suffices for Bill Wiese: “Went on a trip to the New England coast with my oldest son for some fall sailing and was able to have great visits with Bob Bach, who harvested and cooked lobsters for us on Winter Haven, and with Fred Wells in Ipswich, who went nonstop for three hours as only he can, with tales from our past that link all of us together.”

Marsh Morgan and Rocky Whitman recently discovered they were both paratroopers in the late ’50s/early ’60s. After Signal Corps training in Georgia, Marsh’s path took him to Fort Campbell, Kentucky (101st Airborne), thence to Europe, the Congo and Turkey.

Rocky trained as a medic and wound up at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (82nd Airborne Medical Company), where he applied bandages, splints and administered aspirins “for the duration.” After the Berlin Wall went up in August 1961, President Kennedy extended enlistments for all short-timers, so Marsh had to serve an extra “two months and 25 days” and Rocky an extra “two months, 16 days, 22 hours and 10 minutes.” Clever lads, both declined to reenlist!

Also affected by Kennedy’s extension, Dev Barker has this report: “I was due to be released from active shore duty as a naval officer in the D.C. area in early June ’62. Because of the Berlin Crisis, we were told we might be extended. Didn’t happen, but apparently it was close. My military obligation called for two more years of active reserve. I moved to

WINTER 2020 Nobles 43

graduate news

New York City in January ’63. All the Naval Reserve units in the area were chock full, with long waiting lists, so I was unable to serve any further. But I reported to the Navy that I remained ready for sea by doing lots of offshore sailboat racing. Before my time was up, I was promoted to lieutenant.”

Fred Wells has a Fort Bragg yarn: After basic training, Fred found himself ordered to Fort Bragg. He was puzzled. “I hadn’t volunteered for the Airborne. After a few days of wandering aimlessly around the base, I got so bored I presented myself to the 82nd Airborne headquarters and asked what was up.”

Following an extended and unnerving encounter with a Colonel and several days of waiting to be sent for, Fred found himself sitting across the desk from the division’s commanding officer, a four-star general who gave a glowing history of the division and asked him, “So, Private, how ’bout it?” Fred’s response? “It sounds great, really, Sir, but I’m technically blind without my glasses and not really keen about jumping out of airplanes.”

“Goddammit, Private, do you have any idea how hard it is to correct this situation?” asked the general, and exited abruptly. Five minutes later, he returned and asked, “Hawaii? Or Korea?” Wanting to go to Korea, but knowing he was still upset with him, he said, “Hawaii would be great, Sir!” Shortly thereafter, he was bound for Korea.

John Fritts reports on his military experiences: “I selected Boston University after Nobles, since I was on a limited budget, a ‘no brainer’ at $350 per semester.

There was a choice as a freshman: gym or ROTC. Gym was at 7

44 Nobles WINTER 2020

a.m., and I was living in Wellesley, so I chose the U.S. Army. I was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation in 1960. I went to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and then to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, with the Army Security Agency in 1961, after waiting a year to go on active duty. The Army, in its wisdom, put me in the Signal Corps after training and employment as a police officer. Because of the ‘Berlin Buildup,’ I was assigned to a signal construction company in Germany, with many thanks to Mr. Flood and Mr. Bird for their German classes! One of our primary jobs was to install telephone poles, and my liberal arts degree was very useful to ensure the poles were vertical. It was a wonderful opportunity to see several countries in Europe, and to drink good German beer. The Oktoberfest in Munich was unbelievable. At the end of my tour, I was offered a chance to extend my career. When I found out that lieutenants were often sent to listening posts in the boondocks in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and that many were not seen again, I opted for a return to civilian life. I then earned another degree in criminal justice at Northeastern University and continued my career in law enforcement.”

1957 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

John Valentine

413-256-6676 jean6157@icloud.com

1958 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Chris Morss

knossos@aol.com

Another happy summer at Mattapoisett. Jane and Bob Puffer hosted their customary July Fourth party at their house on the outer harbor at Marion, which has a commanding view of the fireworks.

Later in July, Charlie Long held his annual LobsterFest party in Chatham, where he dives for the lobsters. This year, a lurking shark discouraged gathering as many as he would have liked. It was fun to gather often with neighbors Jay Johnson ’61, and Béa and Henry Batchelder, whose house just down the road was the scene of our legendary class gathering in June 1957. (Presumably the statute of limitations has expired by now!) I look forward to seeing Jan and Bill Russell later in October, when they pause locally en route back to Charleston after another summer at Northeast Harbor. Lots of additional news from the class: Michael Whitman writes: “Other than a great two weeks in the Maritimes in July, nothing new to report from New Hampshire except inexorable creeping age!”

Peter Norstrand writes: “Kathy and I spent a fabulous week in late August touring Iceland, including three nights in Reykjavik. It’s an incredibly beautiful country, with an amazing range of vistas, from glaciers to geysers, with incredible waterfalls around every corner.

See it soon before the glaciers are gone (they had a funeral for the passing of one about a week or so before our arrival). We liked it so much we’re considering a winter visit to see the Auroras, when the temperature will be somewhat colder than the 50s we experienced. Don’t miss the Big Lebowski bar on the main drag of Reykjavik.”

Larry Daloz writes: “So after 22 sometimes agonizing, often ecstatic, always fulfilling, and ultimately deeply gratifying years in the spectacular Pacific Northwest building the Whidbey Institute, we sold our home and returned to the Auld Sod to be with our grandchildren, who, despite our best efforts to thwart them, have continued to grow taller and more beautiful. Pictures of them are, of course, available, but Chris frowns upon my publishing them here, saying that it could get out of hand if a grandkid pigpile ensued. Danielson, who got a head start, has enough of them to fill Fenway Park. In any case, being 3,000 miles closer now, I am truly looking forward to seeing more of our dwindling tribe in the coming months and years.”

Bill Danielson writes: “Esther and I have happily moved from Wiscasset to Chebeague Island, Maine. Simultaneously, Sharon and Larry Parks-Daloz have moved from Whidbey Island, Washington, to New Hampshire. It seems the North American continent is not large enough for all four of us.”

Bill Russell writes: “For nearly three weeks in February and March this year, Jan and I finally fulfilled my promise to my ‘French brother,’ Jean-Paul Brisson ’57, Hon. ’58, to visit him in Uruguay. (This trip was scheduled for last year but unfortunately had to be postponed.)

“After four interesting days in Buenos Aires, we ferried to Uruguay, where Jean-Paul met us in the charming old town of Colonia del Sacramento for a twoday stay. Jean-Paul then displayed his super chauffeur’s talents to his house in Montevideo, where we met his lovely wife, Christina,

for the first time and, surprisingly and happily, also his lifelong close friend, Philippe Michaux, who long ago became a good friend of mine and whom some of you will remember. We then drove to the popular seaside city of Punta del Este, where Jean-Paul has a very nice apartment. He generously conducted daily informative and fun driving tours. He then treated us to a long drive to his ranch in the central part of the country. It is a beautiful, peaceful place where he still has some cattle, but in recent years has been focusing on expanding his expanse of eucalyptus trees. Being together meant a great deal to all, both emotionally and spiritually.

“The highlight of this past summer was a visit to Maine by our two Portland, Oregon, children, Whitney and Jonathan, and the three grandsons (all under 4), whom Jan and I naturally don’t get to see often enough.”

Tappy Wilder reports from his library in Sausalito, California: “With an eye to our looming 60th college reunions—places we were fed into from places like Nobles—I urge classmates to read Roger Geiger’s American Higher Education Since World War II (Princeton University Press, 2019). Quizzes will be scheduled. And office: I’m starting work on the back matter for a revised edition of Thornton’s 1942 Pulitzer Prize–winning play, The Skin of Our Teeth. Funny how it seems to have been written yesterday!”

1959 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Whit Bond

whit.bond@verizon.net

Buzz Gagnebin

imbuzz@me.com John Gibson

jgib1963@aol.com This was a big year for our Class of ’59, celebrating our 60th reunion.

Buzz Gagnebin writes: “A 50th reunion is even more memorable, and that is what we had on July 20: the anniversary of the first human to land on the moon, Apollo 11. It means a lot to me not just because I share the same nickname with Buzz Aldrin, but because my first job after receiving my BA in applied physics from Harvard was as an engineer at the MIT Instrumentation Lab. The I Lab was founded by Charles Stark Draper, who started the technology of using gyroscopes to detect motion in WWII. When I joined the I Lab, it was designing gyroscope-based inertial navigation systems necessary for any vessel, including Apollo spacecraft, to know where they were and where they were going on leaving the surface of the earth. My job was in a group designing sensors used in the test platforms for gyroscopes, to see how well a gyroscope sensed the rotation of the earth. What is particularly relevant to Nobles is the similarity of how the I Lab group worked together as a partnership to how I felt in many relationships at Nobles with students and teachers in getting things done. Thanks, Nobles!”

Charlie Castellani reports: “The best news from this past year is my oncologist telling me I have been cancer-free for over a year! While not completely out of the woods, it does lessen the anxiety with the added affirmation, ‘I have cancer. It does not

A memorable moon, submitted by Buzz Gagnebin ’59.

have me!’ Margaret and I made a most sustaining and economical decision to take a small apartment in Lower Downtown Denver near historic Union Station during the winter months. We noted that we are indeed going ‘south for the winter,’ as most snowbirds do. Just not Arizona or Florida.

“This summer, the Black Hills of southwestern South Dakota saw unusual amounts of rain, which turned normally straw-colored hills and prairies an uncharacteristically lush green. Especially here in Spearfish Canyon, on a much smaller scale, it rivals (in the view of the late Frank Lloyd Wright) the magnificence of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Surrounded by National Forest, it is easy to slide into complacency regarding predatory wildlife, such as various species of mountain lion. With deer in abundance, we know that they are not far behind. This was affirmed when we had a healthy, fully grown adult take a ‘Sunday stroll’ in broad daylight within feet of our deck and surroundings, perhaps smelling the presence of our dog. These big cats have been known to show up at back doors, to have chased owners and their pets across backyards, to prowl through town,

and sadly, to have taken some pets as well. Just must be mindful that we are not alone—guests, to be accurate! Quite exciting to be up close and personal with our fourlegged ‘neighbors’!

“2020 looks to be a banner year for many of us as we enter our eighth decade in our lives.

Most welcome, although at times astounding! A touch of poignant sadness that some of our brothers of 1959 left us all too soon.

Always will their memory of times together be with me, and all of us.

We plan to celebrate this year as Margaret also reaches her 75th birthday. Stay tuned! Cheers to all! The Black Hills are wondrous and stunning. Come visit any time.

Welcome mat is always out. Table set. Your room is waiting!”

1960 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Albert Vandam

arvandam42@gmail.com

1961 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jim Newell

802-467-3555 newell43@gmail.com

1962 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Peter McCombs

215-947-8017 or 516-629-7983 prm9244@gmail.com

1963 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jim Lehan

508-520-1373 jblehan@aol.com

WINTER 2020 Nobles 45

graduate news

1964 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Ned Bigelow

781-704-4304 moe9817@aol.com The Bigelows and Lawsons enjoyed their fifth trip to our great National Parks. This time, it was Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

These places should not be missed by anyone!

Franklin King III is happy to report that “on June 22, Son No. 1 got married. Yes, Franklin King IV, 36, a psychiatrist at MGH, took the hand of Marisa Roberts, 33, an ER doc at Beth Israel Deaconess, together forming a more perfect union, both romantic and, well, medical. The reception was held under a massive tent in our backyard in Needham, accommodating 200 guests, a scrumptious dinner and the hot, hot band East Coast Soul. Not to be outdone, Son No. 2, Nathaniel King, 22, who was freshly graduated from UVM, officiated the wedding ceremony under the stately hemlock grove. A good time was had by all, including Franklin’s mother, Martha King; Franklin’s stepmother, Margaret Pantridge (largely responsible for the beauty of the surrounding gardens); and our own Arthur Watson, godfather to Nathaniel.

One down, one to go!”

Frank Cobb writes: “Greetings from Texas, Nobles classmates! I am continuing my transition from Florida to Texas. I moved from Tampa to Frisco, Texas (a North Dallas suburb), a little over two years ago. Dallas and Texas are happening places, with all the pluses and minuses of any large city.

I am slowly becoming a Texan—I

46 Nobles WINTER 2020

meet the residency requirement, and at some time in the future I may acquire a pickup truck to drive, but getting a gun permit and carrying a sidearm are not even remotely possible. I have fired a gun twice in my life, once at summer camp in Ticonderoga, New York, and once at Fin Glidden’s homestead, where I was very surprised to be able to hit a frying pan hanging off a tree branch. Despite how popular guns are in Texas and how integral they are in Texas history and culture, there will be no gun play in my future. (I just love the phrase ‘gun play.’) Best Regards to everyone: Remember the Alamo and don’t mess with Texas.”

Frank also included his email, frankcobb12@gmail.com, but a reminder that you can always access the Nobles Graduate Directory online at www.nobles.edu/ community/graduates/.

1965 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jim Summers

jimsummers@post.harvard.edu

1966 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Ned Reece

773-213-0442 ned4047@sbcglobal.net Recently, I reminisced with my seriously old brother, Frank Reece ’64, about how our dad once took us to work and gleefully showed us this new-fangled thing called a Xerox machine. He made a grainy pic of stuff in his pocket, namely a half-dollar, his lighter, a pocket watch and some pocket crud (e.g., paperclip, key, other). He was very,

Sandy and Ned Bigelow ’64 and Janet and Ned Lawson ’64 explore Grand Teton National Park in what has become an annual National Park tradition.

very excited to have this contraption in his workplace.

That might have been the day they closed school due to a tiny smattering of snow, whereas when we’d had 18 inches (probably more like 6 or 7 feet) of snow earlier in the year (that we all dug our way out of), ETP and RTF kept the joint open for us. So this light snow day was payback, not to say justice.

Ayuh.

Josh Cutler reports: “Well, things have been quite active here at the [Tibetan Buddhist] Learning Center this summer. We hosted 36 Tibetan American students [all 17 years old] for a weeklong summer camp on a topic dear to the heart of our spiritual director, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet: secular ethics. It went very well, and the children seemed to enjoy themselves very much. My mum, Nancy Cutler, recently had her 99th birthday celebration, and her children and granddaughter and her family attended. She seemed to have had a wonderful time. Work-

wise, I have been busy finishing up the galleys of a translation on the commentary written by my teacher, Professor Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe, on Buddha’s Rice Seedling sutra out this April 2020. I am also writing a paper for a conference this December in South India on compassion.

I continue to work on my late beloved teacher Geshe Ngawang Wangyal’s biography to finish in a few more years. All in all, Diana and I feel so fortunate and happy in our lives here at the Learning Center—teaching, translating and taking care of the monks. Two young monks [40 years old] will be arriving soon to take up residence.

Finally. I still do a lot of birding whenever I can. Warmest regards to you all. Wishing everyone good health, peace and joy.”

Craig Barger sent in an update: “I vividly remember when my father showed us one of the first scientific calculators he had purchased for his research lab at Harvard Medical School. That had to be in the late 1950s or early

1960s. I retired in 2014 after 41 years of work in the Massachusetts Juvenile Correction System.

In 2017, I was elected to the Easton Select Board where I am currently vice-chair and gearing up for a reelection campaign right after the first of the year. In addition, I recently assumed the presidency of our local synagogue, where we have been members since the early 1980s. Elaine and I have two children, and our four grandchildren range in age from 2 to 31. We are actively involved in politics, at the local, state and national level.

All of this keeps me very busy!”

Tom Paine is still in Wellesley. “With luck, my book project, America’s DNA: How One Family Helped Advance a Nation and Its Ideals Over Three Centuries, will appear before the next election.

Long shot, but spes sibi quisque. Indeed, Nobles taught us America’s DNA. Also, we find ourselves five grandchildren deep in the grandparenting world, all under age 4. In Alpharetta, Georgia, Brittany and Mallory Paine ’00 have a daughter, Willa, turning 4 on my dad’s birthday, and a son, Carter, 2. In Watertown, daughter Lydia

Paine Hagtvedt ’06 and husband Henrik have a 2-year-old daughter, Elana, born on the Fourth of July.

She hugs trees with me. Most recent additions are fraternal twins Makenzie and Jackson. In San Francisco, California, our eldest son, Sumner, and his spouse, Peter, of Taiwanese descent, wanted one of each gender, using their embryos and same egg donor. So now we have a granddaughter of Asian descent.”

1967 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Drew Sullivan

781-461-1477 drewsull49@aol.com I am retired from Meditech and driving my 1956 Ford and will be preparing taxes for BlockAdvisors in Dedham again this season.

Ginny and I are going to Sicily next month. All her grandparents were Sicilian. Great to hear from some folks in the class: Dick Byrd moved to Raymond James Financial in 2016 and says: “It has turned out very positively, as I had hoped. Our office is at 225

Franklin Street, a building in which my great-uncle Dick Saltonstall was an initial primary tenant when it was the most modern new building in Boston. Please come meet me for lunch if you feel like it! Last summer, due to a light breeze, a short course and a good supply of pretzels, my grandson James (born in October 2015) and I won the Labor Day race for the North Haven dinghies in North Haven, Maine.

My hockey started in November!”

Bradley Cutler writes: “My daughter, Tiernan Cutler, had her first child, Luca James Santangelo, October 8, in Florence, Italy, where she has been for eight years. She and her husband, Leo, work at Bus2Alps, which leads European tours for study-abroad students.

Son Jay, age 32, has been in Boston, where he was born, for a decade and works for Bullhorn while getting his MBA and supporting the Sox, Bruins, Celtics and Pats.

“I’m still living in greater Sacramento with, my wife, Doris, doing a little real estate consulting, rice farming, running rental property, and recently purchasing and about to start three Amazing Lash Studios. If anyone is out this way, give me a call for golf or a hike in the Sierras.”

1968 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Andy Lord

617-899-3948 ajliii@yahoo.com

1969 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Peter Pach Tibetan students’ summer camp on secular ethics with Josh Cutler ’66

860-267-9701 peterbpach@gmail.com

I may have experienced the correspondent’s superfecta with notes from three classmates confirming what others have reported and adding details from another perspective. This was topped off with a note from half a hemisphere away from a fourth classmate, who was discussed by the first three. In any case, plenty of news.

John Clark wrote in from Epping, New Hampshire (known as “The Center of the Universe” in some circles), to report that “Steve Baker spent a Friday night at ‘The Clarkies B&B’ in Epping in September. A wonderful time was had by all (Steve, my wife, Carol, and me) with a highlight being a visit to the one and only New England Dragway.

“We had a long and very interesting breakfast and conversation on Saturday morning, which ran well past the closing time of Ryan’s Place, before Steve headed off across the back roads of New Hampshire and Vermont to visit other friends. Before he left, Carol took a photo of two charter members of the Brronski Club (see photo on page __). Hard to see [in the picture], but I am holding an original Inmates (a blues/rock band for those whose memories may have slipped) business card, which has since been passed on to Inmate Leigh Seddon.

“I invite any and all classmates to book a no-cost visit at The Clarkies’ B&B in Epping and get a free tour of the Center of the Universe.”

To confirm the report from Clarkie, Steve Baker wrote, “I had a wonderful time hanging out with the man who used to be ‘J.T.’ but is now ‘Clarkie’ and his wife, Carol, whom I very much liked and hope to see again. Before going

WINTER 2020 Nobles 47

graduate news

1969

John Clark ’69, left, and Steve Baker ’69 at John’s house in New Hampshire. John is holding the Inmates’ card; Peter Gates ’69 and his wife, Debbie, biking across the Loire Valley in October.

to the dragway, Clarkie and I had dinner together at the Holy Grail, so any of you who are hunting for that holy relic will want to visit Epping for dinner. On Saturday morning before breakfast, Clarkie and I went for a long walk through the forest around his home and swapped stories and generally got along famously. The weather both days was simply beautiful.

It’s mid-October, and I’m heading to Florida for the winter with my mother, hoping to return next June and possibly visit the Center of the

48 Nobles WINTER 2020

Universe again.”

Another angle to the story arrived from Leigh Seddon in Vermont. “You might have put our 50th class reunion behind you, but it is still reverberating in my little world. Just the other day, J.T. Clark in New Hampshire sent me a wonderful card. The envelope was decked out with a John Lennon stamp and a picture of a Fender guitar, just like I used to have.

When I opened it, out fell a DayGlo orange Inmates ‘business card’ from 50+ years ago. ‘Rock & Roll,’

just ‘Call Bill.’ It took me back in an instant to the late 1960s.

“So, I had to share it with the rest of the surviving Inmates, whom I am proud to report are all still professional, performing musicians. Chip Harding wrote back from Maine commenting on Billy Schwartz’s classic minimalist design. Dave Robinson ’68 chimed in and shared the news that his band had just opened for NRBQ in Greenfield. And we even heard from Kit Walker in Uruguay, who reminded us of the time a certain promoter told us we had to have go-go girls and set up an audition for us to try it out! This is the magic of reunions and sharing our memories, which individually are beginning to falter but collectively contain the details and perspectives that allow us to make sense of our lives.”

For me, all this brought up memories of listening to the Inmates practice in David Weed’s barn in Dedham, the same place where we held the “Mock Prom” at which the Inmates performed.

After all that, it stands to reason that I would hear from Kit Walker in Uruguay, who, each time he writes, seems to have added another layer to his exploration of music, life and the things we don’t know. He writes, “Well, wow, life has been super simple here, on the outside anyway, but am working on a ‘teaching,’ which I will probably be putting up online, with videos and articles—mostly about music and meditation, how they intersect.

“Also, I am writing some things about astrology, a slightly different way to approach it. I call it ZeroPoint Astrology. I continue to publish new recordings of music, both my own, and also with my partner, Mariana, who is a wonderful

musician. I’m also making videos, gradually adding that to my skill set. As far as books go, my latest fascination is with Walter Russell, whom Nikola Tesla admired greatly. The book is called The Secret of Light. Tesla told him to put his work in a vault to be released in 1,000 years, because it would take humanity that long until they were ready to comprehend it. I love that kind of thing: the NEW. Humanity has such amazing potential; that’s what interests me a lot.

“For the past 10 to 20 years, I have been in an ass-kicking and intense inner process of spiritual awakening that’s just recently starting to integrate. It has been a very transformational time and hopefully will yield a teaching that someone may find helpful.

“So sorry I missed the reunion.

What a kick to see the pictures of you all! I must confess there were some guys I just didn’t recognize.

But I am probably unrecognizable myself.”

To get a great window into Kit’s multifaceted creativity, go to www. kitwalker.com. I recommend you click on the Amando Ando video.

Peter Gates writes, “We enjoyed another pleasant summer in South Dartmouth, with many visits from generations two and three, and a week ‘away’ cruising in Penobscot Bay. After many years of trying and learning, Debbie’s beehive had a bumper crop this year: 40 pounds of lovely honey. In October, we spent a week bicycling in the Loire Valley, bookended by reunions with old friends in London and Paris. It was great to see all who returned for our 50th, and we owe special thanks to Mary and Brad Wilkinson for letting us trample their handsome new place.

Other classmates should mark their calendars for 2024 so our attendance is even better for the 55th.”

I’ve had a lovely post-reunion summer in Middle Haddam with full-steam work on repairing, scraping and painting my 1720 home, which has been pleasantly interrupted by trips to the Cascade Mountains in Washington for a wedding, to Chappaquiddick and, in October, to the coast of Maine.

I’m always happy when someone drops me a note; corresponding works best when you write back.

enough to collaborate with Roger Sherman, of Florentine Films, about my journey and document what transition is all about for an older transgender person. I can tell you that in 1964 life, as a little girl at Nobles who didn’t know herself, it was very confusing and challenging. I must say, even so, Noble and Greenough gave me an amazing education. I would never trade it for anything else (well, maybe Winsor School in retrospect, LOL).”

1971 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Harry Blackman

1970

Harry.Blackman@skadden.com

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Levy Byrd

John Dewey

781-449-7555 levbyrd@comcast.net

jrdewey@usa.net Nick Mittell

It is a big year for the Class of 1970, with our 50th reunion coming up in May! We are welcomed back to campus for a full day of events on Friday, May 8, and back again for Saturday. More details to come, but we are looking forward to seeing everyone back on campus in the spring.

Meanwhile, we were happy to hear from some classmates: Jamie Peebles writes, “My transition story, The Second Life of Jamie P, won Best Documentary at the Big Apple Film Festival. I transitioned several years ago, and it’s been difficult. I was lucky

phred.j.dog@gmail.com Win Perkins

wperkins@mmuftc.com The ’71 class correspondents often begin our report by referring to it as the “latest round of hearsay and innuendo.” However, that joke seems more than a little flat when our daily news is full of the same. So, instead, here are our Class Notes, straight and unvarnished, although it is true that in some cases “we heard it through the grapevine.”

To start off, several members of our class have entered the ranks

of granddaddydom, including Bert Shaw, Ken Tyler and Reed Austin.

Ken reports, “Our son Max and his wife, Liz, had their first child, and Lisa and I our first grandchild, born on July 27. The baby’s name is Harrison McHenry Tyler—but thankfully it looks like ‘Hank’ will be the nickname of choice. It’s fun watching your kids be parents, and we are lucky they live in the mountains only about an hour or so outside Denver. Hank has already been on his first overnight camping trip in the Rockies, as Liz and Max are great skiers and outdoorspeople, so Hank should have a blast. The hospital he was born at in Dillon, Colorado, brags that they are the highest-altitude labor and delivery center in the U.S. (they are at about 9,000 feet), so he seems to have the mountains already in his veins.”

Meanwhile, Reed wrote us that, “Phillip Henry Morrill (grandchild No. 3) arrived on October 7, courtesy of daughter No. 2, and daughter No. 1 is expecting a player to be named later (grandchild No. 4) in February, while son and new wife are warming up in the bullpen. All is well with the world.

Living peacefully on the beautiful Westport River in Massachusetts.

Fishing a lot, but never enough.”

On a less happy note, memorial services for parents are a continuing feature of our current timeline. This past spring included one for Laird Boles’ father, Dr.

This is the magic of reunions and sharing our memories, which individually are beginning to falter but collectively contain the details and perspectives that allow us to make sense of our lives.”

—PETER PACH ’69

Jim Martinez ’70 passed away on July 5, 2019.

Russell Sage Boles Jr., and one for Dave Amory’s mother, Shirley Gay Waterman Amory. Those of us who knew them feel incredibly fortunate for that experience. In a word, they were wonderful. Classmates attending one or both of those services included Reed Austin, Greg Garritt, George Parker, Nick Mittell and John Dewey.

Another type of service is also a feature of life for several of our classmates, that of giving back to one’s community. Kudos to Peter Smith for his work on the Warrant Committee for the Town of Dover, Massachusetts, and Chris Cutler for his work for the Old Library in Harvard, Massachusetts.

In other news, a few months ago, Nick Mittell bought a house in New Hampshire, a major first, and is enjoying the mountains, lakes and people of the Live Free or Die state.

Jim Schuh reports that this summer, he and wife Susan Leahy “rambled around northern Vietnam for five weeks, hiking in the tribal mountains hard by the Chinese border and kayaking and swimming in the Gulf of Tonkin. A typical daily frolic through the Hoang Lien Son mountains included wildly inaccurate map distances, a de-

WINTER 2020 Nobles 49

graduate news

ranged moped lift, a dry waterfall, a chicken that scratched the selfdubbed Mr. Gray Hmong on its way off a bus, and a bus transmission breakdown.“ We recently learned that Larry Bardawil had one of his photographs included in the Pennsylvania Center for Photography’s 2018 Americana Exhibition. Win Perkins has sent a lucky few of us some of his latest music, great stuff, and in May he had a good time continuing his lifetime course on music appreciation when he attended the Bastrop Music Festival. Speaking of festivals, this summer was the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, and the class correspondents felt it was appropriate to take a look back at the ’71 experience of that historic event. So far we have detected two classmates who attended: Jim Schuh and John Boyd. When pressed for details, John would go no further than “Seems like a previous lifetime.” Jim remembers, among other things, seeing someone who looked a lot like one of our then teachers at Nobles, Sid-

1971

ney Eaton, standing by the south speaker tower with no shirt on.

No disrespect to Mr. Eaton, who was a lovely man and an excellent teacher, but that would have been a scary sight! Unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence that we are aware of showing Jim and John at the scene. As Jim says, “Mirabile dictu, we took lots of photos, but none of ourselves.”

In closing this segment, we can’t resist adding that Chris Cutler’s wife, Molly, also attended and, in fact, appears briefly in the film of the event singing along with the rest of the audience to Country Joe McDonald’s Feel Like Fixin’ to Die Rag. Good times! And, we are happy to report that based on the news in these notes, good times are not remotely a thing of the past. To prove that point, Harry Blackman and Greg Garritt got together to attend the recent Patriots vs. Jets game at Gillette and, care of a good friend, were able to meet some of the team after the game, have a brief chat with Coach Bill and go out on the field. Good times, indeed! That’s all, folks.

1972 Last July, Mayo Shattuck took over as the chairman of the Johns Hopkins Hospital board of trustees.

Sam Pillsbury reports that he continues to teach criminal law at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and to serve as a volunteer chaplain at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. He makes it back to Massachusetts when he can to visit his mom, Kathy Pillsbury, who was the first professionally trained, full-time faculty member librarian at Nobles.

Now approaching his Medicare birthday, Sam has been thinking about how Nobles teachers might have influenced what he does now.

There was John Paine’s questioning and love of argument, perhaps a spark to work in law and legal academics; Dick Baker’s love of writing, which has informed efforts in fiction and nonfiction; and the musical enthusiasm of Brian Jones, which certainly spurs Sam to lead guys in jail in song—which is as unlikely an endeavor as it sounds, but great fun too. A seminar in theology taught

by Ted Gleason might just have

Jim Schuh ’71 and his wife, Susan Leahy, hiking in Vietnam; Harry Blackman ’71 and Greg Garritt ’71 at a Patriots vs. Jets game at Gillette Stadium.

50 Nobles WINTER 2020

planted the seed for midlife ordination as an Episcopal deacon.

Sam’s new book on American criminal justice, Imagining a Greater Justice: Violence, Punishment and Relational Justice, was published by Routledge earlier this year.

1974 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Kevin McCarthy

617-480-6344 kjmc.bc.msw15@gmail.com Hello, Nobles grads. In the spring, a number of us got together to celebrate our 45th reunion. Some of us got to spend some time with Dick Baker on a more casual level during our tour of the new buildings on campus. Paul Ayoub was kind enough to provide a picture on page 51.

In the past year, much has changed for me. This summer, I once again was able to spend time with Bob Pinderhughes ’67, his brother, Rick Pinderhughes ’73, Lewis Bryant ’73 and former Nobles faculty member and coach Bruce Taylor.

My volunteer work continues as a board member with Heading Home Inc. in Boston and the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, where I am currently board clerk. In July, I passed my boards and achieved the level of Licensed Independent Certified Social Worker, and in October I was promoted to director of DAE services for Eliot Community Human Services Inc. Late in July, Harry J. Elam Jr. ’74 and I met in Boston at the tail end of his summer vacation. As always, the discussion turned to reminiscing about old times, catch-

and awareness organization for St. Jude, Paul’s dedication has been recently rewarded by his election to serve as vice-chair of the board of St. Jude’s, the largest healthcare nonprofit in the country.

1980

1975

1981

CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jed Dawson

John Fiske

508-735-9663 jdawson711@gmail.com

johnfiske@comcast.net

Doug Floyd

781-788-0020 dfloyd44312@yahoo.com

1976 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Tom Bartlett

+44 1908 647196 tom_bartlett58@hotmail.com Rob Piana Top: 45th reunions bring together four friends from three different ISL schools.

From left to right: Jonathan Tynes, Rivers ’74; Rick Pinderhughes ’73, Nobles; host Robin (Wheeler) Bognuda, Winsor ’74; and Kevin McCarthy ’74. It took a year to plan, but these high school friends came together after decades of not seeing one another. Robin came from Switzerland and Jonathan from New Mexico to hang out with two Nobles graduates! Bottom: Posing for the centerfold was Geoff Brooks.

Seated, left to right: Doug Harvey, Jeff Grogan, Dick Baker and Gary Markoff. Back row: Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ayoub and Bill Chandler (all ’74).

617-491-7499 robert.piana@vanderbilt.edu

1977 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Linda Rheingold

lrheingold@comcast.net ing up on recent events, and the future of Nobles. I continue to remain in touch, and he recently shared with me that on October 12, 2019, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest learned societies in the country, founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock and 60 other scholar-patriots who understood that a new republic would require institutions able to gather knowledge and advance learning “in service to the public good.”

2019 has been a year of service not only for me but also for our classmate Paul Ayoub. Many in the Nobles community know that Paul has spearheaded the building committee that is responsible for so many of the new facilities at Nobles. This is just a portion of what has been happening for him. Paul and his family have been connected to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital since its inception. Having served as chair of the board of ALSAC, the fundraising

1978 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Christopher Reynolds

Cell: 800-444-0004 Home: 508-358-7757 chreynolds@comcast.net

1979 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Dan Rodgers

212-423-0374 drodgers@wfw.com

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Rob Capone

781-326-7142 robcapwest@comcast.net

We are thrilled that John Fiske has volunteered to take over the 1981 Class Notes section! Thanks, John.

John writes: “As Class of ’81 approaches its 40th reunion in May 2021, we all reach out to everyone, everywhere, and encourage them to return to campus for a day or two. The place has changed so much, and yet certain things are the same.

We will have fun sharing what we are doing and what we’ve accomplished over these 40 years.”

Happily, we did get a few submissions from the class: Sue Sturtevant Wambolt recently published a children’s book titled Pete the Hungry Pig. It is a hardcover 25-page book geared toward 3- to 10-year-olds. The story is about a sweet pig named Pete who causes all sorts of problems on Hollerbrook Farm and ends up leaving the farm on an adventure!

The book was originally written in 1993, but, due to a series of unfortunate events, was just published.

Read about the backstory and the origin of Hollerbrook Farm at petethehungrypig.com.

Elizabeth Ward writes: “Now having a daughter at Nobles, it is great fun to see how much has changed and how much stays the same! What lucky students. Kim,

WINTER 2020 Nobles 51

graduate news

thank you for your work these past years as class correspondent and for helping to keep us connected.

Here is a highlight from our summer: hiking 21 miles and summiting Half Dome in Yosemite! (See photo on page below.)”

Steve Cadigan writes: “My daughter, Chrissy Cadigan ’22, is in Class III at Nobles. She was coxswain for a Master’s four out of the Cambridge Boat Club at the Head of the Charles last fall.

She is following her dad—I was an oarsman on the Nobles crew team many years ago!”

1982 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Holly Malkasian Staudinger

914-925-2340 hollyamalkasian@gmail.com I heard from Clift Georgaklis over the summer that he was “lucky to share a night sitting next to Bill Kehlenbeck a few weeks before he passed while attending Steve Toubman’s Hall of Fame induction at Gillette. Bill was positive, smiling, kind and sharp as ever.

He always understood the whole

person, and though I wasn’t an ‘A’ calculus student, I always felt genuine respect from him every year I saw him at Nobles. I will never forget his passion and intensity, his big smile, and how good he made people feel.”

Holly Rosen writes: “Time flies!

Eric and I will be empty nesters in September, and I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. Raising our two daughters has been the greatest joy imaginable. The fact that they are both at UCLA (Sydney class of 2020, Ani class of 2023) is beyond what we could have dreamed—and having them both on the UCLA dance team? Priceless! So proud of these hardworking, smart dancers!”

Rupert Thompson also was in touch. He writes: “I’ve been busy!

Just finished directing season two of Ryan’s Mystery Playdate (most popular show on TV among preschoolers) and will begin pre-production for season three in January 2020. Currently directing Cannonball, a massive and massively fun physical challenge show for USA-TV. Then in December, I’m directing a new cooking competition show for the Food Network with Guy Fieri. Now that our son, Cass, is 15—extremely independent and self-sufficient as a high school freshman at Sequoyah here in Pasadena—my wife, Laura, is back to work as a TV producer.”

1983 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Nancy Sarkis Corcoran

1981

Elizabeth Ward ’81 and her three daughters hike Half Dome in Yosemite; Susan Sturtevant Wambolt ’81 with her new children’s book, Pete the Hungry Pig, about a sweet pig named Pete on Hollerbrook Farm.

52 Nobles WINTER 2020

nlsc3@me.com Hello, Class of ’83! Hope everyone had a great summer! I was happy to hear from Ron Cieri this sum-

mer. He writes from Upstate New York: “Surprisingly, I’m not a good cattle farmer. My strategy of ‘waking up at the crack of noon’ is not working out. To diversify revenues, I built a wedding venue, stonewallestate.com. I am also ordained (courtesy of Universal Life Church). My ceremonial name is ‘The Stonewall Pastor,’ so if any of our classmates are silly enough to get married again or want to renew, I’d be happy to officiate (gratis). My property is on a beautiful Catskill mountaintop, renamed ‘Noble Point.’ This is where ceremonies will be held.” Mmmm.

I think someone in our class should take Ron up on his kind offer and keep us posted.

Steve and I had a great dinner with Kristin Vinios Marken and her husband, Anthony, this summer. Although they are in Dover and we are close by in Walpole, we hadn’t seen them for a few years.

Such fun reminiscing and catching up. They have two sons who are college grads and working in New York City and Boston. Their youngest son is at Elon.

I also heard from Todd Chisholm, who has moved to Southern Maine. If anyone is in the Kennebunkport area, Todd says to look him up and he will take you for a ride on his new boat!

Suzanne (Munchie) Holway Conran ran into John and Susan Kirk ’82 this summer. Lindsey Plexico Ford and Jeff Schwartz celebrated Lindsey’s birthday in Montana this fall. Steve and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this summer. Crazy how time flies!

We are missing our son, Holden Corcoran ’18, who is a sophomore at Georgetown, but we’re also enjoying our time as empty nesters.

Love and peace to all. Stay in touch. Only four more years ’til our 40th reunion!

1984 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Christine Todd

christinetodd@me.com

1986 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Heather Markey

617-365-3836 hsmarkey@icloud.com

Left to right: George Cadwalader ’88, Lisa Cadwalader, Sasha Leland ’88, Tim Russell ’88, Natasha Corday, Erin Weimer, Liza Gerber, David Gerber ’88

Jessica Tyler

781-934-6321 tylerjessica@me.com Eliza Kelly Beaulac

703-476-4442 embeaulac@verizon.net

1987 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Emily Gallagher Byrne

781-721-4444 egbyrne@verizon.net Elise Gustafson

elise_gustafson@yahoo.com

1988 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Sasha Leland

sasha@thelelands.com I found myself enjoying quite a bit of time with old Nobles classmates last summer. It started in June with a visit from Tim Russell and his wife, Natasha, who stayed with us for a night after dropping Tim’s son off at camp. At the same time, George Cadwalader,

his wife, Lisa, and kids John, Robert and Courtney coordinated a stay at David Gerber’s house just 20 minutes away. Everyone came together at the Gerbers’ house for a spectacular lobster boil, where we rehashed old stories and engaged in all kinds of shenanigans. For at least one night, the roughly 30 years since graduating from Nobles felt like only about three.

Next up was a visit in July from Jaime Saenz Denis, his wife, Ana, and son Santiago. Their trip to Portland was the first leg of a longer trip to Arkansas, where they were leaving Santiago for a month of adventure and language immersion. Highlights of their stay included some great Portland food, circumnavigating a nearby island on rented bikes and a duck tour.

But the biggest highlight was a BBQ at our house featuring Jaime, Jane Weintraub and husband Kraye, Katrina Newbury and kids Benjamin and Gillian, and David Gerber and daughter Caroline. Again, the stories flowed, and it was a lovely night

of good food and great old friends.

A couple of bonus mentions: Every few months I see wine expert Maia Gosselin on 207, our nightly news magazine TV show, featuring the best wines of the season. David Aznavorian came to Portland in October for his annual round of golf with Justin Alfond ’94. And finally, by the time you read this, I will have seen my cousin Scott Leland ’79 for a multiday sail-camping adventure.

Jane Weintraub added: “Had a great visit with Sasha and Erin in late September at our place in Camden, Maine. Kraye and I recently relocated from Boulder, Colorado, where we had been living for four years. Faced with some health challenges, it seemed wise to return to sea level. While I will miss the Rockies, I am pleased with our choice of location. The Camden Hills are beautiful, and I have enjoyed my daily long walks. I continue my experiments in neuroplasticity as I am my own best case study. I also continue a decadelong study of the confluence of

transpersonal psychology, neurobiology, neuroscience and classical Chinese medicine with a focus on practical ways of building resilience in times of unprecedented change.

Basically a big geekfest for me.

Spent a lovely day with Heather Kolva, Holly Loew and Carol Wold in July, as well as a great dinner with Sasha Leland, David Gerber, Jaime, and Katrina Newbury. All in all, good to be home.”

Piper Sheer shares: “My oldest son, Sam, is a sophomore at UVM, living on the same campus and hanging out in a lot of the same places I did 30 years ago, which is fun and strange all at the same time. My younger son, Jake, is a senior at Roxbury Latin, applying to colleges near and far. Does anyone have any empty nest advice to share? In April of last year, I left State Street to join AEW Capital Management as the head of HR. My office is in the heart of the fastgrowing Seaport District, so come say hello if you’re in the area!”

1989 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Rachel Spencer

917-921-5916 rachelwspencer@yahoo.com

1990 We look forward to seeing everyone back on campus for our 30th reunion. If you want to help with the planning send an email to Lisa Rose at Lisa_Rose@nobles.edu.

1991 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Amy Russell Farber

amy.farber.143@gmail.com

WINTER 2020 Nobles 53

graduate news

1995

Jason Cox with Molly Haverty ’95 and her dog Buster; All the grandchildren of Sandy and Ned Bigelow ’64 in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Top row, from left to right: Olivia Bigelow (Ned Bigelow ’92), Sammy Bigelow (Sam Bigelow ’95), Taylor Williams (Jen Bigelow Williams ’90), Taylor is holding Jack Bigelow (Ned’s), Sammy Williams (Jen’s). Middle row, from left to right: Ellie Bigelow (Sam’s), Eliza Williams (Jen’s). Bottom row, from left to right: Lotte Bigelow (Sam’s), Teddy Bigelow (Ned’s), Hannah Bigelow (Ned’s); Matt Mittelstadt ’95, his wife, Annie, and their sons, Zack (12) and Andrew (10).

1992 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Lynne Dumas Davis

703-623-4211 lynnemddavis@gmail.com

1993 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Sam Jackson

978-409-9444 sambjackson@hotmail.com

1994 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Albright for leading the charge and sharing the following: “Sage just started Nobles in 7th grade this year, though everyone already probably knows that from reunion banter. In any case, she’s there, in the middle school, and we just had parents’ night, which kind of blew my mind. So many familiar faces, it’s almost like I never left.

Great to see everyone at reunion, and thanks to all who came over Friday night to kick off the weekend.”

1995

Marni Fox Payne

CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

mpayne@berkshirepartners.com

Amy Sheridan

aksheridan@gmail.com Hi, to the Class of 1994. While I received lots of fun responses to my ask for class notes, I received very few actual notes. There is always next time!

Thanks to Lawson Allen

54 Nobles WINTER 2020

Molly Haverty

mollywhit@yahoo.com Hello, Class of ’95! We would love to hear from more of you, espe-

cially headed into our 25th reunion.

Please send updates to Molly and Amy or submit directly online. A reminder to mark your calendars for the reunion May 8 and 9. Looking forward to reconnecting and reminiscing. Thanks to those classmates who sent in updates: Molly Haverty is still loving life in Oregon and working for Nike. She recently welcomed a new puppy, Buster, and is having trouble keeping up with him!

Amy Sheridan writes, “We are continuing to love living in Portland, Oregon. I am still at Nike working in global marketing. This past summer, I worked on the Women’s World Cup, which made me miss my Nobles soccer days.

I am excited to come back for the big reunion this spring. It will be my husband (Tim) and our daughter (Vivienne’s) first time getting to see the campus after hearing so much about it. Look forward to

reconnecting with old friends!”

Sam Bigelow writes: “After a crazy, wonderful summer that involved an RV trip to Utah with my wife and kids (Sammy, 10, Ellie, 8, Lotte, 6) and a move from one house on the Middlesex School campus to another, it was great to gather with my entire family in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where we grew up spending time in the summer.”

See photo of all the Bigelow grandchildren on page above.

Matt Mittelstadt and family are living in Weston and doing great. On page above is a picture of Matt, his wife, Annie, and their sons, Zack (12) and Andrew (10).

1996 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Alex Slawsby

alex.slawsby@gmail.com

1997

2000

CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Bobbi Oldfield Wegner

Lisa Marx Corn

617-980-1412 bobbiwegner@gmail.com

lisamarx@gmail.com

Jessie Sandell Achterhof

781-990-3353 jessie.achterhof@gmail.com

1998

Kate Harrington is back at Nobles working with students on mindfulness. She and her husband also have a new addition to their family, 10-month-old Hudson.

Telecommunications in Quincy, Massachusetts. He is responsible for margin analysis, credit calculations and pricing recommendations.

2002 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

William N. Duffey III

617-893-1040 williamduffey@gmail.com

2001

2003

Dave Klivans

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

dave.liquid@gmail.com

Lauren Kenney Murphy

Laura Marholin Garcia

Lauren.kenney1@gmail.com

laura.marholin@gmail.com

Lexi (a.k.a. Alex) Templer Kendall has been living in Seattle with her husband, Owen Kendall, since their marriage in May 2015. In 2018, they welcomed their daughter, Logan Avielle (now 1). Lexi is a senior product manager at Fresh Consulting. The family enjoyed visiting Nobles last winter to celebrate Mark Sheeran and visit with Tim Carey and friends Elizabeth Besser Novak, Elizabeth Beedy Wendorf and Meg Curley Nash ’02.

Dan Gilmore started a new job as a financial analyst at Granite

My husband, Martin, and I welcomed baby Parker Evans Garcia in September. Two-year-old Spencer is loving his new role as big brother. I also recently started my own real estate development and consulting business. I would love to connect with any Nobles grads working in real estate in the New York area.

On August 23, Laura and Andrew Tibbetts welcomed Sophia Marie Tibbetts into the world. The family is settled in the Chicago suburbs but considering

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

1999 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Stephanie Trussell Driscoll

stephdriscoll32@gmail.com Gabriela Herman

gabriela.herman@gmail.com Kristin Harrison writes: “The big news for me is that after 10 years serving as the executive director of the Christa McAuliffe Charter School in Framingham, Massachusetts (and 16 years working at the school as a teacher or leader), I’ve announced that I’ll be moving on after the 2019-20 school year.

I love the school and McAuliffe community, and I’ve decided it’s time for a new adventure. I’m not exactly sure what is next for me and am excited to explore all sorts of options in the worlds of education and nonprofit leadership and management. If anyone has any leads or referrals, send them my way (ksharrison03@gmail.com).”

Also, Congrats to Nick Gorman, who was recently engaged to Eleyn Medina. They live in Lake Tahoe, California.

a move back east to be closer to family. With Sophia’s birth, three of the four founding members of Fort Club now have children.

Emily Holick and her husband had a baby girl named Brooke in June. Emily says, “The fall brings many fond memories of running on Mark Sheeran’s cross country team. Happily, Brooke enjoys going for runs in her stroller. I hope the class of 2003 is doing great!”

Allan Rego, his wife, Ashley, and son Allan moved to Jamaica Plain after several years in New York City. They are happy to be back in New England and recently visited the oldest carousel in the United States in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard. Check out the photo on page below.

In June, Nick DiCarlo and his wife, Julia, welcomed Finn Brower DiCarlo to the world. Nick says, “He has brought immeasurable joy to us, as many of our classmates know from having received regular and unprompted photos of him.

Come visit us in D.C.! We all extend our thanks to Christina Koningisor for introducing me and Julia six years ago; she gets the assist on this one.”

2004 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Carolyn Sheehan Wintner

781-801-3742 carolyn.wintner@gmail.com

Lexi Templer Kendall ’01 with Owen Kendall and daughter Logan (1) in Lisbon; Ashley and Allan Rego ’03 and their son, Allan, at the Flying Horses Carousel on Martha’s Vineyard.

Maya Barolo-Rizvi is at the University of Oxford in England, doing doctoral research on the impact of social media on the Rohingya refugee crisis. Read the feature about Maya and other grads doing human rights work on page 26.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 55

graduate news

2005 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Saul Gorman

617-447-3444 saul.gorman@gmail.com We’re looking forward to seeing everyone back on campus in May 2020 for our 15th reunion! Mark your calendars.

In September, Sarah Cantin married Rob King at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. Andrew Fine introduced Sarah and Rob (Andrew and Rob were classmates at Harvard) in early 2017 and officiated the wedding.

Congratulations to Lauren Valle and her husband, Alex Giblin, who welcomed a baby boy, August Ash Giblin, on May 21, 2019.

Also, congratulations to Emily and Zachary Cohen, who welcomed their son, Theodore Howard, on September 2, 2019.

2006 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

E.B. Bartels

ebandersenbartels@gmail.com You talented people, with your jobs and babies and weddings and Netflix feature films!

First, Alexandra Gardiner wrote in to say that she recently started a new teaching gig in the Last Green Valley in Connecticut and that she is spending more time in nature now that she is no longer in New York City. Good for you, Alex! Did you know that spending time surrounded by trees, a.k.a. “forest bathing,” is supposed to lower your stress levels? There is even a Japanese word for the practice: shinrin-yoku,

56 Nobles WINTER 2020

which means “taking in the forest.”

Alex also informed me of several other good nature-related facts: The word “Connecticut” comes from an Algonquian word meaning “long tidal river” (referring to the Connecticut River), and the motto for Connecticut is qui transtulit sustinet, which means “she/he who is transplanted sustains.” I love that.

Thanks for sharing, Alex!

Second, Lucy Minott McCall and her husband, Peter McCall, had a baby in April. Check out page 63 for a photo of Mary Frances McCall with Lucy. Lucy, I hope you are making the Swayzes proud and using all those photo class skills to take many pictures of Mary Frances!

Third, Jay Romano married Katherine Ross at the Omni King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto on October 5, 2019.

Congratulations, Jay! Turn to page 63 for a photo from the wedding featuring Jay and Katherine surrounded by the Nobles crew: Doug Kirschner, Brendon Mills, Brad Caswell, Amar Patel, Jay Kelly and Steve Palombo. Jay and Katherine live together in Toronto.

Fourth, Harry Aspinwall emailed me with a straight-up whirlwind of updates. I can’t even summarize it all. Here is what he wrote: “I went to Costa Rica in January, Morocco and Croatia in April, and Scotland and Berlin for all of June. I’ve written three feature scripts, one of which (a dark fantasy horror about medicine and childhood and demonic possession in the 1880s) was a finalist in ScreenCraft and WeScreenplay’s Diverse Voices, and another of which (a Viking Age horror about magic and social isolation and the expectations of good and evil)

was a finalist in ScreenCraft and is currently a finalist in the Sundance Screenwriting Lab. I just finished co-starring in a Netflix feature film with Malin Akerman, Ken Marino and Joe Manganiello, and today I arrived in Nebraska for a writing residency at ArtFarm. I have another residency at the Studios of Key West in November. Also, I got engaged.” Casual, Harry. Sorry to hear absolutely nothing exciting is happening in your life at all.

And finally, this fall I went on my first-ever yoga retreat for four days in Vermont (namaste!) and I had a classic Nobles-is-everywhere moment. After the retreat, I connected with several of the other yogis on Instagram, and only then did Deena Zhelezov Freed ’95 and I realize we are both Nobles alumnae. Deena figured it out because she saw Vicky Seelen and Joanna Swayze’s many comments on my photos. Deena teaches yoga at Simply Yoga in Belmont on Saturday mornings at 11:00, so if anyone is down for a yoga-based mini Nobles reunion, see you there!

2007 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Kat Sargent

katharine.sargent@gmail.com

2008 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Michael Polebaum

mpolebaum08@nobles.edu

2009 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Liz Rappaport

617-413-6070 lizrap21@gmail.com

Ally Geanacopoulos married her co-resident Ben Zielonka in August 2019 alongside her Nobles friends and family. And a few weeks later, on September 28, Corey Stearns married Clinton Bourbonais in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Congrats to them both!

2010 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Tori Goyette

tgoyette10@gmail.com Hi, Class of 2010. Did you know it’s our reunion year?! In honor of this exciting spring event (May 9, add to cal), I asked some classmates to reflect back on their time since Nobles.

What would you tell your high school self if you could give them some advice?

Tarun Gupta: Not to worry so much about little things. I’d say to try to learn as much as possible from every experience, even the bad ones.

Chris Pratt: Value every relationship equally.

Marissa Gedman: Broaden your friend group, girl! Over the past decade (gasp) I have connected with so many amazing 2010 Nobles grads whom I wish I knew when I was at Nobles and saw them every day.

What part of high school are you glad to be rid of?

Matt Antoszyk: Polo shirt dress code. . . . Time has proven that wasn’t my look.

Chris Pratt: Updating my parents on my whereabouts.

What are you looking forward to about Reunion?

Matt Antosyzk: I am eager to talk to Henry Kinard, ultimate

frisbee coach extraordinaire, about the team’s legacy. Also, I ran into CP, who shared that Nobles built “her dream classroom.” I can’t wait to come see it.

Marissa Gedman: This is probably right on brand with my high school self’s priorities, but I can’t wait for the food. Ugh, the Castle cuisine immediately feels like home.

Chris Pratt: Seeing my guy Nick Nickerson. Really miss his talk at the start of each year.

My high school self would be surprised . . .

Holly Foster: At how well I’ve learned to relax and focus on my strengths, passions and being positive.

Alexa Zilberfarb: That I majored in geology after Nobles chemistry ruined my life.

Can’t wait to see everyone in the spring! If you ever want to be featured in an update, always looking for new voices. Reach out at tgoyette10@gmail.com.

2011 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Katie Puccio

508-446-0726 krpooch@gmail.com

2012 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Coco Woeltz

ccwoeltz2@gmail.com

2013 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Caroline Thayer

carolinejthayer@gmail.com Hey, Class of 2013. We’ve got lots of updates for you, so happy reading!

Kicking things off with a great personal message: Liam McClintock writes, “Hey, Class of ’13, hope everyone’s doing well. I’m excited to share a life update with you all. I was working in private equity in Boston and got really into meditation. As some of you know, I previously had OCD and ADHD and found this practice gave me a control over mind that I had never experienced before. So I left finance and traveled to Bali to study meditation full time and then started a company called FitMind, providing meditation training to companies, schools, government organizations and nonprofits. It’s been a fun ride. In October 2019, we launch the FitMind meditation app for iOS, similar to Headspace but more scientific and in-depth.

I’m living in Denver, Colorado, now, and it’s been a solid lifestyle. Lots of nature—snowboarding, hiking, fresh air. If you find yourself in this part of the world, please drop me a line. Always fun to catch up with a familiar face. Wishing you all a bountiful winter wherever you find yourself. Cheers.”

Don Sobell graduated from Colgate University with a bachelor’s in molecular biology in 2017. For two years, he conducted academic research at Massachusetts General Hospital focusing primarily on diabetes, cancer immunology and wound healing.

He writes, “Now I’ve just begun a new position as a research associate on the cell biology team at MyoKardia, a biotech company in San Francisco focusing on different types of heart disease but primarily hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM for short).”

Rachel Gardner is currently in her second year of medical school

in Cleveland. She is just starting to plan the rotations she’ll take in her clinical years. She says, “So far, I’m set on pursuing cardiothoracic surgery, which is convenient given that the Cleveland Clinic is a great place to watch some spectacular cardiothoracic surgeons at work.”

She also has a very important shoutout for a specific Nobles teacher. “Mr. Harrington, I am so grateful for the immense Latin knowledge that I gleaned in your courses. I rely on my (albeit limited) understanding of Latin roots all of the time in my anatomy courses. It has proven such a godsend! Thank you.” Keep up the good work, Don and Rachel.

Also, who remembers EVL class as a Sixie?

Devin Caccavaro writes, “Since graduating from Vanderbilt, I have moved to New York City to pursue a career in real estate banking at Wells Fargo. I love living in the city and still enjoy getting dinner or catching up with many of my friends from Nobles.”

Other updates include: Paul Henderson, who graduated from Davidson and then worked at the Island School as a history teaching fellow for a year (which is why he did not attend our reunion).

He now lives in Los Angeles and works for NBC Universal in the Page Program. Diana Kenealy lives in Washington, D.C., and works at Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis as a legal analyst. Alex Balsbaugh works at a hedge fund called Bracebridge Capital as an analyst out of the Prudential Center. He lives in Boston in the Back Bay. Hope everyone has had a wonderful year thus far. Sending lots of positive vibes, blessings and good health to you all in 2020!

2014 Anika Singh writes, “Hi, Nobles!

I’m delighted to share that as of this past June, I am officially a newly qualified doctor from University College Dublin, School of Medicine, and have subsequently moved back to Boston for a master’s in medical sciences in clinical investigation at Harvard Medical School. I was very sorry to have missed our five-year reunion this May due to travel, but I hope to reconnect with the Nobles community soon.”

2015 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Natalie Hession

Natalie.a.hession@gmail.com We’re so excited to see everyone in May for our 5th reunion! A reminder if you haven’t already updated your email and mailing address with Nobles, you can do so on the website: www.nobles.edu/ community/graduates.

2016 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Sabrina Rabins

srabins@gmail.com Mariana Vega

vegamariana612@gmail.com

2017 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Harry Sherman

harry74sherman@gmail.com Hui Li is currently a junior at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. She

WINTER 2020 Nobles 57

graduate news

writes: “I am studying in Rome this semester and went to see a lot of places with my own eyes. I loved learning about the ancient Romans in my Latin and ancient history courses at Nobles and brought my knowledge about the ancient world to my adventures abroad. I am still in touch with Mr. Blake, who is head of the Classics department and was my academic advisor for three years, and I contacted him with news of my trip to Pompeii. He gave me permission to mention his name and write about how much I learned about Pompeii in his ‘History of Ancient Rome’ class at Nobles.” For Li’s blog, check out https://hlli21. me.holycross.edu/. Her trip to Pompeii was on September 21, 2019.

2018 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jill Radley

jillradley22@gmail.com

2019

Ally Guerrero

alessandra.guerrero@bc.edu Noa Fay writes: “After graduation this past May, I had a lot of time on my hands during the summer, which gave me a chance to finish the novel I had started writing junior year. With the help of some great editors (teachers Gia Batty and Talya Sokoll), I completed my final draft of my first novel, One Cruel House, at the end of the summer and sent it to my publisher. It will be out in October and will be available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Newtonville Books, Brookline Booksmith and hopefully some other local bookstores at home!”

Grayson Welo, who is at Northwestern, writes: “I’m a sportswriter for The Daily Northwestern, NU’s daily newspaper, and I’m covering the Northwestern women’s soccer team, which is really fun. So I go to games and take notes, and afterward I get to interview players and coaches.”

CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Cyan Jean

cjean040@gmail.com

For Hui Li ’17, all roads really do lead to Rome... and to Pompeii! Check out the class notes to read about how the 20-year-old Classics major saw what she learned from her Latin and ancient history courses at Nobles come to life during her semester abroad in Italy; Danny Monaghan, Uche Ndukwe and Jason Medeiros, all ‘18.

58 Nobles WINTER 2020

in memoriam

Goodbye to Some of the Greats Rarely, does a school lose several legends—people who have helped define the character of a place and its people over decades—in a short span. Fall 2019 was such a moment, and we honor these graduates, trustees and leaders.

ROBERT A. LAWRENCE ’44

An admirable and loyal leader, Robert A. Lawrence ’44—better known as Bobby—passed away on September 4, 2019, with his family at his side. Bobby was a Nobles graduate and parent, trustee and board president. In every aspect of his life, he embodied the mission to inspire leadership for the public good.

Bobby attended Nobles—one of 90 boys at the time—after his father had lost his job during the Great Depression. At Nobles, his passions were hockey and French; his headmasters were Charles Wiggins and Eliot Putnam. As a senior, Bobby enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He matriculated at Williams College in the V-12 program that would evolve into Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). When the program closed at Williams, Bobby landed at Yale University, where he graduated in 1947 with an officer’s commission in the U.S. Marine Corps. For his service in the Korean War, he earned a Bronze Star.

Bobby began his career in the securities business and helped lead investment companies including State Street and the Saltonstall Company. He served as a trustee for Wellesley College, Massachusetts General Hospital and New England Aquarium, among many others. An alumnus of Yale, he served on board committees and received the Yale Medal in 1996.

Lawrence Auditorium is named for Bobby, and the Lawrence family is currently supporting the renovation of that beloved space. Bobby always said that he loved his time at Nobles. His commitment was deepened when he joined the board in 1966. From 1971–1978, he served as president, beginning the year

that the late Rev. Edward “Ted” Stone Gleason was named the fifth head of school. Bobby was on the search committee that selected Ted Gleason; their task was to facilitate and nurture the school during its transition to coeducation.

Bobby began dating his wife, Patsy, in 1941. The couple’s sons, Rob ’68, Jeff ’69 and George ’72 graduated from Nobles.

Patsy and Bobby also have a daughter, Frannie. A granddaughter, Perrin Lawrence Hicks ’97, also graduated from the school that her grandfather and the Rev. Ted Gleason shepherded to coeducation.

ROBERT PAUL HENDERSON, SR.

Former trustee Robert Paul Henderson, Sr. passed away on October 6, 2019, at age 88.

He leaves his beloved wife Carol Traylor Henderson, their four sons and 10 grandchildren. He also leaves an incredible legacy, which exemplifies Nobles’ commitment to community and care for others.

Robert served on the Nobles Board of Trustees from 1976 to 1982, helping the Rev. Ted Gleason, Bobby Lawrence ’44 and other Nobles leaders to navigate a profound cultural shift and complete Nobles’ transition to coeducation.

He brought to the boardroom the same integrity and organizational insight that he was known for in the corporate sphere, where he held leadership roles at IBM, Honeywell Information Systems, Itek Corporation and Greylock Management Corporation. A widely cited speech he gave to Congress in 1970 was prescient. In it, he warned of the risk of “pollution of privacy” and “a new sort of computerized power politics” that might result from the explosion of technological advances.

Robert was a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Amos Tuck School of Business. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Dartmouth’s ROTC course and served in Japan in 1954 in the aftermath of the Korean War. In addition to his service to Nobles, Robert was board chair at the Museum of Fine Arts, chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and served as a board member at Dartmouth College, the Boston Athenaeum and other institutions.

Robert’s influence continues through his remarkable family. His sons are graduates: Edward D. “Ted” Henderson ’85, Peter M. Henderson ’82, John T. Henderson ’78 and Robert P. “Bob” Henderson, Jr. ’76, Nobles’ head of school from 2000 to 2017. Nine grandchildren and a niece and nephew are also graduates of Nobles.

RICHARD T. FLOOD, JR. ’53

Richard T. Flood, Jr. ’53 passed away on October 30, 2019. A legend at Nobles, an icon in New England independent schools and a beloved husband, father and friend, Dick Flood leaves an indelible imprint.

As a student at Nobles, “Floodo,” as Dick was known to his friends, thrived. A great athlete, he competed in football, baseball and hockey. He was also known for his beautiful singing voice and contributions as a member of the Drama Club.

Dick later returned to Nobles as an educator who would influence thousands of graduates. He served on the faculty from 1967 to 1988, teaching French, Latin and English, leading as an administrator and coaching hockey and baseball. Dick’s journey as a Nobles student and faculty member followed in the footsteps of his father, Richard T. Flood ’23, who served as a member of the faculty for almost half a century, from 1928 to 1971.

Dick left Nobles in 1988 to serve as the head at Salisbury School, where he is also legendary. After retiring from Salisbury in 2003, he created Dick Flood Education Services, an organization to help young educators find jobs in independent schools.

In his later years, Dick enjoyed watching his favorite sports teams compete and tending to his garden in Jamestown, Rhode Island. Dick had three children with his late wife, Sally: Richard T. “Dick” Flood III ’77, Samuel E. “Sam” Flood ’79 and Katherine B. “Kassy” Flood. He is also survived by his children’s spouses; seven grandchildren; and his brother, Laurence Brewer Flood and wife Tyler Knowles.

The legacy of Dick Flood remains visible on campus.

When Dick left Nobles for Salisbury School in 1988, his family, friends and colleagues established the Richard T. Flood Jr. ’53 Scholarship Fund in his honor. In 2009, the Class of 1984 honored him with the Coggeshall Award. The Flood-Marr Hockey Tournament was also established by Dick and his Williams College teammate and lifelong friend, the late Dick “Lefty” Marr.

The tournament began more than 50 years ago and is an independent school tradition.

STANLEY EDWARD PRATT ’49

Stanley Edward Pratt ’49 passed away on November 29, 2019. Worldwide, he was known as a giant and visionary in venture capital and finance. At Nobles, he was known as a spirited and generous graduate, parent, uncle, grandparent and friend.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 59

graduate news

in memoriam During his five years at Nobles as a student, Stan demonstrated business acumen, tenacity and character. He won the Nash Prize for Executive Ability as a Class I student.

He was also a talented athlete, excelling in basketball, soccer and crew.

Stan’s relationship with Nobles continued long after graduation. He served as a trustee from 1988–1994. In 1982, Stan, with his brother, Waldo, established a scholarship at Nobles in honor of their mother, Virginia. In 1992, the Pratt Middle School was named in his honor. Stan participated in every Nobles campaign for the past four decades and was a member of the Wiggins Society. In 2003, he received the Lawson Service Award. In 2006, he was named Distinguished Graduate, recognizing his tremendous life’s accomplishments. Stan showed up to every Nobles occasion he could, even when he became confined to a wheelchair and his speech became more challenging. Just days before his passing, he attended the fall dance concert.

Stan graduated from Brown University in 1953 and went on to serve two years as a destroyer officer in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. Aboard the USS Saugley, he did topsecret surveillance work to detect enemy submarines. He also attended Fleet Training School at Guantanamo Bay. In 1957, Stan became involved with venture capital, becoming a leading consultant and expert. In 2005, he was inducted into the Dow Jones Private Equity Hall of Fame.

Stan co-founded the investment advisory firm Abbott Capital Management, LLC in 1986. Formerly president and chairman of Venture Economics, Inc., he was also publisher and editor of Venture Capital Journal, which has been reporting and analyzing business development investing since 1961.

Stan also edited Pratt’s Guide to Venture Capital Sources, a primary reference source for the private investment community. Stan also contributed to his community as a longtime board member of the Wellesley Historical Society and a former deacon at Wellesley Hills Congregational Church.

Stan is survived by many family members, including his wife Maryanne “Burkey” Pratt, their children and eight grandchildren. Family members who are also Nobles graduates or current students include children Thomas A. “Tom” Pratt ‘75, Virginia “Ginger” McCloy ‘77, Cynthia “Cindy” Jaczko ‘81, and Johanna L. Fitzgerald ‘85, niece Nancy P. Hurley ‘79, nephews John W. Pratt ‘82 and W.E. “Elliott” Pratt ‘76, and grandchildren Nicholas “Nick” Jaczko ‘15, Robert “RJ” Jaczko ‘17 and Lily Jaczko ‘21. Grandnephew Chris Pratt ’10 is a graduate and former faculty member.

60 Nobles WINTER 2020

Edward Pierce Almy ’50 passed away September 19, 2019, at his home in Skidaway Island, Georgia, at age 87. At Nobles, he was a strong athlete and performer. He played football, ice hockey and rowed, and was a member of the Dramatic Club and Glee Club. “He is a hard worker and faithful to his job. He’s a sportsman in two ways: as an athlete and as a fair, courteous participator in sports,” recalled his Classbook profile.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and raised in Dedham, Massachusetts, “Ned” graduated from Harvard College. He played ice hockey at Harvard, participating in the first Beanpot ice hockey tournament at the Boston Arena in 1952. After college, he continued his involvement with the sport of ice hockey by leading the Saturday morning Nobles Hockey School with his brother, Robert “Beezah” Almy ’46, and the Bliss brothers, William L. “Bill” Bliss ’48 and Edward P. “Ned” Bliss ’50.

After serving in the United States Navy, Almy spent his entire professional career in the investment business, retiring from Legg Mason in 2003.

In 1995, Almy and his wife, Nancy, moved from their family home in Dedham to “The Landings” on Skidaway Island, outside of Savannah, Georgia.

A lover of the game of golf, Almy continued his passion for the sport down south as a member of the Landings Club.

Almy was deeply committed to the communities in which

he lived, serving in a number of volunteer leadership roles and giving back in various ways. He was a member of the board of trustees at Noble and Greenough School from 1971 to 1974 and a member of the board of governors and president of the Dedham Country and Polo Club. He also mentored children in reading at the Hess Elementary School in Savannah.

He will be remembered fondly for his splashy cannonballs—much to the delight of his grandchildren—and great bear hugs. He was famous for his firm handshakes that had just enough pressure not to hurt, but enough to leave a lasting impression. He had a love of life that was only surpassed by his love of family.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Nancy; his children, Edward P. “Ted” Almy Jr. ’75, Laura Wright Almy Kaplan ’77 and Rosamond “Roz” Almy Zatyko ’80; and nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

John Ainsworth Dunn Jr. ’52 passed away on August 10, 2019, in Exeter, New Hampshire, at age 85. At Nobles, “Jack” was a member of the wrestling and debating teams, and served as the literary editor of the Nobleman. “Time after time he baffles the class with his literary discussions and his perfect translations of impossible looking French passages,” stated his Classbook entry.

Born in Newton, Massachusettes, Dunn graduated Phi Beta

Kappa from Wesleyan University in 1956 and then served for two years in the United States Army at Fort Devens, New Jersey. It was during this time that he met Patricia “Patti” Mary Van Doren, and in 1957 they were married. After serving in the Budd Company’s management training program, Dunn was chosen in 1965 to head Armetal, Budd’s subsidiary, in Buenos Aires.

After five years in South America, Dunn returned to the Boston area to pursue an M.A.T. degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Upon earning his degree, he worked as an assistant to the president of Tufts University and went on to spend 22 years at Tufts, rising to the role of vice president for institutional planning. In 1989, he formed the Center for Planning Information Inc., a not-for-profit group supporting colleges and universities. This became the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium, which prospers to this day.

Dunn later served for three years as president of Dean Junior College in Franklin, Massachusetts, and in 1995 he retired to Jackson, New Hampshire.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Dunn became the director of the Mount Washington Observatory and the moderator for the Jackson Community Church, and he served on multiple boards of trustees in the area, including for Mountain Top Music Center and Fryeburg Academy.

In 2015, he and Patti moved to RiverWoods in Exeter, New

Hampshire. Known for his quiet, diplomatic style, he immediately turned his institutional planning expertise to the community’s service as a resident council member. Elected soon after to be a resident council trustee, Jack possessed warmth, intellect and enthusiasm that endeared him to all.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Patti; his children, Jay Dunn, Emily Heye and Winnie Kearns; his brother, Ted Dunn ’54, and sister, Betsy Nichols; and four grandchildren.

William McKenzie Andres ’59 passed away June 24, 2019, after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. A strong sportsman, “Buck” played baseball and ice hockey during his years at Nobles.

Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Andres graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in English literature and received a master’s degree in fine arts at Ohio University.

A career educator, Andres spent more than 50 years teaching, serving in a variety of administrative positions at independent schools, holding leadership roles in public and community arts organizations across the country, and supporting professional development organizations working with independent schools.

His extensive career included positions at the Fay School, St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School and The Masters School, as well as at the University of Georgia and

the University of Massachusetts.

He moved back to the Boston area in 2002, and in 2007, Andres became the executive director for the Independent School Chairpersons Association, a national membership organization serving as a resource center for chairs of independent school boards of trustees. He also spent his later years mentoring students at two inner-city educational enrichment programs in Boston.

In the spring of 2009, he married his wife, Jo-Ann, a few weeks before his 50th reunion from Nobles. He will be remembered by those who knew him for his kindness, humor and gentle ways.

Andres is survived by his wife, Jo-Ann; his children, Timothy Andres, Sarah Gardner and Mary Katherine Cuthbertson; and many grandchildren.

James McQuillen Martinez Jr. ’70 passed away July 5, 2019. At Nobles, “Jim” was on the basketball team and was a member of the Glee Club, Nobleonians and Dramatic Club. He also excelled academically, making the honor roll each year during his six-year tenure at Nobles.

Martinez earned a B.A. from Washington and Lee University and received a master’s in education from the University of Virginia. He worked for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services for 38 years, and for 20 years served as the director of mental health services.

Throughout his career, Martinez was a passionate advocate for raising awareness for all issues relating to mental health. He worked tirelessly to develop community support services for those with mental illness and their families, shaping and implementing a person-centered, recovery-oriented behavioral health system for Virginia.

An avid outdoorsman, Martinez loved fishing, particularly flyfishing, and canoeing in Maine and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He was always less interested in the “catch,” rather taking in all the wonders that the great outdoors had to offer.

In line with his love of nature, he propagated trees from acorns and vegetables from seeds and often gifted the fruits of his work to family, friends and neighbors. He was also a knowledgeable bird watcher who enjoyed spending summers on the coast of Maine.

Martinez is survived by his wife, Kathleen; his siblings, Patricia Mumford, Peter M. Martinez ’74, Hugh W. Martinez ’77, John R. Whitney III and Lynn H. Whitney; and 11 nieces and nephews.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 61

graduate news

1.

3.

2.

4.

5.

1. At the wedding of Ally Geanacopoulos ’09 to Ben Zielonka: Hadley Stein, Megan Bunnell, Victor Ordoñez ’12, Sophia Geanacopoulos ’12, Ben Zielonka, Ally Geanacopoulos, Kristy Giandomenico, Carey Favaloro and Brett Hayes (’09 unless otherwise noted); 2. Sarah Cantin ’05 married Rob King on September 14, 2019. Front row, left to right: Kathryn (Bailis) Phillips, former teacher; Sarah Cantin ’05 and husband Rob King. Second row, left to right: Matt Glazier ’05, Lauren Daniels Lampen ’05, Becca Starr ’05, Trish Koningisor, former Nobles faculty; Jen Koningisor ’05. Third row, left to right: Andrew Fine ’05, Sarah Parsons Wolter ’05, Molly Valle ’05, Carry Resor Hawes ’05, Kate Gormley Saeli ’05. Top row, left to right: Andrew Hayes ’04, Marya Stansky ’05 and Saul Gorman ’05; 3. Joyce Tse Leslie ’08 married Adam Leslie in

announcements Engagements:

Marriages:

Nick Gorman ’99 to Eleyn Medina; John Raye ’56 to Evelyn Lawrance.

Joyce Tse ’08 to Adam Leslie in June 2019; Mollie Young and Mark Hourihan (both ’10) in June 2019; Ally Geanacopoulos ’09 to Ben Zielonka in August 2019; Jay Romano ’06 to Katherine Ross in October

62 Nobles WINTER 2020

2019; Sarah Cantin ’05 to Rob King in September 2019; Corey Stearns ’09 to Clinton Bourbonais in September 2019.

New Arrivals: Greg Croak ’06 and his wife, Libby, welcomed

6.

8.

7.

9.

10.

June 2019. Her brother, Jerome Tse ’09, officiated; 4. Jay Romano and Katherine Ross surrounded by Doug Kirschner, Brendon Mills, Brad Caswell, Amar Patel, Jay Kelly and Steve Palombo (all ’06); 5. Mark Hourihan and Molly Young Hourihan (both ’10) were married in June 2019; 6. Lucy Minot McCall ‘06 with husband Peter McCall and daughter Mary Frances McCall; 7. Emily, Zachary ’05 and Theo Cohen; 8. Calvin Croak, son of Greg Croak ’06 and wife, Libby; 9. Finn Brower DiCarlo, son of Julia and Nick DiCarlo ’03; 10. Laura and Andrew Tibbetts ’03 with their daughter, Sophia, born August 23, 2019

Calvin Croak in June 2019; Lucy Minott McCall ’06 and her husband, Peter McCall, welcomed their daughter, Mary Frances McCall, in April 2019; Lauren Valle ’05 and Alex Giblin welcomed baby boy August Ash Giblin on May 21, 2019; Zachary Cohen ’05 and his wife, Emily, welcomed their son, Theodore Howard,

on September 2, 2019; Laura Marholin Garcia ’03 and her husband, Martin, welcomed baby Parker Evans Garcia in September 2019; Laura and Andrew Tibbetts ’03 welcomed Sophia Marie Tibbetts into the world in August 2019; Emily Holick ’03 and her husband had a baby girl named Brooke in June 2019; In June 2019,

Nick DiCarlo ’03 and his wife, Julia, welcomed Finn Brower DiCarlo to the world; Lexi (a.k.a.

Alex) Templer Kendall ’01 and her husband, Owen Kendall, welcomed their daughter, Logan Avielle, in 2018; Kate Harrington ’00 and her husband, Keith, welcomed their son, Hudson, in November 2019.

WINTER 2020 Nobles 63

archive

CONTOUR LINES Frederick Law Olmsted’s topographical map of A.W. Nickerson’s Riverdale estate circa 1887 shows the land that would become Noble and Greenough’s Dedham campus. The outline of the castle is visible near the center of the map, and a bridge used to cross the Charles River between present day Summe House and Mason Field. This map’s orientation, with north pointing to the bottom left, and the fact that Dedham Center is mislabeled as Needham Village led to initial confusion when deciphering how large Nobles actually is. See the full story on page 36.

64 Nobles WINTER 2020

IMAGE: COURTESY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.

Save the Date: Graduates Weekend 2020 FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2020 ■ ■

50 Reunion and Dinner Noblest Reunion Dinner: For Nobles graduates who have already celebrated their 50th reunion th

SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2020 ■

■

Graduates Day: A full day of activities for all Nobles graduates 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th, and 45th Reunion Dinners

For further details and contact information, please visit www.nobles.edu/reunion.

Noble and Greenough School 10 Campus Drive Dedham, MA 02026-4099

Praise for the Tent Middle school students celebrate during the Pop Culture Clash trivia assembly. Lawrence Auditorium underwent an expansion and renovation this fall, so we held all of our assemblies in a huge “Tent of Miracles” on the Beach.

NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID BOSTON MA PERMIT NO. 53825